"Pick it up!"
Ye Wushuang's brow furrowed. His cold, glittering gaze fixed on Ba Hu as he shouted.
His sharp gaze was like a cold blade, piercing straight from his eyes into Ba Hu's heart. Ba Hu felt as if he were being watched by a peerless Fierce Beast. A chill ran down his spine, and he couldn't help but take half a step back.
'Fuck, to think I'd be scared off by a single look!'
Ba Hu was furious. He felt humiliated for being forced back by nothing more than a glare from Ye Wushuang.
He immediately puffed out his chest, steeled his nerves, and glared at Ye Wushuang. "Kid, say that again!"
Seeing the increasingly tense atmosphere, Yang Qing'er grew worried. She was about to step forward and pick up the Fierce Demon Order from the ground, but Ye Wushuang stopped her before she could move.
"I want *him* to pick it up," Ye Wushuang replied to Ba Hu once more.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Ba Hu's eyes blazed with killing intent. He clenched his fists so tightly that the veins on his arms bulged. No newcomer had ever dared to speak to him like this. 'Very good.'
"Damn! This kid actually dares to make Ba Hu pick it up!"
"This kid is in for a world of hurt!"
Watching Ba Hu, who was on the verge of exploding, the onlookers started to gloat.
"I'm not picking it up. What can you do about it? You're just a little whelp, a wild bastard. Are you going to hit me?"
Ba Hu suddenly closed the distance, his posture defiant, as if daring Ye Wushuang to do anything. As long as Ye Wushuang dared to touch him, he would absolutely smash a fist into him. A punch from a Body Tempering Seventh Layer expert would be enough to obliterate Ye Wushuang.
"Ba Hu, cripple him!" an onlooker among the disciples immediately jeered.
This group had been in the Fierce Demon Cave for some time. Every time newcomers arrived, they would force them to grovel and beg for mercy. None had ever been as defiant as Ye Wushuang.
'If we don't teach Ye Wushuang a lesson today, how will we keep the others in line in the future!'
Cripple him!
Many people began to shout loudly.
"How can you all be so unreasonable!"
Behind Ye Wushuang, Yang Qing'er didn't see through their intentions. She was quite indignant. 'This is just bullying!'
"What is everyone doing? Do you have nothing better to do?!"
Suddenly, at that moment, Chen Yuan walked out of the main hall. Noticing the commotion in the large square, he frowned and walked over.
"Lord Steward!"
Seeing Chen Yuan approach, the faces of the spectating disciples changed. They all took a step back, and their loud shouts died down.
Although Chen Yuan was a Steward, his status in the Outer Sect was even more significant than Chen Kun's.
Most of the disciples in the Fierce Demon Cave were from the Outer Sect, so they were naturally aware of Chen Yuan's identity. Thus, they were all extremely respectful and didn't dare say another word.
"My lord, you're here!"
Upon seeing Chen Yuan, Ba Hu bowed and trotted over, a sycophantic look on his face, completely devoid of his earlier domineering arrogance.
Chen Yuan also walked toward Ye Wushuang. Seeing Ye Wushuang's cold expression and the tense atmosphere, he immediately asked, "Ba Hu, what's going on?"
Hearing Chen Yuan's question, Ba Hu respectfully replied, "My lord, it's nothing. A newcomer just arrived at the Fierce Demon Cave, and a few of us brothers were just teaching this kid a lesson!"
"A newcomer?" Chen Yuan paused, asking in confusion, "Where did a newcomer come from?"
"It's this kid right here!"
Ba Hu turned to the side and pointed at Ye Wushuang with a mocking smile, a hint of a warning in his eyes.
Seeing who Ba Hu was pointing at, Chen Yuan seemed to understand something. His expression immediately turned cold and severe.
"My lord, this kid..."
Ba Hu turned his head with a smile, but before he could finish his sentence, Chen Yuan backhanded him across the face.
SLAP!
Ba Hu was sent flying by the slap, his head slamming into the ground.
Every face went pale. They all looked at Chen Yuan with a mixture of confusion and fear.
"You dare hit me!"
Dazed and confused, Ba Hu staggered up from the ground, his face stinging with fiery pain. He clutched his swollen cheek with one hand, staring at Chen Yuan in a stupor.
Steward Chen, who had always been good to him, had just slapped him without a word. What the hell was happening?
Humiliation! Fury!
These two conflicting emotions began to rise in Ba Hu's heart.
Meanwhile, the onlookers were completely baffled. 'What kind of background does this kid have for a Steward to personally defend him?'
Soon, Chen Yuan's next words made everyone understand.
"Younger Brother Ye, are you alright?" Chen Yuan walked over and asked.
"I'm fine," Ye Wushuang said with a nod.
"You bastard, get over here and apologize now!" Seeing that the coldness on Ye Wushuang's face had not yet faded, Chen Yuan immediately berated Ba Hu.
