Huang Rong from The Return of the Condor Heroes: Brother Jing, let's get a divorce.

Hundreds of fire-working monks rushed out from every corner of the kitchen, carrying cleavers, fire pokers, rolling pins, and iron pots. The group marched out of the courtyard gate and headed straight for the front courtyard of Chongyang Palace along the mountain path.

Lu Wushuang put away the token and followed behind them, feeling utterly admiring of Yang Guo.

That bastard didn't even show his face; he just made a few empty promises and sent these guys to their deaths.

Sunlight shines on the smooth bluestone slabs of the Chongyang Palace Bluestone Square.

In the center of the square, Li Zhiqing and twelve inner disciples were suspended from the trunks of two large locust trees by thick hemp ropes.

Their Taoist robes were tattered and covered with bloodstains. Li Zhiqing's face was swollen and blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Shen Zhifan stood under the tree, wearing a brand-new silk Taoist robe and holding an exquisite whisk in his hand.

Behind him stood more than a hundred third and fourth generation disciples, each wielding a longsword. These were all Zhao Zhijing's former close friends, now all gathered under Shen Zhifan's command.

Qiu Chuji and Hao Datong were seriously injured and confined to the backyard, unable to get up. Wang Chuyi was also in seclusion in the alchemy hall.

Currently, Shen Zhifan's influence is the greatest within the entire Quanzhen Sect.

Shen Zhifan brandished his whisk, pointed at Li Zhiqing in the tree, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Fellow disciples! Yang Guo colluded with the Mongols, inviting a wolf into our house! Not only were several of our senior uncles and elders seriously injured, but he also utterly disgraced the Quanzhen Sect! Now he's fleeing to escape punishment; he's completely unfit to be our sect leader!"

The crowd below joined in the chant: "Elect a new leader!"

"Senior Brother Shen is of high moral character and prestige; he should rightfully take charge of the overall situation!"

Shen Zhifan was very satisfied with the result and slowly walked up to Li Zhiqing.

"Li Zhiqing," Shen Zhifan said coldly, "as the head of the inner hall, you helped Yang Guo embezzle the temple's offerings. If you publicly confess Yang Guo's crimes now, I might keep you as a sweeping disciple in the Quanzhen Sect; otherwise, I'll beat you to death with sticks today!"

Li Zhiqing spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, which landed squarely on Shen Zhifan's new Taoist robe. He cursed, "Shen Zhifan, you shameless bastard! When the sect leader was here, you didn't even dare to raise your head! The sect leader single-handedly held off the Golden Wheel Monk, and all you good-for-nothings hid behind and pretended to be dead. Now that the sect leader is seriously injured, you come out here acting like a big shot. What kind of person are you?!"

Shen Zhifan's face was ashen. He trembled with rage at the sight of the bloodstains on his Taoist robe and roared, "Beat him! Beat him hard! I'll take responsibility if he dies!"

Two disciples wielding barbed whips stepped forward, raising them to lash Li Zhiqing.

Just then, a deafening shout of battle suddenly came from the archway on the side of the square, causing Shen Zhifan to turn his head sharply.

Wang Tieniu, shirtless and holding a nicked butcher knife high in his hand, was the first to rush into the square.

Behind him followed a dark mass of kitchen minions, their faces covered in soot, brandishing kitchen utensils, their eyes gleaming with a murderous glint.

"Shen Zhifan! Give us back our hard-earned money!" Wang Tieniu roared at the top of his lungs.

Shen Zhifan was stunned. He usually looked down on these lowly people who cooked in the back hills, never expecting them to dare to cause trouble in the front yard. He immediately brandished his whisk and shouted angrily, "Insolence! Do you lowly people want to rebel? Seize them!"

The Taoist priests wielding long swords immediately drew their swords and charged towards the Fire-Worker Monk, and the two groups collided violently.

Although the Taoists knew martial arts, most of them were third or fourth generation disciples who were used to a life of ease and had never experienced real life-or-death battles.

On the other hand, the Fire-Worker Monks, although they do not know internal energy, have been doing heavy labor all year round and have great strength. Moreover, they are now fighting desperately for double the monthly salary and meat every meal, which is a completely reckless way of fighting.

A Taoist priest thrust his sword at Wang Tieniu's shoulder. Wang Tieniu didn't dodge at all, letting the sword pierce his skin. Instead, he swung his butcher knife and smashed the back of the blade onto the Taoist priest's head, causing him to scream and faint.

Another fire-working monk held up a blackened iron pot, using it to block several sword strikes, and then slammed the pot hard into a Taoist's face.

The square was in complete chaos, with the sounds of clashing weapons, screams, and curses all mixed together.

