371: Chapter 371 If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes!

Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion's face turned cold, and he abruptly turned his head to look.

As his gaze fell upon the figure at the doorway, his pupils constricted slightly.

"Yan Qingwu?"

He recognized the newcomer. The expression on his face shifted from shock to gloom, and then from gloom to a cold sneer.

"The little princess of the Yan Family. Instead of staying in the capital, you've actually run to Magic City to collude with Ye Chen?"

Yan Qingwu stood at the doorway, clad in a black trench coat with her long hair draped over her shoulders, exuding a spirited and heroic aura.

Behind her stood a dense crowd of people.

It was none other than the one hundred and twenty wolf cubs of the Hidden Dragon Pavilion.

Each of them stood perfectly straight with sharp gazes, radiating the fearless momentum of newborn calves that did not fear tigers.

Hearing this, Yan Qingwu couldn't help but laugh.

That smile was bright and moving, yet it carried several hints of undisguised mockery.

"Collude?"

"Are you so old that your brain has turned to mush?"

Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion: "???"

He was completely stunned.

Wait...

This little slip of a girl actually dared to insult him like that?

As an external affairs elder of the Tianji Pavilion, he had run rampant in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai area for so many years. Who would dare speak to him like this?

Even if Yan Qingwu had the Yan Family behind her...

And behind the Yan Family was the Kunlun Ruins...

She shouldn't be that audacious, right?

But before he could react, a young man in his early twenties from behind Yan Qingwu had already squeezed forward.

It was Lu Nan.

His two-hundred-pound frame came to a halt, looking filled with righteous indignation.

"You rotten old man, you're truly wicked!"

"Our Chief Instructor is part of the official establishment, a true patriot through and through!"

"You, a guy who runs an intelligence company and has done who-knows-how-many shady deeds in the dark, actually have the face to call us 'colluders'?"

Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion: "???"

His eyes widened as he looked at this kid who didn't know the heights of the heavens or the depths of the earth in disbelief.

Official establishment?

A true patriot?

Although his Tianji Pavilion wasn't within the official system, the power of the Kunlun Ruins stood behind it!

A wet-behind-the-ears kid dared to point at his nose and curse him?

But before he could lose his temper, another voice rang out from the side.

It was Guo Qinling.

He crossed his arms, squinted at Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion, and let out a cold laugh.

"If I were you, I would have hung myself long ago."

"You've lived all these years only to have the sense of a dog. How can you have the thick skin to come here and call others 'colluders'?"

"Take a look at yourself in a pool of your own piss. Those wrinkles, those triangular eyes, that sinister look—you're a living template for a villain!"

"With that kind of virtue, you're an Elder of the Tianji Pavilion? I think you're more like someone who cleans their toilets!"

Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion: "???"

His face turned completely green.

He had lived for over forty years and held a high position in the Tianji Pavilion. When had he ever been pointed at and cursed like this?

And the ones cursing him were actually a group of green boys in their early twenties!

He took a deep breath, but he couldn't suppress the veins throbbing on his forehead.

Finally—

"ALL OF YOU, SHUT UP!!!"

A roar erupted in the room like a clap of thunder!

The pressure of a Heavenly Realm Peak expert was released without reservation!

That aura felt almost physical as it surged wildly in all directions!

The air in the room seemed to freeze, the temperature plummeted, and an invisible sense of oppression rushed toward them!

Lu Nan's face turned pale, and he instinctively took half a step back.

Guo Qinling also shut his mouth, his expression becoming solemn.

The one hundred and twenty wolf cubs grit their teeth and held on, but that pressure was simply too strong—so strong that even breathing became difficult for them.

So this was a Heavenly Realm Peak powerhouse?

Indeed, terrifying to such an extent!

However.

At that moment, a hand was gently placed on Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion's shoulder.

Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion's roar came to an abrupt halt.

He whipped his head around, only to find that the owner of that hand was the young man who had stood up from the sofa.

Ye Chen.

Without him realizing when, Ye Chen had arrived in front of Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion and placed a hand on his shoulder, a harmless smile on his face.

"Elder Liu, don't be so hot-headed."

"It wouldn't be good if you scared my students."

Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion's pupils suddenly contracted!

He hadn't sensed at all when Ye Chen had moved in front of him!

The most ridiculous thing was that he had just been releasing his fury!

Logically, any person or object approaching him should have been repelled by the pressure.

And...

That hand on his shoulder clearly had no force behind it, yet it made his entire body feel as if it were pinned in place, unable to move!

Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion's back went cold, and a chill rushed from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head!

He turned his head with difficulty to meet Ye Chen's calm, waveless eyes.

A surge of fear erupted from the depths of his heart.

"You..."

Ye Chen looked at him and smiled slightly.

"Elder Liu, I have a good temper and generally don't hold things against people."

