Chapter 76: Anger Reaches the Peak

## Chapter 76: Hair Standing on End in Fury

The era when heaven and earth began and the universe's vital energy gave birth to all things, a time yearned for by countless cultivators, was long gone. Ye Fan could only sigh in contemplation.

That night, he made tremendous progress. His Sea of Bitterness had expanded from the size of a soybean to that of a pigeon's egg. Most importantly, the golden Sea of Bitterness now contained nineteen divine patterns, granting him extraordinary combat power. He had officially become a cultivator of the Sea of Bitterness realm, shedding the label of "barely" making it.

By now, dawn had broken. Ye Fan had hunted two pheasants and a wild rabbit in the forest, and gathered some wild fruits before heading towards the small town.

Upon returning to the small eatery, the old man had just finished setting breakfast on the table. Little Tingting was persistently knocking on Ye Fan's door, urging him to wake up, which made him smile.

Little Tingting was very surprised to see him return from outside, while Old Man Jiang seemed hesitant to speak. Having lived so many years, he naturally suspected that the arson incident was connected to Ye Fan.

"Today for lunch, we'll have extra dishes: braised wild rabbit and fragrant chicken rolled in green leaves. Come, try these wild fruits first and see if they're good," Ye Fan said, offering a few red fruits to the little girl.

"Oh, oh, oh, more delicious food!" Little Tingting exclaimed happily.

After breakfast, Ye Fan returned to his room to continue studying the Dao Scripture. He found that each time he reread it, he gained new insights.

"Huh!"

Ye Fan was startled to notice that the first few dozen lines of ancient characters on the golden book were slowly blurring, as if they would soon disappear.

"Fortunately, I've already memorized them, otherwise it would have been a problem," he thought. He couldn't understand why this was happening.

It wasn't until midday that Ye Fan was startled awake by a commotion.

"You old fossil, stop wasting time! Hurry up and prepare some food and wine, or we'll tear this little shop down!"

"What terrible luck! That fire was devastating. That scoundrel deserves a thousand cuts for ruining us like this!"

"Steward Liu, what are we going to do now? Being beaten and thrown out by the Li family is truly humiliating."

"You ask me? Who am I supposed to ask? We'll take it one step at a time. Old Man Jiang, what are you gawking at? Go quickly prepare a table of food and wine to calm our nerves, or you'll be lying there stiff!"

It was the sallow-faced middle-aged man and several of his subordinates. All of them were bandaged; some had been burned in yesterday's fire, while others had been severely beaten and expelled by the Li family.

Little Tingting stood timidly in front of the table and said, "Don't yell at my grandpa. Our family isn't running the restaurant anymore. Please go eat somewhere else."

"Bang!"

Steward Liu slammed his hand heavily on the table, his eyes wide with menace. "Old Man Jiang, stop dragging your feet! If you don't prepare the food now, I'll throw your granddaughter down the well!"

"Little girl, go stand aside! This is none of your business!" A burly man with a bandaged left hand, standing nearby, shoved Tingting with his right, almost making the little girl tumble over.

Old Man Jiang quickly steadied Tingting, shielding her behind him. He then told the men, "We're truly not doing business anymore. This shop can't stay open. Please go somewhere else."

"Have you forgotten yesterday's lesson? Our mood is already terrible today, and you dare to defy us?!" Steward Liu sneered, his sallow face turning even more sickly yellow and looking rather sinister.

He abruptly stood up, grabbed Old Man Jiang's collar, and said icily, "You old geezer, you've gotten bolder these past two days! We've all suffered terribly, and you still dare to talk back to us like this? If you provoke us further, we'll burn your dog kennel down today and leave you and this little brat begging for food!"

"Don't hit my grandpa..." Little Tingting cried, her voice trembling. She was only five years old, too short to reach Steward Liu's arm. She could only cling to his leg, looking up and pleading, "Please, please let go of my grandpa. He's over seventy years old..."

Steward Liu's hand gripped Old Man Jiang's collar tightly and forcefully. Although Steward Liu had been burned, he was still much stronger than Old Man Jiang, who was frail with age. The old man's neck turned bluish from the choking, his wrinkled face flushed crimson, and he began to cough violently.

Tears welled up in Little Tingting's eyes. Clinging to Steward Liu's leg, she cried out anxiously and pitifully, "Please, hurry and let go of my grandpa! He can't breathe..."

"Boohoo... My grandpa is already over seventy! Don't choke him... Please let him go!" Little Tingting desperately shook Steward Liu's leg, but her strength was negligible, and it had no effect.

"You little brat, get out of the way!" Steward Liu forcefully lifted his leg, causing Little Tingting to stumble and fall. He then raised his foot, preparing to kick her.

Ye Fan burst out from the backyard into the eatery, just in time to witness this scene. He grabbed a teapot from the table and hurled it, striking Steward Liu's raised leg with a heavy thud. Then, he quickly rushed forward and pulled Little Tingting up.

"Big brother..." Little Tingting whimpered, pouting. Her large eyes were red and tear-streaked, and her new clothes were covered in dust.

Ye Fan was incandescent with rage; it felt as if a fire raged within him. He instantly pushed Steward Liu's hand away, freeing Old Man Jiang. Then, he roared, "How can you bear to lay a hand on a vulnerable old man like him? Are you even human?!"

"Where did this little bastard come from, talking like that?" The other men immediately became agitated. They all stood up and glared menacingly at Ye Fan.

