Chapter 001: Young Lord, Gu Changge

“Is this truly the character of the Taixuan Holy Land? One of the six great sacred grounds of the Eastern Wilderness, and yet you bully the weak, grovel before the powerful, and push your own daughter into a pit of fire?”

“From beginning to end, has a single soul even bothered to ask if the Holy Maiden is willing? Today, I will see justice done for her!”

“This status as a disciple of the Taixuan Holy Land—I want no part of it!”

“But mark my words: the humiliation I suffer today, I, Ye Chen, shall repay in full in the days to come!”

Within the resplendent Great Hall, the air was thick with tension and the low hum of a hundred voices. Amidst the opulent surroundings, a young man with delicate but resolute features stood defiantly, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. He let out a roar of pure, unadulterated indignation.

His name was Ye Chen, a mere inner sect disciple.

“Audacious! A lowly disciple dares to defy the Holy Master? I think you’ve lived quite long enough!”

An inner sect Elder standing nearby erupted, his aura flaring with terrifying intensity. Despite his display of power, his face remained pale and sickly with anxiety as he rushed to silence the boy. This was the heart of the Taixuan Holy Land; how could they allow such insolence from a nobody?

Worse yet, today was the grand ceremony for the conferment of the Holy Son. Luminaries from across the realm had been invited to witness the occasion. Now, they were all watching this farce from the sidelines with growing amusement. If not for the need to maintain a shred of dignity, the Elder would have long since struck this tactless brat dead with a single blow.

Groups of disciples—both inner and true—pointed and whispered, their gazes filled with the sort of pity one reserved for a suicidal fool.

“Is Ye Chen insane? To barge into the hall and spout such drivel?”

“His talent was decent for an inner disciple. I even heard an Elder was considering him for a personal promotion, but that’s gone up in smoke now.” One disciple sneered, his voice dripping with schadenfreude.

“I think he’s simply tired of living. If he riles up that Young Lord, our entire Holy Land will pay the price,” a true disciple added, his voice trembling with genuine fear.

If that mysterious Young Lord took offense to Ye Chen’s theatrics, it wouldn’t just be their sect that suffered. The entirety of the Eastern Wilderness would tremble under his displeasure. To many present, Ye Chen wasn’t a hero; he was a liability they wished they could personally execute.

To the visiting dignitaries, the scene was a comedy. They watched Ye Chen as one might watch a performing monkey—curious, but ultimately contemptuous. Why would a mere ant choose to spit in the face of the Taixuan Holy Master?

“Ye Chen, is it? I remember you. You hailed from a backwater in the Tianqing Region, survived the Hundred Dynasties War, and clawed your way into our ranks…”

The speaker was a middle-aged man seated at the absolute head of the hall. As he opened his eyes, a golden light shimmered within them. His aura was as vast as the shifting seas and as deep as an abyss, exuding a suffocating majesty that demanded absolute submission.

He was the Holy Master of the Taixuan Holy Land.

As he spoke, the Great Hall fell into a deathly silence. The whispers of the guests died in their throats.

Buzz!

A mountain of invisible pressure slammed into Ye Chen, causing beads of sweat to roll down his forehead. Yet, he refused to buckle. He possessed a hidden, iron-clad confidence that kept his spine straight.

“Holy Master, I seek only justice for the Holy Maiden! I cannot stand idly by and watch her be cast into the flames!” Ye Chen’s voice was ringing and righteous, saturated with the fervor of a man who believed he held the moral high ground.

As he spoke, his gaze drifted involuntarily toward a woman standing at the front of the assembly.

She was breathtaking—a vision of celestial beauty with features so exquisite they seemed carved from moonlight. Her eyes were like calm autumn waters, her brows like distant, mist-covered mountains. Dressed in flowing white robes, she exuded a transcendent, ethereal grace, looking for all the world like a goddess from the Ninth Heaven who had accidentally wandered into the mortal realm.

Despite the chaos Ye Chen was stirring in her name, her expression remained chillingly serene.

“Into the flames? You dare…”

The Holy Master’s face darkened instantly, his eyes flashing with suppressed fury.

At that moment, the true nature of the conflict became clear to the onlookers. Mocking smiles spread through the crowd. All this talk of ‘justice’ was nothing more than the bitter lashing out of a man whose unrequited crush was being handed over to another.

Many of the younger disciples felt a similar pang of jealousy, but they were not fools. They knew the reality of the world. The identity of the man the Holy Maiden was being sent to was so exalted that even their Holy Master had to treat him with the utmost subservience.

As if pulled by an invisible thread, every gaze in the room shifted toward a young man seated just behind the Holy Master.

He had remained silent throughout the ordeal, his eyes lowered as he calmly sipped his tea, seemingly indifferent to the drama unfolding before him. He sat in the center of the storm, yet remained untouched by it.

His name was Gu Changge.