Chapter 161 You Are Quite Good

Xiaoqin held the cell phone to Hou Boming's ear. Hou Boming asked, "Well, how many bones of that guy did you break?"

"Break your grandma's! You led me into a martial artist trap," the bald man roared. The movement seemed to aggravate his chest injuries, causing him to cough violently, his face turning deathly pale.

Right now, he genuinely wanted to beat Hou Boming to a pulp on the spot for tricking their gang like this. Moreover, since the Gluttony Sect members were all former thugs, they had plenty of enemies. If someone came looking for trouble right now, how could they possibly defend themselves given their current state?

The more the bald man thought about it, the angrier he became, gripping the phone so tightly it creaked.

"A martial artist?"

Hou Boming frowned slightly. According to the background information, this Lin Yi was merely a recent graduate from a third-tier university. When did he ever become a martial artist?

"Nonsense! What kind of intelligence did you provide? Over a dozen of our brothers were all knocked flat to the ground by him alone. You must give me an explanation for this, otherwise, don't even think about leaving Shanghai," the bald man said coldly.

Hou Boming remained unimpressed, paying no regard to the bald man's words whatsoever. They were just a few petty thugs. With the Hou family's influence, a single word from him would make them vanish from this world completely.

"A bunch of good-for-nothings."

With a cold snort, Hou Boming hung up the phone. Right now, he was considering how to deal with Lin Yi. Killing him was definitely out of the question; after all, Wu Da was still standing behind Lin Yi.

"A martial artist, eh? I originally didn't want to resort to using the family's power."

Hou Boming narrowed his eyes slightly. But if he didn't do this now, he would simply have to watch Lin Yi continue to run circles around him.

After hesitating for a moment, Hou Boming dialed a number. "Hello, Dad. Our Hou family lost the bid this time."

With shrewd calculation, he chose not to mention the personal conflict between himself and Lin Yi, framing the issue around the family's interests instead.

"What's going on?" a deep voice came from the other end.

The owner of this voice was the current head of the Hou family, Hou Jiayan. The Hou family's primary products were cosmetics. If they claimed to be the number one family in Qing Province, no other family dared to claim the top spot.

He had assumed this bid was a guaranteed success, completely foolproof, yet they had somehow lost. It was no wonder Hou Jiayan felt a sense of surprise.

"Someone interfered behind the scenes, directly pushing our Hou family out and letting the An family take our place," Hou Boming said.

"The An family? Which An family?" Hou Jiayan asked in confusion.

"A minor, third-tier family." A flash of anger crossed Hou Boming's eyes as he mentioned the An family.

Hou Jiayan fell silent for a moment before asking, "You mentioned someone interfered. Who on earth has that kind of authority?"

"His name is Lin Yi, a university graduate from Lancheng in Jiang Province. It seems he knows Wu Da, and because of that connection, we lost the bid," Hou Boming replied.

"Lin Yi?" Hou Jiayan muttered to himself, feeling that the name sounded vaguely familiar, though he couldn't quite place it at the moment.

"That's right, Dad. Should we secretly teach him a lesson? Otherwise, he might really think our Hou family is some pushover that he can knead however he pleases."

A sinister glint flashed in Hou Boming's eyes.

"Very well," Hou Jiayan agreed. After all, the Hou family had placed immense importance on securing the agency for the Linda Corporation, and who could have foreseen someone hijacking it halfway through. He could already imagine that today's events would likely become the laughingstock of the entire Qing Province.

"Dad, pull one of our family's Innate-realm experts over. This Lin Yi is actually a martial artist with some real skills." Hou Boming narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself that this time, let's see how Lin Yi plans to fight back.

"Alright."

***

When Lin Yi arrived at the Martial Dao Trade Fair and prepared to step inside, a figure blocked his path.

It was an old man in a black robe, wearing a solemn expression, standing with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Something the matter?" Lin Yi raised an eyebrow and asked. He had already restored his original appearance upon leaving Youling Mountain.

"You must be Mr. Lin from Jiang Province, right?" the black-robed old man asked.

"That's right." Lin Yi nodded.

"Very well. I am the First Elder of the Martial Dao Association, Zhang De. I believe you should be clear about the purpose of my visit," the old man said expressionlessly.

Lin Yi nodded once more.

"I just want to ask you one question: was the Jade Spirit of Youling Mountain killed by you?" Zhang De fixed a sharp gaze on Lin Yi.

"No."

Lin Yi shook his head. Strictly speaking, the Jade Spirit hadn't died; only the outer layer of skin had been shattered. The true Jade Spirit was actually that core of pure energy.

Zhang De narrowed his eyes, though no trace of anger showed on his face. He said, "On Youling Mountain, aside from you, Mr. Lin, I simply cannot think of anyone else capable of slaying a Jade Spirit at the Spirit Master realm in such a short period of time."

Lin Yi said indifferently, "I really didn't kill it. You lot possess a Jade Spirit, but you completely lack any understanding of how to cultivate one. It may look like a Spirit Master on the surface, but it's entirely hollow on the inside."

