Meng Huaiguang’s screams of agony echoed at the city gate, sounding so shrill they hardly seemed human.
His limbs were twisted at bizarre angles, and blood welled up from four small spear holes, quickly soaking the accumulated snow beneath him.
Xie Jiuzhen rushed to Meng Huaiguang’s side and pulled him into his arms. His fingers moved like lightning, tapping several major acupoints on the young man’s body to stop the bleeding.
But the four spear holes were too deep. Blood continued to seep out incessantly, refusing to be stemmed.
“You... you...”
Xie Jiuzhen looked up and glared at Chen Zui, his voice trembling violently with rage.
In his sixty-plus years of life, he had never seen a young man so ruthless.
Killing someone was one thing, but this man clearly could have killed Meng Huaiguang with a single thrust. Instead, he had chosen to sever his tendons and hamstrings first, forcing him to endure this agony while still alive.
This was revenge.
This was an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!
Chen Zui stood ten paces away, holding his spear with one hand, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground.
The black energy on the spear had already dissipated, and the red-tasseled spear had returned to its ordinary, unremarkable appearance.
He looked down at Meng Huaiguang, who was moaning in pain in Xie Jiuzhen’s arms, his face devoid of any expression.
“This is exactly how he treated that herb gatherer that day.”
Chen Zui’s voice was as calm as still water.
“I am merely letting him taste the sensation of having his tendons and hamstrings severed as well.”
“You bastard!” Xie Jiuzhen shrieked.
Xie Jiuzhen was shaking all over, yet he couldn't find a single word to refute him.
Gritting his teeth, he channeled his entire cultivation into his palms, desperately trying to stop Meng Huaiguang’s bleeding.
The internal energy of the Searing Sun Skill flowed continuously into Meng Huaiguang’s body, finally managing to barely stop the bleeding from the four wounds.
However, Meng Huaiguang’s face was already as white as paper, his lips were purple, and his breath was faint. He could die at any moment.
Xie Jiuzhen knew that he couldn't save the Young Sect Master on his own.
He needed help.
He needed the three Grandmasters to act!
He suddenly threw back his head and, using his full internal energy, let out a thunderous roar toward the city manor.
“Grandmaster He! Grandmaster Liu! Old Immortal Qiu! I beg the three of you to lend your aid! The Jinyang Sect will be eternally grateful and will surely provide a heavy reward!”
The voice rolled like thunder, echoing over Luoyan City and causing the soldiers on the city walls to pale in shock.
A moment later.
A long, lazy yawn drifted from deep within the city manor, followed by the creak of a wooden door being pushed open.
The sound was very soft, yet it reached the ears of everyone at the city gate with perfect clarity.
A burly figure walked out from the city manor.
The man was exceptionally tall, standing two full heads taller than the average person. He wore a faded coarse cloth tunic with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing two muscular forearms.
His hands were unusually large with thick knuckles, and his fists were covered in thick calluses—clearly the result of years of arduous training.
This person was none other than the Fist Grandmaster, He Bailou.
He rubbed his eyes as he walked, a withered stalk of grass he’d plucked from somewhere dangling from his mouth. His expression was lazy, looking very much like an old farmer who had just been woken up.
Not far behind him, a slender figure appeared silently atop the city wall.
That person was dressed in white, with long hair flowing loosely and an ancient sword with a pitch-black scabbard hanging at his waist.
He stood on the wall, his robes fluttering gently in the night wind as if he might take flight at any moment.
Liu Yinsheng.
He didn't look at the chaos at the city gate. Instead, he gazed up at the hazy, cold moon in the sky.
He Bailou reached the city gate and squinted as he surveyed the scene, his gaze finally landing on Chen Zui, who stood holding his spear.
“Hoh.”
He spat the withered grass onto the snow and grinned, revealing an ambiguous smile.
“Youngsters these days are truly something else.”
Chen Zui looked up to meet his gaze, his fingers tightening slightly on the spear shaft.
One He Bailou, one Liu Yinsheng.
Two Second Rank Grandmasters.
It seemed he had stirred up quite a commotion.
At this moment, Xie Jiuzhen, holding the blood-covered Meng Huaiguang, couldn't stop shaking as he looked at the paper-white face.
He had lived more than half a lifetime and served as an elder in the Jinyang Sect for thirty years; he had seen all sorts of storms.
But right now, his heart held only a panic he had never felt before.
If anything happened to Meng Huaiguang, let alone his position as an elder, he might not even be able to keep his old life.
And all of this was because of this unknown brat who had appeared out of nowhere!
