"You should be thankful that I am merciful and am choosing not to kill you with my bare hands..."
Seeing the young man in white still mention the matter, Fang Danming could not help but feel anxious. After all, this was not something reputable. Once the matter escalated, even with the protection of his father, he may also be punished for this matter.
"You had better not be stubborn!"
Fang Danming glared angrily at Zhou Donghuang, his gaze icy cold. If not for the fact that he was afraid of this young man having a remarkable background which he could not afford to offend, he would have already killed him right away.
"After you punish your son and yourself, I will then follow you to the court."
Zhou Donghuang glanced slightly at Fang Danming, then said with a sarcastic smile, "Until you do that, I am not going anywhere."
"Father, since he is seeking death, then grant him his wish!" Fang Lunjie called out harshly, his eyes cold and murderous.
Fang Danming was already extremely frustrated at this young man, but with his son adding fuel to the fire, he lost his calm as he threatened once again, "Young man, I'll give you one last chance to follow me to the court.
"Otherwise, I will personally punish you on behalf of the Donghuang Sect!"
On behalf of the Donghuang Sect.
Fang Danming had already thought of a plan.
By declaring in front of the crowd of outer sect disciples that he would be punishing the young man before him on behalf of the Donghuang Sect, even if the young man had a powerful background, they would not be able to take revenge on him alone. The whole Donghuang Sect would be involved as well.
The Donghuang Sect was already recognized as the most powerful sect in the entire Ziyun planet, so he did not think that anyone backing this young man would be able to take on the entire Donghuang Sect.
In the end, they would be unable to do anything.
"On behalf of the Donghuang Sect?"
Zhou Donghuang laughed brightly as he asked, "You think that you are worthy of representing the Donghuang Sect? In the Donghuang Sect, you are nothing more than a slug!"
A slug.
As the words left Zhou Donghuang's mouth, the crowd of outer sect disciples in the crowd, including Hong Yunfei, felt as if their anger had somewhat been eased.
Some of them had been ill-treated by Fang Lunjie in the past, and even if they had not been treated poorly, none of them fancied Fang Lunjie or his father, Fang Danming.
However, although their anger had been slightly eased, they looked at Zhou Donghuang with a look of sympathy.
"You're asking for it!!"
Zhou Donghuang's words were the last straw for Fang Danming. He could not hold in his anger any longer, and with a loud cry, he struck out with his right arm.
Next, with a slight tremble of his body, he got closer to Zhou Donghuang.
Boom!!
The inner Qi came together to form a giant palm in the air that rushed down from above towards Zhou Donghuang. Its speed was alarming, and it was clearly trying to kill Zhou Donghuang with a single blow.
As the outer sect elder of the Donghuang Sect, Fang Danming's power was far beyond his son, Fang Lunjie, who had only just reached the early Connate stage.
However, this was no matter to Zhou Donghuang.
Bang!!
Many of the outer sect disciples in the crowd instinctively shut their eyes, afraid to see the bloody scene of Zhou Donghuang being murdered. The moment the giant palm crystallized from inner Qi landed on Zhou Donghuang's body, it mysteriously dissipated.
Zhou Donghuang still stood in his original spot as if nothing had happened.
The inner Qi within the giant palm seemed to completely disappear when it landed on Zhou Donghuang, just like a stone sinking into the ocean.
This mysterious scene left the crowd gasping in shock.
Fang Danming was even more shocked. His eyes widened as he stared at the young man in disbelief. "How... how is this possible?!"
The outer sect disciples who had shut their eyes originally now opened their eyes after realizing that something was amiss. They all looked at the scene before them in confusion.
"What is happening now?"
"Did Elder Fang Danming hold back at the last moment?"
...
As the whole crowd watched on, Zhou Donghuang looked calmly at Fang Danming, and his hand shot out with his palm outstretched.
In the next instant, Fang Danming was already suspended in mid-air.
Connate adepts did not have the ability to float in the air, as this was a skill only for Primal Core adepts and higher.
This meant that Fang Danming was clearly being suspended in the air by the young man in white.
"What... what kind of power is this?!"
Seeing the scene unfold before him, Hong Yunfei felt the back of his neck go numb. Even some Primal Core adepts wouldn't have the power to do what this young man just did!
As for Fang Lunjie, who was originally standing behind Fang Danming, he fell to the ground in shock. He stared in disbelief at the scene before him as he muttered, "How... how is this possible!"
In mid-air, Fang Danming wrapped his hands around his neck. He could feel his neck being trapped by something strong and choking him. With his eyes wide open, he stared at the young man in white standing in front of him, as he asked in a shaky voice, "Who... who are you?!"
Whoosh!
Zhou Donghuang floated into the air and appeared in the skies above. He looked down on Fang Danming, who was struggling to raise his head to look at him.
This scene left the crowd in fright as if they felt a cold gush of air rising from their feet up to their heads.
Floating in mid-air.
This was the skill of an adept beyond the Primal Core stage!
In the Donghuang Sect, only inner sect elders and above were at the Primal Core stage and beyond.
"Such a young Primal Core adept?"
