Yellow Character Number Five.
Lin Bai came to the entrance and looked around for a while before calmly pushing the door open.
Beyond the door was a small courtyard house. An Evergreen Brew tree grew in the middle of the courtyard, its enormous canopy blocking out the sunlight and bringing a trace of coolness.
Under the great tree, a dark-faced youth with an honest, simple look was squatting on the ground, washing clothes.
When the youth saw Lin Bai enter, he smiled in delight. "Hello, you're a new disciple, right? My name is Zhao Tiedan."
Although Zhao Tiedan looked rather foolish and dazed, his honest, pure smile still made Lin Bai feel quite comfortable.
"My name is Lin Bai. Tiedan, who gave you that name? Was choosing a name really that casual?" Lin Bai asked with a smile.
"Haha, my father said that the year I was born, there was a famine at home. Dead people were everywhere, so he named me Tiedan. He said a cheap name would be easier to raise."
"Big Brother Lin Bai, believe it or not, it really worked. Almost all the children born the same year as me died young, but I was the only one who survived."
Tiedan grinned foolishly.
"Good, good. You're quite diligent. You started washing clothes as soon as you arrived?" Lin Bai said with a smile when he saw Tiedan doing the laundry.
"Yeah. I'm washing Senior Apprentice Xu's clothes. He said he had to cultivate and asked me to help him. I don't have anything to do right now anyway, so I washed them for him."
Tiedan smiled and said, "Big Brother Lin Bai, do you have any dirty clothes? I can wash yours too."
At those words, Lin Bai's eyes spun round and round.
Lin Bai understood. This Senior Apprentice Xu was probably bullying Tiedan.
Looking into the washbasin, he saw that Tiedan was washing everything—outer clothes, underclothes, underwear, and socks.
"I don't." Lin Bai shook his head.
"Tiedan, stop washing them too. Whoever's clothes they are, they should wash them themselves."
Lin Bai spoke.
"Well said. Whoever's clothes they are, they should wash them themselves."
Just then, another young man suddenly arrived at the entrance. He wore a neat, fitted black outfit, had a tall, slender build and a long face carrying a smile. A Three-Foot Azure Edge was strapped to his back, giving him quite the air of a wandering hero.
"My name is Qi Shaolong. I'm a new disciple, and my cultivation is at the Martial Dao Ninth Level Peak."
As soon as the man entered, he announced this with full confidence.
"I am Lin Bai." Lin Bai smiled and returned the greeting.
"My name is Tiedan." Tiedan smiled foolishly.
Qi Shaolong said, "Tiedan, stop washing them. Lin Bai is right. Whoever's clothes they are, they should wash them themselves."
Just then, a tightly shut door suddenly opened.
A youth with a face full of smiles walked out and called out, "Oh my, I only slept for a little while, and everyone from Yellow Character Number Five is already here."
"Haha, my name is Xu Rui!"
After laughing, the youth immediately introduced himself.
"Were you the one who told Tiedan to wash those clothes?" Qi Shaolong asked with an unfriendly expression.
Lin Bai also looked at Xu Rui with a meaningful smile.
In this world, the weak were prey to the strong. Lin Bai had understood that long ago.
If Xu Rui really had told Tiedan to wash the clothes, then ordinarily, Xu Rui would probably also make things difficult for Lin Bai and Qi Shaolong.
"Oh, I didn't tell him to wash them. He insisted on doing it, and I couldn't do anything about that."
"Let's not talk about this for now. These two rooms are still vacant. You two can stay there first."
Xu Rui pointed at the two empty rooms.
"Hmph." Qi Shaolong snorted coldly and walked toward the room.
Lin Bai also walked toward the entrance to his own room.
When Lin Bai opened the door to his room, a pungent stench rushed straight into his face.
On the bed inside the room were three buckets of sewage.
It was the height of summer, with the blazing sun overhead. The sewage had been left in the tightly shut room, making the stench unbearable.
"Damn, it stinks!" Qi Shaolong was even more exaggerated, cursing furiously on the spot.
Lin Bai turned around with an unfriendly look and glanced at Xu Rui. "You put this here?"
Xu Rui grinned. "Look at how good I am to you. I knew you'd be hungry after traveling such a long way, so I specially prepared food for you ten days ago."
