Grinding and Coercion

Watching Du Kongpo's miserable state, everyone felt a chill in their hearts. Yet no one sympathized with him. Even as they shuddered, seeing Du Kongpo being abused so horribly gave them an inexplicable sense of satisfaction...

Qi Yunlong stared at Du Kongpo, who was being trampled beneath Xiao Feng's foot on the arena, and sneered inwardly. "You dared talk back to me? Serves you right!" He acted as though he had not heard Du Kongpo's "I concede" at all, leisurely watching this brutal trampling from above the arena.

Only now did Du Kongpo truly feel the gap in strength between himself and Xiao Feng. Though they were both at Level 10 of the God Tribulation Realm, he was like a six-year-old child facing a full-grown man. His strength against Xiao Feng was no different from "scratching an itch."

Yet Xiao Feng's casual counterattacks were no less than heavenly hammers crashing down upon his body!

Xiao Feng slowly bent down and asked, "You... were acting under someone's orders, weren't you?"

!!!

A flicker of astonishment crossed Du Kongpo's face, but he immediately concealed it. He said in a low voice, "I... I..."

Xiao Feng's repeatedly twisting white boot pressed down on him so hard that he could not speak.

"Oh..." Noticing this, Xiao Feng stopped rubbing his foot across his face and said with a smile, "You should've said so sooner. I forgot."

"I concede..." Seeing his chance, Du Kongpo hurriedly tried to surrender. But in the next instant... that nightmare-like white boot once again stomped onto his face, grinding it back and forth.

"Not being obedient, are you..." Xiao Feng's voice was gentle, but to Du Kongpo's ears, it sounded like a demon's whisper.

"Ugh... ugh... ugh..." Du Kongpo desperately tried to make a sound.

Xiao Feng stopped tormenting him and moved his white boot away from his face. "What did you say?"

Du Kongpo hurriedly said, "I don't know! I really don't know!" As though afraid Xiao Feng would not believe him, he said it twice.

"Hehehe..." Xiao Feng sneered softly. "It's fine. We have plenty of time to slowly 'play.'"

As he spoke, he moved his other foot over the little finger of Du Kongpo's still-intact hand and stomped down hard!

Crack!

The sound of shattering bones rang out.

"Ugh... ugh... ugh..." Trampled beneath Xiao Feng's foot, he made sounds like sobbing wails.

"Don't cry, don't cry. There are still four more. Enough for you to properly 'enjoy'..." Xiao Feng's words rang in his ears like a demon's whisper.

Hiss— even the people in the audience felt chills run down their spines at Xiao Feng's words...

Crack!

"Ugh... ugh... ugh..." His sorrowful cries fell upon the hearts of everyone present...

Crack!

As the last finger bone was crushed, Xiao Feng said darkly, "I'll give you one last chance. Tell me who ordered you to do this."

"I really... don't know... I was wrong... please spare me... I won't dare do it again..."

By now, Du Kongpo had long since been tortured beyond recognition by Xiao Feng. Knowing he could not even say the words "I concede," he could only beg for mercy.

"Divine Doctor Xiao... why not let it go..."

"Yeah..."

"He's already been tortured so badly."

At this point, Du Kongpo had been abused beyond recognition. His face was a bloody mess, his hands shriveled, and he pleaded in a low, humble voice.

Anyone who saw him would instinctively feel pity for him...

Xiao Feng bent down beside his ear and softly murmured, "Everyone in the city knows that you're the kind of person who bullies the weak and fears the strong. Yet today, you acted completely out of character. You even dared to openly provoke the Qi Family head and disgrace him, all so you could provoke me into stepping onto the arena afterward..."

"After all, with your earlier stupid, crazed behavior that made people want to beat you to death, whatever you did afterward would seem perfectly natural to everyone... Even if they became suspicious, they would only suspect the Wang Family."

"You think I'd believe you if you said no one ordered you?"

"Really not—ugh..." Du Kongpo mumbled.

Seeing that Du Kongpo still did not intend to tell the truth, Xiao Feng was somewhat surprised. He had thought that after torturing him for so long and pointing out the inconsistencies, Du Kongpo would obediently reveal the truth. He had not expected him to be so stubborn. But Xiao Feng did not believe for a moment that no one had instructed him to act so differently before and after.

Looks like he'll need harsher measures...

