"Whoosh~~~"

As Li Qingming and his group stepped onto the second floor together, the entire Yafeng Ancient City North Street erupted into chaos.

"It seems that group was the one who just bombarded the city gate! I didn't expect them to be so fierce, not even giving face to Yan Hui and striking so ruthlessly!"

"Well done! That damn Manager Jiang, always acting so high and mighty, he's just a little manager at the Elegant Scholar Pavilion, yet he puts on such airs!"

"Exactly! If we really talk about it, who here in their own world isn't high above others! If you ask me, killing him wouldn't even matter!"

The crowd was buzzing with discussions; aside from a very few who, out of jealousy of Li Qingming and his group's high level of cultivation, commented on their unconventional actions, most of the elites from various fields praised the ruthless actions of Li Qingming and his group.

As a result, the impression of the Elegant Scholar Pavilion subtly dropped several notches.

Standing at the doorway, the two servants who had just participated in attacking Manager Jiang and others finally realized what was happening as they glanced at each other. The servant on the left spoke first: "What should we do, Little You? Should we continue guarding the gate, or should we go back to the second floor to report this?"

The servant on the right thought for a moment and said, "Our main task is to guard the gate, but with such an incident, if we don't report, the shopkeeper will blame us too! How about this, Xiao Zuo, you keep guarding the door and I'll go back upstairs to report!"

"Alright!" Xiao Zuo nodded, then suddenly caught sight of Manager Jiang who was still wailing on the first floor, and said, "Right, take Manager Jiang with you! Otherwise, if he bleeds to death here later, that would be quite a spectacle!"

A trace of schadenfreude flashed through Xiao You's eyes, he nodded to Xiao Zuo, casually grabbed the unfortunate Manager Jiang and headed to the staircase leading to the second floor.

...

The door frame on the first floor stood at a height of thirteen feet and three inches, and inside the hall, there was a spatial array spanning three hundred feet in diameter, utterly different from how it appeared from the outside.

The second floor of the Elegant Scholar Pavilion was even more distinct from the first floor, with door frames over ten feet high, completely enveloped by lustrous Xuanyu Stones, designed elegantly and simply without lavish decorations, yet carved with dragons and phoenixes to utmost refinement.

As Li Qingming and his group stepped into the second floor, they saw that the space here was even broader than the first floor, covering three miles in diameter, with dozens of tightly locked exquisite guest rooms and an ancient hall neatly arranged with wooden lacquered desks each three feet and six inches long.

At this moment, there were already exquisite tableware and drink vessels placed on the long desks. Some people were already there, drinking and chatting happily.

Moreover, in the northwest corner of the loft, there were two rows of delicate ancient zithers, bronze drums, jade chimes... and other various musical instruments, with more than a hundred musicians gently tuning those instruments.

"Wow, this really is done on a grand scale!" Li Qingquan exclaimed in amazement as he looked around the spacious second-floor hall.

"Yes!" Yin Xi touched his long beard under his chin, squinting his eyes and said, "To set up such a vast Eternal Void Array, at least ten Innate Spiritual Objects are needed to stabilize the void. Some people might not obtain one in their entire lives, yet here they are used in an array. No wonder that Manager Jiang was so arrogant and haughty!"

Everyone then stopped talking and started exploring on their own.

Suddenly, an old voice rang out from beside them: "Excuse me, young masters, please state your names. Once I have recorded them, I will arrange for maids to escort you to your guest rooms for rest."

Turning towards the sound, they saw an old man approaching from the staircase. His complexion was as rosy as an infant's, his long hair fine as frosty snow, vigorous and spirited, and although his old eyes seemed somewhat murky, the occasional gleam within them was enough to prevent any disrespect.

"Ah? We still need to register?" Long Xuhu looked at the old man, his words tinged with impatience.

"As per the rules, that's how it is!" The old man revealed a smile, his demeanor gentle.

"Fine, we'll register!" Long Xuhu was about to say something more, but was suddenly pulled back by Li Qingming. He looked at the old man in front of him, showing a gentle smile.

"Thump thump thump~~~"

Just then, a series of hurried, heavy footsteps came from the stairs.

Everyone on the attic floor instinctively turned their heads to look, only to see Little You, formerly at the door, dragging Manager Jiang who was continuously howling in agony, clearly struggling to breathe.

"Holy shit, isn't that Manager Jiang? What happened here?"

"Yes, not only is his cultivation destroyed, but his Achilles tendon was also severed, permanently cutting off his path to re-cultivate!"

"Hehe, good! This wretched servant always acted so high and mighty, now this condition, I bet it's more painful for him than death!"

The crowd on the second-floor attic, seeing Manager Jiang's condition, were all abuzz with curiosity and confusion, but most reveled in his misfortune!

It seems this so-called Manager Jiang truly had deplorable conduct, as not a single person sympathized with him.

Seeing this scene, the old man's face drastically changed, no longer caring about neglecting his guests, his figure flashed abruptly, and in the next moment, he appeared in front of Little You. He reached into his robe sleeve, took out an elixir, and stuffed it into Manager Jiang's mouth, then looked up at Little You, asking, "Little You, what happened here?"

"This... that..." Little You subconsciously glanced at Li Qingming and the others not far away, hemming and hawing for a long while without forming a complete sentence.

"Cough cough~~"

At this moment, the elixir took effect, and Manager Jiang, who had been gasping more than breathing, lightly coughed and suddenly sat up, grabbing the old man's thigh with tears and snot, wailing, "Shopkeeper Cai, my cultivation is destroyed, my Primordial Spirit Sea is dried up, my life is over, you must seek justice for me..."

The old man, known as Shopkeeper Cai, face turned cold, patted Manager Jiang's shoulder, and said, "Jiang Yan, speak clearly if you have something to say!"

Manager Jiang, with a face full of bitterness, glanced at Li Qingming and the others nearby, and said hatefully, "Shopkeeper Cai, do you see those culprits over there! It was them, they are the ones who beat me into this state..."

Shopkeeper Cai glanced at Li Qingming and others, frowning, and said, "What exactly happened, tell me in detail, there must be no concealment or falsehood!"

Manager Jiang averted his gaze, tearfully said, "Just earlier downstairs, my... Achilles tendon was severed... and after that, you know all that happened!"

It took the time of a cup of tea before Manager Jiang finally narrated the events that occurred on the first floor in detail to Shopkeeper Cai.

However, in his depiction, Manager Jiang was the victim from beginning to end, none of his disregarding Li Qingming's queries, or ordering the doorkeeper to drive people away with sticks... all of it was deliberately concealed.

In his account, Li Qingming and his group turned into utter villains, scoundrels, pushing all the blame onto them! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

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