Chapter Ninety-Seven: Grandmaster Self-Destructs

Ye Grandmaster grew angrier the more he thought about it. If this Lin Doudou were allowed to mature, he would become yet another fatal threat.

But he did not dare make a move himself. Without having seen Lin Yi's methods for himself, one could never truly know how terrifying this man was.

As for these subordinates, to him they were nothing more than disposable tools. Even if they were killed, he would feel no pain at all.

"What a useless bunch."

Ye Grandmaster cursed again. The men in black standing before him all kept their heads lowered, not daring to utter a single word in reply.

Then, all at once, Ye Grandmaster felt a searing heat surging through his body.

"What is going on?"

Puzzled, he was aware that, with the strength of a Grandmaster, he should long ago have been beyond any fear of heat or cold.

Unless he were trapped in some extreme environment, his inner force would keep his body at the most suitable temperature so long as it remained intact.

Ye Grandmaster hurriedly sat cross-legged and sank his thoughts into his own body.

What he saw made his blood run cold: the inner force within him was burning wildly, like a raging inferno.

Any cultivator present would immediately understand that this was the harbinger of self-destruction.

"Wh-what is happening?"

Terrified, Ye Grandmaster tried to summon his inner force again, but there was no response whatsoever.

The men in black inside the room exchanged bewildered looks. None of them understood why Ye Grandmaster was trembling all over, his face flushed red.

Even his temples were bulging in an unnatural way, as though they might burst at any moment.

But the next second, they understood.

From Ye Grandmaster's mouth came an enraged roar. "No!"

Then his body exploded outright. The more than ten men in black in the room had no time to react before they were swept up in the blast.

How terrifying was the self-detonation of a Grandmaster? In an instant, everything within a ten-meter radius was reduced to ruin, and the floor was blasted into a huge pit.

...

Lin Yi withdrew the sliver of divine sense he had left on Ye Grandmaster.

Ye Grandmaster's death held no consequence for him. He had deliberately waited these past few days precisely to use this method to cow the Blood Oath Alliance.

Every Grandmaster was precious wherever they appeared. This time, the Blood Oath Alliance had consecutively lost three Grandmasters.

Before they fully understood Lin Yi's strength, they would likely not dare act rashly again.

Lin Yi took out his phone and saw that there were more than fifty missed calls.

More than twenty of them were from Lin Doudou, several from Li Xiaonan and Xiong Jinghui, and even Angel had called three times.

Lin Yi called Doudou back, and she answered at once, her voice bright with joy. "Lin Yi, is that you?"

"Mm. What's wrong?" Lin Yi said with a smile.

"Nothing much, really. It's just that black-clad men have been trying to capture me these past few days," Lin Doudou said in her sweet, clear voice.

Lin Yi's brows drew together lightly, then relaxed again. There was no need to think twice; anyone in black was very likely from the Blood Oath Alliance.

But this time the Blood Oath Alliance had suffered a severe blow. There was no need to worry too much.

At that moment, Doudou said with a hint of pride, "Lin Yi, let me tell you, I'm really amazing now. I can easily lift a stone as big as a millstone. Hehe, from now on, I can protect you."

"Then I'll be waiting," Lin Yi said with a soft laugh.

He chatted with Lin Doudou for a while longer before hanging up. Mostly the little girl did the talking; after several days apart, she had a bellyful of things to say. Lin Yi merely listened, a patient bystander, as she chattered about the amusing things that had happened lately.

An hour later, Lin Yi strolled out of Phoenix Mountain at an unhurried pace.

He took out a small pouch about the size of a palm. It was a beast pouch he had modified from a storage pouch.

Inside was fifty cubic meters of space, more than enough for the big snake and Little Red to move around freely.

"Little Black, Little Red, you two come in."

With a sweep of his arm, Lin Yi put the giant python and Little Red into the beast pouch.

