At the same time, Zuo Xuan, who was sent out by Gao Chengxuan, also returned to report to him. He knelt and saluted Gao Chengxuan before speaking, "Reporting to Your Highness, I have investigated the matter you asked about. I followed Zhou Yeran's people and indeed found the trace of Song Weizhi and others. Song Zhixia was indeed meditating and refining the soul fragment on the spot."
"This Song Zhixia already had the soul fragment before obtaining the one from the Martial Arts Tournament. I noticed it the first time I saw her that day. It's quite interesting. I wonder how many soul fragments she has hidden in her body?" Gao Chengxuan's lips curled up with a hint of amusement.
"Forgive my ignorance, Your Highness, but why didn't you let me directly kill Song Zhixia? That way, regardless of how many soul fragments she has, they would all belong to Your Highness," Zuo Xuan asked with some confusion.
Gao Chengxuan smiled and said, "There are two uses for soul fragments. One is, as you said, to seize them for oneself. The other is to merge with the person who possesses the soul fragments through soul blending, achieving the same effect. I find Song Zhixia quite interesting; I'm a bit reluctant to kill her."
Zuo Xuan nodded, "Your Highness is wise, I understand."
"Song Weizhi, are you going to hand it over or not? To me, crushing you is no different from crushing an ant," in the main hall, Zhou Yeran stared at the barely alive Song Weizhi.
"What hand over or not? In the end, it's just robbery," Song Weizhi spoke with no strength left.
"Heh, still stubborn. It seems I was too lenient." Just as Zhou Yeran was about to take action, Gao Chengxuan's voice came from outside the main hall, "Sect Master Zhou, what are you doing?"
Zhou Yeran recognized Gao Chengxuan's voice and immediately walked towards the entrance. He changed his expression when facing Gao Chengxuan. "Your Highness, I'm dealing with these traitors. Why are you here? Be careful not to stain your eyes."
Gao Chengxuan smiled and walked while saying, "Sect Master Zhou dealing with his disciples is only natural. However, can you leave Song Zhixia to this prince? There are some things I need to ask Miss Song."
Zhou Yeran glanced at Song Zhixia, then at Gao Chengxuan, and hesitated. He was unsure where the soul fragment of the Vermilion Bird was, so he wasn't eager to release anyone.
Seeing his hesitation, Gao Chengxuan sneered, "Sect Master Zhou, don't you want to release them?"
"Your Highness, calm down. It's not that I don't want to release them; it's just that these two traitors have our Cold Mountain Sword Sect's secret treasures on them. None of them is willing to hand over the treasures, so the situation is a bit tricky," Zhou Yeran's expression was somewhat unnatural.
"What secret treasure? Isn't it the soul fragment?" Gao Chengxuan looked at Zhou Yeran as if he was watching a joke, breaking the reason why Zhou Yeran refused to let go.
Zhou Yeran's face changed but quickly recovered. He couldn't offend the royal family. Only with the support of the royal family could the Cold Mountain Sword Sect claim the position of the leader among the four major sects. "Your Highness, what are you talking about? I don't understand Your Highness's meaning."
"Sect Master Zhou is a smart person; you should know what I'm talking about. I can support the Cold Mountain Sword Sect or abandon it to support other sects. Some things are beyond your imagination." Gao Chengxuan walked a few steps to where Zhou Yeran had just been sitting.
Zhou Yeran's face became stern, but when he saw Zuo Xuan next to Gao Chengxuan, he immediately abandoned the idea of not letting go of the person. Even the personal guard beside Gao Chengxuan had the same level of cultivation as himself. The royal family was indeed full of hidden talents. Moreover, the soul fragment might be on Song Weizhi. There was still some hope of obtaining the soul fragment. It was better to give Gao Chengxuan some face. If there was nothing on Song Weizhi, he would have to give up.
"Your Highness is right. In that case, the traitor Song Zhixia will be handed over to Your Highness for disposal." Zhou Yeran changed his attitude from before and bowed to Gao Chengxuan.
"Good, then I won't interfere in Sect Master Zhou's family affairs. Zuo Xuan, take the people, let's go." Gao Chengxuan said to Zuo Xuan.
"No, I won't go. I want to stay with Senior Sister." Song Zhixia tried to move towards Song Weizhi, but her body was immediately restrained by the Elder with spiritual qi and pressed in place. Despite Song Weizhi's howling, she couldn't move an inch.
By now, Song Weizhi's consciousness had already become blurred. She couldn't distinguish whether what she saw was blood or something else. Gradually, she even lost the strength to open her eyes. Until the moment she fainted, she was still murmuring Song Zhixia's name softly, "Xia Xia, Xia Xia…"
Zhou Qingxue rushed up and stood in front of Song Zhixia. "Father, what are you going to do? Isn't the soul fragment something that the victor should rightfully possess? How can you go back on your word?"
