Jiang Han returned to his cave dwelling and quickly began packing his belongings.
“After I destroyed the flying sword just now, a trace of innate divine lightning suddenly entered my dantian. Once I leave Heavenly Dominion Sect, I need to find a place to settle down and refine and absorb that trace as soon as possible.”
“All lands rich in spiritual energy are controlled by sects. If I want a proper place to cultivate, I still have to join a sect.”
“In ten days, the five great sects of the cultivation world will recruit disciples. I’ll choose one and join, then seize the time to raise my cultivation.”
In his previous life, Jiang Han had been killed by Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan’s aptitude was poor. Logically, he should never have been a match for Jiang Han. Yet the strange part was exactly that.
Ever since Lin Xuan joined Heavenly Dominion Sect, Jiang Han’s cultivation had not advanced even a single step. The timing was always perfect. He could break through at any moment.
Yet no matter how hard he tried, every attempt at breakthrough failed by the slightest margin. He simply could not rise further.
As a result, he was suppressed everywhere by Lin Xuan and later remained a full major realm below him.
Looking back, when his cultivation stagnated and he was mocked by his master and senior sisters, he had grown disheartened. To please his six senior sisters and his master, he did many thankless things.
He gave Eldest Senior Sister heavenly materials and earthly treasures, helped her clear distracting thoughts, and stabilize her foundation. He gave Second Senior Sister a top-grade alchemy furnace, helping her break through to become a fourth-grade alchemist. He presented them with spirit pills and supreme magic treasures, all just so they would stop hating him.
Yet they treated it as something he owed them. They often accepted his gifts with visible disgust.
They even said the things he gave were dirty and that if not for Junior Brother’s sake, they would never accept them.
But Jiang Han had already cleaned those items until they were spotless. He never understood what they found so repulsive.
If any of those items were useful to Lin Xuan, they would casually hand them over to him right in front of Jiang Han to assist his cultivation.
With their help, Lin Xuan’s cultivation advanced rapidly. In the end, to break through the limit of the Divine Transformation Realm, he performed blood sacrifices of countless living beings to aid his tribulation and ascend.
His master and senior sisters cooperated with Lin Xuan to scheme against him. They dug out his spiritual root and sword bone, all to increase Lin Xuan’s chance of surviving the tribulation by ten percent.
Thinking about all he had done for them, Jiang Han wanted to slap himself.
He had been truly pathetic. Even if you raised a dog, it would wag its tail and earn a few kind words.
Yet after treating them so well, he ended up dead, his cultivation destroyed.
No wonder Lin Xuan always smiled at him. Who knew how he mocked him in his heart?
And Jiang Han had been completely unaware. When Eldest Senior Sister’s dao heart wavered and she nearly suffered cultivation deviation, he even exhausted his own blood essence to help stabilize her dao heart.
After he was completely drained, he took out the Nine-Turn Profound Fire Pill he had prepared for his own breakthrough and used it to heal her injuries and reinforce her foundation.
When she woke and saw him, she flew into a rage, accusing Jiang Han of sneaking into her room with improper intentions.
She beat him viciously and threw him out, warning him not to harbor unrealistic thoughts. A worthless trash like him was not in the same world as her.
Jiang Han tried desperately to explain, but she would not listen. She said her safe recovery had been entirely thanks to the protective talisman given by Junior Brother and had nothing to do with him.
She even warned him publicly to stay far away from her forever and never approach her again.
After that incident, Jiang Han became the laughingstock of the entire sect, labeled a depraved and ill-intentioned man. Even newly joined disciples dared look at him with contempt.
Recalling those events made his skin crawl.
How had he been such a fool, using his own resources to help them grow, only to be schemed against and killed in the end?
He had accumulated so many resources, and in the end, all of them benefited Lin Xuan.
Jiang Han slapped his forehead and forced those humiliating memories away.
The most important thing now was to leave quickly. Once he left Heavenly Dominion Sect, the world was vast. There would be countless places to go.
Those disgusting events would never happen again.
He swept through the room swiftly, stuffing everything useful into his storage pouch.
His fortune had always been strong. Over the years, he had accumulated quite a number of heavenly materials and earthly treasures. Though he had wasted many, what remained amounted to roughly 3,000 mid-grade spirit stones.
It was not much, but it was his entire fortune. It should be enough to support his breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Looking at the cave dwelling he had lived in for thirteen years, Jiang Han felt no attachment. He stepped outside without hesitation.
