18 Mu Zhong.

Yang Wei glanced over at Jin Tianyu.

A sardonic smirk appeared on his lips.

"I'm in a bit of a hurry here, can you just spit it out so I can get these herbs sold?"

His eyes flickered toward Wu Fengtian, who stood behind Jin Tianyu, lost in his own thoughts.

If I don't back up the Young Master, I'll seem inept, but let's not kid ourselves—I can sense this guy might wipe the floor with me if I cross him. I won't be fooled by the weak spiritual energy he's giving off; who's to say he isn't a seasoned cultivator laying low for training? If that's the case, we're in deep trouble. Still, I need the Young Master's favor, so I've got to face this, even if it sounds seriously dumb.

The tension was heavy.

Then, Wu Fengtian took a deep breath, steeling himself as he stepped forward and pointed at Yang Wei.

"How dare you speak to the Young Master with such dis—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Yang Wei's gaze turned predatory. "Be quiet," he interjected.

Wu Fengtian's mouth snapped shut, his entire body trembling with fear.

This guy... There's nothing normal about him...!

He knew better than to challenge Yang Wei further.

Jin Tianyu took a step forward, his fan pointing directly at Yang Wei. "Trash like you needs a lesson about playing smart with someone of my caliber," he spat angrily.

Yang Wei smirked. "Oh? A genius? Could you point me to them, oh Young Master?"

Obviously, he was trying to get under Jin Tianyu's skin by being sarcastic and mocking him. So far, Yang Wei knew one thing that all cultivators had in general— they were quick to take offense.

There's not a single decent cultivator in this world is there? Lingxi included... Yang Wei figured.

Tension crackled in the air. "Stay away from my jade possession, you lowly commoner," Jin Tianyu growled through gritted teeth.

"Huh?" Yang Wei said as he ignorantly looked to the skies. "Come again? I couldn't get most of the nonsense you were talking about..."

Suppressing his anger, the Young Master reiterated his command for clarity.

To him, this junior was obviously lacking a few brain cells.

"Mu Lin, the daughter of the Chief of Spirit Harmony Peak, belongs to me by cosmic decree and so do all the women in this Peak. Commoner, you dare disrupt the celestial order of my harem? Junior, you dare challenge the heavenly script?"

Yang Wei chuckled softly, rubbing his chin.

Seriously, what's up with the whole "junior" obsession? And come on, is this all over a woman? It's unimaginably hard to wrap my head around cultivators from the same sect trying to off each other just because of a beauty. These men are beyond belief, sigh. No wonder this world operates on matriarchal system... These guys have no ambitions.

"All this because of a woman? Seems a bit excessive for someone who wants nothing to do with you," he retorted.

Enraged, Jin Tianyu growled, "You must be an arrogant bastard to speak such nonsense. It seems you've mistaken courting death for disrespect."

Yang Wei yawned. "I couldn't care less. You're the one who's mistaken if you think Mu Lin wants anything to do with you."

"Such nonsense!" Jin Tianyu fired back. "Do you hear the nonsensical drivel spewing out of that gutter you call a mouth?"

Yang Wei grinned wickedly as he continued, "She certainly didn't seem interested in you two days ago when she was all over me, unless... the Young Master is such a loser that she'd jump out of a relationship the moment she finds someone more capable."

The Young Master remained silent, gritting his teeth.

"Am I right?" Yang Wei taunted.

"It looks like I am..." he taunted even more.

"What? You couldn't hold up for even ten seconds in bed with her—or hold on," Yang Wei gently tapped his chin with his index finger. "She mentioned she's a virgin. So, I guess that limp excuse you call manhood wasn't enticing enough for her to give you a second look.."

The Young Master's folding fan was crushed due to his intense grip on it.

Folding his arms, Yang Wei leaned back a bit and smiled. "Oh? Looks like that's it..."

Furious, Jin Tianyu charged at him, hands sparking with spiritual qi.

He aimed a clawed hand directly at Yang Wei's throat, intending to rip it out.

Quick as lightning, Yang Wei dodged the attack, blocking the Young Master's claws with his forearm.

Jin Tianyu continued to exert his force into the punch to push it through, but Yang Wei's block held strong.

The Young Master grinned, puffing out his chest, "Don't get ahead of yourself just because you blocked one of my weakest hits," he taunted.

Yang Wei sighed.

It was getting absolutely tiring for him - to him, on the spectrum of power, he'd place Jin Tianyu's punch from weak to slightly less weak, nothing more.

And that was a generous estimation.

"You could use your mightiest strike, and it wouldn't make a difference."

