The Return of the Youth, Chapter 26: The First Encounter

Page 1 of 3

“What are you supposed to be, daring to speak to me like that?”

Shen Ling turned toward the entrance of the reception hall. A young man dressed like a tavern waiter had just walked in.

Zhe Linfeng wore clothes washed so pale that their original color was barely discernible. A pair of cotton shoes hung carelessly from his feet, and a leaf dangled from his mouth. His hair fell loose over his shoulders, uncombed and untidy. His eyes were bright as stars, and though his features were naturally clear and handsome, his disheveled attire made him look like a vagabond beggar loitering outside the City God Temple.

“Little master, if I’m some worthless cur, then what are you? Oh, that’s right—you’re not even a thing.”

“You vile scoundrel! How dare you say I’m not even a thing? You’re courting death.” Shen Ling pointed at Zhe Linfeng.

“You shrewish woman! I’ll say you’re not a thing if I please. What are you going to do about it? Come bite me.”

Zhe Linfeng turned around, thrust his backside toward Shen Ling, and slapped it provocatively.

“You’re infuriating me!”

Shen Ling formed a spell with her fingers. A violent whirlwind sprang into existence, and with a single point of her finger, several blades of wind shot toward Zhe Linfeng.

Zhe Linfeng swept up a hand and traced out a wall of earth. The wind blades sank into it, unable to cause any real harm.

“Your Wind Blade Technique is nothing special. It can’t even pierce my Earth Wall Technique.” Zhe Linfeng mocked her without mercy.

Wind Manipulation!

Shen Ling parted her lips slightly, and her entire body drifted toward Zhe Linfeng like a wisp of clear wind. With another point of her finger, the wind blades in her hand burst forth. Dozens of them shot out in unison, piercing through Zhe Linfeng’s earthen wall. Then she struck out with her palm, sending a blade of wind from its center straight toward his throat.

Seeing his Earth Wall Technique broken, Zhe Linfeng hurriedly formed another spell. As he retreated, three walls of earth rose before him. Yet the palm-born wind blade tore through them with ease, and before he knew it, it was already streaking toward him.

His expression did not change. He slapped one hand against the stone bricks beneath him, and a massive earthen spike burst from the ground, shattering the wind blade.

Standing on the steps with her hands on her hips, Shen Ling widened her eyes and shouted down at him in a shrill voice, “So you’re an earthbound turtle! No wonder you’re filthy from head to toe and smell of dirt!”

Cultivators in this world possessed different spiritual roots and were divided into such elemental affinities as wood, fire, earth, metal, water, wind, and thunder. By calling Zhe Linfeng an earthbound turtle, Shen Ling was mocking him for being an earth-affiliated Cangwu cultivator. Earth cultivators possessed formidable defensive abilities, but because they were not skilled in attack, other cultivators often taunted them in this manner.

“You madwoman, what right do you have to mock me? You resort to violence at the slightest disagreement. You’re completely devoid of manners, no different from some vulgar shrew in the marketplace!” Zhe Linfeng folded his arms across his chest, a mocking smile curling at the corners of his lips. He answered leisurely, his eyes full of disdain.

Shen Ling’s face instantly flushed crimson, like a fully ripened tomato. The veins on her forehead bulged, and she trembled with rage. Pointing at Zhe Linfeng, she stammered for a long while before forcing out, “You… stop spouting nonsense! You ignorant country bumpkin, how dare you talk back to me!”

Zhe Linfeng was not frightened in the least by her fury. Instead, he stepped forward and slightly raised his chin, his tone growing even more contemptuous.

“Ha. With nothing but a sharp tongue, you really think you’re impressive? You’re nothing but a vase who relies on her family to bully others. Other than your pedigree, what do you actually have to show for yourself? I’m afraid even your cultivation talent can’t compare with that of this ‘earthbound turtle’!”

Shen Ling’s eyes instantly reddened, and tears began to well within them. She stamped her foot and shouted, “You… shut up! You despicable, shameless bastard! If you have the courage, stop hiding behind your words and let us settle this with our hands!”

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

As she spoke, true energy had already begun gathering secretly within her hands. She looked ready to strike at any moment.

Zhe Linfeng remained unmoved. He continued to regard her with an amused expression and even shook his head deliberately.

“What’s wrong? You can’t win an argument, so now you want to fight? Is that what you call proper upbringing? With a hotheaded temperament like yours, even if you strike again, you’ll only bring humiliation upon yourself!”

Just as Shen Ling burned with fury and was about to charge forward without regard for the consequences, a sly glint flashed through Zhe Linfeng’s eyes. While she was off guard, he stamped his foot hard, muttered an incantation, and instantly unleashed the Earth Spike Technique.

The ground rapidly swelled upward. Several sharp earthen spikes burst from beneath Shen Ling’s feet and shot straight toward her vital points.

Her expression changed dramatically. She instinctively leaped backward, and in her panic, the true energy she released became somewhat chaotic.

