Chapter 23, The Martial World Is Treacherous. You’re Not Fit for It!

Translator: StarReader

 

As Li Kui spoke, Su Chen immediately realized his oversight.

 

He had only considered defying his seniors’ orders and maintaining the relations between the five outer disciples to prevent conflicts among brothers and sisters, which would have earned Li Kui and Wang Fugui’s mockery.

 

But he hadn’t anticipated another possibility: that four of his fellow disciples might break their promises at a critical moment.

 

Zhang Tieniu had always strongly desired to join the Medicine King Group’s Security Hall, unwilling to settle for being a menial disciple.

 

Yang Caizhi, being selfish by nature, would also try every means necessary to stay back and become a Hall of Affairs disciple.

 

Kong Xinqiao was simple but a bit timid. If she was not determined and afraid of being eliminated, she might have written someone else’s name.

 

Qin Huihui usually smiled, but she rarely revealed her thoughts, and it was hard to tell what she would write. This also meant that there was no supervision or guarantee for the agreement between herself and the other four people.

 

He could only hope that everyone would abide by their promises and sign their names.

 

The five people were alone in the hut as they wrote down a name on the bamboo slip. Just one of them deviating from the plan would result in an elimination.

 

Su Chen quickly calculated various possibilities in his mind. But he couldn’t figure out who… It could be one or many. The most extreme possibility was that all five bamboo slips were in his name, Su Chen. Because he wrote his own name as well.

 

He noticed a hint of sarcasm in the corner of Li Kui’s mouth, as if he saw through himself and laughed at his own cleverness. “The martial world is treacherous and does not tolerate any luck! You might care about brotherhood, but not them. You are not suitable for the martial world. Go to the Errand Hall and be an errand disciple.”

 

Su Chen sighed dejectedly as Li Kui spoke those few words indifferently. His now former master gripped the bamboo slips and crushed them into fragments. The five pieces of bamboo immediately vanished into the furnace in the corner of the courtyard, releasing a wisp of blue smoke as they burned to ashes.

 

Su Chen’s heart sank with each word Li Kui uttered, leaving him feeling cold and betrayed. His face pale, his expression disheveled, his mind raced with jumbled thoughts. Of course, there was also the possibility that Li Kui had always intended to discard him, manipulating his words to plant seeds of doubt in Su Chen’s mind, convincing him that others were disloyal.

 

Su Chen tried to console himself, but the truth vanished into the flames, forever hidden from sight. There was no way to uncover the truth.

 

Su Chen sighed again, defeated. It was his own idea, and after all the calculations, it had backfired. He had no one else to blame but himself.

 

Perhaps that was just how it was in the martial world. The dangers of the martial world left no room for the slightest fluke!

 

“Thank you, Master, for your teachings. Your disciple will keep them close and bids you farewell.”

 

Su Chen prostrated on the ground, bowing respectfully to Li Kui as a token of gratitude for this final lesson. From now on, he would no longer be Li Kui’s disciple.

 

Being reduced to a lowly laborer at the Errand Hall did not stir much resentment within him.

 

These six months, under the strict tutelage of Li Kui, his foundational martial techniques and basic medicine had been solidified. He had gained much from the experience.

 

Su Chen bade farewell to his master, rose to his feet, and walked out of the small courtyard with a heavy heart.

 

Leaving the courtyard he had called home for half a year, Su Chen gazed up at the clear blue sky. His emotions were a mix of disappointment and relief—he couldn’t quite pinpoint which feeling was stronger.

 

But he finally felt a huge burden lifted from his mind. Cast aside, there was no longer any need to walk on eggshells or play political games or to worry about gains and losses. From now on, he would train in solitude, without having to look at others’ faces for approval.

 

[Going to the Errand Hall? Who cares! Master treats Wang Fugui, that so-called senior brother, like he’s made of gold. He really underestimates me.] Su Chen thought to himself.

 

He had already ventured into the Grandmaster Stage’s Upper Dantian, gaining extraordinary perception. He still had half a wild ginseng root to keep him safe from the blue stone tears.

 

The most dangerous moment had already passed in the small lake within the Vaulting Mountains.

 

Su Chen had no real expectations for the apprentice elimination process and could accept any outcome. Without his master’s restrictions, he might actually feel more at ease in the Errand Hall.

