Chapter 83: Fiasco at the Banquet

Rialda, who had also been discretely paying attention to the 'Immortal Fairy' nearly jumped in fright. Had she been discovered?! 

Moreover, that intense, piercing gaze, like she wanted to scan her entire being… Indeed, she had been discovered! And it was very likely that this 'Immortal Fairy' had also discovered her uniqueness.

'Dammit, it seems the discrete approach is no longer viable.' Rialda's eyes flickered and her chest was filled with consternation. She had envisioned a plan where she would use Yun Cheng to approach the 'Immortal' under the guise of someone who had discovered her 'special powers' and sought guidance in their Path. This way, she would have the greatest control over the interaction.

But now, all her plans had collapsed.

Her hand twitched slightly before she suppressed the urge to bite her nail. 'I need to quickly think of something…' 

She was very aware that her nervous reaction would be very obvious to the "Immortal Xiao". There was no way a being - one possibly more powerful than herself -x would not notice it. Even she could do it!

'However, that is alright. Any being in the presence of another, more powerful being would involuntarily feel nervous.' She thought, somewhat relieved. This was the natural response of any being when they subconsciously anticipated a threat - it was their bodies transitioning into a Fight or Flight state.

Sure enough, the 'Immortal' seemed to avert her gaze, seemingly disinterested. 

However, she could tell. Rialda was very sure that the young woman had not stopped paying attention to her. The 'Immortal' was very clearly keeping Rialda in her peripheral vision as her gaze swept across the Hall, never truly leaving her. 

Rialda let her body relax and let out a slow, calculated breath as though she was relieved that she was no longer being so intensely scrutinised. Then, she lowered her head and stared at the floor, eyes flickering slightly. 

She had to quickly change her approach.

On the other hand, Xiao Hong moved her gaze across the Hall, pretending that she had lost interest, while internally, she was facepalming with so much force it made the Yun Family's Martial Arts look like a joke!

'Aiya, I shouldn't have stared so hard! Now, I have scared the poor woman!' She felt very regretful! What was she to say to her later? 

A glimmer of inspiration flitted through her mind. 'Hmm. Actually, I can just pass it off and say that I sensed that she had talent in the Immortal Path.' She thought for a moment before shrugging lightly, 'It's not as if they know anything about Immortal Cultivation.'

Then, she threw the matter to the back of her head and switched to doing something more important: eyeing the beauties - ahem - assessing the talents of these people!

A light snort escaped her lips. 'Seriously, why did I ever think that good looks had anything to do with the concentration of Spiritual Energy?' There were quite a few beautiful men and handsome men around - in fact, in terms of proportions, it was not very different from the Purple Spirit Sect. 

The greatest difference was in the relative abundance of, well, the other end of the spectrum around here. Take that old geezer, the First Elder or something. His… nasal stature was truly fierce. It jutted out with such ferocity, that Xiao Hong almost blasted him into cosmic dust, thinking he was an evil demonic cultivator! 

'Dammit, it is those Xianxia novels from my previous life again - they're tainting my thinking! Greater Spiritual Energy Affinity does not have to mean better looks!' And Xiao Hong was living proof that vice versa wasn't true. 

How arrogant the authors of her previous life were. As if Spiritual Energy, the very essence of Heaven and Earth would cater to humans' perception of beauty! As the sole rulers of the world, the humans in her previous life had grown big heads! 

As for the reason there were fewer not-so-beautiful people around back at the Sect? That was simple - powerful people. When you're already so powerful, why would you settle for an ordinary-looking partner? You could totally make yourself a harem of jade beauties (or even a reverse harem of jade hunks)! 

And those with that put all their points in their Charm stat and ignored the others, they flocked to the powerful ones.

While she was lost in her vain thoughts, Yun Meng finally concluded his pointlessly long speech. "... and, once again I welcome Miss Xiao to my Yun Family."

'Oh, finally!' Xiao Hong heaved a massive sigh of relief, while outwardly, she gave Yun Meng a graceful salute, the very picture of a graceful young lady, seemingly completely unbothered by the tedium. 

Yun Meng smiled and clapped his hands, and large tables were carried in by the servants, who very efficiently and neatly placed the tables, arranged a great number of savoury dishes and exited. This was done so swiftly, that Xiao Hong even felt a trace of admiration!

Yun Meng started, "Now, let the banquet begin-!" 

Bang! 

