99: The city lord's son's provocation!

The person who arrived was none other than Zhuang Fei, City Lord Zhuang Bai's only son!

He was also the original owner of those three condensing yuan pills.

Zhuang Fei ignored his father's questions, his gaze passing directly over everyone and fixing firmly on Li Qing.

His eyes were filled with undisguised jealousy and malice.

"If I hadn't come back, I'm afraid my Zhuang family's foundation would have been hollowed out by an outsider!"

He said with a cold sneer, his words full of sharp sarcasm.

As soon as these words were uttered, the entire hall erupted in an uproar.

Everyone understood the meaning behind his words; he was indirectly criticizing Li Qing!

Zhuang Bai's face instantly turned ashen.

"You scoundrel! What nonsense are you spouting! Get out of here right now!"

He never expected his son to come out and cause trouble at such an occasion.

He had indeed planned to save those three condensing yuan pills for Zhuang Fei.

But Zhuang Fei's talent, he knew well, was far inferior to Li Qing's.

Investing resources in a more valuable person was the most basic judgment of a superior.

Besides, as long as he advanced further.

And his strength and status rose another level.

It would be easier to obtain condensing yuan pills.

Even a dog knows how to choose!

Doesn't he know?

"Father, am I speaking nonsense?"

Zhuang Fei, however, was relentless, walking in step by step.

"I heard that you gave the three Tier 2 precious pills I was going to use to break through to the Condensing Essence Realm to some unknown bumpkin?"

"You even invited him into the City Lord's Mansion and treated him as an honored guest? What, do you think your own son is inferior to an outsider?"

His voice grew louder and louder, full of accusatory meaning.

The atmosphere in the banquet hall instantly dropped to freezing point.

Everyone was silent, not daring to make a sound.

This was the City Lord's family matter, who would dare to interrupt?

Li Qing held his wine glass, gently swirling the liquid within, never even raising an eyelid from beginning to end.

It was as if the "unknown bumpkin" Zhuang Fei spoke of was not him at all.

This attitude of being completely ignored made Zhuang Fei feel like he was punching cotton, making him even more furious.

"Boy! I'm talking to you! Are you deaf?!"

He rushed a few steps to Li Qing's front, pointing at his nose, and shouted sternly.

Zhuang Bai was trembling with anger, about to flare up.

What is your standing!

You don't know anything.

It's precisely because I know you can't compare to Li Qing that I gave him the condensing yuan pills.

My son wasn't like this before, was he?

How did he come back after studying in the capital for a period?

Did his brain lose some intelligence?

But then Li Qing finally slowly raised his head.

He looked at Zhuang Fei, who was close at hand and had a ferocious expression, his eyes as calm as still water.

"Are you done?"

He asked indifferently.

"You..."

Zhuang Fei felt a chill in his heart from his calm gaze, but it was immediately replaced by greater anger.

"You trash, relying on my father's charity, what right do you have to sit here!"

"If you know what's good for you, get out of the City Lord's Mansion yourself, otherwise..."

He hadn't finished his sentence.

Li Qing moved.

He remained seated in his chair, merely gently placing the wine glass in his hand on the table.

"Bang."

With a soft sound.

An invisible surge of Qi, transmitted along the tabletop, instantly reached Zhuang Fei's body.

Zhuang Fei felt an irresistible Great Strength coming from his feet, and he was uncontrollably sent flying backward.

He fell to the ground with a "thud," looking utterly disheveled.

The entire hall was silent.

Everyone's eyes were wide, unable to clearly see what had happened.

Li Qing hadn't moved at all!

He just put down a cup!

And Zhuang Fei flew out?

What kind of technique was this?

Zhuang Fei lay on the ground, both shocked and angry, feeling as if all his bones were about to fall apart.

He struggled to get up, but found he couldn't exert any strength.

"You... what did you do to me!"

He looked at Li Qing in horror.

Li Qing picked up his wine glass, took another sip, and then slowly said:

"The ground in the City Lord's Mansion is a bit uneven."

"It's better to watch where you're walking."

"Otherwise, it's easy to trip."

His calm words, however, carried an undeniable domineering aura!

Everyone's gaze towards Li Qing changed.

Becoming more reverent, more fearful.

Whether it was martial prowess or the domineering aura he displayed at this moment.

Li Qing exhibited it perfectly!

Zhuang Bai was also stunned. He looked at his good-for-nothing son, then at the calm and collected Li Qing.

His heart was filled with both anger and shock.

Finally, he took a deep breath and roared at the Guards outside the door.

"What are you standing there for! Drag this good-for-nothing out for me!"

"Without my order, he is not allowed to step out of his room!"

"Yes!"

Several Guards, as if granted a great pardon, quickly rushed in and carried out Zhuang Fei, who was still cursing.

The farce thus ended.

But the atmosphere of the banquet could no longer return to what it was before.

Li Qing put down his wine glass, stood up, and slightly cupped his hands towards Zhuang Bai.

"City Lord, I am a bit tired, so I shall take my leave first."

"...Alright, you go rest first."

Zhuang Bai looked at Li Qing, opened his mouth, and finally nodded.

Li Qing said no more and turned to leave.

He walked out of the banquet hall and looked up at the night sky.

The moon was dark and the wind was high.

It was a good night for murder, arson, and raiding treasure vaults.

A slight smile played on his lips as he walked towards his "Listening Bamboo Pavilion."

Tonight, it was time to get down to business.

Night deepened.

The City Lord's Mansion, which had been bustling all evening, gradually fell silent.

Aside from the rhythmic footsteps of patrolling Guards and the occasional chirping of insects, there was no other sound.

Inside the Listening Bamboo Pavilion, Li Qing sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes closed, his breathing long and steady.

From the outside, he appeared to be performing his nightly routine of Cultivating, his entire being having entered a state of deep meditation.

Several Hidden Guards, responsible for monitoring and protecting him, sensed his stable Qi from afar and relaxed, continuing to lurk in the shadows.

However, no one knew.

At this moment, Li Qing's entire mind was no longer within his own body.

His consciousness, transcending the barrier of space, had perfectly merged with the colossal beast deep underground.

Darkness, oppression, dead silence.

This was the eternal theme at the end of the tunnel.

Li Qing "looked" at the thick rock layer above his head through the Profound Water Overlord's eyes.

That was his target—the City Lord's Mansion Treasury.

The time had come!

"It's time to act!"

Consciousness entered the Clone.

The Profound Water Overlord, which had been dormant for a long time, finally moved.

Li Qing made no earth-shattering sounds, his movements as gentle as a wisp of smoke.

Talent: Mystic Water Manipulation!

Talent: Earth Vein Sensing!

The two divine skills were activated.

Under the precise targeting of Earth Vein Sensing, the weakest point of the Treasury's foundation was instantly found.

Subsequently, the power of Mystic Water Manipulation began to silently infiltrate it.

The incredibly hard rocks and soil began to visibly "soften" at a speed discernible to the naked eye in the face of this peculiar power.

Their internal structure was being disintegrated and reshaped at a microscopic level.

Like a stubborn block of ice, injected with scalding magma.

There was no violent explosion, only silent dissolution.