Chapter 46: Punishment


    <span style="font-weight:400">Li Lang watched as his fellow disciple in the neighboring cell tried to break open his cell in a panic upon hearing about demonic cultivators attacking the sect.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Itsted a total of two minutes before Long Yi slumped back down in his cell after exhausting himself. Li Lang shook his head as he slowly approached his fellow disciple, who was struggling to catch his breath.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I don’t think they would make it that easy for us and put us in a flimsy jail cell. You should give it up and save your energy.” Li Lang advised once he saw his neighbor had calmed down.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“How are you so calm?! There are demonic cultivators we’re dealing with here! They’ll definitely capture us and suck our cultivation dry to enhance themselves! I heard it’s unbearably painful too…”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“There’s no sense in worrying about what you can’t control.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“...Why do you sound like an old man? You’re around my age, right?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“...Yes, I’m…around twelve.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Around? Oh, you’re a senior. I’m ten, by the way. Just joined the sect not long ago. Was an orphan before that. How about you? You should’ve been in the sect for about two years now?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Li Lang found it somewhat hard to believe the boy before him was only ten, and yet the size of an adult. He was thankful Long Yi at least continued to speak casually with him, or else it would make it awkward when an adult-looking man respectfully called him a senior when he had the appearance of a child.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I…came into the sect for about a year. I joinedte…” He gave Long Yi another look over and then sighed. “I joinedte because I only have grade one aptitude, and they only epted me for my alchemy talent.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Oh, you’re an alchemist already? I heard you needed years of training, but you’re already one before joining the sect. You must be a genius!”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Li Lang had braced himself for the reaction toe, but contrary to his belief, Long Yi’s attitude toward him did not change upon hearing his aptitude.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I’m not that big of a deal. Having grade one aptitude will close a lot of doors for me in the future.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Huh? Who cares? You’re already in the fourth stage of Energy Gathering, right? I can tell. That’s impressive enough for only being a disciple for a year. What’d you do to get sent down here…in the middle of an attack, too?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I’m suspected of aiding a traitor…I got forced into it, but it doesn’t seem likely they’d forgive me for it regardless.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“That…” Long Yi shook his head before he too sighed. “That does sound like how a righteous sect would react. They only know how to follow the rules without any flexibility and are always so uptight. Just because I wanted to go out for a stroll instead of participating in thepetition, they put me in here. In the first ce, I only wanted to be a cultivator so I could travel the world and explore all the sights yet to be seen! I didn’t expect joining the sect would mean being cooped up to cultivate all day… I wonder if they’ll let me quit the sect.”


    <em><span style="font-weight:400">How did the conversation somehow end up going back to be about him?</em>


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Well, at least you’re not in danger of being executed for aiding a traitor.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“They wouldn’t do that…! I think…”


    <span style="font-weight:400">The two boys continued to chat for hours while they had nothing else to do in their cells. For some reason, whether it be the boredom or the frankness of his fellow prisoner, Li Lang spilled all about what he had encountered that day. The two quickly bonded, and Li Lang even revealed the experiments he was performing.


    <span style="font-weight:400">That was because he knew it wouldn’t stay hidden for much longer once the sect had a reason to look into him. He could only vent and hope they wouldn’t punish him too harshly.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Are you sure you should tell me this…I don’t think the sect elders of a righteous organization would like what you’re doing.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Forget it. Now that they suspect me of being a traitor, they’ll thoroughly investigate me anyway. They’ll inevitably find out.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">In the background of their conversation, explosions asionally rang out as the battle raged on. It only quieted down when night fell, and several members of the guardians returned to their post in the dungeons where the boys were held.


    <span style="font-weight:400">However, theypletely ignored the two young disciples until the next morning.


