Stealing the Heavens

June, on a random island in Indonesia… The sun was shining brightly.

A few antique buildings with the architecture style of Tang dynasty were seen hiding among the green woods; copper colored pillars, roof tiles in a natural green with a hint of brown, and roof corners pointing upwards like an eave. Divine Beast statues made from tri-colored pottery were found mounted on the rooftop. Everything about these buildings was mysterious and solemn.

This was Underhand Sect’s headquarter.

A small stone tower, fully painted in black, was found within the innermost courtyard of these buildings. On top of its door was a blood red plaque with two words neatly inscribed: Punishment Court.

The Punishment Court in the Headquarter of Underhand Sect was responsible for punishment and sentences. All the disciples of the sect would tremble in fear upon hearing its name.

Within the main hall of the Punishment Court laid an altar in the middle of the hall. Spirit tablets of the Underhand Sect Grandmaster and the patriarchs of the different generations were placed and worshiped on it. Underneath these spirit tables, four big chairs lined up in a straight line. The underhand sect’s Punisher, Commander, Instructor and Guardian elders were sitting on the four chairs.

On both left and right side of the hall, nearly a hundred disciples of the Underhand Sect were standing formally. Some were tall, some were short. Some were fat, some were skinny. Some were good looking, some were ugly. All kinds of appearances were here. Some of them wore suits, some were shirtless. Some wore long gowns while some wore street jackets. Some of them looked no different than a gangster on the streets, and their appearances were weird as well.

All disciples were focusing on themselves. They remained silent and dared not to show any disrespect. They even tried breathing as softly as they could, afraid they would disturb the hall’s stern atmosphere and get scolded by the Punisher.

Wu Wang wore a long green shirt. He cupped his fists and bowed politely towards the four elders who held the power of this sect.

“Elders. Shangguan Ye, who violated the rules of the sect and behaved outrageously, has been caught alive! I request Elder Punisher to punish him according to the rules of the sect!”

All four elders of the Underhand Sect had gloomy expressions. Elder Punisher gazed at Wu Wang and waved his hand slightly. He cleared his throat and said, “Substitute Sect Leader, where is Shangguan Ye?”

Wu Wang showed a watery smile as he turned his head around and beckoned. Wu Qi and a few other men looking as strong as wolves came in carrying a middle-aged man who was tied by a rope like a dumpling. The middle-aged man’s mouth was filled with two walnuts. He stared angrily at Wu Wang as he kept making a ‘wu wu’ sound, but he was unable to say a single word.

After throwing Shangguan Ye onto the floor, Wu Qi squeezed his mouth a few times smilingly, then took out the walnuts in his mouth.

Although Shangguan Ye was tied like a dumpling, his movement was still flexible like a monkey. Just right after Wu Qi took the walnuts out of his mouth, he twisted his body and jumped up, standing up casually in the middle of the Punishment Court.

Staring angrily at Wu Wang, Shangguan Ye roared out crazily, “Wu Wang! How dare you ask someone to catch me?!”

Wu Wang showed a sneering smile. Wu Qi kicked Shangguan Ye’s leg, forcing him to kneel down.

With one hand pressing down on Shangguan Ye’s shoulder, Wu Qi let out a warmth smile and said, “Master Uncle Shangguan, my master is the Substitute Sect Leader now.”

Shangguan Ye struggled violently while he roared out like an animal, “Absurd Substitute Sect Leader! Bullshit Substitute Sect Leader! Wu Wang, I won’t submit to you! I will not submit to you! My dad was the previous Sect Leader, the Sect Leader position should be mine! It is mine!”

Wu Wang smiled as he took a few steps back.

Elder Punisher gazed at Wu Wang whose face had a big smile. He suddenly stomped hard on the ground and shouted, “Ridiculous! Shangguan Ye, look carefully, where are you right now?!”

Shangguan Ye’s body trembled. He rolled his eyes as he looked at Elder Punisher who had a stern face, and said with a cold smile, “Where am I now? The Punishment Court! What mistake have I, Shangguan Ye, made to make the Punishment Court want to punish me? Elders, what virtues or abilities have I to deserve this treatment?”

All four elders furrowed their brows. Out of the corner of their eyes, they gazed at a Le Xiaobai at the same time, who was standing behind Wu Wang, a man who had long hair and a skinny body like a wandering soul.

After breathing out a long sigh, Elder Punisher shouted with a deep voice, “Shangguan Ye, three months ago, did you bring our disciples and stole from seventeen families in a row?”

Standing with his back straight, Shangguan Ye smiled coldly and said, “That’s right, but what’s wrong about that? We are the Underhand Sect, isn’t stealing what we are supposed to do?”

