Chapter 205: Hallowshade city.

Chapter 205: 205: Hallowshade city.

Hollowshade Village was a small settlement located on the outskirts of the Yew Woods.

Although the village was modest and lacked the prosperity of a proper city, cultivators hunting beasts in the forest would occasionally stop there to rest.

Returning all the way to Azure Willow City was too expensive for many of them, while traveling back to Violet Log City was simply too far.

As a result, Hollowshade Village became a convenient place for cultivators to spend the night, restock their supplies, and recover before continuing their journey.

The local inns were even doing better business than usual yet, despite the sudden increase in customers, one of the inns had found itself in serious trouble.

Bang!

A man was suddenly thrown through the wall of an inn.

His body smashed through the wooden wall before tumbling onto the street, leaving broken planks scattered across the ground.

The villagers nearby froze.

Before anyone could react, three figures stepped out of the damaged inn.

All three wore the same distinctive uniform, bearing the emblem of the Peng Clan.

The two people on the sides followed respectfully, while the young man in the middle walked forward with an air of arrogance.

There was no need for anyone to ask who he was.

The difference in their demeanor made his identity obvious.

He stopped in front of the damaged inn and looked around at the gathered villagers.

Then, with a faint smile on his face, he announced,"I’m Peng Clan’s Young Master."

The moment he finished speaking, the two guards behind him immediately stepped forward.

"Young Master Peng is the most talented young cultivator in our clan."

"That’s right. Anyone who dares to offend Young Master Peng is simply asking for trouble."

The two guards exchanged a glance before continuing their praise.

"Not only is Young Master Peng powerful, but he is also generous and magnanimous. It is only because of his good nature that this inn still stands after offending him."

The other guard quickly nodded.

"Exactly. If it were anyone else, they would have already been thrown into the Yew Woods."

The young master listened with a satisfied expression, clearly enjoying every word.

The villagers standing nearby lowered their heads and remained silent.

None of them dared to say anything.

After all, everyone in Hollowshade Village knew about the Peng Clan.

They were not a clan that ordinary mortals could afford to offend.

Inside the inn, the workers stared at the three members of the Peng Clan with undisguised indignation.

One of the young workers clenched his fists tightly, his face reddening as he watched the injured man lying outside.

Just as he was about to step forward, an elderly worker reached out and stopped him.

"Young man, calm down."

The elderly man shook his head and lowered his voice.

"The innkeeper is a kind-hearted man. He would never want to see you get hurt on his behalf."

He glanced toward the three cultivators outside before continuing.

"Matters between cultivators should be left to cultivators. We are only mortals. There is nothing we can do here."

The young man gritted his teeth but remained where he was.

The other boy standing beside him also noticed his anger. He quietly shook his head and made a small gesture with his hand.

"Don’t."

His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Don’t forget what we were told when they sent us here."

After taking a few deep breaths, the young man gradually loosened his clenched fists.

He looked at the elderly worker and gave a small nod.

"Yes, Senior. Matters between cultivators should be settled by cultivators."

With those words, he walked past the elderly man and stepped outside.

The moment he emerged from the inn, his eyes immediately fell upon the three members of the Peng Clan.

He walked straight toward them without showing the slightest hesitation.

Stopping a short distance in front of the young master, he cupped his hands and spoke calmly.

"My name is Xu Liang."

The Peng Clan’s young master raised an eyebrow.

Xu Liang continued, his voice carrying clearly through the street.

"The Peng Clan and the Xu Clan are mortal enemies. However, I’ll be kind enough to spare the three of you if you apologize to the innkeeper, Lin Qingshan."

He had barely finished speaking when the expressions of the two guards changed.

The young master Peng’s face darkened as well.

"You dare?"

Before Xu Liang could say anything further, the two guards simultaneously stepped forward.

Their spiritual energy erupted from their bodies.

"Who do you think you are?"

