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"I…I'm going to kill you!"
As Wang Yuan's lackey, Ma Jiu followed him in bullying and swaggering among the registered disciples of the Qingyun Sect, acting unscrupulously. He was always the one who bullied others, and no one had ever dared to bully him.
Now, sent flying by a slap from Ye Chen, Ma Jiu, who had never suffered such humiliation, of course wouldn't stand for it.
Ma Jiu, lying on the ground, let out a shout and clawed towards Ye Chen.
"Kill me? You think you have that ability?"
At the moment Ma Jiu's claw was about to reach Ye Chen's face, Ye Chen's hand shot out like lightning, gripping Ma Jiu's wrist in an instant.
Then, with a "crack," Ye Chen showed no mercy as he shook his True Qi, and under the immense pressure of the True Qi, Ma Jiu's wrist bone broke with a snap.
"Ah, my hand! My hand is broken!"
The intense pain of the broken bone made Ma Jiu scream shrilly, and the heart-piercing pain caused him to roll on the ground clutching his wrist.
Meanwhile, an inexplicable fear struck him like thunder, one blow after another easily blocked by Ye Chen, and Ma Jiu finally understood that this previously insignificant Ye Chen of the Three Fools of Qingyun Sect was no longer someone he could provoke.
Looking at Ma Jiu rolling on the ground and howling in pain, Ye Chen snorted coldly and stood up.
He certainly would not show any mercy to Ma Jiu.
He remembered once, also because of Ma Jiu, who had looked for a human punching bag on Wang Yuan's behalf, and had set his sights on Ye Chen. The moment Ye Chen hesitated, Ma Jiu kicked him and broke several of his ribs. Not only did he have to spend a lot of silver to buy medicine for healing, but he also had to lay in bed for several months before he fully recovered.
To deal with the ruthless Ma Jiu, one had to be even more ruthless!
Breaking his hand was just being light on him.
If not for the Sect's prohibition on killing, Ye Chen wouldn't mind killing Ma Jiu outright.
Ye Chen glanced at Ma Jiu and then walked towards the Martial Skill Pavilion.
He had to return the Martial Skill Manual, and he wasn't going to waste time on the likes of Ma Jiu.
Whether he went to call Wang Yuan or not did not matter to him.
If Wang Yuan really dared to come, then he would be taught a lesson just like Ma Jiu had been.
Only after Ye Chen had gone a long way did Ma Jiu climb up from the ground. His beady eyes fixed on the retreating figure of Ye Chen, filled with vengeful hatred: "Ye Chen, just you wait, Wang Yuan will surely avenge me! The pain I've endured, I shall make you pay back a hundredfold!"
Struggling to his feet, Ma Jiu no longer hesitated and ran straight towards Wang Yuan's dwelling.
...
"Hey, isn't that Ma Jiu? Why is he covered in so much blood?"
Passing through Mountain Gate Square, several registered disciples noticed Ma Jiu's pitiful state and began to talk amongst themselves in surprise.
One glance from Ma Jiu shut one of the registered disciples up immediately, scaring him into closing his mouth.
However, once Ma Jiu was far away, the registered disciples couldn't help but resume their discussions.
"Ma Jiu, he's one of Wang Yuan's men, a formidable figure among the registered disciples. Who dared to beat him up like this?"
"Shh, keep it down. Neither Ma Jiu nor Wang Yuan are easy to deal with. We're better off not interfering in such matters," said one of the timider ones.
Yet, there were those unafraid of starting trouble: "Looking at Ma Jiu's demeanor, he's fired up with anger and seems to be going for backup. There might be some excitement to watch soon."
"I really want to know, who dares to tug on Wang Yuan's whiskers."
In the heart of the registered disciple living area, within a spacious courtyard, Wang Yuan was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, cultivating. Not far in front of him stood seven or eight registered disciples trembling.
These seven or eight registered disciples had been called as human punching bags, waiting to be used by Wang Yuan for practice.
Thinking about what state they might be in after Wang Yuan was through with them, their legs were barely holding them up.
Run? They dared not.
They were only at the first or second level of True Qi cultivation, nowhere near strong enough to escape from Wang Yuan's grasp. If they dared to run, the beating they would get would be far worse than being a human punching bag; broken arms and legs were all possibilities.
They could only wait, hoping the inevitable beating would be over quickly. The agony of waiting was almost unbearable.
Bang!
Just as they were in the throes of their anxiety, the door to Wang Yuan's courtyard was suddenly pushed open.
A bloodied Ma Jiu ran inside.
"Hm?"
Having his cultivation disturbed, Wang Yuan opened his eyes with a frown. When he saw the bloody Ma Jiu, his brows rose in surprise, "Weren't you going to find Ye Chen? How did you get injured like this?"
Seeing Wang Yuan was like seeing a savior for Ma Jiu. Pointing towards the outside of the courtyard, shaking either from anger or pain, he stuttered, "Brother Wang Yuan, it was Ye Chen who beat me like this. You must take revenge for me!"
"Ye Chen?"
Wang Yuan was slightly surprised but then his gaze turned icy, and he stood up.
The registered disciples in the courtyard, who were waiting to be used as human punching bags, were deeply shocked: "Ye Chen? The same Ye Chen who's called for the same purpose as us? He could actually injure Ma Jiu like this?"
In fact, each registered disciple who was called to be a human punching bag had fantasized about becoming strong enough to trample on Ma Jiu and Wang Yuan, in order to avenge their grievances.
