Li Yundong saw the opponent clearly eager to fight, showing a disregard for the safety of others, and immediately hissed, "True Master Yue, surely you don't intend to watch everyone in this elevator plummet to their deaths?"

Yue Sheng's gaze narrowed slightly. After a moment, the bellicosity in his eyes slowly receded, and the celestial eye centered on his brow gradually closed.

Yue Sheng stared intently at Li Yundong and said in a deep voice, "True Master Li, I didn't expect you to cultivate both Buddhist and Daoist paths. Could you possibly be a successor of the Wu Liu Sect?"

Li Yundong glanced around, annoyed, and retorted, "Is this really the place for such a discussion?"

Yue Sheng also glanced around. He saw Li Yundong’s spirit body, with its four arms, gripping the concrete walls of the elevator shaft like iron hooks. His fingers constantly scraped cement from the surface, the debris raining down onto the top of the elevator, producing a sharp ding-ding-dang sound.

This noise echoed deafeningly in the shaft, causing the white-collar workers inside the elevator to erupt in renewed screams of terror.

Yue Sheng snorted and declared, "Then we shall settle this another day!"

Li Yundong nodded in agreement. "That is exactly what I intend!"

The two exchanged a look, finally ceasing their magical contest, and instead joined forces to save the trapped people.

The two masters of the Yang Shen realm worked together to halt the elevator's descent. Li Yundong manipulated his spirit body while simultaneously multitasking, controlling his physical form to reach the elevator door. He forcibly pried open the metal doors with both hands and shouted back, "Get out! Hurry up!"

At that moment, the elevator was stopped halfway through the ninth floor. Two white-collar workers waiting for the elevator outside were chatting casually. Seeing the door open, they were about to step in when they suddenly noticed the elevator only showed half its interior!

Then, from this half-visible cabin, they saw people desperately scrambling out. Those inside were like vengeful spirits released from hell, crying for help incessantly. Some collapsed to the ground the moment they escaped, weeping uncontrollably, still deeply shaken.

The two onlookers were stunned senseless, completely unaware of what had happened. They instinctively reached out to pull the white-collar workers climbing out of the car.

Among those rescued, some possessed stronger wills. Once safe, they remembered that two people were still inside. Turning back, they saw Li Yundong pushing people out one by one, showing no sign of planning his own escape.

They all secretly admired this man’s composure and selflessness in risking his own life to save others!

When Li Yundong pushed the last person out, the crowd outside immediately extended their hands toward both Li Yundong and Yue Sheng, shouting anxiously, "Hurry and climb out! We’ll pull you!"

Seeing their frightened and worried expressions, Li Yundong felt a pang of guilt. He smiled faintly, then glanced at Yue Sheng. Their eyes met, seeming to convey the same thought: What a joke! Ask cultivators like us to crawl out of something like a dog hole? If other cultivators found out, wouldn't they die laughing?

Li Yundong and Yue Sheng both nodded simultaneously, and at the same moment, they withdrew the Yang Shen arms that were supporting the elevator.

Lacking support, the elevator immediately plummeted downward with a deafening roar, like a meteorite. The people already saved simultaneously let out a collective shriek of horror and shock, their bodies trembling, faces drained of color.

Those waiting for the elevator on the ground floor had no idea of the horror unfolding upstairs. Only when the elevator crashed to the floor with a thunderous sound, spewing clouds of dust from the gaps in the shaft, did they jump in fright, their expressions changing drastically as they stared at the elevator shaft where the car had fallen.

In an instant, everyone in the lobby gathered together, whispering in terrified confusion. "What happened?"

"It sounds like the elevator fell!"

"That's terrifying! I wonder if anyone was inside?"

"Someone was! I saw people go in just now!"

"Heavens, call the police! Call 120! Get an ambulance!"

As they descended into chaos, the elevator door suddenly burst open with a whoosh, and two men emerged from the smoke.

When the crowd focused their eyes, they saw two men, one tall and one short. Neither appeared injured; they were perfectly calm and composed, looking as if they had just stepped out of a luxury sedan on their way to a banquet, not a falling elevator.

