The old man saw Yan Rufeng landing from the air and sneered, "Qinggong, Cloud Body Wind Body, young man, I didn't expect you to have some skills."
What Yan Rufeng used wasn't any Qinggong technique; he had directly stepped through the air.
Once cultivators enter the Qi Refinement Realm, they no longer use Qinggong. What Yan Rufeng performed was the more advanced Skywalking, which, while not as potent as the Sky Soaring technique that can only be used during the Golden Core Stage, was far superior to Qinggong.
"This person, I'm protecting him."
"Kid, who do you think you are? With my uncle here today, no one can protect him." A voice shouted.
"Even a fly dares to speak to me like this."
Yan Rufeng moved, and in an instant, a burst of energy surged from him. The next moment, that person spat blood and fell to the ground, clearly dead beyond any doubt.
"Releasing his Inner Qi externally, could he be a Martial Arts Grandmaster?"
The old man's heart was filled with fear, his previous arrogance now gone. He clasped his hands, bowed, and said respectfully.
"I didn't know a senior was here. I offended you earlier, please forgive this old fool's ignorance!"
"Forgive you? Do you think that's possible?" Yan Rufeng said calmly.
Hearing this, the old man instantly broke into a cold sweat and hastily knelt down to beg for mercy.
"Spare me, senior. If you let this old man go today, I will do anything for you in the future, even if it means being your dog!"
"Heh. Very well, cripple yourself."
To insult an Immortal Venerable was unacceptable. Yan Rufeng already showed great mercy by allowing the old man the chance to self-cripple.
But would the old man really do it? For a martial artist, losing one's martial skills was worse than death.
Yan Rufeng was testing the old man. If he really crippled himself, Yan Rufeng would indeed spare him despite the insults.
However, the old man's eyes flashed red. While pleading, he took advantage of a moment's inattention from Yan Rufeng and drew a dagger from his waist, aiming at Yan Rufeng's vital point.
"Seeking death."
Who was Yan Rufeng? In his previous life, he was a revered Immortal Venerable who swept across the worlds. Such petty tricks were nothing to him. Wasn't this old man just courting death?
Sure enough, just as the old man sprang up to attack, Yan Rufeng swiftly struck his heavenly temple with a speed so fast it was undetectable.
The old man stared wide-eyed, not understanding even in death what kind of existence he faced.
The gang members who followed the old man were terrified, fearing the young man before them would target them next. They all began to beg for mercy.
"Senior, I was deceived into coming, please let me go."
"Yes, senior, I was the same. Please don't kill me!"
...
Facing the multitude of pleas, Yan Rufeng said indifferently, "Begging me is useless, beg him instead!"
Seeing Yan Rufeng point towards Brother Nan, the group immediately knelt before him.
Brother Nan, regaining his composure, shouted angrily, "Earlier you all wished I would die quickly, now you're scared? None of you who came here today should think of leaving!"
The men behind Brother Nan all drew watermelon knives.
"Chop them up for me."
At Brother Nan's command, the scene turned into a bloodbath.
Yan Rufeng looked on with a satisfied smile at Brother Nan's actions.
"Brother Nan, what should we do with these bodies?" one of his men asked.
"Do I have to teach you everything? What else can we do—load them onto a garbage truck and dump them in my fish pond or throw them into the sea for the fish."
After giving out instructions, Brother Nan approached Yan Rufeng respectfully.
"Thank you for saving my life, senior."
"It was nothing, I was just passing by."
"May I ask your esteemed name, senior, so I, Ning Zhongnan, can repay the favor in the future?"
Brother Nan lowered his posture and clasped his hands, sincerely requesting. He feared Yan Rufeng would disappear in a leap, just as he had suddenly appeared.
"Yan Rufeng."
"Today, I, Ning Zhongnan, had the honor of being saved by Mr. Yan. From now on, my life belongs to you, Mr. Yan."
Ning Zhongnan expressed his gratitude, obtained Yan Rufeng's contact information, and then happily left.
Just as Yan Rufeng returned to his car, his phone chimed.
It was a message from Ning Zhongnan. Opening WeChat, he saw, "Thank you, Mr. Yan, for saving my life. Please accept this small token of my appreciation."
Then, a transfer of 50 million appeared on Yan Rufeng's phone screen.
Yan Rufeng frowned and sent a message, "I can't accept this money, and from now on, just call me Mr. Yan."
Ning Zhongnan replied with a smiley face and another message, "Mr. Yan, if you don't take this money, it means you look down on me, Ning Zhongnan."
