Truth

Zhang Wuxian was unquestionably their senior. He ranked seventh among the outer disciples of Little Rain Peak and was an absolute top figure among its outer disciples.

Mo Can and Zhou Xian had been somewhat restrained at first, but they were young men after all, and Zhang Wuxian was exceptionally easygoing. After a few cups of wine, everyone loosened up.

"If I'm not mistaken, Brother Luo Zheng should have broken through into the Marrow Refining Realm on the arena just now, right?" Zhang Wuxian asked after downing a cup of wine with his thick lips.

Luo Zheng glanced at Zhang Wuxian. "Brother Wuxian noticed?"

"What? Brother Luo Zheng, you've already entered the Marrow Refining Realm?" Mo Can exclaimed in astonishment.

Luo Zheng nodded. "When I exchanged blows with Xu Lie just now, I gained some insight. If I hadn't entered the Marrow Refining Realm, today's situation would have been dangerous."

Zhang Wuxian shook his head instead. "I'm not so sure. Brother Luo Zheng is a once-in-a-generation talent. If you advance a few more levels, you might become a pillar of Little Rain Peak."

"Brother Wuxian flatters me. Among the many disciples of Little Rain Peak's outer sect, how many extraordinary talents are there? I, Luo Zheng, have only just arrived. How could I possibly compare with you and the others?" Luo Zheng shook his head.

"Why not? Brother Luo Zheng, have you ever heard the legend of Jade Maiden Peak?" Zhang Wuxian asked with a mysterious look on his face.

"Jade Maiden Peak? The one ranked seventeenth, where every disciple is female?" Zhou Xian had drunk enough that his face was flushed red. After refining their bodies, however, their tolerance for alcohol increased as well. Though they had been drinking for quite some time, none of them was drunk.

Zhang Wuxian smiled. "That's right. It ranks seventeenth this year, but two years ago, Jade Maiden Peak had always ranked second, falling only behind Heaven One Peak!"

Zhou Xian had entered Little Rain Peak a year before Luo Zheng and Mo Can, but he had not known about this either. He asked in surprise, "What? How could a peak filled with female disciples surpass Taiyi Peak?"

In Zhou Xian's understanding, when it came to martial cultivation, the most powerful were always men.

"Then you don't know the whole story. Jade Maiden Peak was able to rank so highly because of one female disciple..." Zhang Wuxian said with a smile.

"I imagine that female disciple had extraordinary talent, suppressing the other thirty-one peaks by herself and losing only to Heaven One Peak?" Luo Zheng continued for him.

"Clap, clap, clap."

Zhang Wuxian applauded. "Brother Luo Zheng is absolutely right. That's exactly how it was. That female disciple was as beautiful as a celestial maiden descended to the mortal world, and her talent was astonishing. She had only entered the Azure Cloud Sect two years earlier, yet she rose rapidly. So, Brother Luo Zheng, if even a woman could accomplish that, a grown man like you has no reason to belittle himself! It's just a pity that such a celestial maiden of a disciple was framed by someone, violated the Sect Rules, and sent into Purgatory Mountain..."

"What was that female disciple's name?" Zhang Wuxian had successfully aroused Mo Can's curiosity.

"By coincidence, that female disciple shared Brother Luo Zheng's surname. Her surname was Luo, and her name was Yan!" Zhang Wuxian said with a grin.

"Crack!"

The celadon wine cup in Luo Zheng's hand was crushed into countless fragments. Wine splashed out and slowly trickled down his hand.

The other three were startled. They had not expected Luo Zheng to react so violently.

"Brother Luo Zheng, are you all right?" Mo Can asked in surprise. "You know this Luo Yan?"

Given Zhang Wuxian and the others' intelligence, how could they fail to see what was going on? They both bore the Luo surname, and Luo Zheng had reacted so strongly. Zhang Wuxian had already guessed seven or eight parts of the answer. But seeing how intense Luo Zheng's reaction was, he asked cautiously, "Brother Luo Zheng, could this Luo Yan be your younger sister?"

This was the first time since entering the Azure Cloud Sect that Luo Zheng had directly heard news of his younger sister.

Previously, he had asked Zhou Xian about Purgatory Mountain, but he had not learned anything about the people involved.

Over the past few years, the person he had worried about most was his younger sister. He had been concerned for her safety. Now that the words had come from Zhang Wuxian's mouth, he became agitated for a moment and crushed the wine cup.

Luo Zheng did not answer Zhang Wuxian's question. Instead, he asked directly, "Brother Wuxian, what was the reason Luo Yan was framed and sent into Purgatory Mountain?"

Seeing Luo Zheng looking as if he might devour someone, Zhang Wuxian put away his playful smile and said, "This matter caused a huge uproar two years ago. Luo Yan was as beautiful as a celestial maiden and exceptionally talented. It was said that she possessed a special bloodline. A female disciple so breathtakingly talented would naturally attract the pursuit of those extraordinary disciples within the Azure Cloud Sect. The one who pursued her most fiercely was Yun Fang, ranked seven hundredth on the Azure Cloud Rankings!"

"The Azure Cloud Rankings?" The three words were utterly unfamiliar to Luo Zheng.

"Brother Luo Zheng, you don't even know what the Azure Cloud Rankings are?" Zhang Wuxian asked in surprise.

