Suddenly, Ji Wuye's piercing crimson eyes rapidly scanned his surroundings as the night air seemed to bend and warp around him. The chilling wind howled menacingly, carrying the ominous presence of several cloaked figures emerging from the shadows.

The eerie metallic hiss of gleaming steel jians being unsheathed sliced through the tense silence as the blades pointed squarely at Ji Wuye's neck from all sides.

Their flowing plain blue hanfu robes billowed violently in the swirling gusts, the heavy silk rustling like ominous whispers. The hooded figures revealed only narrowed eyes peering out from the depths of their cowls, emotionless and locked onto Ji Wuye's composed face with unsettling intensity.

Now, more than five martial artists surrounded him in a tightening circle, their razor-sharp jians poised to strike at the slightest provocation.

"How dare you show such disrespect toward the Young Lady!" Lin Fang's quavering voice cut through the stillness, his words dripping with a bravado that contrasted with his visibly shaken demeanor. Despite his trembling hands and twitching muscles betraying his fear, he attempted a fierce glare at Ji Wuye as he unsheathed his own jian with jerky movements.

Meanwhile, Ji Wuye's long white hair whipped wildly in the howling wind as he straightened his posture, refusing to be cowed. He stood calmly, his intense crimson gaze unwavering as it met Ye Yujin's veiled figure before him, seemingly unfazed by the sudden ambush.

"It seems my attitude was truly uncivil. Please forgive me, Young Lady Ye," Ji Wuye spoke politely yet firmly, his deep voice cutting through the chaos as he maintained steady eye contact with the flustered Ye Yujin. Her delicate face remained shrouded behind the veil fluttering against her porcelain features.

A lone wolf's haunting howl pierced the midnight air, the mournful cry startling Ye Yujin back to her senses with a sharp gasp. Her slender legs trembled violently, causing her entire body to stagger under the weight of the tension.

Locks of her silken white hair came loose and brushed against the stone-paved ground as Lin Fang quickly caught her, his strong arms preventing her from crumpling to the earth.

"Young Lady, take a deep breath," Lin Fang urged, his voice a strange mix of concern and forced confidence as he had already unsheathed his jian in a defensive stance. He held Ye Yujin tightly against him, the young maiden's delicate frame nestled in his protective embrace as he bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood, determined not to let his hands betray his inner turmoil.

"I-I'm okay, p-please, Uncles, lower your jians," Ye Yujin managed to stammer through trembling lips. Her unique blend of azure and amber pupils struggled to focus on Ji Wuye's unnervingly calm figure as her vision blurred.

"My lady is not a martial artist; what kind of gentlemen use their Sword Aura to pressure her?" Lin Fang spat out disdainfully, his words laced with venom as he continued supporting Ye Yujin's delicate frame where she now sat trembling on the cold ground. He shot a withering glare at Ji Wuye's infuriatingly indifferent smile.

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On the other hand, despite Lin Fang's biting words and Ye Yujin's command, the ring of glinting jians pointed squarely at Ji Wuye's exposed neck did not withdraw. Instead, the blades inched ever closer with agonizing slowness until one razor-sharp edge finally made contact with his skin, lightly grazing the pale flesh.

Yet there was no crimson bloom of blood, no slicing of flesh, no visible mark whatsoever left behind - nothing. This immediately drew the hooded men's rapt attention to Ji Wuye's utterly unfazed expression.

"You are defying your master's orders," Ji Wuye spoke, his rich baritone now laced with an icy chill. His piercing crimson eyes flicked towards the hooded bodyguards—likely the same group, those middle-aged men he had first seen when she arrived at his courtyard.

"Consider yourselves lucky, as guests of Kunlun," Ji Wuye's words rang out, their meaning seemingly lost even on the befuddled Lin Fang.

But in the next electrifying moment, as the chilling night wind abruptly intensified with a piercing cry akin to a hunting eagle's shriek, every single steel jian clutched in the martial artists' grips and pointed at Ji Wuye shattered simultaneously in a thunderous cacophony of rending metal.

CRASH!

CRASH!

The razor-edged blades exploded into glittering shards one by one in less than a minute, the hooded men afforded no chance to react as their weapons disintegrated before their very eyes. Only after the last jian had been utterly destroyed did they take several stumbling steps backward, instinctively distancing themselves from the unflinching Ji Wuye.

On the other hand, Lin Fang's gaze was utterly frozen in shock as he witnessed the incredible display of power, while Ye Yujin, still recovering her senses and squinting her mismatched eyes, faintly registered her mouth falling agape behind the ivory veil.

Under their stunned eyes, the young man Ji Wuye, clad in a pristine white martial robe with aqua stripes along the hems, stood utterly motionless.

His long white hair and voluminous robes fluttered gently in the fading wind, while his intense crimson eyes remained serene as they calmly surveyed the raining shards of broken steel that slowly spiraled down to the ground around him.

Despite the explosive destruction that had just occurred, Ji Wuye had not moved so much as an inch from his original position, nor was there a single drop of sweat visible on his indifferent, youthful face.

"Then, if I may," Ji Wuye said evenly, raising his hand in a placating gesture that immediately put the surrounding hooded figures on edge. Their narrowed eyes watched him warily from the shadows of their cowls, tense bodies coiled like vipers expecting another sudden strike.

But Ji Wuye merely cupped his hands respectfully toward Ye Yujin's trembling form. "Please excuse me," he stated simply before turning on his heel. His pristine white robe billowed out behind him as he calmly exited the courtyard, leaving this group of martial artists and Lin Fang behind.

Just before he departed through the archway, Ye Yujin, still leaning weakly against Lin Fang's protective embrace on the ground, noticed Ji Wuye's intense crimson gaze linger on her veiled face for the briefest of moments.

...

Meanwhile, at the main gate of the Kunlun Sect, Ji Wuye, having just arrived, was stopped by a guarding disciple as he made to descend the stone steps.

"Halt! Outer Disciples are not allowed to leave the Sect grounds at night," barked the officious disciple sternly, holding aloft a red lantern that cast flickering crimson light over his furrowed brows as he eyed Ji Wuye, the infamous playboy Outer Disciple.

"It seems the rumors are true. At night, the frivolous playboy visits courtesans in the village, gradually staining his plumage!" Another disciple sneered in disdain, looking down his nose at Ji Wuye's neat and pristine appearance with open disgust.

However, when they saw Ji Wuye calmly withdraw an identity token, the disdainful disciples snorted in derision. "Do you think merely showing your Outer Disciple token will pro--"

The mocking words died on the disciple's lips as he realized with a jolt that the slim jade tablet was inscribed not with Outer Disciple designation, but with the unmistakable characters marking it as an Inner Disciple's token.

A tense silence fell as Ji Wuye simply tucked the token away, not deigning to respond. Without another word, he descended the ancient steps and passed through the paifang, arriving back in the darkened, deserted streets of Kunlun Qiuxiu village.

Only the eerie hoots of hunting owls and the steady chirping of crickets could be heard in the still night air.

Ji Wuye's measured footsteps were the only sound as he continued walking with deliberate strides until he reached the outskirts of the sleepy village.

He then immediately turned left, heading toward the same narrow passage behind a store building where he had previously encountered the shopkeeper's mysterious assistant.

'Inventory,' he commanded inwardly, and a shimmering transparent screen flashed into existence before his eyes.