Under One Person, your rebellious life has reached the heavens?

"Master Hong?! What are you saying?"

Dong Chang's body trembled slightly. Things were unfolding in a way that made him uneasy. When he asked that question, his heart sank, and he guessed that the worst might happen.

"Don't you know what you've done?" Master Hong's tone was full of disappointment.

"This... For the past six months, my senior brother and I have been cultivating the Dan Shi technique outside, and we also went to Shanghai to assassinate traitors and Japanese soldiers."

Xu Xin was still trying to argue, but was interrupted by Master Hong.

"enough."

"We'll talk about the traitors and the Japanese later. Let's talk about your seclusion first. You actually managed to produce a group of good brothers. That's remarkable..."

The two men were stunned, as if struck by lightning. To their horror, Master Hong held up a piece of paper and casually read out a name.

Dou Ruchang.

"Gao Gen."

"Gu Ji Pavilion."

"Xu Xin."

"Dong Chang".

"No roots."

At this point, both men felt a chill run down their spines. Xu Xin, unwilling to sit idly by and await his doom, preemptively explained:

"Master Hong! I'm innocent! The situation was complicated at the time. My senior brother and I were coerced by the crowd and had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure in order to save our lives."

“Master Hong, there’s a reason for this…” Dong Chang added, as if he saw a glimmer of hope for deception.

"You still think you're right?"

Looking at this scoundrel arguing so vehemently, Master Hong was so angry that his face turned ashen.

"Your legs are your own feet, don't you know what choices you should make?"

“Especially you, Dong Chang! The list the sect leader gave you, if you had come back with Wugensheng’s head after the sworn brotherhood and told us that the sworn brotherhood was out of necessity, the sect leader would at least have understood. But you didn’t.”

"......"

Dong Chang hung his head. At this point, any explanation he could offer would seem futile, and he could only accept his fate.

"Mr. Hong, please listen to me. Back then it was..."

"Yang Lie, Tang Jian, drag them away and wait for the sect leader to return." With that, Master Hong turned and left.

night.

In the dimly lit dungeon, the sound of whipping echoed.

Xu Xin and Dong Chang were chained and suspended in mid-air, their bodies covered in blood from being whipped.

"How could you even think of such a thing? Becoming sworn brothers with the demons of Quanxing? What about all those dead seniors in the sect?"

Holding a blood-stained long whip, its sharp barbs covered in sticky flesh and blood, Zhang Wang lashed the two men dozens of times. His anger only intensified; the mere thought of his deceased master made him unable to control his rage.

"Snapped!"

"Snapped!"

Several more lashes were delivered. Xu Xin and Dong Chang, who were already injured, were barely breathing after the beating. Their previous wounds reopened, and blood dripped down their bodies.

Yang Lie, Guan Hai, and Miao Xing, who were on guard nearby, did not come out to stop it. Master Hong had instructed them that as long as the person was alive, nothing else mattered.

About an hour later, the whipping continued, but the frequency slowed down. Xu Xin and Dong Chang looked numb, their upper bodies and chests were beaten beyond recognition, their consciousness became increasingly hazy, and their vision became blurred and swaying.

"Stop it."

An aged voice approached from afar. Tang Bingwen, Master Hong, and Qiu Shan walked in from the entrance of the dungeon, his face calm and indifferent.

"Sect Leader..."

Hearing the shouts of the crowd, Zhang Wang looked at the traitor who was about to die before him, his heart trembled, and then he turned to Tang Bingwen to apologize:

"Sect Leader, I was truly angered by them. There was a personal grudge involved, and I went too far..."

"It's alright, they deserve it."

Tang Bingwen showed no sign of blame. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Xu Xin and Dong Chang with a complex expression, and questioned them in a detached tone:

"Why do you want to become sworn brothers? Is there something our sect has done to wrong you?"

The old man's voice was soft, rousing the two who were on the verge of death. Xu Xin wept bitterly, "No... Master..."

"without....."

Dong Chang dared not look up and meet the old man's gaze. The familiar eyes fell on him as if they were being torn apart, filling him with guilt.

"Since you want to know... then this disciple naturally dares not hide it..."

"I...did have impure thoughts. Wugensheng saved my life and Junior Brother Xu's life many years ago, that's one reason."

"Secondly, back in Mianshan, he also went to fight the Japanese..."

"Thirdly, he promised us two opportunities comparable to the Pill Devouring Technique, and I wish to use them... to strengthen the sect..."

The three reasons pieced together, though sincere in every word, only made Tang Bingwen more and more disappointed.

"You think you're loyal and righteous just because you look like that?"

"Have I not told you about the rules of our sect? If we in this line of work let our targets go because of personal relationships, then there is no need for the Tang Sect to exist."

Tears streamed down Dong Chang's face as he bit his pale lips, filled with anxiety.

Xu Xin was so terrified that his hands and feet turned ice cold. He wasn't afraid of dying, but he was afraid that he had really done something wrong, that he would bring shame to the Tang Sect, and that after his death, the sect's long-established reputation would plummet.

"Woooo..."

He choked up uncontrollably, his eyes darting around, too ashamed to face his disciples.

“Master...Junior Brother Xu is innocent...He changed his mind because of my influence.”

Dong Chang couldn't bear to see Xu Xin suffer, so he recounted the details of the gathering, explaining that he had stopped Xu Xin from taking action several times out of compassion.

"Yang Lie, put them down, apply some medicine, I still have some questions to ask."

"Yes, Master."

Upon hearing the instructions, Yang Lie immediately went to the wooden stake where the chains were hanging and slowly lowered the two men down. He then went with Guan Hai and Qiu Shan to fetch medicine. A moment later, he returned to treat Xu Xin and Dong Chang's wounds.

