Haitang opened her mouth, completely lost for words.
Her senior brothers and sisters could no longer hold back.
They swarmed forward and surrounded us:
—— “You little bean sprout, don’t be so ungrateful!”
—— “Exactly! Trying to trick our junior sister out of her magic robe with just three candies? How shameless!”
—— “Junior Sister, ignore her. What manners can you expect from a bean sprout taken in by a sect of paupers?”
Their words were harsh and nasty.
Because in their group stood someone who hadn’t uttered a word the entire time.
That person was their Eldest Senior Brother.
Wearing green robes similar to the others, his demeanor was entirely different.
His aura was steady, and his gaze was cold and sharp.
My gut told me that this man was extremely powerful.
That was why they felt so fearless and arrogant.
But~
My senior brothers weren’t pushovers either.
Su Ning stepped forward, blocking me behind him: “Heh, is this how your Qingyun Sect teaches its disciples? Confidence in outright robbery?”
Yan Chuan crossed his arms: “Heh, wanting to trade our demon beast for a single candy—do you take our junior sister for a three-year-old child?”
Murong Zhuo restrained his charming peach-blossom eyes, taking on a rare serious look: “It’s understandable that your junior sister likes demon beasts, but this little fire fox was indeed caught by us. Forcefully snatching it like this won’t sound very pleasant if word gets out, will it?”
Gu Chenguang flipped open his notebook: “According to Article 237 of the Cultivation World Regulations, maliciously seizing a demon beast captured by another party shall result, at minimum, in three times the damages, and at worst, official reporting to the sect and a disciplinary strike on record.”
Hiding behind my senior brothers, I silently noted to myself:
Sixth Senior Brother can memorize legal statutes—must bring him along for future arguments!
The argument grew increasingly heated on both sides.
More and more passersby gathered to watch.
People began pointing and whispering among themselves.
—— “Is the Qingyun Sect bullying the Heavenly Sword Sect?”
—— “That little girl is only three years old, isn’t she? They’re snatching things from her too?”
—— “Tsk tsk tsk, the big bullying the small, the many picking on the few.”
…
That Nascent Soul stage Eldest Senior Brother frowned.
With a cold face, he commanded: “Let’s go. Yield it to them.”
The members of the Qingyun Sect were stunned.
—— “Eldest Senior Brother!”
—— “Why should we give it to them!”
—— “Haitang clearly saw it first!”
That Eldest Senior Brother swept a cold glance over them.
Instantly, everyone shut their mouths.
They slunk away behind their Eldest Senior Brother in embarrassment.
As she was leaving, Haitang turned back and glared at me.
I waved my hand at her: “Bye-bye! Remember to bring more candies next time we meet!”
She was so furious her face turned bright red.
Once they were far away, I finally asked my senior brothers: “Who was that little girl?”
Su Ning curled his lips: “The new junior sister recruited by the Qingyun Sect this year.”
Yan Chuan said disdainfully: “Supposedly some rare Lightning Spiritual Root, a little genius—they treat her like a precious treasure.”
I asked: “There’s such a thing as a Lightning Spiritual Root?”
Yan Chuan nodded: “Yeah, just as rare as Eldest Senior Brother’s Heavenly Spiritual Root.”
“Her attack power is very strong, a rare sight in a thousand years.”
Murong Zhuo laughed: “Still, she’s far behind our Junior Sister.”
Gu Chenguang didn’t even raise his head: “A bunch of small fry.”
I asked: “But isn’t their Eldest Senior Brother also at the Nascent Soul stage?”
Gu Chenguang looked up: “Yes. But he only reached Nascent Soul at a hundred and twenty years old, far behind our Eldest Senior Brother.”
I asked: “How far behind?”
“Behind by twenty years.”
Twenty years.
I counted on my fingers.
In twenty years, how much ore could my brother mine?
How much ore could Second Senior Brother find?
How many times could my dad cry about being poor?
A lot.
A whole lot.
………………………………
I snapped back from my thoughts and looked at the trap.
The little fire fox was still in the pit, huddled in a ball and trembling violently.
Its fur was light brown, but looking closely, it had a faint red glow.
Su Ning jumped down and carried it up.
The little guy was so scared it kept burying itself in his arms.
“It’s a low-tier little fire fox,” Su Ning said. “It’s still small, looks like it was just weaned.”
I leaned over to take a look.
It raised its head and glanced at me.
And then, it started shaking even harder.
