Zhang Yuan was about to go crazy. He had actually received two slaps from a piece of trash! In his fury, he did not consider how a piece of trash at only second layer of Body Refining Tier could slap someone at fourth layer of Body Refining Tier twice. Opening his mouth to release a great roar, he pounced at Ling Han.
There was only one thought in his head now, and that was to ruthlessly beat up this piece of trash!
His one punch was filled with great power, bringing with it a slight breeze as it headed towards his target.
Ling Han was oddly calm and immobile. In his previous life, he could naturally get rid of ten thousand of Zhang Yuan with a flick of his fingers, but now he only had the power of the second layer of Body Refining Tier.
The difference in strength was a bit problematic, but that was it. The one controlling this body was, after all, a former warrior of the Heaven Tier! His strength may have been lost, but his insight remained!
Zhang Yuan only needed to raise his hand or move his leg, and Ling Han would be able to deduce where his punch would be heading towards and where his feet would be moving to. As a result, by the time Zhang Yuan’s punch flew out, Ling Han had already reacted.
"Hu!"
The fist had hit its target and Zhang Yuan revealed a cold grin. Once hit with his punch, its overwhelming power would instantly cause Ling Han to lose all means of resistance, leaving him completely at his opponent’s mercy.
He had hit his target!
"En?"
Zhang Yuan’s face revealed his surprise; although his punch appeared to have hit Ling Han’s face, it had actually missed by a slight margin—Ling Han managed to take a step back in time and just barely managed to dodge his fist.
His fist stopped exactly in front of the tip of Ling Han’s nose. It was almost touching it, so perfectly calculated as if he had used a ruler to carefully measure the distance.
‘It must be a coincidence,’ Zhang Yuan thought in his heart.
And it was at this moment that Ling Han’s palm once more flew towards him.
"Pa!" A loud, crisp noise was heard, and Zhang Yuan received another solid slap.
"Damn it!" Zhang Yuan spat out a mouthful of spit, let out a loud shout, and once again launched his fist, punching towards Ling Han.
"Hu!" Zhang Yuan’s fist once again missed. It was as if Ling Han moved at the same moment as his upper body flew backwards! Using both hands to push himself off the ground, his right foot automatically kicked out, hitting the spot in between Zhang Yuan’s legs with a soft sound.
"Ao-!" Even if his cultivation was at the fourth layer of Body Refining Tier, it didn’t matter—he would still be unable to have the ability "iron balls", and this kick had hit its target solidly. Zhang Yuan suddenly dropped down onto his knees, both hands gripping his crotch as large droplets of cold sweat appeared on his face.
"You’re so treacherous!" Zhang Yuan twitched, his whole face was so twisted it looked inhuman.
"Pa!"
Ling Han once again gave him a slap. Zhang Yuan’s mouth opened, and spat out a few broken teeth. Ling Han naturally had no sympathy for him, and said, "A dog will always be a dog; as expected, it would not be able to spit out ivory." [1]
Zhang Yuan was extremely furious. He had actually been made to kneel on the ground and received a violent slap from someone at the second layer of Body Refining Tier... what kind of humiliation was this? He wanted to counterattack, but the kick that his privates received had directly removed all his power to resist. Every move he took made his balls hurt in agony.
But he definitely couldn’t allow Ling Han to ruin Ling Zhong Kuan’s important business. Otherwise, if he couldn’t complete the task that the other had assigned him… going by Ling Zhong Kuan’s character, he would definitely be killed.
"Han, Young Master Han, listen to me, you can’t leave this place. Actually, you have been poisoned, once you leave this room, you will die of poison," his thoughts were anxious so he tried to quickly think of something that would make Ling Han stay here.
Ling Han could not help but smile. Did he think that this kind of terrible acting would be able to deceive him? He flew up and kicked Zhang Yuan away. He didn’t have any free time to waste on this lackey, he had to stop Ling Zhong Kuan’s evil scheme from succeeding instead. Otherwise, his father would have risked his life only to benefit others.
As for Zhang Yuan? Ling Han naturally would not take this kind of minor character into consideration. After all, Ling Zhong Kuan only needed to see him appear, and would naturally come to deal with Zhang Yuan. He had no need to dirty his own hands.
"Don’t go! Don’t go!" Zhang Yuan’s sobs and pleas spread out from behind him. It was as if he could already see his own miserable end.
Accomplice to a villain, he only had himself to blame, and didn’t deserve the slightest bit of sympathy.
