High-Risk Master - Chapter 136: Heavenly Punishment

The surrounding illusion grew increasingly realistic. 

Shen Gurong's hands ached from copying the book. Looking at his teacher, who was so close, he said with a hint of grievance, "Teacher, I don't want to copy the book." 

The teacher in the illusion held a bamboo flute, looking at him with gentle eyes, and softly said, "No." 

Shen Gurong… Shen Gurong struggled to hold back his tears.

He copied the book with trembling hands, then pinched Mu Zhe's arm with trembling hands.

Mu Zhe: "…" 

Mu Zhe lowered his head and asked, "What's wrong?"

Shen Gurong was about to cry. He pulled Mu Zhe and buried his face in his chest, sobbing desperately, "I can't finish copying it! Why are there so many words? I simply can't finish copying it…"

Mu Zhe: "…" 

When his master was sixteen… would he still cry because he couldn't finish copying the book?

So cute.

Mu Zhe suddenly felt a pang of jealousy—jealousy of everyone who had witnessed his master's youthful appearance.

If he had been able to grow up by Shen Gurong's side back then, he certainly wouldn't have let him suffer so much all these years. He would have raised him into a pampered young master, untouched by worldly affairs.

He held Shen Gurong, who was crying incessantly because he couldn't finish copying the book, and tried to go outside Xianzhou City to find the Record of the Capital's formation. However, the entire city's formation had solidified into a barrier at its edges, making it impossible to escape.

Mu Zhe frowned. It seemed he would have to break the formation first to get out.

He found a clean rock, intending for Shen Gurong to sit on it for a while while he tried to break the formation. But as soon as he put Shen Gurong down, his little master immediately wrapped his arms around his neck, his wide, bewildered eyes staring at him in panic.

"Where are you going? Where are you going?" Shen Gurong asked, bewildered. "Are you going to leave me behind?" 

Mu Zhe quickly patted his back to comfort him, saying, "No, I'm trying to see if I can break this formation."

Shen Gurong was already deeply immersed in the illusion, and asked blankly, "What formation?"

"The formation of Xianzhou."

"Xianzhou?" Shen Gurong stared blankly for a long time, unsure if he had remembered it, and asked dryly, "Then what about my books?"

Mu Zhe was both amused and exasperated, and could only coax him, "You copy them first, and I'll help you after I break the formation, okay?"

Shen Gurong hesitated for a long time before tentatively releasing Mu Zhe's neck.

Before Mu Zhe could even breathe a sigh of relief, Shen Gurong seemed startled again, lunging at him once more. This time, he not only hugged his neck, but pressed his entire body against Mu Zhe, his long legs hooked around Mu Zhe's waist, refusing to let go.

"No! You won't go! You'll leave and never come back!"

Mu Zhe held him close to the waist to prevent him from falling, sighed, and said, "I'll come back."

Shen Gurong: "You won't!"

Mu Zhe promised: "I will."

Shen Gurong started to struggle again. When he got caught up in this struggle, his grip loosened. Mu Zhe lifted him onto a rock, thought for a moment, and handed him the wooden bead that always hung on his wrist.

Shen Gurong stroked the bead, looking at him blankly.

But his eyesight wasn't very good right now, and his attention was mostly on the illusion; his vision was blurry, and he couldn't see clearly at all.

Mu Zhe said, "Master, please keep this for me. I'll be right back."

Shen Gurong clutched the bead, then withdrew his hand from Mu Zhe's sleeve, holding the bead silently.

After a while, his fingers began to move again.

He continued copying the book.

Mu Zhe didn't stray too far. After a few steps, he unleashed the Jiu Xi Sword, its sword intent enveloping the blade. The strike seemed capable of cleaving the heavens, but upon landing, it didn't even touch the edge of the formation.

The demonic cultivators of Xianzhou continued to have their life force drained to stabilize the formation.

A vicious formation maintained with human lives couldn't be broken by brute force alone.

Mu Zhe sheathed his sword, his brow slightly furrowed. Just as he was about to return to Shen Gurong's side, he heard someone call his name.

He turned around and saw Su Xiyan standing outside the barrier, her eyes filled with worry as she watched Shen Gurong fiddling with the beads.

Mu Zhe was taken aback: "Second Martial Aunt?"

Su Xiyan and Xi Guxing had come together and had been studying the formation for a long time.

Su Xiyan said helplessly, "That formation can't be broken."

