The commotion outside was something Zhang Yang, inside the tent, was well aware of. He had heard everything Zhao Hailiang had said from the beginning until just now, but he merely offered a slight smile and did not emerge.

A mere disciple from some insignificant sect was completely beneath Zhang Yang's notice. As for the situation outside, Zhang Yang trusted that Qu Meilan and the others would handle it perfectly well, leaving no need for his personal intervention.

“What kind of ‘Medical Saint Martial Sect’ actually lets a young woman serve as the chief disciple? How utterly laughable… Yan Yifei, are you people really regressing so much, or is it that at your advanced age, besides this sect that popped up from who knows where, there’s no one left to take you in!” Outside, Zhao Hailiang’s jealousy morphed into malice, his tone instantly becoming oily and strange, followed by a stream of sharp, cutting insults.

“Zhao Hailiang, you shouldn’t take this too far!” Yan Yifei and Li Juan finally couldn’t hold back; they could no longer tolerate Zhao Hailiang’s relentless provocation. Anger flared on their faces.

Zhao Hailiang’s continuous contempt and slander toward the Medical Saint Martial Sect had completely crossed their bottom line. “What?

Is anything I said untrue!” Seeing Yan Yifei growing red with exasperation, Zhao Hailiang, believing he had struck a nerve, immediately burst into loud laughter, his arrogance making him seem like he was Zhao Zhicheng, the very leader of the Yitian Sect! “Hahahaha…” The surrounding junior disciples, after hearing Zhao Hailiang’s words, immediately joined in the laughter.

Many of them had experienced being mocked and looked down upon by disciples from the major sects before. Seeing Zhao Hailiang bully Yan Yifei and the others now gave them a sense of vengeful satisfaction.

“My beautiful lady, honestly, stop staying in this so-called Martial Sect and join our Yitian Sect. Believe me, with me here, I will certainly plead your case before our Leader Zhao.

I guarantee that the moment you join, you can become his direct disciple…” “Slap!” Thud! “Ahhh!!!” A loud, sharp slap, like a sudden clap of thunder, followed by Zhao Hailiang flying out like a kite whose string had snapped, crashing heavily in front of the crowd of watching disciples, seven or eight meters away.

Qu Meilan’s reply was startlingly simple: a single slap that said everything. “Ptooey!” Zhao Hailiang struggled to get up, opened his mouth, and a bloody tooth immediately fell out!

Qu Meilan’s face was cold as frost as she stared at Zhao Hailiang, her delicate white hand still suspended in mid-air, before slowly drawing it back. “It seems our Medical Saint Martial Sect doesn’t have much of a reputation, but your so-called Yitian Sect?

I’ve never even heard of it.” Looking at the distant Zhao Hailiang struggling to rise, Qu Meilan added a final, even more disdainful remark. “You dare hit me!” Staring at the broken, bloody tooth in his hand, Zhao Hailiang’s face was nearly contorted by pain.

He slowly stood up, trembling, raised a hand, and pointed at Qu Meilan. After a long pause, he managed to utter a harsh threat, but after those four words, pain silenced him completely.

“Hiss!” The people nearby immediately stepped back. Those who had been waiting for a good show froze; they had absolutely not expected that the seemingly frail and delicate young woman, Qu Meilan, could strike Zhao Hailiang so brutally with a casual slap.

“Martial Uncle!” “Martial Uncle, are you alright!” … The Yitian Sect disciples, seeing their uncle sent flying by a single slap, cried out in alarm and immediately rushed over. After checking on their uncle, they turned to face Qu Meilan and the others, their eyes blazing with fury.

“What are you doing? How dare you strike someone!” “Exactly, what exactly do you think you’re doing!” “You dare lay hands on us, bullying our Yitian Sect!” A group of junior disciples from the Yitian Sect stared at Qu Meilan and shouted forcefully.

“Second Level of Inner Strength!!” After a moment, Zhao Hailiang came back to his senses, clutching his already swollen jaw. Ignoring the Yitian disciples surrounding him, he gasped out the realization!

Zhao Hailiang was, after all, the chief disciple of the Yitian Sect and possessed some insight. Reflecting on Qu Meilan’s slap just now, he finally understood why he had been so effortlessly overpowered.

The slap delivered by the girl opposite clearly contained Inner Strength, and the infusion of Inner Strength was the unmistakable sign of the Second Level of Inner Strength. This meant the girl had reached at least that level of cultivation!

