The flames instantly engulfed the entire room, and the explosion from the Rosefinch Hall shook the entire Medicine King Palace. In no time, countless disciples rushed over from all directions.

"Quick, put out the fire!"

Someone started directing the efforts to extinguish the fire, but the flames were too fierce. Not only did they destroy the room where the explosion occurred, but they also ignited the two adjacent rooms.

Seeing this, Feng Fei's face turned green. How did a simple Spirit Flame test turn into such a disaster?

On the surface, Chu Xinghe seemed petrified with fear, but inside, he was practically singing a happy tune.

Burn it all... It would be best if the entire Rosefinch Hall burned down. If the Great Elder got angry enough to expel him from the sect, that would be perfect.

***

However, Chu Xinghe's hopes were quickly dashed. The news of the explosion and fire in the Rosefinch Hall reached the Great Elder, who immediately came with others. With the combined efforts of the Great Elder and several other elders, the flames were eventually extinguished.

Although the entire Rosefinch Hall wasn't burned down, seeing the Great Elder and others covered in soot, Chu Xinghe knew he had succeeded.

"Who was it!" The Great Elder's voice shook the entire Rosefinch Hall. In an instant, no disciple or elder dared to speak.

Feng Fei looked at Chu Xinghe with a deathly expression, knowing that this time, Chu Xinghe was probably done for.

"Feng Fei! What happened!" The Great Elder turned his gaze to Feng Fei.

Feng Fei hurriedly got up from the ground and said, "Great Elder, it was an accident today..."

Feng Fei didn't dare to hide anything and explained the situation of Chu Xinghe testing the Spirit Flame. After finishing, he added, "I ask the Great Elder to calm down. Although Junior Brother Xinghe was involved today, as his supervising senior brother, I failed to prevent it and should also bear responsibility. Please don't blame Junior Brother Xinghe entirely!"

What a good person!

Chu Xinghe felt a bit regretful as he looked at Feng Fei beside him. He had indirectly caused trouble for Feng Fei, yet Feng Fei stood up to take the blame for him. This Senior Brother Feng filled Chu Xinghe's heart with gratitude.

"Was it you?" But the Great Elder ignored Feng Fei and flashed directly to Chu Xinghe's side.

"Yes! Great Elder, it wasn't as Senior Brother Feng said. Senior Brother Feng had explained all the precautions to me, but I didn't pay attention, leading to this result. All the fault is mine alone. Please don't punish Senior Brother Feng!"

Hearing Chu Xinghe's words, Feng Fei was also shocked. He hadn't expected Chu Xinghe to take all the blame himself. Previously, rumors had spread about Chu Xinghe taking the blame for a fellow villager, but later, it was said that the villager had his arm broken, and rumors suggested Chu Xinghe and the villager were actually not on good terms, just pretending.

But now, Feng Fei just wanted to slap those who spread such rumors!

Look at this! Even in such a situation, Junior Brother Xinghe didn't shirk responsibility but instead took it all on himself to avoid punishment for Feng Fei. How could Junior Brother Xinghe be as the rumors said?

Just as Feng Fei was moved to tears, the Great Elder suddenly spoke, "Was it really you?"

"Absolutely! Xinghe feels guilty for the Great Elder's guidance and knows his sins are grave. Please punish me severely!" Chu Xinghe's face was full of guilt, but inside, he was overjoyed!

Expel me from the sect! Quickly expel me from the sect. If not, at least revoke my elite disciple status.

If I can't reach the peak Martial Emperor level, becoming a Third Grade Grand Martial Master would be fine too. Jumping from a First Grade Martial Artist to a Third Grade Grand Martial Master sounds great.

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But Chu Xinghe didn't receive the punishment he expected from the Great Elder. Instead, the Great Elder pulled him into another Spirit Flame testing room and pointed to the Earthly Flame, "Come! Repeat what you did earlier!"

"Huh?" Chu Xinghe was dumbfounded. What was going on?

"Quick, do it again!" The Great Elder looked eager.

Chu Xinghe, unable to understand what was happening, glanced at the Great Elder and the others, who were equally confused. Clearly, no one understood what the Great Elder meant.

But Chu Xinghe couldn't care less. If you want to see an explosion, fine... I'll give you another one!

Sitting cross-legged as before, Chu Xinghe began injecting his spiritual power into the Earthly Flame. As before, the flames turned orange. This time, no one suppressed Chu Xinghe, so he went all-in!

All his spiritual power was injected into the Earthly Flame, and in an instant, the crimson-gold flames reappeared. Along with the crimson-gold flames, the pill furnace began to hum, a sign of an impending explosion.

But when Chu Xinghe thought the Great Elder would stop him, he found that the Great Elder and the other elders watching were all looking at him with changed expressions.

What was going on?

Just as Chu Xinghe was puzzled, a cry similar to the one during the previous explosion rang out. With this cry, a loud bang followed, and the pill furnace exploded again!

At the moment of the explosion, the Great Elder shielded Chu Xinghe and took him out of the room, as flames engulfed the entire room.

"Rosefinch Spirit Flame! It's the Rosefinch Spirit Flame!"

"Yes! It's truly the Rosefinch Spirit Flame. God bless our Grand Sky Sect! After four hundred years, our sect has finally birthed the Rosefinch Spirit Flame again!"

The sudden exclamations left everyone dumbfounded. Chu Xinghe looked at the Great Elder holding him, whose face was now filled with shock and unconcealed joy instead of coldness and blame!

At this moment, everyone finally understood why the Great Elder, upon discovering the explosion, didn't get angry but instead asked Chu Xinghe to do it again.

