Inferiority

The withered-wood-like bracelet wrapped around his wrist came to life and shot straight toward Feng Wuhen's face.

Feng Wuhen showed not a shred of fear, simply standing there and watching the withered vine hurtle at him.

To onlookers, this looked like he had been scared out of his wits, but Feng Wuhen knew he wouldn't be hit. If he really let Xiang Qidong injure him in front of his master and the sect master, Mount Grand Mystery would lose face entirely.

Seeing that Xiang Qidong actually dared to attack his disciple right before his eyes, Chu Moqing's gaze darkened; no one saw when his sword appeared or how he made his move.

The crowd only saw the withered wood on the ground shattered into several pieces, along with Xiang Qidong flying backward as he vomited blood, a piercing sword wound running from top-left to bottom-right across his chest.

Lin Xiuyan shrieked at the sight and rushed over to staunch Xiang Qidong's bleeding.

Xiang Qidong lay on the ground, gazing up at the azure sky, feeling the pain in his chest and internal organs as if they had been shifted out of place. After stopping the bleeding and taking a medicinal pill, he finally eased that agonizing pain.

With this pain came sobriety, and the brains Xiang Qidong had lost to blind rage finally returned. Once his wits were back, he instantly regretted lashing out at Feng Wuhen.

Once you attack a disciple of Mount Grand Mystery, the nature of the matter changes completely. Previously, they had held the upper hand—though that advantage vanished once Feng Wuhen and the others emerged—at least they hadn't been caught in a compromising position.

Yet striking Feng Wuhen meant handing the enemy a handle against him. What puzzled Xiang Qidong, however, was that the one who had attacked him just now was Chu Moqing.

He had expected Qin Che to be the one to strike!

Soon enough, he learned why Chu Moqing had attacked him. Chu Moqing pointed the Azure Tide Sword at him, and a dense, overwhelming killing intent washed over him like a tidal wave.

"Shameless scion, you actually dare to lay a hand on this Venerable's disciple. You truly don't know how the word 'death' is written!"

Yan Ke and the others were also furious, yet they still had to hold Chu Moqing back to keep him from actually killing the man.

"Junior Brother Chu, calm down and don't beat him to death. We still need him to hold the Yueyang Sect accountable.

If you beat him to death, we'll go from being the reasonable party to the unreasonable one."

Hearing Yan Ke's words, Chu Moqing calmed down. "For today, I will spare some face for Senior Brother Yan and the Yueyang Sect. Once the accountability proceedings are over, however, this person is to be handed over to me for disposal!"

Chu Moqing would not let Xiang Qidong continue living. The man had dared to attack Feng Wuhen right in front of him; if he hadn't been around, wouldn't Feng Wuhen have been killed by him?

He couldn't follow Feng Wuhen everywhere, and sooner or later Feng Wuhen would have to go out on trials. When danger arose then, even if he wanted to save him, it would be too far to reach. Rather than living in perpetual anxiety, it was better to eradicate the danger at its root.

With that thought, Chu Moqing flashed his blade multiple times, severing the meridians throughout Xiang Qidong's body. This left him with spiritual energy in his dantian, yet completely unable to use it, reducing him to a cripple from that day onward.

Unless someone helped him reconnect his severed meridians—though by that time, Xiang Qidong would already be dead!

Lin Xiuyan looked at Xiang Qidong, whose meridians had been severed, and wept uncontrollably. She raised her head, her red eyes glaring furiously at Chu Moqing. "Isn't this action by the Canglan Sword Venerable a bit too excessive? My husband didn't even truly injure your disciple, yet you crippled him outright.

Do you simply not hold the Yueyang Sect and Radiant Light Pavilion in your eyes?"

Yueyang Sect: This is trouble they brought upon themselves, it has nothing to do with us. Please, Sword Venerable, don't come looking for us.

Radiant Light Pavilion: A married-out elder is like spilled water, we aren't taking the blame for this.

Compared to Lin Xiuyan, Xiang Qidong still had some wits about him. He knew that if Lin Xiuyan were allowed to keep talking, forget about Mount Grand Mystery refusing to let them off, even their own sect wouldn't spare them.

"Shut your mouth this instant! Are you trying to rush my death?"

Lin Xiuyan felt deeply aggrieved as he roared at her, tears streaming down like falling rain. That pitiful appearance truly would have tugged at many people's heartstrings had they not known what she had done!

