Chapter 103: An Easy Defeat

"Now that the Xinglan Sect can be ruled out, the Flower Thief must be someone else. It's clear he's not a disciple of the Xinglan Sect, but he fled in that direction. Could he be living in the mountains near the Xinglan Sect? Also, Old Zhang's daughter said the Flower Thief's jade pendant was emerald green. How do we trace someone like that in a vast sea of people?" Xiao Chen mused upon returning to Hundred Flowers Town. He had been staying at an inn for several days, and the clues had dried up.

"Xiao Chen, if you hadn't let him escape back then, things wouldn't be so troublesome now. The entire Hundred Flowers Town is waiting for you to catch the Flower Thief!" The Ancient White Tiger transmitted its thoughts.

"The Flower Thief knows me and is at the mid-Golden Core stage. This means he's definitely not from Hundred Flowers Town because I don't know anyone here. I also don't know any disciples from the Xinglan Sect. Why would the Flower Thief want to frame the Xinglan Sect? Does he have some grudge against them?" Xiao Chen wondered.

After thinking for a while, Xiao Chen shook his head, realizing his speculation might be incorrect. "That's not right either. If the Flower Thief has the cultivation level of the Golden Core stage, he could directly confront the Xinglan Sect if he had a grudge. There's no need to frame them. This means his purpose is only to use the Xinglan Sect as a shield!"

"This is my first time in Hundred Flowers Town, and I've never left Tianzhou before. Who could possibly know me? Strange!" Xiao Chen was puzzled, unable to figure out the identity of the man in black.

"Bang!"

At that moment, Xiao Chen's door was kicked open. A Xinglan Sect disciple barged in, shouting, "Xiao Chen! Our Xinglan Sect disciples came down the mountain to assist you in investigating the Flower Thief, and here you are, resting in your room! We don't have time to waste with you!"

Xiao Chen, sitting by the bed and thinking about the Flower Thief, glanced calmly at the disciple and said indifferently, "If you're afraid of wasting time, you can go back. I didn't ask you to come down the mountain to help me investigate the Flower Thief. It was your sect master who offered. If you can't handle it, go back with your senior brother."

Upon hearing this, the disciple didn't get angry. His eyes flashed coldly as he slowly approached Xiao Chen, sneering, "Go back? It's rare to come down the mountain, and we won't go back so easily."

"Xiao Chen, this guy is here to cause trouble on purpose," the Ancient White Tiger transmitted.

As soon as the disciple finished speaking, he threw a punch at Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen easily dodged it, and the disciple swept a kick at him. Xiao Chen sidestepped again, causing the disciple's kick to land on the bed.

"Ouch!"

The Xinglan Sect disciple cried out in pain and limped out of the room, looking back at Xiao Chen with a sinister smile. He then pretended to have been beaten up, rolling out of the door.

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother, Xiao Chen hit me! Xiao Chen hit me!" The disciple ran downstairs in a panic.

"See, I told you he came to cause trouble on purpose. The Xinglan Sect disciples are clearly trying to make things difficult for you!" the Ancient White Tiger transmitted.

With the disciple's shout, everyone in the inn looked up at the second floor. Xiao Chen walked out of the room step by step, glanced at Ye Tian and others in the hall below, and thought, "It seems they were prepared."

Watching the disciple run down, Ye Tian frowned and asked, "Xiao Feng, what happened?"

"Senior Brother, I went up to ask Xiao Chen why he has been hiding in his room instead of investigating the Flower Thief. He hit me without a word!" the disciple named Xiao Feng explained hurriedly.

Upon hearing this, Ye Tian angrily looked at Xiao Chen and shouted, "Xiao Chen, what is the meaning of this? Our Xinglan Sect disciples came down the mountain to assist you in investigating the Flower Thief, and now you hit someone!"

"Exactly! We've been down the mountain for several days, and you've been hiding in your room, not investigating. Aren't you wasting our time?"

"I think he's afraid the Flower Thief will seek revenge, so he doesn't dare to go out!"

"How could Xiao Chen hit someone? Isn't he offending the Xinglan Sect?"

"Sigh! We should work together to investigate the Flower Thief. There's no need for violence. Xiao Chen is so young and already has such a bad temper."

The cultivators in the inn pointed fingers at Xiao Chen, while the Xinglan Sect disciples smirked, watching Xiao Chen's predicament.

Xiao Chen didn't bother to explain. He walked downstairs, heading straight for the inn's door, completely ignoring Ye Tian and the Xinglan Sect disciples.

Xiao Chen knew that explaining would only make things worse, so he didn't care. To him, Ye Tian and these Xinglan Sect disciples were just clowns.

Seeing Xiao Chen's arrogant attitude, Ye Tian was furious. He blocked Xiao Chen's path and shouted, "Xiao Chen, you hit a Xinglan Sect disciple. As the senior brother, I can't ignore this. If you don't give me an explanation, you won't leave this inn today!"

"Xiao Chen, I think you should teach them a lesson. It will give you some peace and quiet. Otherwise, these flies will keep bothering you," the Ancient White Tiger transmitted.