Staring at Qu Meilan in astonishment, Zhao Hailiang went cold all over once he understood. The aggressive momentum he’d summoned to utter those threats had vanished without a trace.

Zhao Hailiang dared not utter another harsh word. He was only at the late stage of the First Level of Inner Strength and was clearly no match for the girl opposite him.

“Ah!” The Yitian Sect disciples who had just been shouting accusations at Qu Meilan were instantly dumbfounded. They had no idea that the woman opposite them was a master at the Second Level of Inner Strength.

For junior disciples like them, reaching the Second Level of Inner Strength was already incredibly formidable cultivation! “Qu Meilan, is your hand alright?” Mi Xue walked over, looked coldly at Zhao Hailiang in the distance, and then anxiously asked Qu Meilan, concern etched on her face.

“Don’t worry, Sister Mi Xue, I’m fine. Though I admit, I didn’t expect him to be so weak.” Seeing the genuine concern on Mi Xue’s face, Qu Meilan immediately offered a bright smile and shook her head.

Yan Yifei and Li Juan watched Qu Meilan and Mi Xue, feeling a pang of guilt. This whole incident could be said to have started because of the two of them; without them, Zhao Hailiang would not have begun humiliating the Medical Saint Martial Sect.

Seemingly sensing the guilt between Yan Yifei and Li Juan, Mi Xue turned to them and continued, “Some people are simply too arrogant, so they don’t realize there is always someone better out there—heaven beyond heaven, man beyond man. There’s no need to pay attention to those who look down on others with dog eyes.” After Mi Xue said this, the guilt in Yan Yifei and Li Juan’s hearts gradually faded, and smiles returned to their faces.

Zhao Hailiang, surrounded by the Yitian Sect disciples, watched Mi Xue and Qu Meilan from afar. Mi Xue’s words had not been spoken quietly; she clearly intended for the Yitian Sect—or more accurately, Zhao Hailiang—to hear them.

The phrase “dog eyes looking down on people” was clearly aimed right at him! Since becoming a disciple of the Yitian Sect Leader, Zhao Zhicheng, Zhao Hailiang had enjoyed considerable favor in the sect.

He hadn't been publicly mocked like this in a very long time. Mi Xue’s words turned Zhao Hailiang’s face alternately pale and purple.

Being publicly slapped and then scornfully ridiculed, especially by two young women, meant Zhao Hailiang had completely disgraced the Yitian Sect! “You, stay here and keep an eye on them!” Zhao Hailiang clutched his jaw, the intense pain making him hiss the order to the surrounding Yitian disciples.

He dared not utter any more threats toward Mi Xue and Qu Meilan right now, but that didn't mean he hadn't thought them in his heart! He whispered fiercely to a junior disciple beside him, then cast a venomous glare back at the chatting Mi Xue, Qu Meilan, and the others.

Stumbling, he pushed his way out of the crowd and headed toward the deeper encampment of the Yitian Sect. Zhao Hailiang could not swallow this insult; he absolutely had to seek revenge!

Among the cluster of Yitian Sect tents, there was one that was the largest, but it was empty at the moment, as the Yitian Sect Leader, Zhao Zhicheng, and the elder who had recently joined the sect had both left early that morning for an outing beyond the camp. Presently, inside this largest tent in the Yitian Sect camp, only a middle-aged man in his thirties sat alone, sipping tea contentedly and leisurely.

Zhao Hailiang, clutching his swollen half-face, staggered into the tent. He saw no sign of the Sect Leader and felt a flash of disappointment, but upon seeing the middle-aged man enjoying tea, his eyes lit up, and he immediately approached him.

“Eldest Senior Brother!” Looking at the middle-aged man savoring his tea, Zhao Hailiang, despite his slightly disheveled state, bowed deeply and respectfully, careful not to meet the man’s eyes directly. This man was the eldest disciple of the Yitian Sect Leader, Zhao Zhicheng—no wonder Zhao Hailiang showed such deference.

Hearing Zhao Hailiang’s voice, the middle-aged man took a slow sip of tea, slowly raised his head, glanced at Zhao Hailiang, and only then took in his wretched appearance. “Hmm?

It’s Hailiang. How did you end up looking like this?” He spoke unhurriedly, his gaze returning to the teacup before he gently raised it to his lips again, blowing lightly.

