Chapter 665: Chapter 658: Gratitude and Resentment

The conflict between Zhang Biao and Shang Yunfeng was a personal vendetta that had nothing to do with Chen Hai, who naturally had no interest in meddling.

However, upon hearing Zhang Biao say that his family of eighteen had all been slain by Shang Yunfeng, Chen Hai, who had been aimlessly wandering, couldn’t help but feel a bit curious.

Of course, his interest was purely out of curiosity, with no other implications.

“Shang Yunfeng wiped out your entire Zhang Family? There must have been a reason; there’s probably more to the story, isn’t there?” After a slight pause, Chen Hai spoke up to ask.

“What else could it be for? That guy wasn’t even a member of the Sect back then, just a local bully on the streets.”

“Somehow, he took an interest in my sister and snuck into our Zhang Mansion in the middle of the night, intending to commit an indecent act.”

“Turned out, he went into the wrong room and ended up in a wet nurse’s bed. In the end, he was caught by our family members and got a severe beating.”

“If we had killed him right there and then, maybe none of what followed would have happened. It’s all because of my father’s misplaced compassion that after castrating him, he was let go.”

“After the incident, in less than half a month, Shang Yunfeng gathered a group of people and attacked our Zhang Mansion in the dead of night.”

“Apart from myself, who managed to hide in a latrine, hanging on for dear life and luckily escaping the massacre, everyone else in the mansion was wiped out without a trace.”

…

With a face full of anguish and tightened fists, Zhang Biao’s lips were bitten to the point of bleeding as he recounted these past events.

His hometown was under the power of the Bloodthirsty Sect.

Bearing such a deep-seated hatred and seeking to learn martial arts to avenge his family made joining the Bloodthirsty Sect his best option.

As the saying goes, a gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years.

After the annihilation of the Zhang family, he lived in fear of Shang Yunfeng discovering and silencing him. He hid and stayed in the slums.

Shang Yunfeng was discovered to have a talent for cultivation and entered the Bloodthirsty Sect. Not long after, Zhang Biao was also lucky enough to join the Sect.

But by then, Shang Yunfeng had already started to make a name for himself.

As a new member of the Bloodthirsty Sect, Zhang Biao knew he was no match for Shang Yunfeng and had always been cautious to avoid alerting him of his presence.

It was not until more than ten years ago, when he advanced to the Fourth Realm Storage and became an Inner Sect Disciple, that his whereabouts were exposed and came to Shang Yunfeng’s attention.

Inside the Sect, although private fights among disciples were strictly forbidden, with Shang Yunfeng’s status at the time, there were plenty of ways he could make things difficult for Zhang Biao, a newcomer to the Fourth Realm Storage and the Inner Sect.

Facing Shang Yunfeng’s constant oppression, Zhang Biao could only continue to cower, staying in his residence and not daring to venture out of the Sect’s gates freely.

Without any chance to access cultivation resources, his rate of cultivation, even if he wished to increase it, simply could not grow.

Having survived all these years, the gap in strength between him and Shang Yunfeng had not narrowed but had become even more significant.

This Sect-wide competition presented a rare opportunity for him. He sold information simply to make some Spirit Coins while Shang Yunfeng wasn’t paying attention, in order to trade for some cultivation resources.

Sadly, before he could sell much information or earn many Spirit Coins, he once again fell under Shang Yunfeng’s gaze…

Originally, these past events that weighed on his heart were things he never wished to share with others.

But thinking about how his matters had implicated Chen Hai, drawing Shang Yunfeng’s jealousy towards him, Zhang Biao felt guilty and somewhat remorseful.

When Chen Hai asked about his conflict with Shang Yunfeng, he hesitated briefly before finally opening up and relating his grievances with Shang Yunfeng in brevity.

“That Shang surname guy, he’s castrated?”

“I see, no wonder he waves a folding fan in his hand and has a somewhat effeminate air about him.”

“This androgynous person dares to participate in the Sect competition, vying for one of the twenty spots?”

Upon hearing Zhang Biao’s story, Chen Hai came to a sudden realization.

He wore a look of disdain, curling his lips with a snort of derision.

That guy, when leaving, even had the audacity to threaten him with harsh words. Although Chen Hai was broad-minded enough not to hold a grudge, his distaste for him was undeniable.

Now, having learned from Zhang Biao’s mouth that Shang Yunfeng was a castrated man and had been caught in the act of sneaking into people’s homes at midnight, Chen Hai had already sentenced him to death in his heart.

After all, lust is the head of all sins!

How could he, with such a person as his registered disciple, ever show his face again as Elder Zhang?

“Shang Yunfeng is very strong. He has been in the Sect for more than thirty years, and at his level, almost no one can compete with him.”

“He is bound to secure one of those twenty spots with certainty.”

“Once he steps into Black Water Immortal Mountain and succeeds in becoming a disciple of that senior, I’m afraid my revenge will truly be an elusive dream!”

…

With a dejected look and heavy sighs, Zhang Biao lamented.

He had always lived for his hatred.

Within the Bloodthirsty Sect, he gathered all the information related to Shang Yunfeng that he could.

How strong was Shang Yunfeng? Apart from Shang Yunfeng himself, probably no one knew better than Zhang Biao.

“Did he ask for my opinion on getting a spot?”

“If I say he’s fit, he’s fit even if he’s not; if I say he’s unfit, he’s unfit even if he is.”

“Rest assured, Shang Yunfeng’s participation in the Sect’s grand contest is destined to be nothing more than an elimination!”

Patting Zhang Biao on the shoulder with an unfathomable air, Chen Hai left a few words behind and turned to blend into the crowd.

In the blink of an eye, he had disappeared from Zhang Biao’s sight and was completely gone.

“This junior brother… no, I should say this senior, who exactly is he?” Zhang Biao was first stunned and then, his face filled with horror, he quickly came to his senses.

From Chen Hai’s words, he sensed something extraordinary.

Watching the direction Chen Hai left in, Zhang Biao’s gaze locked onto his receding figure.

Chen Hai, seemingly unremarkable and inconspicuous, didn’t appear to move quickly, but with each step, it was as if he could traverse distances of dozens of yards.

Such an exaggerated move should have easily attracted the attention of others, yet the people around seemed to be affected by some strange power, purposely ignoring his presence and barely glancing at where he stood.

In just a fleeting moment, although Zhang Biao had his back firmly in view, he completely lost any trace of him.

Even the memories related to Chen Hai in his mind started to blur.

In just a few breaths, he had completely forgotten what Chen Hai looked like.

“This senior, his strength is terrifying; in terms of power, he must be above a True Immortal…”

First filled with shock, then coming to some realization, Zhang Biao secretly rejoiced.

Originally, his primary purpose for coming to the grand contest of the Sect in this valley was to sell information to earn some Spirit Coins.

But now, the wooden box where he kept those pamphlets had been burned clean by Shang Yunfeng with a fire.

He had been in the Bloodthirsty Sect for twenty-seven or twenty-eight years, a few years later than Shang Yunfeng.

As a disciple who had joined the Sect within the last fifty years, he was definitely required to sign up for the grand contest.

According to his original plan, when it was his turn to go on stage, he intended to concede defeat right away, but at this moment, he had some different thoughts in his heart.

“My strength is certainly not enough, but so what?”

“Some things, if you don’t fight for them yourself, are destined to elude you. I’ll risk my life to vie for those twenty spots. Even if I ultimately fail, at least I can do so with no regrets.”

“What if by some stroke of luck, like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse, I manage to break into the top three and secure a spot?”

With this thought in his mind, Zhang Biao clenched his teeth, puffed out his chest, and walked toward the valley.