Chapter 20: The Patrol Mission (2)

The next day arrived, and with an unpleasant expression still lingering on his face, Gu Yuan continued the patrol mission.

The three of his team members, however, seemed to have noticed nothing.

Whenever they stopped to rest, Bai Qing and the other two would once again disappear behind the bushes, completely disregarding the fact that they were supposed to be on a Sect Defense Mission.

After some time, unable to endure it any longer, Gu Yuan finally snapped.

His Spiritual Sense swept through the bushes like a blade, and the sounds coming from within stopped instantly.

Gu Yuan slowly stood up and walked toward them.

"You three... have you forgotten what we’re here for?"

His voice was calm, but the pressure of his Foundation Establishment cultivation made the three of them freeze.

"This is a patrol mission. We’re supposed to be watching the outer sect’s perimeter. Do you understand what that means?"

No one answered. Gu Yuan looked at the scene in front of him, and his expression became even darker.

"I’ve been sitting outside, keeping watch while you three are rolling around in the dirt like animals in heat. Do you think the Black Desolation Sect is a brothel? That cultivation is just an excuse for you to fuck every time we stop walking?"

Bai Qing opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to explain herself, but Gu Yuan raised a hand and stopped her.

"I don’t care what you do when you’re free. That’s your business. But while you’re under me on this mission, you control yourselves."

His gaze moved from Bai Qing to the other two.

"If I hear even one more sound like that before this mission ends, I’ll drag all three of you to the Disciplinary Hall myself. I’ll report that you abandoned your posts to dual cultivate outdoors during a patrol."

"I wonder how the elders will reward such outstanding disciples."

No one dared to say anything, and unable to stand looking at them any longer, Gu Yuan turned around and walked away.

"Clean yourselves up. We’re continuing the patrol."

...

Thankfully, the three of them finally seemed to understand that he was serious.

Nothing like that happened again.

One day passed.

Then another.

The patrol remained uneventful, and aside from the occasional argument between Bai Qing and Xu Liang, nothing worth mentioning happened.

Soon, the final day of the month-long patrol arrived.

Gu Yuan did not relax. If anything, he was even more cautious than he had been on the first day.

He continued patrolling the outer sect’s perimeter with the same meticulous attention, carefully observing his surroundings while keeping his Spiritual Sense spread out around him.

After all, the fact that nothing had happened for an entire month did not mean nothing would happen today.

He was walking behind his three relaxed team members when he suddenly stopped and turned his head.

Xu Liang and the other two noticed his movement and stopped as well, following his gaze.

Before long, a figure appeared in the distance.

Xu Liang, who had proven to be the most normal of the three during the past month, stepped forward and asked, "What are you doing here? Are you an outer sect disciple?"

The man immediately cupped his fists and greeted them politely.

"Yes, Senior Brother. I’m Zhang Jun, an outer sect disciple. I was gathering some Spiritual Herbs near the boundary and was just about to head back."

He smiled awkwardly. "The outer sect is quite large. I suppose I wandered a little farther than I should have while searching for herbs."

Xu Liang nodded thoughtfully. "That’s understandable. But why have I never seen you before?"

"I was admitted into the sect relatively recently. Before that, I was a wandering cultivator."

Zhang Jun answered naturally, without the slightest hesitation.

Nothing about his answer seemed strange. Yet Gu Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Recently admitted? A wandering cultivator?

Those words made him think of something else: Seniority.

How was seniority determined in the Black Desolation Sect?

To understand that, one first had to understand what kind of sect the Black Desolation Sect truly was.

It was famous as an evil sect, and there was certainly a reason for that reputation. The sect did not care much about the methods its disciples used, even when those methods were ruthless or outright inhuman. As long as one possessed sufficient strength, few would question how that strength had been obtained.

But that was only the surface. At its core, the Black Desolation Sect revered one thing above all else: strength.

And because of that, seniority within the Black Desolation Sect was not determined simply by how long someone had been a disciple.

What mattered was cultivation. A disciple who had entered the sect only recently but possessed a higher cultivation realm could naturally be a senior brother or sister to someone who had been in the sect for decades.

Which was why Gu Yuan found Zhang Jun’s behavior strange.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator was addressing a Qi Refinement disciple as Senior Brother?

Could he really not know how seniority worked in the Black Desolation Sect?

Gu Yuan didn’t think so.

"Then who recruited you?" Xu Liang asked.

"I didn’t ask for his name."

"Hmm? Is that so?" Xu Liang frowned. "Then show me your sect badge."

"Here." Zhang Jun reached into his clothes and took out a sect badge, extending it toward Xu Liang.

The moment Xu Liang examined it, his expression along with the other two slightly changed.

Without making it too obvious, Bai Qing and Wu Jian began moving to either side, gradually surrounding Zhang Jun.

"Why isn’t the badge glowing?" Xu Liang asked.

Zhang Jun’s expression stiffened. "Perhaps there’s something wrong with it. I only received it recently, so I haven’t had the chance to check it yet."

The tense confrontation continued, while Gu Yuan’s Spiritual Sense swept over Zhang Jun several times.

There was no doubt anymore. The man was using some kind of secret technique to conceal his cultivation. Gu Yuan could sense that he was in the Foundation Establishment Realm, but the concealment technique was good enough that he couldn’t determine his exact stage.

That was fine. He could let the others test him first.

Watching the situation unfold, Gu Yuan saw Zhang Jun finally let out a soft sigh, the polite smile on his face fading.

"I truly planned to let you go," he said calmly, a faint trace of regret in his voice. "I even prepared a decent excuse and a fake badge. If you had simply nodded and walked away, none of this would have been necessary."

His eyes slowly turned cold as sharp killing intent erupted from his body.

"But you just had to keep asking questions... and now you’ve forced my hand. Since you insist on dying, I will oblige."

The moment his voice fell, three attacks rained down on him from different directions.

Even so, Zhang Jun deflected them with ease. His palm shot forward and struck Xu Liang squarely in the chest, sending him flying backward while coughing blood.

Zhang Jun didn’t stop there. His palm turned toward Wu Jian, but before it could reach him, a streak of cold light from Gu Yuan’s saber had already arrived.

Heaven Rend Saber Technique: Drawing the Horizon.

The moment Gu Yuan confirmed Zhang Jun’s cultivation to be at the Third Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm, he made his move. A sharp, horizontal arc of saber Qi tore through the air and struck Zhang Jun directly in the chest.

Slash!

Blood burst from the wound, and Zhang Jun staggered backward, staring at his chest in disbelief.

Gu Yuan clicked his tongue quietly. Only one stage separated them, and he had expected his surprise attack to be enough to kill him outright.

The spy, however, proved sturdier than expected.

Zhang Jun gritted his teeth and retreated several steps more, one hand pressing against his bleeding chest. His other hand reached into his storage bag and quickly pulled out a small jade bottle.

Gu Yuan didn’t know what was inside, and he had no intention of finding out.

The moment Zhang Jun uncorked the bottle, Gu Yuan’s figure flashed forward again. His saber swept across, severing Zhang Jun’s arm before he could consume whatever was inside.

A palm strike immediately came rushing toward Gu Yuan in retaliation. He raised his saber and deflected it, the impact forcing him half a step backward. He then twisted his body and unleashed Drawing the Horizon for a second time.

Only then did Zhang Jun realize that the young man standing before him was far more dangerous than his cultivation suggested.

But it was already too late.

The saber tore through his defenses and sent him crashing to the ground. Blood stained his clothes.

Zhang Jun struggled to move, but his body no longer responded.

The battle was over.