Free Web NovelChapter 189: Chapter 178: Coercion
’Has Shen Lang’s cultivation really reached this level? To condense his Powerful Qi with such a casual palm strike, hitting only Xu Qing’s face without harming him anywhere else?’
Zhou Feng, who was standing closest and was also the most senior, was astonished.
Previously, when Zhou Feng heard Shen Lang say he could deal with Celestial God Academy, he had assumed Shen Lang’s cultivation was probably on par with Chu Qingcheng’s. After all, he had seen Shen Lang fight Nalan Ziyun before.
But this display from Shen Lang, condensing his Powerful Qi so it didn’t disperse at all—that was one of the hallmarks of the Spirit Martial Realm!
’Could it be...’
If this had been anyone else, it would have been one thing. But for it to be Shen Lang, a sixteen-year-old boy, was simply too absurd, too shocking!
Just from seeing that single palm strike, Zhou Feng was completely dumbfounded.
"Shen Lang, you’re too insolent! How dare you hit me in front of the vice-dean? You’ll be expelled from Tayun Academy! You’ll definitely be expelled!"
Qin Hun, on the ground, struggled to stand up several times. But each time he struggled, the force from Shen Lang’s foot increased, pressing down on him until he couldn’t stop coughing up blood.
"I don’t bother those who don’t bother me, but I will retaliate against anyone who does! I made that clear to you a long time ago."
Shen Lang sneered, reached out, and grabbed Qin Hun by the neck, lifting him off the ground.
A look of disbelief filled Qin Hun’s eyes. He struggled with all his might, but it only made Shen Lang’s grip tighten.
He beat against Shen Lang’s arm with both hands, but it didn’t feel like a human arm at all. It was like a Vajra Iron Wrist; no matter how hard he struck, he couldn’t budge it in the slightest!
Only now did he sense it from Shen Lang’s eyes and the strength of his grip...
Shen Lang intended to kill him!
And before Shen Lang, he was utterly powerless to resist!
With just a slight squeeze of his right hand, Shen Lang could snap his neck instantly!
The fear of death enveloped Qin Hun. He didn’t dare struggle anymore. He just twisted his head desperately, making muffled, garbled sounds as he tried to call to Wooden Zither and Zhou Feng for help.
Fortunately, the two had only been stunned for a moment before they reacted.
Zhou Feng and Wooden Zither took a step forward and shouted in unison, "Shen Lang, don’t!"
"Why not?" Shen Lang’s voice was frighteningly calm. "If I were weak, he could crush me as he pleased. Now that I’m strong, who can do anything to me? In this world, isn’t it the strong who are respected?"
Zhou Feng was speechless...
"Shen Lang, no matter how he offended you, please put him down first. Don’t worry, if he truly colluded with someone to kill you, Tayun Academy will ensure you get justice!" Wooden Zither said, growing anxious as she saw Qin Hun was barely breathing.
She wasn’t worried about Qin Hun’s life, but she felt that killing a tutor on this occasion would give Shen Lang a bad reputation.
He might even face severe punishment!
In her mind, Shen Lang was now far more important than some Qin Hun.
Meanwhile, Shui Qingwu, Xue Dangdang, and the others stood by without saying a word.
They would generally not object to whatever Shen Lang decided to do.
Especially Xue Dangdang. Hearing that Qin Hun had wanted to kill Shen Lang, it was a great act of restraint on her part not to run up and stab him with her sword.
"Hmph!"
Shen Lang snorted coldly and, with a casual flick of his wrist, tossed Qin Hun aside like a dead dog.
"I can overlook you making things difficult for me at the academy, as part of your duties as a tutor. But you never, ever should have developed the intent to kill me! Don’t think I didn’t feel it! Out of respect for the vice-dean and Wooden Zither Tutor, I’ll spare your life today. But if you dare to provoke me again, I’ll snap your neck like a dog’s, and no one will be able to stop me! Not even the Heavenly Phoenix City Lord, Ye Xiao Zheng!"
Ye Xue, who had been hiding silently in the crowd from Celestial God Academy, was startled and jerked her head up, only to meet Shen Lang’s soul-stealing gaze...
When Shen Lang first appeared, Ye Xue had secretly hidden herself, not daring to show her face.
She had been watching everything unfold but was too afraid to reveal herself.
Suddenly hearing Shen Lang mention Ye Xiao Zheng—and even boast that Ye Xiao Zheng couldn’t stop him from killing Qin Hun—Ye Xue looked up in horror.
But what she saw was Shen Lang staring coldly right at her!
Ye Xue shuddered, all her usual pampered arrogance gone. Instead, she was like a helpless girl-next-door encountering a bandit, timidly lowering her head, not daring to meet his eyes.
But Shen Lang already knew this woman was sinister and vicious, very likely the main culprit behind his father’s misfortune. Besides, he had seen her at the entrance of the Treasure Pavilion that day, manipulating Tang Sheng into trying to kill him. Why would he ever believe the pitiful act Ye Xue was putting on now?
Shen Lang withdrew his gaze and sneered. Without even glancing at Qin Hun, he walked over to Sun Qing and the others from Celestial God Academy.
"You all seemed to be enjoying yourselves just now. You like watching me beat people up, is that it?" Shen Lang said lightly.
With Tayun Academy in turmoil, of course the people from Celestial God Academy were happy. Were they supposed to pull long faces like the Tayun Academy crowd? frёewebnoѵēl.com
Sun Qing and his group couldn’t help but start laughing again.
Seeing their reaction, Shen Lang smiled too. "Since you enjoy watching me beat people up so much, then, just for that laughter, I’ve decided..."
"Decided what?" Sun Qing asked subconsciously, a bad feeling creeping in.
