Chapter 9: A Lesson for Lin Beiyang

“This sword was a gift for my fiancée. Since the engagement is off, you must return it to me, or I’ll go to your father.” Yang Mingchen sneered. “Yang Mingchen, you truly disgrace us men. To ask for something back after giving it away?” Lin Beiyang scoffed coldly. Whoosh! At that moment, Yang Mingchen’s figure blurred into a phantom, instantly snatching the Spirit Bloom Sword from Han Ruoxue’s hand. Realizing her sword was gone, Han Ruoxue cried out, “Yang Mingchen, you scoundrel! Give me back the Spirit Bloom Sword!” Han Ruoxue was stunned. She hadn’t expected Yang Mingchen’s movement technique to be so fast. “Lin Beiyang, aren’t you fond of showing off? If you can afford ten thousand gold coins, I’ll give her back the Spirit Bloom Sword. Then it’ll be like you gave it to her.” Yang Mingchen ignored Han Ruoxue, his gaze fixed on Lin Beiyang with disdain. “Yang Mingchen, I’ll say it again. Hand over the Spirit Essence Fruit and return the Spirit Bloom Sword to Miss Ruoxue, or don’t blame me for being impolite.” Lin Beiyang’s eyes held a chilling glint. By now, a crowd had gathered on the street, eager for a spectacle. “Idiot.” Yang Mingchen shot Lin Beiyang a contemptuous glance, then turned to leave. He couldn’t be bothered with such a pampered brat. “You’re asking for death!” Lin Beiyang roared, striking a palm towards Yang Mingchen’s back. Yang Mingchen was prepared for Lin Beiyang’s sneak attack. Though he had turned to leave, it didn’t mean he was defenseless. Lin Beiyang was, after all, the youngest son of the Lin family head. Yang Mingchen didn’t want to make the first move. But if Lin Beiyang struck first, then Yang Mingchen would have ample reason to cripple him. Yang Mingchen’s figure instantly blurred into a phantom, successfully evading Lin Beiyang’s sneak attack. At the same time, Yang Mingchen slapped Lin Beiyang across the face. Slap! “Ah… ah… ah…!” Lin Beiyang shrieked, his right cheek instantly swelling up. “Heh heh… is this what you meant by ‘don’t blame me for being impolite’?” Yang Mingchen sneered, looking at Lin Beiyang with contempt. “You little bastard, die!” Clang! Lin Beiyang roared, his long sword flashing from its sheath, and he lunged at Yang Mingchen. At this moment, he only wanted to kill Yang Mingchen and vent his hatred. Clang! Yang Mingchen’s Spirit Bloom Sword also left its sheath, and he met Lin Beiyang’s attack with his own sword technique. Swish… swish… In less than two exchanges, Lin Beiyang’s battle sword was knocked from his hand by Yang Mingchen. At the same time, Yang Mingchen’s Spirit Bloom Sword rested against Lin Beiyang’s neck. He sneered, “If it weren’t for your father’s sake, your head would already be rolling.” At this moment, the onlookers were all shocked, and even Han Ruoxue stood frozen. Before this, Yang Mingchen was known throughout Hanyang City as a useless wastrel. Although news had spread two days ago that Yang Mingchen had defeated Yang Zihao and killed Yang Tiancheng, no one had believed it was true. Until this moment, everyone finally believed that Yang Mingchen had indeed defeated Yang Zihao. “Yang Mingchen, if you have the guts, kill me!” Lin Beiyang glared at Yang Mingchen with venomous eyes. Slap… slap… slap… “Damn you, still trying to act tough!” A cold glint flashed in Yang Mingchen’s eyes. He began slapping Lin Beiyang’s face repeatedly until it was swollen like a pig’s head before he stopped. “Ah… ah… ah…!” “Yang Mingchen, one day, I will kill you!” Lin Beiyang let out a painful shriek. Since childhood, he had never suffered such humiliation. “You don’t know what’s good for you.” Yang Mingchen directly kicked Lin Beiyang in the chest, pinning him to the ground. Crack! “Ah… ah… ah…!” With the sound of bones breaking, Lin Beiyang let out another agonizing scream. His entire ribcage was completely caved in by Yang Mingchen’s stomp. “I thought you were someone important, but it turns out you’re just an idiot. You’re already beaten to a pig’s head, and you still dare to act tough. If you leave Hanyang City like this, you won’t even know how you died.” Yang