Could There Be Such a Good Thing?

Perhaps Chu Xinghe's words had done the trick. Sure enough, the senior brothers of Spirit Crane Palace did not lay a hand on Chu Cheng.

But they chose another way!

They cut off the pills!

That was right. Though the outer sect of the Vast Heaven Sect could not compare with the inner sect in terms of benefits, this was still the number one sect under heaven. Even the outer sect disciples received far more resources than the inner sect disciples of ordinary sects. Many great sects' inner disciples could not compare either.

As for pills, those naturally came from Spirit Crane Palace. Every pill the entire Vast Heaven Sect received was supplied by Spirit Crane Palace.

Each group came to collect its allotted pills, then returned to distribute them among its disciples according to their shares.

This time, however, the outer sect received none. The reason was simple: pills were in short supply.

At first, the outer sect did not think much of it. They were the outer sect, after all, so it was only natural that their supply would be cut first when pills were scarce, right? But when they asked when the shortage would be made up, the answer was that it would not be!

That set the outer sect off. What was this? Were outer sect disciples not human? It was bad enough being bullied in the ordinary course of things, but now they were doing it out in the open?

Just as the outer sect disciples were clamoring to take the matter to the Grand Elder, a message came from Spirit Crane Palace.

"What? It's because of that bastard Chu Cheng?!"

"He said Chu Xinghe broke his arm?"

"Bullshit... Chu Xinghe never even went to the outer sect. I was there that day. Some people from his old team came to see him, and he mouthed off, so they ganged up on him and beat him into that state!"

"I heard this guy treated the people on his team like dirt before, too."

"Damn it! None of us can get our pills because of that bastard? I heard the people from Spirit Crane Palace said he slandered their junior brother Xinghe, and they couldn't stand by and watch?"

"I don't care. Just watch me cripple that bastard!"

How vicious could a group of outer sect disciples deprived of their pills be? Chu Cheng was probably the best person to ask.

After resting for a few days, Chu Cheng was still black and blue, but he could already get out of bed and walk. Chu Cheng swore it! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river! Do not bully a young man for being poor!

One day, he, Chu Cheng, would return to the inner sect in the glory of a great emperor!

When that time came, the first thing he would do was make Chu Xinghe kneel before him and call him father!

And if he did not break all four of his limbs... No! All five of his limbs!

But just as Chu Cheng was imagining himself slaughtering in every direction with a divine sword in his left hand and a divine art in his right, a group of outer sect disciples kicked his door open.

"So you're the fucking Chu Cheng!" An outer sect senior brother who looked like a Fathead Fish cocked his head and stared at Chu Cheng.

"Senior brother... what is it... I... I'm Chu Cheng. What can I do for you, senior brother..." Chu Cheng returned to the mortal world from heaven, but the mortal world could not hold him for long. The gates of hell opened.

Once the outer sect senior brothers confirmed that the man before them was Chu Cheng, they threw all caution to the wind and rushed in to beat the living daylights out of him!

No one could say exactly how long the beating lasted, but everyone had a very good idea how long it would be before he could get out of bed.

About half a year...

After that savage beating, word reached Spirit Crane Palace. The next time the outer sect disciples went to collect their pills, the scarce supplies were not scarce at all anymore... Not only did they receive the share they were originally owed, but the Fathead Fish who had led the beating of Chu Cheng even received an extra bottle of body-tempering pills from the senior brothers of Spirit Crane Palace!

Well, now... that settled it. Teaming up to beat Chu Cheng became part of the outer sect disciples' daily routine.

Chu Xinghe also heard the news. Looking utterly distressed, he said to Feng Fei, who had brought it to him, "Senior Brother Feng, how... how am I supposed to face anyone after this..."

"You jest, Junior Brother Xinghe. What does this have to do with you? What does it have to do with Spirit Crane Palace? Chu Cheng is a narrow-minded man who bullied others when he was a team leader. I've investigated the matter thoroughly. What's more, he was beaten by a crowd but pinned the blame on you, Junior Brother. It's truly infuriating. The people from the outer sect acted because the righteous Qi in their hearts still burns bright. Naturally, they had to punish such a scoundrel!"

