Chapter 413: Aftermath

ARGH!!

Smashing and rolling on the ground, their bodies soon came to a stop as all six of them coughed out blood because of the several internal injuries they sustained from Yi Chen’s spirit attack.

Many of the ribs were also broken, making it difficult for them to breathe, as even the slightest movement caused them to grimace in pain.

’!!!’

A flabbergasted expression instantly appeared on Zhou Mei’s face when she witnessed this scene. It was only now, after witnessing his actions, that she had come to realise just how strong Yi Chen was.

She was expecting him to defeat them with his swordsmanship or even use physical force, but never did she think that he had such a move in his arsenal.

’But wait...’

However, a frown soon formed on her face the very next moment.

’Wasn’t that an attack that used spiritual energy?’ she thought while recollecting the sensation of the weakened spiritual energy that had flown past her body after Yi Chen’s strike.

’Just how...’ the frown on her face intensified the next moment, ’...just how does he possess so much spiritual energy when he isn’t even at the Qi Absorption Stage??’

Meanwhile, not knowing what was going on in Zhou Mei’s mind, Yi Chen stepped forward in Huo Xun’s direction a few moments later.

Lying flat with his face up on the muddied path, Huo Xun was currently groaning in pain while tightly clenching his teeth.

Step

Step

Step

Stopping just when he was standing right above Huo Xun’s face, Yi Chen looked down to meet Huo Xun’s hate-filled eyes and said with a concerned expression, "Weren’t you planning to retaliate after I had made the first move?... Oh, how ignorant of me! With your current state, it’s natural that you won’t be able to retaliate, much less stand up... isn’t that too bad?"

A sadistic sneer instantly appeared on Yi Chen’s face the moment he finished speaking, making Huo Xun seethe with anger, which only brought his broken ribs to poke further into his lungs.

Cough! Cough! Cough!

Coughing out blood the next moment, he glared daggers at Yi Chen and said while trying hard to suppress his pain, "Y-You... do you really think that you’ll be fine after injuring me? Wait till I report you to the E-Enforcement hall, you b-bastard! I’ll ensure that you’ll remain stuck there for months!"

Hearing Huo Xun’s threat, Yi Chen’s expression remained unfazed as he said with a provoking smile, "Oh? I’ll be waiting then, so you better not disappoint me, you understand?"

The very next moment, he placed his right foot on top of Huo Xun’s chest and pushed down.

AAARHHH!

Huo Xun cried out in pain, much to Yi Chen’s satisfaction, as Yi Chen’s next words entered his ears.

"But do remember, you’re not the only one who can issue challenges. I can do the same as well, and with your strength, you’ll have no way of going against me.

Therefore, if they do confine me, then after coming out I’ll make sure to make your every day in this sect a living hell."

Yi Chen snorted while pulling back his leg, totally unbothered by the intense rage Huo Xun’s eyes were currently brimming with, and, wanting to poke him further, he added, "Oh, and worrying about how you’ll be dealing with me should be the least of your problems. Instead, you should be more concerned with how you’re planning to crawl your way back to get treated."

"I’ll k-kill you!" losing control over himself, Huo Xun shouted with a blood-curdling voice. However, instead of causing Yi Chen to panic, those words caused him to laugh out loud.

"Oh really? Then I would love to see you try." Yi Chen muttered with a provoking smile and turned around while thinking to himself, ’It’s not like I’m planning to let you live for long either... all of you... for plotting the death of Yu’er’s mother, your entire clan will soon pay in blood.’

The playful gaze was no longer there in Yi Chen’s eyes and was instead replaced with cold conviction.

The next moment, his eyes landed upon Zhou Mei’s figure, who had been silently observing everything from her spot, with various questions popping in her mind.

"Little Mei, let’s go." Yi Chen said the very next moment and, not bothering to give another glance at Huo Xun’s figure, started walking.

