Heaven rewards diligence, but there are always fairies plotting against me.

The night was as dark as ink, and the back mountain of the Divine Sword Sect was shrouded in deathly silence.

Chu Chang changed into an inconspicuous black outfit, circulated his spiritual energy, and moved silently between the bamboo forest and the artificial hills like a light night bat.

He deliberately avoided the main roads and, under the cover of night, finally arrived at the secluded courtyard where Zhou Linzi lived.

Just as Chu Chang approached the bamboo grove at the edge of the courtyard, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and frowned deeply.

With his heightened senses, he instantly detected several mixed spiritual energy fluctuations faintly rippling in the void not far ahead.

"Huh? Someone's here?"

Chu Chang hid behind a thick, green bamboo and stared intently.

Two furtive figures were standing in front of Zhou Linzi's exquisite little building.

By the faint moonlight, Chu Chang could make out the faces of the two people.

One of them was thin and looked around with his neck hunched. His cultivation level was only around the seventh or eighth level of the Body Tempering stage.

The man standing at the very front was as burly as a bear, with a face full of fierce flesh, and a powerful spiritual pressure emanating from his body.

"Early stage of Qi Quenching Realm?"

Chu Chang narrowed his eyes slightly and instantly saw through the burly man's cultivation level.

Among the outer sect, those at the Qi Refining Realm are already considered experts, no wonder they dare to so blatantly break into the female disciples' boudoirs at night.

At this moment, the burly man was impatiently pounding on the courtyard's defensive barrier, his voice gruff as he hissed, "Junior Sister Zhou, open the door! I know you're in there, don't play dead!"

A moment later, the door to the small building creaked open, and Zhou Linzi came out wearing only a thin coat.

Her pretty face was frosty, her eyes filled with both anger and fear. Through the barrier, she angrily shouted, "Xiong Er, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? There's a difference between men and women; don't break the rules!"

The burly man known as Xiong Er chuckled coldly, his face contorted with fat, making him look incredibly ferocious: "Rules? In the Divine Sword Sect, might makes right! Junior Sister Zhou, I heard that kid named Chu Chang was all high and mighty on the Life and Death Arena today, and even lent you 150 spirit stones in public to get you out of a tight spot???"

Zhou Linzi gritted her teeth: "That's between me and Senior Brother Chu, what's it to you?"

"What's it to me?" Xiong Er glared, spitting out a mouthful of saliva. "Bah! Speaking of which, when are you going to pay back the spirit stones you owe me? Let me tell you, my spirit stones aren't so easy to take! You'd better settle my debt today! Otherwise, you can spend the night with me!"

Zhou Linzi's face paled, and she hurriedly retorted, "Xiong Er, don't make false accusations! When did I owe you spirit stones? You were the one who said those spirit herbs were a gift to me when we first met, so how did it become a debt now?"

"Given to you? I gave you the spiritual herbs I painstakingly collected because you're pretty and I wanted you to be my Daoist partner! But you little slut, you took my things and won't even let me touch you, always acting all high and mighty!!"

Upon hearing this, Xiong Er's temper flared instantly. He roared, "I'm telling you right now, those spirit herbs are worth 200 spirit stones! If you can't come up with that today, don't blame me for being ruthless. You can even pay with your body!"

"You...you shameless! Get out of here, or I'll call the Enforcement Hall!" Zhou Linzi was trembling with anger as she pointed at Xiong Er and shouted.

"Call it the Hall of Enforcement? Hahahaha!" Xiong Er burst into wild laughter, and his skinny henchman beside him joined in the commotion.

"Zhou Linzi, don't you even know? My cousin is an outer sect deacon! Would the Enforcement Hall risk offending me, Xiong Er, for a female disciple with no background like you? Don't dream about it!"

A lewd and violent glint flashed in Xiong Er's eyes, and the Qi Refining Realm spiritual power within his body suddenly erupted.

"You won't listen to reason, so here you are! I'll loosen your bones for you today!"

Suddenly, Xiong Er raised his right foot, and earth-yellow spiritual energy gathered wildly on the sole of his foot. With immense force, he kicked hard at the defensive barrier of the courtyard!

boom! ! !

A deafening roar shattered the tranquility of the night sky.

Zhou Linzi's already weak courtyard barrier, under the violent blow of the Qi Refining Realm cultivator, was instantly covered with cracks like fragile glass, and then with a crash, it turned into countless fragments.

Undeterred, Xiong Er stomped through the courtyard gate, grinning maliciously as he approached Zhou Linzi: "Little wench, where do you think you're going to run today!"

"Ah!" Zhou Linzi exclaimed in surprise, her face turning pale, and she retreated in despair.

At this critical moment, a chilling shout rang out in the silent night: "How dare you! Breaking into a female disciple's residence in the dead of night, damaging sect property, and attempting murder—who gave you the audacity?!"

The sound was mixed with incredibly powerful thunderous spiritual energy, causing Xiong Er and the skinny disciple to experience severe ear pain and a surge of blood and qi within their bodies.

"Who?!"

Xiong Er was shocked and turned around abruptly.

Under the moonlight, a tall and straight figure slowly walked out of the bamboo forest.

He was dressed in a black robe, with a dark gold token hanging at his waist, representing his special status in the Enforcement Hall, which gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

His cold, stern face was devoid of any warmth, and his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's.

