Chapter 112

Chapter 112: Completely Leaving the Flying Cloud Sect

Shen Dao Chen shouted: “Good, very good! I poured in years of effort, only to raise an ungrateful wolf like you!”

He flung the Treasure Pavilion Token hard as he barked: “Take your Treasure Pavilion Token, and from now on our ties as father and daughter are severed!” Shen Sang Ruo caught it steadily.

[We were never related by blood. Why force it?]

She clasped her fists and said calmly: “Thank you, Senior Uncle.”

Shen Dao Chen finally understood why Master Ling Xiao had taken back her cultivation that day: it was because she was too ungrateful, ignoring the kindness of his raising her. He had trained her with such care. When had he ever wronged her? Instead, she was disobedient and unfilial, ruled by jealousy, and hurt her little sister, caring only for her own gain. How could someone as principled as Shen Dao Chen end up teaching a daughter so selfish? He had wanted her to be the Young Sect Master. That was blind foolishness.

As if sensing his thoughts, Shen Sang Ruo cupped her hands one last time and said: “Sect Master Shen’s kindness in raising me was repaid three years ago with ten drops of my heart’s blood. From this day on, you and I owe each other nothing.”

With the small lift of her spine and the release of her hands, all her entanglements with them and with Thunder-Scale Peak of the Flying Cloud Sect scattered like smoke. She had finally shaken off the people and matters that had once bound her.

Shen Dao Chen, boiling with anger, felt nothing but disgust for her.

Standing aside, Master Ling Xiao could see more clearly: she seemed to have planned this long ago. He recalled her face when she asked to end their bond as master and disciple. Was she already set on drawing a hard line between herself and them?

Master Ling Xiao shook his head and let out a dry, mocking laugh at his own unrealistic guess. Shen Sang Ruo had brought this on herself with her poor conduct and wrongdoing. She had only herself to blame. How could this be some careful scheme of hers? She even dared to break ties with Shen Dao Chen, the man who had raised her. That alone showed how far she had strayed. With that thought, her proposal to sever their master-disciple bond no longer seemed so hard to accept.

Nearby, Feng He Yun and the other three stared in disbelief at the result. Feng He Yun started to speak, but Master Ling Xiao gave him a single warning look and silenced him.

Feng He Yun did not understand. Why was she so stubborn? If she had just softened her tone, this could have been resolved. Their relationship with her had not yet been repaired, and now Shen Dao Chen had been added to the list.

Wen Xuan’s body swayed for a moment. Just like when he had failed to stop Shen Sang Ruo from leaving Thunder-Scale Peak, he could do nothing now. He sensed that she was cutting every thread that connected her to them. The few who had been closest to her in the Flying Cloud Sect had all been removed from her life.

Only then did it truly hit him. Wen Xuan froze, his fingers trembling. [No. It cannot be.]

He slowly curled his hand into a fist, then let it loosen. [Forget it. At least she is still inside the Flying Cloud Sect for now. We are still together in some way. There will be a chance to fix this.]

Wen Xuan chose to escape the truth again.

Lu Shi Qing’s face had grown thin, his robe loose and ill fitting. His lips were pressed tight. Others might not understand why Shen Sang Ruo was this decisive, but to him it was crystal clear. He looked at her; the feelings in his eyes were ready to break past his control.

Luo Chu wore a strange look, as if he wanted to speak but held back. His growing suspicion burned stronger. With things at this point, he had to tell the others what he guessed.

Shen Dao Chen snorted and swept out of the arena. Shen Sang Ruo, gripping the Treasure Pavilion Token, headed quickly toward the Treasure Pavilion. Shen Dao Chen would not only cut ties with her; Bai Mu Mu was still lying injured. He would not let this go. She had to take the Soulbond Lock as soon as possible to be at ease.

When she stepped down from the dueling platform, the Flying Cloud Sect Disciples parted to form a path. Voices buzzed all around, most calling her cold and heartless. Her cool glance swept over them, and the noise died at once. She withdrew her gaze and continued forward.

As she expected, after Shen Dao Chen returned, he immediately gathered all the Peak Masters and Elders to judge and condemn Shen Sang Ruo for her behavior that day. At first he had only wanted to sever ties for a few years to teach her a lesson. He had not expected such a bad attitude or such blindness to her faults. So he would use the authority of the Sect Master to cast out a troublemaker like her. The position of Young Sect Master would never go to her. Only Bai Mu Mu was suited for it. Bai Mu Mu had suffered so much as a child. Shen Sang Ruo had taken her life and place, felt no gratitude, and even wanted her dead. Her crimes were grave and unforgivable. Shen Dao Chen would never forgive her.

By unanimous vote of the Elders and Peak Masters, Shen Sang Ruo was expelled from the sect. There was not even a day’s delay. By evening, the announcement hung across the skies of the sect. It listed her supposed misdeeds without end, dragging her down to the lowest, as if she were a sinner beyond mercy.

In the Sect Master’s Hall, Shen Dao Chen watched her coldly. This was the final step in drawing the line between her and the Flying Cloud Sect. Shen Sang Ruo, calm as still water, handed back her Flying Cloud Sect Disciple Token, then turned and walked out of the Flying Cloud Sect.

[At last, I am free of this place.] The shadows that had covered her would finally fade. From here on, her life would be bright.

For Shen Sang Ruo, this news could not be better. But when it reached Thunder-Scale Peak, it struck Feng He Yun, Wen Xuan, and Luo Chu like a bolt of lightning. Feng He Yun shot to his feet and stared up at the notice in the sky. He rubbed his eyes, doubting himself. Luo Chu’s face went pale; he was too shocked to speak.

Wen Xuan reacted the most. The teacup slipped from his hand and shattered with a crisp ring, like it had smashed straight into his heart. His throat worked as he whispered: “How can this be, how can this be…”

Earlier he could still comfort himself that since Shen Sang Ruo was in the Flying Cloud Sect, they were connected to her in some way. But in less than half a day she had been driven out. Their relationship had fallen from Senior Brother and sister, to fellow Disciples, and now to nothing at all. The next time they met, they could only call her: “Fellow Daoist Shen.”

Just thinking that made Wen Xuan feel like a hand was clamped on his neck. He could hardly breathe. His heart trembled. At last he could not keep running from it. He staggered to his feet and headed toward the Sect Master’s Hall, gritting his teeth as he said: “I am going to find Sect Master Shen. We cannot be without Little Ruo!”

[Even if it costs me everything, even if I take her sins on myself, I will bring her back.]