The day of the purple robe investiture

The food-serving disciple's indignant roar made everyone's hearts jump.

His face flushed and the veins in his neck bulged with rage as he raised his ladle to strike Chen Xun!

"What do you think you're doing?"

Qian Laifu's gaze sharpened, and he hurriedly shouted for the food-serving disciple to stop.

The disciple froze. He shot Chen Xun a resentful look, then let his arm drop helplessly.

Qian Laifu swept his gaze over the disciples responsible for breakfast in the dining hall and said coldly, "Hmph! For what happened today, each of you will lose three contribution points. Let that teach you a lesson!"

With that, he flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.

The dining hall disciples went a little pale, utterly stunned.

"Hehehe, this humble fellow ate it."

Chen Xun suddenly scratched his head.

At once, countless disciples turned their eyes on Chen Xun, their gazes flickering.

Delighted, the food-serving disciple cried, "Deacon, Deacon! You heard him, didn't you? Chen Xun admitted he ate it!"

He looked at Chen Xun, his gaze softening abruptly, as if to say that at least he had a conscience.

Qian Laifu turned around and gave Chen Xun a suspicious look before saying, "Chen Xun, you certainly are kindhearted. These disciples tried to pin the blame on you, yet you're still making excuses for them... but I won't believe you. You're saying you ate enough food for hundreds of disciples? What utter nonsense."

The servant disciples nodded too, looking at Chen Xun with rather gentle eyes. His mind might not be right, but he was a good person.

"But... but..."

The food-serving disciple's head drooped in dejection.

Truthfully, even he did not believe Chen Xun could eat that much. It felt like a dream. How had all that food sprouted wings and vanished?

But the misunderstanding was soon cleared up at lunch.

Because Chen Xun really could eat!

The servant disciples watched with their own eyes as Chen Xun swept through the food like a gale scattering clouds, eating enough for dozens of disciples all by himself. Even when he finished, they could all see that he still wanted more.

Had they prepared more food, Chen Xun probably could have kept eating...

The disciples stared at Chen Xun's abdomen in alarm, unable to stop wondering how anyone could eat so much without his belly even bulging. Where had all that food gone? It made no sense!

Upon learning of this, the disciples responsible for breakfast promptly burst into tears and hurried to find Qian Laifu. He too was stunned for a moment when he learned the truth, then returned the contribution points he had deducted.

Qian Laifu even made a point of instructing the dining hall to prepare more food for every meal from then on.

And so, all the servant disciples learned that there was a crazed mortal with an enormous appetite living halfway up their mountain.

Over the next few days, Chen Xun repeated the same routine every day: eating in the dining hall, sleeping in his thatched hut, and sweeping the mountain paths. His days were quite leisurely.

Many servant disciples actually envied Chen Xun. Eating, sleeping, and living without a care-what a wonderful life that was.

Meanwhile, news spread throughout the Heavenly Dao Sect that a ceremony to confer the rank of Purple-Robed Disciple would be held in a few days. The disciples on Servant Disciple Peak heard about it too. Apparently, the recipient was a newly recruited disciple whose aptitude was a metal-attribute heavenly spiritual root!

The servant disciples were both utterly shocked and filled with longing.

The moment they joined the sect, they had been sent to Servant Disciple Peak. Even the fortunate ones who broke through their cultivation realms had no idea how many years it would take to enter the outer sect, while the unlucky ones who failed to break through would have to leave after a few years.

Yet look at this newcomer-a Purple-Robed Disciple from the moment he joined.

There really was no comparing one person's lot with another's.

To the disciples of Servant Disciple Peak, a Purple-Robed Disciple was the moon, while they were merely frogs at the bottom of a well. Even a distant glimpse would be an honor.

But in truth, they would not even have a chance to catch that glimpse.

Servant disciples were not permitted to attend the Purple-Robed Disciple investiture ceremony.

Time flew, and the day of the purple robe investiture arrived.

The Heavenly Dao Sect shed its usual solemnity that day and became exceptionally lively.

An enormous colorful banner hung from the summit of every peak, fluttering in the wind.

At the same time, streaks of light swept across the sky one after another and entered the immortal mountains where the Heavenly Dao Sect stood. They belonged to representatives of sects and other factions arriving with invitations to offer their congratulations.

Ordinarily, a disciple with a heavenly spiritual root ought to have been kept hidden. After all, as the saying went, a genius who could not grow to maturity was no different from a good-for-nothing.

But a sect like the Heavenly Dao Sect, one of the foremost in Northern Mystic, had no such concerns.

Great sects did not hide their gifted disciples. Instead, they announced them far and wide.

First, it enhanced the sect's prestige.

Second, it allowed the disciple to feel, deep in his heart, how much the sect valued him.

After presenting their invitations at the mountain gate, the representatives of the various sects and factions headed toward Heaven Mystic Peak under the guidance of Heavenly Dao Sect disciples.

The invitations made it perfectly clear that this Purple-Robed Disciple investiture would be held at Heaven Mystic Peak's martial grounds.

During this time, many disciples from Human Mystic Peak and Earth Profound Peak also had the privilege of ascending Heaven Mystic Peak to witness the purple robe investiture.

Everyone throughout the Heavenly Dao Sect was busy that day. Only Servant Disciple Peak had been placed under a restriction: no servant disciple was allowed to descend the mountain during the ceremony.

This alone showed how lowly the servant disciples were, and how firmly they sat at the bottom.

Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!...

Deep, solemn peals of the bell rang out from Heaven Mystic Peak and reached Servant Disciple Peak, prompting countless servant disciples to look in that direction. Though they could see nothing, they all understood that the Purple-Robed Disciple investiture ceremony was about to begin.

"I'm so envious. Becoming a Purple-Robed Disciple is like ascending to heaven in a single step. When will ants like us ever turn our fortunes around?"

"All I know is, if you have time to stand here sighing, you'd be better off cultivating. Otherwise, you can forget about turning anything around."

"..."

"Forget the purple robe. Even joining Human Mystic Peak is a dream I might never reach in my entire life. Ah."

"Hahaha, you're all thinking too far ahead. For now, let's focus on getting out of this halfway-up-the-mountain spot."

"The investiture ceremony is bound to be grand and magnificent. What a shame we won't have a chance to watch."

The servant disciples stood around lamenting, unable to keep disappointment from rising in their hearts along with their melancholy.

Yu Zheng and the other three youths who had arrived together from Clear Sky City a few days earlier also wore deeply conflicted expressions.

"Hmph! Have you all got nothing to do?"

Just then, Qian Laifu appeared, his large belly jutting out as he barked at them.

"Uh."

Startled, the disciples bowed, then scattered in a panicked retreat to get on with their work.

"Hmph."

Qian Laifu was unhappy. He could only stay cooped up on Servant Disciple Peak, watching over the servant disciples, when he wanted to see the ceremony in person too.

Most importantly, it was Heaven Mystic Peak. Qian Laifu had never set foot there in his entire life.

"Ah."

Qian Laifu sighed, then remembered something and could not help looking west.

He remembered Xu Yang saying that Chen Xun was Zhao Ting's friend. What a pity. As far as he was concerned, although only a few days had passed, Zhao Ting had probably already forgotten that Chen Xun existed.