C7 Everyone Was Crazy

This was outrageous!

Everyone internally voiced the answer on behalf of Ye Jingxian.

You've already crippled his grandson's limbs right before his eyes, and now you have the audacity to question whether finishing the job would be too much?

Could anything be more excessive?

Indeed, there could be.

Ye Jingxian gestured for Lin Changhe to sheathe his sword, his gaze now devoid of any murderous intent. He calmly regarded Shen Feixue and said, "Spare him."

His tone was somewhere between a plea and a supplication, but definitely not a demand.

"I want his limbs!" Shen Feixue repeated her demand, advancing further.

This had all been planned.

The protective amulet, obtained in exchange for five Earth Level Spirit Gathering Pills, would surely be put to good use.

Approaching Ye Dongyun, she slowly lifted her sword. "Remember never to trifle with others carelessly!"

Her demeanor was so composed, as if the act she was about to commit was akin to crushing an ant rather than crippling a man.

"Don't harm my brother any further!"

"Ah..."

Ye Dongling's protest and Ye Dongyun's cries of agony erupted simultaneously. Ye Dongling was restrained by Ye Jingxian, unable to intervene.

Shen Feixue's sword sliced through Ye Dongyun's left wrist and plunged once more into the stage.

"Save me..." Ye Dongyun struggled, looking to Ye Jingxian for help as he tried to crawl backward, but the man crippled in both arms and a leg was no match for Shen Feixue's swift approach.

As Shen Feixue advanced, sword in hand, Ye Dongyun was struck with fear. Just as Shen Feixue had predicted, he might spend the rest of his life confined to his bed.

Dependent on others for even the most basic of needs, he faced a lifetime of helplessness.

Initially, when he lost his hand, he felt no regret, for he had acted for his sister, Ye Dongling, and for the Celestial Sword Sect.

He wasn't afraid, confident in the protection of his grandfather and the Sect. He believed that Shen Feixue could not possibly inflict any further harm.

But the current turn of events left him feeling as if he had plummeted into an icy abyss. His grandfather had not come to his defense, and even held back his sister who was desperate to assist him.

He was unaware of the specifics, but one thing he knew for certain: he was about to go from being a has-been to a complete invalid.

"Ah!"

The final scream, laden with Ye Dongyun's intense bitterness over his fall from genius to cripple, echoed to every corner of Celestial Cloud Mountain.

That cry shattered many hearts. Ye Jingxian closed his eyes as a single clear tear traced its way down his cheek.

Ye Dongyun, now crippled, lived in a world where power was everything. Ye Jingxian found it unbearable to think of his grandson living each day consumed by hatred, yet powerless to act. The thought of his beloved granddaughter being wed to such a man was intolerable.

Ye Jingxian was all too aware of the bullying Shen Feixue had endured, often at his own behest. After all, no one wanted to see their cherished granddaughter married off to a worthless man.

Ye Dongling was now a tearful wreck, collapsed on the stage, crying uncontrollably.

At this point, the disciples at the edge of the stage no longer believed Shen Feixue had lost her mind.

It seemed everyone had lost their minds!

Ye Jingxian witnessed his grandson's downfall and did nothing.

Ye Dongling could only weep at the sight of her brother's ruin.

The instigator of all this chaos stood there as if nothing was amiss. No, there was something amiss!

On the Sword Platform, Shen Feixue's green sword blade lifted slightly, its tip pointing towards a disciple at the edge. As everyone's gaze followed the direction of the blade, they had an epiphany.

This disciple was one of the two who had been inseparable from Ye Dongyun, notorious for their harsh treatment of Shen Feixue.

"I..." The accused disciple was visibly rattled. If Ye Dongyun, the Sect Master's own grandson, could be crippled in plain sight without any intervention from the sect's higher-ups, what hope did an ordinary disciple have for protection?

"Changhe," Ye Jingxian's voice, rough with emotion, called out softly. He then walked over to Ye Dongyun, lifted him from the ground, and left the Sword Platform.

Lin Changhe understood the unspoken message.

Watching Ye Jingxian's aged silhouette, Lin Changhe wanted to speak but found himself at a loss for words.

The position of Sect Master came with an overwhelming burden. Given the current state of the Celestial Sword Sect, aligning with Shen Feixue's intentions seemed to be the only viable option. At least for the moment, there appeared to be no alternative.

Even Ye Jingxian, when faced with his own grandson, could do nothing but watch helplessly, so what chance did an ordinary disciple have?

Lin Changhe made his move. With a swift point of his sword, the blade he carried unsheathed with a whoosh, its cold gleam breathtaking under the sunlight.

In a mere moment, the sword shot out like lightning. The crowd didn't have time to blink before the disciple Shen Feixue had singled out fell, his white robe stained red with the blood seeping from his throat.

Lin Changhe inhaled deeply, struggling to contain the rage within him as he summoned his sword back.

The fallen was his disciple, but he was left with no choice. He had to deal with the situation decisively; otherwise, Shen Feixue might wreak further havoc, and the next time, the death toll could be more than one.

With this thought, he quickly departed with the other two elders and a heartbroken Ye Dongling.

Their pace was brisk, almost to the point of seeming like a flight.

It wasn't until the silhouettes of the sect's leaders had vanished that the disciples began to process what had happened.

At that moment, they were at a loss for words to describe their turmoil.

Of the three who had tormented Shen Feixue the most, two had met their end. What of the third?

All eyes shifted to the last member of the trio.

This made it easy for Shen Feixue to spot him without having to sift through the crowd of over two hundred.

Shen Feixue simply watched him, her face expressionless, her demeanor unruffled.

