Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 721 - Escalation of the Matter

Yells and jeers came from the Wang Clan's disciples as they surrounded Liu Wuxie.

"Young master, should we cripple him for you?" asked a disciple in the ninth-level of the Astral River Realm with a flattering expression.

"What are you doing? Do you need the young master to teach you what to do?" roared one of Wang Yue's servants, and the impatience was evident in his tone.

"Let me handle this brat!" The man who had spoken earlier stepped forward, his powerful aura surging toward Liu Wuxie.

The bystanders on both sides quickly retreated, fearing getting caught in the battle.

Only Liu Wuxie stood unmoving, with a hint of chill flashing across the depth of his eyes. With a simple wave, he unleashed an even more powerful gale that prevented the approaching man from taking another step forward.

With an invisible palm strike, the man was sent flying before smashing against the stone wall. The wall exploded as that man threw up blood from the impact.

Seeing how the man was sent flying with one strike, everyone was shocked. After all, that man had a cultivation in the ninth level of the Astral River Realm. This filled everyone's faces with disbelief and shock.

"This brat is strong. Only those in the Nascent Transformation Realm can defeat him." Those who were eager to take action earlier stopped. No one dared to take a step forward as they had all been intimidated by Liu Wuxie's aura.

Right then, a cultivator in the second level of the Nascent Transformation Realm stepped forward. His murderous intent increased with each step.

The streets swelled with onlookers, many of whom were drawn by the commotion and came out of the inn.

"Uncle, what's going on over there?" a young man asked. Two men, one in his forties and the other roughly the same age as Liu Wuxie, emerged from a room.

"I'm not entirely sure. Let's go and take a look," the older man replied as they came out of the inn, but it wasn't hard to tell from their faces that they were plagued with concern.

"Wang Shan, finish him quickly!" one of Wang Yue's servants roared, urging Wang Shan.

But for some reason, Wang Shan merely stood before Liu Wuxie, not daring to make a move. He could feel an invisible pressure crushing down on him, and this pressure wasn't from cultivation but produced by an invisible presence.

"Stop! Everyone, stop right now!" Right then, a voice echoed from the other end of the street. The crowd parted, revealing Wang Rui and his sister, Wang Lan.

"Wang Rui, what do you think you're doing here? Didn't you hear about the young master getting bullied?" Wang Yue's servant roared, addressing Wang Rui by his name, an act of blatant disrespect.

"This gentleman, Young Master Liu, is a friend of mine. He saved me and my sister, and I apologize if he has done anything to upset you," said Wang Rui, glancing at Wang Yue. He wanted to dissolve the feud between the two parties to prevent the matter from blowing up.

The other Wang Clan's disciples exchanged looks, and even Wang Shan had stopped.

"Wang Rui, who the fuck do you think you are? You're a nobody, and this brat humiliated the Wang Clan. He has to die today, no matter what!" Among the thirty-odd disciples, some supported Wang Yue, and they spat venomous insults from their mouths.

Wang Rui clenched his fists tightly. If he hadn’t been trying to prevent the situation from escalating, he might have slapped the offenders himself.

"If you want to harm Brother Liu, you'll have to get through my sister and me first," Wang Rui declared, retrieving his weapon without hesitation and positioning himself protectively. His sister followed his lead, prepared to stand alongside him.

Wang Yue said nothing right from the beginning, and his gaze had been fixed on Liu Wuxie the whole time. He hadn't expected Liu Wuxie to have a relationship with Wang Rui, and this made things more interesting.

"Isn’t that Wang Rui, the Wang Clan’s second young master?" a voice came from behind Liu Wuxie, belonging to someone who recognized Wang Rui.

"He might be the second young master, but he's merely the son of a bitch. His mother is merely a concubine, and he has no status in the Wang Clan," another person remarked with disdain.

Due to the status of Wang Rui's mother, the siblings had no position in the clan. The Wang Clan had been grooming Wang Yue as the next patriarch, and the siblings had relied on their hard work to come this far.

Strictly speaking, Wang Rui and Wang Yue were half-siblings, and Wang Yue's mother was the formally wedded first wife, which ensured Wang Yue's right to inherit the position as the patriarch. He was raised with lavish affection, which had caused him to develop a spoiled demeanor, which wasn't surprising.

Liu Wuxie had heard all the surrounding discussions, and he had roughly pieced the situation together. Wang Yue had been hostile to Wang Rui throughout the years, believing the latter would threaten his status as the clan's heir.

This had given Wang Rui no choice but to leave with his sister to cultivate, embarking on a journey to train near Scarlet Ridge City a few months ago, and they had just returned home today.

"Since he wants to die, grant his wish then," Wang Yue finally spoke out. His words left the surrounding Wang Clan's disciples stunned. Even if Wang Yue was the son of the first wife, Wang Rui was still carried the patriarch's bloodline, and none of them could withstand the patriarch's eventual wrath.

