Chapter 178 - 97: Coming to the Door

The moment Zhou Ling finished speaking, the main hall was plunged into silence.

Wang Kui’s brow furrowed slightly, a flicker of astonishment in his eyes.

He knew Shen Lie had lost to Yang Jing, but he never thought Shen Lie’s obsession with it ran so deep he would resort to such vicious means.

Zhao Hu and the other two disciples were also stunned, exchanging bewildered glances.

Qi Yuanfang frowned. "Senior Brother Shen has a volatile temper. He was probably drunk and not thinking clearly when he said that..."

Wang Kui raised a hand, signaling for Qi Yuanfang and the others to say no more. The hall fell quiet again, leaving only the sound of his slightly labored breathing.

His gaze returned to Zhou Ling. He asked in a low voice, "Besides the outcome of the arena trials, did Shen Lie and that Yang Jing have any other conflicts or hatred between them?"

Zhou Ling thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Reporting to Master, this disciple hasn’t heard of any. As far as I know, the two had almost no interaction before this. Their only encounter was the final match of the arena trials, where they fought for first place."

She paused, then added hesitantly, "Could it be that... because Yang Jing defeated Senior Brother Shen, it left a bad taste in his mouth? After all, the arena trials were incredibly important to Senior Brother Shen. It’s natural he couldn’t let go of the loss..."

Halfway through her sentence, Zhou Ling seemed to realize her words were improper. She lowered her head slightly, her voice growing softer.

’Doesn’t that imply Senior Brother Shen was narrow-minded and a sore loser?’

But besides that, she truly couldn’t think of any other reason why Shen Lie would target Yang Jing so intensely.

They had no old grudges or conflicts of interest. He couldn’t have wanted to cripple someone for no reason at all.

As he listened to her, Wang Kui’s brow furrowed even deeper. His fingertips tapped lightly on the armrest of his Grandmaster’s Chair.

He had considered Zhou Ling’s theory himself.

Wang Kui knew his disciple well.

Shen Lie had always been impetuous and extremely proud. He had prepared for this year’s arena trials for a long time, hoping to make the final rankings and hold his head high. But at the final moment, he lost to a dark horse like Yang Jing. He was undoubtedly seething with frustration.

Moreover, he had been injured by Yang Jing and had to recuperate for a whole month. That humiliation had likely festered into deep resentment.

Wanting to find an opportunity for revenge after he healed, just to vent his anger—given Shen Lie’s temperament, it was entirely possible he would do something like that.

But...

Wang Kui sighed inwardly but didn’t voice his thoughts.

The arena trials were a place for Martial Artists to spar. Life and death are up to fate, and fists have no eyes. A loss was a loss. Seeking personal revenge afterward was simply too petty. If word got out, it would only make people laugh and say that the disciples of Po Mountain Martial Arts Hall were sore losers.

Shen Lie was his disciple, after all. Now that he was gone, Wang Kui couldn’t bring himself to criticize his faults so bluntly in front of so many other disciples.

Just then, a rough, raspy voice broke the silence in the hall.

Zhao Hu spoke in a dull mumble, his face a picture of simple-minded confusion. "Then... could it be Yang Jing who killed Junior Brother Shen? After all, Junior Brother Shen said he was going to teach him a lesson. Maybe he found out and decided to strike first?"

The moment he spoke, the main hall became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

All eyes snapped toward Zhao Hu—Wang Kui’s were scrutinizing, Qi Yuanfang’s were filled with exasperation, and those of Sun Lei, Li Cheng, and Zhou Ling were full of disbelief.

Their gazes held an indescribable strangeness, as if they were looking at a clueless idiot.

Zhao Hu squirmed under their collective stare. He instinctively scratched the back of his head, ducked his neck, and added sheepishly, "Well... I was just spitballing. Don’t take it seriously..."

Wang Kui retracted his gaze and slowly shook his head, his tone firm. "Impossible. I was there for the match between Shen Lie and Yang Jing during the arena trials. Yang Jing’s victory was due to his agile Body Technique. He excels at guerrilla tactics, and he relied on that to wear down Shen Lie’s Inner Strength before finally winning by a single move."

"In terms of true combat strength, especially in a direct confrontation, he’s still a cut below Shen Lie."

Wang Kui paused, his tone hardening. "To kill Shen Lie so silently in his own home, with such a clean and decisive blow, is something far beyond the abilities of a kid like Yang Jing, who has only just entered the Dark Energy realm. He simply doesn’t have the strength."

At his words, the other disciples nodded in agreement.

Qi Yuanfang said softly, "Master is right. Although Yang Jing defeated Senior Brother Shen, it was largely by outsmarting him. In a true life-or-death struggle, he wouldn’t necessarily have the upper hand, let alone be able to kill Senior Brother Shen so easily."

Sun Lei added grimly, "Senior Brother Shen was at the Peak of Dark Energy, after all. Even if Yang Jing wanted to kill him, it would have caused a huge commotion. It’s impossible that not even the neighbors heard a thing."

As they chimed in one after another, it was clear that everyone found Zhao Hu’s theory utterly absurd.

They might suspect there was bad blood between Shen Lie and Yang Jing, but none of them had ever considered Yang Jing the killer.

The difference in their strength was obvious, and the motive didn’t hold water.

Besides, as Zhou Ling just said, Shen Lie had only mentioned teaching Yang Jing a lesson to his friends over drinks last night. Yang Jing was likely still completely in the dark about it. So how could he have struck first?

Hearing everyone’s reasoning, Zhao Hu realized how absurd his guess had been. He chuckled awkwardly and fell silent.

The atmosphere in the main hall eased slightly but remained heavy.

Who could Shen Lie’s murderer be?

Wang Kui’s fingers resumed their tapping on the tabletop, his gaze deep in thought as he clearly considered other possibilities.

His gaze slowly moved past the faces of his disciples, finally landing on Zhou Ling. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Zhou Ling, I need you to go to Sun’s Martial Arts Hall."