What Can You Do to Me?

Tong Qiang leapt into the air and, from dozens of meters away, reached out with a grab. In an instant, the spiritual energy and air around Gao Peng seemed to be vacuumed away and compressed together, condensing into a gigantic palm that descended from the sky, intending to seize Gao Peng like an adult grabbing a chick.

A divine ability—one that could only be mastered upon reaching the Divine Power Realm.

"Bang... Bang..." In that instant, Gao Peng shifted through seven or eight footwork patterns beneath his feet. The power in his body surged relentlessly, and with every raised hand, he jabbed out hundreds of fingers, each one striking the enormous divine palm condensed in midair as it closed down on him.

Though explosions rang out without pause, the effect was minimal. The palm merely slowed slightly. He had no way to escape its grasp, much less shatter the palm formed by that divine ability.

So strong. This Tong Qiang is Ren Tianxing's Guard Squad captain. He reached the Divine Power Realm years ago, and now he may well be above the sixth layer of the Divine Power Realm—far stronger than an ordinary Ren Family elder. If he were merely an average Divine Power Realm cultivator, I could break through. But if I force my way out of Tong Qiang's capture here, my hidden strength will be exposed, and...

Gao Peng had not expected this. Ren Jie had muttered a few words to Gao Ren beside him, and the moment Tong Qiang and the others arrived, Ren Jie had ordered his arrest without another word—here, of all places. Moreover, having heard the command, Tong Qiang's group clearly did not care where they were. In that brief instant, the Guard Squad behind Tong Qiang had already moved in to surround him. The Gao Family's people had yet to arrive. Even if he barely managed to break out, he would be attacked by the others and expose his true strength.

Gao Peng's heart sank as his power instantly erupted to the peak of the True Qi Realm Eighth Layer.

"Boom!" The peak of the True Qi Realm Eighth Layer was astonishingly powerful, but under Tong Qiang's pressure, it was instantly crushed. Still, the collision of the two forces shattered every stone within a dozen meters below, reducing them to powder.

"Bang... Pfft..." Gao Peng was suppressed by Tong Qiang's power, then seized by the descending Tong Qiang. Having resisted by force, he immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

Damn, that was fierce! He had simply ordered them to make a move! Just now, Gao Ren had been displeased after hearing Gao Peng's words and had spoken up, wanting to help Ren Jie strike back at Gao Peng. He had not expected Ren Jie to throw Gao Peng's words right back in his face, then issue such an unexpected order to attack. That was too satisfying. Why had he never noticed before that Ren Jie had such bearing and courage? Could it be that after spending so much time with him, Ren Jie had been influenced by him?

The moment Ren Jie gave the order, Tie Ta stepped forward. A fierce aura radiated from his body, and driven by that aura, his muscles swelled several degrees further, each block as solid as a boulder. Though he was only at the Body Refining Realm Ninth Layer, even ordinary True Qi Realm cultivators would feel their hearts tremble at the sight of him.

What was going on? Wen Zihao was dumbfounded. All kinds of disputes among the hedonistic young masters of Jade Capital City were common, but... this was in front of the Imperial Palace! They had all come to attend the Imperial Banquet.

"Ren Family Head, this is not your Ren Family." The Second Prince had come under orders to receive them. Seeing Ren Jie actually dare to order people to fight before the Imperial Palace, completely disregarding his presence, he frowned slightly.

"If this were the Ren Family, I'd have knocked out his teeth and broken his legs already. This has nothing to do with you, so go stay wherever it's cool. When he was talking in that mocking, roundabout way and acting tough in front of this Family Head, why didn't you come out then? Now you're here acting like a big-tailed wolf? Damn it." Ren Jie shot the Second Prince an arrogant glance, then strode toward Gao Peng, who was under Tong Qiang's control.

He... what had he said? The Second Prince thought he had misheard and froze where he stood.

He blinked several times before recovering. Was Ren Jie talking to him? A Descendant of the Royal Family, a true figure at the pinnacle of the Bright Jade Dynasty—he was a Prince! Since childhood, no one had ever dared speak to him like this.

Mad. This guy was truly mad. Wen Zihao, Fang Yan, and the others standing nearby were all stunned speechless. Abruptly ordering Gao Peng's arrest had already been crazy enough, yet now Ren Jie was speaking to the Second Prince like this...

"Fang Yan..." The Second Prince was furious beyond measure. Turning toward Fang Yan, he was about to order the Imperial Guards to intervene.

"The Gao Family's people are here. Let them fight it out themselves. Your Majesty also wishes to see this," Fang Yan's voice sounded in the Second Prince's mind just then.

The Second Prince's unfinished words came to an abrupt halt, though his expression remained utterly grim. And in front of so many people, too—apart from his father, it was the first time in his life that anyone had rebuked him like this. Had it been anyone else, they would already have...

"Cough..." Blood filled Gao Peng's throat. He coughed heavily, spitting out a considerable amount of blood, then raised his head to look at Ren Jie as he approached.

"Now you know what qualifications mean, don't you? This Family Head told you earlier that I would make you kneel and cry. Kneel immediately, and cry for this Family Head!" Ren Jie walked up to Gao Peng. Seeing that although Gao Peng had blood in his mouth, his face still bore that calm smile, Ren Jie found him increasingly hateful.

