Dismissive and Evenly Matched

"Since that's the case, let's begin!" Yang Jian said coldly, then raised the God-Slaying Spear in his hand and stared intently at Zhu Bajie in front of him.

Upon seeing Yang Jian's appearance, Zhu Bajie immediately revealed a mocking smile.

Clearly, he didn't take Yang Jian's words seriously. In his view, Yang Jian's behavior was purely a charade.

"Die!"

As he spoke, Zhu Bajie swung his iron rod and lashed it hard at Yang Jian's head.

Yang Jian did not dodge, but instead took the terrifying whip kick from Zhu Bajie head-on.

"Click..."

With a crisp cracking sound, Yang Jian couldn't help but scream in agony, spitting out a mouthful of blood as he was once again sent flying.

"Hahaha... You're injured now, let's see what you can use to fight me!?" Upon seeing Yang Jian's appearance, Zhu Bajie couldn't help but burst into wild laughter.

"Hmph, since that's the case, then don't blame me for being impolite!"

"Oh? What do you want to do?" Upon seeing Yang Jian's expression, Zhu Bajie frowned slightly, clearly puzzled. He obviously hadn't expected Yang Jian's reaction to be so intense, that he actually wanted to fight to the death.

Yang Jian sneered, then waved his right hand, and the God-Slaying Spear in his hand instantly transformed into a streak of light and appeared in front of Zhu Bajie. Immediately afterward, Yang Jian flicked his right hand, and the God-Slaying Spear in his hand stabbed fiercely towards Zhu Bajie's face.

"Damn you, how dare you ambush me! You're asking for death!" Upon seeing Yang Jian's actions, Zhu Bajie's face immediately darkened, and his eyes flashed with boundless rage. Then, the aura surrounding Zhu Bajie's body suddenly surged.

"Hmph, since that's the case, then I'll send you down to reunite with Zhu Polong!" Upon seeing Zhu Bajie's appearance, a chilling glint flashed in Yang Jian's eyes.

Yang Jian then turned his gaze and looked directly at the Samadhi True Fire Furnace behind Zhu Bajie.

"Samadhi True Fire! Burn it!"

Yang Jian's eyes suddenly turned cold.

"Buzz!"

In an instant, the Samadhi True Fire shot out from between Yang Jian's eyebrows, hovering in mid-air and burning fiercely, radiating a terrifyingly hot temperature.

"Hmph, you think you can deal with me like this? Wishful thinking! Break!" When Zhu Bajie saw the Samadhi True Fire, a look of disdain flashed across his face.

Immediately, a crimson light burst forth from the iron rod in Zhu Bajie's hand.

Instantly, a terrifyingly high temperature emanated from Zhu Bajie's iron rod, like a sun, and the space around it distorted.

Immediately, Zhu Bajie slammed his iron rod down hard onto the Samadhi True Fire Furnace in front of Yang Jian.

"Boom!"

The next moment, after a loud bang, the Samadhi True Fire in front of Yang Jian was instantly shattered by the iron rod in Zhu Bajie's hand, and the terrifying heat wave directly blew Yang Jian away.

"Pfft!"

Yang Jian fell heavily to the ground, a heart-wrenching pain shooting through his chest, and he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of scarlet blood.

"Boy, I know this move is incredibly powerful. But you're being far too delusional. You have no chance of escaping me!" Zhu Bajie said, looking at Yang Jian.

After saying that, Zhu Bajie once again swung the iron rod in his hand and smashed it down towards Yang Jian's head. The speed was far beyond what Yang Jian could match.

While Zhu Bajie and Yang Jian were getting along famously, a key figure was quietly plotting something.

"Oh, where did this young lady come from?"

The Cao Lineage was a prominent Lineage in the Northern Song Dynasty; even imperial relatives were no more than that.

Cao Bin, acting like a spoiled brat, said, "What, your family has already sold you to me, so why are you pretending to be a virtuous woman?"

"I... I'm innocent!"

The woman moved gracefully, exuding an indescribable charm.

"Stop!"

Upon hearing the voice, the woman rushed towards the man as if she had seen a savior.

All eyes turned to the man. "Isn't this Cao Guojiu, the second son of the Cao Guojiu Cao Lineage?"

Cao Guojiu, dressed in a blue robe, looked as radiant as a god.

He shielded the woman behind him, saying, "Third brother, force is not the way."

As he spoke, he pulled the woman up and walked her away. The woman's heart trembled slightly as he held her hand. She looked down and saw that her dress had been torn by the man.

"Second brother, you..."

"Third brother, stop fooling around! This is the Cao residence; you can't run wild here!"

Seeing his second brother's words, Cao Bin had no choice but to swallow his anger, but his eyes were constantly fixed on the woman, secretly harboring resentment. He vowed to humiliate her to death when they returned.

"Who are you?"

Cao Bin suddenly asked.

Upon hearing this, the woman trembled involuntarily, and her heart skipped a beat.

"This young lady is Cao Yan, the illegitimate daughter of the third branch of the Cao Household."

Cao Yan answered timidly.

"So it's you, you shameless wench! Didn't you claim to be a chaste and virtuous woman? Now you've eloped with another man. What a shameless slut!"

Cao Guojiu rebuked angrily.

You're shameless!

Cao Yan was equally defiant.

"Smack!"

"Cao Yan, how dare you talk back to me! I'll tell Father when we get home, and then we'll see how arrogant you are!"

Cao Guojiu said angrily.

Cao Yan, not to be outdone, glared back at Cao Guojiu.

"Cao Guojiu, Yan'er is the one I've chosen; please don't try to take her away from me."

The matriarch of the Cao family stepped in to mediate the dispute.

"Hmph, don't try to take it? This woman is already filthy, how can she be worthy of being a daughter-in-law of the Cao family? And what she just said was clearly disrespectful to me. I demand an explanation from the Cao family. This matter will absolutely not be left unresolved."

Cao Guojiu snorted coldly.

Cao Yan was taken aback by these words. Wasn't this Cao Guojiu being incredibly unreasonable?

She started this whole thing, so how did it become a case of her being disrespectful to him?

Upon hearing this, the mistress was at a loss for words; this Cao Guojiu was a troublesome character.

"This is Yan'er's fault. Yan'er was ignorant and offended Young Master Cao. But Young Master Cao cannot be so unreasonable. Yan'er is the eldest daughter of the Cao Household. How can we allow her to be bullied like this!"

"That's what Madam Cao said."

"This woman is actually the eldest daughter of the Cao Household?"

Cao Guojiu was surprised. The Cao Household family had more than a dozen direct descendants, and the rest were all born out of wedlock.

"Don't make false accusations!"

Cao Yan shouted in protest.

"Yan'er, how dare you be so insolent! You are the eldest daughter of the Cao Household, how can you utter such tasteless words!"

The mistress reprimanded.

Cao Yan could only lower her head and remain silent.