Faced with the middle-aged innkeeper’s mockery and ridicule, not only were Wes Wei and the others furious, even Ian Song felt extremely uncomfortable. So what if he was a native of the Central Domain?
Where does that overwhelming sense of superiority come from?
Seeing the darkened expressions on Wes and the others, the innkeeper grew even more arrogant, emboldened by his local status. He sneered, “What, not convinced? With your outsider bumpkin identity tokens, if you cause trouble, not only will the Empire punish you severely, your identity tokens will be revoked and you’ll be kicked out of the Central Domain!”
"Young Master, I really can’t hold it in anymore. May I act?"
Conrad Wu, who’d barely made his presence felt until now, suddenly spoke up. This innkeeper was only an early Origin Core cultivator, yet dared to insult a group whose cultivation far surpassed his own—all because he was a native of the Central Domain.
“Go ahead,” Ian nodded.
“Thank you, Young Master!”
Conrad Wu gave Ian a formal salute, then strode toward the innkeeper.
“What, you want to hit me? Before you make a move, I suggest you think twice—Ow!”
Smack!
Conrad Wu raised his hand and slapped the innkeeper, sending him flying.
“Nice hit!”
Wes Wei, Yanna Zhou, and Holly Hong all clapped and cheered.
“Bastard… You… You really dared to hit me! You’re finished, all of you! The Empire will never let you off!” The innkeeper scrambled up, pointed at Conrad, and roared in fury.
Whoosh!
Conrad Wu vaulted over the counter, landed beside the innkeeper, and slapped him again—sending him flying once more.
Just then, two waiters dashed to the inn’s entrance and started shouting at the top of their lungs.
“Bad news! Trouble! Outsiders are beating up our innkeeper!”
“Help! Outsiders are causing trouble and beating people up in our inn!”
Immediately, people from the street flooded into the inn. They saw the innkeeper, who’d just been slapped twice, climbing up from the floor. Seeing the crowd, the innkeeper was overjoyed and shouted, “Everyone, these outsiders are outrageous! They dared to hit people—hurry and report them to the authorities, get them arrested!”
As soon as the crowd arrived, people started pointing fingers at Ian Song and his group: “You outsiders are really bold, huh? You’re dead meat!”
“That’s right! All these outsiders are just wild savages. If you ask me, they shouldn’t even be allowed into the Central Domain!”
“Exactly! The Empire should kick all outsiders out of the Central Domain!”
Meanwhile, a few martial artists from other domains were hidden among the crowd. They admired Ian’s courage, but knew he was doomed—once the Empire’s officials arrived, he’d be punished for sure.
“Young Master, what should we do? Should we just leave?” Lena Wei asked in a low voice.
“No rush!”
Ian waved his hand. “It’s about time we taught this crowd a lesson.”
Having spent so much time with Ian, Lena knew his temperament well enough to realize he was about to make a big scene. Still, she couldn’t help but worry—this was the Central Domain, after all. Wouldn’t things get dangerous if they went too far?
“Everyone, surround them—don’t let them escape!”
The innkeeper’s voice rang out again.
“Yeah, don’t let those disgusting outsiders get away!”
“Come on, everyone—move!”
Soon, Ian’s seven-person group was completely surrounded by more than a hundred people who’d poured into the inn.
“Tch!”
Just then, a man in the crowd suddenly hurled a rock at Lena, shouting, “Let’s teach these outsiders a lesson—stone them to death!”
With that as the signal, the rest started grabbing whatever they could and flinging it at Ian and his group.
“Hmph!”
Ian’s eyes went cold. With a casual wave, every object flying toward them reversed direction, smashing back into the crowd.
Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!
“Aaaahhh!”
The cries of pain echoed nonstop. Every person who’d thrown something was knocked flying by their own projectile. The only ones still standing were a handful of martial artists who, like Ian, were outsiders.
“Young Master, you’re being way too impulsive. You should get out of here quick. If the officials show up, you’re done for!”
A Sigilforge martial artist quietly sent Ian a voice transmission to warn him.
Ian just smiled and nodded, then turned to his group and said, “Let’s go sit over there and wait for the officials.”
“Alright!”
The group nodded, especially Yanna Zhou, Holly Hong, and Wes Wei, who all looked eager to stir up trouble.
“You two, go brew a pot of tea and bring it over!”
Ian addressed the two waiters who’d just climbed up from the floor.
One of them, Nate Niu, spat and cursed, “Ha! You think I, Nate Niu, would ever serve tea to a bunch of outsider bumpkins? Dream on!”
With a flick of his hand, Ian snatched Nate Niu through the air and dropped him right in front of himself.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
After a series of slaps, Nate Niu’s face swelled up like a balloon.
“So, how about now? You want to brew tea?” Ian stared at him and asked.
“No way! Even if you kill me, I, Nate Niu, will never bow!” Nate stiffened his neck, his attitude stubborn as ever.
“Good! I appreciate people with hard bones.”
Ian flashed a wicked smile, then gently pressed his palm to Nate Niu’s chest. A series of cracks echoed, and Nate collapsed like a pile of mud, limp on the floor.
With a single palm, Ian had shattered every bone in Nate Niu’s body.
“Damn, that’s ruthless!”
“Whoa! Nate Niu’s bones are all broken!”
Seeing this scene, the rest couldn’t help but suck in a breath, feeling chills run down their spines.
Ian turned to the other waiter. “And you? Will you brew tea, or end up like him—with every bone in your body shattered?”
“Ah! Help!”
The other waiter let out a miserable cry and tried to dash out of the inn.
But after just two steps, he realized in horror that his body was being pulled back by an invisible force.
Ian’s calm voice echoed in his ear: “I’ll ask you one more time—tea, or broken bones? If you don’t answer, I’ll choose for you.”
“I... I’ll brew tea!”
The other waiter finally gave in.
“Go on, and hurry up!” Ian waved him off.
The waiter acted like he’d just received a royal pardon, scrambling off to make tea as fast as he could.
“Outsider, you’re going to make everyone angry acting like this!”
A middle-aged man stepped forward, glaring at Ian.
“You come to our turf, you should behave yourself. With that attitude, things won’t end well for you!” another person chimed in.
“Mm.”
Ian glanced at them, then waved his hand again.
Thud! Thud!
The two men’s bodies were instantly knocked out of the inn and onto the street, unable to get up for a long time.
Seeing this, the remaining crowd’s pupils shrank—they all felt a chill in their hearts.
Ian swept his gaze over the crowd and said calmly, “Anyone else want to teach me a lesson?”
For a moment, everyone went silent like cicadas in winter—no one dared step forward.