"Young Master, this isn't a wise action," Wang Shan whispered. He might have pledged his loyalty to Wang Yue, but he couldn't take the life of another clansman, not to mention the one carrying the bloodline of the patriarch.

After all, Wang Rui had done nothing to betray the clan, and there were many disciples in the clan who supported Wang Rui.

"Wang Shan, have you forgotten? If not for the young master, your family would've been exiled! And now, you dare defy the young master's order? Do you want the young master to cripple your cultivation?" Wang Yue's servant reprimanded Wang Shan.

Wang Shan's family had violated the clan's rules in the past, and he had only survived due to Wang Yue's intervention. Since then, Wang Shan had pledged his loyalty to Wang Yue, supporting him as the next patriarch.

Wang Shan's face was tormented with pain, and he clenched his fists and turned around, slowly approaching Liu Wuxie. The aura he gave off was overwhelming, forcing Wang Lan to retreat under the oppressive force.

"Brother Liu, run while I hold them off," Wang Rui said. He knew he and his sister couldn't hold off so many people, but his only goal was to ensure Liu Wuxie's safe departure. As for his life and death, it no longer mattered to him now.

Wang Rui's selflessness touched Liu Wuxie, and this proved the latter was someone worth befriending. After all, he hadn't made a single friend since arriving in the Central Plains.

"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Wang. But this is my fight, and let me handle it myself," Liu Wuxie replied, gently patting Wang Rui's shoulder and pushing him aside.

"Brother Liu!" Wang Rui looked anxious, but there was nothing he could do.

Without Wang Rui standing in the way, Wang Shan's expression turned icy, and an overwhelming murderous intent radiated from him. Any earlier hesitations were gone as his focus shifted entirely to the impending fight.

"Uncle, should we help him? He doesn’t seem like a bad person, and that guy Wang Yue has pure malice in his eyes," a young man said, his voice laced with unease. He hoped to persuade his uncle to intervene on Liu Wuxie’s behalf.

"Liu Xing, don’t you think he resembles someone?" the middle-aged man asked, his gaze fixed intently on Liu Wuxie. There was a nagging familiarity about him, though the memory remained elusive.

"Now that you mention it, he does seem familiar..." the young man commented, scratching his head as he tried to recall. He was confident he had never seen Liu Wuxie before, but he didn't know why he would have such thoughts.

"He resembles my eldest brother!" the middle-aged man suddenly exclaimed, a flicker of pain crossing his face. As he examined Liu Wuxie closely, he couldn’t shake the similarities to his elder brother.

"You mean big uncle?" The young man was stunned. He wouldn't have recalled it if his uncle hadn't mentioned it.

"There are plenty of people in the world who look alike, and it might be the dim light playing tricks on us," the middle-aged man said, soon dismissing the idea by shaking his head.

As they spoke, Wang Shan had already unleashed his palm strike toward Liu Wuxie, his attack radiating power over a hundred times stronger than the earlier assailant’s.

“This brat is done for! He’s just a seventh-level Astral River Realm cultivator, daring to act so arrogantly in Prosper City?” jeered the Wang Clan disciples, their faces alight with schadenfreude.

The palm was getting closer to Liu Wuxie, but Wang Rui had no worries on his face as he was well aware of Liu Wuxie's strength. Even someone like Chou Ba couldn't withstand an attack from Liu Wuxie, and Wang Shan was only slightly stronger than Chou Ba.

Wang Shan's palm strike had formed into a millstone crushing towards Liu Wuxie's head. If his attack struck, Liu Wuxie would be ripped into pieces.

"If I don't teach you a lesson, perhaps you'll take me as a pushover!" Liu Wuxie's face darkened with anger, and he vanished from sight, raising his palm and striking back at Wang Shan.

Wang Shan was fast, but Liu Wuxie was even faster. Before Wang Shan could respond, Liu Wuxie's palm had already reached him with unbelievable speed.

Everyone in the surroundings couldn't keep up with Liu Wuxie's speed, and they only saw Wang Shan's body flying out like a broken kite with a blood palm imprinted on his chest. This was because he had thoroughly enraged Liu Wuxie.

While the palm strike wouldn't claim Wang Shan's life, he would remain bedridden for the next half a month. He only spared Wang Shan for Wang Rui's sake, offering mercy where he could've dealt death.

The surrounding crowd fell into silence as no one had anticipated such a dramatic outcome, including Wang Yue.

Only Wang Rui maintained his composure as he had already anticipated this outcome.

After Wang Shan was sent flying away, none of the other Wang Clan's disciples dared to take another step forward.

"Quick, go and notify the patriarch! This person not only crippled our Wang Clan's disciple, but he even injured our Wang Clan's elder! He has to die!" Many Wang Clan's disciples took out a Communication Talisman to notify the clan's higher hierarchy.

With that, the conflict escalated further.

“Brother Liu, leave now! Once the clan’s experts arrive, I won’t be able to help you,” Wang Rui urged earnestly. His words carried weight, as his status as an illegitimate son gave him no real influence in the Wang Clan. Even ordinary disciples held more sway than he did.