Chapter 12

The door opened, and Zichen stood at the entrance. Outside, there was a foul stench, and in the distance, many outer disciples who had come to investigate the smell were covering their noses, pointing and whispering. This was clearly Wang Meng's doing. Zichen had never imagined it would be so despicable and disgusting. Throwing feces. Zichen had only heard of this method of revenge before but had never seen it in action. In the outer disciples, although fighting was not allowed, conflicts still arose, and many people came up with various ways to vent their anger, one of which was throwing feces.

"Zichen has offended someone, someone he can't afford to offend," Zichen could faintly hear a few comments, some of which were tinged with schadenfreude. Wang Meng's conflict with Zichen was known to some.

In the distance, Wang Meng, a well-known figure among the outer disciples, appeared unusually restrained today. Beside him, Fu Jie and Chi Ming, who usually acted arrogantly, now seemed like lapdogs, following Wang Meng with fawning faces, their eyes occasionally glancing forward, filled with admiration and fanaticism.

Beside Wang Meng stood a young man in white. In the Lingwu Sect, blue robes represented outer disciples, white robes represented inner disciples, and red robes represented the esteemed elders. This young man in white was clearly an inner disciple, and not just any inner disciple. He was Wang Xiong, the peak of the eighth level of True Qi.

Wang Xiong had a high reputation among the inner disciples and was a god-like figure among the outer disciples. Wang Meng's influence in the outer disciples was entirely due to Wang Xiong. Upon hearing that Zichen had returned, Wang Xiong had rushed over in a hurry.

The situation seemed to have taken an unexpected turn. Zhao Can and the others, who were supposed to return months ago, had vanished without a trace. Months later, Zichen returned. Whether it was Zichen or Zhao Can, Wang Xiong didn't care. What he cared about was the Snow Ginseng.

A 500-year-old Snow Ginseng was extremely important to Wang Xiong. He had been stuck at the eighth level of True Qi for a long time. If he could break through to the ninth level, he would have a chance to pass the examination and enter the core of the Lingwu Sect, becoming a core disciple. At that time, he would truly be a high-ranking figure in the Lingwu Sect. The Lingwu Sect had a rule that every core disciple could receive a先天丹 (Xiantian Pill) for free. One Xiantian Pill could give an 80% chance for a peak True Qi realm cultivator to break through to the Xiantian realm. In addition, core disciples could enjoy more resources from the Lingwu Sect without needing contribution points, unlike inner disciples. Core disciples received rewards without any effort, a treatment that was dozens of times better than that of inner disciples.

"Zichen refused to hand over the Snow Ginseng?" Wang Xiong frowned, already knowing that Wang Meng had tried to negotiate with Zichen.

"Big Brother, it's not that he refused, but that this guy is just pretending to be ignorant," Wang Meng said, his anger evident when he mentioned Zichen.

"Oh, pretending to be ignorant?"

"Yes, Big Brother. When I asked him where the Snow Ginseng was, he said he didn't know what it was. Isn't that pretending to be ignorant?" Wang Meng replied.

"Did you mention the True Qi Pill in exchange for the Snow Ginseng?"

"I didn't get a chance to say it. He told me he didn't know what the Snow Ginseng was and refused to admit it. How could I say anything?" Wang Meng said, clearly frustrated.

"Oh, so he's being so stubborn?" A cold light flashed in Wang Xiong's eyes.

"Very stubborn. I don't know where this guy gets his nerve," Wang Meng said resentfully. "And those useless Zhao Can and the others, they are truly more trouble than they're worth. Zichen has returned, but they haven't."

"How strong is Zichen?" Wang Xiong asked again.

"His strength is unknown, but he shouldn't have surpassed the fifth level of True Qi," Wang Meng said after a moment's thought.

"Have you seen him in action?"

Wang Meng shook his head. "No, but when he saw Fu Jie and Chi Ming's strength yesterday, his expression changed suddenly, clearly out of surprise. This shows he hasn't broken through."

Wang Xiong nodded in satisfaction. As long as Zichen hadn't broken through, the Snow Ginseng was clearly not yet refined. Moreover, a mere fourth-level True Qi cultivator like Zichen wouldn't have the ability to refine the Snow Ginseng.

"Still being so stubborn without breaking through, does he not know your identity?" Wang Xiong's voice turned cold. In the outer disciples, who dared to disrespect him?

"He knows, but he just doesn't give me face," Wang Meng said. "But I don't think he will be so disrespectful now."

"Did you teach him a lesson?"

"No, just made him feel disgusted."

As Wang Meng spoke, Wang Xiong caught a strong smell of feces in the air. He instinctively frowned and covered his nose.

"Heh heh."

Then, three laughs echoed from beside them, clearly from Wang Meng and his companions.

"Not bad, Lin Mi did a great job."

Wang Meng was very satisfied with the smell in the air.

