Gang Leader... Father?

"You beast! I'll slaughter you!"

Wang Luhe had already lost his son, and Ye Li's words, each one piercing his heart like a blade, sent him into an immediate, blind rage.

As the strings of his reason snapped, a furious roar exploded across the small courtyard.

His eyes turned blood-red, and he poured his Post-Heaven Realm internal energy into his meridians, surging and roaring without holding back a single shred!

He slammed his right palm upward, fingers splayed wide, as a gray-black, deathly vortex that twisted the very air condensed in his palm!

At this moment, he had only one thought: to blast Ye Li's body into smithereens to appease the spirit of his departed son.

Ye Li felt a suffocating, lethal pressure the moment the man raised his palm.

Yet, he did not dodge or retreat. He stood rooted to the spot like an ancient tree, watching as that terrifying palm print—carrying the force to crush everything in its path—tore through the atmosphere like a tidal wave, descending toward his crown!

Against a Post-Heaven Realm expert, how could a mere Body Refining initial-stage cultivator possibly block this?

Therefore, Ye Li decided to call for backup: "Help me, Gang Leader—!"

Almost before his final syllable had faded!

A figure moved faster than his cry for help.

In the blink of an eye, like a teleportation, a figure as sturdy as a mountain stood rock-solid between the two.

Facing a palm strike capable of shattering an iron pillar, the man swept a cold, indifferent gaze toward the maddened Wang Luhe and casually raised his right hand, clamping onto the man's wrist like an iron vice.

"Crunch!"

Accompanied by a teeth-grinding sound of bone friction and compression, Wang Luhe's full-force strike was blocked as if it had vanished into a bottomless sea, unable to advance an inch.

Half-step Innate, a physical body that has transcended the mundane!

With nothing but the strength of flesh, bone, and sinew—tempered a thousand times over and long since surpassing metal—he had intercepted the furious, energy-laden strike of a Post-Heaven mid-stage Elder!

Wang Luhe's entire body shuddered, his forward momentum brought to a dead, jarring halt.

Yang Shichang flashed over to the scene, but he was ultimately a step too late.

Seeing that Zheng Tong had already restrained Wang Luhe, he steadied himself and waited to see how the situation would unfold.

"Whoosh—"

After a brief, deathly silence, the ordinary gang members maintaining order knelt in unison!

The Elders and core disciples bowed respectfully: "Greetings, Gang Leader!"

Seeing the scene before him, Zheng Tong lifted his chin slightly, released his iron grip, and spoke with a face as calm as water:

"Elder Wang, what is the meaning of this? Why would you attack a fellow disciple of the gang without cause?"

"It's not like that, Gang Leader!" Wang Luhe's voice carried a sob as he desperately defended himself:

"It's... it's this Ye Li! He slaughtered his fellow disciples with cruel and ruthless methods! He killed my son Chuanxi and severely wounded the other core disciples! Furthermore... he publicly insulted an Elder, showing no respect for rank or law! His crimes are punishable by death! Your subordinate... your subordinate was simply blinded by rage and acted without thinking, intending to apprehend him for judgment!"

Wang Luhe still wanted to shift the blame onto Ye Li, but he was interrupted by a sharp voice:

"Master, this Elder Wang ignores right and wrong. He is jealous of my superior talent and fears that I threaten the status of his son and disciples, so he tacitly allowed them to..."

Hearing Ye Li interject, Wang Luhe was about to roar at him, but his brain suddenly went blank!

What did this guy just say?

Master???

He called the Gang Leader... Master???

Stunned along with him were the surrounding Azure Dragon Gang disciples and Elders.

"Ye Li called the Gang Leader 'Master,' which means Ye Li is the Gang Leader's... disciple?"

"Since when did the Gang Leader take on a disciple?"

Everyone's gaze, filled with five parts shock, three parts confusion, and two parts disbelief, focused on Zheng Tong before snapping back to the aggrieved-looking Ye Li!

What was going on? Such a huge event, and they hadn't been notified at all!!!

