Upon hearing this, beads of sweat began to form on the purple - robed man's face.
He clenched his fists tightly. Knowing that the visitor meant no good, he was utterly helpless.
Rank could crush everything.
"Senior, have I, Lin Yang, ever offended you in any way?"
"No."
"Then why have you imprisoned me in this light cage, senior?"
The old man remained silent. Just when everyone thought the old man would spare Lin Yang, they noticed that the right knee of Lin Yang was slowly being twisted under a powerful force.
"Click—"
A crisp sound echoed through the forest.
True to his Lin family heritage, Lin Yang managed to endure the excruciating pain without uttering a single cry.
"Your endurance is quite remarkable."
"Lin Yang has no idea where he has offended you, senior. Please enlighten me."
Even after suffering so much humiliation, Lin Yang still refused to back down. This further demonstrated the nobility and rarity of alchemists in the Eastern Swamp Wilderness. If he were a high - ranked alchemist, even the elders of the four major families would probably show deference and invite him as a distinguished guest.
"Leave the Evening Primrose in your hand."
"Senior, if you desire it, just say so. Lin Yang will offer the spiritual herb willingly. Since we are both alchemists, there's no need to make our relationship so tense. Perhaps, we may meet again in the Lin family in the future."
"A mere outer - sect disciple and a first - rank alchemist dares to seek an acquaintance with me?"
"Senior!"
"Not only are you of mediocre aptitude and not a promising talent, even if you were an alchemist above the third rank, you still wouldn't catch my eye. Your character is truly a disgrace to the name of an alchemist."
At this moment, Lin Yang's spiritual power was being strongly suppressed. He couldn't resist, yet he couldn't figure out when he had offended this old man to make him deal such a heavy blow.
"Senior!"
"Hiss—"
The sound of tearing muscles came from the purple - robed man.
His right leg was brutally twisted and broken by an external force. Instantly, blood gushed out like a fountain.
In her previous life, Ye Ling was extremely vengeful. Now, as Zhao Shuning, this habit remained unchanged.
She always remembered how Zhao Zheng would stare blankly at her right leg every time. That expression was full of regret and pain. Although Zhao Zheng always showed such a demeanor when he was alone, away from his family.
But Zhao Shuning was observant. In this life, she had learned to read people's expressions. She knew how much psychological trauma the disability of his right leg had brought to Zhao Zheng. She couldn't forgive these people.
Moreover, the word "forgiveness" didn't exist in Zhao Shuning's mind.
For several outer - sect disciples to do such a cruel thing to a second - rank spiritual pharmacist was despicable in Zhao Shuning's eyes.
Lin Yang hugged his right leg and fell to the ground in agony.
All the members of the Zhao family were stunned.
Zhao Zheng had fantasized about killing Lin Yang with his own hands countless times. Previously, due to the huge gap in strength, he couldn't do it. He was also afraid that his rash actions would bring disaster to the Zhao family.
He never expected that such a day would come, when he would watch Lin Yang being punished so severely right in front of him.
"Senior, what on earth did I do to offend you? Even if I have to die, please let me die knowing the reason."
"As an outer - sect disciple, you ganged up to bully a second - rank spiritual pharmacist of the Zhao family, crippled all his cultivation, and broke his right leg. Did you do this?"
"Senior, many people were involved in that incident back then. Among those outer - sect disciples, I was just the most insignificant one. What I did back then was under someone's orders. Please spare my life, senior."
Were there other outer - sect disciples besides Lin Yang who had also done harm to Zhao Zheng?
How desperate must Zhao Zheng have been back then, all alone?
Yet, he had never told his family a single word about this pain.
"I see."
After saying this, the copper coin on Lin Yang's chest vanished without a trace. When it reached the mid - air, it suddenly shattered into powder.
That was the glory of an alchemist, and it was easily destroyed by the old man.
"I can spare you, but you're unworthy of being an alchemist. I'll take back your spiritual roots."
Before Lin Yang could even shout out the word "No", an intense pain shot through his mind. This pain far exceeded the pain of his broken leg.
In an instant, Lin Yang's face turned deathly pale. Finally, he collapsed on the ground, his eyes filled with despair.
"Senior, are you from the Zhao family?"
"I have nothing to do with the Zhao family. I just happened to pass by and couldn't stand your evil deeds."
Zhao Shuning's spiritual power was only at the level of a second - rank alchemist. She couldn't implicate the Zhao family. If the Lin family knew that she had treated one of their alchemists like this, the Zhao family might face the disaster of extermination.
Lin Yang gasped sharply.
Finally, unable to bear the physical and mental pain, he fainted.
At this moment, the mountain was extremely quiet. No one dared to speak.
It was a long time before Zhao Zheng stepped forward.
"I wonder what your name is, senior. You've saved our Zhao family today. In the future, our Zhao family will surely follow your lead."
"I don't have much to do with you. I just couldn't stand this young man disgracing the name of an alchemist."
Zhao Zheng turned around. Zhao Xue had already helped Zhao Chao back to his side.
Seeing that the old man didn't intend to show himself, the three of them knew that such a master surely didn't want to become a guest of the Zhao family.
Just as Zhao Shuning was about to leave, she saw a group of people in the distance kneel down straight in her direction.
"Thank you, senior, for saving the lives of our Zhao family members. Our Zhao family is just a small family in the town. We've never dared to try to get close to you. If you don't want to show yourself, we won't force you. Our Zhao family doesn't have many good things, and I'm sure they won't catch your eye. But in Qinghui Town, we are in charge of medicinal materials. If you need any spiritual herbs, please let the Zhao family know. The Zhao family will surely do their best to find them for you."
Zhao Zheng and the others looked extremely sincere, but Zhao Shuning felt extremely guilty.
Their kneeling to her was really overwhelming.
After saying that, Zhao Chao took the Evening Primrose that Lin Yang had previously held and placed it not far in front of them.
"Senior, this spiritual herb is yours."
"No need. You said it was a birthday gift for your little niece in the family. It's getting late. You should go back quickly."
After the old man's voice faded away, not long after, the suppression of the spiritual power on everyone also disappeared.
"Brother, who is this old man?"
"He should not be from the nearby cities. Perhaps, he really just passed by."
In a small place like theirs, they could never cultivate such an alchemist. Judging from the old man's level just now, he should be a second - rank alchemist. Although they didn't know who the old man was, the three brothers of the Zhao family all remembered this favor.