Myriad Flowers Festival

Outside Haotian Palace, a massive teleportation array had been set up on the training grounds.

The Spirit Grotto would open in the Fish Scale Mountain Range, far too distant from the Vast Heaven Sect, so the fastest way there was to use the teleportation array to reach Yu City, the nearest city.

By now, however, the area around the array was packed with people. Disciples from every palace were present as far as the eye could see, but those from Spirit Crane Palace were by far the most numerous.

Gu Mingchao took one look. Good heavens... Aside from the disciples who had special duties and couldn't leave, just about everyone from Spirit Crane Palace must have turned up.

Gu Mingchao had been moved when he heard that everyone in Spirit Crane Palace had pleaded for Chu Xinghe after he was punished. But seeing so many senior brothers come to see Chu Xinghe off today moved him all over again.

But... Chu Xinghe was only going to the Spirit Grotto. There was danger, certainly, but everyone knew roughly how dangerous the grotto was... Did they really have to go this far? They were making it look as if Chu Xinghe were on his way to the execution grounds.

"Have a safe journey, Senior Brother Xinghe!"

"Show them your mighty prowess, Senior Brother Xinghe!"

"Senior Brother Xinghe will surely return with a full haul..."

They were not in Spirit Crane Palace, so the senior brothers had changed how they addressed Chu Xinghe. After all, he was a personal disciple.

Chu Xinghe greeted the senior brothers along the way. When he reached the teleportation array, he saw that the sect master and the grand elder were already waiting for them.

Without a word between them, however, neither interrupted Chu Xinghe's reluctant farewell with his fellow disciples. After all these years, Chu Xinghe seemed to be the first person to have won the affection of so many of them.

All one hundred people gathered in the middle of the teleportation array.

The sect master wasted no more time and activated the array at once.

A beam of spiritual light shot into the sky. In an instant, Chu Xinghe felt the world spin around him... This was his first time using a teleportation array.

The dizziness it caused nearly made Chu Xinghe throw up.

And Chu Xinghe was relatively well off. Wan Lin, standing not far behind him, had already thrown up on the spot.

The light around them faded, and Chu Xinghe found they had appeared at the edge of a city. This was probably their destination, Yu City.

But when he looked behind him, good heavens... At least a third of the hundred-person group had collapsed.

What kind of shitty teleportation array is this? Is it really that powerful?

"Senior Brother Xinghe... bleurgh..." Wan Lin threw up some more as she spoke. Chu Xinghe glanced over. Mm... She'd had zongzi for breakfast...

"Everyone, rest here for a while. We'll stay in Yu City today and set out again first thing tomorrow morning." Chu Xinghe issued his first order since becoming the group leader.

"Senior Brother Xinghe, isn't... isn't that a bad idea? Won't it delay the journey?" Wan Lin hurriedly reminded him.

Delay the journey!

Hmph! Delaying the journey is exactly what I want.

They had teleported from the Vast Heaven Sect to Yu City, and there were still two days before the Spirit Grotto opened. If they set out normally, one day would be enough to get there. The sect had allowed two days because it feared they might encounter something unexpected.

Chu Xinghe had been racking his brains over how to drag things out for those two days, and now the teleportation array had given him an opportunity.

"Junior Sister Wan Lin, one day is enough to get from here to the Fish Scale Mountain Range. We'll spend the extra day resting in Yu City. Taking treasures is important, but remember this, all of you: every one of you is the Vast Heaven Sect's most precious resource. Your lives are far more important than any Spirit Grotto!"

Wan Lin's eyes filled with tears on the spot at Chu Xinghe's words.

The other junior brothers and sisters also looked at Chu Xinghe with gratitude in their eyes.

After all, Chu Xinghe had made a military pledge in front of everyone. They had assumed he would demand that they reach their destination as soon as possible, regardless of everything else, and then make all sorts of plans.

They had never expected that even under these circumstances, Senior Brother Xinghe would still put his junior brothers' and sisters' physical condition first.

Everyone put on an outer layer of ordinary clothes and entered Yu City.

