Amidst his wild laughter, Li Xiaofei suddenly raised his hand and struck the upper right corner of the wall.
The wall shattered with a deafening roar. Two streams of radiant light, one gold and the other silver, shot through the cloud of dust. Cries of alarm and screams followed immediately.
A moment later, a lone figure was violently dragged out from the adjacent quiet chamber by those two intertwined streams of light. Yue Zhuoran’s shoulders had been pierced through by the golden and silver rays. He looked just like a groundhog snared in a loop as he was forcibly yanked from the chamber.
Due to devoting the vast majority of his time to forging, refining, and crafting armor, Yue Zhuoran’s actual combat strength was far from peak level. Though he had reached the pinnacle of the Four Extremes Realm, nearly all his attribute points had been invested in his artifact craftsman profession. As a result, he hadn’t been able to withstand even a single blow from Li Xiaofei.
“Let the Young Master go!”
The remaining three female sword cultivators charged without hesitation.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
They were greeted by a barrage of sword light. All three were flung backward, each one nailed to the wall by a flying sword, meeting the same fate as their fallen companion.
Behind Li Xiaofei, the two radiant streams of gold and silver extended out and coiled around Yue Zhuoran, pulling him close and suspending him before Li Xiaofei.
“So it’s trash like you.” Li Xiaofei looked him over and said coldly, “Big appetite, huh? You dared to steal my goods and seize my people. Did you really think that having a little backing and a few lackeys would let you do whatever you want on Shang Yu Planet?”
“You—!” Yue Zhuoran paled in fury, his eyes seething with venomous rage. “Do you have any idea who I am?”
There were indeed people in the Xiao Kuang Star Region who would dare treat him this way. But none of them included the stranger standing before him.
“Then do you have any idea who I am?” Li Xiaofei retorted.
“I don’t give a damn who you are,” Yue Zhuoran growled with a cold laugh. “You’d better kill me now. Otherwise, I’ll make you understand what true regret means.”
A flash of silver light streaked past and one of Yue Zhuoran’s arms was severed cleanly. Blood spurted into the air.
He let out a miserable scream.
“No! Wait, don’t act rashly!” At last, the alluring and composed Stewardess Wei began to panic. “Let’s talk this through. There’s no need for bloodshed. Enmity should be resolved, not deepened. Please, don’t be impulsive. Release our young master, and we can negotiate any terms you want.” ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⟡𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵
“Bring my people here,” Li Xiaofei said calmly. “I want to see them safe and unharmed. Otherwise, I don’t mind helping your young master lose a few more parts.”
“Yes, right away!” Stewardess Wei replied hastily. “I’ll have them brought here immediately. Please calm down, don’t hurt the young master any further.”
If Yue Zhuoran were to be gravely injured or killed, then as his personal stewardess, her fate would be worse than death. The same went for the other Jade Glaze Sword Sect sword cultivators.
A moment later, the mute girl, Shin Koharu, and Black Emperor were escorted into the hall. Black Emperor had a muzzle strapped over his snout. The mute girl and Shin Koharu looked a bit pale and weakened, but there were no obvious injuries on their bodies.
Li Xiaofei asked again, “Where’s my cargo?”
“It’s on the young master,” Stewardess Wei answered honestly. “You can search him. It should still be there... This was all a misunderstanding. We had no intention of opposing you.”
Li Xiaofei sneered but said nothing. Now that they were at a disadvantage and couldn’t win, they suddenly started pretending it was a misunderstanding. He had seen this type of person far too many times. They only started crying when the pain hit. If you didn’t hit them hard enough, they were always the most arrogant and vicious.
Soon enough, Li Xiaofei retrieved the small piece of Mother of All Beasts hide from Yue Zhuoran’s person.
He flung Yue Zhuoran away without killing him.
“We’re leaving.” Li Xiaofei withdrew his divine abilities and left the municipal compound with Huang Dinggou and the others.
