Chapter Sixty-Six: Targeted

“The visitors do not come with friendly intentions,” Wang Lu thought as he watched the Seven Three Sect enter the hall, noticing the smile on Chen Shifeng’s face. “They’re likely here for Junior Brother Li,” he mused. “I wonder what trouble Li has gotten himself into this time.”

Oddly, Wang Lu felt a quiet sense of relief. For the Seven Three Sect to risk offending Hai Yuanyi and disrupt his wedding, it could only mean that Li Ju not only survived their previous attacks but also inflicted heavy losses upon them. This must have forced the Seven Three Sect to target Wang Lu, Li’s senior brother, in an attempt to unsettle Li Ju.

The worry Wang Lu had harbored for Li Ju eased slightly.

The Seven Three Sect walked straight across the hall to Chen Shifeng’s side, an act that drew raised eyebrows from the other martial guests present. Understanding dawned on them. No wonder Chen Shifeng dared to act out at the wedding of Hai Yuanyi’s daughter; he had the backing of the Seven Three Sect.

Yet, as clarity came, another question arose in their minds: Why would the Seven Three Sect direct Chen Shifeng to do such a thing? Stirring up trouble at Hai Yuanyi’s daughter’s wedding was tantamount to a public break with the leader of the righteous alliance—a first for the righteous sects, despite the long-standing rivalries everyone knew existed beneath the surface.

“I have a question for you, Young Master Wang Lu—is the infamous demonic Poison King Li Ju your junior brother?” Chen Shifeng demanded, emboldened by the Seven Three Sect’s presence.

His words caused an immediate uproar among those gathered. Though few knew of Li Ju’s battle with Tan Hai, his reputation resounded throughout the martial world. Matching one of the Four Demons of the Demon Sect, Zhuge Huang, in the sect's inner prison, and personally killing Yuan Hao, the Seven Three Sect’s vice-master, in the Pine Forest Sect—these feats made Li Ju’s name echo far and wide. Especially after Yuan Hao’s death, Li Ju’s fame had reached its zenith.

“No wonder the Seven Three Sect came to make trouble—the man who killed their vice-master Yuan Hao turns out to be Wang Lu’s junior brother!”

“If the Poison King Li Ju is Wang Lu’s junior, then he must hail from the Flying Sword Sect. Who would have thought that a sect wiped out by the Demon Sect could produce such a formidable figure!”

“After all, it was the greatest sect in Lingnan in its day. Though destroyed, its fortune still lingers.”

---

Du Tianyou and Lian Tao sat in the corner of the hall, listening to the murmurs around them, exchanging a complicated glance. Few knew of Li Ju’s origins in the Flying Sword Sect; neither of them had spread the word, so only a handful were aware.

“Li Ju didn’t attend Wang Lu’s wedding—he must have anticipated the Seven Three Sect’s arrival,” Du Tianyou whispered.

“He killed the sect master’s son, then the vice-master. It’s only natural for Li Ju to keep his distance; when the Seven Three Sect is truly enraged, no one can stop them,” Lian Tao replied.

“But it seems that even if Li Ju keeps away, the Seven Three Sect intends to vent their anger on Wang Lu,” Du Tianyou shook his head.

“I doubt they’ll go too far with Wang Lu, not with Hai Yuanyi here,” he continued.

“Let’s just wait and see,” both men sighed, recalling the scenes from the Demon Sect’s inner prison. Who could have foreseen events unfolding to this point?

“Master Chen, Li Ju is indeed my junior brother, but he is not a demonic villain. The alliance leader Hai Yuanyi himself recognized him as a member of the righteous sects,” Wang Lu said firmly to Chen Shifeng.

He glanced toward Hai Yuanyi, who nodded gently in return, easing Wang Lu’s worries. With Hai Yuanyi present, the Seven Three Sect would surely not dare to lay hands on him.

“Well, let’s set aside whether Li Ju is a villain or not,” Chen Shifeng insisted, using the term repeatedly, which made Wang Lu frown. Yet, seeing the Seven Three Sect at Chen’s side, Wang Lu refrained from arguing further.

“But the matter of Li Ju harming our elder Gao Bo and vice-master Yuan Hao must be addressed,” Chen Shifeng declared, standing at the center of the hall, feeling all eyes upon him—external, internal, even Hai Yuanyi himself. He relished this attention, a sensation he had never experienced as the master of a sect ranked only among the top twenty of the righteous path.

---

“The disputes between your sect and Li Ju should be resolved with Li Ju himself; do not disrupt the wedding of the bride and groom today,” an internal expert from Pine Emerald Mountain spoke up.

“The issue is, the villain Li Ju fears the might of our Seven Three Sect and dares not show himself, and with his sect, the Flying Sword Sect, destroyed by the Demon Sect, we have no choice but to seek an explanation from you, Wang Lu, his senior brother,” a member of the Seven Three Sect replied, his tone devoid of emotion.

“There has never been a tradition of senior brothers bearing the consequences for their juniors. This has nothing to do with Wang Lu,” another expert from Pine Emerald Mountain retorted.

“Wait,” Wang Lu suddenly interrupted.

He took a deep breath and stepped forward to face the Seven Three Sect.

“What kind of explanation does the Seven Three Sect seek?” Wang Lu asked in a steady voice.

“But, Young Master Wang Lu…” the Pine Emerald Mountain expert tried to object, but Wang Lu raised a hand to silence him.

Wang Lu had no obligation to bear this burden, as the Pine Emerald Mountain expert had said—no senior brother is required to bear the consequences for his junior. Even the Seven Three Sect could do nothing if he remained silent.

Yet he stepped forward, for two reasons: first, to do something for his junior brother Li; second…

Wang Lu cast a discreet glance at Hai Yuanyi.

Since Hai Yuanyi took charge of Pine Emerald Mountain, the sect had been locked in a struggle with the Seven Three Sect for control of the righteous path. Hai Yuanyi would never allow his own people to shrink from confrontation when the Seven Three Sect had come to provoke them openly.