The Bright Moon Sect's pavilion was built with sturdy timber and bamboo. The construction was simple yet elegant.
The pavilion had three floors. The first floor was the sect's library where the sect kept its collection of books and scrolls on cultivation and martial arts. The second floor was the alchemy hall where the pills and elixirs were refined. The third floor was the main hall where the sect master held meetings. Outside the pavilion a small garden was present where some spirit herbs and flowers grew.
The atmosphere on the third floor of the Bright Moon Sect's pavilion was gloomy in the morning.
"This is a bad omen, it only occurred in our sect. The heavens must be furious." an old man with a long beard said. He was Qin Yimu, the first elder of the sect.
"How can the heavens not be furious? We have ignored the suffering of mortals for too long. Evil cultivators are wreaking havoc in the villages under our jurisdiction. Tsk. Only Elder Su does his duty diligently." A fat bald man with a short stature said. He was Deng Guiying, the fourth elder of the sect.
"..." Su Zhi, who was the second elder, remained silent.
They were talking about what had happened yesterday. In the evening, the sky had become pitch-black and the earth had trembled violently. The most dreadful thing was, it had only occurred in The Bright Moon Sect.
"Sect Leader, what should we do?" another elder asked.
The Sect Leader was a thin black haired man, with a mustache and a goatee. He spoke in a grave tone, "We must launch expeditions and eradicate the evil cultivators in the Verdure Province." He paused and continued, "including the Purple Snake Society."
The main hall became louder and more chaotic.
…
Li Ying was checking the cultivation manuals in the library to find the suitable one for himself. Wang Huo was standing beside him and helped him pick the manual.
The library was big but it was compact with bookshelves. The shelves were made of wood and were lined up in rows.
Li Ying had read countless books as a scholar and he could discern the best book in the library at a glance, but it would take him days to scan all the manuals. That was the reason he begged his master for help yesterday, she had a powerful divine sense and she could select the best one for him in a second.
He regretted using his one-year request so soon, but he also wondered if he could bear not knowing his mysterious master's name. What if she was recorded in the annals of history. Learning her name was the most worthy use of his one-year request. Li Ying blamed her for being so stingy, she refused to reveal her name unless he used his request.
As Li Ying was flipping through the pages of a manual he heard a fuss.
A young man in a sky blue robe was walking in the library being followed by a swarm of disciples in green robes. They were all seeking his attention.
"Senior Brother, please teach me how to use the 'tiger fist hand', I can't gather qi around my hand." one of the disciples requested.
"Get lost! Senior brother promised yesterday that he will resume with me today." a girl in a green robe said, clinging to the young man's arm.
"No, brother, please pick me first, I have been waiting for three days."
"Shut up! I have been waiting for four days."
"No, Senior brother, please choose me. I have a mission to complete today."
The library, which was supposed to be a place of silence and study, turned into a chaotic marketplace. Li Ying felt annoyed as he couldn't focus anymore.
'Why am I even bothered, this is a trashy sect. I can't expect any manners or respect from these people.' He tried to ignore the noise and continued flipping through the pages.
The sky-blue robed disciple walked to the middle of the library and sat. He said,
"Please make a line, I will only talk to one person at a time."
The disciples pushed each other making a huge commotion, while shouting
"Let me go first."
"No, please let me…"
Wang Huo, who had kept quiet until then, spoke up. "Shao Li is a really good person, he cares about the cultivation progress of the outer disciples."
Li Ying, who was already irritated, felt even more so. 'Don't tell me you admire him too, Wang Huo.'
He questioned, "It's nice that he is mentoring his juniors, but why is he doing it in the Library of all places?"
Wang Huo thought for a moment, then his eyes widened. "This cunning bastard, he is doing it to curry favor with the elders."
"What do you mean by that, Senior brother?" Li Ying had a vague idea, but he wanted to hear more.
"The pavilion is a place where the elders come often, they will surely notice him if he makes such a racket every day. But he is not breaking any rules, so you should not bother yourself with him." Wang Huo sighed.
"Senior brother, let's go check it out."
"If you insist, let's go."
Shao Li, who was lecturing the outer disciples, saw one of his fellow inner disciples in sky-blue robe approaching him. A bald young man in black robe followed him. He ignored them and continued his preaching.
