36: Fellow Daoist, give me a full-force punch!

Yunzhou, Mandarin Duck Tower.

This restaurant is the best in Yunzhou, boasting five hundred years of history. Both traveling Cultivators and influential figures of Yunzhou City enjoy dining here. Furthermore, the proprietor of the Mandarin Duck Tower is rumored to be a Disciple of Sunset Valley, a genuinely stunning beauty.

In the past, although the Mandarin Duck Tower's business was decent, it wasn't exactly booming, as eating a single meal required Spirit Stones, and not a small amount.

How could ordinary people afford to eat here?

However, today, the restaurant hall was surprisingly packed, with many people even standing nearby holding chicken legs and wine bottles, unwilling to leave even without a seat. Among them were quite a few unfamiliar figures.

This was because they had somehow received news that the white-robed youth who displayed Divine Might outside Yunzhou City last night was going to eat here... "Will Lord Shen really come here to eat?"

"Of course! I paid a hefty price for this information. Clan Head booked the most luxurious private room here this morning. Who else would he be hosting but Lord Shen? I just don't know if Lord Shen will actually show up." A bald, burly man said confidently after eating a piece of meat. He was a Deputy General of the Demon Suppression Division, though he wasn't wearing the Demon Suppression Division uniform right now.

He had witnessed everything last night while bravely fighting the Yao with General Wang.

"Hah, isn't Lord Shen Senior Brother to Young Miss Xiao? Old Revered Master Xiao hosting a banquet should certainly be enough to give him Face. Lord Shen doesn't look like the kind of person who is arrogant."

"Naturally. If Lord Shen were that kind of person, why would he avenge the people of Yunzhou, not only destroying the Huang Family but also slaying those great Yao?"

"Speaking of which, you were there last night, right? Was it really as outrageous as people say?" A Golden Core Cultivator who hadn't participated in the battle asked.

After all, the news was that Lord Shen was just a young man who looked to be in his early twenties, yet he possessed Physical Body strength comparable to a High Realm Hunyuan Grandmaster. This was simply unbelievable.

"Outrageous? It was beyond outrageous! Lord Shen pressed down with a single finger and crushed a great Yao that was half a step into Nascent Soul..." The bald, burly man spoke with spittle flying and glowing eyes.

"Heh, a single finger?"

"Does one's identity outside the home depend on what one claims?"

"Then Shen Nian really knows how to boast."

A cold laugh instantly attracted everyone's attention, and the bald, burly man immediately looked around, displeased.

"Whose mouth is on their ass, spewing shit?"

Not only was the bald man unhappy, but many people present also showed displeasure. Shen Nian was the hero of Yunzhou—that was a fact—and no one wanted to hear him slandered.

"Yo, Luo Zheng, a Foundation Establishment Stage dares to insult you? You can tolerate that?"

In the corner, at a table laden with food and wine, sat a group of two men and one woman.

The red-haired man wearing silver earrings grinned as he looked at the cold-faced youth beside him.

"You cultivated the Indestructible Vajra, so how did you become a turtle? Did your Revered Master hammer you stupid?"

"With your old temper, wouldn't you have gone up and slapped him?"

The youth didn't speak. Instead, he turned his gaze coldly toward the bald man, slowly stood up, and said chillingly, "Say that again?"

Seeing this, the red-haired man's eyes immediately lit up, but he heard the dissatisfied voice of the white-robed woman beside him.

"Are you satisfied now?"

"If you smash my restaurant..."

"You pay!"

"Is ten thousand Spirit Stones enough? If not, I'll add more." The red-haired man squinted and smiled. Seeing the white-robed woman still frowning, he immediately reassured her, "Relax, Luo Zheng won't actually fight. When have we ever bullied people using our power?"

"Then why provoke him?" The white-robed woman raised an eyebrow, displeased.

The red-haired man shrugged and said, "I figured since we're already here, if he doesn't show up for the meal, wouldn't it be a wasted trip if we don't get to meet the mysterious Shen Nian?"

"Look at the time! The dishes upstairs are practically cold."

"So you resorted to this method?"

"Making a commotion so he knows? How do you know he would care about such an idiotic argument?" the white-robed woman snapped.

"I don't know," the red-haired man replied frankly.

The white-robed woman twitched her eyelid, but let out a helpless sigh.

"Sigh..."

"What a coincidence that these two troublemakers came to Yunzhou..."

"Forget it. Since they are both Human Race Cultivators, as long as they don't cause trouble, let them argue a bit..."