I: “…”
Is that necessary?
Am I really that scary-looking?
But it was truly adorable.
Fluffy, with big round eyes and a twitching little nose.
I wanted to raise it.
Just as I opened my mouth, Gu Chenguang had already pulled out his notebook to calculate the costs:
—— Little Fire Fox, low-tier demon beast, daily maintenance cost:
—— Requires three spiritual fruits per day, two taels of spiritual meat, unlimited spiritual water.
—— Monthly cost is about fifty low-grade spiritual stones.
—— Will require advancement resources after growing up, cost expected to double monthly.
—— Combat training will consume resources, budget unknown.
—— If it falls sick, pills are calculated separately…
“Alright, alright!” I interrupted him. “Sell it!”
I snatched the little fire fox and stuffed it to Su Ning.
Su Ning put it into the beast storage bag.
I comforted myself: It’s fine not to raise it. If I raised it, I’d have to find it a partner when it grows up, spend money to throw a wedding, invite guests to the wedding…
Never mind then.
The commotion here was a bit too loud.
The surrounding demon beasts had long since run off.
We could only move to another spot and set up traps again.
…
Three days.
We changed spots three times.
Made five traps.
Scattered countless pieces of spiritual beast food.
Finally, we caught five low-tier demon beasts.
Two Wind Wolves.
One Ironback Bear.
One Fiery Rabbit.
And one more~
I didn’t really know what it was either.
“…whatever it was, it was ugly anyway.
Gu Chenguang said even ugly ones like this could be sold, as some alchemists specifically bought them.
I felt quite relieved.
Even ugly things have their value.
My senior brothers were very happy too.
They were squatting together, counting our spoils.
Suddenly~~
“ROAR——”
A massive roar sounded.
Deafening.
Even the ground was shaking.
Birds and beasts in the forest scattered and fled in all directions.
My senior brothers instantly stood up, looking vigilantly in the direction of the sound.
The distant sky glowed with an eerie red light.
Su Ning’s face changed: “This aura…”
Yan Chuan gripped his sword hilt tightly: “This power…”
Murong Zhuo narrowed his eyes: “It’s a mid-tier demon beast!”
Gu Chenguang swallowed hard: “Mid-tier demon beasts don’t usually venture out to the outer perimeter… Who lured it out?”
The red light drew closer and closer.
The vibrations in the ground grew more and more intense.
I poked my head out to look in the direction of the red light.
And then I saw…
A giant python covered in fire?
No.
It was a giant python with wings.
Its wings were fiery red, spreading open like two clouds of flame.
Its body was thicker than a water vat, and its scales gleamed with a dark golden luster in the firelight.
Its eyes were blood-red, sparking flames from its mouth, radiating an aura that practically screamed, “I am very angry, and the consequences are dire.”
The spiritual pressure was terrifying.
So terrifying that the low-tier demon beasts nearby, which had been fleeing frantically moments ago, were now lying flat on the ground pretending to be dead.
However, the giant python had a very clear target.
It was chasing the group of people in green robes sprinting ahead.
Wait a second.
That group of people~~
Was none other than the group from the Qingyun Sect!
But there were only six of them; their Eldest Senior Brother was nowhere to be seen.
Shangguan Haitang was protected in the center. Her senior brothers and sisters were in a wretched state, their magical robes scorched black.
The moment they saw us.
Their eyes lit up.
That specific kind of brightness that says, “Finally found a scapegoat!”
Then, they immediately adjusted their course and ran straight toward us.
My senior brothers reacted lightning-fast.
Su Ning scooped me up in one motion: “Run!”
Yan Chuan cursed as he ran: “I’m seriously done! What kind of cursed luck is this!”
Murong Zhuo gritted his teeth: “Does the Qingyun Sect have a grudge against us? Why do we run into them everywhere we go?”
Gu Chenguang didn’t say a word, just ran in silence.
However, there were restrictions inside the secret realm, so we couldn’t fly high.
The people from the Qingyun Sect pursued us relentlessly.
The distance between us kept shrinking.
Su Ning turned his head while running and yelled: “Stay away!”
Yan Chuan waved his hand aggressively: “Get lost!”
Murong Zhuo gritted his teeth in fury: “You guys are way too dirty! This is a mess you brought on yourselves!”
Gu Chenguang looked back and added a final blow: “According to Article 103 of the Cultivation World’s Moral Code, those who shift their misfortunes onto others will be struck by divine lightning!”