Chapter Twenty-One: The Dominance of Yu Zhisha

Could it be that Yu Zhisha has discovered it? Su Ye’s heart gave a subtle shudder. The strange iron ring he had obtained from that chain—how could Yu Zhisha possibly have noticed it? Only three or four people had passed by at the time, and none of them had seen a thing! Most importantly, this peculiar iron ring was surely extraordinary; there was no way he would simply hand it over!

A faint, cold smile appeared at the corner of Su Ye’s lips, but his eyes were filled with rage as he said in a low voice, “A river may change its course, but a man’s nature cannot be changed. What is it that’s caught your eye this time? Planning to take it by force again?”

Yu Zhisha’s face instantly darkened. She stepped forward defiantly and replied in a chilling tone, “Don’t think too highly of yourself. Three years ago, you were already as good as dead! The only reason I spared your life was to remind myself never to end up as pathetically as you did!”

With that, she slowly removed her sunglasses, revealing a pair of coldly beautiful eyes. Her gaze drifted to the sword in Jiang Liuying’s hand, and she said in a steely voice, “That sword—leave it.”

Jiang Liuying was instantly incensed. She lifted her delicate face and retorted, “Are you out of your mind? That’s the Gui Fang Sword of our family. Just try and see if you dare lay a hand on it!”

At this moment, several young men strode quickly up behind Yu Zhisha. Among them was a youth dressed in flashy clothes, with a head of unconventional hair, who sneered and drawled, “Well, well, this is our turf. Everything here belongs to us. Jiang—if you know what’s good for you, you’d better do as my sister says. Otherwise, don’t blame me for hitting a woman. Try me if you don’t believe it!”

“Yu Wenhuan, you’re just a bully hiding behind others. Get lost!” Jiang Liuying flared up even more.

Su Ye, of course, recognized Yu Wenhuan. This guy was a second-year at No. 1 High School, notorious for his arrogance. He hadn’t expected him to tag along with Yu Zhisha today.

Yu Wenhuan’s expression soured. He gritted his teeth and shouted, “You wretch, even if I am just a bully, I’m still a hundred times better than the useless one at your side!”

Su Ye was relieved to realize Yu Zhisha wasn’t after his iron ring, but he had no intention of swallowing this insult. He reached out, gripped the Gui Fang Sword, and with a sharp ring, drew it from its sheath. The blade gleamed with a cold light, threatening and fierce.

He wasn’t sure why, but the moment he held this sword, a murderous aura seemed to surge from it, as though the Gui Fang Sword itself thirsted for blood. He pointed the tip straight ahead, driving Yu Wenhuan back in fright.

Su Ye barked, “You little beast, watch your mouth!”

A glint of cold light flashed in Yu Zhisha’s eyes. Instead of retreating, she advanced, stepping forward so that the sword’s tip hovered less than a foot from her throat.

“Stop! What are you doing?” In the distance, Deputy Mayor Chen, Guo Xin, and others hurried over at the commotion.

None of them could have imagined that after just a few words, swords would be drawn.

“Su Ye! What are you doing with that sword? Stop this nonsense and put it down, now! Think about your family, and where you are! That sword does belong to the Jiang family—put it away at once!” Deputy Mayor Chen was aware, to some extent, of the feud between the Yu and Jiang families. Their groups routinely clashed in the market, and he had heard that their martial artists often had friction as well.

He hadn’t expected that, even with him present, they’d dare to come to blows.

Zhang Wuchen straightened his Taoist robes, forced a smile, and stepped forward: “Well, isn’t this the Azure Sky Sparrow of the Yu family? Hah, I attended your family’s banquet three years ago to offer my congratulations. Let’s not fight—why not give your Uncle Zhang some face?”

Yu Zhisha suddenly turned her frosty face toward Zhang Wuchen and delivered a crisp slap.

Whoosh—

Zhang Wuchen, quick to react, tried to dodge, but Yu Zhisha’s hand moved like a phantom, a force tugging him so he couldn’t move at all.

Smack!

The slap landed hard on Zhang Wuchen’s face.

For a moment, everyone was stunned.

