Chapter 56 : Chapter 56
Chapter 56: What, Do You All Want Your Houses Raided and Your Sects Exterminated Too?!
Before Sword-Forging Manor.
Zhou Fang was dead!
The Jianghu martial artists present all sucked in a sharp breath and stood there dumbstruck.
“How is that possible? He killed Zhou Fang!”
“Zhou Fang is ranked eightieth on the Human Ranking. If Cheng Yu could cripple him with a single strike, then doesn’t that mean he has at least top-eighty Human Ranking strength?!”
“How dare he kill Zhou Fang? He’s completely made an enemy of the Dragon Whale Island Master now!”
They had heard before of Cheng Yu sweeping through the Jianghu of Qingjiang Prefecture all by himself.
But hearing of it a hundred times was not equal to seeing it once. His strength truly was terrifying!
And his killing nature was frighteningly heavy!
At the sight of this, Cheng Zhenjiang and Zhao Xichun stood there like wooden statues.
Other than the Flying Fish Uniform on his body and the Xiuchun Saber at his waist, they simply could not connect the domineering, vicious Jinyiwei before them with the son they remembered as weak and insignificant.
Their hearts filled with grief and fury. Their son had actually become this vile!
They stood rooted to the spot, completely at a loss.
At the same time, the Dragon Whale Island Master’s features twisted savagely together, his rage reaching the limit.
“My disciple!!! You wretched brat, you actually dared kill my disciple!”
With that furious roar, the Dragon Whale Island Master’s Internal Energy erupted like crashing waves.
His whole body seemed wrapped in layer upon layer of raging surf as he charged straight at Cheng Yu with a massive hammer in hand.
The crowd was startled.
Dragon Whale Strength at Great Accomplishment, and the outward manifestation of an Upper Three Ranks martial artist’s Internal Energy!
The Dragon Whale Island Master had truly moved to kill!
A late Seventh Rank martial artist going after a junior like Cheng Yu meant there was only death awaiting him!
Zhao Xichun was still reeling in grief and rage when she suddenly saw this scene in her daze.
Her son!
With Cheng Si in her arms and unable to move freely, she cried out to her husband, “Save Yu’er!”
Cheng Zhenjiang instinctively wanted to move and stop the Dragon Whale Island Master, but the moment he did, a thought flashed through his mind.
Cheng Yu had killed that man’s disciple. If he, as the boy’s father, stepped in now to oppress the other side, then what kind of conduct would that be?
In that instant of hesitation, he froze in place and lost half a beat.
When he looked over again, the Dragon Whale Island Master was already almost upon Cheng Yu. There was no time left to stop him!
The pupils of husband and wife alike contracted, and a wave of agony surged through their hearts.
No!
But in the next instant, a strange, icy black shadow suddenly appeared in front of Cheng Yu, its hand curled into a claw as it lashed out viciously.
A pitch-black armored ghostly figure roared forth and forcibly received the Dragon Whale Island Master’s Dragon Whale Strength head-on.
A top-tier High Grade Jinyiwei technique: Cold Ghost Break!
The Dragon Whale Island Master’s eyes widened. He was utterly unable to withstand the ghostly shadow rushing at him and was blasted backward.
The assembled martial artists were all shocked.
A Jinyiwei expert had stepped in!
Fan Xiu stood before Cheng Yu and coldly swept his gaze over the gathered martial artists.
Cheng Yu could not be allowed to die.
Then he turned back to glance at the old man beside Cheng Yu, the one gripping a wooden cane in hand, and silently stepped back.
“Cheng Yu, give me back my disciple’s life!”
After being wounded by Fan Xiu’s claw strike, the Dragon Whale Island Master clutched at his chest, now blackened over, and cursed viciously.
He had realized that he had no ability to take revenge on Cheng Yu and could only vent his rage helplessly.
Seeing that the Dragon Whale Island Master had lost his disciple and suffered injuries himself, the others could not help feeling a shared grief.
They looked at Cheng Yu with hatred in their eyes.
An Imperial Hound of the court had actually dared kill in public!
“Give him back his life? Have you lost your mind?”
Though Cheng Yu had just suffered an attack from an Upper Three Ranks martial artist, he did not show the slightest fear. He still stood there with his hands clasped behind his back, calm as ever.
“I refused to spar, yet he insisted on fighting. That wasn’t enough, so he even used a hidden weapon. Now that he’s dead, you want me to pay with my life? Is this what you Jianghu martial artists call chivalry and rules?”
As he spoke, the calm look on his face turned icy.
He bent down and seized Zhou Fang’s head in one hand.
“I wasn’t the one looking for trouble with you people, yet you still dare question me first!”
“I never agreed to spar, and this man still attacked me. That is an assault on a court official! By law, it is a capital crime and grounds for household confiscation. He got exactly what he deserved!”
Cheng Yu smashed Zhou Fang’s head to the ground in one brutal motion, his entire bearing imposing and full of authority.
Then he pointed at the injured Dragon Whale Island Master.
“He failed to strike me, and now even his master wants to attack. Your Dragon Whale Island is clearly acting like rebels. Your crimes are beyond pardon!”