Wu Wang smiled slightly. He held his hands behind his back and said nothing.

Le Xiaobai waved his big folding fan and took a few steps forward, smiled coldly and said, “Yes, we are the Underhand Sect. What we do here is a thief’s dirty work.”

Le Xiaobai drew a prolonged sigh and continued saying out loud with a compassionate voice, “But, there’s a saying that even thieves have their morals. The rule set by the founding Grandmaster is that even if we in the Underhand Sect are about to die of poverty or hardship, we’ll never target innocent people!”

The folding fan heavily knocked on Shangguan Ye’s shoulder. Le Xiaobai pointed at Shangguan Ye and scolded, “But this Shangguan Ye, he had stolen from seventeen rich families in a row, and out of these families, the heirlooms of six families were stolen by him. Those 6 families are all good people who do good deeds!”

Silence filled the Punishment Court. Everyone was looking at Le Xiaobai and Wu Wang.

Shangguan Ye’s body trembled as he tried jumping up, but Wu Qi immediately held down on his shoulder, forcing him to stay where he was.

Dozens of popping noises suddenly rung through the air. With a shake of his body, the ropes made from cow tendon that were tightly tied around Shangguan Ye’s body snapped one after another. Like two flexible snakes, both of Shangguan Ye’s arms nimbly darted out from underneath his armpit, pressing towards Wu Qi’s abdomen together with a shivering breeze.

Wu Qi chuckled. He stretched out both palms while leaving afterimages in the air. At the same time, both his arms were twisting as if they were boneless, greeting Shangguan Ye’s attack without making any noise.

A muffled boom echoed out. Wu Qi was seen standing in his original position. However, because of the tremendous impact brought to him by the palm strike, Shangguan Ye was rolling around on the floor with blood dripping out of his mouth.

Gazing at Wu Qi in shock, Shangguan Ye shouted out fiercely, “Little bastard, you have only joined the sect for less than three years. How can the strength of your palm be stronger than mine?”

Wu Qi took two quick steps forward, flung out his leg and kicked onto Shangguan Ye’s chest, sending him flying up into the air. With a smile on his face, Wu Qi said, “Master Uncle Shangguan, as the son of previous Sect Leader, you have violated the rules of the Sect as you just attacked someone in the Punishment Court without permission, which is an offense that has just tripled your punishment! I think, you better plead guilty for the crime you have committed, huh?”

Wu Wang hemmed as he cleared his throat slightly. Le Xiaobai immediately turned his head and gave all four elders a fierce gaze.

Four elders clenched their palms which were placed on top of the chair’s armrest, crushing the armrest made from red sandalwood into powder straight out.

Elder Punisher drew in a long breath before he stood up and shouted angrily, “Shangguan Ye had violated the rules of the Sect prior to this, and then he attacked someone in the Punishment Court without permission. Thus, he has committed crimes that deserve no forgiveness! Considering the fact that he is the only son of previous Sect Leader, his sentence will be the disposal of all his cultivation, and imprisonment within the territory of the Underhand Sect for the rest of his life!”

Le Xiaobai suddenly clapped his hands and cheered loudly.

At the same time, all the Underhand Sect disciples in the Punishment Court were also clapping their hands together and cheering, “Elder Punisher has rigorously carried out the awards and punishments! We, the disciples, are all convinced from deep within!”

Shangguan Ye had his eyes went wide, looking around angrily at all the fellow disciples standing in the Punishment Court. He then shouted, “You guys… you guys!”

Elder Punisher stomped his feet and asked with a stern voice, “Where’re the disciples of punishment?”

Wu Qi answered the call. He leaped towards Shangguan Ye, stretching out both palms like swallows flying through a forest, slapping at every part of Shangguan Ye’s body.

With great effort, Shangguan Ye waved his palms and barely managed to block off a few rounds of attack coming from Wu Qi. Yet, blood kept spraying out from his mouth. Eventually, he had depleted his energy, which allowed Wu Qi to slap eighteen times on his Dantian in a row. The shivering palm energy of Wu Qi directly penetrated into Shangguan Ye’s Dantian, shattering the clump of Inner Vital Qi he had been restlessly cultivating for the past ten years.

After destroying all of Shangguan Ye’s cultivation by force, Wu Qi still had the same smile on his face that was not only gentle, but also friendly and affectionate.

“Master Uncle, you’ve been working really hard in the past. It’s time for you to get some good rest.”

Without minding Shangguan Ye’s miserable shriek, out of nowhere, a thin black sharp blade appeared between Wu Qi’s fingers. And with a speed as quick as a wind blow, the blade sliced through Shangguan Ye’s wrist, elbow, and all the joints. When the blade cut through the flesh, the razor sharp edge of it could be seen vibrating slightly, instantly cutting off a few important nerves in Shangguan Ye’s arm.

