When he heard this, Han Li felt a moment of surprise, followed by a mix of amusement and exasperation.
He finally understood why the middle-aged man surnamed Feng had been hostile toward him. The man had taken a fancy to Mei Ning, the beautiful young woman, and most likely assumed that he and she shared an intimate relationship after seeing them arrive together.
But that was hardly surprising. Whether it was something about the local climate or what, the women here were far from ugly, yet they all had rough, dark skin, and even the ones with well-proportioned features weren't particularly attractive.
No wonder Elder Feng's heart stirred the moment he laid eyes on Mei Ning.
After all, Mei Ning's delicate beauty — while not on the level of a national-wrecker like Ziyuan or Zi Ling — was still exceedingly rare.
Add to that the fact that she had cultivated for many years, giving her an ethereal quality that ordinary women simply didn't possess, and she became even more captivating.
"What you said just now, I'm going to pretend I never heard. I'm a cultivator — I won't be marrying a mortal. Please leave immediately." To Han Li's surprise, without him by her side Mei Ning was unexpectedly resolute, and she spoke those cold words without a shred of politeness.
"Hmph! Miss Mei, I don't think you understand the situation yet. This is the Yinmeng Land. Your little cultivator status means absolutely nothing here. Perhaps ordinary people hold some reverence for you cultivators, but in my eyes, without Yinmeng Beast Crystals, you're really no more noble than anyone else. Do you truly believe that male companion of yours can stand against me in these circumstances? With my, Feng Tianji's, martial arts that have let me roam the entire Western Extreme Sea — if I wanted him dead, who in this entire village could stop me?" The middle-aged man surnamed Feng seemed to grow angry and embarrassed at Mei Ning's rejection. His tone turned sinister, and he began to threaten.
"You dare threaten me?" Mei Ning hadn't expected a mortal to actually threaten her, and her voice trembled with fury.
"Why wouldn't I dare? I'll even—"
"What are you doing—"
Something improper must have happened, because a terrified scream from Mei Ning suddenly rang out from inside the room.
Han Li rubbed his nose and let out a bitter smile.
Strictly speaking, this woman had nothing to do with him. But she was still a fellow cultivator who had come here with him. To simply stand by and do nothing — he wasn't quite that cold-blooded and heartless.
With that thought, the bitter smile at the bottom of his heart instantly transformed into a cold smirk on his face.
With a loud bang — before Mei Ning could let out a second scream — he kicked the door open and strode inside in a leisurely manner.
The middle-aged surnamed Feng, who had been herding Mei Ning into a corner of the room with a savage grin on his face, heard the commotion and spun around in surprise.
When he saw it was Han Li, a flicker of doubt crossed his eyes, but his expression quickly darkened.
Mei Ning, pale and shaken, immediately rushed out from the corner when she saw Han Li come in and ducked behind him.
"Fellow Daoist Han, be careful! This man was about to do something to you!" Once she had calmed down slightly, she blurted out a warning.
"Relax. I caught a few words of your little chat in there." Han Li replied calmly without even turning his head.
"When did you get back? I didn't hear a thing." The middle-aged Feng glared coldly at Han Li, not even bothering to use a name in his hostile tone.
He prided himself on his exceptional internal energy — within ten-some zhang, even the sound of a falling leaf wouldn't escape his ears. Yet Han Li had been standing outside the door without making the slightest sound. That was unsettling.
"It seems you're quite confident in your martial arts. But setting your sights on me — that was rather foolish of you." Han Li looked back at him with a kind of lazy detachment, speaking in an unhurried drawl.
"Foolish? I haven't heard anyone say that to me in a long time. As a reward, I'll break one of your arms as a small lesson." A vicious glint flashed in Feng Tianji's eyes.
Without further hesitation, his figure blurred as he shot toward Han Li like a bolt from a crossbow. At the same time, his right hand thrust forward — the entire palm suddenly swelling to one and a half times its original size — and he grabbed savagely at Han Li's right arm.
The way he struck, he truly intended to snap Han Li's arm in two with a single grab.