Xiao Ningning struggled in her grandmother's arms. Catching sight of a crowd of scoundrels blocking her father and mother at the doorway through the window, she began to wail at the top of her lungs, "My daddy is an immortal! He beats up big badies specially! Daddy, hurry up and protect Ningning and Mommy..."
"I'll give you three more seconds. If you still refuse to kneel, I'll cripple your four limbs and flatten your Soaring Dragon Villa into the ground!"
Seeing that Ye Chen still showed no intention of kneeling, Jiang Feichi finally lost his patience, pointing straight at Ye Chen and cursing.
"One..."
Jiang Feichi opened his mouth and barely managed to spit out a single number.
Swish!
Before his voice even faded, Ye Chen had already charged forward.
Before anyone could react, a punch carrying the weight of a thousand catties struck out with fierce suddenness.
Boom!
This punch felt like an iron hammer hurled down from the heavens, blasting Jiang Feichi flying straight away... Bang! Yet Jiang Feichi had not flown more than a few meters before he slammed heavily into the metal shovel of a bulldozer.
Rumble!
With a deafening crash, Jiang Feichi was struck by the punch and instantly vomited a mouthful of blood... He lay inside the shovel, completely unable to stand back up.
"Pfft...! Pfft... Pfft!"
Blood continuously bubbled from Jiang Feichi's mouth, and soon his nose, eyes, and ears began to bleed as well. His entire body convulsed like someone suffering from epilepsy, as if he were about to die in the next instant.
Silence!
In a flash, all sound died away completely!
Even the bulldozer stalled, while everyone stared at Ye Chen as if looking at an Asura god of death crawled straight up from hell...
"This is the power of just a single punch? To think... to think...!"
Witnessing Jiang Feichi's miserable state, everyone froze in place, too terrified to utter a single word.
Yet Ye Chen remained entirely calm and composed. First, he gently wiped the bloodstains off his fist, and then said coldly, "You lot who are left... do you want to kneel and beg for mercy, or share Jiang Feichi's fate?!"
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Before Ye Chen's voice had even faded, the remaining gang dropped to their knees in unison... With Jiang Feichi reduced to this state, did they dare put up any more resistance?
However, Ye Chen paid no attention to these young masters. Instead, his gaze slowly shifted to Xia Lingwei, who was trembling incessantly, and his voice carried the chill of a millennium of ice: "It seems you want to go down to hell and keep Jiang Feichi company, dying as a pair of doomed lovers!"
Chapter 29: Morning Exercise
Meeting Ye Chen's gaze, Xia Lingwei's delicate body shivered, and her legs shook uncontrollably like the strings of a plucked pipa.
Finally unable to endure the pressure radiating from Ye Chen, her legs went weak, and she hit the ground with a loud thud.
"Kneel for a full three hours, then get lost!"
"Fall short by even a single second, and I'll twist your heads right off your shoulders!"
Ye Chen's anger had been fully aroused, but little Xiao Ningning was watching him from upstairs... Therefore, Ye Chen decided to give these people one last chance.
He did not want his daughter to see him kill someone.
Having said that, Ye Chen turned around to take Xia Qingyue's hand, speaking softly, "Don't be afraid. I'm here."
"Mmm!"
The trembling in Xia Qingyue's body finally subsided the moment Ye Chen grasped her hand.
Back inside the house, Xiao Ningning came running over in tears, "Daddy, Mommy, Ningning was so scared... Ningning wants a hug."
"Good girl!"
With a doting expression, Ye Chen scooped Xiao Ningning up into his arms and used his fingers to gently wipe away the tear tracks on her little face bit by bit. "Don't be scared, Ningning. Daddy has already beaten the bad guys!"
"Okay."
The little girl nodded. She rubbed her fair, tender little face with the back of her chubby hand, then wrapped her arms around Ye Chen's neck and cooed spoiledly, "Ningning isn't scared anymore. Ningning is going to sleep with Daddy tonight!"
