Chapter 181 – The Urge to Let Loose

The disparity between Upper-Rank Professionals and Lower-Rank Professionals hardly needs elaboration.

As previously stated, it isn’t a minor gap but a chasm as vast as heaven and earth.

Perhaps a Two-Star Professional could potentially defeat a Three-Star Professional, or even a One-Star Professional might manage to hold their own against a Three-Star with some tricks. However, it is universally acknowledged that a Three-Star Professional standing against a Four-Star is impossible.

At the very least, Duan Xiaofei, a close friend of Gao Xu, had never heard of any Lower-Rank Professional defeating an Upper-Rank one.

Of course, this refers to direct confrontations. Achievements gained through underhanded or despicable means aren’t considered victories but rather shameless schemes.

In one-on-one, head-on battles, Duan Xiaofei had heard of instances where Four-Star Professionals defeated Five-Star Professionals. For example, Gao Xu beside him was regarded as capable of contending with Five-Star Professionals.

Yet, the broad gap between Upper-Rank and Lower-Rank Professionals had never been genuinely bridged in a direct confrontation.

This wasn’t merely a difference in Rank but a distinction in Realm.

“Before the Upper Rank, all are Mortals; upon entering the Upper Rank, one transcends to divinity” — such a saying circulated within professional circles.

This phrase applied not only to Professionals but also to Phantom Demons.

The difference between Upper-Rank and Lower-Rank Phantom Demons lay in their life essence, making them incomparable.

Thus, in the industry, if someone claimed a One-Star or Two-Star had defeated a Three-Star, it might be believed. If a Four-Star or Five-Star defeated a Six-Star, that too could be credible. There were even historical instances of Six-Stars overcoming Seven-Stars.

However, if a Lower-Rank Professional defeated an Upper-Rank Professional—even if the highest among Lower Ranks, a Three-Star, overcame the lowest among Upper Ranks, a Four-Star—few would believe it.

Otherwise, why would the status of Upper-Rank Professionals be so transcendent?

It was because only those who entered this Realm could be considered true powerhouses.

Lower Ranks, after all, remained just that.

This point had been emphasized repeatedly.

Now, Gao Xu claimed he had been repelled by someone suspected of not yet reaching the Upper Rank. If Duan Xiaofei didn’t know Gao Xu’s character, he would have thought Gao Xu was deliberately setting the other up for a fall.

Precisely because he knew Gao Xu wasn’t one to boast or exaggerate, Duan Xiaofei became interested in Su Ming and wanted to test him.

“What’s his name?” Duan Xiaofei asked with keen interest.

“Ming Wang,” Gao Xu replied promptly.

Clearly, Gao Xu had gathered some intelligence and learned the title Su Ming had declared before Xu Yongfeng.

“Ming Wang, huh?” Duan Xiaofei muttered, committing the name to memory.

“What?” Gao Xu glanced at Duan Xiaofei, as if discerning his thoughts. “Are you thinking of extending an invitation to him?”

At these words, Xu Yanyan, who had been quietly listening nearby, subtly changed her expression.

She knew exactly what kind of “invitation” Gao Xu referred to and understood how precious such an opportunity was.

Unfortunately, Duan Xiaofei didn’t give a definitive answer.”Let’s wait and see.” Duan Xiaofei said this: “If he’s truly that special, then we must extend an invitation.”

Hearing this, Xu Yanyan couldn’t sit still anymore.

“That person’s background and origins are mysterious, and we still don’t know what kind of relationship he has with the Yun Family Estate. Isn’t it somewhat inappropriate to extend an invitation to such a mysterious person?”

Hearing this, Duan Xiaofei also glanced at Xu Yanyan.

“What his identity is, and who he’s connected to – none of that matters.” Duan Xiaofei said indifferently: “I only need to confirm whether his ‘quality’ is high or low, and whether he’s truly worth inviting. That’s enough.”

“But…” Xu Yanyan still wanted to say something.

However, Gao Xu, who was nearby, spoke up.

“Enough, stop saying such embarrassing things here.” Gao Xu said in an even colder tone than Duan Xiaofei: “Different duties lead to different perspectives. If Brother Duan cared about things like positions and relationships, he wouldn’t have said he wanted to invite that Ming Wang right in front of me.”

Xu Yanyan immediately fell silent.

Just as Gao Xu said, if Duan Xiaofei truly cared about these things, he wouldn’t have disregarded the feelings of his friend Gao Xu and openly stated his intention to invite Su Ming.

There was clearly some history between Su Ming and Gao Xu. If Duan Xiaofei cared about positions, relationships, and friendships, he wouldn’t have made such a declaration in front of Gao Xu.