But his sentence was cleaved in two by a thunderous crash.

The massive, nearly three-storey tall oak doors, blasted open as though a dinosaur had slammed into them. A loud and gruff laughter resonated throughout the hall, "Haha! Let it begin indeed! A banquet for the rise of my Ferocious Bear Gang!"

A muscular middle-aged man sauntered in through the dust and debris, his deliberately heavy steps resounding across the Hall. Barrel-chested and wide-shouldered, his imposing presence caused the first thing that sprung to everyone's mind was the word 'bear'. 

Just a step behind was another man, essentially a carbon copy of the other. This man's steps were slow and steady, yet confident and powerful.

Behind them were a large number of men, most of them with a stature similar to the two at the forefront.

"How thoughtful of you Yun Meng, preparing such a lavish banquet for us Xiong Brothers!" The man surnamed Xiong sneered, staring at Yun Meng whose face had twisted into a deep scowl.

"Xiong Da, what is the meaning of this?" Yun Meng asked of the man leading the rest, his voice measured. Barging in on such an important occasion was incredibly rude, not to mention Miss Xiao was here too! He did not want the 'hard-earned' favour to disappear!

Xiong Da, completely assured of his superiority, did not even bother to feign civility.

"Are you an idiot? What does this look like?" Xiong Da guffawed. Yun Meng's arm twitched violently. If it weren't for his caution, he would have directly twisted off this bastard's head!

"Forget it, let me make it simpler for you cowardly little head." Xiong Da, still extremely self-assured in his perceived invincible position, continued contemptuously, "Since you were stupid enough to gather all the important members of your family here in one place and even announce it to the whole city, I took the chance!

A cruel grin stretched across Xiong Da's face, "Now, your estate is completely surrounded by my men!"

Yun Meng's brows shot up, immediately understanding Xiong Da's intention - he wanted to take care of all the high-ranking members and talented youths of the Yun Family in one shot, not letting any of them escape, cutting off any potential dangers. 

His scowl deepened, uncertainty painting his face. Inwardly, however, he was practically whooping joy! 'Hahaha! Had this happened even a day earlier, it might really be the end of us. But now, hehe,' Yun Meng pursed his lips, trying to suppress the smirk threatening to split his face. 'I shall show this oaf why the flowers are so red~!'

The best part? Even if he eradicated the whole Ferocious Bear Gang, and completely took over their assets, no one would be able to say a thing. 'Even that irksome hyena of the Liang Family would not be able to interfere!'

If it wasn't for his caution, he would have directly attacked! Even if they had five new Flesh Tempering experts within their Clan, he still wanted to take a steady approach. So, he acted with all his might.

Just as Yun Meng was studiously working towards his Oscar, something happened that made him feel as though he had been dropped into the pits of fiery hell!

"My, my, Yun Meng. You really know how to enjoy life," Xiong Da jeered, his voice dripping with honeyed malice as he gestured towards Xiao Hong, "keeping such a beauty by your side! No wonder you haven't managed to break through to the Flesh Tempering Stage!"

The words hung heavy in the air, a death knell that silenced the entire hall. The atmosphere itself seemed to have frozen like an Ice Age had descended out of thin air. 

Yun Meng's pretend scowl was erased from his face, replaced with a deathly pallor. His eyelids widened until his eyes nearly fell out of his socket.

Terror seized his heart as he mechanically turned his head towards Xiao Hong, who remained silent, her face completely devoid of emotion. Yet the air crackled with a tension so thick it felt like a living thing.

"Miss Xiao, I-" Yun Meng began.

"No, no, it's okay. Let him continue." She said slowly, her voice calm. She shifted herself in her seat and languidly rested her cheek on her palm. Her lips twitched upwards slightly into a strange smile, "I really want to see where his confidence comes from."

Despite the smile on her face, Yun Meng shivered. A hand seemed to grip his heart like a vice, icy fingernails digging in deep. 

'No, I can't let him continue!' He resolutely thought, exploding into action! There was no need to act meek anymore. Only by using the most violent force to subdue Xiong Da would suffice! Then, he would hand him over to Miss Xiao and let her do as she pleases with him!

"Where do I get my confidence? Bitch, I-" Meanwhile, Xiong Da, who had not realised the situation yet, made a show of flexing and patting his biceps when a massive fist slammed into the side of his face. Momentarily, his vision darkened - as though he had been instantly teleported into a dark room. 

