Not the First Meeting

The once-lively main hall was now eerily quiet.

Any martial artist capable of walking through those Tongmen would not be a nameless nobody.

Just as Lan Shi had said, either one had the skill or the connections, so there were not many true fools among the martial artists present.

With Chen Ye's appearance, holding a long banner and carrying a Sword Box, he was clearly no ordinary person.

Coupled with that murderous inquiry, any intelligent person should have known that Chen Ye was here to cause trouble.

Except for the drunkards.

The Bone-Splitting Mad Owl did not know how much he had drunk; his footsteps were already unsteady as he swayed his way to Chen Ye, shouting, "I've broken countless legs, how would I know who you're asking about?! You dare to impersonate my young master's name—are you looking to die?"

Chen Ye frowned at the stench of alcohol and scanned the room, quickly locking onto the few martial artists standing near the Bone-Splitting Mad Owl.

Sure enough, they all looked like vicious, wicked people. Could this group really be planning to rescue those young boys and girls?

Chen Ye had no more patience and asked again, "I will ask one more time: who injured the shopkeeper and the staff of the Baiye Teahouse?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the companions of the Bone-Splitting Mad Owl reacted, each of them reaching for their weapons.

Chen Ye smiled and asked the shocked young girl, Lan Shi, "Didn't you say that weapons are forbidden in Hengdao Inn?"

The young girl seemed unable to recover from the surprise and chaos; hearing Chen Ye's question, she only nodded subconsciously and said, "It is indeed forbidden to use force... ah, watch out!"

Amidst Lan Shi's exclamation, a gust of wind struck toward Chen Ye's lower body.

It was the drunken Bone-Splitting Mad Owl, who, ignoring the rules of Hengdao Inn, had drawn the Bronze Short Staff from his waist and struck at Chen Ye.

Chen Ye was completely unprepared; he had not expected this drunkard to attack so suddenly.

It seemed he had underestimated the ruthlessness of martial artists.

So much for Hengdao Inn forbidding the use of force; those who followed the rules wouldn't be wandering the martial world in the first place.

But even without preparation, Chen Ye's reaction was far faster than the man's. He shifted the Ten Thousand Soul Banner a few inches, blocking the Bronze Short Staff.

A loud bang echoed as the Single-Legged Bronze Man slammed hard against the long pole.

The pole, only two fingers thick, should have snapped, but it was the Bronze Short Staff that was sent flying upon impact.

The Bone-Splitting Mad Owl had used too much force, causing the webbing between his thumb and forefinger to split, and blood splattered out along with the Bronze Short Staff.

But this minor injury was not enough to pay the price.

He had struck the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, after all.

A cold wind whipped up, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner rattled, and the Bone-Splitting Mad Owl suddenly collapsed to the ground with a thud, his entire head smashing into the wooden floorboards.

Wood splinters and blood sprayed everywhere; if the floor hadn't been made of wood, that impact would have cracked his skull open.

Mortals could not see the vengeful spirits and had no idea what had happened; only Chen Ye could see the hideous ghost pressing down on the Bone-Splitting Mad Owl.

Yang Chongguang roared, "Despicable villain, how dare you harm my benefactor!"

"Benefactor, take him into the Ten Thousand Soul Banner; I will make him unable to even cry!"

Chen Ye shook his head and said to Yang Chongguang, "Don't be in such a hurry to act; let me ask clearly first."

Chen Ye was speaking to Yang Chongguang, but since mortals could not see him, they assumed Chen Ye was telling the head-injured Bone-Splitting Mad Owl not to be in a hurry to act.

Without making any visible move, how had the eight-foot-tall Bone-Splitting Mad Owl fallen?

Could this youth's martial arts be so high that others couldn't even see his shadow?

The crowd was shocked and fearful; the companions of the Bone-Splitting Mad Owl were especially pale, and although they still gripped their weapons, their hands were trembling slightly.

They were no match for such unfathomable martial arts.

Noticing Chen Ye's gaze sweeping over them, one of the martial artists immediately shouted, "This friend, the use of force is forbidden in Hengdao Inn; are you trying to break the rules of the martial world?!"

These words were not directed at Chen Ye, but at the people behind Hengdao Inn.

Having caused such a commotion, the inn's staff had already surrounded them. These staff members were all agile martial artists, and a fat man who looked like the shopkeeper pushed through the crowd to reach Chen Ye.

Seeing Chen Ye's appearance, the fat man paused for a moment, but since he had arrived in a rage, he quickly regained his composure, cupped his hands toward Chen Ye, and said, "This friend, whatever grievances you have can be settled outside the inn. You must be aware of the rules of Hengdao Inn."

Chen Ye asked with a smile, "Are you the owner of Hengdao Inn?"

The fat shopkeeper replied, "No, no, the proprietor is not here today. I am merely a shopkeeper; the friends in the martial world are kind enough to call me..."

Chen Ye waved his hand impatiently; he really didn't want to hear those tacky martial world nicknames.

