Rejected By The Sect, Claimed By The Immortal Jade

The axe in Ye Fan's hands was heavier than any sword.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

In the woodshed behind the Outer Court, the lowest outer disciple of the Profound Sword Sect chopped wood. Sweat soaked his ragged grey robe. His hands were blistered and bleeding.

Three years. For three years he had done this.

"Look at him! The great Ye Clan's last genius, chopping wood for our bath water!"

Laughter erupted from the courtyard. Three inner disciples in clean white robes kicked over his pile of chopped wood.

Ye Fan didn't look up. He just gripped the axe tighter.

His spiritual roots were broken. Everyone knew that. In this world where spiritual roots decided whether you were a dragon or an insect, a broken root meant you were less than an insect.

What they didn't know was that his food had tasted bitter for three years. That every bowl of rice Liu Ruyan brought him out of "kindness" made his dantian ache like needles.

What they didn't know was that every night, Elder Mo , the man who raised him, who called him "grandson"  stood outside his woodshed and watched him.

"Ye Fan!"

A clear, cold voice. The laughter stopped.

Liu Ruyan stood at the entrance of the woodshed. Beautiful as a fairy, in a light blue inner disciple dress. Beside her, with an arm around her waist, was Liu Hao.

The number one genius of the Outer Court. The man who had his root.

Ye Fan's heart still stupidly jumped when he saw her. Childhood sweethearts. Engaged since birth. She was the only reason he had endured three years of humiliation.

"Ruyan," he said hoarsely, wiping his hands on his robe.

She didn't come closer. She looked at him like he was dirty.

"Ye Fan, I came to tell you in front of everyone, so you don't have any more fantasies," she said, her voice loud enough for the whole Outer Court to hear. Disciples were already gathering.

"The Sect Assessment is tomorrow. I, Liu Ruyan, have already broken through to Qi Condensation Level 5. You are still Level 0. A cripple."

She took out a yellowed marriage contract.

"Our engagement from the Ye Clan — I am breaking it. From today, I am Liu Hao's woman. He is the true genius. You... you are not worthy to even stand beside me."

Silence. Then explosive jeers.

"Hah! Trash wants to marry a fairy!"

Ye Fan's brain went blank. The axe fell from his hands.

He stared at the marriage contract, then at her face. This woman had brought him soup yesterday, telling him to take care of his body.

So it was poisoned soup for a man she was about to throw away.

Liu Hao smiled. He stepped forward and put his boot on Ye Fan's chest, pushing him to the ground.

"Did you hear her, trash? My Ruyan said you are unworthy."

He looked down and saw the string around Ye Fan's neck. A cracked, ugly black jade pendant. Ye Fan's mother's last keepsake.

"What is this? Trash wearing trash?" Liu Hao laughed and ripped it off.

"NO!" Ye Fan roared. For the first time in three years, his eyes turned red. He lunged.

Liu Hao sneered. He threw the jade to the ground and raised his boot.

CRACK.

The jade that had survived his clan's fire, that had survived three years of beatings, shattered under Liu Hao's boot.

A drop of Ye Fan's blood from his blistered hand fell onto the shattered pieces.

The world stopped.

The shattered jade did not go dark. It bled light.

A pillar of golden light shot into the sky from the broken pieces, so bright that the entire Profound Sword Sect looked over. Ancient, vast, and angry Sanskrit characters floated in the air.

[Ding! The Seal is Broken!]

A voice, old as time itself, exploded not in his ears, but directly in his soul.

"Ten thousand years... finally, a body that can bear my wrath!"

Ye Fan's broken dantian, which had been dead for three years, suddenly felt like it was being torn apart and reforged by a sun.

His meridians that were blocked screamed as golden lava poured through them.

"AHHH!"

He clutched his chest and fell to his knees. Inside his spiritual sea, an old man in imperial golden robes, with a hole through his chest, stared at him.

"I am Immortal Emperor Lingxiao. I was betrayed by my own disciple and sealed in this jade. Boy, do you want power? Do you want revenge?"

Ye Fan's eyes were full of blood and tears, staring at Liu Ruyan and Liu Hao laughing above him.

"Give it to me," he growled, his voice no longer human. "Give me power to make them kneel."

Lingxiao laughed, a laugh full of the same hatred.

"Good. Then accept my Heaven-Swallowing Art. But remember, boy — this art eats one year of your life every time you use it. And the root inside that boy's chest..."

Lingxiao pointed at Liu Hao.

"That golden root beating inside him... was originally YOURS."

Boom!

Ye Fan's broken spiritual root shattered completely  and from the fragments, a new root grew. Black-gold, with nine swirling vortexes around it, devouring all the spiritual Qi in a hundred meters.

The devouring heavenly root. A root forbidden by the Heavenly Dao.

Liu Hao, who was still laughing, suddenly clutched his chest. His face twisted in pain. The golden root inside him was resonating, trying to fly out, trying to return to its true master.

"What... what is happening to me?!" Liu Hao screamed.

Ye Fan slowly stood up from the dust.

His ragged robe fluttered even though there was no wind. His eyes, which had been dim for three years, now glowed with faint golden-black light.

He looked at the two people who had just destroyed his last dignity, and smiled for the first time.

"Ruyan," he said softly, his voice calm. "You said I was Level 0?"

He raised one hand.

The pile of wood chips on the ground instantly turned to ash as all the spiritual Qi was devoured.

A terrifying pressure erupted from him.

Qi Condensation Level 3!

The entire Outer Court went dead silent.

Liu Ruyan's face turned snow-white.