"You people, with your righteous pronouncements, yet you spare not even a child. I, Chu Ze, will not let you go, even as a ghost." Chu Ze pointed towards Xuanxin Sect. Behind Chu Chang stood the peak masters and elders of Xuanxin Sect.
These were people who had faced life and death with him, who had defended Xuanxin Sect together. He never expected they would refuse to spare his child.
At this moment, his greatest regret was his lost spiritual power, rendering him unable to do anything for his daughter.
"Sect Master Chu, you are not dead?" Lei Yuming, the Sect Master of Shenyin Sect, looked at the emaciated man with an unreadable expression.
"Yes, but I do not have many days left," Chu Ze looked back at Chu Chang, whose face was filled with malevolence, and said word by word, "Our Chu family has a rule from birth: no infighting. Chu Chang dared not defy it, so he trapped me in the Spirit Dispersion Formation for ten years, letting me perish on my own."
"Truly worse than beasts," Lei Yuming's face darkened, and he cursed loudly.
Murder and theft were common in the cultivation world, but tormenting one's own kin and treating them so cruelly was utterly despicable.
Chu Chang's face turned grim, and he stood up abruptly.
"Hmph, you are not my elder brother Chu Ze. He died five years ago." At this moment, he could not let Chu Ze prove his identity, nor could he let these people believe he was Chu Ze. "You, the Cultivation Academy, blindly believe Chu Lingwei's words and insist on suppressing our Xuanxin Sect. If you want to attack, just come to our door. Why resort to such petty tactics?"
Chu Ze coughed violently from Chu Chang's words, spitting out a mouthful of blood and nearly falling to the ground.
This was the brother he had always protected, and this was how he treated him.
"Chu Chang, this matter has nothing to do with the Cultivation Academy." Chu Lingwei glanced coldly at Chu Chang, who was trying to shift all the blame onto the Cultivation Academy. "This is a personal vendetta. Today marks the first step in my quest for revenge against you."
Chu Lingwei sent out a surge of spiritual energy. The challenge letter she and Su Xianrou had signed that day transformed into streaks of spiritual energy, fluttering throughout Xuanxin Market, visible to all.
"Su Xianrou, come forward. The cruelties you inflicted, the wicked deeds you committed for your daughter, will all be settled today."
Chu Lingwei's sword pointed at Su Xianrou. From Su Xianrou's eyes, Chu Lingwei had long detected murderous intent.
Su Xianrou smiled slightly and leaped onto the stage, remaining silent.
"Wait!"
Chu Lingwei and Su Xianrou stood facing each other, enemies meeting with fiery gazes. Just as Chu Lingwei was about to speak, her master's voice was heard.
"Chu Chang, Chu Lingwei is now a disciple of the Cultivation Academy, my personal disciple. Her affairs are our Cultivation Academy's concern, and we will see them through to the end."
Bei Chenfeng's magical artifact flew into the air, heading straight for Chu Chang. The divine-grade artifact made it impossible for Chu Chang to remain standing.
Despite the desperate resistance from Chu Chang and the Xuanxin Sect, they were still heavily pressed by the divine-grade artifact, their backs bent, unable to stand upright.
"See clearly. It's not that our Cultivation Academy fears you, but that we choose not to."
Bei Chenfeng's calm voice spread throughout Xuanxin Sect Market, informing everyone of the Cultivation Academy's might. Destroying a sect was as easy as flipping a hand.
If they had willed it, they would not have gone through so much trouble.
The divine-grade artifact was retracted, and the pressure on Chu Chang and the others was lifted. They looked at Bei Chenfeng with utmost vigilance.
At this moment, they understood that if Bei Chenfeng truly wished to seek justice for Chu Ze, it would only take moments.
Bei Chenfeng chuckled lightly. Two chairs appeared behind them, and Bei Chenfeng invited Chu Ze to sit.
Everyone looked at the chairs beneath Chu Ze. These were no ordinary chairs, but Spirit Gathering Chairs, surrounded by faint spiritual energy.
Spirit Gathering Chairs could collect spiritual energy from their surroundings for cultivators to use, doubling their effectiveness.
The casual production of two Spirit Gathering Chairs left everyone in awe of the Cultivation Academy's power.
Bei Chenfeng sat down, and Leng Xingzi casually brought spiritual tea for his master and Chu Ze.
Chu Chang, though enraged, dared not speak. He sat above, looking at Su Xianrou with eyes full of suggestion.
Today's death match between Chu Lingwei and Su Xianrou had been proclaimed throughout the Xuan Tian Continent. Whoever died on the stage would be their fate, and no one could pursue it.
"Su Xianrou, you probably never imagined we'd stand here one day, did you?"
Chu Lingwei felt a warmth in her heart. She withdrew her gaze and looked at Su Xianrou. Her master had gone to such lengths for her; she could not let down her master or the Cultivation Academy.
"Yes, I never imagined that the person I raised with my own hands would draw swords against me." Su Xianrou's eyes were filled with endless pain and disappointment.
"Su Xianrou, how is your daughter now?" Chu Lingwei sneered, regretting that she was not easily threatened.
Upon hearing her daughter's name, Su Xianrou's eyes widened. She understood the implication in Chu Lingwei's words.
She had extracted Chu Lingwei's sacred blood for Xi Yin, and with the aid of the Spirit Nurturing Flower, she would surely change her daughter's constitution.
She knew this, and she believed Bei Chenfeng knew it. Chu Lingwei must know it too.
She was using Xi Yin to threaten her.
"Her current state is all thanks to you, isn't it?" Su Xianrou was no longer as calm. In Mu Sha Town, it was also she who had caused her daughter to lose face.
"You should say, her current state is a result of her own actions." Chu Lingwei looked at the Ice Jade Frost Sword in her hand, its spiritual energy slowly seeping out. "After all, everyone knows she contracted a monster, stole spiritual herbs and elixirs from disciples, and destroyed the Heng Tian Secret Realm. Perhaps you instructed her to do so."
"Chu Lingwei, what nonsense are you spouting?"
Su Xianrou's expression changed. Her anger transformed into spiritual energy, distorting the surrounding air and pressing down directly on Chu Lingwei.
The threat from the Rong Tian Realm almost made Chu Lingwei spit out blood.
What powerful spiritual energy.
Indeed, each realm represented a world of difference.
Chu Lingwei channeled her spiritual energy to resist the pressure from Su Xianrou's spiritual energy.
"Chu Lingwei, take this!"
Su Xianrou's artifact shot directly at Chu Lingwei. The spiritual energy of the Rong Tian Realm was immensely powerful, transforming into countless flying swords that rained down on Chu Lingwei.
Watching this from below, Chu Ze was filled with anxiety. His daughter had only just entered the Qing Lun Realm. While talented, the gap between her and Su Xianrou was too vast.
No disciple in the Ling Lun stage could withstand Su Xianrou's attack.
Chu Lingwei smiled faintly. She had never intended to resolve this with pure brute force. A fight to the death naturally required the use of all her resources.
A string of bells flew out, weakening the spiritual energy Su Xianrou had launched at her, and with lightning speed, sent it back.
Su Xianrou's eyes widened upon seeing the familiar bells. The owner of these bells was the one who had tormented Yin'er in the Misty Forest and extracted her blood.
Originally, that person was Chu Lingwei.
Su Xianrou's hatred surged. She reacted quickly, narrowly dodging the incoming spiritual energy attack.