Li Chuyang paid no mind to Lu Ren's indignant question. Instead, he turned to Jiang Fan and said, "A piece of trash who can't even take a single palm strike from me. This is the man you couldn't even win a woman from? Is this what you really want?"
Everyone looked as if they'd been struck by lightning. 'Li Chuyang actually stepped in for Jiang Fan? Jiang Fan knows Li Chuyang?'
Eager expressions appeared on everyone's faces. They could sense that today's events were about to get incredibly dramatic.
"You..."
Having been belittled so thoroughly, Lu Ren's face went pale with shame and indignation. As one of the Ten Heroes, he had never been treated with such contempt.
But when he remembered Li Chuyang's status and cultivation, he forced himself to swallow his anger.
This was a man that not even the Dawn Association dared to offend; he was far beyond someone Lu Ren could afford to provoke.
Li Chuyang then pointed at Ah Ya. "A woman like this? If I so much as beckon with a finger, she'd crawl over on her knees and lick my toes. She's vain, materialistic, and shamelessly opportunistic. It's laughable that you actually thought she was a worthy partner."
Ah Ya's face turned ashen. She didn't dare utter a single word.
"Get over here!" Li Chuyang commanded.
The color drained from Ah Ya's face. She shot a pleading look at Lu Ren, only to see him turn his head away, completely ignoring her.
Trembling, Ah Ya didn't dare to disobey. She could only walk up to Li Chuyang and stammer, "Young... Young Master Li, what are your instructions?"
Li Chuyang said expressionlessly, "Warm my bed tonight, and I'll give you a proper title in the future. Are you willing?"
A look of disbelief appeared on Ah Ya's face before she nodded vigorously. "I'm willing. I am."
Hearing this, Lu Ren felt his blood boil. He coughed and spat out a large mouthful of blood.
Li Chuyang shot a mocking glance at Jiang Fan. "See? Was I wrong? For a slut like her, what was the point of hiding your identity and your A-class Root Bone?
If you'd told her sooner that you were the Young Master Marquis of the Jiang Clan and had an A-class Root Bone, she would have stripped naked and climbed into your bed long ago."
'Jiang Fan is a Young Master Marquis? With an A-class Root Bone?'
An eerie silence fell as everyone stared, wide-eyed.
Disbelief flooded Lu Ren's face, quickly followed by terror. 'I tried to steal a woman from a genius with an A-class Root Bone? From the Young Master Marquis of the Jiang Clan?'
His moment of triumph had turned into a death warrant.
At his side, Gu Haoming was so frightened that he took several steps back.
The Gu Family were just rich country bumpkins. Compared to a place like the Marquis Mansion, they were no better than beggars.
Beside Xu Yang, Sun Tao, Jiang Ping, and the others were dumbfounded. The hidden genius Jiang Fan had spoken of was actually himself, and he was even a Young Master Marquis.
The irony was that Ah Ya had disdained him, a man with an A-class Root Bone, yet insisted on chasing after Lu Ren, who only had a B-class Root Bone.
"You have an A-class Root Bone? You're the Young Master Marquis of the Jiang Clan?"
Ah Ya's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets, her expression a priceless sight to behold.
'With that kind of status and talent, you should have said something sooner! Are you just messing with me?'
'If I had known you were that talented, who would have even given Lu Ren a second glance?'
"Scram!"
Overjoyed, she started to move toward Jiang Fan, but Li Chuyang's sharp command stopped her.
"Li Chuyang, you fucking bastard."
Jiang Fan, who had been silent until now, gritted his teeth. Having seen the ugliest side of the woman he liked, his composure shattered, and his face twisted in rage.
"I had good intentions," Li Chuyang said. "I didn't want to see you throw away your talent for a worthless woman like her."
BOOM!
His face a mask of killing intent, Jiang Fan shot toward Li Chuyang like a bolt of lightning.
"You want to fight me? Come back when you've reached Gang Qi Minor Achievement."
Li Chuyang didn't engage him. With a flash, he darted into the distance. Jiang Fan said nothing, simply giving chase relentlessly.
"Slut!" Lu Ren seethed, too humiliated to remain. He turned and stormed away.
Zhang Yong and Jiang Ping were visibly gloating, finding the whole scene immensely satisfying. From this day forward, Lu Ren would be a laughingstock in the Purple Sun Sect.
If Jiang Fan decided to retaliate, Lu Ren might even end up dead.
Her face contorted with venomous hatred, Ah Ya also hurried away. She had been humiliated by Li Chuyang, had now lost Lu Ren, and it was unlikely Jiang Fan would ever want her back.
The saying "to try to steal a chicken only to lose the rice" wasn't enough to describe her situation. She was now set to become the biggest joke in the Purple Sun Sect.
It was only because she was so thick-skinned; any other woman would have already ended her own life with a palm strike in shame.
"He and Jiang Fan seem to be quite close."
In the distance, Liu Qian gazed at Xu Yang. 'In all likelihood,' she thought, 'the genius Xu Yang mentioned who wasn't on the Ten Heroes List must be Jiang Fan.'
'So, the person they kicked out was someone on good terms with the Young Master Marquis of the Jiang Clan.'
She glanced over at Qin Ze and saw that he too wore a look of regret.
'If you're on good terms with the Young Master Marquis of the Jiang Clan, why didn't you say so? We all ended up going our separate ways, and on top of that, Yue Gui and Chen Jiang are dead.'
Once the farce was over, the Outer Disciples returned to their queues. But from this day on, everyone knew that beyond the Ten Heroes, there was another genius: a Young Master Marquis with an A-class Root Bone.
Xu Yang collected his Qi Replenishing Pills and swallowed them all in one go. Without any Eight-Treasure Body-Strengthening Pills, the Qi Replenishing Pills would have to do; they were better than nothing.
Qin Ze and Liu Qian approached with smiles. "Brother Xu, we never properly thanked you for getting help last time. Miss Liu and I would like to host a banquet in your honor."
Unsure of what the two were plotting, Xu Yang just shook his head. "There's no need."
'He wanted nothing to do with them and had no intention of mending their relationship. If he ever encountered them outside the Sect, he would kill them without hesitation.'
With that, he left with Sun Tao and the others, leaving Qin Ze and Liu Qian standing there, stunned.
When they returned to their courtyard, they saw Jiang Fan sitting there, looking utterly dejected as he gulped down wine.
"Have a drink with me!" Jiang Fan said.
Without a word, Jiang Ping walked over and took a heavy swig.
Xu Yang and Sun Tao exchanged a look before walking over and sitting down as well.
Jiang Fan was a warm and friendly person who got along well with everyone in the courtyard. If Li Chuyang hadn't exposed him today, no one would have ever guessed he was a Young Master Marquis, let alone a genius with an A-class Root Bone.