Chapter 82

"Chen Zong, do you know your crimes!" Bai Yushan spoke, his voice cold and severe, like a howling cold wind or a sword slicing through, his momentum overwhelming and oppressive.

Many people with weak wills immediately felt fear, their legs trembling.

"May I ask, Senior Brother, what crimes have I committed?" Chen Zong's attitude was neither humble nor arrogant, causing Bai Yushan's brows to furrow. One of the two strangers showed a hint of appreciation in his eyes, while the other looked grim.

"You took advantage of others' weaknesses and used despicable means to seize their treasures, which is your first crime. You also set traps to harm others, causing severe injuries, which is your second crime. You have seriously damaged the reputation of the Sword Radiance Hall, which is your third crime. Do you still deny your crimes!" Bai Yushan's voice grew even colder, his eyes sharp like a drawn sword, piercing and intimidating, as if he wanted to pierce through Chen Zong.

"Expel him from the Sword Radiance Hall." Bai Yulou suddenly shouted, and the Bai family disciples echoed in agreement.

"Words alone are not enough. Are you going to make a judgment based on a few words from others? You, as the Senior Brother, are clearly not up to the task." A cold and clear voice, like a pool of autumn water, sent a chill through everyone, making them shiver.

Bai Yushan's face turned even uglier. The one who spoke was Chen Chuyun.

"Here are the witnesses, and that is the evidence. Look at his cultivation, and you can infer the rest." Bai Yushan's voice was resolute, his eyes sharp and piercing, bringing pressure: "Chen Zong, I ask you, a few days ago, your cultivation was not at the peak of the Blood Qi Realm's sixth layer, but now, you are already at the seventh layer. Even if you entered the Boiling Blood Pool to cultivate, it would be impossible to improve so quickly. The only explanation is that you obtained more than one Essence Blood Fruit, consumed two or three to reach the peak of the Blood Qi Realm's sixth layer, and then used the power of the Boiling Blood Pool to break through to the seventh layer. Is that not correct?"

"Yes, but that is my business." Chen Zong spoke calmly.

Li Zhen Shi and others could not help but worry.

The position of the Chief Senior Brother is very high and has great power. Chen Zong's words were already a direct challenge.

In fact, Chen Zong did not want to directly challenge Bai Yushan, but he had his principles. Bai Yushan accused him without any basis and even listed three crimes, how could he accept that?

A sword is sharp and piercing.

A swordsman can be humble and low-key, can temporarily retreat, but cannot lose his sharpness.

Cultivating a sword, seeking straightness in curves, is exactly like this.

"Good, it's your business. You used despicable means to take advantage of others and seize the Essence Blood Fruit. Now, you are even arguing and challenging the Senior Brother in public, which is your fourth crime." Bai Yushan's tone was extremely cold, like an invisible sword piercing through: "I, as the Chief Senior Brother of the Sword Radiance Hall, sentence you to six days of black room confinement. Before that, you must hand over the Essence Blood Fruit obtained through despicable means and pay 100,000 Bai Yu coins as an apology."

"Black room confinement!"

"Six days!"

"Bai Yushan, you dare!" Chen Chuyun's face was filled with anger.

The new disciples looked bewildered, while the old disciples sucked in cold breaths.

The black room is a place specially created by the Seven Radiance Martial Academy for punishing disciples. It is not easily used as a punishment because inside the black room, one cannot see or hear anything, and there is no food or drink. It feels like being abandoned by the world.

One or two days might be manageable, as martial artists have strong wills and can endure, but three days is a test. A martial artist at the eighth layer of the Blood Qi Realm was once confined in the black room for five days. When he came out, he was mentally confused, his eyes wild, and he rambled incoherently. It took him over a month to gradually recover. After that, his cultivation progressed more slowly, and he gradually fell behind. During an outing to complete a task, he died under the claws of a beast due to a momentary lapse in concentration.

There are many such examples, making black room confinement a terrifying term.

Six days of confinement would destroy Chen Zong.

Moreover, he had to hand over the Essence Blood Fruit and pay 100,000 Bai Yu coins, which was a huge sum.

In fact, Bai Yushan wanted to expel Chen Zong from the Sword Radiance Hall to avoid seeing him, but unfortunately, although he had great power as the Chief Senior Brother, he did not have the authority to expel disciples, nor did the mentors.

Huang Biao and others first changed their expressions, then showed a look of satisfaction.

"As the Chief Senior Brother of the Sword Radiance Hall, your primary duty is to protect the disciples of this hall. However, you only believe one-sided words and punish me. Sister Yun is right; you are indeed not up to the task and do not have the qualifications to be the Chief Senior Brother." Chen Zong said bluntly, his words sharp.

"Chen Zong is right." Li Zhen Shi spoke in support, and although some new disciples did not speak, their eyes conveyed the same meaning.

"I will make you admit your guilt." Bai Yushan's inner killing intent rose, but he remained calm on the surface. His gaze subtly swept over Li Zhen Shi, then he showed a cold smile: "Defend yourself."

"Huang Biao, Xiao Wei, Meng Yuan Chong, that day, when you saw my cultivation was only at the sixth layer of the Blood Qi Realm, you conspired against me, trying to use me to attract the attention of the Bloodthirsty Iron Scale Beast so you could pick the Essence Blood Fruit. I proposed to share the harvest equally, but you said we should each rely on our own abilities. I didn't expect that you, who spoke so nicely, would secretly use me. After I exposed your plan and outperformed you, you should have hidden, but instead, you dared to falsely accuse me. Should I call you shameless or skinless?" Chen Zong looked at Huang Biao and the others, smiled coldly, and spoke calmly, each word piercing their hearts.

