Chapter 528: Killing Is Healing

Chapter 528: To Kill Is to Cure

"When you were living high and large in Jinling City, did it ever cross your mind that your master was still imprisoned within the Liu faction, suffering torment in the dark?"

Shen Li was still wearing that same filthy black arrow-sleeved martial uniform, sitting in a grand armchair with his legs crossed, looking down at Yao Jun’s blood-stained face.

"Brother Shen, the one who colluded with the Liu family was Lei Yao, not us. He was the one who wanted to use Master’s life as a tribute to buy the Liu family’s help in completing his 'Martial Tempered Phase' so he could advance to a Rank Three Sovereign. We had absolutely no desire to betray our sect. Brother Shen, you must believe me, everything I say is absolute truth, I wouldn't dare utter a single lie to you!"

The 'Martial Tempered Phase' Yao Jun spoke of was precisely the process of genetic feeding that Shen Li had once recounted to Li Jun.

In the martial sequence of the sects, if one wished to break through from Rank Four to Rank Three, completing the 'Martial Tempered Phase' was the prerequisite.

"So what you're saying is, Lei Yao betrayed the sect solely for the sake of the 'Martial Tempered Phase'?"

Shen Li sneered, "But how is it that I heard Master Zhang was a magnanimous and open man who never held back when teaching his disciples? If that piece of trash Lei Yao truly possessed the potential to advance to a Sovereign, would Master Zhang really not have helped him?"

"Of course Master was going to help, but the time Master estimated for Lei Yao's Martial Tempered Phase was at least fifteen years. Lei Yao simply wasn't willing to wait that long."

"A long duration only proves that his, Lei Yao's, natural talent is poor. Moreover, the Martial Tempered Phase is inherently a discipline of constant dripping wearing away stone, a metamorphosis that everyone within the martial sequence knows. We cannot shorten the process ourselves, so does a Confucian sequence faction somehow have a way?"

The severely wounded Yao Jun forced a mouthful of fresh blood back down his throat, only then catching his breath, and whispered, "It’s 'Autumn Equinox', a medicinal creation of the agricultural sequence's twenty-four solar terms. With this thing, Lei Yao could accelerate the process of the Martial Tempered Phase, shortening it from fifteen years to under five."

"Autumn Equinox... That old bastard Liu Jinxun is truly fucking willing to pay a heavy price!"

A look of realization dawned on Shen Li's face. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Since Lei Yao could get his hands on the Autumn Equinox, then the rest of you disciples must have scooped up a lot of benefits as well, right?"

"We didn't get a single thing, Lei Yao deceived us!"

Yao Jun's expression turned somewhat crazed, and he said savagely, "Originally, he only asked us to join him in forcing Master to abdicate, promising that after succeeding, all the martial arts within the sect would be opened to us free of charge. We had absolutely no idea he had already made a secret deal with the Liu family!"

"It wasn't until our palace coup failed and we fled into Jinling under Lei Yao's lead, seeing the inescapable dragnet laid out by the Liu family, that we realized all of this was within his plan from the very beginning. From the start, that bastard's goal was never to become the leader of Hongsheng, but to lure Master into Jinling to sell him to the Liu family. The rest of us disciples were all his discarded pawns, cast aside and ignored once he was done with us. Meanwhile, he became an honored guest of the Liu faction, enjoying endless wealth and splendor!"

"Over these years, we haven't lived a single good day. We could only quarter ourselves within the faction to guard houses like dogs, dragging out an ignoble existence, not daring to take a single step out of Jinling."

Yao Jun's expression was sorrowful, tears streaming down his face as he said, "Brother Shen, we are victims too."

"Using the entire sect as a bargaining chip to trade for a shortcut across the mountain. This Lei Yao is truly ruthless enough."

Shen Li exhaled a long breath of turbid air, shaking his head with a sigh. "No wonder the old codgers at Tianque are trying everything they can to rescue Zhang Changfeng. If this kind of thing isn't settled, who the fuck would be willing to mingle in our martial sequence in the future? It was already a broken ship to begin with, yet a hole-boring bastard like this had to appear. It really is a case of rain pouring on a leaking roof, and misfortune choosing the miserable."

Seeing that Shen Li's expression seemed to soften slightly, Yao Jun immediately contorted his facial features, squeezing out a hideously ugly smile.

"Brother Shen, I beg you to spare me. Over these years in Jinling, I've gathered a lot of information about Lei Yao. He is currently acting as a personal bodyguard for the Liu family's second young master, Liu Dian. I am willing to act as bait to help you lure him out."

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Yao Jun smashed his head against the ground. The wounds on his body that had just begun to scab tore open once more, drenched in blood that soaked through his whole body, looking exceptionally wretched.

