The sun had risen, and the day was beautifully bright.
From the forest, Nangong Xuanhe was running to the sect.
Only happiness curled his lips, forming a smile he couldn’t control.
It was because he had managed to reach his 1st stars!
He truly believed he had reached his 1st stars first.
This meant he would reap the rewards of first place.
To make up for the lack of stones he got, he would gain an extra 800!
A truly big number, enough to keep him up for 3 months if he used the amount steadily.
Arriving at the gate, he glanced at the two guards before heading in.
His arrogance had reached a new level; looking down on the guards whom he knew he could easily beat in a fight now with pure strength.
Nangong Xuanhe continued to run until he noticed a few disciples gathering around the board.
This board was made for many things, like displaying news.
‘Huh?
Did something happen?’ He thought.
Walking over to the board, he scurried through the crowd, trying to see the board.
The disciples were murmuring among themselves, and he could not hear them because he was focusing too much on trying to see the board.
Once he got close enough, his heart sank.
He bore witness to a sight that killed all his joy, like a sword was stabbed into his heart.
Gu Xuanming had achieved first place on the board in reaching his 1st stars, Zhao Cangsheng achieved second place, and third place is currently pending.
“…”
He fell silent.
The world seemed to freeze as he only focused on the board.
Reality became monotone, and darkness began to bloom in his heart.
Grabbing his wrists, he began to squeeze, holding in his tears.
His happiness was sucked away, once again being toppled by his younger brother.
He just couldn’t understand.
Why was his brother always ahead of him?
Even when he gained such a heavenly gift, he still fell short!
How!?
How could this be!?
He stayed up all night!
The feeling only worsened when he felt the gaze of someone familiar.
He turned his head, looking behind him to see his brother far off, wearing a new set of clothes.
Their eyes locked, and for a brief moment, he could have sworn he saw his brother smile!
His pupils shrank, and his jaw dropped, his eyes trembling from anger.
He then closed his mouth, grinding his teeth together.
He clenched his fist, tears beginning to escape his sockets.
He pushed everyone away and ran towards the instructor!
Gu Xuanming watched his brother run off, unsure as to why he ran off.
Instead, he was thinking about what he had done last night.
‘Now, time to see how they react.’
‘If they’re truly the ones who sent the assassins, they won’t go public about it.
They couldn’t try to frame it as if they were strangers either, because if they did, there was someone who knew the truth.’
‘If they tried to act as if they didn’t know, they would have to deal with the fact that the son of the strongest cultivator of Gue Ming village had their secret in hand and could tell them.’
While yes, in both situations he knew, the difference was that what he did was a message, one vague to an outsider, but clear to one involved.
With nothing left to do, he went back to his dorm, intending to do a little more research on what the 1st star offers.
‘Hopefully, they enjoy a lunch box.’
…
Zhao Clan residence.
A servant on the first floor was sweeping the floor.
He hummed as he did, trying to fill his head with noise.
“Alright, now I need to cut the grass outside.”
The Zhao Clan residence was a large building, close to the forest, so they had a large backyard that the clan head personally cleared out to allow materials to grow for himself alone.
When the servant opened the door, ready to farm, in front of the door was a wooden box with a freshener talisman.
“A box?
Did one of the servants leave it here?”
“I should report this to the clan head.”
“Good heavens.”
He carried the box with him all the way to the top floor, which was the third floor.
He would walk past the first two floors, which were decorated to the brim.
There were pictures of Zhao Cheng’an with his two children, some with one child as well as many different women, his concubines.
Being such an influential man in Gue Ming village alongside Gu Chenyin, he was no doubt a rich man, able to flaunt wealth that most could only dream of.
The servant reached the third floor, knocking on Zhao Cheng’an’s door.
“Come in.”
The servant entered, the first thing hitting him being the thick stench of after-sex.
He had come at a bad time, Zhao Cheng’an finishing up with one of his beautiful concubines.
Snap.
Snap.
Zhao Cheng’an snapped his fingers twice, snapping his servant back to reality.
“Why are you here?”
“O-oh, right.
I apologize, my lord.
It seems that a box was left on the back door porch.”
Zhao Cheng’an looked at the box, finding it suspicious.
“Hmm…?”
Zhao Cheng’an thought to himself, wondering who could have sent him the box.
Zhao Cheng’an decided to have the concubine leave.
He waved her out of the room, and she nodded, bowing before retreating out of the room.
He then wore more appropriate robes for this occasion.
These robes were created with Qiang Qi, reinforcing it, making it akin to powerful armor equal to the gods, or some may say.
Even if he was certain of his strength, there was no harm in being careful.
He took the box from the servant’s hand and shooed him out of the room.
Taking a deep breath, he set the box on the nearby dresser, looking at himself in the mirror for a brief moment.
He would then slowly slip the lid off, preparing for the worst.
His face was held back, and his chest was forward.
The moment the lid came off, an unholy stench that not even the heavens could handle raped his nose.
Immediately, Zhao Cheng’an began coughing violently, dropping to the floor.
