Chapter 15: Lost All Cultivation, No Longer Connected to the Celestial Dao Sect!
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“Senior Sister!”
Mo Zichuan finally lost control. He sprang forward, intending to rush out, but Jiang Wanwan, who had accidentally fallen, caught hold of his hand.
He had no choice but to check on Jiang Wanwan first. In that instant, another figure shot past him and plunged downward.
Shangguan Yun pushed his sword-flying technique to its utmost limit and caught Shi Muran by her slender waist. By then, Shi Muran was barely breathing, looking as though she could die at any moment.
“Senior Sister, Grand Senior Sister—please don’t frighten me. You must be all right!”
Shangguan Yun trembled instinctively as he hurriedly fed the girl in his arms a medicinal pill. His eyes were filled with anguish.
“I, Shangguan Yun, a disciple of the sect, can testify on behalf of Grand Senior Sister. She did nothing!”
The Second Elder’s eyes widened at this. As Shangguan Yun’s master, he had no wish for his disciple to become too entangled with Shi Muran at a time like this.
“Ridiculous! Yun’er, how dare you speak to your elders like that? Come back at once!”
“I know you are gifted and kind by nature. I know you cannot bear to see your fellow disciples injured, but you must not act so recklessly!”
In the past, whenever the Second Elder spoke, Shangguan Yun would obey as a disciple should. This time, however, he shook his head with determination.
“No! You have all been deceived by Jiang Wanwan! I clearly saw everything. This was all Jiang Wanwan’s own doing—she manipulated the entire affair!”
“Master, you must see the truth! I did no such thing! Why would Junior Brother Shangguan slander me?” Jiang Wanwan protested instinctively when singled out, looking utterly bewildered.
Even so, she immediately felt the suspicious gazes of the surrounding disciples. Her expression shifted slightly as she silently clenched her fists, her hatred for Shangguan Yun surging.
“Enough of your noise. If you knew this from the beginning, why did you not report it? Or is this merely an excuse you have improvised for this rebellious disciple?” Zhai Zhe finally spoke. His gaze was hostile, and though thoughts churned within him, he addressed the Second Elder with unmistakable severity.
“Second Elder, why have you not yet taken your good disciple away?”
Clearly, he intended to protect Jiang Wanwan.
The other elders exchanged glances, yet not one of them spoke. Their silence was consent.
Shi Muran was now a cripple. The sect could not afford to lose another prodigy—especially not one personally taught by the Sect Master.
Seeing this, Shangguan Yun opened his mouth but found himself unable to voice his anguish. He bitterly regretted not revealing the truth sooner.
He had wanted to inform the sect at the time, but he had lacked evidence. He had planned to find proof first, then help Shi Muran.
He would never admit that he had been afraid of being implicated, afraid that the entire sect would hold him responsible as well.
“Thump!”
Seeing that the Second Elder was about to take him away, he shielded Shi Muran behind him and knelt directly on the ground.
“Sect Master, Master, and all the elders and fellow disciples—I know none of you believe me. But one day, I will find the evidence!”
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“But even if you do not believe me, Shi Muran has made herself perfectly clear. From this day forth, she is no longer a disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect. Please stop forcing her! I beg you, elders, spare her!”
“Her cultivation has been completely destroyed. Once she leaves the mountain, she will not live for long. If you press her too far, word will spread that the Heavenly Dao Sect is heartless and determined to exterminate its enemies. That would hardly reflect well on us. I beg you, elders, show her mercy!”
He spoke so quickly that he seemed determined to pour every word he had ever learned into that single plea.
At first, his words left everyone deeply displeased. But when he mentioned that Shi Muran’s cultivation had been destroyed, the entire crowd fell silent.
That was right. Shi Muran was now nothing more than a cripple.
In the cultivation world, for a former genius to become a cripple and then wander outside the sect in loneliness and misery was far more painful than simply dying.
As the foremost sect in the Eastern Continent, the Heavenly Dao Sect had always been known as a righteous sect of benevolence, magnanimity, and selflessness. Now that its disciple had been reduced to such a state, pursuing the matter further would be unreasonable in both emotion and principle.
