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"I'll go, do you think I'm scared of you?" Qi Tian firmly stood his ground. The regulations at the National Master Manor were strict and neither he nor Zhou Kunlin had the right to challenge them. As long as the regulations were in effect, Qi Tian didn't have anything to fear. He had memorized all the rules of the Manor and knew what he could or couldn't do.
Wang Gai led the way with Qi Tian trailing behind. They quickly arrived at a corner of the Practice Field where a large willow tree stood, its branches dense and full. A large patch of shade was cast by its extensive canopy. Around the tree, a crowd had already gathered, pointing and whispering at someone within their midst.
"Make way, all of you make way." Standing at the back of the crowd, Wang Gai called out.
The crowd parted, allowing Wang Gai to lead Qi Tian inside the circle. There, a person sat cross-legged, deep in meditation. He appeared to be fourteen or fifteen years old, his presence unusually robust, and his head larger than most. As Qi Tian made his way through the crowd, the boy opened his eyes, a fiercely sharp light flashing across his gaze.
This muscular, big-headed teenager was Ling Mu. He stood up suddenly with an explosive shout and strode forward two steps. Reaching down, he picked up a large copper hammer that lay on the ground. The hammer was as large as a bucket, and its weight totaled an impressive three hundred pounds.
Ling Mu grasped the hammer as if it were a paper mache toy, setting it into motion with skill. He changed his pose continuously, twirling the hammer effortlessly, as though it were an extension of his arm.
The crowd cheered intermittently, impressed by his strength and fluid movements. Able to maneuver such a heavy hammer with grace, it was clear that Ling Mu's strength was at least six hundred pounds, the equivalent to an average Qi Cultivation 3rd Level's strength. However, Ling Mu had just managed to break through to the Qi Training Second Level.
The cheers from the crowd fueled Ling Mu's mounting excitement. He injected a stream of True Essence into the copper hammer, triggering a symbol to light up on its surface.
"That's a Low Grade Strength Rune. A single Low Grade Strength Rune can make a weapon a hundred pounds heavier. With three hundred pounds plus one hundred pounds, that's four hundred pounds. Ling Mu is going all out."
No sooner had the words "all out" been spoken, Ling Mu swung the four hundred pound hammer overhead. The first swing barely reached above one person's height. When the hammer fell, he effortlessly caught it in his hands. Subsequent attempts saw the hammer swinging higher and higher. By the fifth attempt, the hammer rose sky-high, level with the top of the large willow tree.
Just as everyone was eagerly anticipating Ling Mu's sixth swing, expecting an even greater height, Ling Mu cried out, "Oh no!"
The handle of the copper hammer had snapped in the middle. Ling Mu stood in shock, holding the broken handle in his hand, while the remaining part of the handle attached to the hammer spun and tumbled erratically, heading straight for Qi Tian.
Ling Mu's face was plastered with a look of surprise, as though he hadn't anticipated the handle to crack so suddenly. However, his eyes revealed an undeniable hint of coldness when they flicked towards Qi Tian.
Such a heavy hammer, so close a distance, such a fast speed; Ling Mu didn't believe for a moment that Qi Tian could dodge it. As long as the hammer hit Qi Tian, he would either be seriously injured and crippled, or even lose his life. In return, Ling Mu would at most receive a punishment from the Enforcement Hall for accidental manslaughter, a year of confinement, and when he was released, he would still be as strong as ever. Moreover, he firmly believed that such a deed would win him favor with Senior Brother Zhou, leading to his rise as Senior Brother Zhou's right-hand man, enabling him to rise up the ranks and gain fame.
Just as Ling Mu was indulging in his fantasies, a sudden scream from the crowd snapped him back to reality. Assuming it was Qi Tian's cry of despair, Ling Mu quickly focused his attention in order to revel in Qi Tian's miserable situation. However, to his absolute surprise, Qi Tian was standing calmly within the crowd, whereas Wang Gai, who had led Qi Tian here, was lying on the ground, his left leg crushed beneath the heavy weight of the copper hammer, its shape grotesquely twisted.
"Ah, my leg, my leg... Help, someone help me... Ling Mu, I curse your ancestors, you damn well knew who to aim for. Ah, it hurts so much." Wang Gai clutched his injured leg while cursing and screaming in pain.
"How... how did this happen?" Ling Mu was dumbfounded. He'd meticulously planned this scenario, even swapping the original sturdy handle of the hammer for a faulty one and accurately aiming at Qi Tian. How did his accomplice Wang Gai end up being the one hit by the hammer?
"What are you waiting for, aren't you going to help him?" someone yelled at Ling Mu.
Snap out of his stupor, Ling Mu quickly ran over, frantically lifted the heavy hammer off Wang Gai's leg, and quickly fed him a healing pill.
Wang Gai continued to wail in pain. His leg had been crushed; it wasn't a simple injury that a healing pill could resolve.