"Go on and eat it. Have it while it's still hot."
Xu Rui smiled smugly.
Tiedan timidly walked over to Qi Shaolong and Lin Bai and whispered, "Big Brother Lin Bai, Big Brother Qi Shaolong, just eat... a little. Just a little will do. Xu Rui isn't trying to make things difficult for you."
"Isn't that right, Xu Rui?"
Tiedan said this to Lin Bai and Qi Shaolong.
"No. You can eat only a little, but they have to eat it all." Xu Rui burst into loud laughter.
Lin Bai looked at Tiedan. "You ate it?"
Tiedan nodded frantically. "He said it was prepared for me, so I ate just a little..."
"This is going too far!" Lin Bai shouted furiously.
His aura erupted at once!
Qi Shaolong also glared at Xu Rui ferociously, his gaze turning hostile.
Seeing Lin Bai and Qi Shaolong bare their claws, Xu Rui immediately wiped the false smile from his face and said, "Heh heh, you new disciples should obediently eat this stuff. Wouldn't that solve everything?"
"I advise you to eat it quickly. Otherwise, you won't escape a beating!"
As Xu Rui spoke, his aura erupted. A cultivation level at the Martial Realm Peak burst forth in an instant.
The Martial Realm Peak was slightly higher than Qi Shaolong's Martial Dao Ninth Level Peak.
"Fine. Didn't you say this was prepared for us? I'm not hungry, so I'll feed it to you instead." Qi Shaolong's killing intent surged.
The sharp sword behind him left its sheath, and a flash of cold light appeared.
His vicious sword thrust straight toward Xu Rui's throat without another word!
The instant Qi Shaolong attacked, he carried a trace of killing intent.
"Hmph. You haven't even reached the Martial Dao Ninth Level, yet you dare act arrogantly in front of me? Are you looking to die?" Xu Rui snorted coldly and slapped out with one palm.
Bang!
Qi Shaolong's sword was knocked aside, and Qi Shaolong himself was sent flying. He crashed heavily into the wall and spat out blood.
"Bastard!" Qi Shaolong was so furious that the veins on his forehead bulged.
He rose from the ground and was about to charge at Xu Rui again.
Lin Bai reached out to stop him. "Shaolong, you're not his match. Let me handle it."
The anger in Qi Shaolong's heart had yet to fade, and he let out an enraged snort.
"Be careful. This man's palm technique is very strong."
Qi Shaolong spoke to Lin Bai in a low voice.
Lin Bai nodded and walked up to Xu Rui. "I know that you disciples who arrived earlier all teach the newcomers the rules. But you've probably forgotten that only those with greater strength have the right to teach those rules!"
"Am I not strong enough? Killing you would be as easy as crushing an ant!" Xu Rui sneered.
"Is that so? I'll let you strike first!"
"If I can't defeat you in one move, I'll eat all three buckets of sewage."
Lin Bai stared at Xu Rui.
"Haha, you said it yourself!"
"Watch me punch the shit out of you!"
Xu Rui gave a sinister smile and charged forward with a furious punch.
"Mountain Shattering Fist!"
The instant the punch was thrown, its earth-shattering force made Qi Shaolong and Tiedan tense all over, their eyes wide with shock.
"Lin Bai, be careful." Qi Shaolong called out a warning.
"Hmph, a trifling trick!"
Lin Bai watched Xu Rui's punch come at him without moving an inch. Then he swung his own fist back in a direct collision.
Bang!
The force of their fists collided in midair, producing a thunderous boom. Xu Rui's body was then sent flying like a cannonball, smashing his own house into pieces.
"What!"
"He's that strong?"
Qi Shaolong and Tiedan both stared at Lin Bai with their eyes wide open.
"Damn it, you actually dared to hit me! I'm a disciple of the Xu Lineage, the foremost great family in the imperial capital. How dare you hit me!" Xu Rui crawled out of the ruins in a sorry state.
"Just you wait. I'll come back for revenge!"
Xu Rui clutched his chest, coughed up another mouthful of blood, shot Lin Bai a venomous look, and ran out of the courtyard.
"Try provoking me again, and I'll take your life!"
Watching Xu Rui's back, Lin Bai spoke coldly.