My Master Disconnected Yet Again Chapter 71-80

Chapter 71: The Great Semi-Finals

Early the next day, Xuan Yuanyu invited Shen Ying to watch the competition with him. Behind him followed several disciples from the Xuan Yuan Family bloodline. Each one of them was courteous. While the patriarch was extra courteous to Shen Ying, the disciples were extra courteous to Yi Qing and Lonemoon. Evidently, each of them from the Xuan Yuan Family feared different people.

At the same time and place as the day before, Shen Ying sat to watch the competition. She was on the highest level of the viewing stand wearing a calm expression on her face. It was the second day of the great competition and the battles were to be carried out in pairs. The top ten fighters would be picked from each cultivation level. There were so many disciples from the four aristocratic families which made it very easy for them to get into the top ten. This was why the patriarchs of the Yu Family and Yin Family were not present. There was much more space on the viewing stands today and Xuan Yuanyu could finally sit down this time.

Apart from the few of them, the patriarch of the Yi Family, Yi Feng, was also present. He was alone and the seats around him were empty. Shen Ying looked over at him out of curiosity. Yi Feng understood what she was thinking and laughed, saying, "I think Xue Yin is sick. No matter how I persuaded it, it refused to leave the house. I left it in the garden."

"Oh." It's a dog after all.

"Fellow Daoist, you seem to be very interested in spirit beasts."

She nodded. "Yeah, I do kind of like small animals." I like eating them.

"It seems that you, Lady, are very similar to  me."  Yi  Feng smiled. The techniques related to spirit beasts required one to first get familiar with a spirit beast which required a long time. Sometimes, in order to earn the spirit beast's trust, one had to live with it. That explained why few female cultivators enjoyed taming beasts, especially when it came to high-level spirit beasts which looked as terrifying as Xue Yin did. Yi Feng was happy to know that Shen Ying was  interested—she  was  a  rare  find indeed. "Spirit beasts may look scary, but as you interact with them, you'll find that they're actually more sentimental than humans are. Xue Yin is like that. Once it acknowledges its master, it will follow its master for life. Humans just tend to be superficial. They get scared once they see how scary these beasts look."

"It's not scary," she replied, suddenly thinking of a certain rabbit. "They may be a little timid, but they are incredibly loyal. I like that."

"Hahaha, well said, Lady. Compared to humans, spirit beasts are indeed much more loyal and reliable." It had been a long time since Yi Feng met a female cultivator who liked spirit beasts. Shen Ying also looked like a hidden expert. After a moment, Yi Feng decided that he wanted to get to know her better. "I'm Yi Feng, the patriarch of the Yi Family. May I know how to address you, Lady?"

"Shen Ying," she replied. Then, she thought  of  something. "I'm the sect master of Invincible Sect."

"Invincible Sect…" Yi Feng hesitated. He fell deep in thought for a while, but he couldn't figure out which sect that was. He shrugged and said, "Fellow Daoist Shen Ying, judging from your restrained Spirit Qi, I'm guessing that you're a hidden expert. In future, if you're interested, we can go to the Mirage Sea Shore to look for high-level spirit beasts together. I heard that there are many spirit beasts you can find there which cannot be found in the Three Azure Realms."

"Really!" Shen Ying exclaimed. "Are they delicious?"

"Huh?" Yi Feng hesitated. What did she mean by delicious? Thinking that she was referring to the training techniques, he said, "The higher the beast's level, the harder it will be to train them. I don't think they will submit to you so easily. Oh right. Fellow Daoist Shen Ying, you look like you know your spirit beasts really well. Do you have any advice on taming high-level beasts, especially those above the tenth-stage?"

"I do!" Shen Ying nodded.

"Really?" Yi Feng was evidently surprised. "What is your advice?"

"Just beat them." "Huh? Ah!" Yi Feng paused.

She continued seriously, "Small animals don't listen because they're spoilt. They'll listen to you if you beat them into submission. If that doesn't work, you can eat them."

"…" What the hell?

"Master, the competition is over," Yi Qing suddenly said.

Shen Ying realized that the competitions for the Golden Core group and the Foundation Establishment group were over. The competitions had finished up really quickly today. The stage was almost empty and the top ten fighters had already been picked. It was good enough that two people from the Invincible Sect got into the top ten in the Foundation  Establishment group, but two people from their sect also got into the top ten for the Golden Core group. One was Yu Hong while the other was Si Yu. Among the nine disciples, four had made it to the finals. This was a pleasant surprise indeed. Lonemoon, who was standing at the side, had a silly grin on his face. He urged Shen Ying to hurry back to their sect. "Mister, er… Goodbye," Shen Ying quickly ended the small talk and turned around to leave the viewing stands.

"Fellow Daoist Shen Ying, take care," Yi Feng responded dazedly. She was joking about that method right? She  must have been…

——————

Four of their disciples had placed among the top ten while two of them had qualified for the finals for the Golden Core group. Lonemoon was the most satisfied of all of them. The past year of training had not gone to waste. Although their  training direction had gone off track, the result was still pleasing. He suddenly had renewed faith in the sect.

Thousands of sects had taken part in the competition today, including the four aristocratic families. They were the younger generation of leaders, each one of them trained and nurtured by the people from the aristocratic families. Everybody else who made it to the top ten list, apart from those from the Invincible Sect, were from the aristocratic families. This was only to be expected. On their way back, Lonemoon noticed that the way people looked at their sect had changed. Some looked at them with jealousy, others with envy, and yet some others with pure shock. No one was looking down on them like they did before. Lonemoon had achieved his marketing goal. He could already imagine the long queue in front of their recruitment stand at Upper Azure Town.

Lonemoon got excited just thinking about this. They were going to make it this time. He was going to make sure that his new disciples would not get distracted by Shen Ying anymore. This time, he was going to train them to become pure Sword Cultivators.

When they returned to the yard, Lonemoon took the time to praise each one of his nine new disciples, especially the four Foundation Establishment disciples, and he also calmed their post-competition nerves.

He had originally thought that the few of them would be excited. Only after he had spent a significant amount of time praising them did he realize that they were not showing any type of response. Their eyes were fixated on Shen Ying as if waiting for her to say something. Even Shen Ying, who was missing a part of her meridians, could tell that they were focused on her. She hesitated before turning around, and then smoothly praised them as well.

"You guys fought well. Keep working hard!"

"Yes, Sect Master!"

The girls looked like they got just what they wanted. They shouted in unison as they each broke into a huge grin.

Lonemoon: "…" Son of a b*tch!

"Xuan Yuanyu has come looking for Great Immortal Shen. Is it convenient for the Great Immortal?" A familiar voice sounded out from just outside the door.

Shen Ying didn't respond. Radish made a face and rushed out, glaring at the man outside the door. "What are you doing here? Are you trying to ravage my body again?" "…" The corner of Xuan Yuanyu's mouth twitched. He suddenly recalled something and felt his blood pressure begin to rise. Upon seeing Shen Ying following behind the radish, however, he had no choice but to swallow his anger.

Heh heh… After what he had experienced last night, he began to doubt his own core cultivators' Great Dao. He did not think he could look directly at the ingredients for refining pills again.

Chapter 72: The Unexpected Qualifications

"Master of the Vegetable Family, what's the matter?" Shen Ying asked.

-_-|||

What the hell is Master of the Vegetable Family? Why did he feel like the Great Immortal was always calling him something different?

"Great… Great Immortal Shen." Xuan Yuanyu  stepped forward and calmed himself down. He remembered what he had come for. "I heard that four disciples from your Invincible Sect has made it into the finals. I have specially come to congratulate your honorable sect."

"Patriarch, you're too kind," Lonemoon said as he stepped into view. "Five disciples from your Xuan Yuan Family have also made it into the finals. We'll take this chance to congratulate you too, Patriarch." "The disciples from my sect cannot compare to yours." Xuan Yuanyu smiled even more politely. Lonemoon and Xuan Yuanyu exchanged one line for another, praising one another's sect. After a while, Xuan Yuanyu retrieved a bottle of pills from his bag and handed it over. "Oh yes, these pills are Spirit Condensing Pills. They will help to nurse your Spirit Qi. They're not that special, but they will have a better effect if  you consume them together with the nourishing elixirs from before. They're perfect for your disciples. Take it as a congratulatory gift from me to you."

Lonemoon eyed the bottle and realized that they were indeed fifth-grade pills. He did not go out of his way to turn down the gift and graciously accepted the patriarch's kind intentions. "Well, thank you, Patriarch Xuan Yuanyu. If you have  any urgent need for any rare herbs in the future, feel free to come to our Invincible Sect. We will try our best to assist you."

Lonemoon looked pointedly at the radish next to him who had a cocky expression on its face. Xuan Yuanyu followed his gaze subconsciously.

"What, do you want me to flower?" "…" A certain image flashed past Xuan Yuanyu's mind and everybody present pursed their lips at the same time.

It was an extremely awkward scene…

"You… Whatever-Your-Name Patriarch, why were  you looking for me?" Shen Ying suddenly broke the heavy silence.

Xuan Yuanyu hesitated before he began, "Well, I was…"

He then fell silent, however, as if he did not know what to say next. After a few seconds, he said, "It's like this. The patriarch of the Yin Family is extremely curious about you, Great Immortal. He has heard that you have arrived here, so he asked me to come down and ask if you would be willing to meet him."

"Yin Family?" Shen Ying's face was blank.

"The Yin Family is the organizer of this great competition." Xuan Yuanyu gritted his teeth as he thought about this. He began to inwardly curse that bunch of old foxes, the Yin Family. The Xuan Yuan Family was one of the four aristocratic families and everything that they did attracted the attention of the Upper Azure World. It was no secret that Xuan Yuanyu had been overly warm to Shen Ying. Now, everyone in the three other aristocratic families were trying to guess who she was and the Yin Family was no exception. However, Xuan Yuanyu never would have guessed that Yin Feng would react so differently from the other two families who had remained quiet until now. Yin Feng had went straight up to Xuan Yuanyu and requested for him to invite Shen Ying to meet him.

