The First Saint Sect, the Sect Trading Market.
"Junior Sister Wuqing, have you had any time lately? I recently discovered a scarlet flame flower deep within the sect that seems to be several hundred years old, but a vile beast is guarding it."
"I'm no match for that beast alone. If we join forces, we can surely bring it down and pick that scarlet flame flower."
The speaker was a handsome young man with a graceful bearing and a gentle, refined manner.
His name was Zhuiming, captain of the Enforcement Hall's Azure Dragon Squad.
"I appreciate you remembering me when something good comes your way, Senior Brother."
Shangguan Wuqing politely declined. "I'm just worried that once we obtain the scarlet flame flower, an uneven division might hurt the harmony between us. That wouldn't be good."
Hearing this, Zhuiming gave a generous laugh. "Haha, you're worrying too much, Junior Sister. Scarlet flame flowers contain supreme yang energy, which runs counter to the cultivation method I practice."
"For you, however, it would be a tremendous tonic. Using the scarlet flame flower to cultivate should greatly benefit your cultivation."
"At worst, we could sell it to the Ten Thousand Pill Hall. That would still fetch a considerable sum of spirit stones, wouldn't you agree?"
However.
Shangguan Wuqing seemed not to have heard a single word of Zhuiming's well-intentioned offer.
Her gaze was fixed on an old servant who had just entered the Sect Trading Market.
The way Shangguan Wuqing looked at the old servant was practically dripping with longing.
That servant was naturally Lin Mo, who had come to the trading market to buy a Concealment Technique.
Zhuiming stood beside her, utterly dumbfounded.
Seriously? A young, handsome senior brother with exceptional talent, good character, and a pleasant personality is standing right in front of you, and instead you're staring at some utterly grubby old servant?
"Junior Sister Wuqing? Are you listening to me?" Zhuiming asked again, forcibly suppressing his jealousy and anger.
"What?"
Shangguan Wuqing snapped out of her daze, looking bewildered.
Feeling ignored, Zhuiming instantly lost his cool.
He had meant well, even intending to give Shangguan Wuqing the rare scarlet flame flower he had discovered, yet...
Shangguan Wuqing had ignored him because of an old servant?
"Come outside with me first." Zhuiming took a deep breath, forcing down his jealousy and displeasure.
A question mark seemed to pop up in Shangguan Wuqing's beautiful eyes. She had no idea what he meant.
Still, since Zhuiming was at least her senior brother, she followed him outside.
"What's wrong, Senior Brother?"
"Who were you looking at just now?"
Zhuiming finally reached the end of his patience and erupted. "He's just an old servant! Why were you staring at him like that? In what way am I inferior to that piece of trash?"
"Have you ever considered my feelings?"
At that, Shangguan Wuqing finally understood.
She had no intention of indulging Zhuiming and shot back firmly, "Senior Brother Zhuiming, whom I choose to look at is my right. You don't seem to have any authority to interfere."
"Besides, we're fellow disciples, not Dao companions. Am I obliged to consider your feelings?"
"I know how you feel about me, Senior Brother Zhuiming. To avoid any misunderstandings, I'll make myself clear here today: you're not the type I like."
At Shangguan Wuqing's words, Zhuiming's vision went black, and he felt as though the sky had collapsed.
So all the effort I've made for so long is worth absolutely nothing in Shangguan Wuqing's eyes?
Whether from unwillingness to accept it or from fear, he could not tell.
Zhuiming trembled all over. "Don't tell me you like old men? Hahahaha, stop joking around!"
Zhuiming had probably gone mad.
Or perhaps he simply could not accept this cruel truth.
Anyone would probably struggle to accept that the girl he adored actually preferred old men.
So Shangguan Wuqing merely gave Zhuiming a cold glare.
Then she ignored him and turned to leave.
Unwilling to give up, Zhuiming spun around and blocked Shangguan Wuqing's path.
"Get out of my way!"
Shangguan Wuqing no longer cared about their ties as fellow disciples and gave Zhuiming a final ultimatum. "If you're still blocking my way in three breaths, we won't even be friends anymore!"
"Junior Sister, you...!" Zhuiming clenched his fists, his eyes so red they seemed ready to split.
After a brief internal struggle, he finally stepped aside for Shangguan Wuqing.
Shangguan Wuqing did not even spare him another glance before leaving decisively.
Only Zhuiming remained, standing alone and disheveled in the wind.
Quite a few disciples nearby pointed and watched the spectacle.
Among the crowd stood a slender, lovely figure dressed in blue and white, a hint of sly amusement on her pretty face.
She, too, had witnessed the entire exchange between Shangguan Wuqing and Zhuiming.
Elsewhere.
After making a circuit of the trading market, Lin Mo spent seven hundred spirit stones and finally bought a technique for concealing his aura.
It was called the Breath-Concealing Art.
Its grade was low, but its ease of use made up for that.
Although mighty cultivators at the perfected Golden Core Period or above could still see through the Breath-Concealing Art's disguise.
For Lin Mo, it was more or less sufficient.
As soon as he left the trading market, Lin Mo sensed a dangerous aura that chilled him straight through the heart.
Turning his head slightly, Lin Mo spotted the death glare Zhuiming was directing at him.
"?"
Lin Mo looked puzzled.
Seriously, have I done anything to offend this captain of the Enforcement Hall's Azure Dragon Squad?
He had wanted to approach him and ask what was going on.
But Zhuiming's terrifying gaze, his eyes even turning bloodshot, dissuaded Lin Mo.
Not daring to linger, Lin Mo fled this place of trouble at a sprint.
"The Foundation Establishment Realm? What's going on with this old man Lin?"
Within the crowd, Su Yu blinked her beautiful eyes, her gaze full of confusion and surprise.
Others might not know, but she knew all too well.
She clearly remembered that just over three months ago.
When Lin Mo had asked her to deliver a report letter to Liu Ziyan, hadn't his cultivation still been at the second level of Qi Refining?
"That's impossible. Could I have sensed it wrong?"
In just over three months, he had shot straight from the second level of Qi Refining into the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Even a prodigy like her, with a quasi-ninth-grade spiritual vein, could not accomplish that. How had Lin Mo, a mere servant, managed it?
"No, there must be much more to this!"
As she watched the direction in which Lin Mo had vanished, Su Yu's lively, clear eyes gradually turned blood-red!
After leaving the Sect Trading Market, Lin Mo felt increasingly that something was wrong.
"That captain of the Enforcement Hall's Azure Dragon Squad... why did he look at me like that? As though I owed him five million spirit stones."
"Something's wrong!"
The unease in his heart made Lin Mo feel certain there was something suspicious about this.
It seemed he ought to find some time to ask Shangguan Wuqing and clear things up.
It would be bad if some misunderstanding arose.
Before you continue