Chapter 26 The Scheming Disciple and the Charming Master 26

Chapter 26: The Scheming Disciple and His Beautiful Master 26

When experts trade blows, they naturally pick up on every detail. The middle-aged man had seen through Qin Du's little trick long ago.

Still, he didn't take Qin Du's little scheme seriously.

Even if a Foundation Establishment cultivator threw a full spiritual-power strike at him, what harm could it do if he just tanked it?

The two moved at almost the same instant. The man's sword stabbed into Qin Du's lower abdomen, but the moment the blade sank an inch deep, Qin Du's palm slammed into his right shoulder.

He'd been ready for it—you could say he hadn't even planned to dodge. But the next second, his sword went flying.

His whole right shoulder felt like it had been hit by a boulder. A dull, crushing pain sent him crumpling to the ground.

Qin Du wasn't doing much better. The sword hadn't gone clean through his dantian, but it had definitely sunk deep into it.

Damage to his spiritual root was unavoidable—he could only pray it could be saved.

He tried pressing his hand over the wound to stop the bleeding, but it was no use. Blood soaked the ground. He couldn't hold on any longer and blacked out.

"Elder! Elder, are you okay?!" Zhang Ting hurried forward to support the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man's face was twisted with fury. He clutched his shoulder, tried to speak, but couldn't stop himself from coughing up a mouthful of blood.

His cultivation had dropped.

He'd actually fallen from Late Golden Core to mid Golden Core.

And it had taken him a full ninety years to go from mid to late stage.

And one palm strike from a Foundation Establishment brat had just scattered ninety years of cultivation?!

"No! No... how could he possibly be this powerful?!"

"Elder, Elder—your cultivation dropped?!" Even Zhang Ting could see it now.

"Impossible! It's him—he must've used some kind of evil technique to rob me of ninety years of cultivation!"

At this point, the middle-aged man started losing it in front of all the disciples.

Baqi Sect rules stated that only Late Golden Core cultivators could hold the position of elder.

He'd spent decades in seclusion cultivating—the hardship went without saying—and he'd barely become an elder before his cultivation dropped.

So what was the point of all those years of effort?!

"I..." The middle-aged man was beside himself. He yanked out his spiritual sword and lunged to stab it straight into Qin Du's heart.

Qin Du, already unconscious from blood loss, had no way to fight back.

Just as the blade was about to pierce Qin Du's chest, a blinding flash of white light streaked across the sky.

A sharp "clang" rang out—the man's spiritual sword was knocked away, spun through the air, and embedded itself in the ground at his feet.

Startled, the middle-aged man yanked his foot back.

By the time everyone snapped back to reality, Qin Du—who'd been lying motionless on the ground—was gone.

Lin Huaiqing, who'd arrived late, gathered Qin Du into his arms and let him lean against him.

Crimson blood smeared across Lin Huaiqing's pristine white Daoist robe, dripping down the hem and pooling on the ground—a jarring sight.

The middle-aged man was furious that he hadn't finished Qin Du off with that one strike.

Now that Lin Huaiqing was here, killing Qin Du wouldn't be so easy.

"Immortal Venerable Huaiqing, long time no see." the middle-aged man said with a sinister smile.

Lin Huaiqing heard the voice but couldn't see who it was. His spiritual power could sense the surroundings, but recognizing people was genuinely difficult for him.

"Who are you? Why did you hurt my disciple?"

If he hadn't happened to notice the side hall was empty and come down the mountain to look, Qin Du would've died at these people's hands.

"Immortal Venerable Huaiqing, are you sure this person is your disciple?! Then did you, his master, also teach him to walk the Demonic Path?!"

The middle-aged man deliberately raised his voice so everyone watching could hear.

His disciple cultivated demonic arts—a Xuantian Sect disciple was actually a demonic cultivator.

At the mention of the word "demon," Lin Huaiqing's heart pounded hard.

Qin Du's identity had been well hidden all along. Besides him and the system, no one knew a thing.

"This Fellow Cultivator must be joking. Accusing someone of demonic cultivation is no small matter. Surely you have solid evidence?"

Exactly—no matter what, he could never admit it. Whoever makes the claim bears the burden of proof.

"Of course I do! Your disciple is only at Foundation Establishment, yet he hit our elder and dropped his cultivation with a single palm strike. That's impossible—if it weren't for demonic cultivation, I can't think of any other explanation."

When Zhang Ting first said this, he didn't notice anything wrong. But the crowd heard it differently.

"Something's off—very, very off. Are you saying my disciple dropped the cultivation of a Golden Core cultivator like you with one palm strike?"

Lin Huaiqing deliberately put on a look of disbelief.

The words were already out, so even if they were wrong, he had to keep going.

"Exactly! A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, practicing demonic arts, used those evil techniques to hurt our elder. What more do you have to say?!"

"By your logic, every prodigy in the cultivation world is a demonic cultivator? Are you saying there's never been a case of someone defeating an opponent above their rank?!"

Lin Huaiqing spoke clearly and with flawless logic, completely overwhelming the opposition.

Even many disciples from other sects who were watching stepped forward to speak up for him.

After all, his reputation in the cultivation world had always been solid.

"Immortal Venerable Huaiqing is right! We all saw it with our own eyes—your Baqi Sect elder was bullying the Xuantian Sect disciple. He got his cultivation dropped by the kid and still claims demonic cultivation. If you're weak, you're weak—go practice!"

"Never seen an adult bully a kid before. How old are you, and how old is he? Look, you beat the poor handsome guy until he passed out!"

"The Baqi Sect bullies the weak! Can't win a fight and calls for backup—absolutely shameless!"

Zhang Ting flew into a rage and shouted, "All of you shut up! Who gave you the right to speak here? If their Xuantian Sect disciple weren't a demonic cultivator, how could he possibly have hurt our elder!"

Lin Huaiqing hadn't expected so many people to defend him either. For a moment, he felt a bit flattered.

"Defeating opponents above your rank isn't rare in the cultivation world. Besides, my disciple Qin Du is gravely wounded, while you only lost a cultivation level—in the end, you're still the one who came out ahead."

Hearing Lin Huaiqing nonchalantly say "you win," the middle-aged man was so enraged that he spat up another mouthful of blood.

He'd lost ninety years of cultivation, while Qin Du had merely fainted from excessive blood loss.

His sword hadn't gone deep enough, nor had it done lasting damage to Qin Du's foundation.

He'd just need a year or so to recover.

So where was the win?

"Lin, don't think you can weasel out of this with sweet talk! Whether your disciple cultivates demonic arts or not, there will be a fair judgment!

The Immortal Sects Conference isn't over yet. Let's head up the mountain right now. Before all the immortal masters, I will demand justice."

"Fine... I'll wait for you at the main peak."

With that, Lin Huaiqing disappeared with Qin Du right in front of everyone.

Qin Du had lost too much blood; delaying any further would be unwise.