Chapter 179 - People may be afraid of you, but I’m not
Even an idiot could tell that Ye Qingyu's words were mocking Zhao Ruyun.
But Zhao Ruyun's face turning such a shade of red was equal to admitting that he was a pile of mud without a spine.
Zhan San's gaze passed by Zhao Ruyun's face. A shred of disappointment flashed in his eyes. Zhao Ruyun was originally a young talent of the supply department that he had high expectations of because his personality was extremely like his own. In these years, his performance had not been bad, but today, Zhao Ruyun was really far too lacking when compared to Ye Qingyu.
"If you want to be a table, then you should be prepared to be crushed into powder." Zhang San slowly walked towards the door. "I am really curious as to just how long can you endure."
Ye Qingyu coldly snorted. "Everyone says that you are arrogant and bossy. Seeing you today, you are not just domineering, you are also mad. As a soldier, using the power in your hands as you will to suppress others, really too unscrupulous, you treat all the laws of the army as invisible. Using the word insane to describe you is really just about right.”
Zhang San's face instantly changed colour.
HIs footsteps immediately halted.
Just how many years had it been since someone dared to say such words in front of him? "Little thing, you have angered me time and time again. Are you really looking to die?" Zhang San sinisterly turned around, his gaze was like a blade stabbing into one’s bones. He stared tightly at Ye Qingyu, ready to strike at any moment.
Ye Qingyu looked at him straight in the eye, without any fear whatsoever. "Just by you? Try it and see.”
Within Zhang San's heart, a flame as hot as if it was the true flame of the Ninth Heaven burned.
His chest rose up and down because of his fury. Zhang San originally was not a person skilled at hiding his emotions, and after Ye Qingyu's words, he was about to explode with anger.
But…
Zhang San suddenly looked at his five fingers and the silver frost that had not yet dissipated. His heart shivered.
Just now, when Ye Qingyu returned the gold piece, he had prepared it with his silver frost qi. Such a technique was exquisite and such a cold power was an energy that Zhang San had never witnessed before in his life. Even with his Bitter Sea stage of cultivation, he could not get rid of the cold qi from Zhao Ruyun’s body in the first instant. Instead, he was invaded by this invisible cold power into his own body, like a maggot seeping into the bones. This was exceedingly frightening.
This made Zhang San unable to discern and identify Ye Qingyu's true strength.
After thinking back to the youth in front of him, Ye Qingyu’s action of returning alive from the clutches of Yan Buhui made him even more mysterious and unfathomable. Zhang San was faintly apprehensive of him. If today he really struck out and could not defeat Ye Qingyu, he would be humiliated and become a laughingstock.
Those who were protective normally cared about their face highly.
Zhang San was protective, but he cared more about his face.
If he fought with Ye Qingyu today and his raft capsized in shallow waters[1], this was something that he could not accept.
As this thought flickered through his mind, Zhang San's desire to act began to wane.
If he was not confident in succeeding in something, he would definitely not attempt it.
He then thought further. How was Ye Qingyu so strong? What was he relying on? A little thing that had only arrived recently; he dared to act against him? Strength was one part of the equation, but who could say whether there were people behind the scenes supporting him. In these years he had offended many people. What if there were people acting together in the shadows against him and this Ye Qingyu was only their blade that was used in their schemes against him? "Good, very good. Little fellow, it seems you really want to go against me." The orange flame in the center of Zhang San's palm slowly dispersed. Fiercely nodding his head. "But this is something that you sought by yourself, so I'll play with you a little. Let’s see who will play with whom to their death. Those who dare act against me directly these years is not only you. I remember two years ago there was a military warfare officer in the Vanguard. From a little noble family, he had exceptional martial talent with many contributions in battle. He thought he was out of the ordinary, so he rejected me. His name was called Gao Shenghan[JR1] . Why don't you ask him just what he is doing now…
Before he finished, Ye Qingyu who could not bear it any longer, suddenly exploded.
"Shut your mouth," Ye Qingyu said in rage. "A dog-like thing[2], to be so prideful and brag while talking about your betters… You used your position and status to suppress a young officer with limitless potential, causing the army of the Empire to suffer a huge loss, do you think you’re great? You dog-like thing, you’re really the parasite of the army. A ruffian with a scum-like personality, not only not repaying the debt of the Empire by serving loyally, you’re also not grateful of the fact that you know the [War God of Youyan Pass] Lord Lu Zhaoge and your debt to him. Instead you plot and scheme, you think this is how you establish authority. I spit on this. You go and ask, just how many people are pointing at you behind your back and cursing your ancestors. To be here so prideful of your own actions is really outstandingly shameless!"
