Chapter 126: Going Too Far

This was the first time Yu Xiaoyu had witnessed such a terrifying sight, and her face could not help but turn pale. If those beams of white light were to strike, they would likely shred a person into minced meat in an instant. Fearful, Yu Xiaoyu leaned closer to Lin Yi.

Seeing this, Bi Deming feigned a gentlemanly demeanor and said, "My beautiful lady, if you are willing to come over to my side, I can guarantee your safety."

Yu Xiaoyu shook her head and refused point-blank: "No."

Bi Deming’s expression darkened, and without further hesitation, he pointed a finger in Lin Yi’s direction. *Swish, swish, swish*—a sky full of white light flashed across the room.

"Ah!" Yu Xiaoyu closed her eyes in terror.

However, after a long while, she felt no pain at all. Opening her eyes just a crack, she saw a slender figure standing directly in front of her.

Mr. Lin.

Lin Yi was maintaining his protective true essence, letting the sky full of white light flicker all around him; it could not do anything to him at all.

"Damn it." Bi Deming’s gaze sank. The interception array was his specialty, yet he couldn't even break through Lin Yi’s defenses. "I want to see how long you can hold out."

Bi Deming shifted his thoughts, and even more white light filled the air. A wave of light swept through, turning the once-pristine living room into a mess, with walls scored by marks as if sliced by blades. Lin Yi did not feel a pang of regret, as he had plenty of ways to make Bi Deming pay back the damage with interest. He wasn't in a hurry to retaliate only because he had developed a slight interest in the array diagram Bi Deming was using.

"Using seven small arrays as a foundation to form a myriad of variations—quite interesting," Lin Yi remarked.

At that moment, another wave of white light lunged at him. Lin Yi’s eyes narrowed, and he slapped his palm toward the void. His true essence condensed into a palm print as clear as white jade, striking the seven light clusters with immense force.

*Boom!*

The seven small array clusters instantly exploded, and the white light in mid-air vanished.

"Pfft!" Bi Deming spat out a mouthful of blood. His aura weakened, and his face turned deathly pale. The seven light clusters were connected to his consciousness; their destruction by Lin Yi’s palm had damaged his spirit. It would likely take months for him to recover.

"How dare you shatter my Seven-Star Array Diagram!" Bi Deming roared, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Lin Yi.

Lin Yi asked amusedly, "Why wouldn't I dare?"

"You're finished. By offending our Red Skull, you will never know another moment of peace in your life," Bi Deming said furiously.

Lin Yi raised a finger, and a golden beam of true essence pierced directly through Bi Deming’s dantian, scattering his internal energy and rendering him completely crippled.

"How dare you!" Bi Deming lunged at Lin Yi like a madman. Although his dantian was shattered, his physical body was still that of a solid half-step Spirit Master.

Lin Yi didn't even look; he kicked Bi Deming away, sending him flying to the ground, where he lay motionless for a long time.

This scene made cold sweat bead on Liao Mei’s forehead. She realized that she had underestimated Lin Yi’s strength from the very beginning. Bi Deming was even stronger than she was, yet he hadn't lasted a single move against Lin Yi, who had now crippled his dantian. This man was ruthless.

Liao Mei’s mind raced; if Lin Yi decided to make a move on her, her fate would likely be no better than Bi Deming’s.

"Mr. Lin, isn't this a bit too harsh?" Liao Mei said, gritting her teeth.

"Harsh? I don't think so. If someone else had been in my place, do you think they would still be alive? The fact that I didn't kill him is already an act of mercy," Lin Yi said calmly.

Although Liao Mei knew Lin Yi was speaking the truth, crippling a martial artist was worse than killing them. Every martial artist spent years of diligent practice, consuming countless resources just to break through a single layer. With one light flick of his finger, Lin Yi had reduced a lifetime of effort to nothing; it was something no one could easily accept.

"You have already crippled one genius of our Red Skull, and now another. Are you truly determined to make an enemy of us?" Liao Mei invoked the name of Red Skull, attempting to intimidate Lin Yi.

But who was Lin Yi? He had lived for over a thousand years and seen every kind of major power; he would not be frightened by a few words from Liao Mei.

Lin Yi shook his head. "First, I never intended to make an enemy of the Red Skull. Second, it was Wei Jun who attacked me first. Just like the one lying on the ground, I was merely defending myself. If we’re really going to talk about it, it should be the Red Skull compensating me."

"You... so that makes you the innocent one?" Liao Mei was infuriated by Lin Yi’s words. He had crippled people and now was acting like a victim, even demanding compensation—he truly didn't know how to spell "death."

"That’s right," Lin Yi nodded.

Liao Mei glared at him, hoisted Bi Deming onto her shoulder, and prepared to leave. She knew she was no match for Lin Yi in a one-on-one fight and planned to return with reinforcements to properly deal with this arrogant brat.

However, after only a few steps, she was stopped by Lin Yi. "Wait, who told you that you could leave?"

"You’ve already beaten them to this state—what more do you want?" Liao Mei said angrily.

"It’s not about what I want. The moment you arrived, you tried to kill me, and you’ve even destroyed my living room. Tell me, how are you going to compensate me?" Lin Yi sat on the sofa and asked calmly.

"You..." Liao Mei wanted nothing more than to stomp on Lin Yi a hundred times over.

"A hundred million should be enough for your renovations," she said, feeling utterly humiliated.

Lin Yi replied, "Not enough."

