and out of the imperial palace as he pleased. He was a friend of the Crown Prince. Who would dare to speak to him this way? He slammed his fan down on the table, speechless and shaking with rage.

The current ruling Kingdom of Qing prized affairs of culture as well as political and military achievements. Young scholars could be found throughout the capital, and in this tavern, a great many of the guests were scholars. Among those scholars... who didn't wield a fan?

Hearing Fan Xian speak so mockingly of strength of character, not only were the table of people sitting with He Zongwei suddenly angered - even the other people on the third floor stood up.

Fan Xian had never had much tolerance for these so-called gifted scholars. As he had lived in two worlds, he was generally unconstrained in his behavior, and so he let slip a remark. But seeing the unusual atmosphere in the restaurant, he finally realized that he had angered a number of people. But he wasn't afraid. He smiled, and bowed to them all, cupping his fist in his hand as a sign of respect.

They weren't sure why, but when they saw the brilliant smile on the young man's face, the angry scholars felt their anger recede.

But Guo Baokun remained enraged, and threw his fan upon the table with gritted teeth, signalling that he wished to fight.

Scholars tend to disparage each other with words, and they were surrounded by the sons of high officials and great families, so a dangerous atmosphere began to rise.

Teng Zijing fixed the Guo family's bodyguard with a cold stare, and prepared to defend his master.

With the sound of two blows, the two men collided with each other. Their fists flew, and the enfeebled scholars in the restaurant cried out in surprise.

Heroic struggles within the capital were always fought to the death by servants. Masters stood to the side as if watching some sort of game, rarely affected by the fight themselves.

But Fan Xian was completely different to the sons of the n.o.bility. When Teng Zijing and the Guo family bodyguard came to blows, he quietly slipped behind them. Finding an opportune s.p.a.ce and moment, he extended a clenched fist.

With an echoing smack, what the onlookers expected to be a bitter and drawn-out fight was brought to an abrupt end.

Fan Xian retracted his right hand, and stood in his original s.p.a.ce, beaming, as if he had never moved.

The Guo family bodyguard was crouched on the floor. The bridge of his nose was broken by the blow, and blood gushed out along with tears.

Fan Xian was very satisfied with the results of the blow. Master Fei had taught him well. Breaking the bone in that place caused such pain that even a ninth-level master would be unable to bear it.

Guo Baokun looked at his strong family bodyguard, brought to the floor like a dog by a single punch. He turned pale with fear, and pointed at Fan Xian, his voice trembling. "You... you bullies!"

Fan Xian looked at him and shook his head. He felt somewhat confused. Fighting was something you should do by yourself, he thought. He wasn't some sort of hooligan. He took Ruoruo's hand and walked downstairs, confident that he was in the right. He never imagined that what he had done could be such a violation of the customs of this world.