Chapter Forty-Six: Senior Brother Has Gotten Into Trouble

Where is Xiuyue?

Su Yizhao didn’t know how to begin. He certainly couldn’t tell her that Xiuyue had been taken away by her ancestor from the portrait.

“The Sect Leader… the Sect Leader has returned to the sect! Xiuyue, Xiuyue…” Su Yizhao stammered.

Cheng Jiaojiao frowned. “The Sect Leader isn’t dead? She returned to the sect? How is that possible? When did this happen?”

Considering Shi Feichen’s difficult situation, Su Yizhao decided to be direct. “The Sect Leader didn’t return to this sect, but to the Xuantian Sect.”

“Xuantian Sect?” Cheng Jiaojiao’s voice rose sharply. “The Xuantian Sect in Vast City?”

Her words brought Su Yizhao back to himself, and he asked, “Is Xuantian Sect of Vast City famous?”

Cheng Jiaojiao glared at him.

Famous? It was renowned across the entire continent!

“Vast City is the number one city in the Central Continent, and the Xuantian Sect there is the foremost sect on the continent—the birthplace of all cultivators.”

Su Yizhao’s resolve was reaffirmed. He said no more, but stated clearly, “Xiuyue went with them. I only came back to say farewell to someone.”

Cheng Jiaojiao exclaimed in surprise, “Xiuyue went as well? That makes sense. With her extraordinary talent, she would naturally be eligible. It seems the Sect Leader won’t be taking us.”

Xiuyue was a direct descendant of his ancestor’s true blood. Though he didn’t know what that truly meant, such a lineage could only come with exceptional talent. That was power from the higher realms!

“It’s for the best that she’s gone. So, who do you want to see? Don’t tell me it’s because your talent wasn’t enough, and the Sect Leader didn’t take you?” The worry in Cheng Jiaojiao’s eyes faded.

Su Yizhao offered no explanation. “Shi Feichen.”

At the mention of the name, Cheng Jiaojiao seemed to recall immediately. “Shi Feichen—the senior brother of the Disciplinary Hall in your sect, who entered the sect with you and was later assigned to the External Armory Hall?”

“That’s him.” Su Yizhao’s heart sank. If even the one in charge here knew his senior brother by name, Shi Feichen must have truly gotten himself into trouble. Serious trouble.

Sure enough, Cheng Jiaojiao’s expression grew troubled upon his confirmation. After a moment’s hesitation, she said reluctantly, “Since the Sect Leader has left and put me in charge today, for Xiuyue’s sake, I’ll…”

Su Yizhao was overjoyed at her tone. Just then, a streak of light shot through the sky.

Before she finished speaking, Cheng Jiaojiao caught the light in her slender hand.

“A message talisman?”

Su Yizhao was momentarily stunned, but quickly understood. For someone in her position, receiving such messages was only natural.

Cheng Jiaojiao swept the talisman with her spiritual sense, and her entire body trembled.

Su Yizhao, seeing her reaction, felt a sense of foreboding.

As expected, Cheng Jiaojiao pinched the talisman, reducing it to ash. Her expression shifted again and again.

Su Yizhao knew something had changed, but he maintained a calm gaze.

“For Xiuyue’s sake, I’ll… I’ll tell you about Shi Feichen,” Cheng Jiaojiao said, biting her lip, finally making up her mind.

Su Yizhao’s heart was heavy. Before, she had clearly intended to abandon the pursuit of his senior brother, but after receiving that message, she’d changed her mind. Who could have sent it? And what did it say?

His thoughts raced, and he quickly deduced the answer. Who but the Sect Leader could make her change her mind so abruptly?

And what message would Xuan Wuji, the Sect Leader, have sent her?

He recalled the conversation Xuan Wuji and the other sect leaders had had before leaving.

“If the three sects do not disband, we will continue our fierce struggle here until one side emerges victorious.”

That message must have instructed Cheng Jiaojiao to continue leading the Xuanqi Sect and to keep fighting the other two sects until one prevailed.

But what did that have to do with his senior brother?

In a flash, he pieced together nearly the whole truth. If Cheng Jiaojiao knew what he was thinking, she might have called him a monster.

Indeed, the message had instructed her to continue leading the Xuanqi Sect, to fight the other two sects to the bitter end, until one was victorious.

“What could my senior brother have done?” Su Yizhao asked calmly. With his cultivation and strength, he had no reason to fear anyone among the three sects in this remote borderland.

Cheng Jiaojiao replied, “He and the other sect’s disciples…”

“What about them?”

“He actually swore brotherhood with disciples from the other two sects!”

Su Yizhao cursed inwardly. That was as good as defecting from the sect!

Back in the Disciplinary Hall, he had personally executed two such traitors.

“That’s not the worst of it,” Cheng Jiaojiao said gravely. “The worst is that he passed our sect’s techniques to them—and also learned the principal techniques of the other two sects!”

On hearing this, Su Yizhao could only curse again in his heart. How could his usually steady senior brother act so recklessly? This wasn’t just a crime punishable by death—it could drag down his entire clan!

Of course, he wouldn’t tell Cheng Jiaojiao that the three sect leaders were actually sworn brothers. She wouldn’t believe it—no one would. Even he would never have believed it, had he not seen it himself.

“Where is he now?”

News came two days ago: the three of them are fleeing eastward, and they’ve already killed four of the five Disciplinary Hall disciples sent after them.

Su Yizhao’s heart tightened. He cupped his hands and said, “Farewell.”

“Where are you going?”

“To find my senior brother.”

Cheng Jiaojiao’s face darkened. She snorted coldly, “You’re a gold-ranked enforcer of the Xuanqi Sect, a disciple of the Disciplinary Hall. Are you taking this mission?”

The crowd, enthralled by the drama, suddenly felt the air grow tense. They stared wide-eyed at Su Yizhao.

Su Yizhao smiled lightly. “I’m only going to see my senior brother, perhaps to persuade him to return. I will not accept this mission.”

What a joke—how could he accept such a task?

Cheng Jiaojiao’s beautiful eyes widened, and the aura of a sixth-realm expert surged from her.

The outer disciples in the hall couldn’t withstand the pressure and retreated three steps.

Su Yizhao remained calm, meeting her gaze.

After two breaths, Cheng Jiaojiao suddenly smiled. “Su Yizhao, as the acting elder of the Xuanqi Sect, I hereby grant you the title of Gold-ranked Enforcer.”

Without hesitation, Su Yizhao replied, “I refuse.”

To accept such a title was no small matter. Once he did, he would be obliged to carry out any enforcement task assigned by the sect, with no right to refuse.

Did she really think things were as they once were, that she could order him as she pleased? Before, his cultivation was low and he couldn’t resist. But now? Hmph!

“The Sect Leader’s message stated: this gold token can open the first gate of Xuantian Sect for any disciple of Xuanqi Sect. Do you still refuse?”

Su Yizhao’s heart trembled.

This gold token could open the first gate of Xuantian Sect—a privilege that placed him above millions of cultivators!

In this southwestern border, just a corner of the Central Continent, there were already a million cultivators. How many must there be across the continent?

The Xuantian Sect in Vast City was the center of the continent, the birthplace of all cultivators, the place everyone yearned to enter.

How many on the continent wished to step inside? Surely the first gate alone would bar tens of millions.

How important this gold token was!

But should he accept it or not?