"Is this a skill of those at the Primal Core stage? Choking someone from a distance away... even a Golden Essence adept, the most powerful among the Primal Core adepts, may not be able to do this!"
"Who is this man?!"
...
The group of outer sect disciples, including Hong Yunfei, now looked at the young man in white with a shocked expression.
"He... he could not possibly be..."
Suddenly, Hong Yunfei had a thought. When he remembered how the young man had mentioned Chen Dandan upon seeing him, he immediately thought of someone.
If it was really that person, this power would be no surprise.
Hong Yunfei's eyes narrowed suddenly, and he looked up at the figure floating in the sky. His face was filled with fright.
The young man was dressed in flowing white clothes, and he had an extraordinary demeanor.
"Zhou Donghuang," he finally answered.
Once the words left the young man's mouth, Hong Yunfei crumbled to the ground, breathless. The rest of the crowd descended into silence.
Fang Lunjie, who had already fallen to the ground in shock, was now so frightened that he soiled his pants, the pungent smell spreading all around him.
"Sect... Sect Leader?!"
Fang Danming, who was now trapped in mid-air, gasped as his eyes narrowed and his face filled with a look of desperation and fear.
He would never have imagined that the young man in front of him was the Sect Leader, someone who the entire Donghuang Sect revered as a god, but who was also so mysterious that nobody had ever seen him before!
Usually, being able to see the Sect Leader in the flesh would be something to brag about.
But now, he was filled with nothing but regret.
"Abusing your power for your personal gain, disrespecting your seniors, and even trying to murder the Sect Leader himself... do you think it is fair to punish you with death?" Zhou Donghuang looked down upon Fang Danming as he asked calmly.
Hearing this, Fang Danming's expression was one of despair.
Then, his body shattered in the air, turning into a cloud of dust that disappeared with the wind.
Down below, the group of outer sect disciples was not frightened by the scene that had just unfolded. Instead, they looked at the figure in white with a look of respect and admiration.
Sect Leader.
This was the leader of their Donghuang Sect!
They had finally seen him in the flesh!
Zhou Donghuang floated in the air, his arms behind his back as he slowly said two words:
"Freezing Wind."
His voice was not loud, but it could be heard all over Donghuang Peak.
In a few moments, a black figure appeared out of nowhere like a ghost, right in front of Zhou Donghuang.
"Young Master... No, Sect Leader."
As Freezing Wind looked at the young man in white before him, his body could not help but quiver in excitement.
He had heard that his Young Master had returned a few days ago, but because he knew that his Young Master was recovering after helping He Jin dispel the poison, Freezing Wind had not gone to disturb him.
In the last few days, he had been waiting for his Young Master to call him.
Now, his Young Master had finally called out to him.
It had been almost five years. Freezing Wind had not changed much in appearance, but the biggest change was in the air that he exuded.
Freezing Wind had represented Zhou Donghuang to manage the Donghuang Sect as the Deputy Sect Leader. In the last few years, he had slowly cultivated a presence of leadership.
However, despite the change in his temperament, his loyalty towards the young man had not changed at all.
It was only because of this young man that he could have achieved all that he had in his life.
Without this young man, he would have been a petty thief in a faraway land.
"Young Master."
"Young Master."
Following Freezing Wind, Zhou Han and Zhou Feng also appeared. The youths of the past had now grown into adults, and they looked more mature.
However, upon seeing Zhou Donghuang, their excitement was no less than Freezing Wind.
"Sect Leader," Freezing Wind corrected them.
The two of them immediately corrected themselves to address Zhou Donghuang as "Sect Leader," and the excitement on their face lingered for a long time.
"Not bad, you have been working hard."
Zhou Donghuang had already sensed Freezing Wind's level of skill, as well as Zhou Han and Zhou Feng's. He nodded in satisfaction.
Freezing Wind and the two of them smiled from ear to ear like children who had just eaten honey upon being praised by Zhou Donghuang.
The outer sect disciples looking at this scene seemed as if they had seen a ghost.
The cold Deputy Sect Leader of their Donghuang Sect and Zhou Han and Zhou Feng, the two core elders who were also known to be cold and unfriendly, were now smiling so happily?
Was this really happening?
Many people now suspected that they were dreaming.
At this time, Zhou Donghuang's expression turned serious as he said, "Fang Danming, the outer sect elder, tried to kill me, and he has already been punished by death.
"Fang Danming's son, the outer sect disciple, Fang Lunjie, abused his authority to bully other members of the sect. He shall be stripped of all his power and kicked out of the sect!"
With that, Zhou Donghuang glanced coldly at Fang Lunjie, who was cowering in fear on the ground, covered in his own feces and urine.
Hearing the order from Zhou Donghuang, Fang Lunjie fainted in shock.
"He seems to have a grandfather who is an inner sect elder of our Donghuang Sect, correct?" Zhou Donghuang looked at Freezing Wind and asked.
"Yes."
Freezing Wind looked at Fang Lunjie, who was lying motionless on the ground, then respectfully answered Zhou Donghuang, "The inner sect elder, Fang Kunli, is Fang Danming's father."