A Slap in the Face

Chu Yun wore a look of disdain. With a casual sweep of one hand, Li Quan, his eyes bloodshot, crashed to the ground with a thud.

Yet no one had seen how Chu Yun had made his move.

Only then did Li Quan realize once more that Chu Yun was not merely of extraordinary status—his strength also placed him among the very best of the Late Qi and Blood Stage.

But Li Quan still roared, "Chu Yun! Try touching even a finger of hers today!"

Everyone's attention was drawn over.

A contemptuous smile, too faint for ordinary people to notice, curled at the corner of Chu Yun's lips, but he said in surprise, "Young Master Li, what do you mean by that? I merely hit it off with Miss Feng at first sight and exchanged a few more words with her."

"Could it be, Brother Li, that Miss Feng is your forbidden possession?"

Those words stunned Li Quan. He instinctively said, "No, no, I and Yao..."

"Could it be that Brother Li thinks Miss Feng cannot speak with anyone at all?"

A strange expression appeared on Chu Yun's face, yet there was a faint trace of pity in the way he looked at Li Quan.

"Miss Feng, what do you say..."

But beneath his sleeve, Chu Yun had grasped Feng Yao's hand. The others could not see it, but Li Quan saw it as clearly as day, and his eyes nearly split open in fury.

He wanted to speak, only to discover that he had somehow lost the ability to speak. He could only let out enraged, low growls.

"Brother Li is somewhat agitated. Let him go down and rest properly."

Chu Yun spoke blandly as he withdrew the hidden weapon beneath his sleeve. It was a special hidden weapon containing a drug that temporarily robbed people of speech—extremely useful, especially in a situation like this.

The others could neither defeat him nor speak. Did that not mean everything was in his grasp?

Not far away, Zhang Maoxi had seen everything clearly.

His face flushed slightly. He had just been about to step in, when he received a threatening look from Chu Yun.

If Beichuan Wan were here, what would she do? Zhang Maoxi subconsciously turned his head and glanced at Beichuan Wan, who was still some distance away and had yet to notice what was happening here.

Conflict appeared in Zhang Maoxi's eyes, but in the end, he chose to act.

"Chu..."

At that very moment, a booming voice came from outside.

"Jiang Yuan of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency has come uninvited. I hope Young Master Chu will forgive the intrusion!"

Though the words asked for forgiveness, there was not the slightest sincerity in the tone. Instead, it brimmed with killing intent.

Everyone's attention shifted once more to the figure slowly approaching from afar.

The man was tall and slender, handsome of face, and cold in temperament. A weapon case that looked ordinary yet refined was strapped to his back as he walked down the path one step at a time.

Each step seemed to land upon everyone's heartstrings.

This was resonance of qi and blood!

The mark of reaching the peak of Qi and Blood! No—such resonance meant his qi and blood foundation might be far more solid than that of ordinary people!

Jiang Yuan?

That Young Escort Chief of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency!

Upon hearing Jiang Yuan announce himself, everyone recalled his deeds.

But... was he here to make trouble now?

Because Eldest Young Master Chu had not invited him to the poetry gathering?

As Chu Yun watched Jiang Yuan approach, uncertainty flickered across his face. He had encountered Jiang Yuan before; the man's qi and blood had been hollow and unsteady, truly unworthy of his status as the Young Escort Chief of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency.

Although Jiang Yuan had risen to fame with a single brilliant feat a month ago, Chu Yun did not believe a person could change so much in such a short time.

But now...

Chu Yun could no longer see through Jiang Yuan.

"So it is Young Master Jiang. My apologies. It was this young master's oversight—I forgot to invite you to the poetry gathering..." Chu Yun said with three parts apology, though there were only truly three parts of apology in it.

Though Jiang Yuan's strength had exceeded his expectations, Chu Yun's lofty status made him deeply unaccustomed to apologizing to others.

"A poetry gathering? Jiang does not know how to chant poetry or compose couplets!" Jiang Yuan sneered. He swept his gaze across everyone as if casually, while a hidden blue glow flickered in his eyes.

No, no, no. None at all. Everything was normal. No one present carried that strange abnormality, nor was there any peculiar special circumstance.

Letting out a breath of relief inwardly, Jiang Yuan's blue glow faded as he continued forward.

There were plenty of plots where transmigrators plagiarized poems to show off, but reciting poetry under these circumstances would have been unbearably awkward.

Jiang Yuan walked forward step by step. He appeared slow, yet no one knew when he had arrived before the pavilion, nor what footwork technique he cultivated.

Jiang Yuan glanced at Chu Yun, at the flustered Feng Yao beside him, at Li Quan half-collapsed on the ground, and at Zhang Maoxi staring blankly at him.

In an instant, he had pieced together seven or eight parts of what had just happened.

"Young Master Jiang..." A young master from an aristocratic family beside Chu Yun had just wanted to speak, only for Jiang Yuan to coldly cut him off.

"Since when could someone like you bully a person from my Zhenyuan Escort Agency!" A dangerous gleam appeared in Jiang Yuan's eyes. He lightly flexed his fingers, producing a series of crisp cracks.

