Outside the courtyard.
A middle-aged man in his forties quietly waited.
He wore a blue long shirt, with a long sword in a sharkskin scabbard on his left waist, his right hand resting behind him. He stood tall with a calm aura, exuding a grandmaster's demeanor at one with the profound and insurmountable mountains.
This man was none other than Ding Le, who had come to visit.
Hearing the discourteous summons inside, Ding Le's face darkened, but he did not immediately lash out. Instead, he walked through the courtyard gate.
He saw ayoung man dressed as a spoiled young master leaning back lazily behind a stone table, a pretty young woman blushing and fixing her clothes behind him.
"Tributor Yu?"
Although Ding Le had heard that Tributor Yu was very young, he hadn't expected him to be this young. The young man appearing to be in his early twenties was in fact the Martial Arts Master who had allegedly captured Chen Xiao, a middle-stage Innate cultivator.
"It's me," Yu Xian didn't even bother to lift his eyelids. He wasn't in the mood to be friendly to the person who had interrupted his enjoyment.
"Who are you? You've come to visit me without even bringing a gift; where are your manners?"
"I believe it is you who lacks manners, sir," Ding Le's voice sank. "I've always done my best to be polite. When I came to visit, you were the one who spoke rudely, belittling me as a nobody.
When I entered, not only did you not come out to greet me, but you were also unwilling even to stand up. When have you ever shown any manners?"
Yu Xian was taken aback and retorted, "So I don't have manners, but neither do you?"
Ding Le: "..."
Damn it! Miscalculated!
Faced with the shameless tactic of lowering himself to the same level, Ding Le chose to avoid the topic and cut straight to the chase.
"I've heard that Tributor Yu is not only skilled in martial arts, but even your tongue is pretty sharp. However, I've come for a matter to discuss. I find the scenery around Building A-2 very charming and would like to ask Tributor Yu to move out."
Upon hearing this, Yu Xian pondered for a moment before abruptly asking:
"Is this Prince Wang's idea?"
He thought the royal mansion was starting to be unhappy with his lack of enthusiasm for work.
Even if he didn't work, he was still a Martial Arts Master. Wasn't he worth a mere 200 taels a month?
Yu Xian felt dissatisfied and considered switching jobs.
The Sun Family Pharmacy seemed nice enough. When they had come to deliver the silver last time, they had subtly hinted at rolling out the welcome mat for him, with many benefits.
However, Ding Le didn't answer directly. Instead, he sneered:
"Prince Wang allowed me to choose my residence in the Tribute Court, and I happened to come across your courtyard. If you are unwilling, we can settle this with our combat skills.
After all, the courtyard should be inhabited by virtuous people."
Yu Xian finally realized, "You are the newly arrived Heavenly-rank Tributor of the Royal Mansion. You've come here to establish your authority?"
Ding Le had his thoughts precisely laid bare. He didn't refute but only continued to sneer, "If you don't want to fight, please vacate Building A-2."
Yu Xian scratched his head and sighed helplessly:
"Just say you want it boldly; why do you like violence so much?
How about this? Give me two thousand taels of silver, and I will move out immediately. I remember that Building A-3 is still vacant. I can move there."
Ding Le thought Yu Xian was scared, and becoming even more arrogant, said, "What if I don't want to give you the money?"
Yu Xian crossed his arms and replied matter-of-factly, "If you don't give me the money, I won't move."
"What if I insist on moving in?"
"Well, one thousand eight hundred taels would also do, as a friendly discount."
"Sir, isn't it disgraceful for a Martial Arts Master like you to talk only about money?"
"Fine, fine! Don't you want to haggle? Fine, I'm scared of you, one thousand five hundred taels, not a coin less."
"I didn't come here to rent a room!"
Clang!
Cold light flashed as the sword was drawn, and a sword qi shot out from the tip, striking the osmanthus tree in the courtyard. A large number of branches and leaves rustled with the aroma in the air becoming even more intense.
Even with Ding Le's exceptional breath control, at this moment, he was so angry that he spoke with his sword out.
"Tributor Yu, don't be distracted. If you're afraid of fighting, just say so, and I'll leave immediately!"
Yu Xian finally stood up, feeling rather indignant.
"Damn it! I don't even know who you are, and you just show up out of nowhere wanting to fight me, wanting to live in my house without even paying. Are you crossing the line, or am I?
You want to fight? Fine! Take a palm strike from me!"
It was his reputation alone that allowed him to freeload and get by. Ruining his reputation meant smashing his own livelihood!
Yu Xian's palm condensed his qi, and a red palm print took shape. The air was distorted by the heat, and the temperature in the courtyard soared.
As the only offensive spiritual technique he knew, his Fireball Technique hadn't reached the grandmaster level of returning to simplicity, but it had entered the room, allowing him to control the shape of the fireball at will, somewhat like the Fire Manipulation Technique.
At this moment, the fireball transformed into the shape of a palm, lifelike as if made of fiery red jade, giving off a crystalline texture.
"You're ambushing me!"