Mu Zhe quickly walked over, and through the barrier, said, "If we can find the Record of the Capital formation to break, it should be possible."

Su Xiyan shook her head: "Since the Record of the Capital formation has already been activated, it can only be stopped by destroying the Record of the Capital. Moreover, the formation in Xianzhou was activated with countless lives..."

Mu Zhe frowned deeply. Shen Gurong was already deeply trapped in the illusion. If the formation wasn't broken, would he be forever trapped in the false reality of being sixteen?

Su Xiyan stepped forward, raised her hand, and pointed at the barrier, saying, "I've been in Youzhou for many years and once found a damaged formation. It might be useful, but it requires taking a great risk. You..."

She hesitated for a moment before asking, "Do you want to try?"

Mu Zhe immediately said, "I will try." Nothing could be worse than this.

Su Xiyan sighed and said, "Then I'll draw the array for you. Remember, every stroke must be perfect. Use your sword intent on the array in Xianzhou, and activate it at the array's core."

Mu Zhe replied, "Yes."

He was about to turn around when he suddenly noticed Su Xiyan's eyes widen and she chuckled softly.

Mu Zhe was startled and turned back following his gaze, only to see a young man approaching expressionlessly, sword in hand, his face so ugly he looked like he was about to chop someone up.

Mu Zhe was a little hesitant to recognize him and tentatively asked, "Sect Leader?"

The young man, Xi Guxing, had a youthful face, wore loose robes, and dragged along in shoes that were far too big for him. He was furious, and seeing Mu Zhe's strange look and Su Xiyan's undisguised mockery, he exploded: "What are you looking at?! Who hasn't been young before?!"

Mu Zhe: "..."

Su Xiyan couldn't hold back any longer and covered her lips, laughing out loud.

"It's...it's alright," Su Xiyan said with a smile. "It's just been a long time since I've seen you like this..."

She coughed lightly, turned around, took out the jade marrow, and began exchanging messages with her junior brothers as if no one else was around.

"Shuhe, you saw it? Haha, is there...is there any hope?"

Lin Shuhe: "Hahahaha, hopeless! Just wait to die, hahahaha!"

"Zhuchen...stop fooling around. Look at Guxing, oh right, Eleven has shrunk too."

Jing Zhuchen: "Hahahaha! Ah..."

Xi Guxing: "..."

Mu Zhe: "..."

Xi Guxing was furious, finally understanding Shen Gurong's feelings when he mocked him so fiercely when he shrunk.

This is terrible. He wanted to kill her, but he had to restrain himself.

His cultivation had now plummeted to the Foundation Establishment stage, making him unsteady even when wielding a sword. He stormed over to Shen Gurong, grabbed his hand, and said, "Come with me."

Shen Gurong glanced at him, unable to make out his features, but the aura was one that was completely unfamiliar to the sixteen-year-old Shen Gurong. Hearing this, he immediately cried out in panic, "Master! Master… bad guys are coming to capture me! Are they after my looks and going to sell me to a brothel?! Waaah!"

Xi Guxing: "…"

Mu Zhe thought expressionlessly, "He's called 'Master' seven times already, and he's still doing it."

Shen Gurong: "Master, help me!"

Mu Zhe: "Eighth time."

Xi Guxing's hair was practically standing on end with rage. Relying on his slightly higher cultivation level than ordinary people, he angrily dragged Shen Gurong towards safety.

“You break the formation first, I’ll watch him.”

Mu Zhe knew he probably couldn’t keep an eye on Shen Gurong while breaking the formation, so he nodded, “I'll leave it to the sect leader.”

Xi Guxing snorted, awkwardly saying, “I’ll find a place to beat him up!”

With that, he dragged Shen Gurong away.

Shen Gurong looked like a forcibly taken woman, crying and sobbing, “Sir, sir!”

Mu Zhe: “Nine times, ten times.”

Shen Gurong had no idea what trouble he had caused, being forcibly dragged away by Xi Guxing.

Only after Shen Gurong left did Mu Zhe straighten his robes, leaping into the sky above Xianzhou City, looking down at the vast city.

With the original formation’s barrier, he no longer needed to deliberately search for the edge of the formation; he simply scattered his sword intent, connecting it into a circle along Xianzhou’s barrier.

Countless sword intents intertwined in Xianzhou, forming a huge and intricate magic array.

Su Xiyan watched with great interest from outside the city, thinking that Mu Zhe truly possessed a talent for array formations, far surpassing Shen Xiwu. If Mu Zhe weren't Shen Gurong's disciple, she would definitely take him as her own.

