Registration Obstructed

Shen Yuan steadily completed three days of grueling labor clearing the Rocky Shoal.

In outsiders' eyes, he was still that pale-faced, low-profile servant. Only he knew that he now possessed the robust vitality of the Body Tempering Sixth Layer. With the improved Subduing Tiger Fist and Azure Cloud Inner Breath Art at his command, his strength had long since undergone earth-shaking change.

Over the past few days, Wang Dong had continually brought him news.

Registration for the Outer Sect Assessment had officially opened. All servants and unaffiliated outer sect disciples could register. But Steward Liu Er had given orders well in advance, declaring that Shen Yuan's name was not to be entered.

"Shen Yuan, Liu Er's trusted men are guarding the registration point right now. If you go over there, they'll throw you out straightaway."

Toward evening, in a corner of the Servant Compound, Wang Dong gnawed on dry rations, his brows tightly furrowed as he spoke to Shen Yuan in a lowered voice.

"I saw it with my own eyes. This morning, two servants who wanted to register were turned away by Liu Er on the grounds that their assigned work wasn't finished. He's clearly determined to block you to the death."

The lingering rays of the setting sun stretched their shadows long. Many servants came and went through the compound. Quite a few had their minds on the Outer Sect Assessment; escaping the bitter sea of servitude was the dream of every disciple at the bottom.

Shen Yuan leaned against the earthen wall, his expression calm.

"He can stop me for a time, but not for a lifetime. Registration lasts three days. I have to secure the right to register."

He knew perfectly well that Liu Er dared to obstruct him so brazenly because of his position as steward of the servants. Within the Servant Compound, he held authority in his hands and could casually invent excuses to suppress others. But if this matter was brought into the open, before countless servants and outer sect disciples, it would not be so easy for Liu Er to cover the sky with one hand.

"Force your way into the registration point? No, no." Wang Dong hurriedly shook his head, his chubby face full of worry. "The moment you make a move, Liu Er can charge you with insubordination. Then you'll be locked up and punished, and you won't even get near the assessment."

"I don't intend to make a move." Shen Yuan looked toward the sect's front courtyard. "Tomorrow morning, I'll go straight to the registration area and openly demand to be registered in front of everyone. If he blocks me in public, I'll make a wager with him."

"A wager?" Wang Dong froze.

"That's right. A sworn wager, with everyone around us as witnesses." Shen Yuan's gaze was resolute. "If I fail the Outer Sect Assessment, I'll willingly return to the Servant Compound and serve him as a labor slave for three years. But if I pass, he must kneel before everyone and apologize to me."

Wang Dong sucked in a sharp breath. "Three years as a slave! Shen Yuan, the stakes are too high! If anything goes wrong, you'll be trapped in the Servant Compound for the rest of your life, with no chance of ever rising again!"

The risk was plain to see.

If he lost the assessment, he would become Liu Er's slave, at his mercy. Given Liu Er's hatred for him, if it truly came to that, life would be worse than death.

"I have no other choice." Shen Yuan spoke slowly, his voice calm. "Liu Er is acting under someone's orders. He won't leave me a second path. I endured in silence and lay low, constantly increasing my strength, all for this one opportunity. If I cannot even fight for the right to register, how can I speak of uncovering the truth behind the destruction of my spiritual roots back then? Rather than be slowly ground to death in the shadows, I'd rather put everything on the table and gamble once."

The Martial Arts Heavenly Stele floated silently within his sea of consciousness. He still held cards up his sleeve. With the Body Tempering Sixth Layer and two fully refined martial arts techniques, as long as he could obtain a place in the assessment, he was confident he could clear the preliminary test.

Seeing Shen Yuan's determined expression, Wang Dong knew he could not persuade him otherwise. He let out a heavy sigh. "Fine. Since you've made up your mind, I'll go with you tomorrow. I'll call over more servants I know who've been bullied before and bear grudges against Liu Er. The more people there are, the less he'll dare play dirty tricks. But think this through carefully. Once a wager is sworn in public, you must take an oath before the incense tablets of the Azure Cloud Sect. Breaking it will bring punishment under the sect's code of honor. This is no child's play."

"I understand."

The night passed quietly.

The next morning, the rising sun emerged.

The Azure Cloud Sect's outer sect registration plaza was a roaring sea of voices.

A great many servants and low-ranking disciples had gathered there, lining up to register amid a clamorous din. Many young people's eyes burned with anticipation, hoping to soar to the heavens in a single step through this chance. At one side of the plaza stood the Azure Cloud Sect's spiritual incense tablets. Anyone making a public wager had to swear an oath there.

Liu Er had arrived early and waited near the registration area. Zhou Hu and several other trusted servant followers stood behind him. His gaze swept back and forth over the crowd, clearly keeping watch specifically to prevent Shen Yuan from registering.

Shen Yuan followed behind Wang Dong as he slowly entered the plaza.