It was obvious that the Yin Family couldn't care less who Shen Ying was—all they cared about was being the first to snatch her away. The Yin Family was indeed a family of shrewd businessmen, always acting quickly and effectively. However, because of the relations between the Xuan Yuan Family and the Yin Family, Xuan Yuanyu had no choice but to accede to Yin Feng's request. That was why he had plucked up his courage and came looking for the Great Immortal.

"What does he want to see me for?" Shen Ying asked.

"Er…" Xuan Yuanyu stiffened up, replying, "Maybe… he just wants to admire your glory and get to know you better."

"When?"

"Tomorrow, after the competition."

"Oh, that's so troublesome." She had been planning to go home and take a nap immediately after the competition.

"If it's not convenient for you, Great Immortal, we can always postpone it. Rest assured that I have not told him anything about you." Afraid that Shen Ying would get mad, Xuan Yuanyu quickly added, "I will go and inform the patriarch of the Yin Family to cancel tomorrow's banquet immediately."

A banquet!

Shen Ying's face lit up as she reached out to hold his arm. "I don't want to put you in a spot, so I've decided that I will go! When is it going to be? What time? And where? Where will it be? Is there a dress code? What color should I wear?" Xuan Yuanyu: "…"

Lonemoon: "…"

Yi Qing: "…"

——————

The third day.

Finally, they had come to the finals of the competition amongst the sects. There were far more spectators compared to the first day. Even the four aristocratic families were present including the host, the Yin Family.

The finals were to be conducted in pairs. The winners would proceed to the next round and draw lots to decide who would be given a walkover. The top three would be selected from this process. Lonemoon had already briefed the four disciples who made it to the finals the night before. They had  already achieved their mini goal: to make it to the top ten. He told them that there was no need to fight to their death, especially for those who were still at the Golden Core stage. After all, their competitors were all disciples from the aristocratic families who had already achieved the Perfected Golden Core stage.

The Foundation Establishment disciples did slightly better. After a round of fighting, however, one of them made it to the top five fighters and was defeated. It was already a pleasant surprise that one of them managed to clinch fifth place. What was more surprising was the Golden Core group. Their sect had actually made it into the top three.

It wasn't Yu Hong who was a mid-stage Golden Core. Instead, it was Sister Si Yu who had just completed her Core Formation and who looked the weakest out of all of them.

Lonemoon was shocked. He had not even seen her fight. How did she suddenly make it to the top three? He only found out the reason after he asked around…

"A walkover?" Yi Qing hesitated. He did not think this was the reason. "I heard that one of the top ten fighters got into a personal fight last night and was badly injured. That's why he withdrew from the competition. She's lucky to have been given  a walkover for two rounds." So it turned out she hadn't lifted a finger and made it to the top three.

Lonemoon and Yi Qing exchanged looks, both not knowing what to say.

Sister Si Yu's crazy luck is… unbeatable!

"Little Green Sister is up." Shen Ying pointed to the stage.

Indeed, the stage was clear. The contestants, one green- clothed and one blue-clothed, stepped onto the stage. The one in green was Si Yu, and the person opposite from her was a Perfected Golden Core cultivator. From his aura, he looked like he was halfway to advancing to the Nascent Soul stage.

The two of them calmed down and meditated, focusing on the fight before them. It would have been fine had it been Yu Hong up on the stage as she was at least a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, but it had to be Si Yu… This battle was going to be a tough one. Lonemoon had already thought about how he would comfort the sisters so that their self-esteem would not be hurt.

"I am Yin Yuanfei from the Yin Family. Please show me your ways, Fellow Daoist!" The man in blue cupped his fists and bowed at Si Yu.

It was obvious that Si Yu was nervous from the way she was gripping her sword. She lifted her head to look at her opponent. Breathing in deep, she feigned courage and replied, "I am Si Yu from Invincible Sect! Please show me your ways, Fellow Daoist!"

In the next moment, both of them moved to start the fight. Yin Yuanfei had a rare lightning-elemental Spirit Root. Each of his moves generated a flash of lightning. Given his high cultivation level, the stage was filled with the sound of his lightning bolts in seconds. Si Yu had almost no space left to stand in.

Si Yu could only hide. She had panicked from the moment the battle begun, but she quickly calmed herself down. She alternated between dodging the lightning bolts and using her sword techniques, thus managing to swiftly avoid all the flashes of lightning around her. Within moments, the lightning on stage became mixed with the brilliant flashes of a sword.

"Eh?" Yin Yuanfei hesitated and his eyes clouded with appreciation. He had thought that this Junior Sister had merely been lucky to make it into the finals as she was given walkovers in the previous rounds. He had not expected her to be this capable. She was of a much lower cultivation level than him, yet she was able to defend herself against his bolts of lightning and hold her own .She was indeed worthy of being amongst the top ten fighters. After all, her sword techniques still had room for improvement. His heart fell as his expression became serious. "Good sword techniques, Fellow Daoist!"

Chapter 73: Champion Barbie

He activated his Spirit Qi, not holding anything back as he attacked. All of a sudden, all that could be seen was a mass of lightning gathering. Out of that lightning a long dragon formed, appearing on the stage. Bits of stone from the stage blasted everywhere and tongues of lightning lashed the surroundings as the other party moved, making a beeline for Si Yu in an imposing manner.

Si Yu was shocked, but it was too late to avoid it. She thus leaped into the air and controlled her Sword Qi to summon forth hundreds of spirit swords which surrounded her to block the lightning.

However, due to her cultivation level being lower than her opponent, this kind of defense could only last a while. More and more of her Spirit Qi would be consumed the longer this continued. Already, her Spirit Qi could not take the burden as evident from some of the lightning bolts managing to break into the sword array and striking her body. This was a sign that the sword array was about to collapse.

It was over. Yin Yuanfei heaved a sigh of relief. But just as he was about to deal the final blow to his opponent to win the competition, he felt a slight chill on his back. Having a rich experience in battle, he subconsciously used his sword to defend his back and then, with a clashing sound, he felt a weight in his hand as Si Yu who had been trapped in the barrage of lightning suddenly appeared behind him.

Turning back to look, he saw there was no one in the sword array anymore. "Illusion array!"

He was taken aback as he retreated. He had never expected her to know how to use array formations. His palm began to feel numb. Were all Sword Cultivators this strong? His senses sharpened and he grew vigilant in this battle.

The both of them fought for two incense sticks' length  of time. Although neither did not hold any advantage over the other, Si Yu was only an early stage Golden Core; thus, she was beginning to grow weaker and she also became slower in dodging the opponent's lightning bolts.

Yin Yuanfei heaved a sigh of relief and he further concentrated on summoning forth lightning bolts. Si Yu furrowed her brows at this. Although she felt indignant, she could not win this battle. She used up all her Spirit Qi and the protection around her body disappeared, and then the skyful of lightning struck her body.

Just when she was about to give up, a bolt of lightning greeted her head-on but luckily it struck her chest. Something seemed to slide out of her. Her expression immediately changed, and she rushed over to pick it up, but it was too late—the bell that had fallen out of her clothing dropped to the ground and was destroyed by a bolt of lightning.

Si Yu turned as pale as a sheet, showing no sign of blood on her face. She could not care less about the lightning bolts falling around her as she stared at the ground. "My… bell… bell…"

Seeing the opponent not resisting, Yin Yuanfei immediately stopped his attacks and cupped his fists, saying, "Fellow Daoist, thank you!"

"…" The other party remained stiff. Thinking that she did not hear him clearly, he repeated, "Fellow Daoist, your Spirit Qi has already been used up. There is no point in continuing this battle." He was reminding her to admit defeat.

"…"

"Fellow Daoist?"

"…"

"Fellow Daoist, why are you…"

He took a step forward but before he could finish his sentence, his opponent who had been in a daze suddenly turned around with bloodshot eyes and exuded a murderous intent as she pounced towards him.

"I am going to destroy you, bastard!" Huh?

Before he could react, his opponent who had no more Spirit Qi suddenly flexed her powerful muscles which tore through even her shirt. Her originally petite figure grew larger by a few times. It was as if she was shooting sharp blades from her eyes, fueled by a burning fury.

"Return me my gift!"

Danger!

One word immediately surfaced in his mind. He wanted to retreat, but it was too late. He felt his collar tightening and then he was directly slammed ruthlessly onto the ground. The next moment, a series of punches fell upon his face like raindrops along with a string of interrogations.

"Return me my gift! Return me my gift! Return my gift…"

Each punch was heavier than the last, making it harder for Yin Yuanfei. After a while, Yin Yuanfei completely lost consciousness.

As for the competition stage, there were only the sounds of punches—Bam… Bam… Bam…—echoing.

The entire venue was filled with dead silence.

"…"

What had they seen? A Body… Body Cultivator! A female one!

One that was alive and kicking.

Σ(°△°|||)

Lonemoon who knew what was going on: "…"

What's that iron barbie doing? Return me my gentle and cute disciple! The bloody beating of a match lasted for ten minutes before the judge managed to react and shout, "Invincible… Invincible Sect, Si Yu wins!"

After that, the judge jumped onto the stage trying to stop the Si Yu. As he drew nearer, the transformed iron barbie, Si Yu, turned back to glare at him. Those eyes of hers were bloody red, emitting a murderous intent as she continued her attack with no signs of stopping.

The sight of this frightened the judge.

"Shen Ying!" Lonemoon gritted his teeth and turned towards the person beside him. It was all this girl's fault.

"Huh?" Shen Ying was blank. What do you want?

"Master…" Only Yi Qing remained calm as he reminded, "If she don't stop, that man is going to be beaten to death." What's more, her head was filled with anger, so she most likely would not listen to anyone's words. "Oh." Shen Ying finally spoke up, shouting, "Little Green! Stop hitting him."

Everyone present were stunned and immediately froze.

Si Yu slowly turned and looked over, the entirety of her huge frame shaking. She sniffled as an uncontrollable flood of tears came gushing out her eyes. Pointing at the bell on the ground, she wailed, "Sect Master, the bell… bell… My bell… wa…"

Suddenly, the place was filled with Si Yu's grieved wails.

