The Eternal Heart

In the hall, Father and Mother Chen brandished their sleeves, leaving after a round of disputes with their faces flushed with anger.

"Oh, Tianwei! This Chen Yu's wings really have hardened. He is utterly showing no respect for his elders and needs to be controlled."

"Not only did this boy reject such a blissful allied marriage, he even hogged the deed and gold. Could it be that he wants to break away from the clan and form his own clan?"

The few Clan Elders looked imperious as they used strong words.

They were already incomparably green with envy a long time ago with Chen Yu monopolizing the half treasured weapon, territory bounty, and ten thousand gold pieces after beheading Honghu's Three Fiends.

Now, Chen Yu was going against the Clan Head and was rejecting the allied marriage. As such, they took the opportunity to profit from his misfortune because they might be able to share the profits if they could bring Chen Yu down.

"Clan Head, should we ask the 'Old Ancestor' to use the rules and disciplines that apply within the clan to deal with this boy?"

That white-bearded Clan Elder suggested all of a sudden.

Old Ancestor?

When everyone present heard those two words, all of them had revered expressions on their faces.

As a clan that had a footing with one party, the Chen Clan still had a secret expert overseeing them. It was just that that person wouldn't rashly make a move unless it was the moment regarding the clan's life and death.

"No. It's not the time to do so yet."

Clan Head Chen Tianwei immediately shook his head and replied in a low voice. "At present, Chen Yu hasn't made a principled blunder yet. We have no excuse to execute a great punishment on him. Moreover, he is a disciple of a sect and has just beheaded Honghu's Three Fiends. His prestige is like the sun at noon."

"What are we going to do with that Chu Fengyun's engagement then?"

"We can just drag it out first. That boy might change his mind. Besides, that Chu Fengyun is only drawing up an engagement with us, plus he simply didn't set a time to get married."

...

When he returned to the courtyard, Chen Yu calmed himself down and recalled that scene in the hall. He didn't regret his decision at all.

He monopolized the deed and gold, but all of this was what he ought to get.

How many people amongst the higher-ups in the clan would dare to stand out and engage in a fight with such disciples of utmost evil like Honghu's Three Fiends?

In the past, he was hidden in the drum while he was in the sect and simply didn't get any substantial help in terms of resources.

But now, he was braving the dangers and fighting between life and death to obtain substantial fruits of success. How could he let others get their finger in the pie?

As for the marriage, this had even more to do with his freedom.

"Yu'er."

At this moment, Father and Mother Chen walked in.

"Father, Mother." Chen Yu felt rather guilty in his heart as he had betrayed the good intentions his parents had.

In comparison, he could see that his parents were approving of this allied marriage, especially Mother Liu Wen in particular.

Surprisingly though, after he returned, his parents didn't advise him on the matter of his marriage like he imagined.

"Yu'er, regardless of what decision you make, we will support you..." comforted Father Chen Tiande.

"Yu'er, you must become an inner sect disciple," Chen Liuwen was in the process of saying.

Huh?

Chen Yu was a little stunned. Why did his mother place such great expectations out of nowhere on him?

He only found out that Mother Liuwen actually had a dispute with a few Clan Elders before when he asked her. Those few Clan Elders were certain that Chen Yu was incapable of becoming an inner sect disciple and held some disdain in their words.

"I must definitely succeed in becoming an inner sect disciple" Chen Yu murmured to himself.

Yunyue Sect's "Great Outer Sect Tournament" was about to begin in two months' time.

However, the initial Connective Meridian stage was only acquiring the qualification to enter the tournament.

Based on what Chen Yu knew, those who were chosen as inner sect disciples were fundamentally at the late Connective Meridian stage and above across the previous great tournaments.

Two months was rather tight to Chen Yu.

…

In the side room, Chen Yu was sitting cross-legged, circulating his "Fiendish Cloud Mental Technique" as normal.

He realized that after experiencing the ruthless killing of "Honghu's Three Fiends", not only did the Fiendish Cloud Boxing Technique at its initial form faintly seem to have progressed a little, but the intensity of its Inner Breath had improved as well.

From then on, his circulation of the Fiendish Cloud Mental Technique became smoother, progressing much faster as well.

