Envy, Jealousy, and Hatred

Wang Chen raised his head and looked toward the night sky.

Above the Sky Dome, beneath the bright moon, streams of Flowing Light came from the north, racing southwest.

Several of them were especially eye-catching!

One look was enough for him to understand—Inner Sect Disciples and Purple Mansion cultivators had been dispatched.

With the flames of war rising across the Outer Sect frontier and Guard Posts activating Radiant Pillars one after another to call for aid, the upper echelons of the Yunyang Sect could not possibly remain unmoved.

It was just that the enemy's attack had come so suddenly, and so much time had already been delayed.

Who knew how many Bottom Layer cultivators like Wang Chen, conscripted into the Night Patrol Team, had been fed into the fighting as cannon fodder!

Wang Chen's heart remained utterly still.

He took a wide detour, avoiding country roads where ambushes or attacks might await, and reached Guard Post Yi-10 by smaller paths.

By then, dawn was almost breaking.

Yet the sight at Guard Post Yi-10 startled Wang Chen.

This sturdy fortress was brightly lit and buzzing with voices, as lively as a market fair.

A large number of cultivators had gathered around the Guard Post, most of them spirit plant farmers by their clothing.

Many had brought along the old and young, their faces filled with fear and unease.

There were also hot-blooded young cultivators gripping weapons, vigilantly watching their surroundings from the perimeter.

They were ready to fight at any moment.

Because he wore the standard Night Watchman robe, Wang Chen was able to enter the Guard Post without trouble after presenting his Identity Token.

The situation inside was even more chaotic than outside.

Many cultivators sat or lay about. Some were treating their own wounds, while others were being tended to by their companions.

Indignant curses, pained groans, and heated arguments filled the air.

The place had practically become a field hospital.

The air was heavy with the stench of blood!

Wang Chen looked around and spotted Team Leader Yao Mingjie at the edge of the training ground.

As well as Team Deputy Guo Ping!

Neither of them seemed seriously injured.

Yao Mingjie was splattered with blood, his expression exceptionally grim.

Guo Ping was saying something to him.

"Senior Brother Yao, Senior Brother Guo!"

Wang Chen walked over and bowed to them. "I'm back."

He did not want to be expelled from the Yunyang Sect, nor did he want to be treated as a deserter. He had to return to the team.

Yao Mingjie and Guo Ping both froze.

Guo Ping reacted quickly, immediately breaking into a delighted smile. "Wang Chen, are you all right?"

Wang Chen gave a wry smile. "I escaped by luck. Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother."

Although the Team Deputy appeared deeply concerned and delighted by Wang Chen's safe return.

Wang Chen would never forget.

How Guo Ping had reacted when the Night Patrol Team came under attack.

Not for a single moment had Wang Chen lowered his guard against Guo Ping!

He used that wry smile to conceal the turmoil in his heart, lest the other man notice anything amiss.

Yao Mingjie, meanwhile, said expressionlessly, "It's good that you're back."

Few words, cold tone.

Yet Wang Chen's impression of this Team Leader far exceeded that of the warmly enthusiastic Guo Ping!

"You're all right?"

At that moment, an agitated voice suddenly rang out from beside him. "How can you be completely unharmed?"

Wang Chen turned his head and saw a young cultivator roaring at him. "So many senior brothers and junior brothers died, yet you, a fourth layer Qi Condensation cultivator, came out perfectly fine. Why?"

The man's face was twisted with rage, his hysterical manner reminding Wang Chen of some roaring madman.

Everyone's attention around them was immediately drawn over.

As the target of the accusation, Wang Chen found that the looks directed at him were rather strange.

Surprise, doubt, gloating...

By then, Wang Chen had recognized the fellow yelling furiously at him.

He was one of Wang Chen's teammates.

He had survived as well.

But his right arm was gone, a bandage wrapped around the wound.

Wang Chen could understand this teammate's agitation and resentment.

Once a cultivator's body was left incomplete, their path to immortality would inevitably be severely affected—perhaps even cut off entirely.

Never mind losing an arm; even losing a single finger was a grievous injury.

To regrow a severed limb, one would need a Golden Core True Person to cast a spell, or take specialized Pills.

Neither option

was something a minor cultivator could manage!

In short, this man no longer had much of a future to speak of.

It was normal for him to lose control of his emotions.

But understanding was one thing.

Wang Chen had no desire to become the outlet for the other man's rage.

And beneath the severed-arm cultivator's questioning lay deeply concealed malice!

He ignored this teammate who had clearly lost his mind and took from his sleeve pocket the Storage Bag stamped with the emblem of a vertical eye.

He presented it to Yao Mingjie. "Senior Brother Yao, I seized this after killing a robber."

Yao Mingjie gave Wang Chen a long look, then reached out and grabbed the Storage Bag. "You haven't opened it, have you?"

Wang Chen said, "No."

"You're very clever."

Yao Mingjie weighed the Storage Bag in his hand and said, "The belongings of Evil Cultivators and demonic cultivators are the last things you should touch. They love placing sinister poison restrictions inside their Storage Bags."

"The ones who attacked us were the Gray-Eyed Bandits. They wouldn't carry anything good on them!"

He suddenly asked, "Did you fire that Dust Smoke Talisman?"

Wang Chen nodded.

The Dust Smoke Talisman worked much like a smoke bomb, making it very useful for obscuring an enemy's vision.

Wang Chen had looted that Dust Smoke Talisman from a corpse.

It had, in a way, saved his life.

"You did very well."

Yao Mingjie said, "I'll report your contribution, but this Storage Bag must be handed in as well."

What he did not say was that Wang Chen's Dust Smoke Talisman had helped him too.

The people around them immediately shot Wang Chen looks of envy, jealousy, and hatred.

A mere cultivator at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation had actually picked up the scraps and killed a Bandit, even obtaining irrefutable proof of his battle merit.

He was bound to receive several hundred Merit Points!

Without hesitation, Wang Chen replied, "No problem. Thank you, Senior Brother!"

If he had to choose someone among these people who was worthy of trust, he would choose Yao Mingjie without a doubt!

Wang Chen believed that this squad leader would not embezzle his Storage Bag or the credit for killing the enemy.

So many people were watching, after all!

Yao Mingjie then looked at the severed-arm cultivator, his gaze filled with contempt and disdain. "For the sake of the arm you lost, I'll pretend you didn't say anything just now."

The corners of the severed-arm cultivator's eyes twitched several times.

Under all the strange looks from those around him, he wished he could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it on the spot.

The young cultivator lowered his head dejectedly. The hot-blooded courage and indignation in his chest vanished without a trace, and he wilted completely like an eggplant struck by frost.

Wang Chen felt that the blow to his mind had already far surpassed the injury to his body!

What remained alive now was merely a walking corpse.

Day broke.

Two blue-gray hawks landed one after the other atop the watchtower.

Yao Mingjie was called away.

He returned soon afterward.

He said to Guo Ping, "Orders have come down from above. All newly formed squads are to be disbanded, and the veteran members are to return to their original squads."

Then he said to Wang Chen, "You can go home. The mission is over!"

It was ending just like that?

To be honest, Wang Chen could hardly believe it.

Thinking back on last night's experience, he felt as though he had lived through a dream!

At this moment, the sun peeked over the horizon, its boundless morning radiance shining upon Guard Post Yi-10.

Draping this fortress in a blood-red outer garment.

Second update delivered.

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