RPAGF Chapter 1212 Conflict
Chapter 1212 Conflict
As the morning light pierced the thin mist of Qingyang City, the stone-paved streets of the East Market were already awakened by footsteps. Herbalists carrying loads of spiritual herbs, peddlers hawking fragments of magical artifacts, and cultivators in brocade robes walked by in twos and threes, the spiritual energy and the atmosphere of daily life intertwining to create the unique liveliness of a cultivation city.
Liu Yang, dressed in a dark, fitted outfit, walked ahead with his hands behind his back, the black iron sand in his storage pouch jingling softly with each step. Su Qingyao followed half a step behind, her white dress accentuating her snow-white skin, but the deliberately suppressed wariness in her eyes did not escape Liu Yang's spiritual sense. Last night, the spiritual energy fluctuations at the Zhao residence were more frequent than usual, indicating that Zhao Qian had begun his preparations. Today, scouting the outskirts of the Zhao residence would likely result in encountering members of the Zhao family.
"Master, the east courtyard of the Zhao family is just ahead. It's said that's where the Zhao family's disciples cultivate. The guards aren't usually very strict, but Zhao Hu was upset yesterday, so they might send more people." Su Qingyao slowed her pace and gently reminded her, her gaze sweeping over the vermilion gate in front of her—the two characters "Zhao Mansion" on the lintel were edged with gold, and two cultivators in green robes stood on either side of the gate, with swords at their waists. Their spiritual energy was stable at the late stage of Qi Refining, much stronger than the city gate guards.
Liu Yang didn't reply, but instead condensed a wisp of extremely faint spiritual energy at his fingertips and quietly attached it to the courtyard wall. This wisp of spiritual energy was like a spider silk, able to sense the flow of spiritual energy within the courtyard. After a moment, he figured it out: in addition to the two guards at the gate, there were four late-stage Qi Refining cultivators patrolling the east courtyard, and there were faint Foundation Establishment stage spiritual energy fluctuations deep within the courtyard, which should be the elders responsible for looking after the disciples.
"Let's go check out the magic artifact shop up ahead." Liu Yang suddenly changed direction. Su Qingyao was taken aback for a moment, then followed—she naturally understood that he wanted to use shopping as an excuse to continue observing the movements of the Zhao family.
As soon as the two arrived at a shop with a sign that read "Treasure Pavilion", they heard a commotion coming from not far away.
"Let me go! My father is Zhang the blacksmith in the west of the city. If you dare to touch me, my father will not let you off!" A clear female voice, tinged with tears, was mixed with the shouts of the cultivators.
Liu Yang looked up and saw a crowd gathered at the street corner. Three cultivators dressed in Zhao family robes were pulling at a girl in a coarse cloth skirt. The girl was clutching a cloth bag tightly in her hand, which seemed to contain something. Her flushed face was full of stubbornness. Behind the cultivators, a young man in brocade robes was waving a folding fan, a frivolous smile on his lips—it was Zhao Hu, whose wrist Liu Yang had dislocated yesterday.
His wrist was wrapped in white gauze, clearly not fully recovered. He stared at the girl with a sinister look in his eyes, pointing his folding fan at the cloth bag in her hand: "Little girl, if you know what's good for you, hand over that 'Dew-Gathering Grass.' This thing was reserved by my Zhao family a long time ago. Your father snatched it from the herbalist, and I'm already being lenient by not holding him accountable. You still dare to resist?"
"Nonsense! That Dew-Gathering Grass was sold to my father voluntarily by the herb farmer to cure my mother's illness!" The girl trembled with anger, clutching the cloth bag tightly. "Your Zhao family is bullying us with your power. I'd rather die than give it to you!"
"Oh, you're pretty fierce." Zhao Hu closed his folding fan, stepped forward, and reached out to snatch the cloth bag. "You're asking for it, aren't you? You'll have to hand over this Dew Grass today, whether you like it or not!"
His movements were rough, his fingertips imbued with spiritual energy, and he was about to touch the girl's arm. Some of the onlookers looked reluctant, but no one dared to speak up—the Zhao family held immense power in Qingyang City, and no one wanted to offend the young master of the Zhao family for the sake of a stranger, a blacksmith's daughter.
"stop."
A cold shout suddenly rang out, like an ice droplet falling onto a jade plate, instantly drowning out the commotion at the street corner.
All eyes turned to the source of the sound—Liu Yang walked slowly towards them, his dark-colored outfit gleaming coldly in the morning light. Although he didn't deliberately release any spiritual power, he exuded an invisible sense of pressure, causing the three cultivators behind Zhao Hu to instinctively tighten their grips on the knives at their waists.
Zhao Hu froze in mid-air. When he turned around and saw Liu Yang, his pupils suddenly contracted, and the wound on his wrist seemed to start hurting again. He never expected to run into this jinx here.
"It's you?" Zhao Hu gritted his teeth, his tone full of fear, but he forced a tough stance. "What does my Zhao family's business have to do with you? If you know what's good for you, get lost and don't force me to take action against you!"
