Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

”Senior Brother Qiu, kill that country bumpkin!”

”That’s right! Show these guys from the sticks the power of our Medicine King Valley.”

Martial cultivators were, by nature, a belligerent bunch.

The moment Yang Xiao stepped onto the stage, the crowd below began to clamor.

Most of these people were unaware of the events concerning the Red Flame Sect.

However, those who did know and were involved said nothing, though their eyes were filled with killing intent.

Qiu Chengjun had already told them, however.

They couldn’t use the killing of the sect’s disciples as grounds for accusation.

Because that damn Yang Xiao had already seen through it all.

Thus, they had only one option.

To cripple him, fair and square.

To beat him to death.

Only this way could they avoid criticism.

This was the way of cultivation on the Martial Dao.

The strong are revered, and the weak are enslaved.

The contest was one of martial prowess.

This was the supreme, universal truth of the Martial Arts Realm.

”I hope Qiu Chengjun kills that guy with the surname Yang!”

A True Disciple thought hatefully.

He too had friends who had died in the Celestial Cloud Kingdom.

Naturally, his hatred ran deep.

”Don’t be hasty. I actually hope Senior Brother Qiu doesn’t land the finishing blow. There’s still Senior Brother Yun and Senior Brother Zhang. By the way, have you notified Senior Brother Lin?”

”Senior Brother Lin Tianhao? Hasn’t he been in seclusion?”

”A few days ago, I think I heard Junior Sister Zhou say he has already come out of seclusion.”

”He’s Elder Yanm’s most outstanding disciple, and his cultivation has already reached the Martial Grandmaster Second Layer! If he found out these people killed his junior brother, and maybe even his master, he’d probably stop at nothing to slaughter them.”

”I’ll go get him.”

...

The crowd below was agitated, and on the stage, killing intent was palpable.

Qiu Chengjun stared at Yang Xiao.

His eyes were filled with unconcealed killing intent.

Noticing this, the Elder from Medicine King Valley gave a light cough. ”In a duel between Martial Artists, it is fine to fight for honor, but you must not intentionally inflict harm. Let the duel end when a victor is decided. Do not damage the friendly relations between our two sects.”

”Yes, Elder.”

Qiu Chengjun reined in some of his killing intent.

Yang Xiao was somewhat surprised and glanced at the Elder, whose aura was profound.

’This Elder from Medicine King Valley actually has some integrity. He’s not here to take sides. In that case, I shouldn’t be too ruthless. Fine, I’ll just win a few things and toy with them. It wouldn’t do to make things too hostile with the Medicine King Valley.’

It wasn’t that Yang Xiao was afraid.

But his father was still in the Purple Sun Sect.

And the Purple Sun Sect was a power subordinate to the Medicine King Valley.

He had to give them some face.

Now, this Elder was also putting on an appearance of being fair, just, and treating everyone equally.

Yang Xiao couldn’t find any fault with him.

In his heart, he naturally made his own calculations.

Of course, if Qiu Chengjun was unwilling to let things go and tried anything, Yang Xiao would not hold back.

”Please, Junior Sect Leader Yang!”

’From the looks of it, this guy is abiding by the rules, though.’

’Look at him, he’s even being polite.’

’Perhaps he thinks his victory is guaranteed?’

Yang Xiao smiled and raised a hand.

It was a gesture in return.

This gesture made a grim look flash across Qiu Chengjun’s eyes.

Without a word, he attacked.

His figure flashed, and he was in front of Yang Xiao, throwing a punch straight at his heart.

”Great Light Wheel Fist! Die!”

He snorted coldly in his heart.

Killing intent radiated from him.

So, the fellow’s earlier friendliness had all been an act.

His true intention was to kill Yang Xiao.

As for the Elder, his pupils contracted when he saw this. He seemed somewhat surprised, but he did nothing to stop it.

Clearly, while his words had been pleasant, his actions revealed his bias.

’If that’s how it is, then this makes things easy,’ Yang Xiao thought. ’Gathering Essence Finger! Go down!’

