Firmament Sword

”That person who came to the Medicine Garden with a token to study under Grand Elder Yuwen—he severely injured Inner Sect Disciple Guo Yi and also wounded Chu Lin, Elder Qi’s Direct Disciple!”

”And the most important part is that Guo Yi tried to kill him with a throwing knife first! But not only did the guy snatch the knife away, he beat Guo Yi to a pulp like some common street thug. Sigh, never mind the complete humiliation, I heard he’ll be bedridden for two months...”

”Chu Lin had it rough, too. He’s supposed to be our respected Third Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden, but look at what he did! First, he slandered the newcomer. Then he hid behind his fellow disciples. Finally, furious from the humiliation, he tried to kill him, only to be sent flying with a single slap...”

”If you ask me, I think the Medicine Garden can finally hold its head high this time!”

”Are you an idiot? A fellow disciple like that Great Demon shows up, and you think we have something to be proud of?”

”Think about it. Our Medicine Garden is dead last in the annual competition every year. Now someone this powerful has shown up—Third Senior Brother couldn’t even last one move against him. Doesn’t that prove his combat prowess is incredible? If someone like that competes this year, securing a decent rank... that shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

”You have a point, but still... if word of this gets out to the other Heavenly Brilliance Disciples, we’re going to be ’famous’ all over again!”

”Yeah, I’ve gotten used to the mockery over the years, sigh... But this time, those two really went too far.”

For a while, the entire Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden was abuzz with such discussions.

SMACK!

A young man, the red, swollen imprint of a palm still visible on his face, violently slammed a cup onto the floor, shattering it to pieces.

”I, Chu Lin... am your sworn enemy!”

This young man was none other than Chu Lin, the Third Senior Brother of the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden’s Inner Sect. An entire night had passed since yesterday’s incident. After returning, he had tried all sorts of methods to get rid of the swelling on his face.

As a Medicine Garden Disciple in the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden, how could he not know Alchemy?

He had originally thought reducing the swelling would be a trivial matter and hadn’t given it much thought. At the time, all of Chu Lin’s focus was on his seething hatred for Xu Luo.

But to his great surprise, even after using numerous Elixirs—including some High-Level Elixirs—the swelling and redness on his face refused to fade.

Clearly, that slap had contained a hidden power. The force had directly damaged the meridians in his face, making it impossible to get rid of the swelling and the vivid red handprint!

This only deepened the bone-deep hatred Chu Lin already felt for Xu Luo.

’He humiliated me in front of my fellow disciples, and now this swelling on my face won’t go down...’ Chu Lin seethed, hiding in his room. He had no idea that word of the incident was already spreading like wildfire outside.

Nearly everyone who spoke of him did so with a trace of contempt. Even many of those who had once been on good terms with him were frowning, unable to believe he could have done something like that.

Losing a fight was no big deal. If you were less skilled, you just had to train harder and win back your honor later.

But his actions—slandering someone in public and then cowering behind a fellow disciple—were utterly contemptible.

Even someone like Guo Yi, who had tried to murder Xu Luo with a Poisoned Hidden Weapon, came off looking better than him.

After all... Xu Luo wasn’t technically a Heavenly Brilliance Disciple yet, so Guo Yi’s actions, while excessive, were at least somewhat understandable.

As for Chu Lin... his behavior had caused his reputation among the other disciples of the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden to plummet.

BANG!

Chu Lin’s door was kicked open, splintering into pieces!

”Are you looking to die?” Chu Lin roared. Without even looking, he unleashed a palm strike at the intruder.

The force of the blow was immense, powerful enough to shatter a large boulder!

As a Direct Disciple of the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden’s Inner Sect and respected as the Third Senior Brother, Chu Lin’s strength was naturally nothing to scoff at.

SLAP!

The crisp sound of a slap echoed through Chu Lin’s room.

At the same time, an enraged voice roared, ”You utter disgrace! How could I have such a useless disciple!”

The slap landed on the unblemished side of Chu Lin’s face. It stung, but there was no hidden power behind it. The voice alone, however, was enough to scare the soul right out of him.

”M-Master!” Chu Lin finally saw who it was. He dropped to his knees with a thud and burst into tears. ”Master... I have brought shame upon you... Master, you have to help me get justice!”

The visitor was none other than Elder Qi of the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden. His face was a mask of fury, his narrow, triangular eyes wide with rage. He glared at Chu Lin’s pathetic state, looking as if he wanted to kick him to death. He sneered, ”Justice? What kind of justice do you want from me?”

”Your disciple was bullied... *sob*!” Chu Lin wailed. He knew his master all too well. He might seem grim and terrifying, but he was fiercely protective of his own. It wouldn’t matter if it was a Direct Disciple like him or just an Outer Disciple from his faction on the mountain—if one of his was bullied, he would storm the offender’s home himself.

But this time, Chu Lin had completely miscalculated.