He suddenly looked up and glared at Chen Zui, his cloudy old eyes shooting out a nearly insane hatred.
“Grandmaster He!
You see it too! This boy is cruel and ruthless. He has publicly wounded the Young Sect Master of our Jinyang Sect. He clearly has no respect for the Imperial Court!
According to the laws of Grand Zhao, attacking a direct descendant of a sect officially recognized by the court is tantamount to rebellion!
As the Provincial Protector officially appointed by the court, if you sit idly by, it might be difficult to explain to your superiors!”
These words used both the carrot and the stick, even invoking imperial law to pressure him. Any ordinary expert would have taken the opportunity to back down.
However, He Bailou merely scratched the back of his head and let out another yawn before slowly taking a few steps toward the center of the field.
With every step he took, the snow beneath his feet melted silently by three inches, revealing the scorched frozen earth underneath.
There was no pressure from external internal energy, no imposing aura of a Grandmaster arriving; he simply walked over casually as if he were out for a stroll.
Yet it was precisely this casualness that made him seem all the more unfathomable.
“Alright, alright, stop wailing.”
He Bailou approached, looking down to inspect Meng Huaiguang’s injuries before looking up at Chen Zui. He suddenly grinned.
“Interesting. A kid in the Inquiry Realm nearly crippled this old thing Xie Jiuzhen in less than thirty moves, and even managed to turn Meng Qianshan’s precious son into a sieve while he was at it.”
He crossed his arms, his tone filled with the interest of someone enjoying a spectacle.
“If word of this gets out, the Jinyang Sect’s reputation will be utterly ruined.”
Xie Jiuzhen’s expression flickered.
“Grandmaster He, what do you mean by this?”
“I don't mean anything.”
He Bailou waved his hand. On his thick-knuckled fists, the calluses gleamed dully in the firelight.
“I just think this little fellow is quite interesting. Kid, what’s your name?”
“Chen Zui.”
Chen Zui’s voice was neither humble nor arrogant.
“Good name.”
He Bailou smacked his lips as if savoring the name.
“A pity, a pity.
If you had been born a few hundred years earlier, you might have made a name for yourself in the Way of the Spear.
But in today’s world, the Way of the Spear has long since withered.”
He sighed, his tone carrying a few hints of genuine regret.
Then his tone shifted.
“However, rules are rules.
As annoying as this old thing Xie Jiuzhen is, he’s right about one thing.
Since I, He Bailou, accept a salary from the Imperial Court, I can't just watch you cripple the Young Sect Master of the Jinyang Sect and then walk away scot-free.”
He held up three fingers.
“Three punches. If you can take three of my punches, this matter will be considered settled. How about it?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone present changed.
Ye Zhibai drew her sword almost instantly, pointing the tip directly at He Bailou.
“Grandmaster He! As a Fist Grandmaster, if you attack a junior in the Inquiry Realm, aren't you afraid of being ridiculed by the world?”
He Bailou tilted his head to look at her, the smile on his face remaining unchanged.
“Little girl, if you say one more word, I’ll add another punch.”
“Then I shall take it along with him,” Ye Zhibai said coldly, her sword tip not wavering in the slightest.
Xiao Chengyan was so anxious he stomped his feet in the back, lowering his voice to say, “Miss Ye, have you gone mad?”
Chen Zui raised a hand and gently pressed down on the hilt of Ye Zhibai’s sword.
“Sheathe your sword.”
Chen Zui’s voice was very calm.
Ye Zhibai turned to stare at him, her eyes rimmed with red.
“Have you gone mad?!
Do you have any idea how heavy He Bailou’s punch is?
Thirty years ago, during the great war between Grand Shuo and Grand Zhao, he used only three punches to shatter the formation of three hundred heavy armored cavalrymen from the Grand Shuo vanguard!
If you take three of his punches, there won't even be enough of you left for a corpse!”
“I know.”
Chen Zui’s tone remained very flat.
“But can you block it?”
Ye Zhibai froze in place, her entire body stiffening.
She couldn't block it.
No one present could block a single punch from He Bailou.
Chen Zui pushed her sword aside and took a step forward.
“Three punches is too many.”
Chen Zui held up a single finger.
“I will take only one.”
He Bailou raised an eyebrow, then threw back his head and laughed loudly.
“Good lad! You’re the first one who’s dared to bargain with this old man! Let’s split the difference then—how about two punches?”
Chen Zui didn't speak.
He Bailou was a Fist Grandmaster; his control over the force of a punch or a palm strike had long since reached a state of doing as he pleased.
If he truly wanted to kill him, one punch would be enough.
“Fine. Then two punches.”
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