He had initially planned to keep a somewhat low profile. Now, it seemed there was no need to give Chu Yun any face.

Seeing Jiang Yuan's hostile approach, the smile on Chu Yun's face vanished at once. He snapped shut the jade fan in his hand and said evenly, "Young Master Jiang, this young master is giving you face, so do not fail to apprecia—"

Before Chu Yun could finish, a fist shadow suddenly expanded before his eyes. Jiang Yuan's feet shifted slightly, and he was already before Chu Yun, his body leaning forward as though he were about to fall into Chu Yun's arms.

Chu Yun's pupils shrank. Such speed! He had no time to react at all!

Jiang Yuan's movement technique was absolutely extraordinary!

Moreover, Chu Yun had never imagined that Jiang Yuan would attack outright. Everyone present was a person of status and standing—how could they casually tear away all pretense and come to blows?

A burst of intense pain came from Chu Yun's face. The world before his eyes instantly turned dark, and his center of gravity tipped as he was about to fall.

But Chu Yun was powerful after all. He quickly reacted, twisting lightly in midair before landing on his feet.

"Jiang Yuan! You dare strike my face! Die!" Chu Yun flew into a rage. The qi and blood throughout his body suddenly swelled and burst outward, forcing the people around him to retreat involuntarily beneath that powerful energy.

"Soul Seizing Spear!" Chu Yun reached to the side, and a silver spear appeared in his hand. Dragons, phoenixes, and kirins were carved upon the long spear, making it clear at a glance that it was no ordinary item.

Chu Yun thrust his spear, and a piercing sonic boom rang out.

Chu Yun's strength was indeed not weak, but Jiang Yuan's earlier punch had contained not only mastery of the Ten Directions Fist, but also mastery of the Savage Ox Fist. Chu Yun had actually been struck in one blow.

Everything had happened too quickly—from Jiang Yuan's sneak attack to Chu Yun's spear breaking the sound barrier.

Several people's expressions changed drastically as they prepared to step forward and stop them.

At that moment, a phoenix's cry suddenly rang out across the grounds.

It was familiar. Was this not the Phoenix Cry Sword Technique Beichuan Wan had displayed earlier?

Someone instinctively looked toward where Beichuan Wan stood, only to find that she had merely stepped forward and drawn her sword. She had not yet unleashed her sword technique.

Though people around her were looking at her, she paid them no attention whatsoever. Her gaze was instead full of concern as she looked toward Jiang Yuan, while the movements of her hand did not pause.

Her graceful figure drifted forward, rushing ahead at full speed to help.

Not Beichuan Wan, then...

Within the grounds, no one knew when a longsword cold as autumn water had appeared in Jiang Yuan's hand.

The sword tip had struck at precisely the right spot, bracing against the tip of Chu Yun's Soul Seizing Spear.

This needle-against-the-wheat-awl exchange left everyone dumbstruck.

Especially Jiang Yuan. As the defending side, he had managed to block Chu Yun's heavy, powerful strike in such a manner. Just how profound must his swordsmanship be?

The spear was forceful and heavy, the sword nimble and light, yet Jiang Yuan had forcibly stopped Chu Yun's attack in this way.

"Chu Yun, I do not care what sort of thing you are. First, you should not have bullied someone from my Zhenyuan Escort Agency!"

The longsword in Jiang Yuan's hand whirled and danced. Chu Yun only felt his spear being pulled by an unseen force. Just as he tried to regain control over it, the force he exerted directly hurled the spear away.

"Second, you should not have taken something that does not belong to you..." Jiang Yuan's sword spread like a phoenix unfurling its wings—gorgeous, yet deadly—as it stabbed toward Chu Yun's throat.

Of course, Jiang Yuan had not intended to kill Chu Yun. He merely wanted to frighten him and thoroughly cut down this Chu Yun's arrogance.

If he killed Chu Yun in public, the trouble would become truly enormous.

But unexpectedly, a fierce gust of wind struck toward Jiang Yuan.

"Uncle Gong, save me!"

"Do not harm the young master!"

The two cries rang out at the same time. Jiang Yuan felt an extraordinary force travel through his sword. The muscles in his arm bulged slightly as he prepared to resist it.

But in the next instant, his hand went numb.

Internal Force?

Jiang Yuan had spent a long time with three experts of the Transformative Force Realm in the Third Life, and had also experienced the feeling of breaking through to the Transformative Force Realm in the First Life. He was no stranger to Internal Force.

Scorching extraordinary power surged into his arm, burning away the Internal Force that had already entrenched itself there.

An expert of the Transformative Force Realm?

Jiang Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and sensed the burning pain that had continued from the moment the characters on the back of his right hand entered this place.

He reached faintly toward the distance.

Starlight suddenly flashed across the back of his hand. Two patterns flickered past and vaguely emerged, though they did not fully appear.

And in Jiang Yuan's hand, a long spear appeared out of nowhere.

It was the Flood Dragon Spear.