Supreme Master - Chapter 24: You Are Not Worthy

Translator – Misty

Chapter 24: You Are Not Worthy

Perhaps it was a weariness of past conflicts and battles.

Or perhaps it was the aimlessness and wandering felt after being stripped of everything by the Heavenly Dao.

Or maybe it was just plain boredom.

Gu Qingfeng, shouldering a hoe, began to work on a barren piece of land. In his heart, he contemplated the pastoral life, which seemed quite pleasant. If he could find a Dao companion, with the man tilling the fields and the woman weaving, they could live a carefree life, have a son and a daughter, and enjoy their days in contentment.

It wasn’t long before a patch of wasteland was cultivated. Gu Qingfeng then borrowed some Fire Bead Grass seeds from Wang Dashan and started planting them. At first, he was a bit clumsy, but after receiving meticulous guidance from Wang Dashan, he gradually got the hang of it.

It turns out, farming spirit fields is quite a delicate matter, requiring skills for planting seeds, irrigating, tilling the soil, and caring for the sprouts.

“Gu Qingfeng?”

As he was planting seeds in the spirit field, he heard someone call his name. Gu Qingfeng looked around and saw a tall girl with a ponytail, dressed in green, who had approached without him noticing.

“Oh, isn’t this Sister Ouyang?”

When Wang Dashan saw Ouyang Ye, he hurriedly greeted her as “Senior Sister.” Ouyang Ye, being an Inner Sect Disciple, was unreachable for someone like him, a Menial Worker. After greeting her, he returned to tending his own spirit field.

“Gu Qingfeng, what… what are you doing here!”

Seeing Gu Qingfeng bent over planting seeds in the barren field, Ouyang Ye was greatly surprised and asked, “Why have you started cultivating a spirit field?”

“Just bored, playing around.” Gu Qingfeng rolled up his sleeves, glanced at her, and asked, “What brings you here? Don’t tell me you’re also cultivating a spirit field?”

“I came specifically to find you!”

Ever since the rumors started spreading, Ouyang Ye had been ordered by her master to go into seclusion. While in seclusion, she had been busy gathering information about Gu Qingfeng. Hearing that he had come to the Red Leaf Valley today, she sneaked over.

“What do you want with me?”

“Haven’t you heard the rumors these past few days…”

“What rumors?” Gu Qingfeng shook his head. Since arriving at the Cloudy Rosy Heaven Sect, he had been staying in the Hidden Spirit Garden and was unaware of any rumors.

“The rumors say that you failed in the foundation establishment, were expelled by your family, and then sought refuge with me…”

“Is that all? Let them talk.”

“You say it lightly, but now the whole Cloudy Rosy Heaven Sect knows about it. My master even scolded me.”

“Girl, what’s this about? You had me pretend to be the Young Master of Crimson Flame from the start, hoping they’d believe it, right?”

“I did hope… they would believe it… but I didn’t expect things to get so out of hand. Anyway, you wouldn’t understand. You’ve been with Elder Huo De recently; he hasn’t done anything to you, right?”

“What could he do to me?”

“Didn’t the old man make you test any formations?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“Really?”

Ouyang Ye knew that Elder Huo De was always researching formations and often asked disciples to test them for him. In her opinion, someone like Gu Qingfeng, whose body became strong due to a failed foundation establishment, would be an ideal subject for Elder Huo De’s experiments.

Why would Elder Huo De not use Gu Qingfeng for testing formations?

Had the elder’s hobbies changed?

“Hey, Gu Qingfeng, I advise you to find a chance to leave as soon as possible.”

“Why?”

“Elder Huo De may not have asked you to test formations now, but he must have some scheme. Recently, he was complaining that the disciples’ bodies were too weak to withstand his formations… Now that he has you, an ideal subject, he definitely won’t let you go.”

“I see.”

Seeing that the girl seemed to want to continue persuading him, Gu Qingfeng waved his hand to indicate he understood.

“Shall I take you away now?” Ouyang Ye asked again.

“Look, girl, I’ve already told you, there’s nothing to worry about with Elder Huo De. I’m fine, and you don’t need to worry.”

“Damn it! The problem isn’t just with Elder Huo De. Now, the entire Cloudy Rosy Heaven Sect sees you as the Young Master of Crimson Flame and thinks you’ve come to seek refuge with me… Soon, people will say unpleasant things to you, even insult you personally… I know it’s all my fault… I shouldn’t have asked you to impersonate the Young Master of Crimson Flame, but now… even if I say you’re not him, they won’t believe it anymore!”

Ouyang Ye grew increasingly regretful as she thought about it, regretting that she ever asked Gu Qingfeng to impersonate the Young Master of Crimson Flame. Had she not done so, none of this would have happened. Now, she just wanted to send him away, partly to prevent him from becoming a subject for Elder Huo De’s experiments, and partly because she was worried that the people of the Cloudy Rosy Heaven Sect would say unpleasant things to Gu Qingfeng.

However, what Ouyang Ye didn’t expect was that after expressing her concerns, Gu Qingfeng still appeared indifferent, claiming he didn’t care at all.

