Elder Xingyun knew that it was now unlikely to proceed with the original plan of crippling Terra Su's Dantian and expelling him from the sect.
Still, he had ways to create obstacles in Terra Su's cultivation path to ensure he wouldn't surpass his beloved disciple, Cooper Lu.
"Although Terra Su escaped the fate of a crippled Dantian, being relegated to menial tasks is no light punishment. A year of chores without cultivation."
"Yesterday's genius turned menial worker, not everyone can endure such a fall from grace."
"Serves him right! He kept his skills secret, advanced so quickly, and even knows Alchemy, yet he never helped us fellow disciples, pah."
Many disciples had long been envious of Terra Su's exceptional talent and now seized the chance to kick him while he was down.
Terra Su sneered. He had anticipated that Elder Xingyun wouldn't be so easily toppled by a disciple with no backing.
If an influential Elder could be so easily overthrown, the Orthodox One Sect wouldn't be the largest within three thousand miles.
"Alright, Terra Su, pack your things and head down to the menial tasks courtyard!"
Elder Xingyun sneered, as an Elder with real power in the Orthodox One Sect, suppressing a minor disciple like Terra Su with a suitable excuse was no difficult task.
Terra Su was still too green to fight him!
However, just as Elder Xingyun was basking in self-satisfaction, Terra Su's indifferent voice rang out again, shocking everyone with his words.
"From today onwards, I leave the Orthodox One Sect."
What!
Everyone couldn't believe their ears.
Terra Su was leaving the Orthodox One Sect?
The sect that so many dreamt of joining, he was leaving just like that?
Elder Xingyun was also stunned and angrily said, "Terra Su, what did you say?"
"You all schemed against me, just to make me leave the Orthodox One Sect, right? Well, I never valued it in the first place."
"Just the Orthodox One Sect, I'm out."
Terra Su gave one last cold look at everyone in the hall, packed up the Qi Gathering Elixirs he had made, and turned to leave.
Until Terra Su had completely left the hall, everyone was still immersed in profound shock.
Today, they not only witnessed Terra Su's hidden Alchemy skills but also his departure from the Orthodox One Sect!
The enviable status of a disciple in the Orthodox One Sect was, to Terra Su, like a pile of garbage he could discard at any time.
Just like he said, he never valued the Orthodox One Sect!
However, while everyone was still in shock, a gatekeeping disciple hurried up from the foot of the mountain, holding a scroll: "Elder, this is something Terra Su left before he left the sect. He asked me to deliver it to you!"
Elder Xingyun, still furious, took the scroll and unrolled it.
The words on the scroll nearly made Elder Xingyun faint with rage:
"In one year, I shall return, flatten the Orthodox One Sect, and kill Elder Xingyun and Cooper Lu!"
Nineteen bold words left everyone present in utter astonishment!
It had to be said, Terra Su's audacity was immense.
"Outrageous!"
Elder Xingyun slammed the table in front of him, sending wood chips flying, and called for someone to capture Terra Su, the little scourge.
But by then, Terra Su had already left the sect, his whereabouts unknown.
"Master, it's just the pathetic bluster of a loser, why bother with it?" Cooper Lu said with an elegant smile, his eyes filled with contempt, trying to calm the Elder.
Elder Xingyun soon regained his composure, realizing that the content of Terra Su's scroll was impossible to achieve.
A fifteen-year-old disciple, without the secret manuals and resources of the Orthodox One Sect, wouldn't be able to grow strong enough to confront the sect, not in one year, and not even in ten.
His threats were nothing but delusional rants.
Calming down, Elder Xingyun scoffed after a moment's thought: "Fine, I shall wait and see what he can achieve in a year!"
After all, although things didn't go entirely as planned, they still achieved part of their goal—forcing Terra Su to leave the Orthodox One Sect!
Thus, Cooper Lu's position as the Chief Disciple of the Orthodox One Sect was unshakeable.
***
Having left the Orthodox One Sect, Terra Su pondered his next steps.
His short-term goal was simple: within a year, to flatten the Orthodox One Sect and personally take the lives of Elder Xingyun and Cooper Lu, his enemies from a previous life.
If others knew, they'd think he was dreaming. But Terra Su knew that one year might even be too much.
In this life, unlike his previous one, his Dantian was intact, meaning he could cultivate the vast array of techniques and Martial Techniques he knew from before.
This life, he would not be a Martial Dao cripple.
This life, he would live a hundred times more brilliantly than the last.
This was Terra Su's confidence!
Now, Terra Su's priority was to find a place to settle.
He couldn't return to his family in Duyang City for the time being; his parents would worry if they knew he suddenly left the Orthodox One Sect.
"Just like in my last life, I'll go to my aunt's place in Clear River City."
Terra Su made his decision.
***
With the little money he had, he hired a carriage and by noon, he arrived at Clear River City, located at the edge of the Mystic Clear Mountains.
Clear River City, one of the thirty-six cities under the Cloud Abyss Empire, was home to Sophia Xu, Terra Su's mother's sister.
In his last life, after leaving the Orthodox One Sect, Terra Su also sought refuge with his aunt in Clear River City.
Only, in his last life, Terra Su did not leave the Orthodox One Sect of his own volition; he was expelled after his Dantian was crippled.
One can imagine how destitute he was, taking shelter at his aunt's place and enduring disdain and special treatment from some.
But this life would be different.
"Here, will be the starting point of my life."
"Ye Family of Clear River City, and Wang Family, we'll settle our scores slowly in this life!"
Muttering to himself, Terra Su walked into Clear River City.
The Jiang Family of Clear River City was one of the three great families, alongside the Ye and Wang families.
With his past life's experience, Terra Su easily found his way to the Jiang Family estate in the afternoon.
Knock, Knock—
Terra Su rapped on the door knocker and said to the approaching Jiang Family guard, "I am Terra Su, here to see the Second Lady."
The Second Lady was the name of Terra Su's aunt, Sophia Xu, in the Jiang Family.
Sophia Xu married Robert Jiang of the Jiang Family sixteen years ago and gave birth to a daughter the following year.
Robert Jiang was a pillar of the Jiang Family and treated his wife and daughter well, leading a harmonious life.
But fate is unpredictable, and six years later, Robert Jiang went missing during a family mission, his life and death unknown.
Since then, although Sophia Xu maintained her status in the Jiang Family, the whispers behind her back caused her much distress.
In no time, the Jiang Family guard led Terra Su into the estate, to the familiar courtyard from his memories.
"Little Terra!"
A woman with familiar features was already waiting in the courtyard.
Sophia Xu looked much younger than Terra Su remembered.
"Aunt."
Even with the heart of an old Elixir Path master, Terra Su couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat.
His aunt was not his biological aunt but was his mother's maid. Due to her outstanding Martial Dao talent, she was adopted by Terra Su's grandfather as a foster daughter, making her his mother's foster sister.
She and Terra Su's mother were as close as real sisters and treated Terra Su as their own. Aside from Terra Su's parents, she was one of the few relatives who truly cared for him.
In his previous life, after being crippled and expelled from the Orthodox One Sect, Terra Su came to the Jiang Family in a state of utter desolation. His aunt took him in without a second thought and cared for him in every way.
But the Terra Su of that life, due to his crippled Dantian, lived in despair and self-destruction, causing his aunt endless disappointment.
This life would not repeat the same mistakes.
"Little Terra, weren't you at the Orthodox One Sect? Why have you suddenly come here?" Sophia Xu's face was filled with concern. She knew the Orthodox One Sect had strict rules and wouldn't allow disciples to leave the mountain easily.
Had Terra Su been expelled from the Orthodox One Sect?
Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan
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