Fang Shuwen and Zuo Qingshuang were whispering to each other, and the others in the room took notice.

Most of them didn’t pay it any mind. The beautiful woman, however, looked at Fang Shuwen with a hint of surprise in her eyes, but that was all.

But the boisterous man from before suddenly harrumphed.

"Sister Qingshuang, where’d this kid come from?"

"What’s your relationship?"

Zuo Qingshuang was stunned for a moment, then her face flushed with anger as she processed his words.

"Shi Meng, what do you mean by that?"

Hearing this, Shi Meng’s face flushed red, but in the end, he just harrumphed.

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

"Bastard!!"

These vague words only fueled Zuo Qingshuang’s uncontrollable rage. Fang Shuwen had just been telling her something of utmost importance, but Shi Meng’s insinuation was utterly malicious. In her fury, Zuo Qingshuang flicked her sword fingers, and with a CLANG, her longsword flew from its sheath.

She caught the hilt and pointed the tip of her blade at Shi Meng.

"If you don’t explain yourself clearly today, I won’t let this matter rest!!"

Shi Meng’s face was a mask of disbelief.

"You’d actually draw your sword on me for this brat?"

He looked at Fang Shuwen again, now more convinced than ever that the kid was no good.

Seeing that a fight was about to break out, the others quickly tried to mediate.

Some urged Shi Meng to apologize, while others tried to calm Zuo Qingshuang down.

Fang Shuwen, however, glanced at Shi Meng, then at Zuo Qingshuang, and a realization dawned on him.

’Even though Zuo Qingshuang is Zhou Qingmei’s master, she has maintained her appearance perfectly. There isn’t a single trace of age on her face, and her beauty is first-rate. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have earned the title Fairy Su Yue from admirers back in the day.’

’This Shi Meng must be infatuated with her. That’s why seeing me whispering with Zuo Qingshuang made him lose his composure.’

Fang Shuwen shook his head slightly. ’This whole thing is not only pointless but also completely baffling.’

’There isn’t just an age gap between me and Zuo Qingshuang; we’re from different generations entirely.’

’This Shi Meng really is a muddle-headed fool.’

But it turned out Shi Meng wasn’t just muddle-headed; he also had a one-track mind.

The more everyone tried to placate him, the more convinced he became that he was in the right.

So he simply pointed a finger at Fang Shuwen and roared:

"Was I wrong? This kid looks like bad news, a shady character from who knows where."

"I don’t know what tricks he used to make Zuo Qingshuang trust him so much that she’d even draw her sword on her own people!"

"Have you two already..."

"Shi Meng, that’s enough!"

Zuo Qingshuang roared furiously.

"Young Hero Fang has done Zhuji Pavilion a great service. By insulting him like this, are you declaring war on my Zhuji Pavilion?"

As soon as she said this, the situation escalated dramatically.

The Mountain God Temple fell silent at once.

The Seven Great Sects of the Eastern Domain had always stood together, joining forces against common enemies.

Yet, who would have thought that over Fang Shuwen, Zuo Qingshuang would actually speak of going to war with Wentian Mansion.

A Buddhist chant rang out, and an old monk with a full white beard spoke in a deep voice:

"Donor Shi, you were indeed the one in the wrong first. Just apologize."

The beautiful woman also said:

"You are indeed stirring up trouble for no reason. It was completely uncalled for... And with those words, are you deliberately trying to ruin Junior Sister Zuo’s reputation?"

With everyone chiming in one after another, the veins on Shi Meng’s forehead throbbed violently.

He glanced again at Fang Shuwen, who stood by Zuo Qingshuang’s side looking as if the matter had nothing to do with him, and fury surged from his heart.

"You damned bastard, I’ll kill you!!"

He spun the Purple Gold Hammer in his hand and took a sudden step forward. A deep RUMBLE echoed as he charged out like a great beast. Several masters from the Seven Sects stood in his way, not expecting the brute to actually attack. The fierce power of his Ten Thousand Catty Strategy caught them off guard, and they were instantly blasted aside.

