“Big Qi, you’re dead this time!”

Watching Qi Yuan standing dumbfounded in place, Wang Luchuan, hidden in the shadows, flashed a vicious glint in his eyes and muttered to himself, “My cousin’s plan is indeed brilliant. Let’s see how you manage to squirm your way out of this one.”

“The Crimson Flame Tiger is on the verge of a breakthrough and urgently needs nourishment. To get that bottle of top-grade Beast Spirit Pills, helping to kill a mere Qi Refining Servant Disciple is nothing to it.”

“It’s just a reckless beast, and with Elder Xu backing it, even if it kills someone in the Outer Sect, it’ll just be confined and disciplined for a few days at most. There won’t be any real consequences.”

“Once you’re dead, that kid Lin Zhen will be left without support and will soon meet a gruesome end…”

The more Wang Luchuan thought about it, the more pleased he became, almost bursting into maniacal laughter.

On the other side, facing the ferocious tiger pouncing toward him, Qi Yuan’s expression remained utterly calm. He didn’t even show a hint of wanting to dodge and spoke in an indifferent tone:

“You fool, do you have a death wish?”

Seeing this scene, Wang Luchuan, observing from the shadows, was slightly taken aback.

Facing imminent death, this guy is putting on such a brave front. Does he think dying this way is more dignified?

The next moment, his expression suddenly changed drastically, his gaze filled with disbelief as he looked at the scene.

The moment the Crimson Flame Tiger heard Qi Yuan’s voice, its mighty body trembled violently. It froze in place, its imposing aura visibly wilting at a rapid pace. It crouched on the ground like a kitten and stammered an explanation:

“I didn’t… I wasn’t… It’s a misunderstanding… all a misunderstanding…”

“Is that so?”

Qi Yuan snorted coldly and strode toward the Crimson Flame Tiger.

As Qi Yuan approached, the Crimson Flame Tiger acted as if it had encountered a flood or a ferocious beast. A human-like trace of fear and reverence appeared in its crimson, bloodthirsty eyes. It lay prostrate on the ground trembling, even tucking its tail submissively.

Finally, a puddle of foul-smelling liquid spread out from beneath the Crimson Flame Tiger, instantly filling the air with a pungent odor.

Huh?!

In that instant, Wang Luchuan felt as if struck by lightning. He was completely dumbfounded.

Am I seeing things?

Shouldn’t that Crimson Flame Tiger be exceptionally fierce and vicious? Why is it so timid?

It must be remembered that the Crimson Flame Tiger was a mid-Foundation Building spirit beast. In terms of combat power, it was no less than a human cultivator at the late Foundation Building stage. Yet now, it was actually scared pissless by a mere Qi Refining fourth-layer Servant Disciple.

Before he could figure it out, Qi Yuan had already arrived in front of the Crimson Flame Tiger and lightly kicked its huge, ferocious head.

“Who the hell told you to piss and shit wherever you want? Disgusting! Get lost back to where you came from!”

“Whimper—”

Kicked once, the Crimson Flame Tiger didn’t dare show any defiance at all. On the contrary, it acted as if granted a great pardon. It sprang up from the ground with a whoosh, wagged its tail ingratiatingly at Qi Yuan, then scrambled away in a panic.

Only after Qi Yuan had walked far away did Wang Luchuan recover from his state of shocked speechlessness. A strong sense of unreality still lingered in his heart.

The next moment, an intense killing intent as solid as substance enveloped him, firmly locking onto him.

Under immense pressure, Wang Luchuan’s hair stood on end. He slowly turned to look toward the source of the killing intent and saw that the Crimson Flame Tiger, which had left earlier, had somehow appeared behind him at some point and was staring at him with an icy-cold gaze.

Wang Luchuan swallowed hard with fear written all over his face and said:

“Lord Tiger… what are you doing? My uncle is Elder Yin Qingyuan at the Golden Core realm! If you dare touch me, Elder Yin won’t let you off!”

