Chapter 2017: I'm Afraid I'll Scare You

Before him stood a handsome young man, who was merely at the Eighth Heaven of the Divine God realm.

Beside him was a young girl, about the same age; they made a fine pair.

Behind them, however, followed two guards at the True God realm, clearly of no ordinary origin.

"Shameless! I've never seen anyone dare call themselves the number one genius in the Dao of Alchemy! Even my Brother Qian, the foremost of the Zheng family's younger generation, wouldn't dare claim that. Who do you think you are?" the young girl said disdainfully.

Ye Yuan was speechless. When had he ever called himself the number one genius in alchemy?

That was clearly Ning Siyu who said that, wasn't it?

But this girl really knew how to stir up trouble for him!

Ning Siyu bristled at the remark.

"What is the Zheng family? The younger generation of the Zheng family? Hah! Not to mention the younger generation, even if the older generation of the Zheng family came, my master would still crush them!"

Zheng Qian, being young, couldn't stomach that. He immediately sneered, "Such big words! In this Southern Domain, there are few who dare speak of my Changlin Zheng family like that!"

His words immediately drew exclamations of surprise.

"So it's the Changlin Zheng family! That's an alchemy aristocratic family second only to the top sacred lands!"

"The foremost of the Zheng family's younger generation—he's sure to shine at this Cloud Alchemy Convention!"

"Zheng Qian! I've heard of him. Barely over a thousand years old, and already at the mid Initial Realm, with hopes of reaching the Dao Realm in the future!"

...

Hearing the discussions around him, Zheng Qian looked smug.

The Zheng family of Changlin Imperial City ranked second only to the seven sacred lands in alchemy strength within the Southern Domain.

The Zheng family's ancestor was also a rare Seven-Star Divine Alchemist, which showed their status.

And Zheng Qian, entering the mid Initial Realm at such a young age, was indeed something to be proud of.

Though Ye Yuan had entered the Initial Realm, broken through to the Dao Realm, and was now heading straight for the Ancestral Realm, the Initial Realm was an unattainable dream for ordinary alchemists.

The Initial Realm was long and required endless time to accumulate.

Back then, Xuanyu had lived to a ripe old age but was only at the mid Initial Realm.

Zheng Qian, at barely a thousand years old, was already at the mid Initial Realm, so he had every right to be proud.

"Did you hear that? Number one genius in alchemy? If you've got the guts, let's have a match!" Zheng Qian directly ignored Ning Siyu and challenged Ye Yuan.

Everyone looked at Ye Yuan with schadenfreude, thinking he wouldn't dare accept the challenge.

Although Ye Yuan was at a higher realm than Zheng Qian, they were about the same age.

In everyone's eyes, Ye Yuan had focused more on martial arts.

As for alchemy, it was a painstaking craft—how could it be so easy?

Thus, if Ye Yuan competed with Zheng Qian, he would surely lose.

After all, facing such an alchemy prodigy, he could only be crushed.

Ye Yuan shook his head with a wry smile. "Compete with me? You're not qualified. Siyu, let's go."

With that, Ye Yuan turned to leave.

Not to mention a mere Divine God realm like Zheng Qian, even a Six-Star peak Divine Alchemist would be crushed by Ye Yuan effortlessly.

After all, Ye Yuan had once tied with Piaoyu Venerable in an alchemy duel.

A mere Zheng Qian simply didn't interest him.

But Zheng Qian sneered, "Not qualified? You're just afraid! Zhao He, Li Hu!"

The two True God realm guards moved, blocking their path.

"If you don't dare compete, then kneel before me and admit your mistake! The Zheng family is not to be insulted by just anyone!" Zheng Qian sneered.

Ye Yuan glared at Ning Siyu, who playfully stuck out her tongue and lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes.

"If you really want to compete, go fetch your family's ancestor. As for you, forget it—I'm afraid I'll scare you," Ye Yuan said calmly.

Zheng Qian sneered even more at that.

"What an arrogant brat! Enough, since you don't dare accept the challenge, then kneel and apologize!" Zheng Qian barked.

With that, Zhao He and Li Hu reached for Ye Yuan, intending to force him to his knees.

Both were at the Third Heaven of the True God realm, considered strong in their own right.

Unfortunately for them, they had met Ye Yuan.

Ye Yuan didn't even move, and the two grabbed nothing but air.

Before they could even be surprised, Ye Yuan had already struck out with his fingers.

Pfft! Pfft!

With two dull thuds, Zhao He and Li Hu fell to the ground, unable to get up.

Zheng Qian's eyes went wide at the sight.

Zhao He and Li Hu were battle-hardened veterans, rarely meeting their match among peers, yet they couldn't even last a single move against Ye Yuan?

The onlookers were equally astonished.

Setting aside Ye Yuan's alchemy skills, his martial arts were far too strong!

"Y-you... what do you want? I-I'm from the Zheng family. If you dare touch me, you'll die without a burial place!" Zheng Qian backed away several steps, blustering.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Ye Yuan looked at Zheng Qian with amusement, then flicked his finger, sending a wisp of flame flying toward him.

Zheng Qian was startled at first, then sneered, "Playing with fire against me? How overconfident! Let me show you my flame control!"

He rapidly formed hand seals and suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

The wisp of flame indeed halted, stopping three feet in front of Zheng Qian.

"Impressive flame control! Truly worthy of the Zheng family's top genius!"

"Amazing! That guy might be strong in martial arts, but playing with fire is like showing off before an expert."

"Heh, he might end up eating his own loss!"

...

Exclamations of admiration arose from the crowd, clearly impressed by Zheng Qian's flame control.

Zheng Qian laughed heartily. "Were you trying to show me how strong your alchemy is with flame control? Then I have to tell you—you're too weak! Watch this—return!"

Zheng Qian made another series of hand seals and struck toward the flame.

Whoosh!

The flame suddenly vanished!

Zheng Qian's eyes narrowed, wondering what had happened, when the girl beside him suddenly screamed.

"Head! Brother Qian, your head!"

"Head? What's wrong with my head?"

Zheng Qian was baffled and reached up to touch his head.

He was startled by what he felt.

His scalp was completely smooth, as if oiled.

All his hair was gone!

Now Zheng Qian's head was shiny and gleaming like a light bulb.

"Pfft!"

"Hahaha..."

The crowd burst into laughter. Zheng Qian's face turned red and then black, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into.

He immediately circulated his divine energy to regrow his hair, but it was useless.

He found that the pores on his scalp seemed completely blocked, unable to produce hair.

This realization shocked him greatly!

He looked at Ye Yuan in shock, only to see Ye Yuan watching him with amusement, smiling, "Consider this a small punishment. If there's a next time, it won't be so easy!"

With that, Ye Yuan turned and left with Ning Siyu.