Yu City lay at the edge of the Fish Scale Mountain Range and was the largest city in the area. Inside, a dazzling array of goods and people coming and going along the streets intertwined to create the city's bustle.

Chu Xinghe remembered the grand elder saying that Yu City was large, but surely it wasn't supposed to be this bustling?

Chu Xinghe soon learned why Yu City was like this.

It turned out that a dozen or so neighboring cities were jointly holding the Myriad Flowers Festival over these few days.

The so-called Myriad Flowers Festival was really a contest to choose the top courtesan. Good heavens, with the top courtesans from a dozen or so nearby cities gathered at the Myriad Flowers House in Yu City, how could the old lechers from all over not come flocking in?

Never mind the old lechers—even Chu Xinghe, who considered himself a pure and earnest young gentleman, wanted to take a look.

The group made its way to Fan House, the largest inn in Yu City. Because of the Myriad Flowers Festival, the city's inns were almost all full these past few days.

But... after Chu Xinghe slapped a mid-grade spirit stone down in front of the innkeeper and told him he wanted to book the entire Fan House, it took less than ten minutes for every guest to disappear from the place.

Money could make ghosts turn millstones. One mid-grade spirit stone was enough to cover half a year's income for an inn like Fan House. Unless the innkeeper was an idiot, he knew what choice to make.

Fan House had over a hundred rooms, so everyone could choose their own. Before they did, however, Chu Xinghe earnestly laid down a rule for all his junior brothers and sisters.

"We'll rest here for one day and set out first thing tomorrow morning, without delaying the journey at all. But I must warn you: whatever you do, do not go to the Myriad Flowers Festival, and whatever you do, do not go see the top courtesans. Even if those courtesans are truly, truly enticing, even if missing them might leave you regretting it for the rest of your lives, you absolutely must control yourselves!"

At Chu Xinghe's words, the junior sisters nodded one after another.

But the junior brothers...

They had heard about the Myriad Flowers Festival without thinking much of it, so why were their hearts itching after listening to Senior Brother Xinghe?

"Senior Brother Xinghe, is that really necessary? As long as we don't delay the journey or break the sect's rules, can't we go?"

A disciple named Ma Liang spoke up, looking unhappy.

Excellent... Here comes a troublemaker!

I've been waiting ages for you. You're not very efficient!

Chu Xinghe glanced at Ma Liang, the troublemaker, but said little else. "I've said my piece. Just know in your hearts what you should do," he said calmly.

With that, Chu Xinghe went straight off to choose a room.

After choosing one, Chu Xinghe sat inside, suffering in torment!

Ma Liang, oh, Ma Liang... You'd better come through! Don't just talk without doing anything!

Go on, those top courtesans are so enticing. Take the other junior brothers to see them... Better yet, do some indescribable things with them tonight. If every one of you turns into a weak-legged shrimp tomorrow, that would be even more perfect!

Chu Xinghe stayed in his room, praying devoutly. Junior brothers! Please, come through for me!

"Creak..." A barely audible sound came from next door, and Chu Xinghe nearly jumped up in excitement. A junior brother finally couldn't hold back, right? I knew it. They're all young men in the prime of their vigor—who among them could resist the Myriad Flowers Festival?

Chu Xinghe leaned against the window and crouched low, wanting to see who would be the first to dare eat the crab.

Ma Liang? Or is there another troublemaker hidden in the group whom I haven't discovered?

He peered out... and saw someone wrapped up from head to toe sneak out of Fan House and disappear into the lights.

But as he watched the figure disappear, Chu Xinghe was utterly dumbfounded.

"Wan... Wan Lin?"

Although Wan Lin was wrapped up like a zongzi, Chu Xinghe still recognized her at a glance from her distinctive figure.

Damn it... The first one unable to bear the loneliness wasn't Ma Liang or another junior brother, but Wan Lin?

Little girl, you like that sort of thing?

No, no! What if Junior Sister Wan Lin just wanted to go out and find something to eat?