The crowd: "…"

What was with this situation? Why was the winner crying first? Shouldn't the one who was beaten up be crying?

Σ(°△°|||) Shen Ying suddenly felt a little guilty. She jumped over onto the competition stage, tapped Si Yu on her shoulders and said, "Don't cry, don't cry."

"Sect Master." Si Yu sniffled as if having found a pillar to lean on. Her aura of before subsided and she immediately turned back to that gentle and cute girl. "But… but my bell…"

"It's alright. If it's broken, it's broken." Shen Ying took out a piece of candy from her pocket and coaxed her like a child. "You want a sweet?"

"Sect Master, you are giving it to me?!" Her tears stopped as she wore a face of disbelief. "Then… can you gift me a new bell?"

"Sure, I'll get chef to make one later."

"Thank you, Sect Master!"

The two of them finally walked off the stage. Everyone: "…"

What kind of sect was this exactly?!

——————

"Father Niu, let's go for the celebration meal." Shen Ying waved towards the a certain person wallowing in despair in the house.

"Eat your head!" Lonemoon tightened his grip around the cup in his hand and shattered it. He exploded immediately afterward, saying, "What's there to celebrate?!"

Si Yu had become this year's champion of the Golden Core division. The Invincible Sect's reputation had spread throughout the entire Upper Azure World. Despite this, however, Lonemoon was not the least bit happy and even wanted to curse: son of a bitch!

The reason was because with Si Yu's battle, the entire Upper Azure World knew that all of Invincible Sect's disciples were Body Cultivators. There weren't many who liked Body Cultivators for starters, and now with this kind of promotion, their road to success was completely blocked. There was no need to have hope that anyone would want to join the Invincible Sect; after all, there were easier paths of cultivation. Nobody would want to do things the hard way and get struck dead in the process of body cultivation.

Originally, he had instructed the nine girls in advance to only use sword techniques in battle when he brought them to compete. For one, it was because they were indeed proficient in sword techniques, and two, it was to hide the fact that they were Body Cultivators. Even if someone realized their bodies were stronger than the normal, they would still only think that they were Sword Cultivators.

Alas, in the end…

Who freaking knew that Body Cultivators had a second mode? Bursting into muscles in battle and immediately transforming into an iron barbie?

He was  being  freaking  toyed  with,  right?  He  felt  like  the heavens had begun to lose their love for him.

(╯‵□′)╯(┻━┻

Son of a bitch!

Chapter 74: An Unscrupulous Merchant Citizen

True to their reputation of being the richest family in the Upper Azure World, the Yin Family had arranged for the banquet to held in Zheng Feng Restaurant, the largest restaurant in Yin Skycity. Moreover, as soon as it had turned dark, they had sent their disciples to personally invite their guests after having cleared the restaurant of all its customers.

When Shen Ying arrived, Xuan Yuanyu and the Yin Family's patriarch, Yin Feng, were already waiting at the entrance. Both parties had seen each other at the finals during the day, but had not had the chance to interact. Unlike the patriarchs of  the other three aristocratic families, Yin Feng looked especially… friendly. His smile never once left his face.

Seeing that Shen Ying's group had arrived, the both of them quickly went to greet them. Stepping forward, Xuan Yuanyu saluted Shen Ying first and said, "Great Immortal." He then turned his head to make the introductions. "This is Yin Feng, the patriarch of the Yin Family."

"Honored guests, all of you must be tired after your journey," Yin Feng said, the smile on his face deepening. "Good evening!" Shen Ying took a look at the restaurant before her and waved her hand happily.

"Good evening, Fellow Daoist." Yin Feng glanced at the people behind her and continued, "I was busy during the day and did not have the chance to congratulate your disciples for winning the first prize in the Golden Core division. Truly, great masters turn out skilled disciples."

Lonemoon froze at this comment, feeling as if someone had shot an arrow through his knee.

"Has the banquet started?" Shen Ying was not interested in this kind of business small talk and went straight to the main topic!

"How could I have started the banquet before my guests arrived?" replied Yin Feng, stepping back. "Thank you for coming, Fellow Daoists. This way, please."

Shen Ying was really a little hungry and was just about to follow him inside, when she saw a familiar-looking sign. All at once she froze in her steps. She felt the faint sensation of perspiration rolling down her face.

"Master? What's wrong…?" Yi Qing, who was behind her, was about to ask what the matter was when he too froze after seeing the sign.

Written on the sign in gold lettering were the words: Shen Ying and Dogs Denied Entry!

"…"

Noticing that they had halted suddenly, Yin Feng's eyes followed the direction of their gaze to the sign. With a laugh, he immediately explained, "Oh, this sign was put up especially for a few rogue cultivators. A few years ago, a restaurant under our Yin Family's name reported that these three cultivators not only left without paying their bill but also tried to escape pursuit. So this sign was put up to serve as their punishment and warning. The person whose name is on the sign is the main culprit."

The group of three accused of said dine and dash crime: "…" Unscrupulous merchant!

"Huh?" Xuan Yuanyu glanced curiously at the sign and got a shock. "Why is this name similar to…"

Before he could finish his sentence, however, he suddenly felt three cold and piercing glares shoot directly towards him, freezing the words in his mouth.

Why was the Great Immortal's gaze suddenly so terrifying?

Did he say anything wrong?

(⊙_⊙)

"This sign has been put up for more than a year. It is an old matter not worth mentioning. Please step inside!" The still smiling Yin Feng was unaware that something was amiss with his guests. But just as he stepped into the restaurant, he suddenly seemed to recall something. Looking at Shen Ying, he asked, "By the way, I only know that you are all from Invincible Sect. May I know the names of my Fellow Daoists?" "Er…" Shen Ying's mouth twitched. She glanced at the sign next to her and then after a while, she answered, "My name is… Qing… Qing what-was-it?" She nudged the chef next to her.

A certain chef immediately got her meaning and whispered a reminder, "Yi Qing."

"Yes, Yi Qing!" she continued gravely. "My name is Yi Qing."

"My name is Lonemoon!"

Lonemoon: "…" Shit! Damn!

Yin Feng was stunned. Yi Qing, Lonemoon! Weren't these the two sword cultivators that had broken into the Xuan Yuan Family's home a year ago? He suddenly understood why Xuan Yuanyu was treating these people so well!

"So you are Supremacy Yi Qing and Supremacy Lonemoon!" Thinking that he now understood the true situation, Yin Feng turned to look at the remaining person on the right and asked, "And this Supremacy is?"

Lonemoon's mouth twitched. Bloody hell! All the names had been taken up, so what was left for him to say? Turning his head to glare at his two fellow mates, he replied through clenched teeth, "Niu Huayun!" Fortunately, he still had a real name. These two disloyal scum!

"Supremacy Niu." Yin Feng nodded. "Please proceed inside."

Xuan Yuanyu was the only one who looked bewildered. What was happening? Why did they suddenly change their names collectively? The Great Immortal even changed her name to her disciples? Was she dissatisfied with today's banquet and thus deliberately withheld her real name from the Yin Family?

The Great Immortal's mind is a mystery!

Σ(°△°|||)

On entering the restaurant, they found themselves in another world. The interior was swirling with immortal mist and oppressive Spirit Qi. The scenery continuously changed as they strolled along. It was as if they had come to a famous scenic spot rather than a restaurant.

Yin Feng led the group to the center of a peach forest. They saw that many tables and chairs had been set up at the spot in front of them. The tables were laden with a variety of food— Shen Ying's eyes lit up immediately at the sight.

There were about a dozen servant girls standing at the tables. When they arrived, a man in blue rushed forwards eagerly to greet them . He was very tall and had the figure of a model, but… it was just that his face… there were no words that could adequately describe it. Covered in red and purple splotches, it was uniquely kaleidoscopic.

"Father!" exclaimed the man who came running over. He first saluted Shen Ying and her group. "Greetings, Supremacies."

After that was done, he immediately turned to look at the girls behind them. His eyes suddenly brightened and, turning to face the second disciple in the group, he said, "Miss Si Yu, we meet again." Embarrassed, Si Yu instinctively bowed her head and hid herself behind Yu Hong.

"Junior Fei, didn't I ask you to rest in your room? Why did you come out?" Smiling awkwardly, Yin Feng introduced him, "This is my son Yuanfei." He then gave his son a meaningful glance.

"Father is entertaining guests, so how can I not come out to greet them. Ladies and gentlemen, please sit." Showing no intention of leaving, Yin Yuanfei smiled even more… colorfully as he led everyone to their seats, but his line of sight never left Si Yu. He seemed alight with passion.

Something was brewing!

"Who is he?" Shen Ying asked the chef next to her.

"Yin Yuanfei. He came in second at the Golden Core finals," Yi Qing replied. He then added, "That guy who was thrashed by Si Yu during the day." "Oh…" A sudden image of a figure bashed up so badly that it was shaking uncontrollably came to Shen Ying's mind. She looked sympathetically at the person whose face had yet to recover. "Today's youngsters have strong tastes!" Love at first bash?

Shen Ying wanted to gossip again, but she was too hungry.

Having sat down, she concentrated on devouring her food.

Meanwhile, Yin Feng, seated at the head of the table, started on his business spiel.

Shen Ying seldom talked when she was eating except for basic responses such as 'ah', 'oh', 'hmm'. As for Yi Qing, he hardly talked to anybody except for Shen Ying; he kept his words as short and concise as possible. During the entire dinner, he only focused on silently pushing the food in front him towards Shen Ying's side of the table. Moreover, Shen Ying's nine disciples were almost a generation lower in rank compared to the others.

Therefore, Lonemoon was practically the only one who responded to Yin Feng during the dinner. Yin Feng had originally intended to pry some information out of these people as well as build a good relationship with them. Although he was a cultivator, he was also half a merchant. He had thought it would be easy to find out about their background, but he hadn't counted on dealing with someone like Lonemoon. When an unscrupulous half-merchant met an unscrupulous former merchant citizen, the outcome of such a face-off was not hard to predict.

