Against The Heavens

"Are you threatening Jun"er?"

She used a very intimate name for Yuan Yijun, so Li Yang guessed that this Yuan Ruogang was very close to Yuan Yijun, they might even be lovers. Li Yang completely ignored the heavy atmosphere that descended on the arena, casually leaving the stage and ascending the stairs, giving a light shrug of his shoulders.

"A warning, a threat, a polite reminder, consider it whatever you want, as long as it gets you to leave me alone."

Li Yang didn"t stop walking after finishing his words, casually heading towards the staircase that would bring him out of the arena. Some people couldn"t help but click their tongues in the face of his courage, but they also knew that he wouldn"t get to leave so easily, not after what he had said.

And just like they thought, the air around Li Yang suddenly turned heavy, almost becoming viscous as a strong pressure pushed down on him, cracking the stone beneath him. The cold voice of Yuan Ruogang sounded out after Li Yang stopped in his tracks, the sound of footsteps sounding out from behind Li Yang.

"You wish to just leave? After what you"ve done and said?"

Despite the strong pressure and nearly viscous air, Li Yang still stood ramrod straight, his spine like a spear, once again causing the surrounding people to click their tongues in admiration. Li Yang turned his head somewhat, his eyes sweeping over the four people that had stood up from their seats and surrounded him.

These people were clearly working for Yuan Yijun and were currently following the orders of Yuan Ruogang. But despite having four people, as well as Yuan Ruogang herself, glaring at him with cold eyes, Li Yang was still perfectly calm. His eyes landed on Yuan Ruogang, a somewhat mocking smile appearing on his face.

"Oh? Do you want to bully a younger disciple using numbers? Is this how the people serving Yijun work? How despicable, but I guess that"s how she raised you guys, so it just reflects her character."

Li Yang was arrogant, but he wasn"t completely stupid. Yuan Ruogang had reached the late stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, and the four others had reached the early stage. After using quite a bit of energy fighting against Kong Lingxin, winning over these five would be hard without fusing with Jinwu and Shenlong. He also didn"t know just how strong Yuan Ruogang was, she was Yuan Yijun"s second in command after all.

And because he knew this, he decided to make it hard for Yuan Ruogang to move against him right here. And just like he expected, Yuan Ruogang waved her arm, letting out a snort.

"There"s no need to drag Jun"er into this, just say what you wish to say."

Yuan Ruogang clearly cared a lot about Yuan Yijun, so Li Yang only had to drag her into this, making it seem like attacking him would bring disgrace to Yuan Yijun. It might not work if Yuan Ruogang didn"t care about Yuan Yijun"s face, but he felt confident that this Yuan Ruogang, who seemed very intimate with Yuan Yijun, would care about her face. The smile on Li Yang"s face grew a bit fainter, but it still carried its mocking tone.

"You have some intelligence, how nice."

Li Yang even gave a light clap of his hands, the expressions of Yuan Ruogang and the four other men sinking somewhat. But before they got the chance to say anything, Li Yang stretched out his right hand, pointing at the square stage.

"Six months. Meet me here in six months and I"ll give you the fight you desire. Of course, that is if you still dare to meet me here."

It was clear that Yuan Ruogang wouldn"t just leave him be, so since that was the case, he might as well set a date for the battle, giving him some time to increase his strength. Yuan Ruogang"s expression started to change slightly, indicating that she was contemplating her options and which one would be the best choice. Compared to her racing thoughts, Li Yang was a lot more casual, shrugging his shoulders and chuckling.

"Personally, I"d much rather you just deliver my words to Yijun and we"ll all go our separate ways, never to cross paths again."

If he could get out of this without having to battle and show much more of his strength, that would be for the best. He had prepared an excellent excuse just in case the clan grew suspicious of his rapid advancement and high strength, but not having to use it was still for the best. Yuan Ruogang quickly made up her mind after hearing Li Yang"s words, pointing a rather delicate finger at the stage, sneering at Li Yang.

"Six months. You said it in front of all these people, so don"t think I"ll let you slink away when the time comes."

Yuan Ruogang swept the surrounding spectators with her eyes as she spoke, indicating that they would let the rest of the clan know if Li Yang should fail to show up, disgracing him and ruining his face. She was completely serious and angered, but Li Yang still only gave a casual shrug of his shoulders, only further infuriating Yuan Ruogang.

"Yeah yeah, no need for you to worry about me. Of course, lay a hand on my people and I can"t guarantee that I"ll let your men return unharmed."

The viscous air around Li Yang loosened up, the pressure vanishing, so he continued to walk away. But he didn"t make it very far, being stopped by a familiar short blonde-haired man with a muscular body, Xiang Wuying, who called out to him.

"Heh, seems like you are even stronger than I initially thought."

Xiang Wuying chuckled lightly, looking at Li Yang with a deep gaze. He thought he had already given Li Yang a high evaluation after they went on the previous mission together, but seeing how easily he had beaten Kong Lingxin, he could only admit that his original evaluation was still a bit too low.

