Chapter 51: The Lord of Blazing Sun Peak Troubles Others, Pressuring with Authority

"What wind brings Elder Ruan here?" Ding Hui asked in astonishment, stepping forward to greet him.

Seeing the other man's furious expression, and recalling what had just been said, a thought flashed through his mind, and his eyelids twitched. "Could it be that inner sect disciple who was severely injured..."

"Precisely, it is my worthless son," Ruan Liangcai said in a deep voice, his gloomy gaze sweeping across the entire hall before finally locking onto Li Wudao.

"This is bad—"

Ding Hui thought to himself, feeling a headache coming on. This kid Li Wudao was truly a trouble-maker, actually injuring Ruan Liangcai's only son. He knew a thing or two about the old man's temperament—he doted on his son and treasured him above all else. Now that Li Wudao had heavily injured Ruan Fei, Ruan Liangcai would certainly not let the matter rest.

"So you are the one who beat Fei-er?"

Ruan Liangcai stared straight at Li Wudao, his voice boiling with rage. Without waiting for an explanation, an oppressive aura bore down relentlessly upon the young man.

Caught completely off guard, Li Wudao was forced back several steps by this invisible pressure, his chest heaving irregularly.

The expressions of everyone in the hall shifted drastically.

A blatant intimidation! A sheer show of force right from the start!

"A Martial Ancestor..."

Li Wudao steadied his footing, his expression turning increasingly cold. With his full combat strength, he was no weaker than an early-stage Martial Ancestor. For someone to suppress him with mere aura could only mean that the other's realm far surpassed his own. This old bastard was at least at the peak of the Martial Ancestor realm, if not the Great Perfection of the Martial Ancestor realm.

"Damn it, old man. This grudge is forged, and this young master will definitely settle it in the future!"

Li Wudao cursed inwardly. He was certainly not one to swallow a loss quietly.

"To be able to withstand my Martial Ancestor pressure—this kid is bizarre!"

Seeing the young man's calm and composed reaction, a flash of astonishment crossed Ruan Liangcai's face. He furrowed his brows, finding it utterly absurd. He had witnessed Li Wudao's performance in the grand tournament; the boy was merely at the early stage of the True Yuan realm. How could such a meager level of strength possibly fend off the pressure of the Martial Ancestor realm?

There was something amiss. This kid definitely had secrets.

At this thought, he churned another wisp of his aura, intending to test the young man's reaction once more.

Right at that moment, Ding Hui could no longer stand by. With a dark face, he interrupted, "Elder Ruan, this is the Law Enforcement Hall, not the Inner Sect. You would do well to restrain yourself."

Overstepping boundaries in his territory and bullying a junior with superior strength—if word got out, he would lose every last shred of his face.

Seeing this, Ruan Liangcai had no choice but to withdraw his aura. He let out a cold snort and said, "Since the culprit has already been caught, he should be punished immediately!"

With that, he shifted to a questioning tone, applying pressure as he continued:

"An inner sect core disciple committing a fault is no different from an outer sect disciple. I wonder how Elder Ding intends to severely punish this brat?"

Ding Hui felt a trace of displeasure. "How to punish him is the duty of the Law Enforcement Hall; the Inner Sect has no right to interfere."

Although the other man's status and cultivation were superior to his own, the Inner Sect and the Law Enforcement Hall were two independent departments, so he was not afraid of him.

Faced with this reply, Ruan Liangcai was momentarily struck dumb, his expression turning gloomy. He had not expected Ding Hui to show him so little face.

The next instant, a thought suddenly crossed his mind, and he looked the young man up and down once again.

Could it be that Li Wudao's background was not as simple as it seemed? Otherwise, in a matter like this, Ding Hui would not have bothered to lock horns with him unless he was wary of something.

And indeed, the facts were just as he suspected.

Upon learning of Li Wudao's dual backing, Ding Hui's resolve had wavered, and he dared not make a rash judgment. As for how to punish the youth, he completely lacked the confidence to do so. After turning it over in his mind, he could only resort to delaying tactics and leave the matter for the Hall Master to handle.

"Elder Ding, give me some inside information. Whose backing does this brat have that makes you so cautious?" Ruan Liangcai pulled Ding Hui aside.

"You don't know?" Ding Hui frowned. As a core elder of the inner sect, he actually had no idea of a core disciple's origins—how utterly incompetent.

"Well... during the initiation grand ceremony that day, unluckily, this old man was in seclusion, so I never found out..." Ruan Liangcai's expression turned awkward as he stammered. In truth, he had simply found an excuse to slip out and drink flower wine that day, but how could he possibly bring himself to say such a thing in public?