Yang Xiao sneered inwardly.

Yet, his face revealed a look of panic.

As if in a flustered, reflexive counterattack, he thrust out a single finger.

The finger was aimed at Qiu Chengjun’s fist.

But just as it was about to connect, it deviated ever so slightly.

It ended up pointing at the spot between Qiu Chengjun’s eyebrows.

Simultaneously, a light flashed from his fingertip, and a beam of orange light shot out, passing through the body.

It bored straight through Qiu Chengjun’s forehead.

His movements froze.

All of his momentum, all of his power.

In that instant, seemed to be drained away completely.

What remained was only inertia, which carried the blow onto Yang Xiao’s body.

But it couldn’t harm him in the slightest.

Because Qiu Chengjun was dead.

He had died from Yang Xiao’s seemingly panicked finger strike.

This sudden turn of events happened so fast that even the Medicine King Valley Elder presiding over the challenge couldn’t react in time.

Just a moment ago, he had been about to witness Qiu Chengjun’s fist beat this so-called Junior Sect Leader of the Purple Sun Sect to death.

How had things suddenly turned out like this?

”Impossible, right? Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Senior Brother Qiu was actually... actually killed by this nobody...”

”A master suffering a setback from a novice—this is a classic blunder! Senior Brother Qiu was too careless. He didn’t even circulate his Protective True Qi before rushing the enemy and was killed by that person’s seemingly unintentional finger strike. What a pity! What a shame!”

”How come I feel like this is too much of a coincidence? It doesn’t seem like an accident.”

”I don’t care if it was an accident or not! That guy from the Purple Sun Sect dared to strike a killing blow. He’s a dead man.”

”That’s right! Let’s see what Elder Yun has to say!”

Qiu Chengjun was dead.

The crowd below was furious.

However, most of them didn’t believe this was a display of Yang Xiao’s true strength.

They thought it was an accident.

But even so, they felt they couldn’t let Yang Xiao off the hook.

One by one, they turned to look at Elder Yun, who was seated off to the side.

They hoped he would stand up and serve justice.

However, Elder Yun’s expression was clearly grim.

Although he was certainly biased towards the Medicine King Valley and looked down on the people from the Purple Sun Sect, as a high-ranking member of the Sect, he clearly cared more about appearances and consequences than these disciples did.

The impact on the Sect’s reputation.

So, when Yang Xiao, with a shocked expression, pushed Qiu Chengjun’s body off of him and then looked at the Elder with an expression of boundless, pleasant surprise...

Elder Yun stood up.

”In this match, Yang Xiao of the Purple Sun Sect is the victor.”

The moment he said this, the crowd below erupted.

They were in disbelief.

In truth, even Elder Yun was not resigned to this outcome. After his initial declaration, he spoke again. ”The Junior Sect Leader of the Purple Sun Sect possesses extraordinary strength, killing a True Disciple of my Medicine King Valley in a single move. I wonder, do any of our other True Disciples dare to step forward for a match?”

At his words, the True Disciples who already harbored immense hatred for Yang Xiao grew agitated, each one of them looking like they wanted to storm the stage.

And challenge Yang Xiao.

However, a single sentence from Yang Xiao stopped many of them in their tracks.

”Huh? I won? Elder, can I have the stakes from our bet now?”

At the same time, he shot a seemingly casual glance at the crowd below and added, ”When we disciples of the Purple Sun Sect duel, we always have stakes. As long as you all can put up a wager comparable to mine from this time, I certainly won’t refuse a challenge.”

At these words, even Elder Yun’s breath caught in his throat.

A Seventh-Grade Pill.

An Eighth-Level Upper Grade Spirit Medicine.

Even an Elder like him didn’t have many of those.

Let alone these True Disciples.

’It seems this kid is very clever!’

’But the cleverer he is...’

’...the more he cannot be allowed to live.’

A trace of killing intent flashed obscurely in Elder Yun’s eyes.