I Don't Eat Beef!

"Is this Wutan City?"

With his hands clasped behind his back, Ning Chen strolled leisurely along the bluestone-paved street, taking in the unfamiliar, fascinating sights around him with keen interest.

His relaxed, carefree manner stood in stark contrast to the Xiao Clan members behind him, whose faces were grave, as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

"Clan Leader, can this mysterious young man really handle the Jia Lie and Ao Ba families' harassment?" the Third Elder of Xiao Clan asked in a lowered voice, suspicion written all over his face.

"Given where things stand, what harm is there in trying?"

Xiao Zhan kept his eyes fixed on the leisurely figure ahead. His voice sounded calm, but inside, his thoughts churned.

"Even if he can't resolve this, the Xiao Clan will have to face the trouble on our own sooner or later."

After thinking it over carefully, he had finally agreed to let Ning Chen step in.

But in truth, he had little choice.

If Ning Chen failed, the Xiao Clan would have no choice but to fight a tough battle.

If he succeeded...then an unfamiliar young man of unfathomable strength would suddenly be entangled with the Xiao Clan. For a clan content to keep to its corner of the world, whether that was a blessing or a disaster remained to be seen.

This small temple might not be able to accommodate a great Buddha.

Each member of the group had their own thoughts as they rounded the corner. Before them lay the Herb Market, the busiest place in Wutan City.

The street was already packed with onlookers, who had gathered until there was barely room to move.

At the heart of the crowd stood two clearly separated groups: the combined forces of the Jia Lie Family and the Ao Ba Family. They faced off aggressively against the Xiao Clan members, who were doing their best to keep the situation under control.

Ning Chen's gaze swept across the crowd before settling on a young man and woman standing at the edge of the confrontation.

The boy still had a youthful air about him. He was handsome, with regular features, but his brows were always drawn together, as if he were burdened by worries.

The girl standing gracefully beside him drew even more attention.

She wore a pale-purple dress, her figure light and graceful, like a green lotus just beginning to bloom.

Her features were exquisitely beautiful, her bearing serene and refined. Though she stood amid the bustle of the street, she seemed apart from the mortal world.

Simply standing there, she made everything around her seem dull by comparison.

So those must be Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er... Ning Chen's eyes gleamed with interest. Seeing characters from a novel right before him felt rather surreal.

Just then, Xiao Zhan arrived with the three elders and Ning Chen. They parted the crowd and came to the front of the Xiao Clan's group.

"Father!"

"Uncle Xiao!"

Seeing Xiao Zhan, Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er immediately went over to greet him.

But both of them also glanced at the handsome stranger beside Xiao Zhan, their eyes filled with questions.

Xiao Yan, in particular, couldn't help wondering, Who is this guy? How can anyone look that unfairly good? I wouldn't even dare dream of looking like that!

Under their curious gazes, Ning Chen simply returned a gentle smile.

He was already astonishingly handsome, and that smile was like a spring breeze passing by, making the light around him seem brighter. Even Xiao Xun'er turned to look at him.

But that brief calm was quickly shattered.

"Xiao Zhan! So you finally decided to show yourself?" A cold shout, brimming with mockery and provocation, rang out.

Across from them, Jia Lie Bi, the head of the Jia Lie Family, stepped forward alongside the leader of the Ao Ba Family.

Behind them, their elite clan members glared menacingly, their Dou Qi faintly stirring, as if they were ready to force the Xiao Clan to submit by force.

"Hmph. Your two families joined forces to block my market and tarnish my reputation. Do you really think the Xiao Clan is afraid of you?"

Xiao Zhan's expression darkened as the aura of a five-star Da Dou Shi burst forth, meeting the other side head-on.

"Afraid or not, there's only one way to find out."

Jia Lie Bi gave a cold laugh. His gaze swept over the Xiao Clan members before settling on Ning Chen, who stood there unruffled. His voice dripped with scorn.

"What, has the Xiao Clan run out of people? You had to find some pretty-faced kid who hasn't even grown up to put on a show? I'd say he's probably even less useful than your son Xiao Yan, whose Dou Qi has been dwindling. Hahaha!"

Ao Ba Pa joined in the laughter. The members of both families followed suit, jeering as loudly as they could.

The Xiao Clan members were all furious. Xiao Yan clenched his fists, anger flaring in his eyes.

Damn it, insult this guy all you want, but what did you have to drag me into it for? What did I ever do to you?!

