Fragrant Hips

The Lei Family, one of the most powerful factions in Willow Forest City, was situated in a prime location on the central avenue in the north of the city.

Early the next morning, Lin Hai led a group of brothers from the Hunting Hall to the central avenue that ran through Willow Forest City, heading straight for the Lei Mansion, with Sanbao among them.

Clop, clop, clop.

Two Golden Horned Beasts galloped from the distance. The crowd on the street scattered to both sides. The Golden Horned Beast, also known as the Golden Horned Beast, was the king of mounts; it was not only extremely fast but also possessed immense stamina, being ten times more noble than the common Black Unicorn. Those who could ride such mounts were clearly of significant status.

"Move out of the way!"

Without needing an order from Lin Hai, the men from the Hunting Hall, like the vast majority of people on the street, quickly retreated to the side of the road to wait for the nobles riding the Golden Horned Beasts to pass.

Snap.

"Get lost!"

A young man on a Golden Horned Beast shouted sharply.

A long horsewhip lashed out like a venomous snake, striking an old man who was too slow to move. The old man fell to the ground instantly; fortunately, a kind-hearted person nearby quickly pulled him away, otherwise, he would have inevitably been trampled by the Golden Horned Beasts following behind.

"What a sin," "Bullying others by relying on their master's power," "What a fox masquerading as a tiger!"

The crowd muttered in low voices, but one person's voice was perhaps a bit too loud, and it was heard by the owner of the Golden Horned Beast, the young man.

"Whoa..." With a whistle, the Golden Horned Beast came to a sudden halt.

"You bastard, what did you just say?"

"N-nothing," as the whip pointed their way, the crowd retreated in succession, not daring to face his sharp edge.

"Third brother, what's the matter?"

Another Golden Horned Beast stopped behind them, carrying a woman in red dressed in tight-fitting attire.

Both owners of the Golden Horned Beasts were dressed in fine silks and delicate footwear, looking exceptionally extravagant.

"Nothing, Second Sister, a few idiots dared to speak rudely." The youth pointed toward the crowd.

Following the direction of his finger, the woman glared at the crowd. The people scattered once more, but even so, the woman in red remained extremely dissatisfied and pointed at one of them.

"You, come out here. I saw the disdain in your eyes." Lin Hai and the others were shocked; the person the woman in red was pointing at was none other than the exceptionally low-key Sanbao.

Just as Sanbao was about to explain, the young man's whip had already lashed out. There were very few people in Willow Forest City who dared to insult the Lei Family.

Whoosh.

Sanbao dodged to the side, easily avoiding the whip's attack. Although he was angry inside, his face remained calm as he said in a deep voice.

"Stop, let me explain."

"Who do you think you are? You don't get to tell me when to stop." Seeing that his whip had failed to strike Sanbao, the young man's anger flared. He immediately jumped off his Golden Horned Beast and attacked Sanbao with a wave of his hand.

The crowd dared not intervene, and even Lin Hai and the others retreated more than ten meters, leaving the space to the two of them, though they felt anxious inside.

The young man in white was not very old, possessing the strength of about a three or four-star Spirit Scholar. He did not use a weapon, but his palms unleashed layers of wind, carrying immense power; it was unclear what kind of Spirit Skill he was using.

Sanbao did not want to make enemies, so he kept dodging while calling out to the woman on the Golden Horned Beast.

"You've misunderstood, I didn't insult you."

It was clear that the woman was the leader of the pair, so Sanbao ignored the youth's clamoring and addressed the woman on the mount instead.

Seeing Sanbao explaining while fighting, the woman realized the opponent was quite skilled, and a faint sense of excitement stirred within her.

"Hmph, you definitely cursed us, otherwise why would you have stepped in to save that old man just now!"

It turned out that the old man struck by the whip had been saved by Sanbao. The woman in red had sharp eyes and had seen it from far away, which finally made Sanbao understand the situation.

With a bang, the two finally traded a palm strike. Although the youth's palm technique was extraordinary, his cultivation level was insufficient, and he was forced back several steps by Sanbao's strike.

Being defeated by a commoner in public, and by someone who looked just as young, the youth's face turned bright red. Just as he was about to draw his weapon, he was stopped by the woman in red.

"Third brother, let me handle this."

Seeing this, the young man in white had to suppress his rage and retreat to the side, shouting sharply.

"Good, Second Sister, teach this brat a lesson..."

"I'm not fighting you. I have things to do, I'm leaving," Sanbao did not want to get entangled with such spoiled brats and intended to leave.

Whoosh.

The woman flipped off her mount, and with a leap, she blocked Sanbao's path.

"That's not up to you. If you beat me today, I'll let you go. Otherwise, I'll hang you on the central avenue to be displayed for a day. Choose for yourself!" The woman was exceptionally overbearing, saying this with a smirk.

"Is that a promise?"

Sanbao was already furious, but he didn't want to cause trouble upon his first arrival in Willow Forest City, so he had been suppressing himself. If this had been in Lushan Town, he would have already slapped the other party into the ground.