“Eldest Senior Brother…” Zhao Hailiang covered his face and suddenly knelt before the middle-aged man, breaking into wrenching sobs! The teacup paused in the middle-aged man’s hand.

Only then did he take his eyes off the cup and look up, regarding Zhao Hailiang with confusion, unsure why he was acting this way. It was understandable that the middle-aged man looked puzzled.

In this area, there were no major, renowned clans or sects; this camp was filled with minor second and third-rate factions, and among them, the Yitian Sect was the most powerful. For Zhao Hailiang to be treated this way clearly meant he had been bullied, and the middle-aged man could not fathom who in this camp would dare disregard the Yitian Sect’s face to such an extent.

“Eldest Senior Brother, it was… it was that group that arrived yesterday—those people from that so-called Medical Saint Martial Sect!” Looking at the middle-aged man, Zhao Hailiang wept as he spoke. He then removed his hand, allowing the man to see his swollen half-face, and added tearfully, “Eldest Senior Brother, I just couldn’t restrain myself from boasting a little about our Yitian Sect in front of them, but the other side was so arrogant and overbearing, showing absolutely no respect for our Yitian Sect.

Relying on their strength, they directly slapped your junior brother, and they even said—they even said…” “Said what!” The teacup in the middle-aged man’s hand suddenly spilled a few drops of tea. His face was now grim, and he stared coldly at Zhao Hailiang, pressing, “Say what!” “Junior brother… Junior brother dares not speak…” Zhao Hailiang’s voice grew small; he hesitated, unwilling to continue!

“Just say it!” The middle-aged man glared sharply, asking with full vigor! “They said that our Yitian Sect is nothing but a final-rate, minor faction, and they’ve never even heard of us!” Zhao Hailiang felt a secret surge of triumph, but his face remained dejected, tears still streaking down his cheeks, as he continued, “They also said that everyone in the Yitian Sect looks down on people with dog eyes, that they are short-sighted and don’t know the immensity of heaven and earth, and they said—they said people from our Yitian Sect don’t understand there are always people better than them!

That a trash sect dares to come to Kunlun, coveting the Ten Thousand Year Treasure, and telling us to scram back to Emei and hide so we don’t embarrass ourselves further!” As Zhao Hailiang spoke, he became animated, embellishing the words Mi Xue and Qu Meilan had used, adding extra details that reduced the Yitian Sect to something utterly worthless! Smash!

The teacup held in the middle-aged man’s palm suddenly hit the ground, shattering into a pile of ceramic shards. The tea leaves and liquid instantly scattered everywhere!

“Insolent!” With a fierce shout, the middle-aged man stood up, staring hard at Zhao Hailiang, and demanded, “Did they say those words, or did you say them? Hmm?” The eldest senior brother of the Yitian Sect had lived long enough to pass the age where one could be easily provoked into reckless action.

Despite Zhao Hailiang’s pitiful tale, he hadn’t fully believed him. Part of the reason was that he truly found it hard to believe that a sect he’d never even heard of would dare to so thoroughly demean and insult their Yitian Sect!

Zhao Hailiang took a step back, startled by the middle-aged man’s tone, and blurted out, “Senior Brother, your junior brother would never dare lie… but it is true that your junior brother provoked them first…” As he spoke, Zhao Hailiang tearfully confessed, “Senior Brother, your junior brother was simply unable to resist when I saw a few beautiful young women in that sect; I couldn’t help but try to show off… Please forgive me, Senior Brother!” The middle-aged man’s furious expression softened slightly. Only with Zhao Hailiang’s explanation did he start to believe it.

He had seen that group behind Sect Leader Zhao Zhicheng yesterday and knew there were indeed several beautiful young women among them. However, he was also acutely aware that Sect Leader Zhao Zhicheng was extremely interested in Qiao Yihong from that group and had invited him out early this morning.

“Senior Brother, even if I was in the wrong first, those people still shouldn't insult and look down on our Yitian Sect like that!” Zhao Hailiang looked at the middle-aged man. Seeing that he made no move to act, he gritted his teeth and continued, “Oh, Senior Brother, there’s also a former disciple of our Yitian Sect among their group!” “Hmm?

What did you say?” The middle-aged man frowned, looking at Zhao Hailiang with confusion, “Are you saying one of their disciples used to belong to our Yitian Sect?” “Yes, Eldest Senior Brother, do you still remember Yan Yifei and Li Juan?” Zhao Hailiang became agitated and immediately pressed on.