"I must be careful. Only caution will keep me alive. If I lose my life, how can I avenge that great wrong?" Mu Bai broke out in a cold sweat and sternly warned himself in silence. "Even if I become a sect elder, I must keep a low profile. The tree that rises above the forest is sure to be battered by the wind..."
Having accepted Qing Mao's elder token and the large household he had left behind, the next step was to visit Qing Mao's residence. Xi Bazì and Sweet Potato Boy led Mu Bai there, introducing the sect's circumstances along the way. Mu Bai saw countless disciples within the sect, all handsome and dashing figures. Quite a few had even attained the third level, nothing like the scene of sordid debauchery he had imagined.
Of course, that excluded the hillside pavilion where the sect master resided.
"Did Mu Lan know the sect master?"
"She knew the sect master, but the sect master might not still remember her."
"What do you mean?"
"The sect master is a supreme Dao Zun who cultivates the great path of bedding three thousand women. In fact, it's far more than three thousand. It's only natural that he wouldn't remember this woman!"
"Then why was she in Spirit Command City...?"
"You'll understand in time, Elder Mu. Spirit Command City is our Spirit Taming Sect's treasure basin. Once the women in the sect grow a little older, they're sent to Spirit Command City to receive guests from every direction, earning Soul Crystals while finding fresh women for the sect master..."
"I see. Then why did Elder Qing Mao leave hundreds of widows?"
"Oh, those below follow the example set above. It's only us whose cultivation is low. Basically, every elder has reached Xiu Zun, so naturally they have cave abodes and residences of their own, with wives and concubines to attend them. Poor lower-ranking disciples like us can only look, never touch..."
Xi Bazì spoke with boundless melancholy, his heart filled with an indescribable mix of feelings, only for one remark from Sweet Potato Boy to toss him into a pan of boiling oil.
"With that scrawny little frame of yours, even just looking would be more than you could handle!"
"What? You damned fool, you dare mock me! As if you're any better. Look at you, like a sweet-potato spinning top. Fat men are short..."
At that, Sweet Potato Boy was displeased. He craned his neck and started yelling, "Short is still better than yours! So what if yours is long and thin, like a noodle? What use is it when it's all limp!"
Mu Bai was puzzled too. Everything had been perfectly fine, yet who would have thought that a single question about hundreds of widows would bring these two brothers to the verge of fighting?
How awkward. It was spring all year round in the Spirit Taming Sect, with neither summer heat nor winter cold, yet fine beads of sweat had appeared on Mu Bai's forehead. He could only hurriedly loosen his white wolf-fur coat. By now, Xi Bazì and Sweet Potato Boy were arguing until their faces and necks were red.
Their loud shouting and apparent readiness to fight soon drew a crowd of disciples. Because their appearances were so distinctive, Xi Bazì and Sweet Potato Boy were quite famous even among the Spirit Taming Sect's hundreds of thousands of disciples. Many people enjoyed watching them embarrass themselves and make fools of themselves. The two went back and forth like fighting cocks, making quite a lively scene.
"You two shouldn't just talk big. If you're men, why not whip out your real abilities and let everyone have a look...?"
As Xi Bazì and Sweet Potato Boy kept squabbling without actually coming to blows, someone grew dissatisfied and took the lead in egging them on.
"If you ask me, neither of them can get it out. They might not even be normal men."
"Hahaha..."
"Screw your mother! Who are you calling abnormal?"
"I'm calling you abnormal. What are you going to do about it?"
With Sweet Potato Boy's fiery temper, he immediately flew into a rage. He was close to Xi Bazì, so he only argued with him rather than fighting, but insults from anyone else were another matter. He instantly leaped up and swung a fist at the man's chin.
"Oh, damn! You can jump pretty high, little sweet potato!"
The man reacted with great agility, swaying aside to evade Sweet Potato Boy's leaping attack. Then his long leg shot out at Sweet Potato Boy's backside, sending him flying far away with a kick as though he were a ball.
"Hahaha, hilarious, hilarious..."
"Senior Brother Mo is so handsome!"
Mu Bai saw it clearly. This Senior Brother Mo moved with effortless grace, deliberately exposing the Soul Marks on his right arm. His Second Soul Mark was almost solid, clearly indicating that he already had half a foot in the ranks of third-level experts. How could Sweet Potato Boy possibly be his match?
"Well, little sweet potato? Haha... little spinning top? I called you abnormal. Do you submit or not?"
"No!"
Sweet Potato Boy exploded with fury, steaming with anger like a sweet potato roasted red-hot. With a roar, he lunged at Senior Brother Mo again.
"Then I'll beat you until you do!"
"Mo Dekun, don't get cocky! We brothers aren't afraid of you!"
Xi Bazì could not tolerate anyone bullying Sweet Potato Boy. Regardless of how high the man's cultivation was, he immediately charged forward, swinging his sword.
This Senior Brother Mo was named Mo Dekun, an outstanding disciple of Xi Bazì and Sweet Potato Boy's generation. Unlike the two of them, who were known for their comical appearances and behavior, he was hailed as a pride of the sect for his absolutely formidable strength.
Even when Mo Dekun saw Xi Bazì charging at him as well, he remained unhurried and unflustered. Facing two opponents at once took him no effort at all. A single palm strike to Xi Bazì's chest sent him flying.
"Sweet Potato Boy, combine!"
Xi Bazì climbed to his feet, swaying unsteadily.
"Combine and beat him!"
Sweet Potato Boy suddenly launched himself at Xi Bazì, clamping his legs around Xi Bazì's slender waist like a frog pouncing on prey. Both swung their swords and lunged at Mo Dekun together.
Because of their physiques, Xi Bazì and Sweet Potato Boy were often mocked by their fellow Sect disciples and suffered considerable disadvantages in combat. The two had therefore put their heads together and devised this combined attack routine, which they now used against Mo Dekun.
At the bizarre sight of Xi Bazì and Sweet Potato Boy's formation, everyone watching burst into laughter. Mo Dekun, however, felt the pressure. Having to fend off attacks from above and below at once left him extremely on the defensive for a time.
"Senior Brother Mo, don't let these two freaks get the upper hand!"
"Watch your lower half, Senior Brother Mo! That little sweet potato is jealous of your natural gifts..."
"Haha, jealousy is all he'll ever have. Watch me slice that thing of his off!"
"But that would dirty your sword, Senior Brother."
Finding their combined technique extremely troublesome, and unwilling to lose face before his junior brothers, Mo Dekun immediately turned vicious. His sword swept like rain, blooming with green light, like Qinglian swaying across the shimmering lake.
"Excellent! Senior Brother's Jade Rain Green Lotus is truly outstanding. As expected of Elder Lin Chuan's beloved personal disciple!"
Qinglian swayed and burst one after another, turning into green flames that filled the sky. The blasts instantly knocked Xi Bazì and Sweet Potato Boy flat on their backs, inflicting considerable external injuries.
"Hmph. Fight me? Neither of you has any chance in this lifetime!"
Mo Dekun planted a foot on Sweet Potato Boy's face and held his sword against the crotch beneath his round waist, laughing mockingly.
"Does everyone want me to cut it off?"
"Cut it!"
"Cut it, cut it! Cut it off!"
The onlookers, afraid there might be no spectacle to watch, all began shouting and egging him on.
"Disciple... Mo... Mo, why not do me a small favor and refrain from harming Brother Sweet Potato?"
Before you continue