Chapter 23: Ambush and Murder

  "Stop!"

  Wang Qiang didn't care about his physical pain, and his face turned white with anxiety. "Xia Chen, we know we were wrong! I'll apologize to you and make amends. Please, don't kill Chen Gang! Our Donghua Sect and your Zhengxuan Sect have always been on good terms. We just lost our heads for a moment earlier. If you kill Chen Gang, it will create an irreconcilable blood feud between our two sects!"

  "When you wanted to kill me, did you ever think that it would lead to a lifelong vendetta? Now saying this is too late, and since you took the first move, I killed you, and the Donghua faction has nothing to say." Xia Chen's foot paused for a moment, ready to ruthlessly step down again.

  "Don't kill me, don't kill me, please! I was just momentarily impulsive, I know I was wrong! I'll kowtow to you and admit my mistake, just spare my life, what do you want me to do? Don't kill me!" Chen Gang shouted frantically.

  He thought that as a disciple of Donghua, Xia Chen would not dare to kill him, but unexpectedly Xia Chen really dared to take action, without any mercy, and was suddenly frightened out of his wits.

  "In the next life, remember not to make the same mistakes as today." Xia Chen said lightly, his feet not stopping for a moment.

  "Ah! I don't want to die!" Chen Gang let out a heart-wrenching scream.

  Wang Qiang and Tie Tou stared with wide eyes, wanting to stop but unable.

  Suddenly, Xia Chen's face changed and he quickly retreated backwards.

  A sharp dagger flew over and stabbed deeply into the spot where Xia Chen had just stood.

  "Xia Chen, you have a big nerve, daring to poison the guest of our Zhengxuan Sect. Are you trying to create a deadly feud between our Zhengxuan Sect and Donghua Sect? Or do you have an ulterior motive, intentionally provoking a conflict between our two sects?"

  As a cold and clear shout, a young man walked in from the courtyard gate. He had a handsome face and a majestic appearance, but his gaze towards Xia Chen was filled with unbearable hatred. It was none other than the genius disciple Zhuo Bufan.

  "Zhuo Bu Fan, is it you? You dare to block me?" Xia Chen said.

  "I won't stop you, are you going to kill Brother Chen?" Zhuo Bufan sneered, "You almost made a terrible mistake! If it leads to the revenge of the Donghua Sect, can you bear the consequences? Xia Chen, I will definitely report this to our Master and the Headmaster, just wait for your punishment!"

  He walked to Chen Gang's side, pulled him up, and then turned to Wang Qiang. Tie Tou Baoquan said: "Three senior brothers, Zhuo certain is late, let Chen brother be frightened, this matter is not right for our Zhengxuan sect, let your sect see the joke, please three senior brothers rest assured, today's things I will definitely give you an account."

  Chen Gang and the other two were originally still in a state of shock, their hearts filled with fear, but seeing Zhuo Bu Fan being so hostile towards Xia Chen, they couldn't help but feel a surge of energy.

  Wang Qiang said: "It's actually Brother Zhuo, I recognize you! You are the most outstanding new disciple of Zhengxuan Sect, on the first day of the four sects gathering, I saw you and Li Yuanyao."

  Zhuo Bu Fan smiled slightly: "Wang Shixiong's praise is misplaced, I and Li Shimei are in charge of contacting the new disciples of the four factions for the meeting. If your faction has any matters, just look for me!"

  "That's great, Master Zhuo. You also saw it with your own eyes. This Xia Chen from the Zhengxuan Sect just tried to kill me. If this matter is not explained clearly, our Donghua Sect will never let it go." Chen Gang said, looking at Xia Chen with a gaze that was both resentful and fearful.

  Thinking of being severely humiliated by Xia Chen just now, Chen Gang's hatred in his heart was simply overwhelming.

  "Elder Chen, rest assured," said Zhuo Bu Fan. "This Xia Chen is lawless and arrogant, our Zheng Yuan Sect will definitely severely punish him, to your satisfaction."

