Chapter 21 · Volume 1

Am I Doing This Out of the Goodness of My Heart?

Gao Qiuge really hadn't expected Ye Jinghong to actually dare to attack him.
Shaking with rage, he subconsciously reached to stroke his goatee.
But his fingers met only empty air. Looking down, he realized that the goatee he had meticulously grown for decades had been cleanly sliced off by a large chunk by the sharp sword qi!
He was even more furious now!
With a face as dark as thunder, he stuffed a Tier Three Rejuvenation Pill into the beak of the giant eagle beneath him.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, his top-grade Treasure Tool, the beast-taming ring, flashed with light.
The massive Golden Giant Eagle transformed into a sphere of light and quickly flew back inside.
Dead silence filled the entire arena.
Gao Qiuge paced over to the front of the stage with a gloomy expression, bellowing harshly, “Ye Jinghong! How dare you heavily injure this old man's Dao-protecting spirit bird! This is insubordination! You had better give this old man a proper explanation!”
Before his voice could even fade, and before Ye Jinghong could respond, an incredibly arrogant “Tsk, tsk, tsk” suddenly echoed across the quiet plaza.
Everyone looked over to see Jiang Ye, who had been “gravely injured and coughing up blood” just moments ago, now lying comfortably on the clean, soft fur of the Bolt-Striking Tiger's belly.
He had even dragged one of the tiger's thick forelegs over to use as a pillow under his head.
Jiang Ye wiped away the fake blood from the corner of his mouth, looking at Gao Qiuge as if the man were an idiot: “Hey, whoever you are, you're Gao Jinli's grandfather, right?”
“Let me lay it out for you. What you're saying is—you, a grand Golden Core stage powerhouse, took advantage of a fair duel between two Qi Condensation juniors to launch a shameless sneak attack, gravely injuring me.”
“And after doing all that, you have the nerve to bite back and blame a righteous senior brother who was forced to step in only because his junior sister was sneak-attacked by a shameless scoundrel?”
Veins throbbed on Gao Qiuge's forehead as he listened, his face darkening even further.
Jiang Ye's innocent voice continued to ring out: “Elder Gao, let me make this clear first: I'm absolutely not trying to insult you.”
“But... is there something wrong with your head?”
Silence.
In the outer sect plaza, countless Sword Peak disciples gasped in shock.
“Junior! You court death!!”
Gao Qiuge completely lost his temper, and the terrifying pressure of a Golden Core stage cultivator crashed down like a tidal wave!
Thud! Thud!
At that exact moment, Ye Jinghong and Gu Qingxue took a step forward without the slightest hesitation.
Two even more violent surges of sword intent crashed forward like physical entities!
Bang!
As if struck by a heavy blow, Gao Qiuge stumbled back several steps. Clutching his chest as his blood boiled, he glared at them: “You...”
His pupils dilated in sheer shock.
Never in his wildest dreams did he expect that this little bastard Ye Jinghong's cultivation had quietly broken through to the mid stage Golden Core realm!
As an elder of the Beast-Taming Peak, he had been stuck at the early stage Golden Core realm for many years. Normally, he relied entirely on his Tier Three early stage Golden Giant Eagle to stay a head above Ye Jinghong.
Now, his eagle was crippled, and his cultivation level had been completely surpassed!
What was most absurd was that this was just a tournament for newly recruited outer sect disciples. Even if the talent involved was outstanding, why on earth were all four True Disciples of Sword Peak standing around watching?!
Are the True Disciples of your Sword Peak really this free every single day?!
Knowing he was in the wrong and couldn't win the fight, Gao Qiuge could only swallow his anger, grinding his teeth in frustration.
He let out a heavy, cold snort and swept his sleeve: “Hand over the Bolt-Striking Tiger! This old man will not lower himself to argue with you juniors today!”
At these words, the surrounding Sword Peak disciples couldn't help but sigh in relief.
