Chapter 1: Renegade of the Sect

## Chapter 1: The Abandoned Sect Disciple

"Outer Gate Disciple Ye Chen, having suffered a fractured Dantian and thus forfeited all chance of immortal cultivation, is hereby expelled from the Zhengyang Sect. He is forbidden from ever again stepping a single half-step onto Zhengyang Spirit Mountain."

Within the majestic Grand Hall, the icy decree, like a pronouncement from the heavens, resonated with an irresistible authority.

Below, Ye Chen stood silently in the hall, his complexion ashen. As he listened to the merciless decree, his fists clenched tightly, perhaps with such force that his fingernails dug into his palms, drawing fresh blood.

A fractured Dantian, no chance of immortal cultivation.

Ye Chen laughed, though his eyes were filled with profound sorrow.

Just three days prior, he had ventured down the mountain to retrieve spirit medicine for the sect. Attacked by an expert from an enemy sect, he had risked his life to protect the precious herbs, narrowly escaping with his life, only to find his Dantian shattered. He had become a true cripple.

Yet, he had never imagined that his loyalty would be deemed worthless in the eyes of these exalted figures. They were so eager to cast him out, as if he were nothing more than useless refuse.

"Still not leaving?" Seeing Ye Chen remain motionless, another voice echoed through the Grand Hall, laced with impatience.

"His Dantian is shattered. What's the point of clinging on? The Zhengyang Sect has never kept the disabled."

"We've sustained you for three days. That is benevolence to the extreme."

The disdainful voices in the hall were particularly jarring, falling upon Ye Chen's ears like steel needles piercing his heart.

"Such a sect... it truly chills my soul!"

His voice hoarse, tinged with sorrow and indignation, Ye Chen silently turned his body.

Outside the hall, spirit mountains rose everywhere, ancient trees stood tall, spiritual energy diffused hazily, and clouds and mist swirled. Immortal cranes danced on branches. It was a scene of peace and tranquility, like a realm of human immortals.

This was the Zhengyang Sect, a cultivation sect in the south of Great Chu.

But now, all of this appeared cold in Ye Chen's eyes, making him shiver uncontrollably.

"I knew it! He's still being expelled from the sect!"

As soon as Ye Chen emerged, sect disciples began to point and whisper about him. Some mocked, while others sighed faintly.

"To be fair, Senior Brother Ye was quite good to us before. Shouldn't we see him off?"

"See him off? We are immortals. What is he compared to us?"

"Times have changed."

The surrounding mockery and soft sighs caused Ye Chen to lower his head. He wanted to say something, but the words caught in his throat, as if choked by a fishbone. At this moment, he was like a paraded criminal, scorned by the world.

Yes! He was no longer the Ye Chen of before.

Now, he was no longer a cultivator, but a cripple with a shattered Dantian. His former pride was utterly gone. Faced with the world's coldness and indifference, he could only endure in silence.

"Tsk tsk tsk!"

A playful laugh drifted from the front. A white-robed disciple holding a folding fan approached, his eyes full of amusement as he gazed at Ye Chen. "Well, who is this! Is this not our Senior Brother Ye?"

Ye Chen lifted his head slightly, catching sight of the approaching figure through the gaps in his hair. His face was fair, his thin lips cruel. He was handsome, yet inexplicably possessed a pair of phoenix eyes.

"Zhao Kang." Ye Chen retrieved the name from his memory. Back then, Zhao Kang was not so yin-yang strange. At that time, he might have been respectful to this Senior Brother Ye.

"Tsk tsk tsk!"

His thoughts were interrupted. Zhao Kang circled Ye Chen, sizing him up from head to toe, his mouth full of smacking sounds. "Senior Brother Ye! How have you become so wretched? It truly pains this junior master's heart to see!"

Knowing it was mockery, Ye Chen had no intention of saying anything more and immediately took a step forward.

"Don't go!" Zhao Kang took a step, blocking Ye Chen's path once more. He lightly shook his folding fan, his eyes full of amusement as he looked at Ye Chen.