At the critical moment, a yellow figure swept past like lightning. With a thunderous boom, the earthen spikes were shattered by a powerful force.

It was Kong Yue, who had arrived just in time. He stood firmly before Shen Ling, staring coldly at Zhe Linfeng as a formidable pressure radiated from his entire body.

“You dare launch a sneak attack in front of me? You certainly have some nerve,” Kong Yue said coldly, his voice carrying unquestionable authority.

Zhe Linfeng’s heart tightened. He had not expected Kong Yue to appear so suddenly, much less possess such overwhelming strength. The man was probably already at the Mortal Realm.

“What is this? The moment the younger one gets hit, the elder comes out to lend a hand? You madwoman, all you know how to do is borrow someone else’s power to intimidate people!” Zhe Linfeng shouted contemptuously.

A cold glint flashed through Kong Yue’s eyes. Without a word, he raised his hand and struck.

A dazzling golden palm print, wrapped in a fierce aura, shot straight toward Zhe Linfeng.

His heart clenched. He knew at once that Kong Yue intended to kill him.

Daring not hesitate for even an instant, Zhe Linfeng slammed his palm against the ground. He drew upon every strand of true energy within his inner qi sea and condensed a thick earthen wall ten feet wide before him. Immediately afterward, he hastily brought out a jade brick and held it in front of himself as a second line of defense.

In the blink of an eye, the golden palm print smashed through the earthen wall as effortlessly as dead wood beneath an axe. With the force of a collapsing mountain and an overturning sea, it then crashed heavily into the jade brick.

“Hmph!”

Kong Yue folded his arms and snorted coldly. He was confident that this single palm was enough to crush Zhe Linfeng completely. Breaking the jade brick would be effortless as well.

Yet contrary to his expectations, the moment the golden palm print struck the jade brick, ninety percent of its power vanished. The remaining ten percent sent both the jade brick and Zhe Linfeng flying more than ten feet away.

Zhe Linfeng slammed heavily into the ground with a dull thud.

“Ugh—”

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

Zhe Linfeng spat out a mouthful of blood. He struggled to rise, but every part of his body throbbed with pain. His limbs were limp and powerless, and he could not move at all.

His heart was filled with resentment and indignation. He had never imagined that Kong Yue’s palm would be so powerful. Even after bringing out his magical treasure, he had still been unable to withstand it completely.

Kong Yue was equally astonished. Zhe Linfeng had merely spat out a mouthful of blood and had not died.

The golden palm print he had used came from a secret technique recorded in the cave abode of a Cangwu cultivator from a former dynasty. In the past, he had relied on this technique to ambush and kill a mid-level Mortal Transcendence cultivator. Although he himself had suffered severe injuries and needed more than half a year to recover, the feat was enough to prove the technique’s might.

Yet now, even without using his full strength, he had failed to kill a mere Sea-Hiding Realm cultivator. How could that not leave him astonished?

At the same time, Kong Yue’s gaze fell upon the jade brick before Zhe Linfeng, and a trace of greed flickered in his eyes.

As a cultivator in the initial stage of Mortal Transcendence, Kong Yue possessed only one magical treasure. Yet this “ant” in the Sea-Hiding Realm actually had one as well. The discovery stirred his desire to seize it.

Just as Kong Yue hesitated over whether to take the treasure by force, County Magistrate Li saw that Zhe Linfeng was losing and hurried out of the main hall.

His expression darkened as he shouted, “All of you, stop! What kind of behavior is this? In broad daylight, you dare fight so viciously. Do you have no regard for the law? Prefect Shen, as their superior, are you truly going to indulge evil and allow your people to run wild, deliberately bullying my Northern Gu County office simply because you think no one here can stand up to you?”

Hearing County Magistrate Li’s rebuke, Kong Yue sighed inwardly and ultimately abandoned the thought of seizing the magical treasure.

Prefect Shen came out from inside, his general’s belly thrust prominently before him.

“The younger generation merely felt an itch to test their skills and exchanged a few moves. How can you call that indulging evil and running wild? Besides, this young man was simply inferior. If he has been injured, he has only himself to blame.”

When Shen Ling saw Prefect Shen arrive, all the grievances in her heart surged forth at once. Pointing at Zhe Linfeng, she complained through her tears, “Uncle Shen, you must stand up for me! First he insulted me, and then he launched a sneak attack. If Senior Brother Kong Yue hadn’t arrived in time, I might have lost my life!”

Zhe Linfeng struggled to his feet and tried to offer a few words in his defense, but County Magistrate Li silenced him with a stern look.

Prefect Shen frowned and swept his gaze over everyone.

“That concludes today’s exchange. Do not cause any more trouble.”

He turned toward County Magistrate Li and questioned him, “County Magistrate Li, when I came to Northern Gu City, I heard the common people along the road say that your county office had been robbed, and that even the official seal was stolen by the thieves. Is that true?”