1 Respectable Disciple

"I did not!" Xing Zishen screamed back towards the mob following him from behind. It was an organized siege of punishment brought upon by the godly snitch. The know-it-all.

The multiple swords that were never wielded outside of the training mountain were now unsheathed and directly faced him. "Answer for your crimes, Senior Brother Xing Zishen!" The voice came from a familiar person. A Junior brother he had personally taught when the child first arrived. Now, the child was in his teens and nearly passed his body refining stage, but to think he will use his strength to threaten Zishen.

Voices echoed in agreement and Zishen knew he could not win. He had never won in terms of cultivation or in battles. The gears of his mind worked quickly to take him out of the place when he was brought back by a sharp pain in his daintian. "God." Xing Zishen whispered and looked up in search of Mr. Snitch but he was overtaken by the pain.

Beads of sweat began to cover his face and the thought of using his new found core to escape popped up. It has not yet fully integrated in his body but there is no choice. After eight years of suffering as a mortal in this place of immortal wanna-be's, he could finally soar again.

Literally.

The token grasped in his hand expanded and became huge enough for him to ride on. "Then, we won't meet again so farewell and rest in peace." Those were his last words before he left carrying little teenager Feng Li as a hostage.

A few elders and disciples followed suit but gave up after a whole day of chasing and bleeding. The two were finally free by flying up so high in the sky. Lightning stands were everywhere and it was extremely dangerous for the pursuers to tail but this scene astonished them. Not a single lightning came close to Xing Zishen as if they feared him. For what reason though?

"Retreat! The respectable student will not hurt his brother." The command was spoken with punctuality and truth. Moments later and they were left alone beyond the clouds.

Maybe it was Xing Zishen's reputation, or maybe it was the sect's bias that caused them to make a small matter large. But from an outsider's point of view, this was definitely an overreaction. Cultivator's deaths are extremely normal in this world. Whichever place it is, whether it be the toilet, the sky, or underwater, a cultivator's death can very much occur.

Reasons may also vary. Deaths can be caused by fights between cultivators, beast attacks, unbearable level ups, or it could be as simple as using all the life force. Natural death of old age. However, Xing Zishen's situation is different. For someone to suddenly have a core, especially of mid jindan stage, one must have consent of the owner. And the ways to receive the consent comes in many ways but they are usually related to evil deeds. Torture.

"As I thought, nobody will believe me." He sighed to himself and released the hostage who sat beside him.

Not a single cultivator with a core would ever give their cultivation willingly to another. Whoever does it is a fool. The foolest of fools. When a Jindan or higher dies, their hard work is not for naught. Upon arriving in the afterlife, there are two choices. To forget everything and be reincarnated just like every other person or secondly, to cultivate from scratch until you reach the final stage, nirvana. You can then be reincarnated with the same spirit root and elemental attribute in your next life.

To the Hu Tian Sect's people, a person such as Xing Zishen will never torture nor even watch someone die unjustly. Watching him with his Earth attributed core is betrayal to their former image of him. The person who had always uphold the values of the sect. Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, and most of all a rule exception. The elders have never been angry at him throughout his eight years of stay.

They stayed in the range of lightnings for about ten minutes until Feng Li said something. "Senior Brother Xing, where are we staying?" Only then did they descend from the heavens.

"Where else but the Yun capital? We'll live a normal life and adhere to the rules like responsible citizens."

Feng Li opened his mouth to question but was cut off by Xing Zishen with a knowing smile. "I'll take care of your cultivation from now on so don't worry."

The Yun Kingdom is large in size and contains a vast amount of cultures. From their location to the Yun capital, it will take them three days and three nights of travel but Zishen is weak and could not travel by air the whole time. His Junior Brother proposed they take control interchangeably. The large character of Xing was wide and clear to Feng Li's face, urging him to ask about Zishen's family.

He stopped himself each time.