Chapter 106: Qiao Feng

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly grew tense. The elders of the Beggar’s Sect drew their weapons and stood ready, while many ordinary disciples formed a formation known as the “Dog-Beating Formation.”

Among the others present, none were strangers to the Beggar’s Sect except Duan Yu, Wang Yuyan, and A Zhu.

The remaining six—Zhao, Qian, Sun, Master Tan and his wife, and the single-family father and son from the Five Heroes of Mount Tai—and Master Zhiguang from the monastery on the Celestial Terrace Mountain stood on the outskirts, ready to intervene at any moment.

Oddly enough, Qiao Feng, standing on the stage, became an outsider in this confrontation. The air was thick with lethal intent, yet no one dared to single him out, perhaps because he was already gravely wounded and at the center of the storm.

Whether out of fear of Qiao Feng’s desperate counterattack or lingering friendship, the truth mattered little—Qiao Feng felt a mix of gratitude and anxiety.

“Hold your hands, everyone! Brother Hua’s martial skills are no less than mine. If a fight breaks out now, even if Brother Hua remains unscathed, the fame of the Beggar’s Sect will vanish! Except for Shi Huolong, who did not come, most of the elders of our Beggar’s Sect will not survive. For the sake of our sect’s century-old legacy, I urge you all to reconsider.”

Qiao Feng’s words froze the deadly tension in the air. No one believed the young man in white could be compared to Qiao Feng.

But since it was Qiao Feng speaking, they had no choice but to believe him.

“Hmph, Qiao Feng, you are no longer the chief of the Beggar’s Sect. You’d do well to speak more cautiously from now on. The Beggar’s Sect is the Beggar’s Sect, and you are you. Do not confuse the two. As for us—if you continue to spout nonsense in the martial world, do not blame the brothers of the Beggar’s Sect for forgetting past friendships.”

Hearing Qiao Feng’s words, most present were ready to back down. Yet unexpectedly, Elder Xu, who was old enough to be near death, suddenly spoke, stirring the atmosphere once more.

Qiao Feng had not anticipated that his sincere concern for the Beggar’s Sect would be met not with friendship, but with an iron wall.

If this had been an outsider, given Qiao Feng’s temper, the speaker’s head would have already rolled. But the speaker was Elder Xu, whose tenure preceded even the former chief’s, so Qiao Feng had to restrain himself.

“Elder Xu is right. From now on, Qiao Feng and the Beggar’s Sect will have no further ties!” As he spoke, veins bulged on Qiao Feng’s neck, revealing his inner turmoil.

After saying this, Qiao Feng immediately added, “Brother Hua, let’s go!”

With that, Qiao Feng led the way, and the disciples of the Beggar’s Sect, who had already formed their formation, parted to clear a path.

Most of the ordinary disciples still did not understand the situation; their faces were full of confusion.

“Weren’t we here to avenge Deputy Chief Ma? Why is the grudge unresolved, and our own chief gone?”

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Seeing Qiao Feng leave, Hua Wuque had no choice but to abandon his plan to chastise the Beggar’s Sect.

But just as Qiao Feng and Hua Wuque had not yet left the site, a voice called out from behind.

“Wait!”

It was Elder Song of the Beggar’s Sect. One of the three wounds on Qiao Feng was his doing.

Upon hearing this, Qiao Feng and Hua Wuque stopped and turned to look back.

“Something about today’s events feels off to me. In my view, Chief Qiao does not seem like a Khitan, and the Khitans have nothing to do with him! Qiao Feng is a man of great benevolence and righteousness. Just moments ago, we wanted to kill him, yet he willingly took the blame and bled for us. Could a Khitan do that?”

Elder Song stopped Qiao Feng but said nothing directly to him. Instead, he faced the disciples of the Beggar’s Sect and spoke.

“Qiao Feng was raised by Shaolin monks and Chief Wang, and he truly embodies great benevolence and righteousness.”

Unexpectedly, Elder Xu, who had long opposed Qiao Feng, did not refute Elder Song’s words but offered an explanation instead.

“Since his nature has changed, what is wrong with him being the chief of the Beggar’s Sect? Tell me, who in our sect today can compare to Chief Qiao? Whatever conspiracy lies behind today’s events, if anyone else wants to be chief, I, Elder Song, will be the first to object!”

“Someone is plotting to frame Chief Qiao. We must not believe rumors lightly.” This was the voice of an elder moved by the argument.

“Indeed, these old grievances from decades ago—anyone can come now and spout nonsense. Who knows what’s true? The position of chief cannot be changed lightly.” Another elder voiced support for Qiao Feng.

Seizing the moment, Elder Song loudly declared beside Qiao Feng, “Those willing to follow Chief Qiao, please come stand with us.”

No sooner had he spoken than a wave of people surged forward. Moments later, the crowd fell silent, and looking around, it became clear that more than half of the Beggar’s Sect disciples stood beside Qiao Feng!

Qiao Feng’s expression remained calm, but a closer look at his clenched fists and the rise and fall of his chest revealed the turmoil within.

“No! The Beggar’s Sect is the largest in the martial world—how can we let a Khitan be chief?”

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Seeing the scene unfold, Elder Xu’s face grew anxious, yet he stubbornly insisted on expelling Qiao Feng from the sect.

“Hmph? You say Chief Qiao is Khitan, so what?” The elders on both sides argued fiercely.

Though the clearing in the forest was large, the Beggar’s Sect disciples were numerous. Supporters and opponents of Qiao Feng were clearly divided but stood close to one another.

Among the supporters was a disciple named Zhang Quan, standing at the forefront. Since joining the sect, he had followed Qiao Feng closely and had benefited greatly from Qiao Feng’s straightforward and chivalrous nature.

Though dull-witted, Zhang Quan still did not fully understand the chaotic scene or its cause, but the elders had already laid out the core issue.

The opposing faction wanted to depose Qiao Feng and expel the leader who treated the sect’s lower disciples as brothers. How could Zhang Quan agree to that?

Despite his simplicity, he knew well that none in the Beggar’s Sect could be a better chief than Qiao Feng.

The more he thought, the angrier he became. At the peak of his fury, his eyes blazing red, Zhang Quan raised his wooden stick and struck the head of the disciple standing opposite him.

Everyone present was a martial artist; none would tolerate being struck without retaliation. The disciple hit instinctively fought back.

This back-and-forth instantly ignited the tense atmosphere, and the lower disciples of both sides clashed fiercely, plunging the scene into chaos!

Seeing this, the elders of the Beggar’s Sect shouted harshly, “What are you doing? Stop! Stop immediately!”

Yet the elders, who once spoke with the weight of gold, found none of the disciples heeding their orders.

In this moment, Qiao Feng stepped forward and shouted, “Brothers of the Beggar’s Sect, stop fighting!”

Whether the elders felt embarrassed or not, at Qiao Feng’s command, the chaos ceased as if a pause button had been pressed—no disciple dared to act rashly.

“Brothers, hear me out.”