"Ha ha..." Gao Peng's calm smile suddenly turned into upward-thrown laughter. Then he looked at Ren Jie as though he were ridiculous. "Ren Jie, Ren Family Head, you truly are impressive now. You've certainly opened my eyes. But what can you do even if you've had me captured? I am a direct descendant of the Gao Family. When the Bright Jade Dynasty was founded, the Five Great Families made an agreement: internal conflicts may occur, but the direct descendants of the Five Great Families must not be harmed. For a thousand years, whether any family prospered or weakened for a time, it was all merely temporary. Not to mention that although my grandfather often cultivates in seclusion, he is still the current Grand Tutor, while my father is the present Gao Family Head and the Minister of Revenue."

"Even if I was disrespectful in my words just now and said something wrong, at most you can humiliate me. Other than that, what can you do to me?"

"What can I do? This." "Bang!" Ren Jie threw a heavy punch directly into Gao Peng's face.

Gao Peng's head snapped backward from the blow, blood spurting from his nose, yet his face still carried a smile.

"You can only beat me up. What else can you do? Make me kneel and cry? In your next life." Hatred accumulated in Gao Peng's heart as he continually kept his Killing Intent in check. Ren Jie's mad actions had indeed surpassed all expectations, but he did not care about such a small matter. Sooner or later, he would reclaim it tenfold, a hundredfold.

"Release my son at once!" At that moment, an enraged voice rang out. In the distance, another force arrived, no weaker than the Ren Family Guard Squad and somewhat greater in number. It was Gao Zhanyuan, the Gao Family Head, leading his men here. He had learned from afar that something had happened here. Since this was outside the Imperial Palace, he had immediately used his divine sense to learn what was happening; before he arrived, his voice had already reached them.

"Form ranks! Defend!" Tong Qiang held Gao Peng in one hand. Seeing the Gao Family's people rushing over, he shouted an order, and his subordinates immediately formed a tight circle around them.

Meanwhile, from another direction, Ren Junyang, Ren Hanlin, and Ren Wenxu—the Ren Family's three elders—were hurrying over close behind.

"He... what is he doing? He's mad, isn't he?"

"What provoked him? He's actually making such a huge commotion outside the Imperial Palace."

"Ren Jie, stop immediately..."

The three of them also discovered what was happening ahead. Their divine senses communicated rapidly as each grew frantic. They wanted to contact Ren Jie, but he ignored them completely.

"Fine, you truly have guts. Then this Family Head will kill you... Someone, bring me a blade." Ren Jie raised a hand as he spoke, and a member of the Guard Squad immediately handed him a blade. Normally, these guards only escorted them to the outside of the Imperial Palace. Once the Four Great Family Heads had gathered and the time came, the main gates of the Imperial Palace would open, and only they and those they brought would enter. Since the guards would not be entering the Imperial Palace, they all carried weapons.

Ren Jie slowly placed the blade against Gao Peng's neck, but Gao Peng continued to smile, smiling calmly. "If you kill me, you definitely will not survive either. Even the Ren Family would not pay any price to protect you over something like this. And acting this way outside the Imperial Palace, Your Majesty certainly will not spare you. Killing me is the same as killing yourself."

"Listen up, Gao Family. If you truly dare to charge in, this Family Head will kill him first. He thinks he's so damn impressive that he doesn't believe I'll kill him. Gao Zhanyuan, if you don't believe it either, you can try first." By then, the Gao Family's forces had already rushed over. Just as the Gao Family was about to make a move, Ren Jie pressed the blade at Gao Peng's throat down slightly.

It was not over a major artery, but the sharp Battle Blade immediately sliced through Gao Peng's neck, and a thread of blood began to flow.

"Ren Jie, you dare! If you dare harm Peng'er, the laws of the land will not forgive you, and my Gao Family will exhaust the strength of the entire family to fight your Ren Family until one side dies! Stop!" Gao Zhanyuan's furious roar rang out. He had already emerged from the Spirit Beast Carriage. Though his enraged bellow echoed through the surroundings, he truly did not dare risk ordering his men to attack.

But Gao Zhanyuan's fury had already reached its limit. This was the Imperial Palace—where were the laws of the land? Ren Jie actually dared behave like this here. And the person he had touched was a Gao Family member, a direct descendant of the Gao Family.

Gao Peng was still smiling, looking up at Ren Jie with a smile. Today, he had originally only intended to test Ren Jie's reaction. He had never expected Ren Jie to go mad and act so crazily. But with matters having reached this point, he still firmly believed that Ren Jie was merely putting on a show.

Though the Gao Family did not control as much military power as the Ren Family, it was still one of the Five Great Families. If Ren Jie truly dared kill him here, even the Emperor would support the Gao Family. At a time like this, the other families would also seize the chance to suppress the Ren Family. Unless the missing Ren Tianxing returned, Ren Jie could never be protected. Therefore, Gao Peng did not believe Ren Jie would kill him.

Ren Jie's crazy actions had turned a simple test into something so insane, yet Gao Peng remained confident that everything was under his control. Ren Jie would only humiliate him at most, perhaps give him a vicious beating. What else could he do?

"This is the Imperial Palace. Sometimes, members of our great families can do things privately that go beyond the law—even killing one another is no great matter. But those are private affairs. They cannot be brought into the open, especially not here at the Imperial Palace. If you dare kill me here, then for the normal operation of the entire nation and to preserve the royal family's dignity, Your Majesty will not spare you. No matter how strong your Ren Family is, can it fight the other great families at the same time?"