After stripping more than a dozen people of their possessions without finding a single spirit stone, Du Ge had no choice but to halt as the headmaster caught up. Clutching the headmaster’s severed arm, he leisurely threatened him.

Dozens of brocade-clad cultivators from the Supervisory Institute encircled Du Ge. Watching him twist their headmaster’s fingers, they hesitated, not daring to charge forward.

Among them.

Over ten disheveled individuals glared at Du Ge with a mix of anger and subtle fear in their eyes. They were all at the Foundation Establishment stage and had been stripped clean by Du Ge in an instant. It would be all too easy for Wang Chong to take their lives.

The most pressing question was, how did this one manage to detach the headmaster’s arm?

Midair.

The headmaster’s face was grim as he searched for an opportunity to take down Du Ge while preserving his own arm. Against a typical Foundation Establishment cultivator, a couple of sword qi strikes from him would suffice to sever Du Ge’s arm, leaving no time for a reaction.

But now, he didn’t dare to gamble.

Below him, Wang Chong’s speed was almost on par with his own.

Wang Chong’s power resided in his hands; if his arm were destroyed, even if he mastered Wang Chong’s techniques, their effectiveness would be greatly diminished.

“Indeed, it’s a case of Body Possession,” the headmaster didn’t want to reveal his selfishness. Staring down at Du Ge, he said solemnly, “It is the duty of the Supervisory Institute to eliminate those who have undergone Body Possession. Sacrificing half an arm is a small price to pay!”

“The headmaster is truly honorable,” Du Ge suddenly stepped on the thumb he had tossed to the ground, smiling, “Then I suppose you wouldn’t mind if I crush this finger.”

“Stop!” The headmaster’s complexion changed dramatically.

“You should say ‘lift your foot’,” Du Ge chuckled, removing his foot to reveal the intact thumb, “Don’t worry, it’s still fine!”

“Return my arm, and I’ll let you leave,” the headmaster took a deep breath.

“You’re trying to fool me. I’m at the Foundation Establishment stage, and you’re at the Golden Elixir stage. The moment I run, you’ll catch up and chop me down. Who would I reason with then?” Du Ge gave him a disdainful look, showing no sincerity.

“What do you want?” the headmaster asked.

“Give me dozens of spirit stones so I can break through to the Golden Elixir stage. You can fly, and so will I. Then, I’ll return your arm, and we can both go our separate ways. How about that?” Du Ge proposed.

“How can I trust you?” the headmaster asked.

“Headmaster, you don’t trust me, and I don’t trust you. Why don’t you come down so we can have a proper talk?” Du Ge looked up at the sky, “Honestly, your high and mighty attitude really annoys me, and when I get annoyed…”

Crack!

Another finger was broken off by Du Ge and tossed to the ground.

The cultivators of the Supervisory Institute were in an uproar.

The headmaster’s pupils contracted sharply, “Wang Chong, do you realize what you’re doing? If you destroy my arm, I will pursue you to the death.”

Du Ge had already placed his hand on the headmaster’s middle finger, smiling, “Come down for a chat, won’t you?”

The headmaster took a deep breath, descended from his flying sword, and stood opposite Du Ge. Looking at his arm, now missing two fingers, his eyes seemed murderous. He never imagined that one day he would be so helpless against a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

“Come here, let me touch you,” Du Ge beckoned to the headmaster with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

Whoosh!

The cultivators of the Supervisory Institute were stunned, their gazes at Du Ge turning strange.

“Wang Chong, don’t push it too far,” the headmaster’s eyes flashed with ferocity, “You want spirit stones? I can give them to you, but only if you return my arm. Otherwise, I’m willing to lose this arm to kill you right here.”

“I know you can kill me. But headmaster, losing half an arm and getting nothing in return, just to kill me, are you content with that?” Du Ge looked at the headmaster and shook his head, “Don’t you think it’s a loss?”

“…” The headmaster held his breath.

“Most people in the Supervisory Institute don’t know about the incident at Tianlan Valley, right?” Du Ge sighed, “Since you tricked me away from the Seven Stars Sect, I assume you’ve silenced the people from Tianlan Valley…”

Xu Heming, who was brought over by the brocade-clad cultivators, shuddered and looked at the headmaster with a hint of horror.

The headmaster frowned, “Hold your tongue. Don’t try to sow discord. I’m not as despicable as you think.”

“Really? Then you’re as kind as I am. We’re cut from the same cloth!” Du Ge laughed, “If the people from Tianlan Valley are alive, the truth about what happened in the valley will come out sooner or later. If you kill me here at the Supervisory Institute and the valley’s story gets out, what do you think will happen?”

