Princess Xiling

Wang Teng froze as well, staring in disbelief at the shards of the wine flask in his hand. It took him a moment to react, fury blazing in his eyes. "Well, well, Su Chen! You don't know what's good for you! I offered you wine out of the goodness of my heart, yet you actually smashed the flask!"

It was not just Wang Teng. Everyone else present was slow to react as well. That Mystic Copper wine flask was exceptionally sturdy—Su Chen had pierced straight through it so easily with nothing but a wooden chopstick?

Was it a coincidence?

Or was there something strange about this seemingly unremarkable brat?

Impatience showed in Su Chen's eyes. As the dignified Dust Pill Emperor, how could he have time to play house with a pack of wet-behind-the-ears children? He lifted his gaze and said flatly, "I'm leaving. Take your time eating."

With that, Su Chen rose to his feet.

A savage gleam suddenly flared in Wang Teng's eyes. Before Su Chen could turn around, Wang Teng kicked over his chair. "You smashed our Wang Family's wine. You think you can just leave that easily?!"

As he spoke, Wang Teng raised his other leg and kicked at Su Chen's chest!

But before Wang Teng's kick could land—

Su Chen had already thrown a lightning-fast punch. Though his fist moved later, it struck first, smashing viciously into the sole of Wang Teng's foot.

A muffled grunt rang out.

Then came a teeth-grating crack.

After that came Wang Teng's pig-slaughtering scream!

His right leg had been broken outright by Su Chen's punch!

"How is this possible?" Wang Teng looked as though he had seen a ghost. He had assumed that, as a disciple expelled from the Orthodox Unity Sect, Su Chen could not possibly have much skill.

Yet Su Chen had displayed strength several times greater than his the moment they clashed!

For a moment, Wang Teng's heart turned cold. A piercing pain shot through his right leg, nearly making him pass out!

Su Chen sneered. In his previous life, Wang Teng had taken advantage of his destroyed dantian to trample and humiliate him time and again. Now, he was merely collecting a little interest.

"Get lost!" Su Chen seized Wang Teng by the ankle and hurled him out like a piece of cargo, sending him crashing through a row of chairs with a series of crackles and bangs.

Wang Teng lay on the floor like a tattered sack, barely clinging to life.

Blood filled his mouth and nose.

"Su Chen, you injured a Wang Family disciple! What crime should you answer for?!"

Only after quite a while did Wang Bingyan's shriek bring the stunned crowd in the private room back to their senses.

None of them had expected the confrontation between Wang Teng and Su Chen to end this way.

Even Jiang Tingyi was utterly shocked. Wang Teng was no pushover; among their group, he could at least rank in the top five.

This useless, weak-legged cousin whom she had always looked down upon actually possessed the strength to crush Wang Teng?

Whoosh—

Ye Xuan abruptly rose to his feet, and a sharp glint suddenly condensed in his gentle, smiling eyes. "Brother Su, you were in the wrong here."

Ye Xuan's tone was utterly calm, yet it carried the pressure of one born to stand above others, as though every word he spoke were an immutable law.

"You will apologize to Wang Teng and break one of your own legs. Then this matter will be settled."

Ye Xuan gave the order as naturally as breathing, as though he were the master of this room.

Jiang Tingyi's heart leapt into her throat. After what had just happened, she had gained some understanding of Su Chen's character. There was no chance—not in a hundred—that Su Chen would submit to an order like Ye Xuan's—

Sure enough, Su Chen's indifferent voice sounded the next instant. "If you want to fight, then fight. Why are you spouting so much bullshit?"

The entire private room fell silent for a moment. Had Su Chen gone mad? Did he think that breaking Wang Teng's leg meant he had the guts to contend with Ye Xuan?

Jiang Tingyi's heart was in her throat. Wang Teng was indeed strong enough to rank among the top five present, but compared with Ye Xuan, the difference was like heaven and earth!

All the young people present were at the Qi Drawing Realm. Ye Xuan alone had already broken through to the Essence Condensation Realm, placing him beyond comparison with everyone else in the room.

An Essence Condensation Realm expert could destroy dozens of Qi Drawing Realm martial artists with a wave of his hand. That was no exaggeration.

