Punished for the First Time

Word of the purchasing mistake swept through the Spirit Crane Palace like the wind. Everyone, from ordinary disciples to elite disciples and even core disciples, came rushing over when they heard.

Every one of them dropped to their knees without a word and pleaded for Chu Xinghe.

The sight made Wei Deqian's scalp tingle.

He could hardly imagine how anyone could get the entire Spirit Crane Palace to come out and plead for him.

Wei Deqian was not the only one. The Great Elder was just as shocked.

But more than shocked, he was pleased.

The Great Elder knew Chu Xinghe was extremely well-liked in the Spirit Crane Palace. His senior brothers had gone to great lengths to prepare him for his trip to the Spirit Tomb.

Only after seeing this scene today did the Great Elder realize that he had still underestimated Chu Xinghe.

As the saying went, it was easy to share riches and honor, but hard to share hardship.

If Chu Xinghe had received a reward today and everyone had come to congratulate him, the Great Elder would not have found it strange in the least.

But Chu Xinghe had made a grave mistake today, and the Great Elder was furious. These children should have known his temper. Others had pleaded for offenders before, and he had always punished those who pleaded along with them.

"Everyone, get up! Anyone else who dares plead for him will be punished too!" the Great Elder barked.

But not a single person stood. Everyone remained on their knees, motionless.

The sight truly shook the Great Elder... but he felt even more gratified.

He had shouted those words just now to see whether, faced with his punishment, these people would turn and leave for fear of being punished, or truly defend their junior brother Xinghe regardless of the consequences.

Now the Great Elder had his answer.

That boy, Chu Xinghe...

Since the Vast Heaven Sect was founded, since the Spirit Crane Palace came into being, no one had ever possessed such charisma that, in so short a time, everyone in the Spirit Crane Palace was willing to be punished for him!

But on thinking it over, the Great Elder understood. Chu Xinghe had done nothing special... He had simply been himself, treating every senior brother with the utmost humility and rushing to take on every hard and exhausting job.

From elite disciple to core disciple, then to the Great Elder's personal disciple, and he had even come close to becoming the sect master's personal disciple. Anyone else in his place would have been looking down on all nine heavens!

But not Chu Xinghe. In everyone's eyes, he was still that peerless junior brother. His status had never changed the way he treated his senior brothers. Even when he met the most ordinary Spirit Crane Palace disciple, he would bow respectfully and say, "Good morning, Senior Brother."

No matter who came to Chu Xinghe for help, he always said yes. He did what others were unwilling to do, and when others found a job exhausting, he did not fear the effort.

Without anyone noticing, Chu Xinghe had already influenced the entire Spirit Crane Palace. And no matter who in the palace made a mistake, when others did not dare plead for them, Chu Xinghe did.

Even when the Great Elder had been at his angriest and said that if Chu Xinghe dared plead for anyone again, he would throw him out of the Vast Heaven Sect.

Yet the Great Elder still remembered Chu Xinghe's resolute gaze and his words.

"Great Elder, if expelling me from the sect will calm your anger, then please expel me. Senior Brother was wrong, but he made an unintentional mistake and shouldn't be punished so severely. If you must punish someone, punish me! Please spare my senior brother!"

Those were Chu Xinghe's words. Ever since he had joined the Spirit Crane Palace, whenever a senior brother made a mistake, Chu Xinghe would plead for him and ask to take his punishment.

Once... twice... every time...

The Great Elder could not remember how many times it had happened, but he knew that in the Spirit Crane Palace, everyone spoke of junior brother Xinghe every day. He had never heard anyone speak ill of Chu Xinghe, even in private.

The Spirit Crane Palace elders also came from every direction, and each wore a look of shock at the sight before them.

But soon the elders spoke up too. "Great Elder, no one is perfect. You know Xinghe's character better than anyone. This was indeed his first time handling such a matter, so a mistake was unavoidable. Forget Xinghe—even you and I made mistakes when we were young, did we not?"

"That's right, Great Elder. Using the Haotian Token was indeed an overstep, but since the sect master gave it to Xinghe, he didn't say it couldn't be used!"

"Exactly! The sect master never said he couldn't use it. Besides, Xinghe didn't use the Haotian Token to commit any crime. Great Elder, you've been run off your feet these past few days. Surely the boy couldn't find you at the time, and since he didn't understand the rules, this happened."

"Wei Deqian, did Xinghe say at the time that the Great Elder was too busy to be found?" An elder glared at Wei Deqian.

"Ah... yes... yes, he did. I remember Young Hero Xinghe searched high and low for the Great Elder but couldn't find him. He was afraid of delaying the purchases, so he had no choice but to use the Haotian Token. I'm also to blame. I didn't explain things clearly to Young Hero Xinghe, so he certainly didn't do it on purpose!"

Wei Deqian was spouting complete fucking nonsense!

But as long as Wei Deqian had a single brain cell still alive, he knew what he could and could not say right now.

If he told them exactly what had happened, wouldn't this crowd from the Spirit Crane Palace skin him and pull out his tendons?

He might weigh more than three hundred jin, but there still wouldn't be enough of him for each of them to have a bite.

Would anyone dare speak ill of a man who could make the entire Spirit Crane Palace plead for him?

The Great Elder looked at Wei Deqian. Clearly, he was very satisfied with his answer too.

Everyone present was satisfied. Everyone except Chu Xinghe!

You damned fatty... what fucking nonsense are you spouting? Is that what I did?

Chu Xinghe wanted to jump up and slap the damned fatty across the face, but he could not do that. The sight of so many senior brothers and even elders pleading for him today had been a tremendous shock to him too.

