“Humph, you won’t be so lucky next time! You’ll get a taste of my fist eventually,” Shen Hujun angrily cursed as he watched the back of Fang Xing leaving once again. Before he had calmed down, he turned to Qin Xing’er and urged, “Shimei Qin, I’m not trying to blame you or anything, but do you have no better ways to spend your Spirit Stones than giving it away to such a brat?”

Qin Xing’er was annoyed at him and responded in a cold manner, “I can give my Spirit Stones to anyone I wish. Shixiong Shen, you said you would accompany me to the Grand Hall of Scriptures. Now that I am here, I will go and read upon the notes left by those who have completed Duty Talisman missions. You are more than welcome to leave, now.” As she spoke, she turned and head into a side chamber.

Shen Hujun was slightly embarrassed from her words, his fury and hatred towards Fang Xing rising even higher. ‘Could it be that since that brat called me ugly, even Shimei Qin has now started to think the same? Sh*t! No one dared call me ugly in this past three years! How dare you say it to my face! I’ll make sure you pay for it...’

Fang Xing, on the other hand, didn’t return back to his cave estate straight away after leaving the Grand Hall of Scriptures. Instead, he sat down on the side of a weeping willow to wait. ‘How dare that ugly mole curse me! I shall stop him on his return and give him a good beating.’

As Fang Xing thought to himself, his ponderings began to wander off course. ‘That bastard may be ugly, but his style of dress looked rather lavish. And that robe of his, tsk tsk, a rare spirit robe. He must have some deep pockets...’ When he silently considered such things, Fang Xing couldn’t help but to giggle to himself.

—

A good hour later, Shen Hujun and Qin Xing’er finally appeared outside the Grand Hall. Qin Xing’er was in front with locked brows, her steps hasty and brisk. She moved without a single word, but behind her was Shen Hujun who seemed to be speaking with a bitter smile, as if apologizing for some matter. As they walked past the square in front of the Grand Hall, neither one of them noticed Fang Xing was sitting in wait as they moved towards the road leading down the peak.

Once they’d walked closer, Fang Xing suddenly jumped up. “Hey, ugly mole! Your grandpa has been waiting!”

Both Shen Hujun and Qin Xing’er halted their steps immediately, both looking to Fang Xing with surprise.

“Shidi Fang, what are you doing here?” Qin Xing’er curiously asked. She then turned to see Shen Hujun behind her before her brows creased together even more.

Fang Xing jumped right in front of the pair and folded his arms in front of his chest. “To teach this ugly mole a lesson!”

Qin Xing’er was stumped for words and thought she must have heard it wrong, yet upon seeing the serious and angry look upon Fang Xing’s face, she suddenly felt a sense of helplessness. It seemed that Fang Xing was able to turn his head so swiftly earlier because he had planned to wait and stop them outside all along?

“You want to teach me a lesson?” Shen Hujun pointed at himself in disbelief, finding this laughable.

Fang Xing replied, “That’s right. Kneel in front of me and beg for forgiveness if you want to avoid enduring any hardship!”

“Hahaha,” Shen Hujun suddenly let out a loud laugh before staring coldly back at Fang Xing. “I’ve already been at the inner court for three years now, and not a single person has dared to block my path! I was going to let you go since Shimei Qin asked me to, but you’re just asking for it!” He then turned to Qin Xing’er. “Shimei Qin, I agreed not to seek any more trouble with the boy, but since he’s seeking it first, I’m not the one at fault.”

Qin Xing’er ignored Shen Hujun and worriedly turned towards Fang Xing. “Shidi Fang, you’re no match for Shixiong Shen. It’s best that you leave now!”

Fang Xing waved his hand with disregard. “It’s none of your business, get out of my way!”

Upset, Qin Xing’er begrudgingly moved to the side, no longer speaking another word. They were not really friends, and the fact that she had already warned him was more than enough. If Fang Xing truly wanted to continue on without listening to any advice from others, whatever happened would be his own fault.

A dark aura rose up around Shen Hujun as he readied for a fight, but he suddenly turned to look at the Grand Hall before letting out a quick, cold laugh. “There’s too many people here, and if we disturb the elder inside again, he will be sure to stop us. If you’re really up for this, come with me to the back mountains where no one will interrupt...”

“Back mountains?” Fang Xing asked. He considered this quickly and realized this was also something he would prefer. “Let’s go, the one that doesn’t go is a coward!” Before he had even finished, he took the lead towards the back mountain of the peak, where a large area of deep valley—usually deserted—could be found.

Qin Xing’er was speechless and believed Fang Xing was just looking for trouble. If something were to happen to him here then they could still call for the elder’s help, but if the same thing were to happen in that valley, nothing could save him. Seeing that Fang Xing had left with such haste, however, she decided to follow after them.