"Just a brat from the Xu Clan, and you dare order our Young Master to apologize?"

The two guards attacked without another word.

One rushed toward Xu Liang from the left while the other moved from the right, their fists striking toward him at the same time.

Xu Liang remained completely still, only when their attacks were almost upon him did he make his move.

His feet shifted slightly, and he slipped between the two attacks with ease.

The guards’ fists passed harmlessly beside him.

Xu Liang immediately countered.

His right fist slammed into the first guard’s chest.

Bang!

The guard’s body was sent flying backward, crashing into a wooden table inside the inn.

Before the second guard could react, Xu Liang spun around and struck him across the jaw.

Thud!

The guard staggered several steps before collapsing onto the ground.

The entire street fell silent as the villagers stared in disbelief.

The two guards were cultivators at the seventh layer of Body Tempering Realm, yet they had been defeated in only a few exchanges.

Xu Liang calmly lowered his fist.

He was already at the Second Layer of the Qi Refinement Realm.

The difference between the two realms was simply too great.

The young master of the Peng Clan stared at his fallen guards, his expression gradually becoming ugly.

He had clearly not expected Xu Liang to possess such strength.

Xu Liang looked back toward him.

"Now, where were we?"

His voice remained calm.

"I was asking you to apologize to Lin Qingshan."

The Peng Clan’s young master stared at Xu Liang with an ugly expression.

"You... you really don’t know who you’re dealing with, do you?"

He paused for a moment, seemingly gathering his courage before raising his chin.

"My father is Peng Tianyun."

The name came out with considerably more confidence than his previous words.

"He is the Patriarch of the Peng Clan. Do you understand what that means?"

Xu Liang simply watched him.

There was undisguised disgust in his eyes, but he did not respond.

The reason had nothing to do with fear. Instead he had suddenly sensed an aura approaching the village.

It was powerful and more importantly, it was furious.

Xu Liang’s expression became slightly more serious as he quietly gauged the direction of the approaching cultivator.

He had always been particularly sensitive to auras, and this one was impossible to ignore.

Whatever was about to happen, he was in one serious trouble but still, since he was the culprit, if a fight broke out, he wanted to make sure the civilians nearby suffered the least possible casualties.

The young master of the Peng Clan, however, knew nothing about what Xu Liang was thinking.

Seeing him remain completely silent after hearing his father’s name, he assumed that Xu Liang had finally been frightened into silence.

His confidence immediately returned.

A smug smile spread across his face.

"Hmph. So you do know when to be afraid."

He straightened his clothes and looked at Xu Liang with renewed arrogance.

"Since you’ve finally learned your place, I’ll be generous enough to introduce myself properly."

He placed a hand against his chest and proudly declared,

"My name is Peng Yucheng, the Young Master of the Peng Clan."

He stepped forward, his earlier arrogance returning as he pointed toward Xu Liang.

"I’m the Young Master of the Peng Clan. If you dare lay a hand on me, do you know what will happen?"

Xu Liang still remained silent, which the young master took as a sign fear and sneered.

"Your Xu Clan has already fallen into our hands. One word from me, and every member of your clan will be hunted down."

His chest puffed out, and the corner of his mouth curled upward.

"That’s more like it."

He glanced at the surrounding villagers with disdain.

"Remember your place. People like you are nothing more than peasants. You should keep your heads lowered when speaking to cultivators."

He pointed toward the damaged inn.

"You should be grateful that I even bothered to step into this filthy place. Instead of demanding an apology, you should be kneeling and thanking us for our mercy."

His voice grew louder as his confidence returned.

"Don’t mistake a little strength for the right to challenge someone above you. Know your place, and perhaps you’ll be allowed to keep your life."

A calm voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Oh, but do you know yours?"

Peng Yucheng’s expression froze and the smug smile on his face slowly disappeared as he turned toward the source of the voice.

Xu Liang’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The furious aura he had sensed earlier had finally arrived.