Fang Qiong's face went stark white.
He had already been living in constant dread after being humiliated face-to-face by that great expert disguised as Ye Xiu, yet spared. The only thing that had given him any comfort was that Xu Tongming had never come to punish him.
That had inevitably kindled a trace of luck in his heart.
Perhaps the competition within the inner sect had left Senior Brother Xu with no time to attend to this matter. As long as he kept his head down and stayed out of trouble, after some time, this affair would surely blow over.
Once he entered the inner sect and advanced to Foundation Establishment, with the Artifact Refining Hall at his back, what blind fool would dare bring this matter up?
With that mindset, Fang Qiong holed himself up in the Punishment Hall and never showed his face. Even as the Punishment Hall's reputation among the outer sect plunged to rock bottom, he had no intention of defending it.
But now that Xu Tongming had arrived, and Fang Qiong saw the gun in his hand, how could he not realize that Xu Tongming had already uncovered the truth?
Trembling, Fang Qiong dropped to his knees. He felt as though he could barely speak clearly.
"Senior... Senior Brother, this matter was Fang Qiong's mistake alone. I beg Senior Brother not to involve my family..."
Before he could finish, Xu Tongming viciously planted a foot on his head.
The tremendous force shattered even the floor tiles beneath him.
"You made the Artifact Refining Lineage lose all face in the outer sect. Do you think wiping out your worthless family along with you will make up for it?"
Xu Tongming's expression was cold and indifferent, but those who knew him understood that whenever this inner-sect prodigy