Will the Senior Brother Return to the Sect? - Chapter 1

“You little brat, looking for”

Boom!

A sudden, earth-shattering bolt of dry lightning struck the ground, carving a massive crater into the earth.

The previously aggressive voice was instantly silenced.

After a long moment, tense, overlapping calls began to echo from all sides.

“Senior Brother!”

“Senior Brother, what happened to you? Are you alright?”

“Quickly, take the Senior Brother to the physician! We cannot let anything happen to him!”

The group scattered like startled birds.

However, just before leaving, one of them remembered the purpose of their trip. Looking down at a sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth not far away, he commanded: “Surname Suo, our Senior Brother is determined to have that puppet. I advise you to be obedient and hand over the puppet’s control commands. Otherwise, there are plenty of ways to make you regret crossing us!”

With that, ignoring whether the youth had heard him or not, they carried their Senior Brother away.

The youth lay on the ground, gazing up at the firmament, and let out a long, weary sigh.

What he never expected was that at this very moment, the puppet they had been fighting over actually raised its arm.

The puppet seemed unfamiliar with its own physical structure; it intermittently pinched its own arm, flexed its fingers, and rotated its head.

After finishing these movements, it began to scan its surroundings, eventually locking eyes with Suo Xuanlin nearby.

Suo Xuanlin’s heart skipped a beat.

This puppet… this is definitely no ordinary puppet.

But, that was impossible. This was the very puppet his ancestor had spent his final strength to forge. How could it be…

Compared to Suo Xuanlin, Wen Qixue, who was trapped within the puppet’s body, was far more composed.

Slowly and deliberately, he took something out from the puppet’s chest. He then clambered out of the massive crater blasted by the lightning and walked up to Suo Xuanlin.

Then, he sat down cross-legged.

Suo Xuanlin: “?!”

He hurriedly retreated two steps, watching this strange puppet with wariness.

Seeing this, Wen Qixue did not press him. He merely turned his head toward Suo Xuanlin with some stiffness and asked in a hoarse voice, “What time is it now?”

Suo Xuanlin remained vigilant. He scrutinized Wen Qixue from head to toe and, instead of answering, countered, “Who on earth are you? Why are you inside the puppet my ancestor left for me?”

Although he had not been cultivating for long and was currently being marginalized within the Yuanwu Sect, he had spent a significant amount of time by his ancestor’s side while the elder was still alive.

He could not forge such a puppet himself, but he had certainly seen many.

The vast majority of puppets only followed the commands given by their masters and possessed no thoughts of their own especially the one his ancestor had left him.

That puppet was meant to be his lifeline. His ancestor had essentially risked his life, pouring all available resources into its defense and attack capabilities; he hadn’t even given it the ability to speak.

A puppet that could talk was definitely not the original one.

Wen Qixue pondered for a moment before answering: “My name is Wen Qixue. I was originally a sword cultivator who perished in a lightning tribulation several years ago. However, before my demise, I had made preparations and arranged certain legacy items within the tribulation, waiting for the right moment to reconstruct my physical body.”

He speculated, “The person who forged this puppet for you likely took my legacy items but failed to notice that my surviving soul was hidden within them. They simply used them to forge this puppet.”

“Or, to look at it from a more sinister perspective: perhaps they did discover my soul and intentionally forged me into it, hoping to refine me in the furnace and use me as fuel for the puppet?”

Upon hearing this, Suo Xuanlin exploded, forgetting his caution. He retorted: “Impossible! My ancestor could not possibly be such a person!”

Wen Qixue stiffly shrugged his shoulders: “Who knows? The world of cultivation is like that; such things happen more often than not. Furthermore, it is said that refining a living soul into a puppet can enhance its combat power and defense.”

Suo Xuanlin opened his mouth to argue, but he did not dare say much more.

Seeing this, Wen Qixue added: “However, regardless of what the person who forged this puppet intended, they have likely already received their punishment.”

“Refining a living soul goes against the heavens. The refiner could not have survived the next lightning tribulation.”

Suo Xuanlin pursed his lips and remained silent.

His ancestor had died of insufficient lifespan; he would never have lived long enough to reach the next lightning tribulation anyway.

Under Wen Qixue’s reasoning, even Suo Xuanlin became uncertain whether his ancestor, facing his own end and lacking such a puppet, might have actually orchestrated this.

Wen Qixue beckoned him: “Come here.”

Suo Xuanlin shuffled toward him in small steps. He asked: “Aren’t you angry?”

While it was uncertain if his ancestor discovered his soul while forging the puppet, it was essentially confirmed that he had taken the rare materials Wen Qixue had prepared for his own body reconstruction.

Wen Qixue smiled and explained to him: “Although the person who forged this puppet may not have had good intentions, I have actually benefited from it.”

“By tossing me into the furnace, they caused my soul to fuse with the treasures I had prepared much faster. Consequently, I have awakened much earlier than I anticipated.”

