"Xiaoqing asked, looking somewhat frightened.
After all, the little girl was only fourteen or fifteen years old and had never cultivated; seeing the fierce and menacing Zhang Haoran and his companion, it was only natural for her to be afraid.
Yun Chen ruffled the little girl’s dry, yellowish hair with a touch of pity and said, "Don't worry. I believe there is always a way out."
Though he said this, he had no idea how to get through the crisis at hand.
Zhang Haoran had already strode forward, preparing to lay a hand on Yun Feiyang.
He intended to give this fellow a good lesson and vent some of his brother's pent-up anger.
Yun Chen felt utterly helpless.
He currently possessed not a shred of spiritual energy within him; how could he possibly be a match for a cultivator in the Qi Condensation Realm?
However, there was a blue bead inside his body. That bead was something Yun Feiyang had obtained in a secret realm; because it helped accelerate one's cultivation speed, he had always kept it on his person.
The reason this bead was now inside his body must have had something to do with the time Yun Feiyang was injured while protecting Lin Yuchu.
Zhang Zetao watched the scene with great interest.
Xiaoqing seemed to realize that the man was about to strike her young master. Instinctively, she stepped in front of Yun Chen. Even though she was terrified, she made no move to step aside. "Y-you, don't hit my young master! If you want to hit someone, hit me instead!""Little girl, get lost!" Zhang Haoran didn't think much of a mere maid; he raised his hand, intending to slap Xiaoqing aside.
At the critical moment, Yun Chen pulled Xiaoqing behind him, causing Zhang Haoran's attack to land on empty air.
"You're courting death!"
Zhang Haoran raised his fist and slammed it directly toward Yun Chen.
Yun Chen's pupils contracted, but before he could react, he was sent flying by the punch, spitting out a mouthful of blood as he landed.
"Young Master!" Xiaoqing cried out in alarm.
"Hahaha! A piece of trash is always a piece of trash; you can't even withstand a single punch from me," Zhang Haoran laughed triumphantly, preparing to step forward and continue the assault.
"That's enough. You've already hit him, so hurry up and leave!"
Finally, a voice sounded from the crowd nearby.
"Who? Who dares to interfere in my, Zhang Haoran's, business?" Zhang Haoran was instantly incensed that someone would dare meddle.
Zhou Tian had already gotten on his nerves by stepping in earlier, and now someone else was doing the same. Did they really think he, Zhang Haoran, was a pushover?
"It is I."
A young girl dressed in a maid's uniform stepped out.She wore a cold expression, yet she raised her chin with immense arrogance, looking quite haughty.
Upon seeing this young girl, Zhang Haoran's face stiffened, and he forced a smile. "So it is Junior Sister Binglan. It was this senior brother who was abrupt."
Shao Binglan was Lin Yuchu's personal maid.
Do not be fooled into thinking she was merely a maid; she was a genuine Origin Opening Realm powerhouse and likewise an inner sect disciple of the Tianyang Sect, holding a status and position far superior to Zhang Haoran's.
Even Zhang Zedao could not compare to her in terms of status.
"Zhang Zedao, Zhang Haoran, he is already a cripple now. Bullying a cripple—you two really bring honor to the Tianyang Sect," Shao Binglan said indifferently, making the expressions of the Zhang brothers turn exceptionally unsightly.
Fortunately, Shao Binglan had no intention of pursuing the matter further. Instead, she walked up to Yun Chen and said condescendingly, "My young miss said to tell you to leave the Tianyang Sect early tomorrow morning. This is your traveling money!"
As she spoke, she tossed out a small pouch. The pouch emitted a jangling sound; needless to say, it contained items like gold coins.
Shao Binglan had evidently arrived long ago. The reason she had not shown herself until now was likely because she wanted to let Zhang Haoran teach Yun Chen a lesson.
That bag of gold coins amounted to at least ten thousand.
Yet at this moment, Yun Chen felt inexplicably furious.
Heh, it seemed that Lin Yuchu truly had never taken him to heart.
For her, he had risked his life countless times to obtain resources; for her, in the secret realm, he had used his own body to trade for a chance at survival for her.
And what he received now was simply this kind of outcome.
His sacrifices now appeared so laughable, so naive.
Instead of picking up the gold coins, he forced himself to stand up and sneered, "Thank your young miss for her kindness on my behalf."
With that, he looked at Zhou Tian.
Zhou Tian seemed to understand Yun Chen's intent and led Yun Chen and the other away.
Seeing that Yun Chen refused even the gold coins, Shao Binglan couldn't help but scoff disdainfully, " Courting death!"
Arriving at Zhou Tian's residence, Yun Chen's expression did not look well.
