They only felt a brief contact with the sonic wave before their bodies uncontrollably flew out, their internal Qi and blood shaken, their meridians almost shattered.
In their shocked gazes, the sonic wave hit Huang Tianyi in a straight line and collided with the "virtue" character thunderously.
There wasn’t the expected loud impact noise; instead, the sonic wave directly penetrated the "virtue" character released from the ancient book. The next moment, the ancient character cracked open, and then Huang Tianyi was completely engulfed by the sonic wave.
A scream echoed through the sky, sounding extremely miserable. After the dragon-shaped sonic wave swept through, a figure suddenly plummeted down, showering blood rain mid-air.
The bloody figure was indeed Huang Tianyi, who had passed out completely, hitting the ground hard, his breath faint and his life hanging by a thread.
Such a severe injury had reached his soul, and he likely wouldn’t recover for months, relying only on the heaven-sent treasures for slow recuperation.
The two disciples of the Gentleman Sect were shocked beyond measure; they could never have imagined such an outcome. Huang Tianyi was not Ye Xuan’s match and instead had been beaten to such a state, almost losing his life.
"Ye Xuan, you are very bold to hit Brother Huang so hard. Do you want to kill him? Do you even care about the rules of our sect?"
"That’s right, you could have been merciful, but you chose to be ruthless. It seems you never intended to respect us in the Gentleman Sect."
The two disciples of the Gentleman Sect stared at Ye Xuan, howling with apparent fury.
"Why should I respect you?"
Ye Xuan’s expression was indifferent. These people seemed used to throwing their weight around, truly believing themselves to be emperors. Respect? Huang Tianyi had several times sought trouble with him with ill intent. If it weren’t for being in the Xuantian Sect, he would have definitely dealt with him without hesitation.
As for giving respect, that depended on the person. If this person wasn’t severely punished, who knew if he might cause trouble again?
"Why give us respect? Well said, it seems our Gentleman Sect has been too low-profile. A mere ant from the Martial Sect dares to disrespect the authority of the Gentleman Sect."
Just as Ye Xuan’s words fell, a figure suddenly broke through the wind, landing in front of the two Gentleman Sect disciples.
The figure was a scholarly-robed young man with an extraordinary bearing, wearing a robe with a prominent traditional "righteousness" character. The cultivation aura from his body was much stronger than Huang Ziyi’s, probably at least a Fourth Grade Martial Venerate.
"Greetings to Brother Chu Kuang."
Upon the arrival of this scholarly-robed youth, the two Gentleman Sect disciples immediately rejoiced, seemingly finding their backbone. Chu Kuang’s status in the Gentleman Sect wasn’t comparable to the likes of Huang Tianyi. Although Huang Tianyi was also a core member, his strength was only average among the core members, but Chu Kuang was a heavyweight figure in the Gentleman Sect.
"I am indeed just an ant from the Martial Sect. Unfortunately, your Gentleman Sect’s experts can’t even handle an ant; doesn’t that make you worse than an ant?"
Ye Xuan retorted sarcastically.
"Hmph, you dare to be so audacious in my presence. I don’t want to make a big deal out of it, but you have seriously injured Brother Huang in broad daylight and are implicated in my brother Chu Yang’s disappearance. I am now taking you to the Punishment Hall where the Elders of Punishment will deal with you."
A cold glint flashed through Chu Kuang’s eyes. The elders of the Punishment Hall had a good relationship with his Gentleman Sect, and handing Ye Xuan over to the Punishment Hall would surely lead to severe punishment, possibly even torture. Even without evidence, they could coerce a confession, but if he were to teach Ye Xuan a lesson here, it would inevitably earn him a bad reputation for bullying the weak.
For them, being high-ranking members of the Gentleman Sect, reputation was crucial.
With that said, Chu Kuang did not hesitate any longer and boldly attacked Ye Xuan, intending to capture him and bring him to the Punishment Hall for trial.
How could Ye Xuan not be aware of the relationship between the Punishment Hall and the Gentleman Sect? Otherwise, Chu Kuang wouldn’t have been so accommodating, putting on an act of adhering to the rules.
Naturally, Ye Xuan wouldn’t let himself be captured without a fight. He swung his sword, and multiple layers of Sword Qi surged out, lifting slabs of stone off the ground and hurtling them toward Chu Kuang.
The Sword Qi was almost stuck to the slabs, waiting for Chu Kuang to break through the stone, so it could strike unexpectedly and achieve the effect of a surprise attack.
A sparkle flashed in Chu Kuang’s eyes, and with a flip of his palm, a two-meter-long brush appeared in his hand. He swung the large brush, and the black True Yuan swept out like ink, drawing an ancient ink-wash landscape in midair, depicting towering and majestic mountains and rivers.
The stone slabs exploded, and the Sword Qi hidden behind them was also shattered at the same time, easily breaking Ye Xuan’s cunning attack strategy.
The ink-wash mountain loomed toward him, and Ye Xuan, summoning the power of his Sword Martial Soul, slashed vertically, splitting the ink-wash mountain in two. But by then, Chu Kuang had already reached him, striking faster than Ye Xuan could react, landing a palm on his chest.
The impact caused Ye Xuan’s chest to heave violently, and his heart sank. Chu Kuang’s strength was far superior to Huang Tianyi’s, the two were not even comparable.
Against such an opponent, he could only fight with all his might.
"Chu Kuang, you claim to be a gentleman, yet you bully a newcomer who has just joined. Your Gentleman Sect is truly unworthy of its name, nothing but a bunch of reputation-seekers."
Just as Ye Xuan was prepared to risk everything, a faint voice suddenly came through. Ye Xuan looked slightly surprised and turned toward the direction of the voice. A young man in purple, smiling, was approaching the fray.
The young man in purple looked ordinary, but his demeanor exuded an innate nobility, not from his attire but from an inherent pride and aristocratic air.
"Taishi Yun, this matter does not concern your Crown Prince Party. Do not interfere unnecessarily,"
Chu Kuang furrowed his brow, his expression slightly darkening, clearly wary of this young man named Taishi Yun.
"I hadn’t planned to meddle, but I can’t overlook an injustice,"
Taishi Yun smiled. Usually, he wouldn’t intervene in such matters, but Ye Xuan was different; he was the fifth demon of the Spirit Frost Pavilion. If he could win the favor of the "Inner Sect Four Demons" and simultaneously suppress the Gentleman Sect’s arrogance, why not do so?
"What do you want to do then? Let me tell you, this young man almost killed Huang Tianyi and is suspected to have killed my brother Chu Yang. I believe he is definitely the killer. He is a major criminal of our Gentleman Sect, and even Fei Yue coming here wouldn’t save him. If you want to interfere, you better consider the consequences carefully." Chu Kuang took a deep breath and said solemnly.
Taishi Yun looked surprised, having thought Chu Kuang was just looking for trouble with Ye Xuan, unaware of these accusations. He glanced to the side and indeed, Huang Tianyi was lying not far away like a dying dog, barely breathing.