The Western Province.
Inside the Fuxian Sect, the premier sect of the Fourth-Grade Cultivation Kingdom, the Shenji Kingdom.
“Hey, why didn’t that freak show up? Don’t tell me he was kicked out of the Fuxian Sect?”
“Tch, it would be for the best if he were. He’s just some guy who joined halfway; how could he compare to the Eldest Senior Brother? He’s just an unidentified disciple who looks cold and antisocial. You can tell he’s up to no good just by looking at him.”
“Shh, stop talking. He’s coming.”
On a mountain training field, several inner disciples caught sight of a cold-faced youth dressed in black walking toward them from the distance, and their expressions shifted instantly.
There was disdain, curiosity, and contempt.
The youthful version of Xie Tinglan remained expressionless, walking straight past the four disciples toward the peaks where spiritual energy gathered, intending to choose a cave dwelling for cultivation.
Seeing him ignore them entirely, the disciples felt their irritation grow. It had been nearly three months since he arrived at the Fuxian Sect, yet he hadn’t spoken a single word to anyone. He carried a sour, freezing expression every day, and despite appearing out of nowhere, he enjoyed treatment that even the established inner disciples couldn’t match.
Since many disciples had never seen him fight, their contempt and resentment had been festering for a long time.
The disciples from before exchanged glances and stepped forward to engage him.
“Hey, what’s your name? Let’s spar a bit.”
While they claimed it was a spar, they were already forming hand seals to build up power. Four sneak attacks shot toward Xie Tinglan simultaneously.
Xie Tinglan’s indifferent dark pupils didn’t even twitch. He continued walking forward. When the four attacks were only a meter away from him…
He stopped in his tracks, his posture standing straight and unmoving. His narrow, cold eyes squinted slightly as the spiritual energy around him instantly surged into a vortex, which transformed into four sharp blades that slashed toward the quartet in an instant.
“Oh no!”
“Ah!”
The four had no time to dodge. They were forced to meet the spiritual energy attacks head-on, but they couldn't last even three seconds before being sent flying. The blades formed from spiritual energy sliced right through their sect robes.
“Pfft!”
All four crashed to the ground almost simultaneously, coughing up blood as they stared in shock at the youth’s unmoving back.
All four of them were Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, yet he had severely wounded them without even making a move!
Just what was his cultivation level? He was clearly younger than them, looking only about seventeen years old.
Xie Tinglan didn’t stop there. He flicked his hand casually, and a powerful surge of energy slammed into the four of them, severing the arms they had used to attack him just moments ago.
Four severed arms fell to the ground, dripping with blood.
“AAAAHHH!!”
“Ah! My arm! My hand!”
The piercing screams drew many Fuxian Sect disciples who were cultivating in their cave dwellings across the mountain peak. Upon seeing the scene, their faces turned pale with fright, and a sense of dread toward Xie Tinglan took root in their hearts.
Xie Tinglan swept a frigid gaze over the hundreds of people present. His eyes finally landed on a tall, imposing figure standing far behind the crowd. This man’s sect robes were far more exquisite than the others, and unlike the terrified or wary expressions of the rest, his face was cold and displeased.
“I don’t spar. I either kill or maim.”
The youth’s back was straight, his gaze indifferent and fearless. His voice was intimidating and ruthless, ensuring that the hundreds of inner disciples present heard him clearly.
Especially when he said those words while staring directly at that man, the latter's expression grew gloomily dark, no matter how much he tried to control it.
News of this incident quickly reached the elders of the Fuxian Sect's Enforcement Hall.
They brought men to the cave dwelling, intending to arrest Xie Tinglan for punishment.
Xie Tinglan showed no fear. Upon hearing the summons, he slowly walked out of his cave and looked the Enforcement Hall elder in the eye with a cold face.
“I am not in the wrong. Furthermore, I do not fall under your jurisdiction. You are not worthy.”
The surrounding disciples whispered as they watched. The man who had been provoked by Xie Tinglan’s gaze earlier now stood at the front of the crowd.
“You dare say you’re not in the wrong? Fighting privately is a violation of the rules. Moreover, you were ruthless, severing their arms so that they can never be restored. I am an elder of the Fuxian Sect's Enforcement Hall; whether I am ‘worthy’ or not is not for you to decide. I will take you for punishment today!” The Enforcement Hall elder huffed coldly, seeing how defiant he was.
With a wave of his hand, four Late-Stage Golden Core cultivators stepped forward.
