Chapter 1

"Gu Yun was demoted to a miscellaneous disciple yesterday due to his low cultivation. Why is he still living in the best cultivation room with the best spiritual energy? Fellow disciples, do you want to live with a miscellaneous disciple?"

"Gu Yun! Give up the cultivation room!"

"Gu Yun, get out! You good-for-nothing, go to the miscellaneous room, don't disgrace yourself here!"

"Gu Yun, do you still think you're the genius from three years ago? The sky is already bright, there's plenty of work waiting for you to do!"

...

The last rays of the morning sun filtered through the gap in the door, landing on the left arm of a young man who looked to be only sixteen or seventeen, where a golden mark the size of an egg was clearly visible.

Three years ago, when Gu Yun first entered Green Mountain Sect, he was recognized as the most talented disciple with a cultivation level of the seventh stage of spiritual energy. However, at that time, Gu Yun discovered a strange mark suddenly appearing on his arm.

At first, he did not pay much attention to it, but as time passed, Gu Yun found that his spiritual energy level not only failed to increase but gradually declined, eventually falling to the first stage of spiritual energy.

Those who once respectfully called him "Senior Brother" and whose cultivation was far weaker than his, one by one surpassed him.

From then on, Gu Yun saw disdain and contempt in their eyes. However, since they were all entry-level disciples of Green Mountain Sect, they managed to coexist peacefully.

But Gu Yun never expected that just after being demoted to a miscellaneous disciple yesterday, someone would covet his cultivation room today.

A miscellaneous disciple is at the bottom of Green Mountain Sect. Who would care about his feelings?

"Bang, bang, bang!" The door panel, with a harsh creaking sound, crashed to the ground.

Gu Yun stood in the center of the room, his face calm.

People saw no unease, no panic, and no anger on Gu Yun's face.

"Gu Yun, do you still have the nerve to stay here? You're just a miscellaneous disciple!" a tall, thin young man shouted.

Gu Yun slowly walked out, looking at these familiar faces, these people who once called him "Senior Brother," who were now here to force him to give up his cultivation room.

Gu Yun stared at the tall, thin young man and said:

"Li Mu! When you first entered the sect, your cultivation was not even at the first stage of spiritual energy. Who spent three months helping you gather spiritual energy and enter the path of cultivation?"

"Senior Brother Gu... Gu Yun..." Li Mu was taken aback, his face instantly changing. "Gu Yun, I, Li Mu, am grateful for your guidance back then, but... but you are no longer an entry-level disciple..."

Gu Yun did not look at him, turning to another young man.

"Zhang Yu, three years ago, when you first entered the sect, you fell seriously ill due to homesickness. Who boiled the medicine and fed it to you mouth by mouth?"

"Li Changge, two years ago, you privately returned home, violating the sect's rules and should have been expelled. Who begged the transmission master to save you?"

...

With each step Gu Yun took, he called out a name.

Almost all the disciples had, to some extent, benefited from Gu Yun's kindness. No matter how much his cultivation declined, he never betrayed the title of "Senior Brother."

"I helped you back then not to seek any return, but I never thought it would come to this!" A hint of pain appeared on Gu Yun's face.

The crowd fell silent, and many lowered their heads, showing signs of guilt.

"Ha ha ha!" A young man in white stepped out from the crowd, lightly waving a folding fan, and said coldly: "I never thought that the genius from three years ago, though having lost all his spiritual energy, still has a sharp tongue. I think you used some special means to deceive the transmission master back then. So you must have planned ahead, winning over these disciples!"

This person was Liu Tianbing, who had reached the sixth stage of spiritual energy in yesterday's spiritual energy test, clearly the top disciple of this generation.

"Senior Brother Liu!"

"Pay respects to Senior Brother Liu!"

...

As they bowed and made way, Liu Tianbing walked over.

"Gu Yun, you, a mere miscellaneous disciple, still occupy the top cultivation room. Do you think it's appropriate?" Liu Tianbing sneered.

"I am now a miscellaneous disciple, but the transmission master allowed me to continue cultivating here. You have no right to make me leave!"

Liu Tianbing sneered: "Forget it, you're just a good-for-nothing. Staying here is a waste. I'll make you a deal. If you give up the cultivation room, I can arrange a lighter miscellaneous task for you, giving you more time to cultivate."

"Is the transmission master letting you manage the miscellaneous tasks so you can abuse your power?" Gu Yun said coldly.

This cultivation room, though with thin spiritual energy, was still a hundred times better than ordinary miscellaneous rooms. It was Gu Yun's last hope for cultivation. Without this room, being expelled from Green Mountain Sect would be no different.

"Fine! You have some backbone!" A cold light flashed in Liu Tianbing's eyes. Though he was the top disciple of this generation, he did not dare to openly seize someone else's cultivation room.

"Gu Yun, starting today, you will go to the herb garden to do miscellaneous tasks every day for eight hours!" Liu Tianbing snorted. "When you come to your senses, kneel down and beg me, and I might consider giving you a different task!"

The crowd could not help but gasp.

Though they were entry-level disciples and never did miscellaneous tasks, they had heard about the herb garden's miscellaneous tasks.

The entire herb garden had only one spirit master, who had a very peculiar temper. If anything did not meet his satisfaction, he would impose severe punishment. Miscellaneous disciples assigned to the herb garden were usually expelled from the sect within three months. Thus, the herb garden task was known as a death warrant.

If Gu Yun performed poorly and was expelled by the herb garden spirit master, no one could protect him. After all, a spirit master-level alchemist was extremely rare and held a highly respected position, almost on par with the sect leader.

"Gu Yun, it's just a cultivation room. You should give it up. There's no need to quarrel with Liu Tianbing!" a disciple whispered.

"Yes, Gu Yun, with eight hours of work every day, you won't have much time to cultivate. What's the use of this cultivation room? It's better to give it up and let Liu Tianbing arrange a lighter task for you, giving you more time to cultivate..."

Everyone left, leaving behind words of comfort or ridicule.

Looking at the broken door, Gu Yun's face showed a bitter smile. The experiences he had over the past three years were far beyond what a young man could bear.

From being a respected senior brother and a genius disciple favored by the master, to being a recognized good-for-nothing, and now a miscellaneous disciple, he had endured the ridicule and sarcasm of the disciples. What kept him going was that one thread of belief.

He hoped to restore his spiritual energy through his own efforts, to repay the master's kindness and the family's expectations.

However, after three years of persistence, his spiritual energy showed no improvement, and everything turned to nothing.

It was all because of the strange mark on his arm!

Gu Yun looked at the clear, strange mark on his left arm and took out a sharp short dagger with his right hand.

"If it's really this strange symbol's fault, I'll cut it out!"

Gu Yun gritted his teeth, and a red line of blood appeared on his arm, with blood instantly gushing out. In an instant, the strange symbol glowed with a golden light, emitting a dazzling brilliance.