"A nobody like you dares to make fun of me?!" Losing his bearing, Feng Li rushed towards him with his fist, but before his fist could land, it was easily blocked by Yi Chen’s hand.
"You got it wrong. I’m not a nobody," Yi Chen grinned while tightening his grip on Feng Li’s fist.
"You!" Feng Li groaned, feeling the crushing pressure on his fist and asked, "W-who are you..."
"Me? I’m just the Ninth Elder’s guest," Yi Chen answered with a smile and pushed Feng Li away, "Next time, I won’t be kind and let you go, so behave properly."
Knowing how small events can snowball into big ones, Yi Chen didn’t want to make a mountain out of a molehill and just warned Feng Li.
However, there were some things that one can’t avoid in this world just because one wanted to.
"You dare humiliate me, you bastard?!"
Realising that the man in front of him was not even a clansman, a shade of ruthlessness appeared on Feng Li’s face.
The very next instant, he pulled out the sword that was resting on his waist. Clenching his hold around his sword’s hilt, he thought, ’Since he’s not a clan member, no one would bat an eye if I took his arm for inciting me!’
With his actions justified in his mind, Feng Li rushed forward with all his might. A red Qi covered his blade from outside, making it look more menacing.
"This...why the hell is he taking out his sword when I’ve not even hit him!’ Yi Chen thought in frustration, and the very next instant, punched the ground beneath him with all his might.
The ground within a radius of one meter shook because of this punch, and Feng Li, who was already within this range, lost his footing and slammed right on his face.
However, instead of anger, a trace of fear had appeared on his dirt-covered face.
"This...."
Seeing the ground that was completely levelled a second ago, crumbling because of just one punch from Yi Chen, was truly a frightening sight for him.
’What if he had punched me instead? I’m not his match...’ A trace of fear finally rose in Feng Li’s mind, and he began to regret his decision.
Making his way towards Feng Li, Yi Chen asked, "Didn’t I say that I won’t be kind the next time?"
"This...I’m sorry, Senior Brother! I was shortsighted! Please forgive me! I promise to never..." Feng Li lost all sense of himself and began apologising fervently.
Seeing this, Yi Chen bent towards the ground and picked up Feng Li’s sword the next moment.
"No! Senior Brother, please rethink! I promise to let this matter go! I’ll never appear even within a thousand meters of you, so please don’t kill me!" Feng Li begged for his life, seeing Yi Chen looking down at him with the sword in his hand.
At that moment, Yi Chen couldn’t help but make a weird expression.
"I’m just confiscating your sword...why are you acting like I’m going to kill you?"
Feng Li: "???"
Looking at his stupid expression, Yi Chen asked in frustration, "What? Do you want me to kill you then?"
"No! No! Senior Brother is indeed magnanimous! I, Feng Li, will forever be grateful to you." Feng Li bowed the next moment, afraid that Yi Chen would change his mind.
"Yes, that’s how it should be. Since it’s my first day in the clan, I don’t want to bloody my hands. So, I’m letting you go.
However, if you don’t value your life, you can come at me again later. I don’t care what happens to me, but one thing would be certain: you’ll die by my hands," Yi Chen glared with a ruthless expression as he said those words.
From what he had realised by this man’s previous actions, if he talked to him in a respectful tone, then he wouldn’t comply. So, he tried a different approach.
What Yi Chen had not realised was that after claiming so many lives during his two-month-long journey, something about him had changed, something very subtle which he was unable to find out.
However, Feng Li could immediately feel it. Being subjected to Yi Chen’s cold gaze, he couldn’t help but feel his heart stop and his body’s muscles twitch from fright.
Gulp
This was his first time experiencing such deep-seated fear, and he immediately responded by slamming his head on the ground.
"Rest assured, Senior Brother. I, Feng Li, will never think about getting back at you. If I thought about such a thing, then I won’t consider myself a man from that day onwards!" He declared with no hesitation in his voice.
"Good!" Yi Chen nodded when he heard those words and turned towards Qin Yao, who observed everything that was happening with a stupefied expression on his face.
"Let’s go back then, I think we’ve explored the market enough for today."
"Y-yes, Brother Chen," Qin Yao answered the next moment and soon left with Yi Chen.
As for Feng Li, he turned towards his underling the next moment, who had a weird expression on their face.
"What are you two looking at? Did you want me to fight him? Why don’t the two of you do so yourself?!" He asked in frustration while getting up from the ground.
"N-No Young Master...we don’t dare..."
The two replied, which only added to Feng Li’s frustration.
"Stop standing there and help me dust my robes!" he roared the next moment.
"Yes, Young Master!" The two rushed and helped him clean the dirt off. While this was happening, Feng Li also said, "By tomorrow morning, I want to know everything about him, you understand?"
"We got it, Young Master Li," Underling one responded, which was followed by Underling two.
"Yes, Young Master, while we aren’t good in combat, no one can match us when it comes to information gathering,"
The underlings answered with confidence.
"Mhm, do that then," Feng Li snorted with anger and irritation apparent on his face and left for his residence.
Although he no longer dared to make an enemy out of Yi Chen, he still wanted to know who he really was.
Meanwhile, Yi Chen was currently walking next to Qin Yao.
The sun was almost about to set, and lifting his newly acquired sword in the air, Yi Chen was admiring its intricacies under its rays.
Its surface was so smooth that Yi Chen’s face appeared crystal clear on it as a reflection. The grip, too, was to Yi Chen’s liking, but what made him appreciate the sword the most was the golden dragon that was coiled around its hilt.
To others, it just might be a flashy design, but to Yi Chen, who was holding a sword like this for the first time in his hand, it was the epitome of perfection.
’Good Sword!’ he thought to himself as the blade gleamed in orange light.