Within the space of an hour, not only did Yin Feng  not manage to get any information out of his counterparts, but was instead completely out-foxed by them. Both parties had settled on terms of an initial deal whereby Yin Feng would pay twice the market price for the long-term purchase of spirit herbs while the Xuan Yuan Family would refine the herbs into elixir pills for free.

By the time Yin Feng realized he had gotten the shorter end of the stick, Lonemoon was holding onto the contract stamped with both parties' personal hand prints.

"Brother Yin, Brother Xuan Yuan, let's toast to our happy future collaboration." Lonemoon happily gripped Yin Feng's hand, the very picture of a crack businessman. Xuan Yuanyu: "…"

Yin Feng: "…"

Where are we? What did we do?

Chapter 75: Advice for Relationships

"Thank you for hosting us, Patriarch Yin. It's getting late, so we shan't hold you back any longer." Lonemoon put down the contract and raised his wineglass to toast the host who was seated at the main seat.

"Ah! Huh?" Yin Feng had still been silent, thinking about the unequal contract, yet Lonemoon was already planning to leave.

"Let's go." Lonemoon pulled Shen Ying to her feet.

"Oh." Having eaten her fill, Shen Ying dusted off her hands and got to her feet. "That, what's-your-name… thank you. Goodbye!"

Yin Feng had no choice but to send his guests off. There was no use regretting. He could only put on a smile and walk his guests to the front door.

"Farewell to the two of you, Patriarchs!" Lonemoon cupped his fists and put on his best businessman smile. "Take care, Fellow Daoists!"

The few of them were just about to walk to the transportation array. Yin Yuanfei, who had been hovering around Sister Si Yu the entire night, suddenly exclaimed, "Miss Si Yu!"

Everyone paused and turned around. Si Yu subconsciously frowned, asking, "Is there anything else?"

"This… this…" Yin Yuanfei blushed. He couldn't bear to let Si Yu go, yet he couldn't think of any reason to ask her to stay.

He was born into the Yin Family and was the son of the patriarch no less. He also possessed a rare lightning-elemental Spirit Root. Having true talent, his cultivation journey had been smooth and he had always been the best disciple. There was hardly anyone who was his match in his sect and even among the four aristocratic families. It was for the first time that he experienced being on the lower hand, and the one who put him in that position was a female cultivator who was at the age when she was ready for romance. Naturally, she had moved his heart. However, she looked frail and was not at all interested in him romantically. "You… you be careful on the way home. First thing tomorrow morning… I'll go to your small yard to look for you."

"What do you want to come to our small yard for?" Si Yu stepped forward unhappily. She wasn't that familiar with this man.

Yin Yuanfei hesitated and blushed even redder. He nervously scratched his head, then thought of a reasonable excuse. "Well… isn't the Yin Family going to buy Invincible Sect's spirit herbs? I'll… I'll go down tomorrow to deliver the deposit!"

Yin Feng: "…"

Xuan Yuanyu: "…"

Prodigal!

Wow, we still have this silly teammate. Lonemoon celebrated inside his heart. He hadn't intended to charge a deposit, but now he rushed forward and said, "I'll get ready to host Young Master Yin tomorrow then."

He did not want to give the Yin Family a chance to go back on their word, so he turned around and rushed everyone away once he had finished speaking. Yin Yuanfei was left standing there, waiting for the group of people to disappear into the horizon. His expression was one of admiration.

—————————————

Ever since the competition amongst the sects had ended, Lonemoon seemed to have found his new life goal. He made everyone else stay for a few more days in Yin Skycity. Each day, he went out early in the morning and came back late at night, but nobody knew what he was up to. It had been a long time since he threatened Shen Ying with her allowance.

Shen Ying was utterly bored.

"Sect… Sect Master." Sister Si Yu suddenly walked into the room. Her eyes were troubled and she was hesitant. "I… I have something to ask you." "Alright!" Shen Ying was bored anyway. She patted the seat next to her and said, "Sit. Do you want some melon seeds?"

"Thank you, Sect Master." Si Yu respectfully bowed to her and sat down excitedly.

"What's the matter?"

"I…" She suddenly lifted her head to look at Yi Qing who was next to Shen Ying, and then she bowed her head in embarrassment again.

Shen Ying understood what she had to do. She cleared her throat, saying, "Er… Chef, can you go and prepare lunch?"

"Master, it's not yet lunchtime." Yi Qing stayed rooted at his spot, glaring at Si Yu. No way was he leaving.

"Then can you make some pastries?" "I have already made pastries."

"Then get me some tea."

"The tea in your room is still hot."

"…"

The corner of Shen Ying's mouth twitched. She had no choice but to make it clear. "Just go somewhere else for awhile. We want to talk about female matters."

Yi Qing hesitated, looking wounded. He asked, "Can't your disciple listen?"

"Er…" You're not a girl. "This is an order. Listen."

"… Yes, Master." Yi Qing started to walk out, but not without turning back every few steps. Just before he stepped out of the door, he glared at Si Yu coldly. Little girl, trying to steal my master again!

"Go ahead. What's the matter?" Shen Ying asked after waiting for Yi Qing to reach a distance away from the room.

"Sect Master." Si Yu bowed her head. After a moment, she whispered, "In the future… will I never be able to meet Young Master Yin again?"

"Young Master Yin?" Who's that?

"The young master of the Yin Family, Yin Yuanfei."

"Oh…" That masochist. So this is a relationship problem. "What's wrong, you don't like him?" Ever since the banquet, Yin Yuanfei had been coming up to their sect every single day to look for Si Yu and giving rotten excuses to take her out. At first, he had wanted to deliver the deposit. After that, he said he gave too little deposit. Then, he wanted to pay the full sum… Father Niu really likes this young man!

╮(╯▽╰)╭

"Young Master Yin… is great." She lowered her head further. "It's just that we're not suited for each other. After all, I used to be a human cauld-"

"Little Green!" Shen Ying frowned and interrupted her immediately. "No one can change their past but you can change your future. I think you're great. You need to think you're great too so that other people will think you're great. You must learn to love yourself before you can love others."

"But…"

"Sometimes, it's not good to over-complicate things." Shen Ying stuffed a pastry into her mouth and continued, "As long as you're happy, you should do what you want. If he minds your past, then he's not worth your effort. If you like him, then get together. Otherwise, split up. What's the big deal?" "… Is that so?"

"Of course!" Shen Ying nodded furiously. "I've gone through this before. It's normal for a man and a woman to get together and separate. You just have to learn to take things lightly. We can't be too inflexible and stubborn. We have long lives ahead of us, so we have to try things out sooner or later. You're still young and that's why you're still struggling with whether you should even like him."

"Sect Master, have you been cultivating for a long time?"

"Of course, I've been cultivating for almost thirty years."

"Thirty?" Si Yu hesitated. "Sect Master, your words are so deep. I have been cultivating for 60 to 70 years, yet I still cannot fully understand."

"Er…" Shen Ying paused to clear her throat. "Er, you should work harder. When you grow up, you won't struggle so much with whether you should like a person or not anymore. You'll be more concerned about whether you should go for him." "This… is this possible?" Si Yu felt like she was seeing a whole new world.

"Of course. Trust me, this is how relationships work."

"But…" Si Yu's eyes had lit up. "He is the young master of the Yin Family, after all. If I offend him, would it be detrimental to our sect?"

"Don't worry, I'm here. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Okay. You're right, Sect Master. I understand now!" She had renewed her determination as she said this. She stood up aggressively, saying, "I'm going over right this second!" She immediately walked out the door.

"Er…"

Wait a moment! Where is she going?

What did I just say?

(⊙o⊙)

Chapter 76: The Yu Family's Escaped Slaves

After Si Yu stepped out of the door, she stayed out all afternoon. Shen Ying got worried and asked Radish and Yu Hong to go out to search for her, but none of them came back even after the sun set and Lonemoon returned. She wondered whether something had happened.

The more Shen Ying thought about it, the  more uncomfortable she felt. Could it be the masochist became angry after getting rejected and decided to kidnap them?

"Go and find out if anything related to the young master of the Yin Family happened today," Lonemoon instructed one of the girls. He too felt that something was amiss.

Within five minutes, the disciple came back running through the door. "Sect Master, the young master of the Yin Family got into a scuffle with someone this afternoon. They got into a huge fight. I heard it's the people from the Soul Chasing Tower."

"Soul Chasing  Tower!"  Lonemoon  exclaimed,  standing  up immediately.

"Who are they?" Yi Qing asked.

"They're an organization that's neither good nor evil." Lonemoon frowned. "The people in that organization are proficient in the hidden walking technique. Even high-level cultivators can't easily detect them. I've heard that their information network expands across the Three Azure Realms and they specialize in the private sale of secrets from various sects. As long as you can afford it, you can find out what you want to. Their main building is located in the west of the city."

"What did they capture our disciples for?" Yi Qing frowned.

"Maybe the girls won a huge sum of money, causing others to become envious!" Lonemoon tutted. He twirled the flute in his hands. "But even if they're jealous, they should think  about their own capabilities. Do they really think our Invincible Sect can be so easily bullied?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned to Shen Ying and said, "Shen Ying, Yi Qing and I will make a trip to the Soul Chasing Tower. We'll be right back."

"Yeah, okay." Shen Ying nodded. "But Little…"

Before she could finish, however, Lonemoon and Yi Qing disappeared out the door and headed for the west of the city. They were ready to sort things out.

"…"

A while later…

"Little White."

"Yes, Sect Master."

"When Little Red and Radish went out, didn't they say they were headed for the east of the city?" "I think… they did."

"Then who are Lonemoon and Yi Qing trying to find?"

"…"

——————

Shen Ying had just been thinking about whether she should chase after Lonemoon and Yi Qing when somebody appeared outside the door. This person was wearing the standard blue robe worn by people from the Yin Family. He looked about forty to fifty years old and very familiar.

"Greetings, Sect Master Yi!" The blue-robed man bowed to Shen Ying.

"Huh?" Shen Ying hesitated a moment before remembered the matter of being blacklisted. She quickly regained her composure and said, "Oh, you're referring to me. Yes, I'm Sect Master Yi." "I am the shopkeeper of the Yin Family's Zheng Feng Restaurant," the man hurriedly began, looking very anxious. "My patriarch has instructed me to invite you, Sect Master Yi, to the Yu Family's house in Huayuan City."