Forcing an elder holding actual power to publicly back down was already an immense victory.
“What are you waiting for?! Hand it over quickly!”
Gao Qiuge waved his hand in extreme impatience, urging Jiang Ye, who was still lying motionless on the Bolt-Striking Tiger.
However, that paper-thin and arrogant voice drifted up once again at a leisurely pace: “Old geezer, why don't you catch the wind and soar ninety thousand miles straight into the heavens?”
“What do you mean?” Gao Qiuge was taken aback, completely baffled. What kind of situation was this, and why was this girl reciting poetry?
Jiang Ye rolled his eyes and kindly translated: “It means: Old geezer, why don't you just go to heaven!”
“Junior! You...”
Jiang Ye didn't give him a single chance to blow his top. Reaching into his spatial ring, he pulled out a thick copy of the Azure Mystic Sect Rules and began reading aloud with mock seriousness: “Rule 233: During duels between fellow disciples, no lives shall be taken, and absolutely no outsiders shall interfere. Otherwise, severe punishment by the sect shall be enforced!”
Gao Qiuge's fists clenched so hard they popped. He roared back in protest, “Bullshit! This old man clearly shouted for you to stop! Why did you keep attacking?!”
Jiang Ye shrugged calmly: “Old geezer, get your facts straight. I was stabbing this big kitty tiger with my sword.”
“Unless, besides that trash lying over there taking a nap, this big kitty tiger... also shares some unspeakable blood relation with you?”
“You... what nonsense are you spewing! You were clearly still attacking that trash—no, my grandson!” Gao Qiuge was so angry he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
Jiang Ye let out a wicked grin.
He was waiting for exactly those words!
Clapping his hands with style, he shouted, “Everyone, please watch the VCR~”
In the crowd, Ye Ningning, the tool of a helper whom Jiang Ye had arranged beforehand, ran up to the stage with an excited expression, holding a recording stone high in the air.
Jiang Ye sneered inwardly.
As a modern-day corporate slave, knowing how to shift blame and keep receipts of everything was just basic survival.
How could an old native geezer who solved every problem by shouting in the cultivation world possibly comprehend this level of play?
Seeing the recording stone in Ye Ningning's hand, Gao Qiuge's face turned completely black.
Glancing at the Bolt-Striking Tiger that was on the verge of death on the ground, he suppressed the fury boiling in his chest and said through gritted teeth, “Fine! This old man admits defeat! Hand over the Bolt-Striking Tiger, and we will let bygones be bygones!”
Jiang Ye cleaned his ear with a finger. “Are you even speaking human words?”
Fearing that this old man's education level was too low to understand, Jiang Ye very thoughtfully translated it again: “Do you even understand human language, you piece of work?”
“What exactly do you want?!”
Jiang Ye sat up from the Bolt-Striking Tiger's belly and shrugged, making Bai Zhirou's delicate face wear an exceptionally sinister smile: “Old geezer, since you've admitted to the sneak attack, you should pay some mental distress damages, right? After all... you wouldn't want your precious grandson to wake up, find his big kitty tiger gone, and come crying to you, would you?”
“How many spirit stones?!” Gao Qiuge ground out.
Jiang Ye didn't answer, merely holding up a single fair index finger.
Gao Qiuge frowned. “One hundred low-grade spirit stones?”
Jiang Ye shook his head.
“One thousand low-grade spirit stones?!”
Jiang Ye continued to shake his head.
Gao Qiuge's eyes widened in anger, his voice suddenly rising: “Ten thousand low-grade spirit stones?! Aren't you afraid you won't live to spend it?!”
Jiang Ye shook his head once more, rolled his eyes dramatically, and said in disbelief, “Keep dreaming! Flat rate: ten million.”
“Ten million?! Why the hell don't you just go rob someone?!” Gao Qiuge was so furious he spat out a curse on the spot.
Jiang Ye put on an expression even more shocked than his: “Huh? What do you think I'm doing right now?! Being helpful?!”

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