In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
Qin Chuan and his son were living peacefully in the Seven Martial Sect, with everything going smoothly, without the imagined conflicts arising.
Of course, Qin Chuan knew that, given his cheap son's trouble-making nature, it was only a matter of time before something happened.
The reason nothing had happened yet was likely due to his status as an elder, warding off most of the trouble.
After all, under normal circumstances, the initial conflicts for protagonists arise from lacking background, being provoked and ridiculed by minor villains.
Then comes the face-slapping counterattack, escalating the conflict.
But now, with a cheap son having a father who's an elder, those minor villains naturally have no chance to shine.
However…
A protagonist is inherently a magnet for hatred. Nothing happening now doesn't mean the cheap son has good relationships within the sect.
Maybe many already hate the cheap son, but they're just not angry enough to explode yet.
So why not have the cheap son proactively provoke the strong?
For example, insult an elder to their face, provoke the Sect Leader, throw stones at the Supreme Elder, or untie his pants to water the Ancestral Master's statue...
Because that won't work!
First, the cheap son has his own standards of judgment and wouldn't do such blatantly unreasonable things. Forcing him to do so might even lower his image in his son's eyes.
Second, if the son proactively makes trouble, he has no ground to stand on, and after inciting public wrath, the sect's old monsters will suppress him!
The system won't be much help either.
If they target the son, he'll grow stronger, but what if they just directly judge him without targeting?
As the saying goes, a father is responsible for his uneducated child.
It's like if your child stole the next-door Uncle Wang's fruit, and he directly hit your kid, you could say, "He's just a child," then power up in anger against Uncle Wang.
But the problem is…
Uncle Wang is unlikely to hit your kid; instead, he'll catch them red-handed and bring them to you, demanding compensation.
What will you do then?
Can you still counter him?
Of course not, because you're in the wrong!
Imagine that scene.
Qin Zi being brought before him by several elders, then the Transcendent Supreme Elder questioning him, "Why did you instigate your son to do such unreasonable things?"
How should he respond?
If he denies it, claiming his son acted alone and it had nothing to do with him, his image in his son's mind would completely collapse.
But if he exudes the spirit of an invincible strongman and arrogantly says "I, Qin Mou, do as I please, why should I explain to you?" he'd probably get his guts beaten out right there, and that would be even worse!
In conclusion.
Even if trouble arises, he cannot actively make trouble, cannot do it too ugly. Instead, it should follow the principle of passive trouble.
Whether it's entrapment or deliberate provocation, the villain must be the one to provoke and strike first!
Only this way can he stand undefeated on the moral high ground, not left speechless by accusations.
There actually aren't many logical reasons in this world, but most people like to "reason."
The key is… to talk.
The facts don't matter much; as long as your rebuttal is full of reason and confidence, then you have reason!
"Elder Qin, something bad has happened, Qin Zi made trouble!"
At this moment, an anxious voice rang out. Qin Chuan turned to look and saw a burly young man panting heavily.
Qin Chuan remembered that this was a new friend Qin Zi made in the sect, the grandson of an elder named Niu Mang.
"What's the matter?"
Qin Chuan asked calmly.
"Elder Qin, Qin Zi… he broke a few of Elder Wu's grandson, Wu Xiu's, ribs, and it seems… his Dantian might be ruined!"
Niu Mang said in a flustered manner.
"Why did they fight?"
Qin Chuan remained as steady as an old dog.
"It seems Wu Xiu's followers wanted to pick on a pair of siblings who just joined the sect, and Qin Zi taught them a lesson."
"After hearing about it, Wu Xiu came to demand an explanation from Qin Zi, seemingly wanting Qin Zi to apologize, and then Qin Zi angrily scolded Wu Xiu for poor supervision, claiming the upper beam is crooked, so the lower beam is slanted... and then they fought."
Niu Mang said cautiously.
Upon hearing this, Qin Chuan nodded appreciatively. As expected of a protagonist, every time he causes trouble, he stands on the moral high ground!
That's just how protagonists are.
As long as his starting point is rooted in upholding justice, whatever he does later, he's game!
Ultimately wiping out your family, eliminating all traces, the spectators will still clap and cheer because… we're eradicating evil for the people.
But in reality, who knows how many people falsely use the banner of justice to act unreasonably and vent their violence.
Isn't cyberbullying exactly like this?
People with dark and repressed hearts have nowhere to vent themselves, so they'll seize any rumor online to attack someone mercilessly, ensuring they can never recover.
Eventually, due to something of unknown truth or falsehood, they might drive someone to suicide by jumping off a building and still feel righteous…
"Human nature is so ugly."
"I am also ugly."
Qin Chuan chuckled self-deprecatingly, then stood up and said, "Where are they? Take me there."
"Please follow me!"
Niu Mang turned and ran out.
...
At the mission plaza.
A large crowd was watching, yet no one dared to approach, standing around the plaza's edge, forming a large circle.
In the plaza center, there were two figures.
One was a handsome young man, curled up on the ground clutching his stomach, his face pale, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead, yet he gritted his teeth, refusing to cry out.
The other was Qin Zi standing a little distance away, looking a bit at a loss.
He hadn't expected that after half a month's hard cultivation, he'd grow so strong, and he'd used too much force unconsciously.
Facing a dilemma now.
He couldn't run, for running would not only make him seem cowardly but also like a guilty escapee, which was unacceptable.
Yet, waiting here like this was also agonizing, because the other person's guardian was coming soon.
After beating the person like this, once their elder arrived, how would he explain?
To be fair, his hit was really a bit heavy this time, so his conscience was a bit guilty.
When one is guilty, even when facing a frail old man, one might feel afraid.
"Xiu Er!"
At this time, an elderly voice rang out, and the surrounding crowd quickly parted to open up a path.
An old man in luxurious robes hurriedly walked over, knelt down, and cradled the young man's head on his knee.
"Grandpa..."
Wu Xiu released his tightly clenched teeth, his voice trembling, seemingly because speaking aggravated his fractured ribs, causing him to cry out in pain again.
"Quick, eat this third-grade bone mending elixir."
Elder Wu took out a milky-white elixir and unhesitatingly stuffed it into his grandson's mouth.
After swallowing the elixir, Wu Xiu's complexion suddenly turned red, his body convulsing violently like an epileptic fit.
"Pa! Pa! Pa!"
Intense and rapid sounds came from his chest, as if the broken ribs were quickly resetting.
After a while, he stopped convulsing, lying exhausted on the ground, panting heavily, his eyes somewhat hollow...
Elder Wu let out a sigh of relief at this sight.
In any case, at least his life was saved!
Then, he laid his grandson flat on the ground, turned to look at Qin Zi, and slowly stood up.
His slightly wrinkled face gradually darkened as he coldly asked, "How do you explain this?"
Woosh!
Under this gaze, Qin Zi's body instantly tensed, as if each pore was pricked by needles.
"I... I didn't mean to."
Qin Zi weakly said.
Even though his father was an invincible strongman, he still lacked confidence, after all… he had destroyed the man's Dantian!
"Ruined his Dantian, crippled his future, and all it takes is an apology?"
Elder Wu said coldly.
"Then... what do you want?"
Qin Zi asked stiffly, biting the bullet.
"Hmph, an eye for an eye!"
A fierce gleam shot from Elder Wu's eyes as he raised his withered right hand, pointing a finger at Qin Zi's abdomen!
Whish!
A cold gleam whistled forth, reaching the extreme of swiftness, that edge's power was simply indestructible.
If struck, the Dantian would surely be ruined!