Dream: To Become Someone as Outstanding as Senior Brother Xinghe!

In Yu City and throughout the entire Fish Scale Mountain Range, the Star Moon Sect was the most influential power.

The Star Moon Sect was the sole overlord of this part of the world.

The Huang Clan wielded extraordinary influence in Yu City, but only on the condition that they never provoked the Star Moon Sect.

And that was exactly what the Huang Clan had done. Whenever the Star Moon Sect intervened in a matter, the Huang Clan immediately gave it a wide berth. That was also why they had been able to act so arrogantly until now.

But today, while the people who had come were indeed not from the Star Moon Sect, they were a hell of a lot scarier!

The number one sect under heaven, the Vast Heaven Sect!

If the Star Moon Sect ruled the Fish Scale Mountain Range, then the Vast Heaven Sect was the overlord of the whole world. Even the mighty Star Moon Sect would tremble before it.

And at this very moment, the black Vast Heaven Sect disciple robes made Huang Yongtang's scalp go numb.

Ordinary Vast Heaven Sect disciples wore gray. Only elite disciples wore black!

Every one of them was an elite disciple of the Vast Heaven Sect. Worse still, the black disciple robes of the man standing at the very front were embroidered with cloud patterns... and star patterns...

Huang Yongtang could scarcely wrap his head around it.

Core disciples could have gold trim on their robes, but the cloud and star patterns meant... a direct disciple!

In other words, the man standing at the front was a direct disciple of the Vast Heaven Sect?

Huang Yongtang could barely breathe. Yesterday, the proprietor of Myriad Flowers House had sent word that the Huang Clan might have kicked an iron plate. What iron plate? This was a fucking iron mountain!

"Head of the Huang Clan, come out and speak!"

Chu Xinghe spoke in an icy voice.

Huang Yongtang shuddered at the sound. Glancing at the Huang Clan disciples around him, he hurriedly called out, "Here, here, I'm here! I'm Huang Yongtang, head of the Huang Clan..."

Huang Yongtang rushed out of the crowd and ran up to Chu Xinghe.

When he reached Chu Xinghe, a fawning smile spread across Huang Yongtang's face.

But before Huang Yongtang could speak again... a crisp smack rang out!

Chu Xinghe slapped the completely unguarded Huang Yongtang hard across the face. The blow sent Huang Yongtang staggering, nearly knocking him off his feet.

Huang Yongtang was dumbstruck...

The Huang Clan was dumbstruck too...

Even Chu Xiong and the junior brothers and sisters with him were dumbstruck.

Huang Yongtang was a Fifth-Grade Martial Spirit. Though that really amounted to nothing in the Vast Heaven Sect, if a Fifth-Grade Martial Spirit actually attacked, all these Second-Rank Martial Masters probably wouldn't have an easy time walking out on their own feet. After all, the gap was three ranks. No matter how outstanding they were, their numbers wouldn't help.

The sudden slap wiped every trace of the fawning smile from Huang Yongtang's face. Humiliation and rage twisted his features into a grotesque mask. Spiritual power surged wildly through him, as though he meant to tear Chu Xinghe to pieces.

"I'll kill you!" Spiritual power erupted from Huang Yongtang as he attacked Chu Xinghe, but Chu Xinghe stood motionless, letting the terrifying spiritual light approach him.

Everyone thought Chu Xinghe would be blasted away, but the spiritual light stopped less than ten centimeters from him.

Chu Xinghe looked at the halted spiritual light with utter disdain.

"So you have some backbone after all, though not much. You'd really like to kill every one of us, wouldn't you? You can try betting that the Vast Heaven Sect will be so cut off from news that it won't have a clue after more than a hundred elite disciples are killed. Of course, you can also wager the lives of everyone in the Huang Clan and see whether the Vast Heaven Sect will show mercy or slaughter your entire clan!"

Chu Xinghe spoke with perfect calm, but every word slammed into Huang Yongtang's heart like a heavy hammer.

He couldn't afford to provoke the Star Moon Sect, let alone the Vast Heaven Sect. Even a behemoth like the Pingyuan Huang Family would never dare make an enemy of the Vast Heaven Sect lightly.

