I run a casino in the immortal realm.

Wutong Lane, the moonlight is like water.

Zheng Yifei and Zhang Biao walked side by side in the alley. Both had drunk quite a bit, but their steps were steady. People who had spent years licking blood off the edge of a knife would never let their guard down, no matter how drunk they were.

Zheng Yifei paused in his tracks as he reached the middle of the alley.

Zhang Biao stopped almost simultaneously.

Twenty steps ahead, seven dark figures appeared simultaneously from the corner of the wall, the eaves, and both sides of the alley, completely blocking the entire alley.

Sun Liang stood at the front, his ghost-head saber slung over his shoulder, the blade reflecting the cold moonlight.

The six people behind him spread out in a fan shape, each holding a weapon in their hand. Two of them were also carrying a large gray-black net—the Spirit-Binding Net, a magical artifact specifically designed to suppress the spiritual power of low-level cultivators.

"Xiao Zheng, are you full?"

Sun Liang grinned crookedly, his tone filled with resentment that had been building up for half a year: "Six months. I've been waiting for this meal from you for a full six months."

Zheng Yifei remained expressionless, his hands hanging naturally at his sides.

Zhang Biao's face darkened, and his right hand reached for the hunting knife at his waist.

"Sun Liang, what do you mean by this? Why are you bringing so many people to block my door in the middle of the night?"

Zhang Biao said in a deep voice.

Sun Liang didn't even glance at him. He lowered the ghost-head knife from his shoulder, the tip pointing to the ground, making a screeching sound as it was dragged along.

"Zhang Biao, let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart."

Sun Liang finally turned his gaze to Zhang Biao, his tone suddenly becoming calm, but even more oppressive than before: "You've lived in Wutong Lane for three years, paid your protection money on time, never caused trouble, and the Iron Fist Sect has never made things difficult for you."

This has nothing to do with you. Go back to your yard, close the door, and go to sleep. Tomorrow the sun will rise as usual, and nothing will have happened.

He paused, then drew a circle with the tip of his knife on the bluestone slab.

"But if you insist on getting involved in this mess..."

Sun Liang didn't finish speaking, but his meaning was already quite clear.

Zhang Biao gripped the hilt of his hunting knife tightly, veins bulging on his forehead. He turned to look at Zheng Yifei.

Zheng Yifei shook his head slightly at him, his lips moving silently as he uttered two words: "Don't rush."

Then, he took a step forward.

"Boss Sun, I've paid my protection money every single time for the past six months. You brought so many men today, is it because you think you haven't paid enough?"

Zheng Yifei spoke calmly and even with a hint of a smile.

Sun Liang scoffed, "Kid, what are you pretending for? Five spirit stones for protection? Your high-grade array burns eight spirit stones a day. Do you think I don't know how many spirit stones you've got on your person?"

The matter has been made clear.

Zheng Yifei's eyes changed.

That gentle, ingratiating, and naive facade, like a thin layer of ice, was shattered from the inside. What was revealed was a pair of extremely calm, even cold, eyes.

Eyes at the gambling table.

"So, you're here to steal it."

Zheng Yifei's voice was completely flat, without any inflection.

"clever."

Without further ado, Sun Liang waved his left hand, and the two gang members behind him carrying the Spirit-Binding Net simultaneously raised their hands. The large gray-black net, glowing with the faint light of the restrictive runes, covered Zheng Yifei's head.

Zheng Yifei reached his right hand into his sleeve.

"laugh--"

A pale gold talisman was activated instantly by spiritual power, and golden light spread from his body like mercury, forming a thin, semi-transparent protective shield.

First-grade superior Vajra Talisman.

Two spirit-trapping nets slammed into the Vajra Talisman's protective shield simultaneously, causing the restrictive runes to flash wildly, attempting to erode the spiritual energy structure on the shield's surface.

However, the defensive level of the superior Vajra Talisman far exceeded the restriction level of the Spirit-Trapping Net. When the gray-black net touched the golden light, it sizzled and emitted wisps of green smoke before collapsing and falling limply.

The two spirit-trapping nets are now useless.

Sun Liang's pupils contracted sharply.

"Charge! Let's all charge!"

