After their fight, Chen Xia withdrew while Qiong Qi became increasingly arrogant.
He put up a sign at the medicinal field he had bought which read:
Chen Xia and dogs are not allowed to enter.
The words were written in bold black against a white background, clearly emphasizing his arrogance without leaving Chen Xia any face.
Many passing disciples saw this and felt that Qiong Qi had gone too far without leaving Chen Xia any way out.
Qiong Qi did not restrain himself after this. On the contrary, he became even more arrogant and loudly propagated that he had defeated Chen Xia and chased Chen Xia and his dog brothers away in embarrassment.
No one came out to refute this because no one dared to refute Qiong Qi.
Only Chen Xia could stand up and speak about this matter, and only he had the qualifications to converse with Qiong Qi.
But Chen Xia did not come out and allowed Qiong Qi to make a clamor.
Over the past half year, he had been constantly borrowing money, claiming it was to treat his injuries.
This gave Qiong Qi another opportunity to boast loudly that he had injured Chen Xia so heavily that Chen Xia would need over 100,000 Spirit Stones just to treat his injuries.
Chen Xia still did not respond to him.
However, Qiong Qi's shouts made others develop ideas and discussions arose for a time about who exactly won in the fight between Qiong Qi and Chen Xia.
Some felt that Qiong Qi had won, for the simple reason that Chen Xia was the first to leave, and Qiong Qi was the one making a clamor now. This was indeed consistent with the image of a victor.
There were also those who believed Chen Xia had won, since the three Elders had voluntarily intervened in the battle, stopping Chen Xia. Otherwise, things would have been hard to say if Chen Xia's second sword strike had fallen.
The third conclusion was that it was a draw, with neither surpassing the other.
There were all kinds of opinions, the most absurd being that the three Elders had won. But on careful thought, this did seem to make some sense, since the three Elders had directly subdued both men with their actions.
Such discussions had taken place frequently over the past half year. Qiong Qi made the loudest noise, even sending his subordinates to the disciples' territories to loudly slander Chen Xia and speak ill of him.
Every day, he would stand in front of the medicinal field, starting a new business where anyone who came to vilify Chen Xia once would receive ten Spirit Stones, capped at three vilifications.
Indeed, many disciples went.
But even more did not go.
Qiong Qi had made a chair outside the medicinal field where he sat every day, smiling as he waited for people to come and vilify Chen Xia.
Today, he did wait for people to arrive, but they were not there to vilify Chen Xia.
Instead, it was a massive crowd of outer disciples and junior elders, marching over neatly in formation.
Seeing them approach, Qiong Qi grinned, sitting on his chair and lazily waving a hand, saying,
"What's this, so many of you want to come curse Chen Xia? Then I'll have to prepare more Spirit Stones, otherwise I might not have enough. Haha!"
His expression suddenly changed into a cold sneer as he spoke to the crowd,
"Or are you minnows and shrimp trying to stand up for Chen Xia?!"
The crowd did not respond. The people at the front carried over three heavy chairs and placed them at the forefront. Then they fanned out, forming three aisles.
Chi Yu, wrapped in bandages, was carried up the right aisle and placed on one of the seats.
Big Yellow Dog was carried up in the same way.
Finally, Chen Xia emerged from the middle aisle, patting down his green robe with his left hand - his right was wrapped in bandages - before striding over and sitting down on the chair, staring at Qiong Qi with a smile as he said,
"Waited a long time, haven't you? Well I've waited a long time too."
"Just putting on an act!" Qiong Qi gave a cold snort, his face full of disdain.
"You think just saying a couple empty words will kill me? Haha!"
"Fair enough," said Chen Xia with a smile, waving his left hand and calling out loudly,
"Bring the coffin for Master Qiong!"
From behind the crowd came the sound of drums and gongs, interspersed with occasional clear trumpet calls.
A few figures dressed in black, wearing black hats, emerged slowly, shoulders bearing heavy coffins, their footsteps swaying slightly in rhythm.
Chen Xia stood up, clenching his left fist with a crackle of knuckles, continuing with a smile,
"I've prepared the full service for you, explained the rationale of the 300,000 Spirit Stones. For you to die once shouldn't be an issue, right?"
Qiong Qi gazed at the storage talismans greedily, sneering disdainfully,
"If you want my life, you'll have to have the ability to take it. Otherwise, just saying some empty words won't kill me. Haha!"
"Fine," said Chen Xia, smiling as he waved his hand and called out,
"Bring on the coffin for Master Qiong!"
From behind the crowd came the sounds of drums and gongs, with occasional clear horn calls mixed in.
A few figures dressed in black, wearing black hats, emerged slowly, shoulders bearing heavy coffins, their footsteps swaying slightly in rhythm.
Chen Xia stood up, clenching his left fist with a crackling of knuckles. Continuing to smile, he said,
"I've prepared the full service for you, explained the 30,000 Spirit Stones. For you to die once shouldn't be an issue, right?"
There was now some fury in Qiong Qi's eyes, extremely ferocious. Just as he was about to curse loudly,
Radiant sword light flashed out.
Chen Xia was already before him, left hand gripping the Bronze Sword, fiercely stabbing towards Qiong Qi's chest!
His figure was infinitely elongated, all mirages, time unable to keep up with his speed.
Purple divine light gushed out, staunchly blocking the Bronze Sword's stab.
Qiong Qi's face was heavy, a touch of madness within as he roared furiously, divine light continuously condensing as he sought to continue blocking.
"Scram," said Chen Xia, a disdainful smile on his face.
The already dazzling sword light now abruptly strengthened, like a billowing ocean wave, instantly crushing everything before it!
The divine light before Qiong Qi instantly shattered, blasting back 3,000 meters to smash buildings and tumble amidst the rubble.
Chen Xia flicked the Bronze Sword, his eyes full of nonchalance.
Last time it was 70%, this time full strength. Did you really think it would be the same?
Chen Xia raised the Bronze Sword, pointing it at the rubble where Qiong Qi had fallen, about to strike again.
A familiar voice rang out from the sky, "Stay your hand!"
The Third Elder had appeared before Chen Xia, single hand outstretched, about to grab Chen Xia's sword-wielding hand.
But this time, other voices rang out too.
"Let the juniors settle their own grudges, no need to meddle too much."
A withered hand stretched out, grabbing the Third Elder's hand.
Intertwining tightly.
The corners of Chen Xia's mouth quirked up in a faint smile.
His Bronze Sword shone with dazzling sword light.
Slash down!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
