14: Suffer a loss in secret

"Crack!!!"

A clear, bone-shattering sound that made everyone's scalp tingle distinctly reached the ears of every person present!

This crisp sound, like an invisible thunderbolt, instantly split the noisy crowd, shattering all the gasps, discussions, and mockery.

The open space in front of the dining hall fell into a strange, suffocating silence.

Time, at this moment, seemed to stretch infinitely.

Everyone widened their eyes, staring intently at the two people in the center of the arena with gazes as if they were looking at ghosts, afraid of missing any detail.

Just then, at the center where fist and palm met—

Lin Ye's seemingly weak and powerless palm was still extended flat, and aside from a slight redness in the center, it was completely unharmed.

In stark contrast was Zhao Tian's iron fist, imbued with spiritual power and an imposing Aura.

At this moment, his fist was twisted at an extremely strange angle, his finger bones were clearly dislocated, a rapidly spreading bruise of blue and purple appeared, and even a few trickles of blood slowly seeped from between his fingers, dripping onto the dry yellow earth, kicking up tiny specks of dust.

"Ah—!!!"

A shrill, painful scream filled with disbelief finally erupted from Zhao Tian's throat, twisted by intense pain, completely breaking the dead silence!

The moment the scream rang out, his entire body was as if struck hard by a charging wild bull; his forward momentum was forcefully pushed back by an even more violent, more concentrated force!

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Zhao Tian's tall and robust body uncontrollably retreated three or four steps, each step leaving a deep footprint in the ground, before he finally managed to steady himself, avoiding the embarrassment of falling down on the spot.

He looked down at his right hand, which was almost inhuman and still trembling, his mind a blank.

Pain!

Heart-wrenching pain!

But this intense pain of flesh, sinew, and bone was far less than the shock and bewilderment in his heart at this moment!

What on earth did he touch in that instant?

That was not a hand of flesh and blood at all!

It felt as if he had used all his strength to smash his fist fiercely onto an extremely hard, red-hot iron plate that had been burned by ground fire for three days and three nights!

A scorching, fierce, and utterly domineering Coiling Force, following his fist, rushed into his arm with destructive force. That Coiling Force not only instantly crushed his finger bones but also transformed into an undercurrent, wildly surging through the Meridians of his entire arm, causing the Qi and blood in his body to churn, a sweetness in his throat, almost making him spit out a mouthful of blood on the spot!

How could this be?!

How could this be?!

He suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes, red from pain, stared fixedly at Lin Ye opposite him, his gaze filled with ghostly astonishment and incomprehension.

At this moment, Lin Ye's "performance" also entered its most crucial stage.

The moment he shattered Zhao Tian's finger bones, he himself felt a numbing soreness in his arm from the recoil. But he showed no sign of abnormality, instead perfectly transforming this force into a prop for his "performance."

He acted as if he had been knocked flying by the "immense" force contained in Zhao Tian's fist, his body dramatically retreating five or six steps backward, and with a "thud," he sat down on the ground.

Sitting on the ground, his face showed no trace of a victor's posture; instead, it was filled with an "astonishment" and "bewilderment" even more profound than Zhao Tian's.

He first stared blankly at his slightly reddened right hand, turning it over and over as if he didn't recognize it. Then, he looked up at Zhao Tian with a tearful, fear-filled, and innocent expression, his voice trembling as he said:

"Senior Brother Zhao... Senior Brother Zhao... your... your hand... is bleeding... I... I didn't do it on purpose... I really didn't do it on purpose!"

He looked like a three-year-old child who had accidentally pushed down an adult, and was himself terrified, completely unaware of what had happened.

This masterful acting left everyone present completely bewildered.

The scene before them was too fantastical, too contrary to common sense.

An imposing aggressor, beaten to a pulp, bones broken and blood flowing, retreated in disarray.

A seemingly vulnerable victim, completely unharmed, yet sat on the ground in fear, crying out that he didn't do it on purpose.

