Chapter 91: The Inner Sect Grand Ceremony

To understand this, one only had to know that the senior disciple of the Azure City Sect had a very secure position and carried great authority in his words. If Qingci could get such a person firmly under her thumb, she would naturally be able to obtain far more resources.

Perhaps she might even be able to cultivate a deeper level of the Azure City Art.

As for passing the information to Cao Yi’s enemies, there was strength in numbers. Qingci knew her own limits very well. If she truly managed to seize a weakness in Cao Yi, then acting alone might well invite a fatal disaster.

She could only seek cooperation, and ideally with an enemy who was on equal footing with Cao Yi.

At this moment, two separate groups from the Azure City Sect had already set out in secret to investigate Lin Hao’s background, and Lin Hao himself remained entirely unaware. He was still inside the Mystic Gate, never imagining that anyone would be probing his identity and origins.

At that very moment, Lin Hao was lying on the ground, covered in wounds, glaring angrily at the so-called Zhou Yichen before him. For some reason, his entire body no longer obeyed him; the strength he once had was gone, and even the system could no longer be called upon.

Even his strange flame was gone.

Fear surged in Lin Hao’s heart, mixing with rage until he was on the verge of collapse. His inner demon had fully erupted.

He had fallen into a state of madness.

And the “Zhou Yichen” before him was still looking at him with a smile of utmost triumph.

He lashed out again and again, mocking Lin Hao all the while.

For Lin Hao, that pain was not merely physical, but spiritual as well.

Before long, Lin Hao had been beaten into a bloody mess, sprawled there, barely even able to breathe. In his heart was boundless sorrow.

Could it be that after struggling for so long, working so hard for so long, he was truly going to die here?

That was the one thing Lin Hao could not accept. Why had he fought so hard? Was it not precisely so that he could become superior to others, stand at the highest point, and no longer be bullied and humiliated by people like this?

With a crack of sound, Zhou Yichen’s steel whip came down again.

“Hmph!” Lin Hao gave a muffled groan and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Seeing this, Zhou Yichen grew even more smug. “So, are you convinced yet? Someone like you, I could crush with a single finger. And you still dare put on airs in front of me? Come on then, get up, fight me. Can you even get up anymore?”

As he spoke, the whip fell blow after blow.

At last, just as Lin Hao was on the verge of losing the last breath in his body, “Zhou Yichen” was tired too. He stopped and looked down at Lin Hao with utter disdain, saying, “Someone like you is only fit to be beaten by us, to let us vent a little. At best, you’re just a whetstone for us. You don’t even deserve to be called an opponent.”

With that, Zhou Yichen withdrew the steel whip and turned to leave.

Lin Hao opened his eyes wide, the whites drowned in red, and stared at Zhou Yichen.

That final sentence had ignited a fury beyond measure in his heart.

Inwardly, Lin Hao roared: No, I cannot just accept this fate! Why? Just because of your status? Just because you have an elder for a father, you can trample people like this? Why? Even if I have only one last breath left today, I will drag you down with me.

Thinking this, Lin Hao suddenly shouted, “Ah!”

He braced himself on both arms against the ground and, with every ounce of strength in his body, sprang up and leaped behind Zhou Yichen.

Zhou Yichen had never imagined Lin Hao would still have the strength to resist.

So, caught off guard, he was seized by Lin Hao at once.

Lin Hao wrapped both arms around Zhou Yichen’s neck and would not let go, throwing his whole body backward, dragging him to the ground while clamping onto his throat with desperate force.

Then, in an instant, he flipped over and pinned him beneath him.

He was radiating a single, unyielding resolve: to perish together.

Both hands clamped tightly around Zhou Yichen’s throat.

Only then did the stunned “Zhou Yichen” recover. He raised his fist, gathering spiritual energy, and struck Lin Hao’s face with a heavy blow.

“Hmph!”

Lin Hao let out a muffled groan and tilted his head; he felt as though his teeth had been knocked loose. Yet his obsession would not let him release his grip. No matter how Zhou Yichen struck him, Lin Hao’s hands remained locked around his neck, never loosening once.

There was no longer any light left in Lin Hao’s eyes, only boundless killing intent. He had but one thought: kill Zhou Yichen.

At last, Lin Hao watched as Zhou Yichen’s face gradually turned red and he began to struggle for breath.

With a violent twist of both hands—

Crack.

With all his strength, Lin Hao snapped Zhou Yichen’s neck.

And Lin Hao himself was in no better state. His face was beyond recognition, and even breathing had become difficult.

The only reason he could still stand was that obsession, that will to kill Zhou Yichen.

“Zhou Yichen” hung limply, staring in wide-eyed disbelief. He died with his eyes open, never having imagined that Lin Hao, beaten into such a state, could still kill him.

Only after Zhou Yichen had been strangled to death did Lin Hao finally release a long breath. He collapsed to the ground, a look of relief on his face, and fell unconscious.

