One side of He Hu’s face was now visibly bruising and swelling. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, yet he still could not move at all. He could only feel an immense killing intent locked onto him from Chen Chao’s side. The moment he dared to make a move, he would die instantly.

But he still could not believe that all this pressure was coming from the young man before him.

He could only assume that somewhere behind the youth, hidden in the shadows, was a Nepenthe cultivator.

“Senior, this junior has been rude. Perhaps I offended your honored sect’s disciple. Might I ask you to show mercy? This junior knows my mistake…”

Before he could finish, Chen Chao placed a hand on his neck and, with a slight exertion, gripped his throat. He shook his head and said, “Lacking perception is a good way to get yourself killed.”

With He Hu’s throat in his grasp and ignoring the growing panic on the man’s face, Chen Chao asked calmly, “I’ll only ask once, was it you who killed Aunt Gan’s husband? Think carefully before you answer, because if you don’t, I’m afraid you won’t get another chance to speak.”

Chen Chao turned and glanced at Aunt Gan, who was still standing there in a daze, and gave a smile, as if to say: See? It really was that simple. I didn’t lie to you.

But Aunt Gan still had not recovered from her shock.

“Cough… Gan Caocao’s husband… it was me, I orchestrated his death…”

Chen Chao gave an “oh” and murmured to himself, “So I was right.”

Just then, a few startled cries rang out in the distance. It was the itinerant cultivators who had left the meeting earlier, now arriving at the scene.

Leading the group were naturally Ying Chaozong and Wild Monk.

When Ying Chaozong saw what was happening, he froze for a while. How had his old friend ended up being strangled effortlessly by this young man, completely unable to move?

While Wild Monk had a far more explosive temper. He bellowed angrily, “Where did this villain come from?! Let go of Cave Master He at once!”

Chen Chao turned to glance at Wild Monk and said with a smile, “How did you know this official was waiting for you?”

This official?

An intriguing self-reference that was worth pondering over.

But Wild Monk did not take the time to think. He had a close relationship with He Hu. Although He Hu had never truly regarded him as a friend, Wild Monk had always treated the hypocritical master of Cloudglow Cave as a close friend. Now he burst into golden light, like a true Buddha incarnate, with a faintly glowing Dharma Wheel floating before him, it was an imposing display of might.

Chen Chao paid him no mind. He simply released He Hu’s throat, reached out and tore off one of his arms, then casually crippled his cultivation, severing all his meridians. He then tossed He Hu in front of Aunt Gan.

“Aunt Gan, how to deal with him, I’ll leave that to you.”

Only then did Chen Chao finally turn around.

Just in time to see Wild Monk’s heavy punch coming toward the back of his head.

Chen Chao turned his head, sidestepped the punch, then casually struck and shattered the Dharma Wheel floating in front of Wild Monk. In the same motion, he slapped him hard across the face.

“Just now, saw you riding that white lion through the streets, it felt pretty impressive. Is this really all you’ve got?”

Chen Chao did not move his feet, he just swung his fist and struck the chest of this famed northern itinerant cultivator, caving it in with a single blow.

His back arched outward from the force.

Wild Monk spat out a mouthful of blood. He was just about to speak when Chen Chao grabbed his arm and broke it outright.

“AHH!”

A pained scream burst from Wild Monk’s mouth.

Chen Chao remained expressionless. He directly tore off one of the monk’s arms, letting blood spray everywhere, and then casually flung the severed limb toward the distant white lion.

At this point, the white lion was completely cowed by Chen Chao’s pressure. It had originally intended to step in to aid its master, but now it did not even dare to move.

The killing intent radiating from this young man in front of it far surpassed its own.

The itinerant cultivators who had just arrived stood frozen at the scene.

These two were giants among itinerant cultivators, one the master of Cloudglow Cave, the other Wild Monk of the Lonely Monastery. And now? One’s life and death were uncertain, and the other looked like he would be dead soon…

Just who the hell was this monster who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere?

Wild Monk had originally thought that He Hu had just been caught off guard by the young martial artist. But after stepping in himself, he realized it had nothing to do with carelessness. They were simply not a match for him at all.

Wracked with pain, Wild Monk was now desperate to retreat from the fight. But the young martial artist before him gave him no chance at all. He said nothing and held back even less.

He did not give Wild Monk the chance to escape at all.

What infuriated Wild Monk the most was that the young man, clearly so powerful despite his age, had not even drawn the saber at his waist. Was that not the same as saying: I don’t even need my weapon to deal with you?

In his entire life, he had never suffered such humiliation. Not even his master at Deercry Monastery had treated him this way!

But even if he wanted to change the situation now, he had absolutely no way to do it.

The young martial artist in front of him was akin to a silent killing god.

……

……

After tearing off one of Wild Monk’s arms, Chen Chao had no intention of wasting more time on someone who had killed Great Liang officials. After kicking him to the ground, he simply stepped on the man’s head.

Watching the struggling Wild Monk beneath his foot, Chen Chao asked curiously, “Tell me, when you were killing my Great Liang’s officials, did it ever cross your mind that this day would come?”

Wild Monk had still been harboring a sliver of hope, but after hearing that sentence, he fell completely silent. His heart sank into despair.

This young man was actually a Liang person.

“If you’re going to kill me, then do it! What’s with all the nonsense!”

Wild Monk roared, as if refusing to bow his head.

Chen Chao stomped on his remaining hand, and the sound of bones shattering echoed out at once.

Hearing that sound, the itinerant cultivators watching nearby all looked uncomfortable.

As for the other monks of the Lonely Monastery, none of them dared take a step forward to provoke the young martial artist.

Even though the one under his foot was their most respected abbot.

Chen Chao raised his head. He was not in a hurry to kill Wild Monk. Instead, he said calmly, “This man killed Great Liang officials without cause. As an official of Great Liang, this official is executing justice. Does anyone object?”

Everyone looked at each other, who the hell dared say they had an objection?

“Sect Master Ying, what about you?”

Chen Chao suddenly looked toward Ying Chaozong, who had remained silent all this time, throwing him a thorny question.

______