The flames instantly engulfed the entire room, and the explosion from the furnace in the Zhuque Hall shook the entire Yaowang Palace. Countless disciples rushed from all directions.
"Quick, put out the fire!"
Someone ordered to begin extinguishing the flames, but the fire was too fierce, not only destroying the room where the furnace exploded but also setting fire to the two adjacent rooms.
Seeing this, Feng Fei's face turned green. How did a spirit fire test turn into this?
On the surface, Lin You seemed to have been scared silly, but inside, he was already singing to himself, What a good day.
Burn it all... If the whole Zhuque Hall burns down, and the Grand Elder gets so angry that he expels me from the sect, that would be perfect.
However, Lin You's thoughts were quickly shattered when news of the furnace explosion and fire reached the Grand Elder. The Grand Elder immediately led a group of people to the scene, and with the help of several other elders, the fire was eventually put out.
Although the entire Zhuque Hall wasn't destroyed, seeing the Grand Elder and the other elders covered in soot, Lin You knew he had succeeded.
"Who did this?" The Grand Elder's voice shook the entire Zhuque Hall. All disciples and elders fell silent in an instant.
Feng Fei looked at Lin You with a "you're dead" expression. He knew that Lin You was probably finished this time.
"Feng Fei! What happened?" The Grand Elder turned his gaze to Feng Fei.
Feng Fei quickly got up from the ground and said, "Grand Elder, this was an accident. Today…"
Feng Fei did not hide the fact that Lin You was testing the spirit fire, and after finishing his explanation, Feng Fei added, "Please, Grand Elder, don't be angry. Although today's matter involves Xinghe (Lin You), as the supervising senior brother, I didn't manage to stop him, so I should take responsibility. Please don't blame Junior Brother Xinghe completely!"
What a good person!
Lin You couldn't help but feel a bit guilty looking at Feng Fei, as he had essentially put Feng Fei in a difficult position, but Feng Fei still stepped forward to take the blame for him. Lin You felt a deep sense of gratitude.
"It was you?" But the Grand Elder didn't even look at Feng Fei; instead, he flashed to Lin You's side.
"Yes! Grand Elder, it's not as Feng Fei Brother said. He already told me all the precautions, but I didn't listen carefully, which led to this result. It's all my fault. Please don't punish Feng Fei Brother!"
After hearing Lin You's words, Feng Fei was stunned. He didn't expect Lin You to take all the blame. It was well-known that Lin You had once stood up for a fellow townsman, but later rumors circulated that Lin You wasn't even on good terms with that person and had just been pretending to be kind.
But now, Feng Fei wanted to give those people who spread such rumors a good slap!
Look at this! Even in this situation, Lin You didn't shirk responsibility and took the blame for everything to prevent anyone from blaming Feng Fei. How could those rumors be true?
Just as Feng Fei was deeply moved, the Grand Elder suddenly spoke, "Is it really you?"
"Absolutely! Xinghe is deeply sorry for Grand Elder's support. I know my fault is grave. Please punish me harshly!" Lin You's face was filled with guilt, but inside, he was laughing with joy.
Expelling me from the sect! If you can't expel me, at least strip me of my elite disciple status, that'll be fine too. I'll feel comfortable even becoming a third-tier Grand Martial Master rather than a peak Martial Emperor. Just imagine that feeling.
But Lin You didn't receive the punishment he expected. Instead, the Grand Elder pulled him into another spirit fire testing room and pointed to the earth fire, saying, "Come! Repeat what you just did!"
"Eh?" Lin You was stunned. What was going on?
"Hurry, do it again!" The Grand Elder's face was full of urgency.
Confused, Lin You glanced at the Grand Elder and the other equally bewildered elders. It was clear that no one understood what the Grand Elder was trying to do.
But Lin You didn't care anymore. If you want to see an explosion, fine… I'll give you another one!
He sat down cross-legged as before and began infusing his spiritual energy into the earth fire. As before, the flames began to rise and turn orange-yellow. This time, no one held Lin You back, so he decided to go all-in!
He poured all his spiritual energy into the earth fire, and in an instant, crimson-golden flames appeared. As the flames spread, the furnace started emitting a buzzing sound, a sign that it was about to explode.
Just when Lin You thought the Grand Elder would stop him, he realized that the Grand Elder and the other elders were all watching him, their faces filled with shock.
What was going on?
As Lin You wondered, a familiar cry sounded, followed by a loud explosion, and the furnace exploded once again!
At that moment, the Grand Elder grabbed Lin You and pulled him out of the room. The flames swept through, consuming the entire room.
"Zhuque Spirit Fire! It's the Zhuque Spirit Fire!"
"That's right! It's Zhuque Spirit Fire! Heaven bless us, our Biyu Sect has finally birthed the Zhuque Spirit Fire after four hundred years!"
The sudden exclamations left everyone dumbfounded. Lin You looked at the Grand Elder holding him, and this time, the Grand Elder's face showed no trace of anger or blame. Instead, there was only astonishment and uncontainable joy!
At that moment, everyone finally understood why the Grand Elder didn't get angry when the furnace exploded and the room was destroyed, but instead asked Lin You to repeat the process.
It turned out that the Grand Elder had sensed something extraordinary about the fire. He had felt a trace of Zhuque Spirit Fire and, not being sure, asked Lin You to try again.
This time, when the flames turned crimson-gold, the Zhuque Spirit Fire was drawn from the earth's core.
