Upon hearing this, Jiang Haoyang’s face lit up with a surprise he could barely contain. He quickly bowed deeply again, his voice thick with barely suppressed excitement, "Thank you, Senior Brother Yang! In that case... I’m afraid I’ll be troubling you a lot from now on!"

"It’s no trouble. And from now on, you don’t have to be so formal. I’m just your senior brother," Yang Jing said, then gestured for him to go practice on his own.

Jiang Haoyang nodded again and again. With one last "Thank you, Senior Brother," he left with a wide grin, his steps light and jaunty. He was obviously in a great mood.

Yang Jing smiled at his retreating back, then turned and walked toward the most spacious area in the center of the front courtyard.

Arriving at this spacious area, he once again sank into a horse stance. The form of his Mountain-Shattering Fist slowly unfolded, the flow of his Inner Strength becoming ever more fluid. The force behind his fists was heavy and focused, a stark contrast to the casual manner he had used when instructing Jiang Haoyang just moments before.

Just then, with a loud BANG, the half-open main gate of the Martial Arts Hall was violently thrown open. An outer disciple burst in with a grave expression, staggering so badly he nearly tripped over the threshold.

His face was a mask of alarm. Before he had even found his footing, he couldn’t stop himself from shouting, his voice cracking with urgency, "Something’s happened! Something terrible has happened!"

The shout instantly shattered the training atmosphere in the front courtyard. All the disciples stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him, their faces filled with astonishment.

Not far away, Xu Hong was coaching a junior brother. Seeing the disciple’s frantic state, he frowned, about to scold him for disturbing the peace.

But at those words, he swallowed his rebuke. A flicker of curiosity surfaced in his eyes as he stared at the disciple, wanting to know what on earth had occurred.

Everyone’s attention was now focused on the disciple who had just run in. Even Yang Jing slowly relaxed his stance and looked over, his gaze calm.

The disciple was panting heavily, his face ashen and grave. He composed himself and lowered his voice, though he couldn’t hide the horror in it as he said, "It’s... it’s Shen Lie! Shen Lie from the Po Mountain Martial Arts Hall! He’s dead!"

As soon as he spoke, a dead silence fell over the front courtyard, followed by an explosive buzz of discussion.

"What? Shen Lie is dead?"

"How is that possible? He’s an expert at the Peak of Dark Energy!"

The disciple added urgently, "It’s the absolute truth! I just came from Anxing Square. The neighbors said Shen Lie was murdered in his home last night!"

He swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "I heard... it was a gruesome death. His whole body was hacked to pieces, and the killer even... even slurped up his brains..."

He mumbled the last few words, but it was enough to send a chill down the spines of every disciple present.

Xu Hong’s brow furrowed deeply, his face a mask of disbelief. He shook his head. "Impossible! Shen Lie was a notch stronger than me. An ordinary Dark Energy Martial Artist would be no match for him. How could he have been killed so horribly? Unless... was it a Huajin Powerhouse who did it?"

Zhao Wenzheng also shook his head, clearly unconvinced.

Qi Yun remained silent, but her eyes were also filled with doubt.

Although Shen Lie had lost to Yang Jing in the training ground tournament, it didn’t mean he was weak—only that he was unlucky.

Shen Lie of the Po Mountain Martial Arts Hall was famous for his prowess among the younger generation in Yuhe County. How could he have died so easily?

But the disciple’s account grew more and more detailed, describing the location of Shen Lie’s home and the circumstances of the body’s discovery so vividly that it didn’t sound like he was making it up.

The expressions on the faces of Xu Hong and the others slowly changed, their initial skepticism giving way to grim seriousness. ’Did something really happen to Shen Lie?’

In the crowd, Yang Jing listened to the absurd description, and the corner of his mouth gave an almost imperceptible twitch.

’This is definitely a rumor.’

’I only shattered Shen Lie’s skull with a single punch. The scene was bloody, sure, but not so much that he was ’hacked to pieces.’ And as for ’slurping up his brains’... what kind of disgusting murderer would do something like that?’

Despite his internal thoughts, Yang Jing put on a perfectly timed expression of surprise. His brows furrowed slightly, his eyes showing just the right mix of confusion and shock, making him indistinguishable from the surrounding disciples.

Just then, two more disciples hurried in from the main gate of the Martial Arts Hall, their faces also showing alarm. The moment they entered, they started shouting, "Have you guys heard? Shen Lie from the Po Mountain Martial Arts Hall is dead! He was murdered in his home last night!"

"I heard it was a horrible death!"

Several people in a row brought the same news. Though the details varied, the core message was consistent: Shen Lie was well and truly dead.

The buzz of discussion in the front courtyard instantly grew several times louder.

All the disciples were stunned by the news.

Xu Hong took a deep breath, his expression grave. "It seems... it’s true."

"But—" Zhao Wenzheng still had a look of disbelief on his face. He opened his mouth, his voice a little dry. "I... I just saw Shen Lie yesterday."

At this, both Xu Hong and Qi Yun looked at him.

Zhao Wenzheng spoke slowly. "It was at the mouth of the alley where Chengping Square borders the Inner City. I had some business to attend to yesterday and was heading home early when I happened to run into him. He looked to be in good spirits. How... how could he be dead today?"

He shook his head, his tone filled with a trace of melancholy. "Life is truly unpredictable. If I had known this was going to happen today, I would have been more polite to him yesterday. We were acquaintances, after all."

He had been in a bad mood yesterday. When Shen Lie greeted him, he had barely acknowledged him.

But one should be respectful of the dead.

If he had known Shen Lie was going to die today, he would have stopped to chat for a moment, even if he was in a bad mood.

Xu Hong’s frown deepened. "When you saw him yesterday, was there anything unusual about him? For example, did he look panicked, or was he in a conflict with someone?"

Zhao Wenzheng thought back for a moment before shaking his head. "I didn’t notice anything unusual. He seemed perfectly normal."