The cold and majestic grand hall was crowded with people, all pointing at the center, some even cursing with hatred.
In the center, Ye Chen stood as still as a stone monument.
His expression was indifferent, and he didn’t say a word, but he had already figured many things out; everything that happened today was not a coincidence, but a deliberate conspiracy by someone intended to frame him.
Turning his head indifferently, Ye Chen saw Xu Ming in the crowd, who was sneering.
Glancing past Xu Ming’s face, Ye Chen saw the waist token hanging from his waist; although the words Diyang Peak on it were small, they were exceptionally glaring in his eyes, and he had already guessed that this was a conspiracy specifically targeting him by Diyang Peak.
But he still said nothing, just quietly watching Yin Zhiping not far away.
“Master is in seclusion, so today’s matter will be handled entirely by me.” Yin Zhiping leisurely waved his folding fan, wearing an expression of righteousness and impartiality, but when he looked at Ye Chen, the corners of his mouth revealed mockery and playfulness.
“Wantonly harming fellow Disciples, Ye Chen, do you admit to this crime?”
“If you want to frame someone, you can always find an excuse.” Sneering, Ye Chen did not offer much explanation, knowing this was a conspiracy, and saying more would be pointless.
“So you are admitting your guilt?”
“Since you admit your guilt, it’s easy to handle; according to the ninth article of the Sect rules, for wantonly harming a Sect Disciple, you shall be subjected to the fire whip, to be executed immediately.”
“Fire whip?” Hearing this term, the Disciples in the hall all swallowed, seemingly aware of how terrifying this punishment was.
“Ye Chen is in for it now.”
“How many lashes do you think he can take?”
Accompanied by the rising and falling discussions all around, Disciples from the Discipline Hall immediately stepped forward, locked Ye Chen to the rack with iron chains, and his upper garment was stripped off on the spot.
Soon, a leather whip burning with flames was presented.
“Junior Brother Ye, if it hurts, you can scream.” Yin Zhiping took the fire whip, his eyes full of mockery and playfulness.
“No need for nonsense, come on!”
As soon as these words were spoken, Yin Zhiping sneered, raised the fire whip in his hand, and lashed it fiercely onto Ye Chen’s body.
Crack!
The sound of the fire whip striking Ye Chen’s body was exceptionally clear.
The burning pain was excruciating; Ye Chen seemed to have underestimated this punishment of whipping.
The fire whip in Yin Zhiping’s hand was clearly not simple; a single lash tore his skin and flesh, leaving a particularly striking bloodstain.
However, despite this, Ye Chen still gritted his teeth and made no sound.
“Very good, quite tough.” Seeing that Ye Chen did not cry out in pain, Yin Zhiping sneered and began to act ruthlessly, lashing the fire whip continuously onto Ye Chen’s body.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
As the sounds continued to ring out, the bloodstains on Ye Chen’s body grew more numerous.
“Serves you right, this is the consequence of going against my Diyang Peak.” In the crowd, Xu Ming revealed a sinister smile.
“Wantonly harming a Sect Disciple, one should be punished.”
Yin Zhiping seemed to have received benefits from Diyang Peak and held nothing back.
In his hands, the fire whip was like a swimming snake, and with every lash, Ye Chen’s blood flew everywhere.
Soon, Ye Chen’s body was covered in bloody gashes, and the overflowing blood flowed down his body, which was truly shocking to behold.
Yet, from beginning to end, he had never cried out in pain once.
“Let’s see how long you can endure.” Seeing that Ye Chen had never cried out in pain from start to finish, Yin Zhiping felt a sense of frustration, making him swing the fire whip even more crazily, wanting to hear Ye Chen cry out in pain before he would stop.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Yin Zhiping became more frantic and more alarmed the more he lashed.
As the head Disciple of the Discipline Hall, he knew all too well the horror of the fire whip torture; not to mention the Qi Condensation Realm, even those in the Human Origin Realm could hardly endure one hundred lashes, yet Ye Chen before him had actually endured one hundred lashes without crying out in pain, how could he not be shocked.
“This…
which lash is this?” Someone in the crowd asked in a low voice; there were kind-hearted Disciples here who, seeing Ye Chen being whipped like this, could not help but show expressions of unbearable sympathy.
“It’s the one hundred and eighth lash.”
“He didn’t die after enduring one hundred and eight lashes, is his body not made of flesh?”
“He didn’t even let out a single scream.”
Crack!
When the final resounding lash fell, the fire whip punishment came to an end.
“Take him down!” Even for Yin Zhiping, his breathing had become uneven; he was panting heavily and drenched in sweat from the lashing.
The locked-up Ye Chen was immediately released from his shackles.
