Ye Chen returned the kiss deeply until they both ran out of breath.
"See you tomorrow," Zhao Yanyan whispered.
"See you, Yanyan," Ye Chen replied and finally left the dormitory.
After he left, Zhao Yanyan crouched on the floor, covering her face with her hands. Why did I kiss him like that? Her heart was racing, and she couldn't deny the feelings growing stronger inside her.
Just then, the door behind her opened. Lin Rouxi finally emerged.
"Has Ye Chen left?" she asked softly.
"Yes, he just left, Sister Rouxi. How are your legs feeling?"
"Much better," Lin Rouxi replied with a faint blush.
"Oh, Ye Chen said one more therapy session is needed for a full recovery," Zhao Yanyan added.
Lin Rouxi's cheeks turned bright red, remembering what had happened earlier that day. "Alright… I understand," she said quickly and returned to her room.
Zhao Yanyan tilted her head. "Sister Rouxi is acting really strange tonight…"
Shrugging it off, she headed to the bathroom for a warm shower. Her heart was still fluttering, already looking forward to seeing Ye Chen again tomorrow.
---
After leaving the university, Ye Chen chose to fly back to his hotel. Since he had already paid for his stay until next Sunday, there was no reason to find another place. Besides, the hotel was convenient and discreet.
As he soared through the sky, enjoying the breeze and the clear view of the world below, a sudden clash of weapons caught his attention. Looking down, Ye Chen spotted a fierce battle between three cultivators. One of them was badly injured, while the other two bore minor wounds but were clearly on the offensive.
Curious, Ye Chen descended quietly and hovered nearby to observe. He wanted to see firsthand what cultivators on Earth were truly like.
From their auras, all three of them were at the early stage of the Spirit Formation Realm. Despite their age—each of them looked over fifty—they had only just stepped into this realm. Clearly, Earth's cultivation standards were far lower than the cultivation world Ye Chen had known.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The clashing of weapons echoed through the forest. The two aggressors wielded large machetes, while the injured man fought back with iron fist gauntlets, blood dripping from his lips.
"Haha! Li Sunhe, your death is imminent!" one of the machete-wielding men sneered viciously.
"Big brother, stop wasting time. Kill him quickly and take everything he has!" the second man urged, his eyes filled with greed.
Ye Chen frowned slightly. It was clear this was a two-on-one ambush, and the man named Li Sunhe was in a desperate situation.
"You two are shameless!" Li Sunhe shouted, panting heavily. "Didn't you agree to work together? Now you're trying to kill me and take everything for yourselves?!"
The two assailants laughed coldly.
"It's true that we worked together to explore the ancient inheritance site," the older one said. "But we lost one of our brothers in that place and came back empty-handed."
"That's why we want everything you found, Li Sunhe. If we return to the Sect empty-handed, we'll be punished. But if we bring back your loot, no one will question us," the second added, smirking.
"So, this is how the Dragon Machete Sect treats their own?" Li Sunhe gritted his teeth. "You've truly sunk to disgraceful depths."
It turned out that Li Sunhe had managed to acquire a few precious pills from the inheritance site. His comrades—Saurdara and their teacher—had perished during the exploration. Now, Li Sunhe was unwilling to let their sacrifice be in vain by handing over the pills to these traitors.
Despite his injuries, Li Sunhe forced himself to his feet. His legs trembled, but he stood tall, raising his iron gauntlets in defiance, prepared to fight to the bitter end.
Ye Chen had heard enough. He understood the situation clearly now—these two from the Dragon Machete Sect were betraying their own to seize treasures. He couldn't just stand by and watch.
From his storage ring, Ye Chen retrieved a simple black mask and placed it over his face. With a flash of movement, he descended rapidly and landed between the three cultivators.
A sudden gust of wind stirred up dust and leaves, shrouding the battlefield in a thick veil. When the dust settled, the two machete-wielding men were stunned to see a masked young man standing before them.
"Who the hell are you?!" one of them barked warily.
Ye Chen's voice was calm and steady. "Just a passerby who can't stand injustice. I'm here to stop this."
The two members of the Dragon Machete Sect narrowed their eyes. They couldn't sense any spiritual energy coming from Ye Chen, which made them suspicious. Clearly, they thought he was a bluffing brat using an artifact to conceal his strength.
"Big brother, I think he's using some kind of device to hide his cultivation base," one whispered. "Probably wants to scare us."
"Yeah," the other agreed, grinning maliciously. "He's probably got a valuable artifact. Let's kill him too and sell it. Today's our lucky day—two fools walking into the wolf's den."
Ye Chen heard their every word and sighed. Greedy fools who can't read the room…
"I'll say it one more time," Ye Chen warned. "If you two leave now and vow never to act like this again, I'll let this slide."
Instead of backing off, the two men burst into mocking laughter.
"Haha! So you're trying to scare us now? With that cheap trick?"
"Kid, if you really had the strength, you would've already attacked. You're just a little punk playing hero."
With a roar, the two men raised their machetes and charged at Ye Chen without hesitation.
Clang!
The twin blades struck Ye Chen directly on his shoulder—but didn't even scratch him.
The two attackers paused, stunned. Before they could react further, Ye Chen unleashed a fraction of his true aura.
BOOM!
A crushing pressure exploded outward, spreading across several dozen meters. It felt as though a massive mountain had fallen upon the forest.
The two machete-wielding men fell to their knees instantly, their faces pale as they coughed up blood. Their smug grins had vanished, replaced by sheer terror.
"Please, senior! Spare us! We didn't know your status!" one of them begged.
"We promise we'll never do something like this again!"
Ye Chen's eyes grew cold. "I gave you two chances. You chose to ignore them. Now suffer the consequences."
With a casual flick of his palm, Ye Chen struck them both in the chest. The force sent them flying through the trees, smashing into the trunks before hitting the ground like broken dolls. Blood sprayed from their mouths as they lost consciousness.
Ye Chen didn't kill them—but he did destroy their cultivation bases. From this moment forward, they would be ordinary mortals.
Satisfied, Ye Chen turned toward the injured Li Sunhe and pulled out a healing pill from his ring. He walked over and offered it to the old man.
"Eat this. It'll ease your pain."
Li Sunhe was startled at first. He looked up at the masked man nervously but saw no malice in Ye Chen's eyes. He accepted the pill with both hands and swallowed it.
Warmth spread through his body, and he could feel his strength slowly returning. Though his wounds weren't fully healed, the pain had eased significantly.
"T-thank you, senior…" Li Sunhe said respectfully.
Ye Chen nodded. "Rest. But once you recover, I'd like to ask you a few questions… About the cultivators of this land… and the strength of the major sects."