"Hehehe..." Xiao Feng held a silver needle before Du Kongpo's eyes and said softly, "I don't know exactly what benefits that person gave you to make you refuse to betray him even now."

"But it's fine. I'm a very generous person. If you don't tell me, I won't kill you..."

Hearing that Xiao Feng would not kill him in a fit of rage, Du Kongpo finally let out a breath of relief.

He had investigated Xiao Feng beforehand. Xiao Feng was said to be refined and gentle, mild-tempered, and even at the same Level 10 of the God Tribulation Realm as himself. That was why he had listened to that person's orders and deliberately provoked him on the arena. Who would have thought Xiao Feng was completely different from the rumors? He was simply a madman!

Still, luckily, he would not kill him. Once this competition ended, he could break through to the God Tribulation Realm and even obtain a top-tier Mystic Art. His cultivation would surely advance by leaps and bounds then.

So what if he's invincible beneath the God Tribulation Realm? He can't break through. Once I do, I'll repay today's humiliation a hundredfold!

Xiao Feng slowly moved the silver needle toward Du Kongpo's Mystic Vein, his soul voice drifting into Du Kongpo's Soul Sea. "Destroying your Mystic Vein directly would give people something to talk about. But I wonder if anyone has told you... I am a healer... And what healers are best at is performing 'surgery.' I'll give you three breaths to consider it. Otherwise, I'll perform surgery on your Mystic Vein, one needle... at a time!"

"By then... your Mystic Vein will be like a punctured ball, with Mystic Energy leaking out bit by bit... until every last bit of Mystic Energy inside has drained away. Let's see whether the person who ordered you around can heal your utterly ruined Mystic Vein!"

These words completely stunned Du Kongpo. If his Mystic Vein were crippled, how could it be healed? Even if it truly could be healed, the Mystic Energy that had leaked away would be lost forever. Besides, he had offended many people in Flowing Wind City. If he lost all his Mystic Energy, how would he survive?

With his life at stake, neither Mystic Arts nor cultivation realms mattered anymore. "Don't! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! It was Ximen Qing! Ximen Qing ordered me to do this! He told me to deliberately provoke you with my words so you would go onto the arena and lose face! It was him! He ordered all of it!"

Du Kongpo could no longer move his hands, so he glared fiercely at Ximen Qing with his eyes. If not for him, he would not have ended up like this today.

He had lost all his dignity!

"Hiss—Ximen Qing? That can't be, can it?"

"Yeah, impossible. How could it be Ximen Qing?"

"He looks so refined and cultured. How could he hate Divine Doctor Xiao so much?"

"Exactly... He must be jealous of Ximen Qing and deliberately slandering him."

Ximen Qing had always left a good impression on them. Unlike Du Kongpo, who was now like a rat everyone wanted to beat, his words were truly hard for them to believe.

Upon hearing the people around him, Ximen Qing sneered inwardly, though his expression remained calm and righteous. "I have no grudge against you. Could it be that you're jealous of me, so you wish to frame me?"

"That's right. I think Young Master Ximen is right. Du Kongpo is jealous, so he wants to slander Young Master Ximen..."

Hearing Ximen Qing's words, everyone immediately agreed. Du Kongpo was practically a parasite, and his reputation was even worse than a rat's.

Ximen Qing, on the other hand, had always enjoyed a good reputation outside, so people instinctively favored him more.

But just then, an extremely discordant voice suddenly rang out. "I know why Ximen Qing wants Divine Doctor Xiao to lose face. He must be jealous!"

"Love makes people unrecognizable... He can't win Qi Qingyun's affection, but Xiao Feng can win her heart. That's why he wanted Xiao Feng to make a fool of himself!" The one who spoke was Qi Yi.

"Hiss—right, that makes sense... When love goes unfulfilled, jealousy is perfectly normal!"

"That does make sense. Still, I never expected Ximen Qing to be that kind of person. Love really does make people unrecognizable..."

"Exactly..."

"I thought he was a refined young gentleman. I never expected him to be so narrow-minded."

With a somewhat reasonable explanation appearing, the tide of public opinion immediately shifted. They instantly let their imaginations run wild along that line of thought...

Hearing everyone's discussion, the calmness on Ximen Qing's face vanished. All that remained was a grim expression. Yet he said nothing and offered no defense, or would that not make him seem guilty?