Cultivating for Immorality: I Evolved Martial Arts into the Immortal Path – Chapter 76

Chapter 76: Expelled from the Martial Arts Hall?

The Hall Master is here!

Hearing this voice, everyone was startled.

They didn’t expect to have actually alerted the Hall Master.

Now, it won’t be so easy for either side to back down.

The Hall Master must have come to deliver punishment. If there’s no punishment, wouldn’t the martial arts hall’s rules become a joke?

“Who will the Hall Master punish?”

“It must be Chu Liang. He hit so hard that Young Master Xu’s face is swollen!”

“Will he be expelled?”

“Hard to say. It depends on the Hall Master’s mood.”

The martial arts hall disciples whispered among themselves.

The cause of this matter seemed irrelevant now. Only the outcome mattered.

Chu Liang’s attack was excessive, exceeding the scope of a normal sparring match between disciples. The other disciples naturally assumed he would be punished.

As for Xu Hua…

A thought struck him, and he suddenly collapsed backward, his legs seemingly unable to support his body. He fell limply backward.

The surrounding disciples were shocked and quickly caught him.

“Young Master Xu, Young Master Xu, are you alright?”

“Can you hear me?”

“He must have internal injuries! Chu Liang is really ruthless. He doesn’t know how to control his strength. We’re all fellow disciples. How could he be so heartless?”

Liu Qiao shouted angrily, his face full of indignation.

The surrounding disciples echoed his sentiment.

They seemed to have a tacit understanding. Before the Hall Master arrived, they unified their stance, unanimously pointing the finger at Chu Liang, putting on a show of being both wronged and furious.

Chu Liang remained calm, seeing through their act at a glance and not bothering to engage.

Tie Niu, on the other hand, was fuming. His face was flushed, and he pointed at them, shouting, “You’re shameless! Xu Hua didn’t hold back either. If Big Brother Chu hadn’t blocked it, he would be the one lying on the ground now!”

“Nonsense! Junior Martial Brother Xu was mindful of our fellowship and showed restraint. He didn’t use excessive force at all!” Liu Qiao retorted loudly.

“Are you blind?” Tie Niu couldn’t help but curse.

“Tie Niu, you’re just an ordinary person who hasn’t even sensed Qi and Blood. How could you possibly judge the severity of an attack?” Liu Qiao shouted.

“I… you…”

Tie Niu glared, his chest heaving with anger. He had a lot to say, but he was cut off by the other party’s words, “ordinary person.”

His strength was indeed insufficient, and his perception was inferior to the other disciples who were already martial artists.

This was his weakness, and he couldn’t refute it.

Chu Liang turned his head and calmly said to him, “Calm down. Don’t get angry. Anger hurts the liver.”

“Okay, okay, Big Brother Chu. I lost control again…”

Tie Niu looked ashamed and lowered his head, feeling that his self-control was far inferior to Chu Liang’s.

A hint of smugness appeared on Liu Qiao’s face, but he quickly suppressed it.

The Hall Master was about to arrive.

Outside the courtyard, the martial arts hall apprentices made way.

The Hall Master of the Autumn Blade Martial Arts Hall, Li Ren, strode in, accompanied by the elderly Manager Wang.

“Hall Master!”

“Greetings, Hall Master!”

“Greetings, Hall Master!”

The disciples respectfully bowed.

They rarely had the opportunity to see the Hall Master in the martial arts hall.

He spent most of his time in a small courtyard at the back of the hall, tempering his Qi and Blood, quietly accumulating strength in preparation for breaking through to the Skin Tempering Realm.

Usually, Manager Wang handled almost everything.

If Manager Wang were handling this matter, it wouldn’t have escalated to a fight. He would have made both parties back down.

Even if they did fight, as long as the problem wasn’t too serious, Manager Wang would have just reprimanded both sides equally and made them reflect on their actions, without expelling anyone from the martial arts hall.

But now that the Hall Master had appeared, it meant that this matter wouldn’t be resolved so easily.

His gaze was calm, his steps steady as he entered the courtyard.

“Greetings, Hall Master.” Chu Liang bowed.

“Yes.”

Hall Master Li Ren stopped and looked at Chu Liang for a moment, as if sizing him up.

After a few breaths, he shifted his gaze to Xu Hua, Liu Qiao, and the others.

“Greetings, Hall Master!”

Liu Qiao and the others also bowed, respectfully awaiting the Hall Master’s decision.

They were all confident that the Hall Master would punish Chu Liang.