Little Black was the name Lin Yi had given the python. As for naming things, Lin Yi had always been rather casual.

Still, while Little Black was not exactly an impressive name, it was easy to say.

When Lin Yi arrived in Xang City and was about to buy a plane ticket back to Lan City, he received a call from Zhang Xinyi.

"Mr. Lin, tomorrow is my grandfather's eightieth birthday banquet. May I ask whether you would honor us by joining us for a meal?" Her clear voice rang out.

In truth, the Zhang family also wanted to use this birthday banquet to further cement its position as the foremost family.

Lin Yi lowered his head in thought. The Zhang family had grown rather close to him during this period, and besides, he still needed to rely on their influence in Mountain Province to help him purchase cultivation resources.

"All right, I'll be there tomorrow," Lin Yi said.

"Yay!" Zhang Xinyi said happily. "Mr. Lin, should I send someone to pick you up?"

"No need," Lin Yi declined.

After hanging up, Lin Yi went to the airport and booked a ticket to Mountain Province.

Once on the plane, he closed his eyes. Less than two minutes later, a playful female voice said, "Handsome, could you please get up for a moment?"

Lin Yi opened his eyes slightly and saw two young women in their twenties standing beside him.

Both were stunningly beautiful. The one who had spoken was dressed in dark blue overalls and white canvas shoes, with smooth hair draped over her shoulders, giving her seven parts mischief and three parts cuteness.

Beside this playful girl stood a beauty in a black skirt. Her long, straight legs were covered in sheer stockings, and her wavy light-golden hair, along with her crystal-clear skin, made her look as if she could be squeezed for water.

Either one of these women, taken alone, would undoubtedly have been a campus belle.

Compared with the playful girl's bright and teasing manner, the other gave off a distinctly cool air.

Lin Yi stood up, and the two girls sat down beside him.

The playful girl greeted him very familiarly. "Hi, handsome. My name is Deng Mengqi, and she's Pei Wanting."

Lin Yi did not put on airs either. "Lin Yi."

Pei Wanting complained a little, "Mengqi, you don't even know him and you're already giving out your name."

"Hehe, you chat for a bit and you'll know each other," Deng Mengqi said with a grin, revealing two sweet dimples.

She clenched her little fists and added, "Besides, you know I've studied taekwondo. Dealing with one or two punks is easy enough."

"You've been like this since you were little."

Pei Wanting sighed helplessly, then nodded at Lin Yi as a form of acknowledgment.

Lin Yi nodded back. He did not mind Pei Wanting's attitude. After all, the two of them were strangers to each other.

If someone was willing to speak with you, it meant they wanted to get to know you; if they preferred not to say much, the meaning was equally clear.

Lin Yi chatted with Deng Mengqi for a while. They were both from Mountain Province and had come to Xang City to travel.

Just then, a large hand suddenly landed on Lin Yi's shoulder.

Turning around, he saw a burly man standing behind him. He had a body packed with explosive muscle, no less imposing than a bodybuilder's.

His skin was slightly dark, and his whole person radiated a sharp, oppressive aura. A normal person, if glared at by him, would likely go weak in the knees from fear.

"Get up. Sit in the back," the burly man said coldly.

His eyes were sharp and hard. At the way he looked, it was as if, should Lin Yi refuse, violence would follow immediately.

Before Lin Yi could speak, Deng Mengqi stepped in indignantly. "Hey, big guy, I don't think this is your seat."

"Who says it isn't?"

The burly man grinned, his lustful gaze sweeping up and down over Deng Mengqi. At the same time, the great hand resting on Lin Yi's shoulder tightened hard.

Then he looked at Lin Yi with a show of force and asked, "Kid, what do you think? Whose seat is this?"

He always relied on brute force. Anyone he disliked, he simply drove away. Who would dare say another word?

Lin Yi's thin frame, in his eyes, was no different from a chick. It would be easy to squeeze him however he wished.

