Gu Qingfeng had left.
The moment Huode appeared, he had departed, as if everything that had happened here had nothing to do with him.
Ouyang Ye stood there dumbfounded, unable to regain her senses even after Gu Qingfeng had left, her gaze fixed on the trial grounds.
Mu Zibai, Huang Yao, and Li Qiandong, all scared out of their wits.
Li Sen and Li Can, too terrified to even breathe loudly.
Li Zheng, covered in blood, lying in a wretched heap on the ground, long since unconscious...
They were all Chief Disciples of Yunxia Sect's Twelve Courtyards. Usually, each of them swaggered about, full of bluster, yet now they couldn't withstand the power of a single kick from Gu Qingfeng.
Ouyang Ye still clearly remembered what Gu Qingfeng had said during registration. He'd said the Twelve Courtyards' Chief Disciples of Yunxia Sect were just a bunch of little brats he could knock down with a flick of his finger.
At the time, Ouyang Ye thought he was joking, even thought he was bragging.
Now she knew Gu Qingfeng hadn't been joking, nor had he been bragging.
He truly had the skill and the capability. The might of a single kick couldn't even be withstood by a True Person like Li Ziheng who had cultivated for decades, so what were the Twelve Courtyards' Chief Disciples to him? He even...
He even dared to openly challenge the assembled Elders of Yunxia Sect.
Heavens!
Just who was he?
This was a question Ouyang Ye hadn't been able to figure out since the very first time she met Gu Qingfeng. Today, not only had she failed to understand, she was even more confused and curious. And what puzzled her most was that, for some reason, the cold, fierce, and domineering aura that inadvertently emanated from Gu Qingfeng when he made his move gave her a peculiar feeling.
That feeling seemed familiar.
It was both strange and intimate.
Why strange? Why intimate?
Ouyang Ye didn't know.
She always felt she had seen it somewhere before.
It was very vague, very elusive.
On the trial grounds, Elders like Guang Yuan and Feixue were angrily berating Huode's actions, saying Huode was flaunting his seniority, relying on his status as a Grand Elder of the council to act tyrannically, disregard sect rules, and shield his disciple. They also said that Gu Qingfeng was inherently arrogant and unrestrained, acting recklessly, showing no respect for his elders, and was far too cruel.
Elder Ren De paid them no mind, instead examining Li Ziheng's injuries. But the more he examined, the worse his expression became.
Elder Mude asked, "Senior Brother, how are Li Ziheng's injuries?"
"His meridians are completely severed, his dantian withered, his bones and tendons shattered, and his spiritual power is dissipating."
When Elder Ren De uttered these words, the previously noisy trial grounds instantly fell deathly silent.
Meridians severed, bones and tendons shattered, dantian withered, spiritual power dissipating?
He was crippled!
A few slaps from Gu Qingfeng, and Li Ziheng was just... crippled like that?
He had already established his True Body, considered to have transcended the fleshly form. His physical body, whether skin, bones, tendons, or even his internal organs, should have been extremely robust. How could he be crippled by just a few slaps from Gu Qingfeng?
"That Gu Qingfeng is far too cruel, his methods vicious, comparable to a demonic disciple. He should be executed!"
"Li Ziheng is a member of the Li Clan. With him beaten into such a state by Gu Qingfeng, how are we to explain this to the Li Clan?"
Elder Ren De furrowed his brows deeply, sinking into contemplation.
His contemplation wasn't because Li Ziheng was crippled. To be honest, he had long been displeased with Li Ziheng's usual conduct in Yunxia Sect. It was only because Li Ziheng was under Elder Jinde's wing that he had turned a blind eye.
Now that Li Ziheng was crippled, so be it. For someone who relied on connections to muddle through in Yunxia Sect, he couldn't be bothered to care.
As for explaining to the Li Clan?
Did the mighty Yunxia Sect need to explain itself to the Li Clan?
The answer was definite: no.
Although Yunxia Sect wasn't what it used to be, it wasn't so weak as to fear a single clan. Even if the Li Clan was a major family in the Qingyang region, Yunxia Sect was not afraid.
