"A slave."
Chu Yue gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, the veins on the back of his hand standing out prominently. As crown prince, second only to the emperor, when had anyone dared to humiliate him like this, time and time again?
The leader of the black-clothed assassins waved a hand, tossing a round, red thing into the temple.
Chu Yue looked down and met Grand Tutor Zhou's wide-open, unseeing eyes.
Grand Tutor Zhou was in the prime of his life. His entire family had been implicated in Chu Yue's crimes and he had suffered greatly in the past six months, working tirelessly for him. His hair had prematurely turned white, and his face was covered in mud, making it difficult to recognize him at first glance.
As a loyal servant who had devoted his entire life to Dongyue, he had not even been given a proper burial.
Chu Yue knelt on one knee and closed Grand Tutor Zhou's eyes. The words Grand Tutor Zhou had spoken echoed in his ears: "Your Highness, live on."
Turning back to meet Li Lanshou's amused gaze, Chu Yue's suppressed humiliation flashed across his face before he calmly said, "Fine."
Li Lanshou raised a hand, palm down, and beckoned as if summoning a dog. "Come to my side."
With his fists clenched inside his sleeves, Chu Yue walked slowly towards him.
The rain was falling harder and harder. Impatient, the leader of the black-clothed assassins outside stepped over the threshold. He saw the young man on the altar fanning himself, the bright candlelight illuminating the fan.
A clear light flashed.
With years of experience as an assassin, the leader had a gut feeling that this person was not to be trifled with. He shouted, "Retreat!"
Li Lanshou's fan snapped open faster than the eye could follow, the blades’ hiss like a volley of arrows. A clear light danced like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.
The heavy thud of bodies hitting the rain-soaked ground echoed rhythmically.
The courtyard, once full of men, was now empty, littered with bodies, each with a thin red line across their necks.
Chu Yue's pupils dilated as he stared in shock at the carnage.
Then, taking a deep breath, his gaze deepened as he casually wiped the rain and blood from his face. "I owe you one."
Despite witnessing the vast difference in power between mortals and cultivators, he remained calm, placing himself on equal footing without arrogance or subservience.
Li Lanshou admired this calmness and confidence. This young man had both spirit and courage.
Truly, he was the child of destiny.
Scanning Chu Yue, he lifted his chin and said, "Go wash up and come back."
Not long after, Chu Yue returned, clean from the rain, his clothes neat and tidy. His gaunt, cold face was pale, his lips were thin, and his features were sharp and handsome. Even in his fallen state, he still carried an air of royalty in his every move.
Li Lanshou stepped down from the lotus pedestal and sat leisurely on the altar. "Kneel before me."
Chu Yue stared at him for a few seconds before lifting his robe and slowly kneeling on one knee.
"Lower your head," Li Lanshou said, raising a hand. Spiritual energy coiled and gathered in his palm, forming a transparent talisman.
Chu Yue was wary. "What is that?"
Li Lanshou smiled knowingly. "It’s a slave mark."
It wasn't a pleasant word.
Chu Yue's expression tightened.
Li Lanshou explained leisurely, "A slave mark is a mark for slaves. With this mark, a slave cannot harm their master. If you try to kill me, you'll die before I do. If I want you dead, it's just a thought away."
A slave with a mark belongs to their master, body and soul.
They have no dignity and no sense of self. If the master wants them dead, they cannot live. They're no different from any other animal the master keeps.
Li Lanshou could have easily deceived Chu Yue into accepting the mark without telling him, but he chose to tell him. He enjoyed the process of humiliating the child of destiny.
Chu Yue suddenly regretted agreeing so easily, feeling deceived.
Li Lanshou's hand rested on the side of his neck, stroking it lightly. His lazy voice was laced with a hint of temptation. "Be good, don't make me think you want to go back on your word."
Chu Yue pursed his lips, suppressing his shame and anger. Li Lanshou's hand was cold, like a thin sheet of ice. His sleeve exposed a section of his snow-white wrist.
His wrist bones were delicate and exquisite, and the greenish veins beneath his skin were faint and fragile, as if they could be snapped with a gentle squeeze.
Chu Yue wanted nothing more than to break his wrist.
Li Lanshou channeled his spiritual energy into Chu Yue's neck. A slave mark could only be imposed by a cultivator with higher cultivation on one with lower cultivation. If the recipient's cultivation surpassed that of the caster, the mark would instantly become ineffective.
Otherwise, with such a heaven-defying spell, anyone could control the life and death of a stronger cultivator just by planting a slave mark. Wouldn't the cultivation world be thrown into chaos?
His cultivation was currently at the early stage of Golden Core, so they could enjoy their little game for a while before Chu Yue reached the Golden Core stage.
