Chapter 142: Anger

The Inner Palace was located in the innermost part of the Azure Wind Imperial Family. To leave the Imperial Family, one had to pass through the Middle Palace and Outer Palace after exiting the Inner Palace.

As Yun Che passed through the Middle Palace and stepped into the Outer Palace, he was immediately recognized.

“Look! That’s Yun Che! I saw him on the day of the new disciple assessment. He’s the one who’s challenging Murong Yi in two months.”

“Is he the biggest clown in history? He looks pretty normal.”

“He looks normal, alright, but his brain definitely isn’t! Otherwise, why would he brazenly challenge Murong Yi from the Inner Palace? And choose a heavy sword and two of the most useless profound skills?”

“In two months, Murong Yi will definitely beat him to a pulp. Murong Yi probably doesn’t even care about this guy; he’s just treating him like a monkey show, hahaha...”

Various sarcastic remarks and whispers came from a distance. Yun Che ignored them and walked straight ahead. As he entered the Outer Palace’s training area, he immediately spotted Xia Yuanba.

Xia Yuanba’s massive build made him exceptionally noticeable no matter where he stood. Yun Che couldn’t help but see him, and he immediately walked over and greeted, “Yuanba!”

Upon seeing Yun Che, Xia Yuanba’s eyes widened, and he excitedly rushed over. “Brother-in-law, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in the Inner Palace?”

“I got tired from training, so I came out for a walk,” Yun Che said casually. He then looked Xia Yuanba up and down, noticing that his profound strength had indeed improved. He wasn't too far from breaking through to the seventh level of the Elementary Profound Realm. “Yuanba, was your admission to the palace smooth? Have you told your parents you’re here?”

“Hehe, Instructor Qin kept his word and arranged for me to enter the Outer Palace the day after you were admitted. I’ve already sent a letter to my father, and I received his reply a few days ago. He’s very happy that I could enter the Azure Wind Imperial Family,” Xia Yuanba said with a smile, then exclaimed, “As expected of the Azure Wind Imperial Family, it’s truly incomparable to the New Moon Profound Palace! There are so many masters here, and I’ve seen many things that I could never have encountered before... Oh, by the way, brother-in-law, look.” Xia Yuanba spread his hands, revealing a box of fresh, fragrant medicinal pills. “Today was just when the Outer Palace’s Profound Pill Pavilion distributes pills. The pills here are so much better than those distributed at the New Moon Profound Palace... There are thirty Minor Recovery Pills, ten Minor Unlocking Pills, and three Bone Tempering Pills and three Profound Tempering Pills. I never even dared to dream of such things before.”

No wonder he looked so excited; it turned out it was pill distribution day. Yun Che smiled and said, “Yuanba, keep working hard. Although your starting point is a bit low, I believe that with your dedication, you won’t be inferior to anyone in the future... Anyway, let’s strive together!”

After speaking, Yun Che instinctively patted Xia Yuanba’s thick arm. The pat wasn’t very forceful, but the moment his palm touched Xia Yuanba’s arm, the arm recoiled as if from an electric shock. Xia Yuanba let out a pained groan, a look of agony on his face.

Yun Che froze, then quickly stepped forward and pulled up the sleeve of Xia Yuanba’s left arm. Only then did he suddenly notice that most of Xia Yuanba’s left arm was bruised and swollen, especially around the shoulder joint. Yun Che immediately recognized it as a recent dislocation.

“What happened?” Yun Che’s brows furrowed instantly. “How did you get injured?”

Xia Yuanba hastily pulled down his sleeve, smiling and saying indifferently, “It’s nothing. When sparring with the senior disciples, my profound strength isn’t as good, so it’s normal to get a little injured. Besides, it’s not a big deal; it’ll be completely fine in a few days.”

What Xia Yuanba said seemed reasonable. Sparring was an unavoidable part of training in the Outer Palace, and injuries were bound to happen with frequent sparring. However, Xia Yuanba’s injury gave Yun Che an unusual feeling. His gaze fell on Xia Yuanba’s neck, and his brows furrowed again. “What about the bruise on your neck? Do you also target the neck when you spar?”

Xia Yuanba quickly pulled back his neck and tugged his clothes higher, maintaining a carefree expression as he chuckled, “Brother-in-law, I know you’re worried about me, but it’s really nothing. Although I often get minor injuries when sparring, I always make new progress and gain new insights after each injury, so despite being hurt, I’m still happy. Besides, I’m not the only one who gets injured; no disciple in the Outer Palace is completely uninjured. How can one improve without sparring, hehe?”

Yun Che’s expression eased slightly. He seemed to believe it and nodded. “Training is important, but don’t break your body first. Also, while your profound strength might be considered the weakest in the Outer Palace, that absolutely doesn’t mean you should allow yourself to be bullied... If anyone bullies you, you must tell me!”

“Hehe, I understand, brother-in-law.” Xia Yuanba gave a simple-minded smile. “The senior disciples are all very kind to me; no one would bully me, so don’t worry. In just over two months, you’ll be having your decisive battle with Murong Yi. You must train well in the Inner Palace. But I believe that even if Murong Yi is as powerful as they say, brother-in-law, you’ll definitely defeat him... Well then, brother-in-law, I’ll head back to my training room now so I don’t waste your time.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

Watching Xia Yuanba’s hurried departure, Yun Che’s expression gradually darkened.

