Chapter 55: Overestimating Oneself

“Well now, this little girl’s quite the looker.”

He turned to Chen Ping, contempt curling at the corners of his mouth.

“This is your master? A Qi Refining stage waste of space?”

He glanced down at the food box in front of the master and disciple, his laughter growing louder.

“What even is this slop? Stir-fried fiddleheads? Cold-tossed wild celery?”

“I thought it’d be spirit beast meat. And this is it?”

He jabbed a finger at the meager dishes and barked:

“Even my family’s watchdog eats better than this!”

A low ripple of snickering spread through the crowd.

*

Lin Xiaoyu’s grip on her chopsticks tightened, just slightly.

But she didn’t move.

Her master hadn’t told her to move.

The brocade-robed man only grew more animated, his gaze roaming over Lin Xiaoyu without the slightest restraint.

“Little girl, what’s your name?”

Lin Xiaoyu didn’t answer.

The man didn’t take offense. Instead, he leaned in closer.

“Let me tell you: follow a worthless master like this, and you’ll never amount to anything in your life.”

He pointed at the token on his chest.

“See this? Liuyun Sect. Top three among the Tianyue Sacred Land’s affiliated forces.”

“My grandfather is the Second Elder of Liuyun Sect.”

He paused, puffing with pride.

“My name is Xu Hao.”

“Little girl, why don’t you come join us at Liuyun Sect?”

“I guarantee the food and lodging will be a hundred times better than staying with this waste.”

He reached out, his hand moving toward Lin Xiaoyu’s face.

*

A flash of sword light.

No one saw how that strike was made.

All they saw was a streak of violet-gold, fast as thunder, slicing through the air for an instant before vanishing.

Blood bloomed.

“AHH!”

Xu Hao let out a shrieking, miserable howl.

His right hand, severed clean at the wrist, dropped to the ground, fingers still twitching faintly.

Blood gushed out, splattering across the ground.

*

Chen Ping stood before him, Qingfeng Sword in hand.

Blood slowly slid down the blade.

His gaze was cold as frost.

“You try to lay a hand on my disciple…”

He spoke quietly, his tone utterly calm, yet it sent chills down the spine of everyone present.

“…and I’ll teach you exactly what regret means.”

*

The entire place fell into deathly silence.

Everyone was stunned.

That young man who’d been sitting on a rock, eating his meal in silence.

That Qi Refining stage waste Xu Hao had mocked relentlessly, who hadn’t uttered a single word in reply.

He actually dared to…

Sever Xu Hao’s hand with a single stroke?

*

“Y-you… you…”

Xu Hao clutched his severed wrist, his face deathly pale, his eyes brimming with disbelief.

“You dare wound me?! Do you know who I am?! Do you know who my grandfather is?!”

Chen Ping looked at him.

“I do.”

“The grandson of Liuyun Sect’s Second Elder.”

He paused, then said flatly:

“And?”

*

Murmuring erupted all around.

“That young man’s insane! Xu Hao is the grandson of Liuyun Sect’s Second Elder!”

“Liuyun Sect… one of the top three affiliated forces of the Tianyue Sacred Land…”

“He and his disciple are both just at the Qi Refining stage, how dare they…”

“It’s over. This master and disciple are finished.”

No one stepped forward to speak up.

No one stood up for them.

Even the white-robed woman merely glanced at the scene indifferently before looking away.

She had secretly slipped away from the Tianyue Sacred Land to come here.

Her goal was to give those who wanted to curry favor with the Sacred Land an opportunity to ingratiate themselves.

She took her cut of the benefits.

The Liuyun Sect’s people had given her plenty of perks, but she still couldn’t be bothered to get involved.

*

Xu Hao clenched his jaw and stared daggers at Chen Ping.

“Fine… fine…”

He raised his left hand. A signal talisman shot into the sky and burst midair, scattering into a streak of light.

“Our Liuyun Sect’s people will be here any moment!”

“Today, neither of you, master or disciple, will leave here alive!”

*

Chen Ping remained where he stood.

He looked down at the sword in his hand.

It was Lin Xiaoyu’s Qingfeng Sword.

Just now, he had simply called it to him with a thought.

And then, just as simply, swung.

“Master…”

Lin Xiaoyu stepped to his side and spoke softly.

Chen Ping turned to her and smiled.

“It’s fine.”

He reached out and ruffled the top of her head.

“Your master is here.”

The signal talisman’s light burst across the sky like a blood-red firework.

The crowd around them stirred into chaos.

“A Liuyun Sect signal talisman!”

“Xu Hao’s calling reinforcements!”

“Those two are done for… done for…”

Some shook their heads in pity, some relished their misfortune, some watched with cold detachment.

But not a single person stepped forward.

Lin Xiaoyu stood by Chen Ping’s side, her small hands clutching his sleeve.

