Just as the burly man reached out to grab the demonic cultivator, a surge of overwhelming spiritual power suddenly pressed down on Xiao Zong and his companion, instantly making the two, who were just moments ago so arrogant, break out in a cold sweat.
“【Sage】, mind your own business!”
Li Shihua forced himself to look towards the source of the aura, only to be surprised to find it was not just 【Sage】 alone.
At the entrance of the tent, a tall man in a black robe and mask was slowly pushing a wheelchair inside. The man’s build was imposing, his temperament calm and composed, but his face could not be seen.
Sitting in the wheelchair was a girl dressed in foreign attire, her features delicate and beautiful, with not the slightest hint of spiritual power about her.
“I only granted you command. The right to punish remains with me.”
【Sage】 pushed the girl in the wheelchair into the tent and said blandly, “You have no authority to deal with anyone from the Evil God Cult.”
As he spoke, 【Sage】 glanced at the two demonic cultivators kneeling on the ground. “Teams 7 and 5 are gone. Go join Team 2.”
“Yes, Lord 【Sage】.”
The two Foundation Establishment stage demonic cultivators bowed and left immediately.
The girl in the wheelchair, completely disregarding the atmosphere, said, “That one-armed fellow, remember to survive, okay? When the time comes, I’ll perform limb regrowth surgery for you!”
The one-armed demonic cultivator visibly shuddered, gritted his teeth, and still bowed respectfully to the girl. “Lord 【Yisheng】, I’m quite fine with my arm gone… really, there’s no need to trouble yourself.”
With that said, the demonic cultivator hurriedly fled.
Watching the two demonic cultivators leave, Li Shihua clicked his tongue in annoyance, “If you’ve got something to say, spit it out!”
【Sage】 paid no mind to his attitude and said indifferently, “Preparations on our side are complete. I came only to ask about yours.”
“Noon tomorrow,” Li Shihua said, giving a time.
“This isn’t what we agreed on. You’re overdue,” 【Sage】’s tone carried a hint of impatience.
“Hmph, so what?”
Li Shihua couldn’t help but click his tongue and said, “It’s only because the formation you gave us is so damned difficult to set up. If you think it’s too slow, go find someone else to do it.”
“Alright, Sage, didn’t I already tell you not to expect too much from creatures with overly smooth cerebral cortices?”
The leader of the Evil God Cult, codenamed 【Yisheng】, smiled and said something that left everyone present bewildered.
【Sage】 let out a slight sigh, “Next time, let me see your medical books. Maybe then I’ll understand your humor.”
Li Shihua frowned at 【Yisheng】. He didn’t understand what ‘cerebral cortex’ meant, but he could clearly feel he was being insulted, yet he didn’t know exactly how—leaving him furious.
Looking at everyone’s confused faces, 【Yisheng】 couldn’t help but sigh, “If you don’t get it, then forget it. Anyway, hurry up. We’re waiting for good news.”
With that, 【Yisheng】 turned to look at 【Sage】 behind her. “Let’s go, there’s still much I need to do.”
“Very well.”
【Sage】 nodded slightly, then looked at Li Shihua. “Noon tomorrow. That’s your final deadline.”
With that, he pushed 【Yisheng】 in her wheelchair out of the tent.
Just as 【Sage】 was about to step outside, he said blandly, “A word of advice—The Evil God Cult has more than just one collaborator. You’d best be clear about your place.”
“I know exactly where I stand. I don’t need a demonic cultivator who can barely protect himself to worry about me.”
Li Shihua replied coolly, and only after the two left the tent did he slam his palm fiercely onto the table, splitting it in two with a crack, and then, still not satisfied, kicked the broken table halves several times.
“Damn it! Not only do the juniors not respect me, even the demonic cultivators act the same!”
Li Shihua felt that today he’d endured more humiliation than he had in an entire year!
First it was that brat sheltered by Ice Ling Immortal Palace, then it was Xiao Yuanqing, then this 【Sage】, and even that powerless 【Yisheng】, a crippled woman less than a commoner!
Li Shihua seethed with rage. “How can a mere mortal order me around?!”
And even insult him with words he couldn’t understand!
“Third Brother, only that 【Sage】 is strong.”
Beside him, the tall man Li Shiwu spoke steadily, “Can you tell what realm he’s at?”
“How should I know!”
Li Shihua took a deep breath. If not for 【Sage】 being here, he’d have torn that 【Yisheng】 to pieces himself—though naturally, before that, he would have had some fun with that beautiful skin.
Recalling the foreign-looking mortal girl with closed eyes, imagining her voluptuous curves, slender waist, and those refined exotic features—plus the fact that she was a cripple—truly, she had her own charm.
Next time, he’d find one just like her.
After indulging in several flights of fancy, Li Shihua finally calmed down, let out a long sigh, and said, “Doesn’t matter what realm he’s in. If he wants our cooperation, at most he’s only at big brother’s level—Golden Core stage.”
