After walking for a while, when Mu Chen had almost crossed the street, there was a disturbance.

"Get out of the way…are you guys blind?!! Can't you see our young master is in a hurry?" A loud cry was heard over the sound of the crowd.

A luxurious carriage rapidly made its way through the crowd, without caring a bit about the people who were walking on the street, almost knocking a few. The driver was the one who was cursing. His whip occasionally lashed out. But instead of the beasts that were driving the carriage, his targets were the occasional passerby. Some of the people who got hit yelped in pain. 

The carriage driver was very good with his whip. His aim was good and very precise. And he was smart too as he only targeted the mortals. Under his ruthless whipping, the crowd immediately parted to make way for the carriage.

"What the hell! This is not the highway. Why are you driving the carriage so fast?!" Someone who was sour on being forced to make way angrily complained. A moment later his pained scream sounded over the babble of the crowd. His face was bloodied as a long gash appeared on it.

"Bastard! Are you tired of living? Don't you recognize the carriage? How dare you complain?!" The driver actually slowed down the carriage just to hit that guy's face.

Other people who were dissatisfied quickly hid their annoyed expression, afraid of the viciousness of the driver. Many people noticed the emblem on the carriage. The one who was hit also noticed the emblem, and the rest of his face that was uninjured, paled immediately.

"I...I…" The man trembled in fear and struggled to form coherent words.

"What I, I? Are you scared now? Weren't you really brave before? What happened to all …" The driver taunted.

"It's getting late...hurry." A voice filled with arrogance sounded from within the carriage.

"Yes...yes, Young Master." The driver froze for a while but immediately reacted and started directing the beasts to move the carriage once again. No one complained as they made a path for the carriage.

"Waste!" The driver spat on the face of the person he had just hit. It seemed that the Young Master was really in a hurry. Usually, his Young Master would enjoy his full play and even reward him later depending on the level of his performance. But it looked like he miscalculated. The Young Master was really in a hurry, and not just pretending to be in a hurry like usual.

Mu Chen who was somewhat further away on the side of the road sighed as he shook his head as he watched the scene transpire. He could guess the identity of the individual in the carriage. But he didn't have any plans to greet that person.

Mu Chen turned his back and resumed his walk. The carriage passed behind him further on the road. For a fleeting moment, Mu Chen had a feeling he was being scrutinized, making him somewhat uncomfortable. That source of the feeling seemed to the carriage, giving him a strange sense of foreboding. Sure enough…

"Halt!" The carriage had just gone a bit further when the voice sounded once again. 

The driver hastily stopped the carriage.

Bang!

The door of the carriage was kicked open, and a teenager that was around the same age as Mu Chen jumped out of it.

"I thought I saw someone familiar...it turned out to be you…Mu Chen!"

Mu Chen heard the youth speak behind him. But he ignored it and continued to walk. 

"That's right! Continue to run. Weren't you used to being high and mighty? What happened now? Don't you even have the courage to face others?" The youth yelled. "Haha...The genius of the Mu Family does not even have the courage to face others...how laughable!"

Mu Chen stopped walking and turned to face the teenager. The people surrounding him immediately distanced themselves from him. No one wanted to get beaten, just for being the soy sauce.

Mu Chen gave a dry smile. The youth standing in front of him was dressed in luxurious clothes. He was adorned with several gaudy and glittering gold jewelry like a nouveau riche.

"What is it, Fang Tianyi? I am busy." Mu Chen's tone was not all polite. He and Fang Tianyi had always been at odds with each other.

Fang Tianyi was from the Fang family which was also one of the strongest families in Falling Stones City. There would be some rivalry between all the families and while they wouldn't go to war with each other for trivial reasons, it went without saying that they were at loggerheads. Due to their Families' upbringing, there would naturally be intense competition among the young generation of the Families. 

Originally they were just rivals, but over the years, the rivalry had become bitter hatred. Fang Tianyi had always been jealous of him.

"Busy? Did you just mean afraid?" Fang Tianyi sneered.

"I don't need to explain my business to you…" Mu Chen shrugged. Buying treats for his little sister was more important to him than engaging in a senseless quarrel. 

"Haha…continue to pretend. I will see how long you can maintain your act...You know, I had been looking for an opportunity to meet you. Too bad, you have been holing up in your Mu Family...do you want to know why I have been looking for you?" Fang Tianyi said in a complacent tone trying to pique Mu Chen's curiosity.

However, Mu Chen was nonchalant. "If there is nothing else...I will be leaving…" Mu Chen said and actually turned his back to Fang Tianyi and started walking once again. 

"Mu Chen! You dog…How dare you act so pretentious in front of me?! Damn you!" Fang Tianyi roared in anger as he rushed and blocked Mu Chen's path. 

Mu Chen was immediately alert as he gripped his sword on instinct, ready to draw it at a moment's notice.

Seeing Mu Chen's battle-ready stance, Fang Tianyi smirked. He had long since noticed Mu Chen's sword, but he didn't put it in his eyes. It was just a mortal weapon, not even a low-grade spirit weapon. Besides, Mu Chen had already lost his cultivation base.

"Go ahead and draw that stick of yours...I am waiting…You think things are the same as in the past? I am now a Spirit Gathering realm, while you...will just be the worm beneath my feet, a waste!" Fang Tianyi snickered.

