"Ah…um…Fei Wu, was it?"

"That"s right." I nodded. Evidently Wu Tuo knew who I was, especially since videos and photographs of me have been disseminated throughout social media after my success in killing Liang Shao Yang and triggering the response from the Spirit Engraved Pillars. I wasn"t very fond of my newfound fame, but I had to live with it.

"How can I help you today?" Wu Tuo rubbed his hands in delight. I hesitated and produced my smartphone to consult the list of stuff I needed. Fortunately, the website I had visited yesterday conveniently provided a list, and off memory I remembered what I had and did not have. Detailing the Spirit Materials I needed, I watched as Wu Tuo enthusiastically jotted them down.

"Oh, and a few qi crystals. The purest ones you can find."

"Roger that." Wu Tuo beamed and raised his head to look at me. "Would that be all?"

"Yeah. I think." I hesitated for a moment, trying to see if I had missed anything, but it didn"t seem like I had.

"Good. I"ll be with you in a few moments. Please have a seat."

Wu Tuo led me to the VIP room where Tang Qi Hong and I stayed at during our last trip here. I bowed and thanked him before settling down on the sofa. Knowing that he would need some time to prepare all the necessary Spirit Materials, I whipped out my Kindle and began reading the latest Black Library novel.

Before I even finished a single chapter of my current Ciaphas Cain book (which was The Emperor"s Finest – I was still some way from catching up to Choose Your Enemies, the latest book, having chosen to re-read everything from Hero of the Imperium to Savior of the Imperium in one go before going back to Choose Your Enemies), Wu Tuo popped into the room, bearing a huge tray of everything I needed.

"Here you go."

"Thank you very much!" shutting my Kindle, I jumped to my feet and bowed gratefully. After accepting the Spirit Materials and placing them in my Snow Aegis, I reached for my wallet, but Wu Tuo shook his head.

"You"re an inner sect disciple of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. Your payment has already been settled by the sect."

"Whoa. That was fast."

Well, since I didn"t have to spend any money, I had no complaints. I just smiled in relief and thanked Wu Tuo again before leaving. He sent me off with a smile and a friendly wave and I returned to the sect.

For now, I had to train with Blood Blades, and then I would be able to experiment with my newly created Spirit Bombs. As this was a somewhat new invention, there wasn"t much instructions online. I had to piece together a bunch of different scientific articles that described the volatile process of qi fusion that would trigger a gigantic explosion. As always, even though it was possible, n.o.body had thought to weaponize it in an actual bomb because martial artists could do it with their bare hands. I had always been doing it with my Seismic Step, after all.

The problem was to magnify the explosion several times over…no, several hundred times over, to make the sacrifice of the Spirit Bomb worthwhile. Since the d.a.m.ned thing obviously cost quite a lot of resources to make, I had to ensure it paid for itself in terms of the effects. Unfortunately, I needed to test them out to ensure they worked – the usual field tests. It would be the height of folly to try it in an actual battle, only to realize I had screwed up and the weapon was completely useless. Of course, this would be expensive, but…

Good thing the sect is paying for my experiments, huh?

Thanks to the financial backing of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, I wouldn"t have felt the pinch in my wallet as I otherwise would as a private inventor.

As I made my way back to the sect, I suddenly came across three girls who were heading in the same direction. I didn"t pay much attention to them, even though they were supposedly beautiful enough to draw stares from most of the male pedestrians. You know, the usual cliché about every guy in their vicinity staring at them because of their beauty. Honestly, in reality, n.o.body cares. At least I didn"t. I was too absorbed in my thoughts to notice them.

Unfortunately, they noticed me.

"Um…"

Ling Yu Mei approached me uncertainly. I glanced up at her, taken aback. Don"t blame me, I hardly expected a random stranger to suddenly walk up to me and say h.e.l.lo for no reason. Furthermore, I didn"t recognize her at all.

"…who?"