Ye Qingyu had never hated and felt contempt for a person like he did now.
This Zhang San was really the tumour of the army.
It was really hard to imagine why the [War God of Youyan Pass], Lu Zhaoge, that was known as one of the ten greatest warriors of Heaven Wasteland domain, would allow such a shameless person like Zhang San to control the supply department.
Zhao Ruyun was completely stunned speechless.
He completely did not believe what his ears were hearing.
As for Zhang San, he was pointing at Ye Qingyu, similarly struck speechless. His finger began quivering, his face the colour of blood. "You, you, you…”
The head of the supply department had been angered so much that he could not even finish his sentence.
He had never experienced someone insulting and cursing him to his face. Even Lu Zhaoge had never reprimanded him like so.
But conversely, he felt that there was something in Ye Qingyu words that turned into invisible power. Word after word heavily struck his heart, causing a part inside his body to instantly collapse, not able to form any resistance.
"I, I, I? I what?" Ye Qingyu rose up.
His originally muscular figure, in this instant, seemed to turn vast and unfathomable. "I am only a little military officer, with nothing to rely on. But my actions are righteous, with a clear conscience. People may be scared of you, but I'm not afraid of you. A little ruffian that isn't even clear of what the situation is, why are you trying to pretend to be glorious in front of me? Today you are the high up head of the supply department, but tomorrow just what kind of thing you will become, who can say. The person who walks a lot on the night roads cannot help but encounter a ghost. You've done so many terrible things that one day, karma will definitely come back to bite you. When you have fallen to the ground, look to those people who fear and respect you now, just how will they treat you!”
Word after word, as if it was apocalyptic thunder, struck heavily at Zhang San's heart.
Zhang San's face became deathly pale. He shouted furiously, "You… you, just what do you know little scrap, I'll kill you.”
He had gone completely mad[3] with fury.
He could originally hold his temper, because he evidently had come here to humiliate this young man, but right now, he was so angry he could spit out seven kinds of flames from all the apertures in his body. He had never been angry like he was today. And even after exploding with fury, he was still able to sense a shred of emotion hidden deep within his inner heart… fear! "Haha, I really don't understand anything. But even I know that there are things that you can do and that there are things you can't do. I pity you that your arrogance has long ruled your mind, that you have long dug your own grave. You are situated in an Asura realm[4], but you do not know yourself." Ye Qingyu coldly smiled.
The gaze he looked at Zhang San was as if he was looking at a pitiful bug.
In these years, Zhang San had used his position to bully and oppress others. He seemed to be really glorious, such that even the commander of the right camp, Peng Yizhen, lowered his head to him. He seemed faintly to be the second person after Lu Zhaoge, but in reality, he was digging his own grave. The more people that he offended, the more people that hated him… Seeing his status, the others did not do anything. But once he even slightly lost his position and status, then what was awaiting Zhang San from everyone was definitely a disaster that would turn his bones into powder.
Ye Qingyu's words cut to the heart, deeply inciting Zhang San. He had completely gone berserk.
This head of the supply department forgot all about his apprehension. There was no way he could suppress the killing rage in his heart anymore.
Within both his palms, an orange light flickered. A terrible yuan qi heat fluctuation instantly surged in the large hall. With the surging flames burning, he acted instantly.
The power of the Bitter Sea stage was enough to make one suffocate.
Zhao Ruyun let out a tragic cry. This violent energy instantly struck him, sending him flying backwards. He struck the stone wall and spat out a jet of blood, his expression extremely alarmed.
"Come."
Ye Qingyu shouted loudly, acting at the same moment.
The power of twenty Spirit springs activated with its full strength. His entire body exploded with the roar of dragons, the inner yuan madly flowing throughout his entire body, like the surge of a great river. Twenty silver Snow Dragons encircled around his body, giving him huge power. At the same time, he did not hesitate at all to activate the [Supreme Ice flame] within his dantian world.
Out of all of the aces Ye Qingyu had, only the [Supreme Ice flame] could pose as any sort of threat to experts of the Bitter Sea stage.
At the same time, Ye Qingyu's spirit focused. His mind, qi, and soul combined, and thankfully he managed to activate the state of the [Limitless Divine Way]
It was only the [First Limit] of the [Limitless Divine Way], but that was already enough.
His battle power instantly doubled.
The power of forty Spirit springs instantly exploded out.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The moment the two people met, they exchanged three fists.
Every time the fists met with each other, there would be orange and silver rings of light that appeared. Layer after layer, the rings spread out with their center at the place where the fists met.