"Alright, Daddy will sleep with Ningning."
Ye Chen hugged his daughter tightly, then looked over at his wife. "It's getting late. Let's all go to sleep... Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, Qingcheng, you should stay here at the villa for the night as well."
"Eh? Good, good, good!"
Xia Junjie and Zhang Lan had no idea what to do at this point.
Though Ye Chen's disciple had left, the methods Ye Chen had just displayed hardly seemed mortal either.
For now, staying put seemed like the best course of action!
Returning to the bedroom, Ye Chen first cradled Xiao Ningning and coaxed her to sleep. By then, Xia Qingyue had finished washing up and was wearing a sky-blue silk nightgown. The loose nightgown, made of smooth, silky material, failed to conceal her graceful and curvaceous figure under the glow of the lights.
Moreover, because of the wedding dress and the makeup, Xia Qingyue felt like there was hairspray in her hair... so she had washed it as well.
At the moment, her hair was damp as she tilted her head and dried it with a towel, letting droplets of water occasionally slip from her strands down into her clothes.
Seeing this, Ye Chen found it somewhat difficult to look away.
"Why aren't you going to wash up..."
Noticing Ye Chen's gaze, Xia Qingyue's pretty face flushed slightly. The romantic atmosphere from earlier had been interrupted, but today was, after all, their wedding night. Thus, Xia Qingyue felt a strong sense of anticipation in her heart.
"Ah, right!"
Ye Chen nodded in pleasant surprise, and once Xia Qingyue had dried her hair, he handed Xiao Ningning over to her.
Then he hurried off to wash up...
"Shh!"
With a blushing face, Xia Qingyue tried to lay Xiao Ningning onto the bed, only to find her arm gripped tightly in the child's small grasp.
Xia Qingyue was already terribly shy, and this scene only made her pretty face redden further, her watery peach-blossom eyes too bashful to meet Ye Chen's gaze.
"Let me do it..."
Ye Chen gave a wry smile and took Xiao Ningning back into his arms. Along the way, Xiao Ningning opened her eyes to check, and upon discovering it was Ye Chen, she wrapped her arms around his sleeve and drifted back to sleep.
One minute,
Two minutes...
Half an hour later, Ye Chen began trying to lay Xiao Ningning down... Only to discover with resignation that the little girl insisted on hugging someone's arm to sleep soundly.
Otherwise, the little tot would whimper uneasily, as if caught in a nightmare!
"She must have been frightened by Jiang Feichi and his thugs earlier..."
Ye Chen frowned slightly, a flash of cold intent sweeping through his eyes. Those people were still kneeling outside at this very moment.
"Why don't we just let it go? The Jiang Family has immense power; we shouldn't court trouble," Xia Qingyue said, seeing through his thoughts and looking rather worried.
"Very well... Just hold our daughter and go to sleep," Ye Chen said softly, embracing his wife and daughter. "Stop letting your mind wander."
...
The next day.
When Ye Chen woke up, Xia Qingyue and Xiao Ningning were still fast asleep.
During his time on the summit of Mount Kunlun, he had grown accustomed to morning workouts, so he changed his clothes and stepped outside.
By this time, Xia Lingwei and the others kneeling at the entrance had already left overnight, though Ye Chen paid it no mind... The matter was in the past, and he couldn't be bothered to settle scores with Jiang Feichi again.
With the kick he delivered last night, Ye Chen had only crippled Jiang Feichi by half, which could be considered showing mercy.
If that fellow lacked the sense to know better and came to make trouble again, a single kick would be the least of his worries.
Leaving the villa, Ye Chen first jogged around Green Water Lake for half an hour. Once his morning run concluded, he sat down beneath a large tree to begin meditating.
Not long after he sat down, the iron gate of a nearby villa clicked and clacked open, and an elderly man in a white Tang suit emerged, accompanying a young woman dressed in a white martial arts uniform.