Pinpricks of yellowish light emerged from nowhere in the darkness, bringing along with it a ringing like his head had turned into a giant bell.

"Gah!" The air whooshed out of Xiong Da's lungs as the impact sent him flying. He slammed back-first against the wall with a sickening thud, the sound echoing through the room.

Then, he fell forward on all fours, groaning loudly.

The other man who looked like the carbon copy of Xiong Da, stared at the person in front of him with tremendous shock. "Y-you are also at the Flesh Tempering Stage?! How?! How is that possible?!!"

He was so shocked that even that eldritch horror of a nose violating the sanctity of his eyes did not bother him! 

In the moment Yun Meng moved, all the other Elders of the Yun Family had also sprung into action. The bear-like man, despite not being able to sense their exact Stage, could judge their approximate strength based on their movements. Shockingly, all five of them seemed to be at the Flesh Tempering Stage! What was more, one of them even seemed to be a late-stage Flesh Tempering Martial Artist!

"Why? You can have two Flesh Tempering Martial Artists, but we can't?" Yun Cheng, who was stepping on Xiong Da, and holding him down, smirked. Inwardly though, he was just as shocked! What the heck? Why were his Granduncles suddenly so fierce?! It didn't make any sense! 

It was shocking enough that he had reached the late stage thanks to a recent fortuitous encounter already, now even his Elders seem to have taken some steroids!

"Hehe, Xiong Er, you did not expect this at all did you?" Yun Meng chuckled lightly, as he made his way over to surround the man together with the rest of the Elders at Flesh Tempering Stage.

As for Xiong Da, who was being stepped on by Yun Cheng? Hehe, a late-stage Flesh Tempering Stage against an idiot who had not even taken his first step in the Flesh Tempering Stage? Heh. 

Yun Meng did not bother about him at all.

Xiao Hong on the other hand had a strange expression on her face. 'Xiong Da, Xiong Er? Big Bear and Bear Two? Really? This is just… ugh. Don't name your kids so casually, otherwise they turn out like this!' She complained inwardly.

Surprisingly, Xiong Er, despite being surrounded by five Flesh Tempering Stage beings, did not seem to panic. He merely sighed, "It seems that we are truly not worthy of your grace, Young Master. Please forgive our incompetence!"

Immediately, all the Flesh Tempering Experts of the Yun Family became alert, looking around warily. It seemed there was more at play here than just a mere Ferocious Bear Gang!

"It is quite alright, Mr. Xiong, it is truly beyond my expectation that this desolate branch of the Yun Family managed to produce a whopping six Martial Artists in the same decade - or even year." A handsome young man walked out, hiding his lips behind an immaculately-crafted, light-green fan. His deep, sea-green hair flowed down to his back.

'Oh, it is one of those close-eyed weirdos! I did not expect to actually see them in real life!' Xiao Hong eyed the young man curiously. His eyes were so narrowly opened that they might as well be closed! She almost blurted out, 'How do you even see through those??'

"It would seem there is an unexpected interference." He spoke slowly, as he turned towards Xiao Hong. After snapping his fan shut and stashing it away inside his right sleeve, he pressed his fist against his palm and inclined his head slightly. "Well met, Fairy Xiao. I did not expect an Immortal Cultivator of your calibre around here, in this, er, less-than-thriving locale. 

"May this humble Teng know which esteemed power you are a disciple of, Fairy Xiao?" The young man smiled softly. 

"No."

Teng Xingsen: "???"

Teng Xingsen's smile froze. He had expected counterquestions, lies, the truth and even evasion. But this 'No' was completely beyond his expectations. Such a stark refusal left him utterly baffled.

"E-e-excuse me? No? What do you mean, 'no'?" Teng Xingsen sputtered out.

"Are you an idiot? No obviously means no. That's all." Xiao Hong scrunched up her nose, radiating disdain, like a supernova of pure contempt. 

Yeah, right! As if she was gonna announce to the whole world that she was a disciple of the Purple Spirit Sect, she might as well strut around wearing an 'enemy of the Flowing Cloud Sect' sticker on her forehead!

A dark scowl appeared on Teng Xingsen's face upon hearing her contemptuous words. But he quickly suppressed his wrath and quickly changed the subject, acting as if Xiao Hong's reply had never happened. He nodded understandingly, "It is alright if Fairy Xiao does not wish to disclose such information. After all, your actions here do not align with the righteous rules set by the Five Sects-"

"And planning behind the scenes, plotting the demise of an entire family aligns with this so-called righteousness?" She sneered. 

