Chapter Forty-Four: A Grudge Not Carried Over To The Next Day

  "He..."

  Feng Luming was about to take the opportunity to arrange it, but the many vicious thoughts in his heart suddenly disappeared. He thought of the various rumors about the vice hall master of the Jie Lü Tang and hurriedly changed his words: "Report to the hall master, the disciple's matter is a small matter. Li Chen, as a disciple of the sect, does not respect the sect rules and has already produced a bad influence among the named disciples."

  "If we don't severely punish him, I'm afraid it will be difficult for the disciples to manage and convince the crowd. All of our named disciples are still young, if they all learn from his behavior, I'm afraid..."

  "What's wrong?"

  The punishment is lenient and the way is gentle.

  "I'm afraid the clan rules will become mere decorations!"

  Feng Luming's body trembled, and he steeled himself to say.

  "How bold!"

  Suddenly, the six law enforcement disciples shouted in unison.

  Feng Luming only felt a fierce and menacing aura rushing towards him, scaring him so much that his whole body was trembling violently, his soul almost leaving his body.

  It was Li Chen who had not spoken all along and seemed to be unaffected by the aura of these six Quasi-True Lords, standing quietly.

  For him, even a fourth-order demon beast like Golden Winged Thunder Eagle was nothing to be afraid of, let alone the aura of a Quenching True Realm warrior.

  "Little one, don't you have anything to say?"

  Zang Xing's expression was calm and indifferent, but if one looked closely, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

  "Reporting to Master, it is true that I have been away from the sect for half a year without returning, but there was indeed a reason for this. Please allow me to explain!"

  Li Chen bowed his fist and gave a slight bow, neither servile nor overbearing, as he recounted the words he had carefully thought out.

  Originally it was He Kongming and three others, using him and Chen Songtai as decoys to set a trap and ambush Tie Bei Xiong, but He Kongming and the other two underestimated Tie Bei Xiong's strength.

  As a result, Hei Kōmin's three inner disciples, with their high moral integrity and unwavering sense of justice, stood up to the Iron-Backed Bear for the two of them, while Lí Chén himself fled in panic, falling into a deep valley during his escape.

  While recovering from injuries here, I obtained several treasures and made great progress in my cultivation, only then was I able to narrowly escape with my life.

  The other four people were in a state of being pushed and pulled, but they came up with a dead denial.

  "Nonsense! Master, don't listen to this kid's nonsense. You don't know, when he was in the outer courtyard, he was notorious for his sharp tongue and ability to talk black into white."

  "From what I can see, those few inner sect seniors were in cahoots with outsiders. They took advantage of the three seniors' exhaustion after killing the Iron-backed Bear and launched a sneak attack. It was only because they relied on the treasures on the three seniors' bodies and the demonic core of the Iron-backed Bear that they could achieve their current level of cultivation!"

  Feng Luming was covered in cold sweat, and his mind quickly turned over what he had been thinking, blurting it all out at once.

  If Zang Xingqian believed in his words, colluded with outsiders, and killed the genius of the sect, it would be equivalent to betraying the sect. Li Chen is absolutely doomed to die.

  "Master, please take a look. This is the treasure that my disciple found in that mountain valley. I don't dare to keep it for myself, so I've brought it back to offer to our sect!"

  Li Chen calmly and slowly took off his backpack, from which he pulled out a jade box about the size of a palm, with a thickness of two arms side by side, and opened it with a click.

  At that moment, a strange and mysterious fragrance wafted through the entire hall, dispelling the eerie feeling inside the hall and adding a few points of vitality.

  Feng Luming's eyes widened as he looked over, taking a few deep sniffs, and a look of intoxication appeared on his face.

  Only two rows of yellow oranges, with a faint halo, like ten fruit the size of an infant's fist, lay quietly in the jade box.

  Even those six law enforcement disciples with cold expressions like stone statues couldn't help but glance over.

  "Yunli fruit, a mid-second-tier spiritual fruit, has the effect of easy tendon washing and marrow cleansing, tempering the body and refining the soul!"

  Zang Xing's eyes flickered with a hint of surprise, and his gaze at Li Chen was tinged with an unusual color. A look of admiration appeared on his face as he said, "You little scoundrel, you're quite thoughtful!"

