Elder Yun and the three of them left together and soon entered the outer region of the sect. This area housed the outer disciples' residential training grounds, located only a short distance away. About two hundred meters from there stood a large, well-furnished residence—Elder Yun's personal home.
At Elder Yun's instruction, the three followed closely behind him and entered his residence.
All of them were now gathered inside a single room. Elder Yun sat on a chair before the three, deep in thought, as if he were carefully recalling and piecing together everything that had happened. After a moment, Elder Yun lifted his gaze and looked at Su Hao, then spoke with a trace of pride in his voice.
"So it was you who used the Crimson Lightning Technique," Elder Yun said. "Until now, no one has truly managed to learn this technique. It is exceptionally difficult—and immensely powerful. If you can master it, you'll be capable of defeating cultivators who stand at a higher level than you."
After that, Elder Yun carefully examined Su Hao's entire body. The moment he finished, his eyes widened in shock. Then he muttered to himself in a low voice.
"Hm… quite interesting," he murmured. "At just fifteen years old, he's already at the early stage of the Practitioner level. And this physique—this is no ordinary body."
Suddenly, his eyes widened as realization struck him.
"Could this be the Heavenly Thunder Body?" he exclaimed softly. "So that's the reason he was able to learn this technique…"
His gaze lingered on Su Hao, filled with undisguised amazement.
"This boy's future is limitless."
Seeing Elder Yun's expressions change again and again as he kept muttering to himself, Su Hao leaned toward Gu Zhe and whispered nervously,"Brother, I feel like we're done for today. First, we skipped our training and went wandering outside… and then all this happened."
Hearing Su Hao's words, Lin Yan's throat went dry as well. He knew better than anyone how terrifying Elder Yun's punishments could be.
Once, an outer disciple had been hung upside down from a tree and left alone in the forest, where starving wolves roamed freely. Because of the height, the disciple hadn't been killed—but deep claw marks from the wolves were still clearly visible on his arms. Since that day, the disciple was so traumatized that he barely dared to step outside the sect at all. Just the thought of it sent a chill running through Lin Yan's body. Seeing their condition, Gu Zhe was smiling faintly to himself.
Meanwhile, Elder Yun had already examined Gu Zhe as well. Yet no matter how closely he looked, he couldn't sense anything unusual. Unable to hold back his curiosity any longer, he finally asked,
"What kind of technique did you use in the tavern? I've never heard of anything like it before."
Hearing this, Gu Zhe put on a flustered act, as if he had just been caught red-handed. He hurriedly spoke,
"I—I was using the array formation from the Refining God Technique."
The moment he heard this, Elder Yun sprang to his feet in shock. Staring at Gu Zhe with wide eyes, he exclaimed,
"What did you say?! You used the Refining God Technique? I never imagined that this technique could be applied in such a manner. We always believed it was nothing more than a useless technique—that's why, even to this day, no one has ever bothered to truly study or understand it."
Calming himself down, he slowly sat back on his chair. A moment later, he nodded in approval and praised them. Then, after a brief pause, he spoke again,
"Would the two of you be willing to become my personal disciples? If you do, you won't need to participate in the Inner Disciple test that will be held in a few days. From this moment on, you would be promoted directly from outer disciples to inner disciples."
Hearing this, everyone's eyes widened in shock. Gu Zhe knew very well that this offer was being made for the sake of the Chosen One, so that Su Hao could increase his strength as quickly as possible.
But the moment Gu Zhe glanced at Su Hao, he understood—this was not a path Su Hao would choose, unlike the typical protagonists who eagerly accepted such opportunities.
Just as Su Hao was about to open his mouth to refuse, Gu Zhe lightly nudged him forward. Stepping ahead, Gu Zhe brought his hands together, bowed slightly, and said calmly,
"We accept."
He then straightened and added respectfully,
"Gu Zhe greets Master."
Hearing Gu Zhe's words, Su Hao was taken completely by surprise. He hadn't expected Gu Zhe to accept the offer at all. But when Elder Yun's gaze shifted toward him, Su Hao quickly recovered, stepped forward, and followed Gu Zhe's lead, bowing respectfully as he greeted their new master.
Elder Yun was extremely pleased. Even in the outer region, he had managed to find two exceptionally talented disciples. Suppressing his joy, he spoke in a serious tone,
"You may leave for now. But remember this—you both must work even harder from here on. You've provoked inner disciples of the Sakura Sect, and they won't let today's incident slide so easily."
Then his gaze settled on Gu Zhe and Su Hao.
