Chương 145: Chapter 34: The Lesson

"The cultivation world of Beiyue State may seem fragmented to an outsider, but it hosts over a hundred sects and more than a thousand clans. While a single sect might appear insignificant, our combined strength is a tide that can crush any mountain!" Reyn's voice didn't just carry; it resonated with a cold, metallic edge that vibrated through the very pillars of the Taiji Hall.

"Your reckless, loose-lipped arrogance doesn't just display your ignorance—it invites a cataclysmic disaster upon your own lineage. The Xuanxiao Sect has stood for a millennium. Though we have weathered storms and seen our influence wane, our backbone remains unbroken. Should word of your slander reach our elders, a blood feud will be carved in stone between our houses!" He stepped forward, his gaze pinning Li Zhupu like a butterfly to a board.

"To sow such enmity for your sect over a moment of vanity... you are a fool of the highest order. A liability. Xuanxiao's Dan Chenzi is a Golden Core expert and a Grade 3 Alchemist Master—facts etched into the history of Beiyue. You, a mere Qi Condensation whelp, dare to spit upon his prestige? It is a farce that any sect would choose you as their representative for the Mu Family's Holy Land.

You have not only shamed your masters within your own borders; you have paraded your lack of discipline before the elite of Zhao's eight provinces. It is truly, pathetically laughable." Reyn's words fell like a relentless barrage of thunderclaps, each sentence a physical blow that left Li Zhupu's face flickering between a ghostly pale and a humiliated crimson. The air in the hall grew heavy, the silence so thick it felt tangible.

"Senior Brother, who is that man?" a female disciple from the Pomie Sect whispered, her eyes dancing with a mixture of awe and predatory curiosity.

"He just dismantled Li Zhupu without even lifting a finger. It's incredibly cathartic—I've wanted to wipe that smug look off her face for years." Xing Tianxie didn't answer immediately. His eyes were locked on Reyn, tracking the subtle flow of spiritual energy around the young man.

"His tongue is as sharp as a high-grade spirit tool," he finally murmured, a hint of wariness creeping into his tone.

"In his mouth, Li Zhupu is reduced to a bumbling idiot. The tragedy is that every word he spoke is the objective truth."

"I heard she's the pampered daughter of the Purple Mist Sect Leader," another cultivator added, leaning in with a smirk.

"She's used to everyone in Quanzhou bowing to her whims. Seeing her get flayed alive by this fellow's rhetoric... I think I'll need a jar of fine wine to celebrate this today!" The whispers acted like salt on an open wound. Li Zhupu's mind snapped under the weight of the public humiliation. A shrill, piercing scream tore from her throat, raw with hysterical rage.

"You little bastard! You dare insult me? I will have your tongue! I will make you beg for death!" With a frantic motion, she slapped her storage bag. A streak of silver light erupted as a dainty, exquisitely crafted flying dagger manifested in the air. It hummed with a lethal, high-frequency vibration, its edge glowing with the sharp aura of a refined spirit tool. With a sharp gesture, she sent the blade whistling toward Reyn's throat. Reyn's expression didn't shift.

He had hoped his verbal rebuke would suffice, but the girl's killing intent was unmistakable.

"Hmph. Pathetic." Green light flared around his boots. Demon Flash Escape. In the blink of an eye, Reyn vanished, leaving only a fading afterimage that the silver dagger sliced through harmlessly. Before the crowd could even gasp, Reyn reappeared directly in Li Zhupu's personal space. His palm moved in a blur, cutting through the air with a sharp whistle. CRACK! If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The sound of the impact was like a whip cracking in a small room.

Li Zhupu's head snapped to the side, five vivid, blood-red finger marks blooming instantly on her pale cheek. The force of the blow sent her spinning backward, crashing through a set of sandalwood tables and chairs in a chaotic spray of splinters. She lay in the wreckage, her hair a disheveled mess, clutching her face in stunned disbelief. No one had ever struck her. Not her father, not her elders. The shock was more paralyzing than the pain.