To the onlooker, everything seemed normal, but inside, he felt a terror unlike any other.

Her calm was so unnerving, it was like staring into the eyes of a demon.

As soon as Shen Feixue's gaze landed on him, he bowed his head, unable to meet her stare.

Despite this, he felt a prickling sensation on his skin.

Suddenly, his legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees.

"I'm... I'm sorry."

He had caved. Of the three who had bullied Shen Feixue the worst, one was crippled, another had lost his life, and now, the last one knelt and apologized before the crowd, acknowledging his cowardice.

No one dared to mock him. In such a moment, even Ye Jingxian had to concede to Shen Feixue, who had taken things too far, to the point of ordering the death of a disciple. If he hadn't conceded, what would have been the outcome?

Nobody knew, nor did they want to find out. Nearly everyone there had, at one time or another, bullied Shen Feixue.

As the individual knelt, all heads bowed, no one daring to meet Shen Feixue's gaze again.

It was as though a single glance would remind Shen Feixue of past grievances, and they would be next to suffer her wrath.

Yet, one person continued to watch Shen Feixue on the stage.

Ye Xiao's eyes sparkled with an unusual brilliance. When Shen Feixue noticed him, he raised his hands in a fist salute.

"Thank you!" he whispered, too softly for Shen Feixue to hear from the stage, but it didn't matter to him. He turned and walked away from the crowd, the sunlight casting a warm glow on his upright figure, dispelling any trace of his former desolation.

Shen Feixue sensed the change in Ye Xiao but couldn't fathom the reason. Ye Xiao was usually so reserved within the Celestial Sword Sect that she had very few memories of him.

With a serene smile, she swept her gaze over the crowd. "I've reclaimed your dignity and repaid your favor four days hence. You can rest easy now."

Descending the steps, the Celestial Sword Sect disciples parted, forming an aisle for Shen Feixue to pass through.

Long after Shen Feixue had departed, the disciples remained in a daze, the still-open passageway standing as silent testament to the day's events.

The incident on the Sword Platform was nothing short of madness. A person oppressed for three years had erupted in defiance, causing even the Sect Master, Ye Jingxian, and the Celestial Sword Sect's higher-ups to step back.

This event became a hot topic of conversation within the Celestial Sword Sect, indirectly igniting the disciples' passion for their own training. They dreamed that one day they might possess the same commanding presence as Shen Feixue, compelling even a formidable figure like Ye Jingxian to yield.

In the end, their misconceptions stemmed from a lack of knowledge about the pact between Shen Feixue and Bi Zhuang.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the Celestial Sword Hall was oppressively somber. Ye Dongyun lay at the center of the hall, while Ye Jingxian knelt alone before the ancestral tablets, a solitary figure of remorse.

He had been kneeling for a full two hours, now deeply regretting his failure to eliminate Shen Feixue following the Old Sect Master's passing, which had led to the current dire circumstances.

The untouchable prestige of the Celestial Sword Sect had been mocked, and its youngest prodigy was left incapacitated.

Although Ye Dongyun had only reached Level 4 of the Perception Stage, his achievements were hard-won. Among the countless martial artists in the world, few could bridge the gap and sense the Spiritual Qi within their Dantian to become a cultivator.

The majority would die at the Acquired Stage, never even brushing the threshold of the Perception Stage, let alone advancing to the Energy Sea Stage, Celestial Energy Stage, Mortal Transcending Stage, or the Nirvana Stage.

Now, with the sect's top talent so cruelly slain, Ye Jingxian was far from ready to forgive Shen Feixue.

In four days' time, regardless of whether Shen Feixue could produce a High Grade Earth Level Spirit Gathering Pill, her fate seemed sealed.

"I, Ye Jingxian, vow to our ancestors that I will avenge the dishonor of the Celestial Sword Sect by offering Shen Feixue's head as a tribute," he swore solemnly.

Shen Feixue, back in her room, had anticipated this perilous situation. In four days, whether or not she could present the Spirit Gathering Pill, she knew her life hung in the balance.

But for the moment, she had a reprieve of four days.

She settled back onto her bed, intent on getting some much-needed rest.

Despite her commanding presence on the Sword Platform, the truth was she was utterly drained. Winning the duel had taken a considerable mental toll, and there was the lingering concern that Ye Jingxian might lash out in desperation. Thankfully, he had shown restraint.

Moreover, the previous bout with Ye Dongyun had sapped much of her energy just in evasion. Her body was weak, a consequence of the previous owner's neglect of proper training, which left her feeling exhausted from the slightest exertion.

"I can't believe you have the nerve to say 'don't bully the poor youth,'" Shen Feixue grumbled. Those words, once frequently on the lips of the former Shen Feixue, were all too familiar to her, whether from her own memories or from the taunts of others.

What baffled her was that the previous Shen Feixue, burdened with the vengeance for her family's ruin and subjected to all manner of bullying in the world, would preach 'don't bully the poor youth' yet spend her days here, sleeping away. With such a lack of ambition, it was no wonder she was the subject of ridicule.

Even if you were physically disabled and unsuited for cultivation, couldn't you at least work on improving your basic physical condition?

If not that, there was always something else to be done—anything but sleeping the day away.

The principle of self-reliance when impoverished is so straightforward; didn't she understand that?

She talked a big game, filled her head with grand plans, yet never took action. In the end, she couldn't bear the humiliation and took her own life.

Shen Feixue would never have offered her help if she hadn't taken over this body.

No matter how pitiable or deserving of sympathy, some people just don't deserve help.

"You're lucky you found me," Shen Feixue murmured before surrendering to sleep herself.