Mu Bai had always reminded himself to keep a low profile. Keeping a low profile was the way to live a long life, but he could not just stand by and watch Sweet Potato Boy get crippled.
"What did you call me? Disciple Mo? Hahaha..."
Mo Dekun roared with laughter as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world. Who was this fellow, calling him "Disciple Mo" and even asking him to show him some consideration...
"Hahaha, where did this wolfman come from?"
"Is he here to make us laugh?"
"Exactly! Why not wear a dog hide instead? Look at him, sticking scallions up his pig's snout and pretending to be an elephant!"
Listening to everyone's mockery, Mu Bai was so embarrassed he wished the ground would swallow him. Had he known, he should have taken Elder Qing Mao's blue robe and put that on too.
"I, Mo Dekun, refuse to show you this 'consideration.' What can you do about it?"
As Mo Dekun spoke, he pressed down harder with his foot, then turned his wrist and stabbed toward Sweet Potato Boy's crotch. Mu Bai abruptly hurled his Soul Soldier shortsword. With a clang, it struck Mo Dekun's blade, nearly knocking the longsword out of his hand.
"How dare you interfere with my attack!"
A vicious gleam flashed in Mo Dekun's eyes. Using Sweet Potato Boy as a foothold, he sprang up and thrust his sword at Mu Bai. Mu Bai had fought countless Fierce Beasts in the Silver Frost Forest, yet he had never fought another person. He wanted to test his abilities, and with his opponent being a favored talent of a major sect, he wanted all the more to trample him underfoot!
Seeing Mo Dekun thrust his sword toward him, Mu Bai ducked and rolled along the ground toward Xi Bazì. He snatched the longsword from his hand, then sprang up and stabbed straight at Mo Dekun's back.
Mo Dekun was highly skilled-how could he let Mu Bai succeed with a single surprise attack? He abruptly leaped up and swept his long leg across. As the kick came, Mu Bai did not dodge, instead raising his left arm to meet it. With a bang, leg and arm collided. Mo Dekun felt as though he had kicked an iron pillar. The recoil slammed him backward, nearly knocking him off balance. Mu Bai's arm went numb as well. Fortunately, he had the advantage of being on the ground; otherwise, he might not have come out ahead.
"Senior Brother Mo..."
"That wolfman actually knocked Senior Brother Mo down!"
"Nonsense! Senior Brother Mo just had nothing to brace against in midair."
Mo Dekun had assumed Mu Bai was merely a Soul Cultivator who had just entered level two. He had never expected his body to be so formidable. His own Soul Power was clearly at the peak of level two. He really should not be fighting him at close quarters!
After that exchange, Mo Dekun had gauged Mu Bai's strength and hurriedly retreated. Mu Bai also knew that his opponent's advantage lay in his abundant Soul Power, which suited ranged attacks, so he naturally lunged after him, refusing to let him widen the distance.
"Elder Mu, well fought!"
Xi Bazì climbed up from the ground. Ignoring his disheveled hair and filthy face from Mo Dekun's blast, he cheered him on.
"Beat the bastard to death!"
Sweet Potato Boy jumped up, craning his neck as he shouted. Seeing that Mu Bai was not losing to Mo Dekun immediately lifted his spirits. Still, he knew Mo Dekun was no weakling, and he could not help worrying for Mu Bai. Elder Mu looked as though he had only just entered level two as a Soul Cultivator. He did not know how strong his body and mental power actually were, or whether he could defeat Mo Dekun's peak level-two cultivation.
"What corner did this 'Elder Mu' crawl out of, daring to act so blindly in our Spirit Taming Sect!"
"If he's blind, beat his eyes open! He's only just entered level two. Even with a decent body, he's no match for Senior Brother Mo."
With everyone shouting like this, Mo Dekun naturally could not let himself lose face. After meeting Mu Bai head-on for another exchange, he kept retreating and dodging until he had opened up some distance. His confidence restored, he unleashed another Heaven-Connecting Lotus Leaves, sweeping toward Mu Bai like an endless river of surging emerald light.