“When big brother breaks through to mid-Golden Core, he’ll teach that 【Sage】 a lesson!”
Li Shihua sneered coldly, “Enough, Fourth Brother, let’s hurry and finish setting up. There’s a good show waiting for us!”
***
Four Sages Academy Camp
Two disciples of Four Sages Academy crouched together in a corner, each smoking a pipe and sighing.
“Hey, what are you smoking? It actually smells kind of fragrant.”
“Shh, quiet.”
A monkey-faced disciple leaned in closer to the slightly chubby disciple beside him, holding up his fancy pipe.
“This smoke is a real treasure I got from Black Dragon Trading Company. It’s called Qingyun Wu—smooth on the throat and delightfully aromatic. Tsk~ it’s a rare good smoke.”
As he spoke, the monkey-faced disciple took a deep puff, feeling his whole body relax.
“Qingyun Wu… isn’t that twenty spirit stones an ounce?”
The slightly chubby disciple looked surprised and leaned closer, “Come on, let your brother have a puff too.”
“Alright, alright. I wouldn’t even dare smoke this in front of you, old smoke-fiend, but today I’m in a good mood, so I’ll share. Just don’t touch my pipe mouth!”
The monkey-faced disciple tossed a small paper pouch to the chubby one, who quickly caught it, dumped out the cheap tobacco he’d bought for a few bits of silver, and stuffed the Qingyun Wu into his pipe.
After taking a long draw, the chubby disciple asked, “Old bro, why are you so generous today? Did you stumble onto a good way to make money? Share it with your brother.”
“What good way?”
Though he said that, the monkey-faced disciple looked quite pleased.
“A while back I ran into a beautiful mother and daughter while out on a mission. Let me tell you, the mother had the perfect figure, and the daughter was just as lovely—and she even had a spiritual vein!”
“I felt like I’d struck gold. I put on a little act and convinced them I was a high immortal. That woman insisted I take her daughter as a disciple.”
“You should’ve seen how hard that mother worked in bed for her daughter, and the daughter was even more eager to please to get me to accept her as an apprentice… ah, but that’s all just worldly matters, never mind.”
“Later, I brought them to Wu Nu City and sold them as slaves. Even after being sold, they were still thanking me, counting my money for me! A slave with a spiritual vein… that earned me a pretty penny.”
“Why don’t I ever run into deals like that?”
The slightly chubby disciple suddenly found the Qingyun Wu in his mouth a lot less tasty.
“Eh, it’s not such a big deal, really.”
The monkey-faced disciple grinned and patted his companion’s shoulder. “The thing I’m really happy about is that our hard days here are finally coming to an end.”
“What do you mean?” the chubby disciple asked, curious.
“I heard from the contact—once we finish this job, we’ll have made a major contribution and won’t have to put up with the Four Sages Academy’s nonsense anymore.”
The monkey-faced disciple beamed. “When we get back, we’ll go straight into the Neimen, and an elder will personally help us establish our Foundation. That’s something I didn’t dare dream of in twenty years of cultivation.”
In the two great sects of Ling Tian City, there were basically two ways to enter the Neimen: either pass the annual exam, or establish your Foundation.
But not everyone had the talent. In a city of millions, and tens of thousands of cultivators, there were fewer than a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators—the talent and resources required were immense.
Many cultivators were stuck at Qi Refinement level ten, unable to get the one-hundred-spirit-stone Foundation Pill, or with a single Foundation Pill not enough to break through and stuck at that stage forever.
In fact, most never even made it to Qi Refinement level ten, dying at level six, unable to advance further.
Talent is a cruel and unreasonable thing.
“Really?” The chubby disciple’s face lit up with joy. He had confidence in establishing his Foundation within twenty years, but who wouldn’t want to do it sooner?
More importantly, “They said three years, then another three years, and I still wasn’t a Neimen disciple. Is the organization really letting us go back this time?”
He was truly moved to tears. He’d entered Four Sages Academy at nineteen—he was almost thirty now, and his cultivation had only risen from Qi Refinement level two to level eight!
He’d been waiting so long, in another two years he’d probably reach Foundation Establishment!
“Shh, keep it down.”
The monkey-faced disciple hushed him, dumped out the spent ashes of his Qingyun Wu, and said, “There’s no one nearby, let’s hurry and get ready, there’s still a pile of work left.”
“Got it, got it!”
The chubby disciple nodded, pulled a shovel from his storage ring, and started digging down.
Before long, he unearthed a white array flag—it was one of the array flags for the Four Sages Academy’s Xuanwu Protective Wandering Star Array, an array eye but not a crucial node, so pulling it out briefly wouldn’t make a difference.
He then took out a purple array flag, just about to bury it, when he suddenly noticed three shadows on the ground.
Three?
Along with his confusion came a familiar voice.
“Junior brothers, what are you doing?”
The monkey-faced disciple couldn’t help but swallow. “B-Big brother, what are you doing here?”