"But you just yelled at my students. We need to have a little talk about that."

Looking for trouble required a reason.

This was called...

Having a righteous cause.

Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion's Adam's apple bobbed as he secretly groaned in his heart.

The hand Ye Chen had on his shoulder was pressing down so hard he could barely breathe; how the hell was he supposed to say anything?

Yan Qingwu stood at the doorway, watching this scene with the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.

Behind her, the eyes of the one hundred and twenty wolf cubs all lit up.

The Chief Instructor had made his move!

That insufferably arrogant Elder of the Tianji Pavilion was being held in place by the Chief Instructor's hand like a chicken caught by the neck!

Lu Nan was so excited he almost jumped up.

"The Chief Instructor is awesome!"

"Let him yell at us!"

"Let him act all high and mighty!"

"Why isn't he acting tough now?"

Guo Qinling also couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Some Elder he is, pinned down by the Chief Instructor's hand, unable to even move."

"Just this? And he's fit to come here and snatch things?"

Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion's face had completely flushed a deep purple.

In his forty-plus years of life, he had never suffered such humiliation!

But he couldn't move.

He really couldn't move.

The hand on his shoulder felt like a great mountain, making even breathing difficult.

The burly man behind him was already so scared his face was pale and his legs were weak, wishing he could just turn and run.

Ye Chen looked down at Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion and sighed softly.

"Elder Liu, I'm in a good mood today and don't want to see any blood."

"So..."

"I'd like to ask you for a favor."

Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion was baffled.

A favor?

This bastard actually said he wanted a favor?

Various thoughts raced through his mind, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what Ye Chen could possibly need his help with.

Not just him, but everyone present was stunned.

Yan Qingwu's brows furrowed slightly as she looked at Ye Chen suspiciously.

The one hundred and twenty wolf cubs looked at each other in total confusion.

The Chief Instructor wanted to ask this Elder of the Tianji Pavilion for a favor?

What kind of favor?

Help with sweeping the floor?

Everyone was completely bewildered by Ye Chen's move.

Ignoring the stunned gazes of everyone present, Ye Chen continued with a beaming smile.

"Elder Liu, don't be nervous."

"This favor is very simple."

"I just want you to be a sparring partner for these one hundred and twenty wolf cubs of mine."

As the words fell.

The entire room fell into a deathly silence.

One could hear a pin drop.

Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion's eyes widened as he looked at Ye Chen in disbelief.

A sparring partner?

He wanted him to be a sparring partner for this group of wet-behind-the-ears kids?

He, an external affairs elder of the Tianji Pavilion and a Heavenly Realm Peak powerhouse, was actually being reduced to a punching bag for a group of students?

This was a goddamn insult!

A blatant insult!

Veins popped on Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion's forehead, his chest heaved violently, and his lungs felt like they were about to burst from rage.

But the hand on his shoulder pressed him down so hard he couldn't even move, let alone vent his anger.

He could only glare, using his eyes to convey his fury.

But Ye Chen completely ignored his gaze and continued on his own.

"If you don't speak, then I'll take it as your consent."

Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion: "???"

Consent?

Consent my ass!

Is it that I'm not speaking?

It's that I CAN'T speak!!!

He was so anxious his eyeballs were practically bulging out.

But the eyes of the one hundred and twenty wolf cubs all lit up.

A Heavenly Realm Peak sparring partner?

That was an opportunity one couldn't even beg for!

Standing at the doorway, Yan Qingwu suddenly realized.

She finally understood what Ye Chen was trying to do.

This wasn't just asking for a sparring partner.

This was grinding the face of the Tianji Pavilion into the dirt!

Making their Elder a sparring partner for the Hidden Dragon Pavilion's students—if he lost, it would be humiliating; if he won, it would be even more humiliating!

For a dignified Heavenly Realm Peak powerhouse to bully a group of novice students—if word got out, how could he ever show his face again?

And...

With Ye Chen's black-bellied personality, he definitely wouldn't let Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion win.

Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion struggled desperately, but it was completely futile.

He could only curse wildly in his heart, praying that the burly man he brought with him would have some sense and quickly go back to fetch reinforcements.

However.

When he tilted his head and glanced back out of the corner of his eye, he found that the burly man was already pale with fright and his legs were so weak he was on the verge of kneeling.

Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion's heart sank completely to the bottom.

It was over.

He was definitely going to lose face today.

Ye Chen nodded in satisfaction and finally released his hand from Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion's shoulder.

Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion trembled all over, staggering back two steps while gasping for breath.

He had just thought of circulating his true qi when he discovered...

The power within his body had vanished.

It wasn't suppressed.

It was completely gone.

As if it had never existed in the first place.

Liu Rushi, Foreign Affairs Elder of Tianji Pavilion's face instantly changed drastically: "You... what did you do to me?!"