A/N-
*Sorry, friends. I haven't been feeling well, which is why I couldn't upload chapters for the past few days. I hope you can understand.
As an apology, from now on each of my chapters will be around 2,000 words.*
Su Hao grabbed Gu Zhe's wrist tightly and pulled him along toward the tavern. There was urgency in his movements, as if he didn't want to miss whatever was happening. Gu Zhe didn't resist, As soon as they reached the tavern, loud shouting and angry voices echoed from inside. A small crowd had already gathered outside, people whispering among themselves while enjoying the unfolding drama.
When they looked inside, the scene instantly became clear.
An outer disciple of the Mist Cloud Sect had already lost control and was charging at four disciples of the Sakura Sect like a starving wolf. His body was surrounded by surging energy, his eyes burning with fury.
Gu Zhe silently observed everything. Though his face was hidden behind a mask, the calm light in his eyes showed that he was carefully analyzing the situation.
The atmosphere inside the tavern grew even more tense. Seeing this, Su Hao leaned toward Gu Zhe and whispered, his voice tense.Worry was clearly visible in his eyes as he stared at the Mist Cloud Sect disciple charging ahead.
"This is bad… what should we do now?"
Su Hao was slightly nervous, but more than fear, it was anger that burned inside him.
After all, his cultivation level was two to three realms lower than those four—yet the way they acted made his blood boil.
While a storm of thoughts raged inside Su Hao's mind, Gu Zhe, standing just behind him, remained calm and composed.
Even as Su Hao turned back to look at him, there was no sign of panic or hesitation. The mask hid Gu Zhe's expression completely, making it impossible for Su Hao to tell what he was thinking. Gu Zhe softly muttered to himself, his voice so low that only he could hear it.
"So this is how the first stage is set… to motivate the chosen one,"
he said, a faint hint of amusement slipping into his tone. Behind the mask, his lips curved into a subtle smile. To him, the chaos unfolding in front of them didn't feel accidental at all. It felt planned—like a carefully arranged push meant to ignite resolve, anger, and growth.
"Hmmm… interesting,"
he added quietly, his eyes fixed on the scene ahead, as if he were watching a play whose script he had already glimpsed.Seeing Gu Zhe remain so silent, Su Hao finally spoke, his voice tense.
"What should we do no—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Gu Zhe interrupted him. There was a strange mix of fear and bravery in his voice.
"We should go and help Senior Brother Lin Yan. If we don't, people will call us—and our sect—cowards and mock us for it."
Of course, Gu Zhe would suggest going to help him—after all, he had no intention of ruining the carefully arranged motivation plot meant for Su Hao.
Su Hao was just about to step forward when Lin Yan suddenly came flying toward him and crashed to the ground at his feet. Blood spilled from his mouth, his condition clearly grave, yet the fury in his eyes was still unmistakable. He clenched his teeth and forced himself to stand, but the moment he tried to take another step, his body gave way—he staggered and collapsed once more. Before he could hit the ground, Su Hao caught him and asked anxiously,
"Senior, are you alright?"
Then, lifting his gaze toward the four opponents, he spoke in a voice heavy with anger,
"Don't you have any shame? All four of you attacking someone at a lower cultivation level than yourselves…?"
The four of them burst into laughter without a hint of shame, turning their mocking gazes toward them. One of them stepped forward and said,
"Hahaha! Look at this, boss—two more rats from Mist Cloud have come crawling in to get beaten."
Hearing his words, all four of them burst into loud, mocking laughter. After laughing for a while, one of the four—clearly their leader—stepped forward. Pointing at Su Hao and the others, he spoke with a commanding tone,
"You've wasted my time,"
he said coldly.
"Come before me, kneel down, and beg for forgiveness. Maybe—just maybe—I'll feel merciful and let you go. Otherwise, you'll end up in the same condition as your companion."
Seeing them completely ignore his words and continue helping their companion as if nothing had happened, his anger flared uncontrollably. His expression darkened, and in the same cold, commanding manner, he turned and barked orders at his lackeys.
"Go! and show them the consequences of defying my words."
The moment Su Hao heard this, his expression changed. He quickly helped Lin Yan sit down, then turned to Gu Zhe and said in a low, firm voice,
"Little brother, take Senior Lin and get out of here. I'll hold them back."
Saying this, he stepped forward. But he had barely taken two steps when he suddenly felt a surge of power spreading through his body.
At that moment, a thought crossed his mind—maybe he couldn't defeat them, but he could hold them off long enough for his junior brother and Senior Lin to escape.
With that resolve, he instinctively glanced toward Gu Zhe for just a second—
and his eyes widened in shock.
He saw that instead of leaving, Gu Zhe had already set up an array formation. In that instant, Su Hao finally understood why such power was surging through his body.
