Chapter 141: SINCE YOU’RE SO EAGER TO HAVE YOUR LEGS BROKEN

Ranked at the very bottom!

Those words hit Gao Shan right where it hurt most. His face instantly warped from smug condescension into dark, violent fury.

"You dare insult an inner senior?!" Gao Shan roared, stepping closer.

His gaze suddenly dropped, catching sight of the aged spirit peach-wood hairpin resting neatly in Li Yan’s topknot.

Seeing the delicate plum blossom carving and the tranquil pale-blue jade bead, a flash of malicious ridicule sparked in Gao Shan’s eyes.

"Tsk, a crippled man who can’t even wield Qi, yet you spend your time wearing such delicate, fragile trinkets in your hair like a mortal maiden?"

Gao Shan snorted with disgust, raising his thick, calloused hand directly toward Li Yan’s crown, aiming to violently rip the hairpin from his hair to humiliate him in front of the entire crowd!

"Let your senior brother teach you the rules of this sect—starting with stripping away your useless vanity!"

Seeing Gao Shan’s hand reach for the hairpin, Gu Jun’s eyes turned crimson with mad fury. "You dare touch his things?!"

Gu Jun went to draw his broadsword, but before he could even pull the blade an inch from its scabbard, Li Yan moved.

Li Yan did not use spiritual Qi.

Yet, the instant Gao Shan’s fingers reached within three inches of his hairpin, Li Yan’s slender frame shifted with terrifying, ghost-like fluidity.

Whoosh!

Gao Shan’s claws grasped only empty air!

Before Gao Shan could register the shock of missing his target, Li Yan’s fair hand flicked out like a striking viper.

SLAP!

A sharp, crisp crack echoed across the stone plaza!

Li Yan’s palm struck the side of Gao Shan’s wrist with the precision of a carving knife. The impact did not carry a single trace of spiritual light, but the sheer eight hundred catties of bone-forged brute force shattered Gao Shan’s protective aura in an instant!

"Ugh!"

Gao Shan let out a muffled grunt of pain, stumbling backward three steps. His wrist was burning with numbness, the skin swelling red as if he had been struck with a solid iron rod!

The surrounding crowd gasped in unison. An outer disciple actually slapped an inner disciple’s hand away?!

"You court death!" Gao Shan’s blood boiled with humiliation. To be rebuffed and repelled by an outer sect "cripple" in broad daylight was an unforgivable disgrace!

Shing—!

Gao Shan gripped the hilt of his heavy serrated saber, his spiritual Qi flaring violently, his killing intent locked onto Li Yan.

Under sect law, inner disciples were strictly forbidden from attacking outer disciples outside designated training grounds without cause. If he drew his weapon here, the Hall of Discipline would cripple his cultivation points. But Gao Shan’s pride had been scorched raw.

"Brother Yan! Stop! Please don’t be reckless!"

A hurried, sanctimonious voice suddenly broke through the tense silence.

From behind the gathering crowd, Li Wei pushed his way forward, his indigo robes fluttering elegantly in the breeze. His face was filled with deep, brotherly distress, looking every bit like a benevolent elder brother desperately trying to protect a wayward sibling.

"Brother Yan, how could you be so disrespectful to Senior Brother Gao?!" Li Wei pleaded, rushing to stand beside Gao Shan with a pained expression.

He turned toward the crowd, letting everyone hear his righteous sorrow: "Senior Brother Gao is an honorable inner disciple who fought valiantly for the sect! You only just entered the sect, and your dantian is already damaged from the northern mission. How could you let your pride blind you into striking a senior?!"

Li Wei then turned back to Li Yan, lowering his voice into a hushed, faux-caring whisper that carried unmistakable venom:

"Brother Yan, listen to Brother Wei. Acknowledge your mistake right now! Kneel down, kowtow three times to Senior Brother Gao, and surrender your monthly outer-sect resource tokens as compensation! I will use my face to plead for mercy with Senior Brother Gao on your behalf. Otherwise, if this matter reaches the Elder Hall, you won’t even have a place to stay in the sect!"

Hearing Li Wei’s words, several onlookers began murmuring in agreement, praising Li Wei’s magnanimity while shaking their heads at Li Yan’s "foolish arrogance."

Li Yan stood calmly in place, his hands resting naturally by his sides.

He looked at Li Wei’s theatrical performance, his phoenix eyes cold, empty, and devoid of the slightest emotional ripple—as if he were watching an ugly, painted clown jumping on a stage.

In his previous life, Li Wei had used this exact same gentle, concerned mask to poison his reputation, isolate him from everyone, and ultimately lead him into the hands of slave merchants.

Now, Li Wei wanted him to kneel in the dirt, surrender his dignity, and admit that he was a worthless cripple?

How laughable.

"Kowtow? Surrender tokens?" Gao Shan caught Li Wei’s hint immediately, a sinister, savage grin spreading across his face.

Gao Shan stepped forward, his eyes burning with malice as he pointed his finger straight at Li Yan’s nose.

"A ruined waste who only knows how to rely on cheap parlor tricks! If you have the guts, don’t hide behind the Sect Master’s name or your brother’s mercy! Step onto the Sect Martial Arena with me!"

Gao Shan’s voice boomed across the entire plaza, loud enough to wake the dead.

"On the Martial Arena, weapons have no eyes! Life and death are left to heaven! If you’re a coward who only knows how to hide behind a deaf girl and a dog, you can crawl between my legs right now and admit you’re a crippled dog! Otherwise... step onto the stage!"

The entire courtyard went completely still.

The Martial Arena!

Once two disciples stepped onto that raised stone stage and signed the spirit pact, the sect rules no longer protected them. Broken limbs and shattered cultivations were commonplace!

"You bastard! I’ll fight you on the stage!" Gu Jun roared, his veins bulging on his neck as he lunged forward, ready to stake his life.

"Gu Jun," Li Yan’s voice rang out, soft yet carrying an invisible, freezing weight that rooted Gu Jun instantly to the spot.

Baozi tugged at Li Yan’s sleeve frantically, shaking her head with tears welling in her eyes, desperately signing: No! Danger! Don’t go!

Li Yan gently removed her small fingers from his sleeve, looking down at her with a calm, reassuring curve of his lips. He mouthed two simple words: "Trust me."

Baozi froze, seeing the absolute, unshakeable confidence in his clear eyes. Her trembling hands slowly fell to her sides.

Li Yan turned his gaze toward Gao Shan, and then slowly swept past Li Wei, who was barely suppressing the ecstatic, bloodthirsty sneer on his lips. Farther in the distance, within the shadow of the stone pavilion, Li Yan could also sense Cui Ahjun’s cold, expectant gaze watching from the distance. It was not hard to tell whose idea it was.

Li Yan let out a low, musical chuckle. The sound was as clear as ice crystals shattering against jade, sending a strange, inexplicable chill straight down the spines of everyone present.

He took a slow, unhurried step forward, his cyan robes swaying gracefully in the morning wind.

"Since you are so eager to have your dog legs broken," Li Yan said, his voice ringing across the silent plaza like the chime of a funeral bell, "why wait?"

His phoenix eyes narrowed into two razor-sharp crescents, radiating a terrifying, suffocating chill.

"Lead the way to the arena. Today... no one leaves that stage without bleeding."