Chapter Thirty-One: Siege (Please collect!)

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  "What did Big Brother say? Little Brother didn't hear clearly, please repeat it once more." Shen Cong's smile remained unchanged, but in Lin Qinghui's eyes, it became a mocking expression.

  "Fourth Brother Nie wants you..." Lin Qinghui endured the pain, trying to finish speaking. But just as he said half of it, the pain in his arm was even more severe than before, and his bones seemed to be crushed. Lin Qinghui almost cried out in pain. Even though he didn't cry out, his cheeks were flushed red, and sweat beads appeared on his forehead.

  "It seems that Shixiong has found me, and there's nothing else to it. If so, then let Shidi take a step forward first, can I?" His palm was lightly clenched, who would have thought that there was a hidden power of thousands of kilograms within. A few people in the distance were watching from afar, completely unaware of the subtleties within, thinking only that Lin Qinghui was shouting for someone, without knowing that at this moment, even speaking a sentence seemed extremely difficult for Lin Qinghui.

  Lin Qinghui's mouth moved, but he couldn't utter a single word. The severe pain in his arm had already made him speechless, and if it were just the pain, that would be one thing, but there was also a strange and eerie energy within it that made him unable to muster up any strength, which made Lin Qinghui involuntarily look frightened.

  "It seems that Master has no opinion." Shen Congyi smiled, released Lin Qinghui's arm and turned to leave.

  Several people in the distance were stunned, unclear why they let Shen Cong leave. Hurriedly coming to Lin Qinghui's front, just about to ask, their expressions all changed. Lin Qinghui's face was pale at this moment, without the previous proud and arrogant expression. His legs were slightly trembling, seemingly struggling to hold on, but anyone could see that Lin Qinghui's situation had already become extremely bad.

  Everyone didn't dare to linger, and they quickly supported Lin Qinghui to leave. At the same time, another person went to find Nie Xiao. Among the named disciples, Nie Xiao's cultivation was the highest, and his prestige was also the highest. This action was naturally ordered by Nie Xiao. Now that things have not been accomplished, and Lin Qinghui has encountered an accident, they must look for Nie Xiao.

  "Big brother, something terrible has happened!" A disciple rushed into Nie Xiao's courtyard in a panic.

  "What's the panic about!" Nie Xiao's eyebrows furrowed, "Didn't I tell you to go find Shen Cong and probe his intentions? Why did you run back?"

  "It was this matter that Shen Cong was too arrogant, and Lin Shixiong is now seriously injured and unconscious..." As soon as these words came out, Nie Xiao's eyes suddenly burst with light.

  Three hours later, Lin Qinghui slowly woke up and found that there were many more people in front of the bed. Standing at the forefront was naturally Nie Xiao.

  "Is there anywhere else that's not feeling right?" Nie Xiao asked with a smile on his face, asking warmly by the bedside. There was no blame in his expression, but rather concern, and others looked at him with admiration in their eyes.

  "Junior brother is incompetent, and the matter arranged by senior brother has been botched. I have no face to see senior brother again!" Lin Qinghui's face was full of shame, wanting to slap himself, but found that his arm couldn't move freely. With a drastic change in expression, he lifted up the quilt, and his arm had already swollen to half its size, with obvious signs of blood stasis.

  "Ah..." Lin Qinghui's eyes were filled with shock, previously she was just casually grabbed by Shen Cong, but the consequences were so severe. Lin Qinghui had originally thought that everything was just her own carelessness being caught, if she was careful, things would not be like this. But now looking at it, Shen Cong's cultivation was absolutely not weak, otherwise it wouldn't have ended up like this.

  "Don't worry, this is ointment. Use it for a few days and you'll recover!" Nie Xiao took out a bottle of Dan medicine and placed it beside the bed, his face even more gentle. The people around him exclaimed in surprise, they recognized the ointment as a top-grade Dan medicine, extremely expensive, and couldn't believe that Nie Xiao would take it out so casually.

  "Thank you, Brother Shi." Lin Qinghui hastily stood up and said respectfully.

  Nie Xiao nodded slightly, "Tell me in detail about today's events. Your injuries will not be suffered in vain, I will make Shen Cong pay back tenfold!" As he spoke, a cold glint flashed in Nie Xiao's eyes. Today's events were beyond his expectations, and he needed to reevaluate how to deal with Shen Cong, but the need for revenge and what needed to be done would not change.

