Chapter 8 Angry: "I'm going to check the other books."
"No way, that's Junior Sister Zhou."
"But not punishing them would be too much..."
Zhou Fuling stood under the tree and silently walked past.
Xu Qingning said in a cold voice:
“Zhou Fuling’s actions deserve punishment.”
Zhou Fuling suddenly looked up.
"Those of no rank who presumptuously enter demon territory and disrupt the order of demon control shall be punished with thirty lashes according to the 'Tianji Law'."
This surprised everyone else.
He Yin was also shocked: "Thirty lashes?! Young Sect Leader, Fu Ling is of low rank. If she is lashed thirty times, she will probably be severely injured and it will take her many days to recover. This punishment is too severe!"
Many people looked at Xu Qingning with some surprise.
But Xu Qingning said coldly, "I am Zhou Fuling's personal senior brother and her tutor, and I have the right to take the blame. I will take these thirty lashes on her behalf. Since I am taking them on her behalf, I will receive sixty lashes. Because I have already passed the third grade of 'Divine Connection', I will go to the Thunderclap Pagoda to receive the Thunder Whip."
Upon hearing Xu Qingning's words, everyone's expression changed drastically.
The punishments in this realm are divided into three levels.
The first level targets cultivators of the lowest ranks, from the ninth to the seventh grade, who are also cultivators at the "Qi Xuan" realm. It only punishes the "form," that is, the cultivator's physical body.
The second level targets cultivators of the sixth to fourth rank, specifically those at the "Guardian of One" realm, by striking their "spirit," which means injuring their soul.
The third level of punishment targets the highest-ranking cultivators, from the first to the third grade, who are at the "Embracing the Divine Step" realm. In this case, both their physical form and spirit are beaten.
The Thunder Whip is the third level of punishment. It is not the most severe form of torture, but it is still a form of punishment that can cause excruciating pain and nightmares.
Even a powerful celestial being must endure the lingering pain in their soul for ten days before the pain gradually subsides.
The cultivators cried out, "Young Sect Leader, you absolutely mustn't! In half a month, it will be the Ten Thousand Mountains Banquet, a momentous event where we will explore the Heavenly Dao together with other cultivators from the Immortal Sect! We'll be going to the Central Continent, the very Central Continent where you were once imprisoned!"
“The pain of sixty lashes can subside in seven days, but the law cannot be disregarded,” Xu Qingning said.
"Senior brother!" Zhou Fuling called out to him, but Xu Qingning pressed her body down with his spiritual power.
"I hope you all will not spread this matter, lest it cause gossip in other continents," Xu Qingning interrupted her.
Everyone understood that Yun Ning's assassins from the Southern Continent might use this opportunity to deal with the Eastern Continent.
Xu Qingning: "Zhou Fuling, learn your lesson. Take her back."
...
In winter, the Thunderclap Tower unleashed sixty bolts of lightning, the flashes resembling cyan sword shadows, as if tearing the sky apart.
Its secret lies within the barrier of the main peak. Therefore, few people know that Xu Qingning took Zhou Fuling's place in the punishment.
After being punished, Xu Qingning went to the main peak.
Zhou Fuling asked him how he was doing in the jade register. He said he was fine and told her not to worry. But he was a little cold when responding to other matters.
Zhou Fuling was still punished. She was forced to copy the sect rules and then secretly deliver them to the main peak.
Xu Qingning then rushed to Kanghuangzhai to handle the aftermath, while Zhou Fuling went to inquire about what Tianjimen had done at Kanghuangzhai.
Xu Qingning first completely sealed off Kanghuangzhai and cleaned up the demonic poison, which seemed to have caused a conflict with Yun Ningzong.
The mistakes of several important assassins of the Yun Ning Sect were seized by the Tian Ji Sect, and Xu Qingning expelled these cultivators from the Eastern Continent.
Xu Qingning then contacted another elder of the Yun Ning Sect, Ning Chengshan, and asked her to send someone to fill the vacancy.
This person is an enemy of that sect leader, and is fiercely fighting with the faction of the Danhuo Fairy. The leader is Ning Chengshan, the sect leader's wife's cousin.
Zhou Fuling found it rather novel.
Xu Qingning's political skills were actually very immature when he was young, but they have changed a lot now.
