The Old Daoist Duped the Crowd, Wuyou Took Disciples

A crowd gathered before the mountain gate, pointing and commenting.

"The Carefree Sect is way too shabby. It can't even compare to a little sect back home. Does this look like a place that would have a wondrous book of heaven and earth?"

"Not necessarily. I hear some seniors have strange temperaments. Maybe an expert in the Carefree Sect is testing us."

Yang Xiao found a place to sit and looked toward the first three arrivals. The one named Luo Kedi was staring at him with murder written all over his face.

"Want some demon beast meat?" The old Daoist suddenly came over and whispered beside him, though his eyes were fixed on the Five-Colored Peacock, gleaming green with hunger.

Yang Xiao moved two steps away. The Five-Colored Peacock had an imposing presence and regarded everyone with haughty disdain. One glance told him it was not to be trifled with. The three people it had brought were dressed in fine clothes and surely had powerful backgrounds. Better not provoke them.

But the old Daoist clearly had not given up. He straightened his Daoist robe, walked to the mountain gate, and pressed his palms together, assuming the air of an enlightened master.

The old Daoist coughed to draw everyone's attention. "Amitabha. This humble monk is Shen Buyu, an elder of the Carefree Sect. I shall be presiding over this disciple recruitment ceremony."

Murmurs rose from the crowd.

"Why does this old Daoist look so unreliable to me?"

"I think he might be genuine. The Carefree Sect's ancestors had close ties with Ascetic Mountain. Maybe Ascetic Mountain sent this old Daoist to hold the fort for them."

"Now that you mention it, he does seem a little like a mighty expert from Ascetic Mountain."

The old Daoist was conning them. That was Yang Xiao's first reaction. When the old Daoist arrived, he had told them he had only just found the Carefree Sect's address. He definitely did not belong to the sect.

The old Daoist surveyed the gathering of talented young people with satisfaction and continued, "Joining our Carefree Sect is simple. Enter the forest, kill a demon beast of your own level unaided, and bring its corpse back. That will qualify you to join. Of course, the stronger the demon beast you bring back, the more you'll gain..."

The old Daoist gave the crowd a meaningful look.

"We'll gain the Carefree Scripture," a young man in the crowd supplied.

The crowd instantly erupted. Hadn't they come here precisely to obtain the Carefree Scripture? Now they heard they had a chance.

Some grabbed their weapons and rushed eagerly into the forest. Others turned their gazes on the demon beasts behind them. Most of these people had powerful backgrounds, and the beasts they had ridden here were far stronger than they were.

Yang Xiao looked curiously toward Luo Kedi and his two companions. The Five-Colored Peacock was the strongest demon beast present. None of the other beasts even dared approach it. He wanted to see what the three would do.

Luo Kedi's expression grew darker and darker. A fierce struggle raged within him, and the killing intent in his eyes intensified as he looked at the Five-Colored Peacock.

Sensing his killing intent, the Five-Colored Peacock spread its wings and took flight. Rings of fire encircled it. Little Blue fluttered uneasily into the air, as though faced with a natural predator.

"Luo Kedi, what are you trying to do?" The woman in the white dress who had stopped him earlier spoke again.

"No one is going to stop me from obtaining Carefree. Dongfang Mingyue, it's just a demon beast. Once we return to the Imperial Capital, I'll give you three in return." Gripping his spear, Luo Kedi walked toward the Five-Colored Peacock.

Luo Kedi seemed to have an exceptionally powerful background. The Five-Colored Peacock made Little Blue uneasy, yet he casually offered three replacements.

Yang Xiao sat to one side and watched the show. Though the old Daoist's belly was full of wicked schemes, seeing him make Luo Kedi suffer gave Yang Xiao an inexplicable thrill.

I'd really like to see Luo Kedi's face when he finds out he's been duped. It'll be spectacular.

Someone in the crowd had already killed his own mount and presented it to the old Daoist as though offering a treasure. The old Daoist brushed his right hand over the demon beast, and it vanished on the spot. He actually had a Storage Ring, and its capacity apparently was not small.

Seeing this, Luo Kedi seemed to grow anxious. He doubled his pace, and his Spear began to glow fiery red.

