While the duo was speaking, Ren Min charged at Yang Yu. His fist turned silvery white as he sprinted.
Seeing Ren Min rapidly approaching him, Yang Yu received flashbacks of their clash, and how he was utterly defeated. Immediately, all his anger was washed away and replaced by fear. A horrified expression appeared on his face, as he tried to stop and dodge. Realizing that he won't be able to get away, Yang Yu closed his eyes and raised his arms in front of his face, bracing for impact.
Bang! Yang Yu heard the sound of something crashing, he didn't feel anything. Hesitantly, he lowered his arms and peeked.
Directly in front of him, he saw the back of a familiar figure. Opening his eyes wider, Yang Yu realized who it was and cried out in shock, "Yang Bin?"
Yang Bin's hand was firmly gripping Ren Min's wrist, which was merely centimeters to the side of his face. After talking with Yang Mengyao, he activated Phantom Tracks and intercepted Ren Min's charge. Using Iron Palms, he slapped Ren Min's fist aside, before grabbing it with his other hand.
Despite hearing Yang Yu's cry, Yang Bin didn't turn around. He continued to stare at Ren Min with a stony expression.
What a heavy fist! So this is what a real fourth rank of body tempering cultivator is like. Yang Bin thought. It might be difficult, but he's similar to Yang Yu: inexperienced and unskilled. I shouldn't lose to him.
Had Yang Yu heard his thoughts, he may have teamed up with Ren Min to beat Yang Bin up.
Twisting his arm, Ren Min freed his hand from Yang Bin's grip and took a few steps back. "Who are you?" Ren Min frowned in anger and demanded. After their brief clash, Ren Min determined that he was weaker than him, perhaps at the third rank of body tempering, but what gave him the courage to interfere?
Realizing that something had happened in his brother's end, Ren Bao paused for a second, giving Yang Chen time to catch his breath.
"Yang Clan, Yang Bin." Yang Bin answered. He crossed his arms in front of him.
Hearing this, Ren Min laughed. "I thought it was someone with a powerful backing, but it's just another trash of the Yang Clan? This trash is even worse than the last."
"Little brother, you'll be fine right?" Ren Bao frowned slightly. He wasn't sure if Ren Min could defeat both Yang Yu and Yang Bin, but he had no time to ponder upon it, as Yang Chen suddenly launched his counter attack.
"Of course. A third rank body tempering cultivator won't change anything." Ren Min confidently replied. But as he spoke, he saw another person step in, and he stopped. "Miss, could you please leave, I don't want to hurt you."
This person was Yang Mengyao. She stood in front of Yang Bin with a furious expression on her face, seeming ready to attack Ren Min.
"Mengyao, just watch from the side." Seeming to know her thoughts, Yang Bin dragged her back behind him.
"But he-" Yang Mengyao wanted to protest.
"Leave it to me. I can take care of him easily." Yang Bin reassured her.
"Hmph! Fine!" Yang Mengyao glared at Ren Min.
Ren Min, hearing Yang Bin's boasting, became angry. "Ha! You really think you can defeat me? Looks like you aren't just weak but also delusional!" Charging forward, he launched himself at Yang Bin.
Yang Mengyao's eyes flashed with anger, as she took a step forward, but she was stopped by Yang Bin.
Holding out his hand to stop Yang Mengyao, Yang Bin ran forward as well.
Behind him, Yang Yu became anxious. If a fourth rank like him lost miserably in a head on fight, what chance did Yang Bin have? "Yang Bin, be careful!" Yang Yu shouted. He wanted to help, but one glance from Ren Men sent shivers down his spine, causing him to cower in fear.
As expected, Yang Bin always had the disadvantage whenever he clashed with Ren Min. The only thing he could do was deflect his punches while taking tiny steps back, making sure it didn't land on his body. However, even that was taxing; he could feel his palms sting.
"Come on! Where is your prideful attitude now?" Ren Min taunted as he threw another punch. Feeling confident, he became more forceful and took larger strides.
Similar to Ren Min, Yang Bin too didn't have much boxing technique, but that didn't matter; he could just make it up with his insane reaction speed. Taking a larger step back, he put distance between him and Ren Min.
Assuming he was trying to escape, Ren Min eagerly closed up the distance, leaping forward.
