Chapter 123: Who Are You?

Chapter 123: Who the Hell Are You?

The tall man caught the storage pouch, clearly taken aback, as if he hadn't expected anyone to defy him. He finally gave Shang Yunduo a serious look. "Who the hell are you?"

Shang Yunduo, refusing to back down, snapped back even sharper, "Who the hell are *you*?!"

The tall man: "You don't know who I am?"

Shang Yunduo: "Why should I know who you are? Do *you* know who *I* am?"

The tall man was even more stunned, scrutinizing him carefully but failing to identify his clan. He asked again, "Who are you?"

Shang Yunduo: "None of your business!"

Then it clicked.

This guy was picking a fight!

The tall man: "I'll add two thousand more spirit stones..."

Before he could finish, Shang Yunduo cut him off, "Use those spirit stones to get your head checked!"

The tall man: "You lookin' for a fight?"

Shang Yunduo bristled, rolling up his sleeves and making the bone bracelet on his arm clatter. "Bring it on! Let's do this!"

Everyone who got it and everyone just there for the drama started chanting, "Fight! Fight!"

The crowd made room fast. Neither of them held back. Without even a referee to start, they locked eyes and threw punches at the same time. Boom! The Tiger cultivators all went "Ooh!"

Someone couldn't help asking, "Who's the redhead? What branch is he?"

"No idea!"

"His cultivation's not even that high, but he just tanked a punch from the Giant Tiger Clan!"

Shang Yunduo's arm went numb. He stumbled back two steps, then caught himself. The guy was tough, but not as tough as Tie Hou—though he'd never actually fought Tie Hou.

The tall guy stepped back too, squinting at him.

They glared at each other, neither willing to yield.

In the silence, the tall man charged again, but he clearly underestimated Shang Yunduo, attempting another fist-to-fist clash to redeem himself.

This time, it was again a draw, but the anger burned hotter.

By the third punch, the crowd had backed up even more. By the fifth, Shang Yunduo ducked. The big guy punched air, and Shang Yunduo nailed him in the chest, sending him stumbling back several steps until he slammed into the human wall of spectators, knocking over a few people before barely staying on his feet.

"That's dirty!" The tall man was enraged now, charging forward with heavy strides.

What's dirty about it? If it's a size-and-strength contest, sure, he's got the edge, but who uses their weak point to clash with someone's strong point?

Shang Yunduo, unusually hot-headed, didn't argue. He was about to lunge when Pei Jie stopped him. "Alright, it's over. You won. If you wanna live, go find a doctor who can fix internal injuries. Now."

The big guy froze. "Me?"

Pei Jie: "Yes."

"You mean *me*?!" The tall man found it hard to believe. He felt his armor—it hurt, but not bad enough to be hurt. He ignored Pei Jie and waved at Shang Yunduo. "Round two! My armor's not even cracked!"

Pei Jie held Shang Yunduo back—he was still fuming—and said, "Your insides are messed up. Better not use your spiritual power recklessly."

Shang Yunduo was clearly way too wound up today.

By his usual habit, even if he had the upper hand, he'd naturally hold back and test the waters first. Unless it was a life-or-death struggle, he never went all out. But this time, whether it was the sudden arrival in Tiger Clan territory affecting him or the provocation from this Giant Tiger cultivator, he'd freaked out like a spooked cat and swung without holding back.

The Giant Tiger Clan was one of the toughest branches, but they didn't have natural thick armor like Tie Hou—someone who specialized in Body Techniques and could even block spells, hard outside but soft inside.

Plus, Shang Yunduo had clocked him right near the heart.

Even Tie Hou would've gotten hurt taking that punch last time.

But the tall guy didn't believe it—thought he was bluffing. He insisted on circulating his qi to check, then grabbed his chest and said, "I don't feel any..." *blech*—he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Everyone was stunned.

Shang Yunduo included.

The tall guy's buddies frantically shoved pills in his mouth. Lucky for them, there was a cart nearby. They loaded him onto it, yanked the reins from the tiger pulling it, and a few Tiger cultivators pulled the cart themselves, tearing off like the wind to find a healer.

Someone shouted, "He's not going to die, is he?" The onlookers snapped out of it and chased after the show, leaving a flustered Shang Yunduo, a stunned Fenger and Lie Qi, and two suddenly jobless giant tigers.

Shang Yunduo: "Should we go check?"

Pei Jie chuckled. "Weren't you just thinking about bolting?"

Shang Yunduo: "..."

No—he still wanted to run now, actually!

But making someone puke blood...

Even though the other guy started it, his conscience was beating the crap out of his urge to run.

"Maybe... we should still go check on him?" Shang Yunduo sounded helpless. "I didn't actually kill him, right?"

Pei Jie comforted him, "Don't worry, he's not gonna die. Just bad luck where he got hit—probably need to rest up for a year or two."

Shang Yunduo went "Oh," feeling a bit better.

If it's just an injury, they could apologize and pay the medical bills. That shouldn't get him killed, right?

He still sent Pei Jie a private message: "If things go south, we bail."

If it were just him, he'd take it—a life for a life. But with Pei Jie involved, no way!

Pei Jie smiled. "Let's go. This might not be a bad thing."

Shang Yunduo: "Huh?"

He had beaten someone until they spat blood—how could that not be a bad thing?

Pei Jie: "The demon race always respects strength, especially the Tiger Clan—a famously tough and powerful branch. That punch showed them you've got skill."

They might not even care about his background anymore.

Shang Yunduo: "???"

He was shocked. "They don't have each other's backs at all?"

