"Saint Master Zhang, please take the seat of honor." Hong Tiancheng bowed slightly and gestured.
Zhang Fan nodded and, without being polite, directly sat in the highest position in the hall, where Hong Tiancheng used to sit.
After Zhang Fan was seated, Hong Tiancheng and Zhang Xing'an sat on either side. As for the many hall masters below, they could only stand respectfully, not daring to make a sound.
"I assume you can see this is my father, Zhang Xing'an." Zhang Fan rested his hands on the mahogany armrests, tilted his head slightly, and smiled at Hong Tiancheng, saying.
"Your esteemed father is so young, and his strength has already reached the level of an invincible Grandmaster. It should be easy for him to step into the Saint Realm. With the help of Saint Master Zhang, even the Divine Realm is not out of reach," Hong Tiancheng said with a chuckle, nodding at Zhang Xing'an.
Although Zhang Xing'an was over forty years old, among the many invincible Grandmasters in China, he was definitely the youngest.
After all, every invincible Grandmaster was an old monster who had cultivated for decades. Just like the former leader of the Green Gang, Siming, and the current Hong Tiancheng, they were already over sixty when their strength reached the level of an invincible Grandmaster.
Hearing Hong Tiancheng's words, the hall masters below looked at Zhang Xing'an, and a flicker of jealousy flashed deep in their eyes.
They did not believe that Saint Master Zhang's father had achieved his current strength through his own talent. If that were the case, his reputation would have long since spread throughout the martial arts world of China.
At the same time, they finally understood why the small Su family had produced two Innate Grandmasters without a sound, one of whom was even an invincible Grandmaster.
It turned out they were Zhang Fan's parents...
In all of China, perhaps only Saint Master Zhang had such means to easily cultivate Innate Grandmasters, or even invincible Grandmasters.
They were also extremely fortunate that Zhang Fan had not established his own sect. Otherwise, with Zhang Fan's abilities, the entire underground of China would probably no longer have distinctions between north and south.
As for Long Cheng, standing below, his legs had already gone soft.
He could still rely on the Hongmen behind him to resist an invincible Grandmaster. But if this invincible Grandmaster was Saint Master Zhang's father, then this matter had far exceeded his calculations.
Hearing Hong Tiancheng's compliment, Zhang Xing'an also smiled very politely and cupped his hands, saying, "Sect Master Hong overpraises me."
Zhang Xing'an understood very well that if it were not for his son's sake, even if he were an invincible Grandmaster, Hong Tiancheng, a Saint Realm expert, might not necessarily regard him with much importance.
Therefore, even though Hong Tiancheng's attitude was very polite, Zhang Xing'an did not put on any airs.
"I am speaking the truth," Hong Tiancheng said, shaking his head.
As a Saint Realm expert, he could clearly sense that Zhang Xing'an's strength was definitely stronger than that of ordinary invincible Grandmasters, and his foundation was deep, not at all like someone who had been forcibly improved by elixirs.
"Let's not engage in pleasantries. I am here today to deal with the matter of Long Cheng, so I have come to inform you," Zhang Fan said directly, looking at Long Cheng below.
"Long Cheng has offended Saint Master Zhang. It is naturally within Saint Master Zhang's right to deal with him."
"However, Long Cheng has violated our Hongmen's rules and has been punished with fifty lashes. Before handing him over to Saint Master Zhang, I hope you will allow him to receive our Hongmen's punishment."
"After the punishment, whether Long Cheng lives or dies will be entirely up to Saint Master Zhang's disposal." Hong Tiancheng glanced at the hall masters below and said slowly after some deliberation.
"Hongmen's rules? Whipping? That's rather interesting. Then execute it quickly. However, try not to beat him to death when you carry out the punishment. I still have a few questions to ask him," Zhang Fan said, waving his hand.
"Thank you, Saint Master Zhang." Hong Tiancheng cupped his hands and then beckoned slightly, saying, "Drag Long Cheng out and hand him over to the Law Enforcement Hall to carry out fifty lashes. Not a single whip less."
"This matter will be jointly supervised by you four hall masters. Whoever dares to beg for mercy will be considered guilty of the same crime."
"Fifty? Not ten lashes?" Hearing this number, the many hall masters looked at Hong Tiancheng in disbelief.
Fifty lashes?
If carried out strictly according to Hongmen's standards, even an ordinary Innate Grandmaster would find it difficult to endure. In the history of Hongmen, many disciples who had violated the rules, including an Innate Grandmaster, had been whipped to death. That Innate Grandmaster could not withstand more than thirty lashes.
At this moment, Long Cheng's heart sank. Receiving the whipping was within his expectations, and the sect master would at most give him twenty lashes. He was confident he could endure it.
But if it were fifty lashes, he had no confidence himself. He felt he might be whipped to death.
While Long Cheng's thoughts were in a daze, he was personally dragged out of the hall by the Hall Master of the Wind and Cloud Hall and handed over to the Law Enforcement Hall.
...
After Long Cheng was dragged out, Hong Tiancheng quickly ordered his subordinates to brew a pot of top-quality Longjing tea. Zhang Fan and the Hongmen ancestor tasted it and chatted. Zhang Fan had also been staying indoors for a long time and did not have as much detailed information about the martial arts world as Hong Tiancheng.
As for Zhang Xing'an, he could only listen quietly. After all, he had always stayed quietly at the Su family and had no contact with people from the martial arts world. Even if he wanted to join the conversation, he couldn't.
In less than ten minutes, before Zhang Fan had even changed his tea, the Long Cheng who had been dragged out earlier was dragged back in. However, compared to his previous appearance, Long Cheng now looked incomparably miserable.
There was not a single intact spot on his body. The parts covered by his clothes were not visible, but his exposed arms were covered in countless bloodstains, making him look like a bloodied person.
"It seems your Hongmen's whipping is not that great. Fifty lashes, and he still has the strength to breathe," Zhang Fan said, glancing at Long Cheng, his dark eyes unwavering.
"You make Saint Master Zhang laugh," Hong Tiancheng said, feeling a sense of unease at Zhang Fan's reaction.
As expected...
"Before you die, I want to ask you, who took your benefits to cause trouble for 'Hua Mao'?" Zhang Fan asked.
"You want to kill me?" Long Cheng raised his head with difficulty, staring at Zhang Fan with disbelief, his voice slightly hoarse.
"I was indeed planning to get rid of you. Does that surprise you?" Zhang Fan asked. Long Cheng's actions had touched his bottom line, so Zhang Fan naturally would not let him go.
Hong Tiancheng watched this scene, his lips moved, but in the end, he did not dare to speak words of intercession. He had helped Long Cheng this far, and if Zhang Fan still wanted to kill him, he was powerless.
The reason he had increased Long Cheng's punishment from ten lashes to fifty was to make Long Cheng appear more miserable now, so that Zhang Fan would feel that Long Cheng had received sufficient punishment...
Hong Tiancheng did not know that Zhang Fan had seen through all his little tricks. However, he was determined to kill Long Cheng, so he naturally let them do as they pleased.
...
ps: Owe 4 more updates... I feel like I'm courting death.