Chapter 114: To the Death

Chapter 114: Chapter 114: To the Death

’The core members of the Mutual Aid Association had probably, through long practice, developed a sophisticated system for how to bleed people dry, control them, and force them to endure humiliation without driving them to utter despair.’

’You can fleece sheep as you please, but what about tigers and wolves?’ Chen Yue’s eyes flickered.

He focused his mind, pushing aside his troubling thoughts. He took out a Dan Yang Pill, consumed it, and began to cultivate as he always did.

Outside the window, the sun climbed higher, and the peaks of the Panshi Sect remained serene.

「Meanwhile, in a quiet, secluded courtyard on Panshi Peak.」

Liu Wenying strode into the courtyard and approached Meng Yu Jin, who was sitting under an old locust tree, flipping through an old book. Her face was flushed with the excitement of her investigation, eager to share some gossip.

"Master, I’ve finished the investigation! Chen Yue’s background is clean, just as you thought. He’s from a remote little place called Youlin County. It was plagued by evil spirits a while back, and the entire county was destroyed.

He escaped the disaster and made a long, arduous journey to Celestial State Prefecture. His history is clean. There’s nothing suspicious about him."

Meng Yu Jin set down his book and picked up his teacup, his expression calm. "Mm. What else?"

Liu Wenying chuckled, lowering her voice.

"Then there’s what happened yesterday. Just as you predicted, the Mutual Aid Association from Dan Peak paid him a visit.

Liao Xunzhen and Cheng Jun went in person to try and recruit him. And guess what? Chen Yue refused! He’s a tough one. He turned them down flat. Cheng Jun got so mad he kicked Chen Yue’s gate to splinters."

At this, the hand Meng Yu Jin was raising to his lips paused, and an almost imperceptible glint flashed in his eyes. "Oh? He refused?"

"He refused!"

Liu Wenying nodded emphatically, a grin on her face as if she were enjoying a good show. "I heard he was completely resolute—unmoved by threats or promises. The guys from the Mutual Aid Association were soundly rejected and slunk away with their tails between their legs."

Meng Yu Jin set down his teacup, a faint smile gracing his lips. It was like a rare ray of warm sunlight in the dead of winter.

"So he has some integrity after all. He wasn’t broken by those corrupting influences. Keep watching him. If anyone tries to attack him from the shadows or use any dirty tricks to force his hand, you are to intervene. Rescue him and bring him to me."

Liu Wenying’s eyes lit up at his words, and she immediately straightened her back, puffing out her chest.

"Understood, Master! I’ll go keep an eye on things right now. I guarantee those villains won’t get their way!"

With that, she turned and hurried away, swift as a gust of wind.

「Back in Chen Yue’s small courtyard.」

Chen Yue sat cross-legged inside, seemingly oblivious to the undercurrents swirling in the world outside. He continued at his own pace, circulating the Vast Rock Skill to refine the Medicinal Power of the elixir he had taken earlier.

The whistling wind, the chirping birds, and the faint shouts from distant training grounds all seemed to belong to another world.

Just then.

"BANG!"

An explosion, even more violent than the one yesterday, ripped through the air outside his courtyard. It was followed by the grating sound of splintering wood.

Chen Yue’s eyes snapped open, his gaze fixed on the courtyard gate.

The remaining half of the wooden gate was now being pressed against the courtyard wall by a single palm. Under the immense force, the gate, along with the plaster on that section of the wall, instantly disintegrated into countless fragments.

Dust filled the air. The gate was completely destroyed, leaving the entrance wide open.

A figure stepped through the settling dust.

He was a man in his early thirties with a cold, severe face. He wore the standard black martial uniform of the Panshi Sect’s Law Enforcement Hall, a black Token identifying him as a Law Enforcement Disciple hanging at his waist. His gaze was as sharp as a hawk’s as he scanned the courtyard.

Behind him was none other than Cheng Jun, who had visited the day before.

Cheng Jun stood behind the Law Enforcement Disciple, a cold sneer on his lips as he glared malevolently at Chen Yue.

The lead Law Enforcement Disciple came to a halt, his gaze locking onto Chen Yue, who had just risen to his feet. His voice was icy, devoid of any emotion.

"You’re Chen Yue? I am Jiang Linkuo, a disciple of the Law Enforcement Hall. There are some matters that require your cooperation. Come with me to the Law Enforcement Hall."

From her hiding spot among the dense leaves of a large tree in the distance, Liu Wenying watched the events in the small courtyard unfold.

When she got a clear look at the man who had just smashed the gate and recognized his Law Enforcement Hall uniform, her eyes went wide.

’The Law Enforcement Hall? Those guys from the Mutual Aid Association... they have no honor! When being nice didn’t work, they just brought in the Law Enforcement Hall? What crime are they planning to pin on Chen Yue so they can drag him away and punish him?’

In the courtyard, Chen Yue’s gaze drifted past the lead disciple, Jiang Linkuo, to the sneering Cheng Jun behind him, before slowly returning to Jiang Linkuo’s face.

He showed no panic, no anger. He simply asked calmly,

"So refusing to join the Mutual Aid Association is enough to warrant a Senior Brother from the Law Enforcement Hall taking action personally? That’s a real eye-opener."

Jiang Linkuo’s eyes widened at the words, his face contorting with offended rage. He snapped,

"What nonsense are you spouting! I told you to come with me, so let’s go! The Law Enforcement Hall has its own procedures and would never wrong an innocent man! But if you are truly guilty of something, we will show no mercy!"

