Wang Shu lay on the ground, his mind reeling with shock. Under the immense terror, his internal injuries worsened, causing him to vomit several more mouthfuls of blood. This sight terrified the onlookers, each fearing they would be the next to collapse, spitting blood endlessly.

Yet, for the majority present, such worries were entirely unfounded. If Ye Wen knew their thoughts, he would responsibly inform them: "Truthfully, most of you struck by my full-force palm would not have the luxury of spitting blood for long, because you would have been dead instantly."

Although Ye Wen’s Zixia Gong was not fully mastered, facing this rabble, he possessed such confidence. Among the crowd, few understood internal arts; most only knew some crude martial maneuvers. Looking at it from this perspective, the strength of the Zhengquan Sect was indeed considerable. Never mind Wang Shu, now incapacitated on the ground; even the two Zhengquan Sect deacons, Zhang Gui and Shi Cui, though defeated by Ye Wen before, understood rudimentary methods of internal cultivation.

Otherwise, even if the Zhengquan Sect’s two main boxing styles were superior to those of other sects, their advantage would be limited. How could they wield such significant influence? Ultimately, the gap lay in internal strength.

After all, relying solely on external martial arts to rise is exceedingly difficult, especially since truly exquisite external techniques require a strong foundation of internal energy. It could be said that with internal power comes everything.

Of course, one cannot rule out geniuses who can slay enemies purely with external force, like the Diamond Gate disciple in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber who cultivated the Great Strength Vajra Finger. Despite lacking inner energy, his innate divine strength gave him terrifying combat prowess. However, such individuals would not stoop to wasting time in a wretched place like Shushan.

In summary, Ye Wen’s single palm strike left Wang Shu unable to move and vomiting blood, instilling deep fear in everyone present. Many worried that after dealing with Wang Shu, Ye Wen would turn his attention to them.

In reality, their guesses were not far off. Seeing Wang Shu incapacitated, Ye Wen turned back to the nervously shifting crowd and said, "Sect Master Wang now has nothing more to say. Is there anyone else who wishes to discuss matters with me privately?"

What a joke. After witnessing Ye Wen's skill, who would dare step forward?

However, nothing is absolute in this world. At least, the members of the Zhengquan Sect could not completely ignore the fact that their Sect Master had been struck down and stand idly by. Several disciples rushed forward to help Wang Shu up, while the two deacons who accompanied Wang Shu up the mountain, Shi Cui and Zhang Gui, stepped forward: "Though I know my skills are inferior to Sect Master Ye's, you have injured our Master. If Your Excellency does not offer an explanation..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Gui’s face suddenly changed, and he immediately shouted, "Watch out!"

Many did not understand why this cry erupted, but Ye Wen’s expression suddenly shifted. He sensed a faint sound of air being pierced behind him—clearly a sneak attack using concealed weapons. If Zhang Gui hadn't warned him, even if he wouldn't die, he would certainly have suffered a painful setback.

Behind him were only Wang Shu and the two Zhengquan Sect disciples helping him. The attacker must be one of them. However, Ye Wen had no time to ponder who it was. Upon sensing the anomaly, he immediately channeled his Zixia Gong to its maximum, mobilizing all his internal energy. In the blink of an eye, Ye Wen's face turned purple, his surrounding vital energy swelled, and his long robe billowed as if blown from within by a gale, with faint wisps of purple energy even seeming to escape his skin.

Seeing this strange phenomenon, all present were dumbfounded. Even the attacker and Zhang Gui, who had shouted the warning, gaped with disbelief.

Then, under everyone's astonished gaze, two slender, hard-to-detect golden needles shot toward Ye Wen's robe. However, due to the resistance of his surging energy, they struggled to penetrate deeply, managing only to pierce the outer fabric before being completely blocked. Within moments, their momentum spent, they merely hung there on his clothing.

Ye Wen did not turn back, nor did he even glance behind him. His face darkened further, and his robe bulged more intensely. Finally, with a violent tremor of his inner energy, even the dust surrounding him was stirred up.

Before the onlookers could marvel at such a miraculous display of divine skill, they heard a disciple supporting Wang Shu let out a miserable shriek and fall backward onto the ground. Moments later, the man began to tremble uncontrollably, foaming at the mouth, and then drew his last breath—clearly dead.

It turned out that Ye Wen had used his Zixia Gong to circulate his energy, protecting his body, and then unleashed a burst of energy to violently repel the hidden weapons stuck to his robe.

The attacker was still standing in the same spot, completely unprepared for this turn of events. Moreover, the returning darts, propelled by Ye Wen’s counter-force, were much faster. The assailant had no time to react and was struck directly by the very weapons he had thrown. Furthermore, these darts were lethally venomous; contact meant certain death.

Originally, Ye Wen had merely intended to repel the darts to teach the attacker a lesson before dealing with him properly. He hadn't expected such maliciousness; the use of poisoned darts ultimately led to the attacker being injured by his own returning weapons, succumbing to deadly poison, and losing his life. It was, perhaps, a case of poetic justice.

Compared to the man now departed to the Western Paradise, Wang Shu was even more shocked. His gaze towards Ye Wen, in addition to malice and surprise, now held deep terror. After Ye Wen displayed his astonishing internal power, Wang Shu dared not even look him directly in the eye.