The young woman named Dongfang Mingyue snorted coldly, and a keen-edged sword appeared in her hand. She was powerful. Even from dozens of meters away, Yang Xiao could feel a chill coming from her.

Just as the two were about to clash, the little girl with tiger-like canines suddenly stepped between them and pointed at the old Daoist. "Luo Kedi, don't let him fool you. He's not from Ascetic Mountain."

Luo Kedi looked at the old Daoist, cold light shooting from his eyes.

The old Daoist pressed his palms together. "Indeed, this humble monk is not from Ascetic Mountain. I am an elder of the Carefree Sect."

Yang Xiao suppressed a laugh. The old Daoist's wording was clever. By stubbornly insisting he belonged to the Carefree Sect, he forced Luo Kedi to follow his instructions or lose his chance to enter.

Sure enough, Luo Kedi turned toward the Five-Colored Peacock again. With a sweep of his Spear, he knocked the little girl aside and charged at the peacock.

He had taken only a few steps when Dongfang Mingyue blocked him. She was clearly a little stronger than Luo Kedi and drove him back again and again.

But Dongfang Mingyue seemed to have some reservations. Every time she struck Luo Kedi, she refrained from dealing a killing blow.

By now, nearly everyone who had entered the forest had returned. Each handed a demon beast corpse to the old Daoist, who invariably put it away with a beaming smile.

Meanwhile, a man and a woman stood on the mountaintop. The man was handsome and distinguished, the woman gentle as jade. Both wore black-and-white Daoist robes and looked down the mountain, seemingly able to see what was happening below.

Suddenly, the gentle woman spoke. "Brother, are we just going to watch that old man use our Carefree Sect's name to swindle everyone?"

The handsome man frowned. "They're all coveting the Carefree Scripture. Let them fight for a while. Even if someone dies, it has nothing to do with us."

"What do you mean, nothing to do with us?" An old man suddenly popped up between them. Dressed just like them, he said, "If your master isn't mistaken, that girl is a Descendant of the Eastern King, and that boy should be from the Luo Family of the Imperial Capital.

"Neither of them is someone our Carefree Sect can afford to offend. If either gets hurt here, disaster could soon come crashing down on our sect.

"Come, let's go down and separate them at once."

With that, the old man led the two down the mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, Yang Xiao was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. Dongfang Mingyue was powerful indeed. She and Luo Kedi fought from the ground into the sky, and she even knocked his spear away. If she had not held back, she probably would have run him through already.

"Look, the trees are moving! A path has appeared!" someone in the crowd called, pointing at the mountain gate.

Seeing this, the old Daoist hurried back and stood beside Yang Xiao, teasing Little Blue. Little Blue gave him a disdainful glance.

Truly a bird with sky-high arrogance.

Beyond the mountain gate stood a dense stretch of trees. Now, however, an invisible hand seemed to part them, revealing a path before the crowd. From deep along that path emerged three people, one old and two young.

Their cultivation was unfathomable. One moment they were ten li away; the next, they stood right before everyone. It was just like the teleportation people had talked about online in his previous life.

"Oh dear, why are you two fighting? If either of you gets hurt, how am I supposed to answer for it?" said the old man in the middle. The next instant, he flew into the sky and separated Dongfang Mingyue and Luo Kedi with a sweep of his sleeve.

Their pupils contracted at the sight of the old man. Dongfang Mingyue returned to the little girl's side and put away her sword, while Luo Kedi snapped at him, "Old man, who are you? How dare you meddle in my affairs?"

The old man smiled. "This humble Daoist is Chen Wuyou, the sect master of the Carefree Sect."

Luo Kedi's face paled. If he wanted to enter the Carefree Sect, he could not afford to offend Li Wuyou. He snorted coldly and flew down, scanning the area for his spear.

But a moment later, Luo Kedi's expression darkened. He had searched all around without finding it. He looked at the crowd and said coldly, "Who took my Windbreaking Spear? Hand it over now, and I can still spare you."

The crowd fell deathly silent. They exchanged glances, but no one stepped forward to admit it.