The Dragon Whale Island Master had not expected that after suffering so badly, he would still have such a charge pinned on him. He looked at Cheng Yu in despair.
“You!”
“What do you mean, ‘you’?” Cheng Yu sneered. “Surrender at once, or don’t blame me for raiding your Dragon Whale Island!”
“You dare!”
“I dare?” Cheng Yu laughed coldly. “You can ask the people of Qingjiang Prefecture whether I dare or not!”
At those words, the entire place was shaken.
The Dragon Whale Island Master had landed himself in enormous trouble!
If this matter was not settled properly, then Cheng Yu’s retaliation would inevitably come.
With an Eighth Rank Jinyiwei expert from the Great Qian Capital present at this very moment, raiding and wiping out Dragon Whale Island was far from impossible!
He Qin clenched his teeth and frowned, glancing first at the Dragon Whale Island Master and then at Cheng Yu before trying to mediate.
“Hundred-Household Commander Cheng has already killed Zhou Fang, and the Dragon Whale Island Master has also been injured. I hope you will give Sword-Forging Manor some face and let this matter end here.”
If they wanted to make trouble, they could do it somewhere else, just not here!
“Face? You think you deserve any?”
Cheng Yu sneered with disdain.
“Today, I will kill this villain for certain. If any of you dare shield him, then you share the same crime! What, do you all want your houses raided and your sects exterminated too?!”
【The host intimidates numerous experts, restores the prestige of the Jinyiwei, and is rewarded with a Dragon-Seeking Ruler!】
Cheng Yu’s voice carried authoritative Internal Energy.
Though it was not especially powerful, it still made the gathered martial artists’ hearts tighten in fear.
When this man spoke of raiding households and exterminating sects, he was not merely saying it for effect.
He truly did such things!
And he had already done them several times!
A thought flashed through their minds.
Why not simply hand the Dragon Whale Island Master over and spare themselves the trouble?
The Dragon Whale Island Master was clutching his wound and regulating his breath when he suddenly noticed that the looks everyone was giving him had become strange.
“You all!”
Terror flooded his heart.
These people wanted to sell him out!
He hurriedly looked toward He Qin and Cheng Zhenjiang.
“Manor Master He! Great Hero Cheng!”
Only those two, the men with the highest standing here, could save him.
A cold light flickered in He Qin’s eyes. At a moment like this, the man suddenly remembered him?
But in the end, He Qin could only say helplessly, “We of the Jianghu have no reason to abase ourselves in such a manner!”
If he dared openly state that the Dragon Whale Island Master should be handed over, then the reputation and network Sword-Forging Manor had built over several hundred years would surely be destroyed in one stroke.
Seeing that Manor Master He had taken a firm stance, the others immediately felt much more at ease.
At least now, if the sky fell, someone else would be standing beneath it.
But in the very next instant, a glint flashed through He Qin’s eyes as he looked calmly toward Cheng Zhenjiang.
“What say you, Great Hero Cheng?”
Your son, your problem. You deal with it yourself.
A moment ago, Cheng Zhenjiang had truly thought Cheng Yu was about to die, so his emotions were already in turmoil.
A trace of gloom flashed across his face, but it was quickly replaced by a righteous expression.
“He kills a man and then tries to add insult to injury. Even if we might permit it for a moment, would the righteous code of the Jianghu permit it?”
“I absolutely cannot stand by and watch such a tragedy happen!”
Right in front of Cheng Zhenjiang, Cheng Yu had spoken of raiding Dragon Whale Island and exterminating its people. That had completely crossed the line for him.
He had to put righteousness first and family second!
“As expected of Great Hero Cheng!”
He Qin nodded in praise from the side, then added, “But this boy is truly vicious. He already carries the bearing of a devil. How should he be dealt with?”
The others understood at once.
They were forcing Great Hero Cheng’s hand!
The moment they realized that slightly offending a bright and upright hero was still better than having their own houses raided and sects exterminated, they all joined in and began furiously denouncing Cheng Yu.
“We will never bow our heads to such a fiend and disgrace the name of Jianghu heroes!”
“This Imperial Hound is vicious by nature. He kills and exterminates families at the slightest provocation. He is a scourge upon the Jianghu!”
“He is not even twenty, and already he is like this. If he is allowed to remain, he will only grow more unrestrained in the future. Keeping him alive will be a disaster!”
On the opposite side, Cheng Yu listened to all their accusations without the slightest anger.
Instead, he had someone bring over a chair and sat down openly and at ease.
“Take your time discussing whether you want to shield a criminal. I’m not in any hurry.”
“At worst, it only means deciding whether I need to kill a few more people.”
The crowd was humiliated by such contempt from a junior, and their anger only deepened.
Of them all, Cheng Zhenjiang’s expression was the sternest, his heart filled with extreme fury—and worry.
These people wanted his rebellious son dead!
As the boy’s father, how could he possibly stand by and watch?
After thinking it over for a long while, he finally stepped forward and said in a heavy voice:
“This rebellious son’s conduct is also partly driven by a desire to provoke me.”
“I will go teach him a lesson myself!”