7: First disciple, Supreme Holy Body

At the same time.

Outside Qingyang City.

Several figures cackled with sinister laughter, chasing a young man like cats playing with a mouse.

They clearly could have caught up to the youth, but they deliberately kept a short distance.

It seemed they were toying with him.

"Keep running!"

"Let's see where else you can go!"

"Hahaha..."

As the voices continued to drift from behind him, the youth gritted his teeth, desperately fleeing for his life.

Live!

I must live!

Only by living will there be a chance for revenge!

However... "Damn it! I can't get away!"

The youth suddenly spat out a large mouthful of black blood and fell straight to the ground.

The severe poison in his body could no longer be suppressed.

His cultivation had been continuously falling; by the time he had stumbled his way here, he was only left with the Nascent Soul Realm.

As for the four people behind him, the weakest was in the Void Refining Realm.

The leader was even in the Integration Realm.

"Run! Why aren't you running anymore?"

The four landed slowly in front of the youth, their faces filled with ridicule.

They did not intend to kill the youth immediately, but rather to torture him slowly to vent the dissatisfaction they had harbored in their hearts for so many years.

"Does it end here?"

The youth gave a bitter smile and closed his eyes in despair.

His name was Shi Tian, and he came from the Shi Family of the Eastern Region.

His talent had been average since childhood, but through extraordinary hard work and Comprehension Ability, he had continuously broken through his limits in life-and-death trials. In just over three hundred years, he broke through to the Void Refining Realm, becoming a rising star in his Family.

Afterward, during a Family trial, he unexpectedly gained the recognition of the Ancestor's Will.

He obtained the Family's supreme Legacy.

But... because of this, he incurred the jealousy and hatred of his elder brother, Shi Peng!

Eldest Brother Shi Peng worried that Shi Tian would threaten his position as the Young Family Master, so he poisoned Shi Tian's food.

Shi Tian had no defenses against Shi Peng, his own biological brother.

After Shi Tian was poisoned, Shi Peng struck first by accusing him, claiming that Shi Tian had wanted to poison him to take the position of Young Family Master for himself, but that through some twist of fate, Shi Tian had ended up poisoning himself instead.

His father had never liked him much to begin with.

Even after he obtained the Family's supreme Legacy, his father's attitude had not changed.

When this incident occurred, his father, as the Family Head, refused to listen to any explanation. He directly branded him a 'traitor' and the 'shame of the Family,' casting him out of the house!

Even so, his elder brother still refused to let him go!

He secretly sent four trusted subordinates to kill Shi Tian and eliminate any future trouble!

One in the Early Stage Body Integration, and three at the Peak Void Refining Realm!

Shi Tian was not only heavily poisoned, but his cultivation had also fallen to the Middle Stage Nascent Soul Realm!

There was absolutely no way he could survive!

"That's what you get for looking down on others! You used to ignore us all the time!"

"Shi Tian, you finally have your day!"

"The tables have turned! Today, we will torture you well, making you wish for life but find it impossible, and crave death but find it out of reach!"

"Why don't you beg us? Hahaha..."

"If you beg us, maybe we really will let you go..."

"Once we kill you and go back, the Eldest Young Master will surely reward us handsomely!"

"..."

The four of them laughed sinisterly, mocking him to the extreme.

"Pah! You four lackeys, you've always just been bullies who rely on others' power!"

"You want me to look at you with respect?"

"Never!"

"Just give me a quick death!"

"If I even make a sound, my name isn't Shi Tian!"

Shi Tian laughed loudly even as he spat out black blood.

Facing death, he was extremely tough and fearless.

"You want to die? It won't be that easy!"

Shi Tian's attitude made the four of them fly into a rage.

They had wanted to see Shi Tian weeping and begging for mercy, but his defiance made them feel insulted instead.

"Third Brother, go and slice the meat off his body piece by piece! Let's see if he's still so stubborn then!"

"Yes, Big Brother!"

One of the Peak Void Refining Realm lackeys stepped forward with a sinister grin.

The short blade in his hand shimmered with a cold light.

However, just as his blade was about to cut into Shi Tian, suddenly—

A precious sword streaked through the air at extreme speed!

