Not just Zhang Yang, but even Qu Meilan, and everyone else in the hall, was stunned into silence. Qu Meilan looked at her master with disbelief.

This demand went far beyond mere haggling; it was tantamount to declaring war on two powerful sects. There was no way Zhang Yang and his company would agree.

The old woman on the high platform let out a dry chuckle after stating her terms, fixing her gaze directly on Zhang Yang and Long Feng.

Long Feng’s hand instinctively gripped the Snow Whip at his waist. This woman was utterly detestable; how dare she demand that the Xuanyuan Family hand over five divine artifacts!

Forget five; the Xuanyuan Family wouldn't give her even one. This woman clearly held their entire lineage in utter contempt.

Just as Long Feng was about to lose control and strike, Zhang Yang suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I understand now. It seems your sights were set on us the moment we arrived. This condition—is this something we must agree to whether we want to or not?”

Zhang Yang spoke slowly, his expression now returning to calm.

He had finally grasped the old woman’s true intent.

From the moment they announced their lineage, this woman had planned to leverage them. Two young men from renowned backgrounds—capturing them would surely yield significant extortion material.

The terms she just laid out were likely the loot she intended to extort, not the price for an antidote to the poison.

“The young man is sharp. If you are so clever, why did you foolishly deliver yourself to my doorstep?”

The old woman burst into laughter. Zhang Yang’s deduction was correct; that was precisely her scheme. She knew she had landed a huge catch the moment the gate sentry announced their arrival.

The lineage of the Medical Saint, the Xuanyuan Family—their names commanded fear, keeping outsiders at bay. But she was not afraid.

This was the Southern Border, not the Central Plains. If she offended these two major sects, she could simply relocate her operation to another mountain range and continue her secluded cultivation. The Southern Border mountains numbered in the millions; moving was trivial.

As for successfully extorting these two fat sheep, she was confident in her methods. Their greatest expertise was in Gu insects. Once the insects were planted, allowing them to leave would ensure their respective factions obediently delivered the required tribute to her chosen location. She could simply send someone to collect the goods without ever showing her face. Even if the two major sects were furious, they would be powerless against her. This was the foundation of her courage to rob prey from the tiger's mouth; otherwise, she wouldn't dare provoke such powerful entities so casually.

Beyond that, there was another reason Zhang Yang was unaware of.

Both he and Long Feng were excessively young. Youth was advantageous, but it also signaled insufficient strength. The old woman was absolutely certain she could subdue them before proceeding. In her eyes, two young men in their early twenties, regardless of their prestigious birth, posed no real threat. She believed her three direct disciples could handle them easily; once poisoned with Gu, obedience would be guaranteed.

“Meilan, I didn't expect sending you out for a Gu placement mission would bring back two such fine fat sheep. I will overlook your lapse in judgment this time. If anything like this happens again, I will personally ensure you die by ten thousand Gu!”

The old woman’s shrill voice carried a terrifying, almost gleeful edge as she laughed.

Qu Meilan flinched slightly, then shot a look of mingled terror toward Zhang Yang. For some reason, a deep unease settled in her heart—perhaps the brand Zhang Yang had left on her ran too deep, instilling an instinctual fear that he was invincible.

“Master, these two youngsters look quite promising. Allow your disciple to handle them!”

One of the three seated women, appearing to be in her mid-thirties, rose and bowed to the old woman. After speaking, she turned back, casting a predatory gaze over Zhang Yang and Long Feng, as if she intended to swallow them whole.

“Second Sister, don't hog the feast! I think the one in black looks rather nice. Why don’t you let me take him? I’ll play with him for a while before returning him!”

The woman next to her, barely over thirty, giggled coquettishly. Long Feng instantly felt goosebumps rise all over his body. Both women were overweight—easily exceeding one hundred and fifty jin—yet stood barely over five feet tall. They were aged and hideous, yet here they were, eyeing him and Zhang Yang with such intent.

“You court death!”

Long Feng could hold back no longer. He drew the Snow Whip, flicking it straight toward the face of the younger, heavier woman. Zhang Yang made no move to stop him this time. The facade had shattered; conflict was inevitable. He might as well let Long Feng test the opposition's strength first.

The true fighting power in the room rested with the four seated individuals. Among them, Zhang Yang’s focus remained fixed on the old woman.

Smack!

Long Feng’s whip strike was ferocious, landing inches from the woman's face. If she hadn't reacted instantly, wrenching her body and splintering her chair, the blow would have caught her squarely. Even so, she was struck with alarm and fear; she hadn't anticipated Long Feng’s speed.

“A divine artifact!”