“You… Why won’t you leave? I’m thinking of your best interests! Did Elder Huo De promise you something? Did he say he could help you continue your cultivation? I’m telling you, he’s deceiving you. He just wants you to help him test formations… Don’t believe him.”

Gu Qingfeng stood up, brushing the dirt off his hands, and looked at the anxious Ouyang Ye, saying helplessly, “Girl, I know what you mean. But I have some business to take care of at the Cloudy Rosy Heaven Sect. Once it’s done, I’ll leave, and even if you ask me to stay, I won’t.”

Indeed, Gu Qingfeng had returned to the Cloudy Rosy Heaven Sect intending to catch up with Elder Huo De. However, during their meeting, he learned that the elder had encountered a cultivation setback, hindering his progress. Gu Qingfeng planned to help him break through this barrier as a way of repaying Elder Huo De’s kindness from the past. After sorting this out, he would leave. As for where to go next, he didn’t know and didn’t care to think about it; he certainly wouldn’t stay at the troublesome Cloudy Rosy Heaven Sect.

Grabbing a handful of seeds, he began planting them in the spirit field again. “As for those rumors, you don’t have to worry. I’ve lived most of my life, why would I care about such trivial matters? Besides, I’m not really the Young Master of Crimson Flame, so what’s there to fuss about?”

“You!”

Ouyang Ye felt incredibly frustrated. Just as she was about to persuade him again, a stern voice suddenly came from behind.

“Junior Sister!”

Turning around, Ouyang Ye saw a woman approaching. She was about thirty years old, dressed in colorful clothes but with anger visible on her face. “When Master left, she instructed me to supervise your seclusion. I was only gone for a little while, and you sneaked out. If Master finds out, you’ll be in big trouble.”

“Senior Sister… I–”

Facing her senior sister, Ouyang Ye felt somewhat guilty.

“Greetings to Senior Sister Siru.”

Wang Dashan approached and respectfully greeted the woman, recognizing her as Tan Siru, another Inner Sect disciple.

Tan Siru paid no attention to Wang Dashan and turned her questioning gaze to Gu Qingfeng. “Junior Sister, who is this?”

Before Ouyang Ye could respond, Tan Siru seemed to realize something, her expression suddenly changing, and she demanded harshly, “Is he that Young Master of Crimson Flame, Gu Qingfeng?”

This is bad!

Knowing her senior sister’s character, Ouyang Ye feared she would say something unpleasant. She hurried over, saying, “Senior Sister, let’s go. I’ll return to my seclusion now.”

“I’m asking you, are you the Young Master of Crimson Flame, Gu Qingfeng?”

Tan Siru remained unmoved, staring coldly at Gu Qingfeng.

“Yes, I am.”

After planting the seeds, Gu Qingfeng sat down, took out a jug of wine from his storage bag, took a sip, and asked, “What about it?”

“So, you have failed Foundation Establishment and come to seek refuge with my junior sister!” Tan Siru berated Gu Qingfeng upon seeing him. “Failure in Foundation Establishment means the end of your cultivation path. And you dare to dream of becoming Dao companions with my junior sister? Wishful thinking!”

“Don’t expect Elder Huo De to help you rebuild your foundation. It’s impossible! Get rid of that idea right now.”

Ouyang Ye knew her senior sister would

say harsh things. She wanted to get Tan Siru to leave, but it was futile; Tan Siru kept her fierce gaze locked on Gu Qingfeng, scoffing.

“Hmph! Even if you somehow manage to rebuild your foundation in the future, my junior sister will never become Dao companions with you. Don’t think you can call yourself a musical prodigy just because you can play a tune of the King. What a joke!”

“Hmph! If you know what’s good for you, leave the Cloudy Rosy Heaven Sect immediately, or else…”

Gu Qingfeng continued to drink his wine leisurely, taking a sip and squinting his eyes with a hint of a smile. “Or else what?”

“Or else I’ll make sure you regret it!”

Gu Qingfeng shook his head slightly, chuckling dryly. “Fine, when the time comes, I’ll just ‘regret’ and see…”

“You still dare to talk back!”

Tan Siru was about to take action to discipline him when Ouyang Ye shouted, “Senior Sister, what are you doing? Enough is enough!”

“Junior Sister, you’re still defending him?”

Ouyang Ye yelled back angrily, “Yes, I am defending him, what about it? It’s my business, and you better not interfere!”

“You!”

Tan Siru, infuriated, her chest heaving with anger, huffed and said, “Fine! Keep defending him then. Let’s see what Master does when she returns!” With that, Tan Siru left in a rage.

Watching her senior sister leave, Ouyang Ye turned to Gu Qingfeng with an apologetic expression. “Hey, Gu Qingfeng, my senior sister is just like that. Don’t take it to heart.”

Gu Qingfeng shrugged, just as he had said, he wasn’t one to get upset over such trivial matters.

“I told you before, there would be people who would say unpleasant things to you. Look what happened… Please, just leave. It’s all my fault. If you agree to leave the Cloudy Rosy Heaven Sect, I will make it up to you. Whatever you ask, I’ll do it. Okay?”

Gu Qingfeng stood up, stretching himself and said, “Alright, I’ll talk to Elder Huo De about it.”

(End of Chapter)