The moment Song Hao saw his senior brother Tao Yingwu standing before him, his heart settled, and he began throwing his weight around again.
He looked at Lin Fei with a sneer and mocked, "Lin Fei, go ahead and make a move if you've got the guts. Let's see who ends up lying on the ground today!"
Lin Fei casually glanced at Tao Yingwu, not even bothering to shatter Song Hao's baffling confidence.
Song Hao was at Early Body Refinement, and this senior brother of his was only at the Late Body Tempering Stage.
Judging the ancient martial world's standards by Bai Zhan, reaching such a cultivation level at Tao Yingwu's age made him a heaven-sent genius, worthy of comparison with Bai Zhan. With such talent and strength, his arrogance was hardly surprising.
But in Lin Fei's eyes, he truly wasn't worth mentioning.
"Move. You're in my way," Lin Fei said indifferently.
"Oh? What big words!" Tao Yingwu sneered, folding his arms across his chest and looking down his nose at him. "May I ask who your master is? Instead of devoting yourself to cultivation within your sect, you actually dared to leave the mountains and oppose my junior brother?"
Leave the mountains?
Ji Yaoguang's expression changed when she heard those words.
She had once heard Wu Moling mention mysterious sects in the ancient martial world that rarely set foot in secular society. Could this arrogant young man before her have come from such a sect?
Ji Yaoguang truly hadn't expected Song Hao to have such a connection. The Song Family had hidden their depths well...
Lin Fei, however, wasn't surprised in the slightest. The mere fact that a wastrel like Song Hao had cultivated to Early Body Refinement already showed that someone was backing him.
"No sect, no school," Lin Fei replied calmly.
Tao Yingwu froze for a moment, then mocked, "Self-taught? Do you take me for a fool?"
Without betraying anything, Lin Fei asked in return, "Oh? And who is your master? Let's hear it."
Arrogance filled Tao Yingwu's face as he cupped his hands toward the east. "I am Tao Yingwu, eldest disciple under Perfected Tao Qian! Since you're part of the ancient martial world, surely you've heard my master's great name?"
"I don't want to fight you and create unnecessary trouble. If you know what's good for you, you know what to do!"
He looked supremely confident, regarding Lin Fei as though he had everything in hand.
"Tao Qian?" Lin Fei frowned slightly.
"That's right. Scared now?" Seeing Lin Fei's expression, Tao Yingwu smiled smugly.
Ji Yaoguang's heart also jolted. Although she had never heard of this Perfected Tao Qian, judging by their reactions, he must have been someone extraordinary, right?
Lin Fei genuinely couldn't think of any cultivator in the world today named Tao Qian who was at least in the Xiantian Realm, so he frowned. "What rotten fish and shrimp is that? Never heard of him."
Tao Yingwu was stunned.
Song Hao's eyes widened even further, his face practically screaming, What the fuck?
This wasn't right. Perfected Tao Qian's cultivation had reached the Houtian Realm, making him one of the exceedingly few Grandmaster-level experts. With such renown, who in the ancient martial world didn't know him?
Never having heard of him was one thing, but this bastard actually dared to call a Grandmaster Realm expert rotten fish and shrimp?!
Was he exceptionally bold, or simply ignorant and fearless?
Tao Yingwu was furious. He had thought his master's name alone would scare Lin Fei into hastily apologizing, only to discover that he had never even heard of him.
You haven't even heard of Perfected Tao Qian, so what the fuck are you doing in the ancient martial world?
"How ignorant!" Tao Yingwu sneered. "Don't tell me you're some country bumpkin who crawled out of the deep mountains and ancient forests after cultivating there?"
Lin Fei couldn't be bothered to waste any more words on him. Standing with his hands behind his back, he said indifferently, "Nothing but drivel. If you want to die, make your move. If not, get out of my way."
Tao Yingwu's chest tightened. He was practically trembling with rage.
"Senior brother, don't waste your breath on him. Teach him a lesson!" Song Hao fanned the flames from the side, eager to see Lin Fei brutally trampled underfoot.
