220: Chapter 220 Dimensional Reduction Attack

"Cough... ugh..."

On the cracked bluestone pavement of Taiping Old Street, the dust had not yet settled.

Just a second ago, Young Master Zhuge Ming of the Lingnan Zhuge Family had been completely insufferable, but right now he was like a sick chicken seized by the scruff of its neck.

His feet dangled half a meter above the ground, and his handsome face had swelled into an unsightly purplish-red due to suffocation.

His eyes bulged desperately outwards as both hands clawed tightly at Lin Ye's arm, his legs kicking feebly in midair.

"Young Master!"

"Audacious! Unhand the Young Master at once!"

Over twenty Zhuge family experts, who had been blown over ten meters away by Lin Ye's Pure Yang Qi laced with Taiyi Divine Thunder, were only now crashing to the ground like dumplings into boiling water.

Ignoring the agonizing pain in their bones, several black-bearded elders leading the group glared with eyes about to burst, scrambling to their feet on all fours.

They quickly gripped several Qimen array discs gleaming with faint light in their hands, yet hesitated to throw the rat for fear of breaking the vase, not daring to take a single step forward.

It was too fast.

And too overbearing.

Their Zhuge family's thousand-year-old tradition, Wuhou Qimen, emphasized stepping on the stars, the Qimen Dunjia art, and seeking good fortune while avoiding disaster.

In their original assumptions, even if this local tyrant of Jiangzhou truly possessed some capability, once he fell into the Bagua Array they had set up in advance, he would still be trapped for a good while.

But who could have imagined that this kid paid no mind to martial etiquette or metaphysics whatsoever!

He didn't break the array, nor did he engage in a duel of spells.

He simply shattered the underground spiritual energy node with a single stomp.

Then, with an outrageous burst of raw physical strength, he captured the Young Master at the core of the array alive before it could even be activated!

"Do the hidden prestigious clans of Great Xia teach you to look down on people through your nostrils when you leave home?"

Lin Ye held Young Master Zhuge Ming by the throat with one hand, his tone lazy and nonchalant.

He hadn't even released his Pure Yang Avatar; relying solely on his body's unimaginably terrifying vital energy, he caused the surrounding Qimen array discs to creak and crack, their light dimming down.

"Hand over artifact treasures? Hand over the people beside me? And make me clean the chamber pots?"

Lin Ye tilted his head slightly, looking at Young Master Zhuge Ming whose eyes were already rolling back in his head, a mocking smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

"Eldest Young Master Zhuge, before coming out to flex and show off, didn't your family elders cast a fortune for you?"

"Your forehead is dark today; clearly, you've offended Tai Sui and are bound to suffer a bloody calamity."

"You... you dare kill me... my Zhuge Aristocratic Family... will definitely flatten Jiangzhou..."

Young Master Zhuge Ming squeezed out a raspy voice with great difficulty from his throat.

Raised in a greenhouse, this Qimen genius's aristocratic pride deep in his bones still prevented him from seeing reality clearly, even at this very moment.

"Flatten Jiangzhou?"

Lin Ye sneered, a dangerous glint flashing in the depths of his eyes.

His right hand gripping Young Master Zhuge Ming's neck slowly tightened.

*Crack... crack...*

The sound of neck bones grinding under overwhelming pressure was clearly audible in the quiet street.

Genuine fear finally welled up in Young Master Zhuge Ming's eyes.

He felt it—the youth in flip-flops before him didn't care in the slightest about the reputation of the Lingnan Zhuge Family.

He truly dared to snap his neck in broad daylight!

"Stop!"

"Manager Lin, show mercy!"

Right at this critical moment, an urgent shout carrying pure Daoist True Voice rang out suddenly from the end of the street.

Accompanied by this shout, a violent ripple like water waves suddenly distorted the air.

A gaunt old man wearing a washed-out cloth robe and round-toed cloth shoes appeared—as if shrinking distance into steps, he was over a hundred meters away a second ago, and the next moment he stood right in front of Lins Funeral Shop.

The old man had all-white hair and beard, held a pitch-black cane of unknown material, and had a fine layer of sweat on his forehead.

Clearly, he had used some kind of Qimen escape technique that consumed true essence to rush over here by force.

"Great Elder!"

Seeing the old man, the Zhuge family experts on the ground looked as if they had seen their savior, bowing their heads one after another with ashamed expressions.