The only thing that puzzled him was why Gu Qingfeng's physical body was so formidable, and what was the relationship between him and his junior brother Huode?
As he pondered, Elder Ren De seemed to realize something. He called out to "Little Girl Ouyang" and left with her.
...
Back Mountain, Lingyin Garden.
Upon returning, Gu Qingfeng lay back on the rocking chair and started drinking his little wine. Huode, however, beside him, was in no mood for drinking. Ever since returning to the garden, he had started lecturing.
"Kid Gu, oh Kid Gu, how should I even begin to talk to you?"
"I was busy outside, but today my right eyelid kept twitching and twitching. At first, I didn't pay it any mind. Later, I thought about it—today's the day for the Chief Disciple competition. With that temper of yours, once it flares up, who knows what major incident might happen."
"I was worried sick the whole way here, afraid you'd run wild."
Huode sighed. "Thank goodness I came quickly this time, otherwise our Yunxia Sect would have been wiped out by you, kid!"
"Mother..."
"It was that close! Thinking about it now, I still feel a bit of lingering fear!"
"Enough, is it really as exaggerated as you say?"
Gu Qingfeng shot him a disdainful look, took a sip of his wine, and said, "Do you think I have nothing better to do than wipe out your Yunxia Sect for fun?"
"You make it sound so easy. Don't I know what kind of person you are?"
Huode glared, scolding, "You've always been unrestrained and lawless, never knowing how to hold back. Once someone provokes you, when have you not left a river of blood in your wake?"
"One comes, you kill one. Two come, you kill two. However many come, you kill them all. Once you see red, you recognize neither friend nor foe, slaughtering indiscriminately..."
"Get lost!"
"Coming from your mouth, how do I sound like a murderous demon king!"
Gu Qingfeng took out a few more Scarlet-Leaf Monster Fruits and started eating them. "Besides, my temper has long since changed. I'm not as impulsive as before. I've long since laid down the butcher's blade..."
Before he could finish, Huode burst into loud laughter, as if hearing the funniest joke in the world, laughing quite maniacally.
"Kid Gu, aren't you blushing when you say that?"
"If you're not ashamed, I'm blushing for you. Your temper has mellowed? You've laid down the butcher's blade? I'd sooner believe the Demon Ancestor Chi You laid down his blade than believe you!"
"Your temper has mellowed? You mellowed and still beat the Twelve Courtyards' Chief Disciples of our Yunxia Sect into that state? You mellowed and still crippled Li Ziheng? If I hadn't arrived in time, every single one of those Elders on that platform would have ended up slaughtered by you, kid!"
Huode's words were not an exaggeration at all. Just as he said, he had watched Gu Qingfeng grow up and knew his temper all too well. This kid might not actively seek to kill, but you absolutely must not provoke him to anger. Once angered, he would slaughter indiscriminately. No one could stop him, not even if the Heavenly King himself descended to the mortal realm. He'd kill them all the same.
Precisely because he understood Gu Qingfeng, he had rushed back in such a frantic hurry.
Seeing Gu Qingfeng there, drinking his little wine all by himself, Huode was about to continue when he was interrupted.
"I say, Huode, a little reminder is enough. Are you going to go on forever? I'm helping you with this matter, and you're still nitpicking. If you're not satisfied, find someone else."
With that one sentence from Gu Qingfeng, Huode immediately lost his bluster, his face falling into a pitiful expression. "Don't, Ancestor..."
"I don't mean anything else, just venting a bit. And for the matter we're handling, killing doesn't solve the problem. You'd kill to your heart's content, then wipe your hands clean and leave. What about me then?"
"If you were going to stay in Yunxia Sect from now on, I'd have nothing to say. You could kill whoever you want. But the key is you definitely won't stay. Once this matter is done, you'll surely leave. While you're here, others won't dare do anything. But once you're gone, won't Yunxia Sect be finished?"
Seeing Huode ramble on endlessly again, Gu Qingfeng felt a headache coming on and waved his hand. "Alright, alright, I get it. In the future, even if someone rides on my head to take a piss, I'll greet them with a smiling face, okay?"
"Ancestor, that's not what I mean..."
"Go cool off somewhere else!"