Hu Xingyang instantly felt a huge pressure on him. In the end, he could only be honest and replied, “H-H-Hall Master, please let me go this time…”
“You bastard!” Leng Ya roared. “A mere deacon like you dares to boss people around? You must be tired of living! You want to degrade someone to a herb slave? Great! I’ll satisfy you right now. Men, cripple his cultivation, he is to be punished as a herb slave for ten years. He’s not allowed to leave the Herbal Hall for the next ten years!”
Hu Xingyang’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest when he heard that, fear was enveloping him.
“Why are you guys still standing around?!” yelled Leng Ya.
“Understood!”
Upon receiving their orders, the Herbal Hall’s guards stepped forward and struck Hu Xingyang twice with their palms. The first palm attack destroyed his Dantian and the second palm attack destroyed his Martial Soul. After receiving the strikes, Hu Xingyang instantly seemed to have grown a lot older.
However, no one felt sympathy for him. The alchemists even applauded inwardly because a deacon like Hu Xingyang deserved to be abolished. Otherwise, they wouldn’t even know if they got into trouble because of Hu Xingyang.
“Take him away,” Leng Ya spoke out with an indifferent voice. Shortly after, several people stepped forward and dragged Hu Xingyang away.
“Liu Yue!” Leng Ya called out.
Liu Yue trembled and cupped her hands together, “I’m here!”
“You’re even bolder than him! A deacon from the Herbal Hall like you dares to threaten an alchemist in the Pellet Hall?” Leng Ya reprimanded.
Facing Leng Ya, Liu Yue could only gnash her teeth silently.
“Your father sent you to the Herbal Hall because you have some talent in the ways of an alchemist. We’ve treated you well, especially the Third Hall Master. Tell me, has the Pellet Hall let you down?” Leng Ya continued.
“I know my mistake. Please hand me my punishment.” Liu Yue lowered her head. She had lost her temper at this moment.
Letting out a sigh, Leng Ya continued, “It’s good that you recognize your mistake. Go and apologize to Master Ku Yun and Lin Yun.”
As soon as Leng Ya spoke, everyone instantly knew that the Second Hall Master wasn’t going to punish Liu Yue. After all, Liu Yue was the daughter of the Divine Guard’s Commander.
But Lin Yun was already satisfied with this outcome. After all, getting Liu Yue to apologize to him in public must’ve felt worse than being whipped.
Despite her reluctance, she knew that the Second Hall Master had been lenient. If she continued to cause trouble, it would only make things more complicated. At that time, she knew that she would suffer even more.
“Liu Yue apologizes to Master Ku Yun and Junior Brother Lin Yun. I’m sorry for what I’ve done.” When Liu Yue raised her head, her face was dyed purple.
Lin Yun merely smiled and accepted her apology calmly.
“Okay. THis matter is done now that she has apologized. In addition, Liu Yue will no longer serve as the deacon of the Herbal Hall and focus on her cultivation. Before she grasps the one star spiritual rune, she will not take up any positions,” said Leng Ya.
His words were like a bolt of thunder falling upon Liu Yue. As a deacon in the Herbal Hall, Liu Yue didn’t have to do anything to receive benefits. But now, she smashed her own foot with a rock and lost her position.
“Okay, disperse.” Leng Ya waved his hand.
Liu Yue’s face was dark. She took a deep glance at Lin Yun before she left with her teeth gnashed.
Huangfu Jingxuan’s heart nearly collapsed from what he just saw. The twists and turns today were too thrilling for him. He initially thought that Lin Yun would be relegated to a herb slave, but the situation had suddenly changed. Lin Yun did not receive any punishments and instead forged a relationship with a two star alchemist. His relationship with Ku Yun would guarantee that he wouldn’t have to worry about cultivation resources in the future.
Lin Yun even made Liu Yue lose her position as a deacon. As for Hu Xingyang, who seemed awe-inspiring three days ago, his outcome was even more miserable. He had his cultivation crippled and was relegated to a herb slave.
“Lin Yun, I don’t know what to say right now. You dared to contend with Liu Yue and won,” Huangfu Jingxuan smiled bitterly.
“In the end, this is the Sword Firmament Pavilion. There’s nothing she can do here. I even dared to kill Wang Ning, so why would I be afraid of a lass like her?” Lin Yun replied.
After Leng Ya left, Ku Yun returned and looked at Lin Yun, “Lin Yun, come with me.”
Lin Yun knew what Ku Yun wanted to say. So he cut his conversation short with Huangfu Jingxuan and followed Ku Yun.
When they returned to the Alchemy Chamber, Ku Yun wore a bitter smile and said, “Lin Yun, what am I going to do now since you said that I successfully refined the Firecloud Pellets. If the truth is exposed, not only will I be a laughingstock, but I might have a similar ending to Hu Xingyang…”
He hadn’t grasped the Firecloud Spiritual Rune since it was done by Lin Yun. He was still far away from being a two-star alchemist. There was no way anyone could fool their way through the spiritualist profession. The truth would definitely be exposed in a few months.
“Relax. Since I dared to say it, then I naturally have an idea to let you stay in this position firmly,” Lin Yun replied calmly.
“What do you mean?” asked Ku Yun.
“I’ve gained insight to some things in the past three days. It’s too troublesome for me to refine pellets, so I’ll teach you the spiritual runes. Your talent isn’t bad, it's just that you’ve just taken some detours. I guarantee that you will surely improve with my teachings.”
“You teach me?” Ku Yun asked with disbelief. Although he knew that Lin Yun was a talent who could inscribe the Firecloud Spiritual Rune so quickly, Lin Yun was way too young whereas he had been on the path of a spiritualist for the past five decades.