There were things a person should do and things they should not. With so many senior brothers and elders pleading for him, he could not say another word now, no matter what.

"Chu Xinghe!"

"Your disciple is here..."

"Using the Haotian Token without permission is a grave offense in the Vast Heaven Sect. But considering that you joined only recently and do not yet know the sect rules well, there are extenuating circumstances. Still, a mistake must be punished. Do you accept that?"

"Merit must be rewarded, and wrongdoing must be punished. Your disciple is willing to accept any punishment. Please pass judgment, Great Elder." Chu Xinghe was thrilled!

I'm finally going to be punished!

"Good. Feng Fei also bears responsibility for the purchasing mistake. Feng Fei shall forfeit six months of resources."

"Thank you for your mercy, Great Elder." Feng Fei bowed in thanks. After all, that punishment... in the Spirit Crane Palace, which oversaw medicinal pills, was punishment in name only.

"Chu Xinghe used the Haotian Token without permission, but considering the extenuating circumstances, he shall be confined to the Medicine King Palace for three months. During that time, he may only refine pills and may not set foot outside the Medicine King Palace. The sect will reclaim the Haotian Token. I will report this matter to the sect master."

"Thank you for your mercy, Great Elder..." Countless senior brothers and the elders bowed in thanks to the Great Elder, and smiles finally appeared on their faces.

Three months' confinement in the Medicine King Palace? That was hardly a punishment. Junior brother Xinghe could simply devote himself to cultivation in the Medicine King Palace for three months. Besides, even if he could not go out, couldn't his senior brothers fetch whatever he needed?

Everyone laughed... but Chu Xinghe cried.

That's it? Great Elder... couldn't you at least strip me of my status as your personal disciple?

Losing his status as a personal disciple would have meant advancing straight to the fifth grade. What was the point of mere confinement?

But at this point, Chu Xinghe could do nothing about it. Three months' confinement it was. Better than nothing.

The moment the Great Elder finished speaking, Chu Xinghe felt a jolt in his head. In the next instant, the Misfortune Compass hidden in his mind began to turn for the first time.

The pointer quickly stopped on the punishment of three months' confinement, indicating that his task was complete. The reward then appeared before Chu Xinghe's eyes.

Punished with three months' confinement. Reward: Peak Second-Grade Martial Master cultivation...

Chu Xinghe felt an invisible force emerge from the compass, and his spiritual power suddenly surged. Having only just broken through to the early second grade, he went straight to the Peak Second-Grade Martial Master realm...

Sweet!

A mosquito's leg might be small, but it's still meat. I can finally see hope!

The Great Elder left the Spirit Crane Palace with the Haotian Token. The matter was too significant; he had to report it to the sect master.

The senior brothers came forward one after another to comfort Chu Xinghe.

"Junior brother Xinghe, this was your senior brother Feng's fault. You meant well, and I was the one in the wrong!" Feng Fei's face was full of self-reproach.

"You're mistaken, Senior Brother Feng. I should be the one apologizing to you. One moment of carelessness on my part led to this, and you were punished along with me. I... I..."

"Sigh... Junior brother Xinghe, how can what happened to me even count as punishment? Other places might lack pill resources, but in our Spirit Crane Palace, is that even a problem? So there's no need to blame yourself."

"Exactly. When I made a mistake last time, if it hadn't been for you, junior brother Xinghe, I'd probably have been thrown out of the Spirit Crane Palace."

"And me... Junior brother Xinghe, you've always been so loyal to your senior brothers. We would never stand by and watch you be punished!"

"That's right! Don't worry, junior brother Xinghe. Three months will pass in no time. Just focus on cultivating in the Medicine King Palace. If you need anything, say the word and we'll get it for you."

"Thank you, senior brothers." At that moment, Chu Xinghe was truly moved.

The elders also came over and offered Chu Xinghe some comfort. They told him not to hold the slightest grudge over the Great Elder's punishment, that it was simply the Great Elder's nature, and that the deeper his love, the sterner his discipline.

Stern discipline, my foot... Chu Xinghe nearly spat. Did this count as punishment?

The punishment I want isn't like this at all...

The Great Elder went to the Haotian Palace in person to return the Haotian Token. When the sect master heard what had happened, he too was shocked.

It was not difficult for a disciple to have a group of people plead for him, but for one disciple to make the entire Spirit Crane Palace plead for him was simply inconceivable.

Regarding the Great Elder's punishment, the sect master merely said he understood. He also instructed the Great Elder to keep a close eye on that brat Chu Xinghe: he was not only to study pill refining, but must not neglect his cultivation of Haotian Battle Intent either.

Hearing this, the Great Elder finally breathed a sigh of relief. He knew the matter had passed the sect master's scrutiny too.

After all, the Great Elder himself knew that what he had given was hardly a fucking punishment, and he had wondered whether the sect master might be dissatisfied. But the sect master's words showed that he was very satisfied with how the Great Elder had handled it.

The news soon spread throughout the Vast Heaven Sect.

Many people could hardly believe that the entire Spirit Crane Palace had knelt to plead for Chu Xinghe over a mistake he alone had made.

"I'm telling you, I wasn't there, but if I had been, I definitely would have pleaded for senior brother Xinghe!" Wan Lin was now an elite disciple of the Hill Forest Palace. When she heard the news, she backed Chu Xinghe wholeheartedly, regardless of what the other senior and junior sisters in the palace thought.

"Senior brother Xinghe is the most benevolent and righteous person I've ever met. The way he treats his fellow disciples is beyond reproach. I'm not good with words, but if senior brother Xinghe is in trouble, I, Wan Lin, will risk my life to help him!"

Without even realizing it, Wan Lin had become Chu Xinghe's little fangirl...