"Y-Yes, Brother Chen." Zhou Mei immediately responded to Yi Chen’s words and soon followed him.

...

It had been almost a minute since they had started walking back towards their quarters, with neither of them exchanging any words with each other.

Zhou Mei’s thoughts were a complete mess because of everything that had happened as she kept walking alongside Yi Chen.

A few moments later, she glanced at Yi Chen out of the corner of her eye and saw him leisurely walking forward as if he didn’t care about what he had just done at all.

However, that wasn’t the case for her. She knew pretty well that if not for her, Yi Chen wouldn’t have gotten into a scuffle with Huo Xun and his men.

Therefore, seeing him walk as if nothing had happened just now ended up making her feel even more indebted to him.

Pursing her lips, she finally tried to articulate her thoughts into words.

"Brother Chen..." she called, waiting for him to respond.

"Yes?" Yi Chen slightly turned to face her while walking, a curious expression evident on his face.

"About earlier... I’m sorry. It’s because of me that you ended up-"

Zhou Mei tried to apologise, but before she could finish, Yi Chen cut her off with a calming smile on his face. "Hey, it wasn’t because of you, so you don’t need to blame yourself."

Looking ahead to the next moment, his smile widened as he saw the night lamps that had been turned on because the sun was about to set. They looked much brighter to him than yesterday.

Taking in the view for a second, he continued, "... I did it because I wanted to. And now that I’ve done it, there’s no regret in my mind at all. In fact, for some reason I feel freer than ever before.

It doesn’t matter whether they confine me or whatever. As long as I’m in the sect, they can’t harm me any other way. As for what they’ll do when I’m out of the sect, I have many ways of dealing with them."

A smirk formed on Yi Chen’s face as he said the last sentence. Because his cultivation was only at the Meridian Refinement Stage, there was no doubt in his mind that the first set of assassins which they might send his way would not exceed the Qi Absorption Stage, no matter what.

With his current skills, he was more than just confident about grievously injuring a Qi Absorption Stage cultivator, if not killing them, in a direct confrontation. His recent enlightenments had given him that confidence.

As for the ones that would be coming afterwards, currently he had no way of dealing with them.

’At worst, I’ll just not go out of the sect until I’m at the Qi Absorption Stage and possess enough strength to deal with them myself.’ He thought to himself while thinking of the worst-case scenario.

After his interaction with the peak elders and Grand Elder Jian, he was more than certain that the sect would do its utmost to save him in such a situation, for they looked like people who would go to any lengths to not leave any blemish on the sect’s image.

Meanwhile, Zhou Mei, who had heard his words, immediately exclaimed.

"Brother Chen, you need not worry about his threats! The Huo Clan might have some connections in the Heavenly Azure Dragon Sect, but they pale significantly compared to those our Zhou Clan has, as many of our internal elders have given up their positions to become the Sect’s elders."

Zhou Mei paused after speaking hurriedly to recover her breath before continuing soon after.

"After reaching my room, I’ll immediately contact Father and ask him for help. I’m sure that this will make sure that the Huo Clan won’t be able to play any dirty tactics inside the sect.

While I’m at it, I’ll also get Father to provide you with a permanent set of protectors who would always be ready to accompany you every time you go out of the sect, just like how I have for myself.

Once that’s done, Brother will no longer have to worry about when he’ll be leaving the sect’s premises in the future."

Zhou Mei stated with conviction evident in her eyes.

’This...’

Even though Yi Chen wasn’t very worried about the situation, it didn’t mean that he would refuse this helping hand that was offered to him.

"Then, you have my thanks." Yi Chen said the next moment.

To those words, Zhou Mei shook her head and said, "No, it should be me who should be thankful... Thank you for standing up for me back then, Brother Chen."

The immense gratitude she carried in her heart was clearly visible on her face, making Yi Chen shake his head.

"You’re welcome then, Little Mei."

A light chuckle escaped Yi Chen as he said those words.

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