A startling silence fell over the restaurant. The only person who was not hunched over as though trying to hider was Xing Zhenya, but even she had become abnormally stiff.

“What’s the deal? Why’s it so quiet now? Weren’t y’all having a good time before we showed up? Could it be you don’t like us?” asked the man in the lead.

He wasn’t very old, about twenty or so, but his appearance was far different from anything Wu Jian had ever seen.

His hair was dyed bright pink. It was a garish color that stood out. The sides were shaved off, so only the top and the back, which had been tied into a small ponytail, remained. His vest and pants were ripped in several places, but it looked like they had been styled that way on purpose. A chain wrapped around his right arm stood out starkly on his white skin. It rattled as he walked.

“How could we be afraid, Young Master Zemin,” said the restaurant owner.

“Eh? You sayin’ you're not afraid of me? You sayin’ I look weak?!”

The restaurant owner had obviously been trying to placate the young man, but his words seemed to have the opposite effect.

“N-no! Of course, you are terrifyingly strong! I was just saying… our silence is because we’re in awe of your prowess and reputation!” the restaurant owner cried out.

“Hmph! That’s better. Now, get us something to drink! Me and my boys are celebrating our latest haul tonight!”

The man called “Young Master Zemin” walked toward a table as his followers cheered. No one said anything. Everyone tried their hardest not to look in the man’s direction as he sat down, put his boots on the table, and reclined back.

How arrogant do you have to be to act like this?

“Big Sis Zhenya, who are they?” asked Wu Jian. He was quiet enough no one could overhear him.

Xing Zhenya leaned in and whispered in a voice that was equally quiet. “That’s Mao Zemin. He’s the son of the sect master for the Raging Boars. They’re a branch of Wind-Lightning Pavilion. I’m sure you don’t know what that is since you’re new here, so let me explain. The Ming Dynasty is controlled by the Four Great Pavilions. They’re the Martial God Pavilion, Burning Flame Pavilion, Water-Moon Pavilion, and Wind-Lightning Pavilion. The Raging Boars is just be a subsidiary of the Wind-Lightning Pavilion, but that still grants them a lot of power. Power they’ve become drunk on.”

“I’m guessing they’re a relatively new sect?” asked Wu Jian.

Xing Zhenya nodded. “The Raging Boars was only formed about five years ago, and they only became a subsidiary of the Wind-Lightning Pavilion one year ago.”

If what Xing Zhenya was true, then their arrogance made sense. The power they wielded right now was not earned through their own merits. It was given to them.

Those who attained power through blood, sweat, and tears had a greater appreciation for it than those who were handed power. It was also harder for those who gained it through their own hard work to be corrupted by it.

“Power without cost leads to corruption,” Wu Jian murmured.

“Did you say something?” asked Xing Zhenya.

Wu Jian shook his head. “No, but we should probably leave now.”

“Yeah. Sticking around can’t be good for our health,” Xing Zhenya agreed.

They were just about to stand up and pay their tab when a startled scream caused everyone to look at the table where Mao Zemin and his group sat.

A young serving girl who couldn’t be much older than him had been yanked into Mao Zemin’s lap and was currently being groped. The girl squirmed and struggled to make him remove his hands, but he was having none of it.

“Stop struggling or I’ll cut out your tongue!” he screamed.

The girl stopped struggling, but her tears continued to flow.

Wu Jian clenched his jaw. Should he intervene? He wanted to, but he wasn’t sure if that would bring greater trouble down. Arrogant people like Mao Zemin were the type to never let go of a grudge. He’d be bringing trouble upon himself if he acted.

“Young Master Zemin… please… please let go of my daughter. She’s too young to engage in acts like that,” the restaurant owner pleaded with the man.

But Mao Zemin merely grinned as he grabbed the girl hard enough that she cried out in pain. “You’ve got a lot of gall. The fact that I’ve taken a liking to your daughter is your greatest honor. Don’t worry. I’ll make her into an honest woman. No need to thank me.”

The restaurant owner trembled as the patrons inside all looked away. No one wanted to get involved with someone like this.

Wu Jian decided to make a move and was about to stand up, but someone beat him to it.

Xing Zhenya slammed her hands onto the table and glared at Mao Zemin. Her eyes were like both fire and ice. They contained an intense hatred and an equally harsh chill.

“Let go of that girl, Mao Zemin! Don’t you have any shame?!”

Mao Zemin turned a glare in her direct, but his eyes suddenly lit up. He grinned. It was a look that caused Wu Jian to shiver in disgust even though it wasn’t directed at him.

“Xing Zhenya… it’s been a while. Damn. That mouth of yours might be the same, but your body has gotten even more fine than I remember.” Xing Zhenya’s cheeks burned as she covered her chest with her arms, but that only seemed to make Mao Zemin happier. “I could be persuaded to let this girl go… if you give yourself to me.”

Wu Jian had never met anyone this vile before. He briefly remembered the former head elder, Wu Wei, but even that man at his worst had not been this disgusting.

