Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 31 Not the First Meeting
The once bustling lobby was now eerily quiet.

Those who can walk through that bronze door are not unknown figures in the martial arts world.

As Lan Shi said, you either need to have the skills or the connections, so there aren't many truly foolish people among the people in the martial arts world present.

With his appearance, holding a long banner, and carrying a sword case, Chen Ye was definitely not an ordinary person.

Coupled with that murderous question, any intelligent person should know that Chen Ye is here to cause trouble.

But those who are drunk are an exception.

This madman, who had clearly drunk too much, staggered unsteadily towards Chen Ye, yelling, "I've broken countless legs, how would I know who you're asking about?! You dare impersonate my young master? Are you looking for death?"

Chen Ye frowned at the smell of alcohol, looked around, and quickly locked onto a few martial arts figures who resembled the Bone-Cracking Madman.

They certainly looked like vicious and ruthless people. Did this group really intend to rescue those young boys and girls?
Chen Ye had lost his patience and asked again, "I'll ask one more time, who injured the manager and staff of Baiye Teahouse?"

Upon hearing this, the companions of the Bone-Splitting Mad Owl realized what was happening and picked up their weapons.

Chen Ye smiled and asked the shocked little girl, Lan Shi, "Didn't they say that swords and spears are forbidden at Hengdao Inn?"

The little girl seemed to still be in shock and confusion. When Chen Ye asked her question, she just nodded subconsciously and said, "Indeed, violence is not allowed... Ah, be careful!"

Amidst Lan Shi's exclamation, a gust of wind swept towards Chen Ye's lower body.

It was that drunken, madman of the Broken Bones who, disregarding the rules of the Hengdao Inn, drew his bronze short stick from his waist and struck at Chen Ye.

Chen Ye was completely unprepared, and he never expected the drunkard to suddenly make a move.

It seems I underestimated the ruthlessness of people in the martial arts world.

If the Hengdao Inn forbids violence, then people who follow the rules wouldn't be involved in the martial arts world.

Even without any preparation, Chen Ye reacted much faster than the man. The Myriad Souls Banner shifted a few inches, blocking the bronze staff.

With a loud crash, the one-legged bronze figure slammed heavily onto the long pole.

However, the two-finger-thick long pole should have broken, but it was the bronze short stick that was bounced away upon impact.

The Bone-Splitting Mad Owl used too much force, causing his tiger's mouth to split open, and blood splattered out along with the bronze short stick.

But this minor injury is not enough to cover the costs.

What he was striking was the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

A cold wind blew, causing the Ten Thousand Souls Banner to flutter loudly. Suddenly, the Bone-Splitting Mad Owl fell to the ground with a thud, its entire head smashing into the wooden floor.

Wood chips and blood splattered everywhere. If the floor hadn't been made of wood, the impact would have splattered his brains.

Mortals cannot see the vengeful spirits and have no idea what has happened. Only Chen Ye can see the hideous evil spirit pressing down on the Bone-Cracking Mad Owl.

Yang Chongguang roared, "You despicable scoundrel, how dare you harm my benefactor!"

"My benefactor, take him into the Myriad Souls Banner, and I'll make sure he can't even cry!"

Chen Ye shook his head and said to Yang Chongguang, "Don't rush to take action. Let me find out the details first."

Chen Ye was speaking to Yang Chongguang, but ordinary people couldn't see it and only thought that Chen Ye was saying "Don't rush to make a move" to the shattered-headed Liegu Kuangxiao.

How did this eight-foot-tall Bone-Splitting Falcon fall down when it didn't do anything?
Could it be that this young man's martial arts skills are so high that others can't even see his shadow?

The crowd was shocked and terrified. Several of the Bone-Splitting Mad Owl's companions were even more ashen-faced, their hands trembling slightly as they still held their weapons.

Their martial arts skills were so high that they were beyond their ability to fight.

Noticing Chen Ye's gaze sweeping over, one of the martial arts figures immediately shouted, "Friend, fighting is forbidden at Hengdao Inn. Are you trying to break the rules of the martial arts world?!"

These words were not spoken to Chen Ye, but to the person behind Hengdao Inn.

The commotion drew a large crowd, and the waiters who had been called over gathered around. These waiters were all skilled martial artists, and a fat man who looked like the manager pushed through the crowd to stand before Chen Ye.

Upon seeing Chen Ye's appearance, the fat man was stunned for a moment, but having come with anger, he quickly regained his composure and cupped his hands to Chen Ye, saying, "Friend, whatever grudges you have, you can settle them outside the inn. You must know the rules of Hengdao Inn."

Chen Ye asked with a smile, "Are you the owner of Hengdao Inn?"