"From tomorrow onward, both of you will be staying here. So come back in the morning with all your belongings."
After that, the three of them took their leave from Elder Yun and headed toward their respective rooms. Gu Zhe and Su Hao were assigned the same room—just like Su Hao, Gu Zhe had once been found crying at the sect's gate, and an elder had taken pity on him and brought him into the sect. Seeing the similarity in their fates, the sect had given them the same room so that they could look after one another like family.
After returning to their room, the two went to freshen up. When Su Hao came back, he froze on the spot—Gu Zhe wasn't wearing his mask today.
Gu Zhe was unbelievably handsome, so much so that even Su Hao—who knew he himself was no less than a model—felt a sharp pang of jealousy. His eyes widened in shock, and for a moment, he couldn't look away. The expressions on his face kept changing one after another, making it impossible to tell exactly what he was feeling.
He wasn't wearing anything special—just his usual Chinese-style tang suit, the buttons casually left open. A scarf hung loosely around his neck as always, and on his feet were the same simple bamboo sandals. Despite the plain outfit, everything about him somehow stood out even more. He was setting the food on the table. As soon as he finished and lifted his head, he saw that Su Hao was completely lost in his own thoughts.
Gu Zhe smiled faintly, then a mischievous thought struck him. He stood up, walked over to Su Hao, and suddenly shouted right into his ear,
"Brother, wake up! It's already morning—Elder Yun has summoned us urgently!"
Hearing this, Su Hao immediately dashed toward the door. But the moment he flung it open, he realized he'd been tricked. He turned around, glaring angrily at Gu Zhe, and snapped,
"You little devil—wait right there! I'll teach you a lesson right now!"
The playful banter between them continued for a while, laughter echoing softly inside the room and easing the tension left behind by the day's events. Eventually, the two settled down and shared their meal, the simple food tasting unusually comforting after everything they had been through.
Once they were done, Su Hao wiped his hands, took a deep breath, and sat cross-legged on the bed, slowly entering a cultivation state. His expression grew serious as spiritual energy began to circulate through his body in steady rhythms, the faint crackle of crimson lightning occasionally flickering around him.
Meanwhile, Gu Zhe quietly moved to the other side of the room. With calm and practiced movements, he began refining new talismans and pills. Strange runes glowed briefly under his fingers before fading away, and the subtle fragrance of refined pills filled the air. He worked carefully and without haste, making sure that everything he did appeared ordinary—just enough to avoid raising any suspicion in Su Hao's mind. In this way, the night passed peacefully, one cultivating with full focus, the other refining in silence, both unknowingly taking their first true steps toward a far greater destiny.
Awakened by the cheerful chirping of birds and the gentle rays of the morning sun, both of them slowly opened their eyes. Remembering Elder Yun's instructions, they quickly gathered all their belongings. Once everything was packed, the two set out together, heading toward Elder Yun's residence. As they continued to move forward, everyone's eyes began to fall on them—especially on Gu Zhe. Anyone who caught even a single glimpse of him found themselves unable to look away, their gaze lingering on him for far longer than they intended.
As they were passing through the training area, a girl suddenly stepped forward and stood in front of them. She was about the same age as Su Hao, and her beauty was captivating. Although she had not yet fully matured, her presence alone was enough to make even older girls feel a sense of envy toward her. Her name was Qingyue. Among the outer disciples, she was the only one who had never caused trouble for the two of them. In fact, every time they were bullied, she was the one who stepped in and protected them.
But Gu Zhe always maintained a deliberate distance from her. He knew very well that Qingyue was fated to become one of Su Hao's future partners, and involving himself any further would only complicate things he had no intention of disturbing. To Gu Zhe, fate was not something to be casually interfered with—especially when it concerned the path of the true protagonist.
Yet, despite his cold attitude and constant avoidance, Qingyue seemed strangely persistent. Wherever Gu Zhe appeared, her figure was never too far behind. Whether it was the training grounds, the outer disciple paths, or even the supply halls, her curious gaze would always find him. It was as if his silence and mystery only drew her closer instead of pushing her away.
This was precisely why Gu Zhe had started wearing a mask in the first place—to avoid unnecessary attention and cut off all unwanted entanglements. Unfortunately, even that had failed. No matter how much he tried to stay in the shadows, Qingyue's presence lingered like a quiet storm he could neither confront nor fully escape.
Now, however, Gu Zhe was tired—tired of hiding, With a helpless sigh deep in his heart, he could only accept one undeniable truth:
Even gods struggled to deal with women.