He was the dignified leader of a gang, a new Grandmaster of Huajin. Yet, in front of all the prominent figures of Yun Port City and his "masters" from Wa Country, he’d had his subordinate kicked aside and been harshly berated by a mere upstart.
’It was as if my reputation had been stomped into the dirt and ground underfoot!’
At that moment, Kameida Koji, who was seated nearby, flew into a rage. He shot up from his seat, his right hand drawing the Nambu Type 14 Pistol from his waist. The dark, gaping muzzle pointed directly at Lu Jingteng.
"Baka! Damn Daxia People! How dare you be so insolent!"
When Wang Weijing caught sight of Kameida drawing his gun out of the corner of his eye, he had no intention of stopping him. Instead, a sliver of anticipation grew within him.
’Shoot! Just shoot! One bullet is all it would take to kill this reckless brat!’ he thought venomously.
’If I weren’t so wary of that unfathomable old monster from the Lu Family... I’d have used my Cyan Dragon Earth-Splitting Leg to smash this arrogant little bastard’s skull on the spot!’
’Who does he think he is, acting so brazenly here!’
"Announcing—the—arrival—of—Master—Lu!"
From beyond the banquet hall’s heavy revolving doors, a doorman’s clear voice suddenly rang out.
All eyes, including those of Kameida Koji and Wang Weijing, were irresistibly drawn to the entrance.
The first thing they saw was the tip of a wooden staff—dark purple, with a cloud-like grain and a subtle, warm luster—tapping gently on the polished marble floor.
He was followed by Lu Yun, a tall and imposing figure in a crisp, black tunic suit, who walked in at an unhurried pace, leaning on the peculiar Purple Vine Staff.
Lu Yun’s face was devoid of expression. His gaze swept calmly across the hall before finally settling on the pistol Kameida Koji had aimed at his son.
The hall, which had been bristling with tension just a moment before, fell deathly silent.
Lu Yun ignored everyone else, speaking only to Lu Jingteng, who was surrounded in the middle of the room. "Jingteng, you were too reckless. Now, come with me."
Lu Jingteng’s spirits lifted. Without hesitation, he pushed aside the stunned Cyan Dragon Gang members in his way and walked toward Lu Yun.
Seeing Lu Jingteng actually turn to leave, Kameida Koji felt his authority had been challenged as never before.
"Baka!"
With a furious roar, he stopped hesitating and squeezed the trigger.
But before his finger could fully depress the trigger, alarm bells screamed in the mind of Wang Weijing, who had been keeping a death grip on Lu Yun with his peripheral vision.
He knew far better than Kameida how terrifying a Grandmaster of Huajin could be, especially a powerhouse like Lu Yun!
In the next instant, Wang Weijing reacted. "Lord Kameida, look out!"
With a lightning-fast movement, his left hand shot out and yanked an elite Cyan Dragon Gang member from his side, using the man as a shield for himself and Kameida Koji.
Almost at the exact moment the human shield was in place.
"PFFT!"
The gang member being used as a shield suddenly went rigid. A fist-sized, bloody hole exploded in his abdomen!
A shard of colorful ceramic floor tile, spinning at high speed with a razor-sharp edge, burst from his back with terrifying kinetic energy.
Its momentum unabated, the shard shot straight toward Wang Weijing and Kameida Koji.
Wang Weijing’s pupils contracted. His palms, already poised to strike, shot forward instantly.
The immense Qi of a Grandmaster of Huajin surged forth without reservation.
The shard of tile met the Qi with a dull thud. It was then violently shredded by the rampaging Huajin, turning into a cloud of fine dust that drifted to the floor.
’I blocked it!’
But a severe, numbing ache and a sharp, stabbing pain shot through Wang Weijing’s palms and up his arms.
He was horrified. Quickly, he clasped his hands behind his back, where his fingertips trembled uncontrollably for a few moments.
’Such overwhelming power.’
’Damn it! That old monster Lu Yun... He truly lives up to his legend. Back when he was only at the Peak of Anjin, they called him "Half-Step Huajin" and "invincible below the Grandmaster level"!’
’Now that he’s actually broken through to Huajin, the sheer depth of his Qi is simply unfathomable!’
’I used my full strength in that hasty defense, and I still barely managed to stop an attack he launched with a casual flick!’
’If we were to fight head-on...’ Wang Weijing didn’t dare to let the thought finish.
At this, the shaken crowd looked over to where Lu Yun stood. They saw that on the exquisite, colorful mosaic tile directly beneath the tip of his Wisteria Spirit Staff, a fingernail-sized corner was missing.
"Dad, let’s go," Lu Jingteng said, having quickly reached Lu Yun’s side.
Only after Lu Yun and Lu Jingteng had left completely did Kameida Koji snap out of his shock. He whirled around, raised his left hand, and in front of everyone, landed a resounding slap across Wang Weijing’s face.
"Baka! You useless piece of trash!"
A bright red handprint instantly bloomed on Wang Weijing’s face.
Suffering such a great humiliation in public, a vicious glint flashed for an instant in his one eye.
A moment later, Wang Weijing forced a fawning smile back onto his face, bowing and scraping apologetically.
"Hai! Lord Kameida, please calm your anger! It was my failure to protect you! Rest assured, I will remember today’s score! I will be sure to give you a satisfactory resolution!"
The guests in the audience watched this scene, their hearts filled with contempt.
This time, without any further "prompting" from Wang Weijing, nearly every guest still in attendance silently raised their glasses and drained them in a single gulp.
No one sitting here was a true fool.
Everyone could see that Wang Weijing was seething with pent-up rage and had nowhere to vent it.
At a time like this, the best way to protect oneself was to be compliant. They couldn’t give him any pretext to make an example out of someone.
Wang Weijing clutched his stinging face and scanned the "sensible" guests below. The illusion of control seemed to slightly dilute the humiliation burning in his heart.
He cleared his throat again, trying to make his voice sound more magnanimous.
"Excellent! It seems all of you agree with my earlier statements and approve of the Cyan Dragon Gang’s future direction!"
"Then let us raise our glasses once more!"
"To Lord Kameida and the painstaking efforts of all the soldiers of Wa Country! To the ever-increasing stability of our Yun Port City, thanks to the help of our Wa Country allies!"
"Cheers!"
"In the future, the Cyan Dragon Gang will not disappoint you! The future of Yun Port City will be brighter than ever!"
After Wang Weijing finished this string of blatant, nauseating flattery, the voices of a few high-ranking Cyan Dragon Gang members and a handful of their cronies chimed in once more.
"Well said, Wang Gang Leader!"
"Well said!"

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