Xing Zhenya bit her lip. Uncertainty flickered across her features. She had obviously acted on impulse. Now that Mao Zemin had not backed down and even tried to make her replace the girl in his lap, there was little she could do. She lacked the power to fight with him evenly.

However, now that she had confronted him, there was no way he would let her go.

Wu Jian acted quickly, picking up his chopsticks and throwing them so fast that Mao Zemin couldn’t respond before they slammed into his eyes.

“WHAT THE FUCK?! MY EYES!”

Wu Jian was already moving by the time Mao Zemin let the girl go to grab his eyes. He grabbed the girl, shoved her behind him, then kicked the legs of Mao Zemin’s chair. The legs broke, the man crashed to the floor, and Wu Jian capitalized on the opportunity, launching a kick so powerful the man was launched into the air. He crashed into a table, which broke on contact.

He didn’t get back up.

His eyes were rolled in the back of his head.

Silence pervaded the restaurant, but it only lasted for a single second. All the men with Mao Zemin soon stood up and glared at him.

“The fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

“You damn, brat! You’re going to regret beating up our boss!”

“You’re courting death!”

There were only three men, which was… well, not good, but better than it could have been. All of them were likely at the Hunger Realm, though he couldn’t tell since his Dantian had yet to activate. However, they couldn’t have been at a higher realm. This was city was like Zahn City, a place way out in the sticks. Cultivators at a higher realm wouldn’t be here, and if they were, they’d be the leader of a sect instead of some random flunky.

Wu Jian slid his left foot forward, bent his knees, and threw a quick jab as one man tried to confront him. That person practically impaled himself upon Wu Jian’s fist. The sound of ribs breaking echoed around the restaurant.

Skipping forward, Wu Jian launched a kick that connected with the now screaming man’s jaw. Another crack echoed around the man as the man skidded across the ground.

“You sonofabitch!”

The two remaining men circled him on both sides and attacked in tandem, but Wu Jian ducked as they threw a punch his way. They avoided hitting each other. However, they were unable to dodge as Wu Jian kicked the back of their knees. As they went down, he came up, leapt into the air, flipped around, and landed an axe kick onto one of their chests. That man gasped as the air was driven from his lungs, but he soon fell unconscious.

Wu Jian finally turned to the last man.

“And then there was one,” he said.

The man crawled to his hands and knees, then clasped his hands together and tried to plead with Wu Jian.

“C-come on, Little Brother. There’s no need for such violence. We were just in a good mood and got a little out of control, b-but we know better now. We’ll leave. Promise.”

“Really? Then take your friends and get out of here,” Wu Jian said, nodding at the door.

“R-right away!”

The man grabbed his three unconscious friends by the legs and dragged them out of the restaurant. That, more than anything, was enough to let him know that these three weren’t very strong.

A sudden round of applause echoed around the restaurant. He turned around and found several people clapping for him, which caused Wu Jian to blush as he rubbed the back of his neck.

XIng Zhenya walked up to him with a wry smile on his face. “You really shouldn’t have done that. Mao Zemin definitely won’t let this slight against him go. He’ll be out for revenge, but… well, I know it was my fault you had to act. Thanks for protecting me.”

“I figured that would be the case. People like Mao Zemin are the type to throw a tantrum when they don’t get their way. I’m sure he’ll try something eventually, but since I know he’s coming, I can at least be prepared for it,” Wu Jian said.

The restaurant owner and his daughter thanked Wu Jian and Xing Zhenya for what they did, but they waved the pair’s thanks off as though it was no big deal and left.

Their renliche was still there and the driver was standing off to the side. He grabbed the handles as Wu Jian and Xing Zhenya entered and sat down.

“Take us back home, please,” Xing Zhenya said.

“Right away, Miss.”

The renliche began moving. It was still a bumpy ride, but Wu Jian was focused on other things just then. Even the scenery was but a backdrop to his thoughts.

“Hey, how strong is Mao Zemin?” he asked.

Xing Zhenya furrowed her brow for a moment. “The last time I saw him, he was only at the sixth subrealm of the Hunger Realm. I think he might be at the seventh subrealm now, though. He’s not too strong. He just a spoiled brat who likes to act big but goes crawling to his father whenever something happens that he can’t handle. Still, I’m surprised you were able to defeat him and his goons. They might not be very strong, but you haven’t even activated your dantian yet.”

Wu Jian shrugged. “You already know how strong I am. If it comes down to a fight, I’m pretty sure I can defeat anyone below the ninth subrealm of the Hunger Realm with nothing but my fists.”

“At least you’re not lacking in confidence,” Xing Zhenya said. It was hard to tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

“If I don’t have confidence in myself, who will have confidence in me?”

“Good point.”

While Wu Jian acted confident, and he even did feel confident in his words, he understood there was a chance he would not be able to defeat someone that strong. All of the people he fought who were at the Hunger Realm minus Yue during the tournament were fought as a group. It had been him, Hou Jingshu, and Wu Meiying against them.

If only I could activate my dantian now.

He sighed, wishing his birthday would come faster.