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But they knew it was just a fantasy, their strength was far too inferior to Wang Yuan's, who was at the fourth layer of True Qi.
Now, was this fantasy actually coming true?
Had Ye Chen really become strong? Strong enough to defeat Ma Jiu, who was at the third layer of True Qi, and to show no fear of Wang Yuan who backed Ma Jiu?
The seven or eight registered disciples stood with their mouths agape, disbelieving.
...
"The Martial Skill Pavilion, here again." Ye Chen smiled as he walked towards the small three-storied building in front of him.
A month ago, he was still at the third layer of True Qi and hadn't practiced any proper martial skills.
Now, a month later, not only had he successfully cultivated to the fourth layer of True Qi, but he had also mastered the exceedingly difficult and powerful "Torrential Rain Sword Skills" up to the third form.
Ye Chen enjoyed the feeling of making progress every day, of his strength constantly improving.
This feeling wasn't just the satisfaction of avenging the humiliation dealt by the likes of Zhao Jing, Bai Kun, and Ma Jiu; what was more valuable was taking control of his own destiny.
Only by truly becoming strong could he avoid being bullied by others and take control of his own destiny!
Inside the Martial Skill Pavilion, at the Pavilion Guardian Elder's place.
As he looked over the manuals that were being returned, the Pavilion Guardian Elder remembered Ye Chen: "Oh, you are the young man who borrowed 'Torrential Rain Sword Skills' a month ago."
The Pavilion Guardian Elder could remember Ye Chen partly because he chose such a difficult swordsmanship to practice, and partly because the confident manner of the young man when he was reminded had left a deep impression.
"How is it, Torrential Rain Sword Skills are quite difficult to cultivate, aren't they?" the Pavilion Guardian Elder asked with a smile looking at Ye Chen.
Ye Chen nodded: "Indeed, they are difficult to cultivate."
"I warned you before, but you wouldn't believe me. Now you know," the Pavilion Guardian Elder sighed helplessly, shaking his head, "Young people only learn after suffering losses. Alright, go pick another martial skill to practice, I can give you a discount."
The Pavilion Guardian Elder was sighing and lecturing Ye Chen, but what Ye Chen said next made him choke up.
"Thank you, Elder, for your kindness, but I won't pick a new martial skill for now. I haven't fully comprehended the third form of Torrential Rain Sword Skills," Ye Chen said.
"What did you say?" The Pavilion Guardian Elder suddenly stood up.
"You haven't fully comprehended the third form? Does that mean... you have successfully practiced the first two forms?" The Pavilion Guardian Elder's face was full of disbelief.
During his decades of serving as the Pavilion Guardian Elder, hundreds of people had selected the 'Torrential Rain Sword Skills', and among them, the vast majority failed to even properly practice the first stance. Few could manage the second, and he had never seen a registered disciple manage to reach the third form in just one month.
"Reporting to the elder, I indeed have successfully practiced the first two forms," Ye Chen acknowledged with a nod.
He did not try to hide it—after all, even the first layer of the "Supreme Divine Art," "Primordial Star Scripture," specifically the "Meridian Refining Art" was cultivated by him up to the last step of the "thirty-third Meridian Wheel," which is the fifteenth meridian wheel, in just one month.
The 'Torrential Rain Sword Skills' were merely a mid-level Yellow Class Cultivation Technique, so successfully practicing the first two moves wasn't a big deal.
Ye Chen spoke casually, but his words weighed heavily in the ears of the Pavilion Guardian Elder.
After a moment of stunned surprise, the Pavilion Guardian Elder spoke: "Could you demonstrate the first two forms for me to see?"
It wasn't that he distrusted Ye Chen, but the claim was astonishing.
If Ye Chen truly had such extraordinary comprehension power, he should have joined the Outer Sect long ago, and even among the registered disciples, his name should be well-known, yet the Pavilion Guardian Elder had never heard of a Ye Chen among the registered disciples.
"Demonstrate the first two forms?" Hearing the Pavilion Guardian Elder's request, Ye Chen hesitated for a moment but then smiled, "Why not."
Zing!
Ye Chen drew his fine steel sword, preparing to demonstrate the first form of the 'Torrential Rain Sword Skills,' "Torrential Rainfall."
Just then, a stern shout came from outside the Martial Skill Pavilion: "Ye Chen, get out here!"
Hearing this voice, Ye Chen frowned, and then shook his head with a smile.
Wang Yuan really had come looking for trouble!
Sheathing his sword, Ye Chen apologized to the Pavilion Guardian Elder: "Elder, I am sorry, but it seems I have some trouble to resolve first."
The Pavilion Guardian Elder had also heard the voice coming from outside the Martial Skill Pavilion. He looked outside the pavilion and saw a crowd had already gathered.
"Go ahead," the Pavilion Guardian Elder nodded.
Fights were not prohibited in Qingyun Sect, and in the registered disciple area, the restrictions on disciples were even looser. Therefore, it was no surprise to the Pavilion Guardian Elder that someone was looking for Ye Chen.
Ye Chen bowed to the Pavilion Guardian Elder and then strode towards the exit of the Martial Skill Pavilion.
"This young man is quite interesting."
The Pavilion Guardian Elder stood by the window, looking down below.
"If he really has cultivated the 'Torrential Rain Sword Skills' to the third form, then what's to come will be quite a show."
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