Ling Han strode forwards. After a few minutes, he arrived at the inner doorway to the living room. He hadn’t stepped in yet but already could hear a loud, aged voice: "Miss Liu, please, please!"
The living room had an inner and outer doorway. The inner doorway was connected to the inner court, while the outer doorway would lead to the main door. Looking out through the curtains, he could see a group of five walking in. The group comprised of five people: four male, one female.
Aside from the young woman, Ling Han could recognize the four men. They were all Ling Clan clansmen. One of them was an elderly man, the Chief Butler, Ling Zhong Kuan. Two of the other three were middle-aged men of around forty years, both Ling Zhong Kuan’s sons. The last one was a young man, older than Ling Han by about one or two years, and that was none other than Ling Zhong Kuan’s eldest grandson, Ling Mu Yuan.
Ling Han looked towards the only female in the group. Even with his eyesight from his previous life as one at the Heaven Tier, his eyes brightened. This young woman was truly beautiful. Her looks were like autumn, her skin as fair as the moon. She seemed to be only seventeen or eighteen, but already possessed an elegant demeanor and beauty that could bring disaster to country and people.
It was just that her aura was as cold as if she was an icy mountain, driving away any who dared to approach.
This young girl would certainly be the person sent by Hu Yang Academy, what a coincidence.
"En?"
Ling Han’s eyes widened slightly. He had discovered something even more coincidental, and his lips couldn’t help but reveal a smile.
Both parties sat separately in their positions as guest and host. A few maidservants came forwards to serve fragrant tea and stood respectfully at the sides of the five people’s seats.
"Has the person from the Ling Clan that you are sending to the academy gotten ready?" Liu Yu Tong opened her mouth and spoke, her voice both cold and melodious, with a bit of disdain. What she hated the most were people who would enter the academy through the back door. Although she was commanded to come here, she had no good feelings towards this future younger brother disciple.
"Ready, ready!" Ling Zhong Kuan hurriedly spoke. Although he was old enough to be the young girl’s grandfather, both parties were of the same level, Element Gathering Tier.
One’s skill in martial arts did not depend on age. Only the strong would be respected.
Ling Zhong Kuan even had a feeling that this young girl’s level was slightly higher than his own - he was at the sixth layer of Element Gathering Tier, while this girl could be of the seventh layer, or maybe even eighth.
This also caused him to be even more eager to send his own grandson to Hu Yang Academy. In a few years, he would be of an even higher level than Ling Dong Xing and help him snatch the position of the Clan Head.
"Mu Yun, quickly come and greet your Elder Sister Disciple Liu!" The old man turned and spoke to Ling Mu Yuan.
"Yes, grandfather!" Ling Mu Yun spoke with great respect. Cupping his hands in Liu Yu Tong’s direction, he said, "Mu Yun greets Elder Sister Disciple Liu!" There was heat in his gaze. He felt wild ambition when looking upon this cold, beautiful and incomparably strong beauty.
He believed that, with enough time spent together, he would be able to capture the heart of the beauty.
Liu Yu Tong was slightly surprised. She recalled that the person from Ling Clan she was to escort was named Ling Han. However, it was none of her business. She was only responsible for bringing a person from the Ling Clan back to the academy.
"Since you’re ready, then let’s depart," she said calmly.
"Miss Liu, why don’t you stay for a few days in our humble abode, so that we can express a small bit of our gratitude?" Ling Zhong Kuan hurriedly said. He wanted to get close to this young girl, and in the future, she would also be able to take care of his grandson.
"No need!" Liu Yu Tong rejected coldly, turned and was about to leave.
"Please wait!" a voice was heard, and Ling Han strode out.
The faces of Ling Zhong Kuan and his group changed slightly. However much they looked down on this piece of trash of the Ling Clan, they were the thieves right now... and thieves would naturally feel guilty.
"Younger Brother Han, weren’t you injured? Return quickly to your room to rest," Ling Mu Yun reacted the quickest. He shot forwards and reached Ling Han’s side, extending his hand. He wanted to fall upon Ling Han at the first moment, without giving the other any opportunity to open his mouth.
He was at the seventh layer of Body Refining Tier, and his strength was not something Zhang Yuan could compare to.
[1] ED/N: it’s a reference to a Chinese idiom: no ivory comes from the mouth of a dog (狗嘴里吐不出象牙), meaning "no good words are to be expected from a scoundrel".