It was late at night, and the mountains were shrouded in the tranquil silence. When most people had fallen asleep, Yun Shu, however, was still wide awake.

 Under the pale moonlight, a faint wisp of Spirit Qi could be seen revolving around him.

 For beginners, it started with splitting a strand of Spirit Qi into sixteen portions of the plume, a gifted beginner could do thirty-two, and sixty-four

 But someone like Yun Shu who could divide a strand into a thousand and twenty-four plumes…

 2To put it in the most modest way, he was a monster!

 Yun Shu tried to be extremely careful and prudent with every single movement. However, the irresistible drowsiness suddenly overwhelmed him as his head tilted to one side, and soon, he started snoring.

 He had drifted to the dreamland!

 In the entire Fire Mystic Sect, only Yun Wanli knew that Yun Shu was a prodigy. However, he was merely an old servant, so no one would listen to him.

 The true reason behind his failure was sleep: whenever he started cultivating, he would fall asleep. Even someone banging a drum wouldn’t be able to wake him up.

 In his deep sleep, Yun Shu had the same dream as every time.

 In his dreams, he had seen this large stone gate countless times. It was so magnificent and majestic that the gate almost looked like a pillar connecting heaven and earth.

 It seemed that the stone gate had been standing there for millions of years, back from the times of turmoil.

 The power of destruction coming from the gate. He dared not get any closer.

 However, this time was different. Today, he was extremely angry and frustrated with his repeated failures and the impending doom.

 Yun Shu got carried away by his anger, the fear thrown out of the window. His left hand clenching into a fist, he sprinted for the stone gate and fiercely pounded at it.

 Yun Shu thought it would hurt a lot. To his great surprise, however, the moment his fist touched the hard surface, the huge gate was absorbed by his hand in the twinkling of an eye and became a gate-shaped mark on his palm.

 Yun Shu was shocked by the turn of events. Suddenly, he lost his balance and started falling into the darkness. When his body hit the hard floor, he was jolted awake.

 “Time to get up, Young Master Yun!” A man’s smooth voice came into Yun Shu’s ears.

 He turned around and found himself on the floor.

 His quilt and pillow were also on the floor.

 In front of Yun Shu stood three men.

 He turned around and found himself on the floor, his quilt and pillow scattered on the side. Currently, in front of Yun Shu stood three men; they were also outer sect disciples of the Fire Mystic Sect. However, all of them had reached the fifth level of Qi Sky Realm or even above. They were much more accomplished than him.

 “Senior Brother Fan Wen, the sect’s rule doesn’t allow intrusion. Don’t you know it?” asked Yun Shu in a deep voice. All of his stuff had been thrown onto the floor.

 “The rule says no intrusion into disciples’ rooms. Are you still a disciple? Or are you suggesting that you’ve reached the fifth level?” Fan Wen grinned at Yun Shu.

 The smirk on his face made Yun Shu feel disgusted. Fan Wen was trained by Elder Chen Sheng, who somehow disliked Yun Wanli a lot.

 “My master is responsible for examining the outer disciples this year, and he has assigned you to me because testing you will just be a waste of time. Let me introduce you to my two junior brothers, Zhang Bao and Wang Hu. They joined the sect two years ago, and both of them have reached the fifth level. If you can beat either of them, you pass the test,” said Fan Wen while sneering unpleasantly.

 Obviously, Fan Wen had come here today to teach Yun Shu a good lesson.

 “Come on, Young Master Yun!” said Wang Hu as he stepped forward and grinned evilly. His eyes looked sharp and cruel, like a wolf’s.

 And while he was speaking, Wang Hu had already reached out his hands like a pair of claws!

 “F*ck off!” Yun Shu’s chest was filled with hatred. He threw a punch at Wang Hu as hard as he could.

 But Yun Shu’s hasty and simple move was nothing in Wang Hu’s eyes.

 Bang!

 Wang Hu grabbed Yun Shu’s left arm.

 “Don’t rush now. This is just the beginning of the test. I’ll make this day memorable to you!” Wang Hu put on a ferocious smile.

 Grabbing his arm, Wang Hu gathered his Qi and was ready to infuse Yun Shu’s arm with the burning energy.

 Sizzle…

 Wang Hu’s Qi churned inside Yun Shu’s arm, and the sharp pain was unbearable.