"Sorry…I thought you were someone." Ling Yu Mei shook her head, then frowned as she studied me. Despite realizing her mistake, she refused to give up, and continued scrutinizing me as if my features would somehow change if she stared hard enough.

"Um…"

"Ah…I"m so sorry!" Ling Yu Mei hastily bowed, her long black hair flying up as she bent ninety degrees and perpendicular to the ground. "I didn"t mean to be so rude! It"s just that you remind me of someone, and I…"

"Sister?"

Ling Yu Xuan was approaching us cautiously, wondering what Ling Yu Mei was doing. Her older sister waved her hands frantically.

"My bad…just hang on for a second." She turned back to me. "I"m sorry, but do you mind taking off your gla.s.ses?"

"Yes, I mind." Even though I could see perfectly well without them, thanks to…several experiences in Sen Lin Forest and cultivating, I didn"t want to part with them. Especially since my gla.s.ses were feeding me data on my surroundings and scanning the crowd around us for threats. I could see the numbers indicating their pulse, body temperature, height and weight, as well as an infrared spectrum that represented their qi.

"Oh…"

Ling Yu Mei"s face fell, and I suddenly felt bad. Sighing, I nodded for a moment and took my gla.s.ses off.

"There you go."

"Ah…!"

Ling Yu Mei"s eyes widened. Even Ling Yu Xuan showed some sort of shocked expression, her jaw dropping.

"You are…!"

"…are…?" I repeated, befuddled. Ling Yu Mei blinked, and shook her head.

"No, sorry. You just look so much like him."

"Like who?"

Even though I asked, I really didn"t want to know. I wanted to get out of this awkward situation and return to Nine-Tailed Fox Sect as soon as possible.

Before Ling Yu Mei could reply, however, a sharp voice cut harshly across the district.

"You…! Aren"t you Qin Lie?!"

"WHO?!" Ling Yu Mei, Ling Yu Xuan and I all chorused in astonished unison as we stared at the furiously approaching Lu Li.

"Qin Lie!" Lu Li repeated vehemently as she jabbed a finger in my chest. "Stop pretending, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

"Who the f.u.c.k is Qin Lie?!" I roared.

"Yu Mei"s former fiancé!" Lu Li insisted stubbornly, glaring at me. "Master has already forced you to dissolve your engagement three years ago, but you refuse to give up and followed her all the way here to continue stalking her? How dare you!"

"Who is Yu Mei?" I demanded, but I got my answer in the next second when Ling Yu Mei jumped in.

"He"s not my fiancé! And I never had any fiancé to begin with! Please stop talking nonsense, Senior Lu!"

She then quickly turned to me and bowed apologetically.

"I"m sorry for the rude behavior my senior has shown you. Please forgive her. She"s in a bit of a bad mood."

"Stay away from him!" Lu Li imposed herself between Ling Yu Mei and a stunned me.

"Um, what is going on here?" I asked, stil completely lost.

"Senior Lu has mixed up reality with a xianxia story she read," Ling Yu Xuan replied quietly. "Please don"t mind her."

"Okay." I sighed. "If there"s nothing else, then I"ll take my leave."

Meanwhile, Lu Li and Ling Yu Mei were still arguing.

"If he really isn"t your fiancé, then why did you approach him? You obviously still have feelings for him, don"t you?!"

"That"s wrong!" Ling Yu Mei cried. "He just resembles the person Cousin talked about, that"s all!"

"I think he is that person," Ling Yu Xuan added.

"Cousin?" I repeated, staring at the two sisters. They nodded and Ling Yu Mei approached me with her smartphone out.

"Do you happen to know our cousin, Ling Qing Zhu?"

Now that was a name I had heard of before, but I wasn"t sure if it was the right one. Taking a deep breath, I suppressed my shock. "Ling Qing Zhu from the Incendiary Ifrit Sect?"

"Yes! Have you met before?"

For some reason, Ling Yu Xuan had gotten excited.

"Um…yeah. I guess." I scratched my head awkwardly, remembering that we hardly parted on friendly terms.

