Did I Fucking Transmigrate?

At Haotian Palace, before the Haotian Mirror.

Sect Master Gu Mingchao, the grand elder, and the chief elders of every palace were all present.

The image on the Haotian Mirror before them showed the hundred-person group.

Though the Vast Heaven Sect was the number one sect under heaven, Chu Xinghe and the other youngsters had scarcely seen anything of the world.

Under such circumstances, how could the sect's elders possibly set their minds completely at ease?

Though no one had mentioned it, everything that had happened since their arrival in Yu City had been under the silent watch of these powerful figures.

And now, as they watched the events of the past day and night unfold in the Haotian Mirror, everyone fell silent.

In the end, the sect master broke the silence.

"Good... good... unafraid in the face of danger, brave and resourceful, and decisive to boot. This little fellow Xinghe... good..." The sect master said "good" three times in a row.

Beside him, the grand elder was grinning so broadly his face was almost a chrysanthemum.

At first, after Ma Liang disobeyed Chu Xinghe's orders and was injured in a sneak attack, even the grand elder's first reaction, truth be told, had been to charge Ma Liang with disrespecting his leader and bringing disgrace upon the sect. Those were serious charges.

If Chu Xinghe had actually reported him to the sect, whether or not Ma Liang would have been demoted to the outer sect, he would certainly have been stripped of his status as an elite disciple.

Moreover, he was a disciple of the mighty Vast Heaven Sect, yet a single sword strike in a sneak attack had nearly severed his arm. Even if he returned to the sect, he would inevitably become a laughingstock among all his fellow disciples.

But Chu Xinghe had done no such thing. He had immediately led the others to attack the Myriad Flowers House, and even the grand elder had been stunned when he set it on fire to force the shopkeeper to name the culprit.

At the time, many elders had wondered why Chu Xinghe believed the shopkeeper knew.

It was the sect master who eventually cleared up their confusion.

"That boy Xinghe really is quick-witted. During a grand event like the Myriad Flowers Festival, if the shopkeeper of the Myriad Flowers House encountered an ordinary brawl, he would surely have had the guards stop it at once. If anyone had actually been hurt or killed, he would certainly have seized the attacker."

But what had the Myriad Flowers House done? They had neither pursued the attacker nor done anything about it. Not even a ghost would believe the shopkeeper didn't know who the other party was.

Chu Xinghe hadn't been there at the time, but from the two junior brothers' account and the few clues he found after arriving, he had made an instant decision. Without a word, he struck first, sweeping through the entire Myriad Flowers House with the force of thunder and catching it completely off guard.

Then he threw a candle to set the Myriad Flowers House ablaze, and that became the last straw that broke the camel's back. The shopkeeper broke down on the spot, not daring to conceal the slightest thing.

After that, everyone had guessed that Chu Xinghe would report the matter to the sect for it to handle, but once again, they were wrong.

He led the hundred-person group to blast open the Huang Clan's gates at dawn. Who cared what shitty Pingyuan Huang Clan they were? He marched right up and gave a Fifth-Grade Martial Spirit a resounding slap across the face.

What pleased the sect master most was that Chu Xinghe had declared his identity before striking. That was his greatest source of confidence in daring to hit a Fifth-Grade Martial Spirit.

The facts proved that Chu Xinghe had done the right thing. He wanted none of their shitty spirit stone compensation. For slashing his junior brother, the price had to be an arm.

When they heard Chu Xinghe's demand, quite a few elders couldn't help shaking their heads and sighing.

"That boy Xinghe... he's still too merciful... if it were me, even if I didn't wipe out the entire Huang Clan, I'd at least have slaughtered this Huang Shaohua..."

"Elder Zhang, that's not right. Why wipe out the entire clan? Since Huang Shaohua was the one who did it, slicing him to death would have been enough. At most, slice Huang Yongtang to death with him, and cut off one arm from each of the others as a light punishment. That would have settled it."

"Elder Zhang is right. That boy Xinghe is good in every way, but he's too softhearted!"

Not a single person thought Chu Xinghe had been too arrogant or overbearing.

Because they were the Vast Heaven Sect, the number one sect under heaven.

If Chu Xinghe had learned about the Huang Clan but truly hadn't dared to confront them, choosing instead to return and report to the sect, it would have been reasonable, but everyone really would have been disappointed.

You took your junior brother out with you. Never mind whether he made a mistake: your junior brother was slashed, yet you didn't even dare avenge him. How could you shoulder the burden of the Vast Heaven Sect in the future?

But today, the sect master and every elder were all immensely pleased with what Chu Xinghe had done.

So many of them had gathered before the Haotian Mirror because they also wanted to see what sort of character Chu Xinghe and these disciples truly had.

After all, some disciples behaved like well-behaved children in front of their elders, but what happened when they went out? They were each like fucking wild dogs off the leash. Were there so few who ran amok?

With Chu Xinghe serving as leader this time, everyone had been eager to know what he would be like away from home, believing himself free of his elders' scrutiny.

And this time, Chu Xinghe's performance had earned everyone's approval.

The boy truly was sincere and genuine. He was the same outside as he was in the sect.

Whenever a fellow disciple was in trouble, he would step in at any cost. Even if it might bring an immense punishment down on him, Chu Xinghe still didn't back down in the slightest.

"The boy takes it all in stride, but the others must be worried he'll be punished for missing the spirit cave."

