Chapter 49 Overbearing by Nature

That palm strike came exceedingly slowly. Not only was it slow, but it was also remarkably gentle...

Li Gang sneered. With a split of his palm, he countered with a strike of his own... Driven by his internal energy, his hand suddenly swelled significantly, taking on a faint purplish-red hue.

Anyone could tell that his palm strike was fiercely heavy, swift, steady, and solid. What would happen if such a palm met that gentle one?

Everyone already had a conclusion in their minds, but the moment their palms touched, everyone was wrong.

Suddenly, Li Gang’s sneer froze, and his expression changed drastically. He discovered that this gentle palm possessed a threefold terrifying might, and all three layers erupted simultaneously.

In an instant, his palm force vanished without a trace.
In an instant, every acupoint on his arm was sealed.
In an instant, he could no longer withstand that gentle palm.

His entire arm gave off a creaking sound of shattering bones under the gentle strike, and then his body flew backward like a withered leaf falling in the wind.

Everyone watched as Li Gang crashed heavily onto the ground, spitting out a large mouthful of fresh blood.

The grand hall instantly fell silent, devoid of any sound!

Yet Ren Yi simply said, "Sit, everyone sit, drink, drink!" With that, he sat down himself first. Facing countless horrified gazes, he unconcernedly raised his cup and drank again.

Feng Siniang looked at Ren Yi with an expression of admiration, but she retreated not a bit slowly. Dragging Xiao Shilang with her like an innocent passerby, she had already distanced herself far away from that table.

Following Siniang's retreat, Yang Kaitai also halted his steps, leaving only a single person at that table, pouring and drinking by himself.

No one here knew him, but everyone cast looks of shock and awe at him.

They were shocked by this man's audacity to make a move within the Shen residence, and awed by the fact that his palm technique could directly inflict severe injuries upon the "Great Monument-Splitting Palm" master, Li Gang.

Everyone was sizing Ren Yi up; no one was in a rush to speak. Yet Wan Chongshan had no choice but to step forward with a very grim expression, just as someone asked, "Who are you?"

The speaker was an elderly person, impeccably dressed and advanced in years. Though her steps were not particularly brisk, they were far from being so arduous as to require assistance.

Thus, this elder had walked out under her own power, followed by a young gentleman and two household servants.

Ren Yi stood up and said, "Ren Yi, also known as Ren Hengzhi, a junior of the martial arts world, pays his respects to the elder."

Madame Shen smiled faintly, nodded, and said, "You are quite well-mannered, but I do not know you."

Ren Yi chuckled and said, "Indeed, I am acquainted with neither the household nor the guests present here."

***

Madame Shen smiled and said, "Not only are you well-mannered, but you also seem quite honest."

Ren Yi nodded in agreement and said, "Although I am capable of deception, most of the time I am an honest person who does not speak nonsense."

Madame Shen also nodded, saying, "That makes you a good boy. However, a good boy should know his manners, shouldn't he? Your strikes just now were rather heavy-handed."

As she spoke, she glanced at Li Gang. Li Gang had been helped to his feet and was glaring at this side with eyes full of hatred and malice.

Ren Yi smiled and said, "Actually, I already held back. Besides, I do not like being called a boy; it makes me think others believe I am ignorant of worldly affairs and lack discretion!"

Madame Shen narrowed her eyes and said, "If you are not a boy, how could you be so hot-headed and full of youthful vigor?"

Ren Yi nodded, feigning surprise, and said, "The elder has quite a sharp tongue."

Madame Shen likewise nodded and said, "The young man's martial arts are also remarkably profound."

Everyone watched this old woman and young man. Feng Siniang was watching them as well... The more she watched, the more interesting she found it. She felt that this old hag was truly fascinating, for ever since she had known Ren Yi, she had never once managed to gain the upper hand against this fellow.

"Today, my Shen family has two matters to attend to. The first is the engagement day between this old woman's granddaughter and the child Chengbi. The second is the joint invitation issued by Sikong Shu, Zhao Wuji, Hai Lingzi, Tu Xiaotian, and Master Xu Luzi, inviting all of you to my Shen residence to view a saber."

With that, Madame Shen looked intently at Ren Yi and asked deeply, "Are you here, child, to offer congratulations or to view the saber?"

Ren Yi replied, "Actually, I am here to propose marriage."

Madame Shen froze, and beside her, the impeccably and nobly dressed young man—whose demeanor had always been refined, whose features were exceedingly handsome, and whose smile was remarkably gentle—also froze.

Then, with a soft "snort," someone let out a derisive chuckle, and countless disdainful and contemptuous gazes were cast upon this young man with silver-streaked hair of youth.

Madame Shen narrowed her eyes and said, "You wish to propose marriage to the Shen family?"

Ren Yi nodded.

Madame Shen said in a deep voice, "Do you think this old body would agree to a fellow like you?"

Ren Yi chuckled lightly and said, "I am somewhat overbearing by nature and do not tolerate others refusing me."

Madame Shen said sternly, "Such arrogance! Such an arrogant boy! What if this old body refuses?"

Ren Yi sighed softly and murmured, "The elder is Bijun's grandmother, so naturally Ren cannot do anything to you. However, there are hundreds of guests here. If the elder refuses, then their journey in the land of the living has come to an end."

Given Madame Shen's prestige and status, no one should have interjected or meddled in her affairs. Yet everyone present had never witnessed someone so arrogant and utterly ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth.

Some of them gripped their weapons, some rested their hands on knife hilts, and others had already drawn their long swords.

***

"Such unbridled arrogance! You are simply courting death!"

The moment those words fell, Ren Yi saw the flash of a sword, heard the ring of a blade, and felt the chill of the sword wind.

The assailant brandished his long sword against the wind, sending a pitch-black, freezing radiance straight toward Ren Yi's throat. Before the sword even arrived, a desolate and murderous aura had already struck him first.

When the sword light pierced right before him, its power had reached its absolute limit. Ren Yi flicked his finger, and with a crisp 'ding' sound, the sword body trembled slightly, and its edge deflected to the side.

The attacker followed the deviation of the blade and hastily spun around to recover. No sooner had he turned than a hand descended.

The hand landed on his forehead. His figure swayed twice, and he collapsed straight backward.

"What a venomous hand, what a ruthless brat!"

Someone else made a move. This time it was not just a single person, but dozens launching a coordinated assault!

Some thrust swords, some brandished sabers, and others executed fist and kicking techniques. As the dozens of them unleashed their skills simultaneously, sword lights filled the sky and saber radiance flashed in all directions, while Ren Yi stood amidst that vortex of blades and swords without making a single visible movement.

No one held back, let alone showed any mercy.

Just as he was about to be minced into paste by the collective blades and swords, that pair of hands suddenly thrust outward.

They had never seen such a pair of hands—a pair of hands so terrifying!

Those hands swept through the sharpness, striking through the empty air... That was palm force that could part waves and split torrents, palm momentum resembling towering breakers, and palm energy capable of overwhelming mountains and seas.

Internal energy formed instantly from those hands, fluttering like willow catkins yet resilient as steel...

Instantly, the unceasing clanging of metal filled the air!

One could only see that between those palms, sword lights were dissipating, saber gleams were flickering in and out, and all the weapons shattered and broke the moment they were swept by those palms.

Broken sabers and fractured swords rained down, while the attackers were all sent flying.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang..." The continuous crashes echoed. When everything settled, the grand hall had undergone a heaven-shaking transformation. Everyone's expression had changed, looking as though they had just seen ghosts.