“Young Master, are you alright?” Stewardess Wei ignored everything else and hurried forward to help Yue Zhuoran up. She quickly fed him a pill and immediately began reattaching his severed arm.
The pill dissolved inside his body, transforming into a warm stream of energy. Yue Zhuoran’s injuries began to recover rapidly. His severed arm regenerated fully in an instant. The wounds on his shoulders healed in just a few breaths.
He slapped Stewardess Wei across the face. Half of her face instantly swelled up like a bruised peach, yet she dared not circulate her energy to heal. She merely bowed her head and apologized repeatedly.
It was clear this wasn’t the first time this had happened. Yue Zhuoran stood in the hall, eyes glinting with a sinister light. Yet he didn’t immediately send people in pursuit.
Even in his fury, something had begun to dawn on him. Li Xiaofei’s fearless demeanor had made him realize that this situation might not be as simple as he had initially assumed. No matter the circumstances, anyone who could walk out of the Purple Nebula Forbidden Zone alive was not to be taken lightly.
“I was blinded by greed,” Yue Zhuoran murmured, suddenly coming to his senses. He looked at Stewardess Wei, his fingers gently brushing across her swollen face. “Does it hurt?”
“It does,” Stewardess Wei replied, her eyes glittering with tears. But she smiled alluringly, a deep infatuation etched into her gaze. “But if it’s the Young Master hitting me, no matter how much it hurts... this servant is willing.”
“I’ll be gentler next time.” Yue Zhuoran said calmly, “Issue orders immediately. Have our friends in Starblossom City watch those people closely. Report their movements at once.”
A trace of confusion flashed across Stewardess Wei’s beautiful face. She asked, “Aren’t we going to capture them? We can use official channels. There’s no need to get our hands dirty.”
“No need,” said Yue Zhuoran, shaking his head.
He had a hunch that the power within Starblossom City was not enough to deal with that man. The way the other party had arrived openly and left just as casually clearly showed that they were unafraid.
More than that, Yue Zhuoran even suspected that the man hadn’t brought out that golden beast hide to actually have it cured and crafted into armor. He had been laying bait on purpose.
“Hall Master, aren’t we going to silence them?” On the way back, Huang Dinggou asked doubtfully, “That brat seemed like someone important. If he calls in reinforcements to get revenge, won’t that cause us a lot of trouble?”
“What’s there to worry about?” Li Xiaofei replied casually, “If things really go south and I can’t win in the end, I’ll just hand you over to calm that young master’s fury.”
Huang Dinggou chuckled. He now understood that the Hall Master had other plans in mind.
“Hall Master, I need to report back to the military.” Huang Dinggou said, “I’ve already spent too much time out here on this mission. I’ve contacted my superiors; I need to return immediately to debrief.”
Li Xiaofei nodded and said, “Got it.”
Huang Dinggou added, “Don’t worry. I won’t speak a word of certain things.”
Li Xiaofei replied calmly, “Even if you did, it wouldn’t matter. Is Black Emperor going with you?”
The dog was still officially enlisted. Black Emperor hesitated for a moment before leaping to Huang Dinggou’s side. It, too, had ambition.
Though staying by Li Xiaofei’s side meant good food, drink, and plenty of excitement, its days in the military had left a deep impression. It wanted to return to the comrades waiting for it.
Li Xiaofei didn’t try to stop him. Black Emperor wasn’t ordinary to begin with, returning to serve in the army was a better path for it. In addition, Li Xiaofei entrusted Shin Koharu to Huang Dinggou’s care. The girl would be safer within the military and could continue to cultivate and grow. It would be better for her than constantly following him through chaos.
To ensure their safety, Li Xiaofei personally escorted Huang Dinggou and the others to meet with the military personnel assigned to receive them and personally saw them off.
Li Xiaofei arrived at the agreed meeting spot and saw Chu Xiang.
“There’s a big problem now,” Li Xiaofei said. “I don’t know if your Chu Family can handle it or not.”