"The Yu Family?" Shen Ying's expression went black. "Go where and for what?"

"Our young master, Si Yu, and Miss Yu Hong are all at the Yu Family's house!"

"What?" Weren't they kidnapped by people from the Soul Chasing Tower?

"I am also not too sure of what exactly is going on, but it does not seem like a small matter. My patriarch is on the way over right now. If we are late…"

"Let's go!"

Before he could finish, Shen Ying pulled the shopkeeper along by the arm and headed out of the door and out of the city in the direction that he had pointed out. Yin Tian Town and Huayuan City weren't far apart. Shen Ying ran so quickly that she arrived at the Yu Family's small house in an hour.

At the door, she bumped into Yin Feng and Xuan Yuanyu.

"Fellow Daoist Yi." Yin Feng looked surprised when  he  saw Shen Ying. How did you make it here so quickly?

"Great Immortal." Xuan Yuanyu's expression was one of utter surprise as well. He glanced at the shopkeeper next to her who was puking his guts out at that moment.

"What happened?" Shen Ying asked.

"The Yu Family said Yuanfei stopped them from catching the slaves who had escaped from their family." Yin Feng frowned as he spoke. He raised his head to look at Shen Ying, then lowered his voice and said, "Right now, Yuanfei, Si Yu and Yu Hong are inside. This concerns your sect, so I sent someone to inform you, Sect Master Yi. We'll only find out what is going on when we go inside."

When he finished speaking, he turned to enter the small house. Shen Ying followed suit.

"Great Immortal Shen," Xuan Yuanyu rushed forward and called out to her.

"Yes?" Shen Ying turned towards him.

He forced a smile and said, "Well.. the patriarch of the Yu Family has always been a rash one and he is unaware of your capabilities. He might offend you inside. Please be patient with him, Great Immortal."

He had heard that Yin Feng had informed her and hurried over in case something happened. They were fellow aristocratic families after all. After what Xuan Yuanyu's family had been through, Xuan Yuanyu thought it appropriate to come  down and plead on behalf of the Yin Family. Shen Ying tilted her head, asking, "He's that ignorant?"

"Er… yes!" Xuan Yuanyu admitted. "So… will Great Immortal, please… please withhold your might?"

Shen Ying hesitated and then nodded. "Okay! I promise you.

No matter what happens, I'll reason with them first."

"Thank you, Great Immortal! Thank you, Great Immortal!" Xuan Yuanyu heaved a great sigh of relief.

Perhaps because the patriarchs of the Yin Family and Xuan Yuan Family were both present, the three of them entered without anyone stopping them. They walked straight into the front room.

"You're talking nonsense!" They could hear Sister Si Yu's sharp exclamation from afar.

"You still dare to deny it at this point!" A formidable Soul Formation's oppressive voice resounded from inside the room. Just inside the door, Yin Yuanfei and Si Yu looked as though they were being forced to kneel.

Yin Feng rushed forward and pulled the two youngsters to their feet. He anxiously checked that his son was unharmed, then angrily turned to the man opposite from them. "Yu Family Patriarch, what is the meaning of this?"

"Brother Yin, you're here." The Yu Family Patriarch smiled. He immediately put away his sword and scanned the three people who had just joined them. His eyes rested on Xuan Yuanyu as he asked, "Why is even Brother Xuan Yuanyu here?"

"Sect Master!" Si Yu immediately pushed Yin Yuanfei aside and rushed to Shen Ying's side upon seeing her. She tugged at Shen Ying's sleeve and cried in frustration, "Senior Sister Hong… they took Big Sister Hong!"

Shen Ying frowned and rubbed at her forehead. She pulled Si Yu behind her and scanned the people in the room before lowering her voice and asking, "What happened?" Xuan Yuanyu trembled seeing her like this. Fortunately, he had spoken to her before they entered.

He turned around and saw that there were several people seated in the room. Their leader was Yu Haiheng who was accompanied by five cultivators of different ages. All of them were Traveling Immortals from the Yu Family.

The Yu Family Patriarch, Yu Haiheng, ignored Shen Ying. He could not even be bothered to acknowledge her.

Yin Feng angrily glared at Yu Haiheng and said, "Patriarch Yu, are you not going to explain what happened? How has my Yin Family offended your Yu Family that you would put my son in such a situation?"

"Patriarch Yin, you are mistaken." Yu Haiheng laughed humorlessly, not looking the slightest bit afraid. "We are not going against your Yin Family, but the young master of your family insists on defending this escaped slave. We had no choice but to drag your son here as well." "You're spouting nonsense. Who's the escaped slave from the Yu Family?" Yin Yuanfei blurted this out before Yin Feng could respond. "Who doesn't know that Si Yu is the Golden Core division champion of that recent competition? Since when was she a slave of the Yu Family?"

Chapter 77: Let's be Reasonable

"I also just found out that they were the missing escaped slaves from a branch of my Yu Family." Yu Haiheng gazed at Si Yu who stood behind Shen Ying, his eyes filled with malice. "She and the girl called Yu Hong are former human cauldrons who belonged to Perfected Nascent Soul Zhen Xiang, a branch member of the Yu Family."

Human cauldron!

Everyone was shocked as they turned to look over at Si Yu.

"Perfected One Zhen Xiang suddenly died a year ago, but his body was nowhere to be found." Yu Haiheng continued, "Following his death, the nine human cauldrons that were under him also vanished. According to the person who last saw Zhen Xiang, he did not return from chasing the traitor  who stole his Dharma artifact. He was without a doubt harmed by those nine human cauldrons, so as the patriarch of the family, of course I have to help my people seek justice."

"It's obvious that Zhen Xiang colluded with Fiendish Cultivators and tried to silence us," Si Yu rebutted loudly. "In that case, you admit that you are an escaped slave of the Yu Family?" Yu Haiheng sneered.

"You…"

He then turned to look straight at Shen Ying and said sarcastically, "What a coincidence it is. Nine human cauldrons escaped from our Yu Family, and your Invincible Sect came to the recent competition with nine disciples. Now look, Sect Master… don't you think that you should give my Yu Family an explanation?"

Shen Ying's eyes turned cold and her expression grew solemn.

"Patriarch Yu, do not spout nonsense!" The more Xuan Yuanyu heard, the more he trembled. He quickly stepped forward and rushed up before a certain someone who was seeking death, shouting, "You said that the nine who escaped from the Yu Family were human cauldrons, but look at Si Yu. She is the strongest Golden Core cultivator. Everyone knows the talents of human cauldrons, so how could she have won the competition if that were true? You must have made a mistake!" "Yes, yes!" Yin Yuanfei seemed to finally react and rebutted, "Moreover, Si Yu is a Body Cultivator. I have never heard of there being Body Cultivators in the Yu Family?"

"What are you guys trying to say?" Yu Haiheng became angry as if unhappy with these people supporting their arguments. "Are you saying that I could possibly make such a mistake as the Yu Family Patriarch? Besides, she has just admitted it herself."

"Patriarch Yu, it's best to check thoroughly." Xuan Yuanyu glanced over at Shen Ying's gloomy face and tried to persuade Yu Haiheng, desperately sending signals at him. "Moreover, she's a Golden Core cultivator, so how could she defeat someone at the Perfected Nascent Soul stage?"

In reality, all the three families present knew that the Yu Family's purpose was not to capture some escaped slave. It was just that the sudden appearance of the Invincible Sect which possessed such formidable capabilities had driven the families to start scheming.

The Upper Azure World had an abundance of resources. For the aristocratic families, there were only two ways to handle a new rising power like this—either befriend or suppress. It was obvious that all three of them, the Yin, Yu and Xuan  Yuan Family were trying to pull strings and befriend them. Because the Yu Family had missed out on the initiative, they had chosen the other approach.

They were attempting to suppress this small sect while it had not yet become established and stable so as to prevent future troubles and maintain the unique position of the aristocratic families. Since they had chanced upon this opportunity, naturally, they would not give lee way and suppress the Invincible Sect. If it were in the past, the other families would have come to a mutual understanding and perhaps even given a helping hand.

However!

The sect master of Invincible Sect was a Great Immortal!

(๑ŐдŐ)b

The one who had beaten up the five Traveling Immortals so badly when she had just entered the Upper World and almost tore down the Xuan Yuan Family in one day—Great Immortal Shen! What's more, no one had a grasp on how powerful she actually was. Up to this point in time, he had not even dared to think about retaliating!

If Yu Haiheng thought that such a person was a good target to bully, then the Yu Family would end up in pitiful straits!

"Hmph, who knew what kind of means they resorted to?" The Yu Family still did not let it go. Yu Haiheng glanced at  Si  Yu, saying, "Don't forget that  Zhen  Xiang  had  lost  a  Dharma treasure and she suddenly became a Body Cultivator. Isn't this proof? On top of that, the Senior Sister that she mentioned has the Yu surname! I have already tested her bloodline—she  is indeed a descendant of the Yu Family's collateral kin and one of the missing escaped slaves. As for Zhen Xiang's  death,  even  if they weren't the culprit, they also…"

"I did it." Shen Ying could not stand listening to it anymore as she raised her hand, saying, "That scum was thrashed by me."

Everyone was shocked as they turned to look at her in unison.

The members of the Yu Family sneered. Xuan Yuanyu was stunned. How could the Great Immortal admit it?! Was this the prelude to a frontal clash?

"Great Immortal, you… did a great job in thrashing  him!" Xuan Yuanyu changed what he was about to say, tenaciously maintaining a serious look on his face. "That Perfected One Zhen Xiang must not have been a good person for you to take him out personally."

Yu Haiheng: "…" This Xuan Yuanyu has a screw loose, right?

"That scum forced people to become human cauldrons, used them to test medicine and poisons, and even used living people to refine pills. He was indeed not a good person!" Shen Ying spoke the truth.

"What, refining pills using living people!" Yin Feng was stunned. This was something that Fiendish Cultivators would do.