"In the Nascent Soul Stage pract.i.tioner"s tomb?" Ling Yu Mei pressed, also growing as excited as her sister. I stared at her.

"How did you know?"

"This!" Ling Yu Xuan waved her smartphone at me. I stared at it, confused, until I recognized the photograph of the person on the screen as myself. "You look so much like him that I thought it might just be you!"

"Not to mention, this is Tushan City and you"re from Nine-Tailed Fox Sect," Ling Yu Xuan added as the pieces fell into place for her as well.

I studied the picture, feeling a little embarra.s.sed. Apparently Ling Qing Zhu or someone had snapped a photograph of me in the ancient tomb and uploaded it online on social media. Coincidentally it was a picture of me without my gla.s.ses.

That was right. During the expedition to the Nascent Soul Stage pract.i.tioner"s tomb, my gla.s.ses were broken during my fight with Li Xue Wu and the Heavenly Fiend Sect (if I recall correctly, it was Li Xue Wu who smashed my gla.s.ses). I had to repair it with duct tape, but obviously that wasn"t the best way of repairing it, and my gla.s.ses occasionally came loose and slipped apart. During the time my picture was taken, I had taken off my gla.s.ses to redo the duct tape and adjust my falling apart gla.s.ses. It was only until I ran into Tang Qi Hong again after the encounter with Ling Qing Zhu that the girl I like helped repair and restore my gla.s.ses fully.

The photograph of me was obviously taken after the fight with Ling Qhing Zhu and before I met up with Tang Qi Hong and the others.

"…um, yeah. I guess. Small world, huh?"

"You"re Cousin Qing Zhu"s benefactor!" Ling Yu Xuan exclaimed in delight.

"I…uh, what?"

Now that was something I didn"t expect. While my mind was struggling to catch up with all that was going on around me, Ling Yu Xuan nodded and bowed politely.

"Thank you very much for saving Cousin Qing Zhu. We really appreciate it."

"Huh? No…I didn"t do anything?"

Except suck some of the frosty pure yin qi that was threatening to freeze poor Ling Qing Zhu to death, but that wasn"t a big deal. But apparently Ling Qing Zhu remembered that and even told her cousins about it. Still, I was pretty surprised. I had never expected to encounter Ling Qing Zhu"s cousins. Like I said, it was a pretty small world.

"My name is Ling Yu Mei, and this is my younger sister, Ling Yu Xuan. As you probably already surmised, we are Cousin"s Qing Zhu"s cousins." Ling Yu Mei politely bowed and introduced herself. I nodded and returned the favor.

"Fei Wu. Uh…I guess I was helped by your cousin in various ways as well."

Even if it wasn"t direct, I did benefit from some of the pure yin qi that I absorbed from Ling Qing Zhu.

"I hope your cousin is fine. Is she still suffering from the effects of the pure yin qi?"

"A little, but she has it under control for now." Ling Yu Mei looked moved, apparently because I seemed concerned for her cousin. Though in actual fact I didn"t give a f.u.c.k about her, and had totally forgotten about her.

Obviously I wasn"t going to tell her that, though, so I nodded sagely instead.

"That"s good."

The two Ling Sisters were staring at me with renewed respect, but this must have touched a nerve in Lu Li, for she strode in.

"Don"t get too ahead of yourself!" she snapped, grabbing both Ling Yu Mei and Ling Yu Xuan and dragging them away. "I don"t care who you are, but you"re not worthy of Ling Qing Zhu! You must be deluded if you ever thought you stood a chance with her! Don"t even dream of marrying someone as powerful as Qing Zhu!"

"That thought has never crossed my mind," I told her honestly and dryly. h.e.l.l, I had even forgotten about Ling Qing Zhu before these girls showed up.

But Lu Li wasn"t paying any attention to me. She carried on ranting and ranting angrily.