The talisman merged into Chu Yue's neck, transforming into a small, crimson seal bearing Li Lanshou's name.
Li Lanshou stroked the seal with his fingertip, a glint of amusement in his eyes. Being the master of the child of destiny—what a thrill!
Chu Yue lowered his eyes, enduring the humiliation. Being so close, Li Lanshou's fragrant scent was everywhere, creating a subtle, stifling sensation.
"What's your name?"
Li Lanshou pinched Chu Yue’s chin and lifted his face, asking a question he already knew the answer to.
Chu Yue pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, took a deep breath and spat out two words: "Chu Yue."
"I don't like that name," Li Lanshou scanned Chu Yue. The youth was dressed in black robes and his face was as dark as a stormy cloud. "From now on, I'll call you Xiao-Hei."
Chu Yue stared at him, calmly saying, "I have a name."
Li Lanshou pinched his taut cheeks, leaned down close to him and almost pressed his face against the other's. His expression was menacing. "What?"
Chu Yue stared back at him intently.
Li Lanshou felt the bite on his fingertips as Chu Yue clamped down on his cheek, as if trying to tear a piece of flesh from him.
He could guess what Chu Yue was thinking. How could a former crown prince, reduced to a slave, bear such humiliation? Only the weight of national hatred and family grievances could compel him to swallow his pride and endure.
Ah, how amusing!
Li Lanshou tapped his fingers slowly, intensifying the pain in Chu Yue's cheekbones. The pain intertwined with the humiliation within, and Chu Yue’s dark eyes hardened, refusing to yield.
The more Chu Yue resisted, the more intense Li Lanshou’s strange excitement became. He chuckled, his fingertips gently stroking Chu Yue's face, drawing them closer. He could feel Chu Yue's breathing quicken.
"From now on, you belong to me," Li Lanshou murmured, enunciating each word.
Chu Yue suppressed all his emotions, staring at the scar on Li Lanshou's neck that resembled a love bite, secretly calculating how much force it would take to snap his neck.
Li Lanshou was thoroughly enjoying himself. He stepped outside and flipped his fan, transforming the Sword-Dust Coldiron Fan into a massive flying artifact. He leaped onto the fan, and a spell protected him from the rain, keeping his clothes completely dry.
He sat on the fan, with no intention of leaving.
Chu Yue removed the black robes of the assassin, wrapped them around Grand Tutor Zhou’s head and ventured out into the rain. He didn’t return until dawn, after he had buried the Grand Tutor.
Li Lanshou beckoned to him. "Come up, we're going back to the sect."
Chu Yue leapt onto the fan, sat cross-legged behind him and closed his eyes to meditate.
The Coldiron Fan flew back to Wei City and entered the towering gates of Conundrum Sect. Boundless clouds surged, and a palace was faintly visible among the cliffs within the sea of clouds.
Several waterfalls cascaded from the heavens, like jade ribbons wrapped around the cliffs, with foamy spray splashing against the cliff walls. Bathed in the sun's halo, the scene was magnificent.
The Coldiron Fan pierced through the curtain of waterfalls like an arrow, and the air filled with mist. This was the "cleansing ceremony," washing away the grievances of the mortal world and marking the entrance into the immortal realm, severing ties with the mundane world.
After the cleansing rain, the outer sect hall was within reach. Li Yanbi's former friend was an elder there, and he had often come to drink with him when Violetstage Peak was still prosperous.
Being an outer sect elder was a lucrative position.
Every May, Conundrum Sect would open its doors, setting up recruitment points in Wei City below. After testing their spiritual roots and passing the heart-searching stage, disciples would come to the outer sect to learn basic cultivation knowledge.
Half a year later, the sect would hold an apprenticeship ceremony, and disciples who passed the assessment could enter the inner sect and choose a peak among the twelve where they would apprentice under a master.
Rules were rigid, but people were flexible.
Spiritual roots were the most important aspect of cultivation.
Disciples with heavenly spiritual roots would be sought after by peak masters at the recruitment points, and the peak masters would inevitably have to deal with the outer sect elders to secure their favored disciples. Naturally, the elders would receive benefits in return.
Li Yanbi was upright and proud, priding himself on his swordsmanship. He scorned such underhanded dealings, and Elder Bai, the outer sect elder who was a snob, had distanced himself from Li Yanbi.
Many years ago, a group of talented disciples from Violetstage Peak had died in a battle against the Demon Sect. Without an influx of outstanding new disciples, the peak had gradually declined and consistently ranked last in sect competitions.
The outer sect elder looked down on Li Yanbi even more.