 Yun Shu hurriedly removed his eyes from his palm, looked up, and saw Wang Hu’s eyes filled with terror.

 “Don’t… Don’t kill me! Don’t…!” Wang Hu burst out several bitter cries and passed out on the spot.

 All of them were shocked.

 “What… What did you do?” Fan Wen screamed at Yun Shu.

 “How do I know?” Yun Shu was the same as others: confused.

 Recalling the feeling of the warm energy flowing in his left palm, Yun Shu slightly frowned.

 Zhang Bao hurriedly responded and checked up Wang Hu. After a short while, he looked up at Fan Wen and stammered, “Senior Brother Fan, Wang Hu’s Qi isn’t flowing properly. He… He’s suffering from a Qi Deviation!”

 “What? Send him to Master!” Fan Wen frowned.

 After Zhang Bao pulled Wang Hu out of the room, Fan Wen turned around and said to Yun Shu coldly, “Don’t celebrate too soon. The test isn’t done yet.”

 Fan Wen drew his sword.

 Yun Shu’s heart immediately sank at this; Fan Wen’s cultivation level was much higher than Wang Hu’s.

 “That’s enough!”

 An old voice came from the outside.

 It was Yun Wanli, standing behind the doorsill with a broom in his hand.

 Fan Wen was slightly surprised at first, and then he sneered. “Your responsibility is to sweep the floor, old man. And mine is to test him. You got anything to say?”

 Yun Wanli said, “Sir, please go easy on him. Why do you have to do this?”

 Fan Wen snorted. “Why? Because that’s my job!”

 Yun Wanli sighed. “But my son is afflicted by a disease. Sir, please let him go.”

 An insidious idea suddenly flashed in Fan Wen’s mind. His arms on his hips, he said to Yun Wanli, “Well, if you kowtow to me a hundred times and lick my shoe, I’ll not make things hard for him.”

 Yun Shu was enraged at the way Fan Wen talked to his father. Just when he was about to put up a desperate struggle to win some honor, he heard his foster father say, “Really?”

 A single word shocked Yun Shu senseless. Exhilarated, Fan Wen looked at Yun Wanli and nodded. “Sure!”

 Yun Wanli let go of the broom. “Alright. I’ll kowtow to you.”

 Then the elderly man bent forward. However, Yun Shu hurriedly stepped forward and caught him before his knees could touch the ground.

 “Dad, don’t!” Yun Shu helped his father stand up, holding his arms.

 Seeing his moment of joy flying away, Fan Wen was pissed. “Good for you! You had your chance. Now, get out!”

 Hearing that, Yun Wanli said in a panic to his son, “Shu, but…”

 Yun Shu smiled and said, “Dad, I’ve made the decision. Instead of being kicked out by the bastard, I’ll go to the Valley of Crime!”

 Both Yun Wanli and Fan Wen were shocked. The Valley of Crime was the place where the sect punished the sinners. With sharp, piercing winds always blowing, staying inside was no better than death.

 Many criminals died in the valley within three to five years, a testament to the harsh conditions. Yun Shu had not succeeded in cultivation yet. Therefore, going there was basically like a death sentence to him.

 1Yun Wanli hurriedly shook his head, almost bursting into tears. “Don’t go there, Shu! You’ll die! Don’t go!”

 Yun Shu had made up his mind. He smiled and said to his foster father, “Have some faith in me, Dad. According to the rules, if I can decipher the inscription on one of the three stone steles left by the sect’s founder in the valley, I will be released from the punishment! Besides, I’m probably gonna spend three to five years cultivating in the valley, so perhaps, I can do it.”

 “I don’t agree!” said Yun Wanli resolutely.

 Yun Shu looked into his father’s eyes and smiled, “Dad, if you kneel down in front of such a jerk, I’d rather die now.”

 Before Yun Wanli could finish his words, Fan Wen interjected coldly, “Young Master Yun, I didn’t know you could make the decision. You’re such a loser that you are not even qualified to be sent to the valley!”

 Yun Shu shrugged casually and walked out of the room in several strides. Then he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Elder Chen Sheng, you can’t even beat a stray dog! You’re a sad loser!”

 The disciples who heard it were all greatly shocked by such a brutal remark made by Yun Shu!

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