Yang Bin smiled. "My win." He pivoted aside, causing Ren Min's punch to sail right past him. Using Iron Palms, he smacked Ren Min's rib to disrupt his balance. Finally, he brought his hands together and slammed down on Ren Min's head.
This series of actions happened so fast and unexpectedly, Ren Min didn't have time to react. In the next moment, his face kissed the stone pavement. "Ahhh!"
Hearing the ear-piercing scream, Ren Bao whipped his head around, and his eyes widened in shock. "Little brother!" He cried out in shock. Ignoring Yang Chen, he ran toward him.
Alarmed by Ren Bao's approach, Yang Bin hastily retreated a few steps. He knew the injury he inflicted on Ren Min wasn't light, so Ren Bao would certainly get furious. He was right.
After making sure that his little brother wasn't too seriously hurt, Ren Bao turned his attention to Yang Bin. Rage was evident in his eyes. "You will pay for that." He growled, as he stood up.
Yang Bin felt his mouth dry up, as he slowly backed away. He was only at the third rank, and Ren Bao was at the eighth. The disparity between the two was immense. No amount of techniques could bridge that gap.
Right then, they heard the sound of metal clanking. Distant at first, but rapidly getting louder. Everyone in the vicinity paused and looked in the direction where the sound originated from. Ren Bao, who had raised his fist, stopped as well.
Yang Bin looked around. Recalling the whispers and judging by the reaction of the crowd, he was able to put the pieces together; the guards.
Ren Bao came to that conclusion as well and clenched his fist. "You're lucky they came. If not, I would have crippled you." He threatened, clearly unwilling to let it end like this. No matter how angry he was, he had to endure it. Although his clan was strong, it was not strong enough to contend against Tian Lin City. If he gets into trouble, it'll be very difficult for the elders of his clan to save him.
"Everyone, freeze!" The city guards shouted. Five people, dressed in full armor with a sword strapped to their belt, marched through the crowd. They approached the perpetrators: Ren Bao and Yang Chen.
For the next several minutes, the guards interrogated everyone involved in the incident, including Yang Bin. Realizing that there was not much damage done, aside from Ren Min's broken nose, they let them off with a warning.
"I see. I'll let you off with a warning this time, but I hope there won't be a next time, or else the punishment will be more severe. Remember, we have an arena. If you want to fight, fight in there, not in the public streets." The leader said.
"Yes sir!" The two said in unison.
"Good." With that said, the guards turned to leave. Seeing that the incident was over, the crowd began to disperse as well.
Ren Bao gave Yang Bin one last angry glare before taking Ren Min and leaving.
Yang Bin continued to watch the two walk away, until they took a turn and disappeared from his sight. Then he heaved a sigh of relief.
"Let's leave as well." Yang Bin said to Yang Mengyao.
"Wait."
Yang Bin froze and slowly turned around. He stood face to face with Yang Chen, unsure what he was planning.
Yang Chen smiled and nodded at him. "Thank you for helping my little brother."
"It's nothing. We're all part of the same clan." Yang Bin smiled back and waved his hand.
"I was originally planning to teach you a lesson if we ever met, but seeing your action I've changed my mind." Yang Chen laughed.
Yang Bin's smile froze when he heard that.
"Little brother, come here."
Yang Yu walked to Yang Chen's side.
"Say thank you and apologize." Yang Chen commanded.
Yang Yu had an awkward expression on his face as he looked at Yang Bin. "Er, thank you for helping me." He paused and sneaked a glance at Yang Chen, who was still silently eyeballing him . "And I apologize for everything that happened in the past." Yang Yu added on.
"Don't worry about it. The past is the past. Don't annoy me anymore in the future." Yang Bin replied. Though it was rather forced. What else could he say in front of the seventh rank body tempering cultivator Yang Chen?
Yang Yu rapidly nodded his head.
"We'll leave now, our parents are probably looking for us." Yang Bin said.
"Alright, goodbye." Yang Chen waved.
Holding Yang Mengyao's hand, Yang Bin quickly fled the place. After turning his head around to confirm they weren't nearby, Yang Bin heaved another sigh of relief.
Not too long later, the duo met up with their parents and explained all their experiences.