"Don't address me as 'Senior Sister'. You aren't qualified to do so yet," Huo Lin'er sneered and scanned Ji Mo from head to toe. She puffed up her chest and spoke, "It's a miracle that someone like you would attend today's lecture. When you arrived just now, I thought you were here to stir up trouble. I was prepared to show you who's boss, but I didn't expect you to be so quiet throughout the lecture."
As she spoke, Huo Lin'er pouted somewhat reluctantly and her eyes glinted with mischief.
"Hmm…You seem to be disappointed," Ji Mo said.
"Of course, I'm disappointed. Recently, the outer disciples have become obedient and not one of them has caused any trouble. It's been a while since I've used violence." Huo Lin'er smiled, revealing a tiny canine tooth. However, this smile sent a shiver down Ji Mo's spine.
The urge to flee emerged within him again. Huo Lin'er was like a she-devil and he had better stay away from her. Otherwise, if she caught hold of him, he would suffer at her hands again.
"Don't you leave yet! There's something I want to speak to you about!" Huo Lin'er yelled when she realized that Ji Mo was about to sneak away.
He regarded her with a pained expression. "Aunt, I didn't offend you at all. Don't tell me you still want to punish me even though I've become obedient? You can't be that unreasonable."
"Are you teaching me how to behave?" Huo Lin'er glared angrily at him.
"No, no, no, I didn't mean that." Ji Mo shook his head hastily.
Huo Lin'er threw him a sideways glance and said, "Fine, let's get down to business. I've learned a new form of higher knowledge and I don't have someone to practice with me. I want you to be my sparring partner. After all, it's not like you have important things to attend to every day. Instead of wasting other people's time, I've decided to find someone like you."
"Huh?" Ji Mo gasped. "How could you say that? Isn't my own time important?"
"Hmph, you waste your time on those useless activities. You might as well help me do something meaningful. Aren't you willing to do so?" Huo Lin'er replied in a threatening manner.
Ji Mo's heart sank. He thought about how unlucky he was to become Huo Lin'er's sparring partner. Nothing else was as bad as this. It was understandable if the others were unaware of her methods, but he had been roughed up by her before.
No one else but Ji Mo knew how vicious this woman was.
Assuming he did not die when he became her sparring partner… No, he would surely die. He would be dead!!!
"Look for me in the arena in three days in the afternoon. Don't be late, or else…" Huo Lin'er waved a fist in front of Ji Mo, then turned around and left. Her womanly figure was akin to a fluttering butterfly.
Nevertheless, no matter how Ji Mo looked at it, Huo Lin'er's back was like a devil shrouded by darkening clouds.
Ji Mo went home with his head hung low. His earlier good mood had been shattered by Huo Lin'er's decision. He was fully aware that with his current physique, he would certainly be beaten senseless by her, or else she would not live up to her nickname of the Fiery Rose.
Evidently, he could not waste more time. He must cultivate the Celestial Devil Tempering Art as quickly as possible to strengthen his body. If not, he would not be able to survive Huo Lin'er's blows, let alone challenge others.
There was nothing much Ji Mo could do at Tianyuan Academy. Furthermore, he did not have any friends as no one wanted to befriend a useless person like him. For the whole day, he bummed around on his own. Right now, he could only wait for his clan supplies. Once the supplies arrived, he could focus wholeheartedly on cultivating the Celestial Devil Tempering Art.
When Ji Mo was about to leave, two people blocked his path.
He knew them, and one of them was his cousin, Ji Shan. The other one was a young man about seventeen or eighteen years of age. He was fair and rather good-looking, but he gave off an air of arrogance. He regarded Ji Mo with disdain and scorn.
"Anything I can help you with?" Ji Mo frowned.
He knew that these two were Nan Hao's lackeys and ran errands for the latter. Even Ji Shan, who belonged to the same clan as Ji Mo, stood on Nan Hao's side and became his sworn brother. They looked up to Nan Hao and were held in high regard by the disciples of Tianyuan Academy.
"Ji Mo, I haven't seen you for the past few days. Where have you been?" Ji Shan interrogated coldly.
Although he was Ji Mo's cousin, he had never respected Ji Mo. To him, Ji Mo was a useless nerd. In the clan, Ji Mo's status was nowhere near his. Besides that, Ji Mo was a joke at Tianyuan Academy. If not for Ji Mo's father, who was the clan leader, Ji Shan wanted to disown Ji Mo as his cousin.
"I went out for a walk. What's up?" Ji Mo answered. He did not like Ji Shan either.
"Went out for a walk, eh? Are you hiding something from me?" Ji Shan's gaze hardened. "I heard you had a fortuitous encounter and I don't know whether it's true or not. We're cousins. It isn't right if you run into a fortuitous encounter and keep all the goodies to yourself. Why don't you share it with us?"
"Yeah, both you and Ji Shan are cousins and not strangers. It is inappropriate for you to keep all the good stuff to yourself," added the young man beside Ji Shan. He was Nangong Ye, a disciple of the clan.
Ji Mo smiled and replied, "I didn't run into any fortuitous encounter. Don't believe any of that nonsense, cousin."
"Believe nonsense? But Du Jia doesn't seem like someone who would spout nonsense," Ji Shan responded dangerously.
'Du Jia…It's her again!' The mere mention of this woman caused Ji Mo to clench his fists unconsciously. It was all because of her that he was pursued and humiliated by Nan Hao. She was his fiancée and they were engaged to be married, yet she had an affair with Nan Hao. Aside from that, Du Jia told Nan Hao the story of Ji Mo obtaining the little cauldron.
Had she not done so, he would not have been pursued so relentlessly by Nan Hao and nearly lost his life.
Ji Shan noticed Ji Mo's silence and slowly narrowed his eyes. His eyes sparkled as he spoke, "Ji Mo, I know you aren't interested in cultivation. Why don't you tell us about your fortuitous encounter instead of wasting those precious resources?"
"I didn't run into any fortuitous encounter. Something did happen recently, but it's over now. Is there anything else? If not, I shall get going," Ji Mo replied. He did not want to entertain these two fellows any longer and brushed past Ji Shan's shoulder.
"Stay there! Ji Mo, you'd better come clean with me!" Ji Shan grabbed Ji Mo's shoulder firmly and glared at him in a diabolical manner. "I heard you've acquired some sort of treasure. You'd better hand it over so that we can share it among ourselves. You can't hog it."
"Yeah, you'd better come clean," Nangong Ye echoed.
Ji Mo grinned but his gaze became serious. "I've told you, I didn't run into any fortuitous encounter. Even if there was one, the treasure is no longer mine. You won't get any goodies from me."
When he finished speaking, he was about to move forward.
"Ji Mo, don't try to be funny with me." Ji Shan's eyes glinted with murderous intent. "Seeing as we belong to the same clan, I won't trouble you. Tell me everything honestly. You must understand the difference between us. Although you're Uncle's son, everybody knows how insignificant you are in the clan. You're just a good-for-nothing wimp."
"Who I am is none of your business." Ji Mo shoved Ji Shan's hand away and departed without looking back.
"Ji Mo, remember this. I'll always be watching you," Ji Shan growled and his gaze sparkled with mad rage.
Fortuitous encounters and lucky chances posed as a deadly form of temptation to cultivators. A fortuitous encounter could alter one's fate and a stroke of luck could greatly increase one's capability. This would result in jealousy among people, so it was only natural for Ji Shan and Nangong Ye to react that way.