Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Wretched Ling Xuan

BOOM!

To see Jiang Chen kill Bai Shu, the apprentice of Elder Xiao Gu, with such ease...

And Bai Shu was the son of Patriarch Bai, head of one of Hanwu City’s three great families.

The four guards were shocked beyond all measure.

They were completely stunned by this new Senior Steward.

They wouldn’t dare drag Bai Shu’s body out to be burned.

As for Ling Xuan, when he saw this, the color drained from his face, leaving it deathly pale.

He pointed at Jiang Chen in terror.

His voice trembled, "You... you actually killed Bai Shu?"

"You..."

He was scared to death, unable to believe how violent Jiang Chen was.

Then, a wave of fear washed over him, causing his entire body to tremble.

His legs began to shake uncontrollably.

THUD!

Ling Xuan collapsed to the ground.

He looked at Jiang Chen in terror.

Jiang Chen, however, looked down indifferently at the collapsed Ling Xuan.

His voice sounded almost like the Death God himself.

"Cripple his Cultivation and break his legs."

If the guards were hesitant because Bai Shu was part of the Alchemy Master Guild...

...then Ling Xuan would receive no such consideration.

He wasn’t a member of the Alchemy Master Guild at all, so these guards would act without the slightest hesitation.

Especially since Jiang Chen, as a Senior Steward, had the authority to easily decide the fate of an outsider who trespassed in the Alchemy Master Guild.

Ling Xuan was terrified. Only now did he realize what a grave mistake he had made.

He absolutely should not have insulted Jiang Chen at the end.

There was already a deep-seated grudge between him and Jiang Chen; now, he had truly pushed himself to the brink of death.

But out of fear of death, Ling Xuan hastily knelt and began to beg Jiang Chen desperately.

"Jiang Chen, I beg you, spare me."

"I know I was wrong."

"Let me go, and I’ll do anything for you."

If these guards really crippled his Cultivation and broke his legs, his life would be over. He couldn’t even imagine a life without his Cultivation and his legs.

The mere thought of such a fate drove him to despair.

"I’m not looking for servants."

"Do it."

Jiang Chen showed not a trace of sympathy, his eyes filled with a piercing light.

Thinking about what Ling Xuan had done when he left the Jiang Family sent a chill down Jiang Chen’s spine. The despair in the eyes of everyone in the Jiang Family was still vivid in his memory. He had wanted to kill this man ever since that day.

Now, Ling Xuan had fallen right into his hands. If he let him go, how could he possibly face the Jiang Family?

The four guards swarmed forward and instantly pinned Ling Xuan down.

Ling Xuan didn’t even have a chance to resist.

After all, the four guards were all experts at Warrior Ninth Heaven, while Ling Xuan was only at Warrior Ninth Heaven himself.

Even in a one-on-one fight, he was no match for one of the Alchemy Master Guild’s guards.

Let alone one against four.

BANG!

One of the guards struck Ling Xuan directly in the chest with his palm.

"AHHH..."

Ling Xuan screamed, his face instantly turning deathly white.

His Warrior Ninth Heaven Cultivation rapidly dissipated under the guard’s palm strike.

A shocking wave of pain shot through Ling Xuan’s entire body in an instant. The endless agony made him open his mouth and scream continuously.

Losing one’s Cultivation is excruciatingly painful.

CRACK!

As he screamed, a cracking sound came from his Martial Vein as it shattered and dissolved.

"NO..."

Ling Xuan completely broke down.

For a Martial Cultivator, the Martial Vein is fundamental.

If a Martial Cultivator loses their Martial Vein, all of their power vanishes.

The loss of a Martial Vein also comes with severe after-effects.

For the first time, Ling Xuan was this flustered, utterly at a loss.

He let out one blood-curdling scream after another.

They echoed throughout the great hall.

"Jiang Chen, have mercy!"

"I’m begging you, let me go! I, Ling Xuan, was wrong."

"You can cripple my Cultivation, but don’t break my legs!"

Without his Cultivation, he could still live.

But if his legs were broken, he, Ling Xuan, would not only be a cripple but would be even worse off than a common person.

From now on, he would lose the ability to walk.

This was an absolutely unimaginable outcome, one he could not accept.

But Jiang Chen remained cold and merciless.

He uttered a single, cold word: "Continue."

The guards were also unmoved. They had seen countless scenes like this, where someone who offended a person of high status was crippled.

Then came two more, even more wretched screams.

Ling Xuan’s agonizing cries ripped through the great hall.

The guards not only destroyed his Martial Vein but also proceeded to break both of Ling Xuan’s legs.

"Sir, the task is complete."

"Awaiting your instructions."

One of the guards stepped forward and spoke respectfully to Jiang Chen.

Before Jiang Chen, the guards were completely respectful, even though their Cultivation was higher than his.

This was because Alchemists were the figures of power in the Alchemy Master Guild; guards were just tools.

Jiang Chen clasped his hands behind his back and slowly walked toward Ling Xuan.

At this moment, Ling Xuan was like a half-dead dog, sprawled on the ground and twitching uncontrollably.

His legs had been broken clean at the femurs by the guards. He would never stand again.

Moreover, Ling Xuan’s Cultivation had been completely destroyed.

His Martial Vein had also been shattered by the guards, his entire Cultivation reduced to nothing.

The Ling Xuan of today was worse off than even a common person. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Jiang Chen had personally experienced the loss of a Martial Vein. It was not a pleasant feeling.

"You... You’re so ruthless..."

Ling Xuan lay on the floor, spitting up mouthfuls of blood. His eyes were filled with utter despair, and the waves of pain nearly caused him to pass out.

He had never thought he would fall into Jiang Chen’s hands, much less that he would be crippled by him. ’If only I’d known,’ he thought, ’I never would have set foot in the Alchemy Master Guild.’

Jiang Chen stared indifferently at Ling Xuan.

He said quietly, "Ling Xuan, you were once an Alchemist for our Jiang Family."

"Though you left the Jiang Family, we never wronged you in any way, did we?"

"And yet, as you left, you stole every single Elixir the Jiang Family owned, not leaving even one behind. You nearly cost every member of our family their lives."

"You were capable of such a thing—of cutting off all paths to survival."

"You call me ruthless, but have you ever considered your own actions back then? Weren’t they cruel? Even more ruthless than me?"

"If it weren’t for me, the Jiang Family would have been destroyed long ago."

Ling Xuan gave a bitter laugh, continuously spitting blood. The pain kept him conscious.

Recalling what happened back then, he truly felt a pang of regret.

"What’s done is done."

He knew now that he was finished. His life was completely over.

Jiang Chen said coldly, "That’s right. You did it. So you should have understood that one day, you would get a taste of what it’s like to have your own path to survival cut off."

"You probably just didn’t expect that day to come so quickly, did you?"

Ling Xuan’s mind reeled as he regretted his past actions.

When he thought about his current state, his mind went blank, and his vision turned black.

He passed out.

"Drag him out and throw him away."

Jiang Chen said without a shred of emotion.

"Yes, Sir."

The guards carried out the unconscious Ling Xuan and the corpse of Bai Shu.

Jiang Chen couldn’t even be bothered to consider where they would take the two.

Because in his mind, both Ling Xuan and Bai Shu had brought this on themselves.

In this world where the strong devour the weak, Jiang Chen knew the law of the jungle all too well. If he were the one defeated, his own death would be just as miserable.