Chapter 1: Defying Fate Another Day?

I damn well want to crush this place to pieces.

If it weren’t for the fact that this was the sect that had raised her for six years...

Beside the tall, imposing stone gate, a small, thin figure hid within a tangled patch of grass.

Only a pair of eyes, sharp and poised like a lone wolf ready to strike, was visible.

A bleeding wound gushed on her abdomen, remnants of a shattered dantian crushed from within.

“Shriek—”

Yan Qingque’s piercing cry cut across the sky.

Following swiftly were a cacophony of voices: “Split up and search! Song Junyu is the calamity star foretold by the Baoluo Immortal, she must not live!”

“Quick, use talisman seals to track her!”

“No need, senior brother, no need! East side!”

Someone among the disciples, sharp-eyed enough, noticed the subtle movement of the grass.

The leading man plunged forward with a fierce strike, closing in on the grass near the stone gate, carefully inspecting the winding bloodstains. A cold glint flickered in his eyes.

Trying to run?

In the next instant, a sword light swept through, tearing the withered grass on both sides free.

The roots were severed mid-stem, scattering in the turbulent air stirred by the sword’s force.

“Shh—”

At the end of the small path, the battered figure was suddenly exposed to all.

Her clothes were torn, edges soaked and stiffened with blood, exuding a faint stench.

Her wrists twisted unnaturally, clearly the tendons and bones had been broken.

The two exposed legs wobbled slightly; the withered skin bore a fresh wound, flesh curled outward, deep enough to see bone.

The earlier sword strike had been so fierce it nearly severed her legs completely.

As the dust settled, Song Junyu gritted her teeth and slowly lifted her head, staring intently at the handsome man in pristine white robes before her.

Yun Xu.

The Baoluo Immortal’s chief disciple of the Zhentian Sect.

Her former senior brother.

Perhaps it was her mocking gaze that unsettled Yun Xu; when he saw Song Junyu’s legs, his tone softened slightly as he said,

“Return and accept punishment.”

Song Junyu took a deep breath and smiled bitterly, “Senior Brother Yun, you jest. My dantian was crushed by you all, my meridians severed by you all. The severest punishments of the Zhentian Sect have all been dealt. What other sentence could I possibly bear now?”

She spoke slowly, her breath faintly audible.

Her entire body was like a blood-coated skeleton from head to toe. Suddenly, Yun Xu’s eyes flashed with the memory of the delicate little girl she once was, and a flicker of pity stirred within him.

Yun Xu moved his lips, deciding to show mercy. Sighing, he said, “No more is needed. As long as you sincerely kneel before the Master’s altar for forty-nine days, this matter will be considered closed, and you will not be blamed.”

Blamed?

Song Junyu almost laughed aloud at those words but lacked the strength to mock.

Scenes from the past flashed in her mind, joys and sorrows intertwining, making her memories painfully clear.

When she first came to the Zhentian Sect, she was but a young child, originallyI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.