“Isn’t that the third young master of the Chu family from Hong City?”

“I heard this piece of trash was just dumped a few days ago. Who knows if it’s true.”

“Of course it’s true! What kind of figure is Fairy Yuehua? How could she possibly fancy this good-for-nothing?”

“Brother Chu, I heard the Proud Sword Immortal Sect once sent you a ‘Sword Immortal Token’. Back then you looked down on it and were arrogantly dismissive! So why are you lowering yourself now and coming over to throw yourself at them?”

In front of the Ascension Registration Point, a crowd had gathered to watch the spectacle.

The inner sect disciple responsible for registering and assessing information was currently looking at the young man before him with a mocking gaze.

He did not stop the ridicule and sneers from the others around him. On the contrary, he seemed to welcome it, as though he greatly enjoyed this kind of atmosphere.

After all, the one standing before him was a former peerless genius, once dazzling beyond compare.

“You are Chu Xiaolian? The third young master of the Chu family from Hong City?”

“Yes.”

“Heh heh, your esteemed name truly thunders in one’s ears! What brings you to the Proud Sword Immortal Sect today?”

“To take a master.”

“Oh ho, how could our sect possibly accommodate a great genius like Young Master Chu? Otherwise, that ‘Sword Immortal Token’ wouldn’t have been rejected back then!”

“My bone structure has already recovered.”

“Oh? And so what? Have you found the reason why you went into qi deviation and became unable to cultivate back then?”

“No, I… haven’t.”

“In that case, how can you guarantee that you won’t go into qi deviation again in the future?”

“I…”

“Go back. Immortal fate is something you must grasp when it falls into your hands. If you fail to hold onto it, then it was never yours.”

…Just a few short sentences, polite yet cutting, killing without spilling blood.

As soon as the deacon disciple finished speaking, the surrounding mockery grew even louder.

It was as if the more they belittled the young man before them, the higher their own status would rise.

Or perhaps they believed that Chu Xiaolian had offended the sect by rejecting the Proud Sword Immortal Sect’s recruitment back then.

Mocking this fellow was their way of taking sides.

The more viciously they trampled him today, the more secure their own standing in the Proud Sword Immortal Sect would be in the future.

When the wall collapses, everyone pushes it. This was an eternal truth!

‘Damnit! These people are going too far.’

Chu Xiaolian swore that he had never suffered such humiliation as today!

Born with a top-grade fire spiritual root, he had once been the most dazzling star of Taicang Prefecture.

Establishing his foundation at twelve, he looked down upon his peers.

Across the entire Taicang Prefecture, only a handful could suppress his limelight.

Even the legendary senior brother of the Proud Sword Immortal Sect only surpassed him in terms of background.

In terms of talent alone, Chu Xiaolian believed he was inferior to no one!

And it was precisely because of this that three years ago, when the Proud Sword Immortal Sect issued a ‘Sword Immortal Token’ to recruit Chu Xiaolian as an inner sect disciple, he rejected it outright.

In his view, he should at the very least enter directly as a true disciple of the Proud Sword Immortal Sect.

Otherwise, it would be nothing but demeaning himself!

The facts indeed supported this. With Chu Xiaolian’s top-grade fire spiritual root, he was fully worthy of the status of a true disciple.

After a brief discussion, the elders of the Proud Sword Immortal Sect decided to make an exception and elevate him.

However, that very year, an accident occurred.

For reasons unknown, Chu Xiaolian went into qi deviation, his Dao foundation collapsed, and his cultivation rapidly dissipated.

Within a few days, his cultivation regressed all the way back to the third layer of Qi Refining, and no matter how hard Chu Xiaolian tried, he was unable to recover it.

At first, the Proud Sword Immortal Sect dispatched powerful experts to Hong City to treat him.

Yet even Nascent Soul–stage venerables were unable to diagnose the exact cause of Chu Xiaolian’s qi deviation.

The only thing they could be certain of was that Chu Xiaolian was finished.

