Great Hong Dynasty.
Lei Province.
Luoyun Sect's Main Hall.
"Ye Chen, your meridians are destroyed. You are no longer worthy of being the sect's Saint Heir!"
"You are hereby demoted to an outer sect handyman disciple, tasked with cultivating the medicinal fields."
"From this day forward, you are forbidden from ever setting foot in the Inner Sect again!"
On the high platform, the Grand Elder of the Luoyun Sect looked down condescendingly, a mocking expression on his face, at the tattered, blood-soaked Ye Chen kneeling in the hall.
Nearby, the Elders from the sect's various peaks also stared at Ye Chen with cold sneers.
Ye Chen, the most brilliant genius the Luoyun Sect had seen in centuries!
At only sixteen, he had reached the Fourth Layer of the Blood Condensation Realm, his cultivation nearly rivaling that of the sect's Grand Elder!
But he possessed the rare "Chaos Five Elements Body."
And according to the Luoyun Sect's Secret Technique, the greatest use for this physique was to have its bone and blood extracted and refined into a treasured medicinal pill—the Chaos Pill!
The Luoyun Sect, despite its strict hierarchy, had used half its resources to painstakingly nurture Ye Chen, a mere outer sect disciple, even going so far as to grant him the title of Saint Heir...
All for the sake of this very day!
'Heh... so what she said was actually true...'
Below the platform, Ye Chen looked up.
His grief-stricken gaze swept over one Elder after another.
Before this, he had risen from a mere outer sect disciple all the way to the sect's Saint Heir, a textbook example of a humble disciple's meteoric rise in the Luoyun Sect.
Within the sect, the disciples revered and admired him, and the Elders cherished and protected him.
He had once sworn an oath to serve the sect to his death!
Over the past few years, he had risked life and limb for the sect's benefit, suffering near-fatal injuries several times without a single complaint or regret.
For the good of the sect, he had even agreed to an engagement with the Saintess of the Cold Wind Sect, one of the three major sects in Lei Province!
Mind you, the Cold Wind Sect's Saintess, Zhou Qingyue, was a full forty years older than Ye Chen!
But for the sect's sake, Ye Chen had never hesitated for even a moment.
Until three days ago...
He had fought a desperate battle against the remnants of a demonic sect in the desert, barely escaping with his life.
Afterward, while pursuing the remaining enemies, he stumbled upon that bitch Zhou Qingyue hiding in a secret mountain cave, engaged in illicit dual cultivation with a disciple from the Cold Moon Sect!
Ye Chen was naturally furious and indignantly confronted her.
It wasn't because he particularly liked Zhou Qingyue, but because their engagement concerned the honor of the sect!
However, Zhou Qingyue was completely unconcerned. Amidst her taunts, she even let slip a few cryptic words.
But Ye Chen still refused to believe the sect would harm him!
After annihilating the last of the demonic sect remnants, he rushed back to the sect to report.
He had expected the Grand Elder and the other sect veterans to welcome him with the usual grand reception.
Who would have thought that the moment he stepped into the sect, he would be ambushed by the sect-protecting formation, the Grand Elder, and the others, all working in concert!
When he next awoke…
...his meridians were destroyed, his essence blood was gone, and he had been reduced to a powerless cripple with no cultivation whatsoever!
"What, Ye Chen? You dare defy a sacred order?!"
Just then, from the high platform, the Grand Elder let out a thunderous shout!
"PFFT!"
As the Grand Elder's voice fell, Ye Chen instantly spat out a mouthful of stagnant blood!
His cultivation was crippled; how could he possibly withstand a sonic attack imbued with the Grand Elder's tyrannical power?
"Haha... After all this, you still want me to respect this bullshit sacred order?"
He looked at the once-kindly Grand Elder, who had now torn away all pretense and attacked a powerless man without a shred of mercy.
Ye Chen's heart filled with despair!
'A sect like this... what's the point of staying?'
'This Saint Heir title... I'm better off without it!'
Ye Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and struggled to his feet.
Then, with no lingering attachment, he turned and began walking, step by step, toward the hall's entrance.
"Insolent! Ye Chen, you dare talk back to me in public and still think you can leave?"
The Grand Elder sneered and made a grasping motion at the air.
