Chapter 204: 204. Chapter 201: The Peak of Supreme Qi

204. Chapter 201: The Peak of Supreme Qi

"Comrade Ding!"

"Big Brother!"

"Huan Ge!"

"Captain!"

……

In an instant, various titles filled Ding Huan's ears; he had already seen Liu Yinzhu and Guan Ai.

He felt some confusion over why these two had come here, yet still stepped forward one by one to pay his respects:

"Greetings, Elder Liu, greetings, Immortal Guan. I never expected to meet you both here—how strange that fate brings us together wherever we go."

Liu Yinzhu was deeply astonished; the last time she saw Ding Huan, he seemed still in the early stage of refining essence into Qi.

How could it be that now he appeared utterly ordinary? Could one's cultivation truly regress?

No—it was something indescribable that clung to Ding Huan, a sense of boundless depth.

How could this be? Ding Huan was merely a Qi Refinement cultivator. She valued him not for his cultivation, but for his methods.

Liu Yinzhu forced herself to snap out of it, and when she looked again, Ding Huan was simply an ordinary Qi Refinement cultivator once more.

Sigh—Xifeng City was still much like a mortal town; here, it was nearly impossible for Ding Huan to advance his cultivation.

Ding Huan's recent absence was likely an attempt to find a path to Foundation Establishment; no need to ask—he failed.

"Comrade Ding, I've been waiting for you a long time; today I finally see you," Liu Yinzhu said with a smile.

Guan Ai rushed forward eagerly to bow: "Guan Ai greets Brother Ding."

Uh…

Ding Huan stared at Guan Ai in disbelief; this woman had always held herself in high esteem—how could she possibly call him brother?

"Single Peng and Qiu Xingyuan of the Zhuoxing Lordship pay their respects to Elder Ding."

The man and woman from Zhuoxing Lordship, upon seeing Ding Huan return, even the True Dan expert before them bowed respectfully—clearly, Ding Huan was no ordinary figure.

So they hurried forward to pay their respects without delay.

Ding Huan's gaze settled on the two:

"I heard you came to demand accountability, claiming I killed the mayor of Xifeng City?"

"We dare not, Elder, you misunderstand—it was Cui Hu who forcibly demanded we come, and he himself provided the reason," Single Peng said urgently.

He knew that if Cui Hu lived today, he and Qiu Xingyuan would suffer terribly—likely to their deaths.

He also knew that if he tried to take blame upon himself, they would die right here in this Ding Mou's hands.

This man had dared kill Mayor Xue Bo—would he hesitate to kill two minor figures from Zhuoxing Lordship?

"Yes, several patrol guards and this beast lord were all killed or injured by Cui Hu," Qiu Xingyuan quickly added.

Cui Hu, seeing Ding Huan's gaze sweep toward him, paled and hurried forward to bow:

"Greetings, Comrade Ding. This matter was a misunderstanding on my part, and I am willing to make amends."

His teeth had been nearly all knocked out by Liu Yinzhu, so his speech was slurred and windy.

"My beast companion was killed by you—you call it a misunderstanding? Should I kill you too, and call it a misunderstanding as well?"

Ding Huan looked at Cui Hu standing before him and chuckled.

Cui Hu sneered inwardly: You kill me? If not for this True Dan expert here, I'd slap you dead, you insignificant ant.

"I accept my fault—if striking me once will ease your anger, I have no objection to standing here and letting you strike."

Cui Hu spoke with apology and deference.

Everyone knew he was forced into this.

Old Six, hearing Ding Huan say he was killed, immediately rolled his eyes and collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Huan Ge said he was dead—if he still dared look around, Huan Ge would surely curse him as foolish, maybe even call him a pig.

He despised pigs most of all.

Ding Huan turned to Liu Yinzhu:

"Elder Liu, do you have a crystal recording orb?"

Liu Yinzhu immediately pulled out a crystal orb and handed it to Ding Huan; she did not know what he intended.

Ding Huan swept his spiritual sense over it and instantly understood how to use it.

He smiled at Cui Hu:

"Then say again what you just said—include the reason, and what if you die?"

Cui Hu didn't care; even if Ding Huan struck him with full force, what could it possibly do? Once he returned to his sect, he'd make that woman pay.

As for Ding Huan—he was already a dead man in his eyes.

You want a way to save face? I'll give it to you now—I'll collect double back later.

"I killed people in Xifeng City without cause, and killed Comrade Ding's beast companion.

I accept my fault—if striking me once will ease your anger, I have no objection to standing here and letting you strike.

If I cannot withstand this blow and am killed by Comrade Ding, it is my own fault, and no one else is to blame."

The moment Cui Hu finished speaking, Ding Huan punched forward.

Cui Hu sneered—pathetic…

But as soon as he thought it, his heart lurched—a wave of death enveloped his entire soul.

Cui Hu was filled with terror; how could he stand still for Ding Huan's punch? He frantically channeled his true energy to break free from the deathly restraint.