"That's all nonsense." Yu Haiheng panicked as if not having expected her to respond in this manner. "Zhen Xiang was a branch family member who was known for being friendly and amicable. Who would believe that he'd done such things?"

"I believe it!" Xuan Yuanyu immediately raised his hand to show his stand.

"…" Yu Haiheng was dumbfounded.

"I believe that Great… Sect Master Yi would not  malign people. Since she has already disposed of him, he must have committed a huge wrong."

"Xuan Yuanyu!" Yu Haiheng was fuming, unsure of why Xuan Yuanyu would rather offend the Yu Family and stand by the side of the Invincible Sect.

"Master Yu, this is a misunderstanding. Quickly release Invincible Sect's disciples, will you?" I am trying to save you dude!

Xuan Yuanyu's underlying message did not get across to Yu Haiheng. Yu Haiheng sneered and looked directly at Yin Feng, asking, "Does Master Yin also think that Zhen Xiang deserved to die?"

"This…" Yin Feng glanced back and forth between Xuan Yuanyu and Yu Haiheng. Wasn't this problem between the Yu Family and the Invincible Sect? Why did the two of them begin fighting first? He felt some hesitation, not knowing which side to stand on, but in the end he looked over at his son's expectant face and said with a sigh, "I also believe in Sect Master Yi's character. If there really was someone in the Yu Family committing such evil deeds, Master Yu should really thank Sect Master Yi for helping you to clean your sect."

"All of you…" Yu Haiheng was obviously unhappy with this outcome. His intention to suppress the Invincible Sect had not only ended with no gains, it had also dragged out an ugly matter from his family into the open. "Even if that's the case, they are still the escaped slaves of my Yu Family."

"Master Yu, that's not right," Xuan Yuan Family interrupted. "Zhen Xiang really did commit such evil deeds, so he cannot be considered to be of a decent sect and naturally would not be considered as one of the Yu Family's people. The human cauldrons under him are also no longer the family slaves of the Yu Family, so how are there still escaped slaves?"

"There still isn't a definitive conclusion for this matter. A one- sided story is insufficient to use as evidence." Yu Haiheng still did not want to let it go. "Since Zhen Xiang's body is nowhere to be found at present, how can we be sure that he did practice fiendish arts?"

"It's in Upper Azure Town," Shen Ying replied. "That guy should still be beneath the ground. You guys can go and dig a little. You should be able to dig up his body." She then pondered for a bit before adding, "Yeah, maybe you need to dig deeper."

Underground!

Xuan Yuanyu shivered, recalling certain images, and he suddenly did not feel like asking what had happened in Upper Azure Town anymore.

Yu Haiheng's face went completely black with no argument to refute her. The Yu Family had already received some news with the matters regarding Zhen Xiang. They had only been using it as an excuse to suppress the Invincible Sect, but if they were to find Zhen Xiang's body, because a Nascent Soul's corpse did not rot, a check of the meridians would clear everything up.

"Since the truth has not been investigated, this matter shall be laid to rest for today." Yin Feng took a step forward. "Master Yu, please release the two disciples of Invincible Sect."

"Yes, Master Yu, quickly let them go!" Xuan Yuanyu urged.

Delighted, Si Yu finally relaxed her nerves and looked over at Shen Ying with excitement.

"Right." Shen Ying thought of something and she turned over to look at Yu Haiheng, slowly saying, "I don't care about their pasts, but no matter what you find out in the future about Little Green or Little Red, they are the girls of my Invincible Sect. You can't just capture them like this! I don't have a good temper— you better remember that."

What was that supposed to mean? A small sect master threatening the Yu Family! Yu Haiheng was so mad and was about to stand up when Xuan Yuanyu quickly went over to hold him back, smiling and nodding at Shen Ying.

"Of course, of course! This is a misunderstanding, so there's no need to make a fuss about it. Master Yu, quickly release the other disciple of the Invincible Sect."

He desperately winked at Yu Haiheng who finally understood what he meant. With a begrudging sneer, he finally suppressed his anger and signalled the Traveling Immortal elder at the side. The other party nodded and with a flash, disappeared from the hall.

Moments later, he reappeared to throw a person to the floor with a thud to land next Shen Ying.

In the few hours that she had been gone, Yu Hong's original bright and beautiful clothing had been stained in dark red blood. There were wounds on her body and face which were so deep that the bones were visible. Her previously intricate hairstyle had been completely messed up, making her look extremely miserable. "Senior Sister!" Si Yu quickly rushed over and helped her up carefully.

Yu Hong raised her head towards Shen Ying at the side and her eyes lit up as she softly called out, "Sect Master." She opened her mouth try to show a smile to not let Sheng Yin worry, but the wounds on her face immediately began to bleed.

That was the last straw for Shen Ying—something inside of her exploded out.

She raised her head to look up with a laugh.

"Heh… I really don't like being reasonable!"

"Great Immortal, no!"

It was too late, however; the next moment, Shen Ying was already behind Yu Haiheng. …

Xuan Yuanyu's heart skipped a beat. It's over!

Chapter 78: An Eye for an Eye

In less than the time taken to burn half an incense stick, Xuan Yuanyu and Yin Feng had witnessed a luxurious courtyard and half an immortal city reduced to complete ruins. There was not one intact wall to be found in the entire Yu Family courtyard. Where the hall once stood, only a crater of several tens of feet wide remained.

Xuan Yuanyu patted his chest to calm his pounding heart. Looking at this sorry state of affairs, he suddenly felt thankful. When the Great Immortal had come to the Xuan Yuan family the other time, she must have meant it when she had spoken of wanting to discuss something with him; she truly did not have any serious intention of resorting to violence.

Turning around, Xuan Yuanyu looked at a lone  figure standing in the middle of it all who had stopped her bashing. He shivered a little, praying for the blessings of his ancestors.

Patting off the dust from her hands, Shen Ying turned and walked towards the pile of ruins and bending down, she dragged out the person buried underneath. The man dragged out was half-dead and completely unrecognizable as a human being. She pressed her foot down on him. There was a sound of something cracking.

She asked quietly, "Tell me, where's my radish?"

Yu Haiheng had not yet regained his faculties. His whole body felt so painful that it had become numb. He could only feel something rapidly dissipating from his body. As someone who had been at the Soul Formation stage for many years, this was his first time learning that a person could undo a lifetime of cultivation just by using their fist. Now he was facing that very person again, and she was wearing a very impatient look on her face. Fear overwhelmed him. Was… she really only just a cultivator?

After a while, Yu Haiheng finally realized that she was asking him a question.

"What… what radish? You… who are you?"

Shen Ying frowned and grew even more impatient. Still speaking in that lazy drawl of hers, she answered, "You went to so much trouble planning this whole farce today, so don't tell me it was all to snatch a disciple from my sect. I didn't question you about it just now, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid. Where's Radish?"

"I don't know any…"

Not waiting for him to finish, Shen Ying slammed her foot down—immediately, a series of cracking sounds could be heard and a column of blood spurted out from Yu Haiheng mouth.

"Last chance. Where is the radish?" asked Shen Ying, narrowing her eyes, her entire being giving off a murderous vibe.

Yu Haiheng suddenly felt as if his Primordial Spirit was being torn apart and even his vision was becoming blurry. What radish? But he really hadn't taken any radish from her?

Wait a moment! Could it be…

His heart  sank,  and  after  a  moment  he  seemed  to  recall something. Spitting out a few mouthfuls of blood, he weakly pulled out a spirit beast bag beside him using all his strength.

Just as the seal on the bag was opened, something green suddenly emerged from it.

"Ji…" The radish rushed headlong into Shen Ying's arms. It seemed to be suffering from a terrible grievance, squeaking urgently, "Ji ji ji…"

Shen Ying lifted it up and looked at the still squeaking vegetable. "Why did you become like this? Why don't you change into human form?"

"Ji… Ji… Ji…" The radish seemed even more aggrieved, pointing to the man on the ground and waving the leaves on its head desperately.

"You're not able to manifest?"

"Ji!" Radish nodded. Suddenly, as if recalling something, it pitifully reached out one of its leaves towards her, all the while quivering and squeaking, "Ji… Ji… Ji…"

Looking at it closely, Shen Ying saw that the middle section of the leaf, which was previously long and luscious, had been broken off. Green sap oozed from the broken tip.

"You're injured?"

"Ji…"

"Is it painful?"

"Ji…"

Looking down at the man on the ground, she asked, "Is he the one?"

"Ji… Ji…!" It nodded. Shen Ying's expression hardened again. Looking down at the man who was still trembling, she turned to Xuan Yuanyu, who had been watching from the sidelines, and asked, "Vegetable Family Patriarch, do you have a knife with you?"

"Huh?" Taken aback by her question, Xuan Yuanyu looked at the half-dead Yu Haiheng. Isn't this person already a cripple? Don't tell me you plan on chopping him to pieces? "Great… Immortal, he is already in this condition.  I think using a knife on him… is not a good idea?"

"Huh?" A murderous vibe filled the air.

Xuan Yuanyu felt a shiver down his spine. He immediately straightened up and said in a righteous tone, "Yes I have one, Great Immortal! Do you want a long knife, a short knife, a Pudao[1], a scimitar, or a Steed Slaying Saber?" With a wave of his hand, different types of knives appeared which floated around her.

Everyone: "…" What happened to the brotherly bond among aristocratic families? Shen Ying picked one of the knives and then bent down to look Yu Haiheng.

"You… what else are you intending on doing?" Yu Haiheng's eyes widened in horror as he looked at the knife in her hand. "I… I am the patriarch of the Yu Family."

"That was payback for Little Hong, but you've also hurt Radish, so you have to pay a slight price," said Shen Ying. She reached out her hand to grab his head.

Yu Haiheng grew even more terrified and attempted to struggle with all his strength to avoid her hand; however, he could not move an inch. All he could do was scream in terror, "No, don't, stop!"

"Shut up!" I'm just going to shave your head. What's with the screaming?

Yu Haiheng's screams grew increasingly louder, but just as Shen Ying's knife was about to make contact with his head, a white light flashed past and the previously screaming Yu Haiheng vanished into thin air.