"Do you really think you are invincible just because you broke through and became a Spirit Gathering cultivator?" Mu Chen instead slightly relaxed his stance. He had just entered his battle stance on instinct, he didn't have the intention to actually attack.

"Whether I am invincible or not, you will only know when you try…but do you have the guts?" Fang Tianyi mocked. He truly hoped Mu Chen would be reckless and attack him. This way he could get an excuse to beat him up. Although Mu Chen was now a cripple, his status couldn't be compared to the other mortals whom he could harass or kill.

"Idiot…" Mu Chen felt Fang Tianyi was truly being an idiot. Although he was a Spirit Gathering cultivator, Mu Chen wasn't afraid of him. Mu Chen could tell it was just a recent breakthrough. Just how much of his strength could Fang Tianyi have possibly mastered? Or the number of magical techniques he learned? Not everyone was a genius like him.

Besides, Mu Chen himself was not an ordinary mortal. Because he had been a cultivator himself, he was well aware of the limits of cultivators. A cultivator's mortal body was usually their biggest weakness. Fang Tianyi challenging him at such a close range was a fatal mistake. At this range, Mu Chen had over eighty percent assurance that he could kill Fang Tianyi in just a single strike.

So Fang Tianyi was truly being an idiot in Mu Chen's opinion. He didn't even realize that he was knocking the door of death. Mu Chen considered whether he should just destroy Fang Tianyi's family jewels, so the future generations will not inherit his idiocy.

"You…" Fang Tianyi almost exploded in rage. He thought he could see Mu Chen cower in fear and then he would be able to gloat over him. Unfortunately, Mu Chen didn't even seem to fear him in the slightest and even dared to insult him.

Both Mu Chen and Fang Tianyi stared at each other. Although Mu Chen's looked relaxed on the surface, his body was very tense, like a spring that could snap at any moment. If Fang Tianyi tried making any moves against him, Mu Chen would not be merciful and strike with all his strength.

If Mu Chen took the initiative to attack, he would have more assurance to defeat or even cripple Fang Tianyi. The only reason he didn't, was because even if he managed to do it, it would only cause him a lot of trouble. But if it was Fang Tianyi who attacked him first, he could also attack and it would be a case of legitimate defense.

Both Mu Chen and Fang Tianyi were at tenterhooks and it looked like they could attack each other any moment. But no one attacked for a while. Mu Chen was hesitant due to the potential consequences. On the other hand, Fang Tianyi seemed to have realized his awkward position. However, if he withdrew in front of so many people, he would lose a lot of face.

"Mu...Mu Chen!!"

A surprised sounding voice fluttered over the diffusing the tense atmosphere. Both Mu Chen and Fang Tianyi looked at the owner of the voice who had just interrupted their potential battle.

The newcomer turned out to be a beautiful red-haired girl in her teens. Both Mu Chen and Fang Tianyi were acquainted with her.

"You were lucky this time…" Fang Tianyi snorted. Upon seeing the girl, Fang Tianyi had immediately put away his nasty expression replacing it with a charming smile on his, as he moved forward to greet the girl.

"So it turned out to be Young Lady Liu. I am extremely sorry if our little scuffle has caused the Young Lady any inconvenience…" Fang Tianyi said in a courteous manner.

But the girl simply ignored him as she moved towards Mu Chen instead. It was as if his words had fallen on deaf ears. Fang Tianyi's face turned ugly as he realized she hadn't even looked at him once.

"Fengying, you have become more beautiful since I last saw you." Mu Chen said with a smile.

Liu Fengying blushed on hearing Mu Chen's comment.

"You...you came. I knew you would definitely participate in the selection...It's good to see you again!" Liu Fengying said as she came near Mu Chen.

"Selection?" Mu Chen blinked. Was something big happening? He looked at Fang Tianyi and suddenly understood why he previously was in such a hurry.

"You didn't come here for the event?" Liu Fengying was surprised.

Mu Chen shrugged. 

Liu Fengying was somewhat disappointed. She had been looking forward to their meeting. But Mu Chen didn't come here for the event, so their meeting was just an accident. If not for the commotion that had attracted her attention, she would not have seen Mu Chen. She couldn't help but feel a little lost.

"No one invited me...so of course, I wouldn't come for any selection or event." Mu Chen wasn't aware of any kind of event that was happening, but he saw the sense of loss in Liu Fengying's eyes and couldn't help but add.

"You...how could you not get my message?!" Liu Fengying was astounded.

"Hmph...a cripple like him could only pretend and make excuses. Do you really expect him to have the face to see others?" Fang Tianyi was very envious of Mu Chen and interjected in their conversation.

"Fang Tianyi! Shut your trap!" Liu Fengying was furious.

Fang Tianyi wanted to say more, but seeing Liu Fengying's fierce expression, kept silent.

Mu Chen felt warm on hearing Liu Fengying speaking up for him.

"When did you send me the message?" Mu Chen felt it was odd he didn't receive any message.

"A few days ago...anyways let's first find a place to chat, unless you want to put up a show for everyone…" Liu Fengying giggled as she grabbed Mu Chen's arm and dragged him, much to Fang Tianyi dismay.

Only then did Mu Chen take a look around. Their confrontation had aroused a lot of public interest, especially because of Fang Tianyi's oppressive display. Their faces showed some disappointment seeing how they weren't going to fight each other.

"What are you looking at?! The show's over!" Fang Tianyi snarled at the crowd. He could only vent his frustration on the crowd causing it to quickly disperse.