It instantly pierced through his head!

The remaining three, as well as Shi Tian, didn't even have time to react before the lackey fell straight down. A massive bloody hole had appeared in his head; one didn't even need to look to know he was dead.

The sword moved like a spiritual snake, returning to the hand of a person.

"Who is it?!"

The three were shocked and looked toward the shadows.

Before long, a young man dressed in a white robe slowly walked out from the darkness.

His bearing was elegant and extraordinary.

Yet his strike had been extremely decisive, killing with a single blow.

"Who is Your Excellency? Why have you ambushed us!"

The three were breaking out in a cold sweat, but they didn't dare to attack directly, only testing him with words.

They did not recognize this man.

But since the opponent could kill their Peak Void Refining Realm Third Brother in one hit, his strength was at least in the Body Integration Realm, or perhaps even higher.

Among them, only their Big Brother was in the Early Stage Body Integration; they might not be this person's match.

Therefore, they could only try to gauge the opponent's depth before deciding what to do.

"You have been hunting my Personal Disciple all this way, and yet you ask me who I am?"

The young man wore a cold smile, looking at them as if they were already dead.

"Personal Disciple?"

"How come we've never heard that Shi Tian had a Master?"

The three looked at each other in confusion.

"Not having one before doesn't mean he doesn't have one now."

After saying that, Lin Chen ignored the three and looked at Shi Tian instead.

Then, he activated the ability of the Cave Heaven True Eye.

Under the Cave Heaven True Eye, all of Shi Tian's origins, background, and experiences appeared clearly before Lin Chen's eyes.

[Name: Shi Tian]

[Realm: Middle Stage Void Refining (Has fallen to Middle Stage Nascent Soul)]

[Talent: Supreme Sacred Body (Unawakened)]

[Identity: Son of Shi Kang, Family Head of the top-tier Eastern Region power, the Shi Family]

[Background: The Shi Family's fortunes once declined, and Shi Kang was forced to separate from his original wife and marry the Young Miss of the Qiao Family... borrowing the Qiao Family's generous dowry, he brought the Shi Family back to the ranks of top-tier Eastern Region powers... but there was no affection between Shi Kang and the Qiao Family's Young Miss. Shortly after Shi Tian was born, his mother, Lady Qiao, died of depression...]

[Experience: ...Poisoned in his food by his elder brother...]

...Soon, Lin Chen had a clear understanding of all of Shi Tian's information.

"Not bad, not bad at all! He's actually a hidden Supreme Sacred Body!"

"I wonder if he can make the chaos great dao bell ring nine times?"

"Whatever, I'll take him in first!"

Deciding to act, Lin Chen asked:

"Shi Tian, I am Lin Chen, the Sect Master of the Wending Sect!"

"Are you willing to join the Wending Sect and become my Personal Disciple?"

As the words fell, the eyes of the three men widened—

This works too?

Accepting a Disciple on the spot?

Wending Sect?

What level of Sect is that? How come they had never heard of it?

"Senior, you know me?"

Shi Tian struggled to lift his head, looking at the stranger before him in shock.

"This is our first time meeting, but I am clear on everything that has happened to you. You only need to answer me: are you willing to be my Personal Disciple?"

Lin Chen's voice was warm, making one feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.

"Senior, I... my talent is average, and I am heavily poisoned..."

Shi Tian hesitated; it wasn't that he was unwilling, but rather that he didn't want to involve others in his troubles.

"You don't need to worry about any of that. As your Revered Master, I have my ways."

Lin Chen waved his hand, dispelling Shi Tian's concerns.

Hearing Lin Chen say this, Shi Tian knew he had encountered a Senior expert. Not only did the man know his situation perfectly, but he could also help solve all his problems. Shi Tian, who had fallen into the abyss of despair, suddenly saw hope again.

At this moment, how could he possibly be unwilling?

Thud, thud, thud—

Shi Tian immediately knelt on the ground and heavily kowtowed three times to Lin Chen. Tears blurred his eyes as he choked out—

"Disciple Shi Tian pays respects to Revered Master!"