Seeing Wang Shu’s demeanor, Ye Wen inwardly noted, "This man bullies the weak and fears the strong; he is not worth noting." This observation caused him to lower his assessment of the entire Zhengquan Sect slightly.

However, recalling the recent incident, he recognized he owed Zhang Gui a debt. Though Ye Wen couldn't fathom why Zhang Gui, a member of the Zhengquan Sect, would warn him, the man had, after all, saved him once. Ye Wen immediately cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Brother Zhang, for saving me. I, Ye Wen, am deeply grateful."

His words were sincere, but Zhang Gui, in his current predicament, wished Ye Wen would never mention the incident.

After he had spoken out, the attacking fellow disciple died instantly. The other members of the Zhengquan Sect looked at Zhang Gui with a completely different expression, especially a few of the Sect Master's trusted confidants, who regarded him with the look reserved for traitors.

Zhang Gui knew he wasn't a saint, but his life had been generally upright. He disdained such acts of backstabbing. Seeing Ye Wen attacked, he had instinctively shouted a warning without a second thought. It was only afterward that he realized his action might have been inappropriate.

But he didn't regret it. He only hoped Ye Wen would pretend the incident never happened and stop mentioning it. To his horror, Ye Wen made no attempt to avoid the topic while the fight between the two parties was supposedly still simmering; Ye Wen’s direct expression of thanks put Zhang Gui in an agonizingly awkward position.

Especially since Wang Shu, upon rejoining the Zhengquan Sect members, looked at Zhang Gui with an expression that clearly indicated he now held a grudge. Zhang Gui knew his good days in the Zhengquan Sect were likely over.

What he didn't know was that the disciple who attacked Ye Wen had actually been instructed by Wang Shu. After being severely wounded by Ye Wen, Wang Shu realized that as long as Ye Wen lived, the Zhengquan Sect’s ambition to unify Shushan would remain impossible. Thus, he sought to eliminate Ye Wen while he had the chance. Ye Wen’s strength was simply too overwhelming; Wang Shu felt it would be incredibly difficult for him to surpass Ye Wen in martial arts.

Therefore, Wang Shu planned to use a poisoned hidden weapon for the sneak attack. If successful, there would be no one left on Shushan to threaten him or the Zhengquan Sect. He could then continue as the foremost expert of Shushan and eliminate any dissenting forces.

Unexpectedly, Ye Wen was far stronger than he imagined, capable of blocking the projectiles with sheer internal energy alone and even violently rebounding them with a burst of power. Wang Shu had only heard of such cultivation levels in rumors; he had never witnessed it. He was instantly terrified, fearing Ye Wen might kill him on the spot.

Fortunately, Ye Wen seemed to take no immediate action against him or show any further intent to attack. Instead, he thanked Zhang Gui. At this moment, Wang Shu realized that if Zhang Gui hadn't spoken up, Ye Wen might not have even noticed the hidden attack or activated his defenses.

"Zhang Gui ruined my plan."

Once this thought surfaced, it became uncontrollable. Wang Shu gradually convinced himself that without Zhang Gui's timely warning, Ye Wen might not have been aware of the ambush or deployed his techniques to block the darts. If Zhang Gui hadn't betrayed him by siding with an outsider, Wang Shu might have eliminated his greatest enemy today. Thinking of this, the gaze he directed at Zhang Gui, his once most capable subordinate, turned icy. Even those standing near him sensed the depth of his current displeasure.

Faced with this situation, Zhang Gui could only offer a bitter smile. Yet, he felt no regret. Some things touched upon his core principles of conduct. Perhaps if he had the chance to do it over, he would still unhesitatingly choose to speak up, even knowing the consequences.

After Ye Wen finished his thanks, Wang Shu had just returned to the ranks of the Zhengquan Sect disciples. Ye Wen surveyed the crowd in the square; they all seemed stunned into silence by his recent display. Nearly a hundred people stood speechless, staring blankly at him.

Meanwhile, the Zhengquan Sect members, having retrieved their Master, first attended to him with massage and then administered medicine, all while keeping a wary eye on Ye Wen, seemingly afraid he would seize the moment to rush forward and finish off their Master. They remained highly alert.

However, Ye Wen noticed something peculiar about their stances. While their upper bodies appeared defensive towards him, their footwork looked decidedly ready to bolt at any moment.

"It seems this fight has utterly fractured the Zhengquan Sect."

Wang Shu's defeat and Ye Wen's overwhelming dominance had convinced many opportunistic disciples that their future prospects were bleak. These followers were likely already contemplating how to slip away from today’s trouble and seek a new path. Even a fool could now see that offending Ye Wen meant doom for the Zhengquan Sect. Why stay here and wait for death?

The immediate problem was how to secure Ye Wen's clemency. The other deacon besides Zhang Gui, Shi Cui, spoke up: "Sect Master Ye has displayed his might today, and our Master Wang is severely wounded. May we ask what it will take for Sect Master Ye to allow us to depart?"

At these words, the hundred-odd people held their breath, awaiting Ye Wen's reply.

Ye Wen wore an expression as if he expected this, smiling as he stated, "I shall not make any excessive demands. How the Zhengquan Sect treated me and my former Shushan Sect, that is precisely how I shall treat you now."