Recruitment

"Stop!" Long Yuyin ran in front of Nie Li and tossed the whip back to him.

"Whether you want to or not, you have to strike these three lashes today. I, Long Yuyin, have always repaid grievances with grievances. I lost today, and I have nothing to say about it, but next time, I'll reclaim everything for the insults and curses you hurled at me!"

Seeing Long Yuyin's overbearing expression, the grudges from Nie Li's previous life were stirred up once more. He took the whip.

"You really think too highly of yourself, Long Yuyin! What do you think you are? Just because you're a genius, you can treat everyone else like ants? You don't have the slightest sense of compassion, treating human lives like grass. At the slightest displeasure, you lash out and kill. Cursing you was going easy on you. Is the Dragon Seal Family so powerful? Then why don't you fight the Demon God Sect to the death? You only dare act tough within your own nest, suppressing the geniuses of your own family every day. What use is that?"

"What use is a family like that? It might as well be destroyed! And you, relying on the vast resources of your family, achieving a little success in cultivation, then acting all high and mighty, thinking everyone else is trash."

"In my eyes, those who do not rely on external help or borrowed resources, but climb upward step by step through their own efforts, are the true geniuses."

"And you people! You are the real trash, trash that only knows how to consume cultivation resources!" Nie Li raised the whip and lashed it down fiercely.

"This lash is for the Feather God Sect disciples you bullied!"

Smack

The whip struck Long Yuyin's face viciously, leaving a bright red welt.

"This lash is for myself!"

Smack

The second lash struck Long Yuyin's chest, tearing her clothes and exposing a sliver of pale skin. Long Yuyin hurriedly turned around.

"The third lash is for my master!"

Smack! The third lash struck Long Yuyin's back.

Tears kept welling up in Long Yuyin's eyes.

He humiliated me like this. Am I really such a terrible person in everyone else's eyes...? I only wanted to be stronger than others. I never casually killed anyone... As for Nie Li, I only wanted to teach him a lesson. I would never have killed him. Why does he hate me so much?

The harshest lash was for his master, but I don't even know who his master is. Why does he speak of me as though I'm so vicious...?

Long Yuyin turned around. Tears fell from her eyes, making her look especially pitiful.

"Nie Li, I hate you!" Long Yuyin turned and ran away.

"Nie Li." Shangguan Ye and Xiao Yu came down.

"Looks like she's going to fight you to the death," Xiao Yu reminded him.

"Let her come. I'm not afraid of her."

Long Yuyin returned home, treated her wounds, and had just stepped out of her room when a somewhat effeminate-looking man approached her.

"Yin'er, I heard someone bullied you."

Hu Yong looked at the marks on Long Yuyin's face that had yet to fully fade, his expression filled with rage.

"Who was it? I'll wipe out his entire family!"

Hearing Hu Yong's words, Long Yuyin recalled what Nie Li had just said.

"Get lost."

"Huh?"

"Are you just going to swallow this and not take revenge?"

"I'm not even his match. Do you think you're very strong?"

"Then... I'll have the experts in the family teach him a lesson!"

"Enough! The moment you run into trouble, you ask the family's experts for help. Without your family, what are you?" Long Yuyin raged.

Seeing Long Yuyin like this, Hu Yong asked timidly.

"Does the other side have a powerful background? Is he from the Gu Clan or the Azure Flame Family?"

Long Yuyin looked somewhat despondent.

"Heh... I understand what Nie Li meant now."

"Get out!"

Hu Yong trembled and fled in disgrace.

Meanwhile, Shangguan Ye and the others came down and walked over to Gu Lan.

"Sir truly is extraordinary. Gu Lan admires you."

"Sister Gu Lan, there's no need to be so formal. Gu Bei and I are brothers, so just call me Little Ye."

"Little Ye..."

Gu Lan's eyes shifted.

"Can I call you Shangguan, like Nie Li and the others do?"

"It's only a form of address. As long as Sister is happy."

Gu Lan actually had her own little thoughts. Calling him Little Ye would make them seem like real siblings, which was not what she wanted.

"We should be going. Sister Gu Lan, hurry back and get some rest."

"Alright."

Gu Bei pushed Gu Lan away. They had only taken a few steps when Gu Heng arrived with several people.

"You are Shangguan Ye and Nie Li, correct?"

"On your first time entering the Sacred Spirit Immortal Realm, you took first and third place, trampling everyone else beneath your feet. Impressive."

"You are...?"

"Oh, right. My name is Gu Heng, the first-in-line heir of the Gu Clan. I came today because I wanted to make friends with several young geniuses."

"Oh, making friends? I like making friends the most. We're friends now," Lu Piao said with a grin.

"Uh..."

At that moment, Shangguan Ye spoke.

"If I'm not mistaken, Young Master Gu should know that we've already become friends with Gu Bei. Is Young Master Gu Heng trying to poach us?"

"You're a smart man, Brother. There's no future in following Gu Bei and his sister. Come to my side, and I'll give you benefits beyond your imagination."

"There's no need to decide right away. The doors of the Gu Clan will always be open to you. You can take your time considering it." After saying that, Gu Heng left with his people.

"Shangguan, that guy doesn't look like a good person. What should we do?" Lu Piao asked.

"With his standing, he isn't qualified to recruit us. Besides, he won't be able to hold onto his position as first-in-line heir for much longer," Shangguan Ye said with a smile.

"You want to support Gu Bei's rise to power?" Xiao Yu asked.

"Indeed. With Gu Bei's talent, as long as we help him a little, the position of Patriarch will be secure."

"Shangguan, what you told me through voice transmission earlier... do you have the same idea about Long Yuyin?" Nie Li asked.

"That's right. As long as we help the two of them take the positions of Patriarch, we can begin planning for the Feather God Sect as well."

"But it's still too early. Let's go. It's getting late."

"Let's go."

As night gradually fell, Ying Ru Yue sat within a formation inside a small wooden house, operating the Heavenly Evolution Technique.

"Ever since I first uncovered a bit of information about Shangguan Ye, the Heavenly Evolution Technique has been useless against him. It seems someone is interfering. Although you are very mysterious, I do not know whether that is good or bad for my disciple. But once Nie Li reaches the Heaven Rotation Realm, the Holy Emperor will discover his existence. All I can do is transfer your fate onto myself. Disciple... this time, your master still cannot accompany you to the end."

"My mother was human, but the blood of the Demon God flows through me. I am destined to be rejected by this world. I hope you can carry my hopes and live well..."

At that moment, while Shangguan Ye was cultivating within the Mountain River Space, the system's voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

"Ding. Master, it has been detected that Ying Ru Yue has transferred Nie Li's fate onto herself. Mission released: save Ying Ru Yue. Reward: one of the Four Sacred Beasts, the Vermilion Bird."

"Hm? That girl moved so quickly? She really is crazy about doting on her disciple. But how can I keep her from being discovered by the Holy Emperor?" Shangguan Ye thought, propping up his head.

Suddenly, Shangguan Ye looked around at the Mountain River Space he was in.

"This method should work."