Chapter 40

Lu Ming had already mentally cursed Wei Zhixing's entire family, and Zheng Shiyi, who had been on the verge of breaking with just a few more sticks, was now far beyond that point! Each stick that fell was like a mountain crashing down! Yet, he was still alive!

Wei Zhixing patted Lu Ming's shoulder in a consoling manner and said with a heavy heart, "Little Lu, don't worry! Look, this little brat can withstand a hundred sticks, which is indeed surprising. But he's challenging three hundred sticks! There's no way he can succeed..."

Hao Dong, the one wielding the sticks, was growing increasingly fearful. How could this new recruit withstand such punishment? I should go easier on him... If he makes it through, he might remember me kindly.

Wei Zhixing's calm facade was long gone, and he was inwardly cursing, "Three hundred sticks! Do you really think you can hold out?"

"Call it off! Beg for mercy!"

"Even if you last two hundred and ninety-nine sticks, it won't count as a success! Just admit defeat!"

The weight of the soul-crushing sticks, though not heavy, was taking its toll. After a hundred sticks, even the strongest would struggle.

Hao Dong was also praying, "Call it off! If you call it off... I won't have to be so exhausted!"

"One hundred and thirty sticks!"

"One hundred and thirty-one sticks!"

"..."

"Two hundred and one sticks!"

When this stick fell, the onlookers were so stunned they forgot to breathe, their mouths agape in shock.

In the records of the Three Gates Hall, those who could withstand a hundred sticks were rare! Two hundred sticks? That record went back hundreds of years!

Three hundred sticks... Perhaps it really can be done! Many people's eyes lit up with hope, not out of support for Zheng Shiyi, but simply because they wanted to witness a legendary record being set!

Panic, unprecedented panic!

Wei Zhixing's temples were drenched in cold sweat as he rushed to Hao Dong, reaching for the soul-crushing stick to take matters into his own hands!

Hao Dong gripped the stick tightly, pulling it towards himself and struggling for control, "Elder... This... Isn't it against the rules?"

Wei Zhixing's eyes were filled with murderous intent, and his voice was low and menacing, "Hand over the stick... Whatever happens, I'll take the blame!"

Take the blame? Blame your sister! Hao Dong wanted to spit in his face. The rules of the sect aren't like that. If I don't protect the stick and just hand it over, the Punishment Elder will appear... It won't just be my legs that get broken; I'll be killed!

"Elder... Break both my arms..." Hao Dong said with a look of resignation, "That way, I can explain to the Punishment Elder..."

Punishment Elder? Wei Zhixing shuddered, and his hand, which was gripping the soul-crushing stick, subconsciously loosened.

Punishment Elder! The true pillar behind the Three Gates Hall! The true ruler! Even the sect leader would give him face!

Breaking the rules of the Three Gates Hall? Even Wei Zhixing, an elder of the Three Gates Hall, would be mercilessly executed!

"Useless!" Wei Zhixing kicked Hao Dong away and threw the soul-crushing stick to another short and fat disciple at the Ninth Wheel Realm, roaring, "Yan Su! You do it! Beat him to death!"

Yan Su, with a grim face, took the stick. Who couldn't see what had just happened? Zheng Shiyi was a monster that couldn't be killed! Now, beating him would only make enemies!

Wei Zhixing's eyes, almost touching Yan Su's face, were filled with murderous intent, "If I see you go easy, I'll beat you to death!"

"Yan Su, right..." Zheng Shiyi, weakly spitting out a mouthful of blood, smiled lightly, "Facing the Three Gates is what it is; I won't blame you..."

Yan Su closed his small eyes, raised the stick high, and brought it down...

"Pain!"

Zheng Shiyi immediately let out a scream, blood spewing from his wounds, and cold sweat poured out as his body trembled violently.

"Less than ninety-nine sticks left..."

Zheng Shiyi sucked in a breath through his teeth, mentally counting the numbers while channeling his true qi to stimulate the soul seed to heal him rapidly.

"Xu Sa, the Law Enforcement Hall, Elder Wei, none of you will get away!"

Under Wei Zhixing's fierce gaze, Yan Su dared not hold back, each stick more forceful than the last, until Zheng Shiyi was nearly shattered to death.

But no matter how hard he hit, Zheng Shiyi, as if protected by some special deity, refused to die!

As the number of sticks approached three hundred, Lu Ming's face grew increasingly grim...

A single straw can indeed break a camel's back! But in front of Zheng Shiyi, this trick seemed ineffective. Two hundred and ninety sticks, and this guy still showed no signs of dying! Which stick, exactly, would be the one to break the camel's back?

