Green Viper appeared to be very angry, but Arthur only felt that the situation had become trickier and more awkward. He didn't plan to apologize for what he did at all.
If anything, he was bored and would like to talk about something more interesting like how Green Viper could avoid killing his sexual partners with his poisonous sperm.
So when he finally responded to the accusation, he shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Things like that happen all the time. I'm sure that your son killed some people too."
"I did what I did because we were fighting for resources to grow stronger. His death meant that I could grow strong enough to become what I am today. He fell to make me rise. It is simply the cycle of life."
What he wanted to say was, "I'm sorry that your son was weak. If he was so weak and if you cared so much about him, you shouldn't have let him risk his life in the intersect competition."
But he didn't say that in order not to escalate the situation. Instead of having fun at the expense of a father that lost his son, he chose to prioritize the success of his mission.
Unfortunately for him, his efforts to stabilize the situation were not good enough to satisfy Green Viper. To be fair, nothing he could ever do could be good enough for Green Viper.
As someone who was influenced too much by his emotions, Green Viper liked to have fun by drinking, partying, and having sex with multiple women.
His body had become broken when he reached the third mortal coil and forged his foundation. His reproductive system had been assimilated by his life seed, so he had become infertile.
This meant that all of his sexual escapades produced no offspring. He could have sex without worrying about impregnating anyone, which further fueled his lust and debauchery.
So it came as a surprise when one of the women he had sex with became pregnant with his child. It was a pleasant surprise for him, and he cherished that child.
His son was a miracle baby. He had the boy when he was still at the third mortal coil. So when the boy grew up enough to attend the inner-sect competition, he was in the inner sect.
His son was in the outer part of the sect, outside of the secret realm. This gave the boy the opportunity to slip away and attend the competition even though he had forbidden it.
Then he heard that his son was killed by a disciple of the Blood Skull sect. That event had made him very sad, but he didn't bother to seek revenge then because he knew that he couldn't.
What's more, no one actually saw how his son died or who killed him. What everyone said was that it was highly likely that Arthur was likely to be the one who killed his son.
The combination of the lack of a clear knowledge of the identity of the person who killed his son and a little rationality because the influence of his body on his emotions and mind was still manageable made him give up on his revenge.
But that was back then. Since that time, a lot has changed.
For one, he has advanced to the golden core, so the influence of his body on his mind has become too much, and his emotions have gone wild.
So now he doesn't need to be certain about the identity of the murderer of his son. A slight suspicion is all he needs now to condemn and punish someone for killing his son.
He had taken note of what Arthur looked like before. But Arthur has since changed from what he looked like at the second mortal coil. Only his fans or his truly bitter enemies with concrete reasons and the determination to seek revenge had kept track of what he looked like now.
Green Vine hadn't kept track of what Arthur looked like after he advanced to the third mortal coil, which was why he didn't recognize Arthur before. But now that Arthur has confirmed that he might be the murderer of his son, Green Viper was ready to let all hell loose.
Even though Arthur was here because the Purple Flower sect had sought out the help of the Blood Skull sect, Green Vine still stood up and said to Arthur, "It seems that at the end of the day, we will still have to have that fight."
He spoke about the fight that he offered Arthur earlier, but his goal for the fight has changed. Earlier, he had only wanted to win back his respect by fighting Arthur. But this time, he wanted to kill Arthur or at least maim him.
Daoist Pale Shadow suspected Green Viper's goal and couldn't allow it to happen so as not to jeopardize their mission. So she stood up and stood between Green Viper.
This time, she didn't just speak up in order to dissuade Grene Viper. She recognized that this current situation was more dire than the earlier conflict, so she actually moved and used her body to shield Arthur.
Then she said to Green Viper in a cold and stern voice, "Stop this foolishness immediately. We have more important matters to attend to, and I would appreciate it if you didn't derail the plans of the sect for your personal vendetta."
Green Viper tried to explain. He pointed one angry finger at Arthur and said, "But he…"
But she cut him off. "But what? There is no reason to justify what you are about to do. It is just plain selfishness, and you will be prioritizing your interests above the sect's."
"He killed my younger sister, and I recognized him as soon as I met him. But do you see me harping about it and making a scene like some child?"
This stunned both Arthur and Green Viper. Arthur, in particular, was very surprised because he hadn't noticed any hostility from Pale Shadow at all.