Seeing the ferocity of this sword strike, Mu Bai immediately summoned his Divine Crow Soul Spirit. Stepping onto the Divine Crow, he soared into the air and avoided Mo Dekun's killing move.
Mo Dekun did not yet possess the Soul Spirit imprint of a flying bird, so he could not pursue him into the air. From above, Mu Bai abruptly struck out with Divine Crow flames. Tongues of fire descended from the sky, enveloping Mo Dekun. Mo Dekun, however, waved his hand and conjured a curtain of Soul Power light, blocking the flames without suffering a scratch.
"Trying to compete with me in Soul Power? You really don't know your limits!"
With those mocking words, Mo Dekun raised a Crystal Soul Bow, then nocked arrows and drew it with his right hand. With three whistles, three streaks of arrow light shot toward Mu Bai, who was still airborne. Mu Bai hastily dodged, but in midair, his body would not obey as he wished. Unable to evade in time, he took two Soul Arrows in the back with two muffled thuds.
"Elder Mu!"
Xi Bazì's and Sweet Potato Boy's hearts lurched, and they were about to rush over to catch Mu Bai.
Mo Dekun's face also lit with delight. At last, he had dealt with this irritating wolfman. But events took an unexpected turn. After taking two arrows in midair, the wolfman merely looked startled, then showed delight a moment later. Reaching behind himself, he pulled out both Soul Arrows and hurled them fiercely at Mo Dekun.
This sequence left everyone gaping in astonishment.
Caught off guard, Mo Dekun staggered backward and just managed to dodge the two Soul Arrows. Before he could recover from the fright, he saw a Spirit Light Sword thrusting straight toward the crown of his head. Life and death hung on a single instant.
Mu Bai, however, did not dare kill someone like this. Just as the light sword was about to pierce the crown of Mo Dekun's head, he stopped it in time and slowly descended. Loosening the white wolf-fur coat around himself, he walked up to Mo Dekun.
That fight had really made him hot.
"Well, Disciple Mo? Can you show me some consideration now?"
"Whoa, that wolfman actually has such strong mental power too!"
"Shh, keep your voice down. That wolf hide of his is no ordinary thing. It should be from a third-tier Moon-Howling White Wolf..."
"If you recognized it, why didn't you say so sooner!"
The onlookers whispered among themselves, gaining a new understanding of this wolfman who had appeared in broad daylight to meddle in other people's affairs.
Mu Bai wore a beaming smile, looking harmless to man and beast alike. Mo Dekun's face, however, had turned the color of pig liver. He clearly held an absolute advantage in Soul Power, yet this wolfman had used shameless, cunning tricks to close in on him.
"What, still not convinced? My Soul Power is indeed inferior to yours, but strength takes a thousand forms. Whatever defeats the enemy is the way to victory!"
"Hmph! I'm not afraid of your bag of tricks. Before absolute strength, they're nothing but fancy flourishes. It's that wolf hide of yours that's cheating!"
Mo Dekun seethed with indignation. If not for the toughness of that white wolf hide, those two Soul Arrows would surely have wounded Mu Bai severely, even if they had not killed him. He would never have had the chance to turn defeat into victory afterward.
"Well, there's nothing I can do about that. This is the only robe I have. I can't very well strip naked to fight you..."
"You!"
"When all is said and done, you simply aren't strong enough. Otherwise, you could have shot through even this third-tier wolf hide, couldn't you?" Mu Bai lightly patted Mo Dekun's shoulder and said earnestly, "Young man, don't set your eyes above the top of your head. Rather than wasting time mocking your fellow disciples, you'd be better off putting it into cultivation. Luckily, you met me today. Had it been someone else, you might already be dead..."
Mu Bai rambled on, very much like someone instructing a junior, while the Spirit Light Sword remained fixed squarely on the crown of Mo Dekun's head. Mo Dekun's nerves were stretched taut, afraid that the sword would plunge into his divine palace.
Under these circumstances, Mo Deqian could only yield.
Before you continue