"Never mind Qing Zhu, you"re not even worthy of the Ling Sisters! Get your face out of here! I don"t want to see you anywhere near them! You"re just a lowly trash from the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect! Don"t delude yourself into believing that you can ever a.s.sociate with the respectable women of the Ling Clan! You"re just a toad l.u.s.ting after a swan!"

I felt like slapping her, but I just reined in my temper and nodded politely to the Ling Sisters, who were absolutely appalled by their senior"s caustic words.

"Senior Lu! Stop it! Please stop it!"

Ling Yu Mei was pleading with her, but Lu Li continued to glare at me challengingly, as if daring me to defy her.

Ignoring her, I spoke to the Ling Sisters.

"There you have it. I"ll be taking my leave first. Send my regards to your cousin."

"Yeah, we will. I"m so sorry for what my senior said. Her att.i.tude is inexcusable."

"Why are you apologizing to trash like him? He"s insignificant and will never amount to anything." Lu Li was going on a tirade now. Wow, there was something wrong with that b.i.t.c.h. "Such trash is beyond your notice. You and your cousin will be better off with men of higher statuses."

"Look, lady," I snarled, exasperated. It was a miracle I hadn"t snapped and punched her. I didn"t care if she was a girl. I was all for gender equality, after all, and if she had attacked me, I would have struck without hesitation. However, as a martial artist, I was aware of the need to control myself and not resort to violence so easily. "I don"t even know who the f.u.c.k you are." Okay, perhaps my language was a bit crude, but at that point I was already doing an admirable job of not allowing my baser instincts to control myself."

"You don"t need to," Lu Li sneered. "I know who you are. That"s more than enough. Now get lost!"

Trying not to look at the onlookers, many of whom had gathered to watch the commotion – Lu Li was making quite the ruckus – I turned my back on the trio and hurriedly walked back to the sect entrance. I had enough of that b.i.t.c.h. There was no reason for me to stand there and listen to her toxic insults. Scowling, I glared at one of the onlookers, who had snapped a picture, presumably to upload it on social media.

d.a.m.n these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. Instead of filming or photographing the event to comment on it on social media, they could at least step in and help. But no, getting views and likes online was more important than offering a.s.sistance to someone in need.

This world was going to h.e.l.l.

As I pa.s.sed through the entrance, I ran into the next person I least wanted to encounter.

"Ah! Fei Wu! There you are!"

Yin Jing Jing bounced up toward me, a frown on her pretty face. But remembering herself, she changed her expression to one of respectful politeness.

"I"m sorry, but I have a request for you."

"If it involves getting your friends in, then I"m afraid I can"t help you," I told her bluntly. I was already in a bad mood after being insulted and scorned by that b.i.t.c.h Lu Li, and my temper was fraying. "Take it up with the Great Elders, Sect Leader or Sect Lady."

"Um…that"s…I already sent an email, and Sect Lady just replied." Yin Jing Jing glanced at the guards at the entrance of the sect, who were glancing at their smartphones. They looked up, met her gaze and nodded.

"What did she say?" I asked, though inwardly I didn"t give a d.a.m.n. I honestly didn"t want to get involved with Yin Jing Jing and her friends.

"She says the decision is up to you. She should have CC-ed you the email too." Yin Jing Jing glanced down.

Surprised, I retrieved my smartphone and saw the gmail alert. Clicking on it, I saw that Yin Jing Jing wasn"t lying. Sect Lady Da Ji had CC-ed me the email she sent to Yin Jing Jing, and I literally received it a minute ago.

"I"ll leave Yin Jing Jing"s friends to your discretion. Handle them however you want."

There was a wink emoticon for some reason, and I stared at the message, stupefied. Then I glanced at the guards, and they nodded to confirm that they had received the same instruction.

"We"ll await your orders," Jing Wei said. As usual, he was the senior guard on duty.

"Orders?!" I grumbled. "I"m not going to give anyone any orders!"

"Um…so please!" Yin Jing Jing bowed. I glared at her, tempted to just say no, only to see the trio I had ran into earlier walk up to us. Yin Jing Jing noticed them too, and she quickly straightened up and ran to them.

