An Old Acquaintance's Humiliation

Jiang Yunhai had offended the Qi Family, and husband and wife had both been demoted to slaves. Jiang Feng had been implicated as well, reduced to begging to cling to life.

This matter counted as a major affair known to every household in Zhushan Town, so Nie Xiaoyue naturally knew about it too. Moreover, after learning of it, she and her father had even taken some pleasure in his misfortune.

The reason was simple. When Jiang Yunhai was around, the title of number-one expert in Zhushan Town had not yet fallen to Nie Hu. Back then, Jiang Yunhai had been at the perfected ninth level of the Black Martial Realm, an expert who needed only one step to enter the Earth Martial Realm.

For martial artists, there was first the physical force realm, divided from highest to lowest into four realms—Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow.

Yellow Martial Realm martial artists were at the first realm of martial artists. Martial artists of this realm needed to master the most basic ability—breathing and absorption. So-called breathing and absorption meant sensing the power of heaven and earth, using one's breath to draw that power into the body and transform it into qi force, storing it within the dantian's qi sea for later use.

This breathing and absorption was neither truly difficult nor truly easy. But the reason most mortals at the ninth level of body strengthening could not become martial artists was that they could not sense the power of heaven and earth and could not complete breathing and absorption, causing them to remain mortals with nothing but a thousand catties of brute strength for their entire lives.

Black Martial Realm martial artists were at the second realm of martial artists, and also the realm of transformation. Martial artists of this realm had already opened the extraordinary meridians and eight channels of the body, fed on qi, and found it relatively much easier to store and obtain dantian qi force. If they wanted to go one step further, they needed to use their dantian qi force to temper the physical body.

For ordinary martial artists, this realm became a dividing ridge. Different methods of tempering the body naturally meant different strengths for martial artists, and the difference was often vast. Take Jiang Yunhai and Nie Hu as a comparison: even if Jiang Yunhai suppressed his cultivation to the seventh level of the Black Martial Realm, he could still easily defeat Nie Hu. It was only because his Overlord Body Refining was much stronger than Nie Hu's body-tempering method.

Earth Martial Realm martial artists—those who stepped into this realm were true experts. In a small place like Zhushan Town, one might be hard to find in one or two hundred years. In a county town a little larger, there might be one or two.

Heaven Martial Realm martial artists were even rarer. Those who reached this realm were figures capable of holding down a whole region. As long as they were willing, they could obtain a commandery as their fief.

As for realms higher still, they definitely existed, only they had already surpassed the ordinary physical force realm and reached an entirely new level.

Back to the present...

Although Nie Hu had been the town mayor back then and was a head higher in status than Jiang Yunhai, the City Guard captain, Jiang Yunhai had been upright and impartial, had rendered meritorious service in protecting the city, and was deeply beloved by the residents of Zhushan Town. In prestige, he far surpassed Nie Hu, the mayor.

It was precisely because of this that Nie Hu privately held quite a grudge against Jiang Yunhai. And Nie Xiaoyue, whose eyes were higher than the top of her head, looked down all the more on trash like Jiang Feng, who had no strength even to truss a chicken.

Ever since Jiang Yunhai had been demoted to a slave, whenever Nie Xiaoyue ran into Jiang Feng on the street, she would inevitably amuse herself by humiliating him. Over time, even the maidservant at her side, despite being a slave herself, actually stopped treating Jiang Feng as human and took pleasure in humiliating him.

"Ding... ding... ding..."

Three crisp sounds rang out as a gold coin struck the rim of the bowl.

Jiang Feng had been wholly focused on absorbing the power of the sun and moon to cultivate the Golden Body of the Wisdom King. Hearing the sound, he slowly opened his eyes.

He saw Nie Xiaoyue's personal maidservant crouching in front of him, pinching a gold coin between two fingers and repeatedly tapping the rim of his bowl. As for Nie Xiaoyue, she was looking down at him with a face full of arrogance. A squad of City Guard soldiers in heavy armor stood imposingly to the side.

Seeing Jiang Feng open his eyes, the maidservant used the gold coin to strike the rim of the bowl several more times, then said teasingly, "Young Master Jiang, this one gold coin is enough for the current you to eat for three months. Last time, when we told you to crawl once around this street, you thought it was humiliating and refused. This time, we won't make you crawl. Just kowtow three times to my young lady, hard enough to make them ring. Three ringing kowtows in exchange for three months of food—forget you, even if we dragged out any random person in this town, they'd fight to kowtow those three times. How about it?"

Jiang Feng listened, smiled faintly, and said, "Thank you. No need." Then he closed his eyes again.

One gold coin, for an ordinary family, could cover a month's expenses. It was indeed enough for Jiang Feng to eat for three months. With this one gold coin, he could go three months without begging and cultivate in peace.

"Jiang Feng, don't refuse face when it's given to you." The moment the maidservant saw Jiang Feng's attitude, she immediately raised her voice. "With my young lady's ability, people would line up wanting to kowtow to her and still not be qualified. What do you think you are? Don't tell me you still take yourself for some young master?"

Jiang Feng ignored her. With this kind of mad dog, the best way to answer was "not to answer her."

"Hmph..." Nie Xiaoyue let out a cold snort. The reason she had made things difficult for Jiang Feng in every possible way, again and again, was because she wanted Jiang Feng to willingly submit before her like everyone else. In the past, when Jiang Yunhai was still the City Guard captain and still the number-one expert of Zhushan Town, she could still endure Jiang Feng, this piece of trash, turning a blind eye to her. But now, Jiang Feng was no longer the young master of the Jiang Family, yet he still treated the existence of a favored daughter of heaven like her as if he had seen nothing, and remained so arrogant toward her. Of course she was displeased.

