Chapter 51

Eight days... The ninth wheel has already been carved a third of the way, Zheng Shiying silently calculated his cultivation speed. It would probably take another twenty days or so to finish carving the ninth wheel. By then... he could attempt to perfect the Qi Wheel!

"Cough, cough."

The continuous coughing caught Zheng Shiying's attention. Martial artists were usually very robust, so why would there be coughing in his courtyard?

He withdrew from his cultivation state and followed the sound out of the room, only to find that the coughing was coming from Wu Dong's room!

"Is Wu Dong sick?" Zheng Shiying quickly pushed open the door and entered Wu Dong's room, seeing the tenant's face bruised and his lips cracked in several places, with fresh blood still visible.

Hua Qian'er was sitting beside him, applying medicine to his wounds, causing Wu Dong to draw in sharp breaths of pain.

Zheng Shiying stepped forward, his eyes filled with concern as he examined Wu Dong's injuries. "What happened?"

Wu Dong endured the intense pain, forcing a smile and trying to stand up, but the pain in his legs made him sit back down. "Brother, what could happen to me? I just fell when I went out."

"Fell?" Zheng Shiying silently turned his gaze to Hua Qian'er.

Hua Qian'er looked worried, about to speak, but Wu Dong gave her a meaningful look, as if to say, "Don't."

Hua Qian'er glanced at him, then at Zheng Shiying, and finally stood up to explain, "Big Brother Zheng, it's like this."

"After Zheng Song caused trouble for you, those brothers who went into the mountains with us often got beaten up by others when they went to the Xianling Mountains to hunt for beast cores."

"Big Brother Wu was just practicing, and out of nowhere, he got beaten up."

Zheng Shiying frowned, his expression dark as he looked at Hua Qian'er. "Beaten up out of nowhere?"

The sect had strict rules, prohibiting disciples from attacking or beating each other, or they would face severe punishment.

Zheng Shiying didn't believe that Wu Dong was beaten up out of nowhere!

He quickly walked to Wu Dong, lifting the sleeve of his right arm. The swollen area was bright red, with a prominent palm print.

Each of the five fingers on the palm print had a solid black dot!

"Blood Demon Finger!"

Seeing this wound, Zheng Shiying immediately knew who had beaten him.

A cold light flashed in his eyes, and he clenched his fists, muttering, "Zheng Song!"

The Blood Demon Finger was a secret technique passed down in the Zheng family.

Due to its extreme cruelty, the Zheng family had established a rule that this technique should not be taught to disciples.

Zheng Song's grandfather, Zheng Xuan, held a high position and disregarded the family rules, still teaching the Blood Demon Finger to Zheng Song and a few others who had entered the sect before him.

Since Wu Dong was hit by the Blood Demon Finger, the person who harmed him must be one of Zheng Song's gang.

Wu Dong, fearing that Zheng Shiying would go after Zheng Song, shook his head. "Brother, it wasn't Zheng Song who did it."

Hua Qian'er glanced at Wu Dong, understanding his thoughts, and nodded. "Big Brother Zheng, it really doesn't seem to be Zheng Song who did it."

At that moment, a sarcastic voice suddenly came from outside the door. "Oh, Big Brother Zheng Shiying, you're still hiding here."

"I heard your little brother is getting beaten up frequently, and you're still hiding here. You're really calm!"

"Poor your little brothers!"

"Could it be because you offended the Xu family that your little brother is getting beaten up? If you had apologized to the Xu family earlier, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Ah, you're really a failure as a leader!"

"Zheng Song!" Zheng Shiying clenched his fists and turned towards the door.

Wu Dong and Hua Qian'er exchanged glances, wanting to stop Zheng Shiying, but he extended his right hand to them and said, "This is between me and him. Just wait here."

Outside the room, Zheng Song and the eight Zheng family disciples were standing with their arms crossed, looking at the room with malicious glee.

Zheng Shiying walked out of the room and looked at Zheng Song, regretting the words he had said that day, which had scared him away! If he had controlled his words better that day, he could have already beaten him to death on the arena!

"What? Is there anyone else outside the Zheng family who knows the Blood Demon Finger?" Zheng Shiying asked coldly. "Or are you used to selling out? Have you even sold the family's martial arts to outsiders?"

Selling out? Zheng Song recalled the last time he was mocked by Zheng Shiying, and his face darkened. "Zheng Shiying, you can't just say things recklessly. I can report you for this."

In the large courtyard, the people behind Zheng Song shouted loudly.

"Look at you! You've only been here for a short time, and people keep coming to cause trouble for you!"

"As Zheng family disciples, which of us has worse talent or lower cultivation than you? We all behave ourselves in the sect, afraid of causing trouble for the family."

"But you, you caused such a big mess by killing Xu Sa."

"You might not care about yourself, but you should think about us! Xu Sa's older brother is the examiner for the outer disciples to become inner disciples."

"You killed Xu Sa, how can we pass the exam and become inner disciples?"

"One bad apple spoils the whole bunch! Before you act, did you even think about the family?"

"You've ruined the family's future!"

