"Hmph!"
Harvey Xie snorted coldly, eyes full of disdain, barely bothering to hide his contempt. "You should save that advice for yourself!"
Harvey Xie planned to humiliate Evan Lin as a warning, then beat him to a pulp once they reached the mountains—classic face-slapping style.
Yolanda Fang and Lynn Chen glanced at Harvey, who clenched his fist and swaggered over to the crowd.
He could feel the surging power building up inside him, that fierce force making his whole body feel refreshed.
Harvey still had no clue how Evan Lin floored him out of nowhere last night. Now, stung by embarrassment, he made sure to check his inner strength before taking even a single step forward.
He shot the crowd a cold glare. "What, you all need a whole army just to step outside? Scared of getting stomped?"
As Harvey swaggered over, everyone turned to stare. His words made the black-suited bodyguards scowl, but instead of moving, they waited for Miss May Moore and Uncle Victor Li to give the word.
Miss May Moore had been chatting with Uncle Victor Li, her mind pondering the powers of a true spell cultivator, when suddenly this blond punk barged over and started picking a fight without warning.
"I don't think I know you. Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Miss May Moore replied icily, glaring at Harvey with zero patience.
Uncle Victor Li stood quietly to the side, stroking his beard and watching Harvey Xie from a distance.
"Trying to die? You got that right! I haven't thrown hands in days—my bones are itching for a fight. All you losers over there, come give me some exercise if you've got the guts!" Harvey Xie threw back his head and laughed, swagger written all over his face.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Harvey's aura erupted—inner strength blazing around him, his clothes whipping in the wind, dust exploding outward in a perfect ring.
"A pretty solid Inner Strength technique—looks like he's a young expert. But even so, the Mu family won't let anyone walk all over us!" Uncle Victor Li saw Harvey's display and realized this might get tricky.
Still, he remained calm inside. Worst case, he'd just handle things himself.
As long as that kid wasn't Vajra Realm, Victor was confident he could suppress him on the spot. The only thing that made him uneasy was the old man standing behind Harvey.
That old man was hard to read—even at a glance, his calm, detached demeanor made it impossible to gauge his true depth.
Normally, Victor would just ignore troublemakers to avoid unnecessary drama.
But Harvey was clearly picking a fight right in their faces.
"Go. Show him what we're made of!" Victor ordered in a low voice, and over a dozen bodyguards immediately stepped forward.
The lead bodyguard stood firm, his gaze icy as he stared down Harvey Xie. "You're courting death!"
"Courting death? Ha! We'll see who's really begging for it! You trash aren't even worth my pinky—I could crush all of you with one hand!" Harvey Xie laughed, arrogance dripping from every word.
He was itching to throw some punches, ready to stretch his muscles and show off.
"Uncle Victor, do you really think these guys can even stand a chance against him?" Miss May Moore asked, unable to hide her skepticism at Harvey's cocky attitude.
"Probably not. But at least we can see how deep his skills run," Victor shook his head. He doubted his men could win, but wanted to gauge Harvey's true power.
"Lynn, should we stop him? What if he gets his face smashed in? Is Harvey Xie brain-dead or just showing off—trying to solo a whole squad? Dude's ego is off the charts," Yolanda Fang muttered, shaking her head.
Before Lynn Chen could say anything, Elder Leonard Huo shot Yolanda a frosty glare and snorted. "A bunch of ordinary mortals—how could they possibly be a match for Harvey? Even if you threw in twenty more, they'd still be nothing."
"If my disciple can't handle this, he'd be a total disgrace to me."
Elder Leonard Huo spoke with absolute calm, his confidence unshakable—Harvey would crush them, no question.
Yolanda rolled her eyes, but since Elder Leonard Huo was an old geezer, she figured arguing was pointless. She grumbled under her breath, annoyed and unimpressed.
Lynn Chen glanced at Evan Lin beside her. He stared ahead, utterly indifferent, like the whole circus had nothing to do with him. Lynn couldn't help but shake her head, half-exasperated, half-curious.
"Cut the crap. Come on! All twelve of you, bring it!" Harvey Xie roared, inner strength flooding his limbs. In that instant, he felt like a war god reborn, ready to flatten anyone who dared step up.
But just as he stomped forward, fists clenched and ready to unleash hell, his face froze in shock—he was about to charge, but something was terribly wrong.
"Where's my inner strength? Where's my power? Why can't I feel anything?!"
Harvey's face drained of all color, his heart pounding like a jackhammer in his chest.
With that single step, his power drained away like water from a shattered dam—everything vanished in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, it was gone—his body felt hollow.
Harvey's golden hair blazed under the scorching sun, but all the shine couldn't mask the panic in his eyes.
The twelve bodyguards, who'd instinctively backed away from Harvey's first move, now stared in disbelief as he stalled out, frozen and not daring to advance.
Harvey's expression twisted with panic as he searched frantically for any trace of inner strength, but no matter how hard he tried, he found nothing—just emptiness.
It was happening again—just like last night!
Harvey's heart pounded like a drum, panic threatening to drown him.
"Harvey, don't waste time—end this pointless fight now! We're in a hurry, and you don't need to worry about saving my face," Elder Leonard Huo snapped, frowning as Harvey hesitated.
His master's words made Harvey's anxiety skyrocket. If he got beaten up in front of Elder Leonard Huo, he'd never live it down—and who knew what kind of punishment he'd face afterward!
Harvey's mind spun frantically, but Miss May Moore was already losing patience. "Attack!" she barked.
At her command, the dozen black-clad bodyguards exchanged glances, then charged at Harvey with a furious roar.
To regular folks, these bodyguards were tough as nails. But in the eyes of Evan Lin, Elder Leonard Huo, and the other cultivators, they were nothing but paper dolls.
Elder Leonard Huo snorted, utterly dismissive.
Panicked, Harvey saw the bodyguards charging and let out a desperate roar, swinging his fist with every ounce of brute strength he could muster—his punch all show, desperately trying to look invincible.
The next instant—
Bang!
Harvey was sent flying by a savage kick from the burliest bodyguard, tumbling across the ground in front of everyone—his supposed invincibility shattered like glass.