From the fake emperor to the concubine

Hearing the hidden meaning in Zhuo Liqun's words, Zhang Yunfan's heart sank, as if gripped by an invisible hand.

A sudden chill crept up his spine, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

The feeling came abruptly and intensely, like a boulder suddenly thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples that were all cold and uneasy.

He frowned, trying to quickly search his mind for the source of this unease, but to no avail, leaving only a vague shadow.

Although Zhang Yunfan had not known Zhuo Liqun for long, the man's forthright and generous nature, along with their conversations that resonated with him, convinced him that Zhuo was an upright and open-minded person.

At this moment, the intense sense of unease collided violently with his mind, leaving him in a state of utter confusion.

Zhuo Liqun did not avoid Zhang Yunfan's scrutinizing gaze. He straightened his towering figure, his eyes open and honest, even carrying a hint of indescribable heaviness. He got straight to the point, his voice low but clear, piercing through the frozen air: "Although I know, brother, you're also covering for someone else."

The moment he finished speaking, his sharp, penetrating gaze swept over Wei Siling, who was standing behind Zhang Yunfan.

That glance, brief yet profound, carried an all-knowing certainty and a subtle, complex emotion.

“But since you yourself admit that you killed my good-for-nothing brother, I will accept that as a fact.”

He took a deep breath, his chest heaving, as if he were inhaling all the pent-up frustration of the past years into his lungs.

When he spoke again, his voice was imbued with the vicissitudes of time and an unwavering resolve: "Years ago, I swore a solemn oath before my mother's spirit that if my brother were to die at someone's hands, I would avenge him."

“So I’m sorry, brother,” Zhuo Liqun let out a long sigh, the sound of which seemed to carry a heavy burden, making the surrounding air seem to freeze: “We must have a battle between us.”

Before he could finish speaking, his wrist jerked violently!
The heavy halberd emitted a deep hum as he steadily lifted it.

The heavy halberd shaft seemed as light as a feather in his hands, but the tip of the halberd carried immense force, suddenly pointing at Zhang Yunfan's chest.

There was no deliberately provoked intense killing intent.

However, a terrifying aura, like a mountain collapsing, suddenly descended. The air seemed to instantly become thick and heavy, and invisible pressure squeezed in from all directions, causing Zhang Yunfan, who was in the middle, to gasp for breath. His whole body seemed to be groaning under the unbearable burden.

My vision even went black for a moment, and the feeling was... as if I was about to be crushed into dust by this invisible force in the next second!

Wei Siling's face turned deathly pale instantly! She knew Zhuo Liqun's strength all too well; even she might not be able to gain the upper hand against him when he went all out.

Zhang Yunfan, a mere Qi Refining cultivator who hadn't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage, was no different from an ant in front of Zhuo Liqun.
The oppressive force emanating from the pointed halberd was enough to pulverize him.

Without the slightest hesitation, she let out a sharp cry, her figure flashing like lightning as she instantly shifted to the side, resolutely blocking Zhang Yunfan between him and the chilling halberd tip. She cried out urgently, "Zhuo Liqun, if you have the guts, come at me! Your brother is…"

Before he could finish speaking, he was abruptly cut off by an extremely cold shout!
"Who gives you the right to speak here?" Zhang Yunfan's voice was as cold as ice, every word exuding an undeniable force, striking Wei Siling's eardrums with decisive force.

"Step back!" he shouted again, his gaze passing over Wei Siling's shoulder and locking onto the tip of Zhuo Liqun's halberd, his eyes surging with a stubbornness that Wei Siling could not understand at all.

Wei Siling froze, then turned sharply to look at Zhang Yunfan, her eyes filled with disbelief and a rapidly rising anger.

She realized she had completely misjudged the person in front of her! She had thought he was a smart man who knew how to assess the situation and find the most advantageous opportunity in a crisis.

In retrospect, he was a complete and utterly hopeless idiot! Arrogant and stupid to the extreme!
Does this guy naively think that he'll be grateful if someone takes the blame for killing Zhuo Liqun's brother?
The truth is quite the opposite! In Wei Siling's cold and anxious calculations at this moment, it would be the most rational choice, and the one that best serves everyone's interests, for her to step forward and admit that she was the one who killed the person.

