Chapter 7: Stop!
Although he saw it, Li Xingtian did not immediately pick it up. Instead, he turned around once more and clasped his hands in gratitude.
"Many thanks, senior."
Chu Xingchen waved his hand dismissively, his expression calm and indifferent.
Li Xingtian slowly rose and walked straight toward the Millennial Bone Jade he had longed for since his rebirth.
Lifting the table leg, he retrieved the jade that looked like an ordinary stone and held it in his hand once more. A heavy weight in his heart finally lifted.
After bowing again to express his thanks, Li Xingtian hurriedly left the ruined temple with the jade in hand.
Watching his back disappear, Li Yingling stepped into the temple and asked in a slightly puzzled tone, "Master, you're really letting him go just like that?"
Her master, who usually wouldn't lift a finger without benefit, was suddenly so generous—letting someone take something and leave freely?
Hearing her words, Chu Xingchen immediately dropped his pretense of lofty demeanor. "You stay home and practice for now. I'm going out for a while."
Li Yingling looked as though that was only natural for her master. Still, before he left, she asked curiously, "Master, is our sect really called the Heavenly Dao Alliance?"
After all, not everything her master said was reliable. He might've just made that name up to fool that silly boy.
"Yes." Chu Xingchen left behind that single word before transforming into a streak of rainbow light and disappearing.
Li Yingling touched her chin, deep in thought.
With a shift of spiritual power, her wooden sword flew back to her hand.
"Better to keep practicing. I'm almost at the entry stage for this Three Thousand Weak Waters Sword."
She had a feeling that once she truly mastered this difficult technique, it would bring a qualitative leap in strength.
For someone hailed as a genius since childhood, this was the first time Li Yingling had been humbled by a divine ability.
It had been five whole days—and she was still struggling at the threshold.
No wonder her master seemed so eager to recruit a new disciple. Perhaps, in his eyes, her talent was not enough.
She sighed softly. "All right, one more try."
——————
Li Xingtian moved with clear purpose, heading straight toward the nearest town.
Refining the Millennial Bone Jade required a quiet, safe space and would take an entire day.
As for his old sect, the foolish Qingfeng Sect—only an idiot would go back there. Not that he could return anyway, since he had secretly sneaked out.
By now, they had likely marked him as a deserter.
He planned to rent a room at a nearby inn, pay extra, and make sure the attendants didn't disturb him.
Once the jade was refined, he would head straight for Central State—where even greater opportunities awaited him.
Yet, one thought still lingered in his mind.
That senior. His words kept echoing in his head.
Had he truly missed his real chance at fortune?
He sighed. But after all, the sect had already disappointed him deeply.
In his previous life, he had become a Central State prodigy without relying on any sect.
In this life, he could do the same. Why bother submitting to one again?
Resolute, he cleared away all distracting thoughts. If he had made his choice, there would be no regret.
A day later, after traversing mountains and rivers, Li Xingtian finally reached his destination—a sizable town.
Upon arriving at the inn, he didn't rush upstairs to refine the Millennial Bone Jade.
Instead, he ordered a full meal first.
After all, with his cultivation only at the Second Layer of Qi Refining, the journey had exhausted him, and his dry rations were long gone.
He was starving—and it had been a long time since he had felt hunger like this.
Li Xingtian chuckled softly, finding the sensation oddly grounding, almost real.
But the smile soon faded.
Because he had just encountered disciples from his former sect, the Qingfeng Sect.
On the second floor of the inn, several outer disciples dressed in white robes trimmed with green were descending the stairs.
Noticing them from the corner of his eye, Li Xingtian quickly lowered his head, hoping they wouldn't see him.
He cursed silently in his heart. What rotten luck!
Unfortunately, the more one tries to avoid something, the more it comes.
One of the Qingfeng Sect disciples swept his gaze across the first floor and spotted Li Xingtian.
Finding him familiar, he suddenly remembered something and quickly tugged at the sleeve of the senior brother leading the group.
Seeing the junior's anxious look, the senior brother followed his gaze.
The moment his eyes landed on Li Xingtian, they narrowed sharply. He led his four companions straight toward Li Xingtian's table.
The senior brother sat down boldly across from him, his gaze sharp as a blade.
"You—are you Li Xingtian, the one listed on the Red Name Board?"
Knowing he could no longer hide, Li Xingtian raised his head suddenly, his eyes sweeping over the five of them.
None were at the Foundation Establishment Realm. Judging by their auras—three at the Third Layer of Qi Refining, one at the Fourth, and the senior brother at the Fifth.
Although he was only at the Second Layer, the battle techniques from his past life were still deeply imprinted in his mind. They were more than enough to defeat a few inexperienced novices.
If he killed them and fled, there might still be a chance. Otherwise, he would be hunted endlessly!
Strike first, strike fast!
Li Xingtian decided to act without hesitation. He snatched up the chopsticks beside him, and spiritual power surged violently within his body.
Catch the leader first—take down the senior brother!
But the senior brother had been expecting this.
As Li Xingtian lunged, he sneered, releasing the full might of his Fifth Layer Qi Refining cultivation.
His prepared palm strike came crashing down toward Li Xingtian's head.
"A mere Second Layer waste—what do you know of the Fifth Layer?"
The chopsticks and the palm met in a fierce clash.
Yet the result shocked everyone.
The chopsticks in Li Xingtian's hand pierced clean through the man's palm—the weak spiritual energy carrying incredible penetration.
Without slowing, Li Xingtian drove the attack straight toward the man's head.
Just as he was about to strike—
A sharp, ferocious aura of the Golden Core Realm suddenly erupted.
A single casual strike blasted apart the room on the second floor, and a torrent of spiritual power, like a crimson flood dragon, roared toward Li Xingtian.
His instincts screamed danger. Turning his head, he saw an old man with snow-white hair watching him coldly.
Li Xingtian recognized him instantly—the Second Elder of Qingfeng Sect, at the mid-stage of the Golden Core Realm!
Doomed!
The thought barely surfaced before the raging red dragon of spiritual force slammed into him.
Pain exploded through his body as his organs shattered, and blood gushed from his mouth.
The Second Elder rose slowly, his face expressionless. "Defecting from the sect and attacking its disciples—by Qingfeng Sect's rules, your lantern must be lit."
Li Xingtian could not move. His meager spiritual power was already scattered, his meridians severely damaged.
In his mind, the senior's words echoed once again.
Time was a current, a law, a force of destiny. Everything he had done to defy his past life was to go against that current.
He had been too arrogant—forgetting that once the flow of karma was disturbed, everything would change.
Perhaps that senior had already warned him. To alter history recklessly would demand a price.
That offer to take him as a disciple—perhaps it had only been an attempt to save his life.
Someone who could perceive the current of time surely could have foreseen this outcome.
Li Xingtian felt no regret—only deep, bitter unwillingness.
"Stop. Give me some face, will you?"
A familiar voice echoed through the hall.
Turning his head, Li Xingtian saw Chu Xingchen standing there, looking regretful, a cup of tea in his hand as he took a leisurely sip.