At half-past five in the morning, the entire villa district was exceptionally quiet. Neither the old man nor the young woman noticed Ye Chen; upon stepping outside, they began practicing their forms near Green Water Lake.
The old man was practicing a set of Tai Chi. Though his movements were slow, his palms slicing through the air produced a snapping wind that set his sleeves fluttering continuously...
The young woman stood beside the old man, following along with his movements, though her skill paled in comparison to his...
Still, her execution of the Tai Chi form was quite impressive. She possessed delicate, pretty features, and perhaps due to her martial arts training, there was a hint of heroic spirit between her brows. With dark arched brows, almond-shaped eyes, snow-white tender skin, and full, alluring cherry lips beneath a pert, delicate nose, she cuts a striking figure.
She appeared to be around Xia Qingcheng's age, and as she moved through her forms, her figure beneath the white martial arts uniform was faintly discernible...
At that moment, Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes, having finished his meditation session.
"Hah, the Spiritual Qi here is worlds apart from the peak of Mount Kunlun..."
Muttering to himself, Ye Chen could not help gently shaking his head, a trace of disappointment lingering on his face
———After all, Green Water Villas occupied the prime location of Jinling City, boasting picturesque mountains and clear waters. If the Spiritual Qi here was inadequate, other places would likely be hopeless!
To his surprise, this scene caught the eye of the practicing Tai Chi girl. Her slender brows tilted upward slightly, and wearing a frosty expression, she marched straight up to Ye Chen and demanded, "You keep shaking your head and sighing—do you look down on the martial arts I practice?"
"Hmm?"
Ye Chen raised his eyelids for a look and saw that the young girl was quite striking. Around eighteen or nineteen years of age, with skin that rivaled snow and an exquisite melon-seeded face, her features were both handsome and charming...
Clad in a white martial arts uniform with her pitch-black, soft hair tied behind her head, a sudden breeze caught her, making her look remarkably dashing and spirited.
"Shaking my head?"
Ye Chen blinked slightly, then said, "You must have misunderstood. I wasn't shaking my head to say your skills are poor; I was just reminded of some personal matters..."
"What?!"
At these words, the melon-seeded face of the young woman grew frosty, and she retorted, "When it all comes down to it, you still think my martial arts are poor!"
Chapter 30: Provocation
Seeing the young girl with her brows knitted in anger, Ye Chen was left momentarily speechless.
To him, the young girl's Tai Chi form indeed left much to be desired...
Yet, his head shake just now had carried no intention of mocking her whatsoever; he had simply found the ambient Qi in this place far too thin!
"I had no such intention."
Too lazy to offer any explanation, Ye Chen stood up, preparing to leave.
"Trying to run?"
Seeing this, the young girl's pretty face turned even colder, resembling frozen frost. She lunged forward with a pushing palm, attempting to block his path. "If you don't explain yourself clearly, you aren't going anywhere!!"
Her pair of fair, delicate jade hands looked deceptively soft and weak. Yet Ye Chen could sense an internal force hidden within the girl's palms. If an ordinary person stood in his place, nine times out of ten they would have been shoved off balance by her push and tumbled miserably to the ground.
However, Ye Chen was no ordinary person...
Observing her push, he sidestepped lightly and said, "Young lady, I harbor no ill intentions. Please stop pestering me."
"Hmph! A young lady is a young lady—why must you add the word 'little'?"
A flash of petulance crossed the young girl's face. Glaring at him with wide, almond-shaped eyes, she snapped, "You clearly understand martial arts as well, which means your head-shaking and sighing earlier... you were definitely looking down on my Tai Chi! I'm going to teach you a lesson!!"
With that, the girl's aura shifted. When she struck again, her twin sleeves snapped audibly in the wind.
"Wan'er, do not be impolite!"
Seeing that the girl was turning serious, the old man nearby changed expression and shouted urgently.
Yet it was already too late. Convinced that Ye Chen held her in contempt, the young girl held nothing back with this strike...
"Sigh."
