At the dawn of heaven and earth, the cosmos converged its vital breath to birth all things — an era that countless cultivators yearned for, now gone and never to return. Ye Fan could only sigh in wistful admiration.

That night, his gains had been tremendous. His Bitter Sea had expanded from the size of a soybean to the size of a dove’s egg, and most importantly, the golden Bitter Sea now harbored nineteen divine markings within it. He had already attained considerable combat strength, becoming a genuine Bitter Sea realm cultivator — no longer merely scraping by with the word “barely” attached to his name.

By now, daylight had fully broken. Ye Fan hunted two pheasants and a wild rabbit in the mountain forest, then gathered some wild fruits before making his way back toward the small town.

Upon returning to the little restaurant, the old man had just set breakfast on the table. Little Tingting was persistently knocking on his room door, urging him to get up. Ye Fan couldn’t help but smile warmly at the sight.

Seeing him return from outside, Little Tingting was very surprised, while Grandpa Jiang seemed to want to say something but held back. Having lived so many years, he had naturally guessed that the arson incident was connected to Ye Fan.

“For lunch today, we’ll add some extra dishes — braised wild rabbit and jade-leaf wrapped fragrant chicken. Here, first try these wild fruits and see if they taste good.” Ye Fan offered several bright red fruits to the little girl.

“Oh, oh, oh! More delicious food!” Little Tingting was absolutely delighted.

After breakfast, Ye Fan returned to his room and continued studying the Dao Scripture. He felt that every time he reread it, he gained a different understanding.

“Hm!”

Ye Fan gave a start. He discovered that the dozens of lines of ancient characters at the opening of the golden book were slowly growing blurry, as though they would vanish entirely before long.

“Fortunately, I’ve already committed them to memory — otherwise this would truly become a problem.” He couldn’t understand why this was happening.

By midday, Ye Fan was roused by a burst of shouting and clamoring.

“You old bag of bones, stop wasting our time — get moving and prepare some food and wine, or we’ll tear this little shop of yours apart!”

“Of all the rotten luck — that fire wiped us out completely. That bastard deserves to be cut into a thousand pieces for bringing this misery down on us!”

“Steward Liu, what are we supposed to do now? We were beaten out of the Li Family — it’s a disgrace we’ll never live down.”

“You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? We’ll just take it one step at a time. Old man Jiang, what are you standing there gawking for? Hurry up and prepare a table of food and wine to calm our nerves, or you can go ahead and plan your funeral!”

It was the sallow-faced middle-aged man and several of his subordinates. Every one of them was wrapped in bandages — some burned by yesterday’s fire, others beaten black and blue by the Li Family and thrown out on their ears.

Little Tingting stood before the table and said timidly, “Stop shouting at my grandfather. Our restaurant is closed — please go eat somewhere else.”

Bang!

Steward Liu slammed his palm heavily on the table, glared, and threatened, “Old man Jiang, stop dawdling. If you don’t get food on the table, I’ll throw your granddaughter down a well.”

“Little girl, get out of the way — this is none of your business!” A brute with a face full of coarse flesh stood nearby, his left arm wrapped in bandages. He shoved at Tingting with his right hand, nearly sending the small girl tumbling head over heels.

Grandpa Jiang hurried to catch Tingting, shielding her behind his back, and said to the men, “We really aren’t open for business anymore. This shop simply cannot go on. Please find somewhere else to eat.”

“Have you already forgotten yesterday’s lesson? We’re in a foul mood today, and you dare talk back to us?!” Steward Liu sneered coldly, his sallow face taking on an even more ashen and sinister cast.

He shot to his feet and seized Grandpa Jiang by the collar, saying in an icy voice, “You stubborn old fossil — you’ve really been growing some backbone these past two days. We’ve all had terrible luck, and you still dare defy us? If you anger us, we’ll burn your little doghouse to the ground today and have you and that little brat go begging in the streets!”

