The sound of the door swinging open was loud and violent. Everyone in the private dining room furrowed their brows.
This was the Immortal Gathering House, the number-one restaurant in Guangling City!
Who could be so brazen as to force their way in without so much as a greeting?
Simply presumptuous!
Everyone instinctively glanced toward the doorway. When they saw the new arrival, everyone’s expressions shifted. Wen Lingxue and Nie Teng were no exceptions.
What’s he doing here?
“I heard Lingxue was celebrating her birthday here, so I decided to crash the party. Hahaha, I didn’t startle you, did I?”
The new arrival was a youth in resplendent robes. His long hair draped his back, and he was handsome, but he reeked of alcohol and wore an impudent grin on his face.
Huang Qianjun!
He was a direct-line disciple of the Huang Family, one of Guangling City’s Three Great Clans. His father was the current head of the Huang Family, Huang Yunchong.
His temperament was arrogant and unbridled, and he was always itching for a fight. Although he was only seventeen, he had a long list of wicked deeds to his name already. Who knew how much heaven’s wrath and people’s resentment he’d incurred?
However, thanks to his father’s protection, he was alive and well to this day. His strong backing only aggravated his domineering arrogance.
When they realized this new arrival was Huang Qianjun, the girls’ initial anger disappeared, replaced with silent trepidation. A hint of panic flashed across their beautiful faces; they’d long since heard this silkpants’ ill reputation.
Even?Wen?Lingxue and Nie Teng scrunched up their brows, their gazes solemn. .
Disciples of major clans like them saw Huang Qianjun as a ruthless, tyrannical villain. None of them were willing to befriend him. Their only fear was not being quick enough to avoid him.
The atmosphere in the private dining room was instantly as stifled as could be.
Only Su Yi remained calm. He didn’t recognize Huang Qianjun, but he could tell from the way Wen Lingxue’s body went taut that she was inwardly flustered.
Whoever this brazen, uninvited guest was, he clearly scared her.
Wen Lingxue took a deep breath, then said coldly, “How does my birthday have anything to do with you? You’d best leave right away!” Her pretty face seemed coated in frost, and she made no attempt to hide her rejection and distaste.
However, Huang Qianjun didn’t seem to mind in the least. He brazenly looked her up and down, then laughed, “Tch, you sure are Wen Lingzhao’s little sister. You’re a top-notch beauty! Only someone like you is worthy of me.”
“You…” Wen Lingxue’s face went red, and her eyes blazed with fury.
“Look, everyone! Beauties sure are beauties. She’s pretty as can be even when she’s angry. If I marry her and bring her back home, my old man will surely be pleased, right?” Huang Qianjun laughed wantonly.
A group of guards trailed after him, and they smiled ambiguously.
The girls in attendance were visibly terrified, and they subconsciously looked at Nie Teng, placing their hopes on this son of the commander of the guards.
Nie Teng took a deep breath. He knew that, at a time like this, he had to take a stand. Otherwise, he’d be too ashamed to ever raise his head again.
He steeled himself and feigned calm. “Young Master Huang, this is the Immortal Gathering House. Please be respectful. Disrupting the peace doesn’t do anyone any good.”
Huang Qianjun’s smile instantly darkened, and his eyes glinted with explosive viciousness. “What even are you? Who are you to lecture me?”
Nie Teng’s expression instantly turned unsightly. His face went ashen, then white. When he saw this, Su Yi realized that even Nie Teng was afraid of this brazen, ill-tempered youth.
.
“Young Master, that’s the son of the commander of the Old Guard, Nei Beihu. Your Honorable Father and Nie Beihu are acquaintances.” One of the guards warned him, then grinned, “But how we handle this is entirely up to you.”
“Oh~!” Huang Qianjun smiled, his eyes narrowed into slits. “Nie Teng, huh? I’ll give you just one chance: get out of my sight this second. Or else, I’d be perfectly happy to beat the crap out of you and fling you onto the streets like a dead dog.”
He was nothing but smiles, yet his words were incomparably imposing and vicious. “When that happens, I’m afraid you’ll become the laughingstock of all of Guangling City. Your reputation will be in tatters, and you’ll be too ashamed to raise your head ever again!”
Nie Teng froze, and his fists unwittingly clenched so tight, his joints were white. The veins on the back of his hands bulged, and he felt indescribable shame and fury.
Seeing this, the blood drained from the girls’ faces, and they felt even more flustered and helpless.
None of those in the private dining room had a background as lofty as Nie Teng’s. Now, it seemed that he wasn’t enough to resolve this. What could they do but panic?
It was then that Wen Lingxue said icily, “Huang Qianjun, what exactly is it that you want?”
Huang Qianjun burst into laughter and rubbed his hands together. His burning gaze bore into Wen Lingxue as he said, “What a good question! Let’s put it like this: in a bit, I’ll have my old man pay the Wen Family a visit to propose a marriage alliance. After that, well… Let’s just say we’ll be family, you and I!”
His guards all chimed in, one after the other:
“You’ve got good eyes, Young Master!”
“Everyone, take a good look! That girl’s going to be our young master’s wife!”
“Then we’d best congratulate the young master in advance, haha!”
Wen Lingxue was both ashamed and angry. Her almond eyes widened, and she gnashed her teeth. “Ludicrous! I’d die before marrying a hoodlum like you!”
Su Yi silently rose to his feet, a hint of newfound iciness amidst his usual calm. He stood there silently, his gaze indifferent.
Back in the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, those familiar with Su Xuanjun knew that the calmer he looked on the surface, the greater his killing intent!
