Standing before him, Li Ming was in no better shape, his body marked with charred scars, and even his hair was singed to half its length.

"I never expected to find a talent like you among the younger generation. Truly, you are worthy of the Tianjian Sect," Li Ming spat out a mouthful of blood and glared at Lin Yan. "I can't wrap my head around it—why would someone as gifted as you become a lackey for someone like him?"

Lin Yan let out a cold laugh. "My relationship with Brother Bai isn’t something you can shake with a few words. Or are you saying everyone around you is a lackey? You don’t even have a single friend, do you?"

Li Ming's eyes turned red with anger, gritting his teeth as he replied, "That's just your wishful thinking! Time will prove that I am right!"

"You're really stubborn!" Lin Yan chuckled. "That's why I can't stand fools who ignore the facts and only believe in their own delusions!"

"You'll eventually be dragged into the abyss by your naive thoughts!"

Li Ming pulled back his bowstring again, unleashing a barrage of arrows that shot toward Lin Yan like falling stars.

Lin Yan transformed into a ball of flames, swiftly dodging the rain of arrows and hurtling toward Li Ming.

"Come at me!"

Li Ming tightened his grip on the bow, a layer of darkness enveloping it in an instant, and the next moment, he swung it toward Lin Yan.

"Flame Fist!!"

His fist, engulfed in flames, smashed directly into the longbow, sending violent waves of spiritual energy radiating outward from the point of impact. If it weren't for Bai Feng and the others blocking the dissipating energy in time, the nearby buildings would have surely suffered.

Both Li Ming and Lin Yan staggered back a few steps, and in the next moment, they clashed again.

Lin Yan's fist dripped with blood, while Li Ming's longbow bore several new cracks.

"I really underestimated you."

Li Ming glanced at his longbow with a pained expression, completely taken aback by the strength of his opponent's physical power.

"You definitely underestimated me." Lin Yan's right hand was broken and fractured, yet he showed no sign of worry, instead wearing a confident smile. "Next time we fight, pay more attention to your surroundings! Colorful Fire Orbs, explode for me!!"

"What?"

Li Ming quickly looked around, only to see several orbs of various colors that had appeared out of nowhere.

He realized what was happening—it was the flames splattered during their battle!

Though he quickly raised his bow to defend, it was too late. The fire orbs, containing terrifying flames, exploded, engulfing him completely.

One of his hands was already resting on the formation plate he had purchased at a high price, but the expected explosive shockwave never came. Instead, he felt a wave of heat.

When he opened his eyes, he found that the exploding fire orbs had been forcibly 'squeezed' back.

"Alright, let's call it a day." The city lord, Gu, approached, waving her hand to disperse the seemingly terrifying fire orbs, and offered everyone a warm smile. "I understand the situation now; it was just a misunderstanding."

Though Li Ming had been saved by Gu, there was no gratitude on his face. Instead, he looked up and questioned, "Misunderstanding? Is it also a misunderstanding that Sister Gu is dressed like this?"

"Accidents are inevitable during skill exchanges," Gu glanced at Li Ming, her displeasure evident toward this impolite disciple of the Chuan Yun Sect. "Moreover, Bai Feng immediately took off his clothes to cover my daughter. I see nothing wrong with that."

"Hah, truly worthy of the Tianjian Sect, and the city lord of Xuanguang City, you really have a knack for turning black into white! I’d like to know what kind of exchange can destroy clothes without harming people!"

Li Ming clenched his fists. After a series of blows and his preconceived notions, he resembled a gambler who had lost all reason, unwilling to admit he was wrong. "City Lord Gu, I hope you remember that Sister Gu is your daughter, not a tool!"

Gu frowned slightly. "It seems you don't believe my words!"

"Li, you’re going too far."

Gu Yueqing also frowned. No wonder she often heard about Li Ming clashing with elders and other disciples; with this temper and emotional intelligence, it was no surprise others were angry.

Such talent wasted.

Li Ming turned to Gu Yueqing, his expression serious. "Sister Gu, I'm doing this for your own good. Our Chuan Yun Sect is not some small sect; we don't need to curry favor with others!"