"Oh dear, so tragic, I wonder if this leg can still be saved? Wang Gai, your leg is in such a state, why don't you amputate it and replace it with a dog's leg? Then you will truly be deserving of the title, a dog's leg." Qi Tian mocked gleefully.
"It's you, it's you." Wang Gai glared at Qi Tian, roaring like a mad dog, "It was clear that the copper hammer was heading towards you. It was you who shoved me, letting me take the blow for you."
"Yes, it was you, I saw it too. You pushed Wang Gai. Your intentions were really malicious. You actually let Wang Gai, who has no grudge against you, take the hit." Ling Mu seized the opportunity to join Wang Gai at attacking Qi Tian, upon realizing that this was an opportunity to send Qi Tian straight to hell.
"I pushed Wang Gai? Do you two just say whatever you want? Dear fellow disciples, could you all be my witnesses? Prior to today, I've never met them. It was Wang Gai who invited me over and even told me that he and Ling Mu were followers of Senior Brother Zhou Kunlin. As everyone knows, I don't get along well with Senior Brother Zhou. Yet today, Wang Gai invited me over and this Brother Ling Mu just happened to mishandle the copper hammer. It happened to fly nowhere else but toward the spot where Brother Wang Gai and I were standing. Fellow disciples, think about it, is this normal?
Let's put aside whether there is a scheme here. Look at where Brother Wang Gai and I were standing. I was here, and he was there, behind me, could I have pushed him? Was there someone behind me just now? Did anyone see me push Wang Gai? The copper hammer flew really fast, ordinary people wouldn't be able to dodge it. But I have always felt that Wang Gai wouldn't invite me over without a reason. There must have been a plot, so I was always careful. When I saw the copper hammer flying, I dodged aside quickly.
Don't ask me why I didn't block it or catch it. Didn't I know there were people behind me?
Sorry, but I don't have the courage to catch a copper hammer weighing four hundred pounds. Who it hurts, who it doesn't hurt, that's up to fate. I am just fortunate to have saved myself. Besides, who's first instinct isn't to dodge when a copper hammer weighing four hundred pounds flies over?
As for the fact that the copper hammer hit Brother Wang Gai, all I can say is sorry. It's not my fault, Brother Wang Gai. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself and Ling Mu for not coordinating your plot well enough."
While Qi Tian was clearing his name, he didn't forget to expose the malicious intentions of Wang Gai and Ling Mu.
Of course, the truth was slightly different from what Qi Tian said. He was indeed wary that Ling Mu would create an accident. When the copper hammer flew over, he indeed dodged it. He activated the Heavenly Dao Engine and used the yellow-rank lower-class Chasing Wind Step to its extreme, easily evading the flying copper hammer. He even had the time to give the copper hammer a slight push. Otherwise, how could the copper hammer hit Wang Gai's left leg so accurately? But his movements were too fast, and no one noticed his minor actions.
Wang Gai and Ling Mu teamed up to harm him, it was only right for Qi Tian to punish them slightly. He didn't feel a bit guilty about what happened to Wang Gai.
"Qi Tian, you are slandering me!" Ling Mu glared at Qi Tian and shouted angrily. Although he indeed planned to punish Qi Tian severely and vent his anger for Senior Brother Zhou Kunlin and Yuan Dan, how could he admit to such a thing? The penalties for openly harming fellow disciples in the National Master Manor are quite severe, and he couldn't bear such punishment.
"Want to know if it's true or not? Isn't it simple? The handle of your hammer wouldn't break for no reason, there must be traces left by the perpetrator. Just have a knowledgeable person examine it, shouldn't that settle it?" Qi Tian chuckled.
"My copper hammer handle definitely has no problem. You are slandering me." Ling Mu's tone lacked confidence.
"You say it has no problem, so it has no problem? Get someone to check it." Qi Tian insisted.
Just as the two were arguing incessantly, a calm voice came from the crowd. "Why not let me check it?"
Everyone turned to look, only to find a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy. Tall and handsome, with a face like a crown jade. Although he was wearing the clothing of an outer disciple, it appeared to be meticulously tailored to fit him even better, and the minor embellishments made the youth look even more heroic.
"It's Senior Brother Zhou Kunlin. He's so handsome." A lovestruck girl clasped her hands in front of her chest, sighing in admiration.
"Hmph." A beautiful young girl appeared behind Zhou Kunlin, it was Yuan Dan who had unsuccessfully tried to borrow money from Qi Tian at the Huangque Hall a few days ago. She was Zhou Kunlin's personal follower, you could pretty much see her at Zhou Kunlin's side wherever he went, there was always time and place for Yuan Dan to show off her close relationship with Zhou Kunlin.
"Junior Sister." Zhou Kunlin put his hand on Yuan Dan's shoulder and asked her to stand aside. His fingers were extraordinarily slender, even more delicate and attractive than a woman's hand.