"Gu Qingfeng, you dare to show your face!"
Li Wang stood upon the hilt of his sword, his gaze cold and sharp as he glared at Gu Qingfeng, each word dripping with fury. "I told you, if you didn't dare to accept my challenge, I'd beat you once every time I saw you within the Yunxia Sect!"
"It's been quite a while since I've heard anyone say that to me."
Gu Qingfeng found himself at a loss for words, and rather amused. He looked at Li Wang with keen interest and asked, "So, what? Are you planning to make a move right here?"
Beside him, Fei Kui kept his head bowed low, stealing glances at Gu Qingfeng. The words Elder Huode had spoken yesterday still echoed in his mind—if anyone was foolish enough to provoke Gu Qingfeng, they had to be dealt with before he grew angry. Now, here was one such fool. Fei Kui didn't know if he should act, nor could he tell if Gu Qingfeng was already angered.
Li Wang jumped down from his giant sword and strode over, standing directly opposite Gu Qingfeng, his face twisted with rage, eyes blazing as he roared, "You think I don't dare?"
"I have business to attend to. Get lost."
Gu Qingfeng couldn't be bothered to engage further. He casually raised his hand and slapped Li Wang across the head.
That single slap was truly formidable. With a crisp crack, the sound of bone snapping echoed as Li Wang's neck twisted grotesquely to the side, his body crumpling to the ground.
Perhaps no one had expected Gu Qingfeng to strike so suddenly, nor that a casual slap from him could possess such terrifying force. Not only did it leave Li Wang's face swollen and bleeding from the nose and mouth, but it seemed the bones within his neck had been broken as well.
The scene unfolded too quickly, too abruptly!
It caught everyone off guard.
Especially Fei Kui, who had just been hesitating. How had Gu Qingfeng acted without any warning? He was utterly bewildered.
He wasn't the only one stunned. Ouyang Feiyue, standing nearby, was completely shocked by this sudden turn of events. She truly hadn't imagined that a single slap from Gu Qingfeng could break Li Wang's neck.
"Wang'er!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Four or five figures leaped down from the high platform.
The Li Clan wasn't just represented by Li Ziheng holding an important position within the Yunxia Sect; there were also three stewards and two guest elders present. Today, they had all come. Now, seeing Li Wang suddenly struck down, the three Li Clan stewards and guest elders rushed forward. Guangyuan Zhenren also charged over, bellowing, "Audacious ruffian!"
Whoosh!
Elder Rende leaped into the air, his voice authoritative. "Cease this insolence!"
Elder Rende's intervention immediately cowed the Li clansmen.
The Li family hurriedly checked Li Wang's injuries. Upon inspection, their faces grew increasingly grim—Li Wang's neck was indeed broken.
"What a vicious brat!"
"Elder Rende, this boy attacked my nephew by surprise when he was unprepared. This cannot be let slide."
Elder Rende glanced at Li Wang's injuries, his own heart skipping a beat. He then looked at Gu Qingfeng, who, after delivering that slap, acted as if nothing had happened, walking toward the high platform without even a glance back, as if the events here had nothing to do with him.
Elder Huode's words from yesterday echoed not only in Fei Kui's mind but also in Elder Rende's.
He knew Gu Qingfeng was no ordinary individual, perhaps even more terrifying than imagined.
Elder Rende dared not say much, merely addressing the Li Clan members: "We will discuss everything after the trial assessment concludes."
"Let me go! I'll kill him!"
Though the bones in Li Wang's neck were broken, the fury in his heart burned fiercer than any physical pain. Enduring the tearing agony, he leaped up, his body erupting with madly flashing Rainbow Radiance blazing like flames. He summoned his flying sword and, in a fit of rage, charged at Gu Qingfeng.
"Stand down!"
Elder Rende raised a hand, forming a Spiritual Art. Radiant light flashed as a Profound Mystery's Spell Technique like a spider web ensnared Li Wang mid-air.