“You don’t believe me?” Lin Yun smiled and his aura suddenly changed. Using his finger as a brush, Lin Yun started drawing a Firecloud Spiritual Rune in the air. When he was done, Lin Yun let out a long breath. The exhaustion from drawing in the air with his finger was too great, it wasn’t like using a Spiritual Rune Brush. He actually consumed an entire wisp of age energy to do this, which Lin Yun wanted to use sparingly.
“Master!” Ku Yun was completely dumbfounded by what he saw and fell down on his knees. He had never heard that anyone could inscribe spiritual runes in the air.
Lin Yun quickly helped him up and smiled, “There’s no need for you to kneel again since you’ve done it previously. I only barely managed to inscribe in the air. It’s not as impressive as you think. But it should be more than enough for me to teach you.”
“Enough. It’s absolutely enough!” Ku Yun nodded his head excitedly.
“I’ll teach you how to inscribe spiritual runes in the future when you refine pellets. We don’t need any rules between us. Speaking of which, we both have ‘Yun’ in our names, so this can be considered our fate.” Lin Yun smiled. Hiding behind the scenes would not only save him trouble, but he could also hide the Age Sutra’s existence.
“Okay. But where do I find you if I need help?” There was no reason for Ku Yun to refuse Lin Yun’s suggestion.
Lin Yun pondered briefly before he asked, “Do you know the Locket Mountain? I seem to be living in the rookie section of Locket Mountain. But I’m not sure where my residence is exactly.”
“The Locket Mountain? I know where it is. The Alliance-Union is pretty famous in the Sword Firmament Pavilion.”
“Alright, then I’ll be taking my leave first. I’ll come and look for you if I need anything.” Lin Yun had just come to the Sword Firmament Pavilion, so he wasn’t sure where he should go right now. He recognized the paths, but he wasn’t too sure about the surroundings.
“Wait.” Ku Yun stopped Lin Yun and handed a bag over, “Here are a thousand spiritual jades and a hundred Greater Profound Pellets. You can consider this as my gift to you for taking me in as your disciple.”
Lin Yun accepted the bag. This was the reason he decided to help Ku Yun become a two star alchemist. It was so that he could find a source to provide him with resources for his cultivation. Then again, Ku Yun was pretty tactful to give Lin Yun what he needed the most right now.
“Thanks. There’s no need to send me off.” Lin Yun was in a good mood when he came out of the Alchemy Chamber. He was confident that he would have indispensable resources in the future with Ku Yun around, not to mention that he could also make a lot of money.
After all, there was no way he could make any progress in his cultivation without resources. When he came to the lobby, he saw Huangfu Jingxuan waiting for him and asked, “Where are you going now?”
“I’m going to the Myriad Sword Platform. It won’t be long before I comprehend the complete sword intent,” Huangfu Jingxuan smiled. There was a ray of confidence flickering between his brows. Aside from Lin Yun, Huangfu Jingxuan could be considered the most talented rookie.
Huangfu Jingxuan was supposed to shine brightly in the Nine Stars Contest, but Lin Yun’s appearance had overshadowed him. But even so, Huangfu Jingxuan still had his own pride.
Lin Yun was shocked when he examined Huangfu Jingxuan. He could sense that Huangfu Jingxuan was only one step away from the complete sword intent.
“The Myriad Sword Platform is that amazing?” asked Lin Yun.
“You’ll know if you come along,” Huangfu Jingxuan replied with a mysterious smile.
“Alright. I also intended to make a trip there.” Then, the two of them left the Herbal Hall and chatted along the way. But suddenly, Lin Yun recalled something and asked, “The Huangfu Clan seems to have a deep background. It’s only slightly inferior to the four prestigious clans. You shouldn’t lack resources as a Huangfu Clan’s descendant. So why are you trying your luck in the Pellet Hall?”
Wearing a bitter smile, Huangfu Jingxuan sighed, “The clan is divided into the main line and branch line. For example, Wang Ning had no lack of resources because he was a descendant from the main lines. As for the branch line… well let’s not talk about it.”
Lin Yun knew that this topic had hit Huangfu Jingxuan’s sore spot. He immediately changed the topic, “Right, I need information about someone from you.”
“Who is it?”
“Bai Lixuan. You should know this person, right? But why haven’t I seen him after entering the sect?”
Huangfu Jingxuan smiled and pointed at the emblem on his chest, “You’re asking the right person. I’ve joined the Lone-Star Alliance, which is the same as Bai Lixuan’s. This alliance only accepts elites and cultivation maniacs. I heard from the seniors that Bai Lixuan went into seclusion when he returned from the Azure Sun County.”
“Seclusion?” asked Lin Yun.
“Yeah. He’s a famous person in the sect, defeating many cultivators in the Profound Martial Realm while he was still in the Xiantian Realm. He even entered the Earth Ranking and was known as a monster. But he has gone into seclusion. This time, even if he can’t attain the Saint Physique, he will still have to make his breakthrough either way.” Huangfu Jingxuan’s face was written with admiration when he talked about Bai Lixuan.
Lin Yun finally knew why he didn’t hear anything about Bai Lixuan ever since he joined the sect. With that, the two walked side by side towards the Myriad Sword Platform.
It didn’t take long for Wang Yan to be informed of Lin Yun’s location. When he read the note given to him, his face turned dark, “You’ve finally come out. And here I thought that would stay holed up for the rest of your life!”
Wang Yan was emitting an uncontrollable surge of murderous aura. This caused many people in Wang Yan’s base to open their eyes. They were all elites who had been summoned back to the sect by Wang Yan. Compared to the small tricks used by Liu Yue, Wang Yan was Lin Yun’s greatest source of trouble.