C16 Send Me Home

After Mu Qingyu departed, Ye Fan cast a glance at the collapsed bodyguard on the ground and let out a snort. He dusted off his hands, ready to walk away, feeling little concern for the man. After all, he wasn't going to die. His earlier words were merely to console Qingyu.

[Ding! Host has successfully completed an additional system protection mission. System energy has increased by two.]

A sweet electronic voice echoed in his mind, catching Ye Fan off guard. Once he processed what happened, a smile crept across his lips.

So that was the system's bonus mission. Haha, what a way to gain energy—a stroke of luck. Well, he'd have to play the hero more often, saving damsels in distress. As for the men, well, that would depend on his mood.

With a surge of excitement, Ye Fan made his way to the park's exit.

After he had left, a shadowy figure emerged from the other side of the park, watching Ye Fan's retreating back and murmuring, "Master, do you know? I've finally located Young Master Ye Fan. His abilities are impressive; it won't be long before he surpasses me. You would be overjoyed to hear this, Master."

With those words, the figure slowly blurred and eventually vanished completely, as if it had never been there.

Before long, Ye Fan exited Dofil Lake Park. As he was about to hail a cab, a van raced up and screeched to a halt on the opposite side of the street.

A glint of ice flashed in Ye Fan's eyes as he sensed animosity. Someone had set their sights on him!

Was it that kid from earlier?

The van's door swung open, and four burly men in black stepped out.

"Kid, are you Ye Fan?" The group's leader, a bald man, pointed at Ye Fan with a menacing expression.

"Mr. T, this is the kid the boss mentioned!" another man in black said in a low voice, stepping closer.

Ye Fan gave them a brief look and responded coolly, "Yes, I'm Ye Fan. And who might you be?"

The bald man known as Mr. T stepped forward, his grin malicious. "Kid, it doesn't matter who we are. Just come with us."

"But I don't want to go with you. How about you drive me home instead? It'll save me the cab fare," Ye Fan suggested with a mischievous grin.

"Hey, kid, are you out of your mind? Can you really afford to joke around at a time like this?"

"I'm not joking. Seriously, just drive me home. I'm broke and can't afford a taxi," Ye Fan insisted earnestly.

Mr. T thought this kid must be an idiot and didn't want to waste any more words on Ye Fan. He turned to his henchmen and commanded, "Give this punk a beating, then throw him in the car."

The muscular men, upon receiving Mr. T's orders, closed in with sinister grins and menacing chuckles.

"Kid, I'd advise you not to put up a fight, or I'll make sure you regret it," one of the brawny men taunted.

"Oh, I'm shaking in my boots. Please, big guys, go easy on me," Ye Fan said, his voice dripping with fear, but his expression was one of pure mockery.

"You're begging for a death wish!" The muscular man lost his temper and threw a vicious punch straight at Ye Fan's face.

Ye Fan's gaze turned icy in an instant, and he countered with a straightforward punch.

"Crack!"

"Ah!"

A sharp crack was followed by a wail of agony as Ye Fan's punch shattered the man's bones.

"Take him down!" the other muscular men charged at once.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Several dull thuds sounded as the men who lunged at him were swiftly knocked to the ground.

In under thirty seconds, Ye Fan had effortlessly dispatched three burly attackers. He dusted off his hands and strolled over to Mr. T.

Mr. T's scalp tingled as Ye Fan approached. Could this kid's fighting skills really be this formidable?

Mr. T had no time to dwell on his shock as Ye Fan was already standing before him.

"Time to die!"

A vicious glint flashed in Mr. T's eyes. He whipped out a handgun and aimed to pull the trigger at Ye Fan.

But in that instant...

"Whoosh!"

A glint of cold light flashed through the night.

Mr. T's face twisted in pain as a rock, seemingly from nowhere, smashed into his hand, shattering the bones and sending the gun clattering to the ground.

"Ah!" Mr. T clutched his right arm, unable to suppress his agonized screams.

"Who's there?!" Ye Fan's gaze swept through the darkness, but it was futile; the blackness concealed everything except the few people before him.

He had tensed up the moment he saw Mr. T draw his gun. As he was about to move out of the way, something came flying out of nowhere and knocked the gun right out of Mr. T's hand.

A cold sweat soaked Ye Fan's back. Clearly, there was a master lurking unseen. With his current abilities, he couldn't even sense their presence. Thankfully, this unseen expert seemed to bear no malice towards him. Otherwise, with their level of skill, he would have been dead without even realizing it.

