The Crimson Robe Attendants

In the center of the hall.

As soon as Ye Guichen and Ye Lantian finished trading harsh words, they clashed.

Their robes whipped through the air, and the dull thuds of their fists and elbows colliding made everyone's hearts race.

Unquestionably, both were fighting to kill.

Because Ye Guichen's strength was inferior to Ye Lantian's, possessing only Eight Stones of strength, he was forced back several steps with every clash.

However, Ye Guichen had far more combat experience and a deeper mastery of his low-tier martial arts, having already reached the level of great accomplishment.

Meanwhile, Ye Lantian was only at minor accomplishment.

Thanks to this, he was able to hold his own and maneuver against Ye Lantian.

But that was his limit. The disparity in raw strength was an insurmountable chasm. Ye Guichen's stamina began to flag, and his impending defeat grew increasingly obvious. He was backed into a corner several times, surviving only by a hair's breadth.

After taking another of Ye Lantian's punches head-on, Ye Guichen's body reached its absolute limit, and he collapsed near the entrance.

Seeing his chance, Ye Lantian pressed his advantage, aiming to gouge out his eyes.

Suddenly, Ye Guichen's life began to flash before his eyes. As memories of warmer, happier times flickered past, a sudden surge of unknown strength allowed him to roll aside.

Thud!

Ye Lantian's fingers slammed hard into the floor, bending at an unnatural angle. The agonizing pain caused him to freeze in place.

Seizing the opportunity, Ye Guichen scrambled to his feet. Amidst the memories that had just flashed through his mind, scenes of his martial arts training over the past few months also surfaced.

A sudden realization dawned upon him. His low-tier martial art, the Nine Extremes Collapse, instantly reached great perfection, allowing him to successfully unlock its final move—

“Mountain Leaping Slam!”

Roaring, he grabbed Ye Lantian, leapt into the air, and used the momentum of his descent to slam the other youth violently into the ground.

Crash!

Ye Lantian was pinned to the ground by Ye Guichen, his eyes rolling back. Blood spurted from his mouth as he lost consciousness, his body twitching weakly.

“Ha... ha... Hahaha! Hahahahaha!”

Ye Guichen slowly climbed up from the ground, panting heavily before breaking into laughter—a wild, manic laughter.

The entire hall fell dead silent.

Only his unrestrained laughter echoed through the space.

“From this day forth, I, Guichen, have no ties to the Ye family!”

“From now on, there is only Guichen in this world! Ye Guichen is no more!”

Only then did the onlookers snap out of their daze, erupting into gasps of shock.

“How is this possible... He actually defeated Ye Lantian... Is he not afraid of the Ye family's wrath? This boy is truly terrifying...” Zhuang Xun quickly muttered the lines in his mind, comparing them to what the crowd was actually saying.

Oh, a perfect match!

“From today onward, I, Guichen, shall live for myself.” Guichen closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, they shone with vibrant resolve.

It would start with his ascent to the peak of martial arts!

He looked toward Bai Yujing, who sat in the secondary seat with a calm expression, seemingly indifferent to everything around him. Guichen's heart swelled with anticipation.

Uh, why is he looking at me like that? Seriously, he's so arrogant he probably wants to fight me too. Zhuang Xun became slightly more wary of Guichen.

Crash!

Just then, the main doors were suddenly kicked open, and Ye Lantian, who was lying near the entrance, was pinned behind the door.

A group of men clad in crimson robes barged in. One of them barked, “Out of the way!” and threw an elbow, sending Guichen—who was standing in the middle of the path—flying like a stray dog.

Thud!

Wait, isn't he the protagonist? Yan Pingsheng stared, a bit dumbfounded, as Guichen slowly slid down the wall.

“It's... it's the Crimson Robe Attendants!” someone nearby cried out in terror.

The Crimson Robe Attendants were the sharpest blades of the City Lord's Manor. Because they operated with extreme cruelty and brutality, every citizen of Zechuan City feared them.

“Oh? Are you all having a martial competition? How elegant.” The Crimson Robe Attendants parted to both sides as a rather androgynous youth stepped forward.

“It's you... Yang Huan, I don't recall inviting you!”

Zhou Zixing's expression darkened with anger. He slammed his hand heavily on the table, sending Bai Yujing's teacup flying.