"Lu Li! Yu Mei! Yu Xuan! Sorry for the delay, I"ll get it sorted right away!"

"Please do." Lu Li"s voice was cold. "We"ve been waiting for a few days now."

Yin Jing Jing quickly turned back to me, trying to conceal her usually arrogant expression under a mask of humility.

"Please, Fei Wu. Don"t worry, it won"t be for free. I"ll make sure to pay you back."

"I don"t need you to pay me anything," I replied wearily. That much was true. Whatever I needed, the sect could give to me. I hardly needed anything Yin Jing Jing had to offer. But I was tactful enough to refrain from that.

"Eh…?"

Ling Yu Mei and Ling Yu Xuan stopped to stare at me. I waved at them absent-mindedly, pointedly ignoring a shocked Lu Li.

"Um, Senior Jing Jing, the person in charge you were referring to…is it Sir Fei Wu?"

"Yeah, that"s right. You know him?"

Yin Jing Jing turned to Ling Yu Mei, surprised. At her admission, both sisters" eyes went wide. As for Lu Li, she suddenly turned very, very pale. Her pallor was so white it was almost as if she had turned into a ghost.

"Oh?" the pieces began falling into place for me as I looked from Yin Jing Jing to the Ling sisters and Lu Li. "Are you all friends?"

"That"s right. Lu Li and the Ling sisters are my friends, and I"m hoping you"ll give them permission to enter the sect grounds."

She glanced at the guards at the gates, but they merely watched me.

"Your orders, Junior Fei Wu."

"Why are you asking for orders?" I grumbled, crossed.

"Sect Lady commands it," Jing Wei explained. I grimaced and scratched my head before turning to the Ling sisters.

"Um, you guys want to get Spirit Weapons, right? Customized, individualized, made to order Spirit Weapons forged by the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect?"

"That"s right." Ling Yu Mei nodded. "We wanted to order online, but the website was down. So Senior Lu called in a favor with Senior Ying Ying and asked her if she has any connections, and if she could pull some strings to help us."

I snorted and turned to look at Yin Jing Jing, who was beginning to look very uncomfortable. That b.i.t.c.h talked big even though she didn"t have the authority or status to pull that off.

"Please…" she begged. Obviously she was hoping that I would give her some face. "I"ll definitely pay you back somehow. I"ll owe you a favor!"

"There"s no need for that. The Ling sisters can come in." I nodded at Ling Yu Mei and Ling Yu Xuan. The two of them looked very delighted and they exchanged excited glances. "I"ll ask Elder Tie if he can help out with this request."

"Thank you very much!"

"Than you so much!"

The Ling sisters bowed deeply and enthusiastically, their faces literally shining with joy. I shook my head and held up both hands.

"Nah, this is nothing. Come on, let"s go in."

Yin Jing Jing breathed a huge sigh of relief and she stepped in ahead of the two sisters and me. Ling Yu Mei and Ling Yu Xuan followed me through the entrance. Having heard what I said, the guards quietly allowed me through the gate. Lu Li was about to follow us in, when the guards at the gate suddenly stood in her way, barring her entry.

"What"s the meaning of this?" Lu Li demanded, her expression turning frosty.

"I"m sorry, but Junior Fei Wu said nothing about letting you in. He only allowed the Ling Sisters in." Jing Wei turned to look at me. "What should we do about this lady, sir?"

"Why are you asking me…?" I was about to ask, then the coin dropped. I suddenly understood why Sect Lady left the decision to allow them to my discretion (and I saw why she included that winking emoticon), and why the guards were looking to me for instructions.

Earlier, there onlookers were all taking pictures and filming the event where Lu Li was kicking up a fuss and insulting me in public. No doubt they had uploaded it into social media for the whole world to see.

And Sect Lady and most likely the guards – my fellow Blood Blades – had seen the video or at least the photographs and had some idea of what was going on.