Yan Rufeng still refused to accept it, but Ning Zhongnan eventually threatened to visit him with a beautiful woman, making Yan Rufeng reluctantly accept the 50 million…
Early the next day, Xiaxia had prepared breakfast, which Li Xiaofei praised exuberantly.
Xiaxia didn't appreciate the compliments and finished her breakfast, then happily said to Yan Rufeng, "Brother Rufeng, where are you taking me today?"
"Zhongzhou Building, to the auction site!"
"Why are we going there?"
Xiaxia thought Yan Rufeng was taking her out for fun, but instead, they were going to an auction. She bit her lip in disappointment, expressing her discontent.
"You'll know when we get there!"
Yan Rufeng lightly flicked Xiaxia's nose and smiled, "It's getting late, let's go!"
The Treasure Pavilion had chosen Zhongzhou Building for the auction, showing the importance they placed on the event. Such a grand venue wasn't used for just any auction.
The items auctioned here were usually worth millions, tens of millions, or even more, attracting wealthy and influential guests from all walks of life.
In the first-floor lobby, armed security personnel were patrolling, and early arrivals were already drinking tea and chatting.
As soon as Yan Rufeng and his two companions tried to enter the lobby, someone stopped them.
"Sorry, sir, please show your invitation."
Yan Rufeng didn't know that an invitation was needed to attend the auction.
"Excuse me, let me make a call to confirm." Yan Rufeng took out his phone.
"Alright, but you can't enter the lobby before then," reminded the security personnel.
At this time, a pair of eyes noticed Yan Rufeng.
Zhang Mingdong, holding Chen Wanqiu's hand, said with some surprise, "Wanqiu, what is that poor boy doing here?"
Chen Wanqiu, feeling displeased, replied, "Don't ask me, I don't want to see him."
"Dear, if you don't want to see him, that's easy. Just watch me handle him."
Just as Zhang Mingdong was about to approach, a voice said.
"Brother Dong, who has upset you? How could we let you handle it personally? Let me teach him a lesson."
The speaker was a rich second generation. Even Zhang Mingdong wasn't qualified to attend this event; he was only here because of his father's influence.
"Song Yi, that poor boy from the countryside!"
Zhang Mingdong pointed disdainfully at Yan Rufeng.
"That's easy, Brother Dong, watch me."
Song Yi approached Yan Rufeng with a look of contempt.
"Poor boy, got stopped without an invitation, didn't you."
Yan Rufeng ignored him, which infuriated Song Yi.
"Security, what are you doing? Are you going to let a poor wretch into this venue?"
The security personnel didn't respond to Song Yi's queries.
The next moment, they took the phone from Yan Rufeng's hand. After a brief conversation, they made a gesture inviting him in, allowing Yan Rufeng's group to enter.
"They can really go in without an invitation." Song Yi stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
Looking at Zhang Mingdong, who shook his head in disappointment, Song Yi, feeling embarrassed in front of Zhang Dongming, who was used to being flattered, had never been treated this way before.
"Fine, you wait, I'll find your manager."
Fuming, Song Yi stormed inside, presenting his invitation.
Inside the lobby, Song Yi quickly located the lobby manager.
"I am the eldest son of Zhongzhou Song Family, and I just saw someone without an invitation being allowed inside by the security."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am."
"Alright, come with me to find these people."
The lobby manager, now furious, followed Song Yi.
In no time, Song Yi found Yan Rufeng and his companions.
"It's those three, country bumpkins without invitations who were allowed in."
Song Yi's angry shout drew contemptuous looks from the crowd.
"What's with him?"
"Yeah, acting so high and mighty."
"Exactly. Can he even afford anything here?"
"He probably snuck in to get some free drinks."
"I can't stand people like this. The manager should be doing a better job…"
The lobby was filled with gossip, and Song Yi, feeling smug, gave Yan Rufeng the middle finger and smirked, "Country hick, think you can challenge me?"
Hearing the crowd's chatter, the lobby manager, face flushed, approached Yan Rufeng.
"Sorry, sir, may I see your invitation?"
"I don't have one!"
The lobby manager forced a smile.
"I apologize, but without an invitation, you can't stay here. Please leave."
"Yes, make him leave."
The crowd echoed.
Amid this, Chen Wanqiu felt the most pleased, her vanity satisfied as she thought, "Poor boy, you'll suffer for crossing me, Chen Wanqiu."
Suddenly, a powerful voice rang out.
"Who gave you the authority to throw out a guest I invited?"