Each of them looked at Zheng Shiying with hatred, their teeth grinding as if they wanted to eat him alive.

Zheng Shiying just sneered at the accusations, clapping his hands. "Your ability to twist the truth is really impressive! You still remember we're from the same family? Where were you when Xu Sa was bullying me?"

"Not only did you not help me, but you even helped him against me."

"You don't think about me, so why should I think about you?"

"Zheng Song, that dog, betrayed me to the ancestral land! Are you all blind, to ally with him?"

"Because of his high cultivation, have you forgotten justice?"

"If that's the case, what's there to talk about! Sacrificing you nine to achieve my goal, wouldn't that be better?"

Zheng Shiying's cold words were like slaps, hitting the faces of his fellow clan members. Even Wu Dong, sitting inside the room, felt as if he could hear the sound of slaps.

The faces of the people behind Zheng Song turned redder, their expressions twitching. If it weren't for the sect rules, someone would have already rushed forward to attack.

"Beast! What are you thinking?"

"We're at least your fellow clan brothers, and you actually have the thought of sacrificing us nine to achieve your goal!"

"You have such thoughts! I can guarantee that you won't last a year in the sect!"

Zheng Shiying's face was filled with a mocking smile as he looked at the distorted faces of his fellow clan members, finally focusing on Zheng Song. "I was too lazy to deal with you, this stupid dog from the ancestral land! Since you keep causing trouble for me and provoking my friends, it seems you're really tired of living! Zheng Song, do you dare to go to the life-and-death arena with me?"

Life-and-death arena? Zheng Song's distorted face, due to anger, suddenly froze like a stone statue, and a feeling of elation instantly took over his entire brain.

Life-and-death arena! Zheng Song wanted to rush over and hug Zheng Shiying, kissing him fiercely! He had been provoking him for days, just to anger him to the point of losing his mind and agreeing to the life-and-death arena!

As long as he killed Zheng Shiying, the Xu family would keep their promise! That would mean becoming an inner disciple! No one from the Zheng family had ever become an inner disciple of the Xuanming Sect!

This would be the glory of the Zheng family! And the first step for him to reach the peak!

Becoming an inner disciple of the Xuanming Sect would make it more likely to attract the attention of the ancestral land, allowing him to enter the ancestral land for cultivation and eventually become famous there!

The status of the Zheng family in the ancestral land would be elevated, and he would be written into the history of the Zheng family and the ancestral land.

Countless honors would surround him.

This was an opportunity! He had to seize it!

Zheng Song's frozen expression quickly turned to elation. "Life-and-death arena! Fine! If you have the guts, let's go now!"

"Want to go to the life-and-death arena?"

Hua Qian'er frowned, quickly stopping her treatment of Wu Dong's wounds and running out of the room. Wu Dong followed quickly, and the two of them shouted together, "Don't agree..."

Wu Dong's eyes, filled with anger, were larger than usual. "Zheng Song! You bastard, I'll fight you..."

Zheng Song sneered, his smile not reaching his eyes. "A weakling who can't take a hit, you're in such a state, what right do you have to speak to me? Life-and-death arena? If you want to die, I can grant you that..."

Arrogant! Zheng Song deliberately looked at Zheng Shiying with a challenging gaze, as if to say, "If you don't go to the arena, I'll beat your friend to death."

Zheng Shiying raised his arm, blocking Wu Dong behind him, and said calmly, "Old Wu, let me handle it. I have some accounts to settle with this stupid dog from the ancestral land. Let's go! To the life-and-death arena."

The veins on Zheng Song's forehead bulged. As the strongest presence of the Zheng family in the Xuanming Sect, he was being repeatedly insulted by a useless person who had lost his martial soul! If he didn't kill this person, the entire Xuanming Sect would think he was easy to bully!

"Useless person who lost your martial soul!" Zheng Song walked quickly towards the arena, muttering, "If I knew that beating up the people around you would work, I should have done it long ago! You've lived for too many days..."

On the life-and-death arena, life and death are determined by fate!

Zheng Song was full of confidence. In the past year, his cultivation had rapidly advanced from the fifth Qi Wheel stage to the ninth Qi Wheel stage.

Zheng Shiying? According to the information he had gathered, this guy was only at the seventh Qi Wheel stage!

A seventh Qi Wheel cultivator fighting a ninth Qi Wheel cultivator? Isn't that just asking for death? In front of a ninth Qi Wheel cultivator, a seventh Qi Wheel cultivator is no stronger than an ant.

"Stupid and reckless!" The others, who had just been angry, now looked at Zheng Shiying as if he were a fool, spitting out, "I said he wouldn't last a year."

"He's going to the life-and-death arena with Song."

"It seems I overestimated him. I should say he won't even last today!"

Wu Dong and Hua Qian'er looked at Zheng Shiying anxiously, wanting to persuade him not to go.

Zheng Shiying's face showed a gentle and confident smile. "I've already passed the three trials. What can one Zheng Song do to me? Don't worry."

Hua Qian'er and Wu Dong exchanged glances and silently followed him.