It turned out he sensed the extraordinary nature of the flame, with a hint of the hidden Rosefinch Spirit Flame. Uncertain, he had Chu Xinghe try again.

This time, everyone saw it. After the flames turned crimson-gold, the Rosefinch Spirit Flame was drawn out from the earth's core.

The true rise of the Grand Sky Sect should have been four hundred years ago when the sect birthed several peerless experts, including Lu Changfeng, known as the Medicine Saint, who possessed the Rosefinch Spirit Flame. It was thanks to this flame that Lu Changfeng became the closest to a Medicine God.

It was also due to Lu Changfeng's alchemy skills that the Grand Sky Sect continuously rose, with its alchemy becoming the best in the world.

But for four hundred years, Lu Changfeng mysteriously disappeared, and much of his inheritance vanished. The Rosefinch Spirit Flame became a legend. Over the four hundred years, many grandmasters of alchemy emerged from the Grand Sky Sect, but none reached Lu Changfeng's heights.

Yet today, this explosion revealed the Rosefinch Spirit Flame!

The Rosefinch Spirit Flame summoned by Chu Xinghe moved everyone.

After four hundred years, the Grand Sky Sect finally had another disciple capable of wielding the Rosefinch Spirit Flame.

The Rosefinch Hall was named after the Rosefinch Spirit Flame. Four hundred years ago, it was Lu Changfeng; four hundred years later, it's Chu Xinghe!

The Great Elder was as excited as a child, and the other elders looked at Chu Xinghe with great enthusiasm. Only Chu Xinghe himself... was confused...

This... wasn't the result I wanted...

What about the punishment? What about the seriousness of the explosion? What does this mean now?

After much hesitation, Chu Xinghe decided to speak up, "Great Elder, every country has its laws, and every family has its rules. Even if I truly possess the Rosefinch Spirit Flame today, the crime of causing two explosions cannot go unpunished. Please, Great Elder, administer justice."

As soon as Chu Xinghe said this, not only the Great Elder but also the disciples of the Spirit Crane Palace were moved.

Listen... this is what you call character! This is what you call magnanimity!

Junior Brother Xinghe had just been promoted to an elite disciple, yet he showed no arrogance. Today, he became the first person in four hundred years to possess the Rosefinch Spirit Flame. Everyone knew that Junior Brother Xinghe's future was promising.

Yet in this situation, Junior Brother Xinghe didn't lose himself. He remained deeply remorseful for causing the explosions and even asked the Great Elder to punish him. What kind of character is this?

Even some disciples who were envious of Chu Xinghe earlier couldn't help but admire him now. Chu Xinghe truly wasn't an ordinary person.

"Hahaha... good... good... good..." With three 'goods,' Chu Xinghe knew things were going south.

Sure enough, the Great Elder looked at Chu Xinghe with satisfaction and said, "As expected of the disciple I chose. To cultivate martial arts, one must first cultivate virtue. I've seen too many young people with extraordinary talent but lacking in virtue. Today, your words bring me comfort, comfort indeed... The Medicine Saint has a successor!"

"God bless Grand Sky!" A group of people congratulated again.

"Xinghe, although the explosion today was caused by you, it wasn't your fault. How could an ordinary pill furnace withstand the Rosefinch Spirit Flame? The explosion was inevitable, so you are not guilty. However, your words today have enlightened me. I've punished too many disciples for explosions over the years, which was wrong. From today, if a disciple causes an explosion due to an unintentional mistake, they will not be punished!"

As soon as the Great Elder said this, the disciples were overjoyed!

"Thank you, Great Elder, for your generosity!" Countless disciples saluted the Great Elder, and Shen Chun, whom Chu Xinghe had met in the dining hall earlier, was moved to tears.

"Hehe... if you want to thank someone, thank your Junior Brother Xinghe. Without him, how could I have overcome my obsession?" The Great Elder chuckled, stroking his beard.

"Thank you, Junior Brother Xinghe..." A group of Spirit Crane Palace disciples saluted Chu Xinghe again, their eyes filled with goodwill.

"Alright, from today, I and the other elders will personally teach you the art of pill refining. Xinghe, don't let your Rosefinch Spirit Flame go to waste!"

"Ah... thank you, Great Elder..." Chu Xinghe was on the verge of tears.

If only he could be expelled from the sect, he could reach the peak. Now, he was going to be drilled daily by a group of old men. Damn it, is there no justice?

The Great Elder and the other elders left, and Feng Fei, along with a group of Spirit Crane Palace disciples, immediately surrounded Chu Xinghe.

"Junior Brother Xinghe, we must thank you again today."

"Junior Brother Xinghe, from today, if anyone dares to touch you in the Spirit Crane Palace, they'll be against all of us."

"Junior Brother Xinghe is righteous. I once believed the rumors that you ordered someone to break Chu Cheng's arm. Now, I feel ashamed."

"Rumors stop with the wise! How could Junior Brother Xinghe be such a person? I'll investigate who spread these lies and deal with them!"

"No need to investigate. I heard today in the outer sect that it was Chu Cheng himself who said it!"

"Nonsense! That bastard hasn't even seen Junior Brother Xinghe since being demoted to the outer sect. How could he have ordered anyone to harm him? That bastard must be twisted because Junior Brother Xinghe became an elite disciple. I'll deal with him!"

The crowd was so agitated that Chu Xinghe began to doubt whether he was responsible for that incident.

"Brothers, please... Chu Cheng might have his reasons for slandering me. But since we are from the same village, I already feel guilty about his demotion to the outer sect. If you harm him, how could I live with myself?"

Hearing Chu Xinghe's words, the brothers' resolve became even stronger!

Listen! This is character!

Two young men from the same Hillside Village, yet the difference in character is so vast!