JSCMU-Chapter 122: The Feeling of Freedom

“Master!” Even though it was agreed this was all an act, when he actually heard Ma Hongyu say those words, Ye Cheng was still overwhelmed with pain. He almost crawled forward, clutching Ma Hongyu’s leg, “Master, I know I was wrong! Please don’t expel me from the peak. I really know I was wrong!”

Ye Cheng was swept up by emotion and ended up overacting with excessive realism.

Even Ma Hongyu was stunned for a moment before he sternly said, “Then tell me, what exactly did you do wrong?!”

“I…” Ye Cheng’s lips trembled.

“Rotten wood cannot be carved!” Ma Hongyu gritted his teeth and kicked him away again. “From this day forward, I have no such disciple. Go wherever you want. But from now on, you and I have nothing to do with each other.”

He turned and cupped his fists toward Zhao Wuji, “Sect Master, all these years I have failed in teaching my disciple, which led to such a disgraceful person being raised. This disgrace has completely let down your trust in him. Calling him an ungrateful white-eyed wolf is no exaggeration at all! My place can no longer tolerate someone so disloyal and treacherous. I ask the Sect Master to bear witness, from this day forward, we sever our master-disciple relationship, and are no longer connected in any way.”

Zhao Wuji was dumbfounded.

He first looked at Ma Hongyu, who was trembling with anger, then at Ye Cheng, who had collapsed on the ground.

Wait a second.

Was all this really necessary?

Ye Cheng was going to die in a month anyway. Severing ties with him now just meant letting him go, didn’t it?

Even the jade pendant was taken back by Ma Hongyu.

Something about all this just felt strange.

Zhao Wuji cleared his throat and began to offer comfort, “Hongyu, don’t be so hasty. If we teach this child well, he can still be guided, right?”

“Sect Master!” Ma Hongyu became even more agitated. “If he only showed disrespect to me, I might have let it slide. But now he’s questioning the Sect Master’s judgment, that’s questioning you! If we let him remain and he keeps stirring up trouble, won’t our entire Tianxing Sect become a laughingstock? And if we don’t strictly punish him, what if other disciples start following his example? Wouldn’t everything fall into chaos?

I know the Sect Master has a kind heart and always wishes to show mercy to the disciples. But if we don’t start punishing more harshly, some people will only become bolder!”

Ma Hongyu spoke with great fervor and righteousness.

Zhao Wuji was slightly moved.

His authority was already somewhat undermined lately. If Ye Cheng wasn’t properly punished, the rest of the sect might indeed become more unruly.

Zhao Wuji narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a calm tone, “You’re his master, handle it as you see fit.”

It’s just one Ye Cheng.

Now that he was already expelled by Ma Hongyu himself, Zhao Wuji didn’t feel it appropriate to say more.

It didn’t matter. Once Ye Cheng was out, if he ever wanted to kill him again, Zhao Wuji could do it with the flick of a wrist.

Ma Hongyu respectfully acknowledged the order. He then coldly said to Ye Cheng, “Go. From now on, even if we meet, we are strangers.”

Ye Cheng’s lips trembled. He finally kowtowed to Ma Hongyu before slowly, shakily getting up.

Even though his master had already arranged a path for him, he wasn’t afraid of the dangers ahead.

But he knew.

No matter what happened in the future, he would never be able to call Ma Hongyu “Master” again.

Ye Cheng’s eyes were red as he slowly left the great hall, step by step.

“Eldest Senior Brother!”

“Eldest Senior Brother, what happened to you?”

At the entrance, his junior brothers and sisters were anxiously waiting.

Ma Hongyu followed him out and shouted sternly, “What are you calling him Eldest Senior Brother for? The bond between us has been severed. He is no longer under my tutelage. You no longer need to greet him! Understood?!”

Everyone froze.

Expelled from the peak?

How did it become so serious?

They guessed this matter might anger the Sect Master, but it was this serious?

Someone opened their mouth to speak, but Ma Hongyu said with a cold expression, “Anyone who dares speak up for him can go with him!”

The words were harsh and left no room for negotiation.

The disciples looked miserable but dared not say another word.

They silently parted to open a path.

Ye Cheng walked out slowly, step by step.

He looked up at the sky.

The sunlight was blinding, yet it carried the scent of freedom.

Ye Cheng forced himself not to cry. He continued walking, never once looking back.

The uproar in the Sect Master’s hall quickly spread throughout the sect.

What happened to Ye Cheng didn’t actually violate sect rules. But within the relationship between master and disciple, the master always held absolute power.

A disciple could not betray their master, but the master could expel a disciple at will.

Since Ma Hongyu wanted to expel Ye Cheng, no matter the reason or even with no reason at all, no one could say much. At most, the rest of his disciples might feel disheartened, but outsiders had no say.

Now that Ye Cheng was expelled, he only had two options.

One, join one of the Ten Peaks and become a disciple under one of them.

If none of them accepted him, he could still go to the outer sect and become an outer disciple.

If he wanted to leave the sect altogether, that was not allowed.

He was expelled from his master’s tutelage, not from the sect.

If he tried to leave without permission, it would be seen as betrayal, and the consequences would be even more severe.

After expelling Ye Cheng, Zhao Wuji kept a close eye to see if anyone dared to take him in.

Even though it was Ma Hongyu who expelled Ye Cheng, everyone should still understand that Ye Cheng had fallen out of favor.

If anyone dared to take Ye Cheng in…

Zhao Wuji’s lips curled into a cold smile.

After being expelled, Ye Cheng, dragging his injured body, visited peak after peak to plead for acceptance.

But.

Most peak masters wouldn’t even meet with him. Their disciples turned him away immediately.

Only one met with him, it was Fang Mingyue.

But even she merely tried to comfort him and urged him to stay strong, she still didn’t dare to accept him.

Zhao Wuji had far too many ways of retaliating. Even the retrieval of the spirit fields required six peak masters working together just to barely succeed.

If she took in Ye Cheng, she’d instantly become a glaring target. Zhao Wuji, for the sake of saving face, would certainly make her the one to pay.

Fang Mingyue felt both sympathy and admiration for Ye Cheng, but ultimately, she was powerless.

There was once one final clear path left…

Fang Mingyue hesitated but didn’t say anything in the end.

She heard that yesterday, Yun Jin visited Ye Cheng and said something so outrageous that it made him faint from anger.

If that was true, then even that last option might now be closed to Ye Cheng.

Fang Mingyue couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

Why would Yun Jin go out of her way to provoke Ye Cheng?

Although she was always flamboyant in her actions, she was never unreasonable or deliberately troublesome.

Could it be that she’s gotten arrogant?

Or was she simply trying to strike back at the Sect Master’s disciples?

Fang Mingyue couldn’t figure it out either.

She only arranged for someone to secretly watch Ye Cheng’s movements.

If in the end he had no choice but to join the outer sect, then she could at least provide him with some secret support.

Fang Mingyue let out a long sigh. Still, there was a deep sense of helplessness within her.

When exactly would she finally be able to truly act as a peak master, rather than as a mere puppet?

After being rejected by several peaks in succession.

Ye Cheng stood alone for a long time. Many people were secretly watching where he would go.

And then, they saw Ye Cheng walk toward Heavenly Sword Peak.