Gu Yi leisurely returned to the first floor of the Red Flower Pavilion, only to discover that Xu Santong was nowhere to be found.
According to the brothel madam, he had gone to a room with three young ladies to cultivate their feelings.
Gu Yi shook his head and laughed, then turned to leave.
“Young Master Gu, please wait.”
A middle-aged man dressed in a floral robe called out to Gu Yi and walked toward him.
Upon seeing him, Gu Yi gave a slight nod and said, “Greetings, innkeeper Tang.”
This person was the proprietor behind the Red Flower Pavilion and the head manager of the Tang Clan.
Because he was stationed at the Red Flower Pavilion, a pleasure district where trouble could easily arise, he could be considered one of the Tang Clan’s experts, possessing a cultivation level that had reached the second layer of the violet palace realm.
This was also why Ma Wenyuan had not dared to act rashly when he saw this person appear earlier.
The floral-robed man said with a smile, “Young Master Gu, there is no need to be so polite. Since you have made an enemy of Ma Wenyuan, you should be more careful.”
“The Red Flower Pavilion treats every guest equally. Inside the red flower pavilion, guests are strictly forbidden from fighting or causing trouble. This is a rule established by our Tang Clan, which is why Ma Wenyuan did not dare to act. But I expect that he certainly will not let this matter go. Once Young Master Gu leaves through this door, please be careful and take care.”
“Thank you for the reminder.” Gu Yi cupped his hands in thanks, then turned and left.
After leaving the Red Flower Pavilion, Gu Yi went straight toward the place he had previously agreed upon with Liu Fang.
Liu Fang lived together with the imperial preceptor. Their residence was located south of Dinggong City, not too far from Xuanyang Lake.
Not long after leaving the Red Flower Pavilion, he sensed that he was being followed.
However, he continued pretending not to know, maintaining an unhurried pace as he walked south.
What puzzled Gu Yi was that there seemed to be two groups of people following him.
Just as he was about to reach Liu Fang and the imperial preceptor’s residence, he suddenly heard a series of dense, rapid footsteps from one side.
These people moved as swiftly as flying, their breathing steady and deep. Every one of them was a martial artist.
“Gu Yi, stop right there!”
The leading person shouted furiously. As they drew closer, the moonlight revealed his face. Was it not Ma Wenyuan, the very person Gu Yi had slapped?
The slap mark was still visible on his face!
One person who had been hiding in the darkness and following them also stepped out. It was Ma Wenyuan’s companion at the first level of the true essence realm—the fellow whom Gu Yi had kicked down the stairs.
However, what puzzled Gu Yi was that the other person following him still remained motionless, hidden in the darkness without making a sound.
Ma Wenyuan brought more than ten people before Gu Yi. His expression was gloomy and his gaze sharp as a sword as he said viciously, “Among the younger generation in Dinggong City, no one has ever dared to show disrespect before me. Gu Yi, you have quite some nerve!”
Gu Yi sneered, “Disrespect? I was clearly slapping your face! How did the tutor of your Ma Family teach you? You do not even know how to choose your words?”
The veins on Ma Wenyuan’s forehead bulged. He was nearly angered into vomiting blood by Gu Yi’s words. Gritting his teeth, he said, “You sharp-tongued cripple, I will kill you today!”
“Clang!”
Drawing his longsword, Ma Wenyuan pointed it at Gu Yi and said hatefully, “Everyone, attack together! Cripple this trash for me. I am going to hang him up and carve him into a thousand pieces!”
Clang-clang-clang!
All thirteen people drew their swords, blades, and other weapons, charging at Gu Yi together with Ma Wenyuan.
In an instant, Gu Yi discerned the cultivation levels of this group. Ma Wenyuan and his companion were at the fourth layer of the true essence realm and the first level of the true essence realm, respectively, as expected.
Among the others, there were unexpectedly two more practitioners of the True Essence Realm: one at the first level and one at the Second Level of the True Essence Realm.
Aside from them, every single one was at the body refinement tenth stage.
“You really think highly of Gu. This is quite an impressive lineup!”
Perhaps because Gu Yi had repeatedly humiliated Ma Wenyuan by striking without warning, Ma Wenyuan had become somewhat apprehensive and uncertain, which was why he had found so many powerful helpers.
This person did not possess even the slightest arrogance of a clan genius. It seemed he was skilled at uniting forces and suppressing others through sheer numbers and momentum.
Gu Yi’s expression remained calm and fearless as he charged forward bare-handed.
Under certain conditions, numbers could make up for many shortcomings in strength, but against Gu Yi, they were utterly useless.
His cultivation level had now reached the body refinement tenth stage. Relying solely on the strength of his physical body, he could completely match a martial artist at the tenth level of the true essence realm. Coupled with his mastery of profound martial techniques, which had returned to simplicity, even if another hundred or thousand people of the same cultivation level came, he would not fear them!
The weapons of the thirteen men shone with a chilling light. On the streets at night, they resembled soul-reaping sickles, their sole purpose being to take one man’s life.
They were all geniuses among the younger generation of their respective clans. Any one of them, taken alone, would be an object of admiration and pursuit among their peers.
Together, their combined attack created an even greater show of force.
Yet in Gu Yi’s eyes, their techniques were riddled with weak points. In particular, they had not the slightest coordination with one another; instead, they became restraints and obstacles to each other.
If their individual combat strength amounted to ten parts, then while attacking together, they could display at most eight.
Gu Yi’s hands moved like the wind. With lightning speed, he accurately and swiftly snapped and broke their weapons one after another. With a backhanded sweep, he sent the broken blades shooting into their bodies.
Spurt! Spurt! Spurt! Spurt!
A series of pained groans rang out in succession. In an instant, five martial artists at the body refinement tenth stage and one at the first level of the true essence realm suffered wounds that sprayed blood before collapsing to the ground.
They instantly lost half their combat strength!
Ma Wenyuan’s face turned ashen. He unleashed a fierce sword technique, hiding behind a broad blade as he crept toward Gu Yi’s back like a venomous snake.
The body transformed by the Body-Tempering Pill was not only exceptionally sturdy; its senses had also been greatly enhanced.
At the moment the longsword wrapped in white radiance pierced through the wind and was about to stab into Gu Yi’s lower back, Gu Yi suddenly twisted around and performed an unbelievable movement. With one palm, he knocked the longsword aside, then lashed out with his leg like a whip, striking Ma Wenyuan’s arm viciously.
With a sharp crack, Ma Wenyuan’s arm twisted outward like that of a puppet on strings. One kick directly shattered the bone.
“Aaah!” Ma Wenyuan let out a miserable scream. Gu Yi closed in and drove a fist into his face. His handsome features collapsed completely, resembling a wrinkled pumpkin, as tears and blood from his nose sprayed through the air.
Gu Yi followed with another kick, sending him flying more than two zhang into a wall. With a tremendous crash, he smashed straight through it and was buried beneath the collapsing bricks and stones.
Turning his head, Gu Yi saw that the remaining people were already terrified out of their wits and dared not advance. One of them asked in alarm, “That boy from the Gu Family is clearly only at the body refinement tenth stage. Why is his combat strength so astonishingly formidable?”
“We must not confront him head-on. We only need to hold him back and fire the signal arrow, so the clan elders can come and capture him!”
One person pulled a three-inch-long paper tube from his robes, took out a fire starter, and was about to ignite it.
This person had been injured by Gu Yi earlier, and blood was still gushing from his shoulder blade.
Gu Yi raised both eyebrows. He immediately formed a hand seal and aimed it at that person, shouting, “Extinction of Vitality!”