Death… and me

Restlessness stirred within Chu Yang's heart and as he looked up, he saw Meng Chao Ran's silhouette quietly leaving with his hands clasped behind his back. However, even before leaving, he did not speak even a single word to Chu Yang.

The was a heaviness which surrounded the atmosphere which continued to remain, almost seeming as though it wouldn't dissipate.

Chu Yang was stunned for a long time. He vaguely felt that Meng Chao Ran was a victim of an unimaginable miserable, bitter situation. What had caused a heaven-sent genius of the Beyond the Heavens Sect to become like this?

…

He knew that there was a deeply unsettling issue that his master face hidden within his heart. Chu Yang believed that if he had the chance, he would definitely seize the opportunity to help his master get rid of it.

Chu Yang took a deep breath in and his gaze narrowed. As he swung his sword the air was filled with his sword's qi!

He vigorously practiced drawing his sword and placing it swiftly back into its sheath. He then followed with practicing connecting each of the different sword techniques and movements. Each of these movements and methods, although might seem easy, were extremely tiring. Chu Yang practiced without break during the entire duration of his sword training from beginning to the end.

Regardless of whether it was to protect the Beyond the Heavens Sect, find Mo Qing Wu or fulfilling his master's aspirations, it of which would all require power.

Without power, one would have to depend on others to fulfill their own ambitions and desires.

Chu Yang casually wore the pure purple jade essence pendant. As long as his qi did not activate it, its appearance was not much different from other gemstones.

Chu Yang intended not to use the recovering ability of the pendant until he had completed his first phase of cultivation. This was because according to Meng Chao Ran's if he relied heavily on external things, not only would he not be able to reap the benefits but there would be consequences to bear.

The only way to attain strength was to put in the work, training hard to have a solid foundation. Only then can you acquire a deep understanding of the techniques and skills! If one was too dependent on external help, then even if their martial strength were to advance quickly, their cultivation state would never reach its peak. Eventually becoming a deficiency that one could never make up for throughout their entire life.

A Martial Great Master should have the mental state equivalent to that of a Martial Great Master. After which, he has to stop and ensure that he has understood all the principles before advancing into Revered Martial Artist.

If a Martial Warrior by some stroke of luck suddenly obtained a thousand years of martial strength without the understanding of it, he will still lack the ability to become a Supreme Martial Artist. Instead, he would still remain as a Martial Warrior! Or At very most, he would be an abnormal Martial Warrior.

Every step has to be firm!

Being taught the path from another person is different from climbing to the top by yourself. By relying on the help of others, the individual would surely fall from the top and end up dead!

At lunch, time went by quickly and Chu Yang came face to face with Shi Qian Shan. His countenance was overcast with not even a tiny bit of hope. He was instead melancholic and listless.

Everyone knew that Li Jian Yin's incident would definitely not be ignored. Second Elder Martial Uncle's disciples would want to take revenge for Li Jian Yin, even if it was just to appease their master.

Although they had not taken any action, it was because they were still busy plotting. This incident was by no means settled…

Tan Tan was innocently gnawing on some chicken legs without a care. He happily ate it to the point that his hands were covered in grease. Chu Yang was also delighted as he sat down and opened his mouth to eat, devouring everything speedily. Only Shi Qian Shan had no interest in the food as he forcefully put rice in his mouth. It was as tasteless as water and after a few bites, he let out a deep sigh.

His dark gaze constantly glared towards Chu Yang. The anger in his eyes seemed as though it was about to explode.

"Shi Qian Shan! We heard you were very formidable? Even to the point that you considered yourself to be the number one disciple? Haha!

Come out here and enlighten us. Let's have a little competition." At this time

there was a loud noise coming from outside, followed by a wave of laughter. Judging from the sound, there were about seven or eight people.

"That's right, that's right. Shi Qian Shan dared to call himself the number one disciple amongst the youth! He truly does not know how the word death is written!"

"Number one disciple? Is Shi Qian Shan even worthy? Quickly come out and kneel and beg for mercy!"

…

Finally, trouble found its way. Even if Chu Yang did not expect it to come so soon. Shi Qian Shan's color changed, his face turned pale and gave Chu Yang a menacing look.

'Number one amongst all youth,' these were the words that Chu Yang acclaimed. At the time, Shi Qian Shan was very pleased with these words; but afterward, he finally understood that it was a pit he could not pull out from! Only he realized it too late!

Now it was those words were like a knife that cut through his heart.

Mockery, truly brilliant mockery!

Furthermore, it was the most troublesome issue in the Beyond the Heavens Sect. Currently, there were many amongst the disciples of the eighth generation who longed to be ranked at the top. This was also known as the Eldest Martial Brother position! Giving them the right to enter the Seven Shades Congregation Ground…

Li Jian Yin's martial brothers did not dare to make trouble and avenge for Li Jian Yin outrightly, but the title 'number one disciple' that Chu Yang gave Shi Qian Shan was a very good excuse.

The sect secretly supports disciples competing amongst each other. However, Shi Qian Shan soon realized that there would be trouble to come.

