"Y-you... how dare you!"
The mysterious leader froze at the three men's words. When he finally recovered, he was utterly shaken.
He had never imagined that these subordinates of his would harbor such rebellious thoughts, abandoning Grandmaster Xia without hesitation the moment his situation turned unfavorable.
The mysterious leader said furiously, "Are you betraying your master for personal glory?"
The three exchanged glances, then said, "No, we're not betraying our master for personal glory, because we never had a master!"
The mysterious leader glared with bloodshot eyes and roared, "Shut up! Don't forget where you came from!"
"You, Wang Minzhu, you, Mu You, and you, Gong Ping-all three of you were nothing but ground rats in the underworld market districts, swindling and cheating, making your living through the most sordid trades."
"You had no talent and knew nothing of hard work. You were destined to be rotten mud in the dirt, mud that could never stick to a wall!"
"Who gave you your opportunities? Who paid to modify you? Who made you what you are?"
"It was Grandmaster Xia! Grandmaster Xia made you what you are today!"
"And now you dare repay his kindness with treachery!"
The men he had named-the three traitors who had suddenly attacked him, Wang Minzhu, Mu You, and Gong Ping-could not help looking deeply ashamed.
Every word their leader had spoken was true.
In the past, they really had been lowlifes in the underworld, worthless cultivators whose progress had stalled in early Qi Refining. When their luck ran bad, they could not even defeat the demon beasts roaming outside the city, so hunting beasts for a living was out of the question. Nor did they understand feng shui geomancy or the skills needed to explore secluded places and uncover their secrets, and no one was