The headmaster looked at Du Ge, his face uncertain.

“Will the higher-ups blame you?” Du Ge continued, “Privately, you’ve lost an arm and gained nothing; publicly, you might face punishment and even lose your position as headmaster. After such a big fuss, why bother?”

“Shut up,” the headmaster shouted again.

Listening to the cryptic conversation between the two, the cultivators of the Supervisory Institute were confused, unaware of what had transpired but sensing that their headmaster seemed to be at Du Ge’s mercy.

“Wang Chong, your junior brothers and sisters are in my hands. Return the arm to the headmaster, or I’ll kill them,” a brocade-clad cultivator threatened, his blade at the neck of the seventh junior brother, while another had his knife at the little junior sister’s neck.

“Senior brother, save me,” the seventh junior brother pleaded in panic.

“Senior brother, don’t worry about us. The seventh junior brother has betrayed us,” the little junior sister cried, “Run, the farther the better…”

Du Ge, seeing his captured seventh junior brother and little junior sister, was momentarily stunned, then shook his head with a smile, “Are you an idiot? I’ve already said I’m a Body Possessor. I don’t know them well, so why would their threats work on me?”

The headmaster quickly picked up on Du Ge’s expression, flashed to the little junior sister’s side, and grabbed her neck, smiling, “Wang Chong, I’ve heard you always protect your little junior brother in Tianlan Valley. I didn’t want to believe it, but now I do. Return my arm, and I’ll spare their lives.”

“Third senior brother, don’t worry about me… Uh!” The little junior sister was noble in her resolve, but her speech was cut short as the headmaster choked her, leaving her struggling to speak.

“I told you, I’m a Body Possessor,” Du Ge didn’t even glance at the captured little junior sister, his peripheral vision resting on the seventh junior brother, seemingly relieved.

“So it’s him,” the headmaster laughed, tossing the little junior sister aside and grabbing the little junior brother’s neck, “I hadn’t realized your tastes were so… unique…”

Mid-sentence, the seventh junior brother suddenly reached out, ignoring his own neck, and quickly covered the headmaster’s eyes, “Senior brother…”

A shadow flashed by.

Blinded, the headmaster was taken aback, and in the next instant, his grip loosened, losing sensation in his remaining hand.

Sensing trouble, he used his spiritual power to fling the seventh junior brother away and leaped up, but before he could rise, he felt his body tightly bound, his spiritual power rapidly draining away.

It was Du Ge, who had locked onto him in a very troublesome manner.

The headmaster reacted swiftly, using his spiritual power to wield his flying sword, slashing at Du Ge’s hand that was pressed against him.

At the same time, a torrent of spiritual power burst forth from within him, colliding with Du Ge who was clinging to his body.

With a muffled sound, Du Ge’s body emitted the noise of breaking bones, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The flying sword arrived in an instant.

Du Ge quickly moved his hand to dodge the flying sword.

Slash, dodge!

But no matter how severely injured he was, he always kept one hand on the headmaster.

As Du Ge’s hand moved to avoid the flying sword, the headmaster’s neat clothes were all flung off by him.

Everyone around was stunned.

“Headmaster, if I pluck any more, it’ll be your head,” Du Ge’s voice timely reached the headmaster’s ear.

The flying sword came to an abrupt halt, hovering at Du Ge’s back.

Feeling his spiritual power rapidly depleting, the headmaster’s expression twisted in struggle, “Kill me, and you’ll have no place in Yan Country.”

“Release the headmaster, or I’ll kill him,” the brocade-clad cultivator’s blade was once again at the seventh junior brother’s neck, burning with anger from being deceived, wishing he could slice the severely injured and unconscious seventh junior brother in two.

“Just now it was an arm, now I have the entire headmaster. Who do you think has the more valuable hostage?” Du Ge glanced at him dismissively.

“Let him go,” the headmaster glared angrily at his subordinate, cursing him as an idiot in his heart. If it weren’t for his misguided actions, he wouldn’t have ended up in this predicament.

The brocade-clad cultivator sheepishly moved the long blade away.

The little junior sister stared blankly at the unconscious seventh junior brother, tears streaming down her face, unable to utter a word.

She hated herself for being so foolish, for not realizing it was the seventh junior brother’s strategy.

The headmaster had first captured her; why hadn’t she thought to create an opportunity for her third senior brother…

As a large amount of spiritual power flowed from the headmaster’s meridians into Du Ge, he felt a Golden Elixir within his dantian solidify from the ethereal, gradually taking shape. He couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. It was done!

All his efforts in cultivating his little junior brother had not been in vain!