Yet Zhai Zhe was unwilling to let Shi Muran leave. No matter how angry he was with her, there was still the bond between master and disciple.
When Shi Muran’s entire clan had once been massacred, he had brought her back with him. Though more than a decade was no more than a blink of an eye to cultivators, he had nevertheless watched her grow up.
So long as Shi Muran admitted her mistake, he could still forgive her.
He could then see whether the Divine Phoenix bloodline could be transferred, treating it as Shi Muran’s compensation to Jiang Wanwan.
If the Divine Phoenix bloodline dissipated and could not be transferred, that would not matter either.
So long as Shi Muran apologized and won everyone’s forgiveness, he, as her master, was willing to let her live out ten thousand years in comfort as a menial disciple.
One had to understand that many clan descendants of middling talent in the Eastern Continent would rather become menial disciples of the Heavenly Dao Sect than inner disciples of an ordinary sect.
For a cripple to remain a menial disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect was already an immense honor.
“Rebellious disciple, are you truly determined to leave? You have now lost your cultivation and received the punishment you deserve. If you sincerely repent—”
“There is no need. I have made up my mind!”
Shi Muran interrupted Zhai Zhe. She could no longer bear the look of charity on his face.
Zhai Zhe’s expression darkened at being cut off. He had never expected that even at such a moment, Shi Muran would remain so unyielding. Her cold, indifferent gaze in particular made him deeply uncomfortable.
“Very well! Very well indeed!”
“Since you are so resolute, then swear an oath before the Heavenly Dao! The Heavenly Dao Sect is not a place one may enter or leave at will!”
Zhai Zhe looked down at Shi Muran from his lofty position, an imposing aura radiating from him.
Seeing that Zhai Zhe was enraged, everyone held their breath.
“Thank you, Sect Master, for granting my request. I, Shi Muran, swear before the heavens that I withdraw from the Heavenly Dao Sect and shall have no further connection with it. Should I violate this oath, may heavenly thunder strike me five times, and may both body and soul be destroyed!”
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“Boom!”
Zhai Zhe’s aura surged violently, and the disciples dropped to their knees in a wave.
He laughed in fury.
He had never expected Shi Muran not only to swear an oath, but to make such a vicious one as well. Did she truly hate remaining in the Heavenly Dao Sect so much?
Now that matters had reached this point, Zhai Zhe had nothing left to say.
“If that is the case, then from this day forth, the Heavenly Dao Sect shall have no further connection with Shi Muran.”
“Wait.”
Shi Muran raised her eyes. Her voice was weak.
Zhai Zhe arched a brow, his expression easing as he assumed she had regretted her decision.
“I have already sworn my oath. I ask that the Sect Master swear one as well.”
Everyone: “...?”
Had Shi Muran gone mad?!
“Crack!”
The sound of something shattering rang out. Furious, Zhai Zhe turned around and prepared to leave.
“Very well! I, Zhai Zhe, hereby swear an oath before the Heavenly Dao: from this day forth, the Heavenly Dao Sect shall have no further connection with you. You will follow your road, and we will follow ours! Should this oath be broken, may heavenly thunder strike me five times, and may both body and soul be destroyed!”
[Ding! You have successfully left the Heavenly Dao Sect and preserved the Divine Phoenix bloodline. The female protagonist’s opportunities have decreased by one.]
[Congratulations, host. Luck value plus three. You have received one Myriad Laws Spirit Tome.]
[The Myriad Laws Spirit Tome contains ten thousand volumes of cultivation techniques, martial arts, ancient scriptures, and methods of practice. As your cultivation increases, its contents will gradually unlock.]
At this point, the other members of the Heavenly Dao Sect had nothing more to say. Only Jiang Wanwan stared unwillingly at Shi Muran and Shangguan Yun.
With one arm around Shi Muran, Shangguan Yun prepared to escort her away.
Just then, a tremor shook the space above the Heavenly Dao Sect.
“Hahahaha! What a wonderful show!”