She saw the coldness in those people’s eyes.

She saw the mockery on their faces.

And she saw the crazed hatred burning in Xu Hao’s eyes as he clutched his stump.

Her heart beat fast.

But she didn’t retreat.

Her master was here.

Her master had said, as long as he was here…

She believed him.

*

In less time than it took an incense stick to burn.

Four figures descended from the sky.

The one in the lead had white hair and a white beard, his face dark and sinister.

His aura rolled like an abyss, so oppressive that many cultivators nearby stumbled back.

Half-step Grotto-Heaven Realm.

Behind him followed three others, each brimming with dense vitality, their spiritual pressure solid as stone.

Three Divine Ability Realm cultivators.

The moment the four landed, their eyes fell on Xu Hao.

When the white-haired elder saw Xu Hao’s severed wrist, his expression instantly darkened.

“Hao’er!”

He rushed forward in a single step, catching Xu Hao as the young man swayed on the verge of collapse, his eyes filled with both heartache and fury.

“Grandfather…” Xu Hao’s face was ghostly pale, tears and snot streaming down his face.

“Grandfather, my hand… he cut off my hand… you have to avenge me…”

He raised his other hand and pointed toward Chen Ping, not far away.

“It’s him! That Qi Refining stage waste!”

*

The white-haired elder lifted his head and looked at Chen Ping.

The killing intent in those eyes was undisguised.

“You are the one who injured my grandson?”

Chen Ping met his gaze, his expression still calm.

“He insulted my disciple first.”

“So?” The white-haired elder sneered coldly.

“My grandson took a liking to your disciple. That’s her good fortune. And a worthless Qi Refining trash like you dares to injure him?”

The aura around him surged, the pressure of the Half-step Grotto-Heaven Realm crashing down on Chen Ping like a collapsing mountain.

The surrounding cultivators scrambled backward, terrified of being caught in the fallout.

“Today, both of you die here.”

*

“Elder Xu, calm yourself.”

A voice suddenly rang out.

The crowd parted, and a middle-aged man in blue robes stepped forward.

His aura was just as formidable: another Divine Ability Realm expert, without question.

But the token at his waist marked him as someone outside the Liuyun Sect.

He walked up to the white-haired elder and clasped his hands.

“Elder Xu, this is Tianyue Courtyard, after all. The representatives of the three major powers have yet to arrive. Killing anyone here would be… unseemly.”

The white-haired elder stared at him coldly.

“And who are you, to meddle in Liuyun Sect business?”

The blue-robed middle-aged man smiled faintly.

“Li Changqing, of the Qingxuan Sect.”

“If Elder Xu insists on taking action, this humble one would certainly not stand in your way. I merely offer a friendly reminder: the people from Tianyue Sacred Land are in the rear courtyard. If you disturb them, it may not go well for you, honored elder.”

The white-haired elder’s expression flickered.

Of course he knew where he was.

Tianyue Courtyard: the place where Tianyue Sacred Land received powers from all quarters.

Killing two nameless nobodies was no great matter in itself.

But if things escalated and alarmed the Sacred Land’s people, explaining himself would indeed be troublesome.

“Fine.”

He suppressed the killing intent in his heart and said icily:

“Then take them outside.”

“Beyond Tianyue City, I will flay their skin with my own hands.”

*

He waved a hand.

Behind him, the three Divine Ability Realm experts stepped forward simultaneously, encircling Chen Ping and Lin Xiaoyu.

“Move.”

One of them said coldly:

“Don’t make us do it for you.”

*

Chen Ping remained where he stood.

He did not move.

He simply watched the white-haired elder in silence, watched the three Divine Ability cultivators, watched the cold indifference in the eyes of the crowd around him.

Then he lowered his head and looked at Lin Xiaoyu beside him.

“Scared?”

Lin Xiaoyu lifted her head and met his gaze.

Clear eyes, steady and unwavering.

“With Master here, I’m not scared.”

Chen Ping smiled.

He reached out and grasped Lin Xiaoyu’s shoulder.

“Then let’s go.”

“Master will show you what it means…”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the three Divine Ability cultivators, the corner of his mouth curving upward:

“…to overestimate oneself.”

*

Four figures, escorting master and disciple, flew out toward the outskirts of Tianyue City.

A stir rippled through the crowd.

“They actually followed them out?”

“What choice did they have? Elder Xu is Half-step Grotto-Heaven, with three Divine Ability cultivators backing him. Where could they run?”

“Ah, pity about the little girl. Such a pretty little thing…”

“What’s there to pity? Once you offend Liuyun Sect, you’re dead sooner or later anyway.”

“Come on, let’s follow and see!”

Quite a few people took to the air, trailing far behind.

When it came to watching excitement, no one ever minded if things got bigger.

*