The young man had on purple daoist robes with a sword on his back and a jade token on his belt. His long hair was tied up and held with a jade hairpin.
His cold face seemed to respell people from a thousand miles away, however, everyone who met him greeted with a smile.
"Good morning senior brother."
"Senior brother."
"Hello senior brother "
Hanguang Zhe lowered his eyes coldly , not bothering to respond. They would curse at him anyways.
Previously he thought their greetings were genuine and had always responded, but then he found out they just enjoyed making fun of him.
Sure enough, he wasn't gone far when he heard their mocking voices.
"Does he really think he's really the senior brother of Sword Peak sect?"
"If not for the grandmaster adopting him, who knows what trash bin he would have died in"
"I can't stand him acting coldly all the time. Isn't it just being arrogant? Everyone can do that."
"A talent my a**. If I was the one being fed all those precious elixirs, I would also be a talent"
Hanguang Zhe paused slightly but continued on his way.
They underestimated the power of an early nascent soul cultivator for thinking he wouldn't be able to hear their conversation.
Or maybe, they just underestimated him.
Perhaps, they just didn't take him seriously. He thought that this was probably the real reason.
He walked all the way to the main peak which was his master's residence and bowed towards the door.
"Master."
A serene voice came from inside.
"A'Zhe, your junior sister has something to tell you. She's waiting at the lotus pond."
Hanguang Zhe pursed his lips.
"Yes master."
He turned to leave, the attendants looking at him with unconcealed malice. So what if he was a peerless martial arts genius? In the end, he was not even allowed into his master's courtyard.
And on this large mountain, he was the only one forced to walk all the time and wasn't allowed to fly on his sword.
His junior sister was his master's daughter. Everyone thought they were biological mother and child but only he knew that she was also adopted by his master.
But his master treated her alot more differently than she treated him. His junior sister causally mention wanting to be his daoist companion and his master agreed for him.
It would be a lie if Hanguang Zhe claimed he wasn't aggrieved or jealous. What was the use of a high cultivation if he couldn't even make decisions for himself?
His master had raised him personally for years however his status in the sect had never been high.
When he was younger, he was bullied for his weak cultivation. He practiced hard and surpassed everyone who bullied him but one thing could not be changed and that was his master's attitude towards him.
Ever since he could remember, he had been grouped together with outer disciples, despite being the sect leaders only disciple.
At first, the other disciples acted with caution around him but after gauging his master's attitude, they no longer held back their contempt.
If his master didn't value him then why did she give him artifacts and cultivation manuals? But if she did value him then why would his status be worse than even the cat of a random outer disciple?
He couldn't understand it at all. Was he not good enough? Had he not become strong enough? So why wouldn't his master acknowledge him?
While lost in thought, he didn't realize he had already arrived at the lotus pond but immediately sensed something was off.
He tried to move but his steps were restricted.
Finally waking up from his reverie, he raised his head to see he was trapped in the heart of a formation.
He looked around through his peripheral vision and noticed a heap of clothing by the corner.
They were pink in colour. The only person who favoured pink clothing in the sect was his junior sister.
Even if he wanted to deny it, the familiar jade token by the side convinced him that those were in fact his junior sisters clothes.
A frightening thought flashed through his mind and he looked back at his master, noticing sensitivity her cultivation had risen again.
Forbidden arts. Stealing of cultivation. It was now clear why so many apprentices she picked up 'left to never return.'
How could they return when they had all been killed by her?
It wasn't that he was her only disciple but he was her only living one.
Yu Meilin smiled brightly, her eyes narrowing at the corner.
"I knew you'd figure it out sooner or later. You're still too smart for your own good."
Hanguang Zhe still didn't understand how things became like this. His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Master why?"
He could feel the formation begin to tighten around him as his spiritual energy was drawn out.
He gritted his teeth in pain and forced himself to stay awake, his eyes never leaving hers for a second.
Yu Meilin only sighed softly.
"In this world, only the strong rule. And naturally, I have to become the strongest."
Hanguang Zhe clenched his fists and closed his eyes, letting out a bloodcurdling scream as the pain of his dantian being emptied tore through him.