These words made Huang Biao and the others change their expressions, and the disciples of the Sword Radiance Hall looked doubtful. The disciples of the Punishment Hall had cold expressions.

The person standing next to Huang Biao and Meng Yuan Chong frowned slightly, looked at Huang Biao and the others, and asked.

"Senior Brother, he is lying."

"That's right."

Huang Biao and Meng Yuan Chong's faces changed, and they immediately said so.

This time, they had brought the Chief Senior Brother of the Blade Radiance Hall to seek justice, hoping to use his status. If they were exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

No one wants to be used, especially not in a muddled way.

"You said your cultivation was at the sixth layer of the Blood Qi Realm that day. How did you seize the Essence Blood Fruit from them and the Bloodthirsty Iron Scale Beast?" The Chief Senior Brother of the Blade Radiance Hall, Xu Zhantian, looked at Huang Biao and Meng Yuan Chong with eyes as sharp as a blade, then at Chen Zong, who felt as if his face was being cut by an invisible blade.

"My cultivation may not be high, but my strength is not necessarily weak." Chen Zong remained calm.

"Your current cultivation is at the seventh layer of the Blood Qi Realm, and your strength should be even stronger. Since you could seize the Essence Blood Fruit from the three of them a few days ago, today, you will face them alone. You don't need to defeat them; just hold out for the duration of a stick of incense." The Chief Senior Brother of the Earth Radiance Hall, Xiao Hongfu, said: "If you can do it, it proves that what you said is true, and you will not be punished. If you can't, it proves that you are wrong, and the punishment will be even heavier."

The disciples of the Punishment Hall did not speak, but their expressions were the same.

"Of course, there is also the Bloodthirsty Iron Scale Beast. I will play the role of the Bloodthirsty Iron Scale Beast." Chen Chuyun's voice was cold, and he drew his long sword, walking step by step, his body radiating a cold and murderous aura like water ripples.

"Raksha Sword Chen Chuyun, I know you, but this matter is not related to you. Step aside." Xiao Hongfu's face darkened.

"Sister Yun, trust me." Chen Zong nodded to Chen Chuyun, his eyes firm. Sister Yun's purpose in playing the role of the Bloodthirsty Iron Scale Beast was to help him.

"Light the incense." Bai Yushan immediately said. Soon, a stick of incense was lit, and everyone moved aside, leaving enough space for Chen Zong and the others.

"Chen Zong, that day, I swore to never let you off." Xiao Wei held a long and a short knife, his voice filled with hatred.

"Chen Zong, die!" Meng Yuan Chong shouted fiercely.

"Chen Zong, I will cut off your limbs." Huang Biao's face was cruel.

Chen Chuyun's face was filled with killing intent, wishing to draw his sword and cut down all three of them.

"Do you have the ability to do that?" Chen Zong's tone was calm, a hint of mockery in his words, which made Xiao Wei and the others furious, and they immediately attacked.

The long and short knives immediately turned into a whirlwind of slashing, extremely fierce, with sharp whistles.

Meng Yuan Chong's long, cold knife stabbed fiercely, like fangs, cruel and vicious.

Huang Biao held a large cleaver with both hands, as if to split a huge rock, mercilessly slashing at Chen Zong, aiming to cut him in two.

The three attacked without mercy, making everyone's faces change. Li Zhen Shi and others secretly clenched their fists in cold sweat, and Chen Chuyun gripped the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it if Chen Zong was in danger.

Fortunately, Chen Zong's cultivation had reached the seventh layer of the Blood Qi Realm, and his strength had greatly increased. He wanted to find some opponents to test his current strength, but under everyone's watchful eyes, he did not want to show too much, especially in front of Bai Yushan.

He could feel that Bai Yushan, relying on his position as the Chief Senior Brother, was deliberately targeting him, probably due to Bai Yulou's influence.

The sword was drawn, the sword light illuminating the Sword Testing Hall. His body swayed like a willow in the wind, his steps intertwining, as if riding the wind, light and agile. The sword light and shadows intertwined, and with one sword, he struck three times, slightly resisting and then taking the opportunity to avoid the three's combined attack.

"Good footwork." Xu Zhantian nodded.

After practicing the Wind Step to a subtle level, Chen Zong had a deeper understanding of it and applied its essence to his daily steps, combining it with the footwork of the True Sword Eight Styles, making him even more agile.

With the coordination of footwork and sword techniques, Chen Zong repeatedly avoided the three's attacks, preventing them from forming an effective encirclement.

The incense burned bit by bit, getting shorter and shorter. The three became increasingly anxious, their attacks becoming more fierce, each strike aiming to kill.

Chen Zong's sword techniques were effortless, not limited to the Shadow Sword Technique, the Willow Sword Technique, the Eagle Strike Sword Technique, or the Flash Lightning Sword Technique. They were flexible and varied, each sword sharp, targeting the weak points in the three's knife techniques.

The more Xiao Hongfu watched, the more his face darkened. Xu Zhantian showed a hint of appreciation, while Bai Yushan's face was expressionless, but his heart was filled with killing intent.

Focusing on evasion, he countered each move. Each time it seemed he was about to be hit by a knife, it was extremely dangerous, but he repeatedly turned danger into safety, as if dancing on the edge of a blade. The disciples of the Sword Radiance Hall were excited, feeling a thrilling and chilling sensation, their hair standing on end and their scalps tingling.

Bai Yulou's face was dark, almost dripping with water. He hoped Chen Zong would be killed, or at least defeated, to receive a heavier punishment, which would be very satisfying.

Unfortunately, Chen Zong was very tenacious, and despite the three's encirclement, he seemed to be on the verge of defeat but never actually fell.