"Move aside."

"You're already a cripple. Why still pretend?" Suddenly closing his folding fan, the smile on Zhao Kang's face vanished. "Do you really think you are the Ye Chen of before?"

Ye Chen's body trembled slightly. He wanted to retort, but his mouth was powerless to open.

"Want to leave? That's fine too." Zhao Kang spoke again, spreading his legs wide as he did so. His gaze was playful as he looked at Ye Chen. "Crawl through my legs! Perhaps I can even reward you with a few spirit stones as travel expenses."

"Zhao Kang." Suddenly, a voice rang out. Ye Chen abruptly raised his head. In his eyes, devoid of light, a cold glint flashed.

"Senior Brother Zhao Kang, this is not right..." Among the surrounding crowd, a disciple spoke softly, wanting to defend Ye Chen. Unfortunately, his cultivation was low, and his words lacked conviction.

"Seeking death?" Zhao Kang turned and roared, glaring at that disciple. The scene instantly fell silent. Everyone seemed to be deterred by Zhao Kang's strength, not daring to utter another sound.

Having silenced the surrounding disciples, Zhao Kang turned back to Ye Chen, a cold laugh escaping his lips. "Ye Chen, will you crawl or not? I..."

His words trailed off. Zhao Kang paused, for he saw a beautiful figure slowly walking towards them from a short distance away.

The approaching figure's clothes fluttered, her three thousand strands of black hair flowing like green waves. Each strand seemed to dance in the wind. That peerless face was so beautiful it could suffocate a person. She truly resembled a descended fairy, untouched by worldly dust.

"It's Senior Sister Ji Ning Frost." The eyes of the surrounding disciples all brightened.

Especially the male disciples, their eyes filled with a burning, undisguised desire and admiration. She was the absolute flawless fairy of the Zhengyang Sect's outer gate, the object of adoration for all the male disciples.

Who in the Zhengyang Sect didn't know that Ji Ning Frost, before all the disciples, was distant and cold? But only before Ye Chen would she reveal a world-tilting smile. They were the recognized golden boy and jade girl of the Zhengyang Sect.

Of course, that scene was confined to the past.

Now that Ye Chen had fallen to such a state, the proud Ji Ning Frost would no longer smile at him as before.

"Ji Ning Frost." Ye Chen's voice was hoarse, so quiet it was almost inaudible. He did not turn around, yet his eyes held a complex emotion.

That person he was once willing to protect with his life, but from the moment his Dantian shattered and his cultivation was completely wasted, that Ji Ning Frost who smiled at him every day became particularly cold.

From that moment on, Ye Chen understood. So-called affection, so-called vows of eternal love, all dissipated like smoke.

"Junior Sister Ning Frost." On this side, Zhao Kang had already smoothly opened his folding fan and greeted her with a smile. Compared to his previous fierce demeanor, he was like a different person.

Ji Ning Frost merely nodded perfunctorily to Zhao Kang's smile. Her expression remained cold, as if no worldly disturbance could cause the slightest ripple in her beautiful eyes.

Gently walking to Ye Chen's side, Ji Ning Frost's heart held a faint sigh and regret, but her beautiful eyes, aside from their coldness, held nothing else, as if to say: We are no longer on the same path.

"Walk well." Sparse though these four words were, and as melodious as heavenly music, they could not conceal the clear coldness in Ji Ning Frost's tone.

"What is that expression? Pity?" Without looking at Ji Ning Frost, Ye Chen merely bent down to pick up the backpack that had fallen to the ground. There was no longer the warmth of the past in his words. Such a farewell was heartbreaking.

Ji Ning Frost did not speak. For the past emotions, she only had a momentary trance.

"I'm leaving, I'm leaving." Lightly patting the dust off his backpack, Ye Chen slowly turned around. With tired steps, his thin back appeared particularly lonely under the moonlight.

(End of this chapter)