Chapter 84: Friendly Sparring, Stopping at the Right Moment

“I told you not to look at the contents of the sword manual, but you still didn’t listen to me!”
Yun Zhonghe’s eyes were sharp, and a murderous intent surged as he looked at Lin Pingzhi.

At these words, Lin Pingzhi’s face turned deathly pale.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he fell to his knees with a heavy thud and began kowtowing desperately.
The crisp sound of his forehead hitting the ground echoed through the night.
Yun Zhonghe watched indifferently, no trace of pity in his gaze.
No one knew how long Lin Pingzhi knelt and kowtowed; his forehead was a bloody mess, painting a pitiful picture.

“That’s enough!” Yun Zhonghe’s voice rang out, stopping Lin Pingzhi from continuing.
By now, Lin Pingzhi’s mind was muddled; if not for his sheer will, he would have already collapsed.
“At least you’re clever enough not to make excuses, nor did you secretly practice the sword techniques you saw,” Yun Zhonghe said coldly.

He had known from the start that Lin Pingzhi could not resist the allure of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual.
People are always curious about the unknown; the more you’re forbidden, the greater the urge to see what is hidden.
So, when Yun Zhonghe saw the fear in Lin Pingzhi’s eyes, he already knew the truth.

“Is it that you don’t want to learn, or that you don’t dare?”
Yun Zhonghe leaned down, his gaze emotionless as he questioned Lin Pingzhi in a cold tone.
Lin Pingzhi remained kneeling, sweat dripping down his face as his mind slowly regained clarity.
After a long pause, his trembling voice finally sounded, “Master, I do not dare!”
Xie Xun, standing nearby, was increasingly baffled. In this world, was there really a martial art too fearsome to practice?

A strange smile curled at Yun Zhonghe’s lips. “The first principle of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual: to master its power, one must first castrate oneself.”
At these words, Xie Xun’s eyes widened, a chill running down his spine.
Lin Pingzhi, still kneeling, could not help but shudder, terror welling up in his gaze.
He dared not dwell on it. If this were true, could the Lin family line have survived to his generation?

Seeing that the two were thoroughly frightened, Yun Zhonghe found it rather amusing and told Lin Pingzhi to rise.
At that moment, Xie Xun finally recovered. “If that’s really the case, would Zuo Lengchan agree to work with you?”
He instinctively thought it impossible; after all, who would pay such a terrible price, forsaking all hope of descendants?
If it were Xie Xun himself, consumed by a blood feud, he would pay any price to kill Cheng Kun.
But Zuo Lengchan, head of Songshan, was not such a man.

“I’ve already erased that line,” Yun Zhonghe explained confidently. “To dominate the martial world, Zuo Lengchan will certainly cooperate with me to obtain the other half of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual!”
Hearing this, Lin Pingzhi stared at Yun Zhonghe in shock.
He hadn’t expected that from the day Yun Zhonghe brought him into the Huashan Sect, he had been plotting for this very moment.
It seemed that everything was within Yun Zhonghe’s grasp.
Everyone was merely a chess piece to him, their fate decided at his whim.

With this realization, Lin Pingzhi’s fear of Yun Zhonghe deepened, extinguishing any rebellious thoughts.
He believed that as long as he served Yun Zhonghe faithfully, one day he might avenge his parents.
Xie Xun, too, came to the same conclusion: Yun Zhonghe’s cunning was unfathomable. To make such a man your enemy was to know no peace.

…

The next morning.
The leaders of the seven great sects sat in a circle at the edge of the square, leaving the center open for their disciples to compete.
Today, however, the other sects cast strange and disdainful looks toward the Huashan Sect.
How could a righteous sect like Huashan consort with such a despicable villain as Yun Zhonghe, utterly disgracing the reputation of the orthodox schools?

Facing these contemptuous stares, Yun Zhonghe and Yue Buqun sat serenely, eyes closed, showing no reaction to the world around them.
But the Huashan disciples lacked their composure; under so many gazes, they felt as if seated on needles, unbearably uncomfortable.
This stifling atmosphere lasted for half an hour.

At last, the sound of drums broke the tension, allowing the disciples to breathe a sigh of relief.
The competition was finally about to begin.
At the instant the drum sounded, Yun Zhonghe and Yue Buqun opened their eyes almost simultaneously.

As the host of this gathering, Zuo Lengchan, head of the Songshan Sect, leapt from his seat and landed in the center of the square.
He swept his gaze over the crowd, lingering a moment longer on the Huashan Sect before moving on without a trace.

His deep voice rang out, “I trust everyone knows the rules, so I won’t repeat them here.
Disciples from each sect are to spar with one another, stopping short of serious harm to preserve friendly relations.”

With that, Zuo Lengchan left the center clear.
According to the draw from the previous day, disciples from Kongtong and Jiuhua were the first to take the stage.
These two sects ranked at the bottom among the seven, and their disciples' skills were hardly worth mentioning, so few bothered to watch.

Yun Zhonghe yawned, watching the matches with utter boredom.
With his current level of skill, it was like an adult watching children squabble.
This continued until the disciples of the Hengshan Sect took the field, at which point Yun Zhonghe finally sat up, interest flickering in his eyes.

After all, nothing was more pleasing than watching beautiful women.
The Huashan disciples beside him looked on Yun Zhonghe’s conduct with even greater disdain.
Truly, a leopard cannot change its spots—mention beautiful women, and he became instantly energized.

Yun Zhonghe cared nothing for their opinions, his gaze fixed hungrily on the nuns of the Hengshan Sect, sweeping over them with open aggression, as if their robes were no barrier at all.
The disciples of the Hengshan Sect soon noticed his predatory stare and loudly rebuked him, but to little effect.
Disturbed by his presence, their concentration faltered, and they were swiftly defeated.

At last, Yue Buqun could no longer bear it. If Yun Zhonghe kept up these antics, even if he did become head of the seven sects, who would respect him then?
“Yun Zhonghe, you’d best restrain yourself. If you ruin our plans, I won’t forgive you!” Yue Buqun whispered sternly.

Yun Zhonghe acknowledged the sense in this, knowing there would be opportunities enough later and reluctantly withdrew his gaze.

Yue Buqun’s expression softened slightly, and he earnestly advised, “Only by changing Shan’er’s opinion of you can you win her heart and have her marry you willingly, isn’t that so?”

At these words, Yun Zhonghe’s frivolous demeanor vanished, and he glanced toward Yue Lingshan, noticing her expression was worse than ever.
Clearly, his image in her eyes had sunk to a new low.

Now thoroughly anxious, Yun Zhonghe turned to Yue Buqun and earnestly begged for guidance.
“Father-in-law, please instruct your humble son-in-law further!”

Seeing Yun Zhonghe in such a state, Yue Buqun believed he had finally grasped the other’s weakness, and a satisfied smile slowly curled across his lips.