Yang Xiao suppressed a laugh and glanced at the old Daoist. While everyone's attention had been drawn to Chen Wuyou and his two companions, the old Daoist had secretly taken the Windbreaking Spear.

When no one confessed, Luo Kedi surveyed them coldly. "It seems you still don't know who I am. I'm the second young master of the Luo Family of the Imperial Capital. Luo Wudi, one of the Imperial Capital Twin Dragons, is my elder brother."

A commotion rippled through the crowd, and people began speaking up.

"Young Master Luo, I didn't take it."

"That's right, neither did I."

Luo Kedi's expression grew increasingly dark. Suddenly, he looked at Yang Xiao. "Was it you? With those shifty brows and ratty eyes, I'm sure you took it."

Yang Xiao narrowed his eyes. Unable to find the Windbreaking Spear, Luo Kedi wanted to vent his anger on him.

"I saw it. The old Daoist beside him took it," the little girl with tiger-like canines said, pointing at the old Daoist.

The little girl clearly held a grudge over what had happened earlier and singled him out.

The old Daoist froze. He had thought he had been discreet, but someone had spotted him. He swept his sleeve. "Utter nonsense! How could this humble monk do such a thing?"

At that moment, the handsome young man who had come with Li Wuyou suddenly spoke. "He is not an elder of our Carefree Sect."

Luo Kedi froze. So did everyone who had offered up a beast corpse earlier. Then they all stared at the old Daoist with murderous intent and attacked together. Dozens of streaks of spiritual light flashed across the scene and hurtled toward him. Yang Xiao was standing close by; if Little Blue had not pulled him away, he would probably have been caught in that rain of spiritual light.

When the spiritual light dissipated, everyone stared fixedly at where the old Daoist had stood, only to find that he had vanished into thin air.

Nothing remained where the old Daoist had been. If the spiritual light had struck him, it would at least have left flesh and blood behind. There was only one possibility: he had escaped.

The others reached the same conclusion as Yang Xiao and scattered to search. Before long, however, they returned. They had searched the area within a ten-li radius without finding the old Daoist.

If they kept searching, they would miss their chance to become disciples.

One person cursed the old Daoist through gritted teeth, then turned his gaze toward Li Wuyou.

Li Wuyou smiled at the crowd and walked over to the little girl with tiger-like canines. Taking hold of her right wrist, he said, "Good, good. Excellent aptitude. Child, what is your name?"

The little girl bared her two pointed canines. "Wang Huhu."

"Mm, Wang Huhu." Li Wuyou repeated the name a couple of times and glanced at Dongfang Mingyue. The next instant, his hand trembled twice. He released Wang Huhu's wrist as though electrocuted and recoiled in alarm. "What is your relation to the Tiger King of Great Zhou?"

Someone in the crowd sucked in a cold breath. "Could this little girl be connected to the Tiger King, one of Great Zhou's Two Kings?"

Wang Huhu smiled. "He's my dad."

Li Wuyou and the crowd of prospective disciples took a step back and drew in a cold breath.

Only after a long while did Li Wuyou recover. "You pass. From today onward, you are a disciple of our Carefree Sect."

The handsome young man by the mountain gate coughed. "Master, we cannot break the rules left by the founding master."

Li Wuyou glared at him. "Your master is now the lord of Worry-Free Mountain. If I say she passes, she passes."

He then went around to everyone, taking their wrists and asking a few questions.

"What is your name?"

"Do you have any powerful elders in your family?"

Only two people were treated differently. One was Dongfang Mingyue. When Li Wuyou reached for her wrist, she glared at him, and he gave an awkward laugh before declaring that she passed. The other was Luo Kedi. Li Wuyou paused before him for a moment, then declared that he passed as well.

Before long, Li Wuyou approached Yang Xiao, took his wrist, and asked, "What is your name?"

"Yang Xiao."

"Do you have any powerful elders in your family?"

Yang Xiao thought for a moment. The old man at home was certainly powerful, but Butcher had said he must not let anyone know his identity.

"No," he said.

"Average talent," Li Wuyou said.

Yang Xiao frowned. He had a million-li qi sea. How could his talent possibly be average? Could the old man or Butcher have used some method to conceal it?