  "I don't dare to accept your praise as the master of the hall. As a disciple who has received the care and nurturing of our sect, I have achieved my current skills today, and previously I had already escaped from being a slave, this is nothing!"

  Li Chen had been poor and lonely since childhood, so he had long practiced the skill of speaking eloquently, telling ghost stories to people and human stories to ghosts. He naturally knew what pleasant words to pick at this time.

  As for his own skills, apart from swallowing a demon core and cultivating internal energy when he was on the verge of death in the Xuan Yun Sect, I'm afraid he hasn't gained any benefits from the sect.

  "Not arrogant and not impatient, your temperament is not bad, you should be at the ninth level of inner breath now?"

  The criminal's face showed a deeper color of admiration and praise, suddenly saying.

  "The master's discerning eye is like a torch, and his disciple has indeed cultivated his inner breath to the ninth level!"

  Li Chen was slightly surprised in his heart, but his face remained unchanged as he flattered him.

  "What? Nine layers...... impossible! A year ago, you were only at two layers of cultivation...... impossible!"

  Feng Luming felt a sudden dizziness and forgot where he was, muttering to himself.

  "Silence!"

  A law enforcement disciple coldly shouted, scaring Feng Luoming awake and he didn't dare speak again.

  "As for what you said, I have made it clear that Li Chen has been away from the sect for a year without returning, violating the sect rules and should be punished. This consequence is what you brought upon yourself, but since you still have affection for the sect and have not committed any major wrongdoing, this time your merits and demerits cancel each other out. Can you acknowledge this?"

  The punishment is light and lenient.

  "Disciples humbly obey the master's teachings!"

  Li Chen respectfully made a bow and handed over the jade box to one of the law enforcement disciples, then retreated.

  "Master Táng cannot, He Kōngmíng and three other inner sect senior brothers..."

  Feng Luming knew it was no good and hurriedly brought it up again.

  "According to you, Li Chen's cultivation at that time was nothing more than that, yet he could escape from the ancient Cangshan Mountains. It seems that those few people were also cultivating somewhere. This matter doesn't need to be discussed again, withdraw!"

  With a dismissive wave of his hand, he had an air of loving to answer but not bother.

  Hearing this, Feng Luming had no choice but to swallow his pride and retreat with a shrug of his neck.

  "Reporting to the master of the temple, I have something to report!"

  Unexpectedly, he had not yet turned around when Li Chenlang said loudly.

  "What's wrong?"

  His face was as calm as a thousand-year-old stone carving, and his tone of voice did not reveal any emotion.

  "I, a disciple, want to accuse the outer courtyard's manager Feng Luoming of bullying and oppressing registered disciples, embezzling money and property, and having illicit relationships with female disciples. Every word I say is true! If the master does not believe me, you can send someone to investigate at the outer courtyard. If there is even half a sentence that is false, I am willing to die to atone for my crime!"

  Li Chen looked at Feng Luming's pale face and said coldly.

  Although his character can't be described as vengeful, he is absolutely the type to settle scores overnight. Moreover, what he saw in the outer courtyard before coming here, combined with what he had heard, had already filled him with anger towards Feng Luming's despicable actions.

  Every word of Feng Luoming's rebuke here is intended to put him in a desperate situation, and if he shows any mercy, it can only be said that he does not take his own life seriously.

  "You... Master, master, don't listen to this kid's nonsense, he's taking revenge, openly taking revenge!"

  Feng Luming was almost crawling forward, crying and sniffling.

  But before he could climb forward, he was stopped by a law enforcement disciple.

  "Get out!"

  Zang Xing's eyes narrowed slightly as he waved his hand, and a hint of cold light flashed in his downcast gaze.

  A surge of intangible chill suddenly erupted, and the six flames in the hall seemed to flicker in fear of this chill.

  "Disciples, withdraw!"

  Li Chen involuntarily shuddered, having heard some rumors about the Qinglv Hall, and knew that Feng Luoming was in a precarious situation this time.

  It's more of a sigh that the power of Jie Lü Tang is so great, and the decisiveness of the master of Zang Xing Qian Tang, who can make decisions about his affairs with just one word.

  Of course, these were just his guesses. Even if Li Chen was extremely intelligent, how could he possibly guess the thoughts of a strong cultivator in the Yuanyuan realm?