Looking more closely, he realized that because of the array, Senior Lin's injuries were slowly healing as well. His gaze then swept across the entire room, where strange, intricate patterns were carved everywhere—so complex that they were impossible to comprehend at a glance.
Shaking his head, Su Hao pushed those thoughts aside and refocused his attention on the three men charging straight toward him.
He immediately gathered his energy into his hands, and in an instant, crimson lightning wrapped around both of them like a pair of blazing gauntlets. Without waiting for them to reach him, he charged straight at the three of them. His speed was already impressive, but under the influence of the array, it became even faster—so fast that his figure blurred as he closed the distance in an instant.
Without wasting a second, he drove a punch straight into the face of the man in front of him. The opponent failed to raise his guard in time and was crashed to the ground while clutching his face in agony.
Seeing their companion in that condition, the other two reacted instantly. Activating their techniques, one lunged at Su Hao with a punch aimed at his face, while the other tried to strike from behind with a swift kick.Just as the punch was about to reach him, Su Hao took two steps back, completely unaware that an attack was coming from behind as well. The next instant, a sharp pain exploded across his back. He staggered forward and dropped to one knee.
Everyone present turned their eyes toward the attacker, their faces filled with disdain. Murmurs spread through the crowd as people began whispering among themselves, clearly disgusted by such a sneak attack.
Among the crowd, there was one person who had been watching everything from the very beginning. Yet he did nothing to intervene, believing that sometimes, facing hardship was how the younger generation grew stronger. But the moment he saw the attack from behind, he could no longer keep himself calm. His expression darkened, and he spoke in a low, heavy voice, filled with displeasure.
"So this is how people of the Sakura Sect behave," he said coldly. "Attacking cultivators younger and weaker than themselves—from behind—and still daring to call themselves great? It seems the Sakura Sect has become nothing more than a gathering of cowards."
Hearing this, everyone's gaze turned toward the direction of the voice. They saw an elderly man, around fifty or sixty years old, stepping out from the crowd and walking straight toward them.
When the Sakura Sect disciples saw the cold calm in the old man's eyes, fear crept into their hearts.
But the rest of the crowd felt a wave of relief the moment they recognized him—because that elder was none other than Yun Shoukang, the Fourth Elder of the Mist Cloud Sect, the one in charge of all outer disciples.
All four from the Sakura Sect were clearly frightened, but the one who seemed to be their leader forced himself to muster his courage and spoke to the elder.
"Elder, we were only joking around with the juniors. We had no intention of truly harming them. We hope you will forgive us and allow us to leave. Our Zhao family would be deeply grateful to you for this favor."
Hearing his words, the elder's eyes grew even colder. A terrifying aura surged out from his body, pressing down on the four like a mountain. Unable to withstand the pressure, they were forced to their knees, their faces drained of all color.
Then Elder Yun spoke in an icy tone, his voice calm yet filled with unmistakable authority.
"So what if you belong to the Zhao family?" Elder Yun said coldly. "Does your family rule the Eastern Cloud Region? Who gave you the right to come into our territory and create trouble?"
The crowd could now clearly feel the crushing pressure radiating from the elder's aura. The atmosphere grew heavy, making it hard to breathe.Just then, a voice rang out from within the crowd.
"Elder Yun, you shouldn't interfere in matters between children like this," the voice said calmly. "And don't forget—the Zhao family's young master, who will one day become the head of the Zhao family, is a core disciple of the Sakura Sect. Be careful, or you may end up regretting this later."
Hearing these words, everyone's gaze shifted toward the direction from which the voice had come. Standing there was none other than an elder of the Sakura Sect.
He then turned his eyes toward his four disciples and spoke, a faint trace of cunning glinting in his voice.
"I left you alone for just a moment, and you already turned it into a competition," he said lightly. "Unlike our sect, the outer disciples of other sects don't seem to enjoy competition quite as much."
He paused for a brief moment, then spoke again,
"What are you all standing around staring at?" he snapped. "Hurry up and apologize at once."
Hearing the elder's words, the four hurriedly apologized and then left the place, following closely behind their elder. Everyone else could only watch as they disappeared from sight.
After they were gone, the remaining people also turned and followed Elder Yun, heading back toward their sect. After everyone had left, the crowd slowly began to disperse as well. Yet the same thought lingered in everyone's mind—that the upcoming sect gathering later this month was bound to witness an extraordinary and unforgettable competition.
After leaving the tavern and walking a short distance away, the Sakura Sect elder spoke to the four of them, a crooked smile playing on his face.
"If you get the chance to face those boys in the upcoming competition," he said slowly, the crooked smile still on his lips,
"you know exactly what needs to be done…"