Chapter 0898: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Chapter 0898: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Qin Yun took the Stellar Flame Talisman with a faint smile. "Settled? Not so fast. Didn't you say you wanted me to repay tenfold?"

The round-faced middle-aged man shook his head in despair. "I won’t dare anymore! I was wrong! Brother, have mercy!"

Seeing the round-faced middle-aged man beg Qin Yun for mercy, the onlookers frowned in disapproval. After all, this was an Emperor Wu!

But upon further thought, if their own dantian contained a talismanic weapon that could explode at any moment, they’d likely act the same way.

The Half-Immortal Elder from the Qianfeng Sect was at a loss. He couldn’t help the Emperor Wu, nor could he take action against Qin Yun—because that Emperor Wu’s life was firmly in Qin Yun’s grasp.

"Brother, what must I do for you to spare me?" the round-faced middle-aged man asked fearfully, sensing the inscribed dagger quiver in his dantian.

The bystanders were also baffled—how had the talismanic dagger entered his dantian?

In truth, that dagger was a Dao artifact engraved with astral and lunar sigils, allowing it to absorb the power of the *Piercing Mystic Art* exceptionally well. Without defenses, it could easily pierce into someone’s body.

Hong Mengshu marveled inwardly at Qin Yun’s cunning. She wondered whether the talisman and talismanic weapon he had just produced were crafted by himself.

Qin Yun sent a covert voice transmission to the round-faced man: *"Uncle, how about this? I can’t stand Tian Dajiang, Tian Siyu, Luo Meiru, Gong Feiyan, and Lu Tiangui... oh, and those few disciples from the Qianfeng Sect. Just go over and give each of them a good slap!"*

Hearing the voice in his mind, the round-faced man was startled and instinctively wanted to glance at those young people.

*"Don’t glance their way—you’ll tip them off!"* Qin Yun transmitted again. *"Choose now: obey or perish! Don’t worry, even though Old Feitian is a Half-Immortal, you’re an Emperor Wu of the Qianfeng Sect. He definitely won’t kill you!"*

After a pause, Qin Yun quickly added, *"And don’t you dare admit I forced you! Otherwise, face the consequences!"*

Gritting his teeth, the round-faced man suddenly moved, darting forward with incredible speed.

The people Qin Yun had named weren’t far away.

As an Emperor Wu, the round-faced man was quite formidable. In just a few moments, the sharp crack of slaps rang out as red handprints bloomed on the faces of those arrogant youths.

*Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!*

Exactly as Qin Yun demanded, the round-faced man ruthlessly struck each of them.

The struck youths stood stunned, clutching their faces in shock.

Even Lu Tiangui, who had just been carried up, wasn’t spared!

"Grandfather... he hit me!" Tian Siyu sobbed, cradling her cheek. "I’ve never been struck like this in my life!"

"Grandfather, you must end him!" Tian Dajiang roared furiously.

Gong Feiyan and Luo Meiru pressed their hands to their stinging cheeks, fuming in silence—after all, their assailant was an Emperor Wu of their own sect!

The other Qianfeng Sect disciples couldn’t even glare in defiance.

"Lei Xiong! What are you doing?!" Old Feitian roared at the round-faced man. "How dare you strike my grandchildren!"

The crowd immediately suspected Qin Yun’s involvement.

"It must be that lowly servant who ordered him to do it!" Tian Dajiang shouted, pointing at Qin Yun.

Everyone knew that Lei Xiong had a flying dagger talisman in his Dao Pillar, and Qin Yun could detonate it at any time.

Lei Xiong quickly said, "It's not his fault! I did it on my own! They were all extremely disrespectful to this senior earlier, so I just put them in their place!"

Old Feitian gritted his teeth and glared at Qin Yun. "You bastard, did you force him to do this?"

"He just said he did it himself. What does it have to do with me?" Qin Yun shrugged.

Ying Chengyu, who was watching from the sidelines, secretly praised Qin Yun for handling it masterfully.

Gong Feiyan and Luo Meiru both glared fiercely at Qin Yun.

Lu Tiangui bellowed furiously, "You filthy servant... I swear I'll kill you!"

Upon hearing this, Lei Xiong immediately leaped over and rained down slaps on Lu Tiangui. "Idiot, shut your mouth!"

Lu Tiangui was beaten bloody by Lei Xiong, screaming bloody murder.

Gong Feiyan, Luo Meiru, and the other Qianfeng Sect disciples, who had also wanted to curse Qin Yun, immediately shut their mouths upon seeing Lu Tiangui's miserable state—they didn't dare so much as glance at Qin Yun anymore.

Old Feitian looked at the HalfImmortal elder of the Qianfeng Sect and said, "Elder Qiu, you saw what happened just now! I want to punish Lei Xiong. What do you think?"

"It's fine to discipline him, but don't kill him," Elder Qiu said wearily, lowering his voice.

"No, Grandpa! You must slaughter that fat-headed donkey!" Tian Dajiang shouted furiously.

"You little beast, what did you just call me?" Lei Xiong, already seeing red, roared when he heard Tian Dajiang call him a "fat-headed donkey."

"Fat-headed donkey!" Tian Dajiang yelled again.

"Fat-headed donkey, you're about to die! What's wrong with cursing you a few times?" Tian Siyu screeched.

Lei Xiong bellowed in fury and wanted to charge at them, but he didn't dare—Old Feitian was lording over there.