“Don’t you hit my grandfather…” Little Tingting whimpered through tears. She was barely five years old, and far too short to reach Steward Liu’s arm. She could only wrap her arms around one of his legs and tilt her head back, pleading, “Please let go of my grandfather — he’s over seventy years old…”

Steward Liu’s hand tightened its grip on Grandpa Jiang’s collar. Though he had been burned, he was still far more than a match for a frail old man at the end of his years. The old man’s neck began to turn a faint blue as it was choked, his wrinkled face flushing crimson as he broke into violent, wracking coughs.

Little Tingting’s eyes brimmed with tears. Clinging to Steward Liu’s leg, she cried out frantically and pitifully, “Please, please — let go of my grandfather! He can barely breathe anymore…”

“He’s over seventy years old — please don’t choke him… let go of him quickly.” Little Tingting shook Steward Liu’s leg with all her might, but what strength could a child her size muster? It was utterly useless.

“Little brat, get out of here!” Steward Liu lifted his leg with force, sending Little Tingting tumbling, then raised his foot, ready to kick.

It was precisely this scene that Ye Fan witnessed as he rushed in from the back courtyard. He snatched the teapot from the table and hurled it, striking Steward Liu’s raised leg hard, then dashed forward and pulled Little Tingting back to her feet.

“Big Brother…” Little Tingting pursed her lips and called out in a small, frightened voice. Her large eyes were bloodshot, tear tracks still marking her face, and her new clothes were covered in dust.

Ye Fan blazed with righteous fury. It was as though a fire burned within him. With one swift motion he pried Steward Liu’s hand free and pulled Grandpa Jiang to safety. Then he raged, “He’s a lonely, defenseless old man — how can you bring yourself to lay hands on him? Are you even human?!”

“Where did this little bastard crawl out from? Who do you think you’re talking to?” The men nearby were outraged. Every one of them stood up, glaring at Ye Fan with open hostility.

Steward Liu’s sallow face turned pitch-dark. He looked down at Ye Fan from above, saying, “Still wet behind the ears, and you want to play the hero? In a moment, I’ll toss you in the drainage ditch and see if you still have the nerve to run your mouth!”

Grandpa Jiang’s neck was bruised, his face still flushed crimson from being throttled. He crouched on the ground, coughing for a long while before finally catching his breath. Little Tingting was beside herself with worry — she sobbed quietly while gently patting the old man’s back, crying, “Grandfather, are you alright? Don’t frighten Tingting — Tingting is so worried, Tingting is so scared…”

Witnessing all of this only stoked Ye Fan’s fury higher, yet his gaze gradually grew cold as ice. He stared at Steward Liu and said, “A man your age — have you spent your entire life living like a dog?!”

“Where the hell did this wild kid come from? He actually dares to speak to Steward Liu like that?! Beat him to death!”

Before the sallow-faced middle-aged man could even respond, a brute with a face full of coarse flesh lunged forward, swinging a palm directly at Ye Fan’s face.

“Ahhh…” But it was the man himself who screamed on the spot.

For Ye Fan had moved first — he had seized the man’s bandaged arm. No one present could know just how immense Ye Fan’s strength was. Every onlooker assumed the man’s agonized, heart-rending scream was simply because his wound had been touched.

That Steward Liu would be driven out of the Li Family had been well within Ye Fan’s predictions, but he hadn’t expected the man to still be this insufferably arrogant — reduced to such a state yet still coming here to throw his weight around.

“Quite the nerve for such a little brat,” Steward Liu said with a cold sneer, extending his hand and swinging it toward Ye Fan’s face. His movement was deliberately unhurried — he wanted to humiliate Ye Fan.

Crack!

Ye Fan’s palm swung out — and with a resounding smack, sent Steward Liu spinning sideways through the air. The man crashed into the square table behind him. A spray of blood traced an arc nearly three or four meters long. He struggled to his feet, opened his mouth, and spat out seven or eight teeth.

“Damn it all — everyone, cut this little turtle-spawn down!” Steward Liu was livid with rage. His sallow face twisted into something barely human, his eyes blazing as though about to shoot fire.