As a result, the true disciple position originally reserved for Chu Xiaolian was shelved and changed to a period of observation.

This shelving lasted three full years.

Three years was enough to erode far too many things. Even within the Chu Residence of Hong City, quite a few people secretly mocked Chu Xiaolian.

The Proud Sword Immortal Sect had long since forgotten him and no longer paid him any attention.

After all, in the cultivation world, fallen geniuses were simply too many.

Chu Xiaolian was absolutely not an exception!

“Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—never bully a poor youth! My bone structure has already recovered. When I roar proudly along the immortal path in the future, don’t you dare regret it!”

Chu Xiaolian glared angrily at the deacon disciple and spoke with resounding force.

The deacon disciple sneered, “Leaving aside whether your talent has truly recovered, so what if it has? My Proud Sword Immortal Sect stands lofty and prosperous. We’re not lacking one genius like you. Get lost!”

Chu Xiaolian trembled with rage.

The surrounding mockery grew louder and louder, and the sense of humiliation made him want to roar.

But in the end, he still endured it.

‘Only cowards rage helplessly. The strong prove themselves with facts. Proud Sword Immortal Sect! I will remember today’s humiliation! When I achieve success on the immortal path, I will surely come knocking on your door to wash away today’s disgrace!’

Swallowing the humiliation, Chu Xiaolian turned and prepared to leave.

At that moment, a crisp and ethereal voice leisurely rang out, “Wait.”

The voice came from the golden summit of Dao-Seeking Peak.

In an instant, everyone’s gaze turned toward the Lingxiao Pavilion.

The great doors slowly opened.

A graceful figure stepped out, dressed in green, barefoot, her face veiled in gauze, bright eyes flowing like autumn waters.

She was a young woman who drifted down from the nine-zhang-high pavilion, ethereal and detached, lotus blossoms blooming with every step.

Her face was almost completely hidden, revealing only her eyes.

Yet just those eyes alone held countless charms, causing everyone around to lose themselves.

Even Chu Xiaolian momentarily forgot his humiliation and could not help but wonder what kind of peerless beauty lay beneath the veil.

The woman walked forward, lotus steps carrying her to the deacon disciple.

Her voice was pleasant, yet devoid of any emotion, “Go to the Punishment Hall and receive thirty lashes.”

The deacon disciple’s body shook slightly, fear appearing in his eyes, “Second Senior Sister, I did this entirely to uphold the dignity of the sect!”

Ye Chengying nodded calmly, “If not for that, you would have already been expelled from the sect.”

The deacon disciple was unconvinced, “But—”

Ye Chengying said evenly, “This is the senior brother’s intention.”

“Yes, I obey!”

Upon hearing the senior brother’s name, a look of fanatical worship appeared in the deacon disciple’s eyes.

He cast Chu Xiaolian a deep glance, then flew away on his sword.

Ye Chengying then walked up to Chu Xiaolian, her voice still cold and detached, “You are Chu Xiaolian?”

Her lofty bearing made Chu Xiaolian uncomfortable.

But he still nodded, “Yes.”

Ye Chengying said calmly, “The senior brother invites you to enter the pavilion for a meeting.”

Her plain words instantly sent shockwaves through the hearts of countless people on Dao-Seeking Peak.

‘The senior brother invites me to enter the pavilion?’

Could it be that the legendary true disciple senior brother, Li Hanguang, wants to see this discarded trash who was dumped from his engagement?

One must know that the Ascension Assembly lasted nine days, and the senior brother had never once shown himself.

Even the pavilion doors had never been opened.

And now he wanted to invite this kid inside to meet him? What virtue or ability did this trash possess to deserve it!

Countless gazes of envy and jealousy converged on Chu Xiaolian.

“Invite me into the pavilion?”

Chu Xiaolian raised his head, gazing up at the lofty Lingxiao Pavilion.

To be honest, he did not like looking up at others.

But if the one inside that pavilion was the Taicang Banished Immortal, Li Hanguang—then he truly wanted to meet him!