Chapter 35: Dealing with the Aftermath

Lin Hai's head, like a ball, slowly rolled to one side, leaving a large trail of blood on the ground, a sight too gruesome to bear.

If there were people present, they would have been shocked to the core. Lin Hai, a prestigious inner disciple of the Flowing Cloud Sect and the proud apprentice of the Blood Hand Madman Xiao Zhenhai, had just been killed by a disciple who had only joined the sect for less than three months, after using his strongest move, Crimson Blood Blaze.

If this news were to spread, it would undoubtedly shock the entire world.

In the rock tunnel next to the stone room, the hearts of six or seven inner disciples were pounding in their throats. The commotion just now was like a mountain collapse, and now that it had fallen silent, everyone knew that the duel was over.

"Who won...?"

After a moment of silence, one of the inner disciples finally swallowed hard and spoke up cautiously.

"I think it must be Senior Brother Lin Hai, after all, he just used Crimson Blood Blaze..."

"But why hasn't Senior Brother Lin Hai come over yet?"

"Could he be injured? Should we go and help him..."

The other inner disciples also chimed in, but their voices were clearly hesitant. Despite having no reason to doubt their Senior Brother Lin Hai, a sense of foreboding still lingered in their hearts.

"Release Wang Yue, or I will show no mercy!"

Just as the six or seven inner disciples were speculating, a cold voice suddenly echoed from the end of the tunnel.

The voice was like a command from the Grim Reaper, and the six or seven inner disciples all shuddered involuntarily.

"That's Shen Chen's voice, what about Senior Brother Lin Hai..."

The inner disciples, now fully aware, were shocked speechless. They had heard clearly that the person who had just shouted was... Shen Chen!

Then what about Senior Brother Lin Hai?

At this thought, the six or seven inner disciples almost instantly fell into despair.

But one of them, more courageous, mustered the courage to shout in the direction of the voice, "Let us release him, you... you... what right do you have..."

His voice was clearly lacking in confidence.

In the next moment, a figure slowly approached, holding something in his hand.

It was Shen Chen. He walked to where the six or seven inner disciples could see him, then slowly raised his hand, pointing to the object he held, and said coldly, "Just because of this, will you release him or not?"

In an instant, the six or seven inner disciples were terrified. They finally saw what Shen Chen was holding.

It was... Senior Brother Lin Hai's head!!!

At that moment, the head was still dripping blood, and the eyes were wide open, a terrifying sight.

"You... you... you actually killed Senior Brother Lin Hai, you... you... you..."

The six or seven inner disciples were almost paralyzed with fear. The scene before them was too shocking, too sudden. Their invincible Senior Brother Lin Hai was now decapitated, his head held by someone.

And that person was none other than Shen Chen, whom they had previously considered dead.

How could this be?!

The six or seven inner disciples were almost beside themselves with fear.

"I will say it again, if you want to live, release Wang Yue."

Shen Chen's voice was indifferent, but to the six or seven inner disciples, it sounded like the wailing of ghosts from the netherworld.

"Clang, clang..."

In the next moment, the weapons in the hands of the six or seven inner disciples fell to the ground. With Senior Brother Lin Hai dead, what could they use to resist this demon before them?

"Ha ha ha! You were all so arrogant just now, let me see if I can chop off your heads too, and see if you can still be so arrogant!" Wang Yue, freed from captivity, was already consumed by rage, and immediately raised his axe to kill.

"Enough, Lin Hai is dead, there's no need to create more bloodshed!" But Shen Chen stopped him, not allowing Wang Yue to execute the seven people on the ground.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Shen Chen, for sparing our lives!"

"Thank you, Senior Brother Shen Chen, for showing mercy..."

"Senior Brother Shen Chen is magnanimous, we will never dare to oppose you again!"

"Yes, we were all misled by Lin Hai, we will never dare to do so again!"

...

The seven inner disciples, seeing that they had escaped death, immediately bowed and thanked Shen Chen, not at all resembling the high-and-mighty inner disciples of the Flowing Cloud Sect they usually were.

"Get up, you two, go out and tell the guards outside to surrender, or else..."

Shen Chen, expressionless, pointed to two of the seven and instructed them to inform the outer guards. As he spoke, a hint of severity flashed in his eyes.

"Yes, yes, we will make those guys surrender and await Senior Brother Shen Chen's judgment!"

The two chosen ones, understanding Shen Chen's meaning, immediately stumbled to their feet and walked out of the cave.

Not long after, Shen Chen and Wang Yue walked out of the cave. The five inner disciples outside had already thrown their weapons aside and were kneeling on the ground, trembling in fear.

