The face of the arrogant student turned white and he started to sweat. Li Xinwen saw this and felt that he had shown enough to scare the poor young cultivator. "I am a simple man. As long as you don't cross with me, I won't retaliate," Li Xinwen said with a smile.
Unfortunately, some people, even when given leniency, did not appreciate it.
"You dared to destroy the school gate? See if the elder will let you off, ah!"
As if on cue, a middle-aged looking man came out of the main residence. He was dressed in a black martial art garb, and there was a hint of white on his black hair. Seeing this man, the group of students collectively gave him a salute.
"Greetings to the Master," they all said at the same time as if this was how they normally greet the older man.
"En. You lot go on inside first," the middle-aged man replied.
Hearing this, the group of students finally moved but for the arrogant one, he did not forget to shot Li Xinwen a smirk. "Ha! Looks like Master has came out to deal with you personally! Don't go regretting now!"
Li Xinwen frowned, eyes narrowing at the arrogant student who then quickly scurried away in fear. Only after the students are all inside the training hall did Li Xinwen turn his attention to the middle-aged man. In fact, ever since the middle-aged man came out, Li Xinwen could feel the aura of a mid-4th stage Houtian practitioner. Fortunately, Li Xinwen was a peak 4th stage Houtian or else, he might end up being suppressed by now.
"Are you the one who destroyed the gate?" the man asked. "How will you compensate for the damage?"
"Isn't it just repairing the gate? Just tell me how much you need, I will pay them," Xue Rui said while he habitually took out a cheque book.
"You fool! You think money is enough to compensate for our gate?" the man asked. "Xue Jun, I know you're there! I am already here and you are still not coming out to greet me?!"
At this, Xue Jun finally came forward and gave the other man a respectful salute. "Xue Jun greets senior martial brother."
"Hmph! After coming back from your mission, you didn't even come and visit us once. Did you already forget about master?"
Xue Jun who was reprimanded can only lower his head and stayed silent. After all, he did not have any valid excuse to give to the other man.
"And then when you finally decided to come back, you brought these trouble makers? One is your brother, the other is some random cultivator and the last one..." his word trailed off when his eyes landed on Sun Xiao. His eyes narrowed at Sun Xiao, making the younger boy fidget nervously. "Zhuo Yang body type..." he murmured in disbelief while his eyes shone with greed.
Then, the middle-aged man raised a foot up and take a step forward. But Li Xinwen noticed the spiritual energies around the man had changed so he quickly went to Sun Xiao's side. As soon as he arrived, he pulled Sun Xiao close to his body while he used his other hand to grab the middle-aged man's wrist, stopping the other from touching Sun Xiao.
"What are you planning to do?" Li Xinwen asked, his eyes held a dangerous glint as he released the full aura of the peak 4th stage of Houtian.
The middle-aged man was suddenly surprised by this turn of event and he quickly pulled away, taking several steps back. "So you were hiding your strength?" the man sneered.
"You didn't answer my question... what were you planning to do?" Li Xinwen asked once more. The temperature around them started to drop as Li Xinwen continued to suppress the middle-aged man. Soon, the temperature was cold enough that one could even see their own breath.
Surprisingly, Sun Xiao who was beside Li Xinwen wasn't affected by the cold temperature. He only gave a confused expression as he watched how the middle-aged man before them seemed to have a troubled expression. He also could see how Xue Rui and Xue Jun seemed cold.
"Xin-gege, what's wrong with them?" Sun Xiao asked Li Xinwen as he looked up to him, only to have his head being pushed back down to the other's chest.
"It's nothing. Ah'Xiao doesn't have to worry," Li Xinwen said in a gentle tone, a tone that is vastly different from his current cold expression.
The temperature continued to fall and in the end, Xue Rui felt that he was going to be frozen to death. Just as he felt that he was about to pass out from the cold, he felt a strong force wrapped around him and he was dragged away from the area. Turning his head, he could see his elder brother, with a grim expression on his face.
"Brother... just... what is happening?" Xue Rui asked. "Earlier... it felt really cold..." Xue Rui said as he still continued to shiver.
