Chapter 1: The Court of Punishment

  June, on an island in Indonesia, the sun was shining brightly.

  In the lush and dense green forest, several ancient Tang-style buildings with a hint of old fragrance are hidden. The ancient copper-colored beams, the dark brown tiles, the high-pitched flying eaves, and the three-color ceramic kiln-fired ridge beasts standing on the roof, everything is so mysterious and solemn.

  This is where the Tiānxiǎo Gate's main hall is located.

  In the last courtyard of this building, there is a small stone house painted all over with black paint. On the gate hangs a vermilion plaque like blood, on which are carved the two characters "Criminal Hall".

  The Tian Xiang Men's General Hall is the Punishment Hall, which is specifically responsible for all punishment and discipline within the sect. All disciples of the sect are so afraid of the Punishment Hall that they tremble with fear at the mere mention of it.

  Inside the main hall of the Tiandihui, in the center, are enshrined the ancestral tablets of Heaven and Earth, Sovereign, Parents, Teachers, and the successive generations of ancestors. Below these tablets, four large chairs are arranged horizontally, on which sit the four senior elders of the Tiandihui: Zhang, Commander, Transmitter of Orthodox Doctrine, and Guardian of the Gate.

  On both sides of the hall, nearly a hundred disciples and followers of the Tiandihui stood solemnly. They were tall and short, fat and thin, beautiful and ugly, with varied appearances. Some wore suits and leather shoes, some exposed their chests and bellies, some wore long gowns and mandarin jackets, while others looked no different from street thugs and hoodlums, their attire was also quite bizarre.

  Everyone present was solemn and silent, standing upright in the grand hall without daring to relax even slightly, not even daring to breathe heavily, fearing that they would disturb the solemn atmosphere of the court and invite a stern rebuke from the elder in charge of punishment.

  Wu Wang wore a long gown made of dark green cotton, with a solemn expression he bowed to the four elder statesmen who held real power inside the imperial court.

  "Elders, Shangguan Ye, who broke the sect rules and acted arbitrarily, has been captured. Please have the Head of Punishment deal with him according to the sect rules."

  The four great elders of the Tianhuan Gate had faces as calm as water, and the elder in charge of punishment glanced at Wu Wang and slightly raised his left hand, clearing his throat: "Deputy gate master, where is Upper Official Ye?"

  Wu Wang smiled calmly and beckoned with his hand, and Wu Qi led a few young men who were as fierce as wolves, carrying a middle-aged man who was tightly bound by cowhide ropes, walking in big strides. The middle-aged man, who was tied up like a rice dumpling, had two hemp walnuts stuffed into his mouth, glaring at Wu Wang while continuously making "uu" sounds, but couldn't say a word.

  He picked up Shangguan Ye and threw him to the ground in the courtroom, then pinched his mouth several times with a smile, taking out the hemp walnut from his mouth.

  Shangguan Ye, despite being tied up like a rice dumpling, was still as agile as a monkey. As soon as Mo Qi took out the anesthetic walnut from his mouth, he sprang to life with a flick of his body and stood lightly in the center of the courtroom.

  Glaring at Wu Wang, Shangguan Ye raged: "Wu Wang, you dare to have me seized?"

  Wu Wang burst out laughing and kicked his leg up, landing a kick on Shang Guan Ye's leg, forcing him to kneel down on the ground.

  One hand pressed on Shangguan Ye's shoulder, and a gentle smile said: "Shangguan Shibo, my master is now the acting leader."

  Shangguan Ye was frantically struggling, his voice hoarse as he shouted: "Farting substitute sect leader, dog farting substitute sect leader! Wu Wang, I don't submit to you, I don't submit to you! My dad was the previous sect leader, this sect leader position should be mine, is mine!"

  Wu Wang smiled slightly and took a few steps back.

  Zhang Xing, the elder, took a glance at Wu Wang, who had a smile on his face, and suddenly stamped his foot in anger, shouting: "How dare you! Officer Yu, take a good look at where this is!"

  Shangguan Ye's body shook, his eyes rolled, and he gazed at the coldly smiling Head of Punishment with a stern expression: "What place? The Punishment Hall! What crime has Shangguan Ye committed to deserve being dealt with in the Punishment Hall? Elders, what merits or abilities does Shangguan Ye possess to be treated this way?"

  The four elders' eyebrows furrowed simultaneously, and the corners of their eyes swept towards Le Xiao Bai, who was standing behind Wu Wang, with long hair draped over his shoulders and a slender figure that seemed like a ghost.