A moment later, Mu Zhe, having almost exhausted all his spiritual energy, flawlessly completed the array. He lightly landed at the array's core, expressionlessly planting the Jiu Xi Sword in its very center.

The last wisp of spiritual energy flowed into the array's core, causing a sudden gust of wind to rise from the ground, sending wood chips flying wildly.

A sharp stone chip grazed Mu Zhe's face, drawing blood from his birthmark-covered cheek.

The array activated with a roar, instantly engulfing the original array bit by bit.

Meanwhile, within the array's core, Mu Zhe felt as if a hundred years had passed before his eyes, his surroundings rushing past him at an incredible speed, as if someone had forcibly accelerated the wheel of fate.

In that illusory world, Mu Zhe saw Shen Gurong as a child.

He saw little Gurong holding the hand of a man who looked remarkably like him, skipping and hopping to the lantern displays. His smile was radiant, carefree, tugging at his brother's clothes and whining in a childish voice that could melt anyone's heart;

He saw little Gurong slowly grow into a tall, slender young man, his red robes flamboyant like fire, running across the city ablaze with fireworks;

Mu Zhe watched for a few breaths as little Shen Gurong grew into a handsome young man, his final gaze lingering on the raging fire of that day.

The boy, his face streaked with tears, clutched the man's clothes, who bore a nine-tenths resemblance to Mu Zhe, crying out desperately, "Sir, sir..."

"Sir, are you there?"

His eyes were already empty; he couldn't see that the man had stopped breathing, even his voice was hoarse.

He asked again and again, until he himself was in despair, yet he still wouldn't stop.

Mu Zhe, bewildered, reached out to embrace him, but the moment he drew near, the boy vanished into nothingness.

He watched the boy, his eyes covered in icy silk, wielding a long sword to slay countless demons;

He watched him grow taller and stronger, yet the emotions in his eyes grew increasingly indifferent, until finally, like a dried-up riverbed, only broken cracks remained, nothing more.

Only then did Mu Zhe vaguely realize what he had missed, and what place that teacher held in Shen Gurong's heart.

Meanwhile, outside the city, within the Record of the Capital formation, Yu Xinghe opened his eyes, tears streaming down his face, clutching the bamboo scroll of Record of the Capital, watching the words on it being altered bit by bit.

"June 23rd, no demonic cultivator in Xianzhou survived. Shen Gurong, trapped in an illusion, died."

Yu Xinghe thought blankly, "This is fake." But he had already obtained all the power of the Record of the Capital, knowing this was the true future.

A future altered by that formation.

He had once again caused the death of his master. Using the Record of the Capital.

Wen Liubing and Shen Xiwu were outside the formation, trying every possible way to get him out, but no matter what attack landed on the formation, it was like a needle falling into the ocean, leaving no ripple.

Yu Xinghe stared blankly at the Record of the Capital, murmuring, "Everything... is because of the Record of the Capital."

"If only you... had never existed." The last words Shen Gurong left in the Record of the Capital.

Yu Xinghe felt a sharp pain in his heart, clutching his chest, and thought blankly, "I... I've tried my best to please Master, but he still doesn't like me."

Yu Xinghe didn't know why before, but now he did.

Because he was the Record of the Capital.

What Shen Gurong had always hated was the Record of the Capital.

That Record of the Capital that claimed to uphold the Heavenly Dao, yet forbade anyone to arbitrarily tamper with it.

Yu Xinghe stared blankly at the Record of the Capital in his hand. Shen Gu Rrong's voice rang in his ears again, and Yu Xinghe's voice suddenly overlapped with the voice in his ears.

"If only you had never existed."

"If only I had never existed."

These words seemed to be a trigger, giving Yu Xinghe inexplicable courage. His hand clenched tightly, and his trembling fingers channeled all his spiritual power into the Record of the Capital.

Wen Liubing froze, staring in astonishment at the formation, then suddenly shouted sharply, "Yu Xinghe! What are you doing?!"

Yu Xinghe looked up at Wen Liubing for a long time, then suddenly forced a smile that was more like a grimace, choking out, "Senior Brother, I might... die."

Wen Liubing vaguely knew what he was about to do, and his face changed drastically: "Let go! Destroying a divine artifact will surely bring down divine punishment! Are you out of your mind?!"