Old Feitian said coldly, "Elder Qiu! If you intend to protect Lei Xiong, then don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

Elder Qiu sighed deeply and said, "Lei Xiong! Our Qianfeng Sect has always steered clear of trouble, but now... you've stirred up this hornet's nest. I have no choice but to expel you from the sect!"

"From this moment on, Lei Xiong is no longer a member of the Qianfeng Sect!"

The crowd buzzed with shocked whispers. The Qianfeng Sect's decision was understandable—after all, they had offended a HalfImmortal!

This showed just how formidable Old Feitian was!

Of course, many also silently criticized the Qianfeng Sect for its weakness.

Luo Meiru cursed loudly, "Lei Xiong, you fat-headed donkey! How dare you hit me... If you survive this, I swear my Luo family will have your head!"

Lei Xiong was stunned, clenching his fists tightly. He was staring death in the face now!

He looked at Qin Yun.

Qin Yun remained stone-faced and mute.

Old Feitian said coldly, "Lei Xiong, were you forced by that brat? If so, I can let you live!"

Luo Meiru also shouted, "If it was that damned slave's doing, then we can understand. Fat-headed donkey, fess up already!"

"You little bitch, shut the hell up!" Lei Xiong flashed in front of Luo Meiru and laid into her. "You bunch of little beasts, always dishing out nicknames behind their backs! I've had enough of you mangy curs! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this damn predicament!"

If it weren't for Elder Qiu stepping in and pushing Lei Xiong away, Luo Meiru would have been beaten black and blue.

Gong Feiyan, who had been slapped earlier, still felt some pain. She secretly rejoiced that she hadn’t cursed at Lei Xiong, or she would have ended up like Luo Meiru.

Seeing Luo Meiru beaten beyond recognition, she felt a secret satisfaction—she couldn’t stand Luo Meiru.

Old Feitian said coldly, "Lei Xiong, I’ll give you one more chance! Admit you were coerced, and I’ll just beat you up!"

Only then could Old Feitian justify going after Qin Yun. Otherwise, he had no grounds to punish him.

After all, Qin Yun was still Brother Yu’s servant!

If Old Feitian attacked Qin Yun without cause, Brother Yu could exploit the situation and make them pay dearly.

Lei Xiong sneered, "I wasn’t coerced. I’ve just had enough of these little bastards!"

Tian Dajiang shouted furiously, "Grandpa, he called me a little bastard, which means he’s calling you an old bastard! Kill him now!"

Hearing this, many fought back laughter, though none dared to let it out.

Old Feitian was so enraged that he unsheathed a longsword and charged at Lei Xiong.

The crowd held their breath—Old Feitian was truly about to kill!

Just as the sword descended, the hunchbacked elder suddenly intervened. With a flick of his hand, a tarnished golden halberd appeared, blocking Old Feitian’s strike with a loud *clang*.

"I am the Grand Master of this Hall of Mystic Patterns. I can’t let you destroy it. Take your fight outside!" the Hunchback Steward declared.

He feared Lei Xiong might suddenly blow himself up, which would doom the entire hall.

Lei Xiong immediately roared, "Stay back! Or I’ll blow myself up and take this whole place down!"

Old Feitian froze in his tracks.

Elder Qiu said, "Lei Xiong, if you admit your mistake and confess that someone forced you, perhaps you’ll be spared!"

But if Lei Xiong admitted it, he’d still die.

"Elder Qiu, you gutless old coward, shut your stinking mouth!" Lei Xiong bellowed.

Elder Qiu’s face darkened with suppressed fury.

Lei Xiong was beyond caring, snapping at everyone.

"Grand Master, take me in! I’ll serve in the Hall of Mystic Patterns for ten thousand years—a lifetime of hard labor!" Lei Xiong pleaded with the Hunchback Steward.

The Hunchback Steward glanced at Old Feitian and shook his head. "No, I can’t accept you. I don’t want to make enemies."

Ying Chengyu chuckled, "Old Hunchback, is that halberd in your hand the Ancient Dao Artifact you just acquired? It looks impressive! Interested in selling?"

Everyone couldn’t believe "Brother Yu’s" nerve.

Amidst the life-and-death tension, he was nonchalantly haggling, totally ignoring the danger.

"This Ancient Dao Artifact is damaged. If repaired, it could become an Ancient King Artifact, rivaling some semi-immortal weapons!" the Hunchback Steward sighed. "But two key mystic patterns are broken, and I can’t fix them."

This immediately drew everyone’s attention—even Old Feitian fixed his eyes on the tarnished golden halberd.

Ying Chengyu asked in surprise, "What runes are damaged? Even you can't fix them?"

Qin Yun, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, "A star-rune set and a moon-rune set are severely damaged, with most of the light and dark runes erased! Additionally, the dark runes of three sets of dao runes are partially destroyed!"

The Hunchback Steward's eyes widened as he stared at Qin Yun, his face filled with shock. "You... how did you know?"

Hong Mengshu whispered, "Uncle Hunchback, he's a Runes Master! You've seen my Lunar Blade before, right? The moon runes on it were damaged, and he was the one who repaired them!"

This instantly made Emperor Wu and the HalfImmortal take notice!

Those who understood Runes Masters well were utterly astonished, as they had all seen Hong Mengshu's Lunar Blade and knew how complex those moon runes were—nearly impossible to fix!

Hearing this, Ying Chengyu was even more shocked. He himself had many damaged treasures, mostly with severely damaged moon runes, yet no one could repair them!