In a cave dwelling in the outer sect.
Xu Chen was wildly slashing his saber, destroying everything within. He was like a berserk beast, his eyes red from killing.
Although he had achieved second place in the grand competition and had become an inner disciple, it paled in comparison to Xu Chuan becoming a true disciple. The repeated blows he suffered during the assessment had pushed him to the brink of collapse. He believed it was all Xu Chuan's doing and placed all the blame on him.
At this moment, all he wanted was to cripple Xu Chuan and then subject him to a fate worse than death, the only way to erase the humiliation in his heart. But he was destined to miss his chance. Xu Chuan had become a true disciple, soaring to a position of reverence. Xu Chen, on the other hand, was merely an ordinary inner disciple, separated by an insurmountable chasm. The immense psychological disparity fueled Xu Chen's hatred for Xu Chuan.
"Mine, all of this is mine!"
"It's you, you stole everything from me!"
"I will kill you, I will definitely kill you!"
Xu Chen roared like a beast within the cave dwelling. His jealousy had rendered him completely out of control.
Just then.
A seductive voice whispered in his ear.
"Do you want revenge? Do you want to reclaim what is rightfully yours?"
"That Xu Chuan is nothing but a good-for-nothing. How can he compare to your talent? He must have cheated!"
"Who? Who is speaking?"
Xu Chen was instantly jolted awake, looking around for the source of the voice.
"Don't ask who I am. I can give you the means for revenge, I can even make you a Saint Son, or even the Lord of the Sacred Land. Are you willing?"
The voice further tempted Xu Chen. His heart, already blinded by hatred, could not resist. He soon succumbed to the temptation.
"I want revenge, I want to kill Xu Chuan!"
"Tell me, what should I do?"
At this moment, Xu Chen's mind was completely lost.
"You only need to betray the Sacred Land, and you will gain world-destroying power!"
The voice's temptation intensified.
"Betray the Sacred Land, betray the Sacred Land."
Guided by the voice, Xu Chen, under the cover of night, killed the outer sect patrol disciples and defected from the Sacred Land.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, Xu Chuan had cultivated by the rear mountain stone wall for ten full days. He had now completely grasped the true intent of the saber. He then bid farewell to his master and descended the mountain.
Sacred Land Mission Hall.
Xu Chuan arrived at this place. His descent this time was to seize Xu Chen's third fortunate encounter, which was also the most crucial for Xu Chuan at this stage. That was to obtain the complete version of the "Xuan Yang Jue". Without the subsequent cultivation method, he would be unable to break through to the Mortal Transformation realm. He was unwilling to switch to other cultivation methods. Not only was there no guarantee he could find a Heavenly-grade cultivation method, but switching midway would inevitably damage his martial foundation. This was something Xu Chuan did not want to see. Therefore, he had to obtain this fortunate encounter.
Now that he was a true disciple, he needed a reason to leave the Sacred Land, otherwise, he would not be allowed to do so. This was also a form of protection for the true disciples by the Sacred Land. Therefore, Xu Chuan planned to take a mission from the Mission Hall. Only then could he successfully leave the Sacred Land.
In the Mission Hall, most of the disciples were inner disciples handling missions. True disciples rarely came here to accept missions.
"Did you hear? Xu Chen, who was second in the outer sect assessment, has defected from the Sacred Land!"
"What happened? Tell me quickly."
"I heard he couldn't accept Xu Chuan becoming a true disciple, so he killed patrol disciples overnight and defected!"
As soon as Xu Chuan stepped through the entrance of the Mission Hall, he overheard news about Xu Chen. It instantly caught his attention. Just as he was about to inquire further, the entire Mission Hall erupted.
"True Disciple Xu is here!"
"Is this True Disciple Xu? He's so handsome!"
"We pay our respects to True Disciple Xu!"
The current situation left Xu Chuan somewhat bewildered. He was unaware that the news of his promotion to true disciple had spread throughout the inner sect in the past two days. Now, almost everyone, except for those in seclusion, recognized Xu Chuan. Therefore, the moment he entered the Mission Hall, he was immediately recognized. Disciples paid their respects and offered flattery.
To avoid causing a larger commotion, Xu Chuan said, "Everyone, no need for this. I cannot bear it! You may call me Senior Brother Xu." He then waved his hand and gently dispersed the surrounding disciples. Afterward, he turned to the two inner disciples who had been discussing and asked, "Excuse me, what were you just talking about? Who defected?"
These two disciples would never have dreamed that Xu Chuan would speak to them, and his demeanor was so amiable, unlike other true disciples who were always arrogant. They replied in awe, "Senior Brother Xu, you don't know yet? Just last night, Xu Chen, second in the outer sect assessment, seemed to have lost his mind. After killing a few patrol disciples, he defected, and even left a message saying he would return to seek revenge on you!"
"He wants to seek revenge on Senior Brother Xu? He should look in the mirror!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Chuan's expression grew serious. Xu Chen had defected from the Sacred Land, something Xu Chuan had never expected. Moreover, he had vowed revenge before escaping. A child of destiny harboring such deep animosity towards him defecting was not a good thing. He had been planning to deal with him soon, but unexpectedly, he had escaped first. As expected of a child of destiny.
However, after pondering for a moment, Xu Chuan felt relieved. Let him escape. With the system's assistance and the resources allocated to true disciples, he would only grow stronger. What could a runaway rogue cultivator, even a child of destiny, compare to him? He would face challenges as they came. He hoped Xu Chen wouldn't foolishly come seeking death again. Otherwise, next time would be his demise.
With these thoughts cleared, the hint of gloom on Xu Chuan's brow dissipated. The priority now was to obtain the "Xuan Yang Jue". This was of utmost importance! Thus, Xu Chuan walked directly to the mission reception area.
The deacon in charge of distributing missions, upon seeing Xu Chuan, immediately ushered him into a quiet room behind the main hall. He also served tea and respectfully asked, "May I know why True Disciple Xu has come?"
"I've had some insights in my recent cultivation and have decided to travel outside the Sacred Land to see if I can break through my realm and gain some experience." Xu Chuan presented the reason he had prepared.
"I see. Please wait a moment, and I will bring the recent missions for you to review." The deacon asked no further questions and soon brought a stack of mission jade slips for Xu Chuan to choose from.
Xu Chuan browsed through them. Soon, he found a target.
"Go to the Ding'an City outpost and test the aptitude of the children of the Sacred Land's dispatched deacons!"
This was a very common mission. In the Sacred Land, disciples who felt they had no hope of further advancement often became dispatched deacons and carried out missions in various regions. Their children, if found to have aptitude, could be directly sent to the Sacred Land for training. Every year, such missions were issued, asking inner disciples to test the aptitude of these children.
Xu Chuan's objective was in Ding'an City. Therefore, he immediately accepted the mission. He then bid farewell and set off for Ding'an City.