Seeing that bamboo token and the young man in black holding it, Zuo Qing's expression became extremely complicated. For a moment, he did not know what to say.
Chen Chao looked at Zuo Qing's bruised and swollen face, asking with concern, "Fellow Daoist Zuo, what happened? It looks like you accidentally fell down. Does it hurt?"
Zuo Qing said coldly, "Return the bamboo token to me!"
In this microcosm, if someone had their bamboo token taken away, they would be unable to leave. Being trapped here, it went without saying that encountering powerful demons would undoubtedly lead to dire consequences.
Therefore, the bamboo token was extremely important to them.
However, there was a vast disparity in their cultivation levels. If they fought, he would not stand a chance. Otherwise, he would not have been held down and pummeled by Chen Chao earlier.
Chen Chao looked at him with a grin and did not speak.
"Must you be so insidious?!"
Zuo Qing's face was full of anger as he stared at the young man before him.
"The rules of the martial exam didn't mention this. Did you know that even murdering people is allowed, let alone a trivial matter like me taking your bamboo token."
Chen Chao's voice grew colder and he said thoughtfully, "Killing you, is permitted by the rules."
His voice was icy and he did not conceal the killing intent in his words. His murderous intent flowed out naturally. Zuo Qing's expression turned ugly when he sensed that killing intent and asked with some incredulity, "Are you really going to kill me? My Qingshan Sect won't just sit idly by and do nothing! Furthermore, there are definitely people watching outside right now. If you openly kill me, you won't have a good outcome!"
Chen Chao could not be bothered to pay attention to him and simply said, "I've said it before, it's permitted by the rules."
Yes, on the day the Myriad Willow Convention began, someone had asked Wei Xu what would happen if they died in the microcosm.
Wei Xu's answer back then was very straightforward too.
They would feel sorry for you.
It was just this one sentence.
Hence, dying in the microcosm was something that was allowed.
However one died did not matter.
No one would pry into the events that happened here.
Even if the Qingshan Sect were to cause trouble for Chen Chao later, they could only do so in secret, or they would have to openly challenge him.
Chen Chao smiled and said, "Did you ever think that today would come when you said those words by the lakeside?"
Hearing this, Zuo Qing's had some regret. He had been instigated and had spoken a few words thoughtlessly. He never expected to have provoked this relentless young man. But now that the situation had come to this, he had no choice but to accept it. "Can you let me off? If you kill me, it won't end well for you either. Besides, I merely said a few words by the lakeside. It's not a crime deserving of death."
His face already carried a hint of pleading.
Chen Chao looked at him and was silent for a long time, as if considering whether or not to kill him. Meanwhile, Zuo Qing secretly surveyed his surroundings, seemingly looking for a way to escape. Soon, he made up his mind.
A talisman suddenly appeared between the two of them and a gust of wind surged forth. Zuo Qing turned around to flee.
However, after running only a few yards away, he felt a punch strike his back. He stumbled and fell, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
He quickly turned his head in panic and said, "Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"
Chen Chao looked at him and did not speak the entire time, emanating a palpable sense of oppression.
Zuo Qing said very earnestly, "I have no ill intentions towards you, nor towards you guys, I was instigated by someone..."
"Do you believe these words?"
Chen Chao looked at him expressionlessly.
"I can spare your life, but you need to apologize."
Apologize?
Apologize to whom?
Zuo Qing's expression became very fascinating.
Chen Chao looked at him quietly, his hand already on the hilt of his saber.
Zuo Qing was silent for a long time before opening his mouth with some difficulty, "Doing something like that is no better than killing me."
"There are no outsiders here."
Zuo Qing opened his mouth, feeling conflicted. He gritted his teeth but could not bring himself to speak.
Chen Chao smiled and said, "If you don't say it, I'll really kill you."
He was very calm when talking, but his eyes were resolute. This version of him instilled a sense of fear in others. Zuo Qing had no doubt that if he did not apologize, Chen Chao would definitely cut his head off with a single stroke of his saber.
"But how can you dare kill me..."
Zuo Qing muttered to himself.
Chen Chao said expressionlessly, "I killed those qi refiners without any qualms."
Zuo Qing had an agonized look. He was completely defeated by this sentence. He no longer cared about anything else and quickly spoke, "I was wrong. I shouldn't have rambled nonsense at the lakeside without proof, shouldn't have accused you Liang people, shouldn't have said that Xie Nandu..."
He was already on the verge of collapse. Except, as soon as he spoke the first sentence, the subsequent words came out with less pain. His psychological defenses had been completely shattered, and at this moment, no matter what Chen Chao asked him to say, he would probably comply.
Chen Chao did not speak. He just looked at the sky.
His action of lifting his head was observed by the prominent figures on the pavilion.
The prominent figures were very silent and no one spoke. One of them had a particularly unpleasant expression.
That was the Qingshan Sect's sect master.
The Heavenly Light Mirror could not hear their conversation, but how could these prominent figures not understand what was currently happening inside at this moment?
Seeing how Zuo Qing looked, the sin of the Qingshan Sect snorted coldly, "Traitorous disciple!"
The Qingshan Sect was not a major sect to begin with and Zuo Qing was naturally one of the outstanding young disciples. He was even a disciple of the sect master himself. How could he have expected that this person would lack any backbone?
Another big shot looked at Chen Chao who had raised his head and said calmly, "He's provoking us."
They were all extremely important characters in a sect, how could they not understand Chen Chao's thoughts?
That old man from the Myriad Heaven Palace smiled and said, "It's just a dispute among children caused by personal feelings. Since nothing major has happened, let it be."
There were originally prominent figures who wanted to say something, but seeing that this great daoist great had spoken, they refrained from speaking further. After all, this old man was truly angered previously when the Myriad Heaven Palace's Saintess suffered an assassination attempt.
Since Chen Chao had such a connection with the Myriad Heaven Palace, who would be foolish enough to actually provoke them?
……
……
Chen Chao shook his head and said, "Actually, unless you want to kill me, I won't kill you."
He looked at Zuo Qing calmly as he spoke these words. Zuo Qing's face suddenly changed drastically, and he seemed to be lost in a daze.
Chen Chao was well aware that his every move was being watched. Killing someone was not as simple as it seemed. This was not like the mines in Tianqing County, where you could simply kill someone without consequences.
Moreover, just as Zuo Qing had mentioned, he had merely said a few words by the lakeside. It was not a grave offense.
The reason for making Zuo Qing apologize and reveal his true thoughts was actually for one thing: to kill his spirit.
It was not Chen Chao's first time doing such a thing, so he was proficient at it.
Zuo Qing was silent for a long time before hesitantly saying, "Since you don't intend to kill me, what difference does it make whether I apologize or not?"
Chen Chao smiled and replied, "I know that it's impossible for your apology to be sincere, so I don't think there's any meaning in it either."
He knew that Zuo Qing would not change. But the lakeside incident had already occurred, Chen Chao had to make him pay the price no matter what..
Since he could not kill him, then he could only humiliate him.
To a cultivator, the most humiliating thing was to lower their head to someone they looked down upon.
Chen Chao said calmly, "For everything that is done, there is a price to pay."
After saying this sentence, he reached his hand out and threw the bamboo token down, and stomped on it right in front of Zuo Qing, crushing it.
"No?!"
With a startled cry, Zuo Qing turned into a wisp of smoke and instantly dissipated, disappearing from the world.
Chen Chao watched this scene and shook his head.
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