Chen Yu surmised whether this was because he had experienced fighting at close quarters, allowing his mental state to be even more of one mind to the true meaning of the [Fiendish Cloud Fist].

"However."

Chen Yu frowned slightly. "With my aptitude, even if my progress has quickened a bit, it's unlikely that I will be able to break through to the middle Connective Meridian stage even if I want to in a year and a half."

He didn't have have the corresponding aptitude in the cultivation of Inner Breath.

Unfortunately, the level of Inner Breath corresponded to one's cultivation realm after the Connective Meridian stage.

Chen Yu pondered for a brief moment.

In the end, there were only a small number of geniuses with good aptitudes in the sect. The majority of them didn't have ultimate aptitudes.

Then, what did these people with ordinary aptitudes rely on to upgrade their degree of progress?

The answer was external resources.

The importance of external resources wasn't inferior to aptitudes to some degree.

For example, Chen Yu's current "fiancee" Chu Wanyu in name was only at the middle Connective Meridian stage. If it was someone else without a family background, it was difficult to say whether a person with such aptitude could break through to the Connective Meridian stage.

"Oh, right."

Chen Yu retrieved a small porcelain bottle and carefully gazed at the sparkling and translucent pill inside.

This object was the "labor fee" that that mysterious young lady "Ye Luofeng" gave Chen Yu before she left.

During that time, that remarkably beautiful young lady called this pill the mid-ranked "Profound Body Pill". Based on how she worded things, if Chen Yu had an aptitude that wasn't considered to be poor, it shouldn't be a problem for him to advance to the middle Connective Meridian stage with the help of this pill.

After a moment, Chen Yu wore a pondering look on his face before he put this mid-ranked "Profound Body Pill" away appropriately.

For now, he still didn't want to ingest that pill.

Firstly, Chen Yu didn't feel too reassured by his Half Soul Physique. That "Ye Luofeng" had a high scope in level, so what she meant by aptitude that wasn't considered to be poor might be an aptitude that was already very rare to come by for ordinary sect disciples.

Secondly, it hadn't been long since Chen Yu advanced to the Connective Meridian stage. He still wanted to rely on his own efforts to accumulate its inner qualities.

As such, he temporarily put this "Profound Body Pill" down and decided to wait to ingest it during a pivotal moment.

Soon after, Chen Yu took out the half treasured weapon, Wind Song Dagger, again and brandished it a few times indoors as he pleased.

Huh?!

Chen Yu discovered that it was abnormally agile when he brandished the dagger as the sound of wind singing could faintly be heard near his ears.

The speed at which he brandished his attack was one to two tenths faster than an ordinary weapon.

In order to validate this point, he specially created a dagger of similar weight and bulk, but the result was that it didn't have that kind of agile feeling.

"Sharpness that is comparable to a treasured weapon, plus it can increase the speed of the dagger by a small degree. It seems like this is the true property the Wind Song Dagger is equipped with." Chen Yu clicked his tongue in wonder.

Naturally, he didn't practice any martial arts skills in sword-play so he could test it out when he returned.

Chen Yu suddenly remembered that he could choose a mid-ranked martial arts skill for free if he appeared to have made a breakthrough to the Connective Meridian stage.

...

A few days passed in the blink of an eye.

Chen Yu stayed in the clan all the while as he cultivated his martial arts skills.

Amongst them, the [Bronze Statue Technique] and the [Towering Cloud Step] were progressing at a steady yet rapid pace.

Chen Yu's innate comprehension skill in the domain of physical techniques was really flawless.

Only his [Fiendish Cloud Fist] was progressing a little slow, especially in terms of his mental technique, and was unlike the prior two by far.

On this day.

Chen Ying'er bid farewell in advance as the deadline for her to return to Water Moon Faction was up.

When she left, Chen Ying'er obtained a large sum of resources the clan had amassed, but this woman still seemed to have some attachment towards Chen Yu's half treasured weapon.

Chen Yu's deadline to return to the sect was also about to arrive soon.

He had asked for a month's leave when he returned home this time. More than half the allotted time had passed now.

A few days later.

Chen Yu got up and said his goodbyes. What was different from Chen Ying'er was that he didn't obtain any help from the clan in terms of resources.

