Cruelty

Yu Ruochen, clad in a purple Daoist robe with his hair casually tied behind his head by a black band, stood quietly upon an immense open ground.

The level ground, stretching several hundred zhang in every direction, seemed to have been cast entirely from metal. It gleamed with a dim luster, and one glance was enough to make one feel the peculiar coldness, hardness, and weight of metal.

The elevation here was almost exactly level with the sea of clouds, so that a faint mist like white gauze drifted over every inch of the ground.

Other than Yu Ruochen standing silently there, the entire square was empty. Yet around its perimeter, a huge square cauldron stood every twenty zhang. Thin smoke rose from the cauldrons, fragrant in scent and lingering without dispersing.

To the north of the square stood a hundred-step staircase, likewise cast from metal. Each step bore deep grooves for traction and drainage. Beyond the hundred steps stood a vermilion hall, its black glazed upturned eaves supported by enormous scarlet pillars. Vermilion and black intermingled, with vermilion as the dominant hue. White marble railings surrounded the front of the hall, while behind it lay a steep gorge. The rear half of the hall disappeared into that gorge, and framed by the sheer cliffs on either side, it was like a bright pearl nestled within an oyster shell. A slender waterfall spilled down from one wall of the gorge, lending the hall several more touches of lively grace.

Though this hall lacked the majestic grandeur of the great hall within Luofu Mountain, it was nonetheless exquisitely crafted and splendidly beautiful.

Yu Ruochen stood motionless upon the metal square, slowly becoming one with the dusk that shrouded all of Shushan, indistinguishable from it. It was as though his entire person had merged into the surrounding heaven and earth.

Unity of Heaven and Man.

Yu Ruochen, whose body showed not the slightest ripple of magical power, had also entered the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man.

Suddenly, a red streak shot into the distant sky and burst into dozens of crimson rays. It was the Flying Flame Talisman Dan Lingsheng had released to summon the disciples back for assembly.

Yu Ruochen suddenly raised his head slightly and looked toward the scattered crimson glow.

With that slight movement, Yu Ruochen detached himself from the surrounding heaven and earth.

The realm of Unity of Heaven and Man had been broken.

"Yuan Tianyi had already surpassed my present realm thirty years ago. I am still inferior to him." Yu Ruochen gazed quietly at the crimson glow and slowly sighed.

A brilliant sword light suddenly streaked over from the direction of Tianzhu Peak, landing some distance below Yu Ruochen in the square.

"Martial Uncle!"

The newcomer wore a black robe. He bowed to Yu Ruochen, and it was none other than the ever cold-faced Duan Tianya.

"Do you think this method is a little too cruel for them?" Yu Ruochen nodded at Duan Tianya and suddenly asked.

"Martial Uncle, you already knew why I came?" Duan Tianya nodded and said silently, "Who is without fault? They have never undergone tempering, so it is only natural that they would cling to life and fear death. Perhaps if they were given another chance, they could still become the backbone of Shushan in the future."

"What you say is certainly true." Yu Ruochen looked gently at Duan Tianya, then at Shushan enveloped by dusk. "Yuan Tianyi perished at Kunlun. Even the Chì Lè Sect has raised the Great Brahma Mandala Wall to protect itself. Kunlun has also been making moves these past days. Since yesterday, it has been taking in disciples on a large scale and sending over a hundred elite disciples out into the world for training. Though I do not know why, great upheaval has already taken shape. Shushan stands at the crest of the storm. It is not that we are cruel—the tide of the world has left us no choice."

Though Yu Ruochen's voice was gentle and even, Duan Tianya could hear the slaughter and grim desolation filling it. He remained silent, but his fists could not help tightening slightly.

"In a few more days, it will be the Sword Recognition Ceremony." Yu Ruochen suddenly smiled and looked over the empty square. "When the time comes, this place will again be filled with Shushan disciples. I wonder whether anyone will bring us a pleasant surprise this time."

After a pause, Yu Ruochen smiled again. "Every year, Shushan welcomes days like this. All I ask is that every year, I may stand here and watch such days unfold."

In the night, as far as the eye could see, wind swept the clouds through the distant sky.

"Where am I?"

Luo Bei abruptly sat up.

A thread of pale sunlight filtered through the black-painted window lattice. It was already morning.

Where is that black-robed freak named Lu Yu? Did martial uncle Dan Lingsheng and the others save me?

Filled with alarm and doubt, Luo Bei looked around the utterly empty room. There was only a pale yellow mat woven from some unknown grass and a purple incense coil burning in a dish. He pushed open the window directly before him, only to be greatly startled again.

Outside the window was a vast sea of clouds!

The room Luo Bei was in actually stood atop a cliff jutting out into empty air! Beyond the window lay a bottomless abyss!

With a creak, Luo Bei pushed open the door of the room.

Outside was a courtyard more than ten zhang wide, its ground formed from a single naturally level slab of mountain rock.

Rooms like Luo Bei's lined all four sides of the courtyard, layer upon layer, five stories in all.

The five tiers of buildings surrounding the courtyard were all ancient and weighty in style. Above the building directly facing a Black Gate hung a plaque some four zhang long.

