Qin Feng was still acclimating to the power from his recent breakthrough when Luan Xiaochuan rushed to his side and whispered in his ear.

"Cave Master, this is bad! There are disciples from the Celestial Punishment Hall at the foot of the mountain!"

Luan Xiaochuan was uneasy. Disciples of the Celestial Punishment Hall wouldn’t just show up at Heavenly Red Peak for no reason. Their visit could only mean trouble.

Xu Jie and Zhao Yuan walked over as well, their expressions filled with deep apprehension.

The Celestial Punishment Hall didn’t have a good reputation. In the eyes of ordinary disciples, they were synonymous with ill omens and slaughter.

The three of them worried that Qin Feng’s killing of the three Outer Disciples had been exposed.

"The Celestial Punishment Hall... why would they come to Heavenly Red Peak?" Baiyun also looked perplexed. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Qin Feng glanced at them, a cold sneer in his eyes as he spoke.

"Don’t panic. Stay calm. Invite them up the mountain!"

Luan Xiaochuan nodded and hurried down.

Before long, Luan Xiaochuan returned, leading a group of Martial Artists up the mountain. They wore silver robes with swords and sabers embroidered on the sleeves, and their bodies radiated an intimidating Evil Qi.

The group was led by a young man in a silver robe, distinguished by a tall hat and wide sash. He had a stern, formal face and carried a peculiar greatsword on his back. Behind him followed several other Silver-robed Disciples, their faces impassive and their bodies emitting an unusual, cold air.

This was Evil Qi, an aura that clung only to those who had taken lives. Clearly, these Silver-robed Disciples were seasoned killers.

From the way Luan Xiaochuan addressed him, the leader’s name was Young Emperor Jin, and he was a Fifth-level Inner Sect Disciple of the Celestial Punishment Hall.

Young Emperor Jin was around twenty-four or twenty-five years old, with a stern bearing and an intimidating gaze. He had served as a Chief Constable in the Jin Kingdom, Black Water Kingdom, Wuyun Kingdom, Violet Kingdom, and the Cloud Water Empire, and hundreds, if not thousands, of criminals had died by his hand.

Young Emperor Jin’s gaze swept past Baiyun and Yun Mo, his eyes flickering for a moment before finally landing on the black-robed youth beneath the Profound Water Spirit Peach Wood. He sneered, "So you’re Qin Feng. Daring to brutally kill Outer Disciples of the All Stars Academy and wantonly slaughter Medicine Boys... You’ve got a lot of nerve!"

"You’ve been exposed. You’re coming with us to the Celestial Punishment Hall!"

The next moment, two figures in silver robes shot out from behind Young Emperor Jin and lunged toward Qin Feng.

Young Emperor Jin gave Qin Feng no chance to defend himself, directly ordering his capture!

His eyes were cold as he looked at Qin Feng as if he were already a dead man.

Qin Feng sneered. Moving with the agility of an ape, he swept his leg out. THUD! THUD!! The two Silver-robed Disciples, who had been approaching with shackles, chains, and sinister smiles, were sent flying.

SPLASH!

The two figures landed in the lake, looking like a pair of drowned rats!

A cold glint flashed in Young Emperor Jin’s eyes as he shouted, "Qin Feng, you dare resist arrest?"

"Resist arrest? What a joke!" Qin Feng sneered, his gaze as sharp as a blade as it swept over the glaring Silver-robed Disciples. "You think you people have what it takes to come to Heavenly Red Peak and arrest someone?"

"Let’s not even talk about whether you have the ability. Where’s your evidence? Everything requires proof, doesn’t it? Or does the Celestial Punishment Hall think it’s above the law?"

The Celestial Punishment Hall’s name inspired fear across the entire All Stars Academy, but it didn’t intimidate Qin Feng in the slightest.

Baiyun and Yun Mo were also shocked. Qin Feng had actually sent disciples of the Celestial Punishment Hall flying into the lake with a single sweep of his leg.

His audacity was simply off the charts!

The Celestial Punishment Hall was a truly bloody institution within the All Stars Academy. The mere mention of its name was enough to put any disciple on edge. Yet, not only did Qin Feng show no deference, he acted ruthlessly, giving them no face at all.

Baiyun’s face was etched with worry. She sent him a mental message, "Junior Brother Qin Feng, you must be careful. These are people from the Celestial Punishment Hall. Their leader, Young Emperor Jin, is a renowned figure there. His strength is formidable, and he’s one of the Hall’s six great Punishment Master disciples."

"The Celestial Punishment Hall is known throughout the All Stars Academy for being arrogant, domineering, and vindictive over the smallest slight. Don’t provoke them too much, or they will never let you go!"

"Don’t worry. If the Celestial Punishment Hall is arrogant, then I’ll be even more arrogant than them!" Qin Feng sneered back mentally, utterly fearless.

Young Emperor Jin flew into a rage. "Evidence? Of course we have evidence!" he bellowed. "I ask you, where are the three Outer Disciples of this Heavenly Red Peak? Where is Xu Ping?"