When the bald man heard this, his Face flushed red, and he became energized.

"What's wrong?"

"Can't I criticize you?"

"What evidence do you have to criticize Lord Shen??"

The youth gave a cold smile and said, "Body Refining is different from cultivation. Even if a Body Cultivator has excellent talent, without the tempering and polishing of time, achieving the rank of Hunyuan Grandmaster before the age of twenty is as hard as ascending to heaven. Achieving High Realm Hunyuan is utterly impossible!"

"So, am I wrong to say he's boasting?"

"Yes, I admit he is strong and worthy of praise, but blind worship will only make the Yao Race think that the Human Race are all idiots!"

Seeing that the youth didn't intend to fight but merely wanted to argue, the bald man calmed down a bit and said properly, "That's just your opinion. Just because you can't do it doesn't mean Lord Shen can't!"

The others also chimed in agreement.

"Exactly!"

"Right, right! You can't stand to see others succeed, can you? Is this a fear-of-the-strong mentality?"

"On what grounds do you question Lord Shen, just opening your mouth and speaking?"

Upon hearing this, the youth showed a hint of mockery and said, "On what grounds?"

Dong!

A sound of Sanskrit chanting rang out. Golden light covered the youth's Physical Body, and a powerful aura emanated from him. His eyes were filled with dazzling golden light, stunning everyone present. They heard his deafening voice echoing throughout the restaurant.

"Then I'll tell you on what grounds!"

"I, Luo Zheng, six years ago during the Yao Race invasion in Bianzhou, fought head-on with a Yao of the Early Stage Golden Core, resulting in my severe injury and its death!"

"Three years ago, I won a head-to-head confrontation against my Senior Brother, the Sunset Valley Heavy Artilleryman, Lei Long!"

"Following that, in the past three years of the Sunset Valley Martial Arts Ceremony, I continuously defeated all Body Refining experts of Sunset Valley to win the championship, earning the title of the second-best Body Refining practitioner, second only to my Revered Master, the Third Valley Revered Master of Sunset Valley, Gui Wangkong, and earning the nickname Little Vajra Luo Zheng!"

"You ask on what grounds?"

At this moment, countless people showed expressions of shock. Some Cultivators, having apparently heard of his great reputation, cried out involuntarily.

"Luo Zheng... the eldest legitimate son of the Luo Family, the number one aristocratic family in Great Xia, the lunatic who liked hitting his own head with rocks when he was young?"

"It is said that after he joined Sunset Valley, he was hailed as the most terrifying Body Refining lunatic, constantly tempering himself by asking people to hit him..."

"Oh heavens, it's actually this lunatic!!"

"Hiss... if it's him, then it might not be false after all. After all, Body Refining practitioners understand Body Refining best..."

"Uh... what is he going to do?"

Luo Zheng moved, lifting his shirt to expose his bare upper body. He stood in front of the bald, burly man and said in a deep voice, "Come, hit me with all your strength!"

As a Prodigy of the Human Race, he naturally couldn't attack fellow Human Race members, but to prove his Body Refining strength and show that he wasn't lying, he needed verification.

"Ah, this..." The bald, burly man scratched his head, slightly bewildered by the youth's sudden action.

What is he doing?

He's not trying to swindle me, is he?

"Just strike when I tell you to strike. Even if I die, you won't be responsible..." Luo Zheng said, frowning.

The white-robed woman beside him slapped her forehead, feeling like she wanted to die.

What kind of genius is this?

The red-haired man, however, whistled and shouted, "Luo Zheng, don't pick on someone in the Foundation Establishment Stage! Isn't it normal that he can't break your defense?"

Immediately, he lowered his voice and yelled strangely, "This brother is right! What kind of hero is the second-best Body Refining expert of Sunset Valley if he bullies a Foundation Establishment Cultivator? I think finding a Late Golden Core Stage Cultivator would be more appropriate."

The white-robed woman's lips trembled. She wanted to say something but held back.

Luo Zheng's expression shifted slightly upon hearing this; he felt there was some truth to it.

The next second, he looked around and saw a group of people entering through the main door. The white-robed youth leading them exuded the aura of the Golden Core Stage.

He moved instantly, appearing directly in front of him.

"Fellow Daoist, punch me with all your might!"

At this moment, the entire venue fell into dead silence.

"Lord... Lord Shen..." The bald, burly man uttered with difficulty after seeing the newcomer.