Chapter Six: Seizing the Elixirs

“Hahaha…” Wang Hu’s furious laughter rang out, his rage boiling over. For the first time, they were being robbed—by a mere disciple at the second level of Qi Refinement, no less. Their faces turned ashen, veins bulged on their foreheads, and their eyes flashed with murderous intent. Fury surged in their chests, making them heave like bellows, on the verge of exploding. Their anger had already drowned out all reason.

“Courting death! Get him!”

At Wang Hu’s command, he and his lackey shot forward with a speed that would put any mundane martial arts to shame, as if performing the ethereal steps of a legendary hero, leaving trails of afterimages in their wake.

Witnessing this, Chen Yi’s expression grew even more solemn. He had never learned any powerful martial techniques; his cultivation had not yet reached the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, so his internal energy had not transformed into spiritual energy. Thus, among cultivators below the seventh layer, combat relied solely on martial skills.

Chen Yi dared not be careless. Wang Hu and his companion both practiced the Vajra Subduing Dragon Palm, and with every strike, a fierce wind enveloped the space three feet before their palms, not only rattling the heart but also binding that space tightly.

Chen Yi, on the other hand, wielded the Five Elements Fist—a technique so common it was almost worthless. Yet, thanks to his recent leaps in comprehension and the strengthening of his soul, he executed the move with extraordinary finesse. The growth of his soul allowed him to see through their weaknesses with perfect clarity. In less time than it takes for an incense stick to burn, Chen Yi had already sent Wang Hu and his underling flying with a punch, blood spewing from their mouths.

“You—” Chen Yi pointed straight at Wang Hu and declared coldly, “Will you hand over your elixirs yourself, or shall I take them by force?”

“Don’t go too far! My brother Wang Long is one of the top ten outer sect disciples at the ninth level of Qi Refinement! If you so much as harm a hair on my head, he’ll never let you off!”

Wang Hu retreated step by step, his arrogance shrinking. He had always relied on his brother’s status in the outer sect to bully others among the menial disciples, never suffering any setbacks—until today, when he’d been humiliated by a boy not yet ten years old.

On Chen Yi’s side, seeing Wang Hu already cowed, he finally relaxed. Though his victory seemed impressive, the truth was that his internal energy was nearly depleted. After all, Wang Hu was at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, and Chen Yi, being so young, was utterly exhausted and unable to continue the fight.

“I don’t care who your brother is. If you don’t hand over the elixirs, I’ll beat you so badly even he won’t recognize you,” Chen Yi replied with utter disdain. Thanks to memories from his previous life and the cultivation manual Dao De Jing, he wasn’t the least bit intimidated by a mere outer sect disciple at the ninth layer of Qi Refinement.

Wang Hu, thoroughly frightened by Chen Yi’s threats and adhering to the principle of avoiding greater loss, gritted his teeth and, swallowing his pain, pulled the pouch from his waist and tossed it to Chen Yi.

Chen Yi grinned, and under the murderous glares of the three, took all their pouches. Short on elixirs for his cultivation, he had no intention of showing mercy; today, these three had come to deliver elixirs to him, and he claimed them all for his own future practice. With his cultivation manual and these pills, he was confident that the day he broke through to the fourth layer of Qi Refinement was not far off.