"I'm only a peak Stage Qi Gather Cultivator-" he started, but was interrupted by Xiao Hong.

"And so everything is alright because of that?" Xiao Hong asked, her tone completely flat. "I have witnessed some truly spectacular hypocrisy tonight."

She shook her head and raised her arm. Such bastards, in Xiao Hong's opinion, were no better than those Demonic Cultivators and were better off crippled, without the slightest chance to cultivate.

"No, no, no, great Fairy Xiao, you misunderstand, you misunderstand!" A slightly shrill voice resounded through the hall. Another man, cloaked in black, appeared in front of Teng Xingsen bowing so deeply that he was practically kissing the floor. 

Xiao Hong raised her eyebrow. Voice still flat, she asked, "Misunderstand? How? Explain in three breaths!" 

"Thank you for the - heek!" The man had just started to thank her when he saw the hand start to rise again causing him to let out a startled screech.

"Two breaths."

Vigorously nodding, words shot out of the man's mouth like bullets from a machine gun. "Our intention was never to hurt the members of the Yun Family. Our Teng Clan would never do such a heinous thing! We merely intended to subdue them and temporarily take over some of their assets."

Xiao Hong paused and stared suspiciously at this fellow grovelling before her. 

Feeling the woman's scrutinising gaze, he quaked in his boots. 

'Dammit, how do I prove it?' The moment Xiao Hong had raised her arm, the man had a terrible, terrible premonition! It was a premonition from the depths of the soul, warning him that the moment this woman made her move, there was absolutely no chance of survival- none at all! The only possible outcomes were capture, being crippled or even death!

Right! There was that! In fear of death, the man's full potential was unleashed. "I swear upon my Dao Heart that I, Teng Kangyun and my nephew, Teng Xingsen did not intend to physically harm the members of the Yun Family!

"Besides, my Teng Family is not strong enough to bear the wrath of the Yun Clan's main branch. If we dared to do so, we would not end up much better.

Xiao Hong lowered her hand and narrowed her eyes. Just because the Tengs did not intend to hurt them, it did not necessarily mean that there would be no casualties in the Yun Family, if someone resisted too vehemently, the Xiong Brothers would definitely take action.

And let's be real, who could bear to watch their hard-earned efforts being taken away by others and not offer the slightest resistance?

"Ah? But did the Crimson Bear Sect not promise-" Xiong Er began, frowning deeply.

"Shut it!" Teng Kangyun barked out, violently waving his hand towards the bear of a man, sending out a powerful shockwave that slammed into Xiong Er, which blasted him off his feet and sent him careening out of the door with a heavy grunt.

"We have embarrassed ourselves, we'll see ourselves out." Then, he turned around and bowed deeply towards Xiao Hong. Grabbing Teng Xingsen, he scurried away towards the gate with a hopeful expression on his face. The faster he could run the better the chances of survival!

"Wait." However, before he was even halfway across, a voice stopped him. The hope in his face froze.

"Yes, Great Immortal Xiao? Do you require something?" With a smile stiffer than a corpse, he turned around.

"That man." Xiao Hong expressionlessly gestured towards Xiong Da who had been knocked out cold by Yun Cheng, "His words have offended me greatly, now that he's already knocked out, their leader must bear the consequences."

"However, I do not intend to bully the weak." Her gaze flickered towards Teng Xingsen, the corner of her lips quirking up slightly, "Seeing as you are his Dao Protector, you may take his place."

"I am not-" The green-haired Teng Xingsen began hotly, but was immediately silenced by a glare from the black-cloaked Teng Kangyun.

"And what would that be, Great Immortal?"

Her lips stretched wide into a malicious smirk, she said, "Take a blow from me and you're free to go!"

The man's face turned greener than his nephew's hair! "I-I-"

"What is it? Do you not dare?" Xiao Hong mocked, "You can bully the weak with your superior Cultivation, should you not be prepared for the same?"

She continued without the slightest shame, as though she wasn't a hypocrite herself, "The ones that disgust me the most are such hypocrites!"

"No, no, no, please be gentle - er - please show this old man some mercy!" The man bowed deeply. He could read between the lines: take a blow or die!

He took a deep breath and pulled out a massive shield from his storage bag. With a great thud, he let it fall onto the floor, shattering the tiles below.

