A Backwater Breeds Unruly Folk

"How did they get here?" Ma Feifei frowned as he looked at the four-person team on the projection, stroking his chin as he pondered.

It had been over a month since Ma Feifei last had a friendly exchange with them at the Tomb of the Hegemon. Ma Feifei had thought they would make a comeback in the second month, but unexpectedly they had gone to the Qi State.

"But looking at their clothes, they do have a bit of the Qi State style, don't they?" Ma Feifei noticed that the four people's attire matched the silhouettes of Mangcang Town and the people's clothing very well, as if the four of them were residents of Mangcang Town.

The subsequent dialogue shown in the projection indeed confirmed Ma Feifei's conjecture.

Inside the projection, the three troublemakers saw the four approaching and their faces turned pale with fright. They instinctively took off running.

"Stop!" Azi shouted smugly from behind, hands on her hips.

The three of them stood there motionless, as if frozen in place, sweat pouring down their faces and their legs trembling.

"What are you doing?" Azi, accompanied by her three 'bodyguards,' slowly walked into Mangcang Town, approached the three troublemakers, circled them once, and asked curiously.

"Young Miss, we didn't do anything. We just greeted a stranger who suddenly appeared." The eldest of the three replied tremblingly.

"Really?" Azi rolled up her long hair that was draped over her shoulder with one hand, twirling it between her fingertips, glanced at her 'big brother', and asked with a slightly playful tone.

"Bang~"

The three burly men immediately knelt on the ground.

"We're so sorry, Miss, we were wrong." The eldest brother was almost in tears, and he kowtowed repeatedly.

"Young Miss, we know we were wrong." The remaining two troublemakers also kowtowed.

By this time, the surrounding crowd had unknowingly disappeared, and the street leading into Mangcang Town was deserted; anyone who didn't know better would think this town was a dead town.

'Buzz~'

With a wave of her hand, Azi sent a flying sword flying out of the ground and into Azi hand.

"Please spare me, young lady!"

The three troublemakers were terrified when they saw this scene. They kowtowed frantically, letting the blood stream down their heads, without daring to stop for a moment.

"Has the rule of Mangcang Town changed just because I've been gone for a few months?" Azi said casually.

"No, no, Miss, everyone has been very well-behaved while you were away. We've always treated the cultivators who came from outside with great hospitality and courtesy." The 'elder brother' explained in a panic, his face filled with fear, but beneath that fear was a trace of resentment.

Gongsun Qiong glanced silently at the three unruly commoners kneeling on the ground, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

"Azi, you believe that? That's blatant lying. I'd just kill them all." Second Mother stood behind, toying with her long whip, speaking calmly. It was as if, to her, taking three lives was no different than crushing three ants.

Upon hearing this, the three unruly commoners' fear deepened. They prostrated themselves on the ground, begging for mercy. "Please, young lady, have mercy on us this time!"

Azi hesitated for a moment.

'Whoosh~'

Suddenly, a whooshing sound rang out, and a long whip struck directly at the three troublemakers.

'Snap~'

With a whooshing sound, the three troublemakers were instantly sent flying by the whip, lying motionless twenty meters away.

"Second Mother!" Azi exclaimed in surprise.

Second Mother put away her whip, smiled, and said, "What? Do you think this kind of person deserves your pity? If we hadn't arrived in time, this outsider might have died by their blades. You pity them, but who pities the outsiders killed by the residents of Mangcang Town?"

"It's Azi. These unruly people in Mangcang Town are stubborn and unruly. You'd better not try to reform them. Just kill them all to save innocent people from harming you," Taishan said in a deep voice from behind.

Upon hearing this, Azi remained silent for a moment, then stomped her foot, looking defiant, and said, "No, I must reform them."

"This young lady is so kind-hearted, it's truly admirable. Why don't you count me in?" Gongsun Qiong walked up with a smile.

"What is President Gongsun doing?" A cultivator outside the Bookstore asked, puzzled.

"I don't know!" The others also looked blank.

Suddenly, a narrator appeared.

Gongsun Qiong's mission: To practice benevolence and educate the unruly people of Mangcang Town.

Then, another line of text appeared.

Book lover's obstruction mission: Disguise yourself as a troublemaker in Mangcang Town and prevent Gongsun Qiong from completing his moral education mission. (Note: You must not attack Gongsun Qiong during the mission, otherwise the mission will fail.)

'Task limit: 5 players.'

'Quest location: Mysterious Bookstore.'

'Task Reward: Readers will receive a certain amount of cultivation boost.'

The onlookers outside the Bookstore were silent for a moment when they saw the task appear, and then one by one they ran towards Ma Feifei.

"Shopkeeper, I'm begging you to grant me this quest!"

"Shopkeeper, 100,000 Spirit Crystal for one spot!"

"Shopkeeper, I'm the perfect candidate for this task! My parents have always said I'm a troublemaker!"

"The owner..."

In the end, all five spots were taken instantly. In the spirit of fairness and impartiality, Ma Feifei really did not let the reader who bought a spot with Spirit Crystal get on the bus.

'Swish~'

With five flashes of light, the five people were instantly teleported outside Mangcang Town.

Looking at the crowded people, Ma Feifei shouted, "Alright, alright, stop pushing! Everyone, move back a bit; standing too close from this angle is bad, your neck will get sore."

