The looming crisis

"Senior, please spare our lives."

"We're disciples of the Missing One Sect. Please give us a chance."

The two men in black choked on their words, tears streaming down their black face coverings.

Of course, their waists were still bleeding profusely, too.

Watching this, Li Shouyi couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth.

What kind of fucking geniuses were these? Just to stay alive...

They didn't even want their kidneys anymore.

"The Missing One Sect?"

Wu Suowei suddenly cried out in surprise, drawing Li Shouyi's gaze.

"Master, that's a really powerful sect. Maybe you should...?"

"How powerful?"

Watching Wu Suowei hesitate, Li Shouyi raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Uh, they're one of the Five Great Sects. Does that make it clear?"

Hearing this, Li Shouyi turned back to the two men in black and frowned. "Neither of you looks much like a disciple of a major sect to me."

"Senior, what we lack is kindness, so we aren't well liked in our sect."

Seeing that even the name of the Five Great Sects hadn't frightened Li Shouyi, their hearts turned half cold.

They had hoped their sect's prestige would give this scheming old bastard, who stabbed people in the kidneys the moment he met them, some pause.

But seeing Li Shouyi's utterly indifferent expression, they knew.

If they didn't hurry up and say something useful, they were probably done for.

So one of them hurriedly said, "Senior, I can notify my master and have him send someone to ransom us."

"That's right, senior. My master will definitely save us."

"You're pretty clever!"

"You didn't even ask why I stabbed you as soon as we met."

Li Shouyi found that the villains here had their own distinctive traits. They were nothing like the ones in the novels he'd read in his previous life.

The villains in those stories practically couldn't wait to announce, "My dad is Li Gang!" the moment they met someone.

"If you don't let me go, you're dead!" and other brain-dead lines like that.

Now look at these two geniuses. They'd known from the start that they were in the wrong.

So they'd stayed meek the whole time, only revealing their sect when they ran out of options.

"Heh, you jest, senior."

"For small fry like us, if we didn't fight with every ounce of strength just to stay alive, we'd probably have been finished long ago."

"All right! Since you're so sincere, I'll give you a chance to call your master over!"

"Thank you..."

Shnk...

At the sound of a sharp sword piercing their chests, both men froze, their eyes widening like saucers.

"What were you thinking? Would I be stupid enough to let you call for backup?"

Li Shouyi gave them a disdainful glance, then calmly pulled out his sword and addressed the equally stunned crowd. "All of you, remember this. If you find strangers lying in ambush nearby..."

"Never mind the whys and wherefores. Go up and stab them twice first."

After saying this, Li Shouyi swept an icy gaze across the crowd and continued, "The cultivation world is a cruel place."

Gulp...

Pale with fright, everyone nodded incessantly.

"Wu Suowei, find all the snacks on their bodies for me. If you dare pocket any, I'll sell you to a brothel as a male whore."

"Yes, master."

Only after watching Li Shouyi walk over to Su Wan'er did Wu Suowei tremblingly approach and start searching.

"Master, why are you setting your disciple on fire again?"

"Master, why are you burning me too?"

"You two wicked disciples! No matter what, I'm putting you on a roasting rack today!"

"What did we do wrong, master?"

"Shut up. Flat-chested people don't get to speak."

Su Wan'er: "..."

Pei Zhujiu: "..."

That night, all the disciples who had joined just yesterday experienced Li Shouyi's terrifying nature.

If he said he'd roast you, he really would roast you.

Su Wan'er and Pei Zhujiu's wails kept them company the entire night.

But what was actually happening?

Beside another cliff in the woods, a fire had been built.

Several plump, succulent birds were roasting over it.

"Master, you're way too greedy!"

"You took a whole million spirit stones from me!"

"Exactly! Could you give me back some of my wine?"

The three sat by the fire, sipping wine and enjoying the barbecue in utter comfort.

"Say another word and I really will roast you."

Seeing that these two wicked disciples still dared to bargain with him, Li Shouyi's expression instantly turned cold.

Originally, he really had intended to put them both on a rack and roast them.

Unfortunately, money and fine wine had corroded Li Shouyi's steadfast heart.

Hence the current scene.

"Hee-hee, master, I was just joking! Spend the money however you like. Ask me for more if it isn't enough."

"Exactly, master! Drink as much as you like. If it isn't enough, I'll have your granddisciple brew some more."

"Don't stop. Keep screaming..."

And so, from that day onward, Li Shouyi's reputation as a devil of a master began spreading among his disciples.

The Missing One Sect stood on Giant God Peak.

It was an exceptionally massive mountain peak, shaped like a human man's arm.

A special meeting was being held on this mountain today.

"Master, Little Left and Little Right's Lifebound Tokens have shattered. It seems they've been killed."

"This matter is no longer something I can intervene in. The sect has already sent an executor to investigate."

"What?"

In the small room, everyone present paled upon hearing their master say that the sect had actually dispatched an executor.

"Master, could the sect be...?"

"Silence. From now on, forget this matter, no matter where you are."

"Yes, master."

The disciple kneeling at the very front hurriedly lowered his head again in fright.

Their master, an old man in black robes, watched them with a vicious expression creeping across his face.

The next day, the Missing One Sect was shaken once again.

Every disciple of the eighth elder had died overnight.

Strangely, however, after a few days, no one ever mentioned the matter again.

As for the executor whom the eighth elder feared...

That person was currently heading toward Good Fortune Mountain, where Li Shouyi lived.

Today, a sight appeared on Good Fortune Mountain that left all the disciples dumbfounded.

Two whole thunderclouds hovered above their master's head.

Of course, thunderclouds alone wouldn't have shocked them so much.

What shocked them was that today...

On this very day, their eldest senior sister and third senior sister had both broken through.

Yet strangely, the heavenly tribulations they endured during their breakthroughs were just like Su Wan'er's.

Both women took nine bolts of heavenly lightning without suffering a damn thing.

Instead, Li Shouyi was struck until black smoke rose all over him, his body twitching every now and then.

The disciples couldn't help covering their mouths and snickering at the sight.

System notification: Your disciple's comprehension of the path of Dreamscape True Understanding has deepened.

System notification: Your disciple's comprehension of the path of Drunken Dream of Life and Death has deepened.

System notification: Congratulations, your cultivation has increased.

System notification: Your cultivation has risen to the peak of Nascent Soul.

System notification: The difficulty of recruiting disciples has increased. The next mission issued will require a thousand-year wastrel.

Li Shouyi: "Heh. Fuck you, system."