Of course, Duan Xiaofei himself protested a bit.

“Who said I don’t care about positions and relationships?” Duan Xiaofei said this: “If that guy is an Underground Professional with a bad record, then no matter how high his ‘quality’ is, I would absolutely never invite him.”

This was his bottom line, his principle, beyond doubt.

Conversely, Duan Xiaofei was also indicating that as long as Su Ming had no bad record and wasn’t a notorious Underground Professional, then he wouldn’t consider other trivial matters.

Regarding this, Gao Xu seemed to have already understood and wasn’t surprised at all, his expression remaining normal.

Only Xu Yanyan seemed somewhat unwilling, yet helpless.

“Oh?”

At that moment, Duan Xiaofei suddenly let out a light exclamation and revealed a smile.

“What is it?”

Gao Xu instinctively asked.

“Nothing.” Duan Xiaofei said somewhat playfully: “It’s just that I think perhaps I don’t need to personally test that Ming Wang anymore.”

Because someone had already stepped forward and blocked Su Ming and Xu Qianqian’s path.

……

Su Ming truly hadn’t expected that he had just entered the venue when someone came looking for trouble.

Oh no, it should be said that the other party came looking for trouble with Xu Qianqian.

“Finally decided to show up, Young Miss Xu?”

The person who spoke these highly sarcastic words was a woman who was quite older, at least older than Xu Qianqian, and possibly even older than Xu Yanyan who had graduated three years ago.

The woman wore heavy makeup like Xu Yanyan, but lacked Xu Yanyan’s ability to carry off heavy makeup, instead giving a feeling of trying too hard. Combined with the sarcastic expression on her face, if Su Ming didn’t know the situation was inappropriate, he would have thought Xu Qianqian’s wicked stepmother or wicked aunt had appeared.

Beside this woman, several other people were following.These individuals all had faces that Su Ming rather envied—the kind of generic, forgettable looks typical of minor characters. It was immediately obvious they were either supporters or followers of that thoroughly malicious woman. Only the man at the front, whose features somewhat resembled the woman’s, wore an arrogant expression so severe it seemed to reject all familial ties. He looked down on Xu Qianqian with an overbearing demeanor, his eyes occasionally flashing with desire as they roamed freely over her figure, much like a despicable, spoiled young noble.

The appearance of this group instantly gave Su Ming, who had just been marveling at the high-class, sophisticated atmosphere of the gathering, the unpleasant sensation of having stumbled into a playground for wealthy heirs.

If even Su Ming felt this way, one could easily imagine Xu Qianqian’s state of mind.

Xu Qianqian’s face was cold as she regarded the group before her.

To be more precise, she was only looking at the thoroughly malicious woman and the utterly domineering man.

“Li Mei, Li Su.”

Xu Qianqian spoke their names.

Hearing these two names, Su Ming understood.

These two were members of the Li Family.

The same Li Family that Li Wei belonged to.

“Getting to see you really isn’t easy, Xu Qianqian.” Li Mei let out a cold laugh. “What? Afraid our Li Family will continue to hold you accountable?”

Li Mei was, of course, referring to the matter concerning Li Wei.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Xu Qianqian replied indifferently.

“Is it that you don’t understand, or that you don’t want to understand?” Li Mei didn’t let up, her words dripping with malice from the start. “Even if you keep pretending to be ignorant, you can’t escape the crime of causing the death of our Li Family’s outstanding disciple.”

This Young Miss of the Li Family directly pinned the label of “crime” on Xu Qianqian.

It had to be said, this was no longer just picking a fight—it was deliberately meant to disgust Xu Qianqian.

“Pretending to be ignorant?” Xu Qianqian remained completely unmoved, her expression blank as she looked at Li Mei. “I’ve already said that Li Wei’s matter has nothing to do with me. If your Li Family believes I am guilty, then send someone to arrest and charge me. As long as you dare to make a move, I absolutely will not resist.”

These words made Li Mei’s expression turn ugly.

Despite her overbearing tone, she truly didn’t dare to arrest anyone.

Without evidence, who would dare to directly convict the direct-line Young Miss of the Xu Family?

Xu Qianqian had seized on this point to refute her.

If the Li Family had any evidence, they would have come demanding an explanation long ago. Why wait until now?

This was something Li Mei understood all too well.

Yet, in her view, Li Wei’s death was entirely Xu Qianqian’s fault.

Don’t ask her why.

If Li Mei were someone who reasoned logically, she wouldn’t be here blocking their path so recklessly.

Thus, despite her ugly expression, Li Mei continued to sneer repeatedly.

“Do you really think our Li Family is afraid of your Xu Family?” Li Mei scoffed. “Let me tell you, this matter is far from over. You, Xu Qianqian, must pay the price for what happened to Li Wei.”

