Early the next morning.
Li Guanqi, who was sound asleep in his master's private courtyard, was jolted awake by a piercing toll of bells!
When he got up, he found that his master was already waiting outside his door.
With a solemn look, the old man said in a low voice, "Get up quickly. Head to Tianjian Peak's square!"
Li Guanqi was utterly baffled, but he quickly tidied himself up and set out.
Following the old man down the mountain, he noticed disciples from all over the sect rushing toward Tianjian Peak. Nearly every disciple currently within the sect was hurrying there.
Along the way, Li Guanqi asked curiously, "Master, what happened? What was that bell toll earlier?"
The old man explained gravely, "That is the warning bell of the Great Xia Sword Sect. It is rarely ever rung. Once it sounds, every disciple within the sect must immediately assemble at Tianjian Peak Square. A disciple must have violated the sect rules!"
Li Guanqi was shaken. What sect rule could have been broken to warrant such massive commotion?
Still, he did not dare ask further. Along the way, numerous disciples paused to bow and pay their respects to the old man, all offering friendly smiles to the young boy as well. Li Guanqi politely returned every greeting, smiling as he addressed them as senior brothers and sisters.
Seeing that this would waste too much time, Li Nanting took Li Guanqi with him and took flight, sweeping through the air toward Tianjian Peak.
When the two touched down, the square was already densely packed with disciples. Those standing at the very front appeared to be twenty-four or twenty-five years old, each exuding an overwhelmingly powerful aura. Previously, before Li Guanqi had entered Qi Refinement, he naturally could not perceive such things. Now, however, he could vaguely sense that the auras on these individuals were extraordinarily formidable.
Li Guanqi was deeply astonished.
*Could these senior brothers and sisters all be in Foundation Establishment? Incredible!*
Setting aside the newly admitted disciples, a rough estimate showed at least several thousand people densely gathered across the square. The newcomers wore bewildered expressions, whereas the senior disciples who had entered the sect earlier all bore somber looks. Even those who had been in the sect for a few years had never experienced the sounding of this bell.
*Whoosh!*
Sect Master Lu Kangnian suddenly materialized in the sky.
Behind him floated a figure whose four limbs were bound in midair by four earthen-yellow shackles. It was a youth who appeared only seventeen or eighteen years old, glaring venomously at Lu Kangnian.
Lu Kangnian's expression was grim to the extreme. With a downward press of his palm, the square fell dead silent.
Everyone felt as though a crushing weight had abruptly dropped onto their hearts!
At this moment, Li Guanqi noticed that nearly all the peak elders he had met during the entry ceremony were standing at the rear. Positioned in the very front were several elders who had never shown their faces before. Among them, a middle-aged-looking man had an intensely dark expression; judging by his attire, he was likely the Peak Lord of Tianjin Peak.
Suddenly, Lu Kangnian barked in a frigid voice, "Tu Kui, kneel!"
The man's cheek twitched, yet without a single word of complaint, he fell to his knees before the assembled disciples.
A whip instantly appeared in Lu Kangnian's hand. The whip was pitch-black throughout and covered in sharp barbs. With a flick of his wrist, the long whip lashed out like a black shadow across the man's back!
*Crack!*
The sound was sharp and crisp. The white robe across Tu Kui's back was instantly torn open, and within a few breaths, blood soaked his entire back.
*Crack! Crack! Crack!*
The whip was raised high again and again, repeatedly striking the man. From beginning to end, he did not utter a sound, quietly enduring every blow. Kneeling on the ground, his face was pale as sweat the size of beans rained down onto the bluestone paving.
Everyone's heart trembled. No one knew what had happened, but everyone was stunned by the Sect Master's fury.
Lu Kangnian lowered the whip, his eyes somewhat bloodshot as he glared at the man whose back was torn to shreds.
"Good, Tu Kui! Very good!! I made you the Peak Lord of Tianjin Peak, and this is how you discipline your disciples?!"
"What a fine disciple of yours! What a fine Tianjin Peak!!"
"Disciples of an immortal sect—how mighty, how grand!"
"If not for an eighty-year-old crone walking for twelve full days until she reached the foot of the Great Xia Sword Sect's mountain, I would never have known to this day how mighty you disciples of Tianjin Peak are down below!"
"I would never have known that my Great Xia Sword Sect could produce such a vile beast worse than an animal!"
Kneeling on the ground, Tu Kui remained silent, for he knew his disciple had committed a monstrous crime.
