Chapter 89

"I don't believe for a second that the leader of the Poison Snake Gang was killed by that kid's own hands. Who knows what kind of luck he had!"

Upon learning about the incident in the Hall of Tasks, Ji Yuanliang, the elder, was furious. Unfortunately, as an elder, he could not personally take action against Ling Dao. Moreover, last time, the sect leader had strongly protected Ling Dao, and Ji Yuanliang had already sensed something unusual.

Given the indecisive nature of the sect leader Duan Zhenghui, he had become extremely resolute in the matter of Ling Dao. Even if all ten elders united, Duan Zhenghui still insisted on protecting Ling Dao. Without sufficient reason, Duan Zhenghui would never act this way.

"No, this can't be left like this. Let Ma Teng deal with him!"

Ma Teng was Ji Yuanliang's disciple and was now a peak True Qi Realm warrior. Two months ago, when Ling Dao left the Sky Splitting Sword Sect, he was only at the early True Qi Realm. Even now, his strength wouldn't have improved much.

"The True Martial Sword Sect and the Black Tortoise Sword Sect are truly a bunch of failures. They couldn't even take down a newly promoted True Qi Realm warrior. I wonder what their disciples are good for!"

Ji Yuanliang had taken a great risk by informing the True Martial Sword Sect and the Black Tortoise Sword Sect about Ling Dao's whereabouts. Yet, Ling Dao returned to the Sky Splitting Sword Sect unharmed, which naturally made him extremely dissatisfied with the Black Tortoise Sword Sect and the True Martial Sword Sect.

Soon, Ma Teng received Ji Yuanliang's order to deal with Ling Dao. As a peak True Qi Realm warrior, dealing with an early True Qi Realm warrior was not difficult; it just lacked a legitimate reason.

"Master is really boring, giving me such a task!"

Ma Teng laughed disdainfully. Sending him to deal with Ling Dao was a waste of his talent. However, since it was Ji Yuanliang's order, he had to follow it. Before reaching the Soaring Sky Realm, he still had to listen to his master.

...

"Spending a month training in the third level of the Sword Pavilion, I wonder if I can break through to the peak True Qi Realm!"

Ling Dao felt that being merely at the late True Qi Realm was not enough, especially since the elders who wanted to deal with him were all Soaring Sky Realm warriors. As he pondered these issues, a young man blocked his path.

"Are you Ling Dao?"

This was a young man in his mid-twenties, carrying a long sword on his back, looking very spirited. He was Ma Teng, Ji Yuanliang's disciple and a peak True Qi Realm warrior, who was well-known within the inner sect.

"Yes, what do you want?"

Ling Dao frowned, sensing that Ma Teng was clearly there to cause trouble. He had just returned to the Sky Splitting Sword Sect and wanted to celebrate with Jiang Ren, but these people wouldn't leave him alone.

"I heard that Junior Brother Ling's sword skills are quite good, so I want to spar with you!"

Whether it was outer sect disciples or inner sect disciples, killing was forbidden, but sparring was not only allowed but also encouraged. Competition was the greatest driving force for improvement, and without competition, it was hard to produce strong warriors.

"No time! If you have no other business, please step aside!"

Ling Dao's response left Ma Teng stunned. As a peak True Qi Realm warrior, he felt he had given Ling Dao enough face. But now, Ling Dao completely disregarded him. He wanted to spar with Ling Dao, and Ling Dao outright refused?

"Isn't that Ling Dao? That's Ma Teng, right?"

"Yes, Ma Teng wanted to spar with Ling Dao, but Ling Dao refused, saying he had no time!"

"Really? Ling Dao really didn't give Ma Teng any face?"

"How could it be a lie? We heard it with our own ears. Looks like there's going to be a good show!"

A peak True Qi Realm warrior was already a significant figure among inner sect disciples. Those at the Soaring Sky Realm were no longer considered mere disciples, as their strength was on par with, or even surpassed, that of the elders.

"Who's so disrespectful to Junior Brother Ma? Are they blind?"

At that moment, a sarcastic voice came from a distance. The speaker looked to be in his late twenties, wearing tight black clothes and carrying a fine steel sword, walking over with a very arrogant demeanor.

"Why is he here?"

"It's Senior Brother Hong Gang!"

"From the look of Senior Brother Hong Gang, he doesn't seem to have good intentions. What's going on?"

Hong Gang was also a peak True Qi Realm warrior, but he was even stronger than Ma Teng and more famous within the inner sect. When Hong Gang appeared, the inner sect disciples passing by gathered around. They wouldn't miss a good show.

"It's Senior Brother Hong. I apologize for the embarrassment. As a senior, I just wanted to guide this junior brother's sword skills, but his attitude is so arrogant that it's unbearable!"

Hearing Ma Teng's words, Hong Gang merely smiled slightly. In fact, Hong Gang was well aware of Ma Teng's intentions, as they were the same. Hong Gang owed his current achievements to Zhou Xinghe.

After punishing Elder Yan Rui, Zhou Xinghe found Hong Gang and asked him to personally teach Ling Dao a harsh lesson. Since inner sect disciples were forbidden to kill, Zhou Xinghe wanted Hong Gang to cripple Ling Dao, preferably severing his hand tendons so that Ling Dao could never practice sword skills again.

"Is that so? Junior Brother, Ma Teng had good intentions. Why didn't you accept?"

If he didn't have to act personally, that would be even better. As long as Ling Dao was punished, Zhou Xinghe didn't plan to kill him outright. He wanted to keep Ling Dao alive and slowly torture him to vent his anger.

Ling Dao sneered at Ma Teng's words. Hong Gang and Ma Teng were like a double act, but in Ling Dao's eyes, they were just clowns. If it were two months ago, he might have been wary of Ma Teng and Hong Gang, but now things were different. He had already killed more than one peak True Qi Realm warrior and even personally slain a Soaring Sky Realm warrior.

"Ridiculous. His sword skills are far inferior to mine. What qualifications does he have to teach me?"

If Ling Dao's previous words were a slight to Ma Teng, then this statement was a blatant slap in the face, and a very loud one at that. Even if Ma Teng had good manners, he would have lost his temper, let alone the fact that Ma Teng's manners were not good to begin with.

"Uh..."

Hong Gang thought he was already quite arrogant, but he never expected Ling Dao to be even more so. At just fifteen years old, he dared to say that Ma Teng's sword skills were inferior to his. If it were him at fifteen, he would never have been so bold.

"Brat, you're asking for death! If you have the guts, let's have a sword duel!"

"Duels? No need. In the entire Sky Splitting Sword Sect, you're the most despicable!"

Ma Teng and Ling Dao's conversation left everyone speechless, and Ma Teng's eyes were blazing with fury, unable to tolerate it any longer!

(PS: 13,000 flowers for an extra chapter!)