Chapter 207 - 205: If You Want to Touch Him, Go Through Me First

Xuanwu was like a puppet on a string. Even though the King of the Underworld treated him so roughly, he remained completely unresponsive. Only when he heard those last words did his eyes flicker slightly.

"King of the Underworld! What are you doing?!" Vermilion Bird rushed forward to stop him, afraid he would hurt Xuanwu.

"Get out of the way! I’m going to teach this brat a damn lesson today!" Seeing Vermilion Bird block his path only fueled the King of the Underworld’s anger. He shoved her aside and dragged Xuanwu toward the door.

"Let go of him! Where are you taking him?" Vermilion Bird chased after them again, trying to intervene.

The commotion they caused was massive, immediately drawing a crowd of onlookers from the Ministry of State Security.

Once the King of the Underworld lost his temper, no one could stop him. He dragged Xuanwu all the way to the sparring arena and violently threw him onto the ring. Burning with exasperation, he roared at the man.

"Get up, brat! I’m going to fight you today!

"Look at yourself! You’re a complete disgrace!"

Xuanwu lay sprawled on the ring. His eyes were downcast and his head hung low, completely obscuring his expression.

Ye Xuan frowned and held the King of the Underworld back. "Let it go. We just need to give him a little more time."

But this time, the King of the Underworld—who was usually intimidated by Ye Xuan—refused to back down. He pointed a furious finger at Xuanwu on the ground and roared in frustration.

"Let it go? It’s been years! Look at what he’s become!

"I can’t accept that White Tiger traded his life for this pathetic excuse of a man! If I had known saving him would result in this, I would rather he died instead! Not White Tiger!"

These words caused both Vermilion Bird and Ye Xuan’s expressions to drastically change.

"King of the Underworld! Shut up! Don’t bring up the past anymore!" Ye Xuan’s face turned icy, his gaze chilling as he stared at the other man.

They were the best of brothers. Years ago, they had sworn an oath to share wealth and woe, life and death. White Tiger’s death was an insurmountable hurdle for all of them. The King of the Underworld saying such things was undoubtedly rubbing salt in everyone’s wounds.

"Am I wrong? This brat has clearly recovered, yet he lied and told us his Martial Arts were completely crippled!

"Who is he doing this for? I feel so damn sorry for White Tiger! It wasn’t worth it!"

The King of the Underworld was completely triggered by Xuanwu’s spineless behavior. He was highly agitated, to the point of arguing with Ye Xuan.

"I said stop! Do you not understand me?!"

Seeing him repeatedly bring up White Tiger made Ye Xuan’s heart twist into a painful knot. The agony caused him to frown deeply. Moreover, his repeated warnings were completely ignored, igniting his own temper.

"I’m not going to argue with you! Get out of my way," the King of the Underworld said. Seeing Ye Xuan genuinely angry, he paused for a second or two before reaching out to shove Ye Xuan aside, unwilling to continue their dispute.

How could Ye Xuan not understand the King of the Underworld’s intentions? He clearly just wanted to get physical.

"What are you doing? Is beating him up going to solve anything?" Ye Xuan grabbed the King of the Underworld’s wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

"I don’t know if beating him up will solve the problem, but at least it will vent my anger!" The King of the Underworld forcefully shook off Ye Xuan’s hand and bent down to grab Xuanwu by the collar.

Ye Xuan was furious. "You want to fight? Then fight me!" He took a step forward, blocking Xuanwu with his own body.

The King of the Underworld was so angry he started spewing profanities. He scratched his head in extreme frustration and glared at Ye Xuan, his face flushed and his neck veins bulging. "Ye Xuan, get out of my way! I’m not fighting you! I want to fight this brat!" he shouted, pointing at Xuanwu hiding behind him.

"If you want to touch him today, you’ll have to go through me first." Ye Xuan stared at the King of the Underworld with a firm gaze, showing not the slightest intention of backing down.

As their eyes met, the heavy scent of gunpowder practically sparked in the air between them.

Watching from the sidelines, Vermilion Bird was fraught with anxiety. If these two really fought, she wouldn’t even know who to help.

"Both of you, calm down! Why are brothers raising fists against each other?" she pleaded, trying to play the peacemaker, but neither Ye Xuan nor the King of the Underworld reacted in the slightest.

Left with no other choice, Vermilion Bird rushed to Xuanwu’s side and pulled him up from the ground. "Xuanwu, say something!" she said anxiously. "They’re about to fight over you, why aren’t you saying a word?"

Xuanwu looked at Vermilion Bird, then glanced at Ye Xuan and the King of the Underworld. A trace of an indiscernible emotion flickered in his eyes. His mouth moved, but he still said nothing.

Vermilion Bird was about to die from the sheer exasperation caused by these three men.

"Fine! Fine, do whatever you want! I don’t care anymore! Fight if you want, if you beat each other to death, it has nothing to do with me!" She stomped her foot forcefully and hopped off the arena ring in a huff.

By this time, a large crowd had gathered around the arena. There were members of the Four Palaces, as well as those from the Qilin Hall who had come to watch the joke.

"Tsk, Vermilion Bird Chief, what’s wrong with your good brothers? Did they have a falling out?" a mocking voice suddenly rang out as Vermilion Bird passed by the Qilin Chief.

She was already seething with anger; provoking her at a time like this was simply digging one’s own grave. Vermilion Bird stopped in her tracks and whipped around to face the speaker. Staring at him with razor-sharp eyes, she enunciated every word clearly, "I advise you to keep your mouth shut. You wouldn’t be able to withstand my fists!"

The member of the Qilin Hall, who had just been wearing an amused expression, instantly paled under Vermilion Bird’s glare. Fear was evident in his eyes.

Vermilion Bird had originally intended to leave straight away, but seeing so many people standing around waiting to mock Ye Xuan and the others, she ultimately decided to stay.

Up on the arena ring, the atmosphere between Ye Xuan and the King of the Underworld had become incredibly tense.

"Ye Xuan, can you stop coddling him? The reason he’s turned out like this is exactly because you all spoiled him in the past!" the King of the Underworld shouted. "If he can’t even handle a small setback like this, how is he supposed to achieve anything great? How is he supposed to avenge White Tiger?"

The King of the Underworld was genuinely infuriated by Ye Xuan. He couldn’t fathom why, even now, Ye Xuan was still protecting Xuanwu.

"I said, give him a little more time," Ye Xuan replied with a stern face. No matter what the King of the Underworld said, he refused to move out of the way.

He knew it was wrong of him to coddle Xuanwu like this. But he was also at fault for what happened back then. White Tiger’s death, Xuanwu’s current state, Vermilion Bird’s severe injuries—all of it was connected to him.

Five years ago, acting as the captain, he had led the members of the Four Palaces to wipe out the Celestial Ranking. The information provided by their informant at the time was actually quite suspicious, but Ye Xuan had been too eager. Without waiting for his superiors to verify the intel, he had taken it upon himself to lead the team into action. That was how they had walked straight into the Celestial Ranking’s trap.

Therefore, facing the despondent Xuanwu, Ye Xuan couldn’t bear to force him to confront his inner demons.

"So you’re absolutely determined to stop me, are you?" The King of the Underworld’s patience had reached its absolute limit. He looked coldly at Ye Xuan and spoke in a deep, menacing tone.

Ye Xuan clenched his fists tightly. Meeting the King of the Underworld’s gaze, he nodded. "That’s right. If you want to touch him today, you’ll have to go through me first."

Hearing Ye Xuan’s answer, the King of the Underworld smiled and nodded.