He did not believe Lin Yi would dare refuse.

When that time came, he would have a proper little conversation with these two beauties.

Lin Yi cast him a faint glance. "You're talking to me?"

"Cut the nonsense. Kid, get lost right now," the burly man said, already trying to haul Lin Yi out of the seat.

But after tugging twice, he realized Lin Yi did not budge at all. His expression darkened. Clearly, this kid was trying to make him look bad.

"I think you're the one who should get lost, big guy," Deng Mengqi snapped, glaring at him.

Pei Wanting did not stop her. Compared with this burly man, she would much rather have Lin Yi sitting beside her.

"Heh, little girl, you've got guts. Do you know who I am?" the burly man asked with interest.

"I don't care who you are. If you don't leave now, I'll be rude," Deng Mengqi said fiercely, clenching her small fist.

Unfortunately, no matter how fierce she looked, her face only made her seem beautiful; there was not the slightest hint of threat.

The burly man laughed aloud. "Well now, what a fiery little beauty. I, Tao Chengye, like that. Looking at this backside, you ought to be good at having children."

"How vile. Lin Yi, move aside. I want to teach this big guy a lesson," Deng Mengqi said angrily.

Pei Wanting suddenly felt that the name Tao Chengye sounded familiar. After thinking for a moment, her expression changed dramatically.

"Tao Chengye, are you the Wild Brother from the underground black boxing circuit?" Pei Wanting cried out.

"That's right," Tao Chengye said, folding his arms across his chest. His bulging muscles seemed ready to burst.

Deng Mengqi's face also changed slightly.

Seeing the two girls' expressions, Lin Yi asked in confusion, "Who's Wild Brother?"

Deng Mengqi said bitterly, "Wild Brother is the king of Mountain Province's underground black boxing scene. He's won the championship three years in a row. They say he once killed a crazed bull with a single punch. He's so strong that he can easily push a small car."

She had never expected to meet Mountain Province's underground boxing king here.

Deng Mengqi felt deeply troubled. Her taekwondo might work against ordinary people, but against a boxing king like Wild Brother, it was nothing but flashy, empty technique.

Underground black boxing was brutal and bloody. It was all about punching flesh on flesh; killing someone in the ring was common.

"Oh."

Lin Yi nodded.

No wonder Tao Chengye was so arrogant. It turned out his status simply did not allow him to keep a low profile.

"Kid, I'm in a good mood today, so get lost already," Tao Chengye said impatiently with a wave of his hand, as though shooing away a fly.

Lin Yi smiled faintly. "I'm in a pretty good mood today too. As long as you kneel and kowtow three times, I won't pursue this any further."

The moment those words fell, Tao Chengye's face darkened, and his eyes locked sharply on Lin Yi.

Ever since he became the underground boxing king, no one had ever dared speak to him like this before. To tell him to kneel and kowtow was openly looking down on him.

Deng Mengqi was also greatly alarmed and hurriedly said, "Hey, have you lost your mind? That's the underground boxing king. I can't beat him, so why are you even butting in? Be careful he doesn't cripple you with one punch."

"It's fine," Lin Yi said calmly.

Seeing Lin Yi's indifferent attitude, Pei Wanting was so annoyed she blurted out, "Hey, you look so honest, so why do you speak without using your brain? Hurry up and apologize."

Who was Tao Chengye? He was from the underground black boxing world. Forget Lin Yi alone; even if the three of them were added together, they probably would not be able to withstand even one of his arms.

"Why should I apologize to him?" Lin Yi said still as calmly as ever.

"You, you..." Pei Wanting was half-dead with anger. Her good intentions had truly been repaid with a dog's liver and lungs.

"Fine. Very fine."

Tao Chengye said with a dark face. None of the people around them dared step forward.

After all, Tao Chengye's burly build alone was intimidating, and he was a fighter in underground black boxing. With their slight frames, how could they possibly endure even one punch?