Qin Feng rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Are you really this stupid, or are you just pretending? They have their own legs. How should I know where they ran off to? I’m not their babysitter!"

Young Emperor Jin was rendered speechless for a moment, then gave a cold smile.

"Qin Feng, you have a sharp tongue, but your wordplay is useless. We have a witness!"

"Zheng Bing, come out!"

At Young Emperor Jin’s command, a young man in a green robe and a Medicine Boy’s uniform stepped forward.

It was none other than Zheng Bing, the High-tier Medicine Boy who had been constantly suppressed.

"Qin Feng! I bet you didn’t see this coming. Your doom is here!" Zheng Bing’s face was grim as he stared at Qin Feng, his cold gaze like that of a coiled viper, full of venom and triumph.

It was the unbridled arrogance of a petty man who has finally gotten his way.

"You dared to murder three Outer Disciples! No one can save you now!"

"Zheng Bing!" Seeing him step out from the crowd of Medicine Boys, the faces of Luan Xiaochuan and the other two turned grim, and they gnashed their teeth.

"Zheng Bing, you traitor! How dare you betray the Cave Master!"

Seeing the looks on their faces, Zheng Bing felt a wave of immense satisfaction. The cold triumph in his eyes was almost palpable as he laughed. "And you three—Luan Xiaochuan, Xu Jie, Zhao Yuan! Your good days are over too, you lapdogs!"

Remembering the past two months of suppression under them—days that had been dark as the night—sent Zheng Bing into a frenzy of hatred.

Young Emperor Jin stepped forward and looked at the black-robed youth. "Qin Feng," he said coldly, "what do you have to say for yourself now?"

Young Emperor Jin and the Silver-robed Disciples all stared at the black-robed youth with cold sneers and malicious intent. No one was allowed to provoke the Celestial Punishment Hall.

Many of the disciples were already imagining how they would torture Qin Feng once they captured him.

"Young Emperor Jin, you’re taking his word for it?" Qin Feng laughed, a fierce light flashing in his eyes.

Qin Feng turned and pointed to Luan Xiaochuan and the other two. "We all know what kind of person Zheng Bing is. Here on Heavenly Red Peak, I never favored him, and he has always held a grudge against me. How could his words possibly be convincing?!"

"In my view, this is just a petty man who is dissatisfied with how I run things, and so he’s using this opportunity to stir up trouble and make false accusations!" Qin Feng looked at Young Emperor Jin coldly. "Punishment Master Jin, don’t let yourself be deceived by such a shameless wretch!"

’Zheng Bing?’

A cold sneer touched Qin Feng’s lips. ’This Zheng Bing never truly submitted; he was just waiting for a chance to get revenge. How could I not have been prepared for this?’

’Since I knew Zheng Bing was disloyal, it’s only natural I’d have a contingency for this day.’

’At the time, I had all the Medicine Boys present sign a contract. They were forbidden from revealing what they saw and heard in any form.’

’And it was no ordinary contract. It was called the Abyssal Nether River Contract.’

Glancing at the incredibly smug Zheng Bing, a murderous glint flashed in Qin Feng’s eyes and vanished. With a mere thought, he reached out and stirred something within the Endless Abyss, causing a roiling, blood-red Nether River to manifest.

It was a blood-red river where countless white bones bobbed among struggling Fierce Ghosts and vicious spirits. A single glance was enough to corrupt one’s very Divine Soul.

The instant the power of the blood-red Nether River manifested, the contract Qin Feng had made instantly turned to ash.

From the great unseen, an invisible, Mighty Power descended.

The next moment, Zheng Bing was dead!

The smile froze on his face, his eyes went dull, and he collapsed silently at Young Emperor Jin’s feet.

With a soft *poof*, his body disintegrated into ash.

"Zheng Bing!" Young Emperor Jin, having witnessed the whole thing, felt his face pale.

The next moment, Young Emperor Jin glared daggers at Qin Feng and roared, "Qin Feng, you dare kill a witness to silence them?"

Although he didn’t know how Zheng Bing had suddenly turned to ash, Young Emperor Jin’s instincts told him Qin Feng was responsible.

Qin Feng sneered. "Young Emperor Jin, Zheng Bing was standing right beside you. If we’re talking about silencing a witness, aren’t you the prime suspect?"

"Qin Feng, since you’re being so stubborn, I have no choice but to capture you and drag you back to the Celestial Punishment Hall for a proper interrogation!" Murderous intent exploded from his eyes. Young Emperor Jin threw a punch, instantly filling the sky with countless Fist Seals. Qin Feng was suddenly struck with the illusion that there was nowhere to dodge as a terrifying aura of death washed over him.

Although Young Emperor Jin was merely at the First Secret Realm of the Condensing Vein Realm, his attack was more powerful than all the Condensing Vein experts of the Third and Fourth Secret Realms that Qin Feng had previously encountered combined...