This time, Li Xiaoya did not remain unconscious for long. Feeling an icy chill across his face, he slowly opened his eyes and discovered Zhang Facai breathing a cloud of green mist onto him. The thought of that mist coming from Zhang Facai's mouthful of big yellow teeth made his stomach turn. He hurriedly cried, "Enough! Enough! Stop spraying! I'm awake!"
"Ah! Junior Brother, your mental fortitude really is terrible," Zhang Facai said blithely, utterly oblivious. "You fainted over such a tiny setback?"
"Pah! You..." Li Xiaoya had been about to curse this rotten senior brother, but since he could not beat him, he could only swallow his simmering anger. "If I could beat you, I'd have fallen out with you ages ago! Hmph!"
"Hehehe! Junior Brother, beating me is easy!" Zhang Facai said unconcernedly. "Just cultivate hard for another two or three hundred years, and you might be able to!"
"I knew you wouldn't have anything nice to say!" Li Xiaoya rolled onto his side, turned his face away, and sulked. But the movement made him realize he could move again, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? I can move?!"
"What did I tell you? You're fine! You'll recover in no time!" Zhang Facai said, looking as though he had foreseen everything.
"Mind your own business!" Li Xiaoya snapped irritably. Then he quietly checked his cultivation. Sure enough, he had dropped from the ninth level of the true cultivation stage to the seventh. His heart filled with misery. He cradled his head in his hands, closed his eyes, and ignored Zhang Facai without another word.
"Uh! Well, Junior Brother, could I discuss something with you?" Seeing Li Xiaoya ignore him, Zhang Facai flickered over to his other side, crouched down, and spoke softly.
"Hmph!" Li Xiaoya snorted coldly, rolled