While the crowd was still dazed, the young man bound in the air roared viciously, his face contorted, "That I took a fancy to that woman was her good fortune!! Why should I be punished? Besides, I gave her a hundred taels of silver! She got the bargain of a lifetime!"
Lu Kangnian reached out and drew the young man into his grasp, gripping his throat in a vice-like hold!
Bringing his resolute face close to the young man's, he snarled coldly, "Even now, you still think you did nothing wrong? Unworthy to be a disciple of an immortal sect!!"
The young man's face turned crimson from being choked, but his wide eyes told everyone that he remained defiant.
Lu Kangnian slammed his right hand onto the young man's lower abdomen!
*Bang!*
Visible to the naked eye, a vortex of spiritual energy dissipated from the man's lower abdomen.
"Gah! *Cough, cough!* Ahhh!"
The young man coughed up a huge mouthful of blood with a retch.
A genius who had stepped into the Foundation Establishment realm at twenty had his dantian crippled just like that.
The disciples below instantly fell as silent as cicadas in winter, even their breathing growing cautious.
In his fury, Lu Kangnian released the binding incantation, and the young man collapsed onto the ground.
Lu Kangnian roared, "That woman was set to be married in three days! The young girl had told you this long before and pleaded with you bitterly, yet you forced yourself upon her! You even struck and injured that old woman!
"Feeling unable to face her future husband, the girl hanged herself after you left!
"Disciples of an immortal sect? My Great Xia Sword Sect is disgraced!! Disgraced!!"
*Clang!*
A longsword suddenly appeared in Lu Kangnian's hand, raised high!
Only now did the young man finally realize terror. Having his dantian crippled merely meant his path to immortality was severed, but at this moment, Lu Kangnian clearly intended to kill him!
The young man, who had been writhing on the ground in agony, actually scrambled to his feet. He fell to his knees before Lu Kangnian, frantically rubbing his hands together and kowtowing wildly. Within just a couple of knocks, blood was already seeping from his forehead, showing how desperately hard he was striking the ground.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
The young man repeatedly cried out, "Sect Master! Sect Master, I know I was wrong! I know I was wrong! I will go apologize to that girl's grandmother right now! I'll compensate her with gold and silver! I'll leave the Great Xia Sword Sect right now and work as their beast of burden!"
*Thud!*
"I was wrong! I truly know I was wrong! Spare me! Please spare me..."
*Thud! Thud!*
"I really know I was wrong! Look, if I die, that old crone will be all alone without anyone to look after her! Don't kill me! I'll go down the mountain to their home right now and serve her until she passes away of old age! In any case, I'm already crippled! I'm a useless cripple now! Spare me! Spare me!!"
Heaven and earth were silent, filled only with the young man's groveling pleas and the dull thuds of his kowtows.
By now, even the newly admitted disciples understood what had transpired. Yet having heard about the plight of the old crone down the mountain, many felt that the young man's repentant attitude was exceedingly sincere.
Li Nanting suddenly turned toward Li Guanqi beside him and asked in a low, heavy voice, "How do you think this disciple should be dealt with?"
Li Guanqi said coldly, without any expression, "He must die!"
Indeed!
Consumed by fury, Lu Kangnian was entirely unmoved. The sword in his hand flashed as swift as lightning.
The young man's limbs were severed in an instant, reducing him to a limbless trunk!
Fresh blood sprayed three feet into the air, and following the chilling glint of the blade, the young man's wretched screams ceased abruptly!
Ignoring the blood splattered across his face, Lu Kangnian swept his piercing gaze across the crowd below.
"I do not wish to see anyone violate the sect rules again! If you are not clear on them, examine your identity jade slips thoroughly and engrave them deeply into your hearts!!
"As the Peak Lord of Tianjin Peak, Tu Kui has failed in his instruction! Tu Kui is immediately stripped of his post as Tianjin Peak's Peak Lord!
"Meng Linhai shall take over as Peak Lord!
"When a disciple commits an offense, the master cannot be absolved of guilt! You personally shall carry the corpse of this degenerate disciple down to give that old crone an accounting!"
Tu Kui stood up, pale and swaying unsteadily, yet he showed not the slightest intention of contesting Lu Kangnian's words.
He bowed deeply and said, "Tu Kui obeys the order."
With a flick of his wide sleeves, Lu Kangnian gave a cold snort and vanished from before everyone's eyes.
Chapter 22