Urban Extraordinary Immortal Doctor
Chapter 1422: The Calmer, The More Dangerous

Chapter 1422: Chapter 1422: The Calmer, The More Dangerous

Ye Renjie had been feeling quite irritated lately.

Originally, among the nearly ten thousand disciples of the External Courtyard Department, Ye Renjie was the center of attention. Normally, when disciples from the External Courtyard Department—especially the female disciples—chatted, aside from topics about cultivation techniques and martial arts, their conversations almost always revolved around him.

Ye Renjie greatly enjoyed the feeling of being admired and worshipped by others.

Especially when he overheard female disciples say things like "Senior Brother Ye is so handsome" or "Senior Brother Ye is amazing," he would feel elated, as if intoxicated.

However, ever since Fang Bai entered the External Courtyard Department, Ye Renjie realized he was no longer the "centerpiece." Gradually, topics concerning Fang Bai began to dominate the conversations among the disciples.

What Ye Renjie found most intolerable was that Fang Bai’s arrival not only stole his title as the "most handsome man in the External Courtyard," but even his reputation as the "strongest in the External Courtyard power rankings" was being called into question.

This made Ye Renjie extremely irritated and furious. He kept thinking of ways to teach Fang Bai a lesson to reestablish his authority in the department.

Yet Fang Bai, after entering the Lingxu Palace, remained low-key, and Ye Renjie had yet to find a suitable opportunity or excuse to act against him.

Ye Renjie discovered that External Courtyard disciples Shi Ming and Zheng Hong, as well as the menial servant disciple Huang Zhong, maintained good relations with Fang Bai. He then decided to use these three as a starting point to manufacture a chance to punish Fang Bai.

Among the three, Shi Ming and Zheng Hong were both External Courtyard disciples of comparable strength to Ye Renjie. In particular, Shi Ming, who had an Innate Earth Spirit Root and was a personal transmission disciple of Elder Gong from the Classics Hall, was someone Ye Renjie didn’t want to offend.

Only Huang Zhong, as a menial servant disciple, was weak in cultivation and lacked any backing in the Lingxu Palace, making him an easy target for bullying.

Thus, Ye Renjie set his sights on Huang Zhong.

Ye Renjie tracked Huang Zhong’s routine of delivering meals to Fang Bai and Shi Ming and waited at the Practice Battle Arena today. When Huang Zhong passed through the arena, Ye Renjie raised his voice and made sarcastic remarks targeting Fang Bai.

In the past, Huang Zhong would have never dared to offend Ye Renjie. But after receiving Fang Bai’s guidance, Huang Zhong had made substantial progress in understanding the Martial Dao and improved significantly in strength. Deeply grateful to Fang Bai, he regarded Fang Bai as a figure akin to a mentor.

Upon hearing Ye Renjie speak ill of Fang Bai, Huang Zhong, overcome with righteous indignation, couldn’t help but step forward to defend Fang Bai, only to find himself attacked by Ye Renjie. Ye Renjie knocked him down, stomped on his back, and humiliated him to the extreme.

Ye Renjie’s initial plan was that after punishing Huang Zhong, Fang Bai would hear about it and step forward to defend him, giving Ye Renjie the opportunity to severely teach Fang Bai a lesson. But he hadn’t expected Fang Bai to stumble upon the scene directly.

Upon hearing Fang Bai’s voice behind him, Ye Renjie felt a moment of joy, thinking, "I’ve gone to great lengths to lure you out, and now you’ve delivered yourself to me—it saves me the trouble!"

"So what if I bully him?"

Ye Renjie kept one foot firmly planted on Huang Zhong’s back, turned his head to look at Fang Bai, and asked provocatively.

"Huang Zhong, what’s going on?"

Fang Bai ignored Ye Renjie, his gaze fixed on Huang Zhong’s face.

Huang Zhong’s originally fair and delicate face was now bruised and swollen to the point where his features were barely distinguishable. Fortunately, his injuries were only superficial and would heal after three to five days of rest.