“You can’t be so extreme. How dazzling is your sister, Wen Lingzhao? Yet in the end, she still had to marry a waste like him, didn’t she?” As he spoke, Huang Qianjun pointed to Su Yi, his gaze rife with disdain. “I might be domineering, but even I know that marriage alliances aren’t up to juniors like us to decide!”
He paused, then laughed, his tone even more arrogant. “Wen Lingxue, I urge you to mentally prepare yourself. The Huang Family will convince the Wen Family to agree to our marriage within the month!”
Wen Lingxue instantly went white, and her petite frame quivered. His words struck her right where it hurt!
How strongly had her elder sister fought against her impending marriage? Even her parents had opposed it with all their might, but in the end, they couldn’t go against the family matriarch’s wishes. Wen Lingzhao and Su Yi were now joined in matrimony, whether they liked it or not.
In the face of that fact, Wen Lingxue couldn’t help but worry. What if Huang Qianjun really proposed? Would the Wen Family treat her the same way they’d treated her sister?
When this thought occurred to her, Wen Lingxue bit through her lip. She was inwardly frantic, and her eyes went blank.?Am I…. Am I really going to have to marry a dandy hoodlum like him?
No! If that happens, I might as well just kill myself!
“Don’t worry. Nothing like that will happen to you.” A warm hand pressed against her shoulder, and when she looked up, she saw a calm, gentle smile on Su Yi’s handsome face.
“Brother-in-law….” Wen Lingxue was inwardly panicked, and his words were like shelter from the storm. She felt an indescribable warmth well from deep within her heart, and when she spoke, her words were choked with emotion.
“This gathering is no longer fun,” Su Yi whispered. “How about I take you home?”
“Mm!” Wen Lingxue instinctively nodded, but then, her eyes filled with concern. “Brother-in-law…. they….”
“Don’t worry,” said Su Yi gently. He patted her on the shoulder again. “Leave it up to me.”
His gaze swept across Nie Teng and the girls. “Do you want to leave too?”
The other guests were practically stunned out of their wits.?Has Su Yi gone insane? Can’t he tell that that silkpants and his guards are blocking the doorway?
None of them would have ever guessed that a man who’d lost his entire cultivation, a live-in son-in-law, the butt of Guangling City’s jokes, would dare say something like that!
“Hah? Did you just say you’re going to lead them out of here?” Huang Qianjun cleaned his ears with an exaggerated grin. “Su Yi, you’re nothing but a cripple, but your words are even more arrogant than mine! Tell me…. Just who gave you the courage?”
His guards were overwrought with laughter, as if they’d heard the funniest thing in the world.
“Su Yi, don’t add to our troubles, will you?” Nie Teng was quite annoyed with him, and his expression was ashen. He spoke deliberately, his words pointed. “Leave this to me. You just sit tight and don’t cause trouble! If you make this any worse, don’t blame me for what happens to you!”
His words were sonorant and forceful, and the girls were moved despite themselves. In their eyes, Nie Teng seemed like a forthright gentleman!
By comparison, Su Yi’s earlier display was just…. Way too irritating!
A mere waste thought that words alone were enough to get them out of here? What a joke!
“You’re young, so you ought to be hotblooded. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be worthy of that youthful head on your shoulders.” Su Yi looked at Nie Teng and nodded. “I approve of your current behavior.”
Nie Teng was stunned.?What…? The way he’s talking to me…. It’s like he’s…
But before he came to his senses, Huang Qianjun visibly ran out of patience. He waved to his subordinates. “Go on. Seize that worthless wretch, strip him, and hang him from the city gates. I want the whole city to bear witness to his shame!”
“Just watch, Young Master!” One of the guards could no longer wait. He charged right towards Su Yi. “Kid, I’ll play with you!”
This particular guard was tall, brawny, and full-faced. Just standing there, he gave off an oppressive air. The girls’ faces went white, shocked by his ferocious appearance.
Yang Sheng!
He was the strongest of Huang Qianjun’s subordinates. He was in the “Refining Muscle” stage of the Blood Circulation Realm. His skin and flesh were like iron, and he was as powerful as a rampaging bull. Furthermore, he was proficient in the “Great Tablet Smashing Hand”.
This technique could easily snap and shatter bone. If it didn’t kill you, it’d still cripple you.
As he spoke, he suddenly swung his palm with all his might and full intentions of shattering his target. His attack stirred up fierce winds, and if it landed, it was sure to result in grievous injuries.
“Brother-in-law! Hurry up and dodge!” Wen Lingxue cried out in alarm. Her beautiful face lost its color. At this distance, there was no way she could get there in time to stop Yang Sheng’s fist.
“Don’t panic. A meathead who trains his body but not his qi is about as threatening as an embroidered pillow.” As Su Yi’s indifferent voice rang out, his gaunt frame took action.
He took a step forward, like a hawk setting its sights on a rabbit. His hand formed a claw, and he expertly caught Yang Sheng’s wrist. Strength coursed through his arms.
A single quiver of the wrist, and Yang Sheng’s hulking frame staggered. His blood and energy were thrown into turmoil, like scrunched-up, overturned sheets. Just one shake stopped his forceful momentum as if it were a bamboo pole snapping in two.
He trembled as if on the verge of collapse.
This was a?nigh-divine application of power!
When practiced to the limits of profundity, a single successful strike was enough to “shake” an opponent’s blood, flesh, bones, and organs into powder!
Although Yang Sheng wasn’t about to die on the spot, the vibrations had dealt enormous damage to his innards.
Immediately afterward, Su Yi threw a kick.
Bang!
As the onlookers watched in disbelief, Yang Sheng went flying through the air and slammed into the walls of the private dining room.
He twitched violently, shaking from head to toe as blood leaked from all seven apertures of his face.
Everyone present was shocked.