Chapter 14

Chen Hai knew that if it really came to a fight, ten of him would not be a match for the people in front of him, and even ten of him combined would be far from a match for the barbarian giant. However, he was not afraid of what these people could do to him within the mountain gate.

He took out the blue sparrow seal from his chest, which represented his status as a junior Dao soldier disciple, and said calmly, "Then I can only hold the disciple seal and go to the supervisor, Master Zhao Ruhui, to seek justice."

As a junior Dao soldier disciple, Chen Hai might not have the right to live in this courtyard, but Zhou Jun had already arranged for him to live here, and at least for now, this courtyard belonged to him.

Even if they wanted to drive him out of this courtyard, it would have to be handled by the supervisor, Master Zhao Ruhui, according to the rules and regulations of the sect. It was not up to this young man to break in and forcibly take it.

This young man, who clearly had the upper hand, did not go to the supervisor, Master Zhao Ruhui, to complain as one would normally do, but instead came directly to seize the courtyard. Chen Hai guessed that he probably did not want to conflict with Zhou Jun and escalate the matter to the supervisor, Master Zhao Ruhui.

Thinking about this, Chen Hai was even less afraid. He looked coldly at the intruders, not retreating a single step, thinking that since Zhou Jun had already accepted his gifts, he should not expect to stay out of the matter.

The young man and his followers did not expect Chen Hai to be as stubborn as a stone in a toilet, both smelly and hard, but they could not help but sneer, thinking that if they really threw this blind man out of the courtyard, what could he do?

Chen Hai ignored them, went directly into the house, took out a pen and ink, and pulled out a grayish-white bedsheet to use as a banner. He laid it out on the empty ground in front of the courtyard and, in front of the young man in black and his several followers, wrote quickly:

"Disciple Yao Xing, a lowly member of the sect, lives alone on the mountain, dedicating himself to hard cultivation, with no grudges or enmity with anyone. Today, he has been forcibly evicted from his home by a strongman. I beg the supervisor, Master Zhao, to seek justice for me!"

Seeing the young man in blue frown and with a hint of confusion in his eyes, Chen Hai explained without hesitation:

"Supervisor Master Zhao Ruhui may not have the time to meet a disciple of low status like me, but I must seek justice and express my grievances. If you insist on driving me out, I cannot fight you, nor can I argue with your numbers. I can only raise this banner and petition at the Ancestor Hall, demanding a fair judgment from Master Zhao. If he does nothing, I will take this banner to the gate of the Seventh Peak to appeal..."

The young man in blue was stunned, never expecting Chen Hai to use such a despicable method to protect the courtyard.

Chen Hai collected the broken wooden boards, wrapped them in a large piece of cloth, and said, "I want the supervisor, Master Zhao, to see if there are still rules and regulations in Iron Stream Ridge..."

The young man's handsome face twisted in anger, and he sneered, "Do you know who I am? If I break your bones today, do you think Master Zhao will seek justice for you?"

Chen Hai glanced at the young man, picked up the pen and ink, and added a sentence to the banner: "The strongman threatens me with death. Disciple Yao Xing, in dire straits, only hopes that the supervisor, Master Zhao, will rectify the rules and prevent the strong from disrupting our sect..." After writing, he hung the banner at the courtyard gate, ready to hang it on the stone wall.

Although the courtyard where Chen Hai lived was in a remote location, the commotion attracted many disciples to watch. Seeing this, some could not help but laugh.

However, it was clear that the young man in purple had considerable influence in Iron Stream Ridge. Many people who wanted to laugh held back, not wanting to embarrass the young man in purple too much.

"Fine, fine, fine. Do you think that by using these despicable methods, I have no way to deal with you?"

The young man sneered in anger, and a misty blue light gathered in his palm, which then transformed into dozens of sharp sword beams, slicing toward Chen Hai.

Chen Hai felt a blinding light before his eyes, and a glint of killing intent from the young man's eyes made his hair stand on end. He knew he had no chance to struggle in front of the young man in purple, and stood there stiffly. In an instant, the banner in his hand was shredded into countless pieces and fell to the ground...

The young man sneered, "I have checked your records. Since you entered Splash Cloud Cliff, you have been in Taiwei Sect for one year and one month. Next month, you will participate in the Dao soldier disciple competition. I will be waiting for you at the mountain arena..."

After saying this, the young man walked down the mountain, no longer纠缠 with Chen Hai. His several followers glared at Chen Hai fiercely, but the barbarian giant controlled by the young man looked at Chen Hai with a complex expression of admiration as he left.

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Seeing the banner fragments scattered on the ground, Chen Hai did not know what to say.

Although he had managed to fend off the other party, the feeling of being trampled by a stronger person made him extremely uncomfortable.

"Chai Rong, a disciple from a noble family, has a narrow mind and seeks revenge for any grudge. As one of the officials in the Dao soldier competition, he might manipulate the selection of opponents for Junior Brother Yao. If Junior Brother Yao has any connections, it would be best to smooth things out early, rather than suffer a hidden loss during the official competition."

A middle-aged man in a purple robe, who seemed to disapprove of Chai Rong's bullying, advised Chen Hai.

The middle-aged man's well-intentioned advice was met with a tug on his robe by someone nearby, as if they thought it was not worth offending Chai Rong for the notorious "Yao Xing."

Chen Hai's mind calmed down, and he stepped forward to bow, "I have not yet learned the name of this senior brother. Yao Xing is at fault."