Yu Xinghe's face was streaked with tears as he cried, "I didn't know before, but you told me, and now I know."

Even so, his hand remained tightly gripping the Record of the Capital, continuously channeling power into it to destroy it.

Wen Liubing: "Yu Xinghe! Let go! If you die, how can I face Master?!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Xinghe cried even louder: "Master doesn't like me! Master has never liked me! Waaah, no matter how hard I try, he still doesn't like me!"

Wen Liubing: "..."

Wen Liubing almost laughed out of anger.

He really wanted to know how Yu Xinghe could do something so reckless with such a cowardly expression.

Yu Xinghe sobbed, "Senior brother, am I really annoying?"

Wen Liubing said, "Yes."

Yu Xinghe: "..."

Yu Xinghe almost cried again.

Wen Liubing rubbed his temples and said, "But you're not a spirit stone. You can't expect everyone to like you. Besides, what do you need everyone's approval for? To eat?"

Yu Xinghe choked.

He wiped away his tears and whispered, "But I hate myself."

A divine artifact like the Record of the Capital shouldn't even exist in this world.

Yu Xinghe continued to channel spiritual energy into the Record of the Capital, both cowardly and reckless, ignoring Wen Liubing's attempts to dissuade him.

Finally, the bamboo scroll of the Record of the Capital couldn't withstand the onslaught of spiritual energy, flashed a bright light, and then exploded on the spot.

The explosion was followed by Yu Xinghe's cries: "Ah—I'm going to die! Ahhh, Master! Junior Brother! Sister!!" 

Record of the Capital crumbled into dust and fell to the ground, while the array beneath Yu Xinghe's feet ceased to function.

Yu Xinghe's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, wiping away tears that streamed down his face. 

He sobbed uncontrollably, "I hope I can be a good person in my next life! Waaah, Senior Brother, please tell Junior Brother to burn those hundreds of storybooks he confiscated from me! Waaah, this is my last request!!!" 

Wen Liubing: "..."

Shen Xiwu: "..."

After Yu Xinghe cried for a long time, Wen Liubing finally said, with a heavy heart, "Xinghe, you..."

Yu Xinghe opened his eyes blankly and looked at him: "Huh?"

For the first time, Wen Liubing felt a sense of indescribable awkwardness towards someone. He rubbed his temples and sighed, "You're not dead."

Yu Xinghe was stunned for a moment, then quickly looked up and down, finding that the Record of the Capital was completely destroyed, but he himself was unharmed and unharmed.

"Huh?" Yu Xinghe scratched his head, tears still flowing, and said blankly, "I thought I was going to die."

Wen Liubing remained silent.

After narrowly escaping death, Yu Xinghe immediately scrambled to his feet, overjoyed: "Ahhh! I'm not dead! I'm not dead!!! I, Yu Xinghe, am back!"

Wen Liubing: "..."

Just as Yu Xinghe was celebrating, a storm cloud suddenly appeared overhead, rumbling and thundering as it approached him.

Yu Xinghe: "..."

Yu Xinghe screamed. The backbone he had displayed when he shattered the Record of the Capital was long gone. He stammered, "Senior Brother! Senior Brother, the Heavenly Dao is going to strike me down! Senior Brother, protect me!"

Senior Brother: "..."

Senior Brother didn't want to protect him; he just wanted to run far away to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Wen Liubing had always thought Yu Xinghe was a good-for-nothing, never giving him a kind word or a pleasant look. But this incident completely changed his opinion of the little good-for-nothing.

He sighed, but didn't leave. He was determined to risk his life to protect Yu Xinghe.

Wen Liubing was prepared to lose half his life, but when the tribulation clouds formed and the first bolt of lightning struck Yu Xinghe's head with a deafening roar, it suddenly seemed to be stopped by something, and the heavenly lightning instantly dissipated.

Wen Liubing: "???"

Yu Xinghe, eyes closed, was so frightened that tears streamed down his face.

The heavenly thunder dissipated, and the tribulation clouds quickly vanished, soon revealing a bright, cloudless sky.

Wen Liubing, sword in hand, fell into deep thought.

Yu Xinghe, still with his eyes tightly shut, cried out, "Ahhh! Senior Brother, save my life! Senior Brother, Xinghe doesn't want to die!"

Wen Liubing: "..."

Author's Note:

Heaven's will: Who destroyed my Record of the Capital?! Rumble—

Oh, Yu Xinghe, well, it's alright now.

⬅️ Previous Next ➡️