"Brother Yun..." Zhou Tian cast a worried glance at Yun Chen.
"Brother Zhou, go rest first! I am fine. Right, if possible, please help me get some food for Xiaoqing."
"Alright!"Zhou Tian left, leaving Yun Chen alone in the room.
"I must cultivate! I refuse to believe that I will remain a useless cripple forever. Zhang Haoran, Zhang Zetao, I will repay today's humiliation a hundredfold in the future!"
Yun Chen silently vowed to himself, his eyes burning with a rage that seemed ready to erupt into flames.
Yet the angrier he grew, the calmer his mind became.
Thinking of the blue bead within his body, Yun Chen hurriedly directed his inner sight inward.
To his pleasant surprise, his completely shattered dantian was actually reassembling itself. Although the process was extremely slow, Yun Chen felt as though he had been struck by a massive wave of unexpected joy.
"Hahaha, I knew it! Heaven never cuts off all avenues of escape!" Yun Chen stared at the condition inside his body and discovered that countless unimaginably fine blue threads were extending from the blue bead. These delicate threads were precisely the key to the reassembly of his dantian.
The night passed in silence. Early the next morning, Yun Chen took Xiaoqing, stepped out of Zhou Tian's quarters, and headed onto the main road.
It was the month of April, and fiery red maples covered the surroundings. A gust of wind brought a hint of chill, blowing Yun Chen's long hair back behind him.
He turned around and cast one last look at the Tianyang Sect.
Then, he clenched his fists tightly.
"Brother, take care!"
With those words, Yun Chen took Xiaoqing's hand and turned away with resolute determination.
At the foot of the mountain, Zhou Tian watched Yun Chen's retreating figure and let out a soft sigh.
A youth in fine clothes riding a spirited horse — a brilliant moment of fleeting beauty.
Now he walked away into the dust, his future entirely unknown.
The Tianyang Sect could never have imagined what would happen as a result of Yun Chen's departure.
A heaven-defying legend slowly began to unfold, tracking with the youth's retreating back.
...
In the mountain forest.
Xiaoqing appeared extremely nervous.
The surrounding mountains all belonged within the territory of the Tianyang Sect. The small town closest to the Tianyang Sect was called Qingyang Town. Traveling from Zhengqing Mountain to Qingyang Town took about an hour with a fast horse.
However, Yun Chen and Xiaoqing had no fast horses, so they had to walk.
Walking would take at least three to four hours, and that was assuming they encountered no unexpected situations along the way. Once an accident happened, three to four hours might not even be enough to arrive.
Both of them were currently mere ordinary people. Although the territory of the Tianyang Sect should not harbor any danger, it was always best to be prepared for the worst — which was the main reason Yun Chen and Xiaoqing had not traveled through the night.
"Don't worry, your young master is here!" Sensing Xiaoqing's nervousness, Yun Chen offered a word of comfort.
Hearing her young master's gentle voice, Xiaoqing relaxed as well.
Ever since her young master had woken up this time, he seemed different from before, almost like a completely changed person.
Yet to Xiaoqing, this was a good thing.
In the past, her young master had never given her a pleasant expression, but now he treated her very well.
Indeed, in the little girl's eyes, speaking to her nicely already counted as treating her very well.
If Yun Chen knew what this little girl was thinking, he would likely be quite ashamed.
"Young master, a carriage!" After walking for a while, the sound of carriage wheels rolling over the road came from behind them.
Yun Chen turned around and indeed saw a carriage speeding toward them.
Yun Chen hurriedly pulled Xiaoqing to the side of the road.
With his cultivation completely ruined now, he wanted no part in trouble.
The carriage quickly approached the two of them. To their surprise, however, the carriage actually stopped right in front of them.
The carriage curtain pulled back, revealing an exquisitely peerless and pretty face. After glancing at Yun Chen and Xiaoqing, she suddenly asked, "Where are you two headed? If you're going the same way, I can give you a ride."
Her voice was crisp and melodious, like the singing of an oriole.
"We are heading to Qingshan Town, but there's no need to trouble you, miss!" There was no such thing as a free lunch, and Yun Chen did not want to trouble others.
Hearing this, the young girl said nothing more and simply instructed the driver to continue.
As the carriage drove far away, Xiaoqing asked in bewilderment, "Young master, why didn't we take the carriage? If we took the carriage, we could reach Qingyang Town much faster."
Yun Chen shook his head slightly. "Accepting favors makes you soft; taking food makes you short-tongued. Little girl, unless absolutely necessary, we must never owe favors to others."
"Oh!" Xiaoqing stuck out her tongue, understanding only half of it.
The rest of the journey was uneventful. Finally, around noon, Yun Chen and Xiaoqing arrived outside Qingyang Town.
