Mingshi Yin said sulkily, "You better not go too far in pretending. You and I were both beaten from childhood to adulthood, and we have suffered injuries more serious than this."
"You are really clever, Junior Brother," said Duanmu Sheng with an embarrassed smile.
"Ten days…If you are still lying in bed after ten days, I'll stop fixing the shield. When Master comes back, you will be taught a lesson," said Mingshi Yin as he folded his arms over his chest.
"I don't need ten days. Seven days are more than enough. Junior Brother, you may leave me now. I need to heal myself. It is not so appropriate for two single men to stay in the same room."
"Bah!" Mingshi Yin turned and left his senior brother.
It was already night outside, and the moon hung high up in the sky. Mingshi Yin looked up at the night sky and murmured to himself, "What exactly are you thinking, Master? Wait, is that a letter?"
He leaped up into the sky and caught a carrier bird. After reading the letter, he furrowed his brow slightly and said in surprise, "How did Master know that Third Senior Brother is injured?"
He glanced around and spread his divine sense out to cover the void hundreds of meters around him. Apart from some birds perched on tree branches, he sensed no other creatures or people.
Mingshi Yin was uneasy and nervous, and he had a feeling that his master was watching him from a nearby corner. So, he went down on his knees and said, "Master, I didn't mean to be rude to you. Rest assured, I'll certainly work hard to fix the shield and take good care of Golden Court Mountain."
The surroundings were quiet and dark, so he rose to his feet and breathed a sigh of relief. 'Don't panic. As long as I follow Master's way, I'll be fine.'
...
"Ding! You have disciplined Mingshi Yin and are rewarded with 100 merit points."
"Mingshi Yin's loyalty increased by 2%."
Lu Zhou sat cross-legged in a room and was reading the Human Scroll of Heaven Writing. He had become accustomed to inexplicable system prompts. No matter what had caused the increase, it was a piece of pleasant news to hear.
"To gain the power to look into the future, we should know that we cannot say anything about the future..."
"... the power to hear everything, so that we can hear voices in all realms at will..."
"... the power of speech, which can change the world with words and free the common people from sufferings..."
Lu Zhou closed the Heaven Writing's interface. That was the only readable content in the Human Scroll, while the rest were still unrecognizable symbols.
"I remember when I read the Human Scroll the first time, only the title page was readable. But now, I can read two more pages. Is it because both my lifespan and cultivation base have improved?"
The purpose of cultivating Heaven Writing was to improve the cultivation base, but he could only read the content after his cultivation base was improved. It seemed to be putting the cart before the horse.
"You are purposely making things difficult for me, aren't you?"
Lu Zhou felt the energy within him. Since he stepped into the Sense Condensing realm, he had absorbed a lot of energy with the help of his avatar. But, in the face of a Divine Court expert, he was still as weak as an ant.
The night was long, and he seemed to have nothing else to do but read. The words 'lucky draw' flashed in his mind, but he immediately shook his head. "It is an addictive game, and I should wait until I have more merit points."
...
The next morning, at the Azure Dragon Association's headquarters near the Gu River...
"You mean the person who wounded you is a little girl who looks like she is only fifteen or sixteen years old, and she was accompanied by an old man in his seventies or eighties?" asked the chief, Liu Zhengfeng.
The two men kneeling in the hall drew long faces and did not dare to speak.
Liu Zhengfeng paced back and forth. A moment later, he said again, "An early-stage Mystic Enlightening cultivator and a seventh or eighth-tier Body Tempering cultivator...What gave them the courage to provoke the Azure Dragon Association?"
"I don't know, Chief. We were recruiting disciples in the street of Anyang when the wild girl suddenly appeared and wounded Officer Jiang. Her grandfather even said...he said..."
"What did he say?"
"He said he will call on you personally today."
Liu Zhengfeng snorted, and his face looked puzzled and dismissive.
What puzzled him was why a mere Mystic Enlightening cultivator had the courage to challenge them. He did not think that the Azure Dragon Association had the need to deal with such a trifle matter. However, if he ignored it, how were they going to recruit disciples again? He needed to regain dignity.
"Bring twenty brothers with you and find the girl who wounded Officer Jiang today."
"I understand!"
The two men were getting up to their feet when a man rushed into the hall as he cupped his fist and said, "Chief, a girl wishes to see you."
"Tell her to go away."
"She said her patience is limited, and until she can still obey her grandfather's order, she asked you to...to...do as she said." When he had finished, the man looked up and peeked at the chief.
'To do as she said' sounded like what a senior would tell a junior.
Bam!
Bam!
Suddenly, several men crashed through doors and windows while shrieks and screams could be heard from outside. Liu Zhengfeng was in a bad mood already, and he was confused when he saw that.
"What's happening?"
"Go and have a look."
Liu Zhengfeng led his men out of the inner hall.
Over the courtyard, Little Yuan'er stood on the roof in her blue clothes, twisting her hair with one finger and pointing with another finger at the cultivators of the Azure Dragon Association down below as she said, "I told you my patience is limited. I have been good enough to not beat you, and yet you made me wait outside? How dare you!"
"Sh-she is so strong."
"Her cultivation base must be at least at the Brahma Sea realm. What should we do?"
"The Chief is here!"
The crowd parted. Liu Zhengfeng looked up at Little Yuan'er and frowned slightly.
"Chief, that's her! She is the one who wounded Officer Jiang!"
With hands clasped behind his back, Liu Zhengfeng said, "She's an expert. No wonder..."
Little Yuan'er's eyes fell on Liu Zhengfeng, and she asked, "Are you the head of this Azure Dragon Association?"
'Ugh, the head?'
"Young lady, you should understand that there is always someone who is better than you. Don't think that you are invincible just because you are a Brahma Sea expert," said Liu Zhengfeng angrily.
Since she was a child, Little Yuan'er had seldom left Golden Court Mountain, so she did not know much about the way of dealing with others. She knew nothing about being humble or low-key, and all she knew was to quickly complete the task assigned by her master.
"What are you talking about? I'm asking you, are you the head of the gang?" Little Yuan'er furrowed her brow.
"I am the Chief of the Azure Dragon Association's Anyang branch, Liu Zhengfeng."
"Are you in charge of everything?"
"Of course, I am."
"Good! I have a task for you."
In the courtyard, everyone looked up warily at Little Yuan'er.
Liu Zhengfeng was somewhat annoyed. He was trying to figure out what gave the little girl courage to offend the Azure Dragon Association, but in the end, he was just wasting his breath.
"That's enough! Take her down!" He waved a hand, at which, archers began to let loose arrows at Little Yuan'er.
"You are a naughty head!" As she said that, she lightly stamped her foot.
An energy ring rippled out from the bottom of her foot. In just the blink of an eye, the buildings beneath her collapsed and crumbled while waves of energy shot out in all directions.
"You have opened the eight meridians of the Brahma Sea realm!" Liu Zhengfeng's eyes grew wide.