Chapter 922: Instant Change of Face

"By the way, there's also him," Yi Feng pointed at Feng Lingbei and said, "This kid is also talented. He should be given important responsibilities."

Xu Zhu frowned, glancing at Feng Lingbei with disdain. He hadn’t expected Feng Lingbei to earn Yi Feng's approval. However, he didn’t show his true feelings and calmly agreed, "Don’t worry, Senior. Lingbei is already one of my outstanding disciples. Even without your recommendation, he would naturally be given important roles."

These words brought tears to Feng Lingbei's eyes. Thanks to Yi Feng's influence, even Xu Zhu had acknowledged him.

"Thank you, Senior," Feng Lingbei knelt down and expressed his gratitude.

"Get up," Yi Feng helped Feng Lingbei to his feet and straightened his robe. He had no desire to stay any longer on Fengyue Island, a place that now only brought him sorrow.

"From here on out, you can handle things on your own. I won’t be staying," Yi Feng said indifferently.

Xu Zhu's eyes flickered, but he quickly composed himself and said, "Senior, why are you leaving so soon? I haven’t even had the chance to show you around Fengyue Island."

"I’m not in the mood," Yi Feng waved his hand, bid a brief farewell to the Feng siblings, and left the island.

Xu Zhu and the other high-ranking members of Fengyue Island escorted Yi Feng to the shore, watching him leave until he disappeared from sight.

Once Yi Feng was gone, Feng Qianyue turned to Xu Zhu and bowed, "Master."

However, to everyone's surprise, Xu Zhu's expression instantly changed.

"Guards, seize Feng Qianyue!" he ordered.

As soon as his voice fell, two elders behind him rushed forward and subdued Feng Qianyue. She was no match for the two elders and was quickly restrained, her cultivation sealed.

"Master, what are you doing?" Feng Qianyue's face turned pale as she looked up at Xu Zhu in shock.

"You dare call me Master? You’ve overstepped your bounds, conspired to seize power, and used underhanded tactics to harm your fellow disciples. You are no longer worthy of being my disciple," Xu Zhu coldly rebuked.

"You... how could you..." Feng Qianyue was utterly disbelieving. The man before her now felt like a stranger, cold and unfeeling.

She had always known that Xu Zhu favored Bai Ji, but she never imagined it would go this far. The moment Yi Feng left, Xu Zhu had immediately turned on her, not even waiting a moment longer...

It was laughable how she had once regarded Xu Zhu as a father figure.

Overwhelmed by anger, she spat out a mouthful of blood.

"You old beast, how dare you treat my sister like this?" Feng Lingbei, who had been standing nearby, couldn’t care less about respecting his master. He roared in fury, drawing his sword to rescue Feng Qianyue.

"Useless trash," Xu Zhu didn’t even glance at Feng Lingbei. With a wave of his hand, a devastating force struck Feng Lingbei.

"Ugh!" Feng Lingbei was sent flying, blood spraying from his mouth as he plummeted into the dark sea.

"Lingbei!" Feng Qianyue's face turned deathly pale, her eyes bloodshot. She broke free from the two elders and desperately rushed toward the sea.

"You dare run?" Xu Zhu sneered.

"Bang!"

Xu Zhu's heavy foot slammed into Feng Qianyue's back, sending her crashing to the ground. She coughed up blood, her body wracked with pain.

But the image of Feng Lingbei falling into the sea burned in her mind. Despite her severe injuries, she struggled to her feet, trembling, and tried to crawl toward the sea to save her brother.

Xu Zhu's attack had been merciless. Without immediate help, Feng Lingbei would surely die. And the dark sea was teeming with monstrous creatures.

Just as she managed to rise, Xu Zhu's black boot came down on her back, pinning her to the ground.

"Ah!"

"Ah..."

Feng Qianyue, her hair disheveled, desperately tried to push herself up, but the weight on her back was unbearable. She could only watch helplessly in the direction where Feng Lingbei had fallen, her heart breaking.

No matter what her brother was like, he had always unconditionally supported and loved her.

She knew that Feng Lingbei's talent was no less than hers. He had secretly given her his cultivation resources since they were children.

He was more like an older brother who doted on her.

And after their father's death, he had become her only remaining family in the world.

"Master, I was wrong. I admit to all my crimes. I don’t want the position of island lord anymore. I beg you, please save my brother. Please save him!" Feng Qianyue, pinned to the ground, dug her fingers into the dirt, her bloodshot eyes streaming with tears as she pleaded with Xu Zhu.

"Hmph, you treacherous, scheming woman. Don’t think your sweet words will fool anyone. This time, you won’t be able to turn things around," Xu Zhu said coldly, completely ignoring her pleas. With a wave of his hand, he lifted Feng Qianyue into the air.

"Out of respect for our past master-disciple relationship, I’ll spare your life."

"But while death may be avoided, punishment cannot."

He coldly approached Feng Qianyue, his palm glowing with power.

With a single strike, he hit her lower abdomen.

"Ah!"

Feng Qianyue let out a blood-curdling scream. The blow not only shattered her dantian but also severely damaged her internal organs. Blood mixed with fragments of her organs spilled from her mouth.

She could no longer hold on. Her eyes, fixed on the direction where Feng Lingbei had fallen, gradually grew dim. Finally, she collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness.

"Drag her away and imprison her in the Kuya Cave. Use Soul-Nailing Spikes to confine her," Xu Zhu ordered coldly, waving his hand.

Two men dragged Feng Qianyue's broken body away, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground.

"Tsk tsk, how tragic. This woman dared to compete with your own son for the position of island lord. She brought this upon herself," Bai Ji, his face bruised and swollen, walked over and sneered.

"How are your injuries?" Xu Zhu asked.

"Still a bit painful," Bai Ji touched his face, his expression twisted with malice. "It’s a pity that only this woman suffered. The real culprit who hit me got away."

"Don’t think about revenge. Instead, think about how to explain this if he ever returns," Xu Zhu said coldly.

"With your wisdom, Father, I’m sure you’ve already prepared for that," Bai Ji said with a sly smile.

"Indeed," Xu Zhu nodded. "This man’s relationship with Feng Qianyue was never that deep, and he has no real attachment to Fengyue Island. It’s unlikely he’ll return. But even if he does, we can easily explain it away by saying Feng Qianyue died on her own."

"Father is right," Bai Ji sneered. "But Father, if that Yi Feng doesn’t return, won’t Fengyue Island lose its powerful backer?"

"Hmph, whether he returns or not doesn’t matter. We only need to borrow his name," Xu Zhu said.

"True," Bai Ji nodded in agreement. Then, as if remembering something, he asked, "What about those stubborn neutral factions?"

"Eliminate them all," Xu Zhu said coldly. "I didn’t want to resort to such measures initially, hoping to keep them around to ensure your legitimate rise to power. But with Yi Feng’s unexpected interference, we have no choice but to use force."

"Father, you should have done this long ago. All that pretense of fairness between me and Feng Qianyue was just a waste of time," Bai Ji said.

"Hmph, shut up. If it were truly based on ability, Feng Qianyue would have outshone you by far," Xu Zhu snorted.

Bai Ji smirked, unbothered. He stretched lazily and said, "Well, it’s good that I’m your real son. Anyway, since I can’t take my anger out on Yi Feng, I’ll have to vent it on Feng Qianyue. I’ll make sure she suffers..."

With that, Bai Ji headed straight for the Kuya Cave.