Upon hearing this, everyone was immediately moved to tears. They hadn't expected the shop owner to care so much about them, the book lovers, and they were so touched that they all stepped back.

Ma Feifei was very satisfied. He turned around and sat down, quietly picking up the space bag he had dropped on the ground and hiding it in his sleeve...

In this scene...

Azi looked at Gongsun Qiong with a puzzled expression, then seemed to remember something, pointed at Gongsun Qiong, and said in surprise, "You're the president of the Wantong Chamber of Commerce!"

Gongsun Qiong smiled and nodded, replying, "That's right, it's me."

Seeing Gongsun Qiong readily admit it, the four of them showed expressions of shock. The Great Chu Wantong Chamber of Commerce was renowned throughout the entire Azure Dragon Continent. In the five kingdoms, every town with a relatively large area had a branch of Wantong, making it a veritable behemoth.

As the president of the Wantong Chamber of Commerce, Gongsun Qiong, who is in her early thirties, naturally has a good reputation.

"I saw you when I was buying my exclusive phone number at the Wantong Trading Market in Dubian Town. You're so beautiful!" Azi looked at Gongsun Qiong and praised her sincerely.

"You're very beautiful too," Gongsun Qiong replied with a smile.

Then came a round of mutual flattery...

After they finished playing the flute, the two agreed to work together to educate the residents of Mangcang Town and persuade them to do good.

Gongsun Qiong wasn't just bored and wanting to educate the residents of Mangcang Town; it was mainly because this mission had come to her mind that she chose to cooperate with Azi, this local strongman.

After all, judging from the situation just now, Azi and her group seemed to have a high reputation in Mangcang Town and were able to intimidate these unruly people in Mangcang Town.

After talking with Azi, Gongsun Qiong learned that Azi and her companions were not originally residents of Mangcang Town. A year ago, they had ventured into the Death Desert, gotten lost, and finally managed to find their way out after much hardship. They wandered around and eventually stumbled into Mangcang Town.

Upon arriving in Mangcang Town, they discovered that the local people were fierce and ruthless. The town's residents simply resorted to Snatch against outsiders, and some even killed them after robbing them.

Of course, they weren't stupid. When a highly skilled cultivator barged in, they all became incredibly obedient, pretending to be fools and acting like good residents.

This perfectly embodies the meaning of the term "troublemaker".

It wasn't until the arrival of the four that these unruly villagers met their match, and then they were in for a rude awakening; not only were they beaten into submission by the four, but Azi even came up with the idea of educating these residents; so the four stayed in Mangcang Town.

However, as it turned out, using force to suppress them was completely useless; when Azi and the other three were around, these unruly people were outwardly very well-behaved; but as soon as they left, these unruly people began to reveal their true nature, even more so than before.

And that's how the scene we just witnessed came about.

"But now that Sister Gongsun is here, she'll definitely be able to successfully educate these unruly people," Azi said confidently.

Gongsun Qiong was not modest; her mission was to educate the unruly people, so she could only succeed and could not afford to fail.

"Come on, Sister Gongsun, I'll take you to your lodgings first." Azi pulled Gongsun Qiong's hand and skipped and hopped towards Mangcang Town, with the three behind her following closely behind.

Along the way, wherever they went, troublemakers gave way.

Occasionally, you can even hear someone exclaim, "The Great Demon King is back..."

Outside Mangcang Town, five distinguished figures, dressed in magnificent robes and possessing cultivation levels at the Spirit Ancestor, Spirit King, and Spirit Venerable realms, stood on a small hill gazing at Mangcang Town, each lost in thought.

Accepting a task is easy, but completing it is a bit difficult.

"To ensure we can better complete this mission, let's all introduce ourselves first." At this moment, one of the five, a handsome middle-aged man, spoke up, "I am Wan Chengnan, the sect leader of the Wuji Sect! My cultivation level peak Spirit Venerable third stage."

Wan Chengnan started, and then the four cultivators began to introduce themselves one after another.

"I am Chi Chengzi Lingjiu Palace! My cultivation level peak Spirit Venerable first stage."

"I am Bai Yishui, an unknown rogue cultivator! My cultivation level peak Spirit King ninth stage."

"I am Lin Taiji, the Lingchang Academy! My cultivation level peak Spirit King ninth stage."

After the four introduced themselves, they all turned their attention to the last one, who was the youngest of the five, looking to be only in his early twenties.

Seeing the four important figures looking at him, the young man straightened his magnificent clothes, clasped his hands in a respectful but not arrogant manner, and said, "I am the sect leader of the Chengxian Sect, Yu Chengxian! My cultivation level is currently at the Spirit Sect First Stage realm."

"The leader of the Chengxian Sect?" The four looked at each other in surprise. They had never heard of it! However, a sect that dared to include the word "immortal" in its name must have a significant background; and this Yu Chengxian Sect leader was so young? It was truly astonishing.

"Young Immortal, may I ask where your sect is located?" Wan Chengnan asked curiously. A sect with the word 'Immortal' in its name must have Saint presiding over it. If we could establish a good relationship and form an alliance, it would bring some security to our sect.

The Yu Chengxian coughed awkwardly and said, "Due to insufficient funds, the sect's location is undecided, and we currently have no disciples."

"..."

The four were a little confused, exchanged glances, and each had the same thought in mind.

'This person probably got in through connections, right?'