 

[Upon arriving at Errand Hall, I’ll make sure to find some quiet time to carefully study this extraordinary perception.] It was bound to be a significant ability, no less than any other disciple.

 

…

 

Meanwhile, the four outer apprentices—Zhang Tieniu, Yang Caizhi, Qin Huihui, and Kong Xinqiao—were outside the courtyard, waiting for Su Chen to arrive. They were eager to find out what had happened.

 

Their expressions revealed anxiety; they desperately wanted to know the details. Why had Li Kui remained silent and immediately eliminated Su Chen? Who among them had secretly cast a vote in favor of Su Chen, prompting Li Kui to eliminate him without hesitation?

 

When Su Chen finally stepped out, his complex emotions led him to glance at them once before turning away. He paid them no mind, only sighing inwardly.

 

He was eliminated, but at least he had escaped politics. As for the remaining four outer disciples, they were on their own. It was a misfortune to have such a merciless and biased master.

 

Su Chen returned to the residence for disciples, packed up his belongings, and then headed to Errand Hall to report. The disciples of Errand Hall lived separately and no longer shared quarters with the others.

 

Zhang Tieniu, Yang Caizhi, Qin Huihui, and Kong Xinqiao all watched in disbelief as Su Chen turned a cold face toward them, said nothing, and walked away. They returned dejectedly to their residence and gathered in the small hut.

 

The atmosphere inside the room was tense, with everyone feeling restless and uneasy.

 

Zhang Tieniu paced back and forth across the room, his frustration mounting. Suddenly, he slammed his hand down on the table, letting out all the suppressed anger he had been holding in. “We’re all brothers and sisters here! We agreed beforehand that everyone would write their own name on a bamboo slip. How can someone be so cruel and act like a despicable coward? Who was it that betrayed Su Chen? Step forward if you did!”

 

The room fell silent, and no one was willing to admit what they had done.

 

Zhang Tieniu roared with anger, his eyes blazing as he glared at everyone. He finally settled his intense gaze on Yang Caizhi and barked, “Yang Caizhi! Was it you? Did you sell out Su Chen’s disciple by giving him one slip?”

 

Yang Caizhi adamantly denied any involvement, as such a scandal would ruin his reputation and lead to ostracization. He hastily protested, “Zhang Tieniu, stop spreading nonsense!”

 

“Who else is there? You’re the most self-serving and cunning among us. Everyone knows you always have ulterior motives, constantly trying to curry favor with Master in hopes of staying one step ahead. It’s clear you see Su Chen as your biggest threat and want him gone before he becomes a contender. If you’ve got an issue with Su Chen, say it outright—face me like a man! Cowardly slander from behind is beneath you!”

 

Zhang Tieniu roared in enraged frustration.

 

Yang Caizhi, being publicly berated by Zhang Tieniu, flushed red and leapt to his feet, lashing back: “Zhang Tieniu! Don’t you dare accuse me of your own crimes. Who knows if you’ve been faking your dimwitted brute exterior all along, hiding a calculating mind?

 

“It might just be that you secretly cast a vote on Su Chen yourself and framed me. Planning to eliminate Su Chen first, then pin the blame on me to tarnish my name. With three more eliminations left in the competition, you could then team up with others to finish me off once I’m ruined. That way, no one would stand in your path!

 

“And don’t think Qin Huihui and Kong Xinqiao being silent means they’re innocent! You know they’re probably gloating while we argue. Those who have skeletons in their closet should stay quiet—your own consciences will accuse you.”

 

“Lies!” Zhang Tieniu thundered, slamming the table with a fist. “I’m Zhang Tieniu—a man of principles and righteousness. Betrayal and duplicity would forever stain my name, and I wouldn’t stoop to such lows. It’s you who’s acting like a despicable coward!”

 

Yang Caizhi hadn’t anticipated such scathing remarks from Zhang Tieniu and grew increasingly furious. Zhang Tieniu’s outburst had pushed him to the edge.

 

Qin Huihui leaned against the wooden pillar of the house, her arms crossed as she watched them argue vehemently. With a cold tone, she said, “Enough! None of us in this room are innocent. This is just the first half-year elimination, and things have already turned out like this. What about the next three eliminations? Won’t we end up at each other’s throats like this?”