"I am Ge Tong. I have practiced Dao for many years but have achieved nothing. I may soon have to leave the sect in disgrace and do not dare to be called a senior brother anymore," the middle-aged man Ge Tong replied with a bow, but was quickly pulled away by his companion, as if they did not want to have any interaction with Chen Hai.

Chen Hai smiled bitterly, but seeing Ge Tong's desolate demeanor, he thought he was likely a disciple from a humble background.

Among the many disciples of Taiwei Sect, there were officially defined levels of True Transmission, Inner Gate, and Dao soldiers, but in reality, they were divided into two major groups: those from noble families and those from humble backgrounds.

Although Ge Tong and Chai Rong were both purple-robed Dao soldiers in the Dao Academy, it was clear that their statuses in Iron Stream Ridge were vastly different.

Ge Tong was not young, probably over forty years old. If he were from a noble family, even if he had no hope of opening a spirit sea in his lifetime, it would not be difficult for him to secure a position as an official in Iron Stream Ridge. However, for a disciple from a humble background, without the support of a noble family, if his cultivation did not advance, he would eventually have to leave the sect in disgrace.

If Ge Tong chose to continue serving in the Wuwei Army, he could only hold a low-ranking military position, with no hope of promotion.

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After the onlookers gradually left, Chen Hai returned to his house, took a woodcutter's knife, and cut some miscellaneous wood to make a simple wooden gate, so that the entrance would not look too shabby.

Chen Hai appeared calm on the surface, but after this incident, a stronger desire to cultivate surged in his heart.

Zuo Er and the grand hall had already sunk into the ground, and no one had explained to him what the Rakshasa ghost was or that the Blood Cloud Wasteland might soon fall.

The puppet clone seemed quite powerful, but if the seven martial soldier-level puppets were really useful, Zuo Er would not have sounded so dejected when he sank into the ground. Chen Hai thought that he might soon lose even his puppet clone, and he needed to find a way to establish himself in Taiwei Sect and find a solution to his hidden soul ailment within the sect.

At this point, he felt that merely preserving his life was far from enough. He did not want to be a worm that others could trample at will, and he needed to be strong enough.

However, looking at the empty medicinal field in the courtyard, he knew that to continue cultivating the Wind and Cloud Leg, promoting the fusion of his soul and body, he needed to find a way to obtain more nourishing spirit medicines.

Otherwise, relying solely on ordinary three meals a day, the cultivation intensity could only maintain one-tenth of the early stage, and this cultivation speed was too slow. The Splash Cloud Cliff could not be relied on for the time being, and Chen Hai thought about finding something to do, even if it was just to accumulate sect merits, to exchange for low-level spirit pills to aid his cultivation.

"Junior Brother Yao..."

Hearing someone call him, Chen Hai peeked through the gap in the wooden gate and saw that Zhou Jun, who had not shown up for a long time, finally appeared. He quickly opened the gate and let Zhou Jun in.

"Senior Brother Chai Rong came today to forcibly occupy the courtyard. Fortunately, Senior Brother Zhou has a great reputation, and they did not dare to act recklessly. I managed to deal with them. I hope this does not cause any trouble for Senior Brother. If it does, I will give up the courtyard."

Chen Hai pretended to be very respectful, but he knew that if Zhou Jun was dissatisfied with his performance today, he would not have shown up so soon. However, he did not have the right to comment on Zhou Jun's inaction earlier.

After all, his strength was not strong enough, and Chen Qing had spread his bad reputation everywhere. Otherwise, relying on his status as Chen Lie's nephew, why would he need to care about these people's attitudes?

"Chai Rong's courtyard is larger than this one. He is just making excuses to cause trouble. Don't pay attention to him. There is no rule that says a junior Dao soldier cannot live alone in a courtyard. However, I cannot interfere in the competition for fame next month."

Zhou Jun waved his hand and frowned, saying,

"Chai Rong is from the Chai family. He has more than ten followers from the Chai family assigned to the various courtyards in Iron Stream Ridge, not to mention other Chai family members. The Chai family is trying to meddle in various affairs in Iron Stream Ridge, which is very annoying. If Chai Rong really manipulates the competition, it will be a headache..."

Chen Hai knew that the disciples of Taiwei Sect were divided into those from humble backgrounds and those from noble families, but he did not know who was from a humble background and who was from a noble family.

Hearing Zhou Jun's tone of disgust when mentioning Chai Rong and the Chai family's meddling in the affairs of the various courtyards in Iron Stream Ridge, he had a sudden thought. Could it be that Zhou Jun was also from a humble background?

And the supervisor, Master Zhao Ruhui, who took care of Zhou Jun, could he also be from a humble background?

If Zhao Ruhui and Zhou Jun were from humble backgrounds, it would not necessarily be to Chen Hai's advantage, as Chen Hai, taking Yao Xing's identity, was considered to be from the Chen family, and how could he expect Zhao Ruhui and Zhou Jun, from humble backgrounds, to favor him?

Perhaps Zhou Jun's previous care for him was out of ulterior motives.

Chen Hai pondered in his heart, guessing that the supervisor, Master Zhao Ruhui, might already know what had happened here, and Zhou Jun's quick arrival could be at the behest of Master Zhao Ruhui?

What was Master Zhao Ruhui's intention?

Was he using Chen Hai, Chen Lie's nephew, as a pawn, or was he watching the conflict between the Chai and Chen families in Iron Stream Ridge to gain an advantage?

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