It was like a thousand poisons had built up in the box, and he had just unleashed all the evils that could be committed.
“What the hell is…!?”
Looking over at the cover, he noticed something on it.
It was a recipe for a lunch box, covering all the ingredients used to make one.
However, when he stood up to look inside, he was horrified!
“….w-what the hell is this!?” He shouted quietly, not wanting to alert the people downstairs.
Inside the box was the exact recipe he had seen printed on the back of the lid.
Except it wasn’t food.
It was flesh.
The right side of the box was arranged with meticulous precision.
Thirty circular slices of human meat sat in three perfect rows, ten to a row.
Each piece had been wrapped in strips of pale skin like a chef’s handiwork.
At their centers rested grotesque fillings, shredded organs packed around a severed eyeball.
Some of the eyes had burst during preparation, their cloudy contents leaking into the surrounding tissue, while others stared upward with glassy, lifeless gazes.
The left side was no less horrifying.
Two human hearts rested atop the display; their arteries and veins knotted together into a crimson bow.
Beneath them lay several livers, stacked neatly like cuts of meat awaiting purchase.
Dark blood had pooled beneath the organs, coating the bottom of the box in a thick, sticky layer.
Whoever had prepared it had done so with disturbing care.
Every piece was trimmed, arranged, and presented as though it were a gourmet meal rather than the butchered remains of a human body.
The contrast made the sight far worse than simple carnage ever could.
Unable to stomach such perfect carnage, Zhao Cheng’an vomited on the mess.
He panted heavily, trying to catch his breath!
“What kind of…” Before he could speak any further, he immediately knew who this came from.
It had to be him.
Only a demon could commit such a violation of the human anatomy.
“Could they be the assassins I sent?!” He shouted softly.
“That would mean Gu Xuanming knows I sent the hit after him!”
This means he knows, and he could tell his fat–” Zhao Cheng’an paused and thought.
He thought just a little longer, realizing something crucial.
Gu Xuanming could have immediately gone to his father about this, yet he chose to deliver this to him, to his back door, too.
How he had gotten it to the back door was already a question in itself, but after careful thought, veins bulged.
He clenched his fist in anger as Qi began to ooze out of his body!
“So, that’s it, huh?
You want to come to a compromise?
You want to play with me!”
He hit the dresser with full force, destroying it and spilling the contents of the box onto the ground.
“Fine.
I’ll play along for now.”
“He’s lucky I need to remain righteous.
I would never stoop so low as to become a demon.”
“Oh, but I’ll make sure he regrets messing with me.
Not even hiding behind my rival will save him.”
…
Gu Xuanming sat in class once again, listening to his instructor first teach everyone about ethics before they would head outside for martial training.
“So, the most important thing about a cultivator is righteousness.”
Xu Changfeng patted back and forth as he continued speaking.
“Demonic cultivators often try to tempt you into joining them.
They try to instill ideas into people’s heads.
Rebellion, they may say, breaking free of the system, they say, but don’t believe those words.”
“As the saying goes, if they say snow is white, they’re lying.
They are not for rebellion or changing the systems.
They care about power and power alone.”
“They are selfish, wicked, merciless, and cruel.
They will trample over a hundred lives before they commit a righteous act.”
“That is why we follow ethics.”
“These ethics allow you to understand the value of good morals and the understanding of why the system was set up in the first place.
After all, rules and regulations are needed for a society to function, for a world without rules is chaos.”
Gu Xuanming looked at Xu Changfeng, finding his words ridiculous.
He found ethics to be an excuse for control.
Yes, the world had rules, and people were forced to follow those rules: life, death, and rebirth.
Those were rules almost none could escape.
But ethics…
‘How foolish.’
‘Ethics are only used at one’s convenience.
It’s honestly surprising how little people recognize that.’
‘I may not know much, but I know that.’
‘Ethics halt progress; it stagnates you and forces you to restrict yourself.
That is why I chose to cheat, as one could say, and use a pill to make opening my meridians much faster.’
‘I will never understand why people follow these rules even though it only halts progress.’
Gu Xuanming smirked as he continued thinking, his mind on the Zhao clan.
His gaze shifted to Zhao Cangsheng, noting his cocky demeanor.
‘His father could have just killed me himself if he wasn’t so blinded by upholding his status.
It’s why he sent assassins after me.
But now, he’s at a standstill.’
‘He knows I know who sent the assassins and if he tries something so direct again, he thinks I’ll tell my father.’
‘There’s also the fact I’ve already broken the layer around my primeval galaxy, so now once I fully open 72 meridians, I should be able to start modifying my body.’
Snap!
Xu Changfeng snapped his fingers hard, sending a mild shockwave across the room.
“Alright, the first hour is over.
Now it is time for us to train.
If you’re in your first stars already, then good for you; this will be very beneficial.
To those who haven’t reached it yet do not worry; this will still be helpful, but you will need to reach your 1st stars quickly, or else you will fall behind.”
“After all, tomorrow will be your final lecture, and only martial training will follow from there, so be sure to catch up to your peers, understand!”
“Yes, sir!” They said in unison.