Chapter 1563: A Little Showdown

As soon as Lu Ming released his aura, everyone's expression changed.

He was at the sixth level of the Divine Lord realm; teaching a few juniors at the first or second level a lesson would be a piece of cake.

However, he did not see fear on Lu Yi's face; instead, he saw deep mockery and disdain.

“Executive Lu is quite domineering, wanting to teach my disciple for me! But I'm afraid my disciple is not for you to teach, is he?”

A group of people filed out from the inner hall, led by Ye Yuan.

Xuan Yu walked at Ye Yuan's side.

Lu Ming was extremely shocked to see Xuan Yu here.

Why would the lofty Xuan Yu come to an inconspicuous little medicine shop in the outer city?

But what shocked him even more was that this group was led by a young man.

Lu Ming was also a shrewd man; this detail did not escape his notice and conveyed a lot of information.

Seeing this, Lu Ming's pupils contracted, and he was inwardly shocked.

He couldn't help sizing up Ye Yuan. What virtues did this kid have to make Xuan Yu willing to play second fiddle?

This tiny little medicine shop seemed anything but simple!

“So the Second Elder is here too. But your disciples show no respect for their elders—what a disgrace to the Alchemy Tower!” After the shock, Lu Ming quickly regained his composure and spoke with ease.

Xuan Yu was good-natured and usually aloof from worldly affairs, but Lu Ming's words still made him quite uncomfortable.

“Disrespectful to elders? Hmph, Lu Yi has been very deferential to me. How is that disrespectful? Executive Lu, aren't you overstepping your bounds?” Xuan Yu said coolly.

Lu Ming gave a fake smile and said, “I am, after all, a senior executive of the Alchemy Tower, of the same generation as the Second Elder. Shouldn't your disciple address me as a senior? To call me arrogant and presumptuous in front of everyone—if that's not disrespect, what is?”

Xuan Yu was momentarily at a loss, not knowing how to refute.

When it came to verbal sparring, he was no match for Lu Ming.

Their lineage had always suffered in this regard.

Seeing that he had stumped the other party with one remark, Lu Ming became even more smug and sneered, “Second Elder, according to the rules of the Alchemy Tower, disrespect to elders warrants a hundred strokes of the rod! What do you think?”

A cold glint flashed in Xuan Yu's eyes, and he finally showed some anger.

This Lu Ming was relentless, a true model of arrogance and presumption.

Yet his words had put Xuan Yu in a tight spot.

Xuan Yu knew that his disciples were quite dissatisfied with Lu Ming, but such an attitude often led to trouble.

A hundred strokes was not a severe punishment, but if it were carried out, it would be a slap in Xuan Yu's face!

Lu Yi himself was flustered. He had relied on his master's presence and showed no regard for Lu Ming.

But sometimes, strength did not decide everything.

The imperial city had its own rules of the game, and it seemed he had... brought trouble upon himself.

In fact, it wasn't the first time the brothers had suffered such losses, but they simply couldn't stomach it.

Just as everyone was at a loss, Ye Yuan said coolly, “Old man, to be an elder, one needs strength. Do you have it?”

Lu Ming, who had been smug, darkened at these words and said coldly, “Where does this brat come from, daring to speak to me like that? If I don't have strength, do you?”

Ye Yuan glanced at him and said calmly, “If I'm not mistaken, Huang Qian was under your care, wasn't he? You couldn't even diagnose his illness, but I cured him. So... am I not more capable than you?”

At this, the crowd erupted.

“That's right, Huang Haoran said he had consulted a four-star divine alchemist. That four-star divine alchemist must be Wu Feng's master, right?”

“A four-star divine alchemist couldn't even find the cause of the illness—how embarrassing!”

“Tsk tsk, Master Ye's 'Ask and You Shall Receive' sign isn't for nothing. At least in this regard, he's far better than that four-star divine alchemist!”

...

The outsiders hadn't caught on, but Ye Yuan saw through the other party's flaw at a glance.

With a few words, he immediately turned the tide.

Lu Ming shot a fierce glare at Wu Feng, who shrank his neck, knowing his master was angry.

No one had connected the dots before, but now that Ye Yuan had brought it up, it was a blatant slap in the face!

Seeing this, Lu Yi looked at Ye Yuan with gratitude.

With one sentence, Ye Yuan had diffused the awkwardness between master and disciple.

However, Lu Ming was not one to give in easily. He snorted, “Kid, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. No alchemist can guarantee they can cure every ailment! Besides, you are you, and Lu Yi is Lu Yi. You are not a member of the Alchemy Tower, so you are not bound by its rules. But he is!”

Lu Ming was very meticulous and not easy to deal with.

Otherwise, Xuan Yu wouldn't have repeatedly suffered setbacks at his hands.

Ye Yuan had tried to shift the focus onto him, but Lu Ming quickly caught on and excluded Ye Yuan.

Thus, Ye Yuan became an outsider—what more could he say?

Lu Ming also realized that there might be something odd about this Ye Yuan, which was why Xuan Yu's lineage had gathered here.

So he avoided the sharp edge and clung to Lu Yi.

Lu Ming knew Lu Yi's level all too well.

His potential was good, but his alchemy skills were still far from reaching Lu Ming's level as a four-star intermediate divine alchemist.

Ye Yuan curled his lips and said disdainfully, “Is that so? Since you claim to be his senior, you must think you're stronger than Lu Yi, right?”

Lu Ming said coolly, “Naturally! If I were inferior to a junior, how could I hold the position of senior executive? Kid, you're not... thinking of having him compete with me, are you?”

“Hiss...”

Gasps of shock came from around them, all in awe of Lu Ming's status.

A senior executive of the Alchemy Tower—this was practically a godlike existence!

To these martial artists in the outer city, he was utterly unattainable.

They hadn't expected Wu Feng's master to have such a distinguished identity.

Ye Yuan curled his lip and said disdainfully, “So what if I am? If you don't see the strength of the younger generation, you'll never know how ignorant you are.”

Hearing this, Lu Yi felt a bit uncertain and couldn't help saying to Ye Yuan, “Master Ye, I...”

Ye Yuan stared at him with piercing eyes and demanded, “What, don't you even have the courage to fight him?”

Lu Yi was much older than Ye Yuan, but at this moment, he felt like a junior before him.

He fixed his gaze and said solemnly, “Of course I do!”

Ye Yuan said calmly, “Then it's settled! If you can't even handle this old fogey, how will you ever inherit Master Xuan Yu's legacy? Today, let this old man see your true strength!”

Hearing this, Lu Ming burst into unrestrained laughter. “What a joke! An ignorant brat who doesn't know his place! Courage must be built on strength. Courage without strength is like a moth flying into a flame—understand?”