Gu Mingyue glanced at the treasure sword in his hand, a trace of regret in his eyes, because the power of filth on the sword was dissipating rapidly and in no more than two or three days, it would revert to being an ordinary iron sword.
So he tossed the iron sword back to Zhang Chen, having already made up his mind: "This kid clearly had plans in secret; otherwise, how could he have borrowed the power of the Inspection and Supervision Department specifically to break Zhang Xiaohua’s Protective Divine Techniques? This child harbors ill intentions, truly ambitious as a wolf."
After discovering the root cause, Gu Mingyue lost interest in Zhang Chen and turned to leave directly.
If not for this kid’s connection with Xie Lingyun and his remaining usefulness to Huangli Temple, he would have long since crushed this audacious worm who dared to ruin his plans.
Gu Mingyue came and went in haste, leaving Zhang Chen standing in the courtyard, looking at the treasure sword in his hands, silent.
"What did that old man mean?" Chengyu came out of the house at this time and asked.
"Cultivate well in the future, strive to achieve the Dao as soon as possible!" Zhang Chen did not answer Xiaodouding’s question. He simply patted Xiaodouding’s head meaningfully: "If we had the strength at the Yang God realm now, why would we suffer humiliation here?"
Zhang Chen turned and went back inside the house, secretly penetrating underground, continued to devour the incense faith of the Daoist Temple, venting all his grievances on the incense faith. The indignities he suffered in the temple needed to be compensated somehow.
On the third day, Liu Feng, with a sullen face, came out from the small building, and Zhang Chen quickly emerged from the underground soil.
Now, Zhang Chen constantly used the Water Control Technique to sense the entire small courtyard, which was filled with water vapor. If someone walked in, they would surely disturb the water vapor, alerting Zhang Chen underground.
"Where is Zhang Chen?" Liu Feng stood in the courtyard and asked.
Zhang Chen stepped out of the house, came to Liu Feng, and bowed respectfully: "Disciple greets the Observatory Master."
"Gu Mingyue Ancestral Master has issued a command, you severely injured a fellow disciple during the martial arts contest, causing Chu Mingyue to become a cripple, with not a bit of martial virtue. Your character is flawed, virtues do not match the position, you are unfit to become the Star God. Therefore, today we strip you of the reward for winning the contest and of the qualification to become the Star God."
Zhang Chen was stunned upon hearing this, his eyes full of shock, never expecting the temple to handle things so ruthlessly.
He originally thought, even if the temple intended to strip him of the contest victory, some compensation should be given. Who would have thought Gu Mingyue would be so ruthless?
Zhang Chen’s fists clenched tightly in his sleeves, stood in place with a livid face, eyes fixed on his toes, silent.
"Chu Mingyue became a eunuch, and this is a lifelong hurt for him. Also, during the contest, you almost harmed Young Prince, although the Prince’s Mansion hasn’t held you accountable, we must show an attitude. You should be thankful you are still alive; if not for Leader Xie watching out for you, you would likely have been tied up and handed over to Prince Pingbian’s Mansion for punishment by now." Liu Feng looked at Zhang Chen, his expression neither warm nor cold.
Hearing Liu Feng’s words, Zhang Chen took a deep breath, wishing he could tear Liu Feng’s face off. Previously thinking this guy was a decent person, who knew he would be so underhanded, ruthless in handling matters, leaving no room for negotiation.
"You must understand the Ancestral Master’s painstaking efforts. After all, we must spread the teachings on Prince Pingbian’s territory. If Prince Pingbian yawns, it can make our local Yellow Heaven Dao tremble. Haven’t you thought, offending the Prince’s Mansion, where would our Power of Incense come from? Without Power of Incense, where comes the Divine Position Decree? Where comes the Extraordinary Power?" At this moment, Liu Feng began to play the old good cop, his expression softened as he comforted Zhang Chen:
"Zhang Chen, you must understand the temple’s difficulties. The temple is a large organization and must consider all aspects and take care of everything thoroughly. Personal glory and interests are insignificant in the face of the temple’s great cause."
Upon hearing Liu Feng’s words, Zhang Chen suppressed the anger in his heart, forcing a smile as he nodded, very well-mannered and understanding: "Disciple understands."
His Dharma Eye could see, as Liu Feng delivered the Dharma Command, the luck of a Star God above Liu Feng’s head was stripped away, returning to Huangli Temple.
"The luck of a Star God belongs to the temple, not one’s own fundamental luck. Just a word can strip it away; this feeling is really unpleasant. But we shall ride the donkey and read the ledger—let’s wait and see! If I don’t mess up your God Sealing Ceremony, I’ll write my name upside down." Zhang Chen gritted in his heart.
Seeing that Zhang Chen remained ’understanding’, Liu Feng nodded satisfactorily, patting Zhang Chen on the shoulder, he said: "I know your identity and root foot. For someone like you who climbed up from the bottom, being able to eat and fill your stomach is your greatest fortune. Don’t covet what doesn’t belong to you, not even a glance! Or it will only cause more pain."
After finishing, Liu Feng turned away, leaving Zhang Chen in the courtyard, gritting his teeth, then taking a deep breath, a cold harshness flashed in his eyes: "Alright, alright, you want to play like this, huh? Then you can’t blame me for being ruthless. Let’s just see if you, Huangli Temple and Prince Pingbian’s Mansion, will turn against each other."
At this moment, Zhang Chen even lost the heart to devour incense, instead using the Penetration Technique to quietly slip out of Huangli Temple, sneaking and hiding until he reached the Eight Trigrams Furnace, instructing the guards hidden in the mountains to send a message to Xie Lingyun, and then went himself to check on the Eight Trigrams Furnace.
Inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace, the flames roared, and the prohibition on the small sphere had already shattered three layers. Furthermore, the prohibitions were breaking faster and faster, yet Zhang Chen was still not satisfied, feeling it was too slow for the God-Beating Whip to be refined, making him somewhat anxious.