The Purple Gold Hammer was raised high, then brought smashing down viciously toward Fang Shuwen.

Seeing this, the expressions of the others changed drastically.

"Stop!!"

"You can’t just attack someone!!"

"Shi Meng, how dare you?!"

Zuo Qingshuang, utterly enraged, was about to move, her blade turning to strike, but Fang Shuwen had already stepped forward.

He raised a single hand, and the heavy Purple Gold Hammer landed right in his palm.

The immense force vanished into thin air the instant it made contact with his hand.

Without a word, Fang Shuwen simply tightened his grip. A KRAK sound echoed as his five fingers dug into the surface of the Purple Gold Hammer, and cracks instantly spread across its entire body.

"How is this possible?"

Shi Meng’s eyes widened in disbelief.

With a CRUNCH, Fang Shuwen crushed the entire Purple Gold Hammer in his grasp.

For a moment, Shi Meng’s eyes went vacant, his mind reeling.

’The Purple Gold Hammer has a significant history, and its material is far from ordinary... To crush it like this... even someone who has cultivated the Ten Thousand Catty Strategy to the Great Perfection Realm would find that difficult, if not impossible.’

’What kind of monster is he?’

In his daze, he felt his throat tighten, and his feet left the ground.

He looked down to see he had been lifted into the air by Fang Shuwen.

"You..."

He barely managed to get the word out, only to see Fang Shuwen looking at him with an utterly indifferent gaze as he spoke softly:

"Do you want to die?"

Relying on his Divine Technique, the Ten Thousand Catty Strategy, Shi Meng had always subscribed to the idea that pure strength overcomes all skill. He was usually arrogant and high-profile, looking down on everyone.

At this moment, however, he couldn’t muster an ounce of his usual arrogance.

From Fang Shuwen’s completely indifferent eyes, he had a feeling that if his answer was unsatisfactory, the man would actually kill him.

His earlier stubbornness and recklessness vanished completely in that instant.

A tide of fear, the likes of which he had never felt before, washed over him.

But how could he bring himself to beg for mercy?

Remembering he had the backing of Wentian Mansion, he gritted his teeth.

"You villain, you bewitched Zuo Qingshuang, and now you dare to fight back... Wentian Mansion will never let you get away with this!"

"And I don’t believe you dare to kill..."

Before the last word, "me," could even leave his lips, a sharp KRAK sounded amidst the astonished stares of the crowd.

Fang Shuwen had snapped Shi Meng’s neck.

With a casual flick of his wrist, he tossed the corpse out of the Mountain God Temple.

Fang Shuwen didn’t spare Shi Meng’s body a second glance. He turned back to face the others inside the Mountain God Temple.

"Everyone here can act as a witness for me."

"I had no grievance or enmity with this man."

"Yet, for some inexplicable reason, he tried to take my life..."

"Attacking to kill without cause—how is such an act any different from the ways of the Demon Dao?"

"If I didn’t have some small measure of martial skill to protect myself, I would be the one lying dead here today."

"My killing him was perfectly fair and reasonable. Wouldn’t you all agree?"

The righteous cultivators present couldn’t help but look at one another in dismay.

A strange thought couldn’t help but surface in their minds.

’If we say this wasn’t fair and reasonable... is this kid going to kill us all?’ 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Then, Zuo Qingshuang spoke.

"Young Hero Fang is absolutely right. Shi Meng attacked without provocation; he was seeking his own death. No one else is to blame."

The beautiful woman couldn’t help but give Zuo Qingshuang another glance before nodding.

"You’re Young Hero Fang, correct?"

"Regarding this matter, I, on behalf of Yuqing Pavilion, am willing to bear witness. It was indeed Shi Meng who attacked first, and Young Hero Fang who retaliated in self-defense."

"So you are a senior from Yuqing Pavilion. This junior pays his respects."

Fang Shuwen cupped his fists slightly, his earlier aggressive demeanor completely gone.

This left everyone else utterly dumbstruck. ’How can this person be so two-faced?’