At this point, Ye Chen was truly out of patience. He knew that if he didn't display a trick or two, this young woman would badger him endlessly.
Without hesitation, he raised his left hand slightly, and as she charged forward, he smoothly led with his arm... The girl's hands had been aimed at striking his vital acupoints, but under the guidance of his arm, her body inexplicably lost all control.
"Aiyah! Ai-ai-ai-ay! Grandfather, Grandfather, save me!!"
Pulled along by a strange force, no matter how frantically she struggled, it was useless. Her stumbling steps carried her careening straight into Green Water Lake!!
"Wan'er!"
The old man's expression startled, and he lunged forward to grab her, but he was already too late. With a loud splash, the melon-seeded beauty toppled into Green Water Lake, instantly transformed into a drowned rat.
"Glug, glug..."
Struggling, the girl bobbed back to the surface of the water, then pointed a fierce finger at Ye Chen: "Grandfather, this villain pushed me into the water! Hurry up and punish him to avenge me!!"
"Wan'er, watch your manners."
Glancing at his granddaughter, the old man stepped up to Ye Chen, bowed slightly, and said, "I never expected the young friend to be a practitioner of Martial Dao as well. That push just now... Wan'er was certainly careless, but such a technique is beyond this old man's capabilities! May I ask where your master studied?"
"My master...?"
Ye Chen shook his head slightly. "My master has already passed away."
"Ah... My condolences, young friend. If your late master could witness your current achievements in the Martial Dao, he would smile in the netherworld."
Even as the old man spoke, the young woman had already swum ashore.
Green Water Lake was not deep, but the season was bitterly cold, and coupled with the chill of the early morning, taking a bath in it was far from pleasant.
"Grandfather, why are you trying to cozy up to him? He pushed me into the water to do me harm..."
An expression of utter fury painted the young woman's face. Pampered since childhood, she had never suffered such a grievous wrong since she could remember. Seeing that her grandfather refused to take her side, she ignored her soaked clothing, struck a combat stance, and prepared to fight Ye Chen to the death once more.
"Wan'er..."
Frowning, the old man prepared to scold her, but the girl had already lunged forward again.
"Will this never end?"
Ye Chen furrowed his brows slightly. True, he had pushed her into the lake, but since she had provoked him repeatedly, a small lesson was entirely justified.
Furthermore, Ye Chen had shown restraint, using a mere fraction of his power.
Otherwise, falling into the water would have been the least of her concerns; at best she would be severely injured, and at worst, killed outright!!
The moment those four words finished, Ye Chen channeled another fraction of his strength into his hand. Before the girl could even brush against his sleeve, he unleashed a heavy punch accompanied by the howling wind.
"Wan'er, watch out! Young friend, show mercy!!"
Catching sight of Ye Chen's punching form, the old man's heart skipped a beat. He had assumed that simply sending his granddaughter flying into the lake was the limit of the young man's abilities... He never dreamed this youth was still holding back.
If a punch carrying such howling wind landed on the girl, she would surely break several ribs at the very least, wouldn't she?
Realizing the danger, the old man dared not delay. Gathering every ounce of internal force within his body, he crossed his arms in an 'X' shape before his chest and lunged in front of his granddaughter to take the blow head-on.
Thud!
With a muffled thump, the old man let out a heavy groan, his arms trembling violently as if he had been struck by a moving vehicle.
Not just his arms; his chest churned violently as well. Had it not been for decades of solid foundation, he would have spewed blood right then and there...
"Grandfather! Grandfather, are you alright, Grandfather!"
Seeing the old man's face turn as pale as dirt, a layer of mist welled up in the young woman's pretty eyes: "Grandfather, Grandfather, don't scare me..."
Crying, she whipped her head around and glared at Ye Chen as if ready to fight for her life!
"Wait, w-wait..."
The old man clutched his granddaughter's wrist tightly. After a few rounds of regulating his breath, his trembling lips finally managed to speak: "Just now... he already showed mercy. Otherwise, this old life of mine would be gone!"
