As a Spirit Refilling Pill slid down his throat, Lu Lei felt a surge of warmth erupt from his dantian, rapidly coursing through his entire body. His agonizing pain vanished, instantly replaced by a newfound vitality, his physical form feeling even stronger than before.
He clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within, and a secret, wild joy bloomed in his heart: "I actually broke through again! Liu Defu, you really are my benefactor!"
Lu Lei scrambled up from the ground, brushed the dust off his clothes, and shouted at Liu Defu’s retreating back, "Senior Brother Liu, thank you! May good people be blessed with peace their whole lives!"
Liu Defu stumbled, nearly losing his footing. He looked back at Lu Lei, his eyes filled with disbelief. "You... how are you still standing?"
"Heh heh heh, it’s all thanks to Senior Sister Zhou’s love for me. Before I left, she gave me plenty of healing pills. A mere Yellow-tier mid-grade Spirit Skill is nothing compared to that." Lu Lei grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth.
"Senior Brother Liu, your Spirit Skill packs quite a punch, but now it’s my turn! After all, I did say: no hitting the face!"
Lu Lei suddenly lunged, his body propelling forward like a cannonball, his fist aiming precisely for his opponent’s chest.
"Mountain-Crushing Fist!"
"Pfft—"
Liu Defu was sent staggering backward, his back slamming heavily against a stone pillar in the plaza. Just as he started to weave a hand seal to unleash a Spirit Skill, Lu Lei wrapped around him like an octopus, his arms locked tight around the other man’s neck, his legs tangled around his waist, pinning the dignified Spirit Breath Realm (Late Stage) cultivator into a twisted knot.
"Let go! You ruffian!"
Liu Defu was red-faced with fury. His spirit energy rampaged through his meridians, but it was suppressed completely by Lu Lei’s Bronze Skin Realm (Late Stage) body.
The surrounding outer sect disciples were dumbstruck. Someone shouted, "Isn't that just a street brawler’s technique from the mortal world?!"
"What a sinister move!"
"What do you know!" Lu Lei smashed an elbow into Liu Defu’s ribs. Taking advantage of the moment his opponent bent over in pain, he poked his fingers straight into Liu Defu’s eyes. "This is called ground technique! How can you call a Body Cultivator’s methods sinister?!"
Liu Defu let out a miserable scream, instinctively covering his eyes. Lu Lei seized the opening, lifted his knee, and delivered a brutal strike to his crotch.
"Aoooh!!!"
The scream echoed across the plaza, scaring the spirit birds in the trees into flight. Several female disciples subconsciously crossed their legs, while the male disciples collectively gasped.
Someone muttered, "Who did this Lu Lei... learn his moves from?"
"You’re courting death!!"
Liu Defu was absolutely livid. His left hand slammed against the Storage Bag at his waist, and a round, jade-green orb flew out.
"Go to hell!!"
A Gale Bead—a Yellow-tier low-grade magical tool capable of instantly erupting with wind-blade attacks comparable to the late stage of the Spirit Breath Realm. This was a life-saving trump card Liu Defu had traded three years of contribution points to obtain. Using it now on someone he called trash made him feel like he had lost all his dignity.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Three azure wind blades sliced through the air. Lu Lei only had time to turn sideways to avoid a lethal hit, but his right shoulder was sprayed with blood. He stumbled backward; the defenses of his Bronze Skin Realm (Late Stage) body had been torn wide open, a testament to the power of the tool.
"System! Am I about to run out of steam again?" Lu Lei roared in his mind, his mouth stained with blood, yet he smiled wildly. "If I take a few more hits, can I break through to the Bronze Skin Realm (Peak)?"
System: "I suggest the host consider surviving the present moment first."
Seeing Lu Lei severely wounded, Liu Defu grinned cruelly and began weaving seals to activate the Gale Bead. "This time, I’m going to slice you into—"
Before he could finish, Lu Lei’s eyes widened as he stared toward the entrance of the plaza, bowing respectfully. "Senior Sister Zhou, why are you here?"
Liu Defu’s body stiffened. *Senior Sister Zhou? Could it be that Senior Sister Zhou from the inner sect has come looking for Lu Lei?* He hurriedly turned to look, only to find the space behind him completely empty.
"You tricked me?!"
Just as Liu Defu turned his face back, he saw a fist glowing with a bronze sheen rapidly expanding in his vision.
"Bang!"
The sound of a nasal bone shattering was crisp and clear. Liu Defu fell backward, his nosebleed drawing a graceful arc through the air. Lu Lei pounced on top of him, unleashing over a dozen slaps. "Want to hit my face? Want to use Spirit Skills? Want to play with magical tools?"
The crowd erupted.
"Well hit! This grandson stole my pills yesterday!"
"Senior Brother Lu is mighty!"
"Wait, when did Lu Lei become a Senior Brother?"
"Anyone who can beat up a Spirit Breath Realm (Late Stage) cultivator is a boss! What’s wrong with calling him Senior Brother!"
Just as Lu Lei was preparing to deliver a "thousand-years of death" poke to Liu Defu, a surge of profound spirit energy descended from the sky, blasting him over a hundred feet away. The bluestone ground was gouged into a deep trench. Lu Lei coughed up blood and looked up, meeting the gloomy, horse-like face of the outer sect elder, Bi Deng.
"Infighting among fellow disciples, using sinister and poisonous tactics—what should your punishment be?!"
Bi Deng flicked his long sleeve, and the pressure of the Spirit Spring Realm pressed down like a mountain. Lu Lei’s bones rattled, but he stood stiffly, refusing to kneel—fine cracks even appeared on his Bronze Skin Realm (Late Stage) body under the pressure.
"Elder, please see the truth!" Liu Defu scrambled to Bi Deng’s feet, wailing with his pig-swollen face. "It was Lu Lei who started it..."
"Shut up!" Bi Deng kicked Liu Defu aside, then declared righteously, "I saw it with my own eyes. Lu Lei used underhanded tricks to seriously injure a fellow disciple. You are sentenced to seven days of cleaning the latrines in the Spirit Beast Garden’s Flaming Rhinoceros Garden. Execute this immediately!"
The plaza fell into a dead silence. Everyone knew what a "seven-day tour" of the Flaming Rhinoceros Garden meant. There were over a dozen Flaming Rhinoceroses kept there, and their dung burned with sparks; an ordinary cultivator would have their skin burned off within half a day.
Lu Lei wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and suddenly chuckled. He stared at the jade pendant dangling from Bi Deng’s waist—clearly carved from the Cold Jade Marrow that Liu Defu had offered as a tribute last month—and slowly straightened up. "Disciple accepts the punishment."
"At least you know what’s good for you." Bi Deng snorted. Before leaving, he shot a look at Liu Defu. The latter glared at Lu Lei with venomous hatred, clutching his crotch as he hobbled away.
The crowd slowly dispersed. A few disciples who had been bullied by Liu Defu secretly shoved some healing medicine into Lu Lei’s hands, whispering, "Senior Brother Lu, the latrines in the Flaming Rhinoceros Garden... cough, a few female rhinos are in heat right now. I heard several outer sect disciples have already been gored to death..."
Lu Lei finally understood why that old dog Bi Deng had sent him there. So that was the plan!
"Bi Deng! I hope your ancestors suffer..."