Upon reaching Qingyang Town, Yun Chen subconsciously let out a breath of relief.
Xiaoqing was so hungry she could barely walk, panting heavily.
As soon as they stepped into the small town, the little girl asked, "Young master, where are we going now?"Neither of them had a single copper coin to their name. Forget about paying for an inn; they could not even afford a meal.
Yun Chen shook his head slightly.
To be honest, after leaving the Tianyang Sect, he had no concrete plan.
Returning to the Yun family was practically impossible.
The Yun family was far away in Tianyan City, which was at least several thousand kilometers away from the Tianyang Sect. If he were still a cultivator, he could have made the journey back, but now he was merely a mortal. The moment he ran into any danger, he would lack even the ability to protect himself, let alone while looking after Xiaoqing.
"Did you see that? That's Yun Feiyang, once the number one genius of the Tianyang Sect. I heard he's been expelled from the sect."
"Him?"
"That's right, it's him. Heh, the guy probably never expected things to come to this!"
"You can say that again."
Qingyang Town was not far from the Tianyang Sect, and it was a favorite hangout spot for many Tianyang Sect disciples, so quite a few people recognized Yun Chen. The moment the two of them stepped into the small town, several people recognized them.
Yun Chen was momentarily speechless.
Back when he was the number one genius of the Tianyang Sect, he had been extremely high-profile and had visited Qingyang Town at least ten times, so it was no surprise that people recognized him right away.
Chapter 5: Living or Dying
Although Qingyang Town was called a town, it was actually quite vast—calling it a city would not be an exaggeration.
At that moment, Yun Chen was walking down the street with Xiaoqing.
Not to mention Xiaoqing, even Yun Chen found his mouth watering at the sight of various inns.
Having walked continuously for hours, to be honest, he was hungry too.
Xiaoqing was already undernourished; back at the Tianyang Sect, she mostly ate whatever leftovers the chore disciples discarded. Having walked for two solid hours now, the little girl felt dizzy and drowsy as she walked down the street, desperately wanting to find a place to lie down and get some proper rest.
Yet she knew that was impossible, so she bit down hard on her lower lip to keep herself awake. Her lips were bitten raw, and traces of blood seeped through.
"Young Master, I... I'll go beg for a couple of steamed buns for you."
She knew her young master must be very hungry too, and as his maid, it was her duty to share all his burdens.
As she spoke, she started walking toward a bun shop, intending to beg for two buns.
Yun Chen grabbed Xiaoqing by the arm, feeling a profound sense of warmth in his heart.
This little girl thought of him with all her heart, whereas his past self seemed to have never noticed it at all.
"What is it, Young Master?" Xiaoqing asked with a puzzled look when the young master pulled her back.
"Silly girl, your young master is a grown man after all. How could I let a young lady like you go beg for food for me?" Yun Chen said. "Come on, Young Master will take you somewhere. Maybe we can earn some gold coins there and have a hearty meal."
"Where?" Xiaoqing asked curiously.
"You'll see when we get there."
"Isn't that Yun Feiyang? Where is he going?" Not far from Yun Chen, three outer disciples dressed in identical uniforms stood watching, one of them asking with a puzzled look as he watched Yun Feiyang.
"Let's go check it out!"
Curiosity piqued, the group followed right behind them.
When they saw Yun Feiyang and the girl walk straight into an arena, shock appeared on all their faces.
The three hesitated for a brief moment before stepping into the arena as well.
The arena in Qingyang Town was very large, resembling a small football stadium on the inside.
As soon as Yun Chen and Xiaoqing stepped inside, a wave of loud clamor washed over them.
"Young Master!" Seeing so many people here, Xiaoqing grew even more nervous.
Yun Chen took a deep breath.
He knew that coming to the arena was an extremely risky move.
The Dantian in his body had almost finished reconstructing, yet there was not even a shred of spiritual qi inside it.
Choosing to come here was a measure of absolute desperation.
If one wanted to acquire food in the fastest way possible, the only option was to challenge someone.
Here in the arena, as long as you stepped onto the fighting stage and defeated an opponent of the same cultivation realm, you would receive one low-grade spirit stone.
A single low-grade spirit stone was worth ten thousand gold coins. If Yun Chen could defeat just one person, those ten thousand gold coins would be enough for the two of them to live in Qingyang Town for quite some time.
Conversely, if Yun Chen was beaten to death on the stage, his death would be for nothing.
Even the Yun family behind him would never dare to make a fuss about it.
In the arena, once you stepped onto the stage, life and death were matters of chance.
Yun Chen was merely an ordinary person; if he issued a challenge, he would naturally have to challenge a cultivator in the Spirit-Guiding Realm. Defeating the opponent would earn him a spirit stone, or if he didn't want the spirit stone, he could exchange it for ten thousand gold coins.
