Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Went Straight for a Kick

Tian Hao Tian did not believe a word. He curled his lip and snapped: “Enough. Everyone you point at is a ‘valued guest.’ I think you’re just trying to fool me, old man.” The innkeeper kept his voice low and urgent: “Young Master Haotian, I truly am not lying. This Immortal Maiden, she is…” Tian Hao Tian cut him off with a wave: “That’s enough. If some sect Disciple or family Miss really came to Jade Tower City, my father would have told me. I don’t need you to tell me.”

This was why he dared to be so wild in the city. His father always told him who he must not touch. As for the rest, he kept a list in his heart. He swept his eyes over Shen Sang Ruo’s plain clothes. Aside from that face, she would not stand out in a crowd. How could someone like this be important? The old man was clearly lying.

Shen Sang Ruo watched quietly. From their talk, it was easy to figure out his identity. When sect Disciples or family members went out to train, their groups usually informed the local authorities in advance. In a city, only the City Lord would know such news. The Flying Cloud Sect had some ties with Jade Tower City, and she had heard from Shen Dao Chen that the City Lord’s family name was Tian. So this was the City Lord’s Son, Tian Hao Tian. She gave a soft laugh. [So you are both foolish and cruel.]

Pointing at the innkeeper’s nose, Tian Hao Tian barked: “I warn you, stop meddling in my business. Or tomorrow I will have people tear down your shop. If you make me happy, you will get benefits.” The innkeeper was drenched in sweat but still stood in front of Shen Sang Ruo. He forced a smile and tried to placate him: “Young Master Haotian, let us talk this over…”

Tian Hao Tian’s patience ran out. His face turned fierce and he shouted, his voice full of anger: “Talk over your head. Are you set on going against me today? Will you move aside or not?”

The innkeeper gritted his teeth and said: “Young Master Haotian, if you insist on this, I will have to inform the City Lord.” He had long disliked Tian Hao Tian’s bullying, but he knew he could not fight the whole City Lord’s Manor. He could not bear to watch a young Miss be humiliated. A while back Tian Hao Tian had been punished and warned by the City Lord, so the innkeeper tried using that to stop him.

“You dare bring that up?” Tian Hao Tian’s face twisted with rage. That punishment had already cost him face. Hearing it again lit his anger like oil on a fire. He snarled: “Looks like I’ve let you live too comfortably. If I don’t teach you a lesson, you won’t put me in your eyes.” He lifted his foot to kick the innkeeper.

He was a Foundation Establishment Mid stage Cultivator, the most gifted young man in Jade Tower City. Spiritual Power gathered in his leg. If that kick landed, the innkeeper would suffer badly.

Just then, the silent Shen Sang Ruo laughed. Tian Hao Tian had thought she was too scared to speak earlier, but now her calm smile stirred his curiosity. He drew his foot back and looked her over with interest as he said with a smirk: “I was so busy scolding that old man I forgot about the beauty.” Shen Sang Ruo’s smile looked warm, but ice lay under it. The smile puffed up his confidence until he squinted and asked: “Beauty, what are you laughing at? Do you like me too?”

He rubbed his hands together, grinning in a lewd way. In his heart he believed that a man like him, handsome, powerful, and rich, could make any woman fall for him. Those who resisted him were only pretending to be modest and playing hard to get.

Shen Sang Ruo’s smile grew, yet it never reached her eyes, and she said one steady word at a time: “You will know in a moment why I’m laughing.”

“Good,” he said, eyes shining with interest, waiting to see what she would do. The next second, her smile vanished. She raised her leg and drove a hard kick into him.

Caught off guard, Tian Hao Tian flew more than ten meters and crashed into a table, smashing it to pieces. Shen Sang Ruo calmly lowered her foot and asked the stunned innkeeper in an even tone: “Is one High grade Spirit Stone enough?” It was her way of offering to pay for the damage.

The innkeeper stared, stunned by what he had just seen. After a long moment he realized she was speaking to him and stammered: “Yes, yes, it is enough.” The crash drew many eyes. People in the inn were used to Tian Hao Tian bullying men and women, but they usually did not dare to look for fear of being dragged in. Seeing him kicked instead was something they had never heard of. Necks stretched as they tried to see which brave soul had done a good deed for the people. In any case, he would not bother with them now. All his rage would be aimed at the one who had kicked him.

Groaning, Tian Hao Tian crawled out of the broken wood, kneading his chest. His face twisted with pain and confusion. She looked slender, but that kick felt like it had smashed his organs. What he did not know was that the woman he thought had no power to fight back was a true Mid Golden Core Cultivator. A kick from a Golden Core expert was not something he could withstand.

He stood at last, cheeks going from blue to white as he saw all the people watching him. Shame burned into fury. He sprang up and roared: “You little wretch, you dared lay a hand on me. Do you know who I am? I’ll kill you.” Spiritual Power swirled into his hands as he charged straight at Shen Sang Ruo.

Around them, people could not help worrying for Shen Sang Ruo. They had not felt the force of her kick the way he had and could not judge her cultivation. Tian Hao Tian, though he had felt it, had already lost his reason to anger. Years of being called a genius had made him unbearably arrogant. In his mind he was already the strongest fighter in the city. He decided that her earlier kick had only landed because he was unprepared.

He shrieked as he rushed in: “Die for me!”