Feng Fei's speech left Chu Xinghe at a loss for words. He can make bullying someone sound so damn righteous? Senior Brother Feng Fei, I misjudged you!

But why do I like it so much?!

Speaking of Chu Cheng, Feng Fei had actually asked around about him. Both Chu Cheng and Chu Xinghe came from Kaoshan Village. Though they were from the same village, Chu Xinghe had lost both parents when he was little and grown up an orphan, surviving on scraps shared by the villagers.

Chu Cheng was a different story. His father was a wealthy man in the village, and Chu Cheng had been a village bully since childhood. In the past, being bullied by Chu Cheng had been an everyday occurrence for Chu Xinghe.

Feng Fei had even learned from Chu Xinghe's former teammates that, after they entered the Vast Heaven Sect, the fellow had broken Chu Xinghe's arm during a trial outside the sect. But all his teammates said Chu Xinghe was broad-minded and had never reported it.

The usually mild-mannered Feng Fei was truly furious after hearing all that!

What was this? Bullying an honest man, was he?

It was bad enough that he had bullied his junior brother Xinghe from childhood, but he had dared to carry on after joining the sect. Even Feng Fei could not stand the sight of such a person!

"We got so caught up talking about this that I nearly delayed the important matter. Junior Brother Xinghe, the Grand Elder is already waiting in the Medicine King Palace. Today, he'll teach you the basics. You're the first person the Grand Elder has ever personally taught the basics of pill refining." Though Feng Fei was envious, he also knew Chu Xinghe was no ordinary person.

With vermilion bird spirit fire, he was bound to reach the pinnacle one day.

"Ah..." After hearing Feng Fei, Chu Xinghe was at a loss... Actually... I never wanted to learn pill refining... I heard learning it means memorizing all sorts of mind-numbingly dull information. My memory is really, really awful... I can't do it...

But no amount of talking would help. Led by Feng Fei, Chu Xinghe arrived at the Medicine King Palace.

In the center of the Medicine King Palace stood a dazzling pill furnace bearing the illusory image of a vermilion bird. This was the palace's treasured Vermilion Bird Furnace!

It had belonged to the Medicine Saint Lu Changfeng. With the Vermilion Bird Furnace and vermilion bird spirit fire, Lu Changfeng had swept through the pill refiners of the world, making them all bow in submission. In doing so, he had established the Vast Heaven Sect's reputation as the best under heaven in the art of medicine.

Yet for four hundred years, no one had been able to use the Vermilion Bird Furnace, because without vermilion bird spirit fire, it could not even be activated.

The Grand Elder was already standing beside the Vermilion Bird Furnace. He looked at the furnace, then at Chu Xinghe as he entered, and fell into a daze. He seemed to see the day when the Vermilion Bird Furnace would once again burn with vermilion bird spirit fire and carry the Vast Heaven Sect to new heights.

"Disciple Chu Xinghe (Feng Fei) greets the Grand Elder."

The two bowed to the Grand Elder together.

"Feng Fei, thank you for your effort. Go teach the other disciples."

"This disciple obeys."

Feng Fei left the Medicine King Palace, leaving behind only the miserable Chu Xinghe and the Grand Elder, who was full of hope for the future.

The Grand Elder began with the Vermilion Bird Furnace, recounting the story of the Medicine Saint Lu Changfeng to Chu Xinghe.

It's a good story... but... I don't want to learn pill refining... Chu Xinghe felt even more miserable.

"To refine medicine, you must first learn to identify it. Starting today, I will personally teach you the various methods of identifying medicinal ingredients. The path of pill refining is a hard one, but you possess vermilion bird spirit fire. The future belongs to you."

What did mind-numbing mean? It took Chu Xinghe only half an afternoon to find out.

Evening primrose... Moon Nether Grass... Moon Soul Grass... Come on, they all look exactly the same. How am I supposed to tell them apart? And their markings are slightly different? Chu Xinghe felt as though his eyes were about to burst from staring, yet he could not see a single difference.

Misfortune Compass... doesn't this fucking count as punishment? Aren't you going to compensate me with peak Martial Ancestor cultivation? This is way worse than being confined, all right?