The true rise of Biyu Sect should have occurred four hundred years ago, during which several peerless experts emerged, including Lu Changfeng, who was known as the Medicine Sage. Lu Changfeng possessed the Zhuque Spirit Fire, and it was with this fire that he became the closest person to the Medicine God.
It was also because of Lu Changfeng's alchemy skills that the Biyu Sect continued to rise, with their alchemy techniques becoming the best in the world.
But after that, Lu Changfeng mysteriously disappeared, and his inheritance was mostly lost. The Zhuque Spirit Fire became a legend. In the past four hundred years, many alchemy masters emerged in Biyu Sect, but none could reach Lu Changfeng's level.
However, today, the explosion from the furnace had revealed the Zhuque Spirit Fire!
Lin You's ability to control the Zhuque Spirit Fire moved everyone deeply.
After four hundred years, Biyu Sect had finally produced a disciple who could wield the Zhuque Spirit Fire.
The Zhuque Hall was named after the Zhuque Spirit Fire, and now, four hundred years later, it had been passed on to Lin You!
At this moment, the Grand Elder was so excited that he acted like a child. The other elders looked at Lin You with immense admiration, while Lin You himself was… completely dumbfounded.
This… wasn't the result I wanted…
I was supposed to be punished, wasn't I? What's going on here?
After some hesitation, Lin You decided to speak up, "Grand Elder, there are laws of the country and rules of the family. Even if I truly possess the Zhuque Spirit Fire today, I still can't avoid the crime of causing two furnace explosions. Please punish me according to the rules."
As soon as Lin You said this, not only the Grand Elder but even the disciples around them were moved.
Listen… This is what true character is! This is what greatness is!
Junior Brother Xinghe had just been promoted to an elite disciple, but he wasn't the least bit arrogant. Today, he had become the first person in four hundred years to possess the Zhuque Spirit Fire, and everyone knew that Junior Brother Xinghe had a bright future ahead.
Yet, even in this situation, Junior Brother Xinghe didn't act proud. He still felt guilty for the furnace explosions and asked the Grand Elder to punish him. This is what true character is!
In an instant, even the disciples who had envied Lin You earlier had to admire him. Lin You was truly extraordinary.
"Hahahaha… Good… Good… Good!" The Grand Elder said with three "good"s, and when Lin You heard this, he knew something was wrong.
Sure enough, the Grand Elder looked at Lin You with great approval, "As expected of the disciple I chose. To cultivate martial arts, one must first cultivate virtue. I've seen many young people with incredible talent, but without matching virtue. Today, you've spoken these words, and I'm deeply comforted. I'm comforted… The Medicine Sage has a successor!"
"Blessed by the heavens!" The group of elders shouted again.
"Xinghe, although today's furnace explosion happened because of you, it is not your fault. The Zhuque Spirit Fire is no ordinary furnace's match. The explosions were destined to happen, so you are innocent. But your words today have reminded me of something. I've punished too many disciples for furnace explosions in the past, and it was wrong. From now on
, if any disciple causes an explosion due to unintentional mistakes, they will no longer be punished!"
When the Grand Elder said this, the disciples around them cheered.
"Thank you, Grand Elder, for your leniency!" Countless disciples bowed, and the disciple Shen Chun, who had encountered Lin You at the cafeteria, was so moved that tears streamed down his face.
"Heh heh… If anyone should be thanked, it's Junior Brother Xinghe. If it weren't for him, how could I have let go of my own obsession?" The Grand Elder laughed as he stroked his beard.
"Thank you, Junior Brother Xinghe!" A group of Biyu Sect disciples bowed once again toward Lin You, and their gazes were full of goodwill.
"Alright, from today on, I and the other elders will personally teach you alchemy, Xinghe. Don't let the Zhuque Spirit Fire go to waste!"
"Ah… Thank you, Grand Elder…" Lin You almost cried.
He had originally thought that getting expelled from the sect would be the way to reach the peak, but now he was going to be mentored by a bunch of old men every day. Was there still any justice in the world? Was there any law left?
The Grand Elder led the group of elders away, and Feng Fei, along with the other disciples, rushed to Lin You.
"Junior Brother Xinghe, thank you so much today."
"Junior Brother Xinghe, from now on, anyone who dares to harm you in Linghe Palace will be an enemy of us all."
"Junior Brother Xinghe is righteous. I used to believe those rumors about you ordering someone to break Chu Cheng's arm, but now I'm ashamed of myself."
"Rumors stop with the wise! How could Junior Brother Xinghe do such a thing? I'm going to investigate who's been spreading nonsense. Just wait until I deal with him!"
"No need to investigate. I'm going to the outer sect. I heard it was Chu Cheng himself who said it!"
"Nonsense! That dog was demoted to the outer sect, and Junior Brother Xinghe hasn't even seen him once! How could he possibly order something like that? That bastard just twisted his mind after Junior Brother Xinghe entered the elite disciples. Watch me destroy him!"
The crowd was filled with righteous indignation, and Lin You began to question whether he was really the one behind that incident.
"Senior Brothers, please stop…"
"Don't go too far with Chu Cheng. He probably has his own reasons for what he said. We're both from the same hometown. Since he's been demoted to the outer sect, I already feel guilty. How could I bear to see you harm him?"
Hearing Lin You's words, all the senior brothers became even more determined.
Listen to that! This is what true greatness is!
Two young men, both from the same hometown, yet the difference in their character is so striking!