  Zhang Xian let out a deep breath, and the Palm Punishment Elder said in a low voice: "Shangguan Ye, three months ago, didn't you lead the door people to rob seventeen families one after another?"

  He puffed out his chest and Officer Guan sneered coldly: "So what if we did? We're the ones who steal heaven and change the day, aren't we just doing this kind of thing?"

  Wu Wang smiled slightly and remained silent with his hands behind his back.

  Le Xioabai swung his large folding fan and walked a few steps forward, coldly smiling: "Yes, we stole the heavenly gate, doing just that kind of thing for the gentleman on the beam."

  He let out a long sigh, and Le Xiao Bai said in a loud, sorrowful tone: "However, as the saying goes, there is honor among thieves. The rules set by our ancestors who founded this sect, we may starve to death or die of hardship, but we cannot lay hands on good people's families!"

  The folding fan heavily tapped on Shang Guan Ye's shoulder, and Yue Xiao Bai pointed at him, scolding: "But Shang Guan Ye, he has stolen from seventeen wealthy families, among which six households' treasured heirlooms were stolen by him. And those six households are all kind-hearted and charitable families who do good deeds and accumulate virtues!"

  The courtroom was silent as a ghost town, with all eyes fixed on Le Xiao Bai and Wu Wang.

  Shangguan Ye's body jerked as he wanted to jump up, but a hand pressed down on his shoulder, forcibly holding him back.

  Only a dozen or so explosions sounded, and Shang Guanye's body shook violently. The tightly bound cowhide ropes on his body suddenly broke one after another. Shang Guanye's arms were like two spiritual snakes, extremely agile, and drilled out from under his armpits, carrying a gust of cold wind to press against Mo Qi's abdomen.

  Don't laugh lightly for a few moments, with both palms rising several fragments of residual shadows, and both arms twisting like boneless, silently welcoming Shangguan Ye.

  A dull thud, Wu Qi stood still on the spot, while Shangguan Ye was shaken by the palm force and rolled on the ground repeatedly, with blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

  He stared at Mo Qi in shock and shouted, "You little bastard, you've only been here for less than three years, how can your palm strength surpass mine?"

  Mo Qi kicked up a foot and sent Shangguan Ye flying with a kick to the chest. Mo Qi laughed and said, "Shangguan Shibo, as the son of the former sect leader, you don't respect the rules, and you dared to take action in the Punishment Hall. This is a crime that deserves three penalties! You'd better plead guilty!"

  Wu Wang coughed lightly, and Le Xiao Bai immediately turned his head and glared fiercely at the four great elders.

  The four elders' palms on the armrests of the large chair tightened, and the armrests made of purple sandalwood were pinched into powder.

  The elder in charge of punishment took a deep breath, stood up and shouted angrily: "Come on! Zhang Ye has violated the rules first, and then acted recklessly in the Punishment Hall. The crime is unforgivable. Considering that he is the only son of the former leader Zhang Tianzheng, his cultivation will be abolished, and he will be confined within the sect for life!"

  Lè Xiǎo Bái suddenly clapped his hands and shouted in approval.

  Inside the hall, many disciples of the Tianyi Sect applauded and cheered: "Elder Xing's reward and punishment are clear, all disciples are convinced!"

  Shangguan Ye's eyes widened as he glared at the many fellow disciples inside the hall of punishment. He shouted in a stern voice, "You! You!"

  The Head of Punishment stamped his foot and shouted angrily: "Where is the Disciple of Punishment?"

  Mo Qi responded with a sound, and flew towards Shang Guan Ye, his palms flying like swallows through the forest, densely and repeatedly slapping Shang Guan Ye's body.

  Shangguan Ye barely managed to block Wuqian's several rounds of attacks with his palm, spitting out large mouthfuls of blood. In the end, he was exhausted and hit by Wuqian's eighteen palms on his dantian. The dark energy of Wuqian's palm wind directly penetrated Shangguan Ye's dantian, shattering the true internal energy that he had cultivated for over a decade into powder.

  Chong Shou destroyed all of Shang Guan Ye's cultivation, yet Wu Qi's face still wore a warm, gentle and even affectionate smile.

  "Master Shibo, you've been through wind and rain, it's time for a good rest."

