Expelled from the Sect

The whip wrapped around Lu Cheng's wrist suddenly went taut.

A peculiar force traveled along it.

This time, Lu Cheng completely lost control of himself and was flung into the air, turning two somersaults.

When he landed, he managed to steady himself only by executing half a Falling Star Flip.

Feng Ji had come out late.

So he hadn't seen Chen Qing sneak up behind Lu Cheng with his spear.

He'd only seen Lu Cheng shatter Chen Qing's wrist with a claw, then try to strike Chen Qing's crown with a Falling Star Crown Strike.

Feng Ji usually wore a smile, but those who knew him well all knew he was the most ruthless of the three senior brothers.

Even Feng Ji had been alarmed by Lu Cheng's decisive methods.

The fact that his whip hadn't directly snapped Lu Cheng's arm bone showed that he'd already been forcing down his anger.

But when he saw how exquisitely Lu Cheng had executed that Falling Star Flip, most of his anger strangely faded away.

Seeing that Lu Cheng had stopped attacking, he also abandoned his initial intention of simply taking Lu Cheng into custody.

"What happened?!"

Chen Qing lay facedown on the ground, his right hand bent backward against his arm. The blood from his mouth had stained a broad patch of flagstones red.

The agony in his wrist made cold sweat pour down his face, and he'd nearly lost all feeling in his upper body.

Lu Cheng had only managed to execute half of the Falling Star Crown Strike before Feng Ji interrupted him.

His final kick had been hurried. Though powerful, it hadn't been enough to kill.

So Chen Qing's most serious injury was still his shattered wrist.

When he saw Feng Ji, Chen Qing forced himself to crawl toward him, wailing as he went.

"Second Chief Escort, save me! Lu Cheng—it's Lu Cheng! He tried to kill me! Please, Second Chief Escort, give me justice..."

By then, Feng Qi and Feng Zhan had also heard the commotion and arrived at the training ground.

After hearing Feng Ji's account, their faces turned ashen.

The disciples had never seen anything like this. Every last one was so frightened that no one dared even breathe too loudly.

Only Chen Qing's wails remained on the training ground.

Feng Zhan went to Chen Qing and crouched beside him. He checked his pulse, then examined the injuries on his back and hand. Looking up, he nodded to Feng Qi and the others.

"His back and internal injuries aren't serious. He should recover after two months of rest, but his wrist is shattered. There's no telling how much use he'll get back."

As he spoke, he shot Lu Cheng a fierce look and barked, "Why did you use such vicious force?!"

Lu Cheng was still somewhat dazed. If Chen Qing had only hurt him, perhaps he would have stopped once he'd broken Chen Qing's wrist.

But when he saw Chen Qing stab his friend, Lu Cheng had thought of nothing but killing him with his own hands.

Now that he'd come to his senses, even he felt he'd been too merciless.

After all, Chen Qing was his fellow disciple. It would have been enough to cripple him; there had been no need to take his life.

So for a moment, he couldn't answer Feng Zhan's question.

Fatty was quick with his words. Seeing Lu Cheng stunned, he briefly explained what had happened.

After hearing him out and looking over the scene, especially the deep wound on Liu Wan'er's arm, how could Feng Qi and the others not tell the truth?

Feng Qi turned to Chen Qing and asked in a low voice, "Chen Qing, is there anything Liu Guicai said that wasn't true?"

Chen Qing lay facedown, struggling to lift his head.

Under Feng Qi's penetrating gaze, even his wails caught in his throat.

His lips trembled a few times. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.

Feng Qi looked at Chen Qing for a couple of seconds, then said to Feng Ji, "Junior Brother, deal with him according to the escort agency's rules."

Feng Ji nodded and announced loudly, "The rules of the Long Wind Escort Agency were explained on your very first day here."

"Standing together with your fellow disciples and respecting your teachers may not have been emphasized much, but they're ironclad rules that every disciple must strictly abide by."

Feng Qi's voice wasn't loud, and it was still somewhat high-pitched, but every word rang out with force.

"Practicing against someone without permission is wrong to begin with. Attacking a fellow disciple is an even greater taboo."

"Lu Cheng committed both offenses, but since there were reasons behind what happened, his punishment will be reduced. He'll receive thirty strokes of the rod. Since the two agreed matches are still pending, that punishment will be recorded for now and carried out afterward."