"She can wait outside of the sect." I smiled. "I"m sorry, but she"s not allowed to take a single step into our sect. After all, our sect isn"t worthy enough for her to set foot in."

"Understood." Jing Wei saluted sharply. "I"m sorry, Miss, but please wait outside."

"You…" Lu Li"s expression was extremely ugly.

She was Jin Liu Yu"s direct disciple, and possessed a distinguished status in the Dark Fiend Valley Sect. very few people dared to provoke her, even amongst the Seven Valley Sects.

For a very long time, she was the only one who behaved arrogantly toward everyone else, because most people were of a lower status than her. Or so she believed. In any case, very few people would spurn her.

Nine-Tailed Fox Sect had already rejected her once, but she didn"t expect us to reject her again today. She felt humiliated and extremely incensed.

"You heard the order from the future sect leader," Jing Wei remained neutral and indifferent to her fury. "I"m sorry, but I suggest you wait in the Starluck Café over there. Perhaps the waiters there will be worthy enough to serve someone of your distinguished status."

There was enough sarcasm dripping out of his last sentence to fill a bowl of tanna tea. I couldn"t help but hide a smile, but there was still something that annoyed me.

"Senior Jing, I am not the future sect leader. I have no intention of becoming the future sect leader."

"Future Blood Blades commander then."

"Dude…" I couldn"t help but bury my face in my palm. "Please…just stop."

"Fei Wu! What is the meaning of this?!" Yin Jing Jing demanded, rounding on me furiously. "Are you doing this on purpose?"

"Have I offended you before?" Fury was also written all over Lu Li"s cold and arrogant face. "I don"t remember meeting you before. I would really like to know why you are singling me out specifically?"

"Are you seriously asking me that?" I asked, completely taken aback by how she could maintain a straight face. This girl was absolutely shameless if she really planned to pretend nothing had happened.

"We have a recording of what you said, if you really need us to jog your memory." Jing Wei held up his smartphone. Accessing the social media site, he played back the entire video of Lu Li insulting me. The cold and beautiful girl went incredibly still, and once again her snow-white complexion went another shade paler.

Yin Jing Jing stared at her friend in shock.

"Lu Li, you actually said all that…? To the future sect leader? Did you not realize that he"s the person in charge that I was trying so hard to persuade to grant my request?"

Lu Li bit her lip. "It"s his fault for trying to get so close to the Ling Sisters, and for stalking them. I only said the truth."

"Can you please leave the area?" Jing Wei"s voice had grown sharp and colder than even Lu Li"s expression. His killing intent radiated so fiercely that even the cold-blooded woman unconsciously took a step back. "You are blocking the entrance. As I suggested earlier, perhaps you might find the Starluck Café a more appropriate place to wait…then again, if even our future commander is considered trash in your eyes, then you should probably leave Tushan City and search for a worthier place."

"I am not your future commander," I reminded him wearily.

Yin Jing Jing was clutching at her temples and was on the verge of tearing her long hair out from vexation. Good thing she didn"t have rabbit ears or those would have fallen off.

"Lu Li, I can"t help you if you offend the person with the most influence and brightest future in the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect!"

"Besides, I don"t even know you ladies. Today is the first time I"ve ever met any of you." I was shaking my head. "I don"t know why you insist on slandering me, but I"m not a stalker."

"Should we have her leave the city?" Jing Wei asked, venom dripping out of his voice. "Since we obviously are not worthy enough to host someone as distinguished as this lady. Plus she seems to think we are a city of criminals, so it"s in her best interest to leave before she gets stalked by anyone here."

"No need to go that far," I quickly told him when I saw the alarmed expressions on the Ling Sisters" faces. "Just have her wait outside the sect grounds. And keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn"t try anything funny."

"Do you really think I am the type of person who will sink so low as to do something despicable in your sect"s territory?" Lu Li asked icily.

"I"m not taking any chances," I replied with an equally wintry smile. "Like I said, I don"t know who the h.e.l.l you are."