Chapter 24

Under the Tianyu City Ji family, the Jiang family originally ranked first, followed by the Ma family in second place. However, after the disappearance of the Great Elder Jiang Yunhai, the Jiang family lost a peak Purple Mansion Realm powerhouse, and their influence immediately weakened. Three years ago, when a young lady from the Ma family married the Ji family's eldest young master, Ji Nu Jian, the Ma family's influence immediately surged, and over the past two years, they have gradually overshadowed the Jiang family.

Over the years, the Jiang family and the Ma family's young members have frequently clashed. Last year, Jiang Yi had witnessed Jiang Rulong and a young master from the Ma family leading dozens of their followers into a fierce battle, even beating two of the Ma family's young members to the point of becoming living dead, and they were still bedridden.

Therefore, Jiang Yi was now very heavy-hearted. The Fengyue Tower was actually a property of the Ma family? He hoped nothing would go wrong today...

The manager of the Fengyue Tower saw Jiang Yi come in and exchanged a few polite words with the leisurely tea-drinking young master of the Ma family, then turned to Jiang Yi with a teasing tone: "Oh? The one-month deadline hasn't passed yet, and you're already here? Have you gathered enough purple gold?"

Jiang Yi looked at the manager, but his peripheral vision secretly observed the reaction of the Ma family's young master, and said indifferently, "I've brought the money, give me the token."

The Ma family's young master didn't even glance at Jiang Yi, leisurely sipping his tea as if Jiang Yi, like the girls in the Fengyue Tower, was insignificant and unimportant.

The manager seemed unwilling to talk much with Jiang Yi and instructed a guard, "Go get the token."

As he spoke, the manager no longer paid attention to Jiang Yi and turned to flatter the Ma family's young master, "Young Master Fei, it's still early. Why don't you let Xiao Fengxian attend to you? She has learned many new tricks from Sister Hua recently, I guarantee you'll be comfortable."

The Ma family's young master's expression didn't change, and he leisurely took a sip of tea, "What you say, I'm here to handle business. If people don't know, they might think I'm here for fun..."

The manager chuckled, "Of course, of course, but inspecting the girls in the tower is also part of the job, isn't it?"

The Ma family's young master smiled, patted the manager's shoulder in satisfaction, and got up to head upstairs.

Jiang Yi's tense heart relaxed by half. When a guard retrieved the token from a room, his heart completely relaxed, and he took out ten pieces of purple gold leaves from his pocket and handed them to the manager.

The manager exchanged a glance with a guard, instructing him to arrange for the Ma family's young master to go upstairs, then took the gold leaves from Jiang Yi and said with a sideways glance, "Boy! Don't be so impulsive next time. This time, it's for the sake of the Jiang family..."

"The Jiang family?"

The Ma family's young master, who was just heading upstairs, suddenly paused, his gaze like lightning, and saw the character "Jiang" on the token held by a guard. He immediately shouted, "Wait!"

"Oh no!"

Jiang Yi knew things were going to go wrong. He didn't dare to rashly grab the token because the guard, startled by the young master's shout, immediately retracted the token. He had no confidence in snatching it back and could only look at the Ma family's young master with a cold face.

The Ma family's young master's gaze swept over Jiang Yi, and he waved to the manager, "Manager Liu, what Jiang family? What's this token about?"

Manager Liu immediately hurried over to the Ma family's young master, explained the incident in a low voice, and added, "Young Master Ma Fei, our people weren't seriously injured that day. Since it was the Jiang family, we didn't make a big fuss and didn't report it to the family..."

Young Master Ma Fei soon sneered, staring at Jiang Yi for a few moments, and then coldly said, "They destroyed our famous painting and injured our people, and you think you can settle this so easily? Even if Jiang Henshui were here, he wouldn't agree, right?"

"Indeed..."

Jiang Yi saw the expression on Ma Fei's face and knew things were going to go badly. He cursed his bad luck for not checking the almanac before leaving today and for encountering the Ma family's spoiled young master. The Ma family and the Jiang family were long-standing enemies, and any spoiled young master from the Ma family would definitely intervene in such a situation.

How could he let such a good opportunity to embarrass the Jiang family pass?

Despite his inner rage, Jiang Yi forced himself to speak as calmly as possible, "Young Master, I already made an agreement with this manager that day. Now that you've taken the money, the Fengyue Tower, being such a large brothel, wouldn't go back on its word, right? It would damage your reputation if this got out."

Manager Liu's face stiffened. In business, credibility was important. As the manager of the Fengyue Tower, he was a person of some standing, and it wouldn't be good to be seen as making things difficult for a young man. However, Young Master Ma Fei was a direct-line young master, and his father held great power in the Ma family. He didn't dare to offend him and remained silent.

"Rubbish!"

Ma Fei sneered, slowly walking over to Jiang Yi, pointing at his face, "What are you? Your servant worked in our tower and not only damaged things but also injured people. Even if we take this to the city lord's office, our Ma family wouldn't be afraid. Do you think a mere ten taels of purple gold can settle this? Do you think we Ma family are beggars? Give me the token!"

The Fengyue Tower's guards quickly handed the token to Ma Fei, who dangled it in front of Jiang Yi, taunting, "Want the token? No way!"

"You..."

Jiang Yi was furious. This wasn't just a token; it was the life of his servant! He gritted his teeth and bowed his head, repeatedly telling himself to stay calm. He couldn't act today, or it would only make things worse for his servant.