The forty-year-old woman seated in the place of honor, who had remained silent until now, suddenly had her eyes flash intensely, crying out the words.

Long Feng’s Snow Whip was definitely categorized as a divine artifact. The Xuanyuan Family boasted two thousand years of heritage, possessing numerous superior weapons; most disciples at the second layer of Inner Strength possessed one. This was precisely why the old woman had demanded they surrender such items.

Long Feng’s divine artifact immediately drew their attention—not just the attention of the three disciples, but the old woman on the platform’s eyes also gleamed with sudden avarice.

“Master, I will take this boy! I happen to use a whip. Can his weapon be awarded to me as a prize?” the forty-year-old woman immediately demanded of the old woman, her voice urgent.

“Big Sister, this boy targeted me first! I’ll take him down, and anything he has is my spoils of war!” the seated woman snapped back angrily, already scrambling to her feet. Long Feng had paused his attack, staring at them in astonishment.

Before a fight had even broken out, they were already squabbling over the division of spoils. It was clear they were all supremely arrogant and shameless—a nest of vipers.

“Subdue him first. I will decide the distribution of spoils later. Third Sister, since he targeted you, you handle this man. If you fail to capture him, you will be punished with the sacrifice of four Gu insects!” the old woman stated calmly.

The plump woman who had stood up shuddered visibly, a cruel look hardening her features.

“Master, rest assured, a mere pup like him is no problem!” she declared, swiftly grabbing a wolf-tooth mace from a crude weapon rack behind her.

Swinging the mace wildly, she shrieked and charged toward Long Feng.

Long Feng leaped from his seat, whipping the Snow Whip forward once more.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

The sound of Long Feng’s whip cracked through the hall repeatedly. Qu Meilan, terrified, had already retreated to the side; her original position was right in the center of the hall, and staying there would soon put her in the line of fire between the two combatants.

Long Feng’s whip speed was incredible. Once the woman rushed forward, she was left only with the desperate need to defend. Within a few exchanges, the wolf-tooth mace in her hands was swept away by Long Feng’s restraint.

Zhang Yang observed the woman closely before finally nodding silently.

This thirty-something woman’s strength was considerable; she possessed the early stage of the second layer of Inner Strength. In any other location, reaching the second layer early was an extraordinary achievement. Zhang Yang recalled that in his previous life, without spirit medicine to aid his cultivation, he had only managed to peak at the middle stage of the second layer of Inner Strength, never breaking through to the late stage. At that time, Zhang Yang was even older than this woman.

This indicated that this sect was not weak; if she possessed this level of strength, the old woman must be even stronger. It was no wonder she dared to detain them outright; she possessed the foundation to back her arrogance.

The early second layer was potent, but it could not match Long Feng, who was at least two full levels above her. With Long Feng’s late-stage second layer Inner Strength cultivation, defeating this woman was a certainty.

“Ah!”

As Zhang Yang was pondering this, Long Feng’s whip struck the plump woman, wrapping around her instantly. Without hesitation, Long Feng slapped her unconscious, then pinned her to the ground with one foot, his eyes fixed coldly on the old woman on the high platform.

The old woman was momentarily stunned. She hadn't anticipated her disciple would be defeated so swiftly, nor that Long Feng was so formidable. Long Feng hailed from the Xuanyuan Family; their reputation as the premier family was hard-earned. His cultivation methods and martial techniques were vastly superior to the woman’s. Combined with his higher cultivation level, defeating her quickly was entirely logical.

The entire exchange, from the commencement of the fight until Long Feng subdued the woman, took barely over a minute. Time had passed so quickly that most people hadn't processed the action before the fight was already over.

Long Feng’s swift victory over one of them kept the remaining two women from making any rash moves.

“Late second layer. Good, worthy of a disciple from a renowned sect!” the old woman ground out through clenched teeth. The two remaining women glanced at their master in shock.

These three women were all the old woman’s direct disciples. The strongest was the forty-year-old, already at the late stage of the second layer of Inner Strength, yet to break through to the third. Next was the thirty-something woman—early second layer, close to breaking into the middle stage—she was actually the slowest cultivator among the three. The third sister, the plump woman Long Feng had captured, was also early second layer, significantly younger than the second sister but having entered the second layer in the same year. Because of this, the third sister often received praise from their master, leading to friction with the second sister; they would compete over everything. The third sister, captured by Long Feng, had deliberately jumped into the fray because she saw the second sister eyeing Long Feng, only to become Long Feng’s target and subsequent captive.

………… Third update, Chapter Hundred Bonus Release, Chapter Thirty-Four.