Free Web NovelChapter 193: Chapter 186: Harvest (Part 2)
More importantly, it made no mention of the requirement to forge or seize a corresponding "Golden Seal" to break through major realms beyond the Nascent Soul stage!
A tempest raged in Dong Changsheng’s mind!
’This... What does this mean?’
’This is a supreme immortal path, completely separate from the existing cultivation system!’
’And this Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Skill... it has shattered those shackles!’
’My only regret is that the fragment of the Lingxi Inquiry Profound Mirror has already been used. Otherwise, if I could bring such a divine art back to the sect, I could surely repay the Sect Leader’s kindness!’
He walked straight toward the group of junior brothers, who were lost and bewildered by the drop in their cultivation.
’It’s time. Time to let them witness how a true expert seizes an opportunity!’
As the undercover junior brothers watched Dong Changsheng approach, radiating confidence, the crowd’s reaction was sharply divided.
Some disciples were grateful, while others, resentful and confused, silently took half a step back.
Dong Changsheng took in all their expressions, and a wave of overwhelming indignation at being so unappreciated washed over him.
’Look! Just look at them!’
’I sacrificed so much for them! I even bore the stigma of ’abandoning my comrades’ to give them this chance, and not only are they ungrateful, they dare to resent me?’
"Look at the state you’re in now!"
"Hah... Are you all blaming me in your hearts? Do you think I abandoned you?!"
His accusation left the disciples even more bewildered. One of the bolder ones couldn’t help but speak up.
"Mr. Dong! We... back at the chasm, you clearly abandoned us!"
"I abandoned you?"
As if he had just heard the most absurd and hurtful words in the world, Dong Changsheng lunged forward, pointed at his own chest, and roared in anguish:
"Is that the point? That’s no way to behave!"
"The point is that I did it all to save you! My heart aches more than any of yours! I was using my very lifeblood to create a situation of desperate peril from which you could be reborn!"
He scanned their bewildered faces, shaking his head in disappointment.
"Look at the state of you! You lost a little bit of your cultivation, and you’re acting like the sky is falling, like it’s a matter of life and death!"
"The point of this isn’t that you died in the trial! And it isn’t about whether I left you at the final moment!"
"The point is, I gave you a chance to be reborn from the flames, and you all failed to seize it! You weren’t up to the task! And now you have the nerve to blame me?"
"Where in the world is the justice in that?!"
"Think for yourselves! Didn’t you also abandon Li Chunfeng—Mr. Li—back then?"
"Why did he pass the trial unharmed? Because his heart isn’t filled with filthy, ungrateful thoughts like yours! He has the heart of a true powerhouse!"
"And you? I gave you the exact same opportunity, yet all you can do is blame everyone but yourselves! Your failure is your own damn fault!"
"And why are we standing here? Why have we received a boost to our cultivation and this immortal opportunity?"
"It’s for one reason only! It’s because we understand gratitude! We know how to see every crisis as a gift from the heavens!"
The junior brothers, their resolve already wavering, gazed at the glowing jade slip in his hand. Under the influence of his True Words of Universal Salvation Heart Sutra, the resentment on their faces truly began to fade, replaced by shame and contemplation.
’Maybe... Maybe Mr. Dong is right?’
Seeing that the crowd was already showing signs of being "persuaded," Dong Changsheng’s heart swelled with heroic pride. He felt as if his very Dao heart had been elevated.
He spun around abruptly and, from a distance, gave Lin Qingfeng a deep, ninety-degree bow.
The bow was executed with perfect form, an expression of utmost reverence!
"For all these opportunities, for all these trials, the one I, Dong Changsheng, must thank the most is Eldest Brother!"
"If Eldest Brother hadn’t led us into this blessed land, how could I have received such a heaven-sent immortal opportunity!
This guidance from you, Eldest Brother, is a kindness I, Dong Changsheng, will never forget. I swear I will repay it a hundredfold in the future!"
His voice was resonant, ensuring everyone present could hear him distinctly, and, more importantly, ensuring Eldest Brother heard him, paving the way for his future.