After a while, he calmed down and raised his head, "What do you want?"

"Simple!"

Ma Fei smiled leisurely and said, "Compensation! The painting was worth ten taels of purple gold, which you've already paid. Now, pay for the medicine for the injured guards and the damage to our Fengyue Tower's reputation, and I'll give you the token."

Jiang Yi's face darkened, and he forced out a few words, "How much?"

Ma Fei flicked his robe and smiled, "Not much. I calculated it, and a hundred taels of purple gold should be enough. I'll consider it a favor to Jiang Henshui and won't pursue it further..."

"No way out..."

Jiang Yi's head bowed deeply, his fists clenched tightly, veins bulging, his body trembling slightly, and a fierce aura slowly emanated from him, like a lion with its mane raised in anger.

"Ha ha! What? Want to fight? Hit me! Come on, I won't hit back."

Ma Fei, seeing Jiang Yi's state, not only wasn't afraid but laughed loudly. In his view, Jiang Yi, a mere Second Rank Cauldron Formation Realm, would only crawl back if he dared to act. Not to mention the seven or eight guards in the Fengyue Tower, just with his own Fourth Rank Cauldron Formation Realm, he could disable Jiang Yi in one move...

Manager Liu, however, knew Jiang Yi's strength. That day, even at First Rank Cauldron Formation Realm, Jiang Yi had injured a Third Rank Cauldron Formation Realm guard. Although he didn't know how Jiang Yi hid his strength, he cautiously signaled the guards around him and moved closer to the Ma family's young master.

Jiang Yi soon raised his head, his face calm. He took a deep breath and said to the young master, "Young Master, can you reduce it? Fifty taels of purple gold? I only have fifty taels left. If you agree, I'll hand it over..."

As he spoke, Jiang Yi hurriedly reached into his pocket, his face full of pleading. The manager, the young master, and the guards' eyes lit up, instinctively looking at Jiang Yi's left hand as he reached for the money.

"Huh?"

Soon, everyone was stunned because what Jiang Yi pulled out from his pocket was a black, paper-wrapped object, not purple gold. Manager Liu immediately realized the danger and shouted, "Young Master Fei, be careful."

"Hmph, too late... Watch my hidden weapon, the Ten Thousand Poison Heart-Piercing Powder!"

Jiang Yi shouted, infusing his hand with elemental energy, and the black object instantly turned to powder. He raised his hand and threw the powder at Manager Liu, Young Master Ma, and the two guards in front of him.

"Back!"

Manager Liu's face changed, and he hurriedly protected the young master, retreating. The two guards also immediately retreated. The other guards rushed forward, and two of them even drew black daggers, ready to bleed Jiang Yi.

"Want to run?"

Jiang Yi's face was cold, and he charged at Young Master Ma and Manager Liu like a leopard, not afraid of the powder. What poison powder? The black object was dried meat prepared by Jiang Xiaonu...

Today, with the Ma family's young master causing trouble, he had no way out, just like when he faced Jiang Ruhu on West Mountain. With no way out, he could only fight his way through!

"Whoosh!"

Amidst the black powder, Jiang Yi's body shot out like a swift wolf, his fists surrounded by elemental energy, creating six shadow punches that enveloped Manager Liu and Young Master Ma.

Shadow Punch!

This was a high-grade human-level martial technique of the Jiang family. The technique didn't focus on the number of shadow punches but on the realism of each shadow, making it difficult for lower-level martial artists to distinguish the real punch, thus easily injuring the enemy.

Jiang Yi's insight was astonishing, and he had long mastered the Shadow Punch. Using blue elemental energy combined with black elemental energy, the power was formidable. Manager Liu and Ma Fei were both at Fourth Rank Cauldron Formation Realm and couldn't determine the real punch.

"Young Master Fei, retreat!"

Manager Liu shouted, forming a strange hand seal, and a pentagram-shaped elemental shield condensed in front of his palms. He continuously slapped forward, covering the space in front of him. He felt the danger from Jiang Yi's six shadow punches and, with Young Master Ma behind him, couldn't act rashly and had to defend first. Once all the guards surrounded them, Jiang Yi would no longer be able to harm Young Master Ma. As long as Young Master Ma was safe, they could focus on dealing with Jiang Yi.

Ideals are always beautiful, but reality is cruel!

Jiang Yi's punch slammed into Manager Liu's palm, and a powerful force sent Manager Liu reeling back, unable to resist.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Jiang Yi's snake whip kick followed, continuously striking Manager Liu's thighs, pushing him back several steps. Jiang Yi used the momentum from these kicks to leap up, twisting his body in mid-air, and with a single fist, he aimed a powerful blow at the shocked Young Master Ma.

"This Jiang family youth is even stronger than me. Young Master is in danger!"

Manager Liu, after retreating seven or eight steps, finally steadied himself. Seeing Jiang Yi's punch heading toward Young Master Ma's head with unstoppable force, he was terrified. He frantically channeled his elemental energy and charged at Jiang Yi, shouting, "Jiang family brat, if you dare to harm my young master, you will surely die today."

Several figures from all directions rushed at him, their killing intent locking onto him. Jiang Yi, however, remained calm, his eyes fixed on Young Master Ma, a cruel smile on his lips. He laughed, "I don't have a hundred taels of purple gold, but I have a cheap life. If you want to take my life, you'll have to trade... your young master's life for it!"