97: Chapter 97 I am at the peak of the third stage of cultivation, who dares to hit me? Who can possibly hit me?

Lu Chen carried Ye Qingxian and glanced at Ye Qingluan.

The banks of the Ling River were originally bustling with people, but now, most of the Mortals and low-level Cultivators had fled.

However, there were still quite a few bold Cultivators of the Xiantai Realm and Cave Heaven Realm watching from afar.

If a Quasi-Emperor were to fight in the city, the collateral damage would be uncontrollable.

Lu Chen lightly tapped the Void Realm with the index finger of his right hand, and without a sound, the three of them appeared in another space.

The ground, the sky, and the surface of the Ling River all vanished.

In their place was a gray, empty space, with solid gray earth beneath their feet and a canopy of Chaos overhead.

An independent space, a temporary battlefield casually opened by a Great Emperor.

Ye Qingluan's Phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, and a flash of emerald light flickered.

Her Divine Sense instantly spread out to probe the boundaries of this space. Three breaths later, she retracted it, and the corners of her mouth beneath her mask curled up.

"Oh, you have some strength. To be able to open an independent space, you must be at least in the Supreme Realm."

She lifted her chin, her Phoenix eyes sweeping over Lu Chen from a position of superiority.

"But it is not enough."

Lu Chen set Ye Qingxian aside and clapped his hands.

"Not enough?"

He adjusted his sleeves, his phoenix-shaped eyes half-lidded.

"Then I shall beat you until you scream 'enough, enough, stop'."

Ye Qingluan's Phoenix eyes turned completely cold.

She took a step forward, and the slit in her Qingluan-patterned skirt parted with her movement, revealing the cyan-green Dao patterns of Law spreading up her right leg.

The aura of a Peak Third Turn Quasi-Emperor was released without reservation, causing gale winds to whip up out of nowhere in the gray space and the ground to crack.

She spread her arms and looked up, her voice piercing through the entire space.

"I am at the Peak of the Third Turn—Ye Qingluan of the Ye Clan!"

"Who dares to strike me?"

"And who could strike me!"

Ye Qingxian, who had climbed up from the ground at some point, had her twin tails flying about, her small fists clenched, and she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Go Auntie Qing! Hit him! Beat him! Let him know the consequences of forcibly kissing this Young Miss!"

Lu Chen turned his head to look at Ye Qingxian.

[It was clearly you who forcibly kissed me.]

He withdrew his gaze, looked at Ye Qingluan, extended his right hand, and held up three fingers.

"I do not hit women."

He waved the three fingers in front of Ye Qingluan.

"I will give you three moves."

Ye Qingluan's lips beneath her mask tightened.

The emerald light in her Phoenix eyes was almost overflowing.

"Such arrogance."

Her voice was very low, enunciating every word.

"Brazen."

She swept her gaze over Lu Chen, a hint of disdain creeping into her tone.

"Brazen! You certainly have an air about you, but unfortunately, your strength is just a bit weak."

She withdrew her gaze and lightly ground her right foot against the ground.

"There is no need for three moves."

"With one kick, I can trample you beneath my feet."

Before the words had even faded.

Ye Qingluan's figure vanished from where she stood.

The speed of a pure-blooded Qingluan was peerless among her peers. With the full explosive power of a Peak Third Turn Quasi-Emperor, she appeared above Lu Chen's head before the Void Realm could even ripple.

She raised her right leg high, and the cyan-green Dao patterns of Law lit up completely, spreading from her ankle to the base of her thigh, with every single marking burning with the power of Quasi-Emperor level Law.

Her bare foot came down, aiming directly at Lu Chen's Face.

This kick carried the full cultivation of a Third Turn Quasi-Emperor; gale winds condensed into substance at the tip of her foot, and the pressure of the air wave caused spiderweb-like cracks to form on the ground of the gray space.

The small foot landed; it connected.

It struck Lu Chen's forehead, but was isolated by space.

Then it stopped, unable to advance even an inch.

Ye Qingluan's foot looked as if it were pressed against Lu Chen's Face, yet Lu Chen remained completely motionless, not even a hair on his head swaying.

Instead, a sharp pain shot from Ye Qingluan's toes, traveling from the sole of her foot straight to her knee, and the bones of her entire right leg began to hum.

Her Phoenix eyes widened; it felt like a Mortal stepping onto an iron plate.

The recoil force from her sole made her entire leg go numb, and the power of Law on her Dao patterns was scattered by an invisible force.

Ye Qingluan reacted extremely quickly, using the recoil to push off with one foot. Her body flipped twice in the air, her Qingluan-patterned skirt flared out as she spun, and she landed back in her original position.

The moment she landed, her legs trembled slightly, and her Qi and blood were in turmoil.

"You still have two moves left."

Lu Chen paused again.

"However, I must warn you, do not attack like that."

He raised his hand and pointed to his own eyes.

"You exposed yourself just now. It was black, quite sexy and charming!"

Ye Qingluan's body stiffened for a moment.

The earlobes that the mask could not cover turned visibly red.

Given the angle of that kick, combined with the slit in her Qingluan-patterned skirt, looking from bottom to top—that must have been quite the view!

