Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 416 416 The Game between Cat and Mouse

This is impossible! Utterly impossible!

The formation I painstakingly set up over three days… and Ye Qingchen broke out in a single moment?

Feng Yuan simply couldn't believe it. Ye Qingchen looked even younger than him, yet he had far surpassed him in combat prowess. Moreover, he also left him in the dust in the field of formations, the one thing Feng Yuan was most proud of.

What was even harder for Feng Yuan to accept was that Liu Wan'er, who had been desperately resisting just moments before, was now willingly nestling in Ye Qingchen's arms. Am I truly inferior to Ye Qingchen in every single way?

Ye Qingchen comforted Liu Wan'er for a while before turning to look at Feng Yuan.

At the same time, he was pondering how to deal with the man.

After all, Feng Yuan is the son of City Lord Feng Xiao. If I kill him here, Feng Xiao will be enraged. I'll likely need to stay in Northern Barrier City for some time, and I'm still waiting for news from Xia Chengkai. But if I don't kill him, how can I face Liu Wan'er? A young woman's innocence is more precious to her than life itself. Even though I arrived in time to prevent it from being sullied, her hatred for him must have reached its absolute peak.

As Ye Qingchen hesitated, Liu Wan'er gently tugged on his sleeve and said, "Young Master Ye, let's not make things difficult for him. I wasn't harmed today. As long as he doesn't trouble us in the future, let's just let this matter go."

Although Liu Wan'er wanted nothing more than to see Feng Yuan cut into a thousand pieces, the livelihood of the Liu Family Commerce Guild depended on trade within Northern Barrier City. If they mortally offended the City Lord now, it would become incredibly difficult for the Liu Family Commerce Guild to gain a foothold here in the future.

Therefore, for the sake of her family's interests and to avoid implicating Ye Qingchen, Liu Wan'er could only choose to let the matter rest.

Hearing her words, Ye Qingchen nodded. "He can be spared death, but he can't escape punishment. If he isn't taught a lesson, he'll never learn."

With that, Ye Qingchen walked step by step toward Feng Yuan.

Feng Yuan retreated in terror. The scene of Ye Qingchen instantly killing the four experts was still vivid in his mind. He knew he was no match for him.

As he backed away, Feng Yuan stammered, "You… you can't kill me! My father is the City Lord! If you kill me, he won't let you off!"

Ye Qingchen smiled and shook his head disdainfully. "Besides hiding behind your father to scare people, what else are you capable of? It's a shame the City Lord's lifelong honorable reputation will be ruined by you. I won't kill you today, but you must be punished for your misdeeds."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Qingchen smashed a fist into Feng Yuan's face, sending him flying backward. He crashed through a wall, collapsing it.

Ye Qingchen didn't stop. Using Mystifying Steps, he appeared before Feng Yuan and rained punch after punch down on his body.

He deliberately controlled his strength, ensuring Feng Yuan suffered immense physical pain without actually killing him. This might have been difficult for others, but for Ye Qingchen, a sixth-grade Pill King, controlling his power to beat someone half to death was like second nature.

Ye Qingchen tormented Feng Yuan like this for a full hour before finally venting some of the anger in his heart.

He pointed at Feng Yuan, who lay on the ground like a dead pig, and said, "Stop pretending. You won't die from these injuries. Now get lost. If I find out you're harboring any more malicious thoughts, I won't spare you."

Feng Yuan scrambled to his feet, not daring to spare Ye Qingchen another glance as he fled in disarray. In his haste, he failed to notice he had dropped a scroll.

Ye Qingchen picked up the scroll and examined it with his Divine Sense, discovering it was a formation diagram. Etched within the diagram were various formations that could be deployed at any time. He even discovered the very formation that had just trapped him.

Curiosity piqued, Ye Qingchen activated his Dual Pupil Martial Soul to investigate further.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that this formation diagram was far from simple. The formation Feng Yuan had used was merely one percent of its true power. The diagram contained far more powerful formations that could be deployed instantaneously.

Ye Qingchen felt a wave of relief. Had Feng Yuan known how to utilize the diagram's more powerful formations, he likely wouldn't have been able to break free at all. He would have been forced to watch helplessly as Liu Wan'er was violated.

Ye Qingchen stowed the formation diagram, planning to study it later when he had time. By now, the still-shaken Liu Wan'er had regained some of her composure. She walked up to him and said, "Thank you, Young Master Ye, for your help."

At this moment, Liu Wan'er was tearful and vulnerable. She wore Ye Qingchen's loose clothes, which offered tantalizing glimpses of her figure, enough to stir any man's imagination.

But Ye Qingchen harbored no inappropriate thoughts. He waved a hand and said, "You shouldn't return to the inn for now. Come back with me to the Deputy City Lord's residence. There, even if Feng Yuan wants to cause you trouble, he'll have to think twice."

Liu Wan'er nodded and replied obediently, "I will defer to Young Master Ye's decision."

Ye Qingchen glanced around one last time. Seeing nothing else of note, he left with Liu Wan'er, heading toward the Deputy City Lord's residence.

「The Central Region, home to one of the ten great Ancient Clans!」

This blessed land resembled an Immortal Realm. Rare Spirit Beasts and precious birds, seldom seen in the outside world, were commonplace here. Experts of the Martial King and Martial Emperor Realms emerged in an endless stream.

Deep within this blessed land, nestled in a bamboo forest, stood a quiet bamboo cottage.

Inside, the Saint Heir and Qin Yue sat facing each other.

The Saint Heir's hands danced across the zither, the music melodious and enchanting.

Qin Yue, however, had an icy expression. Her eyes were shut, as if she refused to even look at the Saint Heir.

Suddenly, the Saint Heir stopped playing and spoke softly toward the door.

"Come in."

As his voice fell, Li Rui cautiously opened the bamboo door and entered. After bowing respectfully to the Saint Heir, he reported, "Saint Heir, that set of formation flags was won at auction by Ye Qingchen."

The Saint Heir nodded slightly. "Good," he said indifferently.

At that, Qin Yue's eyes snapped open. She demanded, "What is the meaning of this? Why did you deliberately leave clues for Qingchen?"

The Saint Heir smiled and looked at Qin Yue. "You must have heard of the game of cat and mouse. I will give him ample hope, only to shatter it once he's struggled so hard to grasp it. This will plunge him into absolute despair. He needs to understand that no matter how hard he tries, he can never be my opponent. Compared to killing him directly, isn't it far more interesting to let him die in despair, his Dao heart shattered?"

"You are an absolute bastard!" Qin Yue's face flushed with anger as she furiously cursed him.

The Saint Heir, however, simply laughed heartily, utterly unconcerned.