Chương 96: Shattering the Dantian

Ming Diao Zhanchen's reckless declaration echoed across the platform, causing the expressions of the gathered cultivators to shift instantly. A wave of palpable resentment washed over the crowd as they turned their glares toward the Qingyan Sect. While those who walked the path of the Dao sought to transcend the mundane, very few—aside from the Golden Core eccentrics with centuries of life—were truly without kin.

In the cultivation world, there existed an unwritten, ironclad law: grievances between cultivators must never spill over into the secular lives of their families. By speaking such words so openly, Ming Diao Zhanchen had crossed a line that many considered sacred. The surrounding cultivators were seething, their eyes burning with indignation. However, given the overwhelming power of the Qingyan Sect, most swallowed their fury, their anger simmering just beneath a veneer of forced silence.

"Zhan'er, you absolute fool!" Tiandaozi hissed, his face darkening into a mask of cold fury. His voice was low, vibrating with suppressed rage.

"Even if such a thought crossed your mind, how could you dare to utter it in a place like this? With those words, you have made it impossible for our Qingyan Sect to hold its head high in North Yue State!"

"Senior Brother, please, calm your anger. Zhan'er was simply consumed by rage; he didn't mean to be so reckless," Ming Diao Ancestor whispered, his expression flickering with unease. He knew this blunder could be catastrophic if it ignited the collective ire of the smaller sects.

"The only reason today ended in such a disaster is because of that little brat Reyn from the Xuanxiao Sect. If he hadn't interfered, our victory would have been absolute! If we weren't in such a public setting, I would have personally ended that junior's life to satisfy the hatred in my heart!" On the platform, Reyn's breathing suddenly became eerily calm. His gaze lowered, his eyes hooded, and his fists slowly clenched until his knuckles turned white.

"What? Are you afraid now? Are you angry?" Ming Diao Zhanchen let out a harsh, mocking laugh, relishing the reaction.

"Good! That is exactly what I wanted. Just wait. It won't be long before you receive news from me regarding your precious family." With a cold sneer, Ming Diao Zhanchen felt he had sufficiently humiliated his opponent. He began to circulate his remaining energy, preparing to fly back to the Qingyan Sect's seating area. But at that exact moment, Reyn's head snapped up. His eyes, sharp as unsheathed blades, locked onto Ming Diao Zhanchen. In that split second, several powerful figures reacted simultaneously.

"Reyn, my disciple, do not be impulsive!" Dan Chenzi shouted, his heart leaping into his throat.

"Reyn, do not kill him!" Qingxiaozi added, his voice urgent.

"Junior, you dare?!" Ming Diao Ancestor roared, his aura exploding outward.

"Does he truly think our Qingyan Sect lacks the will to kill?" Tiandaozi's voice was like a thunderclap.

"The boy has gone mad!" Xuan Wuqing muttered, his eyes wide.

"Haha, yes! Come on, kill him! Let's see you try!" Bai Sha laughed maniacally, hoping for a bloodbath. Ming Diao Zhanchen, whose bones and meridians were already severely damaged, was slow to react to the sudden chorus of warnings. Before he could even process the danger, he felt a sharp, agonizing sensation—as if a red-hot needle had been driven deep into his lower abdomen, right into the center of his Qi Sea. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road.

Please report it. A scream died in his throat as his eyes rolled back. The spiritual energy circulating within him vanished instantly, dissipating like smoke in a gale. His body, now nothing more than a limp pile of flesh, crashed heavily onto the stone floor of the Ascension Terrace. His Dantian was shattered. His cultivation was destroyed. Reyn had not taken Ming Diao Zhanchen's life, but he had done something far worse: he had severed his path to the heavens.