This old man who suddenly appeared was precisely the current Great Elder of the Lingnan Zhuge Aristocratic Family, Great Elder Zhuge Changqing.

An old fox of the Metaphysical Sect who had already deduced Qimen Dunjia to perfection even before the awakening of spiritual energy.

After landing, Great Elder Zhuge Changqing didn't bother looking at those disgraceful younger clan members at all.

He first cupped his hands immediately, bowing deeply to Lin Ye with a most respectful attitude.

"Manager Lin, a thousand errors and ten thousand wrongs—it is all the fault of my lack of strict discipline!"

"This child has practiced bitterly in the mountains since youth and didn't know that crouching tigers and hidden dragons lie across this world, thus offending Manager Lin's esteemed domain. I beg Manager Lin to stay his hand, and for the sake of us both belonging to Great Xia's Metaphysical Sect, spare his miserable life!"

Great Elder Zhuge Changqing spoke seamlessly without a flaw, lowering his posture while bringing up the moral ground of "both belonging to Great Xia's Metaphysical Sect."

Lin Ye turned his head, sizing up this old fox who had suddenly popped up.

He saw through the old man's petty schemes with a single glance.

The old fellow had surely been observing from the shadows all along, originally intending for the Young Master to probe the Funeral Shop's background while asserting dominance.

If Lin Ye were a soft target, their Zhuge family would take over Jiangzhou as a matter of course.

If Lin Ye turned out to be a tough nut to crack, he would jump out to act as the peacemaker.

A typical slick tactic of an aristocratic family old-timer.

However, Lin Ye didn't actually intend to crush Young Master Zhuge Ming to death right away.

Although he acted overbearingly, he was by no means a brainless brute.

Now with global weirdness awakening, the Western Holy See and evil gods of various nations were eyeing them hungrily, and Great Xia was in dire need of capable people.

Although the Zhuge Family had declined and was no longer the orthodox Qimen lineage, not everyone in their clan was like Young Master Zhuge Ming.

Their role in suppressing spiritual veins on the frontlines was irreplaceable.

If he killed them all, did that mean whenever an Earthbound Spirit ran out of a Jiangzhou sewer in the future, Manager Lin himself would have to go unclog the toilet?

Just as Lin Ye was weighing the pros and cons...

The air in front of his eyes rippled like the surface of a lake.

[Ding! Detected a high-tier target from a hidden family (Lingnan Zhuge Aristocratic Family) sliding to his knees and begging the host for mercy.]

[The "My Lord, Please Behave Yourself" System has been triggered. As Jiangzhou's strongest local tyrant, facing the classic trope of "beating the kid brings out the elder," please make a choice fitting your status:]

[Option A: Pull out the weeds by the roots, invincible under heaven!

What's a Young Master? What's a Great Elder? Use Mighty Heavenly Dragon directly to cremate all the Zhuge family members present on the spot, and scatter their ashes into the Huangpu River!

Reward: One [Black Cloak of the Demonic Supreme Leader] (Equipping it automatically makes you the public enemy of Great Xia's Metaphysical Sect).

Consequence: The Ninth Bureau will be enraged, Great Xia's Metaphysical Sect will unite to crusade against you, and the host will completely degenerate from a law-abiding merchant into a rat crossing the street, being invited for tea every day.]

[Option B: The highest cultivation of an old slicker—Legal Extortion!

You don't have to kill them, but compensation for emotional distress, venue cleaning fees, and fright fees must be settled! Capitalize on the Great Elder's apprehension, open your mouth wide with demands, and strip a layer off the Zhuge family right down to their underwear! Let them know how expensive prices are on Taiping Old Street!

Reward: Ancient wondrous array diagram—[Eight Gates Golden Lock Sky-Sealing Array] (significantly boosts the killing power of the nine nether purgatory tower), plus 4,000 Husband Points.]

[Option C: Repay malice with virtue, boundless great love.

Immediately release your grip, help the Young Master up with a radiant smile, and say to the Great Elder: "Aiya, it's all a misunderstanding! Let's be friends. Tonight, barbecue is on me!"

Reward: One [Holy Mother White Lotus Banner].

Consequence: Your generosity will make other hidden families think you are a soft target with superficial strength, and tomorrow even more people will come to the old street to collect protection money.]

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[Also, the original book title and cover were censored. I just replaced them—are you seeing the normal book title or garbled characters right now?]