After all, with her cultivation level, even if Zhuo Liqun attacked in anger, she would still have the strength to fight him.

With all their cards on the table, and in this life-or-death struggle, the outcome is still uncertain, but at the very least, they can fight to the death and both sides suffer heavy losses.

But you, Zhang Yunfan...

If Zhuo Liqun wanted to kill you, he only needed to lightly thrust his halberd forward, without even needing to swing it a second time, to completely obliterate you, leaving you no room for even a struggle! You are courting death!
Therefore, no matter how you look at it, Wei Siling felt that Zhang Yunfan's actions were utterly stupid, illogical, and a reckless act of courting death.

An indescribable sense of suffocation and anger surged in her chest, making her almost vomit blood.

What drove her even more infuriating was that she was forced to bear the consequences and pay the price for this idiot's crazy behavior.

It was an absolute disaster, a completely unexpected calamity!
Wei Siling had no intention of heeding Zhang Yunfan's absurd order.

She was determined to shout out the truth in front of everyone.

Tell Zhuo Liqun that I killed your brother.

As soon as those words are uttered, all of Zhuo Liqun's anger and murderous intent will inevitably be drawn to him, at least temporarily saving that reckless guy.

However, a cold and absolute binding force emanating from the depths of her soul suddenly gripped her throat! It was the coercive force of the master-servant contract, which could not be disobeyed.

The last few words she uttered were as if they had been violently cut off by an invisible giant hand, forced back in a humiliating and unbearable way!

An irresistible sense of dread, stemming from the contract itself, instantly overwhelmed her reason.

Driven by the contract, her body defied all her will and dignity, leaning forward slightly, and uncontrollably uttering the words that made her soul tremble: "This servant knows her mistake, please punish me, Master."

These words exploded like a thunderclap in the silent room!
The moment the words left her mouth, Wei Siling felt all the blood rush to her head, and her cheeks burned as if they were being branded with a hot iron.

An intense sense of shame pierced her heart and every inch of her skin like countless red-hot steel needles.

Her vision blurred, and she wished that an abyss would immediately split open beneath her feet and swallow her whole, or that she would die on the spot by severing her meridians, rather than endure this humiliation that was worse than death!
The reactions of everyone present who heard this were even more fascinating.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment, a deathly silence fell. Then, countless gazes focused on Wei Siling and Zhang Yunfan, every face filled with extreme shock and disbelief, as if they had seen the most absurd ghost in broad daylight, without exception.

Even the handsome male cultivator who had maintained an aloof demeanor, like a celestial being descended to earth, now had a storm raging in his deep eyes. He clearly couldn't comprehend this illogical scene before him.

The master-servant contract was not unheard of among those present.

The problem is that such contracts are almost invariably tools used by the strong to control and manipulate the weak.

While some powerful families or sects with deep-rooted foundations might be able to force cultivators of higher cultivation levels to submit to masters of lower strength through their powerful influence and secret techniques, the price they pay is often extremely high.

Moreover, the success rate is extremely low, and the returns are completely disproportionate to the risks.

More importantly, the difference in strength between the two parties to the contract must not be too great.

Within the same realm, the difference between master and servant cannot exceed half a minor realm.

To establish a contract that transcends vast boundaries?
That's an almost fantastical legend!
But what is happening now?
That kid named Zhang Yunfan has an unstable and mixed aura; at most, he's just a minor cultivator in the Qi Refining stage.

Looking at his ordinary clothes and his status as a rogue cultivator attending the Zheng family's disciple-acceptance ceremony, he was clearly a low-level person with no background, no power, and no influence!
As for Wei Siling, her body radiated inner spiritual light, and her aura was calm and composed. Between the two of them, there was a vast chasm of a whole realm!
How could a mere Qi Refining stage cultivator like him possibly make a master whose strength far surpasses his by an entire major realm willingly become his servant?

Absurd, unbelievable, this is simply challenging the bottom line of all cultivators' understanding!

Even though this scene was unfolding right before their eyes, many people still found it unbelievable and wondered if they had fallen under some kind of profound illusion.

Especially those weak, struggling cultivators at the bottom, their gazes toward Zhang Yunfan instantly changed from pity or indifference to naked, almost fiery envy and jealousy!