After all, this incident was caused by Chu Liang.

For a moment, the courtyard was silent.

Everyone was waiting.

About ten breaths later, Hall Master Li Ren finally spoke, “The martial arts hall has rules. If there are grudges, private fights are not allowed. Are you aware of this?”

“We are aware.”

Chu Liang, Xu Hua, and the others nodded in unison.

The disciples outside also answered, their voices loud and clear.

The rules of the martial arts hall were clearly written, and every disciple was informed of them on their first day.

If the grudge between two parties reached a point where a fight was necessary, the martial arts hall wouldn’t stop them. However, they would arrange arena for the fight and have several martial arts masters present to prevent excessive force and fatalities.

“Without permission or notification, you engaged in a private fight, disregarding the martial arts hall’s rules and treating life like grass!”

Hall Master Li Ren’s voice suddenly became stern.

The disciples’ hearts skipped a beat, knowing that the Hall Master was angry. They held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

Only Manager Wang remained calm. He already knew the outcome and was just here to go through the motions with the Hall Master.

“Chu Liang!” Li Ren shouted coldly.

“Disciple is here.” Chu Liang responded.

“This incident was caused by you. You used excessive force, causing injury to a fellow disciple. The impact is extremely bad. Do you have any objections?”

“No objections.”

Their conversation echoed throughout the courtyard.

The disciples pricked up their ears, focusing intently, fearing they might miss some details.

Hearing Li Ren’s stern and cold tone, they couldn’t help but guess that Chu Liang would likely be expelled.

Tie Niu was anxious and worried.

He wanted to say a few words for Chu Liang, but Chu Liang stopped him with a look.

Liu Qiao, Xu Hua, and the others were secretly delighted, but they couldn’t show it. They had to think of sad things to suppress the corners of their mouths from turning up.

“No objections?” Hall Master Li Ren’s voice sounded again.

“No objections.” Chu Liang nodded.

“Very well, Chu Liang, listen carefully!” Hall Master Li Ren’s voice was cold, “The consequences of this matter are severe, and the impact is great. I should expel you from the martial arts hall. However, considering your youth and impetuousness, and that this is your first offense, and that you were helping a friend, which is understandable, and not without reason, therefore… go back and reflect. Don’t let it happen again!”

“Yes!”

Chu Liang was relaxed and cupped his hands.

He wasn’t worried about the punishment. Even the worst outcome was just being expelled from the martial arts hall.

He came to the Autumn Blade Martial Arts Hall to learn the 《Autumn Blade》 technique. Now that he had mastered it, leaving wouldn’t be a big deal.

Moreover, Chu Liang was well aware that, given the talent he had displayed, the possibility of Hall Master Li Ren expelling him was very small.

Everything was within his expectations.

But this outcome was completely beyond the expectations of the other disciples.

They were stunned, unable to believe their ears, and even suspected they had misheard.

Reflect?

Don’t let it happen again?

Is this even a punishment?

This is no different from telling Chu Liang that he did nothing wrong and to go back and rest!

“Hall Master is really a good person!” Tie Niu was excited and secretly happy for Chu Liang. His previous worries and anxieties were instantly swept away.

But Liu Qiao, Xu Hua, and the others were not happy at all.

They had hoped to hear “expelled from the martial arts hall,” but all they heard was “don’t let it happen again.” The difference between the two was like heaven and earth!

“How could this be?”

Liu Qiao and Xu Hua exchanged glances, both confused and finding it unbelievable.

Was the Hall Master trying to smooth things over and reprimand both sides equally?

But if that were the case, there was no need for him to appear in person. He could have just let Manager Wang handle it.

Could there be other hidden reasons?

The two were full of doubts, racking their brains but unable to come up with any other explanation.

At this moment, Hall Master Li Ren’s voice sounded again, “Xu Hua!”

Xu Hua shivered and hurriedly replied, “Disciple is here!”

“Although this incident was caused by Chu Liang, you provoked it first. Do you have any objections?”

“Disciple has no objections.”

“Very well!”

Li Ren said sternly, “You harmed a fellow disciple, Tie Niu, with malicious intent, not knowing restraint. You allowed your family’s servant to vandalize his noodle shop, injure his parents, and cut off his livelihood. This is extremely vile and outrageous! How can the martial arts hall tolerate such a vicious character? From today onwards, you are no longer a disciple of this martial arts hall!”

“What?”

Xu Hua trembled, raising his head in disbelief.

He… he was expelled from the martial arts hall?

Again!

And this time it hasn’t even been two months!