56

"Bah! You heartless beast! Your heart is more vicious than a jackal's, worse than a pig or a dog!"

The old town head, tied to a pillar, veins bulging on his neck, shouted, "It's a miracle I didn't betroth Zhu'er to you! Thank goodness! You ungrateful wretch should rot in the mud!"

Xue Pingzhi's eyes instantly turned red.

He leaned forward, the tip of his dagger pressed against the old town head's fingertip. "Old man, you dare to act tough in front of me!"

Xue Pingzhi, looking like a madman, his face contorted, half-human, half-demon, grinned maliciously and threatened, "Call me 'Father,' and I'll spare your life today, hahahaha!"

"Or I'll chop off this finger first, let you taste the feeling of exposed bone?"

The old town head retorted, "Come on then! I've lived for decades, do you think I'm afraid of you, you beast?"

Qing Chen, hiding in the shadows, coldly observed everything.

He sighed inwardly, realizing the true complexity of human nature.

A decade-long bond of master and disciple could crumble in just a few days.

In a single outburst, they became bitter enemies, wishing they could tear each other apart.

Qingchen saw it clearly once again: in this cruel world, only power matters.

Without power, one is merely a pawn, manipulated at will, a fate worse than death.

“Looks like no one’s coming to save you. My patience is almost at its limit. Master, how about we play one last game?

If I cut off all ten of your fingers, then ten of your toes, and you still haven’t passed out, then I’ll let you go today. How about it? Isn’t that a fun game?” Xue Pingzhi said, somewhat manic.

He seemed to thoroughly enjoy torturing his former master.

He showed absolutely no pity for this master who had shown him such immense kindness.

At that moment, a stealthy figure was silently approaching from the old locust tree outside the courtyard wall.

Chen Zhu'er pressed herself against the tree trunk, her nails digging into the bark.

When she crept over earlier, she saw her father tied to a pillar, his clothes covered in blood, and her heart clenched.

But she dared not act rashly, quickly channeling her magic to scan her surroundings.

"Wait a little longer... what if Xue Pingzhi really dares to touch Father..." Chen Zhu'er bit her lower lip.

She touched the flying sword at her waist, a low-grade magic weapon given to her by the young master of the Xu family, and she still had a backup plan.

Xue Pingzhi's dagger moved forward another half inch, and blood began to seep from the old town chief's fingertips.

"Call me 'Dad'!"

He roared, grabbing the old mayor's hair with his other hand and slamming him against a pillar. "Call me 'Dad' once, and I'll stop!"

"Dream on!" The old mayor's head throbbed, but he still stubbornly continued cursing, "I should have thrown you to feed the fish back then, so you wouldn't be a menace now!"

"Fine! Fine!"

Xue Pingzhi had completely lost his mind, raising his dagger high. "Then I'll chop off your hand first, and see if you can still be so tough!"

Just then, a pale blue light flashed past the courtyard wall!

Chen Zhu'er could no longer hold back. She formed a hand seal, and a flying sword whistled through the air, piercing straight for Xue Pingzhi's back!

"You dog, you villain, you traitor! I swear I'll light your heavenly lantern, so you'll never be reincarnated, your soul scattered to the winds!"

"Who?!" Xue Pingzhi whirled around.

As if bound by invisible shackles, he only saw a blue light rush towards him, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and his legs went weak, almost causing him to kneel on the ground.

"Master! Save me!"

He shouted hoarsely, but Qingchen on the rooftop didn't even move.

At this moment, Qingchen saw Chen Zhuer's magical power surge and her flying sword shoot through the air, and he understood immediately.

"Only the second level of Qi Refining!" Qingchen felt reassured, and the black energy at his fingertips suddenly thickened.

Activating his 'Brahma Aperture,' he opened his mouth and spat out three drops of dark red essence blood!

The moment the essence blood touched the flying sword, it ignited with a "boom," transforming into three streams of black energy that enveloped the sword.

A black sword light shot out from Qingchen's palm, more than twice as fast as Chen Zhuer's flying sword, heading straight for her Qi Sea!

Chen Zhu'er had just seen the flying sword pierce Xue Pingzhi (the sword went straight through his heart, drawing a trail of blood) and hadn't even had time to breathe a sigh of relief when she felt a chill run down her spine!

A sharp aura locked onto her!

She tried to retract the flying sword, but it had only been pulled out half an inch when a black sword light was already before her!

"Not good!"

Chen Zhu'er's face turned deathly pale. She had no choice but to unleash her trump card, hastily pulling out a handkerchief-shaped magical artifact from her bosom.

It was a pale pink handkerchief, a low-grade defensive magical artifact given to her by the young master of the Xu family.

She quickly channeled her magic power into the 'handkerchief,' and the artifact instantly expanded, shielding her with a faint white light.

"Bang!"

The black sword light struck the handkerchief, the loud crash causing a large number of tiles in the courtyard to fall off.

The white light on the handkerchief rippled like water, instantly cracking open.

In her haste, she hadn't unleashed much of its power.

The sword light, undiminished in its momentum, pierced Chen Zhu'er's Qi Sea with a soft "plop," as easily as piercing tofu.

Her foundation was utterly destroyed, her cultivation vanished in an instant.

"Ugh..."

Chen Zhu'er groaned, spitting out a mouthful of blood. She clutched her abdomen and crouched down.

She could feel her internal magical power draining away like a flood, making it difficult to even stand.

Her flying sword went out of control, crashing to the ground with a "clang," its blue light quickly fading.

Qing Chen jumped down from the rooftop, not even glancing at Xue Pingzhi, who was convulsing on the ground.

The man had a flying sword embedded in his chest, spitting out blood and foam; he was clearly not going to survive.

However, he had managed to use this opportunity to lure out Chen Zhu'er and draw out her flying sword attack, which was already a good use of his abilities.

Qing Chen walked up to Chen Zhu'er, took her flying sword, and then tore off the storage pouch from her waist, stuffing it into his pocket with satisfaction.

"Zhu'er!"

The old town chief, seeing his daughter injured, struggled to rush to her aid, the rope tightening around his shoulder until it bled. "You bastard! I'll fight you to the death!"

Qing Chen ignored him, squatted down, and used the tip of his black flying sword to lift Chen Zhu'er's chin, looking at her pale face:

"Second level of Qi Refining, and you dare to lay a hand on me?"

Chen Zhu'er trembled in pain, tears streaming down her face.

Qing Chen stood up, turned to the old town chief, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Old man, you've really been hiding your true strength. You've never mentioned having a cultivator's daughter."

The old town chief gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with resentment: "Hmph, I truly underestimated you. I thought you were just a young man in your twenties or thirties, but I never expected your cunning to be so profound, manipulating everyone like a puppet."

"How laughable that I thought I had you cornered! I never imagined you were a lurking venomous snake."

"Verbal sparring is useless. Aren't you afraid of having your tongue cut out?" Qingchen coldly replied, his words as icy as ice, sending a chill down one's spine:

"If you don't answer my questions properly, I guarantee you'll die a horrible death."

"And your daughter will suffer even more torture before your eyes, dying a death far worse than yours."