He still wore ordinary gray servant clothes today, making no effort to draw attention. Wang Dong had secretly called over more than ten servants who had suffered oppression at ordinary times and harbored resentment toward Liu Er. They followed at a distance, serving as onlookers and witnesses.

Shen Yuan walked straight to the registration table.

The disciple handling registration was one of Liu Er's confidants. The moment he saw Shen Yuan approach, his expression turned cold, and he set down his brush.

"Shen Yuan, what are you doing here?" The registration disciple frowned.

"I'm here to register for the Outer Sect Assessment." Shen Yuan's tone was even.

The moment those words left his mouth, the registration disciple sneered. "Register? A cripple with shattered spiritual roots like you thinks he deserves to take the Outer Sect Assessment? Hurry back and do your assigned work. Don't cause trouble here and delay everyone else's registration."

He waved a hand, intending to shove Shen Yuan aside.

"Hold it." Shen Yuan planted his feet and did not retreat. "According to sect rules, any servant disciple who wishes to do so may register for the Outer Sect Assessment. Which rule says that I, Shen Yuan, cannot register?"

His voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly outward. Quite a few disciples standing in line to register turned to look.

A small patch of silence fell over the noisy plaza.

"Rules are dead, but people are alive. Given your physical condition, you are unfit to take the assessment. Don't go looking for trouble." The registration disciple spoke with a fierce face and a cowardly heart.

Just then, Liu Er forced his way through the crowd and strode over. His triangular eyes fixed viciously on Shen Yuan, a mocking cold smile hanging on his face.

"Shen Yuan, you've got some nerve, coming to the registration plaza to make trouble." Liu Er stopped before the registration table and looked down at Shen Yuan from on high. "Everyone knows your spiritual roots are shattered and your cultivation is ruined. The Outer Sect Assessment is exceedingly dangerous. Going up there would only mean throwing your life away for nothing. I advise you to know what's good for you and get back to the Servant Compound to work."

"Whether I can take the assessment should be decided by the assessment itself, not by a single word from you, Steward." Shen Yuan raised his eyes and met Liu Er's gaze. "You've blocked me from registering again and again. Could it be that you have a guilty conscience?"

"Utter nonsense!" Liu Er's expression changed as he shouted sharply. "I'm doing this for your own good! You think someone like you can pass the Outer Sect Assessment? What a fool's dream!"

More and more people gathered to watch, and discussion broke out on all sides.

"Is that Shen Yuan, the one who used to be highly talented before his spiritual roots were destroyed?" "I heard he fell off a cliff some time ago and actually survived." "Steward Liu keeps blocking him at every turn. There's probably something fishy here."

The noisy whispers reached Liu Er's ears, and anger simmered within him. If this continued, others would suspect that he was deliberately abusing his authority to suppress a servant.

Seizing the moment, Shen Yuan stepped forward, his voice suddenly rising to ring across the plaza.

"Since Steward is convinced that I absolutely cannot pass the assessment, then let us make a wager!"

The entire plaza fell silent in an instant. Every gaze focused on Shen Yuan.

Liu Er knitted his brows. "A wager? What do you want to wager?"

"Let us swear before the sect's incense tablets." Shen Yuan turned toward the spiritual tablets at the side of the plaza and declared loudly, "If I, Shen Yuan, take this Outer Sect Assessment and ultimately fail to pass, I will willingly return to the Servant Compound and become Liu Er's slave, laboring without pay for three years and never resisting!"

The whole plaza erupted.

Three years as a slave was an unbearable humiliation for someone who had once been a genius disciple.

Standing amid the crowd, Wang Dong felt his heart leap into his throat.

Shen Yuan continued, his eyes locked on Liu Er. "But if I successfully pass the Outer Sect Assessment, Liu Er, you must walk to the center of the plaza and kneel before all your fellow disciples to apologize to me, Shen Yuan! Do you dare accept this wager?"

The plaza was silent as a grave. Countless eyes fell upon Liu Er.

Everyone waited for his answer.

Liu Er's chest heaved violently, shocked and enraged.

From the bottom of his heart, he believed Shen Yuan was nothing more than trash with shattered spiritual roots. Even if he had survived the fall from the cliff by sheer luck, there was no way he could have recovered his strength. The Body Tempering Sixth Layer? The thought had never crossed Liu Er's mind. In his understanding, shattered spiritual roots meant one could never cultivate again for life.

Shen Yuan was delivering himself right to his doorstep.

If he accepted the wager, Shen Yuan would be his slave for three years, free for him to manipulate as he pleased.

But if he refused, then before so many disciples, it would amount to admitting that he had a guilty conscience and had deliberately made things difficult for a servant. His dignity would be utterly lost.

He was caught between advancing and retreating.

Liu Er gritted his teeth and glanced around at the countless watching eyes. A surge of fury rushed to his head.

"Fine! I'll wager with you!" Liu Er roared. "Let's swear before the incense tablets! I'd like to see how a piece of trash like you plans to pass the Outer Sect Assessment!"