The most terrified of all was Wang Luhe, who stared at Ye Li with a blank, pale expression that screamed, "Damn it, why didn't you say so earlier!"

If you had said you were the Gang Leader's disciple earlier! Why didn't you say so!

If he had known, what was there to argue about? It was just one dead son; he would have gladly handed him over!

On the other side, Ye Li acted like a spoiled, power-tripping villain, continuing his grievances:

"Master! You be the judge! As the Law Enforcement Elder, he is so biased and protective, acting with such injustice! He indulged his son in colluding with others to secretly harm a newly emerged genius!"

"After the incident, he didn't reflect on his own faults, but instead sought revenge! Isn't this naked jealousy?! With such conduct, how is he still an Elder of the Azure Dragon Gang? He looks more like a mole for the Poison Wolf Gang."

Zheng Tong's gaze swept over Ye Li. He did not question the title Ye Li had preemptively claimed. He looked at Wang Luhe with icy eyes and asked, "Is this true?"

Wang Luhe had nothing left to say. Seeing that Zheng Tong did not deny the relationship, he knew his fate was sealed. He collapsed to his knees with a thud, tears streaming down his face:

"Reporting to the Gang Leader, this old man knew nothing of this. It was all the work of that wicked son of mine and his unruly followers. I failed to discipline my son properly; I beg the Gang Leader to investigate thoroughly!"

Zheng Tong looked coldly at the prostrate Wang Luhe. The act of wantonly killing gang disciples stirred up some unpleasant memories.

Several years ago, a gang war with the Poison Wolf Gang broke out precisely because his disciple possessed such exceptional talent that the Poison Wolf Gang sent assassins to kill him.

Now, the events unfolding before him struck directly at his reverse scale, causing his brows to knit together fiercely.

Sweeping a frigid gaze over the core disciples lying on the ground, he asked in a deep, demanding voice, "Where is Lu Xiuyuan?"

The next moment, amidst the screaming, Yang Shichang tossed back Lu Xiuyuan, who had sensed the situation turning sour and attempted to sneak away.

Seeing Lu Xiuyuan, Ye Li's brows furrowed tightly. Did this guy actually dare to return?

He had only ever heard of murderers returning to the scene of the crime to satisfy their psychological need for a sense of accomplishment.

But he had never heard of a cuckolded victim returning to the scene to reminisce.

What kind of twisted logic was that?

The moment he was thrown back, Lu Xiuyuan was so terrified he collapsed to his knees, kowtowing incessantly:

"Spare me, Sect Master... spare me... It was all Qian Luoxin who bewitched us; I was confused for a moment and fell for his schemes."

"It's over..." In the corner, Qian Luoxin clutched his throat, blood seeping through his fingers. His eyes were filled with desolation and despair. It was truly over now.

It was supposed to be a guaranteed victory, seven against one—how did it end up like this!

Zheng Tong looked at the people on the scene with icy eyes, stating concisely: "All core disciples involved in this, fratricide...!"

"Kill them!" Zheng Tong spat out the command coldly!

No one present had expected this outcome.

That Lu Xiuyuan possessed a rare blue-tier trait, something never before seen in the entire younger generation.

To execute several core disciples in succession...

Killing them like this was simply a waste of natural talent!

But faced with the Sect Master's order, no one present dared to object!

"As for you!" Zheng Tong looked coldly at Wang Luhe: "You failed to discipline your subordinates and were incompetent in mentoring, leading to fratricide. You shall suffer the Three Blades and Six Holes, then be confined in the sect's water prison for half a year!"

Ye Li quietly stepped forward, secretly offering a suggestion from the side:

"Master, half a year is truly too short. He also intended to assassinate a disciple; why not add another half-year?"

Half a year was a bit too brief; it was safer to keep him locked up for a few more days.

By the time Wang Luhe emerged in a year, he should have reached the Post-Heaven Realm and would no longer fear this old man, so he didn't mind offending him a little more now.

Glancing at Ye Li with a dejected look, Wang Luhe didn't wait for Zheng Tong to speak before accepting his punishment:

"This old man has nothing more to say; I willingly accept one year of confinement!"

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