I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense

Chapter 1027: Chapter 1028 Visitors from the Super Sect
 

“Why catch him at all? If it’s such a big deal, just send him back,” Li Xiaobai said nonchalantly.

Edward was speechless. This young man was too bold. All they had to do was throw Jiumozhi into the Arhat Hall, as it was an internal matter of the Buddhist Sect, riddled with many hidden issues that couldn’t be casually exposed or poked through.

But Li Xiaobai went and did exactly the opposite, carrying the person back from the Western Continent to the Eastern Continent. Jiumozhi was the person the Buddhist Sect explicitly wanted to capture, entangled in many unspoken rules. What did bringing him back to the Eastern Continent even mean?

“Sir, you do not know the full picture. Jiumozhi’s identity and status are not simple; he has a powerful background. The Buddhist Sect’s intent to bring him into the Arhat Hall was only to use the opportunity to give him a scare as a formality before letting him go. They never actually intended to capture him. You have misunderstood,” Edward said with a wry smile.

“Where is this!”

“It’s you, Li Xiaobai! You dare abduct me!”

“I am a monk from the Great Wheel Monastery, upright and proper, yet you sneak attacked me and severely wounded me with a mysterious Magic Treasure. I do not accept this! If you have the courage, let us go to the Great Wheel Monastery, have the many revered monks bear witness, and fight again!”

Jiumozhi began to wake up and grasp the situation at hand.

He had been abducted, and moreover, he had been whisked across the ocean to the Eastern Continent. Here, he was now a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, wasn’t he?

“Keep quiet, you fool,” Li Xiaobai retorted, slapping Jiumozhi on the forehead with the back of his hand. He had been able to defeat his opponent in an instant while in the Earth Immortal Realm, and now that he had entered the Heavenly Immortal stage, he didn’t take this guy seriously at all.

“Gently, gently!”

Edward hurriedly spoke out from the side. This was a valued disciple of the Buddhist Sect, rumored to be a genius. If they hurt him, it would be problematic.

“Reverend, I am Edward from the Eastern Continent’s Enforcement Team. In collaboration with the Buddhist Sect’s Arhat Hall, we meant to give you a small lesson. But it seems my subordinates were overzealous and ended up abducting you. However, rest assured, our Enforcement Team’s aftercare service is always top-notch.”

“Since it was my Enforcement Team that brought you out, we will certainly send you back!”

Edward spoke with a smile on his face, his words sweet and cordial.

“Amitabha, thank you for your kindness. I merely wished to spar with Master Li out of an eagerness to test my skills, but he ambushed me and detained me with a mysterious Magic Treasure. Such behavior is truly contemptible in the eyes of all,” Jiumozhi huffed, standing beside Edward with his sleeves flapping indignantly.

Li Xiaobai suddenly found himself at a loss for words. This guy was a classic case of being obsessed with face. He had to pretend to be tough at all times, even without strength, and to witness such belligerent behavior in the Buddhist Sect was indeed an eye-opener.

“My subordinates were thoughtless. I apologize to you on their behalf,” Edward still managed to smile, discreetly handing Li Xiaobai a Storage Bag with a reward for the assignment.

Li Xiaobai glanced at it. It wasn’t much, just a hundred thousand top-grade Immortal Stones, just enough to add a little to the petty cash.

One shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Although it was only a hundred thousand, let’s just let Jiumozhi’s blustering and pretentious behavior slide. As long as he’s happy.

“Has Senior Wu Chengjue returned?”

Li Xiaobai continued asking.

“She has returned. It was she who informed the Helmsman of your situation. She is currently facing a bottleneck and has gone to Ice Dragon Island in the north to seek a breakthrough opportunity,” Edward said.

“She went to Ice Dragon Island too?”

Li Xiaobai’s mind stirred. If that was the case, it meant he wouldn’t be entirely without support when he got to Ice Dragon Island.

“Now that I’m back for a short visit, should I meet the Helmsman?”

Edward continued to inquire.

“Eh… no need. Let the Helmsman take a good rest. I’ll be on my way,” Li Xiaobai quickly declined, remembering Beichen Feng’s eerie aura and feeling an inexplicable chill down his spine.

It would be better to wait until he had gathered enough information about the person in question on the Immortal Spirit Continent before making contact. At least then, he’d have more confidence knowing something about them.

“Recently, times have become complicated. There’s secret information that the Buddhist Sect is conducting an experiment using children as raw materials. Such a deed is appalling. Currently, all the Great Sects are surreptitiously watching, calm on the surface but stormy underneath.”

“It’s best to keep a low profile at such a critical time.”

As he left the Secret Realm, Edward’s words floated to his ears. It was clear that after careful deliberation, Edward had decided to share this piece of information.

What Edward didn’t know was that the news had originally come from Li Xiaobai himself.

