Since it was clear what Dong Fu wanted to do to him, Zeng Fei went into crisis management mode at once, his heart pounding in his head.

“Greetings, Brother Dong. Why have you come to find this little cultivator?”

Although Zeng Fei dearly wanted to sprint for his life, he didn’t solely out of the knowledge that Dong Fu would catch him in less than a dozen breaths. So his only tactic was to delay and pray there was an Elder nearby who noticed the commotion.

Thankfully, Dong Fu engaged with him and laughed in the face of his inane question.

“Was it not you who beat my actual brother like a dog? Did you really think that I, Dong Fu, would let you get away after spitting on my face like that?”

“He was the one who challenged me, so naturally I gave my best effort.”

As the original’s sparse memories of Dong Fu surfaced in Zeng Fei’s mind, Zeng Fei realised he would be best served to try and absolve as much personal responsibility as he could. “Although it was an intense fight, was it not better for him to experience this from a fellow sect member than an outsider where his life could be on the line?”

“Well said, Zeng Fei - I am marvelled by your sense of duty towards your juniors. And indeed, it shows in how you didn’t stop even after he was unquestionably beaten and continued thrashing him until you had him bloodied and in tears.” Dong Fu laughed again, a harsh note. “Though I’m sure you’ll claim this was done to ensure the lesson truly sunk in, no?”

Zeng Fei was caught blindsided by how on the mark this was - he had been intending to claim he’d simply wanted to teach Dong Ju a lesson but failed to control his power, i.e. taking limited responsibility but absolving himself of any intent to humiliate.

But now that Dong Fu had called out his reasoning with scathing sarcasm, it was obvious that such excuses were complete hogwash; irrespective of intent, allowing Pingu to continue the beatdown had been an oversight on Zeng Fei’s part, and therefore responsibility also lay with him.

Since it wouldn’t help bit to admit the truth that he’d simply been distracted, Zeng Fei decided to instead switch tracks in the hopes this would defuse the situation.

“L-listen, it honestly wasn’t as bad as it looked to the people watching. My minion’s technique produces surface-level cuts in the skin, truly shallow, hence the misleading amount of blood there. And your brother wasn’t taking a rough beating: he was immobilised by the shock of how unexpected the situation was, hence why it looked like a one-sided beating. If anything, this experience should teach him to never underestimate his opponents, and to keep his vigilance up in case of hidden cards.”

Zeng Fei knew his litany of excuses was a moonshot, hence was surprised to find Dong Fu nodding along.

“Yes, yes, you make a valid point. Although it’s been humiliating, this experience has been beneficial for Ju’s growth by snapping him out of his dumb delusions that he’s a heaven-sent hero in the making.”

Dong Fu bowed to show his gratitude before resuming. “And for the unreserved favour you showed him, is it not my place as the older brother to reward you in kind?”

When Zeng Fei tried to respond, Dong Fu placed his open hand forth, palm facing out, to stop any follow-ups. The glint in his eyes made it clear the time for talking was over.

Although fear was the main thing Zeng Fei felt, he also felt ashamed to have been out-argued by a brat who had not only acted contrary to his appearance as a brainless thug but who had also provided reasonable and valid points.

Even though Dong Fu had come to correct grievances from the start, he hadn’t jumped Zeng Fei out of nowhere or sent goons to do his dirty bidding, instead coming in person by himself and even giving Zeng Fei the opportunity, if brief, to explain himself.

Hell, his conduct would have been respectable if not for his intention to beat the ever-living shit out of Zeng Fei.

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Even now, he allowed Zeng Fei to prepare his defences. “Zeng Fei, all these years, you’ve been a craven creature scuttling around, so you can imagine my shock on hearing that you beat Ju. The rumours go that you shattered your cultivation to learn a bizarre art, which in turn made you more powerful than you were at the fifth layer.”

He paused and nodded. “Clearly it also gave you a backbone. Still, people who suddenly gain more confidence often overreach themselves soon after, forgetting that the sky still exists above them. So consider my reward to you now both as a repercussion and a lesson.”

