“Good heavens, what are you doing untying your belt!?”
Xian Yuzhu slapped his hands over his eyes. “This is truly a breach of public decency! This is the Library, not a place for you to relieve yourself wherever you please!”
Huo Yan remained silent. He finally understood the struggle of those senior brothers and sisters forced to look after a brat. With just a few sentences, Yuzhu could cause Huo Yan’s long-maintained facade of a refined gentleman to crumble.
The veins on the back of Huo Yan’s hand bulged as he gripped his belt. He said in a low, heavy voice, “Xian Yuzhu.”
He folded the belt a few times with a dark expression. Watching his movements, even Yuzhu was not so stupid that he failed to realize what Huo Yan intended to do.
Huo Yan wanted to beat him?
Xian Yuzhu’s eyes widened slightly. This was a total reversal of the natural order; he had not even beaten Huo Yan yet!
Perhaps no one could have imagined that the noble Young Sect Master of the Yuxian Sect would suffer from a lack of socialization, much like a small beast pampered and raised in isolation by its owner. This manifested in his flighty personality and his tendency to act on every whim.
Yuzhu rushed forward, shouting things like “How insolent!” and “Take this!” Predictably, Huo Yan dodged him, seized his wrists, and pressed him onto the desk without a word of nonsense.
“Release me! Why did you dodge? Who gave you permission to dodge?” Yuzhu cried.
Huo Yan’s tone was heavy as he looked down at him. “You think I should not have dodged?”
Xian Yuzhu’s hands were pinned behind his back. Hearing this, he turned his head in disbelief. “Of course! Do you have any idea how many people would consider it a blessing to be hit by me?”
“Huo Yan, you are truly ungrateful for the luck you have. How pathetic.”
The veins on Huo Yan’s forehead throbbed. “Xian Yuzhu, not everyone thinks being hit by you is a blessing.”
This was a basic truth. Just as spirit stones and dharma treasures were precious, not everyone loved them. There were always those indifferent to fame and wealth, and those who did not care for beauties.
Unfortunately, this simple logic was lost on Yuzhu, who had been a heartthrob since childhood. To Yuzhu, the idea that someone might dislike Xian Yuzhu was a false premise.
He believed the people of the world were divided into only two categories: those who had seen his face and were already deeply or secretly obsessed with him, and those who were not yet lucky enough to have met him. Once they saw him, they would surely fall for him, heart and soul.
“How is that possible? You are not everyone, so do not talk nonsense,” Yuzhu said confidently. “Tell you what, Huo Yan, I will not hold it against you. Just let me hit you once. After you are hit, you will realize how much you actually like it.”
“You cultivators with masculinity issues are all stubborn like this. You actually like me a lot, right? Or are you secretly thinking about licking my feet?”
“Xian Yuzhu!”
Huo Yan’s face darkened as the words became increasingly outrageous and vulgar. He pulled the petite Yuzhu up from the desk.
Yuzhu was held like a small doll, his feet dangling off the ground, his eyes still somewhat dazed. Huo Yan was not sure which sentence had angered him so much.
“I wanted to ask you last time: who do you usually hang out with? Who taught you to speak such filth?” Huo Yan’s voice remained steady, but his handsome, rugged face was as dark as ink. He gritted his teeth and added, “And what do you mean by also? Did those people say such foul things to you when they were harassing you? Explain yourself clearly.”
Huo Yan’s grip on Yuzhu’s cheek was quite firm. Yuzhu struggled violently in his arms from the pain, completely unable to answer those headache-inducing questions.
“Let go, let go, let go! Huo Yan!”
Xian Yuzhu felt incredibly wronged. With so many people chasing him frantically, how was he supposed to know who he hung out with? Was a noble Young Sect Master expected to remember every single licking dog?
“Go away, go away!” Xian Yuzhu threw a tantrum and pulled Huo Yan’s hair, refusing to speak.
Or rather, this fool did not even realize from whom he had learned these bad habits. Huo Yan closed his eyes slightly as his scalp stung from the pulling.
He felt he was going mad. Out of everything he could have chosen to raise, he had to set his sights on one who was brainless, naive, and arrogant. That said, it was impossible for him to let go now. If the boy did not understand words, a few more lessons in discipline would teach him fear, and then he would naturally learn to be good.
Xian Yuzhu realized with delayed disbelief that Huo Yan was actually hitting him. Huo Yan actually dared to treat him this way!
Soon, Xian Yuzhu discovered that Huo Yan not only dared to beat him but also dared to make him study afterward. The Frost-Lian Whip Technique, a manual that would cause countless people to fight if it appeared in the outside world, was casually tossed in front of Xian Yuzhu.
“Twenty pages,” Huo Yan said, sitting across from Yuzhu like a strict teacher. “If you do not finish learning them, you will stay here all day. Do you hear me?”
With tear tracks on his face, Xian Yuzhu did not even dare to sit properly. He could only support himself weakly against the desk with his hands. He wanted to curse Huo Yan, but unfortunately, he could not win in a fight or a battle of wits. Being too impulsive would only give Huo Yan an excuse to discipline him further.
“Oh,” Yuzhu, dazed from the beating, blankly flipped a page. “Then, will you stay with me the whole time?”
Huo Yan glanced at him and gave a short hum of affirmation. “Be good. You can leave once you finish.”
The reason he gave this peerless secret manual to Xian Yuzhu was simple. First, Huo Yan had a special spiritual root and used a sword; he had no use for this whip technique, but it was perfect for Xian Yuzhu. Second, the Secret Realm Trial was opening in a month. Huo Yan would lead the team, and Xian Yuzhu had to participate.
As the Sect’s Head Disciple, Huo Yan knew inside information that ordinary disciples did not. For instance, the location of this trial was the Mobei Secret Realm, a harsh place crawling with demonic beasts.
Participants included inner disciples from the eight major sects, famous young rogue cultivators, and Buddhist cultivators. While the Mobei Secret Realm was filled with treasures, the danger was proportional. To enter, one needed at least the Foundation Establishment stage. However, to find treasures and survive the fierce competition, achieving the Nascent Soul stage was almost a necessity.
Xian Yuzhu had recently celebrated his twentieth birthday. His Late Golden Core cultivation made him a true chosen one in the eyes of others. However, Huo Yan knew that if this Junior Brother had worked as hard as he did, breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage before twenty would have been easy.
Unfortunately, Xian Yuzhu was too pampered. According to the elders, Yuzhu hated the hardships of cultivation since he was a child. He would cry if he had to wake up early and throw a fit if he had to stay up late. If he was tired or thirsty, he needed someone to hold and coax him.
The Sect Master was usually busy and had little time to spend with him, so he excessively doted on this precious son left behind by his late wife. The elders also could not bear to make such a delicate, lovely child stand under an icy waterfall for grueling practice. Over time, Yuzhu’s current personality was formed.
Now, Huo Yan wanted Xian Yuzhu to break through to the Nascent Soul stage within a month. At the very least, he had to reach the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage.
As Huo Yan thought of this, he looked at Yuzhu’s childish attempt at revenge, secretly tying knots in Huo Yan’s robe, and felt an indescribable headache.