Song Qing showed no intention of stopping. Yuan Power surged through his claw-like hand, carrying a sharp edge as he swiftly grabbed at Lin Yi's shoulder.
Sensing the attack from behind, a cold glint flashed in Lin Yi's eyes. He turned sideways, easily avoiding Song Qing's attack, while his right hand shot out like lightning and seized Song Qing's wrist.
With a crisp crack, Song Qing's wrist was twisted apart on the spot. At the same time, a violent wave of Yuan Power spread up his arm, damaging it as it went.
"Ah..."
A shrill scream immediately rang out from Song Qing's mouth.
Lin Yi gently pulled forward with his right hand, drawing Song Qing in front of him. At the same time, he kicked toward Song Qing's waist.
In the next instant, Song Qing's body flew violently toward the staircase ahead. With a loud thump, he landed face-first on the stairs, sprawled there in utter humiliation!
It sounded like a long process, but in reality, it had all happened in the blink of an eye.
Only after kicking Song Qing away did Lin Yi raise his eyes toward the staircase leading to the second floor. A tall girl in blue stood there. She was none other than Xia Zhilan, the daughter of the Wanjin Merchant Guild's president.
"Miss Xia, you saw it too. Song Qing attacked me first. You can't blame me for this, right?"
Lin Yi looked up at Xia Zhilan, spread his hands, and spoke.
Xia Zhilan had originally been in a Council Hall on the second floor with Xuan Su, waiting for Lin Yi to arrive. She had suddenly received word from a servant that Song Qing had gotten into a conflict with Lin Yi, so she had prepared to come out and stop it.
When Xia Zhilan reached the second-floor staircase, she happened to witness Song Qing attacking Lin Yi from behind. She immediately shouted for him to stop.
At first, Xia Zhilan had been worried that Song Qing would injure Lin Yi, leaving him unable to participate in the Immortal Pool Contest three days later.
But what happened next was completely beyond Xia Zhilan's expectations.
Not only had Lin Yi avoided being injured by Song Qing, he had effortlessly beaten Song Qing into a miserable wreck.
From Xia Zhilan's position, she could see Song Qing's humiliating, face-first sprawl perfectly. A trace of disgust flashed through her eyes.
Xia Zhilan had always disliked Song Qing intensely. Now, seeing his ugly face twisted with pain, she found him even more repulsive.
After landing face-first, Song Qing endured the pain and tried to get up. The moment he raised his head, he met Xia Zhilan's condescending gaze. His mental state instantly collapsed!
He had failed to teach Lin Yi a lesson and had instead been beaten into a miserable wreck in just two moves. Worse, he had landed right in front of the goddess he had pursued so desperately. Overcome with shame and fury, Song Qing spat out a mouthful of blood with a puh, collapsed onto the steps again, and passed out.
"This naturally can't be blamed on you. Our Wanjin Merchant Guild will negotiate with the Song Family," Xia Zhilan said, giving Lin Yi a deep look before instructing Steward Xia, "Call two people to carry Song Qing down and treat him."
"Yes!"
Steward Xia answered and quickly arranged for two attendants to carry Song Qing away.
Xia Zhilan frowned as she watched the battered Song Qing being carried away, then said to Lin Yi, "Let's go. Aunt Su and the others are still waiting for you."
Lin Yi nodded slightly, climbed the stairs, and followed Xia Zhilan.
Before long, the two of them arrived at a Council Hall.
At that moment, besides Xuan Su, there were also two white-haired elders inside.
When they saw Lin Yi and Xia Zhilan arrive, all three turned their gazes toward them.
"Where's Song Qing? Why didn't he come?" one of the elders asked with a frown.
Xia Zhilan said indifferently, "Weren't you unwilling to replace Song Qing with Lin Yi because you were worried Lin Yi's strength was inferior? You don't need to worry anymore."
"Just now, Song Qing attacked Lin Yi in the hall, but Lin Yi defeated him in two moves and injured him slightly. I had someone carry him down for treatment."
"What?!"
"How is that possible?"
Upon hearing Xia Zhilan's words, the two elders cried out in shock, their faces filled with disbelief.