"If there is a next time, you'll be expelled from the sect!"

When Feng Ji finished speaking, murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"Thirty strokes of the rod? Is that light or harsh?"

The disciple who asked had only just joined and didn't know how severe the punishment was.

An older disciple quickly answered him.

"Ten strokes will keep you in bed for half a month. Thirty will probably break your legs!"

Some of the others were curious about the two matches Feng Ji had mentioned.

"Two matches? Isn't the only one scheduled for two months from now? Who's the second match against?"

Aside from Fatty and the other five, no one could answer that question.

"Silence!" Feng Ji roared, quelling the commotion as he looked at Chen Qing on the ground.

Only then did everyone remember that Chen Qing still hadn't been punished.

No one felt much sympathy for Chen Qing in his current state, though they didn't exactly hate him, either.

They'd all joined only recently, and some of them barely knew one another.

Most were just watching the spectacle, unconcerned with what became of Chen Qing.

The only one with his heart in his throat was Chen Qing himself.

"As for Chen Qing..."

Everyone couldn't help holding their breath, ears pricked up for fear of missing a single word.

"According to the rules, his martial arts will be crippled, and he'll be expelled from the escort agency."

The crowd erupted.

Chen Qing had been the strongest disciple in the Long Wind Escort Agency. No—he'd been the strongest, until now.

His aptitude was almost that of a Fine Jade Talent. He'd reached Mid-Stage Refining Strength in less than a year of training.

It could be said that, barring any mishaps, he was all but certain to become a Body Refining Martial Artist one day!

But today, the mishap had come.

Chen Qing stared at Feng Ji in disbelief. He opened his mouth, no longer even caring about the pain in his hand, and rasped out, "No! That's not fair! Three Chief Escorts, this isn't fair! Why does Lu Cheng only get thirty strokes?!"

Feng Ji replied coldly, "Unfair?"

"Taking advantage of a fellow disciple's weakness to provoke a fight—that's the first offense."

"Being defeated, then flying into a rage and launching a malicious sneak attack—that's the second."

"Endangering an innocent—that's the third."

"Framing a fellow disciple and turning the blame around—that's the fourth!"

"And what about the way you've been targeting Lu Cheng these past few days? Do I need to list that, too?"

"Letting you keep your life is already showing you mercy. From this day forward, you're no longer a disciple of the Long Wind Escort Agency."

Chen Qing lowered his head in a daze, venom in his eyes as though he could bore two deep holes into the ground.

"Heh heh heh... Hahahahahaha!"

Chen Qing suddenly burst into laughter, crazed and shrill.

"What a load of bullshit about unity among fellow disciples! You're only doing this because Lu Cheng has better talent than I do!"

"He's just a crippled Human Hero. So what if he can practice Body Tempering? He'll never break through to the Qi Refining Realm in his entire life!"

"He's nothing but a troublemaker!"

"I reached Refining Strength in two months and the mid-stage in eight! I'm bound to reach Qi Refinement one day!"

"Short-sighted fools! You..."

Chen Qing stretched out his uninjured left hand. But deep down, he was still afraid, and he didn't dare point at Feng Qi and the others. Instead, he swept his hand toward his fellow disciples and shrieked, "Every one of you is short-sighted! You'll regret this!"

Feng Qi didn't look at him. He turned and left.

Feng Ji sighed and shook his head, then followed him away.

Feng Zhan remained where he was, watching Chen Qing. After a few seconds of silence, he finally chose two disciples.

"Help him pack his things and escort him out."

Two senior disciples stepped forward and hoisted Chen Qing up, one on each side.

"Let go of me! Don't touch me! I'm the eldest senior brother!"

"Let go! I'm a great Martial Warrior in the Qi Refining Realm!"

"You're asking for death! You're all asking for death!"

Chen Qing struggled nonstop, but in his injured state, how could he break free from the two men?

His legs kicked as they dragged him away.

The disciples of the escort agency exchanged glances. None of them had expected a simple spar to turn out like this.

Some shook their heads, some sighed, and some secretly relished it, but no one dared show it.

Lu Cheng stood where he was, staring toward the gate without expression.

Chen Qing disappeared from view, and his shrill cries gradually faded into silence.

"Third Chief Escort, I was wrong! I know I was wrong..."