 

Zhang Tieniu and Yang Caizhi were flushed with anger, accusing one another, neither willing to admit to betraying their fellow disciples by framing someone.

 

In truth, whoever had broken the trust could be identified by consulting Li Kui, who could examine the bamboo slips for clarity. But none dared approach Li Kui or admit their guilt, so their argument yielded no resolution.

 

“Enough, Senior Brother Tieniu, and you too, Senior Brother Caizhi,” Kong Xinqiao interjected with a trembling voice, her eyes welling up. “Next time, I won’t compete in the elimination anymore… I’ll just withdraw.”

 

Yang Caizhi shot her a disdainful glance. “Oh, really? Who’s to say this wasn’t all out of fear that you might be eliminated by our master and secretly framed Su Chen instead? It must be your guilty conscience speaking—now you’re offering to quit to ease your own mind. But mark my words, who will you target next time? Nobody knows.”

 

“I… I didn’t do it!” Kong Xinqiao retorted.

 

Kong Xinqiao let out a heart-wrenching cry and ran outside, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed outside.

 

“Is it really so hard for you to admit your own baseness? You’re all the same—hollow words and selfish hearts. As fellow disciple who share the same roof, wouldn’t it be easier to just own up to how little talent you truly have?”

 

Qin Huihui bit her trembling lips as she gazed blankly at the sky of Medicine King Estate, murmuring softly:

 

“Who used to travel up to the back mountain every day to gather paulownia seeds and press them into oil, while burning the midnight oil studying medicinal texts in the library until everyone else had been asleep for hours?

 

“Who sleeps only two hours a night, rises at dawn unseen by anyone, already deep into cultivating martial arts before we even woke up?

 

“And who, every time Master gives us leave, refuses to go to town for fun and instead stays quietly at the estate reading medical books?

 

“The number of texts he’s gone through in just half a year would probably exceed what all six of us combined have read. Even when Master doesn’t teach him, he takes it upon himself to study on his own. And look at those dozens of thick medicinal texts in Master’s bookcase—already worn out from being flipped through so much. The library books must number in the hundreds or thousands.

 

“Yet he never boasts about what he’s learned. I once casually asked him what he was doing when I saw him jotting something on the ground with a stick during his rest. He just laughed it off, saying he was just scribbling nonsense, and declined to explain further.

 

“We joined the sect at the same time, but after just half a year, I couldn’t understand what he was doing. In another year or so, do we even stand a chance of competing with him for a spot in the Hall of Affairs as a disciple?

 

“You have no idea how terrified I’ve been these months. I watched him go farther and farther, but I just couldn’t catch up. I kept worrying that one day Master would realize his talent and keep him back as the last option.

 

“But Master made us eliminate one among ourselves by drawing lots. You don’t know how relieved I felt at that moment because that was my chance to get rid of him early.

 

“Senior Brother Niu, Senior Brother Zai, you two—all you think about is eating and drinking or playing tricks. Day in and day out, you just follow Master around. What else can you do?

 

“Kong Xinqiao may be innocent, but she’s not blind. She knows who’s strong. When she came out of her little room, her hands were trembling. She dared not look at Su Chen. What good deeds could she possibly do?

 

“If he stays this time, there’s no doubt he’ll become a Hall of Affairs disciple. No matter what, I was going to vote against him. If he didn’t leave, none of us would get the chance! Only then can I have a shot at joining the Hall of Affairs and maybe one day become a respected pharmacist.

 

“Now that he’s gone, shouldn’t we be happy?!”

 

Qin Huihui’s face was unreadable—part crying, part smiling. She collapsed against the door, sitting on the ground, burying her beautiful arms in her hands as she cried bitterly.

 

Zhang Tieniu and Yang Caizhi were both visibly shaken, staring at Qin Huihui, who was sobbing uncontrollably.

 

[She… admitted to betraying her promise and named Su Chen.]

 

But what about the others? Who among them still had guilt left to admit?

 

Zhang Tieniu’s eyes blankly stared ahead, his hands sweaty as he sat motionless in his chair.

 

The three outer disciples in the room fell into an awkward silence, each looking away, unsure of what to say. Li Kui had exposed them with a single test—tearing them apart and leaving them utterly shattered.