Shock

Pfft!

Wang Rui instantly felt as if his back had been smashed brutally by a massive iron hammer. His five viscera and six entrails seemed to have shifted out of place. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and the rope clenched around Bi Kai's neck slipped from his hands. Bi Kai, who had nearly suffocated, was freed at last, gasping in great mouthfuls like a fish hauled from the water.

From the moment everyone was jolted awake to the instant Zhuang Jin, after a brief thought, decisively struck, this chain of events sounded lengthy—but in reality, it had taken only a few breaths.

Only then did the other martial students in the dormitory seem to react, as though waking from a dream. Someone lit an oil lamp, while others began shouting.

"Murder!"

"Something's happened!"

"Someone, come quickly!"

"What's going on? Why are you making such a racket in the middle of the night? If you don't want to sleep, get out!" The martial instructor on duty today was Martial Instructor Sun. Still bleary-eyed and with his clothes thrown loosely over himself, he came over—yet after learning what had happened, he shuddered and was thoroughly awake. One martial student had ambushed a Formal Martial Artist who had just broken through tonight, while another had injured the attacker in order to save him...

One had to know that he himself was only a One-Striped Servant, merely in the One Meridian Realm. This matter was far too serious for him to decide on his own.

Martial Instructor Sun glanced at Bi Kai. His face was pale, deep rope marks indented his neck, and he was currently gulping air like a fish, drool running all over his chin. He looked utterly miserable, but did not appear to be in immediate danger of dying. Sun instructed the others to restrain Wang Rui first, then immediately went out to report the matter.

Before long, an elderly man arrived, dressed in a gray robe with three silver insignias on its shoulders. His face was lean and refined.

He was clearly a Three-Insignia Servant!

"Overseer Chang, it happened here."

Chang Hetong entered the room. The taut expression on his face shifted slightly the instant he saw Bi Kai. "Nephew Kai!"

—Bi Kai counted as his distant nephew. "Counted," because the relation was truly distant, the sort that could barely be reached with eight poles. Still, in this society built on connections, before this martial student recruitment, Bi Kai's family had gone through layer upon layer of introductions to seek him out, even visiting his door with gifts.

Since this uncle-nephew relationship was so remote, it was naturally impossible to say Chang Hetong treated Bi Kai like his own son, caring deeply for him and devoting himself to him. At most, he would do small favors that cost him nothing—for instance, passing along a word so Bi Kai could buy two portions of paid food by himself in the dining hall. Otherwise, did they think just anyone could enjoy such a "privilege"? Chang Hetong understood the ways of the world well. Since they had given him gifts, he had to let them see some return. Though the matter was small, it was still something done.

But that was all. Never mind how distant the relationship was—the gifts Bi Kai's family had sent were worth no more than that much effort from him.

And indeed, after Chang Hetong had put in a word to let Bi Kai buy two portions of paid food in the dining hall, he had put the matter out of his mind. By now, he had nearly forgotten that he even had a distant nephew practicing martial arts in the Shen Family Outer Courtyard.

Tonight, Chang Hetong had been woken in the middle of the night and told that a newly advanced Formal Martial Artist had nearly been strangled to death in an ambush, only to be saved by another. He had originally been somewhat irritated at being roused, his mood less than pleasant, but on the way over he had still intended to handle things impartially: the one nearly strangled to death should be comforted; the ambusher should be punished; the one who stepped in to help had upheld the Shen Family's honor and should be rewarded...

Yet the instant he saw that the victim was Bi Kai, all thoughts of impartiality were cast behind his head. In a flash, the anger in his heart multiplied severalfold.

It was not that he cared so deeply about Bi Kai. Rather, seeing Bi Kai in such a wretched state instinctively made him feel as if someone had bullied him personally. Besides, Bi Kai's family had at least brought gifts to his door. Now Bi Kai had ended up like this, nearly dying. If word got out, would he not lose face before all his relatives? Was this not a slap across his face?

Chang Hetong had already decided to deal with this matter severely. After hearing the full account, he asked with a dark expression, "Which one is Wang Rui?"

Wang Rui was brought forward, pale-faced, weak, and trembling. When Bi Kai had boasted tonight about breaking through to become a Formal Martial Artist, he did not know what had come over him. It was as though he had been possessed; his mind had been stuffed full of jealousy. A thought that frightened even himself had inexplicably arisen in his mind, but he had suppressed it in an instant and even congratulated Bi Kai.

But after the lights were extinguished and he lay in bed, the more he thought, the more jealousy swelled in his heart. His head was filled with thoughts such as, Why was it Bi Kai who became a Formal Martial Artist? Why wasn't it me? Why had I been the stepping stone for the past half month, letting Bi Kai steal all the glory and receive all the admiration? Then, as though trapped in a nightmare, he went out to find the rope used for fetching water and attacked Bi Kai...

Now that he had come to his senses, everything from before felt like a dream. Only then did terror seize him. "Sir, I..."