Though still heavily injured, he ignored his wounds and ran swiftly toward the mountain gate.
Jiang Han had never been favored by Ji Yuchan. Since joining the sect, he had never even held a formal apprenticeship ceremony, nor had his name been officially recorded in the sect’s jade registry.
Thus, leaving the sect was simple for him. He only needed to walk away.
Moreover, since joining, he had never received cultivation resources from the sect. No one would care about his departure.
The moment he decided to leave, he felt his body suddenly lighten, as if a massive mountain pressing on his heart had been removed. His state of mind became remarkably clear.
He sprinted toward the mountain gate.
“Jiang Han! Where are you going? Stop right there!”
A furious shout rang out. Jiang Han turned and saw the elder in charge of the Affairs Hall.
He sneered inwardly. This old man had extorted plenty of offerings from him in the past. But now that he was leaving, why should he care?
Jiang Han pretended not to hear and continued running.
“Insolent brat! You dare ignore me?” The elder’s face darkened.
“I only registered your name in the sect records because of the 1,000 mid-grade spirit stones you gave me. I just finished processing it, and now you dare show me attitude?”
“You ungrateful thing! I think I’ll just erase your name from the registry. Let’s see how you beg me then!”
The elder snorted coldly and hurried toward the Affairs Hall. He intended to strike Jiang Han’s name from the records. If Jiang Han ever wanted to re-enter the registry, 1,000 mid-grade spirit stones would no longer suffice.
Jiang Han rushed all the way to the mountain gate. Even with severe injuries, he felt exhilarated.
“Senior Brother Jiang.” A somewhat youthful voice called out.
Jiang Han turned and saw Seventh Junior Sister. She often spoke up for him and was the only one in the sect who treated him decently.
Unfortunately, her cultivation was too low. It was already difficult enough for her to protect her own resources. Some matters were better left unsaid.
“Junior Sister.” Jiang Han stopped and took out two bottles of Foundation Establishment Pills. They were useless to him. No matter how many he consumed, he could not break through. He might as well help her.
Though Foundation Establishment Pills were low-grade pills, their ingredients were hard to gather. Even as a direct disciple, she would not receive many.
“Hide these carefully. Don’t tell anyone I gave them to you.” Jiang Han pressed the bottles into her hands and turned to leave.
She was startled. These were Foundation Establishment Pills. He was preparing to break through, and who knew how long he had saved these two bottles? Why give them all to her?
A bad feeling rose in her heart. Before she could react, Jiang Han’s figure was already disappearing.
“Senior Brother Jiang, where are you going?”
“I’m heading out for a while. Cultivate well and take care.”
Without waiting for her reply, Jiang Han took out two Swift Movement Talismans, affixed them to his legs, and dashed down the mountain at high speed, leaving her standing alone in confusion.
“Senior Brother Jiang…” Su Lingxi tightened her grip on the bottles. She felt that he had changed. The inferiority that constantly hung around him had vanished. In its place was a faint sense of ease.
The moment Jiang Han stepped out of Heavenly Dominion Sect’s protective formation, he felt an overwhelming sense of relief. He faintly heard a cracking sound.
Above his head, a faint black shackle appeared. Now a thick crack had split across it, and golden light burst from the fissure.
The realm barrier that had confined him for ten years had loosened.
“I’m about to enter the Foundation Establishment Realm!” Jiang Han’s heart surged with emotion. He had waited ten years for this day. He had sacrificed so much for this breakthrough. Now that the bottleneck had finally loosened, how could he not be excited?
But this was not the right moment to break through. Healing his injuries in a cave dwelling was the priority. He swallowed a healing pill, and his speed increased by another thirty percent.
Heavenly Dominion Sect grew farther and farther behind him. Jiang Han did not look back once.
Though he wished to help Junior Sister escape that mire, he could barely protect himself now.
Moreover, her fortune was deep. She was not destined for a short life. When his cultivation grew strong enough, he would naturally help her.
As for the others in the sect, he had no interest in caring.
Since his master and senior sisters despised him and favored only Lin Xuan, he would watch when heart demons arose in his master, when Eldest Senior Sister’s dao heart shattered, when Second Senior Sister’s Nascent Soul was severely injured, when Third Senior Sister was poisoned…
When those calamities descended one by one, who would come to save them then?