The Hehuan Sect cultivates alchemy; my senior sister helps me refine alchemy throughout the world.

Looking at the aggressive Han Zhengli, Shen Yifei couldn't help but take two steps back.

"Senior Brother Han, I really only dug up a few herbs, nothing of value."

"Nothing good?" Han Zhengli sneered. "Nothing good? Sun Yiran would even fancy you? Su Yao would speak up for you? Do you think I'm a three-year-old?"

He took another step forward, his imposing manner intensifying. Shen Yifei felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on his chest, making it difficult to breathe.

"Senior Brother Han, what exactly do you want?"

"What do you want?" Han Zhengli walked up to him, looking down at him. "I want to see your storage bag. If you have nothing to hide, take it out and let me see it."

Shen Yifei sneered inwardly. Looking into the storage bag? That was blatant robbery. But he couldn't lay a hand on it; doing so would be insubordination, giving Han Zhengli the perfect opportunity to deal with him.

"Senior Brother Han, Elder Gu said that inner disciples are not allowed to steal from each other. Are you disobeying Elder Gu's order?"

Han Zhengli's expression changed, but he quickly returned to his sarcastic demeanor.

"Elder Gu meant we shouldn't steal from each other. I didn't steal anything from you; I was just looking. If you have nothing to hide, what are you afraid of?"

He reached out and grabbed Shen Yifei's collar.

Shen Yifei dodged backward. Han Zhengli missed his target, and his face turned even uglier.

"Still dare to hide?"

This time, instead of grabbing his collar, he slapped him across the face.

This time, Shen Yifei didn't dodge. He reached out to block, and their hands collided with a muffled "bang," causing both of them to take a step back.

Han Zhengli steadied himself, looked down at his palm, then looked up at Shen Yifei, his expression changing from anger to surprise.

"You...you're only in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, where do you get such strength?"

Shen Yifei remained silent. He understood the situation; Han Zhengli's strength was actually inferior to his own. The giant ape he had trained in the secret realm hadn't been wasted; with this power boost, even a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator couldn't suppress him.

Han Zhengli was humiliated. A mid-stage Golden Core cultivator had actually been outmatched in strength against a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. If word got out, he'd be finished in the Joyful Union Sect.

"court death!"

He stopped using brute force, flipped his right hand, and a ball of azure light condensed in his palm. The azure light exploded with a "hum," transforming into more than a dozen tiny wind blades that swept towards Shen Yifei.

Shen Yifei tried to dodge, but the wind blades were too fast. He only had time to turn to the side to protect his head before more than a dozen wind blades struck him.

"Hiss hiss hiss..."

His clothes were cut in more than a dozen places, and beads of blood seeped from the wounds. Shen Yifei looked down at them; the superficial wounds weren't deep, but they hurt terribly.

If that wind blade had struck an ordinary person, it would have ripped them open long ago. His skin and flesh were enhanced by the Ironback Wolf's talent; even a mid-stage Golden Core spell could only cut through a layer of skin.

Han Zhengli was stunned again when he saw the wounds on the boy's body. His own Wind Blade Technique couldn't even withstand a Golden Core cultivator in the early stage, yet this kid, a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the mid stage, had only suffered minor superficial injuries?

"What exactly are you?" Han Zhengli took a step back, a hint of fear flashing across his face.

Shen Yifei wiped the blood off his face and grinned: "Senior Brother Han, I'm just a woodcutter, not a good person."

Han Zhengli was enraged by his smile. He flipped his right hand and condensed another ball of azure light. This time, the azure light was a size larger than the previous one, and the wind blades inside were more numerous and denser.

"Let's see how many blows you can take!"

Just as he was about to make a move, he suddenly heard a cold voice behind him.

"Han Zhengli, stop!"

Han Zhengli froze, and the blue light in his hand dissipated. He slowly turned around, and Su Yao stood three steps behind him.

"Junior Sister Su, what brings you here?" Han Zhengli forced a smile.

"If I hadn't come, were you going to beat him to death?" Su Yao walked over, glanced at Shen Yifei, and frowned slightly. "He's not badly injured, is he?"

"It's just a superficial wound, nothing serious." Shen Yifei tugged at his torn clothes, revealing the bloody flesh underneath.

Su Yao then looked at Han Zhengli: "Have you forgotten Elder Gu's words?"

Han Zhengli's face twitched: "I haven't forgotten. I just wanted to see what good stuff was in his storage bag, I didn't mean to hurt him."

"You didn't intend to hurt him?" Su Yao pointed to the injuries on Shen Yifei's body. "What do you call this? You wanted to chop him into eight pieces??"

Han Zhengli was speechless.

Su Yao walked up to him, staring into his eyes: "Han Zhengli, I don't care what your grudge is with Shen Yifei, from today onwards, stay away from him. If anything happens to him, I don't care if you did it or not, it'll all be your fault. Do you understand?"

Han Zhengli's face was ashen, his lips trembled, and he squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "I understand."

"roll."

Han Zhengli turned and left, but after a few steps he turned back and glanced at Shen Yifei. The meaning of that glance was self-evident.

Shen Yifei smiled at him and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture: "Take care, Senior Brother Han."

Han Zhengli ignored him and disappeared into the morning mist.

Su Yao turned around and looked him up and down: "Is the injury really not serious?"

"It's not heavy at all." Shen Yifei stretched his arms. "It's just that the clothes are torn, which is a bit of a shame. I only wore this robe a few days ago."

Su Yao was amused by his words: "What time is it? You're still worried about your clothes. Come on, let's go to my place and I'll put some medicine on you."

"No need, no need, I have my own medicine." Shen Yifei took out a healing pill from his ring and popped it into his mouth.

Su Yao watched him take the medicine and nodded: "Be careful. Han Zhengli lost face in front of me again today, he must hate you even more now."

"I know."

"Good to know." Su Yao turned and walked away, but after a few steps she turned back. "By the way, my friend took your Breakthrough Pill, and it worked very well. She asked me to thank you."

Su Yao left. Shen Yifei stood there, watching her disappear into the morning mist, lost in thought.

Su Yao arrived just in time today, as if she already knew Han Zhengli would be here to ambush him. She said she was there to keep an eye on Han Zhengli, but she didn't expect her to be watching him so closely.

"Little guy, your Senior Sister Su is quite attentive to you," Liu Mengli said from inside the cauldron.

"She was afraid that if I died, no one would make pills for her."

"Are you sure?" Liu Mengli's voice carried a hint of amusement. "The way she looks at you doesn't seem like the way she looks at an alchemist."

Shen Yifei ignored her and walked back to his courtyard, clutching his wound. Once inside, he took off his tattered clothes and examined his injuries in the bronze mirror.

There are more than a dozen cuts, none of them deep, and they have already started to scab over.

He applied some ointment, changed into clean clothes, and lay on the bed in a daze.

Today's incident served as a wake-up call for him; Han Zhengli was not one to let things rest easily. Su Yao was there to protect him today, but what about tomorrow? The day after? Su Yao couldn't possibly watch over him twelve hours a day.

We need to find a way to solve this problem once and for all.

"Little one, what are you thinking about?" Liu Mengli asked.

"How do you want to kill Han Zhengli?"

Liu Mengli was silent for a moment, then said quietly, "You little rascal, you look so honest and kind, but you're more ruthless than anyone else."

"He's about to kill me, why should I be polite to him?"

"That's true." Liu Mengli paused. "Actually, there's a way to kill him without anyone noticing."

"What method?"

"Let me out, and I'll kill him for you."