Ling Xiao’s attitude towards Wu Xiang was markedly different from that of Zhao Zhi and Zhao Ting.
Even knowing that Wu Xiang was the lowest-ranked among the senior outer sect disciples, he remained courteous and deeply respectful.
This brought Wu Xiang a touch of warmth. Even if he couldn’t help, he didn’t want Ling Xiao to get into trouble right after arriving at the Moonlight Sect, so he chased after him.
Tian, ranked fiftieth in the outer sect, had a cultivation at the peak of the Ninth Layer Martial Vein, making him undeniably formidable.
In Wu Xiang’s view, Ling Xiao was at most at the peak of the Eighth Layer Martial Vein. How could he possibly contend with an expert of this calibre?
He was bound to come off worse, so Wu Xiang had to stop him.
However, Ling Xiao’s movement technique was terrifyingly swift. By the time Wu Xiang reached the scene, Ling Xiao was already standing in front of Leng Mei, blocking Tian.
“Heh, why so nervous? I wasn’t planning to do anything, Senior Brother. My clothes are just torn, and I thought this Junior Sister could help mend them,” Tian said with a smile, looking at Ling Xiao. He then took off his outer garment and deliberately tore a gash in it.
“My sister is clumsy and doesn’t know needlework. Why don’t I, your Junior Brother, assist Senior Brother instead?” Ling Xiao said with a smile.
“You?” Tian sneered. “You’ll do, but the tear in my clothes seems quite large now.”
As he spoke, Tian ripped the garment further and tossed it to Ling Xiao.
While the cloth was still in mid-air, Ling Xiao suddenly struck it with a palm.
The garment instantly turned to dust!
“What are you doing, kid?” Tian glared, shouting.
“Just dealing with some rubbish,” Ling Xiao said calmly.
Though Leng Mei wasn’t injured this time, Tian’s provocative intent was blatant.
Ling Xiao had vowed to keep a low profile, but there was no need for that below the Mortal Realm.
His combat skills were already exceptional—Hei Suo and Demon Flame Heavenly Venerable both knew this—so what was the point of hiding?
“You’re really asking for it, kid!” Tian swung a fist, but someone intervened.
“Junior Brother Tian, bullying new disciples is hardly interesting. As for your clothes, I’ll have him compensate you with silver, and that’ll be that,” said Wu Xiang, the one who stopped Tian.
“Compensate?” Tian suddenly grinned. “Fine. This garment was woven from the finest celestial silk from the Heavenly Dragon Continent, worth at least a thousand low-grade spirit stones. You have one day to prepare. If you can’t pay, don’t blame me for being unkind.”
With that, he glanced at Wu Xiang, a flicker of fear in his eyes, and turned to leave.
Ling Xiao gave a wry smile inwardly: *Senior Brother, I was just looking for someone to spar with and test the waters, to see what the outer sect disciples of the Moonlight Sect are made of. Why did you have to step in?*
Though he thought this, Wu Xiang’s intentions were good, so Ling Xiao didn’t say much, merely clasping his fists and saying, “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. But he mentioned a thousand low-grade spirit stones. If you don’t have them, Junior Brother, I can cover it for you,” Wu Xiang said.
A thousand low-grade spirit stones were extremely valuable in the secular world, and even to Moonlight Sect outer sect disciples, they were precious.
Wu Xiang had done many tasks and saved for a full year to accumulate just three thousand low-grade spirit stones.
If he didn’t want to befriend Ling Xiao, he wouldn’t have been willing to lend them.
“Thank you for your kindness, Senior Brother Wu, but it’s not necessary,” Ling Xiao said, waving his hand.
“You have them?”
“Where would I get that many low-grade spirit stones? I just don’t intend to pay. Senior Brother, you don’t need to worry about this. I have my own way of handling it.”
Ling Xiao actually had a thousand low-grade spirit stones but didn’t want to reveal his wealth.
His words made many new disciples worry for him.
Tian had a habit of bullying new disciples. Besides Leng Mei, others had been harassed as well.
Some new disciples had even been severely injured by Tian.
As long as no one died or was crippled, it wasn’t considered a violation—somewhat similar to the Hidden Dragon Camp.
They knew how terrifying Tian was. A dozen Eighth Layer Martial Vein martial artists combined couldn’t last three moves against him.
Of course, this was partly because Zhao Zhi, Xu Ying, Zhao Ci, Leng Mei, and Ling Xiao weren’t present or didn’t act.
Even so, Tian’s strength was formidable.
Ling Xiao was aware of this and even sensed that Tian’s strength was on par with General September, perhaps even stronger.
After all, it was difficult for General September to learn gold-grade martial arts, whereas Tian could study them freely, narrowing the cultivation gap through martial arts.
If Tian went to the secular world, most peak Ninth Layer Martial Vein martial artists wouldn’t be his match. Only figures like Lin Ze, Wan Ben, or Master Bai Yun might defeat him by a narrow margin, and it would be a hard-fought victory.
Such was the advantage of a sect!
Of course, this applied to other martial artists. With his Mountain and River Martial Soul, Ling Xiao had no fear of Tian.
“Senior Brother Wu, if you’re free, why not show us around the outer sect? For instance, places like the outer sect’s library?” Ling Xiao said, quickly putting Tian’s matter aside. Since he was out, he wanted to take the chance to familiarise himself with the outer sect’s environment for future convenience.
“The Moonlight Sect’s library is called the ‘Moon Tower,’ divided into the Outer Moon Tower, Inner Moon Tower, and Core Moon Tower. I’ll show you around first, then we’ll head to the Outer Moon Tower,” Wu Xiang said enthusiastically. He had nothing else to do anyway.
When no one paid attention to him before, he cultivated alone in boredom. Now that Ling Xiao was willing to befriend him, he was quite pleased.
Wu Xiang first took Ling Xiao and Leng Mei around to get acquainted with the terrain, then headed to the Outer Moon Tower.
“Leng Mei, what’s wrong?” On the way to the Outer Moon Tower, as they passed a valley, Leng Mei suddenly stopped, her expression grave, prompting Ling Xiao to ask with concern.
“It’s likely the intrusion of killing intent,” Wu Xiang explained. “About a hundred thousand years ago, this valley was a battlefield. I read in a book that an external assassin killed a thousand Moonlight Sect experts here, leaving the area saturated with killing intent.”
“Such a terrifying figure?” Ling Xiao asked.
“His strength wasn’t particularly great, but his martial arts were too eerie,” Wu Xiang said, shaking his head. “Unfortunately, the records are vague, or I’d love to know what kind of expert he was.”
“Young Master, I’m fine,” Leng Mei said, glancing at the deep valley with a smile.
Ling Xiao didn’t suspect anything, as Leng Mei’s cultivation was lower than his, so it was plausible she’d be startled by the killing intent.
What he didn’t know was that Leng Mei was deeply anxious. Having been saved by him multiple times, she felt both happiness and frustration.
Her purpose in following Ling Xiao wasn’t to rely on him but to help him.
Today’s events made Leng Mei resolute: even if it meant becoming a vengeful spirit, she would quickly improve her strength to become someone useful to Ling Xiao.