At that moment, Wei Qing, who was on duty at the front desk, rushed over. She stared at Li Yundong and Yue Sheng with astonishment, stammering, "True Master Li, Junior Brother, what... what happened to you two?"

Li Yundong brushed the dust from his clothes, surveyed the crowd, and smiled at Wei Qing. "The elevator broke down."

The surrounding people were eavesdropping intently. Hearing Li Yundong’s explanation, they exclaimed in unison, "It really was a broken elevator! How lucky! Thank goodness no one died!"

"Yes, those two are incredibly lucky; not a scratch on them! What great fortune!"

Only Wei Qing’s gaze swept suspiciously between Li Yundong and Yue Sheng. She lowered her voice and asked tentatively, "Did the two of you... just have a duel?"

Li Yundong gave her a helpless look. "Thanks to you, True Master Yue wanted to spar with me, but the location was rather unsuitable."

Wei Qing was clearly someone who loved to stir the pot. Far from worrying about the damage to the company’s reputation caused by the wrecked elevator, she excitedly tugged at Li Yundong's sleeve and whispered, "Who won? Tell me quickly, who won?"

Li Yundong offered a wry smile. "Can't you just ask your junior brother?"

Wei Qing glanced at Yue Sheng and chuckled slyly, "My junior brother is naturally competitive; even if he lost, he’d never admit it."

Li Yundong glanced at Yue Sheng as well. He caught Yue Sheng looking back at him. That young man, short in stature but arrogant and competitive in spirit, snorted, letting out a puff of defiance through his nostrils before turning his head away.

Li Yundong shook his head with a bitter smile. "We fought to a draw. No victor has been decided yet."

A flicker of disappointment crossed Wei Qing's eyes. "Oh? A draw?"

Yue Sheng suddenly spoke in a cold voice, "We will settle the score at the Lotus Gathering!"

Faced with the aggressive Yue Sheng, Li Yundong remained unruffled. He smiled slightly and nodded. "Naturally! However, before that, True Master Yue, might I ask you to first introduce me to CEO Du Fei?"

Yue Sheng snorted, placed his hands behind his back, and turned to leave, acting as if the surrounding people were non-existent. Seeing him heading toward another elevator, Li Yundong quickly called out, "Don't take the elevator, let's take the stairs!"

Yue Sheng stopped abruptly at the elevator entrance, then turned and walked toward the stairwell.

Wei Qing, watching from behind, mumbled in confusion, "That's strange. Other than Master, my junior brother never listens to anyone. He actually listened to True Master Li? That duel must have shaken him profoundly; otherwise, he would never agree to take the stairs based on Li Yundong's word!"

Seeing the two enter the stairwell, she couldn't help chasing after them and shouting, "Hey, you two! Don't go breaking the staircase this time either!"

Li Yundong couldn't help but offer a wry smile, thinking, Do I really look like I work for a demolition crew?

They climbed upwards, hearing a flurry of footsteps coming from above, as if someone was rushing anxiously downstairs.

When they reached the third floor, both parties stopped dead upon seeing each other.

Li Yundong immediately saw the white-collar workers who had escaped the elevator, now anxiously descending, seemingly needing to check on the condition of the fallen car.

These still-shaken office workers were instantly dumbfounded when they saw Li Yundong and Yue Sheng walking up the stairs, completely unharmed and completely at ease.

They stared, mouths agape, at Yue Sheng and Li Yundong, their minds unable to process how these two men, who had just fallen from the ninth floor, could be perfectly fine?

Yue Sheng remained haughty, not sparing them a glance, walking upward with his hands behind his back. As he passed them, he seemed to treat them like a row of wooden stumps.

Li Yundong, however, smiled and nodded to them, asking gently, "Are you all right?"

These white-collar workers, usually commanding respect in the corporate world, stared blankly at Li Yundong, mechanically shaking their heads like clay figurines.

Li Yundong smiled and said, "Climb the stairs more often from now on. It's safer, and it’s good exercise."