For Su Chen to contend with Ye Xuan was nothing more than a fantasy!

Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes as well, clearly angered.

"You're the first person in Clear River City who has dared challenge Brother Ye's authority like this!" Several youths beside Ye Xuan abruptly stood up and flipped the table over, making the atmosphere instantly tense.

The violent commotion spread throughout Drunken Immortal Residence.

At the same time.

In the Heaven-Class Private Room on the third floor of Drunken Immortal Residence, a beautiful young woman in white sat facing a plump middle-aged man, her bearing refined and graceful.

The plump middle-aged man wore an expression full of mixed emotions as he sighed. "It has been years since we last met. Your Highness has grown into such a graceful young lady, while this old servant has grown old."

The young woman said, "Manager Qin, it has been many years. Have you been well?"

"Well, naturally I have been well." The plump middle-aged man nodded repeatedly. "It is simply that, in the dead of night when dreams return, I often think of those days when I served as a page by the Prince's side!"

As he spoke, a wistful expression surfaced on the plump middle-aged man's face.

This plump middle-aged man was none other than Manager Qin of Drunken Immortal Residence. But he possessed another identity unknown to most—he had once served as a page beside the Anyang Commandery Prince, who dominated a region and governed the five southern cities, loyally attending to him for twenty years!

Only after he grew old did he leave the Anyang Commandery Prince's side and come to Clear River City, where he built up his own enterprise and founded Clear River City's most luxurious establishment, Drunken Immortal Residence.

And the young woman before him was the Anyang Commandery Prince's beloved pearl, Princess Xiling!

"Why has Your Highness come to Clear River City?" Manager Qin asked curiously. Given Princess Xiling's exalted status, she usually lived in the prince's residence in Anyang City. Even when she occasionally traveled, she would be surrounded by a great crowd of attendants. Why had she come alone to Clear River City?

Princess Xiling said, "It is a long story. This time, only Elder Jiang accompanied me, and he was bitten by a Coldheart Python while protecting me. Fortunately, at Five Treasures Hall in your Clear River City, we encountered an expert who healed Elder Jiang's injuries. Otherwise, I truly would not have known how to explain it to my father when I returned."

Manager Qin smiled. "Alchemist Li of Five Treasures Hall does possess some genuine skill. I never expected him to be able to cure Coldheart Python venom as well. That truly is rare."

Princess Xiling shook her head. "I was not talking about Alchemist Li!"

"Not Alchemist Li?" Manager Qin was astonished. "Right, today is Master Mo's day to preside over Five Treasures Hall. Could it have been Master Mo who cured the poison?"

"No, it was a young man named Su Chen."

"A young man?" Manager Qin was greatly startled and searched his memories for the name. Yet no matter how he searched, he could not recall any young man named Su Chen among Clear River City's younger generation. Even the martial arts lineages of Clear River City with some reputation did not include one surnamed Su.

"Your Highness, did this old servant hear correctly? A young man cured Coldheart Python venom?" Though Manager Qin was not a professional alchemist, he still found it incredibly shocking.

For a young man to possess such ability could mean only one thing—his background was anything but ordinary!

"You heard correctly." Princess Xiling nodded lightly. "The guest I mentioned earlier, whom I wished to entertain in the Heaven-Class Private Room, is precisely him. He saved Elder Jiang's life, so he can be considered my benefactor."

"Now that I think about it, quite some time has passed since our appointed hour. Why has he not arrived yet?" Princess Xiling began to wonder.

Manager Qin guessed, "Perhaps he encountered something on the way and was delayed?"

Just then, the violent commotion from downstairs reached the Heaven-Class Private Room, and Manager Qin's expression changed slightly. "It sounds like someone is causing trouble downstairs!"

The next moment, a waiter from Drunken Immortal Residence hurried into the Heaven-Class Private Room and reported, "Manager, people have started a disturbance in the Human-Class Private Room. They are about to come to blows!"

Princess Xiling said, "Manager Qin, go down and deal with it first. I can wait here for Su Chen myself."

Manager Qin repeatedly apologized, then left the Heaven-Class Private Room and headed for the Human-Class Private Room on the first floor.