24: I shed blood for my sect.

The moment the Secret Realm entrance opened, all the Disciples rushed out, howling. They all looked disheveled, their Daoist Robes stained pitch black with smoke.

Seeing the scene before them, everyone was a little unsettled. What exactly happened inside? How did these Disciples end up looking like this?

The Chief of each peak found their own Disciples and questioned them about the situation, only to learn that someone had set a fire inside and burned down the entire Secret Realm.

And it was black flames.

All the Chiefs present fell silent. They were all too familiar with the owner of the black flames—wasn't that Su Yao?

Xuan Qing's face turned dark with anger. He slowly flew up and stared at the Secret Realm entrance for a long time. The entire Secret Realm had already turned into scorched earth, appearing lifeless. Only a small girl, head bowed and looking very embarrassed, slowly walked out from within.

"You set the Secret Realm on fire?"

After such a huge fire, the Secret Realm would be unusable for Disciples for at least five years. The large number of Treant Cores cultivated by the Sect had been completely destroyed, and they would have to spend resources to Cultivate them again.

Immortal Master Xuan Qing almost burst into tears. How could this little girl cause such a huge disaster?

"I didn't do it on purpose. It's just that once my flames ignite, they're not easy to extinguish. Later, I couldn't even control the fire anymore."

Su Yao stuck out her little tongue in embarrassment. The three Tianzhu Peak Disciples who had been burned to charcoal at the source of the fire had an even harder time expressing themselves, unable to voice their suffering.

Huang Bocheng had originally wanted to punish the three of them, but seeing their state, he could only give a bitter smile and shake his head in resignation.

He couldn't blame the three of them for not doing their job properly; he could only blame this little girl for being too much of a Prodigy.

Most of the Disciples who entered the Secret Realm this time didn't even have a chance to gain any harvest before being forced into the air by the flames, flying for an entire day.

If they landed below, they would only be scorched; above, they would at most be smoked.

Having gained nothing, everyone looked at Su Yao with displeased gazes.

To quell the public anger, Immortal Master Xuan Qing allocated a portion of Treant Cores to these Disciples, which finally calmed the commotion.

Su Yao excitedly headed towards Spirit Gathering Peak. Her Revered Master would never guess her harvest this time.

Immortal Master Xuan Qing found Li Haotian a step ahead of Su Yao.

"Was it you, you brat, who taught your Disciple to set fires and burn mountains? Can't you teach some good things normally? I gave you such a good seedling; if you Cultivate a ruffian out of her, don't blame me for hanging you up and beating you! By seniority, I'm your grand-Revered Master!"

Immortal Master Xuan Qing scolded Li Haotian mercilessly, leaving the latter stunned. What did I do?

What about setting fires and burning mountains? Su Yao??

Immortal Master Xuan Qing sensed Su Yao's return and immediately waved goodbye to maintain his image. When Su Yao returned, she saw Li Haotian standing there, looking utterly bewildered.

"Revered Master! I'm back!"

Li Haotian snapped back to reality and looked at Su Yao, asking seriously.

"Did you set fire to the mountains in the Secret Realm?"

Su Yao immediately stuck out her tongue in embarrassment, then nodded, handing over the bracelet in her hand.

Li Haotian took the bracelet and inspected its contents, his expression instantly filled with astonishment.

"You..."

Li Haotian didn't even know what to say. He hadn't managed to get so many Treant Cores even when he had entered that Secret Realm himself.

His Disciple had really set fire to the entire Secret Realm.

No wonder Immortal Master Xuan Qing had come over and given him such a scolding earlier.

"Don't do such things again next time. You can harm others in Secret Realms outside, but don't harm our own."

Li Haotian didn't blame Su Yao, instead patting her little head.

"Oh, right, here's a letter for you. A Disciple just delivered it; it seems to be from your Family."

Su Yao's previously cheerful mood instantly plummeted upon hearing the word 'Family'. She took the letter, opened it, and began to read its contents.

Su Yao's eyes widened instantly. She carefully read every word on it, rereading the letter three or four times.

It turned out that after Su Yao fled the Su Family, the Su Family members, though not pursuing her, had sent people to follow her and prevent her from joining any major Sect.

Su Yao's mother, Li Wan, was unaware of this because she had been in seclusion Cultivating during this time. Only after emerging from seclusion did she learn that her daughter's talent had been crippled and she had been expelled from the Su Family.

She immediately brought people to the Su Family to demand her daughter back. However, the Su Family not only acted completely unreasonably but also beat up the Li Family members.

The Su Family member who beat Li Wan was none other than Su Yao's biological father, Su Wei!

Su Yao's maternal grandparents, mother, and maternal uncle were humiliated by the Su Family members and then thrown out. They even warned the city where the Li Family's Foundation was located that if anyone dared to associate with the Li Family, the Su Family would surely annihilate them!

The Su Family manipulated things behind the scenes, and in just one month, they completely destroyed the Li Family's Foundation. No one in the entire city was even willing to do business with their Family anymore. A stray dog that Li Wan had casually fed on the roadside was hacked to death with swords before it even crossed an intersection.

To prevent the entire city from incurring the Su Family's wrath, the City Lord personally stepped forward and demanded the Li Family leave. What was once the most magnificent Family in the city was now driven out like stray dogs.

These events were written by a maid who had once taken care of Su Yao in the Su Family. She couldn't bear to see the Li Family treated this way, so she told Su Yao about it.

Su Yao's eyes were red, and her hands tightly clutched the letter. Li Haotian, who was holding freshly skewered barbecued meat beside her, looked at Su Yao's reddened eyes with a puzzled expression.

Only two days without barbecue, it shouldn't be enough to make her this emotional, right?

"Revered Master, do you have a way to contact my mother and them?"

Su Yao asked in a somewhat hoarse voice, filled with pleading.

Taking the letter and reading it, Li Haotian finally understood Su Yao's current emotions, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

"Let's go, find the Sect Master!"

Li Haotian pulled Su Yao, soared into the air, and headed towards the main hall where Immortal Master Xuan Qing resided.

At this moment, Immortal Master Xuan Qing was allocating resources from the warehouse to rebuild the Secret Realm. Just as he finished arranging everything, he saw the two problematic Revered Master and Disciple push open the door and walk in.

"You..."

Immortal Master Xuan Qing's words were immediately interrupted.

"I bled for the Sect."

Li Haotian's single sentence completely stumped Immortal Master Xuan Qing.

He slowly stepped forward and slapped the letter onto the table.

Immortal Master Xuan Qing picked it up and read it, finally understanding the Li Family's plight. But as he tried to say something, he saw Su Yao's aggrieved expression.

"My grand-Revered Master and Revered Master bled for the Sect."

"But..."

"My Spirit Gathering Peak bled for the Sect."

"You..."

"We bled."

"Do it, do it, do it! I'll do it, alright!"

Immortal Master Xuan Qing sighed helplessly, watching as the Revered Master and Disciple pair before him instantly rejoiced and high-fived in front of him.