Chapter Fifteen: Take It Slow on the Road to the Underworld
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A real man never wrongs himself. Once you have the power to take revenge, do not hesitate—use the most practical means available and finish your opponent.
Cultivation is difficult. If you can blame someone else, do not blame yourself.
Dragon Gate Mountain Square descended into chaos. The disciples around Li Qingchuan scattered like a receding tide. Those who had previously been close to him retreated the farthest, eager to sever all ties.
These were the so-called fair-weather friends.
When you were prosperous, they stayed at your side and obeyed your every command. You were their master.
But once you fell from grace, you became the target of everyone’s hostility. They avoided you like the plague. Those who kept their distance could at least be said to possess some conscience; given the opportunity, they would be the first to step forward and trample you a few times.
Five or six disciples from the Law Enforcement Hall stepped forward first, preparing to seize Li Qingchuan.
“Stop!”
Li Kaixian roared. His eyes seemed ready to split apart, and he resembled an enraged lion, waves of energy surging around his entire body.
“Lin Hao, this is a personal vendetta disguised as justice. What crime has my son committed that he should be thrown into the dungeon? Even if you are now the Holy Son, rewards and punishments must still be administered fairly. The Taixuan Sect is a place governed by reason.”
Li Kaixian stood before Lin Hao, wishing he could slap him to death. Yet he also knew perfectly well that in front of Mr. Ximen, even if he wanted to make a move, he would have no chance whatsoever.
Li Kaixian had expected Lin Hao to take revenge on father and son. In truth, everyone in the Taixuan Sect could have predicted it. They simply had not expected his retaliation to come so quickly or so directly.
“He’s panicking.”
Lin Hao gave a derisive laugh. “Li Kaixian, you’re trying to reason with me now? Unfortunately, reason is no longer in your hands. I am the Holy Son. I am the law.”
“You…”
Li Kaixian was left speechless with fury.
“What do you mean, ‘you’? Get out of the way. Don’t delay the Holy Son in carrying out his duty.”
Lin Hao spoke impatiently. The sight of Li Kaixian irritated him. The old dog had finally begun to panic. When he had wanted to execute Lin Hao on the spot under the guise of enforcing justice, he had been far more arrogant and overbearing than this.
If Li Kaixian had not been an Elder of the Origin Transformation Realm, Lin Hao would have dealt with him as well.
First, he would deal with his son. The father could be handled slowly afterward.
Both father and son had to die. From the very beginning, they had plotted to take his life. Now, the positions of hunter and prey had been reversed.
In the square, the disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall had already pinned Li Qingchuan down and were preparing to escort him to the dungeon.
“Father, save me!”
Li Qingchuan panicked. Father and son had always acted tyrannically in the Taixuan Sect, holding absolute power. Not long ago, they had even gained the favor of the Ling family and secretly accepted benefits from them, arranging for Lin Hao to be brought to the Taixuan Sect.
Unfortunately, the situation had changed. They had summoned a plague god and ended up crushing their own feet with the stone they had lifted.
Seeing that Lin Hao was serious, Li Kaixian became like an ant on a hot griddle. He knew the dungeon better than anyone. Even with Li Qingchuan’s cultivation at the seventh level of the Qi Sea Realm, he would not last five days inside. He would either die or be crippled.
“Saintess, Mr. Ximen, please uphold justice for us.”
Li Kaixian bowed toward Yi Fuyao and Mr. Ximen. “The Holy Son has disregarded the sect’s laws and used his authority to pursue a personal vendetta. How can anyone accept such conduct?”
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“That doesn’t sound right. I personally saw Li Qingchuan chasing after the Holy Son with a sword just now. Such an act of insubordination certainly warrants his being sent to the dungeon.”
Ren Baichuan chuckled.
“Bullshit! Ren Baichuan, don’t twist right and wrong. Lin Hao wasn’t the Holy Son at the time!”
Li Kaixian snarled furiously.
“But he is now.”
Ren Baichuan shrugged.
Li Kaixian nearly vomited blood. Damn it, were they openly refusing to reason with him now?
“Elder Ximen, please preside over this matter fairly.”
Li Kaixian approached Mr. Ximen.