Xue Jun was a cultivator, and he has a high affinity with water elements so he had a slight resistance to the cold. So, compared to Xue Rui, he fared better. "Li Xinwen released his own domain," Xue Jun muttered in a low voice. 'But how? Master mentioned that domains can only be released once you reached Xiantian stage. Master said he's the only one who had achieved that stage in this whole world, Plus... Li Xinwen was a normal human. Just who is this fake?" Xue Jun has a vexed expression plastered on his face.
"Hmm... looks like Jingguo has offended someone that he shouldn't offend," a calm voice sounded from behind Xue Jun.
When Xue Jun heard this voice, his body went rigid for a moment, before he recollects himself. Straightening his back, he turned around to greet the other. "Xue Jun sees the Master," Xue Jun said as he saluted the man and bowed his head.
"En. No need to be tense. Is he your younger brother? Which one? The second? The youngest?" the man eyed Xue Rui's figure.
Xue Rui heard how Xue Jun addressed the other and he can't help but turn his head around to see. Since his brother's master is the owner of this place, and Min Xiaoyu's grandfather owned this place, he already knew that they are the same person. But when his eyes landed on this so-called grandfather, he was surprised at how young he looked like.
The man himself is wearing a similar black colored martial art garb. He was holding a wooden cane in a relaxed manner as if his home's gate had not been destroyed at all. In fact, his expression contained a hint of amusement.
'Did I get it wrong? He looked too young to be someone's grandfather. In fact, aren't we of the same age?!'
"He's my youngest brother, Xue Rui," Xue Jun replied. Then, he turned to Xue Rui and whispered to his younger brother. "Xiao Rui, this is my master, Min Shaotian."
"I see," after hearing Xue Jun's reply, Min Shaotian raised up his hand and touched his chin in a pondering manner. "And what about that person with the aura of a peak 4th stage Houtian? I can't believe there is someone who can train up to this point without any guidance," as he said this, his eyes moved from Xue Rui to where Li Xinwen is.
"He's... Li Xinwen. He recently got injured and had almost lost his life. I don't know how he managed to train in a short amount of time..." Xue Jun replied.
"Oh? What do you mean by that?"
"Master, it's not even a month since he woke up from his comatose state."
At this revelation, the man's expression changed. Compared to his easygoing demeanor earlier, he turned serious. "He's rising up too fast. He might be cultivating the demonic path..." as he said this, he walked toward Li Xinwen with a solemn expression.
Once he entered the domain, he lifted his cane up slightly before slamming it down to the ground. Almost immediately, the air around them changed and Li Xinwen's domain shattered. "I do not wish to cause unnecessary harm so I hope that you think properly before answering my question," Min Shaotian said as he eyed Li Xinwen. "What path are you cultivating?"
Li Xinwen had been focused on the man before him that he failed to notice Min Shaotian's arrival. In addition, Min Shaotian's cultivation level is a whole realm higher than his so if Min Shaotian wants to conceal his aura, Li Xinwen will not be able to perceive him.
But just because Min Shaotian is a realm higher than him, that doesn't mean that Li Xinwen is afraid of him. After all, Li Xinwen was someone who had already reached the peak of Kongming stage. Compared to his opponents back then, a Xiantian stage can be considered nothing in his eyes. He was confident that his experience is enough to make up the disparity in strength.
Seeing how Li Xinwen wasn't afraid of him, Min Shaotian let out a sigh. "Do you think that with your pseudo-domain, you could beat me?" Min Shaotian asked as his other hand went to hold the body of his cane. Then, he shifted his other hand, to hold the upper part of the cane before pulling it upwards.
'A hidden blade,' Li Xinwen thought as he watched the man unsheathe his weapon.
Li Xinwen was just about to move when he felt a set of arms wrapped around his abdomen. "Xin-gege, he has a sword. Don't go!" Sun Xiao cried out, his eyes were already pooled with water that is threatening to fall. "Let's just leave. Ah'Xiao doesn't want to learn martial art from this place anymore. This place is filled with bad guys!"
Min Shaotian who was called the bad guys: ...
Xue Jun who learned from someone who was called the bad guy: ...
The 'master' who was suppressed by Li Xinwen before: ...