"You... you hit me? You actually dared to lay a hand on me?" Her eyes turned feral. Reaching for her forehead, she summoned a dark, obsidian-colored artifact that radiated a bone-chilling, necrotic frost. The spiritual pressure it emitted suggested a Mid-grade Magic Treasure at the very least.

"I will kill you! I will burn your soul!" Reyn's eyes turned cold and murderous. If she wanted to play with high-level treasures, he would end her before she could even prime the artifact. Another burst of green light, another instantaneous displacement. Before she could channel a single drop of spiritual essence into the black bead, Reyn's hand struck again, even harder than before. CRACK! The second slap echoed even louder.

Her other cheek swelled to match the first, her face now resembling a bruised, purple fruit. She was sent tumbling once more, her screams reduced to a muffled, incoherent wailing.

"Enough!" A streak of light intercepted the path between them as Yang Dawei stepped forward, his face a mask of cold fury. He stood protectively in front of his sobbing junior sister, his Foundation Establishment Late-stage cultivation erupting in a wave of golden pressure.

"Friend, don't you think you've gone too far? To strike a woman with such brutality... do you have no shame?"

"Does she have no shame?" Reyn countered, his voice flat and devoid of emotion.

"She insulted my Master, slandered my Sect, and spat upon my homeland. If I possessed even half of her murderous intent, she wouldn't be crying on the floor—she would be a cooling corpse. I have been more than lenient." Yang Dawei's eyes narrowed into slits. The air between the two men began to crackle with static energy.

"Regardless of the cause, she is a disciple of the Purple Mist Sect. As her Senior Brother, I cannot allow this humiliation to stand. I will wash this stain away with your blood." Reyn didn't back down. He sensed the power in Yang Dawei, but it felt hollow compared to the trials he had survived. He was more than ready to crush this 'genius' and silence the hall for good.

"Hmph!" A sudden, frigid snort boomed through the hall, carrying the weight of a mountain. The spiritual pressure was so immense that Yang Dawei's golden aura was instantly snuffed out, and several weaker cultivators were forced to their knees. An elder in black robes strode into the hall. His eyes were sunken and shadowed, radiating the terrifying authority of a Golden Core Mid-stage peak expert. This was Mu Shen, a high elder of the Mu Family and the Governor of Eastern City.

"This is the Mu Family's guest manor," Mu Shen declared, his voice rattling the windows.

"Anyone who dares to engage in private combat here will have their qualification for the Holy Land revoked immediately. You will be stripped of your status and banished from the Wood Marquis Kingdom forever. Do I make myself clear?" Yang Dawei immediately retracted his killing intent, bowing deeply with a forced, polite smile.

"It was merely a heated exchange, Elder Mu. A misunderstanding between peers. We would never dream of disrespecting the Mu Family's laws." Reyn also lowered his hands, offering a respectful cupped-fist salute.

"My apologies, Elder. The matter is concluded." Mu Shen swept his gaze over the room, lingering for a moment on Reyn with a flicker of intrigue before walking to the head of the hall. He sat in the primary throne and looked down at the assembled youth.

"I have summoned you all because the Ancestor, the Manifesting True Monarch, has issued a divine decree. The Trial Realm within the Holy Land will be opened for this session." A collective gasp filled the room. The Trial Realm was a place of legendary opportunity and lethal danger.

"Furthermore," Mu Shen continued, his voice dropping to a low, heavy register, "the Ancestor has declared that whoever manages to secure more than half of the Mu Jade Swords hidden within the realm will earn the right to serve as his personal attendant and cultivate by his side for three full years." The hall went deathly silent. Three years under the tutelage of a Soul Transformation powerhouse? This was no longer a mere trial; it was a race for a destiny-altering prize.

Yang Dawei's eyes burned with a sudden, frantic ambition, and even the stoic Xing Tianxie found his fingers trembling with excitement. The game had changed.