Arrogant.
Extremely arrogant.
And the people gathered before the gates of Liuren Manor all knew that as a junior disciple of Old Master Shi Tong and one of the Six Ren Young Nobles, Young Lord Renxu absolutely had the qualifications to be this arrogant.
Most importantly, no one felt that Young Lord Renxu was in the wrong. Old Master Shi Tong, hailed as the Teacher of the Monarch, had lowered his status to personally visit the Yunxia Sect, only to be turned away at the door.
It was only after the fact, when Young Lord Chiyan realized he should be afraid, that he came to pay a visit. If he wasn't taught a lesson, made to understand his place, this Young Lord Chiyan would really start thinking too highly of himself. He must kneel.
Fei Kui stood there, his expression somewhat strange. He lowered his head to look at the invitation at his feet. Just as he bent down to pick it up, a sharp shout rang out: "Did I permit you to pick it up?
Put that invitation down!"
The muscles at the corner of Fei Kui's mouth twitched slightly. He cupped his fists and said, "Young Lord Renxu..." Before he could finish, he was immediately cut off.
"How dare a lowly servant like you address me by my name directly?
Put that invitation down!"
Fei Kui stood resolutely, staring at Young Lord Renxu, gritting his teeth. Not only did he not loosen his grip on the invitation, he clenched it even tighter.
"What?
Are my words not clear enough?"
Seeing Fei Kui standing there unmoved, a cold glint flashed in Young Lord Renxu's eyes. With a wave of his hand, he barked, "Even your master would have to kneel and kowtow before me! You're nothing but a servant by his side, yet you dare defy me? Hmph! You refuse a face when it's offered! Men, break his dog legs!"
"Hold on!"
Steward Yang, standing nearby, paled upon hearing Young Lord Renxu's order to break Fei Kui's legs. Although he too wanted to teach that so-called Young Lord Chiyan a lesson, it was merely a thought.
Detaining Fei Kui earlier was just to cause some trouble, to give a bit of a warning—nothing more.
Because Old Master Shi Tong had personally instructed that Young Lord Chiyan be treated with courtesy. Although Steward Yang didn't know why the old master held Young Lord Chiyan in such high regard, as the steward of Liuren Mountain who had followed the old master for centuries, he understood perfectly well: if Young Lord Chiyan didn't possess some genuine capability, the old master would never have personally gone to the Yunxia Sect, nor would he have specifically instructed them to treat him with courtesy.
This short, fat man was someone by Young Lord Chiyan's side. If Young Lord Renxu broke his legs, it would be difficult to explain to the old master.
When he secretly transmitted his reasoning via sound, Young Lord Renxu paid no heed. Instead, his anger flared even higher. He scoffed disdainfully, "Genuine capability? What genuine capability? He's nothing but a mud-legged peasant who got lucky stumbling upon some opportunity, not even worthy of being called an upstart, yet he dares to style himself 'Young Lord Chiyan'? Utterly laughable! Forget just a servant; even that fellow surnamed Gu himself, if he were standing before me, I'd break his legs along with this one's!"
Young Lord Renxu turned, his furious eyes glaring as he roared, "What are you standing around for? Break his legs!"
The two men behind him immediately stepped forward, seizing Fei Kui's shoulders, intending to break his legs.
At that moment, a voice devoid of any discernible emotion suddenly sounded.
"Fei Kui was merely delivering an invitation on my behalf, and for that you would break both his legs? So young, yet your heart is so vicious."
A figure slowly walked out from the crowd.
It was a young man dressed in white.
The white robe was ordinary white cloth. His figure was tall and straight, his face handsome, his skin fair. His black hair fell naturally, and he wore no accessories, only an ancient-looking jade belt tied around his waist.
At first glance, he gave off a feeling of being very clean.
This cleanliness wasn't about being neat and tidy, but a very pure, very simple kind of cleanliness, as if he had returned to an unadorned state.
He was young, appearing to be in his early twenties.
Yet, on him, one could not see any of the vibrant vitality a young person should possess—not a trace, not a hint, not a shred. What he had was duskiness, a duskiness like twilight, very calm, so calm it was as if nightfall could descend at any moment.
"That's Young Lord Chiyan, Gu Qingfeng!"
"That's right! I saw him at the Bingxuan Celebration!"
The moment Gu Qingfeng appeared, the surrounding onlookers immediately recognized him, causing an uproar.
In these times, the name Young Lord Chiyan Gu Qingfeng, after the events of the Yunxia Sect's heir appointment, the seven cave mansions, Chixu Manor, and the Bingxuan Celebration, had long become synonymous with mystery and the bizarre. No one knew his true strength, nor his background.
However, that clearly no longer mattered.
Having provoked Liuren Mountain, no amount of strength or profound background would suffice.
"So you're that so-called Young Lord Chiyan?"
Young Lord Renxu stood before the gates of Liuren Manor with an incomparably haughty expression, arms crossed, looking down on Gu Qingfeng from his elevated position.
Gu Qingfeng glanced at him indifferently, but it was just a glance. He said nothing.
"Young Master, this lowly one already explained to them just now..." Fei Kui said excitedly, but Gu Qingfeng nodded, indicating he understood. He looked at Young Lord Renxu and said, "Let him go."
"Let him go? Ha! You think you can just say 'let him go' and it's done? Who do you think you are!"
Young Lord Renxu held Gu Qingfeng in no regard whatsoever. His previously crossed arms suddenly dropped behind his back as he declared arrogantly, "Listen here, you surnamed Gu. If you know what's good for you, kneel right now before the gates of Liuren Manor. Otherwise, today I won't just break his dog legs, I'll break yours too!"
Gu Qingfeng typically only said such things once.
If you listened, you listened. If you didn't.
He would absolutely not say it a second time. Without any visible movement, he simply flicked his hand lightly. A faint glimmer of light flashed and vanished in an instant. Before anyone understood what had happened, the two men holding Fei Kui's shoulders grunted and stumbled backward.
"How dare you!"
Seeing this, Young Lord Renxu flew into a rage. Pointing at Gu Qingfeng, he shouted, "You dare cause trouble right at the gates of our Liuren Manor? It seems you've grown tired of living! Men, seize him!"
The seven or eight men standing behind him immediately rushed forward, surrounding Gu Qingfeng.
But they only surrounded him.
None dared to make a move.
Yes.
They didn't dare.
They were merely ordinary disciples of Liuren Mountain. Perhaps they were all Color-Spirit Prodigies, able to throw their weight around before ordinary cultivators, but they were no match for Gu Qingfeng. They weren't unaware of what happened at the Bingxuan Sect celebration—how Gu Qingfeng had obliterated the fourth-stage, seventh-color Jade-Faced Young Lord Long Fei with a single move. They knew they were no match.
"What are you all standing around for! Attack! Even if I lent him three extra guts today, he wouldn't dare lay a hand on anyone!"
Young Lord Renxu was also a Color-Spirit Prodigy, though only at the fourth-stage, sixth-color, not even comparable to Young Lord Long Fei. Yet he felt no fear. Relying on the prestige of Liuren Mountain and the fact that his grand-teacher was Old Master Shi Tong, within the Four Great Regions, he feared no one. Naturally, he didn't take Gu Qingfeng seriously either.
The seven or eight men surrounding Gu Qingfeng looked at each other. Gritting their teeth and stamping their feet, they all began to circulate the Golden Cores within their bodies. Just as they were about to make their move, the radiant light shimmering around their bodies suddenly and inexplicably dissipated into nothingness. All seven or eight of them shuddered, their bodies stiffening as they collapsed to the ground.