C4 I will Beat the Dog First!

"What in the world is happening? Have I truly traveled back fifty years? No, that's impossible. Is this just a coincidence? But where in the world would you find such an exact coincidence, even down to the way the soil is piled up?"

Ye Feng couldn't make sense of this baffling dream. After much thought, clueless, he decided to set his confusion aside for the moment and headed back to the Herbal Garden.

"Ye, you've finally arrived."

Upon reaching the herb fields, several familiar disciples quickly gathered around him.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh? How did your injuries heal so fast?"

"Ye, we were absolutely terrified the other day. Please, don't hold it against us..."

Ye Feng shook his head, mustering a polite smile.

He was well accustomed to the timidity and weakness of those around him. Casual pleasantries were the norm, but in the Herbal Garden, there was only one person he truly cared about.

"Where's Lee Xiang?" He looked around but didn't spot the forthright young man.

"He's gone."

"Gone?"

"The Lee family took him back yesterday. Oh, and Ye, before Lee Xiang left, he left you a letter."

A letter?

Ye Feng accepted the letter handed to him by a nearby disciple and read it. Lee Xiang had written that Ye Feng could find him at Lee's Escort Agency in Lightdale in the future, where everything would be arranged for him. The letter was filled with warm and heartfelt sentiments.

Ye Feng felt a wave of comfort knowing that Lee Xiang, unaware of his breakthrough, was still looking out for him, trying to secure his future. This genuine concern was deeply touching.

"Once I'm an Inner Sect disciple, I'll go to Lightdale to celebrate with him!"

A soft smile played on Ye Feng's lips. Just then, two 'familiar' figures approached from outside the medicinal field.

"Hey, you lot of good-for-nothings, it's been a whole day. Have you got Young Master Jee's spirit medicine ready yet?"

The voice was haughty, the expression contemptuous.

Everyone turned to see Zhang Yun and Zhao Feihong, the two outer sect disciples who had been fawning over Jee Fanchen just two days prior.

Even without Jee Fanchen's presence today, their overbearing demeanor was undiminished, as repulsive as ever, particularly when their gaze fell on Ye Feng. Zhang Yun narrowed his eyes, grinning as if he'd just spotted a particularly entertaining joke.

"Hey! If it isn't 'Brother Ye' himself! Haha, how do you still have the gall to hang around the Nephelo Sect?"

Beside him, Zhao Feihong's face was etched with scorn: "Some people are just like that, aren't they? They clearly don't belong, yet they stick around with no shame, like mangy dogs clinging on for dear life. It's disgraceful!"

Hehehe ~

These two were accustomed to strutting around with Ji Fanchen, so they hardly saw Ye Feng, whom they had recently trampled, as a threat. But what they failed to realize was that today's Ye Feng was a changed man.

The smile had vanished from Ye Feng's face.

A bone-chilling coldness emanated from him, making everyone nearby shudder.

Holy smokes.

Brother Ye's got a serious killer vibe today!

With each step Ye Feng took out of the medicinal field, he left a deep imprint, his presence sending waves of unease through the onlookers.

The crowd sensed trouble and hurried to counsel him:

"Brother Ye, don't do anything rash. These two are out of our league."

"Brother Ye, these guys have reached the One Pulse Profound Stage. They're the favorites for tomorrow's Inner Sect Assessment. Don't go looking for a beating again..."

Ye Feng, however, paid no heed to these cautions and continued straight toward his adversaries.

When he was about ten meters away from Zhang Yun and his companion, the others didn't dare to follow. All they could do was watch Ye Feng's retreating figure and sigh.

If he won't listen, what more can we do...

Across the way, Zhang Yun watched Ye Feng approach with an icy expression, looking like nothing more than an overconfident fool in his eyes, almost bringing him to tears with laughter:

"Hahaha! Brother Zhao, look at 'Brother Ye' getting all worked up. I'm shaking in my boots! Hahaha!"

Zhao Feihong's smirk carried a chilling edge as he stepped forward to confront Ye Feng, hand raised in a menacing gesture, his laughter tinged with malice:

"Looks like this mangy cur didn't take Young Master Jee's words to heart. Hmph! Maybe it's time I personally kick you out of the Nephelo Sect on his behalf!"

With a swift motion, a slap struck Ye Feng's cheek.

The forceful wind made the air itself seem to cry out in pain.

Zhao Feihong, having reached the esteemed One Pulse Profound Stage, delivered a blow with speed only surpassed by Jee Fanchen's the day before. Any martial cultivator at the Physical Stage would have been sent sprawling without mercy.

The onlooking servants could do nothing but close their eyes in resignation.

Crack.

The sharp sound echoed throughout the Medicine Cottage.

But the next moment, it was Zhao Feihong's anguished scream that filled the air.

Agh!

His pained howl echoed across the room.

What just happened?

Before anyone could grasp the situation, the once imposing Zhao Feihong was sent soaring through the air, his face nearly obliterated by Ye Feng's retaliatory slap. His mouth was torn, blood sprayed in a mist, and several bloodied teeth scattered sideways in a gruesome display.

Zhao Feihong tumbled to the ground, flying a good two to three meters before crashing into a wall corner, his face swelling grotesquely, resembling a pig's head.

What just happened?

The crowd was in disbelief.

Ye Feng had sent Zhao Feihong flying with a single slap?

How could this be? The man was a Profound Stage martial cultivator!

The room was filled with astonishment.

Only Ye Feng remained impassive, his expression icy.

Without a word, he wiped the blood from his hands onto his clothes, a fiery sense of triumph burning within him.

Ignoring the stunned onlookers, he strode over to Zhang Yun, who was equally dumbfounded.