Just as tensions reached their peak and Xiao Zhan was about to snap back, a casual voice suddenly rang out, clearly cutting through the noise and laughter.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Everyone turned toward the voice. Ning Chen had stepped forward, moving to the very front of the confrontation.

That warm, easy smile still played on his face, as if those vicious taunts had been nothing more than mosquitoes buzzing.

He regarded the arrogant Jia Lie Bi and Ao Ba Pa calmly, his tone teasing.

"Seems the two clan leaders have quite a lot of confidence in their own strength?"

Caught off guard by the question, Jia Lie Bi paused before scoffing. "What? You want to play the hero, kid? With strength like yours—"

"Did I give you permission to speak?"

Ning Chen cut off Jia Lie Bi without the slightest hesitation. His tone remained mild, but the cold authority in his words instantly set the already thick tension ablaze.

"On the Dou Qi Continent, the strong rule. Everything should be decided by strength."

His calm gaze swept over the astonished, twisted faces of Jia Lie Bi and Ao Ba Pa. A hint of pity entered his voice.

"But if you're weak and all you can do is yap away in the middle of a busy street, you'll only make yourselves look ridiculous and give everyone a good laugh."

Then Ning Chen turned leisurely toward Xiao Yan, whose expression had darkened after being dragged into this for no reason. He smiled.

"Xiao Yan, little brother, do you think I'm right?"

How does he know my name?

Xiao Yan jolted. Meeting Ning Chen's gaze, which seemed to see through everything, he nodded without thinking.

"Good! Good! You've got quite a sharp tongue, kid!"

Jia Lie Bi was so furious that his face turned livid and his whole body trembled.

As the head of the Jia Lie Family, when had he ever suffered such humiliation in Wutan City? And now some unknown young man had publicly slapped him in the face!

If he didn't cripple this guy right here, how could he ever hold his head high in his clan again?

"So you're determined to stand up for the Xiao Clan! Fine, then don't blame us for ganging up on someone younger and showing no mercy!"

Ao Ba Pa's fat face twisted with malice as he barked, "Why waste our breath? We'll attack together, cripple this brat who doesn't know his place, and settle accounts with the Xiao Clan afterward!"

Boom!

Boom!

Before they had finished speaking, two powerful surges of Dou Qi erupted from within them!

Crimson and earthen-yellow light shot into the sky. The pressure of two Da Dou Shi burst forth without restraint, making the onlookers gasp and scramble backward.

"Liezhao Ji!"

Jia Lie Bi shouted. His fingers curled into a claw as crimson Dou Qi gathered into a sinister flaming talon. With a shriek that tore through the air, it shot straight for Ning Chen's face!

He had already put eight-tenths of his strength into the attack. Any ordinary Dou Shi would die on contact!

"Zhongshan Quan!"

At almost the same moment, Ao Ba Pa's fat body moved with astonishing speed, belying its size, and he threw a punch.

His earthen-yellow Dou Qi was as heavy as a mountain, crashing toward Ning Chen's chest with the force of a landslide!

The bluestone pavement cracked beneath the force of the passing punch!

"Watch out!"

Xiao Zhan's expression changed dramatically, and he instinctively rushed to intervene.

He could see that the two clan leaders had attacked in anger without holding anything back. Their moves were vicious and tricky. Even he might not escape unscathed if he had to face them without warning!

The three elders held their breath, their hearts in their throats. Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er also froze, while everyone nearby was stunned by the sudden, vicious assault.

Yet faced with a combined attack that would have made any Da Dou Shi brace himself, Ning Chen stood at the heart of the storm without even losing the gentle smile on his lips.

If I didn't have the system backing me, I'd never have shown myself before I was strong enough. But with the system—especially an invincible one like Wu Wu Kai's—well, sorry, but...

I don't eat beef!

Just as the flaming claw and the heavy fist were about to hit him, Ning Chen finally moved.

He didn't dodge or block. He simply raised his fair, slender right hand with casual ease, then pointed one finger toward the surging torrent of energy rushing at him.

He lightly tapped the empty air.

"Vmmm—!"

There was no ear-splitting explosion, no dazzling clash of light.

Under countless horrified gazes, a visible ripple spread outward from the tip of Ning Chen's finger, like a wave on the surface of the water.

The flaming claw and heavy fist, powerful enough to split stone, touched the invisible ripple and vanished like ice beneath the blazing sun—or a stone dropped into a bottomless pool. They couldn't even stir a ripple before they were silently, eerily...

Erased.

Completely annihilated, as if they had never existed.

Time itself seemed to freeze in the market.

The wind died. The clamor faded. Even the sound of breathing all but stopped.