Tang Bingwen looked around at everyone and sighed softly:

“A few days ago, I discussed with the leaders of some of the sects involved that after the Shuzi Sect brought the body of the child, all the traitors who had sworn brotherhood with us were to be executed.”

"Is this...too heavy?!" Guan Hai, Miao Xing, and Zhang Wang were stunned.

"Later, after the suggestion from the Trinity faction, there was still room for maneuver, and it wouldn't be difficult to spare their lives."

Xu Xin and Dong Chang, lying on the ground, were both in disbelief, and a desire to survive rose in their eyes.

Tang Bingwen looked down at the two men and said:

"Xu Xin, Dong Chang, I will only ask you once: have you passed on the cultivation method of Dan Shi to outsiders?"

Chapter 193 A Mere Survival

Without any elaborate interrogation techniques, just this simple sentence, Tang Bingwen, who had traveled all over the country for most of his life, considered himself quite skilled at reading people.

He stared intently at the two men's expressions, his calm gaze filled with oppressive intent. If Xu Xin or Dong Chang showed the slightest abnormality, he wouldn't hesitate to snap their throats on the spot.

"Master... is gone!!"

"This disciple absolutely did not... teach them the Pill Devouring Technique, or any other methods!!"

Xu Xin answered truthfully that he actually loathed those who secretly threatened them.

The sworn brotherhood of the thirty-six was mostly based on casual acquaintances. When asked about the mysterious nature of his methods, he remained tight-lipped, revealing not a single word.

Dong Chang tilted his head back with difficulty, his eyes losing their former sharpness, replaced only by guilt, and said in a hoarse voice:

“They did ask, but I brushed them off. Please rest assured, Master.”

"Even if I die outside, I would never dare to hand over the sect's techniques to them."

Tang Bingwen watched them quietly, searching for clues in their bewildered, fearful, and hopeful expressions.

In a moment, he made up his mind and felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders. He was certain that the method of pill devouring had not been known to outsiders. Otherwise, he really didn't know how he would face his teachers and elders in the afterlife a hundred years later.

The first problem was solved, and now that the agreement was being fulfilled, he questioned again:

"Have you learned any of the methods used by other families?"

"It can be considered..."

Xu Xin hesitated, unsure of his master's intentions, and said tentatively, "It was only by sending a letter to the Qing Sect that Dou Ruchang, the master of secret paintings, managed to do it, giving him blood ink before he left."

"There is nothing else. Please, Master, understand."

Dong Chang burst into tears, his overwhelming remorse shattering his psychological defenses.

At this moment, he would rather die outside than be judged by the sect leader like this. He also regretted why his will was not firm enough and why he was swayed by trivial relationships and illusory opportunities.

"good....."

Tang Bingwen's murderous intent subsided, and he made a new request:

"The consensus reached in the talks is that if you traitors want to survive, you must abide by two agreements: first, your cultivation will be abolished, and second, you will be confined to the sect for life."

“These are the rules that outsiders gave you, but they're not enough. I'll add one more.”

"You must swear a solemn oath in front of all your disciples to sever all ties with those wicked beings, until death do you part."

"From this day forward, you will spend the rest of your lives growing old and dying in the Tang Tomb, but you must also swear an oath to me that if you ever see any remnants of your sworn brotherhood, you must kill them with your own hands!"

The further he spoke, the colder Tang Bingwen's tone became, leaving no room for retreat. The wrinkles on his aged face even appeared to pile up into a ferocious shape.

Holding the dual roles of master and sect leader, he has already pushed his abilities to the limit.

Xu Xin and Dong Chang were stunned. One second they were still indulging in the delusion of seeking forgiveness and survival, but the next second they were panicked when they heard the demand to slaughter their own brothers.

“Master… I swear I will never leave Tangzhong, nor will I associate with those people, but your third condition… must it be so absolute!”

Xu Xin spoke too hastily, causing the wound on his chest to reopen, and he was in so much pain that his face turned ashen.

"Humph."

"Xu Xin, even now, don't you understand?"

Tang Bingwen remained unmoved by his disciple's bargaining:

"You are lucky. The outside world is in complete chaos. Even if my Tang Clan didn't hunt down the other remnants, do you think they could escape the pursuit of other sects?"

"..." The two fell silent, trembling with fear.

"Let me tell you something else. So far, 15 people have died. At this rate, those who swore brotherhood with you will be wiped out sooner or later."

"Xu Xin, Dong Chang, do you think there will be another chance to meet?"

Tang Bingwen's patience was wearing thin, and he urged them to give a clear answer.

"Choose: us, or them? To live, or to die?"

“Master…this disciple is willing to swear an oath…” Xu Xin’s voice trembled.

Dong Chang, standing to the side, was burdened with worries. He was about to have his cultivation destroyed and be confined to his quarters for life... He would spend the rest of his life in regret. Even if he would never see his sworn brothers again, he couldn't bear to live a life of aimless despair.

Death is not punishment; living is...

instantly.

Dong Chang sighed helplessly. He chose to give up, unwilling to spend his entire life living in the dark and gloomy Tang Tomb.

"Master, please forgive your unfilial behavior..."

"This has caused you and the door a lot of trouble."

Dong Chang looked ashamed, and hot tears, which he could no longer hold back, slid down his haggard face.

As he lay dying, he gently pushed Yang Lie's right hand, which was still applying medicine to him, and squeezed out the last of his strength from his frail body to stand up unsteadily, supporting himself with one hand on the ground.

"..."

Tang Bingwen looked at his disciple, who was covered in wounds, without any emotion. From the moment Dong Chang made his decision, the old man had regarded him as a stranger.