If this guy doesn't die in the remaining ten sticks, he will succeed in the challenge. Then...

Thinking of this, Lu Ming's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

Wei Zhixing's face wasn't much better. Since he took charge of the Three Gates Hall, few had passed the "Three Gates."

Like Zheng Shiyi, who had passed the Blade Qi Gate, the Ninth Wheel Gravity Gate, and now the Three Hundred Soul-Crushing Sticks, he was the first in history!

Any of these gates, if attempted by someone else... Not in this lifetime, not even in ten lifetimes! But this kid, he had completed all three!

If that were the case, he would be completely ruined today!

The others watched like fools, motionless, as Zheng Shiyi, who had been hit by nearly three hundred soul-crushing sticks, still hadn't died.

"Bang!"

A pale blue current accompanied the soul-crushing stick as it landed heavily on Zheng Shiyi.

The unprecedented pain almost made Zheng Shiyi bite through his teeth, but the rapid pulsing of the soul seed quickly alleviated the pain.

The soul-crushing stick no longer glowed as it had before, now calm.

Three hundred sticks completed!

"Boom!"

A stone door not far from the crowd suddenly opened, revealing an old man with white hair, a bald head, and a headband.

This old man, perhaps only a few in the entire Xuanming Sect had ever seen!

But the two powerful characters on his chest, "Punishment"! No one would fail to recognize them!

Just these two characters already revealed his identity!

"Punishment Elder! It's really the Punishment Elder!"

If a challenger could withstand three hundred soul-crushing sticks, the Punishment Elder would personally come to uphold justice.

No one could withstand three hundred soul-crushing sticks!

To everyone, this seemed weak and distant, but the Punishment Elder had actually appeared.

The Punishment Elder, with unfathomable cultivation, held a high position in the sect. Even the sect leader would give him face, responsible for enforcing all the sect's rules.

If he came to uphold justice, wouldn't those who framed Zheng Shiyi be finished?

Everyone secretly worried for those who had framed Zheng Shiyi, "That poor guy, he's really in trouble now."

"Thump, thump, thump!"

Four men suddenly ran in from the door, and everyone turned their attention to them.

The man in the lead, with a scattered gaze, a crooked mouth, and a look of annoyance, was Xu Sa, who had received a message from Lu Ming's subordinates and rushed over.

Behind him were the three Law Enforcement Hall disciples who had delivered the message.

"Why is he here?"

Xu Sa was notorious among the outer disciples, and almost no one didn't know him. His arrival filled everyone with confusion.

Xu Sa looked around and, seeing the familiar figure opposite Zheng Shiyi, smiled and said, "Uncle, why are you here?"

Wei Zhixing and an elder of the Xu family were brothers, and Xu Sa had seen him a few times. Since the Three Gates Hall was usually quiet, it was normal that Xu Sa didn't know he was in charge here.

Wei Zhixing explained without much spirit, "I'm the elder in charge of the Three Gates Hall, so I have to be here."

"Ah? So you're the elder of the Three Gates Hall!" Xu Sa's joy was even greater than before.

Glancing at Zheng Shiyi, he quickly walked to Elder Wei and pointed at Zheng Shiyi, "What is he doing here?"

Elder Wei glanced at Zheng Shiyi and said, "He says he was framed and sent to prison. He wants to clear his name by passing the 'Three Gates' challenge."

"So that's what it is!" Xu Sa, understanding, walked to Zheng Shiyi and said with a smug smile, "You want to challenge the 'Three Gates' to clear your name?"

"Do you know whose territory this is?"

"It's my uncle's territory! Everything is up to my uncle!"

"You want to clear your name by passing the 'Three Gates'?"

"Let me make this clear to you today!"

"That head is indeed yours, and I framed you!"

"You were sent to prison because I framed you!"

"The torture you endured was arranged by me through the Law Enforcement Hall!"

"But even if you know all this, what can you do?"

"This is my uncle's territory! Even if you kneel before me and beg until your head bleeds!"

"I will still do to you as I please, and I will make everyone know the consequences of crossing me, Xu Sa!"

The onlookers were shaken by his forceful words, "No wonder it's Xu Sa."

"Leave some room for others. You've already tortured him so much, can't you leave him a chance?"

"This guy is not someone to be provoked. Poor that kid for provoking him. From now on, we'll have to avoid Xu Sa!"

Xu Sa's uncle was in charge of the Three Gates Hall, and his older brother was thriving in the inner sect.

Even if the Punishment Elder appeared, they didn't believe he would not give them face.

Looking at Zheng Shiyi again, they sighed, "Sigh..."

PS: The Three Gates are complete! Zheng Shiyi's ordeal is over! Next... It's time to turn the tables!