Xie Tinglan’s eyes turned cold as he began to clash with the four. He was also currently at the Late-Stage Golden Core realm, and even with the advantages of being an Ancient Soaring Serpent, he still fell into a disadvantage against the four of them.
The onlookers gasped. “He’s so young, yet he’s already at Late-Stage Golden Core!”
The Enforcement Hall elder’s eyes flashed with a moment of surprise, but he moved to strike personally in the next second.
He was at the Early-Stage Nascent Soul realm.
With just one move, while Xie Tinglan was pinned down by the four Golden Core cultivators, he took the blow head-on. His body was thrown backward so fast he became a blur.
“Boom!”
He slammed into the rock wall on one side of the cave entrance, carving out a massive crater half a meter deep. Rubble and dust filled the air, obscuring the view, but everyone knew Xie Tinglan wouldn’t have come out of that unscathed.
The surrounding disciples watched in horror, yet they couldn't help but mock him.
“He deserved it. Serving him right for being so ruthless and daring to defy the Enforcement Hall elder.”
“Even if he’s at the Golden Core realm, he still has to follow the rules of the Fuxian Sect.”
The man at the front curled his lips slightly, a hint of smugness hidden in his eyes.
Once the dust settled, Xie Tinglan tumbled out of the crater onto the ground. His black robes had turned a darker shade, soaked in blood. He slowly pushed himself up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
He looked at the murmuring crowd with a sneer, the ruthlessness and bloodlust in his eyes gradually surging. He never wanted to stay in this wretched place to begin with. Hadn't that dead old man dumped him here just to use these people to insult him and break his pride?
Xie Tinglan suddenly laughed. He looked up at his surroundings, his gaze finally landing on an empty spot high in the sky.
“Either you show yourself, or I start killing. We can all die together.”
“...What is he talking about?”
“I don’t know. There’s no one there.”
The Enforcement Hall elder narrowed his eyes. The surrounding people also looked toward that direction in confusion, but there was indeed no one there. After five seconds, there was still no movement.
Seeing this, Xie Tinglan looked at the gold ring on his hand that suppressed his aura and pulled it off. In the next instant—
“ROAR—”
He soared into the clouds as his body suddenly transformed into a ten-thousand-zhang Soaring Serpent. His crimson, blood-red vertical pupils were filled with malice, and his scales shimmered brilliantly under the sunlight. The massive serpent coiled in the air, the two sharp horns on its head standing tall, as if enjoying the freedom of being in its true form.
It flew wildly through the air before diving toward the Fuxian Sect’s Eldest Disciple, the one who had orchestrated the four disciples' provocation.
“ROAR!”
“Ah! Run! He’s actually a snake demon!”
“Ah!”
“You beast, how dare you!”
The crowd scattered in terror. The Enforcement Hall elder frowned and shouted deeply, building up his full spiritual energy to strike.
“Stop.”
Finally, a figure appeared in the spot Xie Tinglan had been looking at.
It was the dwarf old man who had previously given Wen Li sixty thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones to take Xie Tinglan as a disciple.
But even though he had appeared, Xie Tinglan didn’t show him any respect. He opened his mouth, and a torrent of flames instantly gushed toward the so-called Eldest Disciple of the Fuxian Sect.
Seeing him so stubborn, the dwarf old man’s face darkened. As his hands formed seals, a talisman appeared and instantly flew toward Xie Tinglan.
The talisman transformed into a transparent yellow Inscribed Tripod-Bell as large as a mountain peak, trapping the massive serpent inside. The dwarf old man tapped his finger lightly on the space before him.
“DONG—”
Ripples fluctuated through space, and the tripod-bell let out a thunderous toll in the next instant.
“ROAR—”
The giant serpent was instantly suppressed by the Buddhist artifact designed to subdue demonic energy. It fell to the ground, unable to move. Countless bursts of spiritual energy attacked its body every second. Xie Tinglan’s red vertical pupils glared viciously at the dwarf old man.
“Your pride is far too sharp; it is not conducive to your future cultivation. I shall help you temper your temperament today.”
The dwarf old man waved his hand, and the tripod-bell vibrated under his seal. The silent roar it emitted could only be heard by a demon like Xie Tinglan. The massive serpent’s body twisted and slammed against the bell in a frenzied manner as if suffering a fatal attack, and blood began to seep from between its scales.
“ROAR—” You dead old man! Just you wait until I get out!
Wen Li, when are you going to come get me?!
I hate this place!
If you don’t come soon, I’m going to hate you too.
Rate on N.U.