  No time for Upper Official Wild to make a sound, unexpectedly between his fingers appeared an extremely thin black blade, swiftly sweeping past Upper Official Wild's wrist and elbow joints. The blade entered the flesh, the blade edge still slightly trembling, in the blink of an eye cutting off several important tendons on Upper Official Wild's arm.

  Shangguan Ye let out a miserable cry, as large amounts of blood continuously seeped out from his arms.

  His internal energy was crippled and the tendons in both arms were completely severed; Imperial Censor Wei was now a useless person.

  "Don't beg for mercy, continue to smile and say: 'This time you have broken the rules, it's definitely not your intention. You must also be unintentional. However, no matter what, the rules are the rules, our door can survive in the world because of these rules, this rule cannot be broken.'"

  He let out a soft sigh and, looking up at Shangguan Yu with an extremely serious expression, said: "You can rest assured, from now on, I'll take care of all your food, clothing, and expenses for the rest of your life!"

  Looking at him with a wretched smile, Shangguan Ye nodded repeatedly and said: "Good, good, you little bastard worth only $100, you're great!"

  With a loud whoosh, Wu Ge spat out a mouthful of blood water. Xiang Guan Ye turned his body around, and with a trembling gaze, he looked at the four great elders whose faces had turned pale. He let out three consecutive cold laughs. After uttering some ominous curses, Xiang Guan Ye finally gazed towards Wu Wang.

  "Seven years ago, my father used up the last bit of 'Bu Tian Duan Xun Gao' left in our household to heal your damaged meridians. Today, your disciple has ruined my entire cultivation! Wu Wang, I will not rest until one of us is dead!"

  Wu Wang bowed solemnly to Shangguan and said seriously, "Shangguan, my senior brother, you have broken the rules of our sect. This is a punishment you deserve! I remember the kindness Master has shown me, so from now on, Senior Brother can rest assured and live out his days in the Tian Huan Gate. All expenses will be taken care of by me personally!"

  Zanxu's gaze swept over Wu Ge, and he waved his hand, saying: "Wu Ge, you also have a filial heart, but how can we let the younger generation spend money on our elder brother Shangguan? From now on, Elder Shangguan will live in my private residence to enjoy his old age, and you all must take good care of him."

  He hastily bowed and responded with a respectful "yes".

  Sen Yanshan swept a glance at the many disciples in the hall, and Wu Wang shouted sternly: "You all remember, whoever is my Tianhuanmen disciple, whoever dares to violate the sect rules, Shang Guanye is his warning!"

  Don't put away the small knife between your fingers, indicating that several disciples of the Xing Tang behind him would drag Officer Ye out.

  Shangguan Ye struggled with all his might, and he looked up at the sky with a miserable smile: "Wu Wang, Le Xiaobai, don't beg for mercy, I won't let you go! Haha, you're dead for sure, you're looking for death yourselves! And you four old rascals, I won't let you go either, Shangguan Ye will exterminate your whole family!"

  Amidst the mocking laughter, Shangguan Ye was forcibly dragged out of the courtroom.

  The shrill cry of Shangguan still echoed far away.

  "You all just wait, I'll find each and every one of you to settle the score!"

  In the wildly flapping sleeves of Shangguan's official robes, a paper crane made from yellow paper suddenly burst into flames and turned to ashes in an instant.

  Wu Wang puffed out his chest, gazing at the numerous disciples in the hall, and said calmly: "Have the Wind Hall disciples go investigate where those things that Shangguan Ye stole have gone. Other things can be let go, but the family heirlooms of the six families must definitely be retrieved."

  With a glance at the four elders, Wu Wang said calmly: "The rules of the Heaven-Defying Gate cannot be destroyed in our generation!"

  The four elders looked at each other and let out a long sigh simultaneously.

  The old man took out a palm-sized golden box from the secret pocket on his chest, and handed it over with great solemnity.

  "Deputy sect leader, secretly replacing the heavens and changing the day. The sect leader's token is here. Except for Shangguan Wu, no one else has any objections to the position of sect leader."

  The four elders stood in unison and bowed their hands to Wu Wang, saying: "Please let the successor formally take over the leadership of the Tianyi Sect!"

  Inside the hall, many disciples all knelt down on one knee at once.

  "Also, please let the new leader formally take over the leadership of the Heaven Defying Sect!"

  Wu Wang took the box without hesitation or pretension, and nodded vigorously after taking it.

  Le Xiao Bai and Wu Qi exchanged a glance, both of them smiling at the same time.