Seeing Chu Moqing shielding him, Feng Wuhen couldn't help screaming inwardly in his mind, Ahahaha~ My master is so amazing! Brandishing his sword and threatening people looks utterly cool!

When will I ever become as awesome as him? But first, I need to get my hands on a genuine, top-tier sword. I wonder when my sword will finish forging?

Chu Moqing had previously disclosed to him that he was having a sword forged for him recently. He had entrusted the task to the most powerful artifact refiner on the Qiankun Continent, who was also Chu Moqing's sworn brother, Zhou Baixi.

He was having him personally forge a natal spiritual sword for Feng Wuhen!

According to the message sent by Zhou Baixi, they were already entering the final stages, and it wouldn't be long before he could take possession of it.

Seeing them all getting sidetracked, Chen Tianze reminded them, "Aside from him making a move against our people right here on Mount Grand Mystery, let's not forget he previously colluded with some bastard to frame Zefang. We cannot let this debt go unsettled."

Qin Che arranged for people to lock up the crippled Xiang Qidong and the tear-stained Lin Xiuyan.

After the two were dragged away, only Wu Zihao remained, enduring the crowd's contemptuous, scornful, and disgusted stares.

This turned his face ashen white, and he lowered his head, not daring to look at anyone. Zhengzefang still wanted to ask that question.

Before he could voice it, Wu Zihao spoke up on his own initiative. "Master, I'm sorry. I was blinded by a momentary obsession. I shouldn't have helped outsiders frame you just for the future he promised me—please, forgive me this once!"

Not fully understanding what was going on, Feng Wuhen concentrated his gaze on him. No wonder he would throw away such a good life and help Xiang Qidong frame Uncle-Master Zheng; it turns out inferiority was at work.

Even though Uncle-Master Zheng had only Wu Zihao as a disciple, his heart remained deeply unsettled, constantly worrying that some talented junior brother would edge him out.

Every day he lived in fear that people would say he wasn't worthy of being Uncle-Master Zheng's disciple, and that Uncle-Master Zheng had only taken him in out of pity.

He worked himself to the bone cultivating every day, all to avoid being looked down upon. He felt that he had only caught Uncle-Master Zheng's eye because of his pitiful background.

Pity that his natural talent fell short; no matter how hard he tried, he still lagged a notch behind others.

Gradually, his mind was corroded by this inferiority. When Xiang Qidong frequently came to see Uncle-Master Zheng, he discovered this complex and intentionally dangled promises of benefits before him, seeking to use him to ruin Uncle-Master Zheng.

Driven by those insecure, inferior thoughts of his, Wu Zihao figured that as long as Uncle-Master Zheng's reputation was destroyed, no one would ever say he was unworthy of being Uncle-Master Zheng's disciple again. That was how today's slander came to be.

Zheng Zefang had never known Wu Zihao carried so much in his heart. Just as his heart began to soften, Feng Wuhen's inner voice sounded again. What a bastard. That's pure malice—what kind of excuse is he trying to make for his own wickedness?

There are plenty of ordinary people in this world; how come we don't see them growing jealous of the strong and plotting to frame them?

When it comes down to it, Wu Zihao is simply selfish and hypocritical, yet insists on draping a tragic backstory over his selfishness and hypocrisy. In reality, it's neither fish nor fowl and utterly nauseating.

Feng Wuhen's mental voice hardened Zheng Zefang's softening resolve. He figured Feng Wuhen was right: rather than trying hard when you fall short, you plot to drag others down. Isn't that the definition of selfishness?

And someone so utterly self-centered certainly didn't deserve to be his disciple. He looked at Wu Zihao, who was kneeling on the ground with his head deeply buried, the warmth in his gaze entirely gone, replaced by a chilling indifference as if he were looking at a complete stranger. "Reasons aside, you betrayed me nonetheless!"

"From this moment on, you are no longer a disciple of Zheng Zefang, nor are you a disciple of Mount Grand Mystery. I won't cripple you, but everything I gave you in the past must be returned."

"Then leave Mount Grand Mystery, never return, and do not hover around me ever again. Otherwise, I truly will kill you!"

Considering that Wu Zihao had after all been raised by his own hands, coupled with the fact that he really had been negligent—otherwise he wouldn't have failed to notice all those hidden burdens in the boy's heart—Zheng Zefang decided to spare his life for those two reasons.

Still, if he didn't do it himself, someone else would help...