With that, the old man rose unsteadily to his feet, walked step by step over to Ye Chen, and bowed respectfully: "It was our arrogance. We never imagined the sir's Martial Dao prowess would be so formidable, and we accept this defeat wholeheartedly. If the sir had not held back three parts of his strength just now, this old frame of mine would likely have perished right here."
"You needn't be modest either. To have mastered the <<Mystic Qi Breathing Technique>> in a mere two years... Not bad." Ye Chen said calmly.
When the old man had been regulating his breath just now, he had used precisely the <<Mystic Qi Breathing Technique>>.
This breathing method originated from Kunlun, and Ye Chen had once taught it to a disciple.
However, that disciple had lost contact for quite some time; when Ye Chen returned to Jinling, that person had not shown up either...
"You know the <<Mystic Qi Breathing Technique>>?"
Shock flared in the old man's eyes. "And you can even pinpoint the exact time I've been practicing it... May I ask who you truly are..."
In the span of a mere half-minute, the old man had changed his form of address for Ye Chen twice.
First it was young friend, then sir, and now it had become the respectful 'you'!!
"I am Tie Kuangyun's master..."
Without concealing his identity, Ye Chen articulated each word clearly: "I am Ye, Kun, lun."
By now, Ye Chen had concluded that the <<Mystic Qi Breathing Technique>> must have been passed down to the old man by Tie Kuangyun... Though the exact reasons remained unclear, if the old man had ever heard the name "Ye Kunlun," the mystery would be solved!!
Chapter 31: Paying Respects to the Grand-Master
"Ye Kunlun?!"
Hearing those three words, the old man trembled all over and dropped straight to his knees, crying out loudly, "Your unworthy disciple Jiang Yong'an pays respects to the Grand-Master!!"
Grand-Master?
Hearing this form of address, Ye Chen could not help frowning slightly.
It seemed Tie Kuangyun had taken this old man as a disciple, but... Tie Kuangyun could hardly be considered Ye Chen's final closed-door disciple. Therefore, Ye Chen had no desire to play the role of this accidental grand-master.
"Rise first. There's no need for the title of Grand-Master."
Ye Chen waved his hand dismissively and then asked, "How did Tie Kuangyun end up taking you as a disciple?"
One had to know that Tie Kuangyun was only a little over forty years old this year, whereas the white-haired old man before him was at least seventy.
Thus, Ye Chen was quite curious about how Tie Kuangyun had suddenly decided to take an old man as his pupil.
"Two years ago, this disciple... no, this old man had suffered internal injuries in his youth, and visiting countless famous doctors proved completely useless."
"Later on, I encountered Master by the lakeside. At the time, he was already severely injured, so he begged me to do one thing—to bury his family before he died..."
"Back then, my own internal injuries flared up, and seeing Master covered in wounds with nowhere left to run, a sense of shared misfortune welled up in me, so I agreed."
"I selected a geomantic spot for Master's family and gave them a proper burial."
"When Master left, he imparted the <<Mystic Qi Breathing Technique>> to me... At that time, I was filled with despair. Having visited so many physicians, I harbored no real hope. Later, when my chronic ailments flared up again, I simply treated the breathing method as a last resort. To my surprise, after practicing it for several months, not only did my ailments vanish, but my martial prowess grew day by day!!"
"Yet Master had already left Jinling. Before leaving, he only said one sentence: that his master's name was Ye Kunlun, and since I had learned the <<Mystic Qi Breathing Technique>>, I was considered a grand-disciple to the Grand-Master..."
As he spoke, Jiang Yong'an dropped to his knees once more. "Master saved my life and spoke of the Grand-Master... Therefore, I beg the Grand-Master not to expel this unworthy disciple from the sect."
Beside them, the melon-seeded beauty stood frozen.
Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that the infuriating young man before her eyes turned out to be her grandfather's grand-master?
Doesn't that make her lower in the lineage by one, two, three, four generations?