Hearing Ian Song's words, Howard Cheng was furious. If not for knowing he was no match, he would have charged up to fight. Left with no choice, he could only snap, "Evan Chu, go ahead and gloat while you can—soon enough, you won't be so smug!"
As he spoke, Ian slapped Garrison Tanner away with a backhanded palm strike.
Ian ignored Howard and turned his gaze to the rest of the crowd, speaking up again: "So, are you all going to give me an explanation? Why did you barge into my residence for no reason?"
"Evan Chu, drop the act—you know perfectly well why we're here!"
At that moment, a middle-aged man stepped forward—one of the five Saint Sea Realm experts among them.
Seeing him, Yanna Zhou, who was standing beside Ian, couldn't help but beam with joy. "Uncle, are you here to save me?"
The man was Garrison Tanner, the Tanner Clan's top expert, already at mid–Saint Sea Realm.
The Zhou Family, where Yanna came from, was just a small clan without any real experts. When they learned their daughter had been captured, they could only beg the Tanner Clan for help—so Garrison Tanner brought people and came.
"Don't worry, Yanna. With your uncle here, they won't dare lay a finger on you!" Garrison Tanner nodded to her reassuringly.
Pa! Pa!
Just then, Ian Song slapped Yanna Zhou twice on her pert backside, saying, "My little maid, you really don’t know the rules. I didn’t give you permission to speak, so how can you just talk whenever you want?"
Yanna Zhou was stunned. She hadn’t expected Ian Chu to be this bold even now, and a surge of fear welled up inside her—she was terrified he’d punish her further, so she obediently shut her mouth.
On the other side, Garrison Tanner’s eyes flashed coldly at the scene. Yanna Zhou had always been talented, but her Zhou Clan lacked resources, so after she reached the Sigilforge Realm, the Tanner Clan took over her cultivation.
Because of that, the Tanner Clan treated Yanna as one of their own. This time, when the Zhou Clan approached them, the Tanners took the chance to propose marrying Yanna off to Darren Tanner, the clan heir.
Darren Tanner was the Tanner Clan’s star pupil. At just twenty-six, he’d already reached the early Law‑Phase Realm and ranked eleventh on the Hidden Dragon Ranking. The clan had already chosen him as their next patriarch.
And now, the future wife of the next patriarch was publicly spanked—an outright insult to the entire Tanner Clan. No wonder Garrison Tanner was furious.
So, the next moment, Garrison Tanner strode forward, fixing Ian with a cold glare. "Evan Chu, release Yanna. If you do, I’ll let you die with an intact corpse!" he threatened.
Ian raised his eyebrows and smirked. "You’re hilarious. Why should I let her go just because you say so? I’m not your dad!"
Garrison Tanner gritted his teeth. "You’re asking for death!"
Heh heh!
Ian just smiled dismissively.
Courting death!
Unable to hold back any longer, Garrison Tanner suddenly jabbed out with a finger.
Puff!
The force of that finger tore through the air, radiating a dizzying black glow that, in Ian’s eyes, seemed to expand endlessly.
This move was called the Bewitching God Finger, one of Garrison Tanner’s three signature techniques.
Bang!
Ian raised his hand to meet it, jabbing out with a finger of his own. But just as the two fingers collided, Garrison’s finger slipped past his guard and struck Ian right in the chest.
A terrifying force exploded inside Ian, trying to snuff out his life.
But with a flash of starry radiance, that force was ground away and vanished.
Bang!
Ian slapped out with his palm, sending Garrison Tanner flying. "Your finger technique is pretty deceptive—even I fell for it. Against anyone else, it’d probably kill or cripple them, but for me, that’s all it is!" he said.
Seeing Ian completely unharmed, Garrison Tanner was shaken.
He’d created the Bewitching God Finger by combining a technique he’d found in ancient ruins with his own skills. Its trickery was so extreme that even same-realm opponents struggled to see through it, and its destructive power had killed an early Saint Sea expert and gravely injured two mid–Saint Sea cultivators.
But now it had failed against a mere late Sun–Soul cultivator. He couldn’t believe it!
So, Garrison Tanner unleashed the Bewitching God Finger again.
But in the next moment—
Garrison Tanner froze—his Bewitching God Finger was blocked!
"How... how is this possible?"
"Why wouldn’t it be possible?"
Ian sneered. "Did you really think that just because you fooled me once, you could keep tricking me forever?"
As he spoke, Ian slapped Garrison Tanner away with a backhanded palm strike.
In terms of raw power, Garrison was only slightly stronger than Victor Ward in Qilin form. By brute strength alone, Ian could suppress him.
Seeing this, Yanna Zhou couldn’t help but feel a wave of despair. Even her own uncle wasn’t a match for that big villain?
The other clans’ experts looked increasingly grave.
Ian spoke up again. "I know you’re all here to cause trouble for me, maybe even kill me. But did any of you stop to think—if I knew you were coming for me, why didn’t I run away?"
Hearing that, plenty of people looked uncertain.
"Because to me, you’re all just little bugs I can crush with a flick of my finger. Why would I need to run?"
At those words, everyone’s faces twisted in anger.
"Arrogant little thief!"
"What an arrogant little thief!"
Ignoring their curses, Ian continued, "I’ll give you one chance. Get out of here within ten breaths, and I’ll let bygones be bygones. Otherwise, after ten breaths, I’ll teach you how to behave!"
Hearing that, the crowd grew even angrier. Some wondered where he got his confidence—after all, they had five Saint Sea experts, including Poison Dragon and Shadow Phoenix, both peak Saint Sea. Unless Ian was a Demigod, there was no way he could win!
Ten breaths passed quickly, and not a single person left.
Ian said, "Looks like none of you believe me. Or maybe you think I’m joking. Well, I always keep my word—now I’ll teach you how to behave!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ian stepped into the air and flipped his palm, unleashing a mighty strike.
Boom!
A giant five-colored palm, an acre wide, formed instantly and enveloped the entire enemy group.
"This little thief’s got guts, daring to attack all of us at once!"
At that moment, even as they raged, some couldn’t help but admire Ian’s courage.
Then, everyone attacked at once.
In an instant, fists, finger beams, palm strikes, saber qi, and sword qi all collided with the giant five-colored palm.
Naturally, the giant palm shattered apart.
"Brother Bai Shan, Brother Yu Liang—let’s strike together and kill this little thief!" Garrison Tanner called to two other Saint Sea experts.
"Alright!"
"Alright!"
The two answered and shot into the sky, forming a triangle with Garrison Tanner. Together, all three launched an attack on Ian.