Chapter 4: Nobody Wants It

## Chapter 4: None Would Claim Him

Late into the night, Ye Chen leaped from the small spirit garden, seeking a secluded spot. There, he sat cross-legged upon a rock, quietly contemplating the mysteries of the True Fire of his Danhai.

Since obtaining this true fire, he, Ye Chen, had reaped immeasurable benefits. It had first repaired his shattered Dantian, then opened his Danhai. His True Qi, too, had been tempered to an unprecedented purity. One could say his foundation at this moment was even more solid than it had been during his time at the Zhengyang Sect.

"Truly extraordinary," Ye Chen murmured, then closed his eyes, settling his spirit. His state of mind was clearer than ever before.

Soon, faint wisps of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi gathered, forming a vortex around him. This Qi was drawn in, absorbed through every acupuncture point of his body, then poured into his Danhai, where it was once again tempered by the golden true fire.

Simultaneously, he divided the true fire into countless strands, injecting them into his meridians and wrapping his bones. He used it to temper his muscles, bones, and meridians.

As time passed, through this subtle influence, his meridians widened and became more pliable. His bones, tempered by the true fire, had their flaws smoothed away, becoming sleek and flexible, imbued with a lingering golden light.

He knew not when, but he finally jumped down from the rock. His body, tempered by the true fire, felt an unprecedented comfort.

"Excellent!" With a hearty roar, Ye Chen stepped forward. His True Qi surged, gathering in his palm. Between his fingers, faint threads of lightning still danced.

"Thunder Rush!"

With a loud shout, he sent a palm strike towards a nearby rock.

*Boom!*

The powerful palm wind, accompanied by the sound of thunder, shattered the rock.

This palm technique was a formidable offensive mystic art he had acquired, named the Thunder Rush Palm. It possessed the momentum of a thunderclap and carried the sound of thunder, making it incredibly strong and overbearing.

It was precisely because of this that executing this technique required a relatively high level of physical strength. Otherwise, the overbearing nature of the Thunder Rush Palm could potentially injure one's own meridians, muscles, and bones while simultaneously harming the enemy. This was the inherent drawback of such an overbearing mystic art.

However, for him, this drawback was entirely negligible.

With the true fire quenching his body, his physical strength, as well as the resilience of his meridians and bones, were already sufficient to completely disregard the self-injuring effects of the Thunder Rush Palm.

*Huff!*

Exhaling a long breath of浊气 (zhuóqì - turbid Qi), he then retrieved the scroll Zhang Fengnian had given him and opened it.

The Hengyue Sect was divided into Inner and Outer Sects.

The Outer Sect comprised one Hall, one Pavilion, two Gardens, three Peaks, and eight Pavilions.

One Hall: Law Enforcement Hall. Elders who committed transgressions were handled here.

One Pavilion: Discipline Pavilion. Disciples who erred were dealt with here.

Two Gardens: Spirit Grass Garden and Spirit Fruit Garden.

Three Peaks: Tianyang Peak, Diyang Peak, and Renyang Peak. These were the three main peaks of the Hengyue Outer Sect.

Eight Pavilions: Spirit Tool Pavilion, Scripture Pavilion, Spirit Pill Pavilion, Myriad Treasures Pavilion, Qiankun Pavilion, Task Pavilion, Intelligence Pavilion, and Nine Purity Pavilion.

The Inner Sect, however, consisted of one Hall, one Pavilion, two Gardens, seven Pavilions, and nine Peaks.

Comparatively, the Inner Sect had one less Spirit Pill Pavilion than the Outer Sect but boasted six more main peaks.

"Much like the Zhengyang Sect, no different," Ye Chen touched his chin. He, himself, had once been a disciple of the Intelligence Pavilion in the Zhengyang Sect. His daily life, besides cultivation, involved gathering simple information. It was precisely due to this that on his last descent from the mountain, his Dantian had been shattered by a disciple of the Qingyun Sect.

However, as a former disciple of the Zhengyang Sect's Intelligence Pavilion, Ye Chen keenly perceived that the Hengyue Sect, like the Zhengyang Sect, appeared outwardly calm and placid but was secretly rife with surging undercurrents. The covert struggles between various factions were ceaseless.

He knew not when, but he finally put away the scroll and let out a heavy sigh. He then returned to the small spirit garden and, upon lying down, immediately fell asleep.

The night passed without a word. In the blink of an eye, dawn arrived.

In the early morning, just as the east displayed a touch of crimson clouds, Ye Chen opened his eyes.

With a long exhalation of turbid breath, he flipped himself off the bed. His face was ruddy, his spirit abundant, and even his breath felt considerably thicker.

After a simple breakfast, Ye Chen walked out of the small spirit garden.

Before his eyes lay a very long stone staircase, leading directly up the spirit mountain, extending until it was swallowed by the clouds. Ye Chen still couldn't see the end.

Taking a deep breath, Ye Chen lifted his foot and began ascending step by step. With each step, he could deeply feel a vast, majestic Qi washing over him.

Reaching the final step, Ye Chen raised his eyes to gaze at the world before him. Distant mountains were majestic, ancient trees towered, spiritual qi was hazy, and clouds and mist meandered. Occasionally, immortal cranes danced in the clouds.

"Found the feeling of being in the Zhengyang Sect," Ye Chen smiled, greedily absorbing the spiritual qi that drifted in the air.

Following the route Zhang Fengnian had told him, Ye Chen walked to one side.