The corners of Shen Lang’s mouth curled up into a grin. "I’ve decided not to show any mercy to you people from Celestial God Academy. I’m going to give you all a good thrashing..."
He pointed at the group of students from Celestial God Academy and said, "I want all of you to be carried back! Don’t blame me; you were all laughing too happily just now... Also, your vice-dean really shouldn’t have picked a fight with me. I was planning to go home, but he just had to drag this out endlessly."
"Bullshit! That’s too arrogant! You think we’re really afraid of you?"
"You cheater who brought a Flying Spiritual Artifact! You’re going to be disqualified from this trial. You won’t get a chance to be arrogant!"
"Even Chu Qingcheng wouldn’t dare say something like that! Who do you think you are!"
The crowd from Celestial God Academy erupted, with students shouting one after another.
Sun Qing’s face was long and grim. He said sinisterly, "It seems you want to prove you can refine a Flying Spiritual Artifact? Hehehehe, then let’s see what kind of peerlessly talented Artifact Refining Master Tayun Academy has produced, hahahaha!"
The crowd behind him immediately joined in his laughter.
’Are you kidding? Refine a Flying Spiritual Artifact? No one at Celestial God Academy or Tayun Academy can do that!’
’No one in Celestial Phoenix City can do it either!’
’And you, a sixteen-year-old brat, dare to boast that you can make a Flying Spiritual Artifact?’
’You’ve probably never even touched a real Flying Spiritual Artifact before!’
’Even if you started learning Artifact Refining in your mother’s womb, you couldn’t possibly reach that level in sixteen years!’
’Talk is cheap! Do you really think we’re that ignorant?’
’This reckless fool is clearly trying to pull a fast one, using something that just looks like a Flying Spiritual Artifact to bluff his way through! But does he really think he can fool these old eyes? I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice!’ Sun Qing sneered inwardly.
On the Tayun Academy side, everyone was sighing, unsure of what to do.
In their eyes, what Shen Lang was claiming was clearly impossible.
The more he boasted and the more arrogant he acted, the more face he would lose when he ultimately failed.
If he failed, today’s events would immediately become a joke.
A huge joke that would spread throughout all of Celestial Phoenix City!
The worst part was that he had already made the claim, and now Sun Qing and the others had seized upon it, leaving no room for him to back down...
What they found strange, however, was that after speaking, Shen Lang simply folded his arms across his chest and did nothing, just watching Sun Qing and his group with an amused grin.
"Brat, aren’t you going to prove you can refine a Flying Spiritual Artifact? What are you doing standing there with that stupid grin? Hurry up and prove it to us!" Sun Qing was infuriated by his smile.
"Yeah, yeah, Master Shen, hurry up and refine a Flying Spiritual Artifact! Let us pay our respects!"
"Hurry up, we can’t wait! This is destined to be a historic moment!"
"Ohoho, a sixteen-year-old Artifact Refining Master! Someone whose Artifact Refining Dao surpasses that of both the Artifact Refining Institute Directors! Haha!"
The people from Celestial God Academy echoed Sun Qing, their taunts growing louder.
Every one of them was waiting to see Shen Lang make a fool of himself, waiting to see Tayun Academy become a laughingstock.
If Shen Lang couldn’t produce one, not only would he be shamefully kicked out of the trial, but Tayun Academy would lose all face, giving Celestial God Academy the complete upper hand!
At that point, even Chu Qingcheng would be too embarrassed to step in!
Shen Lang said nonchalantly, "No rush, no rush. I’ll show you in a little while. But speaking of which, you all must be thinking you’ve already won, right?"
"Heh heh," Sun Qing let out a cold, mirthless laugh.
Shen Lang paid him no mind and continued, "Since that’s the case, let’s make a wager. Everyone can put up some stakes to make things a little more interesting."
As he spoke, he turned and glanced at Shui Qingwu.
Shui Qingwu covered her mouth with a smile and was about to step forward when a figure rushed out from the side, moving past her.
Chu Qingcheng trotted over without a shred of grace and said, "Aiya, it’s been a long time since something this interesting happened! I’m the first to agree! I’ll bet on Xiaolang to win! I’ll wager two thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones!"
BOOM!
The crowd went into an uproar.
That guy Chu Qingcheng was a master at borrowing money, but getting him to spend his own was harder than climbing to the heavens. Yet he had just pulled out two thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones in one go!
And he was even betting on Shen Lang to win!
Two thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones... that was probably his entire fortune. He was being really generous.
If he lost, he wouldn’t even be able to find a place to cry...
Just as everyone was left wondering whether to laugh or cry, Xue Dangdang walked over. With a SLAP, she slammed a small Storage Pouch onto the ground. "I’ll stake three thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones! I bet on Brother Lang to win!"
The entire crowd fell silent.
Sun Qing’s expression became a colorful sight to behold. He huffed and puffed for a long moment before finally saying, "Insolence! This is about you proving whether or not you cheated! This is a very serious matter, and you dare to set up a betting pool? How outrageous!"
"Elder Sun, you’re the one who insisted Shen Lang prove he could make a Flying Spiritual Artifact, and you’re also the one who refuses to believe he can. Could it be that you actually believe Shen Lang can refine a Flying Spiritual Artifact and you’re just trying to give him a hard time on purpose? Otherwise, why wouldn’t you dare to take the bet?" Zhou Feng said as he slowly walked over. freewebnøvel.coɱ
Zhou Feng smiled. "We’re all reasonable people here. You can’t just have everything your way. The situation is simple: if you believe Shen Lang can refine a Flying Spiritual Artifact, then there’s no need for a bet. We can all disperse. If you don’t believe him, and you think it’s absolutely impossible for him to refine a Flying Spiritual Artifact, then what are you afraid of?"
