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Early the next morning.
Li Guanqi, who had been sleeping soundly in his master's courtyard, was awakened by a piercing bell!
Upon rising, he found his master already waiting outside the door.
The old man spoke in a grave tone, "Hurry up, to the Heavenly Sword Peak plaza!"
Guanqi was confused but quickly got ready and followed.
Descending the mountain, he noticed all disciples from the sect were rushing towards Heavenly Sword Peak.
Almost every disciple within the sect was heading there.
On the way, Guanqi curiously asked, "Master, what's happening? What was that bell sound earlier?"
The old man explained gravely, "That's the alarm bell of the Great Xia Sword Sect, seldom rung."
"Once it sounds, all disciples within the sect must quickly gather at the Heavenly Sword Peak plaza."
"It seems a disciple has violated the sect rules!"
Guanqi was shocked, wondering what rule had been broken to warrant such a commotion!
He dared not ask more, and along the way, many disciples stopped to pay their respects to the old man.
They all smiled kindly at the young man.
Guanqi, ever polite, returned each greeting, cheerfully calling out "Senior Brother" and "Senior Sister."
Li Nanting, seeing this was taking too much time, took Guanqi and flew towards Heavenly Sword Peak.
When they landed, the plaza was already densely packed with disciples.
The leading disciples, around twenty-four or twenty-five years old, had an incredibly robust aura.
Guanqi, who had not yet started Qi Refining, could not sense it before.
Now, he could vaguely feel the powerful aura emanating from these people.
He was inwardly astounded.
"Could it be that these are all Senior Brothers and Sisters who have achieved Foundation Establishment? So impressive!"
Aside from the new disciples, there were at least thousands of people standing densely packed on the plaza.
The new disciples all wore puzzled expressions.
But those who had been in the sect longer wore a look of solemnity.
Those who had been in the sect for several years had never experienced this bell tolling.
Whoosh!
Sect Master Lu Kangnian suddenly appeared in the sky.
Behind him, a youth, seemingly seventeen or eighteen years old, was bound in mid-air by four earthen-yellow chains, glaring venomously at Lu Kangnian.
Lu Kangnian's face was extremely grim, and with a single downward gesture, the plaza fell deathly silent.
Everyone felt as if a heavy weight had suddenly pressed down on their hearts!
At this moment, Guanqi noticed that almost all the Elders he had seen during his initiation were standing behind.
Standing in the front were some old men who had never shown their faces before.
Among them, a middle-aged looking man with a particularly grim expression seemed to be the Peak Master of Heavenly Gold Peak.
Suddenly, Lu Kangnian's voice thundered coldly, "Tu Kui, kneel!"
The man's face twitched, but without any complaint, he knelt before all the disciples.
Then, a black, spike-covered whip appeared in Lu Kangnian's hand.
With a flick of his wrist, the whip became a black shadow that struck the man's back!
Crack!
The sound was crisp, and Tu Kui's white robe was instantly torn apart.
Blood quickly soaked his entire back.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The whip was raised high and kept falling on the man's body.
Throughout, the man didn't utter a sound, silently enduring it all.
The kneeling man's face turned pale, and large beads of sweat fell like rain onto the stone pavement.
Everyone trembled, not knowing what had happened, but all were shocked by the Sect Master's fury.
Lu Kangnian dropped the whip, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at the man with his flesh laid open.
"How dare you, Tu Kui! I made you the Peak Master of Heavenly Gold Peak, and this is how you discipline your disciples?"
"A disciple under your name! Heavenly Gold Peak!"
"A disciple of the immortal path, so arrogant!"
"Had it not been for that eighty-year-old woman who walked for twelve days to reach the foot of the Great Xia Sword Sect's mountain."
"I would still be unaware of how 'impressive' your Heavenly Gold Peak disciples are at the mountain's base!"
"I didn't know my Great Xia Sword Sect had produced such a monstrous scum!"
The kneeling Tu Kui remained silent, knowing his disciple had committed a heinous crime.
While everyone was still puzzled, the youth bound in the sky roared viciously.
"I favored that woman; it was her good fortune!"
"Why should I be punished? Besides, I gave her a hundred taels of silver! She's the one who got the better deal!"
Lu Kangnian grabbed the youth by the neck, his stern face close as he coldly rebuked, "Even now, you think you've done nothing wrong?"
"A presumptuous disciple of the immortal path!"
The youth's face turned red from the choking, but his wide-open eyes told everyone he was unrepentant.
Lu Kangnian's right hand slammed into the youth's abdomen!
Boom!
A visible swirl of energy dissipated from the man's abdomen.
"Ah! Cough! Ahhh!"
The youth vomited a mouthful of blood.
A twenty-year-old genius who had stepped into Foundation Establishment had his pubic region destroyed.
The disciples below fell silent, their breathing cautious.
The enraged Lu Kangnian released the Spirit Spell, and the youth collapsed to the ground.
Lu Kangnian roared, "That woman was to be married in three days."
"She had already told you, pleading desperately."
"Yet you forced yourself on her… and even injured the old woman."
"The girl, feeling she could no longer face her future husband, hanged herself after you left!"
"A disciple of the immortal path?"
"The Great Xia Sword Sect is ashamed!"
"Ashamed!"
Clang!
Lu Kangnian suddenly drew a long sword and raised it high!
At this moment, the youth finally knew fear, realizing Lu Kangnian intended to kill him!
The youth, who had been lying in agony, now struggled to his feet.
Kneeling before Lu Kangnian, he frantically kowtowed, his forehead quickly bleeding, showing his desperation.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The youth kept repeating, "Sect Master! I know I was wrong!"
"I'll apologize to the old woman, compensate with gold and silver."
"I'll leave the Great Xia Sword Sect and serve their family."
"I'm already ruined, just a cripple now, please let me go! Spare me!"
Bang! Bang!
"I really know I was wrong, see, if I die, that old woman will be left alone, with no one to care for her."
"Don't kill me, I'll go down the mountain and serve her for the rest of her life."
"Anyway, I'm already a cripple, please let me go! Spare me!"
Silence fell, with only the youth's pleas and the thud of his kowtowing.
Even the new disciples now understood the situation.
But knowing the old woman's plight, many felt the youth's repentance was sincere.
Li Nanting suddenly turned to the young man beside him and asked in a deep voice, "How do you think this disciple should be dealt with?"
Guanqi replied coldly, without expression, "He must be killed!"
Indeed!
The furious Lu Kangnian was unmoved, his sword striking like lightning.
The youth was reduced to a human stick!
Blood sprayed three feet, and the youth's screams ceased abruptly!
Lu Kangnian, ignoring the blood splattered on his face, scanned the crowd with sharp eyes.
"I hope no one else violates the sect's rules. If you're not clear, read them well in your Identity Jade Token! Remember them well!"
"Tu Kui, as the Peak Master of Heavenly Gold Peak, has failed in his duties! His position is hereby revoked!"
"Meng Linhai will take over as Peak Master!"
"A disciple's mistake cannot absolve the master!"
"You will personally take this sinner's corpse to give an explanation to the old woman!"
Tu Kui rose, his face pale and unsteady, but he did not refute Lu Kangnian's words.
He bowed deeply and said, "Tu Kui obeys."
Lu Kangnian waved his sleeve, snorted coldly, and then vanished from everyone's sight.