And the more arrogant Jiang Feng was, the more she wanted to trample him underfoot.

Today, I'll make you kowtow those three times to me no matter what! Nie Xiaoyue hardened her heart.

With a smack, a money pouch was tossed directly in front of Jiang Feng. Nie Xiaoyue stepped forward, clasped both hands behind her back, and said, "As long as you kowtow three times to me, hard enough to make them ring, these ten gold coins will all be rewarded to you!"

Everyone froze!

The maidservant's body shook. She was eighteen now, exactly when her price was highest, but her redemption fee was only thirty gold coins! Her young lady had casually tossed out ten gold coins just to exchange for three ringing kowtows from a little beggar. Was it worth it?

The City Guard soldiers beside them were also stunned. These soldiers were all martial artists, but their yearly salary was only fifteen gold coins.

The moment Nie Xiaoyue said this, the surroundings were quickly packed with people watching the excitement.

"Three ringing kowtows for ten gold coins—too worth it!"

"Kowtow already. If you won't, I will."

"Ten gold coins would be enough to buy him as a slave, wouldn't it?"

"I really don't know what Miss Nie is thinking. A useless little beggar—can three kowtows be worth ten gold coins?"

Nie Xiaoyue's eyes were fixed tightly on Jiang Feng, yet Jiang Feng still kept his eyes slightly closed, his expression light as drifting clouds and gentle wind, with no intention whatsoever of paying attention to her. Ten gold coins might not count as much to her, but it was not little either, and this Jiang Feng was actually still unmoved.

Her fists clenched until they crackled. She wished she could kill Jiang Feng immediately!

In Zhushan Town, with her status, she did not need to have any scruples about killing an ordinary person. But Jiang Feng was someone she did not dare casually beat or kill. Because Jiang Feng was begging under orders; the people of the world could humiliate him in every possible way, but they alone could not kill him. Otherwise, it would mean becoming enemies with the Qi Family.

In the territory of Hengshan Prefecture, how miserable was the end for anyone who dared offend the Qi Family? Jiang Yunhai was the best lesson from the overturned cart ahead. Although Nie Xiaoyue thought herself extraordinary, she also knew perfectly well that her little bit of ability, placed before the Qi Family, was just like a mantis before a cartwheel.

"Move aside, all of you move aside." An arrogant voice came from outside the crowd, and immediately after, a large squad of City Guard soldiers parted the people.

Turning to look, they saw a young nobleman with his hands behind his back, wearing an utterly haughty expression, slowly strolling closer as if the entire world was his to rule.

"Wei Shan." Seeing who had come, Nie Xiaoyue frowned.

Why Wei Shan knew she was here was not strange. After all, the City Guard soldiers at Nie Xiaoyue's side were, in terms of organization, all part of the town guard and under Wei Changqing's command. For Wei Shan to buy off these few City Guard soldiers was still very easy—he did not even need to spend money.

The moment Wei Shan saw Nie Xiaoyue, he immediately changed out of that haughty face, trotted forward eagerly, and said fawningly, "Xiaoyue, why did you run over here? Let's go back. At home they're discussing the big matter between us..."

Seeing Wei Shan's face, Nie Xiaoyue felt disgust from the bottom of her heart. If not for that little connection to the Qi Family, why would she, Nie Xiaoyue, need to show him a pleasant expression? Even Wei Changqing had to bow and scrape before her father, Nie Hu.

Before Wei Shan had even finished speaking, he saw Jiang Feng sitting on the ground. "Aiyo, isn't this Young Master Jiang?"

Wei Shan and Jiang Feng could be considered to have grown up together since childhood. After all, Wei Changqing had originally been the second-in-command under Jiang Yunhai, so he inevitably had to curry favor with Jiang Yunhai. Instructed by Wei Changqing, Wei Shan back then had acted like Jiang Feng's little tail. But now things were different. The current Wei Shan was the son of the captain of the Zhushan Town guard, while Jiang Feng was a little beggar whose life was cheaper than an ant's.

The original flattery, after being magnified dozens of times, had turned into today's contempt and disdain.

Wei Shan could not accept that he had once actually been the little tail of this lowly little beggar!

So, after teasing Jiang Feng several times to no avail, he would take the initiative to avoid him whenever they met again. After all, every time he saw Jiang Feng, it would dredge up that memory, and that was something he simply could not endure.

But from the look of things today, it seemed there was no avoiding him anymore.

Wei Shan might not have been outstanding in cultivation, but the eye for reading situations he had trained since childhood was no ordinary thing. With the situation before him, he saw through it at a glance. Clearly, Nie Xiaoyue had wanted to use money to tease Jiang Feng, only to sit her backside down in a pile of cold ashes.

A sudden idea came to Nie Xiaoyue. Didn't Wei Shan want to coax her into a good mood? Why not use Wei Shan to deal with Jiang Feng?

Nie Xiaoyue tilted her head and looked down on Wei Shan, then asked, "Wei Shan, don't you want to get engaged to me?"

Wei Shan froze for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yeah, I dream of it..."

"Good." Nie Xiaoyue did not wait for Wei Shan to continue and cut him off directly, her jade-like hand pointing at Jiang Feng:

"Kill him!"