The knife struck nothing but air and it fell onto the ground with a clang.

…

Huh?

Startled, Shen Ying got up and looked around her.  She realized that besides Yu Haiheng, the five Yu Family Traveling Immortals, who had been lying on the ground, had vanished as well.

"They've vanished. What… kind of sorcery is this?" Even Xuan Yuanyu, the one who had handed over the knife and thus was the nearest to Yu Haiheng, was stunned. It was incredible that Yu Haiheng had managed to escape under the Great Immortal's very nose. And what was even stranger was that he had not felt any fluctuations of spiritual power. What kind of sorcery was this? Frowning, Shen Ying suddenly raised her head and looked around for a while before turning to the girls of her sect to say, "I'm tired, let's go home!"

"Yes, Sect Master!" The two girls replied in unison and immediately followed behind Shen Ying obediently, their eyes shining brightly. She was indeed worthy of being their sect master—she had displayed her awesome might yet again.

o(╯□╰)o

Yin Yuanfei ran after them and called out in a tone of longing, "Miss Si Yu!"

Si Yu turned back and answered tenderly, "Scram." Don't interrupt my worship of Sect Master.

"OK." A certain someone meekly went back and stood behind Yin Feng.

Yin Feng, who had been dumbstruck during the entire proceedings: "…"

Xuan Yuanyu, who had previous experience in such matters: "…"

Shen Ying: "…"

Little Green's attitude to Yin Yuanfei had changed so quickly that Shen Ying suddenly felt an urge to find out what she had been discussing with Yin Yuanfei.

——————

When Shen Ying returned to the small courtyard with her two sect members, it was already in the middle of the night. Yi Qing and Lonemoon had also returned. They had intended to look for her when they heard the news about them, but it so happened that both parties met each other at the courtyard entrance.

"Master." Yi Qing quickly went forwards to greet Shen Ying and looked her over carefully from head to toe, and only after doing so did he heave a sigh of relief. Thank God she had found her way back.

"You came back from the Yu family? What exactly happened?

Has it been resolved?" inquired Lonemoon.

"Yeah," Shen Ying answered with a yawn. "I'm so sleepy! You ask them!" As she spoke, she plucked off the radish that had fallen asleep on her foot, stuffed it into Father Niu's arms and then flopped herself down on a table. I don't understand why people choose to commit crimes at night. Don't they know that sleep deprivation is harmful?

Lonemoon tried to hold onto the radish, but the radish reflexively slid down from his arms. Shaking out its leaves, it wrapped itself around his foot, never once waking up during the entire process.

Lonemoon's mouth twitched. Scanning the radish with his Divine Perception, he discovered that its Spirit Qi had decreased by a quarter, regressed to the same level before its manifestation. [1]  Like  this  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podao

Chapter 79: Invincible Sect's Master

"What's the matter?"

"It's the Yu Family." Yu Hong stepped forward. Her wounds had healed significantly on the way back thanks to the elixirs she got from Xuan Yuanyu. She explained everything that happened to the Yu Family in detail. The radish's leaves got cut off while it was trying to protect her, causing it to return to its true form. That was how everyone found out what it really was.

"You're saying that the patriarch of the Yu Family suddenly disappeared? And he also brought all those Traveling Immortal elders with him?" Lonemoon frowned as he repeated what she said.

Yu Hong nodded.

Yi Qing's expression darkened. "The Yu Family is the oldest out of all four aristocratic families. Could it be that they really practise mystic arts that people don't know about so that they can escape right before Master's eyes?" "They didn't run away on their own," Shen Ying, who had been lying on the table, suddenly interrupted. "Someone took them away."

"Took them away?" Lonemoon hesitated. "You mean somebody saved them. Who?"

"I don't know." She lay her head back down on the table. "That person didn't appear."

Everybody's expressions darkened. The Yu Family seemed to have many hidden cards… Lonemoon scanned the room and studied each of his disciples. Lowering his voice, he said, "Everybody, pack up your things tonight. We'll return to Invincible Sect tomorrow."

Shen Ying's rampage tonight had been too extreme. In one move, she not only seriously injured five Traveling Immortals from the Yu Family, she even injured the patriarch of the Yu Family. They did not just suffer from torn ligaments and minor fractures—all their bones were nearly shattered. If word got out in the Upper Azure World, there might only be  three aristocratic families left. Although they still don't know who exactly had saved the Yu Family, it seemed like the Yu Family had something up their sleeves.

Yu Hong's and the other sister's cultivation levels were still low after all, and Yin Tian Town was someone else's territory. It would be much safer for them to return to the Demon Realm.

Wait…

Did I forget something? Ah, whatever. It's not important.

The unimportant people from the Soul Chasing Tower that got beaten: "…" Damn it!

——————

Three days later…

"Hey, hey, hey. Have you heard? The Traveling Immortals from the Yu Family got beaten up by the Invincible Sect's Master. Even the Yu Family's patriarch went missing." "What kind of aristocratic family doesn't have Traveling Immortals? I think the Yu Family is in a mess right now. It looks like one out of four of the aristocratic families won't be around anymore."

"Is that  right?  Where  exactly  is  this  Invincible  Sect  from?

How are they able to deal such a blow to the Yu Family?"

"I heard that they have a hidden Great Immortal. No one knows exactly where they are based, but their disciples are either Sword Cultivators or Body Cultivators."

"Are they that powerful? What did the Yu Family do to offend this sect?"

"I heard the Yu Family's patriarch captured two disciples of Invincible Sect and even seriously injured them. He refused to let them go no matter how much the patriarchs of the Yin Family and Xuan Yuan Family tried to persuade them. That's why the sect master of Invincible Sect was angered and took care of the Yu Family." "Is this sect master really that powerful? What kind of person is this?"

"I heard that the sect master's surname is Yi… and her first name is a single word, Qing! Have you heard about what happened with the Xuan Yuan Family a year ago? Sect Master Yi and her subordinate, Lonemoon, were responsible for that too."

"Oh, it's them!"

Shen Ying: "…"

Yi Qing: "…"

Lonemoon: Hmph, I told you not to use other people's names.

Within three days, Invincible Sect became famous throughout the Upper Azure World. They were known for housing a hidden Great Immortal and were now regarded as a top-class immortal sect. Slowly, their ranking creeped above the other immortal sects—they were ranked almost equal with the aristocratic families.

The story of the mysterious sect master 'Yi Qing' and how she defeated the Yu Family spread throughout the Upper Azure World, shocking everyone. The different families and sects were also familiar with Lonemoon who had been visiting them over the past few days to clinch deals. Each time people talked about the Invincible Sect, Lonemoon's name would come up as the businessman-cum-Soul Formation Supremacy who was much better at doing business than the Yin Family. Even the nine disciples of Invincible Sect became famous overnight after Si Yu won the competition amongst the sects. Everyone saw them as the rising stars of the younger generation of cultivators.

Yet despite all this… no one mentioned Shen Ying!

Not a word, a letter, or even a punctuation was dedicated to her!

-_-|||

No one knew who Shen Ying was. Even the Yin Family, who had put up the prohibition signs a year ago, had forgotten her. She could not even get famous for trying to eat a free meal.

It was as if she smashed her own feet with a stone—it was excruciatingly painful!

The Yu Family kept a low profile after what had happened. But while they were low key, they were not completely off the radar. Without any Traveling Immortals to their name, however, their influence in the Upper Azure World dwindled.

Lonemoon initially thought that the Yu Family  would retaliate or argue with them at least once, given their reputation as an aristocratic family. However, it seemed that they had been beaten into full submission.

The Yin Family and Xuan Yuan Family did not take sides or so much as offer to clarify what had happened that night. From their conduct, though, it was obvious they were leaning toward the Invincible Sect's side; otherwise, word wouldn't have spread that the Invincible Sect was a hidden great immortal sect. Nobody saw Yu Haiheng after that night. Even the Yu Family claimed that he was missing. Lonemoon felt uneasy just thinking about the people who had saved Yu Haiheng and the Traveling Immortals. Something in his gut told him that the Yu Family would not submit as easily as the Xuan Yuan Family did. Maybe they did have a big trick up their sleeves. Lonemoon expected them to turn up at their door soon.

He did not think that an unexpected visitor would turn up before the Yu Family did.

"Greetings, elders. The rabbit demon at the bottom of the hill said it discovered a spy trying to break into Invincible Sect," Yu Hong reported.

"A spy?" Lonemoon exclaimed. Could it be someone from the Yu Family? Lonemoon turned to glance at Yi Qing and instructed Yu Hong to prevent any disciple from going down the hill. He immediately flew out with Yi Qing.

From afar, they saw a group of eighth and ninth-stage demons surrounding the array at the entrance of the hill who were shouting at a man dressed in black. The scene looked extremely tense. "What's going on?" Yi Qing and Lonemoon quickly flew down the hill and studied the man in black using their Divine Perception, but a fog obscured their senses so that they had no way of figuring out the man's cultivation level. "Eh?"

This man was not simple.

"Benefactors, you are here," a rabbit demon greeted them, stepping forward. "A few lesser demons spotted this man sneaking around outside the entrance to the hill. That's why we came here to stop him."

Yi Qing nodded and walked toward the man, asking, "Who are you and why are you trespassing in our Invincible Sect?"

The cultivator was surrounded by over ten high-level demons, yet he did not seem in the least bit afraid. He laughed coldly and replied, "I'm the Tower Master of Soul Chasing Tower, Feng Ying. I came here today to seek justice from your sect master. This has nothing to do with the rest of you. I will kill whoever gets in my way!" "Soul Chasing Tower?" Why did this name sound familiar? "Chef, have you heard of them before?"

"No!" Yi Qing shook his head.

"Hmph, it's okay if you haven't heard of us yet. You will definitely remember us in future!" The man smiled arrogantly.

"This… Tower Master Feng?" Did Shen Ying forget to pay for her meal again? "How did our sect master offend you?"

What Tower Master Feng? Don't people normally address me as Tower Master Ying?

