Chapter 125: Forced Life and Death Decision

Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Forced Life and Death Decision

What this disciple didn’t know was that Chen Yue’s skill with the Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill had long since reached the Minor Success Realm.

And after integrating the Vast Heart Rock Skill last night, his Power of Heart and Spirit had advanced even further. Chen Yue was now completely confident in his ability to refine the Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill.

All he needed was one set of medicinal ingredients.

Chen Yue returned to the Pill Furnace he usually used and was about to light the fire to preheat it when he noticed several unfamiliar faces standing not far from it.

They were disciples he had never seen in the Hundred Herbs Pavilion before. They were gathered together, laughing and talking in low voices, but their gazes kept darting toward Chen Yue’s Pill Furnace.

Seeing Chen Yue appear, the men exchanged a look, and a strange smile crept onto their faces as they all began to surround him.

Their steps were casual yet deliberate, as if they were just strolling around, but they just so happened to encircle Chen Yue.

The leader, a man of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, had a gaunt face with high cheekbones and a mocking smile playing on his lips.

"Junior Brother Chen Yue? I’ve heard so much about you! Truly! We heard your technique for refining Solid Essence Pills is exquisite, producing four Upper Grade pills with every batch. We came over specially to learn from you and broaden our horizons. You don’t mind, do you?"

Chen Yue stopped what he was doing and slowly turned around, his calm gaze sweeping over their faces. "I mind very much!"

Upon hearing this, Lv Qianfang didn’t get angry. Instead, he just beamed and waved his hand as if Chen Yue’s reaction was exactly what he had expected.

"Alright, alright. Since Junior Brother Chen doesn’t like us standing so close, let’s all spread out a bit. We wouldn’t want to disturb his Alchemy. We’ll just watch from a distance. It won’t affect anything, not at all."

Though he said they would spread out, he only led his men back two or three steps. They were still standing just over ten feet from Chen Yue’s Pill Furnace, showing no intention of actually leaving.

And although they stopped talking, they deliberately shuffled their feet and coughed, creating minor disturbances. They were like a swarm of buzzing flies—not deadly, but enough to drive a person to distraction.

In the distance, Zhao Weiyuan acted as if he hadn’t seen a thing, his attention still fixed on the Pill Formula in his hands.

Chen Yue looked at Lv Qianfang’s face and his phony smile, and suddenly, he laughed.

There was no anger or helplessness in his laugh. ’So this must be the Mutual Aid Association’s usual tactic.’

’Intimidation, threats, harassment—they would stop at nothing.’

’At the critical moment of your Alchemy, they deliberately make a little noise to distract you, to make you fail, to leave you mentally and physically exhausted until you have no choice but to bow your head, compromise, and obediently join the Mutual Aid Association to accept their "protection."’

’These methods aren’t fatal, but they’re like being cut with a dull knife, slowly grinding away at a person’s will and patience.’

The surrounding disciples watched the scene, many with flickering gazes and complex expressions on their faces.

Some of them had personally experienced this before. The memory of that suffocating frustration, of suffering you couldn’t speak of, was still fresh. Someone even subconsciously clenched their fist, only to release it powerlessly.

Chen Yue didn’t get angry. He simply spoke, his voice carrying clearly to everyone nearby, "You all should brush up on the Sect Rules."

Lv Qianfang raised an eyebrow slightly, the same smile still plastered on his face.

"Sect Rules? The Sect Rules don’t say we can’t watch a Dan Peak disciple perform Alchemy, do they? We haven’t laid a hand on you; we’re just standing here watching. Is that also a violation of the Sect Rules? Junior Brother Chen, you’re making a mountain out of a molehill."

Chen Yue nodded, but his gaze suddenly turned sharp as a drawn sword, stabbing straight into Lv Qianfang’s eyes.

"You’re right, there’s no such rule. But I have explicitly refused your presence here, and you insist on harassing me. If this causes my Alchemy to fail... well then, I’ll have no choice but to invite you all for a walk on the Life and Death Platform."

Chen Yue took a step forward, closing the distance between him and Lv Qianfang to less than three feet. He stared directly into the other man’s eyes and said, word by word, "A Life and Death Decision like that... you can’t refuse."

The smile on Lv Qianfang’s face froze instantly.

He looked into Chen Yue’s terrifyingly calm eyes, saw the cold killing intent churning in their depths, and an image from the Martial Arts Arena yesterday involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

Jiang Linkuo’s corpse lay in a pool of blood, his spine shattered, his arms a mangled mess of flesh. He had died with his eyes wide open.

The image was so clear, so vivid, it was as if it were happening right before his eyes.

Lv Qianfang subconsciously took a step back. His throat bobbed with a distinct swallow, and a chill ran down his spine.

It was true he was also in the Marrow Refining Realm, but he knew his strength was, at best, on par with Jiang Linkuo’s—he might even be slightly weaker.

’If Chen Yue really forced a Life and Death Decision, wouldn’t he just follow in Jiang Linkuo’s footsteps and die on the Martial Arts Arena?’

’Was it worth risking his life over this stupid task the Mutual Aid Association had given him?’

The other disciples were also stunned when they heard Chen Yue’s words. They looked at each other, their faces filled with hesitation.

They carefully recalled the content of the Sect Rules and realized there really did seem to be such a clause.

Anyone who persists in deliberate provocation after being warned can be challenged to a mandatory Life and Death Decision by the one they provoked, and the challenged party may not refuse.