  Shen Cong returned to the courtyard, naturally unaware of what was happening on that side. Even if he knew, he wouldn't care; others would come looking for trouble, and Shen Cong would counterattack. Like Zheng Yu seeking trouble, Shen Cong only needed a knife intent to scare him off. As for Lin Qinghui, who launched a sneak attack from the front, Shen Cong wouldn't go easy on him. The hand that launched the sneak attack would be the one to take a good rest for a while, lest it harm others again.

  There is no dust in the courtyard, and outer disciples often come to sweep it clean, so even if you don't live here for two months, the environment remains pleasant.

  Just out of seclusion, Shen Cong had not yet begun to continue his cultivation. There is a way to relax and tighten, in order to flow slowly. This bit of truth, Shen Cong naturally understood. Called over to serve the disciples, Shen Cong ordered a table of dishes, and really enjoyed himself for a while. Many ingredients within the sect were taken from mountain forests and demonic beasts, so the flavor was naturally unique. In the previous generation, wild game was hard to find, no such good fortune existed. But now, demonic beasts are everywhere, as long as one's strength is sufficient, everything in the world is delicious food.

  After satisfying his hunger and thirst, Shen Cong took a good nap. In his mind, he had been thinking about the knife technique for over a year, even in his sleep, his energy was severely depleted. Now that his training has come to an end, Shen Cong naturally needs to take good care of himself.

  For several days, the sun rises and sets in peace. Shen Cong summarizes his gains and losses every day in the courtyard, and each time he reflects, there is a new insight flowing in his mind. These insights cannot yet become actual combat power, but they can accumulate within himself, and when needed in the future, they will be thickly accumulated and thinly released.

  The dragonfly knife in hand is like an old lady dancing with a sword, slow and powerless. However, the surrounding area is filled with strange aura, any creature that enters the boundary will be directly killed by the knife's momentum, which is the Blood Wind Knife Technique. On that day, I gained insight into the technique, and now I am constantly practicing to deepen my impression and gain a deeper understanding.

  The ancient sword spectrum is vast and profound, but now it's just the basic moves. With constant practice, the heart retains the mark of the sword, and over time, a transformation will occur, and when that happens, one can soar to great heights. What I'm doing now is like a dragon hiding in the depths, though motionless, yet with immense potential.

  The Blood Wind Knife Technique had just been completed, and Shen Congzheng was about to return to his room to rest when a sudden commotion came from outside. The initial sound was still small, but the noise grew louder and louder. Shen Cong didn't think much of it at first, but seeing that the sound was clearly coming this way, he furrowed his brow.

  "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

  A loud knock at the door, the person knocking completely disregarding etiquette, directly pounding on the door with all their might. Shen's mouth curled up in a slight smile, but he didn't bother to attend to it, instead turning back into the house to do other things. Since the visitor had come with ill intentions, Shen wouldn't go out of his way to entertain them, and would wait for the person outside to come to their senses before making any decisions.

  "Bang! Bang!"

  The knocking sound is still very loud, and it seems that no one answers, the frequency becomes faster and faster, accompanied by shouting sounds, but they are all covered up by the knocking sound, can't hear what's being shouted. The visitor is quite persistent, even if no one answers, he still knocks on his own. And the sound gets louder and louder, as if to knock the door down before stopping.

  "Big brother, I've been knocking on the door for a long time, but there's no one inside. Could it be that he's not in? Has he gone out?" Li Tong asked with one hand knocking on the door and his head turned back to ask.

  "The cloth is outside the courtyard, and no one has seen Shen Cong leave. Moreover, every day there are servants who bring food to send to the disciples, and it's certain that someone is inside." Nie Xiao's face was expressionless, "You continue knocking, knock until he comes out."

  "Alright." Li Tong nodded, but hesitated a bit. "Now the knocking sound is getting louder, I'm afraid other fellow disciples from neighboring courtyards might hear it. If they intervene, won't today's matter be ruined?"

  "I also want them to come out, Lin Shidi was so seriously injured, we went to their door to reason. The truth is on our side, even if Feng Zong comes, we can still say a thing or two, the truth is on our side, what's there to be afraid of!" Nie Xiao said loudly, his loud voice made him sound very righteous.