Li Lanshou landed his fan and walked up the steps of the hall. The doors of the hall were wide open, revealing rows of treasure shelves filled with a dazzling array of valuables, and beautiful male and female servants scurried about.
Chu Yue followed behind him, his gaze fixed straight ahead.
Elder Bai was fast asleep in a girl's arms, and a handsome boy was massaging his legs. He looked utterly carefree.
Li Lanshou walked to the desk and smiled. "Elder Bai, long time no see!"
The boy was dumbfounded. Who dared to speak to an elder in such a manner? Elders were high-ranking officials.
Elder Bai opened his eyes abruptly. His expression stiffened when he saw the Nuo opera mask on Li Lanshou's face, but then he laughed heartily. "Nephew! What brings you here?"
These old foxes were always good at putting on a show.
Li Lanshou sat in the chair in front of him. "I've brought someone for you. He'll be an outer sect disciple from now on."
Elder Bai sized up Chu Yue. He noticed that the boy had no cultivation at all, but for a mere mortal to enter a sect and remain so calm and composed was quite rare.
"He's your..." Elder Bai hadn't heard of Li Lanshou having any friends. Li Lanshou's character was so poor that the disciples in the sect avoided him.
Li Lanshou didn't answer the question. He said indifferently, "I'm introducing him to the sect."
Chu Yue looked at him in surprise, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes before quickly returning to calm. He didn't believe Li Lanshou would be so kind.
Introducing someone to the sect was an unwritten rule of Conundrum Sect.
There were countless large and small cultivation sects scattered across the Nine Continents.
Although Conundrum Sect was one of the Four Great Sects, compared to Loftcloud Sword Sect, the number one sect in the world, and Streamcloud Sect, which was backed by a wealthy immortal cultivation family, it could only compete with the Jademaiden Sect, which only accepted female disciples.
People naturally gravitated toward the best. If a cultivator had a superior spiritual root and exceptional talent, their first choice would undoubtedly be Loftcloud Sect or Streamcloud Sect.
How could Conundrum Sect just sit back and watch others feast while they only got the scraps?
So the scheming peak masters each displayed their talents, sending their disciples to travel the Nine Continents, selecting disciples with excellent spiritual roots and young ages — these were the easiest to deceive.
They would introduce these disciples to the sect, and after studying in the outer sect, they would become disciples of the peak.
However, these disciples often had the highest-grade heavenly spiritual root, or at least dual spiritual roots. Elder Bai, stationed at the outer sect, had seen many geniuses and had developed a keen eye, able to discern a person's potential for cultivation simply by looking at them.
Although Chu Yue had a remarkable demeanor, he didn't seem to have the potential for cultivation.
Elder Bai smiled and said, "Nephew, I know you're worried about the sect's trials and the sect competition. Apart from Chuxuan, the others at your Violetstage Peak are really... But this isn't the way to go about it. Go back and tell your father to lower his head to me. Out of our old friendship, I'll give him a few disciples."
All the twelve peak masters except Li Yanbi had given gifts to Elder Bai — pills, cultivation techniques, beautiful women, magical treasures and more.
He accepted gifts and arranged things, connecting peak masters with their desired disciples. The annual apprenticeship ceremony was just a formality.
Li Yanbi, however, was stingy. Not only did he not give any gifts, but he also glared at Elder Bai and looked down on him.
The elder also looked down on Li Yanbi, considering him arrogant, upright and self-righteous.
Cultivation wasn’t just about fighting and killing; there was a lot of social maneuvering involved.
Li Yanbi had lived for hundreds of years and still didn’t understand this. No wonder he had a useless son and his old enemy was walking all over him.
Li Lanshou didn’t feel like arguing with him. He put away his smile and said, "I'm introducing him to the sect. Hurry up and give him a soul lamp."
Elder Bai's expression turned unpleasant. It was no use reasoning with a stubborn mule. He wanted to see just how much disgrace Violetstage Peak would bring to itself in the upcoming sect trials!
He ordered a disciple to fetch a soul lamp. The soul lamp was formed from a special flame and, when infused with a drop of blood, would be linked to the disciple's life. When the disciple died, the lamp would extinguish itself.
Once the lamp was lit, the applicant would officially join Conundrum Sect as an outer sect disciple.
Li Lanshou turned to Chu Yue and said coldly, "Reach the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage within a month, or else—there’s no need for you to be alive."
So that was it. Chu Yue nodded expressionlessly.
Li Lanshou hadn't used a voice transmission, so Elder Bai could hear him. He couldn't help but laugh inwardly. The recognized genius of Conundrum Sect's inner circle had taken three years to reach the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage. One month? What a joke!
Comments
Post a Comment