"You want me to apologize to *him*!?" Ba Hu's anger erupted. He roared furiously, "Chen Yuan, don't you forget, my brother is..."
SLAP!
Before Ba Hu could say more, Chen Yuan's gaze turned icy. He backhanded him again, the sharp sound echoing as the slap landed on Ba Hu's other cheek, knocking his face askew.
"Apologize!" Chen Yuan snapped sharply. 'To dare call me by my name, he clearly has no respect for me.'
"Very well. I hope you don't regret this!" Ba Hu glared at Chen Yuan, his eyes filled with rage, as if deciding not to fight a losing battle for now. He turned to apologize to Ye Wushuang.
"There's no need," Ye Wushuang said, stopping Ba Hu's movement.
'What? No need?'
The crowd was stunned. They all thought Ye Wushuang would use his connection with Chen Yuan to get back at Ba Hu, but they never expected him to just let it go.
'This kid must be scared!'
'After all, Ye Wushuang has to stay here. If he offends Ba Hu, his life will be hell.'
'Coward!'
'Wimp!'
The crowd was disdainful, muttering to themselves with contempt.
"Hmph!"
Ba Hu also snorted coldly in his heart. He looked at Ye Wushuang with a sneer, thinking, 'Sure enough, he's just a coward!'
Chen Yuan was also taken aback, not quite understanding what Ye Wushuang meant. He hadn't expected that Ye Wushuang, the man bold enough to slap a Steward, would compromise.
However, among everyone present, only Yang Qing'er watched Ye Wushuang with her beautiful, shimmering eyes, saying nothing.
In fact, she had barely spoken a word throughout their journey.
Of course, it wasn't that she had nothing to say, but that she harbored an instinctive fear of Ye Wushuang in her heart.
In her eyes, Ye Wushuang was a ruthless man—a man who had torn a Fierce Beast apart with his bare hands and practiced his Cultivation under a waterfall.
'Would such a ruthless person really compromise?'
At least, Yang Qing'er didn't think so. And so, her beautiful eyes remained fixed on Ye Wushuang.
Sure enough, Ye Wushuang spoke again, staring at the smug look on Ba Hu's face. "I don't need your apology. I just need you to pick up the Token, and then...!"
Ye Wushuang left his sentence half-finished. No one knew what he was planning.
However, upon hearing that Ye Wushuang hadn't intended to let Ba Hu off, the expressions of the others changed, and they shot him malicious looks.
Ba Hu's gaze was particularly cold.
"Hurry up and get over there!"
Chen Yuan barked at Ba Hu before turning to Ye Wushuang with an awkward smile.
A smile suddenly bloomed on Ye Wushuang's cold face.
Full of unwillingness, Ba Hu shot Ye Wushuang a chilling glare, his eyes flashing with sinister killing intent.
Then, he picked up the Fierce Demon Order and walked straight up to Ye Wushuang, holding it out to him.
Ye Wushuang reached out and took hold of the other end, the smile never leaving his face.
If Chen Kun were here, he would have found this smile deeply familiar, because the last time it appeared, he had been slapped across the face.
"Little bastard, don't get too cocky. As soon as the Lord Steward leaves, I'll definitely kill you!"
Ba Hu's venomous gaze was fixed on Ye Wushuang, his killing intent laid bare. He gripped the Fierce Demon Order tightly, not handing it over immediately. His threat made a cold light flash in Ye Wushuang's pupils.
"Don't worry, I won't give you the chance."
Ye Wushuang uttered the cold words, his smile vanishing in an instant. He surged forward, driving the Fierce Demon Order past Ba Hu's grip and straight into him.
"You...!"
CHUK!
Caught completely off guard, the Vermilion Token, now like a razor's edge, plunged viciously into Ba Hu's throat.
A spray of blood blossomed in the air.
The sudden turn of events was completely unexpected, and everyone's eyes went wide.
"You dare to kill me... you...!"
Ba Hu's eyes were wide open as he stared in disbelief at the Vermilion Token lodged in his throat, already stained with blood that dripped to the ground.
He clutched his neck with both hands, his body convulsing. His eyes were filled with terror and despair. He tried to say something, but the words were choked off by gushes of blood.
"When I came here, I never thought about killing anyone. I could have even forgiven your idiotic provocations. But you made one mistake... you shouldn't have called me a 'wild bastard.' That's the one thing I hate the most!"
Ye Wushuang leaned close to Ba Hu and spoke with cold brutality.
BANG!
With a flick of his wrist, he shoved forward. A powerful force sent Ba Hu flying into the crowd. A pillar of blood gushed out, raining down on the faces of the other disciples like a crimson shower and sending a deep chill climbing into their hearts.
At that moment, everyone finally understood why he had told Ba Hu not to apologize. An apology written in blood was far more memorable.