He then turned back to preach to the undercover junior brothers.
"Men may wrong the good, but Heaven will not! Men may fear the wicked, but Heaven will not!"
"It is precisely because I, Dong Changsheng, have always walked a righteous path, acted with integrity, and maintained a clear conscience while performing good deeds far and wide, that I am able to... PTHH!!!"
A slap came out of nowhere, sending Dong Changsheng flying backward!!
Dong Changsheng: "???"
The undercover disciples: "???"
...
Lin Qingfeng, standing not far away, had of course witnessed Dong Changsheng’s entire performance.
Lin Qingfeng watched Dong Changsheng, his own mouth twitching as he saw the man luckily obtain yet another Cultivation Technique.
’Holy crap... Is this what they call ’Strong Luck’?!’
’This NPC managed to get his hands on another Cultivation Technique?!’
’And a jade slip, at that?’
Lin Qingfeng’s mouth twitched when he heard the final line: "thank you, Eldest Brother."
Hearing Dong Changsheng describe himself as someone who "walked a righteous path and acted with integrity" left Lin Qingfeng utterly speechless.
’Seriously? Do you have no self-awareness at all?’
’And fine, bullshit all you want, but why are you dragging me into it with your ’gratitude’ again? Did I not hit you hard enough before?’
The instant the words left Dong Changsheng’s mouth, Lin Qingfeng vanished.
The next moment, he appeared in front of Dong Changsheng.
Dong Changsheng was just straightening up from his bow.
His face was still glowing with an ecstatic smile that said, ’I have grasped the true meaning of power!’ and ’And I just scored some major brownie points!’ Then, a palm rapidly grew larger in his vision.
SMACK!!!
A crisp crack echoed, sharp enough to make everyone present flinch.
Dong Changsheng was sent spinning through the air. One side of his face swelled up instantly, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
He crashed to the ground, his mind a complete blank, with no idea what had just happened.
Dong Changsheng: "???"
"Walked a righteous path?"
Before Dong Changsheng could react, Lin Qingfeng was upon him, yanking him up by the collar and delivering a backhanded slap.
SMACK!!!
"Acted with integrity?"
This slap swelled the other side of Dong Changsheng’s face to match, loosening several of his teeth.
SMACK!!!
"A clear conscience?"
SMACK!!!
"Men may wrong the good, but Heaven will not?"
SMACK!!!
"You still dare to thank me?!"
SMACK!!! SMACK!!! SMACK-SMACK-SMACK!!! SMACK!!! SMACK-SMACK!!!
The series of slaps was fast and vicious. Each blow was precisely controlled, calibrated to inflict the maximum amount of pain and humiliation without knocking him unconscious.
The entire scene was dead silent, the only sounds being the crisp cracks of the slaps and Lin Qingfeng’s icy questions echoing in the air.
The junior brothers, who moments ago had felt a mix of guilt and even admiration for Dong Changsheng, were now all trembling in terror.
One moment, their Eldest Brother was the recipient of Dong Changsheng’s gratitude; the next, he was the one delivering a savage beating.
’This... Such a mercurial temper! Such demonic cruelty!’
The way they looked at Dong Changsheng shifted from initial admiration and shock to, finally, sympathy and pity.
Lin Qingfeng casually tossed the barely conscious Dong Changsheng, whose eyes had lost all focus, to the ground.
In the midst of the beating, the tattered jade slip had accidentally been broken in two.
He looked down at the man who had been so full of swagger moments ago, but who now lay like a half-dead dog. He saw that the fervor, adoration, and gratitude in the man’s eyes had vanished completely.
In their place was only boundless fear and hatred.
’Mm, that’s more like it.’
’Now that my cultivation has improved, my slaps feel much more satisfying!’
Lin Qingfeng felt a great sense of satisfaction.
"I have some business to attend to. I’ll be going now."
With that, he paid the others no mind and turned to leave.
He left behind only a blood-soaked Dong Changsheng and the stunned group of undercover disciples...