If over a hundred elite disciples all died at the Huang Clan in a single day, there was no way in hell the Vast Heaven Sect would let the clan off. The entire Yu City would probably be slaughtered clean. They'd dig up the earthworms and split them lengthwise, and shake the egg yolks to pieces!

Not just Yu City—even the Pingyuan Huang Clan would have to bear the Vast Heaven Sect's thunderous wrath.

Huang Yongtang couldn't bear that price, and neither could the Huang Clan. So even though he was a Fifth-Grade Martial Spirit and Chu Xinghe had slapped him across the face, he held back in the end.

"Young hero, could there be some misunderstanding...?" The savagery vanished from Huang Yongtang's face, replaced by a fawning smile.

"A misunderstanding? There's no misunderstanding. Hand over Huang Shaohua. He slashed my junior brother with his sword, so all I want is one of his arms."

He slashed someone with a sword, and all they wanted was one of his arms. That was reasonable, wasn't it? Huang Yongtang felt that, coming from the Vast Heaven Sect, it really wasn't excessive.

But Huang Yongtang had lost sons in his early years. His first two sons had both died because of women, leaving his third son, Huang Shaohua, as his only flesh and blood. He had always spoiled him to the heavens. How could he accept losing one of his only son's arms?

"Young hero... I've already heard about what my unworthy son did. Please spare him this once, for the sake of his youth and ignorance. How about this... I'll offer something to compensate your junior brother..." As he spoke, Huang Yongtang pulled a treasure chest from his spatial ring. When he opened it, spiritual light shone in every direction. The sight of a full half chest of mid-grade spirit stones made the Huang Clan members' eyes turn red.

"Young hero, please be magnanimous and overlook this petty man's offense. Let these serve as compensation for your juni—" Before Huang Yongtang could finish, Chu Xinghe kicked the chest of spirit stones over.

A chest of mid-grade spirit stones? Who are you insulting?

Do you know how many high-grade spirit stones I have in my spatial ring? I could take them out and fill your entire Huang Clan with them!

Bringing out mid-grade spirit stones—isn't that a fucking insult?

"If Huang Shaohua doesn't appear within ten breaths, I'm leaving immediately."

Chu Xinghe gave Huang Yonghua no time to think. As soon as the words left his mouth, he began counting down.

"Ten... nine... eight... seven... six..." By the time Chu Xinghe reached two, no one had stepped forward.

But just as Chu Xinghe was about to say one, Huang Yongtang spoke. "Bring Huang Shaohua here..."

Huang Yongtang's voice was desolate beyond words, but he knew this was his last chance. If Chu Xinghe turned and left, it would be far more than just Huang Shaohua's arm at stake.

Soon, members of the Huang Clan brought over Huang Shaohua, who was struggling wildly.

"Father... no... save me! I won't ever dare do it again... I won't fight him for her anymore... I was wrong..." Huang Shaohua was so frightened that he had wet his pants.

"Do it yourself." Chu Xinghe didn't spare Huang Shaohua another glance, speaking instead to Ma Liang.

"Yes!" Ma Liang had long been bottling up his anger. Without another word, he raised his blade and brought it down. A scream rang out as blood splattered across the Huang Clan's courtyard.

Huang Shaohua fainted on the spot.

"Clan Head Huang, you should do more to discipline your own child in the future. Not everyone is as easy to talk to as I am." After saying this to Huang Yongtang, who had collapsed to the ground, Chu Xinghe left without looking back.

The hundred-strong group followed Chu Xinghe, stepping over the Huang Clan's fallen courtyard wall. The onlookers outside instantly parted to make a path.

Under countless gazes, Chu Xinghe led his people away at an unhurried pace.

As Chu Xinghe and the others vanished at the end of the street, countless young people watched with hearts full of longing.

"Big brother, is that the legendary Vast Heaven Sect?"

"So domineering! He slapped someone in the Fifth-Rank Martial Spirit Realm just like that, and when he demanded his son's hand, the man even had to find his son himself!"

