C58 Returning the Favor with One's Teeth

In a stone cave that could barely fit five or six people, Yuan Tine, Yu Feifei, and two youths studied the wall before them. It was etched with numerous peculiar runes, but a section had been deliberately erased.

With just a glance, Yu Yuan discerned that the wall once bore a complete set of runes detailing a rune array. Likely, it was the work of explorers who had ventured into the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area years earlier. Eventually, someone stumbled upon the array and, after unlocking its secrets, destroyed part of the wall to prevent others from uncovering its mysteries. Now, the fragmented array was useless.

"Don't bother wasting your energy here," Yu Yuan said dismissively, sparing the wall no further interest. "An incomplete rune array is utterly worthless."

While Yuan Tine and the others continued to scrutinize the wall, hoping to decipher some hidden secret, Yu Yuan had already moved on. As he exited the cave, he was surprised to see a trio emerging from another cavern—two men and a woman he had briefly encountered at the entrance to the forbidden area. He vaguely recognized them as trial-goers from the other six cities, likely having traversed a stone path from a different pit.

"Have you found something?" The leader of the group couldn't contain his curiosity, drawn by the murmurs from within the cave.

"Is that you? Yu Yuan from Darkmoon City!" The young woman's eyes blazed with recognition. Yu Yuan's previous remarks had managed to offend every woman from the five great families and the six cities, and she had not forgotten.

Yu Yuan simply shrugged, offering no reply.

"You'll get what's coming to you!" she warned, her glare sharp. "But first, let's see what's inside."

With that, the trio brushed past Yu Yuan and entered the cave where Yuan Tine and the rest were gathered.

At that moment, Zhao Yafu finally emerged from the pit below. "What are those Shadowhall people doing here?" she wondered aloud, eyeing the cave with suspicion. "They didn't actually find something, did they?"

"They found an incomplete rune array," Yu Yuan answered nonchalantly.

"An incomplete array?" Zhao Yafu remarked dismissively, "Let's not bother with them. It's just an incomplete array; it's unlikely to cause any commotion."

She didn't bother to detail the identities and levels of the three Shadowhall cultivators to Yu Yuan, simply because she didn't care.

Their realms and strengths were quite mediocre.

All were at the Spirit Accumulating Stage, with none having attained the Yellow Court Stage.

Lacking the cultivation level of the Yellow Court Stage and not being from one of the five great families, Zhao Yafu had no reason to be concerned.

"Stop!"

Out of nowhere, Yuan Tine's enraged bellow echoed from the cave.

"Brother!"

Yu Feifei's voice, laced with alarm, rang out almost simultaneously.

Yu Yuan's expression turned grim. He was about to rush in when everyone inside, including Yuan Tine, Yu Feifei, and the Shadowhall trio, emerged from the cave.

More precisely, the Shadowhall trio walked out, followed closely by Yuan Tine and his group.

"Hu!"

Yu Yuan swiftly positioned himself in front of the three, his brow furrowed as he demanded, "What just happened?"

"Yu Yuan, that guy was harassing your sister, pinching her cheek," Yuan Tine seethed, pointing at a gaunt, dark-skinned youth among them.

With a smug grin, the youth retorted, "I saw your sister's round, plump cheeks and thought she looked adorable, so I pinched them. Is that really harassment?"

He was clearly unapologetic.

Yu Yuan fixed a piercing gaze on him.

"And?" challenged another, a taller young man, "My brother just pinched her. It's hardly worth making a fuss over, right? You've called women from other cities shameless right in front of the Forbidden Ground, and we haven't even taken you to task for that."

"Yafu," Yu Yuan called sharply.

"Right here!" Zhao Yafu called back energetically.

"Do me a favor and capture that one," Yu Yuan instructed, pointing at the skinny youth.

"Got it."

Zhao Yafu exploded into action, swift as lightning.

A Flood Dragon's silhouette, conjured from a mix of spiritual energy and vital essence, materialized in the void.

She balled her small fists and, with straightforward brutality, hurled them at the trio.

"Roar!"

The spectral image of a Flood Dragon, conjured from the void, echoed her punch with a fierce roar. The three individuals from Shadowhall—two men and a woman—were thrown into disarray as their blood and Qi surged chaotically, leaving them dizzy and disoriented.

Zhao Yafu's fist, with unanticipated might, crashed into the chests of the two brothers.

"Boom!"

The sound was like a thunderclap out of a clear sky.

Her diminutive fist sent the brothers flying, slamming them hard against the rocky wall behind them. In a blur of motion, Zhao Yafu appeared beside the skinny, dark-skinned youth who had hit the ground. She seized the nape of his neck and dragged him to Yu Yuan's feet like a lifeless dog. "Here you go," she said, presenting her catch.

The skirmish erupted and concluded in the blink of an eye, as swift as lightning.

The other girl, still dazed by the dragon's roar, hadn't even processed the fight's end.

"Uh..."

Yuan Tine, Yu Feifei, and the Yuan family members were left agape.

How was Zhao Yafu so formidable?

She had only recently ascended from the Spirit Accumulating Stage to the Yellow Court Stage. How then could she unleash such staggering combat prowess?

Even Yu Yuan was taken aback for a moment, wondering, "What has the refinement of the young dragon's spirit soul granted her to cause such a transformation?"

While pondering, Yu Yuan squatted down, eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing?" The skinny youth seemed to only then come to his senses, realizing he had been knocked out and captured by Zhao Yafu.

"Oh, nothing much. I just think your face is quite plump and round, quite adorable, really."

Yu Yuan smiled, his hands gently pinching the youth's face before he began to tear at it mercilessly!

"Ah!"

A blood-curdling scream, akin to that of a pig being slaughtered, filled the air as the young man's tears and snot mingled in his agony.

"Stop!"

The taller brother and the stunned girl shouted together.

Yu Yuan paid them no heed, well aware that combat was permitted within the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area for the first four months.

The only prohibition was death.

As long as no life was taken, severe injuries typically wouldn't trigger any retribution or warning from the outside observers.

The young man's face, now in Yu Yuan's grasp, was distorted beyond recognition, as if it were a piece of cotton being twisted and pulled in every direction.

"Don't get too smug—the folks from Shadowhall will be here before you know it!"

The girl, cowed by Zhao Yafu's formidable combat prowess, didn't dare make a move. Her only recourse was to invoke the presence of her fellow townspeople, "We traveled here via the stone path connected to the Heavenly Pit. The rest of our group will be showing up any minute now."

Yuan Tine's face took on a hint of concern.

Shadowhall, too, had its share of Yellow Court Stage cultivators, and not just one. Their levels of cultivation were even higher than Zhao Yafu's.

If the girl's claim held true and they were indeed on their way, what was his next move?

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