These men had not the slightest inkling that Ye Fan was anything but ordinary. With a collective roar they all surged forward. Ye Fan’s gaze was as cold as iron. One by one, he seized their bandaged wounds and squeezed, and a chorus of agonized screams instantly rang out.

Crack — crack — crack…

A rapid-fire series of slaps followed. Ye Fan swung both hands left and right, raining ferocious open-palmed blows across their faces.

“You animals — you could bring yourselves to bully such a lonely old man and such an innocent child? You deserve to die.” Such was the force in Ye Fan’s hands that, had he not reined it in, he could have split their skulls open with a single blow.

Even restrained as it was, back molars flew freely. These men, swathed head to toe in bandages, were slapped until blood poured from their mouths and noses, teeth scattered across the ground, and they rolled about wailing.

“Ahhh…”

“You little rabbit-spawn, you dare hit us?!”

“It hurts — my wound…”

The men rolled across the ground under Ye Fan’s furious slaps, screaming without cease.

“Forgive me, Grandpa Jiang — I forgot: this is your restaurant. I’ll have to trouble you to clean up again afterward. I’ll throw them outside right now.”

With those words, Ye Fan grabbed them one by one and hurled them all out the door.

Grandpa Jiang’s emotions surged violently. Two years of pent-up resentment seemed to erupt all at once. His entire body trembled. He covered Tingting’s eyes with his hands, not letting her see any of it, afraid the sight would frighten the little girl.

Tingting was frantic with worry. Through tears she cried out, “Grandfather, what’s happening to Big Brother? Are those bad people bullying him?!”

“Tingting, don’t worry — your Big Brother is fine. All those bad people have been knocked to the ground by him.”

Ye Fan threw the men into the street but did not stop there. He kicked them about like balls rolling back and forth, sending them howling and wailing, shrieking like animals being skinned alive.

Steward Liu naturally received Ye Fan’s most thorough attention. His cheeks had swollen beyond recognition, and no one could count how many times he had been slapped across the face. Nearly every tooth in his mouth had been sent flying.

“Help! Someone help…”

“Murder! He’s killing us…”

The men screamed and called for help without end. Their cries did draw quite a crowd of onlookers — but not a single person urged restraint. In fact, more than a few looked eager, as though itching to step forward and land a few kicks themselves.

Seeing this, Ye Fan called out loudly, “Fellow townspeople — what are you waiting for?! These men spent their days doing the bidding of a powerful family, oppressing and exploiting all of you. Now the Li Family has thrown them out with nothing — there’s nothing to fear anymore! Come on up and give them what they deserve — teach them a proper lesson!”

At these words, the reaction exceeded even Ye Fan’s expectations. With a collective surge, every onlooker — men and women, old and young alike — swarmed in, punching and kicking, tearing at the men on the ground in a frenzied pile-on.

“I heard this morning that they were beaten out of the Li Family because of the burnt cargo — looks like it’s true.”

“No wonder this young man managed to thrash them so badly — they were already covered in wounds from a previous beating. Otherwise this boy would have gotten the worst of it today.”

“Beat them! Beat these animals to death!”

The crowd’s fury was total. Everyone scrambled to get in their blows. It wasn’t hard to imagine just how deeply despised these men were — and now that wrath came pouring out all at once.

The men on the ground kept rolling and twisting, their screams no longer sounding entirely human — animal howls of anguish, crying for their mothers, until the crowd beat them to the point of losing control of their bodily functions, the stench hanging thickly in the air.

Ye Fan had intended to seize the chaos as cover and personally break a few of their bones, ensuring they would lie low for a year or more — but now he realized there was no need for him to do anything at all.

The crowd of men and women, young and old, beat the fallen mercilessly. Before it was over, the arms and legs of every one of the men were broken. It seemed likely they would be crippled for the rest of their lives — a testament to the depths of resentment they had stirred up.

“Have mercy — we’ll never do it again!”

“Ahh, help — someone’s dying…”