Zeng Fei summoned Pingu with a shout, before making one last attempt to dissuade Dong Fu. “Dong Fu, even with the bad blood between us, do you not fear the Elders catching wind of this and punishing you?”

His assailant laughed at the threat, making no motion to stop his summon. “My guidance will be over before you know it, so there won’t be any opportunity for anyone else to interfere. If they want to punish me afterwards, so be it.”

Pulling his sleeves up, Dong Fu stretched his thick neck from side to side, viciously grinning again. “No need to worry though, Little Zeng, I’ll let you cling onto your life at least.”

“Get him, Pingu!”

Dong Fu remained motionless as the penguin chick waddled towards him, peering at it with curiosity.

“So this is the creature that beat my brother, hmm? Must be stronger than it looks, but it won’t matter. Do you happen to know what the biggest weakness is for cultivators who rely on demonic beasts?”

Dong Fu didn’t provide any time for an answer as he moved with stomach-reeling suddenness, dashing towards Pingu who initially startled but then steeled himself for a clash.

As the human dashed into proximity, Pingu used Serpentine Slap, his wings snapping forwards with unseen speed…

…and slashing through empty air.

Dong Fu had frontflipped over the penguin, reaching Zeng Fei within two beats of landing.

Relishing Zeng Fei’s look of horror, Dong Fu delivered a powerful punch to the chest that sent him flying off his feet.

Landing in a tumble of limbs, Zeng Fei groaned in agony, desperately trying to catch his breath.

Bleary-eyed by tears, he tried to roll over onto his side so that he could get back to his feet.

A shadow came over his face then, which he belatedly realised was Dong Fu squatting over him. He shuddered in terror and clawed a handful of dirt up, trying to chuck it into his assailant’s face.

But Dong Fu reacted before he could, and the arm limply dropped back down.

The noise of flesh being smacked sounded out as Dong Fu slapped his face repeatedly, alternating from side to side in imitation of what Pingu had done to Dong Ju.

These strikes caused Zeng Fei’s head to violently jerk one way and another, threatening whiplash, meanwhile the callouses on Dong Fu’s hands tore through the skin over the cheeks; soon the only sound was of wet, raw meat being pummelled, Zeng Fei not even given the opportunity to cry out before the next hit followed.

Since his focus was completely broken, the channel of qi supporting Pingu collapsed and the penguin returned to his dantian, wailing despondently.

With his consciousness reduced to the sole dimension of pain, Zeng Fei had no clue how long had passed when a resonant, qi-enhanced voice pierced through the thickets of agony.

“Dong Fu, you cowardly scoundrel! How dare you bully a junior who just joined the sect?”

Zeng Fei did not recognise the voice, nor could he see its owner with his vision blinded by his blood. But it had to be someone of repute seeing as it brought an abrupt close to the beatdown.

Dong Fu’s voice followed, directed at him.

“Know that this is not over between us, Zeng Fei. I’ll deliver the remainder of my gratitude next time I come across you, that I promise you.”

With this said, Dong Fu presumably made a quick getaway before Zeng Fei’s saviour arrived.

Barely holding onto his consciousness, Zeng Fei blinked rapidly and his tears cleared some of the blood over his eyes until he was vaguely able to make out a girl approaching him but nothing more.

“How dare that wretch act in such a disgusting manner towards his juniors? Don’t worry, Junior Brother, I will make sure the Elders hear of his disgraceful conduct.”

She briefly checked Zeng Fei’s condition, then, sighing with relief, picked him up and placed him in a fireman’s carry. “There’s nothing critically damaged, but I’ll bring you to the Medicinal Hall at once.”

Zeng Fei didn’t immediately lose consciousness on the way over - the original’s persistent hard work and extraordinary willpower had resulted in a powerful consciousness.

Because of this, he was able to observe from her shoulder that the beatdown had had far more onlookers than he’d anticipated.

He could also tell, even through the prevailing scent of blood, that she smelled nice.

These were the last thoughts he had, with no comprehension of their content, before finally losing consciousness