Chapter 807: I Have a Dream (II)

After being advised to make themselves look darker, Chu Liang and Xu Ziyang cast a spell to make their skin very dark, appearing like severely tanned skin. Then they used Lin Chuan's and Xue Pu's access talismans to climb ashore Fanghu Island.

The island was covered in seemingly boundless mountain forests. That was where the disciples of the Penglai Secondary Sect frequently tended to spirit plants.

Busy with their work, none of the disciples paid any attention to Chu Liang and Xu Ziyang.

The pair rode the wind at a steady pace, following the bronze talisman's vibrations. Eventually, they arrived outside a wooden building deep within Fanghu Island.

Chu Liang and Xu Ziyang stopped on a nearby mountain slope and used their divine sense to check for movement within the building. They discovered two people inside.

In a simple room on the second floor, a young girl with rough, cracked skin was lying on a bed, looking deathly pale even with her tanned skin. She appeared to be around eight or nine years old.

As the young girl lay there weakly, she grabbed the hand of a young man who was around sixteen or seventeen years old. She whimpered, "Big Brother, I really don't think I can hold on anymore."

"You'll be fine! You will!" The young man held the young girl's hand tightly. "I heard from Grandpa Hu that a stalk of White Butterfly Summer Grass on Mount Canglu[1] has matured. If it's made into a pill, it can heal your injuries. Mount Canglu is only five hundred li away. I'll go pick it, and you'll be well again."

"No!" The young girl's eyes widened in terror as she clutched the young man's hand tightly. "Big Brother, don't go! You'll die! I'd rather die than let you go."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

The young man had already made up his mind. Gently pulling his hand away, he turned around and left without hesitation.

"Big Brother!!!" the young girl cried frantically to stop her older brother from leaving.

However, she was too weak to get up. She could only wave helplessly, but her older brother's footsteps quickly faded into silence.

Her eyes filled with worry as she clutched an old bronze talisman hanging from her neck. It was the only keepsake mother had left her before passing away.

For some reason, the bronze talisman had been vibrating all day, seeming as restless as her heart.

While she was lost in her thoughts, she heard footsteps outside.

"Big Brother, you came back?" the young girl called out in delight.

A five-hundred-li journey can't possibly be completed so quickly, so that means Big Brother must have changed his mind.

Thinking that, she smiled brightly. But her smile quickly turned into a fearful expression.

Seeing two unfamiliar men step into the room, she brought her knees to her chest, curling up into a ball.

She asked in alarm, "Who are you?"

"We're here to treat you," Chu Liang answered with a smile.

However, his smile wasn't quite the same on his now artificially tanned face. His signature charming smile—which had always made him look like someone that wouldn't even hurt a fly—had lost its effect.

Instead, he looked quite creepy, flashing a wide grin in the shadow of the doorframe as he approached the vulnerable young girl.

Nevertheless, Chu Liang was not concerned. He had other ways of getting people to warm up to him.

Chu Liang flipped his hand and revealed a milky-white spirit plant on his left palm, filling the room with a rich fragrance.

He said slowly, "This is a Jade-White Fragrant Fruit. It can heal your injuries just as well as the White Butterfly Summer Grass. We came to gift this to you."

When Chu Liang and Xu Ziyang observed the siblings from outside, they quickly noticed that the young girl was at the first realm of cultivation, the Body Refinement Realm. However, her foundation was unstable. Despite lacking sufficient qi and blood, she had attempted to forcefully advance to the second realm, the Qi Concentration Realm.

The attempt had drained her foundational qi and blood, tangling her qi pathways. That caused her muscles and bones to weaken severely. If left untreated, she wouldn't have long to live, but if she had a spirit herb that could reconstruct her qi pathways, she could make a full recovery.

One of those herbs was the White Butterfly Summer Grass that the young girl's older brother had mentioned. The Jade-White Fragrant Fruit in Chu Liang's hand was another.

When the young girl saw the fruit, her expression softened, looking less afraid.

Having grown up on the island, she hadn't seen much of the outside world. Nonetheless, she had been made to study all sorts of spirit plants, so she could tell at a glance that what Chu Liang had taken out was genuine.

Despite that, she was still hesitant to accept the fruit. "But... we don't even know each other. Why would you give me such a precious spirit plant...?"

"Because we'd like to trade this for a treasure of yours." Chu Liang pointed at the halved bronze talisman in her hand. "I'll give you this spirit plant, and you give me that. How about it?"

"But... this is the only keepsake my mother left me..." the young girl muttered, reluctant to part with the bronze talisman.

"Well, that's certainly heartbreaking. When you reunite with your mother in a couple of days, I'm sure she'll praise you for being such a good child," Chu Liang replied gently, slowly pulling the fruit back toward him.

"Hey!" the young girl hurriedly called out. She ripped the halved bronze talisman off her neck and handed it over to Chu Liang. "Here, take it, take it."

Mother gave me the bronze talisman, but she gave me my life too. If I can only choose one of the two, obviously I have to choose to keep my life.