Li Ying had also gotten a sky-blue robe from Wang Huo this morning. But he didn't wear it. The black robe that was given to him by Mu Xuanyin was a treasure. He didn't want to replace it just to be recognized as an inner disciple.
The inner disciples were those who were direct disciples of the elders. As for the green robe disciples, they were the outer disciples who had no elder to accept them.
Li Ying stood there, listening to Shao Li's words of wisdom to the outer disciples.
His face was expressionless, but inside he was boiling with anger. 'This scum has disturbed the entire library, yet the guidance he gives is full of lies and nonsense. He will only ruin the cultivation prospects of these outer disciples by making them misunderstand the martial art manuals.'
Suddenly, Li Ying heard a voice in his head. It was Mu Xuanyin, his master, "Li Ying, you wanted me to pick the best manual here?"
Li Ying quickly took out the jade token from his robe and hid it in his palm. He infused qi into the token and thought in his mind.
"Yes, master. Please help me, I am going insane here."
"I can do that, but there is a condition."
Li Ying felt relieved yet curious at the same time. He asked, "What is the condition?"
A playful voice replied, "It's nothing big, you just have to slap this Shao Li on the cheeks."
Li Ying was stunned, 'So master is also fed up with this guy, but how does she know about him, is she watching me with her divine sense?'
He pushed aside all his doubts and focused on the more urgent matter. How could he slap this guy and escape the consequences?
His lips curled as he came with an idea.
Li Ying rushed towards Shao Li, pushing aside everyone on the way.
Shao Li looked at the approaching figure. He was about to open his mouth and say something. But Li Ying was already too close.
SLAP!!
Shao Li was dumbfounded. He was just slapped by a disciple that he had never met before.
Commotion broke out, every outer disciple tried to pull Li Ying away but they failed, they were all at Qi Condensation three or four stages.
Shao Li was speechless as if trying to process what had just occurred.
Wang Huo frowned, he was also surprised and came forward, "What's wrong Li Ying, why did you do that?"
Li Ying, whose face now looked as if he had encountered a ghost, looked at Wang Huo and said in a cold voice, "Senior Brother, when I saw him smile I was reminded of the wicked cultivator who had slaughtered my village."
"What!" It was Shao Li who screamed just now.
Wang Huo took a closer look at Li Ying who was looking down now and then he turned to Shao Li and said, "Shao Li, my junior brother had a tragic past, can you overlook this matter, please." He said 'please' but his tone was more of commanding.
Shao Li, who was now furious, yelled again, "Senior brother Wang, this is ridiculous."
Wang Huo stared at him with a menacing look, "You are not really an evil cultivator disguised in the sect, are you?"
"W-what…" Shao Li couldn't comprehend what he heard. It was too ludicrous. But the look on Wang Huo was serious. He didn't want to provoke Wang Huo any further.
Shao Li rose and headed to the exit. His eyes were fixed on the exit. He was too embarrassed to look anyone in the eyes.
But as he passed by Wang Huo, who was still scowling at him, a hand seized his shoulder. It was Wang Huo.
"You are not thinking of leaving without apologizing, right?"
Shao Li spun around and looked into Wang Huo's eyes, "Apologize for what?"
"Because of you, my junior brother recalled his most painful memory, apologize to him." Wang Huo commanded, he went on, "and don't give a lukewarm apology, apologize as if you confess that you have done a heinous deed and regret it. So, do it with a smile…Wait, don't smile but still do it as genuinely as you can."
Shao Li almost coughed up blood but he still wasn't brave enough to face this muscular giant who stood in front of him. He looked at Li Ying and bowed, "Junior please forgive me, I shouldn't have smiled."
"Hahahaha!" Li Ying heard a loud laughter in his mind, it was Mu Xuanyin. He was still lowering his head and his cheekbone was throbbing.
Li Ying was too ashamed to meet Shao Li's gaze. He knew that Wang Huo was a genius of the sect and he would deal with the situation but he didn't expect the situation to escalate this much. This was simply bullying.
Wang Huo glanced at the quiet Li Ying and said to Shao Li, "It's nice that you admit your fault. You can leave now. And don't do this nonsense in the library again."