From this day forward, the once-proud genius would be nothing more than a crippled mortal, condemned to a life of mediocrity. Ming Diao Ancestor was a fraction of a second too slow. Though the speed of a Golden Core cultivator was far beyond Reyn's comprehension, by the time he reached the center of the platform, he could only watch in horror as his grandson's Dantian was pierced and the boy fell like a broken doll. Ming Diao Zhanchen… was crippled? A deathly silence descended over the entire Ascension Terrace.

Every spectator's pupils contracted in shock. They knew that if this situation wasn't handled with extreme care, an all-out war between the two great sects was now inevitable.

"Little bastard, give me your life!" Ming Diao Ancestor looked up, his face contorted with a murderous frenzy. A bone-chilling killing intent erupted from him, so intense that the temperature of the surrounding air plummeted. Tiny shards of ice began to crystallize in the air around him, manifesting from the sheer density of his spiritual pressure. When a Golden Core cultivator is enraged, blood flows for a thousand miles, and a million corpses follow in their wake!

Reyn was the first to feel the brunt of this pressure. The killing intent slammed into his mind like a physical blow, turning his face deathly pale. He stumbled back several steps, his breath hitching in his chest.

"Ming Diao, stop!" In the blink of an eye, a streak of light flashed before Reyn. Dan Chenzi stood firmly in front of his disciple, his own eyes flashing with an icy light.

"If you dare lay a finger on my disciple, this old man will not sit idly by!"

"Dan Chenzi, if you hand this little brat over to me right now, there may still be room for negotiation," Ming Diao Ancestor's voice was eerily calm, but the killing intent in his eyes had frozen into a solid, terrifying glare.

"Otherwise, I swear that today, I will not rest until the Xuanxiao Sect pays in blood!" On the ground, Ming Diao Zhanchen lay like a heap of refuse. Despite the excruciating pain wracking his body, his eyes were vacant, filled with a hollow disbelief.

"How... how is this possible? How did he dare... why did this happen..." he whimpered, his voice a pathetic crawl.

"You shattered my grandson's Dantian! You destroyed his cultivation and cast him back into the mud of the mortal world! You heartless little monster!" Ming Diao Ancestor's rage surged to a new peak. The spiritual energy within him roared, sounding like the crashing waves of a great river.

"Today, I will take your life to avenge my grandson!"

"Reyn, you were far too impulsive," Dan Chenzi whispered, his face grim. He knew the stakes. The Xuanxiao Sect and the Qingyan Sect were currently equal in power; a fight to the death would only benefit the vultures waiting in the shadows. However, Reyn was the most talented disciple the Xuanxiao Sect had seen in a thousand years. They would never abandon him.

"Master, this matter started because of me. Let me face this old ghost myself," Reyn said, his voice ringing out across the terrace. Despite his pale face under the Golden Core pressure, his eyes remained remarkably steady. He looked toward the crowd and shouted, "Fellow Daoists of North Yue State, I wish to ask one question: Is there not an ironclad law in our cultivation world that forbids involving secular families in our disputes?"

"Indeed, such a pact exists!" someone from the crowd shouted back.

"Of course there is! If we started killing each other's families every time we lost a fight, the entire world would descend into chaos!"

"That agreement has been passed down since ancient times. Any cultivator who violates it is hunted by the entire cultivation world!" Reyn's eyes flickered with a cold light. He pointed a finger at the broken Ming Diao Zhanchen and spoke with a voice like frost.

"This man relied on his superior cultivation to injure over a dozen of my fellow disciples. He harbored lecherous designs, plotting to force himself upon my Senior Sister Ji. When I fought him, I sought only justice for my brothers; I did not take his life, nor did I seek to humiliate him!"

"But this man is narrow-minded and insane! Here, on this very platform, in front of all of you, he dared to threaten the lives of my entire Lei Clan in Thunder Abyss City! I, Reyn, am not a cold-blooded man. My family is my life. Anyone who wishes to harm them must first step over my corpse! If I had not been pushed to the brink, why would I have resorted to destroying his Dantian? I did what was necessary to protect my blood!"