Chapter 1951: Punishment

There were two other people in the hall. One was Zhu Zijun, and the other was Peng Huanian.

Zhu Zijun’s expression immediately changed upon hearing this, and he said in stubbornness, “Grandpa, I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Zhu Feng flared up in rage, and he roared, “Brat, you disrespected your senior, yet you’re still saying that you did no wrong?”

Zhu Zijun gritted his teeth, and said, “But my original intent wasn’t wrong. I was just furious that someone dared to impersonate grandpa’s junior brother. Those who are unknowing can’t be guilty, so I don’t think that I did anything wrong!”

“Oh? Then did I also teach you to steal and swap out other people’s alchemical pills? Did I teach you to cheat others?” Zhu Feng asked. Even his hair was billowing in fury, and his gaze was as intense as could be.

He was an Ascending Origin Tier elite, so Zhu Zijun naturally couldn’t withstand his might. With a thud, he had already fallen to his knees. He couldn’t help but tremble.

Ling Han didn’t persuade Zhu Feng to stop. After all, regardless of how talented Zhu Zijun was in alchemy, if his personality wasn’t set straight, things would never change. If he practiced cultivation, he would only end up hurting others. If he practiced alchemy, he would only end up aiding evil forces. Neither of these was a good result.

If Zhu Zijun had been Ling Han’s disciple or future generation disciple[1], he would have already expelled him for good. However, Zhu Feng was only his senior brother in name, so he naturally couldn’t extend his reach too far.

Zhu Zijun went extremely pale. He could make excuses for everything else, but he naturally couldn’t make any excuse for swapping Ling Han’s pill out.

He had ordered this, and Ran Fei and s.h.i.+ Yong had already made a confession. He didn’t even have the chance to find a sacrificial lamb.

“From a young age, you already displayed extreme talent in alchemy. By the looks of it, my hopes in you were too high, and I ended up forgetting to teach you how to be a proper person,” Zhu Feng said with a shake of his head. He wore a pained expression on his face.

He paused for a brief moment before continuing, “As punishment, I forbid you from using the Zhu surname for 100 million years. Moreover, you’re not allowed to mention that you’re an alchemist from the Zi Cheng branch. You can travel the world as an ordinary person.”

“Grandpa!” Zhu Zijun shouted. He almost jumped up upon hearing this. He was the most brilliant descendent of the Zhu Clan, yet he was actually being sent into exile now? How could he accept this?

Zhu Feng’s gaze became sharp, and he said in a baleful voice, “Perhaps you want me to cripple your cultivation and banish you from the Zhu Clan forever?”

Zhu Zijun’s face became as white as a sheet. He knew that his grandfather had already made up his mind. He could only slowly make his way up from the bottom again. He started to leave the hall, and each of his steps was extremely heavy. It was as if his legs had been filled with lead. He looked much like an old and ailing candle guttering in the wind. He was filled with disappointment and dejection.

Zhu Feng’s heart softened, and he almost called out to retract his command. In the end, however, he kept his lips tightly shut.

Ling Han saw this, and he could only sigh in his mind. It looked like Zhu Feng was punis.h.i.+ng Zhu Zijun, but he was more so giving Zhu Zijun some challenges through which he could improve himself.

Zhu Zijun was already talented enough in alchemy. However, alchemy required more than just one’s hands. It also required one’s mind and heart!

He hoped that Zhu Zijun could understand his grandfather’s earnest care. If he could comprehend this within 100 million years, his future would definitely be bright and limitless. Otherwise, a petty and narrow-minded person couldn’t walk far in either cultivation or alchemy.

On the side, Peng Huanian was also trembling slightly. Even Zhu Zijun, Zhu Feng’s grandson, had suffered such severe punishment. Thus, as he was a disciple, his situation was even more perilous.

“Huanian.” Sure enough, Zhu Feng glanced over after dealing with Zhu Zijun.

Peng Huanian hurriedly shuffled over, and said with utmost respect, “Master.”

“You’ve also disappointed me greatly,” Zhu Feng said with a shake of his head.

Peng Huanian fell to his knees in fright, and said, “This disciple acknowledges his wrongdoings. Master, please give me an opportunity to reform myself!”

“Where did you do wrong?” Zhu Feng asked.

Peng Huanian pondered for a moment before answering, “I was too arrogant and haughty before, and I viewed everyone else with contempt because I was a Three-Star Alchemist and also the disciple of a grandmaster. I got too far ahead of myself.”