The Crimson Flame Tiger remained completely unmoved. Its crimson tiger eyes erupted with dense baleful aura. “You almost got me killed just now. This time I don’t care who your uncle is. Even if the Sect Master himself came in person, he couldn’t save your life.”

“If you don’t die tonight… Lord Tiger will die!”

As soon as these words fell, the Crimson Flame Tiger roared. Its sharp claws raised high as it pounced fiercely forward.

“No! Spare me! Have mercy! Ahhh!!!”

In an instant, blood splattered everywhere. The scream had just begun when it abruptly ceased.

After dealing with Wang Luchuan, the Crimson Flame Tiger picked up the corpse in its mouth and quickly disappeared into the dense forest…

The next day, news spread throughout the Outer Sect that Elder Xu’s spirit beast from the Inner Sect had gone berserk and killed Servant Disciple Wang Luchuan. This caused quite an uproar.

Wang Luchuan had a special status; not only was he one of only two new disciples with dual spiritual roots in recent years, but he was also the nephew of an elder from the Dao Initiation Hall. Normally, such an incident would definitely be thoroughly investigated and likely result in severe punishment for the offending spirit beast involved.

However, the owner of said Crimson Flame Tiger happened to be Elder Xu Zhou, who also served as the head law enforcement officer within Falling Cloud Valley, wielding significant authority over other elders, including Yin Qingyuan from the Dao Initiation Hall. Consequently, the final outcome left many people stunned.

After a careful investigation by the law enforcement department, they confirmed that the victim, Wang Luchuan, held a grudge against the law enforcement elder due to a recent punishment he had received. His hatred extended even toward the beloved pet belonging to Elder Xu, leading him to mistreat said Crimson Flame Tiger, often withholding food.

It was precisely because hunger drove the beast to fight back—albeit somewhat excessively, resulting in accidental death—that, given the circumstances, it was understandable.

Therefore, the offending spirit beast was sentenced to three months of confinement with reduced rations by half to serve as a warning to others…

When Qi Yuan saw the notice posted outside the hall, he felt he was still too naive. Contents aside, the names were fabricated yet surprisingly logical.

More importantly, the majority of Falling Cloud Valley disciples who saw the notice believed it, cursing Wang Luchuan’s narrow-mindedness and inhuman behavior, bullying even animals—utterly depraved…

If the deceased could see this, he would probably die again from anger.

Upon discovering another plot against himself, Qi Yuan had already sentenced Wang Luchuan to the death penalty yesterday; it was merely executed through the hands of a tiger.

As the Holy Scion of the Supreme Mystery Sanctuary, how could he tolerate a disgusting clown repeatedly provoking him? Simply crushing them was the correct approach.

He wasn’t some master cultivator who could endure humiliation, letting enemies continue to cause trouble. Since someone actively sought death, he was naturally obliged to fulfill their wish.

“That scoundrel Wang Luchuan is dead! Hahaha! Truly Heaven has eyes!”

Beside him, Lin Zhen looked excitedly at the notice ahead, speaking bitterly. “Pity I didn’t kill him myself. Letting scum like him die so casually let him off easy!”

Qi Yuan patted Lin Zhen’s shoulder, his tone somewhat inexplicable, saying:

“He brought today’s outcome upon himself. Actually, it’s fine; it avoids dirtying our hands.”

Lin Zhen nodded. “The wheel of karma turns; good and evil are rewarded. I just never thought a spirit beast would end his life. Such is the unpredictability of life; it is nothing more than this.”

Qi Yuan smiled faintly, perfunctorily replying:

“Perhaps it is the will of Heaven.”

At the same time, his mind was thinking about another matter.

Quietly, without fanfare, this kid had already reached the third layer of Qi Refining. His cultivation method and path—even Qi Yuan couldn’t discern them clearly. Even his way of speaking had changed, spouting literary phrases one after another. Could there really be a “portable grandpa” inside his ring?