Then, they saw the crowd gathered ahead. With a light cough, everyone turned to see Wang Meng and Wang Xiong, their expressions changing as they moved aside, quickly forming a direct path to the front. Unfortunately, this path led not to a place of happiness, but to a house filled with the stench of feces, with a blue-robed youth standing at the door.

"Ha ha!"

Zichen stood inside the room, while outside, there were solid and liquid substances everywhere. The wooden bucket Lin Mi had used was still lying on the side, its contents spilled out. Seeing this, Wang Meng couldn't help but laugh loudly, and the two behind him also burst into laughter, clearly very satisfied with their handiwork.

The three laughs acted like a fuse, spreading quickly, and soon the surrounding area was filled with laughter.

Everyone was laughing, except for Zichen, who stood calmly in the room, calmly looking at Wang Meng, a hint of barely concealed anger in his eyes.

Wang Xiong's appearance caused a stir, and the surrounding area was filled with whispers.

"You are Zichen?"

From a distance, Wang Xiong asked coolly.

"Who are you?" Zichen asked coldly, though he naturally recognized Wang Xiong, having seen him from afar before. He was just deliberately asking.

"Hmph, truly ignorant, not even recognizing Senior Brother Wang Xiong. Why don't you come over here?" Fu Jie, who had been silent, finally found an opportunity to speak.

"Senior Brother Wang Xiong?" Zichen remained calm, his tone mocking. "Why is Senior Brother Wang Xiong, who should be in the inner disciples, here in this stinky place? Is it to see your brother's handiwork?"

Clearly, this was something Wang Meng had arranged.

"Is this how you speak to me?" Wang Xiong's face darkened. Zichen was the first outer disciple to show him disrespect. If it weren't for the Snow Ginseng, Zichen would be in trouble.

The onlookers looked at Zichen with pity.

"My room is in this state. I wonder, Senior Brother Wang Xiong, what kind of attitude do you expect me to have?" Zichen suppressed his anger and responded calmly.

To have his living quarters defiled with feces and then be accused of having a bad attitude, Zichen was naturally furious.

"Good, very good." Wang Xiong's eyes narrowed, a cold light flashing in them. "Hand over the 500-year-old Snow Ginseng, and I will forgive your disrespect today. Otherwise..."

Wang Xiong didn't finish his sentence, but he didn't need to. Zichen was as good as dead. An inner disciple killing an outer disciple was like killing a chicken, especially someone as high-ranking as Wang Xiong.

"The Lingwu Sect has a rule against fighting within the sect. Is Senior Brother going to break the rules?" Zichen asked calmly.

"Hmph." Wang Xiong sneered, looking at Zichen as if he were an idiot. "Do you think I would violate the sect's rules by killing you? What are you, a piece of trash? The sect would punish me for a worthless outer disciple like you?"

Zichen clenched his fists, furious but unable to refute Wang Xiong's words. The truth was that outer disciples couldn't compare to inner disciples.

"I'll give you one last chance. Hand over the 500-year-old Snow Ginseng and kneel to apologize. Otherwise, today will be your last day." The chilling words were followed by a wave of killing intent, making the atmosphere tense.

"Zichen is finished."

"Offending Senior Brother Wang Xiong means certain death."

Many people whispered among themselves.

"Is Senior Brother going to kill in broad daylight?" Zichen asked solemnly.

"Broad daylight, ha ha." Wang Xiong laughed loudly, then looked around. "Did you see me trying to kill anyone?"

Wang Xiong's words stunned the onlookers, but they quickly responded in unison, "No."

"I only saw Zichen being disrespectful and insulting Senior Brother, forcing you to act in anger."

"That's right, Senior Brother had no choice."

"Senior Brother is doing this to clean up the sect and bring peace to the Lingwu Sect."

Some clever onlookers, eager to please Wang Xiong, quickly added their voices.

"Very good." Wang Xiong was satisfied with their response. His gaze returned to Zichen, his eyes filled with killing intent.

"I'll give you one last chance. Hand over the Snow Ginseng, and I'll spare your life."

"I've already eaten the Snow Ginseng," Zichen said honestly, but no one believed him.

"Zichen, don't be stubborn."

"Exactly, it's your good fortune to be able to offer something to Senior Brother Wang Xiong."

"Don't be unreasonable. You're forcing Senior Brother Wang Xiong to act."

Before Wang Xiong could speak, the onlookers were already shouting, their faces filled with righteous indignation as they looked at Zichen, then turned to Wang Xiong with fawning expressions.

With so many witnesses and the moral high ground, the atmosphere became even more oppressive, as if Wang Xiong could strike at any moment.

If Zichen were killed today, he would die in vain, and be labeled as a traitor, while Wang Xiong would gain a reputation for upholding justice.

Just as the tension reached its peak and Zichen was thinking about how to escape, a gentle yet angry voice rang out.

"What, has the outer disciples' section become like this? So many people lying with their eyes open, are they all blind?"

As the voice fell, a white figure appeared in the crowd's line of sight.