Giving him a suspicious look, Ding Hui chose not to expose him and explained the matter in detail anyway.

"What? This kid has a very close relationship with the Sect Master's second direct disciple, and furthermore, he is the sole seedling of Misty Peak?!"

Ruan Liangcai's aged face turned pale with shock, his expression shifting continuously. He finally understood what Ding Hui was顾忌 (wary) of. This kid Li Wudao was a veritable hot potato; anyone who touched him would get burned. Jiang Churan was fine for now since she had yet to make a name for herself, but Xia Gucheng was the master of an entire peak! If he harmed Xia Gucheng's only disciple, the consequences were simply not something an inner sect elder like him could bear.

However, if he just let it go like this, he could not swallow this grievance.

After a long while, Ruan Liangcai let out a deep sigh, a look of resolute determination flashing in his eyes. He then produced a sound-transmission jade slip and spoke a few words into it.

Immediately after, he swept his gaze across the surroundings and said coldly, "Today, this old man is determined to obtain justice for my son! This brat must pay a heavy price!"

As his voice fell, the entire hall was stunned.

A spark of hopeful light ignited in Sun Qian's eyes. If Li Wudao escaped unpunished, her life would be worse than death, and she would never again have the face to remain in the sect.

Ding Hui frowned tightly, wondering where the other man had found the confidence.

As for Li Wudao, he carried no psychological burden whatsoever, simply watching the scene with a calm expression. He wanted to see what kind of helper this old bastard could summon.

A quarter of an hour later, a tremor echoed from outside the Law Enforcement Hall, and a formidable aura surged inward.

Under the respectful gazes of everyone present, a bald elder strode into the hall with the vigor of a dragon and a tiger. His eyes were like bronze bells, bright and sharp, possessing an immensely intimidating presence.

"Greetings, Peak Master Cheng!"

The crowd bowed one after another, not daring to show the slightest negligence.

This person was none other than the master of Blazing Sun Peak, Cheng Yuanliang.

"Peak Master Cheng, we finally waited for you. We were just waiting for you to preside over justice." Ruan Liangcai stepped forward with a flattering smile, speaking in soft, gentle tones.

"This peak master is already aware of the sequence of events. After all these years, you've finally decided to use up this favor," Cheng Yuanliang said with a hint of emotional resonance, before promising: "Rest assured, on this matter, this peak master stands on your side. With me holding Xia Gucheng off for you, go ahead and do whatever you must."

Hearing this, Ruan Liangcai felt greatly relieved and nodded heavily.

"Hiss, this matter has blown up into something huge."

Ding Hui bowed, his lowered complexion looking rather unsightly. By now, the situation had completely spiraled beyond his control.

"Lord Hall Master, please hurry back... I truly cannot hold on much longer..."

He prayed in his heart, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Li Wudao, you are utterly lawless! Since you see Peak Master Cheng here, why do you not bow?" Ruan Liangcai reprimanded sharply.

At this moment, Li Wudao was the only one in the hall standing straight, gazing straight ahead, appearing completely out of place compared to the others. He sneered inwardly, never expecting Li Wudao to be such a hot-headed fool who so easily handed him an opportunity to make trouble.

"Whether I bow or not is none of your damn business. The emperor isn't anxious, but the eunuch is rushing."

Li Wudao gave him no face whatsoever, immediately snapping back. Anyone with half a brain knew this bald old man was a summon called by Ruan Liangcai; naturally, he wasn't foolish enough to pay him any respects.

"You..."

Ruan Liangcai trembled with rage, pointing a shaking finger at the youth for quite a while without managing to squeeze out a single word.

"Good kid, truly sharp-tongued." Cheng Yuanliang narrowed his eyes as he looked at the youth.

"Since the matter has already been established, we shall deal with it strictly according to the sect rules... Three hundred lashes of the whip, as a warning to others!"

Standing with his hands behind his back, he delivered the verdict in a flat tone.

As his voice faded, the entire hall plunged into a dead silence.

Ding Hui and the various stewards secretly drew in cold breaths.

Three hundred lashes of the whip—even if Li Wudao didn't die, he would certainly be crippled. It would inevitably damage his foundations and severely hinder his future cultivation.

This was a deliberate attempt to cripple him!

"Ding Hui, what are you spacing out for? Why aren't you carrying out the punishment immediately? Or do you expect this peak master to do it himself?" Cheng Yuanliang looked toward him, his calm tone carrying a hint of urging and threat.

"This... very well."

Ding Hui hesitated for a few breaths. Pressured from all sides, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree. With Cheng Yuanliang taking responsibility at the front, even if accountability was pursued later, the blame could never fall on him.