"Chu Chang?" Zhou Linzi recognized the person and a surge of overwhelming joy welled up in her heart amidst despair, causing her to exclaim in surprise.

"Chu Chang?" Xiong Er was taken aback at first, then looked at Chu Chang's young face and the glaring Law Enforcement Hall token at his waist, and felt a little uneasy.

But thinking of his Qi Refining Realm Level 1 cultivation and his background, he forced himself to calm down and roared, his voice trembling with fear, "Who do we have here? It's you! Chu Chang, I advise you to mind your own business! This is a debt dispute between me and this bastard. Even if you're from the Enforcement Hall, it's none of your business to interfere in personal grudges!"

Chu Chang walked closer, a cruel yet playful smile curving his lips.

"Personal grudges? This steward only saw you forcibly breaking into a private residence with malicious intent."

"Bullshit! She owes me 200 spirit stones..."

Before Xiong Er could finish speaking, Chu Chang had already lost his patience.

"You think you can talk to me about rules? You're not worthy!"

A cold glint flashed in Chu Chang's eyes. He stomped his foot and vanished from his spot in an instant, as if shrinking the distance between them.

So fast!

Xiong Er's pupils suddenly shrank to the size of pinpoints, and a strong sense of crisis instantly swept over his entire body.

He had no time to react defensively; all he felt was a blur before a terrifying gust of wind rushed towards him.

Snapped! ! !

A crisp, loud slap rang out, particularly jarring in the quiet night.

Chu Chang's slap contained immense force, and even faintly carried the sound of thunder.

Xiong Er's massive, bear-like body was struck head-on by a heavy hammer, sending him flying.

He spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with broken teeth in mid-air, spun around three and a half times, and then crashed into the grass more than ten meters away, creating a large crater in the ground.

"Second Brother!"

The skinny henchman was terrified; his legs trembled violently, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

With just one slap, Xiong Er, who was at the first level of the Qi Refining Realm, was sent flying.

What kind of monster is Chu Chang?

"Cough...cough cough..."

Xiong Er struggled to get up from the mud pit. Half of his face was completely swollen and deformed, looking like a pig's head.

He covered his face, his eyes filled with horror and resentment, staring intently at Chu Chang, and mumbled incoherently, "Chu...Chu Chang! How...how could you do this?"

Previously, he had only heard that Chu Chang had defeated Lin Yuan, the third disciple of the outer sect.

I never expected the opponent to be so strong!

Suddenly, he regretted it.

When going out today, you should check for auspicious signs.

Chu Chang's expression was indifferent. He dusted off his hands and walked step by step toward Xiong Er.

With each step he took, the terrifying pressure emanating from him grew stronger, making it almost impossible for Xiong Er and the other man to breathe.

"Sue me? Fine, go ahead and sue." Chu Chang looked down at Xiong Er, who was as limp as mud, and said coldly, "But before that, according to the sect rules, forcibly breaking into a female disciple's residence should result in the loss of cultivation, the breaking of both legs, and being thrown into an abyss. This steward can do that right now."

Upon hearing the words "abolish cultivation," Xiong Er trembled, and the resentment in his eyes was instantly replaced by endless fear.

He could tell that Chu Chang was definitely not joking.

This guy didn't even blink when he killed Lin Yuan on the life-or-death stage during the day. He's definitely a ruthless character!

"What...what exactly do you want?" Xiong Er was completely intimidated and asked in a trembling voice.

Chu Chang snorted coldly: "You just said Zhou Linzi owes you how many spirit stones?"

"Two...two hundred spirit stones..." Xiong Er shrank his neck and said weakly.

"It's just two hundred spirit stones."

Chu Chang's lips curled into a disdainful sneer.

He touched the storage ring on his hand, and with a flash of light, a heavy bag of spirit stones appeared out of thin air.

Whoosh!

Chu Chang casually tossed the bag of spirit stones, which landed precisely on Xiong Er's chest.

"Two hundred spirit stones, not a penny less. Take these spirit stones and your lackeys, and get out of my sight immediately," Chu Chang said coldly. "If I ever see you approach this building again, it won't just be your bones that are broken."

Anyway, he had already looted Lin Yuan and Zhang Kuang's storage bags on the life-or-death stage today. The total number of spirit stones inside was over a thousand. These two hundred spirit stones were just a drop in the ocean for him.

Xiong Er opened the bag with trembling hands, glanced at the crystal-clear spirit stones inside, and after confirming that the quantity was correct, he didn't dare to linger for even half a second longer.

"Go! Go quickly!"

He struggled to his feet and, with the help of his skinny follower, scrambled and stumbled away from the courtyard, terrified that Chu Chang would change his mind and slap him again.

As the two people completely disappeared into the night, the courtyard returned to silence.

Zhou Linzi stood in front of the door, looking at Chu Chang's tall and straight back, her beautiful eyes revealing an unprecedentedly complex expression.

Chu Chang slowly turned around, looked at Zhou Linzi who was somewhat stunned, and raised an eyebrow: "What, aren't you going to invite me in? It's windy outside, and our business hasn't even started yet."

Zhou Linzi's face suddenly flushed red, and she lowered her head shyly, saying softly, "Senior Brother Chu, you go first, come back later, otherwise someone might see us..."