"Uncle Khun, did you like the photo of the woman I sent you?" Du Yao asked with a knowing smirk. "She's quite the beauty, isn't she?"
Du Khun, a man with a well-known appetite for beautiful women, licked his lips and nodded. "You've got good taste. And now that I see her in person... she's even more exquisite than the photo. How could I not be satisfied?"
His lecherous gaze shifted to Luo Bing, who lay weakened on the floor. She struggled to get up, but her limbs refused to cooperate. The poison coursing through her body was working fast, leaving her defenseless.
"I'm glad you like her, Uncle," Du Yao said eagerly. "Don't forget my reward."
"Relax. Once we're back at the sect, I'll give you a few pills. They'll help boost your cultivation."
Du Khun then turned his attention to Liu Yue, who lay slumped against a table, unconscious. Her long hair obscured her face, and curiosity burned in Du Khun's eyes.
He reached out, slowly moving toward her to brush her hair aside and get a better look.
But before his fingers could make contact—Crack!
A hand caught his wrist, and with a loud, sickening snap, Du Khun's right hand shattered.
"Aaaghhh!" Du Khun howled in pain, clutching the mangled limb.
The one who stopped him was none other than Ye Chen.
Du Yao's eyes widened in disbelief. "He's still alive? But… that needle should've—"
Ye Chen stepped forward, calm and composed. "That little needle of yours? Didn't even tickle."
In truth, Ye Chen had faked being poisoned. With Luo Bing present, he believed she could handle the situation. But when Du Khun suddenly ambushed her, Ye Chen had no choice but to act.
"I'll kill you for this!" Du Khun roared, releasing his full cultivation. The pressure from his aura exploded outward. Windows shattered, the floor cracked, and even the air vibrated with energy.
He was a seventh-level Earth Realm cultivator, and his rage filled the entire building.
Ye Chen narrowed his eyes. If this continued, innocent people would be caught in the destruction.
Nine Shadow Steps!
Ye Chen disappeared in a blur, reappearing behind Du Yao. Without hesitation, he unleashed the Breaking Meteor Fist.
BOOM!
Du Yao was sent flying, crashing through a wall and disappearing from sight.
Du Khun barely had time to react before Ye Chen grabbed his head. In the blink of an eye, Ye Chen flew them both out of the Liu Company building and toward a deserted area.
Before leaving, he had already placed a protective barrier to keep others from entering the room.
Ye Chen brought Du Khun to an abandoned warehouse far from the city. He slammed him into the ground with a loud thud before landing beside him.
Now, they could fight freely—no civilians, no distractions.
Du Khun groaned, picking himself up. He looked around, dazed. "How did you…? I couldn't even see you move…"
Even worse, he couldn't sense Ye Chen's cultivation level. That left him with two possibilities: either Ye Chen had a higher cultivation than him, or he was using some artifact to conceal it.
But it couldn't be. A boy that young, stronger than him?
No. Impossible.
"What are you really?" Du Khun demanded.
Ye Chen smiled faintly. "Just an ordinary high school student."
Du Khun scoffed. "Do I look like a fool to you? If students are this strong now, I might as well enroll in a public school."
Still, doubt gnawed at him. If Ye Chen truly was in the Sky Realm, that would be an insult to everything Du Khun had worked for across decades of cultivation.
Fine. If strength wouldn't work, he still had one deadly ace: his Hundred Venomous Beasts. A special poison created by his master—strong enough to kill even a Sky Realm cultivator at the early stages.
But Ye Chen didn't give him the chance.
He raised his hand. Ten fiery swords materialized in the air behind him, blazing with intense heat.
Flame Sword Formation.
As he activated the technique, Du Khun finally caught a glimpse of Ye Chen's revealed cultivation—Second Level Earth Realm.
His confidence surged. "Second level? That's all? Then I've got nothing to fear!"
The reason Ye Chen's earlier strike had worked, Du Khun now assumed, was because he'd been caught off guard. With only one hand left, he still believed it was enough to crush a brat like Ye Chen.
He didn't know Ye Chen had used the Riederan Pendant, a powerful artifact that allowed him to conceal or reveal his cultivation level at will. Right now, Ye Chen was simply testing how effective the pendant was.
"Come on then," Ye Chen said, flames dancing around him. "Let's see if your poison can stop me."
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