Mingchen lightly patted Lin Beiyang’s face, then left the scene. Yang Mingchen now had a rough understanding of his own combat strength. At the very least, he was confident he could defeat ordinary cultivators at the first or second layer of the Profound Illumination Realm. “Yang Mingchen, one day, I will wipe out your Yang family!” Lin Beiyang stared at Yang Mingchen’s retreating back, his eyes filled with malice. Meanwhile, Han Ruoxue suddenly found herself intrigued by Yang Mingchen. At this moment, she even regretted breaking off the engagement. At the Yang family patriarch’s residence. “Patriarch, the young master just beat up Lin Beiyang,” the butler, Yang Su, reported. Yang Su then meticulously recounted everything that had just happened. “Good boy! He truly is my son, Yang Daolin. To be able to defeat Lin Beiyang, who is in the Profound Illumination Realm, by fighting above his level!” Yang Daolin chuckled. “What if the Lin family pursues this? How should we handle it?” Yang Su asked. “No matter. This is merely a dispute between the younger generation. Lin Yaoyang won’t go so far as to pursue it,” Yang Daolin said gravely. Upon returning to his residence in the Yang family compound, Yang Mingchen quietly slipped into the Vast Sky Jade Space. He then took out his newly purchased alchemy furnace and began his first attempt at alchemy. Although he had Ling Juechen’s memories, Yang Mingchen was still quite nervous, as he had never personally refined a pill before. Yang Mingchen controlled the alchemical flame, then sorted the medicinal ingredients, adding them one by one into the furnace. He was currently refining a Breakthrough Pill for the Profound Illumination Realm. If he succeeded, he would have a ten-tenths chance of breaking through to that realm. Half an hour passed in a flash. Under Yang Mingchen’s focused alchemy, a batch of Breakthrough Pills was finally successfully refined. Yang Mingchen carefully opened the alchemy furnace. “Whoa!” “Ha… ha… Peak-grade Breakthrough Pills! I’m truly a genius!” Seeing the several peak-grade Breakthrough Pills inside the furnace, Yang Mingchen’s face lit up with excitement. After calming himself, Yang Mingchen began refining other pills, as cultivation certainly couldn’t progress without the support of elixirs. As long as he had enough pills, Yang Mingchen was confident he could quickly raise his cultivation to a higher realm. The status of an alchemist was extremely revered on the Heavenly Martial Continent. Whether for cultivation, injuries, poisoning, or illness, the support of pills was indispensable. Alchemists were categorized into beginner, intermediate, advanced, and peak-grade alchemists. For the same type of pill, the higher the grade, the better the effect. Of course, pills couldn’t be used without limit; excessive use could lead to an unstable foundation. However, peak-grade pills could be used without limit, which is why the status of a peak-grade alchemist was far superior to other alchemists. Before long, Yang Mingchen had refined many peak-grade Profound Illumination Pills. Profound Illumination Pills were elixirs that could enhance the profound energy of the Profound Illumination Realm, allowing for rapid cultivation advancement. With the Breakthrough Pills, the next step was to break through to the Profound Illumination Realm. Another ten days passed in a blink of an eye. During these ten days, Yang Mingchen successfully broke through to the first layer of the Profound Illumination Realm. At the same time, Yang Mingchen also cultivated several martial techniques during this period, including the God-Slaying Sword Art and a soul martial technique called Soul Devourer Slash. Both of these were divine-grade martial techniques. The Soul Devourer Slash, in particular, could deliver a fatal blow to an enemy at a critical moment, making it Yang Mingchen’s current trump card. Concurrently, he also found a divine-grade transformation technique in Ling Juechen’s memories, the Shifting Shadow Art. When cultivated to mastery, it could not only allow for myriad transformations but also conceal one’s aura.