"Just this?"
Everyone from the Lin Family, along with Li Muxian, froze completely.
"Just this?" was obviously not a word of praise.
At that moment, Ye Lingyue glanced at Jiang Lang and sighed softly, "You were right. I really am disappointed."
Jiang Lang shrugged. "I just like to speak the truth."
Ye Lingyue nodded. "He's truly no match for you."
Jiang Lang immediately said, "Comparing me to him? That's a really nasty insult to drop on me..."
Directly ignored, Li Muxian turned ashen with rage. "Ninth Princess, what is the meaning of this? I am a peerless prodigy who triggered a Heaven and Earth Phenomenon, yet you compare me to a piece of trash like him? Isn't that a bit disrespectful?"
Ye Lingyue cast a glance at him. "Your cultivation foundation is unstable, floating like a bubble and vanishing like a mirage. Your vital energy is weak, resembling rootless driftwood. You expect me to believe someone like you can trigger a Heaven and Earth Phenomenon, let alone serve as the Holy Son of the Tianyan Sacred Sect? Are you out of your mind? Could your position as the Holy Son of the Tianyan Sacred Sect possibly be fake?"
As soon as those words fell, the expressions of everyone in the Lin Family shifted.
Ye Lingyue's remarks were undeniably sharp.
Yet Ye Lingyue was a genuine, true-dragon prodigy; with her making such an assessment, no one dared to refute her.
Li Muxian's expression also changed, his look instantly turning gloomy. "Ninth Princess, the members of the Lin Family witnessed with their own eyes that I triggered the Heaven and Earth Phenomenon, and I hold the Holy Son token of the Tianyan Sacred Sect right in my hand. What grounds do you have to call me a fake?"
Ye Lingyue glanced at him. "Whether you are real or fake is no longer of any consequence to me. Farewell."
With that, she turned and walked away.
Just as she turned to leave, Li Muxian suddenly called out, "Hold on."
Ye Lingyue paused. "What else do you have to say?"
Li Muxian fixed his gaze on her. "Ninth Princess, I want to prove myself to you."
Ye Lingyue turned back, raising an eyebrow. "And how do you propose to do that?"
Li Muxian held up three fingers, waving them as he said with utmost confidence, "Three moves. I only need three moves to prove myself."
Ye Lingyue let out an "Oh."
The moment the sound left her lips, her long spear materialized in her hand out of nowhere. Lowering her waist and planting her stance, she thrust forward.
Bang!
Boom—
The surrounding space instantly shattered!
Li Muxian's expression changed drastically. He felt an irresistible pressure bearing down on him, forcibly suppressing the circulating Qi within his body. He froze in place on the spot, large beads of cold sweat rolling down his forehead.
The spearhead in front of him no longer looked like a mere weapon; it felt like a ferocious dragon opening its jaws to devour him!
The entire venue fell into absolute silence, quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
At that exact moment, Jiang Lang suddenly let out a snort of laughter. "Sorry, I really couldn't hold it in."
He held up three fingers, mimicking Li Muxian's tone from a moment ago. "'Three moves. I only need three moves to prove myself.' Haha... I'm dying of laughter..."
Ye Lingyue withdrew her long spear and shook her head with a sigh. "If you hadn't stopped, I might have thought a bit more of you. But the fact that you stopped proves you'll never amount to much. You're utterly weak!"
Her words gave him not an ounce of face, and Li Muxian's expression turned uglier than words could describe.
Ye Lingyue then glanced at everyone in the Lin Family. "Instead of pouring your resources into this person, you'd be far better off giving them to Jiang Lang. Even though he has no Spiritual Qi, his physical body is incomparably formidable. Even if he ultimately cannot go far down this path, he's still vastly superior to this empty-headed, posturing idiot!"
Everyone in the Lin Family fell silent.
After a moment of silence, Li Muxian finally erupted. "Ninth Princess, I admit I am no match for you in a fight, but I refuse to accept being told I am inferior to this piece of trash!"
Ye Lingyue glanced at him. "You refuse to accept it? Very well."
With that, she whirled around and thrust her spear straight at Jiang Lang!
Jiang Lang still wore a cheeky smile, but he threw a punch forward with full force!
Bang!
Boom—
Instantly, a wave of violent energy surged outward!
Jiang Lang was knocked back several yards, but he emerged completely unscathed.
Seeing this, everyone in the Lin Family was utterly shocked.
They could all see that Ye Lingyue had not held back in the slightest; if anything, this strike was even more powerful than the one she had thrust at Li Muxian!
Li Muxian wore a look of utter disbelief. "This piece of trash... how is that possible?!"
Beside him, Lin Yayin was so stunned her jaw dropped.
Wasn't this trash already crippled? How could he still be this strong?!
Looking at Li Muxian, Ye Lingyue spoke in a calm voice, "He has no Spiritual Qi, but he is by no means trash. If he could absorb Spiritual Qi, you wouldn't even be fit to carry his shoes!
It's just a pity..."
She didn't continue, her gaze shifting to Jiang Lang with deep regret.