"Ye Tian, I remember you said that all Xinglan Sect disciples are stronger than me. Now that your man has been beaten by me and is so scared, doesn't that mean your Xinglan Sect disciples aren't that great? They can't even beat a 15-year-old handsome guy like me. How embarrassing! If you and your junior brothers are doing these petty things just to fight me, then come on." Xiao Chen sneered at Ye Tian, showing no fear.

"Senior Brother, he's insulting us!" a disciple shouted angrily.

"Are you challenging me?" Ye Tian said coldly, his eyes burning with anger. Xiao Chen's words made him furious, and he wanted to tear Xiao Chen to pieces.

"Enough talk! If you want to fight, let's do it outside." Xiao Chen said indifferently, walking out of the inn.

Sensing something wrong, the cultivators on the street gathered to watch. A Xinglan Sect disciple shouted angrily, "Senior Brother, let me teach him a lesson! He needs to know the consequences of insulting us!"

"Take it easy. Just teach him a lesson, but don't overdo it. Otherwise, we won't be able to explain to the sect master," Ye Tian said in a low voice, still knowing his limits despite his anger.

The disciple nodded, his fierce gaze fixed on Xiao Chen. He quickly activated his true essence, and the power of the mid-Bigu (Fasting) stage surged out as he shouted, "Xiao Chen, I won't let you off for hitting my junior brother!"

"Bang!"

The disciple stomped on the ground, and with a loud bang, he charged at Xiao Chen along the street, his momentum fierce.

"Bang!"

The disciple quickly approached Xiao Chen, a disdainful sneer on his face as he threw a punch at Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen remained calm, tilting his head to easily dodge the punch. At the same time, he punched the disciple's face with a loud thud. The disciple instantly froze, stars spinning in his vision, and then fainted.

"What?" The onlookers were shocked, staring in disbelief. Even the Xinglan Sect disciples were stunned.

"Wow, he knocked out a Xinglan Sect disciple with one punch!" a cultivator exclaimed, unable to believe it.

A disciple rubbed his eyes and said, "Did I see it right? Did our junior brother faint?"

"How is this possible? Senior Brother is at the mid-Bigu stage. How could he faint with one punch? Did I see it wrong?" another disciple shook his head in disbelief.

"He knocked out Senior Brother with one punch? How is this possible? He hasn't even activated his true essence!" Not only were the Xinglan Sect disciples shocked, but even Ye Tian, the senior brother, was stunned.

"An easy defeat!" Xiao Chen glanced at the fallen Xinglan Sect disciple, crossing his arms arrogantly.

"Damn brat!" Seeing Xiao Chen's arrogant demeanor, Ye Tian was furious. He cursed and activated his true essence, charging at Xiao Chen with even greater speed and strength.

In a few breaths, Ye Tian approached Xiao Chen and threw a fierce punch. Xiao Chen didn't even look, stepping back to easily avoid the attack, his expression calm and composed.

"Hmph! You're pretty good. Piercing Cloud Step!" Ye Tian coldly snorted, using the Xinglan Sect's movement technique to increase his speed and once again attacked Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen kept his arms crossed, showing no interest in attacking. Ye Tian's attack came again, but Xiao Chen easily dodged, his movements mysterious and fast.

"Even Senior Brother's attacks are being dodged! That kid really has some skill!" a Xinglan Sect disciple exclaimed in surprise.

Ye Tian's furious attacks were all effortlessly dodged by Xiao Chen, making Ye Tian lose face in front of everyone. Xiao Chen was deliberately avoiding attacking, making Ye Tian look even worse.

"Xiao Chen, if you have the guts, stop dodging!" Ye Tian shouted angrily, but he immediately regretted it. In a fight, who stands still and lets others hit them? Saying such words showed weakness.

"Hmph!" Xiao Chen snorted, not taking Ye Tian seriously at all.

Ye Tian launched another attack, leaping high and kicking towards Xiao Chen. This time, Xiao Chen didn't intend to dodge but chose to counterattack with a punch.

"Bang!"

Xiao Chen's fist collided with Ye Tian's foot, and with a loud thud, Xiao Chen's powerful strength immediately sent Ye Tian flying back. Ye Tian landed clumsily, nearly stumbling.

"Senior Brother!" The Xinglan Sect disciples were all shocked to see Ye Tian being knocked back.

"What powerful strength, how is this possible?" Ye Tian's face was full of shock, his right foot aching and trembling uncontrollably.

"Xiao Chen, I finally found you. You have quite the leisure time, sparring with the Xinglan Sect disciples again. It seems it's time to settle our scores," a discordant sneer came from behind Xiao Chen.

"Young Master of the Fang Family?" Ye Tian was taken aback to see the newcomer.

"Fang Yunchong? That guy actually found his way to Hundred Flowers Town!" Xiao Chen turned to look and saw that the newcomer was indeed Fang Yunchong, and he had brought several Fang Family guards. Xiao Chen was also taken aback.