Sage of Humanity

Lu Ye paused with his wine glass at his lips, listening intently.

If he wasn't mistaken, that earlier exclamation should be the voice of Hundred Fragrance House's proprietress, Shen Manzi.

He had no idea what the table next door was up to, but to make such arrogant remarks at this gathering seemed audacious.

Those who were settled in the elegant courtyard were undoubtedly regulars of Hundred Fragrance House. Whenever these regulars came, Shen Manzi would usually go to toast them with a few glasses, which was normal business practice.

Shen Manzi must have gone to offer a toast, but it's uncertain if she might have done something insufficiently well, prompting such an attack from the other side.

"Captain!" Xiao Ruyun stood not far away, looking at Warlord Geng.

Warlord Geng remained seated, slowly shaking his head, "Don't worry about it for now."

Cultivators coming to Hundred Fragrance House for leisure and joy came in all kinds, and Shen Manzi, with her charm and grace, though such incidents were rare, had encountered such situations before and always resolved them smoothly.

She was indeed someone adept at handling situations, otherwise, she could not run such a wine house in Haotian City.

Then, from the courtyard next door, Shen Manzi's voice could be heard, "It's rare for you esteemed guests to come by, I should naturally accompany you more with drinks, I'll drink first as a toast."

Not long after, cheers erupted from that side, probably because Shen Manzi downed a glass.

"I've heard of Boss Shen's great capacity for alcohol for a long time, and seeing it today, it truly lives up to the reputation. Come, come, let me toast Boss Shen." Someone else spoke.

Another wave of enthusiastic persuasion ensued.

Although Shen Manzi declined kindly, she couldn't resist the extreme enthusiasm of the others and had to drink another glass.

"Let me toast Boss Shen!" Another person spoke up.

Shen Manzi's gentle voice came, "I really can't drink anymore, if I drink more, I'll truly get drunk."

"Boss Shen, you're being disrespectful, you accompanied the previous few brothers, how can you say you'd get drunk when it comes to me, does Boss Shen look down on me?"

"How dare I, you're joking, respected guest."

"If you respect me, then drink them all!"

"Respected guest, please let go!"

While there was a struggle occurring over there, in the pavilion of this courtyard, Shangguan Qiu vaguely sensed something was off and looked at Warlord Geng, "Captain, it seems to be targeted at us!"

Otherwise, there would be no reason to take things to such an extreme.

Those who could be settled in the elegant courtyard were undoubtedly regulars, being regulars, they should give Shen Manzi some face, and they should also be aware of Shen Manzi's relationship with Warlord Geng.

Although Warlord Geng was not in the Divine Sea Realm, as the captain of the Justice Department's Law Enforcement Hall Team A-3, he was somewhat of a figure in Haotian City, and ordinary people wouldn't dare to get drunk and cause trouble here.

Unless they were targeting Team A-3, just not daring to outright clash with them, and used Shen Manzi to disgust Warlord Geng.

"It's people from Team A-5 and Team D-7!" Kang Yuanqiao recognized the voices of a few people, further confirming Shangguan Qiu's suspicion.

Although they all belonged to the Justice Department's Law Enforcement Hall, the teams weren't on entirely harmonious terms with each other, perhaps due to personal reasons or perhaps due to the influence of their backing sects, there were always minor grudges and frictions, and of course, more of it was competition.

The relationship between Team A-3 with Team A-5 and Team D-7 wasn't considered harmonious.

Especially with Team A-5, Team A-3 once had a joint mission experience with them, during which Team A-5, to seize merit, altered the action plan without permission, indirectly leading to a member of Team A-3 dying in battle!

This is also the reason why Team A-3 has only five members to this day.

Although most of Team A-5's battle merits were deducted as punishment afterward, the member of Team A-3 who died in battle could not be revived, which also led to the members of Team A-3 harboring great resentment towards Team A-5's people.

Of course, the perception of Team A-5 towards Team A-3 wasn't good either, in their view, the team member died entirely because he wasn't careful enough, otherwise, how come no one else was harmed, and only he died, resulting in them laboring hard for little battle merit.

"I'll go take a look." Warlord Geng drank from his glass and stood up.

The members of Team A-3 all rose.

"You all stay put!" Warlord Geng ordered, leaping into the adjoining courtyard.

Immediately, exclamations came from the other side, "Warlord Geng!"

Warlord Geng's voice arose, "If you want to drink, I'll accompany you, what skill is there in a bunch of men bullying a woman!"

"We're all guests here, showing her respect by toasting. How is it bullying? And what position do you have, Warlord Geng, to stand out?"

Warlord Geng said in a deep voice, "Drink or not? If you're drinking, drink, if not, get out!"

"Brother Warlord certainly has a grand demeanor, even when the proprietress hasn't spoken, you've already driven us out, is this how Hundred Fragrance House does business?"

"It's long been heard that Brother Warlord takes great care of Boss Shen, now it seems true."

"Indeed, Boss Shen must be so enchanting, making Brother Warlord comfortable in bed, that's why he takes such care of her."

"I've heard many people look after Boss Shen too." Someone chuckled lowly.