Hearing this, Zhang De's aura surged outward toward Lin Yi like a rising tide. Not only had this person killed the Martial Dao Association's Jade Spirit, but he even dared to claim they didn't know how to raise it? Was he looking down on the Martial Dao Association?

Lin Yi completely ignored Zhang De's overwhelming aura and continued, "If there's nothing else, please step aside."

Maintaining his composure, Zhang De continued to block Lin Yi's path. His aura continued to climb steadily, causing passing martial artists nearby to feel an immense sense of oppression, making them want to drop to their knees on the spot.

"Let's talk elsewhere," Zhang De said, his hands still clasped behind his back.

"How troublesome. Lead the way then," Lin Yi said with a hint of impatience. He knew that if he didn't send the Martial Dao Association packing this time, he probably wouldn't have a single day of peace in the future.

Their speed was extremely fast. Ten minutes later, they arrived at a desolate wasteland.

"Mr. Lin, I will give you a chance. As long as you submit to the Martial Dao Association, I can let go of the matter regarding your destruction of the Jade Spirit," Zhang De said in a deep voice.

Lin Yi remained silent.

Sensing that Lin Yi understood, Zhang De sighed softly. To be honest, Lin Yi's potential was the greatest he had ever witnessed. To possess the strength to slay a Spirit Master while only in his twenties—if given more time to develop, he would undoubtedly advance further, perhaps even stepping into that legendary realm.

However, it was a pity. Genetically gifted individuals were always arrogant, and at the same time, the most prone to meeting an early demise. The tall tree catches the wind; the strongest branch breaks first.

"Come, Mr. Lin. Let me witness your capabilities," Zhang De said.

"Very well, you should be careful," Lin Yi said calmly. Zhang De was the most formidable opponent he had encountered in the past century. His blood surged with a sense of excitement.

"Come on," Zhang De said with supreme confidence.

With a single step, Lin Yi crossed the distance and appeared right in front of Zhang De. His fist, glowing with a golden sheen, smashed directly toward Zhang De's chest.

Unflustered, just as Lin Yi's fist was about to strike, a layer of worldly energy materialized to shield Zhang De's chest.

Bang.

However, the very next second, the calm expression vanished from Zhang De's face. His protective barrier had been shattered in an instant.

Lin Yi's fist slammed solidly into his chest, sending Zhang De flying backward. He had already held back his strength with this punch, using only a level of power equivalent to Zhang De's own realm.

Flying back several meters, Zhang De flicked his arm, using the ambient worldly energy to stabilize himself mid-air. He finally understood why Lin Yi had been able to dispatch the Jade Spirit so quickly; this sheer physical strength alone was enough to rival a ninth-layer Spirit Master.

"To possess such strength at such a young age, Mr. Lin is truly a monstrous anomaly," Zhang De thought, filled with deep emotion. Having cultivated for over two hundred years, he had barely managed to reach the eighth layer of the Spirit Master realm. Yet, look at how young Lin Yi was to possess such prowess. It made Zhang De feel as though all his years of cultivation had been wasted.

Lin Yi's casual display of skill ensured that Zhang De no longer dared to harbor the slightest bit of contempt.

With a flash, Zhang De vanished from his spot, reappearing directly above Lin Yi.

"Three-Sun Palm!"

A reddish-crimson glow illuminated Zhang De's palm as he thrust it down toward Lin Yi's shoulder. A single strike of this palm was powerful enough to instantly flatten an armored vehicle.

Bang.

Lin Yi was driven back a few steps by the Three-Sun Palm. The surrounding air felt as though it had been ignited by flames, turning stiflingly hot.

"Oh?"

Instead of joy, Zhang De's face clouded with solemnity. He had poured seventy percent of his power into that palm strike, yet it had only forced Lin Yi back a few steps without even damaging a single thread of his clothing.

"You're not bad," Lin Yi praised, stretching his limbs slightly as the blood inside his body boiled even more fiercely.

"Arrogant!"

Annoyed, Zhang De felt irritated to be lectured in such a tone by a junior.

Three-Sun Palm!

Zhang De unleashed another palm strike. This time, he used his full ten percent of power—enough to reduce an entire skyscraper to rubble.

Boom.

The worldly energy condensed into a palm the size of a grown human, sweeping down toward Lin Yi with crushing force.

Lin Yi drew a treasured sword, lifting his hand to slash a beam of sword light upward at the descending palm.

Swish.

The sword light flashed past, instantly splitting the giant palm in two.

Undeterred, Zhang De remained calm as the cleaved parts of the Three-Sun Palm re-converged once more.

Smack.

Lin Yi took the blow head-on, sinking straight into the ground. Instantly, the earth centered around him was scorched and cracked inch by inch by the searing heat of the Three-Sun Palm.

Knowing Lin Yi wouldn't be defeated so easily, Zhang De immediately gathered several more strands of worldly energy, unleashing a relentless barrage of attacks upon him.

Boom, boom, boom!

The earth shook violently. Within a radius of several thousand meters around Lin Yi, the land had long since been reduced to scorched, blackened earth.

The terrifying might of a Spirit Master was on full display.