What if Junior Sister Wan Lin just wanted to see what the excitement was about...

As Chu Xinghe kept coming up with possibilities, another door opened.

Ma Liang looked around furtively, his gaze lingering on Chu Xinghe's room for a few extra seconds. Once he was sure nothing was amiss, he slipped out of his room and quietly left the inn.

After Ma Liang, quite a few more junior brothers proved unable to bear the loneliness and slipped out one after another.

Unfortunately, there were fewer than thirty in all!

The number left Chu Xinghe somewhat disappointed. Didn't the remaining junior brothers like top courtesans? And those junior sisters... Learn from Junior Sister Wan Lin! I'm actually very open-minded... It's not as if I can't accept you having some special preferences.

Although the result fell short of his expectations, Chu Xinghe comforted himself. It was still quite a few. With so many junior brothers going out to battle on all eight fronts at night, they would all be listless tomorrow. Under those circumstances, it would be perfectly reasonable to take extra breaks on the road to look after them, right?

Then, because the junior brothers were too weak and they had spent so long resting, it would also be perfectly reasonable for them to miss the Spirit Grotto's opening, right?

After that, the three sects would fly into a rage and come to the Vast Heaven Sect. He would first be stripped of his status as a personal disciple, then pushed out to take the blame. Even if he couldn't be expelled from the sect, there was still hope of being relegated to the outer sect!

Chu Xinghe lost himself in his happy future. Although the top courtesans were enticing, he decided to hold steady and not get carried away!

What's so good about top courtesans? They'll only slow down my sword draw!

Once I become a Martial Emperor, never mind finding top courtesans—even finding Li Kui won't be a problem!

As the night grew late, Chu Xinghe was still pondering. He could understand the other junior brothers going to see the top courtesans, but Junior Sister Wan Lin going to see them... How would they carry out their entertainment activities?

Two beauties... Oh my, that image is too dirty. I can't think about it anymore.

But just as Chu Xinghe was clearing the dirty images from his mind, a commotion suddenly broke out outside!

Amid the commotion, someone knocked on Chu Xinghe's door.

Ma Liang came in from outside, supported by two junior brothers.

Chu Xinghe frowned when he saw a wound on Ma Liang's arm so deep that the bone was visible.

Without asking further, Chu Xinghe hurriedly took out a medicinal pill, crushed it, and treated Ma Liang's wound. The Vast Heaven Sect's medicinal pills were extraordinary; the bleeding soon stopped, and the wound began to heal.

But Chu Xinghe's gaze fell on Ma Liang's face and the faces of the others.

Chu Xinghe soon learned what had happened. After sneaking out, Ma Liang had gone to the Myriad Flowers Festival. He had taken a fancy to a top courtesan and wanted to claim her, but had never expected to encounter a rival.

After a round of competition, Ma Liang had emerged the winner, but he had never expected the other party to fly into a rage out of humiliation and launch a sneak attack. Ma Liang had been caught off guard, and a sword strike had nearly taken his arm off!

The other junior brothers had arrived afterward, but the other party had escaped in the chaos. With no other choice, they had brought Ma Liang to Senior Brother Xinghe to have his arm treated first.

"Did every one of you let my words go in one ear and out the other?" Chu Xinghe put away the medicinal pills and spoke calmly.

"I'll take responsibility for what I did. I disgraced the sect today. Whether it's a beating or a punishment, just report it truthfully when we get back!" Ma Liang had some backbone, and he had even prepared himself for Chu Xinghe to embellish the story when they returned.

But just as Ma Liang was wondering what punishment he would receive, Chu Xinghe's voice reached his ears!

"Zhang Biao... Zhao Tong... Liu Hai... Sun Xiangqian..." Names came from Chu Xinghe's mouth one after another, and as his voice rang out, more than a dozen junior brothers hurried over.

"All of you, come with me to the Myriad Flowers Festival. I want to see which bastard dared lay a hand on my junior brother. Fuck, he's tired of living, isn't he?!"

Ma Liang was dumbfounded...