Chu Liang smiled. He flipped the spirit plant in his hand and refined it with Divine Dragon Fire into a ball of primordial qi. Then he fed it to the young girl.

As the spirit plant took effect, the young girl's complexion changed from deathly pale to a healthy red. She appeared to be in a much better condition than before. Yet, instead of relaxing, she became anxious.

"Thank you, kind benefactors! Can you do me one more favor? My big brother went to Mount Canglu to steal a spirit plant for me. Now that I'm fine, can you go and tell him that? If he gets caught, he'll be killed!"

...

After confirming the location of Mount Canglu, Chu Liang and Xu Ziyang immediately set out, flying five hundred li at once.

They had already completed the mission. There was no need for them to stay on any longer, potentially creating complications and increasing their risks of getting caught. Nevertheless, since they could save a life just by staying there a bit longer, they did not hesitate to act.

As they approached Mount Canglu's peak, they heard a deafening gong.

Over a thousand disciples from the Penglai Secondary Sect had gathered all over the mountain peak. They stood in a circle and watched something intently.

Chu Liang and Xu Ziyang used their divine sense to check out what was going on, and they saw two law enforcement disciples dressed in blue standing in the center of the crowd.

These law enforcement disciples were from the Penglai Supreme Sect, assigned on a rotational basis to oversee the disciples of the Penglai Secondary Sect.

Looking closer, Chu Liang and Xu Ziyang noticed one of the law enforcement disciples held a shiny golden whip. He was stepping on a poorly dressed young man... who looked identical to the young girl's older brother!

Despite seeing that appalling scene, the crowd remained silent. No one dared to even take a step forward.

Standing to the left of the law enforcement disciple with the shiny golden whip was the other law enforcement disciple. He was holding a golden gong, striking it repeatedly.

The law enforcement disciple with the shiny golden whip shouted, "It has been a long time since we have witnessed the vile act of spirit plant theft here on Fanghu Island!

"Yet, today, an audacious criminal dared to openly steal a treasure of nature! In accordance with Penglai's rules, he shall be executed here today as a warning to others!"

With a flick of his wrist, his golden whip wrapped around the young man's neck, yanking his head backward. His face turned red, looking like he couldn't breathe.

A soundless scream escaped his throat as a gasp, and his eyes filled with despair.

Arriving just in time, Chu Liang leaped down and yelled, "Stop! He stole the spirit plant to save his sister! She is gravely injured and on the verge of death. She desperately needs the spirit plant to survive! Even if you won't give him the spirit plant, at least spare his life."

The disciple holding the golden gong shouted sternly, "How dare you! Who allowed you to step forward?"

He struck the gong heavily.

Claaanggg!

The gong was an enchanted tool, and that strike had divine power. When the gong was struck, ripples of golden light spread outward, inflicting damage to the crowd.

The Penglai Secondary Sect members cried out in pain and stumbled backward. Their cultivation levels were too low to withstand the attack.

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Yet, Chu Liang remained completely unfazed.

At this moment, the eldest senior brother of Jade Sword Peak descended from the sky and unleashed two beams of sword qi.

Whoosh.

A chilling flash of light severed the hand that held the golden whip, while the other shattered the golden gong. Then Xu Ziyang made a final sword gesture, and the two law enforcement disciples collapsed to the ground with a thud, unable to move.

In just a blink of an eye, Xu Ziyang subdued the two law enforcement disciples. He landed calmly and freed the young man.

Time was of the essence. If words wouldn't work, then violence would.

A ruthless man never wasted words.

The crowd stared at Chu Liang and Xu Ziyang in a daze before quickly erupting with a wave of cheers. "WHOOOOOA!!!"

Seeing that the mood had totally changed, Chu Liang's eyes gleamed at the thought of an idea.

He leaped into the air and raised his hands. "Everyone! This young man merely wanted to pick a spirit plant to save his sister's life. Tell me, did he do anything wrong?"

"No!" the crowd shouted in unison.

"We spend our entire lives tending to these spirit plants, yet we gain nothing from them. Is that fair?"

The crowd grew even more agitated. "No!"

"Then listen to me! Starting today, it's time for a change!" Chu Liang clenched his fist tightly. "I want you all to know that I have a dream!"

His voice was passionate and powerful, carrying a mesmerizing force that stirred the hearts of all who listened.

"I dream that one day, the three islands of Penglai will rise. It shouldn't just be the disciples of the Supreme Sect but all of us! Just like the legendary age of our Hallowed One, where every person was as mighty as a dragon!

"I dream that one day, the children of both the Secondary Sect and the Supreme Sect will receive equal resources and training on Mirage Mountain, proving that we are not inferior to them!

"I dream that one day, we will have freedom and justice, no longer suffering under the oppression of those who look down on us!

"If we wish to break free from oppression, we must fight for it ourselves! We must make our voices heard—from Fanghu to Penglai and from Penglai to Yingzhou! We must let our voices resound across the three islands of Penglai, shaking the very peak of Mirage Mountain!"

1. This means grey heron. Sounds a bit weird as a mountain name, so just gonna leave it transliterated. ☜