Their eyes were bloodshot from extreme envy!
Wei Siling possesses unparalleled beauty, a cool and aloof temperament, and remarkable cultivation.

Such a top-tier individual, possessing both strength and beauty, actually became that kid's slave.
Just thinking about how that seemingly ordinary, even somewhat weak, brat could do whatever he wanted to such a fairy-like cultivator just by using the power of a contract...

The fire of jealousy burning in their chests almost consumed their reason.

Many people clenched their back teeth so tightly that they seemed to want to crush all their teeth!
"Why! Why didn't such a good thing fall into my lap?" A rogue cultivator with a sinister face roared madly in his heart.

"He must have used some underhanded and despicable means!" Another cultivator with greedy eyes stared intently at Zhang Yunfan.

"We'll find a chance to catch him later and torture him severely! I refuse to believe we won't get the secret out of him!"

Zhang Yunfan, who was struggling to resist the oppressive aura of Zhuo Liqun, suddenly stiffened!
An extremely intense, piercing sensation, like being pricked by countless poisonous needles at once, suddenly descended upon me.

That pressure didn't come from Zhuo Liqun in front, but from all directions, from the onlookers.

Those eyes were filled with greed, jealousy, and resentment.

Hong Guoguo's malice seemed to transform into tangible, cold silver needles, piercing through the air and stabbing him all over his body.

The chilling coldness brought by pure malice made Zhang Yunfan feel as if he were in a jungle surrounded by venomous snakes!

"What the hell is this?" Zhang Yunfan's thoughts froze for only a moment before he figured it out.

It must be the master-servant contract between him and Wei Siling that attracted the attention of those people.

At this moment, instead of launching a fatal attack while he was distracted, Zhuo Liqun demonstrated his stance through his actions, even as the surrounding cultivators, who were eyeing him with greed and malice, were eager to make their move.

Zhuo Liqun lifted the heavy, menacing halberd with one arm, and with immense force, slammed it into the solid ground beneath his feet.

boom!
A deep, thunderous roar erupted, and visible energy emanated from the point where the halberd tip struck, spreading rapidly in all directions like violent ripples. The invisible shockwave, carrying a chilling killing intent, seemed to strike not the ground, but the very hearts of every cultivator present.

Those menacing fellows felt as if their hearts were being gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand, their hearts clenching violently, and their heartbeats even paused for a half-beat in that instant.

Many cultivators with shallow cultivation levels turned pale, a chilling premonition of death shooting from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads. They even hallucinated, as if the blood-dripping halberd tip would tear through the air and pierce their fragile throats with unparalleled precision in the next moment!

Most of the cultivators present immediately turned their heads away in a panic, as if struck by lightning, their eyes darting away, no longer daring to glance in the direction of that killing god.

Even those who prided themselves on their strong cultivation and unwavering will felt their blood churning in their chests and their hearts pounding uncontrollably.

Many people gritted their teeth in secret and cursed Zhuo Liqun in their hearts.

This madman is utterly unreasonable!
Isn't that person the blood feud of the one who killed your younger brother?

You're even protecting this mortal enemy?
What exactly is on my mind?
Despite the turbulent waves of shock, anger, and bewilderment surging within these monks.

However, on the surface, those gazes, like ice and snow under the blazing sun, quickly melted and receded, no longer daring to openly cast their light on Zhang Yunfan.

Someone in a dark corner secretly rolled their eyes, a faint hope of getting away with it growing in their heart.

It would be best to let Zhuo Liqun and Zhang Yunfan fight to the death, both of them severely injured and exhausted to the last bit of strength.

In that case, these "sows" could reap the benefits, not only seizing any possible opportunities, but also avenging their previous humiliation and eliminating Zhuo Liqun, who had just humiliated them!

"Brother, rest assured, I, Zhuo Liqun, act with integrity and would never bully the weak."

He paused, looked directly at Zhang Yunfan with an open and honest gaze, and continued, "When we fight later, I will suppress my cultivation to the same level as yours and will not take the slightest advantage over you."

"If you can defeat me in a fair fight based on your own abilities, then the matter of avenging my brother Zhuo will be considered settled!" (End of Chapter)