The fat shopkeeper said, "No, no, no, the master is not here today. I am just a shopkeeper. Friends in the martial arts world are too kind to call me that..." Chen Ye waved his hand impatiently, he really didn't want to hear those clichéd martial arts nicknames anymore.

"Innkeeper, fighting is not allowed at Hengdao Inn. Didn't you see him use force just now? Even if you couldn't see it, everyone here should have seen it clearly."

The fat shopkeeper's face turned somewhat ugly after being interrupted by Chen Ye.

Having roamed the martial world for many years, relying on the reputation of Hengdao Inn, no one has ever dared to be so rude to him. This kid is good-looking, but does he really think that he can make a living in the martial world with just his face?
Since Chen Ye wasn't giving him any face, the fat innkeeper didn't stand on ceremony either, and said in a deep voice, "I don't care what grudges you have, rules are rules. Besides, he was already drunk and couldn't control himself, and now that you've seriously injured him, consider it punishment. But my friend, you broke the rules of my inn and smashed our floor. How do you think we should settle this score?"

"Being drunk is an excuse, so..."

Chen Ye swept his banner across the room, picked up a jar of unopened yellow wine, took a big gulp, and then said to the fat shopkeeper, "Now I'm drunk too, will you forgive me, shopkeeper?"

The fat shopkeeper narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Fine, I'll make an exception when you've shoved your head into the floor too!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye became somewhat disheartened.

"I used to think the martial arts world was interesting, but in the end, it's all about morality not being greater than human relationships and human relationships not being greater than fists. It's really not interesting."

The fat shopkeeper ignored what Chen Ye was saying, slowly raised his right hand, and the shop assistants beside him moved their feet in unison, surrounding Chen Ye.

Strange noises could be heard from the corridors around the lobby, and a murderous aura lurking in the shadows had already enveloped Chen Ye.

Over the years, we've seen plenty of people who use their martial arts skills to cause trouble in the inn.

The inn's staff are all skilled martial artists, and there are hidden weapons and traps set up all around. No matter how good your martial arts are, causing trouble here is just asking for death!
However, Chen Ye did not make any move, but simply shook the Ten Thousand Souls Banner gently.

A series of sharp whistles came from within the black banner, causing everyone's expression to change drastically in fright.

Dozens of vengeful spirits flew out from within and pounced on the crowd.

All those who harbored hostility and murderous intent towards Chen Ye were, like the Bone-Splitting Mad Owl, slammed heavily to the ground, their heads smashed deep into the floorboards.

Martial arts practitioners rely on physical strength, while cultivators rely on spiritual energy.

Cultivators at the Awakening Realm can only see spiritual energy and are not much different from ordinary people. Chen Ye used to need to use zombies to hunt because he dared not do it himself.

But the Qi Sea Realm is a different story. The Qi Sea absorbs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and can cast spells and use magic treasures. The difference between mortals and cultivators is like heaven and earth.

One by one, their heads pounded on the ground, as if they were kowtowing to Chen Ye. The scene terrified the others, who quickly fled.

Chen Ye ignored the whereabouts of these irrelevant people and turned around to look at Lan Shi, who was moving outwards.

The little girl seemed to be terrified and was running away with the crowd.

But Chen Ye called out to her.

"Miss Lan, please wait a moment."

Lan Shi dared not linger. Just as he was about to use his lightness skill, he found his body stiff, as if a thousand-pound weight was pressing down on him.

Lan Shi panicked and hurriedly said to Chen Ye, "Young master, I don't know anything! I just mistook you for someone else. Please, have mercy and spare my life!"

Chen Ye walked up to Lan Shi and said with a smile, "Even now, you're still acting. You're much more dedicated than I expected. But let's save each other some time."

“Miss Lan, you actually knew all along that I wasn’t that Young Master Jiang, right? You deliberately mistook my identity, brought me here, and then deliberately shouted out Young Master Jiang’s name, all to make me cause trouble with them. You were waiting here before I even entered Hengdao Inn.”

Lan Shi quickly said, "Young master, you misunderstand. This is our first meeting before the bronze gate. I really didn't..."

Chen Ye didn't speak, but just stared into the girl's eyes.

At first, Chen Ye didn't notice anything amiss, but the fat shopkeeper had been stunned for a while when their eyes met.

Even men are like that. How come when Lan Shi first met her, she only widened her eyes and immediately greeted her?
The reason is simple: this little girl has met him before.

The allure that Mo Ci refers to is merely the shock that mortals feel when they first see a deity. They may be amazed at first, but the shock will quickly subside.

She had been watching him for a long time. The chance encounter at the bronze gate was just a performance, which is why his reaction was flawed.

Is the little girl's plan to save young boys and girls true or false? And how did she know that this matter would attract her attention?

Chen Ye had lost interest in the games of the martial arts world, so he decided to lay everything out in the open.

(End of this chapter)