He roared, raised his ghost-headed saber high, poured all the spiritual power of the eighth level of Qi Refining into it, and a layer of dark red light surged from the blade as he slashed down at Zheng Yifei.

The six people behind him moved at the same time.

But Zhang Biao was faster.

He took a step forward, holding his hunting knife horizontally in front of him, blocking the three gang members rushing towards him from the left.

The blade was fierce, carrying the brute force of years spent hunting demonic beasts.

"Bang!"

A member of the gang at the fifth level of Qi Refining had his iron rod knocked away by his sword, followed by a straight kick to the chest, sending him flying backward and crashing into the alley wall, shattering the bricks and stones.

This kick used the power generation method from the close combat technique that Zheng Yifei taught him. It didn't use meridians or spiritual power, but relied purely on the mechanical transmission of the body structure to gather the weight and speed of the whole body into one point of contact.

The Qi Refining Level 5 member lay on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

The other two gang members were intimidated by Zhang Biao's imposing manner and dared not step forward rashly. The three of them were locked in a stalemate on the left side of the alley.

On the right, the remaining three gang members hesitated for a moment, but still gritted their teeth and pounced on Zheng Yifei.

But they came up empty-handed.

Zheng Yifei did not retreat at all.

He went to greet them.

The Vajra Talisman enveloped his entire body, and he completely ignored the swords and blades that the three men were slashing at. The iron blades struck the golden light shield, sparks flew, but not even a crack was left.

Zheng Yifei walked through the three men and struck one of them squarely in the temple with his left elbow.

The man's vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.

He slammed his right knee into the second man's lower abdomen.

"puff--"

The man bent over like a shrimp, spitting out a mouthful of acidic water, and knelt down, clutching his stomach with both hands.

The third person was so frightened that he turned and ran, but after taking two steps he tripped and fell, scrambling to the corner of the wall.

It happened in no more than two breaths.

The three members at the fifth level of Qi Refining were all rendered incapable of fighting.

As Sun Liang's ghost-headed cleaver came down, Zheng Yifei had already dealt with the three people behind him and turned to face him head-on.

He didn't dodge; the protective shield of the Vajra Talisman took the blow head-on.

"clang--"

The immense impact shattered the bluestone slab beneath Zheng Yifei's feet, and his body slid back half a step, but the protective shield remained completely still.

Sun Liang's pupils suddenly dilated.

A full-force strike from the eighth level of Qi Refining, and this kid just took it head-on?

Before he could even be shocked, Zheng Yifei had already pressed himself against him.

The distance was instantly reduced to within a foot.

The ghost-head saber is a long weapon; it's impossible to swing it at this distance.

Sun Liang instinctively wanted to retreat, but Zheng Yifei was much faster than he had imagined.

A hand gripped his right wrist, which was holding the knife, the five fingers locking it like an iron clamp. A sharp, tingling sensation shot through his wrist joint, and the fingers holding the knife involuntarily loosened their grip.

The ghost-headed saber clattered to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, Zheng Yifei grabbed Sun Liang by the back of the neck with his left hand and simultaneously thrust his right knee into his abdomen.

"puff--"

Sun Liang spat out a mouthful of blood and foam, his body leaning forward uncontrollably.

Zheng Yifei used the momentum to throw Sun Liang to the ground, pressing his right elbow down on his throat.

From the moment Sun Liang brandished his sword to the moment he was pinned to the ground, no more than three breaths had passed.

He was at the eighth level of Qi Refining when he was subdued by someone at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

This cannot be explained by a difference in spiritual power. It is an all-around crushing defeat in combat experience, body control, and close-quarters combat skills.

The alley was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The remaining gang members all stood frozen in place, none of them daring to move.

Zhang Biao stood to the side with his hunting knife, coldly staring at them, ready to finish them off at any moment.

Sun Liang lay on the ground, his throat pinned down by Zheng Yifei's right elbow, struggling to breathe, his face flushed red. He desperately tried to break free by channeling his spiritual energy, but Zheng Yifei's elbow seemed welded to his neck, remaining completely still.

Moreover, he clearly felt that the concentration of spiritual energy in the arm pressing on his throat far exceeded the level that should be present at the sixth level of Qi Refining. This density of spiritual energy could only be achieved at least at the late stage of the seventh level of Qi Refining.