Fast, accurate, and ruthless.
"Father...is he related to the Yun Ning Sect?"
Zhou Fuling gazed silently at the clouds in the south, and the question came to mind again.
Otherwise, why would they help Yun Ning Sect harm Xu Qingning?
But she hadn't contacted her father for a long time.
She hasn't been able to contact her father for the past century. Perhaps she should find an opportunity to ask him.
*
Seven days later, Zhou Fuling sat upright on the round table, her hands on her knees, and slowly rose to straighten her skirt.
She finally saw Xu Qingning again.
The Ten Thousand Mountains Banquet is about to begin. This is a grand event between the Immortal Realm and the Mortal Realm, held to celebrate the millennium-long alliance between the two races.
On this day, all the major sects in both the mortal and immortal realms will lead their people to the Immortal Capital Dragon Pool in the Central Continent to participate in the grand feast.
Xu Qingning, as the young master of Dongzhou and the young head of Tianji Sect, will also be going.
Before he left, he returned to Bingjian Peak.
When Zhou Fuling saw him, plum blossoms in the distance adorned the green branches, like dots of burning red wax, exuding a refreshing chill.
Xu Qingning wore a snow-white cloak, the color of his clothes slightly bluer than the white snow on the ground. His hair ornaments and earrings were made of jade, and when he lowered his head, the jade reflected the light of the sky and the color of the snow, making him appear both aloof and handsome. The place where he was stood was like a painting.
Xu Qingning was accompanied by a group of officers who were reviewing the golden books from Ice Mirror Peak over the past few days, checking the operation of affairs within the peak.
"Senior brother." Zhou Fuling ran over.
This was the first time she had seen Xu Qingning since he took the punishment in her place.
He looked up and met her gaze, his face showing the chill of the snow.
"How have you been lately?" he asked after a long pause.
"fine."
Zhou Fuling took out a sachet, shaped like a diamond with green silk threads, and held it in her palm, exuding a strong medicinal aroma.
"This is a sachet I made according to the 'Immortal Spirit Life Protection Formula.' I went to the pharmacy and got the seven medicinal herbs mentioned in it. It can relieve the pain in the soul of immortal cultivators."
"Thank you for helping me so much last time, senior brother... please take this."
“No need,” Xu Qingning said.
Zhou Fuling: "...You're not accepting my things anymore? You want to completely cut ties with me? Treat me like a stranger?"
"..." The girl twisted her hands together, her fingertips turned white, and her face looked very disappointed.
Xu Qingning remained silent for a while. For some reason, the two of them seemed somewhat awkward facing each other.
He finally accepted Zhou Fuling's sachet and said softly, "Thank you. But I'm thanking you for your kindness, not for any promises you'll make."
Zhou Fuling hummed in agreement, then said:
“Actually, Senior Brother, you don’t need to worry. Fuling has thought it through these past few days.”
The girl wore a snow-white half-sleeved top and a light green pleated skirt, the fur at the collar fluttering in the wind and brushing against her snow-white cheeks. Her gloves rubbed against her wrists, and on her fair wrist hung a sky-blue jade bracelet, also a gift from Xu Qingning, with a jade rabbit carved on it.
"My actions before did indeed drag my senior brother down."
"So, I plan to listen to my senior brother. Aren't I also going to Dragon Pool? I've already talked to Sister Xiaoyin, and she'll take me to meet the disciples from the mortal realm. She grew up in the mortal realm and knows quite a few disciples from the mortal realm."
"..."
"This time, I will try my best to bring back a mortal disciple to Ice Mirror Peak. Then my senior brother won't be so troubled."
However, Xu Qingning used this to answer Zhou Fuling.
Zhou Fuling waited for a long time, but no one responded.
Xu Qingning frowned as she looked at her, as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't.
After staring at her for a long while, he looked away and said:
"Oh. Okay."
"I will send more men with you."
No matter how she looked at him, he stopped looking at her and continued to urge her, "Peace is the most important thing."
Another silence followed.
"Don't be too hasty or too casual."
Another silence followed.
Xu Qingning lowered her eyes coldly and said in a chilling voice:
"I'm going to check the other books. Zhou Fuling."
A note from the author:
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