Chapter 215: Chapter 214: Looking for Trouble

This minor punishment immediately set Mu Xian’Er off.

"You—you hit me *there*!" Mu Xian’Er’s face turned beet red, and she looked like she was about to go insane. Pointing a trembling finger at him, she was almost speechless. Her Little Witch persona had come out in full force, completely erasing her previously playful and adorable expression.

"I’m just teaching you a lesson. Pranking others is one thing, but trying to prank me comes with a price." Yi Tianyun chuckled. ’Trying to play games with me? You’ve still got a long way to go!’

"I... I’ll kill you!" Mu Xian’Er shrieked and charged him, unleashing the full force of her seventh-level Spirit Refining Stage aura. For someone so young, her cultivation was impressive.

She looked as if she had lost her mind, swinging her palm down for a heavy blow and holding nothing back. She had been treated like a princess her whole life, so being treated so improperly by a man she had just met made it impossible for her to remain calm. It would have been stranger if she *wasn’t* furious.

"Fighting is forbidden in the Celestial Pattern Pavilion. You’d better think this through," Yi Tianyun reminded her.

Only then did Mu Xian’Er remember. She gritted her teeth and quickly pulled back her hand. After a twirl in the air, she landed beside Yi Tianyun and glared at him hatefully. "You scoundrel! You can’t be much older than me, yet you’re so despicable!"

She had clearly regained her senses. The rule against fighting applied to everyone, and that included Mu Xian’Er.

Mu Xian’Er was known for being eccentric and often pulling pranks on others. Thankfully, her pranks were always minor. Besides, given her status as the Great Elder’s granddaughter, no one dared to cross her. Even when they were the victims of her tricks, they would never dream of retaliating like Yi Tianyun had—pranking her back and even spanking her!

They say you can’t touch a tiger’s backside, but provoking Mu Xian’Er was clearly a much more dangerous game...

"I’m just helping teach you a lesson. What’s the point of running around pranking people? You should be a well-behaved girl, not so mischievous. To be precise, you tried to prank *me*, and there’s a price for that." Yi Tianyun crossed his arms and watched her with an amused expression. Others might be afraid of Mu Xian’Er, but he certainly wasn’t.

"Fine!" Mu Xian’Er’s fingers trembled with rage. Gritting her teeth, she spat, "Just you wait! I’ll make you regret this, you scoundrel!"

With that, she stomped her foot and ran into the Celestial Soul Tower, done with Yi Tianyun. She clearly had business to attend to, or she would have continued to pester him.

Yi Tianyun shook his head, thinking nothing of it, and turned to leave.

He soon returned to the Celestial Pattern Pavilion. By the time he got back, news of what happened at the Celestial Soul Tower had already spread like wildfire.

More importantly, Yi Tianyun had defeated Jia Ping! This meant his overall skill level was higher than Jia Ping’s.

Yi Tianyun glanced up and saw that his rank had indeed changed. He had shot up to 24th place, taking over Jia Ping’s spot. Jia Ping, in turn, was pushed down to 25th. The rankings updated quickly.

The moment he returned, all eyes locked onto him. Their gazes were a mixture of surprise, jealousy, and doubt—every kind of look imaginable.

Yi Tianyun paid them no mind. Just as he was about to walk away, two imposing figures began walking menacingly toward him. Judging by their trajectory, they were clearly heading for him.

"Boss!"

Just then, Yang Yu hurried over. Seeing the two men, a trace of apprehension showed in his eyes. He leaned in and whispered to Yi Tianyun.

"That’s Liang Bing, ranked nineteenth, and Yuan Zhengyang, ranked twentieth. They’re on very good terms with the Feng Family and the Jia Family. They’re clearly here to cause trouble."

’As expected. In a competitive place like this, people will look for trouble over the slightest thing.’

Yi Tianyun could tell from their aggressive demeanor that they were here to start something. ’They must be friends or allies of Jia Ping and his cronies. Guilt by association, I suppose.’

Yi Tianyun had just gotten back, and they were already here for him. Their tolerance was pitifully small. ’Then again,’ he thought, ’that’s to be expected. We belong to different factions. It’s only natural they wouldn’t like the look of me.’

They walked over, squinting as they sized up Yi Tianyun for a moment before turning their attention to Yang Yu. The hot-tempered Zhang Bin sneered, "Well, well, look who’s become a lackey. You get yourself a backer and suddenly you’ve grown a spine? Daring to stand up to us now? I seem to recall someone getting beaten so badly they begged for mercy, hiding from us, not even daring to meet our eyes."

"Zhang Bin, don’t put it like that," Liang Bing said with a faint smile, addressing his companion before turning his gaze to Yi Tianyun. "He’s always been this pathetic, he just thinks finding a backer makes him strong. Only you would be willing to take in someone like him. Be careful. The moment you run into trouble, he’ll be the first one to flee, leaving you abandoned."

"Bullshit!" Yang Yu roared. "I’m not that kind of person! I admit I lost to you, but I never begged for mercy! You’re lying!"

His tone was firm, leaving no doubt he was telling the truth. Their words were clearly nothing but slander.

"Either way, you’re both cut from the same cloth. You just got here and you’ve already beaten two of our brothers. Tsk, tsk... You’re pretty arrogant. You think you own this place?" Liang Bing sneered. "If you want to survive here, you’d better learn some humility. Otherwise, you might end up dead in a ditch somewhere and not even know how you got there!"

This was an open threat. They were throwing their weight around because of their higher rank.

Yi Tianyun waved his hand dismissively. "After all that crap, don’t you just want to challenge me to a duel? If that’s what you want, fine. We can start right now!"

"Fine!" A murderous glint flashed in Liang Bing’s eyes as he sneered, "Then let’s go to the dueling grounds right now!"

This was exactly the outcome he wanted. The assessment was about to begin. If Yi Tianyun was injured—or even killed—during the duel, he wouldn’t be able to participate, and Liang Bing could secure his rank.

However, Yi Tianyun had no intention of participating in any assessment to begin with. It was completely irrelevant to him.

"Boss, their cultivation levels are much higher than Jia Ping’s..." Yang Yu said anxiously. Liang Bing’s cultivation was nothing to scoff at. It was obvious this was a deliberate provocation, and he couldn’t believe Yi Tianyun had actually taken the bait.

This was a critical time. If he got injured, he wouldn’t be able to participate in the next round of the assessment.

"Don’t worry, I have a plan," Yi Tianyun said, patting him on the shoulder. "Anyone who insults my people will pay the price. I don’t care who they are!"

"I..." Yang Yu was stunned, his heart filled with gratitude. He gritted his teeth and declared, "Boss! From this day on, you’re the only boss for me!"

This time, he meant it with all his heart. Before, he had called him "Boss" because he felt Yi Tianyun was worth following, and because he’d helped him deal with Feng Yulong—the scumbag who had been harassing his sister. But now, after Yi Tianyun had stood up for him like this, he was utterly convinced. He was willing to follow Yi Tianyun to the end!