The goateed man advanced on Chu Guyu with a dagger in hand, his face twisted with malice, his aura of the Yuan Martial First Level already radiating outward.
"Kneel!" the goateed man roared. A wave of Yuan Force pressure surged toward Chu Guyu like a tide.
In that moment, Chu Guyu wanted to resist, but with only a Spirit Martial Seventh Stage cultivation, how could he withstand the oppression of a Yuan Martial realm expert? He collapsed to his knees with a thud.
"Slap! Slap!" The goateed man strode up to Chu Guyu and swung his arm twice, delivering two resounding slaps across Chu Guyu's face. The sheer force sent Chu Guyu crashing to the ground, blood spraying from his mouth, both cheeks already swelling grotesquely.
"Heh…" Facing the goateed man's humiliation, Chu Guyu merely let out a hollow laugh. He had grown accustomed to it—accustomed to all manner of degradation from men like this. But he had never fought back.
It wasn't that he didn't dare resist. He simply chose not to. He had to survive, because he knew he had a remarkable younger brother. Given enough time, his brother would surely grow strong. When that day came, every insult he had endured could be repaid, and the blood debt of the Chu Family's destruction would be avenged.
"I'll spit on that! You're laughing? You actually dare to laugh?"
"I'll give you something to laugh about! Let's see if you can still laugh after this!"
Enraged by Chu Guyu's smile, the goateed man lifted his leg and stomped down hard on Chu Guyu's other leg. A sickening crack rang out as Chu Guyu's last intact leg was snapped beneath the brute's foot.
Pain from the broken bone washed over him in waves, but Chu Guyu clenched his teeth and didn't let out a single cry. Nor did he beg for mercy, because he knew that begging was useless against this kind of person.
"Laugh, go ahead! Laugh some more! I'll make sure you never laugh again for the rest of your life!" The goateed man sneered repeatedly, raising his dagger and plunging it toward Chu Guyu's Dantian with crazed intent. He truly meant to destroy Chu Guyu's cultivation.
"No!!!"
At that moment, Chu Guyu's expression changed drastically and he couldn't help but scream. The goateed man could do whatever else he wanted—Chu Guyu could endure it all. But having his cultivation destroyed was something he could not accept. That was his life. Eight years of martial cultivation had given him that power. How could he simply let someone snatch it away?
Yet his cry did nothing to slow the descent of the dagger. If anything, it only strengthened the goateed man's resolve to cripple Chu Guyu's cultivation.
A cold flash of steel, and blood erupted from Chu Guyu's body as the dagger plunged deep into his Dantian.
At that instant, Chu Guyu's face turned pale as paper. The piercing agony in his Dantian made his entire body tremble, but he did not howl. Instead, he stared wide-eyed, fixated on his own Dantian, watching helplessly as the Spiritual Energy he had accumulated over eight years drained away at a furious pace until it had completely left his body.
"Ahhhhh!"
"I'll fight you to the death!"
Suddenly, Chu Guyu roared like an erupting tiger, rising to his feet with boundless fury and lunging at the goateed man.
Bang! But with his cultivation destroyed, how could he possibly be a match? The goateed man casually lifted his foot and sent Chu Guyu flying like a sandbag, slamming him hard against the tavern wall.
"Ugh!"
When he hit the ground, Chu Guyu spat out another mouthful of blood. Countless bones in his body had fractured from the impact. But even so, he struggled to crawl back up, glaring viciously at the goateed man not far away. Unfortunately, he no longer had the strength—not even enough to stand. His body was practically falling apart. He was finished.
"From now on, you're nothing but a mangy dog! You can only crawl in front of me—hahahaha!" The goateed man laughed wildly at the sight of Chu Guyu, his laughter abnormally gleeful.
Behind him, his lackeys also erupted into laughter, though they couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines. The goateed man's methods were far too cruel. Crossing him meant a fate worse than death.
While the goateed man was torturing Chu Guyu, a white-headed eagle was descending from the sky, approaching the small tavern. And sitting atop that white-headed eagle was none other than Chu Feng.
At that moment, Chu Feng had extended his Mental Power to its absolute limit, making his hearing extraordinarily acute. The moment he heard a scream, his expression changed dramatically.
He leaped down from the white-headed eagle and, using the Void Flight Technique, shot into the tavern at blinding speed. He had heard a cry of agony, and he recognized it—it was the voice of his elder brother, Chu Guyu.
Boom!
Chu Feng burst into the tavern like a bolt of lightning. The moment he entered, he carried with him a tremendous gust of wind that tossed everything inside into chaos. Even the disciples of the Lingyun Sect inside the tavern were sent tumbling and scrambling by the violent gale.
"Brother!"
Upon entering, Chu Feng's gaze immediately locked onto Chu Guyu. Seeing his brother lying on the ground, his body covered in wounds, Chu Feng's heart nearly stopped. He rushed forward at once to help him up.
"Brother! Brother!!" Chu Guyu, writhing in agony from the loss of his cultivation, was jolted by the sound of Chu Feng's voice. When he raised his head and saw Chu Feng standing before him, shock washed over him.
But a glance past Chu Feng showed the goateed man and his lackeys picking themselves up off the ground. He shoved Chu Feng away and screamed: "Run, brother! Run!!!"
"Brother? So this must be that good-for-nothing little brother of yours—the one who cultivates in some second-rate sect—Chu Feng, I presume?"
A sinister, venomous grin spread across the goateed man's face. At the same time, his lackees, already understanding his intent, had moved to block the tavern's entrance to prevent Chu Feng from escaping.
"Zhao Di! It was me who offended you back then! If you have a problem, take it out on me! I'm begging you—I'm begging you—please let my brother go!"
Seeing the goateed man cast his vicious gaze toward Chu Feng, Chu Guyu knew things were about to go terribly wrong. Even as Chu Feng held him up, he tried to drop to his knees before the goateed man to plead.
Slap! But before Chu Guyu could kneel, a strong hand caught him and pulled him back up. It was Chu Feng.
Chu Feng held his elder brother with one hand while his eyes bore into the smirking goateed man. His voice was ice-cold: "Was it you who did this to my brother?"
"That's right, it was me! What are you going to do about it? You, a pathetic waste from a second-rate sect—what can you do to me?" The goateed man sneered with derision, his laughter brimming with arrogance.
The moment the goateed man admitted it, Chu Feng's eyes turned a blood-red shade. A frigid killing intent enveloped his entire body and instantly flooded the tavern. He stared daggers at the goateed man and ground out eight words through clenched teeth:
"I will make you wish you were dead."