Upon hearing the boy’s words, the white-robed inner disciple sneered. He kicked the boy to the ground and said coldly,
“Servant disciples get two spirit crystals a month, why would I care? If you don’t have spirit crystals, get lost. Don’t block the others from testing.”
Even after being kicked, the boy wasn’t angry. He quickly stood back up with a smile and said, “Senior brother, just give me a chance. I’ll repay you however you want, like a horse or ox.”
“There are plenty of people willing to be my horse or ox. Who do you think you are?”
The inner disciple’s body surged with spiritual energy, and the pressure of a True Meridian Realm cultivator radiated from him. He punched the boy hard in the stomach.
The boy groaned and was sent flying.
A calm and clear voice rang out from behind.
The white-robed disciple quickly turned and saw a group of cultivators exiting from within Supreme Primal Sacred Ground. Every one of them wore white robes and radiated powerful auras.
At the head of the group was a young woman. Her robe differed from the others, its white was purer, embroidered with drifting clouds.
Seeing her step forward, the inner disciple quickly explained, “Senior Sister Jiang, this person was disrupting the assessment. I was just teaching him a lesson.”
With her appearance, the servant disciples nearby burst into whispers.
“Who is this Senior Sister Jiang?” someone asked curiously.
“Her full name is Jiang Lili, a core disciple of Supreme Primal Sacred Ground,” said someone who had done their homework. “And not just a core disciple, she’s also the Dao Companion of the Sacred Lord's son, Fu Tianming. She’s got serious status.”
“I heard a rumor,” someone else whispered. “They say Senior Sister Jiang was actually forcefully taken into the sect by Fu Tianming.”
Hearing the murmuring around them, the inner disciple frowned and snapped: “Silence!”
Immediately, the crowd fell silent, not daring to speak.
Jiang Lili nodded, about to leave, when her gaze unintentionally fell on the black-robed youth nearby.
In that moment, her body froze, visibly trembling. She stared in disbelief and called out, “Mochou… is that you?”
The boy, Jiang Mochou, had just gotten back to his feet. Hearing someone call his name, he quickly turned around.
When he saw her familiar face, his voice trembled as he cried out, “Sister!”
“Mochou, it’s really you?” Jiang Lili still looked stunned. “Where have you been all these years? I thought I’d never see you again.”
“After I escaped that year, I’ve just been wandering on my own. I only just made it back today,” Jiang Mochou replied.
Looking at his ragged clothes, Jiang Lili’s expression turned tender. She said firmly, “Mochou, don’t worry. Now that I’m here, I’ll never let anyone bully you again.”
“I’m fine, sister,” Jiang Mochou forced a smile. But then his expression twisted, and he asked with hatred, “Did that bastard do anything to you?”
“What bastard? That’s your brother-in-law,” Jiang Lili immediately pulled him aside and whispered.
“Sister, what are you saying? Have you forgotten what happened back then? He took you by force!”
Before he could say more, Jiang Lili interrupted him with a calm face.
“Mochou, let the past stay in the past. He’s my Dao Companion now, and your brother-in-law.”
“So you expect me to call our father’s killer my brother-in-law?” Jiang Mochou’s tone turned icy.
“I know it’s hard to accept right away, but you need to let go,” Jiang Lili said softly after a pause.
“Think about it. He’s the Sacred Lord’s son. With him around, you’ll have anything you want in the sect.”
“You’ve changed,” Jiang Mochou said after a long look, voice heavy.
“Everyone changes,” Jiang Lili replied. “At first, I did hate him. I wished I could cut him to pieces. But later, I realized how naïve I was, how narrow my worldview had been. Here in Supreme Primal Sacred Ground, I’ve seen and gained things I never dared dream of. I life. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Your life is your own. I won’t judge your choices. But I’ll never forget that he killed our father,” Jiang Mochou said through gritted teeth.
“You’re being childish. You can’t beat him. He’s the Crown Prince of the sacred ground. Just look at you, what do you have to fight with?” she sighed. “Be smart. Let go of the hatred. Come with me into the Sacred Ground. With my influence, no one will touch you. Whatever cultivation resources you want, I’ll give them to you. Isn’t that a better life?”
“No need,” Jiang Mochou said calmly. “Everything I want, I’ll earn with my own hands. I only know one thing, there’s no such thing as a free meal in this world.”
“With your own hands?” Jiang Lili laughed and shook her head. “It’s been three years. What have you earned? Aren’t you just here today to become a servant disciple?”
Jiang Mochou went silent and turned his head, saying nothing more.
“If you insist on doing it your way, I won’t stop you,” Jiang Lili said. Then she turned to the inner disciple and said, “Give him a servant disciple spot.”
“Yes, yes,” the disciple quickly nodded.
“Enjoy your miserable life among the lowest of the low,” Jiang Lili said. “When you’ve had enough and want to give in, you can come find me.”
“I never will,” Jiang Mochou replied, voice raspy but filled with unshakable resolve.
Jiang Lili looked at him deeply for a moment, then said to the disciple, “Don’t give him any special treatment. Treat him just like the rest.”
The disciple nodded again.
As Jiang Lili walked away, Jiang Mochou looked after her, grief clouding his eyes. His fists clenched, released, then clenched again, repeating several times before he let out a long, bitter sigh.
“They say the heart never forgets its first promise. But once someone leaves… sometimes, they never return.”
The storm clouds overhead, long brooding in silence, finally exploded with a crack of lightning, unleashing a torrential downpour.