Ding Le recognized this palm was Yu Xian's signature move, the Red Flame Divine Palm, and was instantly alarmed, his face showing horror.
The power of this palm was much greater than he had anticipated.
He dared not take it head-on. He tipped his feet, spread his arms wide like a roc spreading its wings, and retreated at breakneck speed.
But Yu Xian 's intention was to catch him off guard.
The Fireball Technique transformed into the Red Flame Divine Palm suddenly burst in mid-air, and Ding Le could not dodge it in time. Half of the sparks splattered onto him, immediately causing his clothes to catch fire.
This Fireball Technique was formed by spiritual energy, incomparable to ordinary fire. Once it touched something, it would continue to burn until nothing was left.
Ding Le felt the scorching fire poison drilling into his body, forcing his True Qi to surge out and struggle against the flames.
He didn't know how long it had been.
Ding Le could no longer focus on his surroundings; he just felt his True Qi rapidly depleting. The power of the flame was so unreasonable that he had to consume ten times his True Qi to extinguish just a bit of it.
It was only after he had exhausted nearly seventy to eighty percent of his True Qi that the flame finally started to die down.
At this moment, more than half of Ding Le's long hair was burnt, his blue robes looking like the aftermath of a fire. His whole face was covered in ashes, and there was no trace of the air of a Martial Arts Master left in him.
"You can't even take a single strike from me, what makes you think you can demand a room change?"
Yu Xian looked down on Ding Le with his arms crossed.
He did not take the opportunity to kill him. After all, it was just a verbal conflict and not a deep enmity, and he was also a Royal Mansion Tributor. So he had to give him a chance.
However, if it happened again, he would have to resort to the three-step approach: put him in a sack, knock him out, and dump him into a pond.
Regardless of whether this was Duke Fu's deliberate test or not, he had once again shown his strength today. If he didn't give an explanation, he would have to consider switching sides sooner or later.
With his strength, he couldn't endure any grievances wherever he went.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, a crude panel appeared at the bottom of Yu Xian's vision.
[Name: Yu Xian]
[Cultivation: Level 6 of Qi Cultivation (83/130)]
[Cultivation Partner: Yulan (1/1)]
He would put in more effort recently and aim to break through to the late stage of Qi Refinement within a month.
Yu Xian thought to himself.
On the other hand, Yu Xian's arrogant attitude infuriated the proud Ding Le to the point where he almost wanted to fight to the death.
However, recalling the power of that palm strike, he quickly calmed down.
This was not the strength that an early-stage Innate should have. Even in the Everjoy Sword Sect, where experts were as common as the clouds, perhaps only the Great Elder could match him.
A true man knows when to bend or stretch.
Ding Le quickly found a good reason for himself and apologized to Yu Xian:
"Tributor Yu, your martial prowess is impressive; I admire it. As for the room exchange, consider it my nonsensical ramblings. I will never mention it again!"
With that, he turned to leave.
"Hold on!"
Yu Xian stopped Ding Le and pointed at the scattered osmanthus flower petals on the ground:
"It's not over just because you say so. How are you going to compensate me for the damage you did to my flowers?
I won't take advantage of you. This was my painstakingly nurtured osmanthus tree. Just casually give me a thousand eight hundred taels of silver as a token gesture."
"Tributor Yu, please show mercy. If you spare me today, we can meet again in the future." Ding Le clenched his fists.
Yu Xian turned his palm up, showing the lines on it, giving the impression that he could strike again at any moment.
"Do you believe I can make sure that there's no future for you right now?"
"You dare?!"
Ding Le swallowed his saliva quietly, trying to appear fierce yet feeling apprehensive.
"I am also a Royal Mansion Tributor. If you kill me, Prince Wang won't let you off easily."
"Do you want to bet on it?"
Yu Xian bared his teeth in a smile, showing a youthful spirit at this moment.
"I don't have any silver on hand. I'll bring it another day."
Ding Le wisely backed down. It was a matter of his own life, not whether to gamble or not.
"Fine. You are from the Everjoy Sword Sect, right? I will give you three days. If you don't bring the silver, I will go to your sect to collect it."
As soon as money was mentioned, Yu Xian's memory improved significantly.
"Take care. No need to see you out."
Ding Le had arrived full of confidence, but left with his spirit broken.
This was not the script he had in mind. Wasn't it said that this Tributor Yu was mediocre in strength and only capable of sneak attacks?
Well, he did carry out sneak attacks, but if this could be considered a mediocre strength, then what should he call himself? Trash?
Yu Xian watched Ding Le leave without moving. After a moment of thought, he said to Yulan:
"Call Chen Yi over. I have something for her to do."
Having witnessed her master's might, Yulan was both excited and nervous. At this moment, she eagerly asked:
"Master, Sister Xiao Yi is training right now. What do you need? Can I help you?"
"You have another task." Yu Xian pinched Yulan's face and said with a smile: "Go on, she has been idle in my house all day. She should do something."
"Oh."
A hint of disappointment flickered in Yulan's eyes, but she obediently went to find Chen Yi.