"A hundred million isn't enough? Then how much do you want?" Liao Mei’s face darkened.

Lin Yi didn't speak. He reached out, and an invisible force snatched the storage bags from the waists of both Bi Deming and Liao Mei.

"My storage bag!" Liao Mei panicked, instinctively reaching for it.

However, the moment she took a step, a sharp surge of true essence pierced through the floorboards at her feet. Liao Mei froze, her pretty face turning gloomy. Her storage bag contained her treasures collected over many years, as well as her cultivation resources.

Lin Yi ignored the furious Liao Mei and used his divine sense to forcibly open the bags. As expected of Red Skull geniuses, both were quite wealthy; the storage bags alone had a capacity of ten cubic meters. A one-cubic-meter storage bag was worth at least hundreds of millions and was often hard to find even with money. One could imagine how precious these ten-cubic-meter bags were. They were packed to the brim—it seemed both had brought their entire net worth with them.

"This should be about enough. Next time you come, remember to bring more good things." Lin Yi vaporized the contents of the bags into his own possession and tossed the empty bags back. He had no use for the bags themselves.

"Very well, Mr. Lin. I will remember you," Liao Mei said, enunciating every word. She then decisively left with Bi Deming, fearing that if she stayed any longer, she would be unable to resist fighting Lin Yi to the death.

After they left, Lin Yi took out a teapot and leisurely poured himself a cup of tea.

"Mr. Lin, aren't you afraid of retaliation from the Red Skull for doing this?" Yu Xiaoyu asked, swallowing hard. Lin Yi’s strength was immense, but he was only one person. The Red Skull was one of the five major powers of the Yanxia, filled with countless geniuses and even several Spirit Master elders of formidable strength.

"That is not something you need to worry about," Lin Yi replied. He then took out a black gourd—the Mysterious Void Gourd. This gourd had long been refined by Lin Yi; not only had its interior space increased a hundredfold, but the effectiveness of the spirit liquid within had also been greatly enhanced.

He poured a cup of spirit liquid and handed it to Yu Xiaoyu. "Taste it."

Yu Xiaoyu nodded. She took the cup, intending to drink it all at once, but thought better of it, deciding to act more ladylike. Stealing a glance at Lin Yi, she took a small sip. Instantly, rich spiritual energy exploded within her body. Combined with the abundant spiritual energy in Lin Yi’s villa, Yu Xiaoyu felt herself on the verge of breaking through to the Grandmaster level.

"Mr., Mr. Lin, I'm about to break through."

Yu Xiaoyu was pleasantly surprised. After saying this hastily, she closed her eyes to focus on her breakthrough. Lin Yi smiled faintly and waved a hand; atomized spiritual energy instantly enveloped her like a cocoon. Regardless, since Yu Xiaoyu had come to warn him, Lin Yi was willing to lend her a hand. That was simply his nature: treat him with respect, and he would return it tenfold; but if someone came to cause trouble, they shouldn't blame him for being ruthless.

Yu Xiaoyu’s talent was decent; an hour later, she successfully broke through to the Grandmaster level.

"Thank you, Mr. Lin," she said gratefully. Without that cup of spirit tea, she would have needed at least another month to reach this stage.

"You were already at the threshold; I only helped you speed it up a little," Lin Yi said.

Yu Xiaoyu sat for a while longer before taking her leave.

...

Liao Mei didn't stop until she had driven far away from Longhu Bay.

"Damn it!" She slammed the steering wheel, glancing at the unconscious Bi Deming in the back, her frustration mounting. Her phone rang; it was Wang Xianglan. Wang Xianglan was her martial arts teacher and a high-ranking alchemist within the Red Skull.

"Hello, Xiao Mei. How did things go with the task the organization gave you? Did that Lin Yi agree?" Wang Xianglan’s voice was sweet, radiating the aura of an elegant older woman.

"Teacher, that Lin Yi is too arrogant. He doesn't hold the Red Skull in any regard. Relying on his strength, he not only robbed me of my storage bag but also destroyed Bi Deming’s dantian," Liao Mei said, sounding aggrieved.

"What? Is what you’re saying true?" Wang Xianglan’s voice turned cold.

"I wouldn't dare lie to you about such a major matter, Teacher," Liao Mei replied.

"That scoundrel, he is truly daring," Wang Xianglan said furiously. She then asked, "Where are you now?"

"Still in Lancheng. Teacher, you must teach this Lin Yi a lesson," Liao Mei said, a flicker of resentment in her eyes.

"Your senior brother has just returned. Let him go and properly probe this Lin Yi’s background," Wang Xianglan said.

Liao Mei felt a surge of joy. Her senior brother, Xia Jiguang, had long ago broken through to the level of a Spirit Master. After hanging up, she felt emboldened; with her senior brother involved, dealing with Lin Yi would surely be effortless.

*Cough, cough, cough.*

Suddenly, a series of coughs interrupted her thoughts. Looking at Bi Deming, Liao Mei wished she could just throw him out of the car. If he hadn't been so useless, her own storage bag wouldn't have been taken.

"You're awake," she said, her face cold.

Bi Deming’s face was pale. He instinctively reached for his storage bag, but couldn't find it.

"Where is my storage bag?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"Lin Yi stole it. Mine, too," Liao Mei said coldly.

Bi Deming was silent for a moment, then spat out another mouthful of blood, staring ahead as he hissed, "He’s gone too far!"

With that, he fell unconscious once more.