“This old man isn’t bad, sharing such important confidential news so readily; was that his own volition, or was he acting under Beichen Feng’s direction?” Li Xiaobai muttered to himself as he stepped out of the Secret Realm, with the golden chariot materializing and heading towards the Sword Sect.

It was almost time for the resource delivery guys to arrive. He had merely come out to deal with some minor matters in the Eastern Continent; the real departure was in three days.

…

The next morning, in the Sword Sect’s Sect Master Hall, a group of people sat leisurely waiting for the emissaries from the Super Sects to arrive.

Li Quzhuo sat opposite Li Xiaobai, constantly cultivating. He had come over today specifically to see how this guy managed to obtain a billion top-grade Immortal Stones and how he planned to contribute to the sect.

Li Xiaobai, keeping his eyes closed and cultivating, did not pay him any attention. Although his eldest senior brother was not a bad person, he was too single-minded and couldn’t see the big picture. When he found himself deeply trapped in the Second Peak, he would understand its benefits.

Ten Half-Saint Strong Experts appeared in the sky and came walking on air, just like the Half-Saint experts he had just met two days ago.

Following them were dozens of young male and female cultivators, who floated down gently.

These Super Sects seemed quite eager, arriving before the agreed-upon three days, indicating their readiness to extend an olive branch of friendship and hoping to form an alliance with the Sword Sect.

After all, with a sect sheltered by a figure like Senior Xiao Lao Di and possessing the bathhouse and Huazi, the transformation of their talented disciples within the Sword Sect was evident to all. Now that they had the opportunity to send their Sect Disciples, it was natural to act promptly instead of waiting longer and possibly missing the chance.

“Sect Master Ying, elders, we have come!”

The ten Half-Saints landed in front of the Sect Master Hall, respectfully speaking with impeccable manners.

“Come in,” the old beggar said with a light snort and a dismissive wave.

“Elders, as agreed, we have brought one billion top-grade Immortal Stones for each of our sects, totaling ten billion. Please, elders, have a look,” Xu Fu said as he took out a Space Ring and presented it with both hands.

“Senior Xu, you are too kind. I’ll take care of the ring.”

Li Xiaobai stepped forward, took the ring without even glancing at it, and slipped it directly onto his finger.

With Xiao Lao Di here, these guys wouldn’t dare play any tricks.

“Sect Master Li, your nobility in revealing the deviant monks’ demonic deeds to us is commendable. Otherwise, we might remain in the dark, allowing those Buddhist monks to exploit all living beings at will.”

“It’s unbelievable that these monks from the Buddha Country appear so righteous on the surface, yet each one is a cultural degenerate deep down. Those monks who flaunt their Merit Value are actually causing miseries in the world. The irony is just too much.”

“The Family Heads were all shocked by the news and have gathered evidence in a timely manner, coming up with strategies accordingly. If the Buddhist Sect wants to poison the next generation, they’ll have to ask us first if we agree!”

Xu Fu spoke in a deep voice.

Their powers moved quickly behind the scenes, having covert agents even within the Buddha Country. They verified and responded to the news almost immediately through various special channels.

“Such trifles are not worth mentioning. That you all hold a common grudge and pressurize the Buddhist Sect together, now that’s truly a great deed for the benefit of the people!”

“It can be called boundless merit!”

Li Xiaobai said cheerfully.

“There’s another reason for our visit. These are the new elite disciples from our Great Sects, with cultivation at the Human Immortal Realm. We would like to ask Sect Master Li to take them in for cultivation at the Second Peak, and we hope you won’t refrain from teaching them.”

Xu Fu spoke with a smile.

“Uncle Xu, really? This is the sect you talked about?”

“Built in the Eastern Continent, and it’s such a rundown little sect too, it’s no match to ours at all!”

“Yes, this place is so backward, it has nothing. The only decent mountain is even bigger than the entire sect. How can people even stay here?”

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaobai hadn’t even responded when the young men and women started talking over each other in response.

Li Quzhuo beside them turned livid with anger and he wanted to stand up to retort, but was stared back into his seat by a look from Ying Diao at the main table.

He was already worried about these Super Sects forcing their disciples on them, and now it turned out the disciples themselves looked down upon the Sword Sect, saving him a lot of trouble.

“Silence!”

“In front of the seniors here, you must not be disrespectful!”

“Coming to the Sword Sect for cultivation is for your own good. Being ungrateful and judging by appearances are major taboos in the Cultivation World. Especially for you juniors, revealing your immature heart and mind as soon as you open your mouths, how will you ever walk in the jianghu in the future?”

Xu Fu scolded them angrily.

The faces of the several Half-Saint strong experts also looked displeased. To be able to send their Sect Disciples to cultivate in the Sword Sect was an opportunity they had fought hard for. Now these Sect Disciples were rejecting the offer themselves, looking down on everything from the start. Where did that leave them?