Liu Yang ignored his threat, his gaze falling on the girl whose hair had been pulled and disheveled, his voice still calm: "Release her."
"Release him?" Zhao Hu seemed to have heard a joke. He snapped open his folding fan and pointed at Liu Yang. "Who do you think you are? I haven't even settled the score with you for pinching my wrist yesterday, and you dare to interfere in my affairs today? Let me tell you, I'm going to take the Dew Grass from this girl. If you dare to stop me, you'll be making an enemy of the Zhao family!"
He deliberately raised his voice, hoping to scare Liu Yang away by using the name of the "Zhao family." But Liu Yang only glanced at him indifferently, and the contempt in his eyes made him even angrier than when he had pinched his wrist yesterday.
"To be an enemy of the Zhao family?" Liu Yang took two steps forward, his spiritual energy fluctuating slightly. The onlookers felt a chill and subconsciously took a few steps back. "You think you're worthy to represent the Zhao family?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his hand, and a burst of spiritual energy shot out from his fingertip, striking Zhao Hu's outstretched wrist. Zhao Hu felt a numbness in his wrist, and his folding fan fell to the ground with a "clatter." He staggered back three steps, bumping into the cultivator behind him before regaining his balance.
"You dare hit me?!" Zhao Hu was both shocked and furious, his hand trembling as he pointed at Liu Yang. "Get him! Cripple him! I want to see how he walks out of here today!"
The three cultivators in blue robes, who had long been unable to restrain themselves, immediately drew their swords upon hearing the order. The swords, imbued with spiritual energy and gleaming with a blue light, lunged at Liu Yang. All three were at the late stage of Qi Refining, and their coordination was impeccable. One sword slashed at Liu Yang's shoulder, while the other two blocked his escape routes to the left and right, clearly aiming for a swift victory.
Su Qingyao stood to the side, secretly gathering spiritual energy at her fingertips—she didn't intend to help Liu Yang, but simply wanted to see just how strong this man truly was. If Liu Yang was defeated, she could use the opportunity to escape; if Liu Yang won, it would make her even more aware of the gap between herself and him.
But the next second, Su Qingyao's pupils contracted.
Facing the three blades slashing down at him, Liu Yang didn't even move a step. He simply raised his left hand casually, and a pale blue ice shield materialized in his palm. With three crisp clangs, the three blades struck the ice shield, but instead of breaking through it, they were frozen by the cold air emanating from the shield, causing their blades to tremble. The three cultivators felt a chill travel up their hilts, and their arms instantly stiffened.
"roll."
Liu Yang let out a low shout, his right fist clenched, and he slammed it into the chest of the foremost cultivator, imbued with spiritual power. The cultivator didn't even have time to react before being sent flying by the punch, crashing into the wall beside him. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and struggled for a long time before finally managing to get up.
The other two cultivators turned pale with fright and dared not step forward, their hands trembling as they gripped their knives. Liu Yang glanced at them, the coldness in his eyes sending chills down their spines. They dropped their knives and turned to run, not even bothering to spare their companions on the ground.
In the blink of an eye, one of the three cultivators was injured and two fled. The onlookers were stunned. Even Zhao Hu forgot to be angry and stood there with a pale face. He only knew that Liu Yang was strong yesterday, but he did not expect that the other party's spiritual power was so strong. A cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining could not even last a single move in front of him.
Liu Yang ignored the fleeing cultivators and walked up to Zhao Hu, looking down at him: "Just now you said you wanted me to get out of here?"
Zhao Hu was so frightened that his legs went weak and he almost knelt down. He forced himself to back away, his voice trembling with tears: "You...you stay away! My father is Zhao Qian, and my grandfather is the head of the Zhao family! If you dare to touch me, our Zhao family will never let you get away with this!"
"The Zhao family?" Liu Yang sneered, bent down to pick up the folding fan on the ground, and crushed the bamboo fan into powder with a pinch of his fingers. "Even if Zhao Qian comes, you still have to apologize to this girl today."
"Apologize?" Zhao Hu's face turned a deep shade of liver. He was the direct descendant of the Zhao family; when had he ever apologized to a blacksmith's daughter? But looking at Liu Yang's cold eyes, he dared not refuse. He could only grit his teeth, turn to the girl, and mumble, "I...I'm sorry."
The girl, still reeling from the chaos, stared blankly at Liu Yang, her hand still clutching the cloth bag tightly. Liu Yang looked at her, his tone softening slightly: "Where's your father? I'll take you home."
The girl then came to her senses and nodded hurriedly, "My father works at the blacksmith shop up ahead. Thank you... thank you, young master."
Just as Liu Yang was about to turn around, he heard Zhao Hu's venomous voice behind him: "Liu Yang! You just wait! I'm going to call for help right now, and I'm going to make sure you die in Qingyang City today!"