"I beg you to give me another chance to turn over a new leaf and redeem myself through service, Brother Shen, I beg of you."

"Sure."

When Shen Li uttered those two words, Yao Jun was still mechanically repeating his pleas for mercy. It was only after kowtowing a few more times that he suddenly registered the words, a look of pleasant surprise washing over his face.

But before he could even thank Shen Li for sparing his life, he heard the other man's tone sharply shift.

"Back when I was running with the triads in Tianjin, the rule I set was that even biological brothers must keep clear accounts. The brothers in the gang could leave if they wanted, but they had to first clear their merits and faults. For every wrong done to the gang or to the brothers, it had to be repaid with blood. One cut for one wrong, and once the wrongs were answered, the blade would stop, parting ways completely with neither side owing the other."

"Though I don't run with triads anymore and have become the leader of a sect, the rule remains the same rule. I don't know if you've done other things to harm your fellow disciples in the Hongsheng Sect before, nor do I intend to settle it with you so clearly. Today, I will only settle this single matter of betraying the sect with you."

Shen Li said calmly, "As long as you can take one punch from me, I will spare your life."

Hearing these words, the expression on Yao Jun's face instantly turned blank, his pupils dilating involuntarily.

He understood that this was fundamentally a dead end!

What kind of person was this Shen Li?

The youngest sect master in the martial sequence, one of the pillar figures of Tianque’s younger generation, and also the executioner who had killed the most people in Tianque.

Yao Jun, who had once been a member of Tianque himself, knew very well that nearly half of the people who had betrayed the martial sequence over the years had been personally executed by the sloppy-looking man before him.

The few surviving remnants had been turned into living injectors to cultivate newcomers, enduring a fate worse than death.

Even at his peak, he wouldn't dare exchange blows with Shen Li. Now that he was already severely wounded, how could he possibly withstand a single punch from the man?

"Brother Shen, I beg you to give me a way to live."

Yao Jun wailed loudly, kowtowing continuously.

"A way to live?"

Shen Li sneered, shaking his head. "A path isn't given by others; it can only be carved out by oneself. Today, I'll teach you this truth on behalf of Master Zhang."

Out of the shadows where the light could not reach, two martial sequence men stepped forward, forcefully propping up the limp Yao Jun from the ground.

"Don't... Don't..."

Powerless to struggle, Yao Jun could only plead continuously, yet he received no further response.

Whish!

A fierce, wild gale suddenly erupted within the medical clinic.

In Yao Jun's terrified gaze, a phantom figure seemed to be hidden within the sweeping wind, darting to the front of him within a single breath. Shoulders sinking, waist locking, fingers gripping into a fist!

The wild wind struck his body, making his hair fly.

Yao Jun's eyes nearly burst from their sockets as a clean hole suddenly exploded through his chest from front to back, as if someone had punched straight through his body. He died a truly miserable death.

"The person is dead, the debt is cleared. Now you and the Hongsheng Sect are even. If you want to seek revenge in the next life, come find me, Shen Li."

Shen Li remained seated in that grand armchair, his form never shifting even an inch from beginning to end.

"Excuse me, can you still see patients now?"

Just then, a mocking voice suddenly rang out from outside the clinic door. Immediately following it, the tightly shut shop door seemed like a painted scroll set ablaze; black scorch marks spread silently, and in an instant, the entire door turned into a pile of ashes on the ground.

"You're the only one sitting here, so I assume you must be the physician in residence?"

Looking at the man who stepped inside in a leisurely manner, the two Tianque martial artists looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy. Every single hair on their bodies stood on end, and their bodies uncontrollably leaked a grim killing intent along with a faint, unsuppressible dread.

"I've seen forced encounters in brothels before, but it's my first time seeing someone break down a door to force a medical consultation."

Shen Li narrowed his eyes and smiled, "I can tell you're in quite a hurry."

The man shrugged his shoulders, "Can't be helped. This poverty disease of mine is already terminal. If I don't treat it now, I won't get another chance."

"What a coincidence. This clinic of mine isn't good at anything else, but it's best at helping people treat terminal illnesses. The hand falls, the blade drops, and the sickness is cured."

"That’s wonderful. By the way, my name is Zhu Jin."

The man smiled brilliantly, pointing at Yao Jun's corpse on the ground. "Just like what you told him just now, when you want to collect the consultation fee in your next life, you must remember to come find me."

"I think you should compensate me for my door first."

The moment the words fell, Shen Li's figure had already materialized in front of Zhu Jin, the shadow of his thrown fist flying straight for the other's head.

Boom!

A torrent of blazing flame rushed out from within the clinic, the soaring firelight illuminating half the street block.