"Heh heh... look how pale their little faces are. They were each like little tigers facing the Huang Clan, yet they're this frightened of the sect. You shouldn't be so strict with the disciples in the future, especially you, Grand Elder." Sect Master Gu Mingchao couldn't help complaining on the children's behalf.

"Sect Master, there's something you don't know. I was strict with the disciples in the past, but ever since Xinghe joined my Spirit Crane Palace, very few disciples there have been punished. The boy has received plenty of care from his senior brothers, and he refuses to forget it. Whenever one of them is in trouble, he's always the first to jump out and plead for him, and he won't back down even if I threaten to punish him too."

"So these days... my temper has already gotten much better in the Spirit Crane Palace."

The elders nodded, envious as well... sadly, none of their own peaks had a disciple like Chu Xinghe.

Gu Mingchao and the elders chatted and laughed, seemingly unconcerned about missing the Spirit Grotto. If Chu Xinghe had been there, he would certainly have seen at a glance that something was fucking wrong!

Unfortunately, Chu Xinghe wasn't there. Outside Yu City, everyone had already set off for the Spirit Grotto.

After repeated, careful calculations, Chu Xinghe had discovered that unless they could fly, there was no way they would reach it in time, not even at their fastest speed.

Though he was overjoyed and even wanted to persuade his junior brothers and sisters to give up on the spot and prepare to go home, he still had to put on an act.

So Chu Xinghe wore an anxious expression, as though he wished he could fly straight to the Spirit Grotto in the Fish Scale Mountain Range.

By evening, they were still some distance from the Spirit Grotto.

Wan Lin, panting with exhaustion, her chest rising and falling, couldn't help sighing. "Senior Brother Xinghe... we... I'm afraid we won't make it in time."

The final deadline set by the sect was evening. If they couldn't reach the Spirit Grotto by then, it would close, and no one would have another chance to enter.

"Whether or not we've missed the time when the Spirit Grotto opens, we still have to go. Even if we really have missed it, we must at least give the three sects an explanation. Remember, we are the Vast Heaven Sect, the number one sect under heaven. Whatever we face, we cannot choose to run away. We must face it!"

Chu Xinghe's words brought tears to his junior brothers' and sisters' eyes.

Senior Brother Xinghe had actually known long ago that they wouldn't make it, yet instead of taking everyone back to the sect, he had chosen to go to the Spirit Grotto and face the three sects' accusations. Even now, Senior Brother Xinghe hadn't shirked any responsibility. His breadth of heart and willingness to shoulder the burden put them all to shame.

"Senior Brother Xinghe..." Ma Liang opened his mouth to say more, but Chu Xinghe scolded him into silence.

"Get back in line. This has nothing to do with you. Even when we return to the sect, you are absolutely forbidden to talk nonsense. Do you hear me?"

Ma Liang nodded silently, clenching his teeth to keep his tears from falling.

Everyone knew that Senior Brother Xinghe had scolded Ma Liang like that because he feared Ma Liang would really act on impulse. After all, missing the Spirit Grotto was a matter of enormous importance. If the sect learned what Ma Liang had done, demotion to the outer sect would be the least of his worries. It wasn't impossible that his cultivation would be crippled and he'd be expelled from the sect.

Ma Liang couldn't shoulder the blame for a disaster that great. In fact, none of them could. Only Senior Brother Xinghe could. Though he would also be severely punished, at least his cultivation wouldn't be crippled and he wouldn't be expelled from the sect. Even so, everyone knew that Senior Brother Xinghe would surely face the full fury of a severe punishment.

Yet even so, Senior Brother Xinghe's expression remained unchanged, and the one he was protecting was Ma Liang, who had previously been a thorn in his side at every turn.

In truth, everyone knew that if any one of them had made the mistake instead of Ma Liang, Senior Brother Xinghe would still have borne it for them. This was a true leader: not only responsible, but capable of shouldering all the blame.

"Stop fussing. Let's keep moving."

Chu Xinghe was in a wonderful mood. The deadline for the Spirit Grotto had already passed. Never mind what had happened before; missing the Spirit Grotto alone ought to be enough to get him severely punished.

Moreover, Chu Xinghe could imagine that the disciples of the other three sects hadn't been able to obtain the Stone-Breaking Pills the group carried and therefore couldn't enter the Spirit Grotto, missing out on a wonderful opportunity. The three sects were no soft persimmons. With so many people losing their chance because of Chu Xinghe alone, surely the three sects would raise hell at the Vast Heaven Sect.

When that happened, even the grand elder, the mastermind behind the scenes, could fucking forget about protecting him!

So what punishment would he receive?

His status as a personal disciple was definitely gone. He probably wouldn't go so far as to have his cultivation crippled and be expelled from the sect, but surely he couldn't escape demotion to the outer sect. The Vast Heaven Sect had to give the three sects an explanation somehow, right?

Straight from personal disciple to the outer sect... wonderful!

Feeling thoroughly pleased, Chu Xinghe arrived at the Spirit Grotto late that night. The disciples of the three sects were already gathered in their respective groups.

But the scene he had imagined, of them flying into a rage, didn't appear. Just as Chu Xinghe was wondering whether these fellows had all been driven senseless by anger, a young man in the robes of a Star Moon Sect personal disciple walked over to him.

"You must be Senior Brother Xinghe. I'm Guo Qizhen of the Star Moon Sect, and I'm also our leader this time. I didn't expect the Vast Heaven Sect to arrive half a day early."

Half. A. Day.

Early?

Chu Xinghe's first thought at that moment was, Did I fucking transmigrate?