Shen Hujun had a smirk on his face, intentionally keeping a short distance between him and Fang Xing in front so he could ensure the boy wasn’t trying to run away. He had wanted to teach Fang Xing a lesson, it was just that he wasn’t able to in front of the elder at the Grand Hall. There was also the fact that Qin Xing’er was beside him. He didn’t want Qin Xing’er to think he was a bully, after all, and he made a promise not to cause Fang Xing any trouble after she had expressed her annoyance. Just as he was falling into a bad mood, Fang Xing approached him voluntarily; he felt as though he had definitely just won the lottery.

“Brother Hujun, where are you going?” At the foot of the mountain for the Peak of the Flying Stone, a few inner court disciples could be seen drawing some water to use for spirit tool forging. One of the men wearing a purple headband—the one who had laughingly asked Shen Hujun the question—walked out from the group and began to approach.

The moment Shen Hujun saw the man with the purple headband, he moved forward as well. “Haha, Brother Murong, I unfortunately met a kid who wants to give me a good beating at the back mountain,” he greeted in a lighthearted manner.

The man with the purple headband was briefly startled, then smiled and said, “Oh? Who would be so blind?”

“Speaking of this person, he’s famous...” Shen Hujun lowered his voice with the man in the purple headband and pointed to Fang Xing ahead of him. Both men soon let out a burst of laughter, as if they had just heard the funniest joke in their lives.

Fang Xing looked on coldly. He wasn’t in a hurry, as he had just started to come up with a plan.

“Since it sounds like a good show, I don’t want to miss it for sure! I will come along and see how great Brother Hujun is!” The man with the purple headband laughed again as he swept his gaze quickly over Fang Xing.

The inner court disciples that had been looking on all tried to find out what the man in the purple headband and Shen Hujun had been talking about. Seeing that there was going to be a live show to be watched, everyone grew visibly excited and began to follow. Even more people joined up along the way, all of them wanting to take the front row of this show.

“Haha, this infamous trash is really synonymous with trouble! It’s only been how long since he was dismissed from the stone forest? He’s already gotten on the nerves of Shixiong Shen.”

“Shixiong Shen may be studying how to make talismans, but he specializes in talismans with high offensive power. I heard he’s even preparing to attend the test to enter the Hall of Heaven’s Tribute at the end of the year! He may only be at the fifth tier, but his actual battle power absolutely has to be higher. This kid is only tier four; he won’t have a good ending after annoying Shixiong Shen.”

“Since we’re all bored, why not make a bet on this?”

“Pfft, it’s easy for you to say! Who’s going to bet on that kid?”

“We can bet on how long he’ll last...”

“That’s a good idea! I bet ten Stones that he will be finished within three moves...”

Within moments, Fang Xing and Qin Xing’er were in the front, Shen Hujun and the man with the purple headband were in the middle, and a crowd of over a dozen excited onlookers—who had even started a wager—followed up from the rear.

After hearing the clamor from the back, Qin Xing’er walked up to Fang Xing and gave a worried whisper, “Shidi Fang, it’s still not too late for you to back out now....”

“Who said I’m going to back out? I already can’t wait!” Fang Xing was not in the least concerned.

Qin Xing’er sighed. “I noticed you were making copies of foundational skills back at the Grand Hall of Scriptures. This can only mean that in the past three years, you did not study anything to increase your battle power. It’s Shen Hujun’s fourth year within the inner court, and not only is his cultivation level higher, but he also has plenty of talismans to aid him. You do not stand a chance!” Qin Xing’er’s gaze was complicated. She did not want to interfere too much with Fang Xing, but she felt guilty since it all began because of her. The fact Shen Hujun did indeed have a good relationship with many disciples within the inner court—all of whom wanted to watch a good show—caused her to feel bad for Fang Xing, and she didn’t want to stay completely silent.

Fang Xing did not give this much thought. While he was slowly making his way to the back mountain valley, he listened intently to the conversations behind him. He counted that no fewer than four or five people had made a bet he would last no more than three strikes from Shen Hujun, angering him. He then scratched his ears and remembered that he had no Spirit Stones left to his name, causing him to grow further agitated.

When Qin Xing’er saw Fang Xing so agitated and was about to try to convince him once more, Fang Xing turned around and asked, “Do you still have any money?”

Slightly startled, Qin Xing’er smiled. “I can convince him. You don’t have to apologize to him with money.”

“Apologize his mom, I want money to bet on my win...” Fang Xing’s reply gave Qin Xing’er another surprise. She felt she could not understand what went through this boy’s mind at all.

“Do you have any? Lend me a thousand Spirit Stones, all on my win...” As Fang Xing heard the bets heating up, he became increasingly eager and excited to play.

“A thousand?” Qin Xing’er was astonished at the amount Fang Xing asked for and was left without words. Even if she had a thousand Spirit Stones, she didn’t want to just throw it all away like that!