"That's precisely what I intend!" Tao Yingwu answered arrogantly, but just as he was about to strike, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Other guests were emerging one after another from the entrance of the Qing family's villa. Many looked surprised at the sight of the drawn swords and bent bows.
Rather than leave, they stayed nearby to watch. Some even took out their phones, though it was unclear whether they intended to record or call the police.
Tao Yingwu frowned and said with considerable reluctance, "Consider yourself lucky!"
He didn't want the situation to escalate. For one thing, he would face condemnation from the ancient martial world. It would look bad for his reputation, and he would have trouble accounting for it to his master. For another, he still had his reservations. After all, in this age of firearms, the vast majority of ancient martial cultivators still held the military and police in awe.
Lin Fei said nothing, merely smiling faintly.
Tao Yingwu still didn't understand that he himself was the lucky one, having escaped disaster.
He shot Lin Fei a vicious glare, then swept his sleeve and walked aside. Song Hao, however, still refused to leave and threatened in a low voice, "Ji Yaoguang, I've run out of patience to keep wasting time with you. I'll let your little bodyguard off for now today, but you have to come with me."
Ji Yaoguang's exquisite face was filled with anger, and she felt deeply stifled.
Lin Fei stepped forward calmly and blocked his path. "It's only a batch of outdated chips, yet your Song Family really treasures them. You think you can control the Ji Family with them?"
Someone among the onlookers laughed aloud.
Song Hao laughed uproariously, as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world. "What shameless boasting! You actually called Tonggao Chips outdated? I'm not afraid to say it outright here: the Ji Family has no choice but to bow its head."
"Even if Ji Chongwei and Ji Zhongjin remain stubborn and refuse to submit, nobody in the Ji Group will agree! If the three generations of your Ji Family want to die, why would the shareholders, management, and employees willingly be buried alongside you?"
Manager Liu from the Ji Group, who had appeared earlier, rolled his eyes thoughtfully at the sight and immediately stepped forward to flatter him. "Young Master Song, what would a mere bodyguard know? Calling Tonggao Chips outdated-it's enough to make people laugh their teeth out."
After saying this, he turned to Ji Yaoguang with the air of someone offering well-intentioned advice. "President Ji, cooperating with the Song Family brings a hundred benefits and not a single drawback. For everyone's benefit, why don't you have a proper talk with Young Master Song tonight? You're so reasonable and care so much about your employees' interests. I'm sure you won't refuse, right?"
A textbook case of moral blackmail.
Ji Yaoguang turned pale. She hadn't expected Manager Liu to be so bold as to openly side with Song Hao!
Despair and helplessness welled up from the bottom of her heart. She had no idea how to handle this.
Song Hao glanced at Manager Liu and smiled in satisfaction. "Liu Cheng, product department manager, right? I'll remember you. You're a man with good judgment. Keep up the good work. You have a boundless future ahead."
From his tone, it was as though he were the one who actually controlled the Ji Group.
Hearing this, Liu Cheng immediately said excitedly, "Thank you for appreciating me, Young Master Song. I won't let you down!"
Song Hao laughed heartily and looked at Ji Yaoguang provocatively. "What did I tell you? Ji Yaoguang, a wise man recognizes the tides. If you keep hesitating, you'll soon find everyone turning against you and your loved ones deserting you! Not just the product department manager-even your group's general manager probably..."
At this, Ji Yaoguang shuddered, a chill rising from the depths of her heart.
Han Enci had turned against her?
If he had, then that group of shareholders under his father would surely also...
Song Hao spotted Han Enci watching from the side and waved. "Enci, over here!"
He suddenly felt an unparalleled sense of accomplishment. Making the core forces of their group betray them to their faces and stand beside him-there was no sweeter way to strike back!
Lin Fei followed his gaze and gave Han Enci a faint smile.
Han Enci suddenly shuddered and said hurriedly, "Um... Young Master Song, I just remembered something I need to take care of at home. I'll be leaving first!"
With that, he sprinted off to the side without looking back.
As Song Hao watched, the smile on his face gradually froze.