Shangguan Ye let out a heartrending cry. Great amounts of blood poured out from his arms.

His Inner Vital Qi was completely destroyed and the nerves on both his arms were all severed. Shangguan Ye was now a crippled man.

Wu Qi kept having the same smile and said, “Although you have violated the rules of the Sect, I’m sure you didn’t do it on purpose. I guess it is nothing but an unintentional mistake. Nevertheless, no matter what, the rules of the Sect are to be obeyed! In order for us, the Underhand Sect, to live long in this world, there is absolutely no way we can break the rules!”

Sighing softly, Wu Qi staring at Shangguan Ye and said with a serious tone, “Don’t worry, my senior, all the food you eat, the clothes you wear, and everything else will be handed by your responsible disciple, me!”

Shangguan Ye stared at Wu Qi and started laughing painfully. He nodded his head and said, “Fine, fine, you rascal who is only worth one hundred U.S. dollar, very good of you!”

After spitting a mouthful of blood in Wu Qi’s direction, Shangguan Ye spun his trembling body and gave four elders a gaze, who were seen having a dark face because of rage. He then laughed coldly for three times. He hideously cursed a few words under his breath, and finally stared towards Wu Wang.

“Seven years ago, my dad used the last bit of the ‘Mending and Patching Ointment’ and healed your damaged nerves. Yet, your disciples had destroyed all my cultivation today! Wu Wang, I, Shangguan Ye, will fight you till the end of my life!”

Wearing a serious expression, Wu Wang bowed at Shangguan Ye, saying, “Senior disciple Shangguan Ye, you have violated the rules of the sect, and this is the punishment you deserved! The kindness master had for Wu Wang, Wu Wang will remember for sure. From now on, senior disciple can just enjoy your retirement within the territory of the Underhand Sect peacefully. All your expenses will be paid by me, Wu Wang, personally!”

Looking at Wu Qi with a praising expression, Wu Wang waved his hand and said, “Wu Qi, you have expressed your filial respect, but senior disciple Shangguan is after all, your senior in this sect. How could he spend his junior’s money? From now on, senior disciple Shangguan Ye will enjoy his retirement in your master’s private residence. I want all of you to take a good care of him.”

Wu Qi hurriedly bowed down and answered respectfully.

Running his eyes around sternly and looking at all the disciples within the Punishment Court, Wu Wang said with a harsh voice, “I want all of you to put this deep into your heart. Any disciple of the Underhand Sect who dares violate the rules of our sect, let Shangguan Ye be your example!”

Wu Qi put away the small sharp blade held in his fingers, then signaled a few disciples of punishment to drag Shangguan Ye away from there.

Shangguan Ye struggled violently, tilted his head up and laughed horrifyingly, “Wu Wang, Le Xiaobai, Wu Qi, I won’t let any of you go! Hahaha, you’re dead meat, you’re courting death! And you four old fools, I won’t let any of you go either! I, Shangguan Ye, will exterminate all your families!”

While laughing like a maniac, Shangguan Ye was dragged out of the Punishment Court by force.

Shangguan Ye’s sad and shrill cries could still be heard from afar.

“All of you, just wait! I’ll find each and every one of you and settle our scores!”

From the sleeve of the crazily struggling Shangguan Ye, a paper crane made with yellow paper suddenly burned itself to ashes without any fire in an instant.

Wu Wang stuck out his chest and stared at all the disciples in the Punishment Court, and said with an indifferent manner, “Disciples of the Wind Court, please go and gather information about the whereabouts of all the stuff stolen by Shangguan Ye. Never mind the unimportant stuff, but the six family heirlooms must be returned to their owners!”

Gazing at the four elders, Wu Wang said with the same indifferent manner, “The Underhand Sect’s rules cannot be broken while in our hands!”

The four elders looked at each other and sighed at the same time.

Tremblingly, the Guarding Elder took out a palm-sized gold plated case from a secret pocket near his chest, handing it over with a serious attitude.

“Substitute Sect Leader, here is the Sect Leader token of Underhand Sect. Except for Shangguan Ye, no one here is against the decision of making you the Sect Leader!”

All four elders cupped their fists and bowed politely towards Wu Wang, “We invite Substitute Sect Leader to officially take command of the Underhand Sect!”

Every single disciple in the Punishment Court got down on one knee at the same time.

“We invite the Substitute Sect Leader to officially take over the command of the Underhand Sect!”

Without showing shyness, Wu Wang took over the gold plated case with his hand and nodded his head firmly.

Le Xiaobai and Wu Qi looked at each other, as a smile appeared on their faces at the same time.