Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

The man was left speechless by all the criticisms of his wares. Irritated, he snapped, “Fine, call them spirit tools if you want. They’re still made of precious materials. A hundred and twenty mid-grade spirit stones—take them or leave them. No more haggling!”

Ye Feng opened his mouth to bargain again, but the man cut him off. “I said no more bargaining! Pay up or I’m packing up.”

Once Cao Yan heard him, he slowly stood up and said unwillingly, “Second Brother, it’s fine. It’s a little too expensive.”

Ye Feng had been about to give up too, but as soon as Cao Yan called him “Second Brother” and he caught the yearning in Cao Yan’s eyes, he gritted his teeth and said, “How much do you have left? Hand it over.”

Cao Yan wanted to stop him because it was indeed too expensive, but Ye Feng didn’t give him the chance. He reached straight into Cao Yan’s pocket, pulled out his storage pouch, then fished out his own. And another. And another.

Even the stall owner started to feel a little guilty, wondering if he should drop the price.

Once Ye Feng had rummaged through his savings to piece together enough spirit stones for the weapons, a sudden cry rang through the alleyway. There was a hint of arrogance in the voice.

“Wait!”

A youth in embroidered green robes strolled over, his every detail drenched in luxury. His robe shimmered faintly. He had prominent features, a lean frame, and slightly sunken cheeks. Though it was nighttime, he was fanning himself with a folding fan in a haughty manner.

When the youth appeared, the stalls on both sides of the street immediately recognized him and stood up.“Oh, Young Master Shao? What brings you here today?”

“Yeah! Young Master Shao, are you here to survey your businesses?”

The young man smiled faintly, as if all this deference was nothing new. He glanced at Ye Feng and Cao Yan, then picked up the maroon vambraces from the stall. Ye Feng frowned and stepped forward, but the vendor grabbed his arm.

The seller transmitted, “What are you doing?! Have you gone mad? Do you know who he is? That’s the young master of the Great Wind Mountain Residence, Fang Hao! This whole port belongs to his family!”

Ye Feng tilted his head. “I paid for those, so they’re mine! I don’t care who he is!”

Cao Yan suddenly pulled him back and transmitted, “Second Brother, it’s fine… Don’t get into trouble because of me.”

Fang Hao watched them with amusement. Behind him stood an older man whose presence was heavy and ominous, his gaze locked onto them. Ye Feng glared back, unwilling to back down, eyes fixed on the vambraces now in Fang Hao’s hands.

“How much did you pay for these?” Fang Hao asked casually.

Ye Feng’s eyes flashed coldly. He looked at Fang Hao with an equally arrogant gaze and said, “Twelve thousand.”

Fang Hao raised his brows in mock surprise. He pursed his lips and murmured, “Looks like I found something good.”

Then he tossed the vambraces over his shoulder. “Old Li, hang onto these.”

Ye Feng’s fists clenched in his sleeves, his body tense with fury. He waited to see what Fang Hao would say.

Suddenly, Fang Hao smirked and remarked with pity, “I’ll pay you all three thousand spirit stones! Let’s just say I’m buying these off you.”

Ye Feng’s anger exploded.

“Fuck you!”

With a metallic clang, he drew his sword. Vital force surged around him, pressure rippling out across a hundred zhang. A golden light flared beneath his feet, and in the next instant, he streaked toward Fang Hao like a shooting star.

But Fang Hao didn’t flinch. Though only in the late Foundation Building realm, he stood there calmly, still fanning himself.

Ye Feng’s sword light startled the other cultivators, as it felt so sharp they could almost feel their skin splitting open.

Clang!

Before Ye Feng could strike, his vision blurred. The old man had suddenly appeared between them, intercepting the blow. Even so, he was knocked back several zhang, stone tiles exploding beneath his feet with every step.

The moment Ye Feng attacked, Cao Yan shot forward to follow him, using a sprint technique that boosted his speed greatly. Before the man stopped himself, Cao Yan had already arrived behind the man by leaping up onto the roof.

The old man spun around, eyes wide. “Young Master, watch out!”

Fang Hao’s eyes narrowed. A gleaming spirit sword materialized in his hand. Vital force of an earthy yellow hue surged as he slashed at Cao Yan.

But Cao Yan proved exactly how talented he was. Despite both being in the late Foundation Building Realm, Cao Yan stayed dangerously close to Fang Hao’s blade, allowing him to close the distance in the blink of an eye.

To Fang Hao’s shock, vital force surged through Cao Yan, and blue flames burst from his arms. His divine consciousness flared, condensing his vital force into a pair of vambraces. With one swift motion, he launched a punch straight at Fang Hao’s head.

Whack!

The flames erupted and the punch connected, blasting Fang Hao several zhang back. Cao Yan pursued relentlessly, hammering him with dozens of mid-air blows.

Whack whack whack whack!

Boom! Boom! Crash!

A final kick sent Fang Hao crashing through the wall of a nearby shop.

Cao Yan panted heavily, his arms still on fire. He turned to see Ye Feng and the old man locked in furious combat.

Far away, Li Guanqi suddenly frowned. The moment he sensed the erupting auras, he shot off in a streak of purple light, leaving Miao Rongchang stunned.

By the time he reached the alleyway, Ye Feng was gaining the upper hand in his fight against the old man.

The street had emptied. All the stalls had vanished into the chaos.

Two rays of sword light shot past Ye Feng’s hood, revealing his face. The old man crushed a jade slip between his fingers and roared, “The young master is heavily injured! Send reinforcements!”

Whoosh!

A figure suddenly appeared behind the old man, and a cold voice rang in his ear.

“Thunderbolt!”

Boom!

A ray of sword light wrapped in purple lightning flashed in the darkness. The old man was split clean in half. His golden core and sea of consciousness shattered in an instant. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Ye Feng let out a breath, exhausted.

“What happened?” Li Guanqi asked, stepping forward and slicing off the man’s head.

Ye Feng explained everything that happened as concisely as possible.

Li Guanqi rushed to the ruined shop and killed Fang Hao with a single slash. He stripped the magical robes from Fang Hao’s body, looted both his and the old man’s belongings, scooped up Cao Yan, and then ran off.

They took off toward the east with haste, melting into the night.

Along the way, Li Guanqi tossed the vambraces at Cao Yan.

“Cao Yan, I know you’ve got a good heart,” he said, “but sometimes, the only way to reason with people is with your fists. If you’re always letting others walk over you, you’ll be the one who suffers in the end. People who make you uncomfortable like that? They’re not good people anyway.”

Cao Yan listened quietly. No one had ever said anything like that to him before.

Then, Li Guanqi grinned at Ye Feng. “You did well! That was clean and quick!”

But as Li Guanqi rifled through Fang Hao’s storage pouch, his expression suddenly darkened. His hand froze, and blood vessels popped in his eyes. He hissed through clenched teeth, saying, “I want to wipe the entire Great Wind Mountain Residence off the map.”