Chapter 18 0018: The Ye Family Could Never Keep Him

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After hearing Hou Yaodong’s words, Yi Jifeng retorted, “Hou Yaodong, we’re all people of status here. Don’t go too far.”

“It’s your Yi family that’s gone too far!” Hou Yaodong snapped back, “You were the one who said I shouldn’t interfere, that the young people should settle their issues themselves. Now that Yi Tianxing has been defeated, you’re claiming the Ye family found an expert to impersonate someone and intends to cripple Yi Tianxing. Do you really know less about Chu Yun’s background than I do? If you get to dictate everything, am I supposed to just play the fool and follow your script? Don’t be so disgusting. A noble family should show some dignity. No wonder your Yi family has such a bad reputation in Jiang City. Only you would resort to forcibly abducting women. If it hadn’t been for me and Master Chu today, the Ye family would’ve been utterly at your mercy.”

Yi Jifeng immediately stood up, unleashing his full battle energy. The tables and chairs around him were blasted away by the force.

Everyone instinctively retreated a good distance.

Only those who had reached Warrior Rank One or above possessed battle energy. For Warriors, energy from Ranks One to Three was yellow, while Ranks Four to Six was orange—though at Rank Six, the orange deepened, close to red. Only at Rank Seven did the energy become truly red.

Thus, when Yi Jifeng released his pale orange battle energy—signifying Warrior Rank Four—everyone held their breath, not daring to speak.

His energy storm shook the air, shattering the surrounding furniture. It was clear Yi Jifeng was truly enraged.

Pointing at Hou Yaodong, he said in a low voice, “Don’t accuse me of taking advantage; just answer me—do you want to fight or not? Today I stand up for my younger generation, and I have nothing to be ashamed of!”

He knew well that Hou Yaodong, due to his internal injuries, couldn’t use battle energy in combat anymore. Now that things had come to this, he couldn’t bear it any longer. At worst, he’d suppress Hou Yaodong for now and let his family and the city lord negotiate with the Hou family afterward. Even if it cost some resources and an apology, if he could make Hou Yaodong suffer today, Yi Jifeng would find it quite satisfying.

He was certain that the Hou family, protective of their reputation, would not let Hou Yaodong accept the challenge. If Hou Yaodong revealed his condition before so many people, it would be known that the Hou family had lost one of their core powerhouses, diminishing their standing in Jiang City. Hou Yaodong would not act rashly at this moment.

“A mere Warrior Rank Four, and you dare to show off before me?” Hou Yaodong snorted coldly, and his own energy burst forth, shaking the ground beneath his feet and raising a cloud of dust.

A shade deeper than Yi Jifeng’s, the orange energy—almost red—flared between Hou Yaodong’s hands like a halo.

The crowd gasped in amazement. “Warrior Rank Six!”

“Second Master Hou has actually reached Warrior Rank Six!” Ye Zhenhuan exclaimed in disbelief. Usually, such powerful battle energy was only seen at the city’s yearly gatherings of masters, and today they were fortunate to witness it.

Everyone from the Yi family widened their eyes in shock, nearly choking on their own saliva at the sight of Hou Yaodong’s eruption. No one dared to breathe.

They were all stunned beyond words. Especially Yi Jifeng, who blinked several times, thinking he’d seen wrong. But the aura two ranks above his own crushed him with unmistakable force—this was no pretense.

Yi Jifeng was dumbfounded. “How can this be? You—you weren’t… This is impossible! My father said your condition was incurable!”

Even his speech faltered.

The members of the Ye family looked at the Yi family with peculiar amusement, unable to hide their schadenfreude at their sweat-drenched confusion. First, Yi Tianxing was struck down by Chu Yun, and now, with the supposedly unshakable Yi Jifeng stepping forward, even he was being utterly suppressed.

“I’ll ask you again—fight or not?” Hou Yaodong narrowed his eyes at Yi Jifeng, pronouncing each word deliberately.

“I…” Yi Jifeng gritted his teeth, wanting to step forward, but his brothers quickly restrained him.

“Big Brother, forget it. If you’re crippled, our family will only grow weaker!”

Immediately, the Yi family members bowed to Hou Yaodong in apology. “Second Master Hou, we’re sorry!”

“After all your posturing, you think a simple sorry is enough?” Hou Yaodong glared coldly at the row of Yi family members and barked, “Get out of my sight!”

With that, his battle energy swept forward, blasting several of Yi Jifeng’s brothers aside.

Among those with the Yi family, only one was Warrior Rank One; the rest were Martial Artist Rank Nine—a vast difference. None could withstand the force and were all sent flying.

Yi Jifeng, seeing no other choice, struck out, but his attack was caught and neutralized by Hou Yaodong. In the direct clash, Yi Jifeng was sent hurtling backward.

The gap between two ranks was made glaringly obvious.

Hou Yaodong couldn’t be bothered to pursue the defeated Yi Jifeng. Instead, he glanced at the Yi family members sprawled on the ground and declared, “Let this be clear: from today forward, Chu Yun of the Chu family is an honored guest of our Hou family. If anyone dares show him disrespect, don’t blame us for going to war with your Yi family!”

The Yi family members trembled, avoiding Hou Yaodong’s gaze and lowering their heads.

Hou Yaodong looked down at Yi Jifeng, who lay on the ground coughing blood, and snorted, “Did you hear me?”

Yi Jifeng stared at Hou Yaodong, still unable to comprehend how he had been cured of his internal injury.

“If anyone isn’t gone in a minute, I’ll cripple them myself!” Hou Yaodong said coldly.

The Yi family scrambled to their feet and rushed out of the courtyard, supporting Yi Jifeng as they fled in utter disgrace. As he left, Yi Tianxing could not resist threatening Ye Linglong, “You think Chu Yun will marry into your Ye family? Once he’s gone, just you wait. The humiliation you gave me today—I’ll make sure you suffer for it!”

His words were sobering, pouring cold water over the Ye family’s hopes. A man like Chu Yun was likely beyond their reach, let alone their ambition to have him marry into the family.

And as for Ye Linglong marrying him, she felt no affection for Chu Yun and doubted he would want her either.

Besides, Chu Yun seemed to have no interest in Ye Linglong at all.

After the Yi family left, Hou Yaodong paid no further attention to the Ye household. He ignored Ye Zhenhuan and the others gathering around, instead turning to Chu Yun with a smile. “Master Chu, now can we finally sit down for a meal and discuss our business?”

Chu Yun replied, “Let’s skip the meal. I still have many matters to attend to.”

“But it’s not really appropriate to refuse when Second Master Hou invites you to dinner,” Ye Linglong’s younger brother, Ye Wuzhao, said nervously—still shaken by Hou Yaodong’s display of Warrior Rank Six power and anxious to curry favor.

Chu Yun shot him a glare. “Shut up.”

Ye Wuzhao immediately fell silent. For a brief moment, he felt that the force behind Chu Yun’s gaze was even more terrifying than the aura Hou Yaodong had unleashed.