  He turned his head, coldly staring at Xia Chen: "Xia Chen, if you don't want to be the one who provokes conflict between the two factions, then quickly kowtow and apologize to Shixiong Chen! If Shixiong Chen forgives you, you can also avoid being stripped of your cultivation and expelled from the sect."

  "Zhuo Bu Fan, the disciple of Donghua sect provoked first and they were the ones who attacked Xia Chen to kill him, Xia Chen just counterattacked!" Sun Li angrily said, "Are you or are you not a disciple of Zhengxuan sect? How dare you speak on behalf of others!"

  "Their daggers are all still here, there's eyewitness and physical evidence. Zhuo Bufan, have you gone blind?" Chen Lie also stood up.

  "Zhuo Bufan, you want to take revenge on Xia Chen in private, don't you? Your tolerance is not only narrow, but also sinister. I really look down on you, and you can't compare with Xia Chen!" Fang Qiu sneered.

  Seeing the three of them standing together with Xia Chen, Zhuo Bufan's face turned extremely ugly. The more others said he couldn't compare to Xia Chen, the more he hated Xia Chen in his heart. Xia Chen had simply become a thorn in his heart.

  Wang Qiang smiled slightly: "Zhuo Shixiong, it seems that the new disciples of your Zhengyuan Sect don't listen to orders very well. As the most outstanding new disciple, you should be leading them, but now...it's time for a good cleanup."

  His tone was deep and meaningful, with a hint of provocation.

  "What you said, I didn't see any of it, and it doesn't count," Zhuo Bufan said calmly. "I only saw Xia Chen wanting to kill Master Chen, this is what I personally witnessed, there's no way it could be fake. Although I am a disciple of the Zhengxuan Sect, I must handle things impartially and cannot cover up for anyone."

  "Not bad, Zhuo Shixiong. We came here suddenly, but we just wanted to have a fair exchange with your sect's new disciples. I didn't expect Xia Chen to want to kill us. I don't doubt the sincerity of your sect, but it's inevitable that there are people who harbor evil intentions and want to deliberately provoke conflict between our two sects. Your sect should deal with such people properly." Wang Qiang said with a hint of suspicion.

  "Xia Chen, did you hear that? What else do you have to say? Hurry up and kneel down to apologize to the several senior brothers of Donghua Sect! You've lost face for our Zhengxuan Sect!" Zhuo Bufan said sternly.

  "What are you? Zuo Bu Fan, dare to order me?" Xia Chen said calmly.

  He was also extremely disgusted with Zhuo Bu Fan and naturally would no longer have any courtesy.

  "How dare you! Xia Chen, how dare you speak to me like that? I'm in charge of all the new disciples' affairs for the four-party meeting, I'm their leader. If you don't listen to me, it's disrespect to my master and the headmaster." Zhuo Bufan was furious.

  "I have my own master, why should I listen to a defeated general like you? Get out!" Xia Chen said calmly.

  "You!" Zhuo Bu Fan's eyes flashed with a cold light, his anger reaching its peak. Xia Chen calling him a defeated general was no less than slapping him in the face.

  "Xia Chen, don't think that just because you're a Gu Yuan Saint Body, you can be arrogant. Since you're stubborn and refuse to change, today I'll teach you a lesson in front of the few senior brothers from Donghua Sect. If you don't want to kneel down and apologize, then wait for me to beat you into submission!" Zhuo Bufan said with a ferocious expression.

  He let out a loud roar, and his powerful aura burst forth immediately. His true energy shot out from every pore on his body, causing his clothes to billow out instantly. Even his hair stood up straight.

  The day after tomorrow is Double Peak Day!

  Fang Qiu and the other two were shocked, never expecting that Zhuo Bu Fan had also cultivated to this level, his progress was quite rapid.

