Chapter 135 - 134: This Old Man Is Afraid of Pain Too

"How are we bullying you? Don’t pull the age card. This isn’t some marketplace, mind your status."

Despite his small stature, the little boy’s words were incredibly sharp. He showed not a shred of cowardice in the face of the old man’s accusations.

"You deliberately cast Otherworldly Souls into the world I guard. If that isn’t bullying, what is? I could have let that slide, but then you accuse me of pulling the age card!"

"Old man, you must be mistaken. Who would be bored enough to go to all that trouble?"

The little boy’s eyes flickered, but he still stubbornly refused to admit it. It seemed that as long as there was no evidence, he would deny it to his dying breath.

Lai San was also a world’s Guardian. Although he had the body of a child, he was old enough to be Chu Liangyu’s grandfather.

Casting souls into other worlds was a deeply reviled act. If he admitted to it, never mind what the old man would do—even the onlookers would likely gang up on him.

An Otherworldly Soul would inherently disrupt the normal operations of the original world. If done deliberately, it was surely with the intent of seizing that Little World for oneself.

Once the operations of a Little World were thrown into chaos, the energy of its World Origin would become unstable. This would also create the perfect opportunity for those with ulterior motives to invade.

"It’s true I’ve reached the age where I should be choosing a successor, but I haven’t lived all these years for nothing. I just gave you a chance to settle this privately. Since you refuse to admit it, I don’t mind presenting the evidence for everyone to see."

"When that happens, it won’t be just me holding you accountable, but everyone here together."

"Have you really thought this through?"

Chu Liangyu knew the old man quite well. ’If he really had evidence,’ she thought, ’he wouldn’t be wasting his breath trying to scare a child.’

At the same time, she also understood. ’I originally thought Zhao Zeming was the only outsider, but it turns out there are many more, and the exact number is unknown.’

’I thought this was all because of a problem on Lou Sang’s side, but who would have thought it was the deliberate work of Guardians from other worlds?’

Chu Liangyu had not yet become the true successor, but as a member of the Beast World, how could she not feel indignant?

"Yu, I..."

Lai San subconsciously glanced at the man beside him. He was worried the old man might actually be telling the truth, and for a moment, he thought about backing down.

But if he showed even the slightest hint of guilt at this moment, everyone present would be able to guess the truth, regardless of whether the matter was ultimately settled in private.

Lai San’s mental fortitude was not so strong, but Yu was different. His expression remained calm, and he paid the old man’s words no mind. Instead, he said, "An upright man has nothing to fear. If you have evidence, feel free to show it."

The old man’s eyes were half-closed, making it impossible to see where his gaze fell.

"Old man, stop being so polite with them. Even if you expose what they’ve done, you won’t get any real compensation."

"How about this: we go back right now, and I’ll hunt them down one by one and slaughter them mercilessly until none are left."

Chu Liangyu stepped out from the crowd, her trident glowing with a faint purple light as it floated by her side.

As she spoke, a wicked smile played on her lips, making her look completely different from her usual self—there was even a hint of cruelty and bloodlust in her expression.

Perhaps it was because Chu Liangyu’s power wasn’t strong enough to damage this domain, or perhaps because she wasn’t yet a Guardian, but for whatever reason, her powers had not been sealed upon entering this place.

Even so, the people here were no ordinary individuals. Even with their abilities sealed, she was no match for them in her current state.

"Guardians can’t attack mortals. When the Heavenly Punishment strikes, don’t blame me for not warning you." Lai San snorted, unable to resist mocking their ignorance.

Watching his shameless denial, a burst of anger flared up in Chu Liangyu, which she suppressed only by taking a deep breath.

"The old man can’t make a move, but I can." Chu Liangyu’s gaze was cold as she added, word by word, "Even if there’s a Heavenly Punishment... so what?"

Heavenly Punishment could cause a soul to dissipate completely, and not even Guardians were exempt—let alone Chu Liangyu, who wasn’t a Guardian to begin with.

In an instant, the crowd fell silent at her words. Everyone stared at her, their eyes wide with shock. For a long moment, no one made a sound.

It was only then that the crowd realized this woman was not a Guardian.

And yet, she was able to speak with such righteous conviction, which was truly admirable.

Meeting the gazes of the crowd, Chu Liangyu showed no sign of fear, simply grabbing the old man’s hand and leading him toward the edge of the gathering.

The old man gave her hand a barely perceptible tug, a clear sign of his reluctance to leave. His movement was so subtle, however, that no one but Chu Liangyu noticed.

Of course, Chu Liangyu knew what the old man meant. ’But,’ she thought, ’just like I said, even if we expose them, we won’t get any real compensation. Besides, there’s no way they would ever admit to this.’

Furthermore, she was one hundred percent certain: ’This old man definitely doesn’t have any so-called evidence!’

’Before, it was just a guess, but the old man’s tug just now confirmed my suspicion.’

Still, it wasn’t as if her actions were merely a hindrance.

"Hss... Lass, slow down."

When a large number of Otherworldly Souls die—especially when slaughtered mercilessly—the resulting resentment directly affects the Origin Power of their world of origin.

The longer an Origin Power exists, the more its once-pure power becomes susceptible to pollution. The source of this pollution is typically the resentment of living beings.

It is the very core of a world’s existence. If something were to go wrong with it, the destruction of that world would only be a matter of time.

Ordinarily, living beings die in a Little World every day, and the resulting resentment is negligible. But these Otherworldly Souls were different.

They already harbored immense resentment from their own worlds. If left unreleased, that resentment would only grow stronger. Upon death, their souls would produce resentment millions of times greater than that of an ordinary person, directly polluting the Origin Power of a world.

If the Origin Power’s purification process couldn’t keep up with such a massive influx, a world already in constant flux could be destroyed over the smallest incident.

This factor was uncontrollable. Even if a Guardian watched over a Little World day and night, there would still be things they would miss.

For this very reason, Chu Liangyu was certain that the two of them would follow.

Although they had moved away from the crowd, they hadn’t left the Sumeru Space. While waiting for the other two to follow, Chu Liangyu decided to take care of her own business first.

"Old man, I’m guessing you already know why I was looking for you."

Chu Liangyu let go of him. Thinking of the problem he had set for Tu Bai, she felt a wave of exasperation. "I know I haven’t been back to see you in a long time, but... you know why. I’m determined to have this position."

"Sigh... You young people are always so impetuous."

Chu Liangyu rolled her eyes and pulled the bronze short knife out of her storage bag, along with two porcelain vials.

"Alright, old man. Time to let some blood."

The corner of the old man’s wrinkled mouth twitched. He said, "Just because I’m old doesn’t mean I’m not afraid of pain. Lass, can’t you, for the sake of—"

"No."

Chu Liangyu’s expression was cold, and she rejected him flatly before he could finish his sentence.