Li Yang turned towards Xiang Wuying, who was sitting on a seat close to the back of the spectators seating area, only a few meters to his right. He cupped his hands, giving a faint smile and a polite response.

"Senior Brother Wuying, you overpraise me."

From what Li Yang had seen, Xiang Wuying was far better than Yuan Yijun, so he had no problem addressing him as Senior Brother Wuying, rather than just using his name like he did with Yuan Yijun. Xiang Wuying couldn"t help but curl his lips slightly, looking at Li Yang and letting out a faint laugh.

"Now you choose to act humble? After acting so grand against Junior Sister Ruogang?"

Li Yang hadn"t just completely disregarded Yuan Ruogang, he had even insulted Yuan Yijun. Was the man who had said those words still the same as the one who politely cupped his hands in front of him? Li Yang simply smiled faintly, only giving a short response.

"The right att.i.tude for the right occasion."

Li Yang had learned a bit from the end of his previous life. There was no point in needlessly antagonizing others, one more ally was better than one more enemy. Of course, that didn"t mean he would just accept everything just to gather more allies, he had standards, morals, and a bottom line. Xiang Wuying let out another chuckle, but before he got to respond, Li Yang spoke up again.

"You said that I could come to you if I had any troubles, does that offer still stand?"

Right before they split up after completing the mission, Xiang Wuying a.s.sured Li Yang that he could come to him if he ever encountered any trouble, it was now time to hold him to those words. Xiang Wuying could guess at what Li Yang was going to say, so he glanced at Yuan Ruogang, who was carrying away the unconscious Kong Lingxin.

"You want me to help you with Yijun?"

The way he saw it, Li Yang had set up a six-month agreement, but how much stronger could he grow in a mere six months? But contrary to what he expected, Li Yang actually shook his head and denied his words.

"No, I want you to keep an eye on my servants. I intend to accept a few missions and leave the clan for a bit, so I"d rather not have Yijun target my servants while I"m gone."

If Li Yang couldn"t even a.s.sure the safety of his own servants, how could he possibly a.s.sure the safety of Fang Ying once they reunited? And if she found out that his servants had ended up wounded because of him, and he had done nothing to protect them, she would likely scold him til his ear turned red.

Xiang Wuying was rather caught off-guard by Li Yang"s request, giving an appreciative nod of his head.

"Admirable. Very well, I"ll make sure she doesn"t harm a hair on their head."

Li Yang was an outer disciple, so his servants were either provisional disciples or slaves. For Li Yang to actively seek protection for them meant that he treated them better than Xiang Wuying treated his own servants. Li Yang cupped his hands, thanking Xiang Wuying with a polite smile.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Wuying."

Li Yang made a bit more small talk with Xiang Wuying before bidding him farewell, heading directly for the dome-shaped mission control building. Once he entered it, he immediately walked over to the ma.s.sive jade pillar that stood at the center of the building, placing his palms on one of the many watermelon-sized orbs of quartz that were located around it, sifting through the various missions.

He picked out several missions that had good rewards and were within his level of strength, noting down their numbers on a piece of paper. After picking out 12 different missions, he brought the piece of paper over to one of the numerous counters that lined the walls, handing over the numbers to a middle-aged man with a graying beard.

"I"d like to accept these missions, I"ll be clearing them all at once and delivering them in bulk once I return."

Returning to the clan each time after he finished a mission would be a waste of time, so he decided to just finish them all up in one go and then pick up all the rewards in one go, using them all at once. The middle-aged man glanced at the mission numbers, looking them up using two different tablets of azure jade. He couldn"t help but raise an eyebrow after seeing the missions, giving Li Yang a reminder.

"All of them? I must remind you that all these missions have a 1-star ranking, with some of them being at the higher spectrums. Are you sure you wish to accept them?"

For the missions to be at the higher spectrums of the 1-star ranking meant that they were likely to have enemies who had reached the middle or late stage of the Ascending heaven realm. Li Yang only had a cultivation at the Human Rune realm, so the man"s reminder was completely reasonable. But even so, Li Yang simply gave a calm nod of his head.

"I am, so please register it."

Some of the missions required him to kill bandits, hunt wanted men, or kill Demonic beasts and bring back certain parts. Some of the missions might be a bit challenging, but none of them were impossible for him to complete. The middle-aged man had only given the reminder to help Li Yang realize the danger, so after getting the confirmation, he nodded his head.

"Very well, as you wish."

The man registered the missions to Li Yang, allowing the clan to know who had accepted the missions, and where they might find the body should he end up dying on the mission. Once the missions were registered, Li Yang took a quick trip back to his lodgings to let Blackstone and the two others know what he was going to do.

"I"ll be leaving the clan for a bit. Senior Brother Wuying will send someone to make sure that you can cultivate in peace, so don"t worry about Yijun"s people."

The three were originally worried that they would have to face the wrath of Yuan Yijun"s men after Li Yang left, but hearing that he got another one of the top outer disciples to keep an eye on them, all their worries were washed away. They swiftly cupped their hands and gave Li Yang a bow, speaking in a unified voice.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Yang! We wish you a successful and uneventful hunt."