Chu Xinghe was miserable to the extreme, but there was nothing he could do. Why was getting expelled from the sect so difficult? He just wanted to become a Martial Emperor in one second.

Chu Xinghe had previously considered whether he could get expelled by pointing a finger at the Grand Elder's nose and cursing him, then being cast out for betraying his master and ancestors.

But the punishment for betraying one's master and ancestors was not expulsion from the sect. It was death by a thousand cuts!

He wanted to be expelled from the sect, not reincarnated. Besides, the Misfortune Compass seemed to have restrictions on that too, forbidding certain overly deliberate actions.

He had to court death, but in just the right way. That was the hard part. Chu Xinghe stared at the three herbs, cursing inwardly... Does this Misfortune Compass of mine even count as a system?

By rights, isn't a system supposed to give me all sorts of help so I can defy the heavens and rise? Ever since I got the Misfortune Compass, it hasn't helped me worth a damn... All those tasks are laid out to tempt me like a row of beauties, but what's the point if I can't touch a single one?

"Xinghe, learning to identify herbs is not something that happens overnight. There's no need to be discouraged." Seeing the dejected look on Chu Xinghe's face, the Grand Elder assumed he was discouraged because his first day of learning had not gone smoothly.

"Thank you, Grand Elder... Then roughly how long will it take to learn?"

"When I began learning to identify medicines as an apprentice, it took me a mere five years to master the properties of seventy percent of the medicinal ingredients under heaven." The Grand Elder stroked his beard and chuckled.

"A... mere? Five... years?"

"Ahem... Xinghe, what you don't know is that, though my talent was not the very best, it was still the kind seen only once in a hundred years. Mastering seventy percent in five years was unmatched in the world. Someone with slightly poorer aptitude would be fortunate to master thirty to fifty percent in ten years."

Crack... A thunderclap exploded beside Chu Xinghe's ear.

Ten years? Thirty to fifty percent?

And that was someone with only slightly poorer talent? What about someone like him, who did not even want to learn? Twenty years... thirty years? Chu Xinghe seemed to see himself, old and decrepit, still sitting here trying to tell what the hell the difference was between evening primrose and Moon Soul Grass.

"All right, that's enough for today's lesson. Go back and rest. Come again tomorrow morning to continue learning." Smiling, the Grand Elder saw Chu Xinghe off as he walked away like a wooden puppet.

On his way back, Chu Xinghe woodenly greeted the senior brothers he passed. He now lived at Spirit Crane Palace, sharing a room with Feng Fei, an arrangement the Grand Elder had made himself.

Senior Brother Feng Fei was startled to see Chu Xinghe return to the room in a daze, but then he remembered how strict the Grand Elder was. It was only normal for Junior Brother Xinghe to have been scolded on his first day of study, right?

"Junior Brother Xinghe, the Grand Elder is strict, but his pill-refining skills are unmatched in the world. You must work hard now that you have the chance to learn from him."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Feng... I'll work hard..." Chu Xinghe answered woodenly. Right now, he did not want to work hard. He just wanted to die.

"What did the Grand Elder teach you today?" Feng Fei continued, looking for something to talk about.

"Identifying medicines... Evening primrose is evening primrose... Moon Nether Grass is Moon Nether Grass, and Moon Soul Grass is evening primrose... What the hell..." Chu Xinghe's mind was in a complete muddle.

Feng Fei nodded as though he understood perfectly. "Junior Brother, there's no need to lose heart. Identifying medicines is indeed difficult to learn at first, but once you've mastered the basics, the Grand Elder will surely teach you more advanced fire-control techniques. It won't be so dull then. Besides, you possess vermilion bird spirit fire and are the only person who can use the Vermilion Bird Divine Furnace. Your future is boundless, but you mustn't be as reckless as you were the first time. It would be bad if you damaged the Vermilion Bird Furnace."

Feng Fei patiently reminded Chu Xinghe.

But Chu Xinghe had only heard one thing Feng Fei said...

Damage the Vermilion Bird Furnace?

Could there be such a good thing?