Yang Wei wasn't mocking his foe, instead, he was simply telling him what he thought was the truth.

The seriousness and sincerity in his eyes said it all.

Wu Fengtian, who watched from a distance, glanced over his shoulder, feeling relieved, "I'm relieved that wasn't the Young Master's punch at full power."

He placed a hand on his chest and sighed with ease.

The Young Master is in the 1st level of the Spirit Gathering Realm—a Spirit Disciple, the top tier for the Dragon Blossom Sect's men in cultivation. If this junior manages to take down Jin Tianyu like he did with Jin Tianyu's crew, he'd shoot up to being one of the top 50 strongest male cultivators in the sect...

He also knew that if Yang Wei could endure the full force of the Young Master's punch, then the Young Master and everyone associated with him would be in serious trouble.

However, the cowardly Wu Fengtian had no qualms about running away to fight another day – he lived the life of a shameless weasel.

I'm definitely not a fan of problems, and trouble isn't my style either. All I wanted was some spirit stones from Jin Tianyu to snag the resources I need to push myself to at least the 4th level of the Mortal Realm. I certainly didn't expect this bastard junior to be such a headache. Well, if things go south, I'll vanish and deal with the consequences later. My life matters more...

For now, he decided to stay and act like he was faithful to the Young Master.

Meanwhile,

Jin Tianyu lunged with his left fist, Yang Wei countered with his other forearm and then managed to dodge the follow-up leg sweep by moving so quickly he faded into thin air.

After, Yang Wei materialized, seemingly "teleporting" three meters behind Jin Tianyu.

For a moment, the Young Master was disoriented.

How did he move so fast?! A teleportation array? No...

He looked around in confusion.

Yang Wei yawned, "I'm not interested in fighting an idiot like you. I've got more important things to do."

Enraged, Jin Tianyu whirled around and shouted, "Come back here and bow to me, beg for forgiveness, or I'll destroy your clan and everything else you hold dear!"

Yang Wei rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah and after that you'll torture my soul for a thousand years... I've heard enough, foolish old thing."

The tension escalated quickly.

"Water Spirit Technique!"

Jin Tianyu unsheathed his jian and charged it with a menacing whirling of water. The water blades that rotated around the blade of his weapon spun so fast that it sliced through the air without much effort.

It was as though if this blade touched spirit-refined metals it would rend it to pieces.

He lunged towards Yang Wei, aiming to shred him to pieces.

In response, Yang Wei conjured a spherical mass of red energy in his palm.

This was his Chaos Core's [Scarlet Magic].

Facing his palm towards his assailant, he instantly expanded the spherical mass to an extent where it would cover all of Jin Tianyu's routes of attack and then... effectively delete him and the attack.

However, just as the two were about to clash, an unknown figure swooped in from nowhere.

They swiftly seizing Jin Tianyu by the wrist and tossed him aside.

With a graceful mid-air spin, one that would only rival the fluid motions of the ocean's waves, they kicked Yang Wei's hand away, sending the red sphere soaring upward.

In the aftermath, the red sphere crashed and obliterated a nearby cluster of five hills, reducing them to nothing.

The unexpected figure caught everyone's attention.

Jin Tianyu bellowed, "Who is the insolent brat that dares interrupt my fight with this lowly garbage?"

As for Yang Wei, he inspected his hand briefly before using his eyes to trace the path along which his destructive energy sphere traveled.

There was a massive crater in place of the cluster of hills several kilometers away.

Hm, it seems even self-restraint doesn't work with this [Scarlet Magic] of mine... I need to find better ways to lessen its attack potency, or else I might end up destroying the entire Spirit Harmony Peak, the only thing that might save it, is the dense amount of spiritual qi here... might.

Whispers rippled through the sect's disciples, pointing to the figure responsible for halting the intense duel.

"It's Mu Zhong!" one exclaimed.

Another chimed in, "He looks so gorgeous!"

A third voice echoed, "Isn't that the first son of Chief Mu?"

Jin Tianyu belatedly grasped the situation.

It was to late for him to completely acknowledge his realization.

Mu Zhong, unfazed by the chaos, locked eyes with Jin Tianyu and remarked, "I suppose you're referring to me as the "insolent brat" who dared interrupt this fight, yes?"

Beads of sweat rolled down the side of Jin Tianyu's head.

Meanwhile, Wu Fengtian squeaked, already poised to make a swift exit.

Yang Wei, arms folded, sighed and uttered, "All I wanted was to sell my herbs in peace." After, he inspected Mu Zhong just for a short moment.

So... This is Lingxi's eldest brother...