Then he realized all his efforts were futile—he could only watch helplessly as Ding Huan's fist drew near his forehead.

Far away, Liu Yinzhu sighed; she too had assumed that Ding Huan, as the ruler of Xifeng City, was merely offering a face-saving excuse.

This was unavoidable—after all, Ding Huan had not yet joined Purple Cloud Valley, and the one he faced was still a Foundation Establishment powerhouse from the Myriad Beasts Sect.

The moment Ding Huan threw that punch, she sensed something was off.

Her divine sense could not catch where the killing intent of that punch lay. Facing it, she even felt a sense of being unable to resist. What kind of punch was this?

"Pfft!" Like a watermelon being smashed to pieces, colors burst apart.

With a sweep of his hand, Ding Huan scattered the blood onto the ground.

After Ding Huan agreed to Cui Hu's request, Shan Peng and Qiu Xingyuan were already waiting to die—because if Cui Hu didn't die, they certainly would.

Only when they saw Cui Hu's brains burst open did they realize just how ruthless Ding Huan was.

"Everyone go back to what you were doing. There won't be any changes in West Wind City." Ding Huan waved a hand at the watching crowd.

Though Ding Huan had never shown himself before, who in West Wind City didn't know his name? So once Ding Huan spoke, everyone quickly dispersed.

After Ding Huan swept away Cui Hu's storage bag, the corpse on the ground was automatically cleaned up by the city patrol guards.

"Yan Mei, take Old Six's body back. Elder Liu and Fairy Wan, please return to the city to talk."

After Ding Huan arrived here, he handled matters cleanly and decisively, then directly invited Liu Yinzhu and Wan Wan back to the city for a chat.

Liu Yinzhu sighed inwardly—she really hadn't misjudged him.

The way he handled things, the speed of it—these were things she wouldn't dare do herself. It looked simple and crude, yet left room to spare.

If she were in Ding Huan's position, would she dare kill Cui Hu? Definitely not.

But if Ding Huan thought exactly the same way she did about everything, why would she need to come find him?

She was even certain that if Ding Huan weren't planning to stay in West Wind City, he wouldn't even have used a crystal orb to record Cui Hu's image.

This is the helplessness of being weak.

……

Yan Mei carried Old Six and followed behind Ding Huan. Liu Yinzhu and Wan Wan also followed, and the group headed to Ding Huan's residence in the Great Crystal District.

Back at the small courtyard, everyone took their seats as host and guests in the reception hall, and Ding Huan asked:

"Elder Liu and Fairy Wan came looking for me, you must have something in mind, right? Please tell me—as long as it's something I, Ding Huan, can help with, I won't hesitate."

Liu Yinzhu was a decent person; for small matters Ding Huan didn't mind giving her a hand, but for big matters he couldn't help either.

As for Wan Wan, by all rights they were even after crossing the Lost Marsh together.

That said, if not for Wan Wan, he wouldn't have had the chance to arrive at the Dao Cultivation World—at the very least he'd still be searching for opportunities in the Mortal World.

So whatever he could help with, he planned to help.

"Sister Wan Wan, you go first." What Liu Yinzhu and Ding Huan needed to discuss wasn't something that could be wrapped up in a short while.

Wan Wan quickly stood and bowed to Ding Huan:

"Brother Ding, after I entered the Yanyue Sect, my cultivation has been steadily improving. But lately I've had this strange feeling, as if my body doesn't belong to me.

The feeling is very odd—I examined myself carefully but found nothing abnormal. I vaguely sense this isn't a good sign.

I don't really have any friends in the Dao Cultivation World. Among the people I know, Brother Ding is the most capable, so I've come shamelessly to ask for guidance."

Hearing this, Liu Yinzhu was a little surprised—could Wan Wan have been body-snatched? No, that can't be right. Doesn't body-snatching devour the soul first before taking over the body? How could it be the other way around?

Ding Huan stared at Wan Wan. Wan Wan's face reddened under his gaze, and she quickly lowered her head.

She soon realized that though Ding Huan was staring at her, there was nothing rude about it—he seemed to be thinking about something.

Ding Huan was indeed thinking about something—he was divining Wan Wan's future.

After this divination, Ding Huan was inwardly delighted. It seemed that after forging his Dao foundation and condensing his nebula, his divinations had become much clearer.

Strength changes everything.

Soon, Ding Huan furrowed his brow.

Wan Wan seemed about to leave the Dao Cultivation World and enter a higher-level realm. And with her departure, the visions of her future abruptly cut off.

Killed by someone? That shouldn't be—Wan Wan is the Shao Sect's Lady, isn't she? Even if she leaves the Dao Cultivation World and enters the Ascension Realm, she'd have people protecting her, right?

For Ding Huan, if Wan Wan was entering a realm higher than the Dao Cultivation World, where else could it be but the Ascension Realm?

Wan Wan watched Ding Huan tensely. Ding Huan had always been like this—before making any decision, he'd think for a while.

"Fairy Wan, give me your wrist." After a good while, Ding Huan suddenly spoke.