428: Chapter 428 Angry? Helpless? Then cultivate diligently.

That smile was very faint, so faint it was almost imperceptible.

But in that smile, there was no bitterness or helplessness, only an unfathomable composure.

"What's this?" Xu Ruyu spoke, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears. "Each of you looking so dejected—what is this look?"

Everyone looked up at him, their eyes filled with complex emotions.

Zhou Daniu said in a muffled voice, "Sect Master, we..."

Xu Ruyu waved his hand, cutting him off.

He walked up to Zhou Daniu, looked at his swollen face, and suddenly reached out to pat his shoulder.

"Does it hurt?"

Zhou Daniu was stunned; he subconsciously nodded, then shook his head.

Xu Ruyu smiled, this time more genuinely than before. "It's right that it hurts. Remember this pain.

Remember who hit you, and remember why you were hit.

In the future, hit them back."

Zhou Daniu's eyes instantly turned red, and he nodded vigorously.

Xu Ruyu then walked over to Sun Xiaohua, looked at her swollen eyes, and said softly, "Have you finished crying?"

Sun Xiaohua lowered her head and replied in a small voice, "Yes."

"Cried enough?"

Sun Xiaohua bit her lip and nodded.

Xu Ruyu looked at her and said word for word, "Then remember today's tears. In the future, make those who made you cry suffer even more miserably than you did."

Sun Xiaohua snapped her head up, a glint of light flashing in her eyes, and she nodded forcefully.

Xu Ruyu turned around and walked to the center of the group so everyone could see him.

His gaze swept over every person, and his voice suddenly rose:

"Are you angry?"

The crowd was silent for a moment, and then a voice rang out: "Angry!"

It was Zhou Daniu.

"Do you feel helpless?"

"Helpless!" This time it was Li Ergou.

"Are you unwilling?"

"Unwilling!" More and more people spoke up, their voices growing louder and louder.

Xu Ruyu nodded, his gaze like lightning as it swept across everyone:

"Then Cultivate well!"

His voice was like a clap of thunder, exploding in everyone's ears:

"When we possess powerful strength, no one will ever be able to ignore us, no one will ever be able to bully us, and no one will ever be able to take away what is ours!"

"At that time, we will take back tenfold what we lost today! We will return a hundredfold the humiliation we suffered today! We will make them pay with blood for the tears we shed today!"

His voice echoed through the mountains like a fire, igniting the anger and resentment in everyone's hearts.

Zhou Daniu was the first to roar out, "Return it tenfold! Return it a hundredfold!"

Li Ergou followed with a roar, "Make them pay in blood!"

Zhao Tiezhu's eyes were red as he rasped, "I want to Cultivate! I want to become strong! I'm going to beat every single one of those bastards into the ground!"

Sun Xiaohua wiped away her tears and said through gritted teeth, "I want to Cultivate too! I will never let anyone bully me again!"

Zhou Xiaolian clenched her fists. "Me too! I want to become strong! So strong that no one dares to bully us!"

Qingyan looked up, her small face full of determination. "Brother Sect Master, Qingyan will work hard too! Qingyan doesn't want to be a burden!"

Zhao Yan suddenly smashed a fist into the ground, creating a large crater, and roared, "I want to Breakthrough! I want to become strong! I'm going to beat every one of those old fogies from the Taihu Clan into the ground!"

Leng Ningshuang did not speak, but the chill around her body grew even more intense, and the frost beneath her feet spread out, freezing the surrounding vegetation into ice crystals.

Ning Caihe's sword no longer trembled; instead, it let out a clear, sharp chime, a sword-cry filled with Battle Intent.

The Grand Elder straightened his back, the cloudiness in his eyes clearing to be replaced by a resolute light. Having lived so many years, he had never wanted to become strong as much as he did at this moment.

Fifth Elder Hua Xunhuan threw the broken handle of her fan to the ground and looked up, her eyes full of fighting spirit.

Granny Liu's hand on her cane stopped trembling; her back straightened, and her gaze was no longer hollow.

Xiao Nianyin stood behind Xu Ruyu, watching all of this, an indescribable emotion surging in her heart.

She suddenly remembered that when she first took over the Hehuan Sect, she had also motivated the Disciples like this.

But at that time, she was high and mighty, cold and detached, never truly entering anyone's heart.

Xu Ruyu was different.

He was one of them, their Sect Master, their backbone, and their... hope.

She lowered her head, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly in a barely perceptible smile.

Xu Ruyu felt a warm current in his heart as he looked at these Disciples who had reignited their fighting spirit.

He knew that from today on, the Hehuan Sect would no longer be that weak Sect living under someone else's thumb.

From today on, a fire burned in their hearts—a fire that would never be extinguished.

He was just about to say something—

Clap, clap, clap.

A sharp sound of clapping came from the darkness.

The clapping was neither fast nor slow, rhythmic and piercing, as if mocking something, yet also as if admiring something.

Everyone froze and looked toward the sound.

In the twilight, several figures could be dimly seen on the mountain path ahead.

They had appeared at some unknown time, as if they had been standing there all along, waiting for the people of the Hehuan Sect to walk into their trap.

The clapping continued—once, twice, and again.

Xu Ruyu's pupils contracted slightly, and his hand was already pressed against his storage ring.

The fighting spirit that the Hehuan Sect members had just ignited now turned into vigilance and tension.

Zhou Daniu clenched his fists, Li Ergou tensed his body, flames reignited on Zhao Yan, and Ning Caihe's sword slightly unsheathed.

Everyone's gaze focused on those blurry figures.

The twilight grew heavier, and those figures drew closer.

The clapping continued.