I? I’m lacking virtue?

Wang Ke looked at his revered teacher, Chen Tianyuan, with widened eyes; he was at a loss.

“What you lack is Virtue Merit!” Chen Tianyuan explained.

“Virtue Merit? Revered Teacher, I overheard that you can get Virtue Merit from slaying demons. Are those the kind of Virtue Merit I need?” Wang Ke asked in surprise.

“Indeed! Virtue Merit. Merit consists in serving the cause pursued by the heavens and the Earth; virtue consists in serving all lives. Heaven bestows Virtue Merit, while the demons harm all lives and are deep in their own iniquities. As such, the Heavenly Dao will detect the slaying of demons and turn their iniquities into Virtue Merit for the ones who slay them!” Chen Tianyuan explained.

“No wonder they were fighting to slay those demons!” Wang Ke suddenly realized.

“The more powerful a demon is, the greater the iniquity; you will also get more Virtue Merit when you slay such a demon. Once you gather enough Virtue Merit, you can dispel your karmic bad luck and increase your own understanding of cultivation. Virtue Merit can also help cultivators break through their bottlenecks. It works miraculously in many ways!” Chen Tianyuan continued explaining.

“Virtue Merit then? You get Virtue Merit by slaying demons… Virtue merit can really dispel my bad luck curse?” Wang Ke was exhilarated.

Chen Tianyuan affirmed with a nod.

“Sect Lord, I remember that Wang Ke struck dead half the demons who were here with the Lightning Array. Didn’t he receive Virtue Merit?” Princess Youyue asked curiously.

“He did. However, the Immobilizing Radiance Mirror can collect and store Virtue Merit. Wang Ke relied on the mirror to slay those demons, so it stored up his merits! But, since it’s been given by the Heavenly Dao, it is yours to take; no one can take it away from you!” Chen Tianyuan took out the Immobilizing Radiance Mirror.

Wang Ke saw his reflection in the mirror; it had a golden radiance on his head.

“I remember now. A golden sphere of light would appear after I killed a demon, and then it entered the mirror. That was the virtue merit?” Wang Ke asked in surprise.

Chen Tianyuan flipped his hand; a ball of golden merit came out from the mirror and landed on his palm.

“I don’t know how you were cursed with bad luck, but it should be completely dispelled when these Virtue Merit enter your body! These merits only belong to you, and only you can decide how to use them. It’s all up to you!” Chen Tianyuan explained solemnly.

“Thank you, revered teacher!” Wang Ke received it gratefully.

Something which looked like a bubble was enclosing the Virtue Merit. Wang Ke could sense how the Virtue Merit were moving closer. He only had to burst the bubble to absorb and obtain the merits.

“These people are…?” Chen Tianyuan looked at the bridal party that came with Wang Ke.

“These are my subordinates from the mortal realm. Revered teacher, I will order them to leave the sect later!” Wang Ke said.

“Is that right? You can keep them by your side to help with the miscellaneous bits. The merits are yours now; dispel your bad luck quickly. Our sect is in a mess today and I have many things to take care of. You can settle down at the Sword-study Peak. That’s the place where I used to reside. It’s been a long time since then, and I think it could be somewhat dilapidated at the moment. Clean up a little and settle there for the moment! Give me a few days. Once I’m done handling our sect’s internal matters, I will give you some guidance on cultivation and take you to choose your energy technique!” Chen Tianyuan instructed.

“Sure, thank you, revered teacher!” Wang Ke acknowledged gratefully.

As for the two Guest Elders...” Chen Tianyuan looked toward Zhang Zhengdao and Princess Youyue.

“Me? I will live together with Wang Ke! I will also head over to the Sword-study Peak!” Zhang Zhengdao replied immediately.

He was still waiting to split the spoils; he was definitely going to stick around Wang Ke. Moreover, he was a foreigner inside the Heavenly Wolf Sect; he would at least have Wang Ke as his companion.

“Then I guess I shall also live on Sword-study Peak,” Princess Youyuen replied as she turned her eyes toward Chen Tianyuan.

Chen Tianyuan eventually nodded after some thought. “Wang Ke, take care of Princess Youyue on my behalf!”

“Yes, revered teacher!” Wang Ke nodded.

Chen Tianyuan summoned a disciple to guide Wang Ke to his lodgings. After that, he went outside the sect to deal with some issues.

That Heavenly Wolf Sect disciple looked at Wang Ke with admiration and envy in his eyes. There were thousands of disciples in the Heavenly Wolf Sect, out of which only Wang Ke had the privilege to stay on a peak by himself. Sword-study Peak was the place where their Sect Lord used to stay. No one had dared to ask for that place even after the Sect Lord had moved to the spirit mountain. But then, it landed on Wang Ke’s hands.

Wang Ke became the Sect Lord’s disciple the moment he joined the Heavenly Wolf Sect. Moreover, he had obtained so a lot of Virtue Merit. It was no wonder that an ordinary disciple would be extremely jealous of him.

The group soon arrived at the Sword-study Peak after climbing some mountains.

Sword-study Peak rested right next to the Heavenly Wolf Sect’s spirit mountain; it had an abundant amount of spiritual Qi. It was just that the buildings were currently dilapidated due to lack of maintenance.

However, Wang Ke had brought along many subordinates who took the initiative and quickly repaired the buildings without Wang Ke saying a thing.

Urged by Zhang Zhengdao, Wang Ke stepped into the Sword-study Hall with curiosity in his eyes, followed by Princess Youyue.

“Bang!”

The hall’s doors were shut.

“Where is my lifeblood? Quick, hand it over! Give it back to me, now!” Zhang Zhengdao demanded impatiently.

Wang Ke took out Zhang Zhengdao’s black folded fan.

“OK, here’s your lifeblood. You didn't lie to me!” Wang Ke handed it over in amazement.

Zhang Zhengdao took the object and inspected it carefully, heaving a sigh of relief once he made sure nothing was wrong. “And?” He looked at Wang Ke with glowing eyes.      

“And what? Didn’t I give it to you already?” Wang Ke shot back a stare.

“Zhang Shenxu’s storage bangle; we agreed on that. The empty bangle belongs to you, while everything inside it belongs to me!” Zhang Zhengdao urged.

Wang Ke persuaded him, saying, “You are already the Guest Elder of the Heavenly Wolf Sect, and yet you’re still so particular about those worthless things? Don’t be so petty!”