"Naturally. I, Lei Yun, always keep my word." As Lei Yun spoke, she even laughed to herself, which made Sanbao feel a sense of foreboding.

How could the words of such a noble young lady be trusted?

Like her brother, Lei Yun did not use a weapon and fought with her bare hands; it seemed the members of the Lei Family were very confident in their own hands.

Her delicate palms continuously formed different hand seals, and then, with a soft cry, she flew toward the composed Sanbao to attack.

"Good palm technique."

Sanbao thought to himself. Lei Yun's cultivation was slightly higher than his, likely at the two-star Spirit General realm, but the endless stream of palm prints, fluttering like butterflies through flowers, left Sanbao struggling to keep up.

As the palm prints flew and her figure swayed, Lei Yun resembled a blooming fire lotus, manifesting countless floral imprints. This caused many of the surrounding Spirit Cultivators to forget the origin of the conflict, instead cheering with abandon.

In this world that worships martial strength, such is the way.

Fortunately, Sanbao's movements were equally agile, and his Nine-Fold Claw possessed immense power; often, a single strike would cause the "flowers" to wither. The two fought as one, trading blow for blow with blinding speed. A flash of green and a flash of red, separating and merging, until after the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, they were deadlocked in a draw.

Having fought for so long, Lei Yun grew impatient. Seeing that no matter how much force she exerted, she could not subdue the lad before her, she struck out with a palm to force Sanbao back, then stood tall.

Just as Sanbao thought she realized she couldn't win and was calling for a truce, Lei Yun gave a devious smile and pulled a pair of black silk gloves from her bosom.

"Fighting bare-handed, we're tied. Now it's time to choose weapons. Choose whatever blade, spear, sword, or halberd you like; this lady only needs these gloves."

The moment the gloves were donned, Sanbao felt a sense of foreboding. As a Treasure Refiner, his sensitivity was extremely keen, and under Lei Yun's provocation, the distinct fluctuations of a Spirit Weapon slowly emanated from them. It was a pair of Spirit Weapon gloves.

"No need, I shall remain bare-handed," Sanbao said with a wry smile, shaking his head.

"Fine, fine! You—you dare to look down on me? I'll make you regret underestimating me!"

Offended by Sanbao's dismissal, Lei Yun let out an angry shout and, without waiting for him to prepare, channeled energy into her hands and attacked once more.

Sanbao knew he was in trouble, but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and meet her head-on.

Generally speaking, if a Spirit Cultivator uses a weapon, it can increase their offensive and defensive capabilities, but the weapon must align with the requirements of their Spirit Skill. Otherwise, one must choose one or the other; if forced to combine them, the result might be even worse than using the Spirit Skill alone.

Such was the case for Sanbao. When the Nine-Fold Claw was activated, the vast majority of his spirit power was channeled into his five fingers. If he were to force that power into a blade or sword, the potency would actually diminish significantly, doing more harm than good.

Because he poured all his focus into the Nine-Fold Claw and the Nine-Turn Golden Body, Sanbao had barely cultivated any other Spirit Skills, and he had never used weapons.

With the Spirit Weapon in hand, Lei Yun's palm wind was noticeably sharper, and the number of palm prints increased significantly. The street was soon filled with the pressure of her strikes.

Rip. Carelessly, the clothing at Sanbao's waist was pierced, leaving a large hole and revealing fresh red skin beneath.

A burning sensation flared up. Sanbao hissed through his teeth and let out a roar, finally focusing his full attention on the defense.

Whoosh. In a moment of carelessness, Sanbao struck the hairpin from Lei Yun's head, shattering it and sending her dark hair flying into the air.

"You!"

Lei Yun's vision was obstructed, so she leaped back several meters and gathered her hair back together.

"It's an even match! You two are tied, just call it a day!"

Lin Hai and the others on the sidelines intentionally shouted to stir up trouble.

"Who says it's a tie? Today, I will definitely beat you!" Ignoring the heckling from the crowd, Lei Yun tied up her hair and charged out again.

Sanbao's anger began to rise. If I don't show you a thing or two, you'll really think you're something special, he thought.

With a leap, he soared into mid-air, his hands moving incessantly. Suddenly, golden light rained down upon Lei Yun. In her eyes, six or seven handprints appeared in the sky simultaneously—the Nine-Fold Claw pushed to its absolute limit.

Seeing Sanbao suddenly go berserk, Lei Yun felt a flicker of panic. Her hands danced, forming a screen of red light to shield herself.

After a series of clashing sounds, both were jolted. Sanbao, ultimately the more skilled, performed a mid-air spin and landed behind Lei Yun. Before she could turn around, he lashed out with a kick.

The moment his foot made contact, it felt exceptionally soft. Sanbao was shocked, realizing he had kicked somewhere he shouldn't have, but it was too late to regret it.

Sure enough, Lei Yun stumbled and nearly fell to the ground. Turning back, she let out a hysterical scream: "You bastard! I'm going to kill you!"

As it turned out, Sanbao's kick had landed squarely on Lei Yun's shapely backside.