Suddenly, his body staggered, and after swaying for a few moments, he ultimately did not collapse to the ground.
“Can I go now?” Ye Chen lifted his face and looked at Yin Zhiping with a cold sneer.
“As you please.” Yin Zhiping took a deep breath, but still waved his hand.
Ye Chen looked around, a flash of cold light clearly visible in his indifferent gaze; staggering, he turned around and walked out of the hall, leaving a trail of bloody footprints behind him.
Just as he exited the grand hall, Zhang Fengnian rushed up to meet him.
“Child.” Zhang Fengnian’s old hands trembled as he wanted to support Ye Chen, but he didn’t know where to touch him, because Ye Chen was covered in bloodstains from head to toe, and he was afraid that any movement would cause Ye Chen pain.
“Old Grandfather, I have thick skin and flesh, I won’t die.” Ye Chen revealed a carefree smile, but although he said this, his eyes began to grow blurry, and after swaying a few times, he finally collapsed.
Zhang Fengnian stepped forward, caught him, and carried him on his own hunched back.
“Child, let’s go home.”
“Old Grandfather, you were right, everything requires patience, but if the weak deserve to be bullied, then I would rather walk a more arduous path; the pain they have inflicted upon us, one day, Ye Chen will make them pay it back a hundredfold.”
In a hazy state, Ye Chen felt Zhang Fengnian’s bumpy back, felt that Zhang Fengnian had expended a great deal of effort to bring him back to the Small Spirit Garden, and even more clearly felt Zhang Fengnian wiping his wounds.
When he woke up again, it was already night.
The burning pain all over his body had not yet dissipated; the fire whip was very strange, and even though he used True Qi to nourish it, he still could not block the severe pain of the flames burning.
“Just you all wait.” Ye Chen said coldly.
Enduring the severe pain, Ye Chen sat cross-legged on the bed with difficulty.
Soon, the sound of bones colliding came from within his body, and the technique of Savage Body Tempering began to operate again.
Suddenly, an expression of pain appeared on his face.
However, with the passage of time and the increase in the number of times he practiced Body Refining, he had gradually adapted to this pain, but even so, the pain of the fire whip could not be compared to the pain of Body Refining.
After three hours, Ye Chen had struggled to complete one Heavenly Cycle.
What surprised him, however, was that this Savage Body Tempering actually had the miraculous effect of accelerating the recovery of wounds; the rotten flesh was discarded, and through Body Refining, new flesh grew out.
An unexpected joy!
Ye Chen thought to himself, never having expected that Savage Body Tempering had such mysteries.
“So, taking a beating is also a form of alternative cultivation.”
Immediately, he focused on two tasks at once; while practicing Body Refining, he opened all the pores on his body, absorbing spiritual energy of heaven and earth like a whale, and wisps of Spiritual Qi from between heaven and earth would occasionally enter his body through his wounds.
In this way, he operated the Savage Body Tempering for another Heavenly Cycle.
The effect became even more obvious, and the wounds on his body had healed a lot.
“Very good.” A smile crept onto the corners of Ye Chen’s mouth, and without stopping for a moment, he continued to refine his body.
It was late at night when he finally stopped the Body Refining technique.
At this moment, the skin all over his body had become smooth and lustrous, and one could not even find a single trace of a wound; if people knew of such recovery ability, they would surely be jaw-droppingly shocked.
“Savage Body Tempering is truly domineering.” Laughing out loud, Ye Chen jumped off the bamboo bed and flashed out of the room.
Arriving in the garden, he threw a heavy punch, then turned around with a side kick.
After Body Refining and taking the jade spirit liquid, he was full of energy, and he performed the Beast Heart Fury combat technique to its limit, loosening his stiff muscles and bones.
Roar!
Roar!
Inexplicably, his moves had undergone a strange change; more accurately, every time he made a move, it was accompanied by the roar of a beast, with the roar of a tiger, the screech of an eagle, the howl of a wolf, and the roar of an ape.
Ye Chen was completely immersed in comprehending the Artistic Conception of the Beast Heart Fury Profound Truth, and each Profound Truth was gradually mastered by him, while his moves also sublimated into a strange state through subtle influence.
“Very good.” Feeling that his moves had become strange and profound, Ye Chen could not help but laugh out loud, and even his laughter carried a faint, almost imperceptible sound of a beast’s roar.
Unknowingly, the sky had already brightened.
And Ye Chen was still performing his punches and kicks to the limit; perhaps because he was too engrossed, Ye Chen had not noticed Zhang Fengnian, who had just walked out of the room.
“You…
Young man?” Seeing Ye Chen, Zhang Fengnian was stunned on the spot.