The white-collar workers nodded in unison again, still dazed, then watched Li Yundong continue his unhurried ascent with faint smiles.

After Li Yundong was long gone, they seemed to snap back to reality. They let out long sighs, leaning weakly against the wall, their gazes fixed on the figure climbing higher and higher, never blinking.

After a long moment, one of them finally sighed deeply, "Ah, I’ve seen more men than I can count in my life, but I’ve never seen a man like that..."

Before she could finish, another one sighed in lovesick admiration, "Yes, he is so manly, so handsome! I wonder if he has a girlfriend..."

The others immediately hissed back, "Stop daydreaming! A perfect man who is handsome, gentle, manly, and brave—you think he wouldn't have a girlfriend? Are you saying all the women in the world are blind?"

Saying this, the white-collar workers collectively sighed, each lost in melancholy and self-pity.

But none of them knew that this disaster, which had nearly cost them their lives, had been orchestrated, in part, by this very 'perfect man' they admired.

Li Yundong followed Yue Sheng all the way up to the nineteenth floor. Yue Sheng pointed toward an office at the end of the corridor and said grimly, "Senior Brother is in that office. Find him yourself."

With that, he turned to leave. At the stairwell entrance, he paused again, turned back toward True Master Li, and said gravely, "True Master Li, I will see you at the Lotus Gathering!"

Li Yundong bowed to him with a smile, then watched his figure disappear, shaking his head helplessly. I really am attracting too much attention lately. Wherever I go, there are always guys wanting to defeat me!

Li Yundong quickly dismissed these trivial thoughts. He knocked on Du Fei's door and heard a familiar voice from inside: "Come in!"

Li Yundong pushed the door open and stepped in, offering a wry smile. "True Master Du, it’s quite hard to get an audience with you!"

Du Fei, who had been hunched over his desk working, snapped his head up upon hearing Li Yundong's voice, his face etched with astonishment. "True Master Li? Why are you here?"

Li Yundong laughed heartily. "Why shouldn't I be here? Ah, you CEO Du, you are easy for the King of Hell to see, but difficult for the minor officials to approach!"

Du Fei was dressed in a designer suit, presenting the image of a successful businessman, showing no hint of being a cultivator. He too burst into laughter, standing up and warmly ushering Li Yundong in. "Please, sit, sit! Have a seat!"

Du Fei pressed a button on his desk. Moments later, a beautiful young woman entered. Du Fei smiled and said, "Suhuan, quickly pour our honored guest some tea!"

This woman had clearly never seen Du Fei treat anyone with such enthusiastic courtesy, especially someone so young!

She glanced curiously at Li Yundong, then responded softly before withdrawing.

After she left, Li Yundong smiled and waved his hand. "CEO Du, there’s no need for such formality. I have urgent matters elsewhere, so I've come here on a specific errand that requires your assistance."

Du Fei chuckled, his smile unwavering. "Whatever True Master Li needs, just say the word. If I can do it, I, Du Fei, will certainly help you accomplish it!"

Li Yundong smiled faintly. "Very well, I’ll be direct then. I've come to ask you to trade me for the Finger-Burning Alms Bowl!"

Upon hearing this, Du Fei froze completely. The smile on his face slowly vanished, and his brow furrowed incrementally.

Li Yundong’s heart sank. He asked tentatively, "What is it, True Master Du? Is there a problem?"

Du Fei sighed, then gave a bitter laugh. "True Master Li, the Finger-Burning Alms Bowl was borrowed out one day ago!"

=================================== Alas, my dear readers are pressing me hard for updates, which troubles my heart. However, my personal life has been full of trivial matters. Just yesterday, after my mother-in-law’s minimally invasive surgery, I rushed out to buy tomatoes, leaving both her and my wife terrified and unsettled. Even though the incision is small, one shouldn't be moving around like that! How do you like that mess? And to top it off, I have to go back to Shanghai this Saturday! What a tragedy! I won't promise much else, but I will try my best to ensure two updates daily. Ah well~!