Chapter 8
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Chapter 8: Life or Death
A formal disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect lay trampled beneath a servant disciple’s foot, like an earthly noble crushed by a lowly stable hand.
Liu Yu’s face flushed with shame and fury. Blood sprayed from his mouth again with a wet *sput*.
“Ye Yun, don’t act recklessly!” Liu Daolie’s temples pulsed visibly. “If a servant disciple kills an outer disciple without cause, the punishment is immediate execution!” He knew any harm to Liu Yu would drag him down too—the Beast Training Tower awaited if this got reported.
“Too late for that.”
Liu Yu, pinned under Ye Yun’s boot, let out a shrill laugh. “Daring to humiliate your superior? Once I report this, not even the heavens can save you!”
Terrified murmurs swept through the watching servant disciples. Ye Yun merely snorted coldly, grinding Liu Yu’s face deeper into the dirt until half his skull sank beneath the soil.
“Go ahead—tell everyone how a Tian Zhu Peak disciple got beaten to this state by a Herb Gathering Valley servant. Let’s see who gets laughed at harder. Who do you think the elders will punish more harshly?”
Liu Yu’s body locked rigid mid-roar.
If this spread, his reputation at Tian Zhu Peak would shatter. Senior disciples might exile him to some backwater post out of sheer disgust.
“N-no! This had nothing to do with you!” Liu Daolie’s dignity evaporated as he babbled, “Liu Yu injured himself demonstrating combat skills—lost control of his qi! Everyone here saw it, right?!”
“Oh?” Ye Yun’s eyes narrowed.
“Yes! We all witnessed it!” Liu Daolie’s voice cracked. “We’ll testify!”
“Right, right!” The crowd chorused like startled geese.
“How careless.” Ye Yun lifted his foot. “Best stay on Tian Zhu Peak refining pills. Safer that way.”
Blood streaked Liu Yu’s jaw as attendants hauled him upright. His glare promised murder.
Ye Yun ignored him. This broken whelp wasn’t worth another thought. His gaze shifted to the mist-wrapped peaks beyond—passing the outer disciple exam would be trivial now.
A shrill whistle pierced the air as he turned.
Fireworks exploded overhead, painting the sky in rippling colors.
“Senior brother, what’re you doing?!” Liu Daolie’s cry rang out beneath the crackling lights.
“Think words alone can stop this?” Liu Yu’s eyes glinted. “The hall of sect regulations won’t listen to vermin.”
Silence swallowed the clearing. Leaves rustled.
The crowd scattered like startled mice—all except Shen Mo, who rushed to Ye Yun’s side with awestruck determination.
“The lawkeepers here are in his pocket.” Ye Yun’s blood burned as realization struck. Even the enforcers were corrupt.
Liu Yu floated backward, popping pills into his mouth while clutching two middle-grade spirit stones. “You’re just a servant—a stray dog. No one cares if you die here today.”
He only needed to stall half an incense time. Once the regulators arrived, Ye Yun’s corpse would feed the crows.
Liu Daolie’s face twisted in panic as he scrambled backward.
Ye Yun’s power had become terrifying. Mere days ago, this boy hadn’t even reached the Refining Organs stage four. Back then, Liu Daolie could overpower him easily. How could he possibly face Ye Yun’s current cultivation level? He’d be slain within moments.
They were the butcher’s blade, and we were the meat on the block.
Cultivators claimed to absorb heaven’s essence, ascending with compassion for mortals. Yet all Ye Yun saw in this mighty Heavenly Sword Sect were schemers treating others like livestock. Where were the virtuous masters with moon-pure hearts?
Rage unlike anything he’d known burned through him.
The black and white lights stirred in his perception again.
Faint glimmers of those dual hues flickered behind his eyes.
Suddenly he understood – truly understood – those two shadowy figures he’d glimpsed. He stood again before those golden Deity Generals, cold as winter steel, gazing upon creation as mere beasts.
*CRACK!*
Murderous intent exploded from Ye Yun like shattered ice.
"Block him!" Liu Daolie’s scream choked as he whirled around.
Ye Yun stood before him. Impossible speed.
The Punch Shadow connected.
*Snap.*
Liu Daolie’s ribs folded like dry twigs. Spiritual power tore through his supposedly toughened organs. As he flew backward, only bitter regret filled his breaking body.
Too late.
He hit the earth like discarded trash, blood painting the stones.
"You called us dogs?" Ye Yun’s frozen stare shifted to Liu Yu. "Now die like one."
"Brother Ye, flee!" Shen Mo shouted. Though youngest and merely a servant disciple, the boy showed startling presence of mind. "Hall of Sect Regulations elders will come! They’ll heal these two first. Kill them, and the hunt begins immediately!"
Ye Yun shook his head. What did this newcomer know of the sect’s ways? Even tenfold stronger, escape remained impossible.
"Live long, Shen Mo."
His fist met the rushing boy’s temple. Shen Mo crumpled, unconscious before hitting dirt.
"Your turn, Liu Yu."
At life and death’s threshold, Ye Yun felt strange clarity. The black and white lights pulsed within him again.
Liu Yu froze like prey before ancient predator. Cold sweat drenched his robes. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. The end had come.
