Chapter 14: Too Weak to Take a Hit

Chen Ping led Lin Xiaoyu down Luoxia Peak.

They walked along the mountain path toward Qingyun City, which was under the jurisdiction of the Qingyun Sect.

Not long after they reached the foot of the mountain, they ran into several disciples from other peaks.

“Oh, if it isn’t Peak Master Chen?” a young disciple wearing the robes of Tianjian Peak sneered mockingly.

“I hear Peak Master Chen is a powerful expert at the half-step Qi Refining stage. Everyone, watch your words.”

The others nearby immediately burst into cooperative laughter.

“A half-step Qi Refining expert? Oh, I’m so scared.”

Another disciple from Danding Peak clutched his chest in mock terror.

“Do you think Peak Master Chen could crush an ant to death?”

“I reckon he could – a sick ant, that is, hahaha!”

“Stuck at half-step Qi Refining for twenty years. Talk about peerless talent.”

Chen Ping’s expression remained calm, as if he hadn’t heard a word.

Over the years, he had long since grown accustomed to this kind of mockery.

Of the seventy-two peaks of the Qingyun Sect, which of the other seventy-one peaks’ disciples hadn’t made fun of him?

He was numb to it.

But Lin Xiaoyu could not stand it.

Following behind Chen Ping and listening to the harsh jeers, the young girl’s face flushed red with anger.

She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug deep into her palms.

“Oh, isn’t this the Heaven-Detested Physique that Luoxia Peak just took in?”

Someone noticed Lin Xiaoyu, their gaze turning even more contemptuous.

“As expected, a trash master and a garbage disciple. A perfect match!”

“A Heaven-Detested Physique. I hear bad luck follows them wherever they go. Peak Master Chen actually dared to take her in. He really has admirable courage.”

“Exactly. A constitution detested by the heavens themselves. Joining the Qingyun Sect is just polluting the sect’s spiritual Qi.”

Lin Xiaoyu trembled all over.

Not from fear, but from sheer rage.

She could tolerate others mocking her, but she could not tolerate them insulting her master!

“You guys…” Lin Xiaoyu abruptly raised her head, fury burning in her eyes.

“If anyone dares to speak ill of my master again, I won’t be polite!”

“Oh? You want to fight?”

The Tianjian Peak disciple from earlier, Song Tou, scoffed.

“Come on, then. This young master will stand right here and let you hit me. With that Heaven-Detested Physique of yours, if you can even touch the hem of my robe, I’ll admit defeat.”

Song Tou was among the top ten most talented new disciples of this batch. Though he had only joined Tianjian Peak a few days ago, he was already at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, so he indeed had the right to be arrogant.

The surrounding disciples all watched with anticipation, waiting for a good show.

A Heaven-Detested Physique and a trash peak master – what kind of waves could they possibly make?

Lin Xiaoyu looked at Chen Ping, her eyes filled with inquiry.

Chen Ping sighed.

When things become intolerable, there is no need to endure any longer.

He had endured enough over the years.

“Xiaoyu, go ahead,” Chen Ping said calmly.

“Just remember, only give them a small lesson.”

“Yes!”

A sharp light flashed in Lin Xiaoyu’s eyes, and her figure blurred instantly.

She didn’t use any flashy moves, throwing a simple, straight punch directly at Song Tou’s chest.

A disdainful smile still hung on Song Tou’s lips, and he didn’t even bother to dodge.

How much strength could a Heaven-Detested Physique at the Qi Refining Stage possibly have?

However, as the fist drew near, his expression suddenly changed.

A terrifying pressure rushed toward his face!

That was not an aura a Qi Refining cultivator should possess!

“Wait -” Song Tou hurriedly tried to dodge, but it was already too late.

The fist slammed solidly into his chest.

Bang!

A muffled thud echoed.

Song Tou was sent flying backward, crashing into a large tree dozens of yards away.

Crack!

The tree trunk snapped.

Song Tou slumped to the ground, his chest caved in, bleeding from all seven facial orifices. His eyes were wide with utter disbelief.

“You… you…”

Before he could finish his sentence, his head lolled to the side, and he breathed his last.

Dead silence fell over the area.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Lin Xiaoyu was also stunned.

She looked at her own fist, then at Song Tou’s corpse in the distance, her small face turning pale.

“I… I didn’t even use my full strength…” Lin Xiaoyu muttered to herself.

“I didn’t even use a tenth of the power I use when sparring with Master…”

How did he… die?

Was he faking it?

Chen Ping was also somewhat speechless.