"…How did I ever think you were a decent person?" Gu Yueqing's face was clouded with anger, almost visibly displaying 'I am very angry.' "I kindly ask you to leave; our Gu family does not welcome you!"

"Sister Gu, you…"

Li Ming wanted to say more, but was cut off by Gu, her expression devoid of emotion, her tone icy. "Didn’t you hear what my daughter said? Or do you want me to 'invite' you out?"

"…Fine! I hope you don’t regret this!"

Li Ming gritted his teeth, trembling with rage, and stormed out of the city lord's residence.

【Ding! Under the host's meticulously planned scheme, the enraged Li Ming was not only easily defeated by Lin Yan but also exposed his disgraceful side in front of the Gu family, suffering a severe humiliation. Reward: Luck Value +777, a trace of spiritual intelligence born from the Immortal Fire.】

"…"

Though Bai Feng had anticipated this, he couldn't help but crack a smile upon seeing the system notification.

What a joke! This was all Li Ming's own doing, wasn't it? He couldn't be reasoned with!

What did I do? Oh, I had a bug in the formation plate I made, but that wasn’t intentional!

After cursing the system in his mind, he turned his attention to the system rewards.

Recently, while handling materials, he had indeed entertained the thought of the hope that the Immortal Fire could process materials on its own.

If one disregarded other aspects, the system was quite considerate in this regard.

But he would rather not have it!

Don’t stuff my luck value!

After Li Ming left, Gu sighed, unable to understand why the Chuan Yun Sect would cultivate such a disciple. She turned to Gu Yueqing and advised, "From now on, avoid him. I feel he will cause significant trouble in the future."

"Mm."

Gu Yueqing nodded. Even if Gu hadn’t said anything, she wouldn’t interact with him again.

Especially after spending a few days with Bai Feng, she found Li Ming arrogant and self-absorbed, completely ignoring others' advice.

"Alright, you all go back and rest," Gu said, putting on a smile again. "Leave the rest to me."

…

Meanwhile.

After leaving the city lord's residence, Li Ming was still seething with anger.

Ever since he fused with the remnants of an ancient powerful soul, when had he ever suffered such a loss?

He had intended to leave Xuanguang City but found himself wandering to the west side of the city without realizing it.

He looked at the flower boats drifting on the river and couldn’t help but recall the sorrowful tune from earlier that morning.

Upon reflection, it resonated with his current state of mind.

Curiosity about the identity of that woman began to stir within him.

Forget it, I’ll listen to a tune before I leave.

---

**Chapter 105: No Sleep Tonight**

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect this to happen."

Gu Yueqing didn’t leave with Yu Yao and the others; instead, she lingered for a moment, apologizing sincerely to Bai Feng.

If she hadn’t revealed her identity to Li Ming and invited him to the city lord's residence earlier, perhaps today’s incident wouldn’t have occurred.

"It’s fine, it’s not your fault. You and City Lord Gu explained, but if he doesn’t believe it, there’s nothing we can do," Bai Feng waved his hand. Though he felt frustrated, he wouldn’t take it out on someone uninvolved.

"But this is still…"

Before Gu Yueqing could finish, Bai Feng interrupted, "Alright, let’s not dwell on this unpleasant matter. I’ll modify the formation plate tonight; you should hurry back and rest."

He glanced at Gu Yueqing’s attire, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "After all, if someone else sees you like this, I’ll really be in trouble. You wouldn’t want to hear rumors about you and some disciple from the Tianjian Sect, would you?"

Gu Yueqing’s face flushed red. "Then I’ll take my leave. If you need anything, just let me know, and I’ll do my best to help."

With that, she tightened her clothes and quickly left.

"Sigh, today’s luck really stinks. Should I buy a fortune book or something?"

Bai Feng sighed, feeling that running into the luck child was bad enough, but to make matters worse, he was a dimwit.

Bad luck really does come in waves; he decided to stay indoors for the next few days.

Just as he was about to push open the door to his room and rest, he suddenly caught sight of a figure.

He saw Su Lanqian crouching down, her little head tucked in, standing there in a daze.

When she noticed him looking over, she silently turned away and squatted down on the ground.

Bai Feng: "…"