Hiding behind the archway, Lu Wushuang watched as the usually arrogant Taoist priests were defeated by the Fire-Worker Monk, and felt extremely pleased. He secretly sighed that Yang Guo's trick of using someone else to kill was truly brilliant.

Seeing his men being beaten and running away in terror, Shen Zhifan was furious. He drew his long sword from his waist, channeled the internal energy of the Quanzhen Sect, and prepared to personally suppress the cooks.

Wang Tieniu spotted Shen Zhifan immediately, shoved aside the two people blocking his way, and charged forward with a pig-slaughtering knife in hand: "You dog, prepare to die!" He leaped up, the pig-slaughtering knife whistling through the air as it cleaved straight for Shen Zhifan's head.

Shen Zhifan sneered, spotted Wang Tieniu's weakness, and thrust his longsword straight into his chest.

The sword was extremely fast, and Wang Tieniu, who was in mid-air, had no way to dodge it. The tip of the sword was only half an inch away from his flesh.

Lu Wushuang hid behind the archway, waited for the right moment, drew the dagger from her waist and threw it forcefully.

The dagger tumbled through the air, striking Shen Zhifan's longsword precisely. A crisp "clang" echoed across the square. The longsword, deflected by the force, grazed Wang Tieniu's left arm, drawing a trail of blood.

Ignoring the pain in his arm, Wang Tieniu roared and swung the butcher knife down, striking Shen Zhifan squarely on the right shoulder!

Shen Zhifan screamed and staggered backward, his longsword clattering onto the bluestone slab, instantly staining his new silk Taoist robe with blood.

The surrounding Taoist priests were terrified and stopped what they were doing; none of them dared to step forward to help.

Lu Wushuang strode out of the archway to the center of the square and raised the black iron token high.

Sunlight shone on the token, making the two characters "Chongyang" extremely eye-catching. Everyone in the Quanzhen Sect recognized this sign.

"Master Yang has given an order! Shen Zhifan is withholding food from the Fire-Worker Monk, intending to rebel! All participants must immediately lay down their weapons. Those who disobey will be punished for treason and executed on the spot!" Lu Wushuang's clear voice echoed throughout the entire Bluestone Square.

Shen Zhifan, clutching his bleeding shoulder, gritted his teeth and shouted, "She's an outsider! She must have stolen the token! Kill her!"

Just as several trusted Taoist priests were about to raise their swords, Wang Tieniu picked up a bloodstained pig-slaughtering knife and stood directly in front of Lu Wushuang.

Hundreds of fire-working monks stepped forward in unison, their bodies covered in a mixture of blood and sweat, their imposing presence terrifying.

Those pampered Taoist priests had never seen such a desperate battle before, and they were so frightened that they retreated repeatedly.

Hanging from the old locust tree, Li Zhiqing's face was covered in blood as he yelled at the top of his lungs, "The Sect Leader is a master strategist! May the Sect Leader live forever! You bunch of bastards dare to rebel! When the Sect Leader returns, I'll skin you alive!"

This sentence became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Those third and fourth generation disciples were already feeling guilty, and they were usually most afraid of Yang Guo. Now, seeing the sect leader's token and looking at this group of reckless fire-working monks, they completely lost their fighting spirit.

One after another, weapons fell to the ground with a series of thuds. The Taoists threw down their longswords, covered their heads with their hands, and squatted on the ground.

Lu Wushuang walked to the big locust tree and instructed Wang Tieniu to untie the rope.

Li Zhiqing fell heavily to the ground, but ignoring his injuries, he quickly got up, knelt down in front of Lu Wushuang, and kowtowed three times.

Lu Wushuang turned around and looked at the crowd in the square, raising her voice to say loudly, "The sect leader is currently in seclusion in the back mountain cultivating unparalleled martial arts and will return soon. Everyone should perform their duties; anyone who dares to cause trouble again will be severely punished!"

The situation of the Quanzhen Sect has been completely stabilized.

Wang Tieniu and his men tied Shen Zhifan up and locked him in the woodshed in the backyard; Li Zhiqing regrouped the inner disciples and took over the defense of Chongyang Palace; the fire-working monks happily went back to the kitchen in the back mountain to stew meat.

The rebellion came quickly and was quelled even faster.

Although Yang Guo was in the Ancient Tomb, he had a firm grip on the situation of the Quanzhen Sect.

Inside the ancient tomb, after Lu Wushuang returned to report, Yang Guo lay back down on the cold jade bed, and Huang Rong, Xiaolongnu, and Li Mochou sat around him once again.

"Things outside are all taken care of." Yang Guo closed his eyes, feeling the three streams of true energy enter his body again. "For the next forty-two days, we'll lock ourselves in and practice diligently. The day I emerge from seclusion will be the day Golden Wheel Monk dies!"