He didn’t yet realize just how much face his actions had cost Elder Qi. He assumed his master would scold him as usual and then march off to get revenge on his behalf.

He was about to find out, however.

”You were bullied? Ha! What a joke! Your great reputation as Third Senior Brother has already spread throughout the entire Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden. It won’t be long before everyone in all of Celestial Brilliance knows your name. I’m even getting famous by association, basking in your glorious light! Who would possibly dare to bully you?”

Elder Qi was so furious he had resorted to calling himself ”I” so crudely. He stared coldly at Chu Lin. ”Did I ever teach you to slander people? The Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden... our combat strength has always been lacking, it’s true. But most Medicine Garden Disciples are Alchemists. It’s understandable that we’re weaker in a fight. There’s no shame in that!”

”Sooner or later, those arrogant pricks will come crawling to our Medicine Garden Disciples, begging you to perform Alchemy for them!”

”So, it doesn’t matter if Medicine Garden Disciples have the worst combat strength! It doesn’t matter if we lose the annual competition! None of that matters!”

Elder Qi’s gaze was glacial as he stared at Chu Lin. ”But slandering someone? What was that about? And even if you were going to lie, could you at least use your brain? You made up a story out of thin air in front of a huge crowd... How could you do something so idiotic?”

”I... I thought that since he’s an outsider, I should help one of our own...”

”You still have the gall to make excuses?” Elder Qi glared at him, his voice laced with fury. ”Fine. We’ll set that aside for a moment. Let’s move on to the next thing. He raised his hand, and you dodged. Why? And if you were going to dodge, fine, but you hid behind your own fellow disciples... What the hell was that?”

”That... That...” This time, Chu Lin was truly at a loss for words, stammering, unable to come up with anything to say.

”Speak! That what?” Elder Qi’s roar shook the entire room.

Chu Lin shuddered and cried out, ”I was truly afraid! I’m on good terms with Guo Yi, so I knew what kind of poison he was using. It’s a ’death-on-contact’ poison... there’s no antidote! One touch and you’re dead... I... I was just so scared, I subconsciously... I just hid behind them. But I never meant to harm him!”

Elder Qi finally snapped. He kicked Chu Lin to the ground, cursing, ”Then what the fuck *does* count as harm? Using your fellow disciple as a human shield isn’t harm? You tell me what is, then!”

But no matter what, Chu Lin was still his Direct Disciple. Elder Qi couldn’t bring himself to kill him.

Besides, Chu Lin’s combat prowess was genuinely formidable within the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden; he wouldn’t have been named Third Senior Brother otherwise.

In the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden, with the exception of the Chief Grand Elder’s Direct Disciple who was automatically named First Senior Brother, all other rankings were based on ability.

The annual competition was fast approaching. If he dealt with Chu Lin now, the Medicine Garden would lose another powerful combatant for the event.

”You selfish, conniving coward!” Elder Qi cursed, his voice full of disappointment. ”Get yourself to the Black Wind Cave to train! You are not to return until the annual competition begins!”

”What? Master, you can’t be so heartless... The Black Wind Cave... people die in there!” Hearing he was being sent to the Black Wind Cave, the blood drained from Chu Lin’s already swollen face. He immediately began to plead for his master to retract the command.

The Black Wind Cave... was the most treacherous place on the entire Seventh Mountain. The deeper one ventured, the more powerful the creatures one would find. Even the Elders didn’t dare to delve too far into its depths.

Over countless years, far too many so-called genius disciples had perished within the Black Wind Cave.

”Die? If you don’t go, you’ll die right now!” Seeing that Chu Lin still didn’t grasp the situation, Elder Qi briefly recounted the rumors spreading outside. As Chu Lin listened, his eyes grew wide with terror and his face turned deathly pale, as if his very soul had fled his body.

”Now... do you understand your predicament? Do you still have the face to show yourself outside?” Elder Qi said coldly. ”Get to the Black Wind Cave. If you don’t make it out, then die in there! And remember this... only through a trial of blood and death can you ever truly grow!”

Before leaving, Elder Qi added, ”Your reputation is completely ruined. Because of you... I’m being looked down on as well. So, if you have even a shred of shame left, you know what you must do next!”

”Your image is beyond saving, but you can still make yourself powerful beyond measure! This... is now your... only path forward!”

A long time passed before Chu Lin emerged from his soulless stupor. By then, his master, Elder Qi, was long gone.

The shattered door served as a reminder that what had just happened was no dream.

”The Black Wind Cave... The Black Wind Cave... that slaughterhouse... has become... my only path to survival... AAAAAHHHHHHH!” Chu Lin suddenly began to roar madly inside his room.

He was hysterical.

He screamed until his voice was raw and his strength was gone.

”I hate you... Just you wait. I, Chu Lin... will make it out of the Black Wind Cave alive. And when I do, the first person I kill... will be you! I will never let you go!”