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"Legend has it this was the very wine Sword Immortal Liuyun drank before she ascended!"

"Whoa!"

"Impressive!"

"Hurry up and open it so we can all have a taste!"

The wastrel slapped off the seal and raised the wine jar. Before he could pour, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and took it from him. He turned and saw Shen Ji's cold, grim face.

"You-"

Before he could speak, Shen Ji tipped the jar.

Splash.

The richly fragrant wine poured over his head and face, soaking him through. His expensive robes became a crumpled mess as soon as they were drenched in wine, a truly unbearable sight.

He jumped up. "Shen Ji, have you gone mad?!"

Shen Ji flung the jar to the ground, where it shattered with a crash, then raised a foot and kicked the wastrel flat.

The man cried out and rolled on the ground, clutching his chest.

Qiaoqiao: [Eldest Senior Brother is so cool!]

Shen Ji had shown no mercy with that kick. The man's ribs were probably broken!

The other wastrels caught on, too. Shen Ji and his group had come with a menacing air, looking for trouble!

"You lot from Ethereal Peak, what is the meaning of this?"

"Today is the sect master's birthday banquet! Making trouble in front of everyone-are you trying to get yourselves sent to the Law Enforcement Hall?!"

"See that? Sword Lord Qingyun is sitting right up on the dais. If you cause trouble, he'll be the first to deal with you!"

The Flowing Cloud Sect's main peak had three great elders, whose standing was second only to the sect master's. Wu Fang's master was one, and Sword Lord Qingyun was another. The latter had an excellent reputation within the sect and was known for being fair and strict. With him here, he certainly would not stand idly by.

"Oh?" The crane tilted its head. "Well, thank you for the reminder."

It flapped its wings, and a crane feather drifted down. An illusion barrier enveloped the wine table, conjuring an illusion. To everyone else, it looked as though they had joined the table and were drinking and chatting merrily with the wastrels.

In reality-

"Ow! Ow!"

"Stop hitting us!!"

"Go easy!"

"How can a little girl like you hit so hard?!"

With A Xue, a Nascent Soul crane lord, controlling the situation, Qiaoqiao lashed them with her flowering branch until not an inch of them was unscathed. The wastrels dropped to their knees and begged for mercy. "Great aunt, please spare us! We've never even provoked you!"

Qiaoqiao stepped aside to let them see Fu Fengyuan standing behind her. "Offending my Fourth Senior Brother means offending me!"

Then she added, "It means offending all of Ethereal Peak!"

[We senior and junior sisters of Ethereal Peak are one loving family. None of us can be bullied!]

Her senior brothers and sisters: ...

Luckily, only they could hear their junior sister's thoughts. Otherwise, it really would have been a little too much to bear-their toes were already digging into the ground.

One wastrel said, "He's just a piece of trash who can't even hold a sword-ow!"

Before he could finish, Xiao Tingyu kicked him square in the chest. He toppled onto the ground like a turtle. Had everyone on Ethereal Peak trained their legs? How could their kicks be so vicious?!

"We won't dare do it again!"

"I don't believe you." Qiaoqiao raised an eyebrow. "Unless you swear a heart oath that if you so much as touch a hair on my Fourth Senior Brother's head again, your intestines will rupture and your guts will rot on the spot, and you'll die in agony. Otherwise..."

They stared at her. They had never imagined that this delicate, graceful-looking girl could strike so ruthlessly and even make them swear such a vicious oath. What a black heart she had!

The wastrels looked thoroughly unwilling. Being forced to swear an oath by a little girl-how humiliating!

Besides, a heart oath really would come true! Wouldn't that mean they could never so much as touch that piece of trash Fu Fengyuan again?

As they hesitated, she said ominously, "Otherwise... you can have a taste of my Third Senior Sister's Excruciating Pain Powder. Try it once, and I guarantee you'll never forget it for the rest of your lives."

Wen Zhi took out the medicinal powder, and the wastrels shuddered.

After the commotion Fairy Peilan had caused, they had already heard of Ethereal Peak's third senior sister and her reputation as a genius alchemist. How would they dare try her poison?

"Let's talk this out. Don't use poison!"

"I'll swear, all right?"

The group stood before Fu Fengyuan with their heads drooping and swore their oaths. Having to do so before someone they had repeatedly humiliated felt even worse than taking a savage beating from Qiaoqiao. They had lost every last scrap of dignity, inside and out.

That piece of trash-was he even worthy?!

They were so angry their stomachs hurt!

He certainly had a good junior sister, actually standing up for him like this.

As they were stewing in humiliation, an aged voice suddenly rang out. "Who is playing tricks with an illusion at the sect master's birthday banquet?"

A streak of Spiritual Qi struck, and the crane-feather illusion instantly shattered. The wastrels, tears and snot streaming down their faces, turned to see a tall, thin, white-haired old man with prominent cheekbones standing before them. Wu Fang followed behind him, his face bruised and swollen.

"Grand Elder!"

"Elder Chang!"

The wastrels rushed toward him as though they had seen their savior, loudly accusing Qiaoqiao of all the terrible humiliation she had inflicted on them.

Elder Chang looked at the wastrels, then at Qiaoqiao: ?

"Elder, it's true!"

"There's definitely something wrong with her weapon. It hurts so much when she lashes you with it!"

Wu Fang complained too. "Master, they were the ones who kicked me just now, and they didn't show you any respect either!"

Had he not sent a message through a Jade Slip to ask his master for help, he would still have been rolling on the ground.

Elder Chang's gaze turned dangerous as he surveyed the group from Ethereal Peak. "Disciples are forbidden from fighting within the sect. Go to the Law Enforcement Hall and accept your punishment!"

"Only us? They don't have to go?" Xiao Tingyu said. "They were clearly the ones who hit Fourth Junior Brother first!"

"Who saw that?" Wu Fang said. "He clearly fell all by himself!"

Xiao Tingyu was nearly beside herself with anger. These people truly had no shame.

"All this elder saw was you lot playing tricks here." Elder Chang swept a cold gaze over them and flicked his sleeve. "Still not going? Must I personally invite you?!"

Behind him, Wu Fang grew swaggeringly arrogant. "Master, once they're in the Law Enforcement Hall, you must punish them harshly. Let them learn what sect rules mean!"

Elder Chang snorted. Just as he was about to summon the Law Enforcement Hall disciples to drag them away, he saw Qiaoqiao staring at him with wide, almond-shaped eyes. [I remember now...]