Steward Liu's sallow face was exceedingly grim. He looked down condescendingly at Ye Fan. "You're just a little brat, trying to act like an adult and stick up for others. I'll throw you into the sewer in a moment, and we'll see if you still dare to make a peep!"

Old Man Jiang's neck was bruised, and his face was flushed. He squatted on the ground, coughing for a long time before finally regaining his breath. Little Tingting was extremely anxious. She sobbed while gently patting the old man's back, crying, "Grandpa, are you alright? Don't scare Tingting. Tingting is very worried, Tingting is very scared..."

Witnessing this, Ye Fan's rage intensified, but his eyes grew progressively colder. He stared at Steward Liu and said, "You're a grown man. Have you lived your years like a dog?!"

"Damn it, where did this wild kid come from, daring to talk to Steward Liu like that? Beat him to death!"

Before the sallow-faced middle-aged man could react, a burly man rushed forward, swinging his palm towards Ye Fan's face.

"Ah!" But to everyone's surprise, the man himself screamed in agony. Ye Fan had acted first, grabbing his bandaged arm. No one present could have known how immense Ye Fan's strength was; they simply assumed the man was screaming so piercingly because his wound had been touched.

Steward Liu being expelled by the Li family was within Ye Fan's expectations, but he hadn't anticipated such arrogance; even in this predicament, Steward Liu still came here to throw his weight around.

"Little brat, you've got some nerve," Steward Liu sneered, reaching out to slap Ye Fan's face. His movement wasn't fast; he intended to humiliate Ye Fan.

"Thwack!"

Ye Fan swung his arm, and with a resounding "thwack," he sent Steward Liu flying sideways. Steward Liu crashed into the Eight Immortals table behind him, a spray of blood arcing three or four meters from his mouth. He struggled to get up, then opened his mouth and spat out seven or eight teeth.

"Damn it! Kill this bastard for me!" Steward Liu roared, his sallow face nearly contorted with rage, his eyes almost spitting fire.

These men had no idea that Ye Fan was extraordinary. With a rush, they all surrounded him. Ye Fan's gaze turned cold as he grabbed each of them, one by one, squeezing their bandaged wounds. A chorus of agonizing screams immediately erupted.

"Slap!" "Slap!" "Slap!"...

Immediately after, over a dozen slaps rang out in quick succession as Ye Fan swung both his left and right hands, delivering powerful blows to their faces.

"You beasts, you deserve to die for daring to bully such a lonely old man and such a sweet child!" Ye Fan's strength was immense; if he hadn't controlled his force, he could have easily split their skulls.

Even so, their molars flew out. The bandaged men were sent sprawling, spitting blood from their mouths and noses, their teeth falling out as they rolled around on the floor.

"Ah!"

"You little bastard, how dare you hit us?"

"It hurts so much! My wounds..."

These men were sent rolling on the ground by Ye Fan's powerful slaps, screaming in agony.

"My apologies, Old Man Jiang, I forgot we were in the shop. I'll have to trouble you to clean up again in a moment. I'll throw them all out right now." With that, Ye Fan picked them up one by one and tossed them all outside.

Old Man Jiang's emotions fluctuated violently; it was as if two years of pent-up frustration had suddenly been released, making his body tremble. He covered Tingting's eyes with his hand, shielding her from the sight, afraid it would frighten the little girl.

Tingting was extremely anxious, asking in a tearful voice, "Grandpa, what happened to Big Brother? Are those bad guys bullying him?!"

"Don't worry, Tingting. Your big brother is fine. All those bad guys have been knocked to the ground by him."

Ye Fan threw the men onto the street but didn't stop there. He kicked them, sending them rolling like rubber balls, their cries incessant, like pigs being slaughtered.

Steward Liu, naturally, received special attention from Ye Fan. His cheeks were swollen, and it was impossible to count how many powerful slaps he had endured. Nearly all his teeth had been knocked out.

"Help!"

"Murder!"

The men screamed continuously, calling loudly for help. Indeed, many onlookers gathered, but not a single person tried to intervene. In fact, many were eager to step forward and kick them a few times themselves.

Seeing this, Ye Fan shouted, "Folks, what are you waiting for? These men were tyrants, constantly oppressing our village when they served the Li family. Now they've been thrown out, so there's nothing to fear! Come on, beat them! Teach them a good lesson!"

What he said exceeded Ye Fan's expectations. With a roar, everyone surged forward—men, women, old, and young—tearing, pulling, and viciously beating the men on the ground.

"I heard this morning that they were beaten and thrown out by the Li family because their goods were burned. It seems it's true."

"No wonder this young man could beat them so badly. Turns out they were already covered in injuries and had just been beaten severely, otherwise this young man would have suffered greatly today."

"Beat them! Beat these beasts to death!"

...

The crowd was furious, scrambling to get forward and beat the men on the ground. It wasn't hard to imagine how unpopular these men were, as the collective outrage now completely erupted.

The men on the ground continued to roll, their screams no longer sounding human, but like desperate howls. They cried out for their parents, lost control of their bowels and bladder from the beating, and a foul stench filled the air.

Ye Fan had originally intended to use the chaos to personally break some of their bones, ensuring they'd behave for at least a year or two. However, he now realized he didn't need to lift a finger.

The men, women, old, and young who surrounded them brutally beat the "fallen dogs." Several of the men's arms and legs were broken, indicating they would likely be crippled for the rest of their lives. It was clear just how much public resentment they had provoked.

"Spare us! We'll never dare again!"

"Ah, help! Someone's going to die..."