Huh!

Bai Yujing instinctively reached out to catch it. Only after catching it did he realize that this action broke his persona. He immediately activated his Spiritual Sight to scan his surroundings. Seeing that everyone's attention was focused on the Crimson Robe Attendants in the center and no one was looking at him, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He kept his Spiritual Sight active to observe the group of Crimson Robe Attendants.

Because the Crimson Robe Attendants had constantly tried to capture him whenever he killed people using his Debt-Lending Bladesman identity, Zhuang Xun had specifically looked into their ranking system.

From top to bottom, their ranks were Exalted Robe, Shock Robe, and Wrath Robe, corresponding to the Upper Three Ranks, Middle Three Ranks, and Lower Three Ranks, respectively.

The martial art they practiced was the high-tier martial art, Wrathful Resolve, which caused their complexions to change color during combat.

However, perhaps due to the influence of their cultivation technique, Zhuang Xun felt that their members were generally rather neurotic, flying into rages at the slightest provocation.

The status of the Crimson Robe Attendants in Zechuan City was comparable to the Jinyiwei of his previous world—meddling in everything and despised by everyone.

Hearing this, the androgynous youth spread his hands and gave a wicked, charming smile. “Is it so wrong of me to drop by uninvited?”

He turned his gaze to Bai Yujing, who sat nearby with his head lowered, playing with his teacup. A flash of admiration crossed the youth's eyes. “The Chief Disciple of the Wanxing Martial Academy truly lives up to his reputation. A dragon among men indeed!”

He rested his hand on his saber hilt, his expression growing excited.

“Say, isn't it boring just watching others fight? Why don't I accompany Chief Disciple Bai for a round?”

Zhou Zixing's expression instantly changed. Although he loathed Yang Huan—having once been arrested and tortured as a suspect simply because he collected a woodcutter's cleaver left behind by the Debt-Lending Bladesman—he had to admit that Yang Huan was incredibly strong. He had already reached Sixth Rank at the age of seventeen, with a talent only slightly inferior to his own sister's.

Though he had heard that Brother Bai's talent was even superior to his sister's, Bai Yujing had only been practicing martial arts for a few months. He couldn't possibly be a match for Yang Huan.

Zhou Zixing hurriedly shot several looks at Zhou Ziruo, gesturing for her to step in and fight on Bai Yujing's behalf.

Zhou Ziruo deliberately pretended not to see, wanting to make her brother squirm while secretly looking forward to seeing Bai Yujing show off his formidable power.

After all, no one here knew Senior Brother Bai's true strength better than she did...

“I'll fight you!”

Huh?! Zhou Ziruo looked at Zhou Zixing, who had suddenly stood up, and noticed his hands trembling beneath his sleeves. She felt both amused and exasperated.

“Brother, do not be so hasty.”

Yang Huan ignored everyone else, his attention entirely locked onto Bai Yujing.

“Chief Disciple Bai, what say you? Of course, you can refuse, but that would make me find you quite boring.”

He slowly widened his eyes, showing a large amount of the whites of his eyes, and repeated his words: “Extremely... boring.”

Just then, Bai Yujing, who had been playing with his teacup, stopped his movements and slightly raised his eyes.

For some reason, Yang Huan's heart skipped a beat.

He knew full well that the other party had only been practicing martial arts for three months and that his cultivation was bound to be inferior to his own. Yet, he suddenly felt as if he were facing a formidable foe. His expression grew grave, and he unconsciously drew his saber halfway out of its scabbard.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Bai Yujing remained silent. He hooked his thumb around the teacup, slowly raised his hand, and then pressed his index and middle fingers together, pointing them toward Yang Huan from afar.

The movement was very slow, but Yang Huan felt as though he were surrounded by an army of thousands, with absolutely nowhere to hide.

Whoosh!

The teacup transformed into a streak of light, rapidly expanding in Yang Huan's pupils.

Before he could even draw his saber, he was sent flying by the impact of the teacup, crashing heavily outside the door.

As the heavy thud of his body hitting the ground echoed, Bai Yujing finally spoke his first words since the arrival of the Crimson Robe Attendants.

“This Yujing is lacking in ability. I have made a fool of myself before you all.”