Chapter 393: The Ancient and Modern Recorder (4)

Several more months passed.

Good news arrived for the Heavenly Origin Sect. Sun Ao had successfully become one of the ten great geniuses of the Wooden Scenery Dynasty. He ranked third among them!

For a time, the entire Heavenly Origin Sect was filled with joy. After the sect master, the Heavenly Origin Sect finally had a worthy successor!

As long as a genius like Sun Ao did not die, the future of the Heavenly Origin Sect would not lack for inheritance. It might even accumulate strength and advance further. All of this had some connection to Su Chen, yet the connection was not great.

Su Chen gnawed on the roasted chicken in his hand. On such a day of great celebration, the only thing that mattered to him was being able to enjoy an extra meal.

"Hm?"

Su Chen looked toward the door as a young figure stepped inside. He wore a blue robe embroidered with exquisite mountains and rivers.

This was an inner disciple of the Heavenly Origin Sect. He was not old yet, but had already reached the peak of the Spirit Gathering Realm and would soon be able to break through to the Spirit Vein Realm.

"Nameless Grandpa... my elder brother is dead..."

The visitor was a handsome young boy. At the mention of his elder brother, his emotions broke, and tears streamed down his face.

The handsome boy's name was Heng Chuan. His elder brother's name was Heng Yue. Both brothers possessed outstanding aptitude and had joined the Heavenly Origin Sect as inner disciples.

Heng Yue's aptitude was even more outstanding, and he had been taken as a true disciple by an elder. During the once-in-a-decade martial competition among the younger generation of the Wooden Scenery Dynasty, Heng Yue had naturally participated as well.

Unfortunately... Heng Yue never returned. Perhaps he had encountered a powerful demonic beast. Perhaps he had been killed for treasure by disciples of another sect inside a secret realm.

No one knew what had truly happened. All that was known was that he never came back.

The Heavenly Origin Sect had produced a genius who ranked third on the Wooden Scenery Dynasty's prodigy ranking, and the entire sect was immersed in joy.

Heng Yue's death could not outweigh that shared glory. His name was gradually and selectively forgotten. Only his younger brother, Heng Chuan, felt no joy. He remained sunk in sorrow.

Behind the sect's glory, Heng Chuan had lost his closest kin, his own blood-related elder brother!

To the sect, Heng Yue was perhaps nothing more than one of the very few "costs" paid for its brilliance.

Compared to the benefits and glory gained, that small cost could be completely ignored.

Heng Yue, a true disciple of the Heavenly Origin Sect and an outstanding talent, participated in the Wooden Scenery Dynasty's genius competition to win glory for the sect, and regrettably died in battle.

Su Chen looked at the grief-stricken boy before him and stored away the bamboo slip recording Heng Yue's life.

The boy Heng Chuan did not leave at once.

At that moment, he was still lost in sorrow.

Only when dusk fell did the boy finally depart.

Not long after the boy left, Su Chen paused in the middle of arranging the bamboo slips.

Someone else had arrived silently.

Su Chen muttered to himself, "Two people in one day. That is truly rare."

Still, he pretended nothing was amiss until the newcomer spoke. Only then did Su Chen turn his head.

"Are you the recorder here? I want you to help me record someone."

Su Chen turned around. The newcomer was a familiar young man. It was none other than the genius of the Heavenly Origin Sect he had once glimpsed in a flash, the youth named Sun Ao.

Su Chen said calmly, "Whom do you wish to record?"

The young man answered, "Heng Yue, a true disciple."

Su Chen replied, "His younger brother was here just now and left a moment ago."

The young man understood. Someone had arrived before him.

"Where is his record slip?"

Su Chen took out a brand-new bamboo slip from behind him and handed it to the young man.

The young man took the bamboo slip, looked it over, and then sighed softly. "Brother Heng, I have successfully become one of the ten great geniuses of the Wooden Scenery Dynasty and won glory for the sect. This joy is incomplete without you. It is truly a regret."

He felt regret in his heart.

Five people from the Heavenly Origin Sect had gone to the Wooden Scenery Dynasty to participate in the prodigy competition.

Four of the five had returned with excellent rankings, living up to the sect's expectations. Only Heng Yue had never come back.

The young man returned the bamboo slip to Su Chen and then left.

"The dead cannot be pursued. I will carry Brother Heng's conviction forward and climb to higher peaks."

Pride and confidence shone between the young man's brows.

In youth one ought to be full of confidence, knowing neither the height of the heavens nor the depth of the earth!

The path of martial arts was advancing with unstoppable force!

Su Chen watched the young man's departing figure.

This sect... was rather interesting.

...

After the prodigy competition, the Heavenly Origin Sect rose into the ranks of the ten great sects of the Wooden Scenery Dynasty, even if it was only in tenth place.

For the Heavenly Origin Sect, this was still a tremendous leap. The top ten was a threshold. After all, when disciples of a top-ten sect announced their affiliation while traveling, others would immediately show looks of realization.

"So it is that sect, one of the ten great sects of the Wooden Scenery Dynasty."

At such moments, their inner vanity would be satisfied. Their parents back home would also rise in status, receiving the respect of relatives and friends, with no one daring to bully them.

Therefore, the Heavenly Origin Sect planned to expand. Expansion was a good thing for the sect. It would bring more geniuses, more positions, and more resources. Whether for the elders or the disciples of the Heavenly Origin Sect, it was beneficial.

But for Su Chen, it was not a good thing at all. Sect expansion meant more people... and more people usually meant more competition. Competition in the martial path brought more accidents, and more accidents meant more deaths. More deaths meant he could no longer live as leisurely as before, going months without a single visitor.

Su Chen rubbed his temples. This was a headache of a problem. He was nothing but a bag of old bones!

At that thought, Su Chen let out a sigh. He truly had grown old.

Fortunately, the problem that troubled him did not materialize at once. Ever since the Heavenly Origin Sect entered the ranks of the ten great sects of the Wooden Scenery Dynasty, a year and a half had passed without anyone coming here. That should have been a good thing.

Yet today, Su Chen's peaceful life was broken once more by the arrival of Li Li.

Seeing the familiar face, Su Chen said, "What has happened in the sect recently that brings you here?"

He saw the worry on Li Li's face.

Li Li gave a bitter smile. "Elder Hua led a group of sect disciples out for training. Then all contact was lost. By the time the sect discovered it, Elder Hua and every disciple who had gone out had died. Not a single survivor remained."

Su Chen raised an eyebrow. "How many died?"

Li Li spoke with pain. "Forty-five people..."

Including the elder, forty-five in total had died. No wonder Li Li was so heartbroken. These people would have been the future pillars of the sect.

All of them gone in one stroke.

"This is a major incident for the sect. The sect sent me to have you record the matter so that the disciples can read it and take it as a bloody warning!"

Su Chen nodded.

Forty-five people died in a single incident. It truly was a major assignment.