His original intention was just to have Lin Xiaoyu teach them a lesson and show off some of her strength.

This way, any random nobody wouldn’t dare come and mock them in the future.

He hadn’t expected the girl to have so little control over her strength, killing the man with a single punch.

But on second thought, dead was dead.

Anyone who dared insult Chen Ping’s disciple deserved to die.

“Y-You killed Brother Song!”

A Tianjian Peak disciple finally snapped out of it and screamed in terror.

“Brother Song’s family is the Song Family, a first-rate clan in the Southern Region! You’re dead meat!”

The other disciples also recovered, backing away one after another. The way they looked at Chen Ping and Lin Xiaoyu was as if they were already dead.

The Song Family was a first-rate clan in the Southern Region, with a Grotto-Heaven ancestor backing them, and dozens of Divine Ability and Nascent Soul cultivators.

They also held considerable influence within the Qingyun Sect.

Killing a direct descendant of the Song Family meant they had made a mortal enemy.

“Master…” Lin Xiaoyu looked at Chen Ping, feeling a bit panicked.

“It’s fine.” Chen Ping waved his hand, walked over to Song Tou’s corpse, and crouched down to examine it.

He was indeed dead.

His internal organs were completely shattered, and his soul was extinguished. There was no saving him.

“You did hit him a bit too hard,” Chen Ping said, standing up and looking at the terrified disciples.

“Still, he was the one who provoked us. In the cultivation world, the strong prey on the weak. He got what he deserved.”

“Y-You…” The disciples were so frightened they couldn’t even speak properly.

Chen Ping didn’t bother with them and said to Lin Xiaoyu, “Let’s go. We’re still heading to the market.”

“But Master…” Lin Xiaoyu looked worriedly at Song Tou’s corpse.

“What about the Song Family…”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Chen Ping said calmly.

“With me here, the sky won’t fall.”

He paused, then added:

“But remember to control your strength in the future.

“For fellow disciples, a lesson is enough. Unless they are actively trying to kill you, there’s no need to deal a fatal blow.”

“This disciple understands…” Lin Xiaoyu said, bowing her head.

She really hadn’t intended to kill him. It was just that during her sparring sessions with her master inside the Map of Mountains and Rivers these past few days, she had grown used to going all out.

Her master always neutralized her attacks with effortless ease, leading her to mistakenly believe she was very weak.

She hadn’t expected… cultivators of the same stage to be so fragile.

The master and disciple continued walking toward Qingyun City.

The remaining disciples were left staring at one another in disbelief.

“Quick, notify the Song Family!” one of them cried as he snapped out of it, hurriedly pulling out a communication jade talisman.

“And the Hall of Discipline! Chen Ping let his disciple commit murder, he must be severely punished!”

“How is this Heaven-Detested Physique so strong? Killing a seventh-layer Qi Refining disciple with a single punch…”

“Could the rumors be wrong?”

The news spread like wildfire.

Luoxia Peak Master Chen Ping had condoned his disciple Lin Xiaoyu killing the new Tianjian Peak disciple, Song Tou, in broad daylight.

Instantly, the entire outer sect of the Qingyun Sect was in an uproar.

The Song Family held considerable power in the Southern Region, and Song Tou, ranking among the top ten talents of this year’s intake, was highly valued by his clan.

With his sudden, violent death, the Song Family would never let the matter rest.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping and Lin Xiaoyu had already arrived in Qingyun City.

Qingyun City was the largest market town under the Qingyun Sect’s jurisdiction. Spanning thousands of miles, it was packed with shops and bustling with crowds.

As the master and disciple walked down the street, they quickly drew a crowd of onlookers.

Chen Ping’s reputation as a useless peak master preceded him, and many recognized him on sight.

Although Lin Xiaoyu had only recently joined, rumors of her Heaven-Detested Physique had already spread far and wide.

With the news of the recent killing already reaching the city, the onlookers stared at them with peculiar expressions.

“Is that Luoxia Peak Master Chen Ping? He looks completely ordinary.”

“The girl next to him is the Heaven-Detested Physique, Lin Xiaoyu? The one who killed a seventh-layer Qi Refining cultivator with a single punch?”

“I heard the Song Family has already dispatched people. We’re in for a good show.”

“Chen Ping is really unlucky, taking in such a troublemaker for a disciple.”

Whispers and murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Lin Xiaoyu bit her lower lip and hung her head, not daring to meet the gazes of the people around her.

Chen Ping, however, remained perfectly composed, acting as if he had heard nothing at all.

He led Lin Xiaoyu into a shop called the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.