No sooner had Li Mei’s words fallen than Li Su, with his utterly arrogant, family-rejecting expression, also spoke.

“Xu Qianqian, I advise you to tell us the truth. Perhaps our Li Family might still give your Xu Family some face.” Li Su grinned. “Of course, if you’re willing to have a private chat with me, I wouldn’t mind putting in a good word for you in front of my father.”The underlying meaning of those words, along with the despicable thoughts they carried, were as obvious as Sima Zhao’s ill intentions—clear to every passerby.

In response, Xu Qianqian turned her head and looked at Li Su, her eyes filled with an unconcealable chill.

Under Xu Qianqian’s icy glare, Li Su’s expression became strained, showing a hint of discomfort.

But Xu Qianqian said nothing.

It wasn’t that she could tolerate Li Su’s rudeness or Li Mei’s unreasonable pestering.

Given her temperament, if the situation hadn’t been inappropriate, she would have already taken action. Why would she waste words on these two good-for-nothing scions?

Xu Qianqian refrained from acting directly for two reasons. First, as the host, she couldn’t appear too unreasonable in front of the core figures of various Families, lest she embarrass the Xu Family. Second, she could sense a faint aura lingering nearby, seemingly observing the situation.

Xu Qianqian didn’t know who the owner of that aura was, but she could easily guess—it was undoubtedly an Upper-Rank Professional from the Li Family.

If she were to act, the other party would undoubtedly intervene.

And how could she possibly contend with an Upper-Rank Professional?

It would only lead to a loss outweighing any gain.

However, just as Xu Qianqian was thinking this and preparing to ignore the provocations of Li Mei and Li Su, swallowing her anger, Su Ming moved.

If Xu Qianqian could sense the Upper-Rank Professional watching them, how could Su Ming fail to notice?

At that moment, Su Ming raised his right hand and clenched his fist slightly.

“Boom…”

A muffled sound echoed around them as a faint, flame-like azure light flickered across Su Ming’s right hand.

It was the disturbance caused by the dispersal of the faint aura that had been lingering nearby.

The unique characteristic of Su Ming’s right hand—ignoring all defensive conditions and delivering maximum damage—had violently shattered the aura surrounding them.

“Hmph…”

Instantly, a figure not far away seemed to suffer an impact, letting out a muffled groan as they staggered back two steps.

That person was none other than the Upper-Rank Professional from the Li Family.

“————!”

Everyone present widened their eyes in shock at the sudden commotion.

“What…!?”

Li Mei, Li Su, and the others also noticed the abnormality with their Upper-Rank Professional and couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.

Su Ming had already retracted his right hand. As Xu Qianqian looked over, he smiled at her.

“Since that person over there is so concerned about what’s happening here, why not invite him over for a proper chat?”

Su Ming’s words caused many of those present to adopt peculiar expressions.

The Upper-Rank Professional from the Li Family, in particular, stepped forward with an extremely gloomy face, his expression ashen.

The man had a round head, short limbs, a slightly hunched back, and graying hair—clearly advanced in years.

“Grandpa Li!”

Li Mei and Li Su immediately called out.

He was a direct member of the Li Family, an elder to Li Mei and Li Su.

“Li Jing…”

Xu Qianqian frowned and murmured the name under her breath.

Unfortunately, Su Ming didn’t recognize him.

But it was evident that the other party was furious at having suffered such a hidden loss and lost face in front of Su Ming.”So you’re the rumored mysterious expert dispatched by the Yun Family Estate?”Li Jing stared intently at Su Ming, his voice low.” “Are you trying to interfere in the affairs between our Li Family and the Xu Family?”

These words prompted a faint smile from Su Ming.

“You’re overthinking it, old man.” Staying true to his character, Su Ming responded in a flippant, casual tone. “I just thought you looked too uncomfortable standing over there, and since I wanted to come here to have some fun, I invited you over. Not satisfied?”

Su Ming’s irreverent and utterly disrespectful tone caused Li Jing’s expression to darken further.

“Impudent brat. It seems I must teach you a lesson on behalf of the Yun Family Estate.”

As he spoke, a formidable Aura surged from Li Jing’s body, causing his robes to flutter as if stirred by an unseen wind.

Though Su Ming appeared unmoved, he had already clenched his right fist.

At this moment, Su Ming felt a surge of excitement.

Without needing to worry about his identity being exposed, he could do whatever he wanted, even under the watchful eyes of everyone.

This gave Su Ming the impulse to cut loose and stir up some real trouble.

“Looking for a fight?”

Su Ming spoke with rare aggression.

“Then bring it on.”

(End of Chapter)