Despite Li Wang being at the True Body Sixth Tier and possessing Dual-Color Guardianship, making his strength ferociously powerful, he was no match for Elder Rende, a Golden Core expert who had cultivated for over eight hundred years. A single spell securely trapped Li Wang and unable to move.
"Elder Rende! Gu Qingfeng attacked by surprise! Why are you stopping me?!" Li Wang was a wretched sight, blood still trickling from his mouth, his face flushed with shame and anger. His head lolled to the side, features twisted like a fierce ghost as he roared, "He struck when I was off guard! Today, I will cripple him!"
The physical injury meant little to Li Wang; he could endure it. What he couldn't bear was the loss of face. In front of so many people, having his neck broken by a Foundation Establishment Failure good-for-nothing was an utter humiliation he simply could not accept!
On the trial platform, Gu Qingfeng, seeing them still arguing, grew impatient and said indifferently, "Elder Rende, don't stop him. Let him come."
Hearing this, Fei Kui's heart lurched in shock, unsure what the young master meant.
Elder Rende's expression also shifted slightly upon hearing these words. He recalled Elder Huode's warning: once Gu Qingfeng grew angry, the other party would be lucky to escape with their life, let alone avoid crippling injuries. Thinking of this, he hurriedly said, "Gu... Gu Qingfeng, let's proceed with the assessment first."
"Didn't you say passing the assessment requires challenging a Nine Halls Direct Disciple?" Gu Qingfeng stood on the trial platform, his expression indifferent, eyes seemingly very calm. His tone betrayed no joy or anger, as if he were chatting with a friend. "Perfect. Then let it be him."
Elder Rende hesitated. "That... doesn't conform to the rules. One must first pass the trial assessment before challenging a Nine Halls Direct Disciple."
"Rules are made by people. I'll challenge a Nine Halls Direct Disciple first, then take the trial assessment afterward. What's the difference?"
"This..." Elder Rende didn't know how to respond.
Gu Qingfeng's nonchalant, casual tone left everyone present deeply puzzled. His detachment in his speech suggested he didn't regard Li Wang in the slightest—not even a tiny bit. It was as if Li Wang were merely an ant in his eyes, to be crushed as he pleased.
Yes, that was precisely the tone.
Everyone could hear it.
Li Wang naturally heard it too. Already burning with shame and anger, he flew into a rage, roared: "Gu Qingfeng! If you hadn't attacked by surprise, do you think you could have injured me?"
His face savage, he summoned his Dual-Color Guardianship, furiously driving Spiritual Power, brandishing his giant sword as he tried to break free from Elder Rende's spell, arrogantly shouted: "I am at the True Body Sixth Tier, possessing Dual-Color Guardianship! With your strength, you dare dream of harming me?!"
"Challenge first? Trial later? What arrogant words!" Feixue Zhenren stood up, contemptuously: "Elder Rende, since Gu Qingfeng has made this request, just grant it. I want to see how, without resorting to a sneak attack, he plans to shake Li Wang's Dual-Color Guardianship!"
Guangyuan also stepped forward, shouting, "Exactly! Elder Rende, as I am here today representing my master, Elder Jin De, to oversee the assessment, I also have the right to voice my opinion. Since Gu Qingfeng wishes to challenge a Nine Halls Direct Disciple first, then let him!"
Elder Mu De stroked the beard on his chin, said coldly: "Such arrogance from a mere junior disciple. A mutated constitution is still just a mutated constitution. If we don't let him hit a wall, he'll never know the immensity of heaven and earth."
Immediately, the Li clansmen also stepped forward to urge the fight.
Gu Qingfeng frowned slightly, his dark and profound gaze sweeping over the faces of Feixue, Guangyuan, Mu De, and the Li clansmen one by one, before finally settling on Elder Rende. He said in a low voice, "Let him come."
"This..." Elder Rende hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand, dissolving the spell restraining Li Wang.