Storms Within the Sect: Chapter 36, Master of the Alchemy Hall

Elder Feng was so incensed that his beard and hair stood on end, and he was on the verge of ordering an execution.

A chilling aura of slaughter instantly enveloped the entire high platform. The law-enforcement disciples present felt the elder’s resolve, and their swords began to hum, awaiting only the command to strike.

At this critical juncture, a voice carrying a hint of wine drifted slowly and unhurriedly from the entrance.

"Young man, there is no need for such temper. To threaten to defect from the sect over every little thing—what sort of behavior is that?"

The voice was not loud, yet it possessed a peculiar power that rippled across the noisy martial arts arena, ensuring every person present heard it with absolute clarity.

The four law-enforcement disciples, poised to strike, froze in place as if cast under a binding spell, not daring to take another step forward.

The crowd looked toward the source of the voice and saw Elder Bai, the man from the Contribution Hall who spent his days dozing off, walking in at a leisurely pace while carrying a wine gourd.

His appearance immediately sparked a low stir among the crowd.

"It’s Elder Bai!"

"Why would he come here?"

On the main high platform, Elder Feng’s pupils contracted slightly, a flash of deep apprehension and confusion crossing his face.

Elder Bai? Why would he be here?

This old man stayed in the Contribution Hall day in and day out, never stepping foot here except for major sect ceremonies, and he had always been indifferent to infighting. Had the sun risen from the west today?

For some reason, looking at Elder Bai’s bleary, drunken eyes, Elder Feng’s brow furrowed even deeper.

He could not fathom the depths of this old man, seeing his cultivation as nothing more than a bottomless, ancient well.

Ignoring the gazes of everyone present, Elder Bai walked straight up to Chu Xing.

He lowered his head, his gaze lingering for a moment on the teenager’s ramrod-straight spine, a flicker of approval passing through his murky old eyes.

"Kid, you’ve got a stiff backbone." He muttered, tossing the wine gourd from his waist over to him. "Have a drink; wet your throat."

Chu Xing caught it instinctively; the cold surface of the gourd carried a faint scent of wine, and his burning, frantic thoughts settled slightly.

Having done this, Elder Bai turned slowly toward the high platform. His eyes, which seemed ready to close at any moment, now held a hint of unquestionable gravity.

"Elder Feng, why pick a fight with a junior? He just won a sparring match—is it really worth all this talk of killing?"

Elder Feng’s expression darkened. "Elder Bai! This boy is vicious and has severely crippled a fellow disciple! Furthermore, the origin of his cultivation is suspicious. As the Law Enforcement Elder, I am merely acting according to the rules."

"Rules?" Elder Bai laughed as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world. "If you truly cared about the rules, you should have asked that boy Wang Meng if he was the one who first harbored the intent to kill."

He paused, his murky eyes sweeping over Elder Feng, a gaze that sent a sudden chill through the latter.

"As for his cultivation..."

"I saw that this boy had a unique bone structure a few days ago, so I gave him a few pointers and some low-grade herbs to snack on like candies. I didn't expect the lad to have such aptitude—he broke through by accident."

Elder Bai stared silently at Elder Feng after he finished speaking.

"What, do I need to report to your Law Enforcement Hall every time I give a few pointers to an outer-sect disciple?"

In the arena, that rhetorical question from Elder Bai turned Elder Feng’s face as black as the bottom of a pot.

As a Law Enforcement Elder and a master of the Tongxuan Realm, Elder Feng held a revered position within the sect. Never had he been questioned like this in public.

Yet, he knew deep down that this old man was one of the individuals in the Xuanxing Pavilion one absolutely must not provoke.

Elder Feng’s chest heaved violently as he suppressed his rage and swiftly changed his tone.

"Fine! Elder Bai, I respect you as a senior of this sect, so we shall set aside the origin of his cultivation for now!"

"But it is a fact that he acted with malice, crippled a fellow disciple’s dantian, and severed his path to martial arts!"

Pointing at the unconscious Wang Meng below the stage, Elder Feng spoke with severe intensity, "Elder Bai, are you going to shield a madman who treats sect rules as nothing?"

This question was extremely cunning.

With a single sentence, he kicked the ball back, pinning the label of "shielding" directly onto Elder Bai.

On the highest viewing platform, fire returned to Zhou Yuan’s eyes. His master’s tactic was truly brilliant!

Elder Bai narrowed his eyes, appearing as if he had been stumped, and remained silent.

Just as Elder Feng believed he had regained the upper hand and prepared to press his advantage, a cold, hoarse voice rose from the martial arts stage below.

"This disciple objects!"

On the stage, Chu Xing slowly raised his head.

Braving the heavy pressure and ignoring the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, his eyes shone with a startling intensity.

"Elder Feng, you say I crippled Wang Meng."

"But where were you when he was trying to kill me?"

"Where were you when he struck with intent to slay, aiming for my life?"

"Now that I’ve survived by luck, you’ve come out to talk about rules?"

Chu Xing grinned, his smile stained with blood, appearing exceptionally ferocious.

"Are your rules simply that he is allowed to kill me, but I am not allowed to defeat him?"

These words landed like a series of loud slaps across Elder Feng’s face.

The thousands of outer-sect disciples below the stage erupted in chaos.

"It seems... that makes sense!"

"That’s right, Elder Feng didn't say a word when Senior Brother Wang Meng was trying to kill him just now!"

The whispers were like needles, pricking Elder Feng until his face shifted between shades of green and white.

The Law Enforcement Elder had never imagined that this disciple, whom he thought he could crush like an ant, would dare to defy him in front of the entire sect!

"Presumptuous!"

Elder Feng was infuriated by his own embarrassment. Casting aside all decorum, he intensified his Tongxuan Realm pressure, surging it directly toward Chu Xing.

With overwhelming malice churning in his chest, he felt that if he did not strike the boy down on the spot, he would lose all his dignity. A thought even crossed his mind to crush the boy's bones and let him die screaming before everyone’s eyes.

Chu Xing’s chest tightened, and a faint cracking sound emanated from his bones; he felt as though he had been pinned down by an invisible, massive mountain.

The surrounding disciples held their breath, their nerves stretched to the breaking point; no one dared to make a sound.

Just as that murderous intent was about to spiral completely out of control—

"Stop!"

A dignified shout, brimming with anger and sounding like a thunderclap on a clear day, came from the highest viewing platform.

A lingering, unique fragrance of medicinal pills drifted down, instantly suppressing all the noise in the arena.

An aura, even more profound than Elder Feng’s pressure, instantly blanketed the entire martial arts arena.

Everyone looked toward the source in shock.

When they saw who had arrived, the thousands of disciples, both outer and inner, instinctively gasped, and all discussion ceased abruptly.

Even Elder Feng, on the main platform, felt his raging fury doused as if by a bucket of ice water, his pupils shrinking violently.

The newcomer was dressed in gray robes with a refined, handsome face, his expression carrying the slight displeasure of someone in a high position who had been disturbed.

The Hall Master of the Xuanxing Pavilion’s Pill Hall, Fu Lingchuan!

This was no ordinary elder!

In the Xuanxing Pavilion, the Pill Hall was the heart of the sect! And Fu Lingchuan was the man who held that heart in his hands!

How noble was his status? Even other elders, if they wished to request he refine a high-grade pill, had to prepare lavish gifts and wait upon him with the utmost courtesy.

Offending the Law Enforcement Hall might result in punishment.

But offending the Pill Hall could mean being cut off from medicinal pills for the rest of one’s cultivation path!

Therefore, the moment Fu Lingchuan appeared, the atmosphere of the entire martial arts arena shifted completely.