The early morning was the time when spiritual qi and the essence of the sun and moon were purest. As Ye Chen walked, he saw many diligent disciples sitting cross-legged on rocks, cultivating. Even as Ye Chen walked past them, they merely glanced up briefly.

Turning several bends, Ye Chen arrived before a pavilion named the Nine Purity Pavilion.

Within the Nine Purity Pavilion, disciples were entering and exiting in groups of twos and threes. Each disciple, upon seeing Ye Chen's unfamiliar face, would size him up from head to toe. Only when they sensed that Ye Chen was merely at the first level of Condensing Qi would they all show a look of disdain.

"This is it," Ye Chen looked up at the pavilion, then stepped inside, handing over his letter of recommendation.

In the great hall, the one receiving the letter was a green-robed elder. When he heard that Ye Chen had been introduced by Zhang Fengnian, the green-robed elder couldn't help but look up and size Ye Chen up from head to toe before opening the letter.

While the green-robed elder was sizing up Ye Chen, Ye Chen was also secretly observing this green-robed elder of the Nine Purity Pavilion.

"This person is growing too... too unruly," he inwardly smacked his tongue. This was an involuntary thought that arose in Ye Chen's heart.

One couldn't blame him for thinking so. The main reason was that this green-robed elder was simply too twisted. His eyes, nose, and mouth all slanted, and not even in the same direction. It gave Ye Chen a strong urge to go up and straighten him out.

Moving his gaze away from the green-robed elder, Ye Chen looked towards the other side.

Besides the green-robed elder, there were three other people sitting there: one with a large belly, one as thin as dry firewood, and the third one looked relatively normal. They were conversing very happily, looking less like elders and more like people who had come to visit.

These three were the heads of the three main peaks of the Hengyue Sect's Outer Sect: Elder Zhong, Ge Hong, and True Person Qingyang.

After reading the letter, the green-robed elder handed it to the other three, smiling, "Three Senior Brothers, please discuss amongst yourselves who is willing to be the master of this young friend Ye Chen. He was introduced by Zhang Fengnian, so let's give him some face."

"Oh? This is something new." The three individuals exchanged glances as they read the letter, then sized up Ye Chen.

"How old are you?" The pot-bellied Elder Zhong looked at Ye Chen.

"Sixteen years old."

"Sixteen years old?" Elder Zhong raised an eyebrow. "Only at the first level of Condensing Qi at sixteen? Your talent is... tsk tsk!"

Saying this, Elder Zhong coughed and stood up, patting his large belly. He said, "Well, my Tianyang Peak still has matters to attend to. I'll be leaving first."

Before his words had even finished, the plump Elder Zhong had already slipped away, fleeing the great hall, as if afraid the green-robed elder would pull him back to take Ye Chen as a disciple.

After Elder Zhong left, Ge Hong also stood up. With his hands behind his back, he glanced at Ye Chen with disdain. "My Diyang Peak does not accept trash either."

Saying this, Ge Hong also walked out of the great hall.

Only the green-robed elder remained in the great hall. With Elder Zhong and Ge Hong having slipped away one after another, the green-robed elder could only turn his gaze to True Person Qingyang. "Senior Brother Qingyang, just consider it doing me a favor. Take him in, alright? His talent is simply too poor."

True Person Qingyang furrowed his brow, then gently shook his head. He said, "Junior Brother Green Robe, he is still far from reaching the qualifications to enter Renyang Peak. I'm sorry, I cannot agree. His talent is too poor."

"This..."

"I still have matters to attend to. I'll be leaving first." Saying this, True Person Qingyang also lightly flicked his sleeves and, like a gust of wind, walked out of the great hall.

The heads of the three main peaks of the Hengyue Sect had successively left, their intentions clearly apparent: none of them wanted to take Ye Chen as a disciple.

Ye Chen understood this perfectly. He could easily imagine how abysmal the talent of a sixteen-year-old cultivator at the first level of Condensing Qi must seem. If they took such a disciple under their wing and he didn't perform well, wouldn't they be ridiculed?

However, if they knew Ye Chen's true talent, who knew if they would kill their way back to fight over him like madmen.

With the three individuals successively leaving, the green-robed elder was extremely embarrassed.

Looking at Ye Chen in the hall, the green-robed elder coughed and smiled, "Young friend, it seems you can only be an intern disciple. Are you willing?"

"Intern is fine. Perhaps one day I'll become a regular disciple."

"Very well." The green-robed elder took out a white jade plate from his sleeve. Then, with True Qi lingering on his fingertip, he engraved the characters "Ye Chen" onto the jade plate before handing it to Ye Chen. He smiled, "Little fellow, this is your jade plate."

Besides this, the green-robed elder also took out a jade bottle. Although the jade bottle was sealed, Ye Chen could still smell the fragrance of medicinal herbs. It was unnecessary to say that this jade bottle contained spiritual liquid helpful for cultivation.

"Because you are an intern disciple, you won't receive the Hengyue cultivation method, nor the Hengyue robe. As for this jade spiritual liquid, you can only receive one bottle."

"Thank you, Elder." Ye Chen accepted the jade spiritual liquid, not particularly bothered by these restrictions.

"Alright, go to the Spirit Tool Pavilion to receive a spiritual tool!" The green-robed elder smiled. As he spoke, he didn't forget to pat Ye Chen's shoulder, his voice gentle, devoid of any air of superiority. "Little fellow, work hard. Let's see your performance after three months."