The battle fluctuations that could be seen, but not felt, quickly exploded out towards all directions. Everywhere they passed, the stone chairs and tables would turn into powder. The yuan qi formations on the stone walls of the White Horse tower were activated, and the formation light was like lightning running along the walls…
Behind them…
Zhao Ruyun madly activated his inner yuan to protect himself. He spat out fresh blood in great quantities.
He felt like he was a piece of paper. He was stuck to the wall like a painting by the yuan qi turbulence that crushed him against the wall. Not only was there no way for him to move and evade, he could not even open his mouth to speak. If he opened his mouth, this terrible qi would stuff into his mouth, making him suffocate.
Three explosions exploded within White Horse tower.
The entire White Horse tower was as if it was situated in an earthquake. It began quivering and shaking, as if it could collapse at any moment.
On the walls and the floors, streak after streak of lightning-like formations flickered, reinforcing and stabilizing. Finally the historic building managed to withstand the terrible yuan qi fluctuations.
Ye Qingyu spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backwards.
However, even in the air, he did not lose control.
Lightly floating towards the wall, Ye Qingyu's left hand pushed against it. A large swathe of ice spread out across the wall, and by borrowing this force, he managed to gently land on the ground, like a fluttering butterfly. His body movements were elegant, full of vitality, and his figure was stable.
Apart from spitting out a mouthful of blood, there were no internal injuries within Ye Qingyu. His yuan qi was flowing strongly and smoothly like usual!
Opposite.
Zhang San's robe fluttered and both hands were behind his back. His stance was relaxed to the extreme.
At this moment, the power of an expert at the Bitter Sea stage was demonstrated fully.
The yuan qi fluctuation in the large hall slowly settled down.
Zhao Ruyun was in an utterly sorry state as he slowly slid off the wall to the floor. The pain throughout his body was as if every bone in his body had broken into inch sized pieces.
But currently, Zhao Ruyun could not care about this at all.
The shock and fear in his heart could not be described purely through words alone.
Because when he was sliding down, he could clearly see that Zhang San's two hands behind his back was currently trembling. A scarlet red trail of blood was slowly dripping down to the ground from his forefinger, emitting nearly audible sounds of the drops plopping to the floor.
Zhao Ruyun's mind went completely blank.
"The head was injured? How was this possible?”
At this moment—
Boom!
The great door of White Horse tower was pushed open by someone.
Countless figures rushed in.
The person at the very forefront was Wen Wan.
"Zhang San you bastard. Today I will fight to the death with you… Little Yu, Little Yu are you okay?" He roared like a mad tiger. Wen Wan evaluated everything within the great hall. Behind him was Liu Zongyuan who did his utmost to hold him back, but it was a pity that Wen Wan had broken free from his restraints.
Liu Zongyuan had also followed closely behind him.
Behind them another crowd rushed in.
Evidently, they had been shaken by the impact of those three punches and the turmoil it had caused. Apart from Liu Zongyuan and tens of soldiers from the Vanguard, there were also Lin Lang, Yi Sance, people of the Cool Breeze Mountain Faction, soldiers and allocation officers from the supply department, the Rear camp, Vanguard, Left camp, Right camp, people of the Pass Lord's residence, and also the guards on patrol. It was a significant number.
The people of all parties that paid attention to White Horse tower instantly rushed in at the same time.
Originally, everyone had thought that Zhang San had come to White Horse tower to make things difficult for Ye Qingyu. But they only expected him to verbally humiliate him or threaten him a little. They had never expected that he would really act out personally and cause such a great commotion…
Zhang San had completely gone berserk.
Ye Qingyu, after all, was recently bestowed a title and had greatly contributed during the battle. He was also the target of a propaganda program by the military to construct him as a model hero. At this time, whoever wanted to act against him needed to think it thrice over. This type of situation where one was positioned where the winds and waves were the fiercest was really troublesome to get oneself into.
No one imagined that Zhang San would strike out and activate his Bitter Sea stage level of cultivation to kill Ye Qingyu.
That’s right, everyone felt that Ye Qingyu would be killed.
No one felt that Ye Qingyu would be able to survive in front of the powerful strength of someone at the Bitter Sea stage.
Just now, the terrifying strength of those three punches could clearly be sensed by everyone even through the walls of White Horse tower. The power was like the abyss itself, stifling people. The only possibility was that the [Worry of Ghosts] Zhang San had completely gone crazy. With his exceptional strength, he had forcefully slaughtered Ye Qingyu, turning him into mush.