Where did that leave Senior Xiao Lao Di?

“Uncle Xu, we understand what you mean. We do have the common fault of being quick-tempered and arrogant, and you want to use this dilapidated sect to make us suffer hardship to temper our minds, right?”

“We get the idea, but it’s really unnecessary. Once this is finished, we’ll go ourselves to train in the dangerous lands near our sect, to temper our minds.”

A young man in white looked at Xu Fu and said indifferently, as if he knew everything.

In fact, they had long since grown accustomed to such family-arranged activities—nothing more than tempering themselves in arduous environments and experiencing the hardships of life to improve their mental cultivation level.

But the effectiveness of such methods was nearly negligible, and for geniuses like them, it was a sheer waste of time. They could have already made considerable advances in their strength if they had spent that time cultivating.

Mental constitution and all that, they didn’t really take it seriously. As long as they had cultivation levels and were powerful enough, they could easily kill their opponents. Of what use was mental temperament then?

In the face of absolute strength, all those petty tricks were useless.

Watching a group of disciples being so full of themselves and smug about it, Xu Fu was so angry his nose was almost bent out of shape.

“Damn it, what the hell do you know!”

“I had you cultivate in the Sword Sect because the resources of the Sword Sect are far beyond those of your pathetic Super Sects!”

“Chattering about this and that, you can’t even grasp such a simple concept. What kind of immortals are you cultivating to be, any different from pigs?”

“Daring to criticize the territory of the Sword Sect and other sects so freely, do you even have Sect Master Ying, us, or Senior Xiao Lao Di in your eyes!”

Xu Fu erupted in a furious rage, his hot temper bursting forth, and he smacked a disciple across the face with the back of his hand, sending the young man in white spinning three times in place and tumbling to the ground.

Despite his usually affable and seemingly approachable look, when he actually started to fight, he was more ruthless than anyone. The sect disciples had openly insulted the Sword Sect, probably leaving a bad impression on the other party. If they wanted the disciples to continue cultivating here, making an example was necessary.

“Uncle Xu, how could you hit me?”

The face of the young man in white was a picture of disbelief, his eyes red-rimmed, looking as pitiable as a delicate young lady—a sight that might be fitting for a woman but was just irritating on him.

He just seemed so effeminate!

“Humph, hitting you because you’re receiving the discipline that your family failed to teach you. You dare to be so outspoken outside, are you not afraid of dying without knowing how you died?”

Xu Fu said coldly. To be pointing fingers and commenting on matters in front of Xiao Lao Di was truly tantamount to seeking death.

“All of you listen up, within your own sects, you may be geniuses, top talents, idolized by everyone, but here you might be nothing. Within the Sword Sect, even a three-and-a-half-year-old child might display far greater talent than you. If you wish to make further progress in the future, it’s best you drop that worthless pride.”

“If you anger the seniors, it’s not just us—your families behind you won’t be able to save you either!”

The mature woman with residual charm also spoke coldly, starting to reprimand the sect disciples publicly.

Before the trip, they were told over and over to be careful with their words and actions, and these youngsters complied. Who would have thought that as soon as they entered, such a scenario would unfold? It seemed that their words had fallen on deaf ears, with the youths still harboring a playful mindset.

“I’m sorry, Sect Master Ying, seniors, Sect Master Li, our sect disciples are inherently stubborn, making a mockery in front of everyone.”

The woman bowed deeply and apologized.

With this, the group of prodigies became completely subdued. This woman was a Half-Saint strong expert from the Hundred Flowers Sect; even she was paying such respectful homage with deep bows. They were serious today!

Ying Diao waved his hand dismissively: “No matter, the disciples are just being mischievous, it’s nothing serious.”

“As the Sect Master, however, I think what that young man just said made a lot of sense. The Sword Sect of the Eastern Continent is just a tiny place and cannot compare with your illustrious Super Sects. There’s nothing much we can teach them here, instead of wasting time and growing old here, it might be better to have them go back home and concentrate on their cultivation.”

Ying Diao said with a chuckle. He had never wanted to keep these disciples, and now that they themselves were unwilling, he simply took the opportunity to push them out.

However, as soon as these words were spoken, the complexions of the ten Half-Saints changed. In their eyes, this was a dangerous signal—the Sect Master of the Sword Sect was not pleased, and it seemed that the previous provocative words of the disciples would not be forgiven.

“Sect Master Ying, it is indeed our neglect that allowed our sect disciples to speak recklessly.”

“We are willing to compensate for the damage to the Sword Sect’s reputation. The ten families will pool together, let’s put up a billion. If the Sect Master is still not appeased, I’ll break this bastard’s legs right now!”