The Peerless Emperor (TPE)

"His legs were broken, and now he can only lie in bed," Ye Lin said, tears welling up in her eyes, her voice filled with guilt and remorse. "If it weren't for me, he wouldn't be in this situation."

As Ye Lin sobbed, Lin Qian gradually pieced together the story.

It turned out that his master, Wei Wushuang, and his uncle, Qin Wushuang, had a master—Gao Yuefei, the former sect master of the Wanxiang Sect. Gao Yuefei had been in seclusion, seeking a breakthrough, and had recently emerged, having succeeded.

Gao Yuefei's son and daughter-in-law had died in an accident while exploring a relic, but they had left behind a child—Gao Benli.

Gao Yuefei doted on his only grandson, and since Gao Benli had shown great talent, he had been sent away from Linhai Prefecture to cultivate. Nearly two years ago, during Lin Qian's third month in the ancient relic, Gao Benli had returned, bringing back dozens of people with him.

Among these dozens of people, the weakest was at the eighth stage of the Nirvana Realm, with six or more Nirvana cycles, and there were even four individuals at the Void Breaking Realm.

As for Gao Benli himself, he was also at the Void Breaking Realm, and he was only twenty-seven years old.

The Void Breaking Realm represented a high level of power in Linhai Prefecture. Compared to the Nirvana Realm, each level in the Void Breaking Realm was exponentially more powerful, and advancing in this realm was much harder.

Gao Benli, at twenty-seven, had already reached the fifth stage of the Void Breaking Realm. His return had shocked many in the sect.

With his impressive strength and the protection of the former sect master, Gao Benli became a dominant force in the sect, uncontested by anyone.

Even the strongest among the true disciples, those above the inner disciples, was only at the third stage of the Void Breaking Realm, no match for Gao Benli. As a result, most of the true disciples fell under his influence.

People like the brothers Shi Hang and Shi Fei were among those Gao Benli had brought back from outside Linhai Prefecture. Backed by his power, they bullied others with impunity. Their strength made many in the Wanxiang Sect seethe with anger but left them too fearful to act.

The reason Shi Hang and Shi Fei had been chasing Ye Lin was that they were infatuated with her beauty and wanted to possess her. Ye Lin, however, had always rejected their advances, which led the brothers to start harassing her physically.

During the past two years, Ye Lin had grown close to Bai Ren, and they had even planned to marry in Bashan City. Ye Lin was effectively Bai Ren's fiancée.

When Bai Ren saw his fiancée being harassed, he couldn't tolerate it. However, at only the third stage of the Nirvana Realm, he was no match for Shi Hang and Shi Fei, and he was brutally defeated.

Unfortunately, one of Gao Benli's sworn brothers, the fifth in their group, happened to pass by at that time. This brother declared that since Shi Hang and Shi Fei were their people, no mere inner disciple of the Wanxiang Sect had the right to retaliate against them.

As a result, this fifth brother cruelly broke Bai Ren's legs, leaving him a cripple.

"What about Ding Zhirong, Zhao Haiming, Li Letian, and Wang Lanxin?" Lin Qian's expression darkened as he asked about the four disciples who had once received his help.

These four had benefited from Lin Qian's aid and were more than capable of knowing about Bai Ren and his connection to Lin Qian. So why hadn't they intervened?

Hearing Lin Qian mention the four, Ye Lin sighed deeply. "They did stand up for us and tried to help, but they were imprisoned in the Discipline Cave. It's been a year now."

"Moreover, Sect Master Qin has been removed from his position and is now only the vice sect master. Gao Yuefei has taken back the role of sect master."

Lin Qian fell silent, deep in thought. After a while, he spoke to Ye Lin. "Let's go see Bai Ren's injuries. I believe I can heal him."

"Really, Lin Qian? You can?" Ye Lin asked, her eyes filled with hope and excitement.

Seeing her eager expression, Lin Qian nodded seriously. "Of course, I wouldn't joke about something like this. Lead the way."

"Okay!" Ye Lin nodded happily and got up to lead Lin Qian.

As they left, deep within the Wanxiang Sect, on a mountain peak where the spiritual energy was the densest, a luxurious mansion stood proudly. In the back courtyard, by a pond, a young man in a loose robe was lounging with a scantily clad, seductive woman in his arms, teasing each other.

This young man was none other than Gao Benli. Before him knelt the chubby and thin Shi Hang and Shi Fei, who were complaining about Lin Qian's actions.

"Boss, that Lin Qian clearly doesn't respect you at all," Shi Hang grumbled. "I mentioned your name, but he didn't care at all."

Gao Benli chewed on the sweet fruit the woman had fed him, spat the seed onto the ground, and sneered. "Just a minor character. Let Fifth Brother deal with him. Why bother reporting it to me?"

With that, Gao Benli pushed the seductive woman aside and walked over to the two brothers, kicking them both. "Useless fools. You've embarrassed me. Get out of my sight."

The brothers, now on the ground, quickly rolled away, not daring to linger.

"Lin Qian? Emperor?" Gao Benli scoffed, his face filled with mockery. "Just a frog at the bottom of a well, thinking he's something special. Typical small-town bumpkin."

Meanwhile, Lin Qian and Ye Lin had arrived at their residence, a small courtyard, and entered a bedroom on the first floor.

Inside, Lin Qian saw a pale figure sitting by the window, gazing outside.

The man in bed noticed the movement at the door, turned his head, and froze when he saw Lin Qian. His expression tightened, and his voice choked with emotion as he spoke, "Brother Lin..."

Lin Qian took a deep breath and quickly walked to the bedside, pulling back the blanket covering Bai Ren's lower body.

What met his eyes were two broken legs.

From the knees down, Bai Ren's pants were empty, leaving only his thighs to keep him sitting upright on the bed.

"Ah..." Lin Qian clenched his fists tightly, exhaling sharply as he tried to calm himself.

Because right now, he was filled with uncontrollable rage.

"How interesting... truly interesting," Lin Qian muttered with a fierce glint in his eyes, a chilling smile spreading across his face.