Feng Ying's expression turned cold  as  he  became  angrier. "Stop acting dumb! Your sect master Yi Qing come to our Soul Chasing Tower three days ago claiming  to  look  for  someone, then injured over a hundred  of  my  brothers  while  I  wasn't there. Yours is a hidden immortal sect, yet you daren't own up to beating up people?" Three days ago… Soul Chasing Tower… looking for someone?

A bulb lit up in Lonemoon's and Yi Qing's heads. They suddenly remembered what had happened, and the both of them stiffened.

Holy shit! They finally remembered why Soul Chasing Tower sounded so familiar. It was the place they destroyed when they misunderstood who had kidnapped Yu Hong and Si Yu.

Their faces twisted.

What shall we do? Their Master has come up to settle the score! How did he even find this place?

(๑ŐдŐ)b

"The person who invaded our Tower called himself Sword Cultivator Yi Qing. I've asked around and I'm sure that Yi Qing is the sect master of your Invincible Sect." Feng Ying grew more agitated as he spoke. He scanned the demons in front of him and studied the two Soul Formation cultivators. Suppressing his anger, he said, "I'm only here to take revenge. It has nothing to do with the rest of you. Please tell me, where is your sect master?"

The corner of Yi Qing's mouth twisted. Lonemoon took this chance and pointed to the hill to his right without hesitation.

"There!"

"Thank you!" Feng Ying turned around and flew in the direction that Lonemoon had pointed towards.

Yi Qing: "…"

The demons: "…"

"What are you looking at! You had a part to play in this too, okay?" Lonemoon turned around to glare at Yi Qing. "Besides, she'll be alright." Yi Qing felt as though he had just betrayed his master.

Chapter 80: Portable System

Shen Ying was watering the radish. Ever since it had returned from Yin Tian Town, the radish had stayed in its vegetable plot and refused to come out. Perhaps due to the mental trauma, it remained in the form of a radish, not turning into a human, even though its Spirit Qi had already recovered and its leaves had grown out.

"Radish, why do you keep staying in that hole? Quickly transform into a human." Shen Ying persuaded the radish earnestly while watering it.

"Ji!" Indeed, Little Missy still likes my absolute  beautiful looks.

"If you don't change into human form, there won't be enough people doing the cleaning!"

"…" Radish felt an arrow to its heart.

Just as  Shen  Ying  was  about  to  continue  her  persuading, however, the sounds of footsteps were heard nearby.

"Huh. I was obviously pointed in this direction, so why can't I find that person?" Feng Ying had followed the path which Lonemoon had pointed out. He sensed someone's aura nearby, but did not see anyone and so grew agitated. He had never expected that this sect master would be the kind of person who would hide and not show their face; hence, he immediately used his Divine Perception. "System, get me the map of this place." He did not believe that he could not find the sect master.

[Ding! Invincible Sect's map has been opened. Target spotted!

A hundred metres ahead, approximately 33 feet.]

"33 feet?" Feng Ying turned his head and looked straight towards the spirit herb vegetable plot, glanced around several times, but did not find anyone. "Where's the person? System, did you make a mistake?"

"Uh… Are you looking for me?" Shen Ying could not help but ask. "Who?" Shocked, it was a moment before Feng Ying realized there was a girl in a daze, holding onto a bottle and standing amongst all the spirit herbs.

A woman?!

Astonished, his face grew solemn as he said in a high tone, "You are the sect master of Invincible Sect?"

"Yes." Shen Ying nodded earnestly. "Who are you?"

"Who am I?!" He laughed coldly, his face filled with sarcasm. "Soul Chasing Tower, do you remember this name?"

"No, I don't."

Feng Ying froze for a moment as if he had not expected her to respond so frankly. "Then you better remember this name from now on." He grew angrier the more he spoke, pronouncing every word clearly. "I am the Soul Chasing Tower's Tower Master, Feng Ying. I am here to get an explanation for the incident which took place three days ago."

"What incident?"

"You are still denying it! Do you dare say that the person who broke into the Soul Chasing Tower and beat up hundreds of my men was not you?!"

"Yup!"

"You…" He was dumbfounded, never having come across such a shameless person. Every word he uttered only further stirred up his anger, so he directly drew out his sword and pointed it at her, saying, "You are really bullying others to the extreme. Although my Soul Chasing Tower isn't some aristocratic family, we are not ones to be bullied."

He immediately summoned forth his Spirit Qi and countless spirit swords appeared around him, all aimed right towards Shen Ying. "Don't think that you can do whatever you want in the Upper Azure World just because you have a high-level cultivation. Today, I, Feng Ying, am going to seek justice." He then transmitted his thoughts through his Divine Perception, "System, immediately pick a sure win cultivation technique and stimulate all of my potential. I must teach this Invincible Sect's sect master a lesson today."

Feng Ying was not a careless person. His cultivation could not be weak to have the guts to go up directly against the sect master of Invincible Sect. He did come over to Invincible Sect in the heat of the moment, but since he dared to come alone, he had already done sufficient preparation. So what if she had a Nascent Soul cultivation? With the System as his trump card, he would definitely win; moreover, this was not his first time going face to face against a Soul Formation cultivator.

In this regard, he had absolute confidence. After he finished speaking, he did not have any bit of worry in his heart as he directly attacked with his sword. As usual, reminder sounds alerted him by his ear.

[Ding! Host has stimulated your highest potential. The time limit is 15 minutes, a quarter of an hour.]

[Ding! Scanning opponent's strengths! Beginning to match data in database for most suitable cultivation technique.] [Ding! Opponent's battle percentage: 80%, 90%, 100%, 200%, 1000%…¥%@¥@¥%@¥%¥%]

[Ding ding ding! Exceeding statistics… Major buffer overflow… %@¥%@%@#¥%… Higher dimensional living organism!]

[Spotted a badass! Begin emergency measure. Ding! Emergency mission: Please kneel down for the badass and showcase your boot-licking skills!]

What?

Σ(°△°|||)

Feng Ying's sword had already drawn near within half a metre of Shen Ying. He suddenly felt a thread of electricity coursing through his entire body. Both of his knees went soft, dropping to the ground, as his head plopped onto the stone stack at the side and he kowtowed. Feng Ying: "…"

Shen Ying: "…"

Uh… We're only meeting for the first time. No need to greet me in such a big way?

(⊙_⊙)

An eerie silence fell over the whole area.

"System, what the hell are you doing?!" Feng Ying snarled in his heart and immediately transmitted his thoughts through Divine Perception. "Why am I kneeling all of a sudden? Didn't I get you to stimulate my potential? What's going on?"

[Ding! Opponent is a high level living organism from another world exceeding this dimension.]

"I don't care what kind of stupid living organism she is? I don't understand, I just want to have my revenge for the Soul Chasing Tower and beat her up!"

[Ding! System's safety regulations forbids the host to make any rude gestures towards an opposing party with higher level of existence. That is called seeking death!]

"What do you mean? You mean I can't defeat her?"

[Ding! In front of the high level living organism, the host is considered: Trash!]

"That's impossible, don't you have a lot of tools? There's no way I can lose, right?"

[Ding! Heh heh…]

"…" [Ding! Mandatory mission: Please leave a good impression on the badass to express your pure and harmless identity. If the mission fails, the punishment mechanism will begin.]

"What! You're asking me to boot-lick her? Impossible! She destroyed the people of my Soul Chasing Tower."

[Ding! Please begin your mission in ten seconds. Nine… Eight…]

"Aren't you my system? Why are you helping an outsider?"

[Six… Five… Four…]

"Hey hey hey…"

"That…" Shen Ying's mouth twitched, she could not help but poke at the person before her who had been kneeling for so long and remind kindly, "Are you guys done with the discussion?" System: "…"

Feng Ying: "…"

A moment later…

"You… you can hear it!" Feng Ying took a huge step back with a look of astonishment towards Shen Ying.

"I didn't want to listen." Shen Ying sighed. "But… did you guys forget to turn off the public mode?"

"…" What the hell was public mode?

[Ding! System exposed! System exposed! System exposed!]

Stunned, Feng Ying looked at the woman before him with his mouth agape and could not elicit a response. The System was his greatest trump card, and yet it was so easily… discovered… discovered…

Σ(°△°|||) Fossilizing…

Looking at his face of breakdown and despair, Shen Ying did not have the heart to see him like that.

"That… novel seemed to say that the System is not public right?"

"…"

"It's okay. How about… I act like I can't hear it?"

"…"

"Eh. Actually, even if I couldn't have heard it, you didn't greet me in any way, began to talk with the System and then knelt there for so long, just glaring around. Don't you find it awkward?"

"…"

"Did you also shove others to the side in other times when you talked to your System?"

"…"

"Hey. May I ask, do… you still have friends?"

"…"

Dong dong dong. The numerous sounds of knifes to his heart were faintly heard and he suddenly felt a pain in his chest. What was going on?

I don't have friends, but so what? How is that your business! Wa wa wa… He wanted to cry…

"Huh… hey, don't cry?"

"Who's crying?" Feng Ying's shame turned to anger as he snarled back before realizing his own tears were surging out like waves and he was baffled as they fell down his face.

[Ding! Automatically triggering the Weeping Beauty function.

Helps to gain a better impression from the badass!]

"F*ck you!" He immediately gave up on transmitting his voice through his Divine Perception and snarled in despair, "That's enough, System! What weeping beauty? Get those tears back in now!"

[Ding! Mandatory mission cannot be canceled!]

"F*ck you, whose system are you exactly?" But no matter how he fought back, the tears still kept coming down—there was no way to stop them. He cried till he began to feel dizzy yet there was no sign of his tears ceasing to flow. All of a sudden, he felt that taking revenge, venting anger and moral integrity were all rubbish.

He came forward to hug Shen Ying's thigh and said, "Badass! It's my fault. I should not have overestimated myself to challenge Invincible Sect, so please make this stupid System stop? You can get me to do anything. My eyes are going blind here."

"…"

Thus, when Yi Qing and Lonemoon came over, what they saw was the Tower Master, who had adamantly wanted to seek revenge for the Soul Chasing Tower, hugging onto Shen Ying's thigh and crying out a river.

The both of them: "…"

What the hell?!