"How could the number one sect under heaven possibly have an undeserved reputation?"

"Dad, I've made up my mind. I don't want to go to the Star Moon Sect anymore. I want to join the Vast Heaven Sect!"

"Son, let's go home, wash up, and get some sleep..."

News that the Huang Clan's gate had been destroyed, that Chu Xinghe had slapped its clan head, and that Huang Shaohua's arm had been severed spread through Yu City like the wind.

The proprietor of Myriad Flowers House rubbed his swollen cheek. Even now, recalling it still left him covered in cold sweat.

The Vast Heaven Sect... those killing gods were actually from the Vast Heaven Sect... Good thing I didn't hesitate to tell them about Huang Shaohua. Otherwise, a swollen cheek would have been the least of my worries. Myriad Flowers House probably really would have burned down, and I might have lost my life too.

The Vast Heaven Sect stood above everything else.

At noon, outside Yu City, Chu Xinghe calmly led everyone on their way, but all the junior brothers and sisters behind him wore gloomy expressions.

"Senior Brother Xinghe... this is all my fault. I caused so much trouble because I didn't listen to you. There's no way we'll reach the Spirit Grotto in time now..." Tears streamed down Ma Liang's face as he spoke.

The other disciples said nothing, but there was something strange in their gazes as well.

"What are those looks for? Although Ma Liang didn't obey my orders this time, just as he said, the sect rules didn't forbid it, so what he did wasn't wrong. And being ambushed wasn't what Ma Liang wanted either. As for the delay, that was caused by my decision. So, junior brothers and sisters, don't hold a grudge against Ma Liang. Even if we really don't make it in time, the responsibility is entirely mine. Whatever punishment the sect hands down, I'll bear it alone."

"Boo-hoo-hoo..." At that, Ma Liang truly broke down crying.

Ma Liang clung to Chu Xinghe's leg, sobbing as he slapped himself across the face.

"Senior Brother Xinghe... I'm no better than a beast... I'm narrow-minded... I kept hearing people say how kindhearted you were, but I always thought you were two-faced, so I deliberately went against you... Senior Brother Xinghe, I was wrong... I was really wrong..."

Ma Liang cried until his face was drenched in tears.

At that moment, the gazes of everyone around them were filled with respect for Chu Xinghe.

Before coming to the Spirit Grotto, everyone had known that Chu Xinghe had made a military pledge. Yet, because of the discomfort caused by the transportation array, Chu Xinghe had still let everyone rest properly. He had been thinking of every one of his junior brothers and sisters.

Afterward, Ma Liang had disobeyed orders, gone out on his own, and gotten into trouble. But the first thing Chu Xinghe had done was not punish Ma Liang. Instead, he had led them to find and severely punish the real culprit, refusing to let anyone hurt his junior brother or damage the Vast Heaven Sect's prestige.

As for the time lost, not one person blamed Chu Xinghe. Each searched their own heart: if they were Senior Brother Xinghe, could they have insisted on protecting their junior brother and upholding the sect despite the military pledge and all the punishments that might follow?

Thirty percent of the hundred-strong group had followed Chu Xinghe and obtained spiritual weapons. Like Wan Lin, they had long been certain of Senior Brother Xinghe's character.

But the remaining seventy percent came from the various palaces. They had barely interacted with Chu Xinghe and had mostly only heard about him. Yet in the space of a single day and night, those seventy percent, including the troublemaker Ma Liang, had gained an entirely new understanding of Senior Brother Xinghe.

He was as warm as spring to his fellow disciples and as merciless as winter to his enemies. Though he knew delaying the trip to the Spirit Grotto would bring severe punishment, he was still willing to bear it alone rather than implicate any of his junior brothers and sisters. Where else could anyone find such an peerless senior brother?

Ma Liang wiped the tears from his face. He swore this was the last time he would cry in his life. From this moment on, he would become someone as outstanding as Senior Brother Xinghe...

No... I may never reach Senior Brother Xinghe's heights, but if I can learn just one ten-thousandth of what he is, it will be enough to serve me for a lifetime...