    <span style="font-weight:400">A woman in light brown robes descended the stairs, followed by two other guards as she approached the jail cells.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Long Yi, as we previously said, now that the sectpetitions are over, we will let you go. However, you’ll be going to remedial ss for the next year.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What? That’s unfair!”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Silence, unless you want to continue staying here.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">The woman nced at one of the guards beside her, who quickly went to unlock the cell. She then turned her attention to the remaining disciple.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“As for you, Li Lang. You’reing with me to tell me every single detail about what happened yesterday. Don’t think about lying to me. You wouldn’t enjoy the consequences.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">After that, Li Lang was brought to one of the interrogation rooms where he was grilled all day. They kept asking him the same questions over and over again, and he was only let go when night fell once more.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The next day, he was interrogated again but was let go in the afternoon.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You can return for now, but you’re restricted from leaving the sect while we investigate. I’d be on my best behavior if I were you.” The same woman warned as she saw Li Lang out.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Li Lang returned to his dorm after oveing the ordeal, but when he entered his dorm, everyone inside immediately nced over at him with wary eyes. He noticed Yang Quan in particr, who was ring a hole at him. He was too tired to care and went straight to his room.


    <span style="font-weight:400">As he passed by, Yang Quan didn’t bother waiting for him to get out of sight before muttering hatefully.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Cowardly trash.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">After a good night’s rest, Li Lang quickly settled back into his routine. He was getting a lot of looks from everyone he encountered, but it wasn’t that different from before.


    <span style="font-weight:400">He continued to diligently cultivate, practice his techniques, and try outbinations between materials inside Ruby’s artifact space.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Three days after his release from the dungeon, Elder Cao hade to visit him once more, but this time, her neutral expression was reced with a frown.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Li Lang, I heard about what happened. I’m sorry you had to experience that… but many of my fellow elders have begun to question your ce in the sect. Your quick breakthrough, despite your aptitude, has even got some elders questioning if you’re practicing demonic cultivation or have a connection to them.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Demonic cultivation? How in the world did they arrive at that?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“They had investigated both you and Ling Xue’s activity in Xiang Yang after the event…And we have discovered some troubling information. Li Lang, is it true you’ve been getting others to test dangerous cultivation techniques?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“...That isn’t demonic cultivation! I’m… creating new techniques.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Regardless, many of the more conservative elders see that as an evil act. It is hard to argue against them when such actions could easily damage our reputation if word got out that our disciples performed such dangerous acts that resulted in civilian casualties. It’ll be hard to avoid punishment.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“...How will I be punished?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“That isn’t decided yet. The Vice Sect Leader has only just returned from the front lines, and this matter is too small to bother him. While the elders aren’t able toe to a consensus. Your proposed punishment ranges widely from executing you to be safe to the more lenient punishment of confinement for a year.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I see…So is there a reason you’vee before a decision has been made, then?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Yes…You see, even if you escape punishment, there is a faction within the sect that will only see you as a thorn and a danger to our reputation from now on. They may try to get rid you of through other means. That’s why it is my rmendation that you…leave the sect.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“So, banishment is an option?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Yes, I think it is for the best. I invited you into our sect, so I’d rather not see you lose your life because of it. You really do have talent in alchemy, so maybe some other sect would take you…”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Thank you for telling me all this and giving me an option, senior. Can I have some time to think it through?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">The elder solemnly nodded. “Yes, but you should make it quick. With me here, it’s unlikely they will decide to execute you, but it’s better to decide if you want to leave or not before they settle on a punishment. I’lle again tomorrow.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Understood.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">After replying to the elder, Li Lang continued to practice his Earthbound Step technique. Elder Cao shook her head and left while he trained as if nothing had happened. However, the inside of Li Lang’s mind was in a flurry.


    <span style="font-weight:400">His goal of joining a sect was to attain resources, study cultivation, and make connections with powerful cultivators in hopes of saving his childhood friends. He wasn’t naive enough to believe he could easily join another sect after departing this one.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Even if other sects epted him, they would definitely have researched his past and prevent him from continuing with his experiments.


    <span style="font-weight:400">That was why his mind was racing to find alternatives.


    <em><span style="font-weight:400">If I stay with a righteous sect, will they continue to mistake me for a full-fledged demonic cultivator sooner orter if I don’t advance as slowly as their expectations? Just because I have low aptitude, I’m not allowed to make quick progress? </em>


    <em><span style="font-weight:400">If that was the case, I might as well join the demonic cultivators for real, then!</em>