It was just that in all these years, the Mutual Aid Association had almost never encountered such a situation.

The oppressed disciples either chose to swallow their anger and endure, or they joined the Mutual Aid Association. No one had ever dared to initiate a mandatory Life and Death Decision.

They were so used to acting without restraint that they had almost forgotten the Sect Rules contained a noose that could be tightened around their necks.

Of course, in theory, they could have a disciple from the Refining Organ Realm come and harass Chen Yue.

But that might work once or twice. What Refining Organ Realm disciple had the time to watch Chen Yue every day just to do something like this?

Didn’t they have their own Cultivation to attend to?

Besides, for a high-level Inner Sect expert of the Refining Organ Realm to do something so low-class, like a common street thug harassing someone—it would be too humiliating if word got out.

And within the Mutual Aid Association, no Refining Organ Realm disciple was willing to take on such a job.

Chen Yue stared at Lv Qianfang, then slowly swept his gaze over the others. His voice was flat, yet it carried an invisible pressure, like a thousand-pound weight pressing down on each of their shoulders. "Still want to watch?"

Lv Qianfang swallowed. He wanted to say something tough to save face, but the words wouldn’t come out.

He was silent for a moment, then finally forced himself to put on a brave face and said stiffly, "We’ll move to the side. Whether your Alchemy fails or not has nothing to do with us."

With that, he led the others back a few more steps, retreating to the other side of the Hundred Herbs Pavilion. Although they didn’t leave completely, they no longer dared to stand near Chen Yue’s Pill Furnace.

The main reason he didn’t immediately flee in disgrace with his men was that if they left right now, his reputation would be utterly shattered.

He, Lv Qianfang, still had to make his way in the Mutual Aid Association; he couldn’t afford to look *that* pathetic.

Chen Yue paid them no more mind. He withdrew his gaze and began lighting the fire, preheating the furnace, and preparing the medicinal ingredients. His movements were as steady, precise, and fluid as ever, as if no external disturbance could affect him in the slightest.

The furnace fire flared to life, casting a red glow on his calm and focused face.

Yao Jin stood not far away, having witnessed the entire exchange where Chen Yue, with just a few words, had forced Lv Qianfang and his cronies to retreat in disgrace.

He felt his heart pounding violently in his chest, the THUMP-THUMP-THUMP sound like a war drum making his eardrums buzz.

An irrepressible, heroic sentiment—*This is how a true man should be!*—welled up in his heart, making his blood run hot.

This was the true meaning of Cultivation! It wasn’t about making reluctant compromises or swallowing your anger. It wasn’t about bowing your head and pretending not to see when you were being bullied. It was about having the confidence, the strength, and the guts to say "no" when faced with injustice!

But this heroic feeling came as quickly as it went.

He immediately thought of his own Cultivation, his situation within the Mutual Aid Association, and how his sharp edges had been slowly worn down over the years.

The heroic passion that had just surged within him was instantly doused as if by a bucket of cold water, cooling rapidly until only a few sparks remained among the embers.

After preparing the medicinal ingredients, Chen Yue didn’t immediately begin his Alchemy. Instead, he turned and, under the watchful eyes of every disciple in the Hundred Herbs Pavilion, walked step by step to Zhao Weiyuan’s desk.

Zhao Weiyuan had been watching the scene unfold the whole time. He saw how Chen Yue had used the Sect Rules as a weapon to force Lv Qianfang and the others to back down.

Now, seeing Chen Yue walk up to him, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

He put down the Pill Formula in his hands and leaned back in his chair with great interest, his fingers tapping lightly on the desk.

’Don’t tell me this kid plans on spouting some arrogant nonsense at me, too? If so, that would certainly be interesting.’

Chen Yue stopped before Zhao Weiyuan and cupped his fist in a salute. "Martial Zhao, this disciple intends to refine a Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill to pass the assessment for Inner Sect Disciple."

The moment he said this, the air in the entire Hundred Herbs Pavilion seemed to freeze.

Everyone who heard him was stunned.

Zhao Weiyuan was also taken aback, a clear look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He stared at Chen Yue’s calm face, silent for a few breaths, then suddenly burst out laughing.

His laughter held a hint of surprise and amusement. "Fine. Go ahead and refine it."

The other disciples in the Hundred Herbs Pavilion stared blankly at Chen Yue. Ever since he had joined the sect, he had only ever refined Solid Essence Pills. Although his efficiency—producing four Upper Grade pills from nearly every batch—was astonishing, no one had ever seen him trade for or refine a more advanced Elixir.

’Did he already know how to refine the Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill, or was he pushed into a corner by the Mutual Aid Association today and decided to take a gamble?’

Lv Qianfang also heard Chen Yue’s words. He was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but let out a derisive snort, a look of unconcealed mockery on his face.

’Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill?’

’That was an Elixir that even many veteran Inner Sect Pill Masters wouldn’t claim to have full confidence in refining. An outer sect disciple who’d only joined the sect ten-odd days ago dared to boast that he was going to refine a Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill?’

’Truly arrogant and ignorant!’

Lv Qianfang crossed his arms, leaned against the wall, and settled in to watch the show, waiting to see Chen Yue make a fool of himself in front of everyone.

Chen Yue ignored the surrounding gazes of doubt and ridicule. He returned to his Pill Furnace, sat down cross-legged, his gaze as calm as still water, and began.