Freedom of action stood at the base of the demonic path, but one could feel restricted by walking down this path.
[Such a contradiction!]
Zhuo Fan started, returning to the old unanswered problem plaguing his mind.
"Damn that Ren Cong! How dare he look down on me, like it's beneath him to talk to me. This is bullshit!" Just when Zhuo Fan was finally alone with his thoughts, a loud voice complaining sounded.
A bang followed, and the door was slammed open again. Fiend Yang stomped inside and saw Zhuo Fan. "You, the Heaven Trailing Sect is asking for you! Go see them!"
"Me? What for?" Zhuo Fan raised an eyebrow, "You're a great Venerable, aren't you? You're not enough?"
"Of course I am, but those sons of she-dogs have holes for eyes." Fiend Yang grumbled, then sighed, "But they want to meet you specifically, so you must go. They are the head of Tianyu's three guardian sects. We have to show our respect. "
Zhuo Fan rolled his eyes and went. Fiend Yang led the way to the front of the courtyard.
Four stood inside, looking around while Gui Hu and the others accompanied them.
"Your place sure is tiny, but what can you expect from a lower three sect, ha-ha-ha…" A young master in silken robes fanned himself as he laughed.
The two youths in green around him laughed as well, looking at Gui Hu with derision.
The grizzled old man said nothing.
Gui Hu was angry, but the two fiends left here stopped him and the other disciples from shouting. Zhuo Fan saw this and asked Fiend Yang, "Is Heaven Trailing Sect here to look for trouble? Quite the tone they have."
"I'm not sure. However, there hasn't been any issue between our sects. Just go there, and you'll know." Fiend Yang rolled his eyes.
The two approached.
Gui Hu's side bowed before Steward Zhuo and stood aside. The four instantly set their eyes on him.
The young master snapped his fan closed and barked, "So you're the dark horse of the lower three sects? I saw you when your sect fought with Mystical Heaven Sect. But why did you not participate? I am not sure how tough you are, but you sure know how to be cocky."
[You know I'm cocky, yet you come at me with that attitude? Are you itching to be pummeled?]
Zhuo Fan rolled his eyes, "That makes two of us. Why have you all come here? And for me in particular?"
"Ha-ha-ha, we heard you're running rampant and that the sect cherishes you. The venerables must've exaggerated, so we came to see the truth!"
The young master showed a nasty smile filled with contempt.
Zhuo Fan's eyelid twitched. Now he got the gist of what they wanted. They came for a fight.
[A puny middle three sect wants to waste my time? Ha!]
The young master took Zhuo Fan's silence for fear and grew more courageous, "Ha-ha-ha, now don't be so nervous. I came with good intentions. I presume you also saw the middle three sects' stage today and should already know what to do. I only came here thinking you have been complacent and thought of reminding you how things stand."
Demon Scheming Sect's disciples knew where he was going with this, and their faces fell. Only Zhuo Fan played the fool, sporting the same baffled look.
"How was the result in today's stage anyway? Please tell me." Zhuo Fan smiled.
The young master's face twitched and turned dark. He glared, "Are you mocking us when you already know? Humph, we may have had poor results this time in Double Dragon Gatherings, ending up last in the middle three sects stage, but nothing a puny and insignificant lower three sect could ever compare to."
"Oh, so you're the runt! Afraid you might end up kicked further down, you came to beg for mercy, is that it?" Zhuo Fan snickered, "Ha-ha-ha, what a good little doggy, wag your tail for master. But you're missing the right attitude when begging. You'll never get any attention if you keep barking and snarling."
"Bastard!"
Two shouts sounded in unison, one from the young master and the other from the elder.
Hu~
Pressure had come at Zhuo Fan. The elder was furious and shot a palm attack toward his head. Zhuo Fan only squinted, standing his ground like a statue and awaiting this reckless old fool's death.
[Humph, you've gone senile if you think you can beat me in the 5th layer Ethereal Stage!]
Bam!
The old man's attack never reached Zhuo Fan, as Fiend Yang blocked the palm.
They both staggered five steps back before stopping.
The old man glared at Fiend Yang, who hurriedly waved his hands, "Ha-ha-ha, Elder Qi, Zhuo Fan hasn't been at the fights today. He doesn't know your sect's situation. He wasn't trying to offend your great sect with his ignorance. Please forgive him."
"Ignorant? Then what did he mean by his last words? What dog?" Elder Qi grunted.
"Uh…"
Put on the spot, Fiend Yang chuckled.
Zhuo Fan had the same stoic face as he said, "Then why have you come here?"
"We came to warn you to know your place and don't participate in the challenge stage. Just stand aside and watch before you humiliate yourself." The young master mocked Zhuo Fan.
Zhuo Fan sneered, "Isn't that the same thing? Why would you bother coming here to run your mouths if you aren't scared of us? That only means you're scared. If that is the case, try to at least act like it. Stop with the tough act. I ain't buying it!"
"Why you…"
The young master was burning with rage and shot his two green friends a signal.
The two nodded and went for Qi Changlong, Bai Lian, and Lu Xie, the strongest disciples.
The trio was on guard, knowing they couldn't be careless against these two, having the same cultivation as them, 3rd layer Ethereal Stage.
But then the two vanished and appeared behind them with a palm attack.
Bang~
Three explosions sounded, and Qi Changlong, with the other two, was sent flying, bleeding from their mouths. As for the two in green, they were back in their spots.
Zhuo Fan's heart tensed, "A combined attack again?"
"Humph, let this be a warning to you. If you dare meet us on stage, I won't care if we're sects from the same empire. We'll slaughter you!" The youth flicked his hand, and he left with his friends in green and elder. Qi Changlong and the others barely got to their feet, their eyes filled with hatred.
Zhuo Fan calmed down and said, "Will you let them have it?"
"We'll give them shit! Why the hell would we do what they want anyway? We'll be the middle three sect when we throw them back!"
Fiend Yang snorted, "Zhuo Fan, remember this well. That cocky kid is Ren Cong. He is Sect Leader Ren's son. You can teach him any lesson you want, except killing him. As for the rest, you decide. But those two in green are Cong Shan and Cong Lin. They train in the Mountain and Forest's Shadow. Their location isn't constant, and they are hard to avoid. They almost scored two wins from Sword God Sect in today's battles. But they met with Gentle Sword Wen Tao. If not, just by score alone, they would have Demon Soul Sect beaten and in second place since Demon Soul Sect only had one point over them."
"Thank you, Demon Soul Sect, for bringing him to me. See how I'll kick them out of the middle three sects." Zhuo Fan snickered and turned to the rest, "Tomorrow, we'll be fighting together!"
Roar!
The others cheered. After taking a round off of fighting, Steward Zhuo was back in action.
[Hump, cocky brat of Heaven Trailing Sect, your days are numbered!]
Meanwhile, Ren Cong and the other three looked smug about their success. "Elder Qi, the kid isn't much after all. You went to attack, yet he just stood still like a moron. Cong Shan and Cong Lin attacked those disciples, and he still didn't help. Our fears were unfounded, ha-ha-ha…"
The four came to the Demon Scheming Sect to warn them and test the waters. They hadn't seen Zhuo Fan fight and came to probe him.
A shame their testing not only ended up fruitless but even managed to yank the enemy's chain into biting them back harder.
They failed because of their stupidity. But the biggest irony was they were oblivious of it…