"Dao Fa Zi Ran"

The four wildly cursive characters seemed ready to burst through the plaque and fly away.

Dan Lingsheng stood in the center of the courtyard, surrounded by the four buildings.

The terrifying scars on Dan Lingsheng's face remained shocking to behold, enough to send a chill through anyone's heart. Yet there seemed to be a trace more warmth in his eyes.

"Cai Shu?"

As Luo Bei pushed open his door and stared blankly at this place he had never seen before, he discovered that the door beside his own had opened at the same moment. Cai Shu, her face equally full of shock and doubt, was looking at him with the same expression.

"Martial uncle Dan Lingsheng, what exactly is going on? At Tianzhu Peak, I encountered a black-robed freak. He said he was Lu Yu of North Yin Mountain..."

Luo Bei, whose room was on the ground floor, stepped outside and immediately asked Dan Lingsheng, who stood not far before him.

But Dan Lingsheng merely waved a hand, telling Luo Bei not to say more.

Luo Bei and Cai Shu stood in the morning sunlight and could not help exchanging a glance. At that moment, the doors of the surrounding rooms opened one after another, while nightmare-like cries of alarm rang out from some rooms that had not yet opened.

"Senior Brother Lin Hang!"

Among those who emerged, Luo Bei immediately spotted the somewhat pale Lin Hang. He could not help grabbing him and quietly asking, "Senior Brother Lin Hang, what exactly happened?"

"I... I don't know..." Lin Hang shook his head, alarmed and bewildered. He stammered as he explained, "I... I... I was at Tianzhu Peak, and I met someone. He said he was from the North Yin Sect..."

"What? You encountered someone from the North Yin Sect too?!"

Though Lin Hang's words were halting, that sentence exploded like a keg of gunpowder in the hearts of Luo Bei and Cai Shu!

"What exactly is going on?!" Luo Bei could not help whirling around and demanding loudly of Dan Lingsheng.

His stern cry drew everyone's gaze to Dan Lingsheng and Luo Bei.

"If you are not idiots, you should have figured it out by now." Dan Lingsheng merely glanced at Luo Bei, then lowered his eyes and said blandly, "How could people from the North Yin Sect possibly sneak into Shushan? This so-called North Yin Sect was merely a test for you."

With a boom, an uproar broke out!

Luo Bei looked around, and from the expressions on the others' faces, he knew they must all, like him, have encountered that so-called Lu Yu of the North Yin Sect.

"What will happen to those who failed the test?" Someone suddenly could not help asking. Luo Bei swept his gaze over and saw that it was Ling Dong Shan, whose face was likewise somewhat pale.

He also refused to agree to poison Dan Lingsheng. Since Senior Brother Lin Hang is here, he clearly did too...

Just as that thought surfaced in Luo Bei's mind, Dan Lingsheng said coldly, "Those who failed the trial will no longer be Shushan disciples from this day forth."

"They will be expelled from the sect!"

Luo Bei's fists clenched at once. Everyone had now gathered, but counting himself, only six people remained at his side. Even Zi Xuangu was not among them.

The fate of those people was easy to imagine.

"Is this punishment not too severe?" Luo Bei could not help looking at Dan Lingsheng and asking.

"Too severe?" Without even raising his head, Dan Lingsheng said in silence, "Why are you here while they are not? You had only just memorized the laws of Shushan yesterday. Do you not know that coveting profit and desire, and taking part in harming one's fellow disciples, are among Shushan's greatest taboos?"

Luo Bei could not speak.

Indeed, he could find no reason to refute Dan Lingsheng. Yet his chest still felt strangely hollow.

For like Duan Tianya, who had pleaded with Yu Ruochen for mercy, he suddenly felt that although some people had erred, they should still have been given another chance.

"A kind heart is a good thing."

Dan Lingsheng's gaze swept across Luo Bei's face again, and his utterly emotionless voice rang out. "But once you have cultivated for long enough and gained experience, you will understand that cultivating the Dao is not merely riding sword light and flying about the skies as you please! Do you know how many predecessors were destroyed in both body and soul to give Shushan its achievements today? At times, one lapse of the heart is enough to lead to eternal damnation!"

"Those who passed this trial will be taught the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art. Among Shushan's sword arts, none can rival it beneath heaven; the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art is our foundation."

"The pills you took were not poison pills, but genuine Jade Condensing Pills. The final medicinal herb required for a Jade Condensing Pill is hard to find. From this day onward, I hope you will stand firm in your true hearts as you did when facing Lu Yu. Otherwise, even if you learn Shushan's arts, you will surely stray onto an evil path! You will have wasted Shushan's teachings and wasted this single pill from Shushan!"

"Luo Bei," Cai Shu suddenly asked softly as she watched Dan Lingsheng take from his robes the black leather-bound tome Luo Bei had once seen in "Lu Yu's" hands and unfold the words of the Great Dao Direct Pointing Cui Xu Art, "if one day someone forced you, as Lu Yu did, to harm me, would you agree?"

Luo Bei froze for a moment, then shook his head. "Of course not."

Cai Shu, who had not turned to look at him throughout her question, let a smile ripple across her lips at that moment. "Neither would I."