"Impudent! I'll deal with you when I get back." Zhou Yeran said with a stern face, but when he spoke to Gao Chengxuan, he immediately changed his expression. "Your Highness, my daughter has been spoiled by me. Please don't take offense."
The Elder understood and, without a word, used a technique to directly knock Zhou Qingxue unconscious and handed her over to a female disciple on the side.
"It's okay, Sect Master Zhou's daughter is innocent and lovely. I understand." Gao Chengxuan glanced at Zuo Xuan, who immediately understood and used a spell. Song Zhixia immediately lost her voice, no matter how she tried to shout, there was no sound.
She was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, held in Zuo Xuan's hand. After a few breaths, Gao Chengxuan and his group disappeared on the spot.
"What should we do with Song Weizhi and Wei Zhao?" the Elder asked.
Zhou Yeran spoke with a stern face, "First, have someone guard Song Weizhi separately. As for Wei Zhao, let's lock her in the water dungeon for now."
The Elder understood and immediately arranged for disciples to take care of it.
As for Zhou Qingxue, Zhou Yeran had two female disciples support her, while he took Zhou Qingxue back to her residence.
Despite Zhou Yeran instructing disciples not to spread the news, the important event in the main hall had leaked. By the time Zhou Chengwen and Yao Xintong arrived, Zhou Yeran had already taken Zhou Qingxue back to her residence.
The two rushed to Zhou Qingxue's place. At this point, only Zhou Yeran and Zhou Qingxue were in the room. Seeing the situation, Yao Xintong quickly ran to her daughter's bedside and asked with concern, "Qingxue, what's wrong with you?"
The Elder's hand chop on Zhou Qingxue hadn't used much force, and after resting for a while, Zhou Qingxue slowly woke up. Upon awakening, she turned red and cried out to Zhou Yeran in the room, "Father, where are they? Song Weizhi and the others haven't done anything wrong. Are you injuring people just for that soul fragment?"
"Impudent! It seems you've been spoiled by me. For this month, reflect on yourself in your courtyard. I've just imposed restrictions; don't think about going anywhere." Zhou Yeran waited for Zhou Qingxue to respond.
Yao Xintong anxiously asked, "Qingxue, what's going on?"
Zhou Qingxue, with tears streaming down her face, said, "Mother, Father injured innocent people just to obtain the soul fragment of the mysterious bird."
"Brother, how can you do such things in front of a child? Didn't you promise me that you wouldn't do anything against morality in the future?" Yao Xintong's tears slid down her cheeks.
Annoyed by the crying of the two women, Zhou Yeran, who did everything for the sake of the Cold Mountain Sword Sect's betterment, wondered why even his wife and daughter couldn't understand him. Coupled with their past differences, Zhou Yeran coldly said, "Junior Sister seems to have forgotten. I've done such difficult things long before. They act like this because you've spoiled them. Well, the three of you can take this opportunity to reflect."
Zhou Yeran's words left Yao Xintong in a momentary daze, and soon her eyes gathered more tears.
Meanwhile, Song Weizhi was thrown into a practice room. This practice room was built near the mountains, with magma flowing beneath. It was designed to test disciples' endurance and enhance their cultivation, presenting a significant challenge for those with ice or water elemental roots.
Song Weizhi was confined to a lower-level practice room, her body devoid of strength. She lay close to the scorching ground, feeling that death would be a relief.
After a while, the door of the practice room opened, and Song Weizhi could only hear sounds, lacking the strength to lift her head.
"Well, isn't this the winner of the Martial Arts Tournament? How did you end up as a prisoner? Didn't they say you and Qi Yingzhe are both cultivation geniuses? How did you annoy Sect Master so quickly?" The person was Li Qingyuan. He had always looked down on Qi Yingzhe and now added Song Weizhi, who was considered the strongest Golden Core cultivator on the continent.
"A genius like you, and yet this is all you can endure?" Li Qingyuan said as he stepped on Song Weizhi's hand. Injecting spiritual qi into his foot, there was a cracking sound as the bones of her hand were slowly crushed.
Song Weizhi gritted her teeth, enduring without making a sound. Her face was covered in blood, with some injuries already scabbing over while others continued to bleed.
"Heh, quite resilient." Li Qingyuan laughed, looking at the disciples around him who were watching him torture Song Weizhi. "But if your hand and foot bones are crushed, I wonder if our genius can still endure?"
Saying that, he stepped on Song Weizhi's other hand, deforming the bones. Covered in sweat, Song Weizhi felt pain all over her body, unable to find a place that wasn't throbbing.
From above, Li Qingyuan's voice continued, "Heh, I thought this job was a good one, but now you look like this, and your face is unbearable to look at. I'm not interested in killing you, so I can only torture you like this to relieve my boredom."
With that, another cracking sound echoed in the empty practice room. This time, it was the sound of Song Weizhi's left ankle breaking. Li Qingyuan continued, "But I heard that the one close to you, Song Zhixia, didn't suffer any injuries to her face. I wonder how the Third Prince will treat her?"