Xiao Hong's hand, which had risen once again, froze. She stared at the shield, which was as thick as her. She opened her mouth, only to close it again. She turned to Yun Meng. At that moment, Xiao Hong could have sworn she saw a flicker of grudging admiration flit across his eyes! 

'What the heck is up with the men of this Radiant Star Empire? Why are they all so abnormally cautious?' Through her Divine Sense scan, she could sense that this shield wasn't merely a thick lump of iron. It was a bonafide Artefact! Even if, by the standards of the Purple Spirit Sect, it wasn't even worthy of a category, it didn't change the fact that it was, quite extraordinary. It was likely that even a peak Sky Spirit Cultivator would have a hard time breaking its defence.

Unfortunately for Teng Kangyun, it was nothing much to Xiao Hong, a Divine Sea mid-stage cultivator with battle prowess nearing the top 1% of her Stage.

She raised her hand. 

The whole world seemed to quieten down, as the people stared with bated breaths. The members of the Yun Family looked on, hoping to finally witness the might of an Immortal. Teng Xingsen watched anxiously, having never seen his Uncle so serious before. Rialda peeled her eyes, watching with great concentration, hoping, from the depths of her heart, that this Immortal was indeed a Mage.

A cold dread washed over Teng Kangyun as the delicate middle finger anchored itself behind her thumb. An oppressive sense of dread filled his mind like death breathing down his neck. The chill of its ruthless sickle ready to reap his life sending shivers down his spine! 

Spurred on by the horrible feeling, Teng Kangyun drove his Qi, pouring it into the shield, causing it to glow faintly.

Then, Xiao Hong casually flicked her finger. 

Spirit Void Finger!

Clang!

A bolt of bright red energy tore through the air and slammed into the thick shield, instantly punching through it and driving itself into his gut with immense force!

The moment it made contact with him, Teng Kangyun felt like a monstrous bull had assaulted him! 

"Gah!" His breath was knocked out of his body in an explosive gasp. His ribs groaned in protest under the sheer force, bending more than they should possibly. 

Ironically, just like he had sent Xiong Er flying out of the door, he was blasted out harder, screaming more miserably than the bear of a man.

The Spirit Void Finger, which sounded cool, was merely a Technique used by Qi Gathering Stage and Earthen Origin Stage Cultivators to bully the weak. It was basically a bolt of Qi compressed and shot out with a finger flick. Used by Cultivators below the Sky Spirit Stage, it was actually invisible - like their own Qi - making it more formidable. But for Sky Spirit Cultivators and above it was quite useless since their Qi was of a higher quality and had taken on a visible shade.

"Uncle!" Teng Xingsen gasped out. Face devoid of blood, he screamed and ran after Teng Kangyun, without even glancing at the thick shield left behind. It was as if he had spotted a certain Heaven Trampling Cultivator surnamed Wang!

Then, the burly men of the Ferocious Bear Gang followed after him, scurrying away as fast as their legs could carry them. 

What else were they supposed to do - their boss had been blasted away by the big boss behind the scenes. Now the big boss had also been smacked flat, what were they supposed to do?! Even if their heads were ten times thicker they would never think they were more durable than that thick shield! So, their survival instincts kicked in, and they hightailed it out of there!

A profound silence was left behind after their departure.

"Well, now that that's done with, shall we continue?" Xiao Hong clapped, breaking the whole lot out of their daze.

"Uhh, indeed! Let us!" Yun Meng nodded with such vigour, it felt he was trying to invent a new way to unalive himself!

The remaining members of the family also jumped up, responding just as enthusiastically!

Meanwhile, Rialda's eyes flickered with a strange purple light, mystical yet eerie. She pensively stared at the black shield bearing a hole large enough to fit her head through. 'In that… move, she did something else.' she thought confidently. 'Something that is almost something like Spirit Manipulation!

'Is that it? Is she a Spirit Mage?' She sneaked a glance at Xiao Hong, who seemed to be staring off into space. 

***

'They don't seem to have gone much farther… It's quite close to the centre of Xing Luo Forest…' Xiao Hong carefully sensed the Divine Sense mark she had left on Teng Kangyun. 

Of course, she would not let them go so easily! 

A peak Earthen Origin that was also carrying around an Artefact that could defend against peak Sky Spirit Cultivators. To protect a mere Qi Gathering newbie? She would not believe it even if Hell turned over!