  "Nie Shixiong is reasonable, Lin Shidi suffered such injuries, how can he not come out to reason! That day was just a casual conversation with Shen Cong, didn't expect Lin Shidi to be ambushed, resulting in his arm being severely injured and his meridians shrinking, his cultivation declining day by day. Such a thing, how can it not be brought up for discussion? Even if he is an official disciple, he should be called out to ask why he was so ruthless, what did Lin Shidi do to deserve such heavy punishment!" Someone on the side shouted loudly, and the crowd nodded in agreement.

  "Shen Cong is really ruthless! As fellow disciples of Jian Wangfeng, can't we just have a good talk? Why must it come to this?"

  "Just let him come out and make it clear."

  "It's said that Shen Cong stood out from the outer gate's grand comparison, and that time the rules of the outer gate's grand comparison changed greatly, with no restrictions on killing. Presumably he killed many people during the test. And now that he has come to the inner gate, relying on his status as an official disciple of the inner gate, he is even more unscrupulous, truly a creator of evil!"

  "Hmph, most of his inner disciples are just mediocre, and any one of us can defeat him easily. If it weren't for the sneak attack, how could Lin have gotten hurt? Despicable and brutal, truly detestable!" Everyone's resentment was now focused on Shen Cong, and even those who were initially skeptical couldn't help but wonder if there was some truth to the accusations.

  On the stretcher behind, Lin Qinghui's face was pale as he lay on it, looking at the few people around him with gratitude. "Thank you all for your support, I blame my younger brother for not being careful that day and falling into Shen Cong's trap, otherwise we wouldn't have ended up like this today."

  "Lin Shidi, we will definitely get justice for you! In my opinion, those formal disciples of Shen Conglian are not worthy, and stripping them of their identity is the right thing to do!" someone shouted loudly beside him.

  "Taking away Shen Shidi's formal disciple status, this statement is domineering, but who gave you such authority?" A soft laugh, Gao Yuan slowly walked over, no one dared to block him.

  His face turned pale, previously surrounded by his own people, he could still speak recklessly. Now facing High Far's presence, how dare he shout wildly? He retreated backward, wishing someone would block his figure from view.

  "High and distant, not just a smile, looking at the few people around, 'What are you doing surrounding this courtyard, still knocking on the door with such great force, don't you know what etiquette is?'"

  "What is courtesy? We naturally know. But for those who are discourteous, why must we still use courtesy?" Nie Xiao gazed at Gao Yuan, then pointed at Lin Qinghui, "Shen Zong wounded Lin Shidi without reason, his methods extremely ruthless, causing Lin Shidi's cultivation to retreat again and again, now the injury is even more life-threatening. For such a person, I ask Master Gao, do we still need to use courtesy? Not directly breaking in is already the greatest tolerance!"

  Nie Xiao's words were righteous and the people around him couldn't help but cheer loudly. The person who had previously claimed to strip Shen Cong of his formal disciple status was now trembling with fear, yet he also dared to shout along with the others, his voice even louder than theirs.

  Gaoyuan's eyebrows didn't even twitch as he walked up to Lin Qinghui, a strange smell wafting over, with the scent of medicine and the stench of rotting blood making one want to retch. Without needing to examine closely, just sensing the aura, Gaoyuan understood that Lin Qinghui's current injuries were not feigned, but truly severe, and would hinder his future cultivation.

  "This thing, Shen Shidi will never do!" Gaoyuan shook his head and said.

  "We saw it with our own eyes that day, and many disciples can testify to it. What's impossible about that?" The people beside the stretcher were indignant.

  Gao Yuan furrowed his brow and went back to the door, knocking again. "I'll go ask Shen Shi-di, there must be some misunderstanding in between."

  But after a short while, the door was opened. Perhaps it was because the door had been knocked too hard, and when the gate of the courtyard was opened, there was some noise. This noise also drew everyone's attention, and Shen Cong happened to walk out from inside.

  "Brother Gao, what brings you here? Please come in and let me treat you to something." Seeing Gao Yuan, Shen Cong revealed a smile, without the slightest hint of the surrounding hostile gazes.

  "It was him, he harmed Lin Shidi, a life for a life!" Someone suddenly shouted, the crowd's emotions were stirred up, and several people lost their minds, surrounding Shen Cong in an instant, with various energies enveloping him.