Who was the victim? What exactly happened?

The crowd completely erupted.

"Oh my god! What did I see? Senior Brother Zhao's hand... seems to be broken?"

"Lin Ye did it? Impossible! Look at him, so scared out of his wits, does he look like someone who could injure Senior Brother Zhao?"

"But... the facts are right before our eyes! This... what on earth is going on? Did Senior Brother Zhao accidentally break his own hand by using too much force?"

"Are you stupid! Who breaks their own bones by punching? I think... I think it's highly likely that this kid Lin Ye got incredibly lucky!"

"Right! It must be! It must be a coincidence! He just happened to hit Senior Brother Zhao's old injury, or used some dirty trick we don't know about!"

All sorts of speculations spread rapidly through the crowd. But all the speculations had one thing in common—no one believed that Lin Ye had achieved this with his true strength.

Because it was too illogical!

Zhao Tian listened to the discussions around him, then looked at Lin Ye, who was still "trembling" on the ground, his anger and bewilderment intertwined, almost driving him mad.

He couldn't understand it either!

Say Lin Ye was a master? He wouldn't believe it even if he died! Would a master be such a pathetic sight?

But to say it was an accident... this accident was too outrageous! What about that scorching Coiling Force that drilled into his arm?

Could it be... that this kid had some disposable defensive Magical Artifact on him? Or did he really have some incredible stroke of luck that he couldn't comprehend?

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and in the end, he still leaned towards the latter.

Because only this could explain the absurd scene before him, and only this could give his crushed self-esteem an acceptable justification.

Yes! It must be that this kid got incredibly lucky!

He must have been a blind cat hitting a dead mouse, his randomly swinging palm just happened to hit the weakest point of his own punch, which led to the current result!

Thinking this, the shock in Zhao Tian's heart slightly diminished, but the humiliation and anger burned even more fiercely.

He endured the intense pain from his right hand, his left hand trembling as he pointed at Lin Ye on the ground, his face flushed dark purple with blood and rage, and he roared in a hoarse voice:

"Good... good for you, Little Bastard! Consider yourself... consider yourself lucky today!"

He couldn't even speak a complete sentence smoothly, his chest heaving violently, as if he would be so angry that he would faint in the next second.

"Senior Brother Zhao... Senior Brother Zhao, I... I really didn't do it on purpose..." Lin Ye continued to "perform" cooperatively on the ground, portraying innocence and fear to the extreme.

"Shut up!"

Zhao Tian roared, interrupting Lin Ye. He knew that staying here any longer would only make him more embarrassed and a laughingstock of the entire Outer Sect.

The most urgent task was to leave immediately and treat his almost useless right hand!

He glared at Lin Ye with immense venom, his eyes as if wanting to devour him alive.

"You just wait for me! I, Zhao Tian, will remember this debt today! Your luck won't happen a second time!"

After dropping this classic threat, Zhao Tian didn't linger for another second. He used his left hand to firmly support his numb right arm, turned around, and, surrounded by his followers, pushed through the crowd in a desperate and undignified manner, leaving without looking back.

His retreating figure was full of panic and malice, completely devoid of the arrogance and domineering presence he had arrived with.

Watching Zhao Tian and the others disappear, Lin Ye finally seemed to let out a sigh of relief, his body slumping, collapsing onto the ground, gasping for air, his face still bearing that startled expression.

The surrounding Disciples, witnessing the anticlimactic end of this farce, exchanged glances, and finally, with complex expressions of looking at a monster and a fool, they glanced at Lin Ye, then dispersed, discussing amongst themselves.

Soon, only Lin Ye remained on the entire scene.

It wasn't until he confirmed that everyone had left that he slowly, gradually, stood up from the ground.

He patted the dust off his clothes, and the expression of panic, bewilderment, and innocence on his face receded like a tide, replaced by an unfathomable calm.

He looked down at his slightly reddened right hand, and a cold smirk played on his lips.