Chu Yang bent down and continued eating as if he didn't hear the shouts of ridicule coming from outside. Nor the resentful gaze that Shi Qian Shan was giving him. He thought to himself. Ha, ha, in this life, if I cannot play this false hero to death, then it would be a waste of my reincarnation…

The eight youths were all wearing blue/green clothing with red belts, their sleeves also had red borders. This was the color of Locking Clouds Peak. As opposed to Purple Bamboo Garden that Chu Yang belonged to which used a purple belt.

The eyes of the eight were filled with scorn as Shi Qian Shan walked out.

Li Jian Yin was the only son of Li Jinsong and was constantly being pampered. This had made him disagreeable with all his martial brothers. But although they might not get along with him, when he was being looked down upon by outsiders, they would take exact revenge for him even though it wasn't exactly for his sake.

This was an excellent opportunity to curry favor with him!

"So, Elder Martial Brothers Liu and Qu has come to visit. Please forgive Shi Qian Shan for not giving you a proper welcome." Even though Shi Qian Shan's expression was unsightly, he continued to speak ceremoniously.

"Shi Qian Shan, this Liu dare not receive anything from you." Martial Brother Liu said harshly. "Not to mention that you are 'number one amongst all youths' of the Beyond the Heavens Sect. With my cultivation, I would not dare be your elder martial brother."

Of course, he used the phrase 'number one amongst all youths'!

Shi Qian Shan aura became increasingly angry. His hatred for Chu Yang has reached its peak. He suddenly thought back that perhaps, back then, Chu Yang said these words to give a reason for these guys to visit.

This Liu Martial Brother was about thirty years old. His full name was Liu Yun Yan and was the eldest disciple of Li Jinsong. Qu Martial Brother was Qu Ping and was about 27-28 years old, the second eldest disciple. The rest were junior disciples. After hearing what Liu Yun Yan said, they all laughed hysterically.

"Shi Qian Shan, come, come, let me test the skills of the number one disciple!" Qu Ping took one step forward and pointed his sword in Shi Qian Shan's direction.

"How can I be Qu Martial Brother's opponent?" Shi Qian Shan said quickly with humility. These guys must be kidding, how would he dare make a move? The opponents numbered a total of eight people. And Liu Yun Yan had a higher martial ranking than him. As for Qu Ping and the other six, they were lower, but not by much. These opponents clearly

wanted to cause trouble, how could Shi Qian Shan have any advantage? He only needed to make a move and he would definitely be beaten to a pulp.

As for Tan Tan and Chu Yang, their martial strengths were clearly lacking and were not going to be of any use. To put it simply, It was only him against the eight people.

Just because Shi Qian Shan didn't make a move, doesn't mean that Qu Ping would just stand around. Suddenly, there was a loud smack and a flash, followed by a 'pop' and a 'swoosh'. This was followed consistently one 'swoosh' after another.

It turned out that, without saying anything, Qu Ping had smacked Shi Qian Shan in the face, followed by kicking in his stomach. Both the smack and the kicks were delivered with great force. Shi Qian Shan did not have time react and to avoid them. He toppled to the ground, groaning in pain.

Shi Qian Shan knew that if he was careful not to fight back, maybe he would only be hit a little and there wouldn't be any severe consequences. Fighting back would mean that he might not even survive. Facing the force of the enemy, he could only grit his teeth and bear the blows.

"This rude guy dare to beat me!" Qu Ping was beating him yet screamed for help at the same time. "This mother******, it's so painful! Truly he is worthy to be the Beyond the Heavens sect number one disciple! Brothers, he is really dangerous, quickly save me…"

"This is bad. Second Elder Martial Brother is suffering. Charge!"

Six people shot off like bees. They beat Shi Qian Shan as if he were a sandbag, punching, and kicking, as fast as they could. With each hit, they called out,

"How dare you beat Second Elder Martial Brother?!"

"He was having a fair discussion, yet Shi Qian Shan dared take a sneak attack."

"Let's beat this shameless guy to death…"

There were some who also were beating Shi Qian Shan and screaming at the top of their lungs, "Shi Qian Shan, just because you are at Purple Bamboo Garden, doesn't mean you should be so arrogant. You… you… stop… Second Martial Brother, are you alright?"

It all sounded like Qu Ping was being beaten to death.

Qu Ping stood on the side, screaming out tragically, "Pain! I'm dying… Shi Qian Shan, you are so cruel…"

Initially, Shi Qian Shan was still able to groan and begged for mercy, but gradually, with each hit, his body curled up as he went into shock…

The seven people were still furious and, they continued beating him for a while before stopping. Everyone was panting. Qu Ping wiped his sweat off and said, "That was dangerous, this kid almost beat me to death…"

"That's right, that's right, this Shi Qian Shan is really devious." Said another.

Tan Tan stared to the point that his eyes were red. He wanted to jump out, but Chu Yang stopped him. With so many opponents, Tan Tan would not have been able to do anything. He would only be beaten up like Shi Qian Shan… Moreover, Shi Qian Shan getting beaten up such a spectacular sight to behold. How could he ruin that…

From a distance, in the shadows of the bamboo forest, Meng Chao Ran let out a long sigh. Quietly looking at a blacked out Shi Qian Shan in the middle of the yard, his eyes were like ice and snow, freezing to the bone!