Ye Wen stood relaxed at the forefront of the crowd, soaking in the ongoing matches, occasionally calculating in his mind exactly how many moves it would take him to subdue either of these two fighters—after watching several rounds, he realized that while these men were slightly better than he had been six months ago, the improvement was marginal at best. Now that he had begun cultivating the authentic Quan Xin Method and truly started practicing internal martial arts with modest success, these people were truly beneath his notice.

“If the disciples from all the sects around Shushan are only at this level, then I won't have to worry about things in the future,” Ye Wen observed for a moment, realizing that the development prospects for the Shu Mountain Sect were far better than he had anticipated. If he could just maintain his current rate of progress, it might not take him two years to sweep through Shushan, at which point unifying all the sects on the mountain wouldn't even be impossible.

Just as he was filled with optimistic anticipation for the future of the Shu Mountain Sect and his own, he never expected that the victor of the bout currently underway seemed to have recognized him, and the first words out of his mouth were ones that greatly angered him. Just as he prepared to retort, the other man spoke again: “Grand Sect Leader Ye, where is your junior sister?

Could it be that she finds you too useless and has gone off with another man?” He let out two loud laughs after speaking, completely unaware of how cold Ye Wen’s gaze had become. At the same time, he failed to notice Yue Hang, sitting not far away, who had already frowned upon hearing those words.

He had originally intended to invite this winning man over, but his comments had now made him doubt the man's character. “What is this man’s background?

What conflict does he have with that young man?” The people who had come today were numerous and varied, so he couldn't possibly recall the identities and backgrounds of all of them. Although most people announced their names and sects before entering the arena, Yue Hang had happened to be distracted earlier and thus didn't remember this particular man’s origins.

However, the man beside him had been paying close attention to the situation in the arena, especially the middle-aged man standing constantly by his side. After the Chief Escort asked his question, he immediately replied: “This man is Yu Dahai, the Vice Leader of the Six Palms Gang.

He does indeed have some skill; he specializes in the Six Harmonies Palm technique, and the Six Palms Gang has some influence in the west of the city.” Yet, the middle-aged man’s tone was quite dismissive, suggesting he held the so-called Six Palms Gang in low regard. This was understandable, as the Yue Shan Escort Agency was considered a top-tier power in the Shushan County area.

This was evident from the fact that as soon as the agency put out a call for assistance, so many people immediately arrived, and they were all willing to participate dutifully in the martial contests arranged by the Yue Shan Escort Agency. Furthermore, this middle-aged man had traveled extensively with Chief Escort Yue Hang over the years and had seen many genuine martial arts experts, even having the fortune to witness one or two famous chivalrous figures from the major sects.

Therefore, like Yue Hang, his standards were very high, and he genuinely looked down upon these ‘country bumpkins’ who couldn't even make a name for themselves outside the county seat. “And that young man?” Hearing this, Yue Hang had a general idea, but he was curious why the other man had made no mention of the younger man.

The middle-aged man beside him pondered for a moment before finally speaking with a slight hesitation: “Judging from Yu Dahai’s earlier remarks, this young man should be Ye Wen, the former Sect Leader of the Shu Mountain Sect, which was destroyed by the True Fist Sect six months ago.” “The sect was destroyed?” Yue Hang showed no surprise when he said this, as he had heard whispers about the situation on Shushan. Sects were numerous there, large and small groups like cow hair, and it seemed that a sect was destroyed or absorbed almost every day.

The middle-aged man nodded beside him: “Not only was his sect's banner taken, but he also lost his base. More importantly, he lost miserably back then, defeated in just a few moves by the True Fist Sect, instantly becoming a laughingstock among the sects on Shushan.” Upon hearing this, Yue Hang lost any further interest in Ye Wen.

In his view, such a small, minor figure whose sect had been wiped out was likely not strong. Even if he was mocked to his face now, he would probably just have to swallow his anger.

He wasn't surprised that Ye Wen appeared here; since his sect was gone, he must be short on money and seeking his fortune here, but Yue Hang didn't believe Ye Wen was the kind of master he needed. Ye Wen was unaware of these developments because he had been hiding on the mountain cultivating for the past half-year, thus avoiding the awkwardness of being openly ridiculed.

But such matters couldn't be avoided forever. This time, when Ye Wen descended the mountain, the first encounter he had with fellow martial artists on Shushan resulted in him being publicly humiliated.

Ye Wen’s expression was exceptionally grim. Although he knew his previous crushing defeat would certainly draw ridicule from those in the know, the reality of the situation, even with prior preparation, made him profoundly irritated.

More importantly, the person mocking him right now was, in his eyes, nothing more than insignificant trash. Being ridiculed by someone weaker than himself made the feeling decidedly unpleasant.

