Kai limped out of the main sect hall, each step a grueling effort as his body throbbed with the lingering pain of the spell Long Bo had cast upon him. The markings of the Jade King Seal burned into his skin, pulsing with an agonizing heat that refused to fade. They snaked across his entire body like a web of condemnation, curling over his face and even crossing one of his eyes. There was no hiding them, no way to cover the shame they represented.

  He was marked—not just as a criminal but as something far worse: a slave. The power of the Jade King Seal bound him completely, leaving him no choice but to obey the sect leader’s will. Defiance would mean death, the seal ensuring his compliance with every beat of his heart. To the sect, he was now a pariah, his status reduced to nothing more than a tool, more so than it already had been.

  The stares from passing disciples and elders alike pierced him like daggers. Whispers followed in his wake, filled with disdain, curiosity, and even pity.

  "Look at him," one whispered. "The Jade King Seal... he must have done something truly terrible to deserve that."

  "I heard he was experimenting with demonic materials," another murmured, her voice dripping with suspicion. "It's a miracle he wasn’t executed on the spot."

  "Serves him right," someone else scoffed. "He should’ve known better than to toy with things beyond his understanding."

  Kai clenched his teeth, his fists trembling as he forced himself to ignore the venomous words. The Jade King Seal was not just a punishment; it was a public declaration of his disgrace, a mark that would forever set him apart from his peers even if they were one day removed.

  He couldn’t help but replay the events of the trial in his mind. The righteous indifference in Long Bo’s voice, the skeptical glares from the elders, and the betrayal he felt from the very sect he had worked so hard to serve. Yes, they could argue he might have been reckless, but his intentions had never been malicious. He had only wanted to innovate, to create something useful. Now, all of that effort was about to go up in flames—literally.

  As Kai hobbled down the winding path that led away from the grand hall, he couldn’t suppress the bitterness rising in his chest. The spirit beasts, his trees, everything he had poured his heart into was to be destroyed. And yet, he knew there was no point in resisting. The Jade King Seal left him no room for rebellion. He was a prisoner of the sect’s will, shackled by the very institution and now these magical markings.

  Kai trudged toward the front gate of the Inner Sect area, where he was instructed to wait for the group of disciples who would accompany him to the grove of meat-fruit trees. Every step was a reminder of his disgrace, the lingering ache of the Jade King Seal’s markings gnawing at him with each motion. As he walked along, he noticed someone standing in his path—a figure he recognized immediately. Lei Ju, the only inner disciple Kai personally knew, and the man responsible for making him the sect’s stable master.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Lei Ju’s expression was anything but welcoming. His face twisted into a scowl, radiating contempt as his sharp eyes locked onto Kai. Instinctively, Kai dropped into a kowtow, his forehead pressing against the ground in submission. It wasn’t respect that drove him—it was survival, honed by countless past interactions where failing to bow quickly enough had earned him painful punishment. Lei Ju’s whip had been a cruel and constant reminder of Kai’s lowly status.

  “You think you have the right to bow before me after what you’ve done, you worthless scum?” Lei Ju spat, his voice dripping with venom.

  “Please, forgive this lowly one, great and honorable—” Kai began, his words trembling with forced deference, but Lei Ju cut him off with a sharp bark.

  “Silence! I don’t want to hear a single word from you!” Lei Ju roared, his anger boiling over.

  Before Kai could even respond, Lei Ju’s foot struck like a hammer, a vicious kick that sent Kai flying backward. Pain erupted through his body as he hit the ground with a sickening thud. He felt every bone in his frame had shattered, the agony making his vision blur. Yet, as the markings of the Jade King Seal flared to life, their burning heat surged through him. The enchanted seal protected him from death, mending his injuries just enough to ensure he could still fulfill the commands issued by Long Bo.

  Kai gasped, his breath ragged as the seal’s magic kept him alive, if just barely. Without its protection, Lei Ju’s kick, amplified by his far superior cultivation level and physique, would have killed him instantly. The realization didn’t comfort Kai. Instead, it deepened the bitterness in his heart. The seal wasn’t saving him out of mercy; it was a cruel mechanism ensuring he remained a pawn for the sect’s purposes.

  Lei Ju approached, his presence looming over Kai like a storm cloud. “You’re pathetic. Even now, you crawl like a worm,” he sneered, kicking dirt toward Kai’s crumpled form. “You’ve brought shame to the Ju name, and if it were up to me, you’d be fed to the spirit beasts you so foolishly tried to feed those cursed fruits to.”

  Kai didn’t respond. He couldn’t. Any word or movement might provoke Lei Ju further, and the seal’s protection wouldn’t spare him from the pain. All he could do was endure, gritting his teeth against the humiliation and agony.

  Lei Ju snorted in disgust. “Get up and stop wasting my time. You still have a task to complete, and the sooner you’re done, the sooner this sect can rid itself of your filth. And don’t expect to survive after this. Me and my father will make sure you don’t.”

  Kai struggled to his feet, his body trembling from the effort. The fiery pain from the seal lingered. He lowered his head, avoiding Lei Ju’s gaze, and began limping toward the gate. Behind him, Lei Ju’s scornful glares could be felt at his back.

  As Kai moved away, his mind seethed. Lei Ju’s cruelty was nothing new, but the events of the trial and the brand of the Jade King Seal had sharpened the sting of every insult and blow. And, if he had any chance of surviving after this, it seemed like Lei Ju was going to go out of his way to make sure he didn't.