"I can look after Boss Shen too, if only Boss Shen were willing..."

"Crash!" A sound like a wine jar breaking rang out, followed by an angry shout: "Warlord Geng, how dare you hit me!"

"Hit him!"

In an instant, the courtyard next door was thrown into chaos.

Xiao Ruyun and others, who had been paying attention to the commotion, immediately got up. Their figures flashed like lightning as they rushed over.

Lu Ye, Xiao Xinghe, and Lin Yinxiu also followed closely behind.

Upon entering the scene, Xiao Ruyun and the others' eyes turned red with rage, for Warlord Geng was currently surrounded and beaten by more than ten people.

Although he was a physique cultivator with great physical strength, in such a scenario, even he was finding it difficult to fend off so many attacks, appearing utterly disheveled.

"Beat them!" Xiao Ruyun roared in anger as several members of Team A-3 charged into the fray like tigers descending a mountain.

Lu Ye hadn't expected that having a drink could lead to such a brawl, but since things had come to this, he couldn't just stand by and watch, so he plunged into the fight as well.

"Don't use spirit force!" Warlord Geng shouted, mostly worried that Lu Ye might go overboard with his spirit force, though he wasn't concerned about the others.

Haotian City had strict rules, and such mass brawls rarely happened. However, exceptions existed, especially among such hot-blooded cultivators, making disputes inevitable.

If spirit force wasn't used, a regular scuffle wouldn't lead to death, but if spirit force was employed, the situation would spiral out of control. If someone died, it would be disastrous for everyone involved.

Therefore, in Haotian City, even if disputes arose, using spirit force or Spiritual Artifacts was strictly avoided, leading to simple brawls.

In such scenarios, physique cultivators undoubtedly had great advantages due to their formidable physical bodies.

Having just drunk quite a bit, everyone was at the perfect state for impulsiveness. Coupled with the deliberate provocations from the people in the adjacent courtyard, a fight naturally broke out.

Warlord Geng was in a dire situation, after all, before everyone arrived, he was besieged by over ten people from two teams, prompting everyone to rush forward to help.

Just as Lu Ye landed, ready to charge, a figure flashed before him. A robust young man stood in his path.

Without a word, the young man reached out to grab Lu Ye.

This strike seemed prepared for a while. Caught off guard, Lu Ye was grabbed by the shoulder; a sharp pain followed as the young man pressed him down with a big hand, delivering a fierce kick to his chest.

Though no spirit force was used, the young man's physique amplifying his strength made the kick extremely powerful.

If hit by such a blow, severe injury was certain.

However, he underestimated Lu Ye's reaction speed. Faced with such an attack, Lu Ye also raised his leg and fiercely kicked back.

With a boom, both their figures jolted intensely. Lu Ye merely swayed slightly and was unharmed, while the young man needed several steps back to stabilize himself, feeling one of his legs go numb.

His eyes filled with uncertain astonishment, never expecting that Lu Ye, shorter by a head, could surpass him in sheer physical strength.

Just as the young man steadied himself, a tiger's roar echoed. In his view, Amber, originally cat-sized, rapidly expanded, turning into a ferocious beast, lunging with jaws wide open.

The young man was shocked.

Hurriedly, he dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding Amber's strike.

In such a fight, the presence of a fierce Demon Commander-level demon beast offered significant intimidation.

Amber swiped past him, claws raking to tear away a piece of flesh.

He barely noticed, as at that moment of distraction, Lu Ye had charged in front, throwing a punch.

This punch unleashed all Lu Ye's strength, force roaring from his fist.

The young man squinted his eyes, sensing something ominous, but already unable to evade, he also punched forward.

Upon impact, the young man's face twitched violently, feeling as if a mountain, not a fist, struck him.

His body uncontrollably retreated again, while Lu Ye, relentless, pursued for more punches and kicks, attacking with abandon.

Amber turned around from afar, possibly intending to assist, but seeing Lu Ye gaining the upper hand, it pounced into the chaotic melee instead.

With their fewer numbers, Warlord Geng and the others were at a disadvantage, yet Amber's involvement significantly improved the situation.

Lu Ye's punches landed solidly, causing the young man to grimace continuously. Clearly unable to withstand it any longer, as Lu Ye's fist struck again, the young man's blood Qi and spirit force burst out in defense.

Previously, without his opponent using spirit force, Lu Ye couldn't gauge his depth. However, the moment spirit force was used, the opponent's cultivation was laid bare.

Surprisingly, the opponent was a True Lake Level 9 cultivator!

Recognizing the cultivation, Lu Ye frowned, suddenly sensing a dissonance.

Why would someone with such high cultivation intercept him? Recalling the confrontation, Lu Ye couldn't shake off the feeling that the opponent had specifically targeted him.

There was no time to ponder, as the opponent used spirit force, Lu Ye naturally wouldn't hold back. In an instant, he transformed his fist into a palm, a Sharpness spirit rune enhancing the edge as he slashed down.

The protective shield formed by blood Qi and spirit force shattered instantly, striking the young man, who grunted, face twisted in pain.