He didn’t continue walking out of the Imperial Family grounds. Instead, he turned around and slowly headed towards the training room Xia Yuanba had entered.

Xia Yuanba’s training room was number 2296. Each training room housed five Outer Palace disciples. Yun Che approached silently, stood by the window, and peered inside.

The training room was not large, less than half the size of a profound chamber in the Profound Gathering Pagoda. When Xia Yuanba entered, the other four disciples were already inside. Seeing Xia Yuanba return, they exchanged glances, and a mocking smile appeared on all their faces.

“Well, well, big guy, you’re back? And you’ve picked up your pills?” A blue-clad youth who had been sitting on the ground cultivating stood up, smiling as he looked at Xia Yuanba, speaking in a sarcastic tone.

Xia Yuanba’s neck visibly recoiled, and a look of fear crossed his face as he forced a smile. “Senior Brother Han Feng, could you please leave me a few pills this time? Just a few would be enough...”

The disciple named Han Feng’s expression immediately changed, and he sneered, “What? You’ve learned to bargain now? Are your bones itching for us to loosen them up for you? Stop wasting time and hand everything over! The four of us spend every day guiding a trash like you, a mere Elementary Profound Realm cultivator, and now you don’t even understand basic respect!?”

The other three disciples also sneered contemptuously, especially the handsome young man in white in the middle. He merely cast a fleeting glance at Xia Yuanba, as if looking at a pathetic clown.

Xia Yuanba’s face turned beet red. He gritted his teeth and obediently took out the pills he had just received. Han Feng snatched them all, leaving not a single one behind, then smiled approvingly. “Tsk, tsk, that’s more like it. Don’t worry, as long as you behave and show us proper respect, we’ll definitely treat you well, junior brother. In the future, during ‘sparring’ sessions, we’ll definitely go easy on you, hahaha.”

Amidst the triumphant laughter, Han Feng took ten Minor Recovery Pills and then divided ten Minor Recovery Pills each for the other two disciples. Finally, he approached the white-clad young man, bowing deeply with a fawning expression. “Senior Brother Kuiyang, these are ten Minor Unlocking Pills and three Bone Tempering Pills. Please accept them.”

The white-clad young man named Kuiyang was nineteen years old. He had the highest profound strength among the four, having broken into the Profound Realm and reached the first level of the True Profound Realm. Among the fifty thousand disciples in the Outer Palace, he was one of the top two thousand. He reached out, took the pills, then stood up and approached Xia Yuanba. He suddenly grabbed Xia Yuanba’s left hand, snatching the three pills that Xia Yuanba had tightly clutched in his palm.

“You even hid three Profound Tempering Pills,” Kuiyang sneered, narrowing his eyes. He then suddenly delivered a flying kick to Xia Yuanba’s abdomen, sending him sprawling. “You little brat, if you dare to be dishonest like that again, believe it or not, I’ll break both your legs!”

“As expected, Senior Brother Kuiyang is truly brilliant,” Han Feng and the other two disciples quickly said, laughing and flattering him.

Xia Yuanba, having been kicked in the abdomen, lay on the ground, his body twitching in pain. Yet, he didn't cry out. Instead, he pushed himself up, his face red and tinged with blue, full of unspoken rage, and slowly shuffled to a corner of the training room.

Yun Che was incandescent with rage, a surge of killing intent erupting in his chest. He could no longer bear to watch. He stepped forward and kicked the training room door.

Bang!!

The training room’s sturdy wooden door instantly splintered into pieces from Yun Che’s kick, sending wood chips flying and startling all five people inside.

Seeing Yun Che standing there with a face full of fury, Xia Yuanba panicked. He quickly stood up and stammered, “Bro... brother-in-law...”

Yun Che ignored Xia Yuanba. His gaze swept over the four standing Outer Palace disciples, and he spoke in a low, deep voice, “You have two choices. First, hand over all your pills, then sever your right hand, and finally kneel and kowtow to Xia Yuanba to admit your wrongdoing. Second... death!!”

They were just about to demand who dared to provoke them here, but upon hearing Yun Che’s words, they froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.

“Where did this brat come from, daring to act wild here... Make me kowtow? Make us sever our right hands? Did you forget to take your medicine today? Hahahahaha!”

“Whoa! This guy looks familiar... Oh, damn it! Isn’t this that famous Yun Che, the one who, despite being in the Elementary Profound Realm, openly challenged Murong Yi and is known as the biggest clown in the Azure Wind Imperial Family’s history!!”

“Huh? He’s that Yun Che?” The white-clad disciple Kuiyang heard the name “Yun Che” and sneered dismissively. “I heard that Yun Che is mostly insane. It seems the rumors are true. What, you want us to kneel? Heh heh, if you kneel and beg for mercy right now, I might just break one less of your dog legs later.”

No sooner had Kuiyang finished speaking than his vision blurred. A wave of killing intent, like a drenching of ice water, swept over him, stiffening his entire body. He was instantly horrified, but before he could react, Yun Che’s icy face appeared before him.

Bang!!

Kuiyang felt as if his chest had been struck by a ten-thousand-pound hammer. His entire body shook violently, and an incredibly ferocious force instantly surged through his meridians. He vomited a mouthful of blood, his body flying backward like a kicked sandbag, slamming heavily into the training room wall. With a resounding crash, the training room wall shattered, and Kuiyang himself was embedded directly into the wall, only to fall like a dead dog after a long moment.