In a garret in the depths of Chen Mansion.

"Chen Yu left already?"

Clan Head Chen Tianwei looked at the white-bearded Clan Elder before him.

This Clan Elder was the person who had a dispute with Chen Liuwen a few days ago.

"He left. He didn't get any resources," the white-bearded Clan Elder said with a smile.

"Yes. Based on his aptitude, it's absolutely difficult for him to storm into the very front in the 'Great Outer Sect Tournament' this time. When the time comes, he'll naturally change his mind."

Chen Tianwei nodded in response.

Originally, after Chen Yu ascended to the Connective Meridian stage and established himself in the sect, the clan had to give him some resources and help as a symbol, regardless of anything.

However, since Chen Yu rejected the marriage and even hogged the territory, gold, as well as other problematic issues, the few Clan Elders in the clan unanimously put an end to giving him resources and assistance.

"Heh, don't worry."

That white-bearded Clan Elder looked confident in himself. "This old man has never heard of any cases where a Half Soul Physique can become an inner sect disciple without the support of their clan's resources. At least one hasn't appeared in the state of Chu in approximately ten to twenty years."

...

Chen Yu still went on foot on the road back to the sect and even used the [Towering Cloud Step] to hurry on with his journey.

He trained his martial arts form while hurrying on his way, so, in reality, the speed he was traveling at wasn't considered to be quick.

Two days later.

Chen Yu's [Towering Cloud Step] was actually progressing at a steady pace. It was very likely that it wasn't too far away from the realm of perfection.

If he could break through to its perfect form, the speed of Chen Yu's martial arts form would step into a greater level and there would be very few people amongst those in the Connective Meridian stage who could compare to him.

When Chen Yu passed an unavoidable mouth of a canyon during a certain moment.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Several figures suddenly scuttled out from the mountain forest nearby from both sides.

"Hmm?"

Chen Yu was on his guard and soon after, he saw six masked figures dressed in black.

These six masked people had ice-cold gazes, exuding frightening and austere auras.

A faint sense of danger rose in the depths of Chen Yu's heart.

"Attack—"

Six figures flanked Chen Yu on both sides without another word.

Inner Breath rushed forth from these people, who were either wielding knives or swords. There were even people dispatching sharp concealed weapons that split the air.

"Two at the late Connective Meridian stage and four at the middle Connective Meridian stage..."

Chen Yu obtained a conclusion from sensing their Inner Breath, his heart trembling with fear as a result of that.

If there simply were a lot of experts, it was unlikely that he would go so far as to feel restraining fear towards them.

Chen Yu was extremely sensitive in sensing fiendish qi since his main cultivation was the [Fiendish Cloud Technique], even more so after he had experienced the battle with Honghu's Three Fiends.

At present, every single person amongst these individuals had astonishing fiendish qi. There was a desire to commit murder in their eyes and they were definitely veterans who had experienced a hundred battles.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

One or two concealed weapons that didn't lose that much in might compared to the Second Fiend, Bloody Poison Dart's, closed in on Chen Yu from both sides before they got close to him.

"Hand your life over."

One of them at the late Connective Meridian stage was using a black whip. An astonishing smothered hiss sounded out when it slashed out and struck Chen Yu right at his lower bits.

The other expert at the late Connective Meridian stage was holding a spear, which transformed into a shadow of a frosty snake and resembled a crafty viper that directly assaulted Chen Yu's vital parts.

Every single one of the four remaining experts at the middle Connective Meridian stage was cautious.

When faced with such a formation, even individuals as powerful as "Honghu's Three Fiends" would most likely have to retreat as far as possible since they weren't willing to stake it all forcibly if they didn't have powerful means such as the Torrential Pear Blossom Needles and Mysterious Purple Flute.

"Retreat."

Chen Yu made a decision at lightning speed.

He really would suffer losses confronting the joint attack of so many seasoned experts alone.

At the same time, his thoughts were spinning rapidly. Just who was it that hired killers to make a move on him?

The person who could make such a move should have a certain power behind them. However, Chen Yu was only a teenager who was fifteen years old. There really was a limited amount of people he could offend.

All of a sudden, a figure appeared in Chen Yu's mind.