Zhu Feng nodded, and said, “What hurts me most is that not only were you wildly arrogant, but even your disciples were the same. This is a clear reflection of just how haughty and arrogant you’ve become.”

Peng Huanian kowtowed, and said, “I understand my mistakes!”

“You can leave now. As your punishment, refine 1000 cauldrons of alchemical pills. During this time, you’re not allowed to take a single step out of this place. I hope you can focus all of your attention on alchemy,” Zhu Feng said.

“This disciple understands!” Peng Huanian said. He finally breathed a sigh of relief. Even though refining 1000 cauldrons of alchemical pills would take an exorbitant amount of time, at the very least, he hadn’t been expelled. This allowed him to breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Zhu Feng waved his hand to dismiss Peng Huanian. He then turned to Ling Han, and said, “Sorry for making you witness this embarra.s.sment.”

“No, don’t say that. Third Senior Brother has focused all of his attention on alchemy, so it’s difficult to avoid such situations,” Ling Han said.

Zhu Feng laughed, and said, “Let’s not talk about these depressing matters. Is master still doing well?”

“He’s doing amazing. He’s raking in money every day, and even his hands are starting to cramp from counting money,” Ling Han said with a chuckle.

Zhu Feng couldn’t help but grin upon hearing this. Grandmaster Zi Cheng was good at everything, yet he was far too attracted to money. No matter what it was, he would always try to think of a way to make money with it.

The two of them chitchatted for a moment before Ling Han took his leave. Because he had already become accustomed to living at the Mo Clan, he politely declined Zhu Feng’s offer to stay at his place. In any case, Zhu Feng’s grand celebration was in three days, so he would leave for the Three Blooms Valley after this celebration concluded.

Upon arriving at the Mo Clan, Mo Shuang had already collected all of Ling Han’s winnings for him. He had placed them into several Spatial G.o.d Tools, and the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden was currently checking over them in delight. She was much like a female housekeeper.

Ling Han couldn’t see Hu Niu anywhere, so he couldn’t help but ask, “Huh? Where’s Hu Niu?”

“Don’t mention it. When she returned earlier, there was even a woman following behind her, insisting that Hu Niu head over to propose marriage. As a result, Hu Niu ran off again,” the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden said with a strange expression. Say, were women this open nowadays? They were even willing to marry other women?

Ling Han faltered upon hearing this. He then shook his head. He hadn’t imagined that Liu Han would be so deeply intoxicated by Hu Niu. She wasn’t even suspecting Hu Niu’s gender?

Night fell, and Hu Niu finally returned.

“So how did you deal with her?” Ling Han asked with a chuckle.

Hu Niu pouted, and said, “That was no fun at all. I’m definitely not doing that again in the future.” She had initially thought that Liu Han would stop pestering Ling Han if she captured the other’s heart first. In the end, however, she had become the one being pestered. It would be far easier to simply shoo them away from Ling Han.

“You told her that you’re female?”

Hu Niu nodded, and said, “I told her.”

Ling Han also nodded. Since Hu Niu had personally admitted to being a woman, Liu Han would most likely put this awkward episode of misplaced love behind her. Even though Liu Han would be angry and embarra.s.sed for a while, this was still far better than continuing with the misplaced love.

In the following few days, Ling Han kept an extremely low profile. After all, there was no one else for him to screw over. He exchanged all of his Star Stones for Level 20 G.o.dly metal, yet this still wasn’t enough to raise his Divine Demon Sword to the fourth star. It was still a sliver away from reaching this level.

The day for Zhu Feng’s grand celebration finally arrived.

There was a sea of guests, and even Ascending Origin Tier forces had dispatched their grand elders to congratulate Zhu Feng. In fact, even the Universal Clouds Celestial King had specially sent Liu Jie over to represent him in congratulating Zhu Feng.

Ling Han brought the Empress, Hu Niu, the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden, and Bewitching Maiden Rou over. With a handsome man and three beautiful women, they were naturally very eye-catching. However, on a day like this, even profligate and haughty people didn’t dare to cause any trouble. At the most, they would only steal a few extra glances.

“Is this Uncle Ling?” someone suddenly asked in a sarcastic voice. Ling Han looked over, only to see a young man walking over. As this young man gazed at him, an expression of ridicule spread across his face.

[1] Future generation disciple refers to the disciple of a disciple and so on.