Hearing this, Suo Xuanlin sighed in relief and relaxed: “So that is why you just asked me what time it is?”

Wen Qixue nodded.

Suo Xuanlin informed him: “It is the 196th year of the Yunling era.”

Wen Qixue: “Yunling…”

The Yunling Dynasty was in the Eastern Continent, whereas the place where he had faced his lightning tribulation was the Heavenly Sword Sect, a mid-tier sect in the Western Continent. Between these two continents lay the Central Continent.

He remarked: “The person who forged this puppet ran quite far away!”

However, he seemed to have awakened a bit too early.

Originally, in his estimations, without external interference, he would have needed to be tempered by the Heavenly Lightning Array which utilized the power of celestial lightning—for a hundred years to awaken. According to this timeline, it had been less than five years.

He couldn’t help but look at Suo Xuanlin with some admiration: “Your ancestor, who forged this puppet for you, was quite daring to risk entering the center of a Heavenly Lightning Array.”

This was a massive array that had been set up only a few years ago, not one weakened by decades of time.

Suo Xuanlin didn’t dare to speak.

Wen Qixue didn’t mind. He stood up, stretching his joints in an attempt to better adapt to this puppet body, and asked Suo Xuanlin: “When I first woke up, although my consciousness wasn’t very clear, it seemed there were people bullying you?”

Suo Xuanlin pursed his lips and said quite resentfully: “After my ancestor passed away, I lost my support in the Yuanwu Sect. Coupled with my poor talent for cultivation, therefore…”

Wen Qixue nodded, indicating he understood.

He had actually encountered such situations at the Heavenly Sword Sect in the past.

Especially after that Junior Brother reputed to be a “Heavenly Chosen” entered the sect, the sect had once revolved entirely around him. People had ordered him around arrogantly and even tried to force him to contribute his collected resources.

They had even claimed, “It’s for the best; you can take credit for cultivating a genius.”

However, he had been powerful back then; even if he refused, no one dared to truly do anything to him. Furthermore, he was rarely in the sect, so even if they wanted to act, they couldn’t find him.

But this sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth in front of him was different.

He had not yet grown into his own, and his cultivation level was not high.

However…

Wen Qixue scanned Suo Xuanlin from head to toe and finally asked: “Are you afraid of pain?”

Suo Xuanlin was puzzled, but he obediently shook his head: “I am not.”

Although his cultivation was not high, he was practicing; if a cultivator could not endure even a little pain, they would never achieve any results.

Having received his answer, Wen Qixue held out his hand: “Come here, give me your hand.”

Suo Xuanlin did not understand, but he still obediently placed his hand on Wen Qixue’s.

Immediately, he was engulfed by a wave of coldness. The chill traced the meridians in his wrist and surged into his body, causing him to tremble from head to toe.

He couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or the pain.

Fortunately, it did not last long.

He stared at Wen Qixue in a daze.

Wen Qixue tapped him on the head: “So obedient, aren’t you afraid I might harm you? Your ancestor and I were enemies, after all.”

Suo Xuanlin hesitated for a moment, then spoke the truth: “You seem like a good person.”

Wen Qixue couldn’t help but laugh: “Once you walk out into the world, you will realize that appearances are not to be trusted. Those who commit evil deeds in private often look decent and upright on the surface.”

“Even that Senior Brother who was just bullying you probably has a fair face.”

Suo Xuanlin asked: “How do you know? You shouldn’t have been awake back then.”

Wen Qixue smiled: “The Senior Brother of a sect must represent the entire sect when he goes out. Even if he isn’t exceptionally talented, he must at least be dignified.”

Suo Xuanlin curled his lip: “I think he is mediocre.”

Wen Qixue didn’t dwell on this and instead brought up another matter: “Just now, when I channeled spiritual energy into your body, I detected something. Do you want to know what it is?”

Hearing this, Suo Xuanlin immediately sat upright: “Please tell me.”

Wen Qixue did not play coy and said directly: “Your spiritual root purity is not low; logically, your talent for cultivation should be quite good. Furthermore, you must have been practicing a technique unsuited to yourself, causing your internal spiritual energy to be extremely chaotic.”

Suo Xuanlin’s eyes widened: “Are you saying my talent is…”

Wen Qixue nodded: “But I could not detect the specific properties of your spiritual root. I am an Ice Spiritual Root user myself, so I can only detect related attributes. Your spiritual root attribute should be contrary to mine, but I cannot be certain. You will likely need to find a Spirit Source Stone or other testing artifacts to know for sure.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than he saw Suo Xuanlin rummage through his pocket and produce a storage bag.

Wen Qixue watched as Suo Xuanlin reached into the bag and pulled out a Spirit Source Stone.

Wen Qixue: “…”

Then what had he been testing just now?

He was currently in a puppet body; although he could use spiritual stones and the gathering array within his body to condense energy, it was incomparable to a cultivator who practiced proper techniques.

The spiritual energy he currently possessed was extremely precious!