Volume One, Chapter 54: Speaking Ill of Lin Yang

He refused to believe that if two seven or eight-year-old children went to beg Zhang Xianfeng, Zhang Xianfeng would still refuse to give anything.

Even if the old man was reluctant to part with his resources, he was even more reluctant to lose his old face.

Lin Yang returned to Chiyang Peak, while Lin Hongye excitedly said, "Master, that palm strike you just executed was simply too handsome!"

"If only my Immortal Fire Dao could reach your level someday."

Lin Yang smiled and then offered some comfort:

"Don't worry, I will give you a more detailed lecture later, which will surely advance your Immortal Fire Dao to the next level."

Just a moment ago, the two of them had successfully refined pills. Upon stepping out of the alchemy chamber, they discovered that the three major sects had already surrounded the Great Desolate Immortal Sect.

Without hesitation, Lin Yang took the lead to suppress the sect masters of the three major sects, and then sent Lin Hongye to deliver the Nine-Turn Soul-Returning Pill to Zhang Xianfeng.

Fortunately, everything was still in time.

Meanwhile, Zhou Xiao's expression showed a trace of reluctance. After all, if Lin Yang had come out a little later, those three major sects would have made their move.

Although it would have been impossible to directly annihilate the Great Desolate Immortal Sect, weakening its influence even a little bit would have been good.

Seeing this regretful look on Zhou Xiao's face, Lin Yang immediately slapped him on the head.

"What are you daydreaming about? Go on, call Lu Chen over for me."

"Oh." Zhou Xiao rubbed his head and gave a aggrieved "oh" before running off to the martial arts arena to call Lu Chen.

Before long, Lu Chen came running over and asked in confusion, "What is it, Master?"

Lin Yang squatted down so that his height was level with the two children, and then spoke with a solemn expression:

"Your master has a very arduous task to assign to you. Do you have the confidence to complete it?"

Zhou Xiao twitched the corner of his mouth. Where on earth did he have any cultivation base right now? Lu Chen being given this task was purely meant to make things difficult for him.

However, Lu Chen grinned, brandished the wooden sword in his hand, and said, "Don't worry, Master. With my current cultivation, coming and going freely across Central State is a breeze."

Zhou Xiao rolled his eyes. If he weren't able to perceive that Lu Chen was merely at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, he might have actually believed him.

Yet Lin Yang shook his head and explained in a solemn tone:

"No, this task does not require you to possess immense strength, but it requires you to put aside your pride, and even your dignity. Can you do that?"

Seeing Lin Yang looking so serious, Lu Chen could not help but turn serious as well.

"Master, do you want me to infiltrate the Demonic Sect just like Zhao Feng did before, climbing the ranks step by step by relying on my own talent to gather information about the Demonic Sect?"

"There's no problem at all! I, Lu Chen, guarantee that I will climb to the top at the fastest speed possible, and I will never betray the sect."

Hearing this task, Zhou Xiao's eyes instantly lit up.

If it really meant infiltrating the demonic sect, then once he got there, Zhou Xiao could simply reveal his true identity. Wouldn't that mean the birds would be free to fly through the sky and the fish to leap through the vast sea?

He had even come up with a series of plans, such as passing along false intelligence and finding a way to kill Lu Chen.

However, before Zhou Xiao could continue indulging in his fantasies, Lin Yang shook his head again.

"No, that is not the task either."

Instantly, the burning enthusiasm in Zhou Xiao's heart was doused by a bucket of cold water, while Lu Chen scratched his head in confusion.

"Master, it's neither this nor that. Then what on earth is the task?"

Lin Yang took a deep breath and continued:

"You two are going to find that old man Zhang Xianfeng and squeeze some resources out of him."

"You are just children, so begging him will definitely work. If he refuses to give anything, the two of you must kneel down and cry. That old bastard definitely won't be able to stand that."

Lu Chen: "..."

Zhou Xiao: "..."

The two remained speechless for a long time. After a short while, Lu Chen firmly rejected the idea with strong resistance:

"No, no, I'm not doing it."

"Master, don't you know that a true man has gold under his knees? Besides, I, Lu Chen, am a dignified Sword Immortal from the upper realm. You want me to kneel before a sect master? That would ruin my pride completely!"

Lin Yang shrugged indifferently. "A true man has gold under his knees, and now is the exact time to cash it out."

"Don't be ungrateful. Why do you think I'm sending you to fetch resources? Isn't it for your own benefit? Stop talking nonsense with me."

Yet Lu Chen stubbornly shook his head in absolute resistance. "No way, no way. I'm just not going."

Lin Yang made a clicking sound with his tongue and threatened, "Are you going or not? Don't make me repeat myself."

"I just won't go! Even if I, Lu Chen, were to die right now and jump off Chiyang Peak, I would never kneel down to the sect master even the slightest bit!"

Lu Chen shouted emotionally, while Zhou Xiao stood off to the side, nodding in agreement.

...

Ten minutes later, Lu Chen and Zhou Xiao obediently headed down the mountain, except that each of them now had an extra lump on their head—clearly the handiwork of Lin Yang.

Zhou Xiao glanced at Lu Chen, who still wore a stubborn expression, and asked, "Senior Brother, where are we going first?"

"Hmph! To find the sect master! To kneel! To demand resources!"

Three dark lines appeared on Zhou Xiao's forehead. He spoke of kneeling down to beg someone with such a fierce and stern tone that anyone overhearing might have thought he was going to assassinate the sect master.

He then asked helplessly, "Senior Brother, didn't you say that even if you jumped off Chiyang Peak you wouldn't go to the sect master?"

Lu Chen let out a cold snort and said disdainfully, "What do you know? This is what I call knowing the times makes a hero."

"Besides, once we get the resources, won't we be able to cultivate even better? Once our cultivation achieves success, we can exact vengeance for today's humiliation!"

Just as he finished speaking, Lu Chen seemed to sense something. His expression shifted drastically, and he immediately quickened his pace. Zhou Xiao, failing to understand why, shouted out in surprise:

"Senior Brother! Why are you running so fast?"

Lu Chen didn't answer and only ran faster. Zhou Xiao couldn't help but frown. "How strange."

"Is that so? Your master is already used to it." Lin Yang's eerie voice sounded right behind Zhou Xiao.

Zhou Xiao felt a chill run down his spine. He trembled as he turned around, forcing a stiff and awkward smile onto his face.

"Master, I didn't join him in cursing you. You must be able to tell right from wrong."

Zhou Xiao's smile looked even uglier than crying. Lin Yang was smiling as well; he gently stroked Zhou Xiao's head and whispered softly:

"It's fine. Master doesn't blame you."

...

Lu Chen sprinted rapidly down the mountain. Seeing that Lin Yang had not followed him, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

Before long, Zhou Xiao also made it down the mountain, with two additional lumps now adorning his head.

Seeing this sight, Lu Chen burst out into hearty laughter, while Zhou Xiao wore an expression filled with anger and helplessness.

"You guy! Why didn't you warn me when Master showed up?" Zhou Xiao demanded angrily.

Lu Chen shrugged with an air of absolute righteousness and explained:

"Nonsense. If I had warned you, and we both ran away, there's no telling who Master would have hit."

"But as long as I ran away first, Master would definitely pick the closest target to beat up—which happened to be you."

Zhou Xiao vowed that once his strength recovered, he would tear this little brat in front of him into a thousand pieces!

Noticing Zhou Xiao's enraged expression, Lu Chen offered some comfort: "It's fine. Later on, when we kneel before the sect master, I'll let you go first. Pretty generous of me, right?"