After Lin Hao passed out, he did not know that the “Zhou Yichen” on the ground had begun to disintegrate into tiny fragments, vanishing bit by bit until nothing remained.

And at that moment, the great hall itself changed as well.

What had once been Elder Zhou’s hall was now the main hall of the Clear Wind Sect.

Once the scene had shifted completely, wisps of spiritual energy floated down to envelop Lin Hao’s body, slowly healing the wounds on him.

His injuries vanished before the eye could follow.

In an instant, his body was restored; the cuts and bruises disappeared, and even the blood was gone.

Then Lin Hao let out a soft, murmuring sound and opened his eyes.

The scene before him was unfamiliar, and his eyes flashed with deep astonishment. He patted his own head. “What’s going on? Why do I remember being in the great hall before? Zhou Yichen... right, I even saw Zhou Yichen!”

As this thought struck him, Lin Hao was startled and quickly sat up, surveying his surroundings.

Looking more closely, he realized this was actually the sect leader’s hall of the Clear Wind Sect. Why had he appeared here again?

Lin Hao was at a loss. Could everything that had just happened have been nothing more than a dream?

He looked down at his body, then touched his own face, sinking deep into doubt.

Just then, someone suddenly walked in from outside.

“Senior Brother Qingyun?”

Seeing who it was, Lin Hao came back to himself and asked, “Senior Brother Qingyun, what is this?”

“Junior Brother Lin Hao, why are you still here? Come quickly, we need to go inside and find Master.” Qingyun saw that Lin Hao had not answered his question and immediately said this instead.

“Find the sect leader? What happened?” Lin Hao was even more puzzled.

“Weren’t we discussing the inner sect ceremony for you? Master said that, in recognition of your heroic deed, he would hold a special one-man inner sect ceremony for you. From today on, you will be the Clear Wind Sect’s second senior brother. You are also being appointed honorary elder, and your authority will not be inferior to that of the other elders. You can be considered the youngest elder in our Clear Wind Sect.” Qingyun was surprised that Lin Hao would ask such a thing, but still answered patiently.

“What? When did that happen?” Lin Hao grew even more confused. Why was there no memory of this in his mind? He was truly astonished.

Qingyun was even more baffled now, and asked, “You don’t know? Didn’t the sect master announce it in front of you when you came back?” Seeing Lin Hao like this, Qingyun found it very strange.

He asked, “What’s wrong with you? Hurry up and come with me. Your ceremony is about to begin.” With that, he pulled Lin Hao along.

Lin Hao did not know what had happened at all, so he followed Qingyun in a daze.

They arrived at the ceremonial platform where the rite was to be held, and saw a surging crowd below. Everyone from the Clear Wind Sect was there, even Elder Zhou.

Seeing the look in Elder Zhou’s eyes when he looked at him, no longer filled with killing intent and hatred but instead with fear and respect, made Lin Hao feel that everything was utterly strange.

And when he saw that the other elders were also gazing at him with kind smiles, he could not help wondering where on earth he was. The people around him were clearly familiar, people he knew, yet their behavior was so bizarre.

Thus, still dazed, Lin Hao was slowly led by Qingyun onto the ceremonial platform.

Qingyun said to the sect leader, “Master, Lin Hao has arrived.”

Then the sect leader stepped forward toward him, smiling as he patted his shoulder and said, “Lin Hao, today is a day of honor that belongs to you alone. Your inner sect promotion ceremony begins now. From this day onward, you are the second senior brother of our Clear Wind Sect, and also an honorary elder. Your authority is on par with the elders present.

“Your ceremony may begin. You may also exchange insights with your fellow disciples.”

With that, he pushed Lin Hao forward onto the platform.

Lin Hao stood there for a long time, not knowing what he should say.

Yet below him, everyone was chanting his name and applauding continuously, praising him without cease.

Standing there, astonished and curious, Lin Hao was suddenly filled with a sense of achievement. A surge of heroic spirit rose in his heart, and he opened his mouth to deliver a long string of modest words.

As he spoke, a proud smile curved the corners of his mouth, as though all of this were exactly what he deserved. Though there was something strange in his heart, the atmosphere before him pressed it down completely.

Once the ceremony was over, Lin Hao stepped down from the platform, and everyone rushed to catch him and toss him into the air.

“Haha!” Lin Hao laughed heartily, unable to come back to himself for a long while.

Even after the promotion ceremony had ended, Lin Hao remained immersed in that feeling of triumph, while everyone else gradually departed one after another.

Alone now, Lin Hao stood in the great hall, looking down below.

A smile hung on his lips.

After smiling for a while, he patted his head, feeling as though he had forgotten something. There was an emptiness in his heart, as if something were missing. Just then Qingyun came over again and patted Lin Hao’s shoulder.

“Hey, what are you thinking about? The ceremony is already over.”

Lin Hao returned to his senses and smiled at Qingyun. “Nothing in particular. I just keep feeling as though I’ve forgotten something, something important. And this feeling right now seems especially unreal.”