Ye Qingluan's teeth gritted until they creaked.

"You—!"

She didn't waste any more words.

The Azure Shadow Heavenly Qingluan Sword was summoned from the Void Realm. The sword body was entirely cyan, and its hum sounded like the roar of a wind dragon.

Ye Qingluan gripped the sword, and her figure vanished once again.

Qingluan Sword Art.

Sword Qi condensed in the gray space, transforming into thousands of cyan Immortal-Slaying Sword Qi beams, slashing at Lu Chen simultaneously from all directions.

Each beam of Sword Qi carried the power of Quasi-Emperor level Law, dense and covering every angle with no blind spots.

The Sword Qi landed on Lu Chen.

Clang, clang, clang, clang—

The crisp sounds of metal clashing merged into one.

Thousands of Sword Qi beams shattered completely, turning into cyan streams of light and dissipating.

Lu Chen's brocade robe didn't even have an extra wrinkle.

Ye Qingluan's Phoenix eyes changed color completely.

Without hesitation, she opened her mouth and spat out a ball of cyan-white flames.

Heavenly Qingluan Divine Fire.

Her Quasi-Emperor level natal true fire, cyan-white in color, felt devoid of temperature, yet could instantly incinerate a Supreme body.

The flames covered the sky and earth, swallowing Lu Chen whole.

The ground of the gray space was burnt through a layer, and the Void Realm itself was twisting.

Three breaths later, the flames dissipated.

Lu Chen stood where he was, his robes intact, not a single hair scorched, and his wooden hairpin still inserted perfectly straight.

He looked down at his cuffs and patted them.

"It's warm, very thoughtful."

Ye Qingluan's hand gripping the sword was trembling—not from anger, but from fear, though only a tiny bit, because the Ye Clan was behind her!

A full-power strike from a Peak Third Turn Quasi-Emperor, the Qingluan Sword Art combined with the Heavenly Qingluan Divine Fire, couldn't even burn this person's clothes.

This person was not in the Supreme Realm; he was above her!

The Supreme Realm could not withstand her Heavenly Qingluan Divine Fire.

Ye Qingluan took a deep breath, sheathed her sword, and retreated three steps.

"Your Excellency, just which Senior are you?"

Her tone had changed; it was no longer condescending, but filled with three parts probing.

"The Ye Clan has no grudge against Your Excellency. Today's matter was merely a junior acting recklessly. If Your Excellency could show some Face—"

"Face?" Lu Chen interrupted her. "Who was it that told me to kneel and lick their feet just now?"

The corners of Ye Qingluan's mouth twitched.

She retreated another step, her Phoenix eyes darting rapidly as she calculated an escape route.

"The Ye Clan has been passed down in the Central Plains for a million years. Your Excellency should have heard of the depth of our foundation."

"If you let this young woman and the Young Miss go today, the Ye Clan will surely reward you handsomely."

Lu Chen held his sleeves, remaining motionless.

Ye Qingluan waited for three breaths, but received no response.

Her Phoenix eyes darted and looked at Ye Qingxian beside her.

Ye Qingxian was crouching on the ground, her twin tails drooping. All of her earlier arrogance was gone, and her big eyes were filled with tears.

Ye Qingluan took a deep breath and spoke, her voice transmission speed extremely fast.

"Little Qingxian, you wait here for a moment."

Ye Qingxian looked up: "Huh?"

"Auntie Qing will go home first to bring reinforcements for you. Just hold on a little longer."

Ye Qingxian's eyes were brimming with tears.

"No! Auntie Qing!"

Ye Qingluan had already turned around, her hands forming seals, and Quasi-Emperor level Spatial Law poured into her fingertips, causing the Void Realm to begin cracking.

"I see this person is quite reasonable. Rest assured, he won't resort to forceful actions."

"You are young and have good potential. You won't suffer much in his hands. Just endure it and it will pass."

Ye Qingxian wanted to pounce over and hug Ye Qingluan's thigh.

"Auntie Qing, don't abandon me! Stay and keep me company! If we are together, at least I'll have a companion!"

Ye Qingluan, while slipping into the spatial rift, continued to comfort Ye Qingxian.

"I can't withstand this alone! Auntie Qing! Auntie Qing~ How will I live without you!"

"This man is so strong, how can I, a small Xiantai Cultivator, withstand it! Share some of the heat for me~ Auntie Qing!"

Before leaving, she turned back and sent a voice transmission—

"Go! You must hold on! Wait for me to come back!"

The spatial rift closed, and Ye Qingluan ran away.

Ye Qingxian sat on the ground, her eyes brimming with tears, her twin tails undone, and the tip of her nose bright red.

She looked up at Lu Chen, not knowing what to say.

Lu Chen looked down at her, his eyes full of smiles, and he extended his right hand, lightly flicking his index finger.

A golden thread of Law shot out from his fingertip, silently sinking into the Void Realm, precisely locking onto the direction of Ye Qingluan's escape.

Lu Chen withdrew his hand, crouched down, rubbed the little girl's head, and looked at Ye Qingxian at eye level.

"That Auntie Qing of yours, she won't be able to run away. She will stay here to keep you company!"