Ye Chen was instantly yanked back into the hall as if he were a puppet with its strings cut, and slammed heavily onto the floor.
"PFFT..."
Under the heavy impact, Ye Chen coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, and his consciousness began to fade.
He was a mortal now. Even the most common Bone Forging cultivator could kill him with ease.
The Grand Elder, however, was a renowned master at the fifth layer of the Blood Condensation Realm, his cultivation second only to the Sect Leader within the sect.
Even a casual blow from him was enough to nearly take half of Ye Chen's life!
"Ye Chen, do you really think you can walk out of this sect?"
The Grand Elder had watched Ye Chen grow up. He knew Ye Chen's character and temper like the back of his hand.
He naturally understood that Ye Chen's attempt to leave meant he wanted to desert the sect.
But that was just a dream!
"Do you have any idea how many resources the sect has wasted cultivating you all these years?"
"Taking your essence blood, with the Sect Leader personally acting to refine the Chaos Pill, is what the sect is owed!"
"But we've only collected the principal, not the interest!"
"With your former cultivation at the Fourth Layer of the Blood Condensation Realm, even as a cripple, you still have a lifespan of nearly one hundred and fifty years."
"Since the sect raised you, it will naturally put you to full use!"
"The Chaos Five Elements Body has an extremely high affinity for the earth and wood elements. For the rest of your life, you will obediently tend the sect's medicinal fields!"
The Grand Elder spoke, his voice devoid of emotion.
Hearing this, the surrounding Elders from the various peaks all nodded in agreement. "The Grand Elder is wise!"
"It should be so!"
"Ye Chen was nothing more than an outer sect disciple who got lucky with a Chaos Five Elements Body. Our Saint Sect nurtured him for many years; it's only right that he work himself to the bone for us!"
"Hmph, Ye Chen, the Grand Elder sparing your life is already an act of mercy beyond the law. You'd better not be ungrateful!"
"Haha... A warrior can be killed, but not humiliated! Do you really think I, Ye Chen, will let you manipulate me as you please?"
Hearing the cold-eyed, chilling words around him, Ye Chen actually laughed!
At this moment, he faced death without fear.
But just then, the Grand Elder snorted coldly. "Bring her in!"
Instantly, two disciples from outside the hall dragged an unconscious little girl inside.
"Tongtong!"
Ye Chen's expression changed drastically!
The girl before him was none other than his sister, Qin Ruotong!
His parents had died when he was young, and he was adopted by the Qin family.
But in the aftermath of a great war in the Cultivation Realm, the Qin family was wiped out, their home razed to the ground.
Only Qin Ruotong and Ye Chen survived, as they had been out shopping at the time.
It was because of this that Ye Chen was discovered by the Luoyun Sect and brought into the sect.
As for Qin Ruotong, she had no talent for cultivation and had always remained in the mortal world.
Over the years, as Ye Chen's status in the sect rose, he had provided his sister Qin Ruotong with the best possible life in the mortal world.
But to think that in order to force him to submit…
The sect would actually interfere in mortal affairs and seize Qin Ruotong, a powerless mortal, just to threaten him!
'How utterly despicable and shameless!'
"AHH!"
Ye Chen shot to his feet, letting out a piercing, frenzied roar!
"If you dare harm Tongtong, I, Ye Chen, swear that even if my soul is shattered and I fall into the endless abyss, I will make you pay in blood!"
WHIP!
Hearing this, the Grand Elder merely gave a disdainful snort and flicked his sleeve.
BANG!
The blow didn't strike Ye Chen. Instead, it landed on the unconscious Qin Ruotong!
BOOM!
Even while unconscious, Qin Ruotong let out a muffled groan as half of her dress exploded. She was sent flying dozens of meters, crashing heavily against one of the hall's stone pillars!
Immediately after, the Grand Elder waved his sleeve again. A pair of large, yellow, illusory hands rose from beneath Ye Chen's feet, tightly binding his violently struggling body.
"Ye Chen, I'm sure you're well aware of the methods the sect uses to deal with demonic sects."
"So... from now on, you will diligently cultivate the medicinal fields for the sect."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't mind gifting this girl—whom you treat like a sister—to some newly initiated, low-level disciples to be drained for their cultivation!"