Chang Hetong directly raised a hand to cut him off. "As a martial student, you let jealousy drive you to launch a nighttime attack and murder a Formal Martial Artist. Your crime is monstrous; even death would not be enough to atone for it. Now that both witnesses and evidence are present, by the law... you shall die!"

As he spoke, he slapped his palm toward Wang Rui's forehead. The strike was swift and vicious. Before it even landed, a clear depression appeared in Wang Rui's skull. His entire body then stiffened, and with a bang, he fell to the ground.

Zhuang Jin's pupils contracted slightly. He had seen clearly that Overseer Chang's hand had not touched Wang Rui's head at all. When it was still more than an inch away, Wang Rui's skull had inexplicably caved in under force.

The martial students in the dormitory had not noticed that detail. But seeing Wang Rui executed on the spot—killed just like that, without even being handed over to the authorities—their hearts all skipped a beat, and they instinctively took two steps back. Only then did they recall what a colossal presence the Shen Family was in Prefecture City, deeply realizing its weight for the first time.

"Throw the corpse out to feed the dogs." Chang Hetong's expression was icy. "And Martial Instructor Sun, report this matter to the Law Enforcement Division External Affairs Office tomorrow. Apply to have this man's household confiscated!"

"Yes, Overseer Chang. I'll do it tomorrow." Martial Instructor Sun agreed without feeling that anything was wrong.

One person acted, one person bore the consequences? Disaster should not reach one's family?

What dream were they having? Who was going to talk to them about the code of the martial world? Even nine generations were executed for rebellion. If one person committed a crime, was it not only natural for the whole family to be implicated?

After deciding Wang Rui's punishment, Chang Hetong glanced again at the palm print on Wang Rui's back and asked, "Who was it that struck earlier and helped my nephew Kai?"

Zhuang Jin stepped forward and gave Chang Hetong a proper salute. "Sir, it was this junior."

Chang Hetong looked at Zhuang Jin and nodded slightly. "You have also entered the Qi Condensation Realm and become a Formal Martial Artist? Not bad!"

At those words, all the other martial students in the dormitory turned to look. Although a few attentive ones had already noticed the palm print on Wang Rui's back, hearing Overseer Chang confirm that Zhuang Jin had truly broken through to become a Formal Martial Artist still left them incredulous. Every face was filled with shock and disbelief.

Before today, they had never heard the slightest sign from Zhuang Jin. In the past, when Bi Kai asked about everyone's progress each day, Zhuang Jin had always said that he felt nothing much. Who would have thought that, without showing mountain or revealing water, Zhuang Jin was a genius on roughly the same level as Xiang Qichen, Xiong Lei, and Bi Kai?

Especially when they recalled how, from the very first day, Zhuang Jin had disciplined himself to train extra, day after day for more than half a month. After the Beggars incident, even in the face of others' strange looks, he had remained unmoved by favor or disgrace, unaffected in the slightest. He never boasted or showed off, and had not even mentioned completing the first step of Grasp Blood Qi, unlike Xiong Lei, Bi Kai, and Ping Yongfeng... His silent self-discipline and low profile gave them all an indescribable shock.

—That shock lay not only in his talent for Martial Practice, but even more in the crushing dimensional gap he had opened in the way he conducted himself. Before this, they had never imagined that such a person could exist in the world. Only upon seeing him today did they learn that such people truly existed. After witnessing it, they could not even summon the desire to compare themselves with him.

Zhuang Jin ignored the complicated expressions on the other martial students' faces and answered modestly, "This junior was fortunate enough to become a Formal Martial Artist tonight. I had intended to report it to Master Ping tomorrow morning, but I did not expect this to happen tonight. Unable to bear such injustice, I acted."

"Very good! Today is not the time for talking. I'll take nephew Kai to see a physician first. Tomorrow, after you have your status verified by a Martial Arts Instructor and move your bedding over to the Formal Martial Artists' quarters, come find me when you register at the General Affairs Department. Just give them my name, Chang Hetong." Chang Hetong spoke thus, nodded to Zhuang Jin, and left with Martial Instructor Sun and Bi Kai, who had recovered somewhat. Before leaving, Bi Kai clutched his neck, unable to speak, but still turned back to give Zhuang Jin a grateful look.

After Chang Hetong's group departed, the martial students in the dormitory looked at Zhuang Jin with complicated expressions. After a moment, someone opened his mouth first, seemingly wanting to say something.

"It's late. Everyone, go back to sleep!" Zhuang Jin spoke first. After saying so, he silently returned to his bed by the window and lay down fully clothed.

Because of what had happened earlier, he had already been somewhat on guard. Tonight, he became even more vigilant—though after Bi Kai's incident had just occurred, it was unlikely that anyone else would be as insane as Wang Rui, risking both their own lives and their entire family's lives to do something so foolish.

Many of the martial students in the dormitory could not sleep either. First Wang Rui had launched his sneak attack, then he had been settled and executed, with even his family set to suffer; then Zhuang Jin's Martial Artist realm had been revealed, bringing a shock like the morning bell and evening drum... For the latter half of the night, they tossed and turned, unable to sleep for a long while.