Jiang Lang was truly too strong. If he could absorb Spiritual Qi, his potential would never fall short of her own.
Such a monstrous prodigy—it was just such a tremendous, heartbreaking pity!
Hearing this, Jiang Lang grinned. "With all due respect to the Ninth Princess, even without my Spiritual Qi, he still isn't fit to carry my shoes."
Li Muxian's face completely collapsed. He clenched his fists so hard that his fingernails dug deep into his flesh.
Without sparing Li Muxian another glance, Ye Lingyue said to Jiang Lang, "I'm leaving. Remember our agreement."
Jiang Lang nodded. "Alright, until we meet again."
Ye Lingyue turned and walked away.
Jiang Lang called out, "Wife, let's go."
With that, he prepared to take Lin Qingrou away.
Just then, with a gloomy expression, Li Muxian stepped forward to block Jiang Lang's path. "Hold on!"
Jiang Lang asked, "Something else?"
Li Muxian said with a cold voice, "You really managed to steal the spotlight today."
Jiang Lang replied indifferently, "Don't blame me. Who told you to be so useless?"
A bone-chilling coldness flashed in Li Muxian's eyes. "You're truly asking for death!"
Jiang Lang smiled. "Come on, come on. I wouldn't mind beating you to death, seriously."
A terrifying murderous intent radiated from Li Muxian's body.
Seeing the two of them at loggerheads and ready to explode into violence at any second, Lin Wei stepped forward to block the space between them, smiling warmly. "Nephew Li, Nephew Jiang, let's not damage the harmony here. Do me a favor and let it go."
Jiang Lang was taken aback.
Nephew Jiang?
Did Lin Wei have a change of heart?
No, that was impossible.
Based on his understanding of Lin Wei, this man was a thorough sycophant. The only reason he was changing his attitude toward him must be because Ye Lingyue's words had caused him to reevaluate Jiang Lang's value.
He was simply hedging his bets on both sides.
Li Muxian's eyes narrowed. "Consider yourself lucky."
Jiang Lang smiled. "Don't back down now. Come on, come on, let's see you bring some bad luck upon me."
Meanwhile, Lin Qingrou hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Jiang Lang's arm. "Husband, it's better to avoid trouble when we can, alright?"
Looking into Lin Qingrou's worried eyes, Jiang Lang's heart softened. "Whatever you say."
Watching this scene from the side, Lin Yayin felt her heart get stabbed fiercely by something, though she couldn't quite explain why.
She knew that all that gentleness used to belong entirely to her, but now, she had nothing left.
Even though she was the one who had kicked Jiang Lang away, right now, she felt a profound sense of envy—and even jealousy.
Perhaps this was what it meant to only realize something's true value after losing it.
Soon enough.
Lin Qingrou linked her arm through Jiang Lang's, and they walked away with looks of bliss on their faces.
Staring at their leaning, intertwined backs, Lin Yayin gripped her fists so tightly she felt like she was losing her mind.
An ugly brute!
A piece of trash!
What was there to be envious of?!
Li Muxian stood there with a dark expression, not uttering a word.
At that moment, Xu Yunyun spoke up, "Young Master Li, what on earth happened to you? How could you fail to block a single strike from the Ninth Princess?"
Li Muxian said, "In order to break through my cultivation realm today, I pushed myself too hard during practice, which is why I wasn't able to display my full strength. Besides, hadn't I not even made my move yet when the Ninth Princess prematurely declared I wouldn't cut it? If I had struck back then, wouldn't that have caused her to lose face?
We are all subjects of the realm; if we cause the Ninth Princess to lose face, what kind of good end could we possibly meet? I didn't want to blow things out of proportion, so I held back."
Xu Yunyun was startled. "So that's how it was?!
I knew it! You're the Holy Son of the Tianyan Sacred Sect, a prodigy who triggered a Heaven and Earth Phenomenon—how could you possibly fail to take that spear strike from the Ninth Princess? The Ninth Princess is really something else, though; she should have given you another chance. Sigh! And here I thought we'd win the favor of the royal family..."
Lin Wei said coldly, "Even if you did win the favor of the royal family, that would be Young Master Li's affair. What does it have to do with my Lin Family? Am I right, Young Master Li?"
Knowing that Lin Wei was settling accounts after the fact, Li Muxian immediately put on a smile. "What is Uncle Lin saying? I, Li Muxian, have received immense kindness from the Lin Family. The Lin Family and I will forever be one family."
Lin Wei sneered, "I hope Young Master Li remembers those words today."
With that, he flicked his sleeve and walked away.
Li Muxian's expression turned intensely ugly. He knew that the rift between him and Lin Wei would likely be impossible to mend, and his heart turned ice-cold. *Old bastard, you won't be arrogant for much longer. Everything the Lin Family owns will be mine sooner or later! And as for that trash Jiang Lang, I will make sure you die!*
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
In the little dilapidated shack.
Lin Qingrou suddenly asked, "H-Husband, there's something I want to ask you."
Jiang Lang said, "What is it?"
Lin Qingrou asked, "How on earth do you know the Ninth Princess?"