Chen Yue looked at Jiang Linkuo’s self-righteous act, then glanced at the smug sneer on Cheng Jun’s face behind him. And then, he smiled.

Chen Yue began to speak, his voice low but carrying clearly throughout the courtyard and even beyond. "If that’s the case, then I shall act according to the Sect Rules."

Chen Yue raised his head, his gaze like a dagger aimed straight at Jiang Linkuo. "Jiang Linkuo, Senior Brother Jiang, I now have a grievance with you. Let’s settle it on the Life and Death Platform!"

Chen Yue’s gaze then shifted to Cheng Jun. His voice remained calm, but it held an unyielding finality. "And you, Cheng Jun, Senior Brother Cheng! Both of you. Together!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a dead silence fell over the courtyard.

The rage on Jiang Linkuo’s face froze instantly, replaced by sheer, incredulous astonishment. The sneer on Cheng Jun’s face stiffened, his pupils constricting slightly.

In the distant tree, Liu Wenying nearly fell out of her branch.

’This kid... has he lost his mind? A Bone Forging Realm cultivator challenging a Law Enforcement Senior Brother in the Marrow Refining Realm and another cultivator in the Bone Forging Realm? And he wants to fight them both at once?’

After a moment, Cheng Jun was the first to react. A wave of humiliated fury washed over his face. His eyes bulged as he stared daggers at Chen Yue, his voice growing shrill with rage.

"Kid! Who do you think you are? A mere Bone Forging Realm Loose Cultivator who fled here from some backwater hole, and you dare make such an arrogant challenge to me and Senior Brother Jiang at the same time?

I’ll tell you what’s going to happen on that Life and Death Platform: I’m going to break every single one of your bones, and I’ll make you wish you were dead!"

His words dripped with undisguised killing intent and contempt. In his eyes, Chen Yue’s challenge was a suicidal gesture—like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Jiang Linkuo said nothing, merely staring coldly at Chen Yue.

His gaze was condescending, as if he were observing a clown who didn’t know his own place.

’A Loose Cultivator who fled from some remote town... how solid could his foundation possibly be? How profound could his Cultivation Technique be? And how much real combat experience could he have?’

’And he dares to challenge me, a Law Enforcement Disciple of the Marrow Refining Realm, properly trained in a major sect?’

’He must have spent too long in that tiny place, like a frog in a well. He probably thought he was a big shot in his own little pond, and that he could just swagger his way through the Panshi Sect.’

Chen Yue’s face remained impassive in the face of Cheng Jun’s fury and Jiang Linkuo’s contempt.

He met Cheng Jun’s gaze calmly, his voice low but every word crystal clear.

"I don’t believe you. You’d better agree right now. Then you can go to the Life and Death Platform and crush my bones in front of everyone. Otherwise, I’ll just assume you’re all bark and no bite."

"You!!!"

Cheng Jun’s eyes bulged like saucers, and veins throbbed on his forehead. A violent aura erupted from him, and he looked ready to charge forward and kill the reckless fool on the spot.

But just as he was about to lunge, an arm shot out and blocked his path.

It was Jiang Linkuo.

Jiang Linkuo held back the enraged Cheng Jun, but his own gaze, cold as a shard of ice, was fixed on Chen Yue.

"Kid, you’re arrogant. You think you’re some kind of hero? That you’re not afraid of authority? You..."

"You talk too much."

Chen Yue cut him off before he could finish. "I’ll ask you one question: are you going to the Life and Death Platform, or not?

All you have to do is break my legs. Then I’ll have no choice but to stay on Dan Peak and quietly practice Alchemy. Wouldn’t that be a better outcome for you?

Or are you only brave enough to use dirty tricks behind people’s backs, and don’t dare accept a challenge from a Bone Forging disciple in public?"

His words backed Jiang Linkuo directly into a corner.

If he refused, word would spread that a Law Enforcement Disciple was challenged to his face by a Bone Forging disciple and didn’t dare to accept. His reputation, Jiang Linkuo’s reputation, would be trampled into the dirt.

If he accepted, as a Marrow Refining Realm cultivator fighting someone in the Bone Forging Realm, victory was expected. As for losing... he didn’t even consider the possibility.

But the situation had spiraled completely out of his control, and this infuriated Jiang Linkuo.

Jiang Linkuo’s eyes turned utterly cold. He slowly lowered the arm that was holding Cheng Jun back and looked at Chen Yue. "I’ll give you one chance to take it back. Otherwise..."

"It seems you’re not ready for a fight to the death!" Chen Yue said, cutting him off.

Jiang Linkuo stared at Chen Yue, then suddenly burst out laughing. His laughter grew louder and louder, and after a few breaths, he pointed a finger at Chen Yue, his eyes blazing with undisguised killing intent.

"I’ve never seen someone so eager to die. Fine, I’ll grant your wish! One hour. Main peak, Life and Death Platform. I’ll be waiting."

"Why wait an hour? Let’s go now!" Chen Yue said in a low voice.

Jiang Linkuo stared at Chen Yue and nodded. Without another word, his figure flickered, and he sped away toward the main peak’s Life and Death Platform.

Cheng Jun shot Chen Yue a vicious glare, his eyes filled with cold killing intent. ’All he wanted was to earn some Contribution Points, but then this idiot had to show up and volunteer to die.’

’A peasant from a backwater hole like that... his death would be no loss at all!’

Without a word, Cheng Jun turned and followed after Jiang Linkuo.

Chen Yue was left alone in the courtyard. He stood amidst the wood chips and dust, his gaze sweeping over the figure in the distant tree. Then, with a flicker, he too headed for the main peak.