Seeing this, Zhou Xian added from the side, "The Azure Cloud Rankings are the most important ranking list in our Azure Cloud Sect. It has a thousand spots in total. Any disciple who makes it onto the Azure Cloud Rankings is one of the most outstanding figures in the entire Azure Cloud Sect!"

"I see." Luo Zheng nodded. The Azure Cloud Rankings recorded the thousand strongest disciples in the Azure Cloud Sect, and Yun Fang was ranked seven hundredth. It was easy to imagine how powerful he was. Eager to hear what happened next, he said, "Brother Wuxian, don't mind my interruption. Just continue."

Zhang Wuxian continued, "Although my information is fairly well-connected, I wasn't there myself. I only know that Yun Fang was crippled below the waist by a single sword strike from Luo Yan, provoking the Yun Clan's towering fury. Yun Fang was the youngest son of the head of the Qilin Yun Clan, one of the Seven Great Scholar Clans. The clan head had only two sons, and one of them had been crippled by Luo Yan. Naturally, the clan head was enraged. He brought the matter all the way to the Azure Cloud Sect. Although Jade Maiden Peak argued their case forcefully and fought to protect their most outstanding female disciple, in order to quell the Qilin Yun Clan head's fury, they ultimately sent Luo Yan into Purgatory Mountain!"

By the time he heard this, Luo Zheng's five fingers had already dug into the wine table, gouging out five deep furrows.

Naturally, the other three could all see how agitated Luo Zheng was.

Luo Zheng truly was agitated. He had always been steady. Even in battles on the brink of life and death, he could maintain an Ordinary Heart at the critical moment.

But this matter concerned Luo Yan. How could Luo Zheng possibly remain calm?

The Qilin Yun Clan...

At that moment, those four words had already been carved deeply into Luo Zheng's mind.

The Qilin Yun Clan was one of the Seven Great Scholar Clans, and among those seven clans, it belonged to the upper three—the third-ranked Scholar Clan in the Imperial Capital.

Luo Zheng knew his younger sister's personality very well. She would not cause trouble lightly. Although Zhang Wuxian's information was not particularly detailed, Luo Zheng could guess some of what had happened even from the soles of his feet. It must have been Yun Fang who offended Luo Yan first, forcing her to cripple that bastard below the waist!

Good. He deserved it. One day, when my strength is great enough, I'll turn the Yun Clan upside down. Luo Zheng swore silently.

"Brother Luo Zheng, Brother Luo Zheng! Are you all right?" Mo Can called twice, his face full of worry.

Luo Zheng came back to himself and forced a smile. "I'm fine, I'm fine..." Then he asked Zhang Wuxian, "I want to know how someone can be rescued from Purgatory Mountain."

"If Brother Luo Zheng wants to rescue someone else, it isn't too difficult. A thousand points can be exchanged for one year," Zhang Wuxian explained. "For example, last month, Inner Sect Disciple Xue Changzai of our Little Rain Peak was punished with four years of confinement. But someone used four thousand points to exchange for those four years and had Xue Changzai released from Purgatory Mountain."

A thousand points could be exchanged for one year of confinement!

The price was rather steep, but at least there was a glimmer of hope. Luo Zheng's eyes lit up. If that was the case, he would have to earn points like mad. He then asked, "Then how many years of confinement was Luo Yan sentenced to?"

Seeing how deeply concerned Luo Zheng was, Zhang Wuxian knew his answer would be cruel. He could only sigh and say, "A thousand years."

A thousand years...

In other words, if he wanted to release Luo Yan from Purgatory Mountain, he would need one million points!

The Azure Cloud Sect had actually given Luo Yan such a severe punishment. A thousand years—could they be hoping that his younger sister would die of old age in Purgatory Mountain?

At that moment, Luo Zheng came to hate the Azure Cloud Sect as well.

Seeing this, Zhang Wuxian comforted him. "The Azure Cloud Sect has countless ties with the Seven Great Scholar Clans. Sometimes, when matters are handled, it's a few key figures scheming behind the scenes. As far as I know, most people—even the instructors, once they learned of this matter—were extremely indignant. Jade Maiden Peak also fought to protect Luo Yan, and two instructors even resigned from their posts because of it."

Luo Zheng nodded. "I understand. This matter targeted a person, not the principle itself. Thank you for the reminder, Brother Wuxian."

At that moment, none of the four had any mood left for drinking, so they hastily called it a night.

Luo Zheng did not go home. Late that night, he stayed alone in the training room and vented all his strength.

Strength. His strength was still far too weak.

Luo Zheng had thought that once he entered the Azure Cloud Sect and became one of its disciples, he would be able to rescue Luo Yan.

But Zhang Wuxian's words had struck him like a blow to the head, making him understand what level of figures his enemies were!

With his current strength, he was no more than an ant in the eyes of those great personages!

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The Stone Men and stone locks used for training were destroyed one after another by Luo Zheng, leaving the training room in complete disarray.

Several hours later, Luo Zheng finally left the training room. After venting himself, his mood had eased somewhat. The pent-up frustrations in a person's heart had to be released through some means. Luo Zheng chose the simplest and most effective method: violence!

Early the next morning, Luo Zheng got up and climbed to the ridge of Little Rain Peak. The residences of Little Rain Peak's instructors stood on that ridge.

After asking around, Luo Zheng had already learned that sect-issued missions were obtained from the instructors.