Long Er!
Upon hearing this name, Ye Qiu’s pupils contracted sharply, “Long Er of the Forbidden City?”
The old man nodded with a smile, “Indeed, it is I.”
Ye Qiu’s expression changed drastically, and he shouted urgently, “Get back!”
Everyone was confused, standing still. Fu Yanjie even asked, “Director, what’s going on?”
“Retreat,” Ye Qiu commanded again.
Though Fu Yanjie and the others didn’t understand Ye Qiu’s intentions, seeing his unprecedentedly grave expression, they immediately retreated dozens of metres.
“No need to be nervous, I mean no harm,” Long Er said with a smile.
Ye Qiu didn’t believe a word of it. His eyes locked on Long Er, fully on guard, and he asked, “Are you here to kill me?”
“You misunderstand. I didn’t come to Jiangzhou to kill you,” Long Er said, “Besides, if I wanted you dead, you’d already be a corpse.”
Ye Qiu remained vigilant, asking, “Then why are you here?”
Long Er replied, “I came for two reasons.”
“First, I wanted to see what kind of person killed my brothers.”
“Second, I’m delivering an invitation on behalf of my elder brother.”
Ye Qiu asked in a low voice, “Has Long Yi come out of seclusion?”
Long Er didn’t answer, saying instead, “Ye Qiu, you’re impressive.”
“But unfortunately, you shouldn’t have made an enemy of our Forbidden City, nor should you have killed my brothers.”
At this, Long Er pulled a gilded invitation from his robe and handed it to Ye Qiu, saying, “From my elder brother.”
Ye Qiu took the invitation and opened it. A single line of small text was written inside.
“On New Year’s Eve, come to the Forbidden City to meet your death!”
Signed: Long Yi.
Ye Qiu’s heart tightened. This wasn’t an invitation, it was a challenge!
At that moment, the letter suddenly turned to dust, bursting into a dazzling white light filled with boundless killing intent, surging towards Ye Qiu’s forehead.
Ye Qiu, prepared, smashed his fist forward.
“Boom!”
A loud crash rang out.
The white light wasn’t shattered by Ye Qiu’s punch, instead it rang out like an impossibly sharp divine sword.
Hmph!
Ye Qiu snorted coldly, releasing three streams of innate true qi, accompanied by a thunderous dragon’s roar. The white light was finally extinguished.
Long Er looked at the three streams of innate true qi above Ye Qiu’s head, envy flickering across his face.
“No wonder you could kill my brothers at such a young age, you’ve cultivated innate true qi.”
“Ye Qiu, you truly are a martial arts prodigy. If not for the blood feud between you and our Forbidden City, I’d want to take you as my final disciple.”
“Sadly, your time is running out.”
“Less than three months until New Year’s Eve, Ye Qiu. Use this time to train well.”
“On New Year’s Eve, I’ll personally send you to your grave in the Forbidden City.”
“Farewell.”
With that, Long Er turned to leave.
“Stop!”
Ye Qiu’s voice was stern, “Long Er, this is Jiangzhou, not a place you can come and go as you please.”
Long Er paused, turning back to Ye Qiu with a smile, “What, you want to keep me here?”
Ye Qiu gave a cold smile, “If I can take you down in Jiangzhou, I’ll only have to face Long Yi on New Year’s Eve.”
Long Er looked at Ye Qiu, his smile unwavering, “I admire your courage, but thinking you can keep me here is far too naive.”
“You’re no match for me.”
“If you don’t believe me, go ahead and try.”
“Try I will.” Ye Qiu threw a punch at Long Er’s face.
Boom!
A massive collision echoed.
The next second, Ye Qiu’s expression changed drastically.
His punch didn’t land on Long Er’s face, it was stopped halfway by a single finger.
“Your strength is impressive.”
“Among your peers, no one could block that punch.”
“But to think you can keep me here is too naive.”
“Want to try again?”
“I suggest you use your innate true qi.”
Long Er’s bright smile felt like mockery to Ye Qiu.
“Again!”
This time, Ye Qiu unleashed his innate true qi, quickly enveloping his fist with three streams of it.
Instantly, his fist glowed with golden light.
“Bang!”
Ye Qiu threw a powerful punch, compressing the air with a cracking blast.
Boom!
His fist shot like a meteor, lightning-fast, towards Long Er’s head.
Yet, it was still blocked by Long Er’s single finger.
“Too weak.”
Long Er laughed, “Kid, haven’t you eaten?”
Hearing Long Er’s words, Ye Qiu’s refined face flushed red, as if deeply humiliated.
He threw another punch, aiming for Long Er’s finger.
This third punch carried at least ten thousand pounds of force.
“Bang!”
Ye Qiu’s fist struck Long Er’s finger.
But to his shock, despite the immense force, Long Er’s expression didn’t change, his finger easily blocking the blow.
“This…”
Ye Qiu was horrified.
That punch could kill a master on the Dragon List, yet it didn’t even scratch Long Er’s finger.
Long Er’s finger was like an immovable divine pillar.
“Still want to try?” Long Er asked.
Ye Qiu fell silent. Long Er’s cultivation was too strong, further attempts would be futile.
“Courtesy demands reciprocity. You’ve thrown three punches, now try taking one of my fingers.”
With that, Long Er thrust a finger forward.
Whoosh!
As Ye Qiu’s fist met Long Er’s finger, he felt an overwhelming force.
Sharp as a blade.
Fierce as a dragon.
In an instant, Ye Qiu was sent flying, crashing dozens of metres away in front of Fu Yanjie and the others.
Clang!
Ye Qiu felt his body falling apart.
“Ye Qiu—”
“Director—”
Su Luoying, Su Xiaoxiao, Fu Yanjie, and Old Xiang quickly helped Ye Qiu sit up.
“Ye Qiu, don’t forget, come to the Forbidden City on New Year’s Eve.”
“I’ll personally send you to your grave.”
“If you don’t show, everyone connected to you, family, friends, colleagues, I’ll invite their entire families to die, one by one.”
“See you in the Forbidden City on New Year’s Eve!”
Long Er smiled and walked away.
Ye Qiu’s gaze followed Long Er’s back until he vanished completely. Only then did Ye Qiu open his mouth.
“Pfft—”
A mouthful of blood sprayed out.
Long Er’s earlier finger strike hadn’t just knocked Ye Qiu back, it had caused internal injuries.
Seeing him spit blood, Su Luoying urgently asked, “Ye Qiu, are you okay?”
“Director, are you alright?” Su Xiaoxiao said, full of concern.
Fu Yanjie said directly, “Director, let’s get you to a ward to rest.”
“Yeah, Director, rest for a bit,” Old Xiang added, worried about Ye Qiu’s injuries.
At that moment, Ye Qiu’s phone began ringing urgently.