  Wang Qiang and the other two were also shocked, as they were among the best of the new disciples of Donghua Sect, thinking that reaching the peak of Later Heaven First Realm was already impressive, but unexpectedly, Xia Chen and Zhuo Bufan had both reached the Second Realm of Later Heaven, which was far stronger than them.

  "Hmph, so it turns out that Xia Chen and Zhuo Bu Fan have been at odds with each other all along. We were just being used by him. It's best if they bite each other to death and both suffer losses." Chen Gang said in a low voice, his eyes revealing a hint of schadenfreude.

  "This Zhuo Bu Fan is very deep, it seems that among the new disciples of Zheng Xuan Sect this time, there are not a few powerful disciples. The two of them are both acquired second-level cultivators, and that Li Yuan Yao should also be an acquired second-level cultivator." Wang Qiang said in a low voice.

  "It's nothing to be a postnatal second-order cultivator, there are also several postnatal second-order cultivators among the new disciples of Yunling Sect and Zhengyi Sect. If our Donghua Sect's Song Shixiong were here, it would be easy to deal with them." Tie Tou said disapprovingly.

  Xia Chen said faintly, "Zhuo Bu Fan, it seems that you have put in a lot of effort over the past two months. However, I can tell you that you were once my subordinate and will always be so. Your cultivation will never surpass mine. I advise you not to humiliate yourself again, otherwise, you will end up suffering a terrible defeat."

  Zhuo Bufan's face turned iron-green, Xia Chen's words were like a nail, extremely ruthless and piercing the weakest spot in his heart, even causing his mood to fluctuate.

  "Do you want to destroy my Taoist heart? Xia Chen, die!" He could no longer bear it and rushed up to punch Xia Chen heavily.

  As this punch was thrown out, the air seemed to solidify, a strong gust of wind hit his face, condensing into countless heavy hammers that fiercely smashed down on Xia Chen.

  Xia Chen calmly dodged and said in a soft voice, "Your strength is not bad, but unfortunately your technique is a bit off."

  Zhuo Bufan's face changed, he gritted his teeth, and his fists alternated in a flurry of punches, like a fierce wind and heavy rain, striking towards Xia Chen.

  Xia Chen's face was calm, dodging easily and occasionally commenting on Zhuo Bu Fan's moves.

  He was as elusive as a willow catkin, flashing in and out of sight, and no matter how Zhuo Bufan attacked, he couldn't even touch his clothes. As for who was stronger or weaker between the two, it was clear at a glance.

  Fighting like this is equivalent to teasing and provoking Zhuo Bu Fan in the summer dust, and it's even more embarrassing for him than being defeated face-to-face.

  Sun Li and the other two had long known that Xia Chen would break through to the third heaven, far surpassing Zhuo Bu Fan, so they were not worried at all, but instead calmly watched, silently understanding Xia Chen's movements.

  Chen Gang and the other two were even more shocked, never expecting Xia Chen to be so formidable. Thinking back to their earlier provocation, they couldn't help but turn pale with shame.

  Zhuo Bufan was being toyed with by Xia Chen, but his face remained extremely calm, the cold glint in his eyes flashing from time to time, silently entwining with Xia Chen.

  Looking at Xia Chen's expression, which seemed to be getting more and more relaxed, Zhuo Bufan's mouth suddenly curled up with a cold smile: "Xia Chen, do you dare to play tricks on me? Today I will definitely ruin you."

  His whole body was filled with surging true energy, his fist changed in an instant, suddenly transforming into the Seven Shadows Fist. Immediately following that, a clear and distinct fist shadow transformed into countless fists that crazily shot towards Xia Chen.

  "Just one punch." Xia Chen's eyebrow twitched, "Zhuo Bu Fan, is this your ultimate strength? You're really disappointing me."

  He is about to make his move.

  Suddenly, a snow-bright shadow silently shot down from the wall, and under the background of the setting sun gradually turning black, it turned into a sharp and fierce cold light, fiercely shooting towards Xia Chen's back.