Since Lingxu Palace did not permit disciples to harm each other heavily, Ye Renjie hadn’t dared to use excessive force when punishing Huang Zhong, focusing more on psychological humiliation.

"Senior Brother Fang, I was bringing meals to you and Senior Brother Shi Ming earlier when I heard Ye Renjie speaking ill of you. Unable to tolerate his words, I spoke up to defend you, and then he attacked me..."

Huang Zhong was, after all, only a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy. Humiliated in front of so many External Courtyard disciples, he felt both angry and aggrieved but tried to show strength, refusing to display any weakness in front of his peers.

Upon seeing Fang Bai, a sense of reliance seemed to wash over Huang Zhong. His eyes reddened instantly, and a trace of sobbing entered his voice as he spoke.

"Haha... Huang Zhong, weren’t you the tough guy earlier? What’s this—crying now?"

"A sixteen or seventeen-year-old man crying? How shameful!"

"Men bleed but don’t tear up! As Martial Artists, we would rather die than cry. You, boy, are destined to always be a menial servant disciple in this lifetime!"

...

A few External Courtyard disciples close to Ye Renjie laughed unruly, pointing at Huang Zhong as they ridiculed him.

Among the crowd of watching External Courtyard disciples, some showed sympathy and pity, others reveled in the misfortune, but most turned their eyes toward Fang Bai.

In the group of External Courtyard disciples, there were no shortage of sharp minds. They realized that this incident, on the surface, looked like Ye Renjie punishing Huang Zhong but was actually aimed at provoking Fang Bai.

With Fang Bai’s appearance, the conflict between Ye Renjie and Huang Zhong seemed likely to escalate into a confrontation between Ye Renjie and Fang Bai.

"I didn’t cry!"

Amid the laughter and ridicule of those External Courtyard disciples, Huang Zhong frantically raised his arm, wiped his face vigorously, and refuted loudly.

He struggled with all his might, attempting to free himself from Ye Renjie’s foot on his back.

"Stay put!"

Ye Renjie pressed down hard with his foot, fiercely stomping on Huang Zhong. Huang Zhong let out an "Ah!" as his body was forced flat against the ground, unable to move an inch.

"When I first entered Lingxu Palace, I heard tales of Ye Renjie, Senior Brother Ye, being narrow-minded, petty, and vengeful. I didn’t believe it at first, but today I see you live up to the reputation!"

Fang Bai glanced at Huang Zhong, who was pinned to the ground, then shifted his gaze back to Ye Renjie’s face, his emotions strangely calm.

Those who knew Fang Bai well understood that the calmer he appeared, the more dangerous he became.

"A mere new disciple dares disrespect me, his Senior Brother? Very well. Today, I shall teach you a lesson to make you remember this! Even if Elder Wu learns about this, he will have nothing to say!"

Ye Renjie, having struggled to find a reason to act against Fang Bai, grinned sinisterly. With a vicious kick, he sent Huang Zhong flying several meters away, then strode forward toward Fang Bai.

As Ye Renjie approached, an overwhelming oppressive aura of a Half-Step Foundation Establishment expert pulsed out from him.

"Senior Brother Ye’s pressure is so strong—looks like he’s improved again!"

"No wonder he’s ranked first on the Inner Courtyard strength board—his reputation is well-deserved!"

"Junior Brother Fang Bai’s Martial Artist aura is clearly much weaker. He’s bound to suffer greatly in this fight!"

"Standing up for a menial servant disciple? He’s digging his own grave!"

...

The External Courtyard disciples watching this scene felt the intense killing intent and pulsing battle spirit emanating from Ye Renjie. Fearing they might be caught in the conflict, they quickly retreated, clearing a spacious area several tens of meters across.

"Ye Renjie, your opponent is me!"

Huang Zhong struggled to his feet, his eyes filled with fury, and with a roar charged madly toward Ye Renjie.