The two elders beside Xuan Su were both high-ranking managers of the Wanjin Merchant Guild. They had always wanted Song Qing and Xia Zhilan to represent the Wanjin Merchant Guild in the Immortal Pool Contest together.
Not long ago, they had still been persuading Xuan Su to give Lin Yi's spot to Song Qing.
They had never imagined that the youth Xuan Su had chosen, Lin Yi, would be so powerful.
"Miss Zhilan, the Immortal Pool Contest is of great importance. You can't let personal feelings make you lie to us," one of the elders said hesitantly, his expression solemn.
He still found Xia Zhilan's words difficult to believe.
Xia Zhilan snorted coldly. "Song Qing is still being treated downstairs. If you don't believe me, go see for yourselves. Besides, quite a few people witnessed what happened in the hall just now!"
"This..."
Hearing Xia Zhilan say this, the two elders exchanged a glance and were immediately rendered speechless.
"Hehe, you two should understand now that my choice was correct, right?" Xuan Su's beautiful eyes swept over Lin Yi a few times before she spoke to the two elders.
The two old managers gave awkward laughs and could only nod. "Manager Su truly has a discerning eye. This old man admires you... We still have some matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave first."
"Please, go ahead," Xuan Su said with a graceful smile.
The two old managers gave Lin Yi a deep look, then hurried out of the Council Hall to verify Song Qing's condition.
Lin Yi silently watched everything unfold without saying a word.
"Hmph, those two old fellows must have received plenty of benefits from the Song Family. They've always been set on Song Qing," Xia Zhilan said unhappily as she watched the elders leave.
"The Song Family is nothing but a grass swaying in the wind. They appear close to our Wanjin Merchant Guild, but secretly maintain plenty of ties with both the Blood Wolf Gang and the City Lord's Mansion. Now they even wanted Song Qing to take advantage of us. How could we let them have their way?"
Xuan Su smiled. Halfway through her words, her beautiful eyes suddenly turned toward Lin Yi, and she said with a meaningful smile, "Little Brother Lin Yi, I really didn't misjudge you..."
"I should be thanking you for thinking so highly of me, Manager Su," Lin Yi replied with a faint smile. Then he said, "By the way, isn't your guild holding an auction today?"
"Hehe, since Little Brother Lin Yi is interested in the auction, let's go take a look together," Xuan Su said with a smile, rising from her seat.
Lin Yi did not refuse. He left the Council Hall with Xuan Su and Xia Zhilan and headed toward the auction venue.
With Xuan Su and Xia Zhilan present, Lin Yi naturally did not need to pay the ten Yang Yuan Stones entrance fee. The two of them even took him directly to a VIP room.
Fortunately, the earlier delay had not taken long. When they arrived, the auction had only just begun.
Lin Yi had a very clear goal. Regardless of type, he bought every Spirit Medicine of fourth grade or above.
"Hehe, Little Brother Lin Yi is really generous," Xuan Su said with a charming smile as she watched Lin Yi bid without the slightest concern for the price.
Lin Yi smiled. "My master merely left me some Yang Yuan Pills. I'm almost out of them already. Compared to your esteemed guild, they're nothing worth mentioning."
As the two chatted and laughed, the auction soon neared its end.
As for the Spiritual Secret Technique that appeared at the auction, Lin Yi naturally did not let it slip by either.
After the auction ended, Lin Yi directly stayed in a guest room at the Wanjin Merchant Guild, personally arranged by Xuan Su.
After returning to his room, Lin Yi immediately took out the jade tablet containing the Spiritual Secret Technique that he had purchased.
Lin Yi's gaze swept over the jade tablet. He sensed an extremely faint trace of Spiritual Energy within it. His mind stirred, and a wisp of Spiritual Energy floated out from his Mud Pill Palace before finally entering the jade tablet.
As Lin Yi's Spiritual Energy entered, a stream of information rapidly surged out from within the jade tablet and was completely received by Lin Yi.
Jianluo Wave, Earth-grade Spiritual Secret Technique...
Before you continue