Mr. Ximen wore a kind expression as he smiled at Li Kaixian. “Everything has a cause and an effect. I believe the Holy Son must have his reasons for acting as he has. Kaixian, try to be more open-minded. He is only being sent to the dungeon, not executed. I will speak on your behalf and have him confined there for three days.”
Li Kaixian froze, nearly losing control on the spot.
What kind of thing was that supposed to mean? What did he mean by “not executed”?
And what did he mean by “only three days”? Three days in the dungeon would damn well be enough to kill him.
“But Lin Hao killed the Outer Sect Elder Xu Yansong first. My son and I only appeared to enforce the law.”
Li Kaixian still tried to use Lin Hao’s killing of the elder against him.
“Then Elder Xu was probably in the wrong.”
Mr. Ximen spoke indifferently.
Li Kaixian: “…”
“A-Hao, as the Holy Son, you must possess a heart of tolerance. Do me this favor and confine him for three days as a token punishment.”
Mr. Ximen turned to Lin Hao.
“Since you ask it of me, Elder, I will confine him for three days.”
Lin Hao paused before continuing, “I will personally escort him there.”
“Father, save me! Save me!”
Li Qingchuan cried out loudly, but his voice grew more and more distant as the disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall dragged him toward the dungeon.
Li Kaixian was so frantic that he slapped his thigh, yet there was nothing he could do. He could only watch helplessly as his son was taken away.
Mr. Ximen had personally spoken. What else could he possibly do?
Wrapped in Mr. Ximen’s elemental energy, Lin Hao descended from the sky and caught up with the disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall.
At the entrance to the dungeon in the rear mountains.
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“Lin Hao, you’re abusing your authority to settle a personal grudge—”
Slap!
Before Li Qingchuan could finish, a palm struck him across the face. The Law Enforcement Hall disciple beside him shouted, “Insult the Holy Son again and I’ll slap your mouth to pieces!”
“Ji Yang, how dare you hit me?”
Slap!
The disciple swung his hand and struck him across the face again. “So what if I hit you? The Holy Son is merciful enough to confine you for only three days.”
These Law Enforcement Hall disciples were all extremely powerful. Even the weakest among them had cultivation equal to Li Qingchuan’s. The Ji Yang whom Li Qingchuan had addressed was a veteran of the Law Enforcement Hall, possessing cultivation at the ninth level of the Qi Sea Realm.
Unfortunately, he was already close to thirty, and his potential had essentially been exhausted. Without some great opportunity, he would spend the rest of his life reaching, at most, the Origin Transformation Realm and becoming an elder of the Law Enforcement Hall.
“Your name is Ji Yang?”
Lin Hao looked at the young man who had slapped Li Qingchuan twice and asked with a smile.
“Ji Yang of the Law Enforcement Hall pays his respects to the Holy Son.”
Ji Yang hurriedly bowed.
Lin Hao nodded and gave Ji Yang an approving look, as if to say that he had a bright future. Then he walked over to Li Qingchuan.
“Li Qingchuan, take out the sword you used to chase me just now.”
Lin Hao smiled. Li Qingchuan’s body trembled. From Lin Hao’s narrowed eyes, he sensed a chilling intent to kill.
“You… What are you going to do?”
Li Qingchuan was frightened.
“Stop wasting time. Take it out when I tell you to.”
Ji Yang reached over, pulled the Universe Ring from Li Qingchuan’s finger, took out Li Qingchuan’s sword, and handed it to Lin Hao.
“Holy Son.”
Lin Hao accepted the sword. Then, before Ji Yang and the others, he thrust it forward with lightning speed.
With a sharp sound, the blade pierced through Li Qingchuan’s chest.
“You…”
Li Qingchuan’s eyes widened, filled with terror and disbelief. He slowly lowered his head and stared at the long sword that had pierced his heart.
It was his own sword.
The fear a person felt before death would be magnified without limit. Li Qingchuan felt the tearing pain in his chest and the rapid loss of vitality within his body. He knew that he was finished.
He had never imagined that he would die, much less that death would come so quickly—or that he would die in the Taixuan Sect, the place where he had once run rampant without fear of consequence.
“Take your time on the road to the Yellow Springs. Wait for your father.”
Lin Hao’s eyes gleamed with icy light. After giving Li Qingchuan one final glance, he turned and walked away without even pulling out the sword.
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