This was the first time since acquiring his system that Ye Fan had encountered someone he couldn't match. The mysterious stranger who had intervened had shattered Ye Fan's confidence, making him acutely aware of his own inadequacies.

But who could it be? And why help him? Ye Fan was baffled.

The pressing situation, however, left little room for pondering. Collecting himself, he steadily approached Mr. T.

"Please... Please spare me, boss!" Mr. T pleaded, his face etched with terror, no longer daring to show any defiance.

Ye Fan had clearly met his match.

"Speak up. Who sent you?" A chill flickered in Ye Fan's eyes.

"I... I'll tell you. It was... Boss Shi, Shi Mingyu sent us!" Mr. T stammered out.

"Shi Mingyu?" Ye Fan's brow lifted. That was the man from dinner yesterday. He had suspected Ma Tao was seeking revenge, but Shi Mingyu was the last person he expected.

"Relay a message to Shi Mingyu for me. If he dares to cross me again, I'll make sure he regrets it. I'm not joking!" Ye Fan's voice was icy.

"Of course, of course, boss. I'll tell him. Please, just let me go," Mr. T begged, his forehead slick with sweat.

"Scram!" Ye Fan dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

Without hesitation, Mr. T took off, not once looking back, abandoning his henchmen in his haste.

"Wait!" Ye Fan called out, stopping Mr. T in his tracks.

He halted abruptly. "Big... Big Brother, didn't you tell me to scram?"

"I just realized I'm out of cash for a cab. How about you guys give me a lift back?" Ye Fan said, scratching his head.

Ye Fan was indeed running low on money, and he hadn't even received his paycheck yet.

"Big Brother... You..." Mr. T gaped at Ye Fan, utterly bewildered.

"Is there a problem?" Ye Fan's expression chilled once more.

"No, no, no... I didn't mean that. It would be an honor to drive you back," Mr. T hastened to say.

He roused a henchman who seemed to be in decent shape and respectfully ushered Ye Fan into the vehicle.

The van set off towards Ye Fan's place, vanishing into the night before long.

Inside the vehicle, Mr. T and several brawny men were too scared to even breathe heavily, each of them shaking with apprehension.

Ye Fan paid them no mind, his thoughts preoccupied with the mysterious expert who had been lurking in the shadows. Who could that person be? What level of ability must one possess to demonstrate such formidable skills?

Despite racking his brain, Ye Fan came up empty. Yet, this encounter was a stark reminder of his own inadequacies. While he could handle run-of-the-mill thugs with ease, facing a true master would leave him utterly defenseless. It was clear that improving his own strength was imperative.

With this in mind, Ye Fan reached out to the system with his thoughts.

"System, what are the realms above an innate warrior? I want to enhance my strength; are there any prerequisites?"

Ye Fan posed two questions consecutively.

"Ding! Above the Innate Martial Cultivator is the threshold to the Cultivation World, which is divided into several stages: Qi Refining, Foundation, Golden Core, Nascent Infant, Celestial Union, Tribulation Crossing, and Mahayana."

"Ding! You are currently at the innate warrior stage. To advance to the early period of Qi Refining, you need to expend eight units of energy."

The system provided clear answers to both of Ye Fan's inquiries.

So, the Cultivation World really did exist, and the hidden figure must undoubtedly be a cultivator. It dawned on Ye Fan that he had a long journey ahead to reach such heights.

The system initially required four units of energy to elevate Ye Fan to the innate warrior level. However, the energy needed to ascend to the Qi Refining stage had now doubled, demanding a staggering eight units. Checking his attribute panel, Ye Fan noted he had only seven units of energy at his disposal, and given that the system was still at level one with a mere ten units of energy in total, the cost to reach the Qi Refining stage seemed exorbitant.

With a resigned twist of his lips, Ye Fan acknowledged the need to gather energy swiftly to upgrade the system.

If the cultivators of the Cultivation World were privy to Ye Fan's thoughts, they'd be incredulous. For them, advancing even one realm was an arduous task, with many remaining stagnant for years or even decades. In the later stages, it wasn't uncommon for cultivators to be stuck for centuries. Ye Fan's ability to enhance his cultivation through the system's energy was an extraordinary exception. Most importantly, he faced no barriers during the process; with sufficient energy, he could directly advance his cultivation.

At this point, Ye Fan was blissfully unaware of these complexities.

Roughly thirty minutes later, Mr. T dropped Ye Fan off near his destination.

Ye Fan had them stop the car a kilometer from his home before disembarking and walking the rest of the way. His caution wasn't born from a fear of revealing his residence but rather to sidestep any unwarranted complications.

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