"Take that dog and leave the Medicine Hut," Ye Feng commanded, pointing at Zhao Feihong, his voice devoid of any further explanation.

In that moment, he had felt the true gap between himself and an average One Pulse Profound Stage martial cultivator. Zhang Yun was not even worth his notice.

His real target was Jee Fanchen.

But Zhang Yun was far from lucid. Regaining his senses, his face twisted into a snarl, and his body erupted with white Profound Qi. He launched a vicious punch towards Ye Feng's face, bellowing:

"Little runt, how dare you blindside Brother Zhao when he wasn't looking! Today, I'll be the end of you!"

Ye Feng's gaze sharpened, a chilling light the only thing visible in his eyes.

He launched a punch, meeting Zhang Yun's fist head-on.

A subtle golden glow flickered across Ye Feng's fist, propelling it forward like a cannonball, slamming into Zhang Yun's with brutal force.

There was a muffled thud, and for a moment, their fists seemed to hang suspended, locked in midair.

Then, a second later.

The air filled with the sickening sound of bones splintering, and Zhang Yun's agonized scream pierced the air:

"Ahhhh! My arm! Ye Feng, you... you actually broke my arm! Ahhhh!"

Reeling backward, his right arm hung limp like overcooked noodles. His face contorted with pain, he collapsed to the ground, his body rolling in agony.

Oh my goodness!

The crowd was utterly shocked.

A slap that sent Zhao Feihong flying might have been a fluke, a lucky strike.

But this punch, shattering Zhang Yun's arm, was the work of a true martial cultivator!

Ye Feng, as he stood now, was undeniably a bona fide martial cultivator of the Profound Stage, fearsomely strong and brutally fierce.

Those present had never witnessed this ruthless side of Ye Feng, but anyone familiar with "Brother Ye" from eight years past wouldn't be surprised—cross Brother Ye and there were no pleasantries, only swift suppression!

That familiar sensation had finally returned!

"Zhang Yun!"

Zhao Feihong, with his swollen, pig-like face, scrambled to assist his companion, who was soaked in a cold sweat.

Just a minute prior, the pair had been jeering at the Medicine Hut's servants with brazen scorn, but now, one sported a battered mouth, the other a broken arm, both in utter disarray.

"Ye Feng, you're a dead man! How dare you harm us—Young Master Jee will never let this slide!"

Zhao Feihong's voice was laced with venom, but the swelling in his mouth turned his threats into a pitiful, almost comical whine.

With his hands casually clasped behind his back, Ye Feng was unfazed.

"Go tell Jee Fanchen this is merely the interest. At tomorrow's Inner Sect assessment, I'll reclaim everything owed, with interest. For now, scram!"

"Nonsense! Ye Feng, you'll see..."

"Scram!"

With a single icy stare, Ye Feng silenced Zhao Feihong's remaining words, lodging them in his throat.

Savage.

Ye Feng had become too savage.

Even Young Master Jee seemed tame compared to his terrifying presence.

Lacking the nerve to further provoke the harbinger of death before them, Zhao Feihong and his companion beat a hasty retreat like whipped dogs. Yet, they couldn't resist hurling curses and insults at Ye Feng as they left.

"Ye Feng, you're going to pay for this! Young Master Jee will never let you off the hook!"

"Ye Feng! Your end comes tomorrow!"

Once the pair had skulked off into the distance, the other servants cautiously approached, eyeing Ye Feng as if he were a stranger among them.

It was as though they had all been worms wriggling in the mud, only to witness one among them transform into a dragon soaring the skies. Their gazes brimmed with envy, astonishment, jealousy, and guilt.

But Ye Feng couldn't be bothered with their stares and whispers. With a few reassuring words, he departed the Medicine Cottage, leaving behind the confines that had ensnared him for five long years.

Indeed.

He was the dragon. Despite spending eight years as a worm, he had finally shattered the Profound Stage, leaving the Medicine Cottage in awe.

And tomorrow, after the Inner Sect examination, he would ascend the clouds and dominate the heavens!

Ye Feng's breakthrough and the subsequent upheaval at the Medicine Cottage became the talk of the Nephelo Sect's Outer Sect within a day, creating quite the commotion.

The Outer Sect instructors handled the situation with fairness, as there were numerous witnesses to Ye Feng's act of self-defense. They didn't delve too deeply into the incident. Nevertheless, Ye Feng's name quickly became the buzz among the Outer Sect disciples.

"Ye Feng?"

"Who's Ye Feng? Never heard of him."

The Outer Sect's new recruits were abuzz with curiosity.

"I heard he's a servant disciple who's been biding his time and has finally broken through the Profound Stage."

"That servant's got a death wish, taking on Jee Fanchen's underling."

"Ha! Jee Fanchen has vowed to utterly crush Ye Feng in tomorrow's Inner Sect Assessment. We're in for quite the spectacle."

"What's the big deal? The Inner Sect Assessment isn't a martial contest. The most we can expect is Ji Fanchen outperforming Ye Feng across the board."

"But there's still the practical combat test, right?"

"True, but they'd have to be matched up for that to happen. And if Ji Fanchen does face Ye Feng, I bet Ye Feng will be lucky to escape with his life, let alone without being disabled..."

Among the newcomers, Ye Feng didn't have many backers.

Next to the dominant Ji Fanchen, Ye Feng seemed as insignificant as a firefly beside the full moon.

Despite this, the Outer Sect disciples of the Nephelo Sect were looking forward to tomorrow's assessment, eager to see what kind of drama would unfold.

Meanwhile.

The news of Ye Feng's breakthrough to the Profound Stage caused quite a stir within the Inner Sect of the Nephelo Sect, catching the attention of several individuals.

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