C1 The Disciple of Mount Tai Abandoned!

"Ye Qinghui! You dared to entertain the thought of stealing our sect's most precious treasure to sell to others. Such a crime is unforgivable! For your betrayal, your cultivation has been crippled, your dantian shattered, and you've been demoted to the stables to clean filth day and night!"

"Hmph, the death penalty would be too kind. Considering your past contributions to the sect, I'll lessen your sentence today. Otherwise, even killing you ten times wouldn't suffice!"

"Ye Qinghui, get out of my sight!"

The grand hall echoed with the sound of harsh rebukes, the air thick with cold, merciless voices.

Inside the hall, Ye Qinghui's face was ghostly pale. His hands were clenched so tightly that his nails pierced his skin, blood streaming down.

Three days prior, the First Elder's son, Lin Feng, sought him out just after he had finished his retreat. Lin Feng claimed that the sect master had summoned him to the Scripture Library to wait. Without a hint of suspicion, Ye Qinghui complied.

While waiting, with time to kill, he was about to peruse some scriptures when Lin Wen appeared, claiming she was being pursued. Ye Qinghui sensed something amiss—how could there be foreign forces within their own sect?

Still, he intervened, only to find that he had slain the guards of the Scripture Library.

By the time the elders arrived, Lin Feng was there too, accusing Ye Qinghui of attempting to steal the scriptures.

To add insult to injury, Lin Wen was in on the scheme.

Imprisoned, Ye Qinghui clung to the hope that he could clear his name, but Lin Feng seized the chance to fabricate charges against him.

It was then that Ye Qinghui realized he was merely a pawn, sacrificed for the sake of Lin Tian's candidacy for sect leadership.

And he was the only one left out of the loop.

"Indeed... human warmth is scarce, and the ways of the world are harsh," he muttered after a long silence, a bitter smile on his lips.

His body, covered in wounds, bled afresh with every movement.

"Hold on, Ye Qinghui. Your crimes are grave, and your treason is unforgivable. I fear this punishment is too lenient. I hereby expel you from the sect. The Splitforce Sect has no place for the likes of you!"

Before Ye Qinghui could make his exit, Lin Tian abruptly called out to him, his voice booming with reprimand. As the sect master, he wielded the power to decide such matters.

"Sect Master!"

At the sound of those words, Ye Qinghui felt as though he'd been cast into a frigid abyss, his body shaking uncontrollably. In the Splitforce Sect, such words from anyone else would have been inconsequential, but not from Lin Tian. After all, Ye Qinghui was an orphan whom Lin Tian had brought into the sect and raised as his own.

"No more words! Get out!"

With a thunderous command, Lin Tian flung Ye Qinghui out the door, sending him tumbling across the ground.

"Wow, you're still here! I thought you'd have cleared out by now!"

Before Ye Qinghui could pick himself up, a sprightly voice rang out beside him. Turning slowly, he saw Lin Tian's daughter, Lin Wen.

"Lin Wen, why must you mock me?"

Slap!

Lin Wen's hand struck Ye Qinghui's cheek before he could finish speaking, leaving a vivid palm print. Clenching her teeth and glaring at him, she spat out venomously, "You're worthless, Ye Qinghui. I used to respect you, but now you're less than nothing. And just so you know, I was part of this too!"

"Ye Qinghui, aren't you leaving yet?"

At that moment, a dashing young man approached, his elegant air contrasting with the curses spilling from his lips.

"Lin Feng, after what you've done to me, what more could you possibly want?"

Ye Qinghui, seeing the instigator approach, felt not the expected surge of rage but a profound desolation. He asked quietly, his voice tinged with sorrow.

"What more? Ha, as if you have any say in my actions."

Lin Feng struck without warning, his Seventh Stage Qi Refining strength fully unleashed. With a single palm strike, he sent Ye Qinghui flying across the courtyard.

Thud!

Ye Qinghui hit the ground hard, coughing up blood. In that moment, he felt no urge to retaliate; he had surrendered to his fate.

"Why so silent now?"

Lin Feng strode over to where Ye Qinghui lay, grabbed him by the hair, and with a cruel jerk, slammed him back down to the earth.

With a muffled grunt, Ye Qinghui felt as though every bone in his body had shattered.

Fury consumed him, but what could he do? Times had changed, and he lacked even the strength to flee.

"Scram! And don't let me see you again!"

Lin Feng found no satisfaction in Ye Qinghui's lack of resistance. With another forceful kick that sent Ye Qinghui sprawling, he turned and strode back into the sect.

"Fine! I gave my all, and you used me as a pawn. Lin Feng, I won't forget this debt," Ye Qinghui muttered as he struggled to sit up. A slow smile crept across his lips, and soon, he was laughing heartily.

Once was enough for a lifetime of humiliation.

Rising with great effort, Ye Qinghui took his leave, step by painstaking step. From that moment on, he severed all ties with Splitforce. He was simply Ye Qinghui, not the Ye Qinghui of Splitforce.

As time slipped by, Ye Qinghui lost track of how long he had been walking down the mountain path. He had set out at dawn, and now the sun had long since disappeared.

Abruptly, he halted, recognizing the figure before him. "Sect Master?" he called out instinctively.

"I am no longer your master. Look after yourself. Only by renouncing the sect can you hope to live! I believe in you... You are far superior to Wen 'er."

Without further ado, Lin Tian handed Ye Qinghui a package and vanished as quickly as he had appeared.