He turned around and saw Zhao Hu stumbling and running towards the Zhao residence, his back view showing his disheveled state, yet he didn't forget to utter some harsh words. Su Qingyao walked to his side and frowned, saying, "He must have gone to get reinforcements. The Zhao family has quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators. Let's leave here first."
Liu Yang shook his head, his gaze falling on the girl: "Send her back first, then deal with the Zhao family's affairs."
He knew in his heart that once Zhao Hu left, the Zhao family would definitely send experts, and there was no way to avoid it. Rather than passively dealing with it, he might as well take the initiative—he could take this opportunity to see just how strong the Zhao family really was, and let the people of Qingyang City know that he, Liu Yang, was not someone to be trifled with.
The girl's father, Zhang the blacksmith, was sharpening a magical dagger in his shop when he saw his daughter being brought back by a strange cultivator. He was taken aback at first, but after learning what had happened, he quickly bowed to Liu Yang and said, "Thank you so much, young master, for saving my daughter! I will never forget your great kindness!"
Liu Yang helped him up, his gaze sweeping over the ironware in the shop—a lot of black iron was piled up in the corner, and the flames in the blacksmith's furnace rippled with faint spiritual energy fluctuations. Clearly, Zhang the blacksmith not only knew how to forge iron, but also understood some of the intricacies of forging magical artifacts.
“Zhang the blacksmith, there’s no need for such formalities. It was just a small favor.” Liu Yang paused, then added, “However, the Zhao family won’t let this go easily. You’d better take your family outside the city for a few days and come back when things have calmed down.”
Zhang the blacksmith's expression changed. He knew how ruthless the Zhao family was, and he quickly nodded, "Thank you for the reminder, young master. I'll pack my things right away!"
Liu Yang didn't linger any longer and turned to leave the blacksmith shop. As soon as he reached the door, he felt a powerful surge of spiritual energy coming towards him—stronger than the spiritual energy fluctuations deep within the Zhao residence yesterday, at least at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.
Su Qingyao's expression changed slightly: "It's the Zhao family. There's more than one!"
Liu Yang looked up and saw Zhao Hu leading five cultivators briskly towards him at the end of the street in the distance. The one in the lead was an old man in a gray robe with white hair and beard. He held a cane in his hand, with a black bead inlaid at the top. His spiritual power was so strong that it seemed to be tangible. He was clearly the Foundation Establishment stage elder that Zhao Qian had mentioned.
The old man's gaze swept over Liu Yang, carrying a hint of scrutiny and coldness. His voice was like the rubbing of old tree bark: "You're the one who injured someone from my Zhao family, and you still dare to challenge the Zhao family's authority in Qingyang City?"
Liu Yang stood with his hands behind his back, showing no intention of backing down: "Is this how the elders of the Zhao family teach their children? Forcibly abducting women and bullying others with their power—is this the dignity of the Zhao family?"
"Insolence!" the old man roared, slamming his cane on the ground, instantly cracking the bluestone slab. "The affairs of my Zhao family are none of your business, an outsider cultivator! If you obediently cripple your cultivation today and come back to the Zhao residence with me to plead guilty, I might spare your life; if you remain obstinate, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the four cultivators behind the old man spread out, surrounding Liu Yang and Su Qingyao. They unleashed their full spiritual power, clearly ready to attack. The onlookers were terrified and retreated, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire. Even Zhang the blacksmith hid inside his shop, only daring to peek out.
Su Qingyao quietly tugged at Liu Yang's sleeve and whispered, "This old man is Zhao Shan, an elder of the Zhao family. He is in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage and his cane is a low-grade spiritual artifact that can draw upon earth-type spiritual power. He's not easy to deal with. Let's retreat first. As long as we're alive, we can always fight another day."
Liu Yang didn't move, but looked at Zhao Shan with a cold smile: "You cripple your cultivation? You're not qualified."
Before he could finish speaking, a fierce glint flashed in Zhao Shan's eyes, and he pointed his cane sharply at Liu Yang: "You fool! Today I'll show you what happens when you offend the Zhao family!"
The black bead at the tip of the cane suddenly lit up, and a beam of earthy yellow spiritual energy shot out like a venomous snake, heading straight for Liu Yang's chest. This spiritual energy carried a heavy earth element aura, and although its speed was not fast, it possessed an unstoppable force, clearly a signature move of Zhao Shan.
Su Qingyao's face paled, and she subconsciously took a step back—she could feel the power of this spiritual energy; if it were her, she wouldn't have been able to dodge it at all.
Liu Yang remained standing in place until the earth-yellow spiritual energy was almost at his chest. Then, he suddenly raised his hand, condensed an ice arrow in his palm, and shot it out to meet the spiritual energy.
"boom!"
The ice arrow collided with the earthen-yellow spiritual energy, producing a deafening roar. The surrounding air rippled instantly, and even pebbles on the ground bounced up. Everyone felt a chill mixed with the smell of earth rushing towards them, and they couldn't help but squint.