Why does he recall that the Tiger Clan is one of the most protective groups in the Demon Clan?

They can't help being protective, but that's toward outsiders. Pei Jie patted him. "You are also a tiger."

Shang Yunduo: "..."

Pei Jie: "Now I belong to you. If he comes to snatch your things and you fight back, whether in the demon realm or the human realm, even if you beat him to death, you're more in the right. Don't feel guilty."

Shang Yunduo's mind echoed with "I belong to you" over and over. The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed!

Instantly, he stopped panicking and his confidence grew.

With Lie Qi and Fenger back to their senses and flattering him, he walked with growing confidence.

"Brother Baiyun, I knew you were strong, but I didn't expect you to be this strong!"

"One punch and you laid the Giant Tiger Clan out!"

Shang Yunduo: "Not laid out, not laid out."

If that guy had taken the advice and not forced his qi like that, he wouldn't have spat blood.

Fenger: "But that's the Giant Tiger Clan!"

Shang Yunduo asked in confusion: "What's wrong with the Giant Tiger Clan?"

The two looked at him in shock. The Giant Tiger Clan...

It's one of the three Tiger Clan branches that are strongest in one-on-one combat!

Brother Baiyun doesn't even take the Giant Tiger Clan seriously?

"Good!" Lie Qi went quiet for a moment, then suddenly yelled, "That's my Brother Baiyun!"

Fenger: "That's the attitude!"

Shang Yunduo was confused. "Huh?"

Fenger: "Yes, that's the expression, the one that sweeps everything aside and acts like no one else exists!"

Fenger: "I need to let my little brother meet you. He's missing this kind of attitude!"

Lie Qi: "Yeah, attitude!"

Shang Yunduo: "..."

Fine, attitude!

Shang Yunduo took a deep breath. He had to have attitude, or more people would come looking for trouble with him and Pei Jie. Attitude!

By the time they arrived in high spirits, word had spread among the Tiger Clan—who loved fighting and valued attitude—that "the red-haired kid who brought a Deer Clan guy took out half the life force of a Giant Tiger Clan cultivator of the same rank with one punch" and "a short red-haired guy beat a Giant Tiger Clan member until he puked blood all over the floor."

Even the Core Formation stage elders from various branches, who were watching the competition, heard about it. Any branch that had red-haired descendants rushed over to claim him as their own.

Upon hearing that the one who was beaten was indeed a Giant Tiger Clan junior who was expected to be selected as the Tiger Clan's representative this time, several elders who had initially dismissed it as kids fooling around came over to check out the commotion.

Of all the branch elders, only the Giant Tiger Clan elder was unhappy.

Clenching his massive fist and striding over, he left the arena, wanting to see in person which branch's junior didn't compete on stage but showed off like that off stage, using HIS Giant Tiger Clan as a stepping stone?!

Shang Yunduo and his group arrived first. Amid murmurs of "Is that him?" "Yeah, that's him," they walked through a path the crowd cleared to the physician's side. As they walked, he could feel stares on him and Pei Jie.

Shang Yunduo got annoyed again.

When the elders arrived, they saw him standing there with a sour face, grumpily listing the herbs he could offer and that he was willing to provide herbs and spirit stones to treat that unlucky Giant Tiger Clan cultivator.

Hearing his tone, the Giant Tiger Clan elder immediately got ticked off. As he walked in, he said, "What, not done beating him? Cure him so you can beat him again?"

"???" Shang Yunduo turned around confused, only to see an even taller, bigger man approaching. The room had pretty high beams, but the man still had to duck his head, coming closer like some giant beast, casting a shadow over Shang Yunduo.

Shang Yunduo: "..."

"Kid, which clan are you from, and what's your name?"

Shang Yunduo: "...Fire Armor Clan, Bai Yun."

"Fire Armor Clan?" Elder Juhu tilted his head and thought, looking like he wanted to tear the roof off. "Did the Fire Armor Clan come this year?"

"No." The other elders behind him came around to look at Shang Yunduo. "Since when does the Fire Armor Clan have such a refined kid?"

Shang Yunduo: "..."

"But his fire aura is pretty pure."

"Are you the one who laid this kid out with one punch?"

Shang Yunduo: "Not one punch, more like several."

Giant Tiger Clan elder: "Several punches and he vomited blood? So you're saying our Giant Tiger Clan can't take a hit? Come on, try hitting me."

Shang Yunduo: "..."

The other elders joined in: "You're not bullying him just because his elder isn't around, are you?"

"Why bother hitting you? Hitting you is no better than hitting a rock. Kid, come spar with my junior instead."

"Are the arena matches over for today?"

"Not yet."

"Let's go!" Elder Juhu grabbed Shang Yunduo. Shang Yunduo felt like a little dog or cat being lifted by the scruff of his neck, making it hard to breathe. He quickly pulled down on the elder's arm, grabbing a handful of tiger fur, but couldn't budge it. Staggering as he was dragged along, he had no choice but to grab the elder's arm and pull himself up like doing a chin-up. Finally able to breathe, his feet, barely brushing the floor, quickly shuffled to match the elder's huge strides.

Elder Juhu looked down at him, laughed heartily, and said, "You go up on stage and compete with my grandson. If you win, we're square. If you lose, haha, you're in for it!"

Author's note:

Yun Duo asks: "What's wrong with the Giant Tiger Clan?" (genuine question)

His friends hear the question: "What's wrong with the Giant Tiger Clan?" (as a provocation)

Elder Juhu: Kid, you're quite arrogant!