Yu Zhisha, having struck him, exuded a domineering presence between her brows. “And who do you think you are, to ask me for face? Get out of my way!”

She swept a cold gaze over the shocked crowd, glanced once at Su Ye, then strode with long steps toward the collapsed bridge.

The Yu family’s entourage followed, each strutting arrogantly.

Yu Wenhuan grinned smugly, not even sparing Deputy Mayor Chen a glance. He said coldly, “Old fool, since you’ve come to the Yu family, you should know whose dog you are! Worthless scum!”

The onlookers were left reeling by the Yu family’s display.

This Yu Zhisha was too outrageous! Zhang Wuchen was a figure of some standing, yet she had slapped him in public. Watching Zhang Wuchen clutch his face, head bowed, forced to swallow his indignity, everyone could only feel the sting of humiliation for him.

What else could he do? With his own skills, could he challenge the Yu family? Even a word of protest would likely result in more than a slap.

Deputy Mayor Chen’s face was equally unsightly. He wanted to call Yu Zhisha back, to rebuke her, even demand accountability, but what was the use?

In the past three years, the appearance of the Azure Sky Sparrow in the Yu family had drawn all of Yang City’s attention to her. Take this matter of the South Sand North Bridge: in just a single night, the Yu family had managed to take over the project. Even he had only just learned of it.

Their lackeys and disciples were already as silent as cicadas in winter, heads bowed, not daring to utter a word.

With such a prodigy as Yu Zhisha, the future Martial Alliance of Yang City would likely be hers. How could anyone oppose her?

“Hmph, just a little wretch,” Jiang Liuying finally muttered. She spat in disgust, then glanced at Su Ye with surprise. “Did you take the wrong medicine today? You were so fierce—not like you at all!”

Su Ye’s lips curled, but he said nothing. In the past, with not a shred of cultivation, he could only swallow his anger to protect himself. But now, how could things be the same?

He had also sensed, in that moment, the gulf between himself and Yu Zhisha.

She had only slapped Zhang Wuchen, yet the shockwave from her power had nearly made him lose his grip on the sword. If they had truly fought, with his single unlocked meridian against her sixty-seven, the difference was simply too vast.

“Master Zhang, are you all right?” Su Ye called out, for Zhang Wuchen had intervened to defuse the situation, so he owed him a word of concern. Moreover, that slap was meant as much for him as for its recipient.

Zhang Wuchen still held his face, which was already swollen and bleeding at the corner of his mouth. He shook his head and said, “I’ll be fine. Brother Su Ye, in three months, when you face her in that duel, you must get revenge for me!”

“Oh? You know about that?” Su Ye was startled. News of his challenge to Yu Zhisha had reached Zhang Wuchen?

“How could I not know about the Azure Sky Sparrow? To be honest, last night I thought you were no match for her, but after seeing you shatter the Kirin statue just now, I think you might stand a chance.” Zhang Wuchen’s words were laced with resentment; though he couldn’t avenge himself, if Su Ye could win, he would be more than satisfied.

“I’ll do my utmost!”

With matters as they were, the party did not linger. After exchanging a few more words, Su Ye and Jiang Liuying, both worried about Uncle Zhong, hurried to the car and left.

Returning home, they found Uncle Zhong and the others had regained consciousness, though still weak. After a few words, seeing he was recovering, they let Uncle Zhong rest.

Jiang Liuying, meanwhile, was calling for the head steward, insisting her father return—after all, they were being bullied to the point of helplessness.

Su Ye knew that three months might seem like plenty of time, but for a martial artist in training, it was already pressing.

He thought of cultivation, and as soon as he was back in his room, he took out the iron ring he had retrieved from the Kirin chain.

“This iron ring is definitely strange.”

Su Ye held the ring in both hands, studying it closely. If his guess was right, the key to the entire Kirin statue was that chain, and the only special part of the chain was this ring.

Without this iron ring, the whole chain was almost useless.

“Hm?” Su Ye wiped the ring lightly. The chain around it was covered in rust, but beneath the cleaned surface, he found a blood-red color.

“Could it be blood? Kirin blood?”