"Chengyu, Zhang Chen, you two missed the morning class today. According to the rules, you’ll be punished with ten strokes and ten additional days of chores. However, considering Chengyu’s youth, you, as the elder, are surprisingly irresponsible, so Chengyu’s punishment will be borne by you as well." As the elder finished speaking, four disciples stepped forward, pulling Zhang Chen off the bed. Before Zhang Chen could react, the sticks were already raining down with a crackling sound.
"Stop! It’s my fault; why should my junior brother bear it for me? As his senior sister, I failed to look after him, so if any responsibility is to be taken, it should be mine." Chengyu tried to intervene while standing on the bed. However, the Law Enforcement Hall disciples acted too swiftly; the sticks swished through the air, leaving shadows, and the beating was soon over.
"You want to take the punishment?" The Law Enforcement Elder looked at the beaten Zhang Chen, then at the righteous Chengyu, stroked his chin, and said, "Come, give her twenty strokes."
"Wait! This time is over; let’s just leave it at that. Next time, I’ll take the punishment." Chengyu quickly waved her hands.
She wasn’t foolish enough to endure a beating for nothing.
"After you clean the hall, you are not allowed to slack off. I sentence you to incense-making for seven days!" The elder said before turning to leave.
Watching the Law Enforcement Elder leave, Chengyu jumped down from the bed, landing next to Zhang Chen and helping him up: "Are you okay?"
Zhang Chen was, of course, okay. He had mastered the Blood Control Technique, so this beating was merely superficial. With his ability to invigorate blood and dispel stasis, he could recover in mere moments.
"I’m fine. It’s just that this elder is too unreasonable. Clearly, we both made the mistake, so why is all the punishment on me?" Zhang Chen fumed indignantly.
"You speak as if it wasn’t your fault for sleeping so soundly, you didn’t even hear the morning bell." Xiaodouding retorted with frustration, "It’s because you kept me up last night that I couldn’t wake up in the morning. Besides, I’m just a child—oversleeping is normal, right? But you, being an adult, oversleeping is just embarrassing."
Xiaodouding complained with dissatisfaction.
"You are the senior sister. You promised you’d look after me." Zhang Chen didn’t argue, just replied quietly, his voice full of grievance, which made Chengyu’s angry expression collapse before she smiled and apologized to Zhang Chen:
"Junior brother, don’t blame me. This time it was my fault, making you get beaten for nothing. Don’t worry, when we go to make incense, I’ll handle all the work; you just watch."
She then patted her small chest, promising, "Rest assured, if there’s punishment next time, I’ll definitely bear it for you."
Since they were punished, they didn’t qualify for breakfast, but fortunately, they had meat last night, so they weren’t hungry. Now they arrived at the hall, and Xiaodouding, wanting to please, said, "Junior brother, you were beaten, so you must feel unwell. Let me handle cleaning the hall."
With that, Chengyu cheerily grabbed a cloth and started working in the hall. Although her stature was small, she was a Huajin expert. Holding a pole with the cloth wrapped around it, she swung the pole back and forth, cleaning every speck of dust from the rafters.
Zhang Chen watched Chengyu’s movements, just about to speak, when suddenly a sharp pain surged through his body, a familiar sting akin to the first transformation when his flesh was being modified by the Crystal Core.
Pain!
Incredible pain!
The pain penetrated into his soul, as if animals were tearing at every inch of his blood vessels and meridians.
"Is it starting another transformation?" Zhang Chen felt the pain within his body; his face turned deathly pale. This time the pain seemed a thousand times worse than before, even causing him to collapse on the ground unable to breathe.
"Junior brother, what’s wrong?" Xiaodouding, hearing the sound of a fall, turned to see Zhang Chen lying on the ground and panicked, rushing over to check on him.
She saw Zhang Chen’s skin was blood-red, veins bulging like little earthworms writhing beneath his skin, especially the temperature of his palms and forehead, which was frighteningly hot.
"Zhang Chen, what’s happening to you? Don’t scare me!" Xiaodouding cried out, "Were you injured during the beating? Are you going to die from it?"
Zhang Chen looked at Xiaodouding’s tear-filled eyes, forcing a smile despite the pain: "Don’t worry, I’m fine."
"Look at yourself, how can you say you’re fine? I’ll get the master and bring a doctor, you can’t have anything happen!" Xiaodouding was about to run for help, but Zhang Chen grabbed her:
"Senior sister, don’t worry. I’m really fine! Don’t call a doctor; if it’s an incompetent one, they might think I have some ’contagious strange disease’ and kick me out, and I’ll be homeless and starving for real."
"Contagious disease?" Xiaodouding was startled, showing fear, then gritted her teeth and said, "We slept together last night; if you have a contagious disease, I must be infected too. We can just leave together!"
Zhang Chen saw Xiaodouding’s genuine sincerity, filled with urgency in her pure eyes, and quickly came up with an excuse: "Senior sister, this is a hereditary illness; I’m fine! It just needs a few days to pass. You mustn’t tell anyone, or the master will expel me from the Daoist Temple, and I’ll have to wander again."
Zhang Chen couldn’t help but praise his own excuse as perfect.
He’s busy cultivating immortality and practicing Qi, and can’t leave the temple.
Hearing Zhang Chen’s words, Xiaodouding was so anxious that tears rolled down: "But I’m afraid you’ll die."
"I won’t die; I’m fine." Zhang Chen smiled softly.
While speaking, he mobilized the Crystal Core, suppressing his bulging blood vessels.
Within a few breaths, Zhang Chen’s body surface returned to normal; aside from slightly flushed skin, there was nothing unusual. Zhang Chen, however, noticed the difference when he used the Blood Control Technique.
Though he could still use the Blood Control Technique, the Crystal Core continued to release forces that opposed him, as if constantly clashing.
Zhang Chen realized that the changes in his body were an evolution. Using the Blood Control Technique to suppress it was merely holding back this evolution and he couldn’t sustain it for long.
Luckily, he’d managed to fool Xiaodouding, preventing her from fetching the master, as the temple would surely raise an alarm if they found something amiss.
"Huh, your veins have subsided, but why are you still so hot?" Xiaodouding stopped crying, looking hopeful as she noticed his veins had disappeared.
At her words, Zhang Chen chuckled and stroked her head like a child, "I told you it’s intermittent. Didn’t I say I’m fine? Clean the hall quickly so we can make incense; I don’t want to get beaten again."
Xiaodouding wiped her eyes, then swatted away his hand from her head: "You’re awful, treating me like a kid."
Then Xiaodouding picked up the pole, addressing Zhang Chen: "I’ll handle all the work; you just rest well."
Xiaodouding put in hard work, and seeing this, Zhang Chen took a deep breath, sitting on the ground sensing the changes in his Qi Blood. As his Qi Blood surged through his flesh, Zhang Chen noticed peculiarities in his Qi Blood. In his perception, strands of silvery light seemed to emerge, forming silvery runes swimming like fish in his blood vessels!
This collision was the source of his pain.