"Shopkeeper, the use of force is forbidden in Hengdao Inn. He used force just now—did you not see it? Even if you didn't, everyone present must have seen it clearly."

Interrupted by Chen Ye, the fat shopkeeper's expression turned ugly.

Having wandered the martial world for many years, relying on the reputation of Hengdao Inn, no one had ever dared to be so rude to him. This kid might be good-looking, but did he really think one could survive in the martial world just by having a pretty face?

Since Chen Ye showed no respect, the fat shopkeeper stopped being polite and said in a deep voice, "I don't care what grievances you have; rules are rules. Besides, he was dead drunk and lost control, and now that he has been severely injured by you, consider it his punishment. But you, friend, have broken my inn's rules and smashed our floor. How do you propose we settle this account?"

"Being drunk is an excuse, is it? In that case..."

Chen Ye swept his long banner, snatched up an unopened jar of yellow wine, took a large gulp, and then said to the fat shopkeeper, "I am drunk now too. Can the shopkeeper be lenient with me?"

The fat shopkeeper narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Certainly. Once your head is also buried in the floor, I can make an exception for you!"

Chen Ye felt a sense of listlessness upon hearing this.

"I originally thought the pugilistic world had some charm, but in the end, it's still the same old story: morality is no match for favors, and favors are no match for a fist. It's truly boring."

The fat shopkeeper didn't care what Chen Ye was saying; he slowly raised his right hand, and the waiters beside him moved in tacit coordination, surrounding Chen Ye completely.

Strange noises echoed from the corridors around the main hall, and the killing intent hidden in the shadows had already enveloped Chen Ye.

It had been many years, and it wasn't as if they hadn't seen people rely on their martial arts to cause trouble in the inn before.

The inn's waiters were all experts in the pugilistic world, and there were hidden weapons and mechanisms set up all around; no matter how high your martial arts were, causing trouble here was simply courting death!

However, Chen Ye didn't make a move; he merely gave the Ten Thousand Soul Banner a gentle shake.

A series of shrill shrieks erupted from the black banner, causing everyone's expressions to change drastically in terror.

Dozens of vengeful spirits flew out from within, pouncing toward the people present.

Everyone who harbored hostility or killing intent toward Chen Ye was pressed heavily to the ground, just like the Bone-Splitting Mad Owl, their heads smashed deep into the floorboards.

Pugilists use physical strength, while cultivators use spiritual energy.

A cultivator in the Qiling Realm can only perceive spiritual energy and isn't much different from a mortal; back then, Chen Ye even needed to borrow zombies to hunt and didn't dare to do it himself.

But the Qi Sea Realm was an entirely different matter; the Qi Sea absorbs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, allowing one to cast spells and use magical artifacts. The gap between a mortal and a cultivator is as vast as clouds and mud.

One head after another thudded against the floor, as if kowtowing to Chen Ye. The scene terrified the other bystanders, who scrambled to flee outside.

Chen Ye didn't care where these unrelated people were going; instead, he turned around and looked at Lan Shi, who was inching toward the exit.

The young girl seemed to have lost all color in her face from fright and was running toward the outside along with the crowd.

But Chen Ye spoke up and called her to a halt.

"Miss Lan, please wait a moment."

How could Lan Shi dare to stay? She was just about to use her light-body technique when she found her body stiffening, as if a thousand-pound weight were pressing down upon her.

Panicked and at a loss, Lan Shi hurriedly said to Chen Ye, "This young master, I don't know anything! I just mistook you for someone else. Please show mercy, please show mercy and spare my life!"

Chen Ye walked up to Lan Shi and smiled. "We've reached this point, and you're still acting? You're much more dedicated than I imagined. However, let's save each other some time."

"Miss Lan, actually, you knew long ago that I wasn't that Young Master Jiang, didn't you? You deliberately mistook my identity, brought me here, and intentionally shouted that Young Master Jiang's name, all to make me clash with them. You were waiting here before I even entered the Hengdao Inn."

Lan Shi hurriedly said, "Young Master, you've misunderstood. I met you for the first time at Tongmen; I really didn't..."

Chen Ye didn't speak; he just stared into the young girl's eyes.

At first, Chen Ye hadn't noticed anything wrong, but just now, even the fat shopkeeper had been stunned for quite a while when their eyes met.

If even a man reacted that way, why was it that when Lan Shi first saw him, she merely widened her eyes and was immediately able to greet him?

The reason was simple: this young girl had seen him before.

The charm Mo Ci referred to was merely the shock a mortal feels when first seeing a deity; perhaps it was truly breathtaking at first, but it would quickly subside.

She had been targeting him for a long time; the chance encounter at Tongmen was just a play she had staged, which was why her reaction had a flaw.

Whether the plan to save the young boys and girls that this girl spoke of was true or false, how did she know that this matter would catch his attention?

Chen Ye had lost interest in these pugilistic games, so he might as well lay everything out in the open.