Proofreader & Editor: Lotas
Suddenly!
A figure in grey trembled violently, fists clenched tightly.
Li Shengan noticed Li Guanqi's abnormal behavior and quickly tried to dissuade him, "Brother! Don't be rash! Just bear with it."
Li Guanqi abruptly raised his head to look at the youth on the high platform, his lips bitten to the point of bleeding.
Bang!
The stone slabs under the youth's feet shattered into pieces as he roared furiously.
"Screw bearing it!"
The youth moved swiftly as the wind, and the other youngsters only saw a blur before them.
They then saw the youth stride forward, stepping in a common martial stance, and threw a punch at the youth on the platform.
However, Meng Linhai's eyes narrowed as he was about to intervene.
The second elder of Heavenly Thunder Peak in purple robes, Xu Zhengjie, stopped him.
"Who is right and who is wrong is not yet clear, how can we take just one person's word for it?"
"Besides… that little kid can surely take this punch."
Zhao Yuanlin, seeing Li Guanqi press forward and throw a domineering punch, also revealed a cold smirk.
A very subtle fluctuation slowly spread out, and he too threw a punch, colliding with Li Guanqi's.
Bang!
A muffled sound erupted.
Zhao Yuanlin's body was forced back a full seven steps!
While the Blind, his qi and blood surging, stood unmoved in his original spot.
"Ah!!! Lowly Blind! Are you seeking death?!"
Zhao Yuanlin's right arm was now bent at a strange angle, causing everyone to inwardly gasp in shock.
Just moments ago, Xu Zhengjie had considered intervening to stop Zhao Yuanlin, for this fellow had already begun to harness the spiritual energy of heaven and earth!
Clearly at the peak of body refining, he had even touched upon the spiritual energy under the influence of his Heavenly Spirit Root.
But to his surprise, the blindfolded youth had completely overpowered the other in physical strength!
They weren't even in the same league!
Amidst Zhao Yuanlin's cursing, Li Guanqi was now seen by all the Sect Disciples as a villain who had lashed out in anger.
Jeers and denunciations filled the entire square.
"Hmph! He's just guilty, that's why he attacked!"
"That's right, someone who would use a relative's life to repay a debt is no good person."
"Yes! Didn't the brother from the Great Xia Sword Sect say that the first thing they look at when accepting disciples is character? I think this person's character is utterly despicable!"
"If such a person can enter the Sect, I would be ashamed to be associated with them!"
"…"
Xu Zhengjie frowned, his voice mixed with spiritual power to quiet the crowd.
"Enough! Silence!"
As the spiritual sound fell, the square became dead silent.
At that moment, Lin Dong, who had clenched fists and was trembling, stood within the crowd.
He had followed Li Guanqi up the Sky Ladder and had become quite close.
In his view, the youth would never do what Zhao Yuanlin had accused him of!
Little Fatty Li Shengan quickly grabbed him, whispering urgently, "What are you doing! Have you gone mad too?"
"Even if Guanqi didn't do those things, Zhao Yuanlin, with his Heavenly Spirit Root, will surely be favored and become a core disciple under an Elder of the Inner Sect."
"Aren't you afraid of retaliation if you stand up for him?"
But Lin Dong looked deeply at Li Shengan and said softly, "If everyone remains silent and closes their eyes to injustice, then what's the point of cultivating?"
A loud voice suddenly rose from the crowd!
"I don't believe he would do such a thing!"
The crowd parted slowly, revealing the dark-skinned Lin Dong.
Lin Dong glared at Zhao Yuanlin, who lay on the ground, and said sternly, "What a master of words, aiming to kill with your tongue!"
Li Guanqi hadn't expected Lin Dong to speak up for him at this time.
Li Guanqi slightly raised his hand to signal that Lin Dong had done enough.
Then he slowly turned his head to look at the over a thousand Sect Disciples below, a mocking sneer on his lips.
Even though his eyes were covered, everyone felt as if he was looking directly at them, making them feel somewhat guilty.
Li Guanqi spoke softly, "When one dog barks at the village entrance, the rest follow without knowing why."
Li Guanqi slowly turned around and walked towards Zhao Yuanlin, each step steady and forceful, the sword box on his back adding to his imposing aura.
"What are you going to do?!"
Zhao Yuanlin's voice rose several notches, a flash of anger in his eyes.
He couldn't accept the fact that someone who used to scavenge for his leftover scraps could now defeat him with a single punch!
He was a Heavenly Spirit Root!
Xu Zhengjie's eyes brightened as he looked at Li Guanqi, finding the youth very interesting.
Not because of his strange sword box or his solid foundation at the peak of body refining.
But because of the words he had just spoken, proving that the man was blind in eyes but not in heart, a person with his own thoughts.
Li Guanqi slowly crouched down, slowly pulling off the cloth that covered his eyes!
A pair of pale eyes were revealed, causing the young men and women below to exclaim in shock.
Zhao Yuanlin felt a chill in his heart looking at those pale eyes!
Li Guanqi's voice, suppressed with rage, slowly spread out.
"That's right, I took ten strings of Copper Coins from your Zhao Residence!"
"My sister, Li Cuiwei, entered your Zhao Residence and was worked to death, starved to death within a month!"
"Even when your servants threw her out of the door, your Zhao Residence couldn't spare her a worn-out coat!"
As he spoke, Li Guanqi's eyes were already filled with bloodshot veins, his voice trembling slightly.
His cheeks puffed up from the strain, and veins bulged on his forehead.
"That's right, I've been a beggar since I was a child, and the leftovers from your Zhao Residence were life-saving meals to me."
"When a servant dies, the master compensates with ten strings of Copper Coins, it has always been so."
"But in your eyes, people like us have cheap lives! We're destined to be beggars forever! You can't stand to see us do well!"
"Is my sister's ten strings of Copper Coins to buy a life?"
"It is, and it isn't."
"Eight years ago, I was only six years old, the Zhao Residence's servants withheld the dead's money, giving only four strings of Copper Coins!"
"Back then, I had one thought: that was my sister's last dignity, and it had to be mine."
Li Guanqi slowly stood up, looking down at Zhao Yuanlin with contempt, his voice cold, "This is your so-called ten strings of Copper Coins!"
Zhao Yuanlin's face turned pale, looking around to find everyone's gaze on him had changed.
In a fit of rage, he cursed, "So what!! You were born a lowlife!!"
"So what if you're joining the Sect? I am a Heavenly Spirit Root!! A Heavenly Spirit Root!!"
"And you? You probably don't even have a Spirit Root!!"
Xu Zhengjie, already livid, suddenly kicked Zhao Yuanlin flying ten yards away!
He opened his palm, and with a crackling sound, a black thunder whip, over a yard long, appeared instantly, ready to strike him.
Meng Linhai, with a conflicted expression, was about to speak when he saw Xu Zhengjie's furious face.
Xu Zhengjie pointed at Meng Linhai and roared, "Meng Linhai! Are you willing to break the Sect's rules for a mere Heavenly Spirit Root!"
"If you dare to stop me today, I'll beat you as well!"