“My junior sister is very well; there is no need for your concern,” Ye Wen replied coldly, then stepped into the arena: “As for whether my skills have improved, I invite you to offer your critique.” Toward someone like this, Ye Wen did not hold the strange notion that 'if a dog bites a man, the man shouldn't bite the dog back.' In his view, if a dog bit a man, one should naturally dismember that dog to vent one's anger. The idea of not arguing with a 'lower creature' was merely self-deception.

Never mind a dog; even if a mere insect bit someone, a person would still wish to tear that insect to pieces. And the man before him, though considered a mere lackey in his eyes, was someone Ye Wen was determined to teach a lesson, making him understand that he was not someone to be bullied casually.

Anyone who provoked him should be prepared to face his retaliation. Furthermore, with so many people present today, putting on a good show could help mend his already tarnished reputation, perhaps even salvaging some prestige.

Yu Dahai in the arena had expected Ye Wen to mostly bite his tongue and endure the mockery, as in his impression, the young man's skills were too flimsy, and anyone with self-awareness wouldn't dare confront him now. Therefore, he guessed Ye Wen would either stay silent and pretend ignorance or simply leave in shame and anger—out of sight, out of mind.

But he never anticipated that Ye Wen would actually step directly into the ring and demand a match with him. “I hear this boy loves reading books; perhaps reading has made him foolish?” But whether Ye Wen was foolish or not made little difference to him, and he certainly didn't mind publicly teaching this thankless brat a lesson.

“Since Sect Leader Ye has such an inclination, this humble one, Yu, shall oblige,” Saying so, he assumed a stance and made a provocative gesture. The meaning was simple and direct: he was inviting Ye Wen to attack first.

Seeing this, Ye Wen let out a cold laugh. Without drawing his long sword, he gathered his full internal power and slapped out directly toward Yu Dahai.

His palm strike was initially unremarkable—a straightforward attack, lacking any trickery or follow-up variations—but because he channeled his full inner force into it, this single blow became astonishingly powerful. Perhaps in the eyes of true masters, Ye Wen's strike amounted to little, comparable only to that of an average disciple from a major sect.

But in the eyes of these super-low-level fighters who barely navigated the county seat, it was vastly different. Yu Dahai felt the imposing momentum of Ye Wen’s palm.

Before the hand even reached him, he felt an unprecedented pressure washing over him. Before he could react or mount a defense, his vision blurred, followed by a sharp, agonizing pain in his chest, and then he was flung backward uncontrollably like a kite whose string had been cut, landing far away.

If the 'spectators' standing not far behind him hadn't caught him, Yu Dahai might have fallen to the ground in a most humiliating posture. Even without falling, he had lost immense face.

He had just openly mocked Ye Wen in front of everyone, only to be sent flying by a single palm strike in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, spitting up several mouthfuls of blood—even though the onlookers managed to catch him, saving him the embarrassment of a direct fall. But Ye Wen resented his harsh words and had put ten-tenths of his strength into that strike; he had been gathering power in his palm since stepping into the arena, intending to surprise his opponent upon engagement.

Furthermore, Yu Dahai was completely unguarded mentally, so Ye Wen’s single palm strike injured his internal organs, causing him to vomit blood several times before he could partially recover. “Internal Palm Force?” Although Yu Dahai’s martial arts were mediocre, he had still been practicing martial arts for over ten years.

Even without experiencing true internal palm techniques, after mixing in the martial world for so long, he had heard rumors. He wasn't entirely certain when he was knocked flying, but once he felt his body as if boiling, with agonizing pain throughout his viscera, clearly suffering severe internal injuries, he immediately realized he had been struck by the legendary internal palm force that injured the organs.

Upon realizing that Ye Wen had used an internal palm technique—something ordinary martial artists only heard of but never saw—he finally understood the depth of his blunder. He likely had no chance of ever regaining face—Ye Wen’s future prospects, however ordinary, were far beyond the reach of someone like him, who could only swagger locally with a few parlor tricks.

Yue Hang, who had been sitting there the whole time, also recognized that Ye Wen was using internal force. He hadn't paid much attention to this match initially.

Although it looked like a private feud. But that was the martial world; countless life-and-death battles arose from private grudges, and Yue Hang had no desire to intervene.

He certainly held no favorable opinion of the ill-spoken Yu Dahai and had already decided he definitely wouldn't hire him this time. As for Ye Wen, he held no particular view.

It wasn't until Ye Wen stepped forward and sent Yu Dahai flying while spitting blood that he realized he had misjudged. This so-called ‘Sect Leader Ye’ was actually a true ‘master’ who understood internal energy—in Shushan County, anyone who understood internal strength techniques qualified for those two words.