On one of the stages, a Spirit-Guiding Realm cultivator stood quietly.
He was already at the Mid Spirit-Guiding Realm, having just won two matches and now awaiting his third.
"Xiaoqing, wait for me here for a moment!" Yun Chen said, striding purposefully toward the direction of the stage.
There were quite a few people inside, but aside from the three Tianyang Sect outer disciples who had followed Yun Chen in, not many paid him any attention.
Seeing Yun Chen actually walking toward the stage, the three disciples looked bewildered.
They knew very well that the current Yun Chen was nothing more than a cripple. What was he trying to do by walking toward the stage? Could he possibly be thinking of issuing a challenge?
Under their dumbfounded gazes, Yun Chen walked straight onto the stage.
"He really went up!"
"Has this guy lost his mind? That's a Mid Spirit-Guiding Realm cultivator up there—he could crush him with a single slap."
"Could Yun Feiyang have taken such a heavy blow that he's intentionally seeking death?"
The three of them chimed in.
"Young Miss, look!" In the crowd not far away, a young woman in a cyan robe spoke up suddenly.
Standing beside her was an elegant young woman dressed in white gauze.
She possessed exquisite features, and her bright, expressive eyes seemed capable of speaking, instantly winning people's favor.
Turning her gaze, she immediately spotted Yun Chen standing on the stage not far away.
"It's him!"
The maid looked surprised.
"That's right, it's that guy we ran into on our way to Qingyang Town earlier. He's just an ordinary person, yet he dares to step onto the stage. Has he got a death wish?"
Cultivators naturally carried a certain aura about them.
Yun Chen, however, lacked even the faintest trace of cultivation aura. In other words, he was just an ordinary person, and for an ordinary person to step onto the stage was no different from seeking death.
Yun Chen, standing on the stage, was completely unaware of what the others were thinking. Right now, his expression was grave as he looked at the burly man standing before him.
Seeing Yun Chen step onto the stage, the burly man asked in disbelief, "Kid, did you walk into the wrong place?"
"I'm here to challenge you!" Yun Chen replied with a calm expression.
"Ha..." The burly man chuckled in disbelief. "You're going to challenge me?"
An ordinary person dared to challenge him?
What did they take Hong Batian for? A soft persimmon that any stray cat or dog could step up and challenge?
"Kid, don't say I didn't warn you. Once you confirm the challenge, you're very likely to end up as a corpse. Do you still want to challenge me?"
Hong Batian stared at Yun Chen, his tone bone-chilling.
If this fellow really continued to court death by challenging him, he certainly wouldn't mind executing him on the spot.
Yun Chen nodded with unyielding determination: "I challenge you!"
He had no other choice; if he didn't take a gamble, he wouldn't even be able to afford a meal.
Since he had been granted a second life, he couldn't just die in utter humiliation!
Whether death or life awaited him, he would go out with a bang.
"Fine, then I'll grant your wish!"
Hearing this, a murderous intent surged fiercely within Hong Batian. The next second, he lunged forward, bringing his palm down toward Yun Chen.
"Wind-Thunder Palm!"
Channeling powerful spiritual qi into his palm, he struck out with an attack that faintly carried the sound of rushing wind and thunder.
A Yellow-tier superior martial skill: the Wind-Thunder Palm.
The oppressive gale howled forward, chilling Yun Chen to the bone.
Even so, he showed no intention of retreating.
Drawing upon his combat experience, he shifted his footing and managed to dodge aside.
Yet the very next second, Hong Batian transformed his palm into a sweeping blow, his arm lashing out viciously to slam straight into Yun Chen's body.
With a loud thud, the force of the arm sweep sent Yun Chen staggering, nearly knocking him right off the stage.
Chapter 6: Cut Weeds by the Roots
Despite having just exchanged blows, Yun Chen's heart plummeted straight to the bottom.
It seemed he had overestimated himself.
He had thought that relying on his past combat experience would allow him to defeat a Spirit-Guiding Realm cultivator, but looking at it now, he was still far too naive!
There was a massive, insurmountable difference between having spiritual qi in one's body and having none at all.
"Eh?"
Seeing that Yun Chen had actually managed to evade his attack, Hong Batian could not help but pause in surprise.
His Wind-Thunder Palm was a Yellow-tier superior martial skill characterized by speed, precision, and ruthlessness, imbued with the intent of wind and thunder. Among cultivators of the same realm, very few could evade his strikes.
Naturally, he was quite taken aback that Yun Chen had managed to dodge it.
"Heh, so what if you avoided my first attack? Killing you is still as easy as pie!"