The two who had come out of the cave had already informed them of the situation inside. Upon learning of Senior Brother Lin Hai's death, everyone knew that the mission was over!

"Senior Brother Shen Chen, spare our lives, we were all forced to do this. Without Lin Hai's instigation, even if we had a hundred lives, we wouldn't dare to oppose you!"

As the saying goes, when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. With Lin Hai dead, these former followers of his all shifted the blame onto him.

Some even directly cursed Lin Hai's past actions, hoping to gain Shen Chen's forgiveness.

"You can go back and report the situation truthfully to the elders. As long as you don't oppose me in the future, I will help you plead with the elders." Shen Chen said calmly.

In his past and present life, he had seen all kinds of sycophants. Although he despised their behavior, he was too tired to scold them like a moralist.

"Yes, yes, Senior Brother Shen Chen, from now on, we will never dare to oppose you."

"Senior Brother Shen Chen is magnanimous and forgiving, we are willing to serve you loyally, even at the cost of our lives!"

"We will follow your instructions and report everything that happened here to the elders..."

Hearing Shen Chen's instructions, the group of inner disciples felt as if they had been granted a reprieve. Various flattery and praise followed, and then, at Shen Chen's signal, they ran out of the valley, their heads hanging low.

"Brother, are you going to let these white-eyed wolves off so easily?" After the inner disciples left, Wang Yue looked at Shen Chen with a hint of dissatisfaction.

Even now, Wang Yue's eyes still burned with the desire to kill. If not for Shen Chen's intervention, he would have already chopped off a few heads to use as seats.

It wasn't that Wang Yue was heartless; these people had all participated in the hunt for them, and many of their weapons were likely still stained with the blood of him and Shen Chen.

"Or what..."

After the inner disciples left, Shen Chen's expression finally relaxed, no longer as cold and indifferent as before.

He fell back onto the grass, too exhausted to move, his body drained of energy.

When Shen Chen used the three consecutive strikes from the Nine Cuts of the Netherworld earlier, it was impressive, but it had almost drained all his energy and blood. He couldn't do it again.

"Brother, you're injured," Wang Yue stepped forward, his eyes full of concern. "No wonder you were willing to let them go, it's because of this..."

"Not entirely because of that," Shen Chen shook his head, lying on the ground. "Think about it, if I had killed all these inner disciples today, what would the elders and the sect leader think?"

"..."

Wang Yue was startled, seeming to understand something, but still argued, "But they were the ones who ambushed us first, trying to kill us. Even if the elders found out, we would still be in the right, right?"

"Ha ha, Wang Yue, you're too naive. In this world, sometimes being right isn't enough to solve everything," Shen Chen was too tired to say more, but he still patiently explained, "Inner disciples are the foundation of the Flowing Cloud Sect. Each one is seen as a future hope by the sect. The more we kill, the more trouble we will have when we return. Besides, some of them might be the children or direct disciples of the sect's higher-ups. If we kill them, we risk having old monsters make things difficult for us in the future."

"Oh!"

Wang Yue suddenly understood, saying, "So, by letting them go, you're also reducing unnecessary trouble for us."

"Yes, exactly. On the other hand, these people will likely shift all the blame onto Lin Hai to avoid responsibility. Some of them might even become useful to us in the future. This is all beneficial to us." Shen Chen nodded with a smile.

His experience from two lifetimes made him think more deeply about things, allowing him to avoid unnecessary losses.

"But brother, aren't you afraid they might turn around and accuse us of trying to harm their Senior Brother Lin Hai?" Wang Yue thought for a long time and suddenly blurted out.

"Don't worry, that won't happen. Two new disciples trying to harm a well-known elder's direct disciple and dozens of inner disciples—do you think anyone would believe such nonsense? Relax, those guys aren't that stupid!"

Shen Chen slowly closed his eyes, everything was under his control.

...

About an hour later, Shen Chen woke up from his rest, his body still a bit sore, but his blood had recovered significantly.

Wang Yue thought he was ready to return to the sect, but Shen Chen shook his head.

"Not yet! I gained a lot from the battle earlier, and with eight major acupoints already open in my left arm, this is the perfect opportunity to break through. I want to reach the fourth level of the Blood Fusion Realm before returning!"

Shen Chen said with a serious look. In fact, not only was his cultivation about to break through, but the valuable insights he gained from using the three consecutive strikes of the Nine Cuts of the Netherworld in the crisis must be digested as soon as possible.

Shen Chen believed that if everything went smoothly, his strength would likely take a significant leap forward!

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