“Brother Su, if you ever need anything outside, just let me know. Don’t be a stranger!” Elder Yu Jian put on a friendly face as if the two of them were old friends, but inwardly, he was grinding his teeth to dust.
Unfortunately for him, Su Bai had a skin thicker than city walls. The moment he sensed politeness, he immediately took advantage of it. “Hehe, Elder Yu Jian, I actually am missing a few female disciples to serve around here.”
“Do you have any clever and obedient female cultivators? Send a few my way.”
Su Bai didn’t hold back at all. There were so many people in the Azure Cloud Sect—if he had to go find and evaluate each female disciple one by one to see if she was a Daughter of Fortune, he’d be busy for ages. Having someone deliver talented female cultivators to him was far more efficient.
After all, Daughters of Fortune were usually gifted prodigies.
“I’ll send them over tomorrow. Spirit Sword Peak does have a few sharp and bright disciples!” Elder Yu Jian had already paid a heavy price—he couldn’t get hung up over a minor request like this.
“As expected of Elder Yu Jian—straightforward and decisive!” Su Bai praised him casually. Seeing that Su Bai had no intention of keeping him any longer, the elder left awkwardly, though inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, all the disciples had already evacuated. If he had been publicly defeated in front of them, his reputation would’ve been in shambles.
“What are you looking at? Get back into your cages, now!” Su Bai glared at the spirit beasts. As expected, they obediently returned to their cages, unusually quiet and docile.
Dahei, the flying tiger, even nudged Su Bai’s leg with his big head like a loyal hound. “Master, when can I get my second bloodline refinement?”
“Don’t rush. Wait until your cultivation stabilizes before we level it up again.” Su Bai had the power to enhance every beast’s bloodline in the entire garden, but he only improved those loyal to him.
…
Spirit Sword Peak.
Even he found it hard to believe.
But the fact that Elder Yu Jian had left Su Bai alone after returning spoke volumes about the strength gap between them.
“Nonsense! I’m a dignified outer sect elder—how could I fear a mere outer sect disciple?” Elder Yu Jian still cared about his pride and casually made something up. “Su Bai has a powerful backer. We can’t afford to offend him. From now on, don’t go messing with him again.”
Gao Feng thought, What do you mean ‘we’? You were the one who stormed over full of confidence and got wrecked. He dared not say that aloud though—he didn’t want to be punished for speaking the truth. Elder Yu Jian had just suffered a major loss, and none of his disciples dared to provoke his temper.
“Gao Feng, gather a few outstanding female disciples from Spirit Sword Peak for me!”
“I get it, Uncle. You’re still fired up!” Gao Feng grinned with a knowing look.
Elder Yu Jian almost kicked him on the spot. That lecherous grin made it seem like he was trying to exploit those female disciples. Am I that kind of person?!
“Enough nonsense. Su Bai—whatever his reason—asked me to find some talented female disciples for him. It’s not a big deal.”
“Think about it. That guy has so many treasures. If we can’t rob him, we can at least trade something for them!” A cunning smile appeared on the elder’s face.
A sly fox like him was never willing to lose out. If it meant gaining benefits from Su Bai, he’d find a way to make it happen.
“I, a proud disciple of Spirit Sword Peak, have now been reduced to playing the role of a pimp…” Gao Feng led a few junior brothers down the mountain, shaking his head with a sigh.
…
Beast Taming Sect.
Deep within a volcano, a grand palace slowly rose from bubbling lava, radiating divine light and awe-inspiring pressure. As the palace gates opened, a woman in a golden gown stepped out. She looked to be in her early twenties, exuding noble elegance. Beside her crawled a massive golden python—most bizarrely, it had two heads.
“She actually succeeded in evolving her golden python into a twin-headed beast—amazing!”
“That kind of bloodline refinement has only a 10% success rate. The saintess has the Beast Taming Sacred Physique—that’s the only reason she could double the chance!”
“No wonder she’s Murong Mingzhu. They’ve always said she’s a once-in-a-millennium genius. Many doubted her, but this proves her true strength!”
Outside the volcano, disciples of the Beast Taming Sect were visibly thrilled. Not only was the saintess their idol, but they were also eager for her to avenge the sect. Their outer sect disciples had recently clashed with the Azure Cloud Sect and suffered a humiliating defeat. Now, they looked to her to restore their pride.
In the crowd, a scar-faced elder scoffed silently. He was an outer sect elder of the Beast Taming Sect. Although he had once been the one to recommend Murong Mingzhu into the sect, he now served the young sect master in secret.
The Beast Taming Sect appeared peaceful on the surface, but the old sect master was nearing the end of his life. Who would inherit the sect’s leadership was a question on everyone’s mind. Currently, two factions had formed—one supporting the young sect master, the other backing the saintess.
For years, these factions had been competing behind the scenes, constantly at odds.
Elder Wang Qing stepped out of the crowd. “Saintess, not long ago, our disciples were brutally beaten by the Azure Cloud Sect. Resentment runs high in our sect—shouldn’t we restore our dignity?”
“I just emerged from seclusion. If I immediately make a move, it might give certain people a reason to stir up trouble,” Murong Mingzhu replied with a slight frown.
“Not at all. This is the perfect opportunity to reclaim our pride. It’ll also greatly enhance your prestige… more disciples will support you if you act now.”
Wang Qing’s argument sounded reasonable, but his true motive was to use this as an excuse to push her into danger—perhaps even to get rid of her entirely.
“Very well. Elder Wang is right. Let us visit the Azure Cloud Sect. I’ve long heard of Lin Xiaoyue’s talent. I should see her for myself.”
Though Murong Mingzhu appeared graceful and composed, a glint of pride and competitiveness flashed in her eyes.
As a genius herself, she had always been ambitious. As the saying goes, two tigers cannot share one mountain. She had long wanted to test herself against this famed sword cultivator.