Chapter 166: Chapter 166: Persuading Everyone

Shen Haoran invited Su Xing and Zi Mo into the courtyard. Looking at Su Xing, he said, "Brother Su, congratulations on your breakthrough!"

Hearing this, Su Xing waved his hand and said with some shame, "If you hadn’t knocked some sense into me, I never would have made this personal breakthrough. It’s all thanks to you!"

"Hmph, you’re being too modest, Brother Su," Zi Mo muttered. "Your Talent is just as good as mine. If you hadn’t spent the last few years giving all your Cultivation Materials to that bastard Chai Hui, you’d probably be even stronger than me by now!"

Shen Haoran chuckled softly at this, then took a Small Jade Bottle from his Storage Ring and offered it to Su Xing.

"This is a Third Grade Elixir, a Rejuvenation Bone Pill. It will help you stabilize your new realm," Shen Haoran said with a smile. "I was a bit heavy-handed the other day, so I hope you won’t hold it against me, Brother Su."

Seeing the Small Jade Bottle, Su Xing was stunned for a moment. A Third Grade Elixir... Even the Sect wouldn’t be so generous as to simply give one away to someone. For a moment, Su Xing hesitated, not daring to reach out and accept the Elixir.

"Oh, come on, Brother Su, just take it! This is nothing to Brother Shen!" Zi Mo snatched the bottle from Shen Haoran’s hand and shoved it into Su Xing’s. He had seen Shen Haoran pop Third Grade Elixirs like they were candy!

"’Nothing?’ Su Xing was taken aback. A Third Grade Elixir... The Sect only distributed one per month, and only to disciples on the Dragon and Tiger List. How could something so precious be a casual gift in Shen Haoran’s eyes?

Seeing the sincerity in Shen Haoran’s eyes, Su Xing no longer refused and accepted the Elixir. His Cultivation had indeed been delayed these past few years, and he truly needed these Cultivation Materials.

When Su Xing accepted his Elixir, the smile on Shen Haoran’s face widened. It meant that Su Xing had truly accepted him.

Looking at the two of them, Shen Haoran said, "Let’s wait a little while. Once Long Mo and Long Zhen get here, I have something I need to discuss with you all."

"No need to wait, Brother Shen, we’re here!" The words had barely left Shen Haoran’s mouth when Long Zhen leaped into the courtyard, with Long Mo right behind him.

When he saw Long Mo walk in, all the fat on Zi Mo’s body trembled. He backed away, trying his best to fade into the background.

"Haha, you damn Fatty, do you have to be so scared?" Long Zhen roared with laughter when he saw Zi Mo was there.

"It’s... It’s none of your business! Just tell your brother to stay away from me! The sight of him is annoying!" Zi Mo yelled, though without much conviction. However, when Long Mo’s gaze shifted to him, the Fatty wisely shut his mouth.

Seeing Zi Mo’s reaction, Shen Haoran was surprised. ’This wild Fatty actually has someone he’s afraid of?’

"I bet you didn’t know, Brother Shen," Long Zhen boomed with laughter. "This damn Fatty challenged my brother one time and got turned into a roast suckling pig in two moves. Ever since then, he takes a detour whenever he sees my brother. He’s scared out of his mind, haha!"

Hearing this, Shen Haoran shot a questioning look at Long Mo.

"He was being annoying, so I dealt with him," Long Mo said flatly, as if it were a trivial matter.

At these words, Zi Mo’s face flushed red with anger, but the thought of Long Mo’s terrifying purple Thunder Flame made him sullenly shut his mouth.

Shen Haoran couldn’t help but laugh at Zi Mo’s reaction, but feeling the Fatty’s death glare, he gave an awkward cough and quickly changed the subject. "Ahem... The reason I gathered you all here today is that I have something to discuss."

Hearing that Shen Haoran was getting to business, everyone stopped their fooling around and looked at him with serious expressions.

"I’m going to form my own faction," Shen Haoran said, enunciating each word.

"Form a faction?" Hearing this, everyone was taken aback.

"That’s right. I want to build my own faction within the Five Elements Sect."

"Why?" Long Mo asked with a frown. Forming a faction wasn’t as simple as just talking about it; it required a great deal of preparation. He couldn’t understand why Shen Haoran would suddenly want to do such a thing.

"Because of Ouyang Chen," Shen Haoran said grimly.

"Ouyang Chen?" Long Mo and the others were confused.

"Yes." Shen Haoran then recounted his encounter with Xue Gong. When he finished, the others fell silent.

"The reason Ouyang Chen wants to kill you is probably because of Shui Ruolan," Zi Mo said quietly.

"Shui Ruolan is the number one beauty in the Sect, and Ouyang Chen has admired her for a long time. He’s always treated her as his personal property, something no one else can touch. Now that you’ve gotten so close to her, the entire Sect is buzzing with rumors. He must feel like you’re trying to steal his woman, which is why he holds such a grudge against you." In the past three days, Zi Mo had already done a thorough job of digging up information about Shen Haoran.

"Ouyang Chen has several powerful subordinates like Gou Shi, Fan Zhu, Xue Gong, and Xie Chen, all of whom are ranked in the top ten of the Dragon and Tiger List. On top of that, his Chen Alliance has over a thousand members. It looks like you’re in a dangerous position," Long Mo stated calmly.

"What about Ouyang Chen himself? How strong is he?" Shen Haoran asked.

Hearing Shen Haoran’s question, both Long Mo and Zi Mo fell silent. After a long moment, Long Mo finally uttered a single word.

"Strong!"

Shen Haoran had never heard Long Mo speak in such a tone before. It was incredibly grave, carrying even a hint of fear.

Shen Haoran looked at Long Mo in surprise before turning his gaze to Zi Mo.

"Heh... one move," Zi Mo said, a lingering fear in his voice. "I faced Ouyang Chen and was defeated in a single move. If it weren’t for my incredible defense, that one attack would have killed me!" His eyes were filled with dread.

Hearing their answers, Shen Haoran’s brow furrowed. ’Is Ouyang Chen really that strong?’

Then, a cold smirk touched Shen Haoran’s lips.

’Strong? So what? Since he decided to mess with me, I don’t care if he’s Ouyang Chen or the king of hell himself. I won’t let him off the hook!’

An incredibly domineering aura erupted from Shen Haoran’s body, causing Long Mo and the others to look at him in astonishment.

"I’m going to tear down his Chen Alliance. What do you guys think?" Shen Haoran asked them, his eyes devoid of fear and instead blazing with fighting spirit.

Looking into Shen Haoran’s eyes, Long Mo and Zi Mo felt their faces flush with shame. ’A Martial Artist should have an indomitable will. Fear isn’t an emotion a true Martial Artist should have!’ In that instant, everyone was infected by Shen Haoran’s soaring battle intent.

"Fuck it, I’m in! I’ve been sick of Ouyang Chen for a long time. Let’s fucking crush that bastard!" Zi Mo was the first to respond.

"Me too, me too!" Long Zhen was the type who loved to stir up trouble; he’d jump at any chance for excitement.

"My strength may be limited, but if I can be of any help to Brother Shen, I’m in without a second thought!" Su Xing added with a smile.

Then, all eyes turned to Long Mo, awaiting his answer. He was the strongest among them. If he joined, they would have a powerful backer. However, Long Mo was cold by nature and disliked getting involved in such matters. ’I don’t even know if I can persuade him.’

"I’ll join," Long Mo said plainly, looking Shen Haoran in the eye.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran burst out laughing. ’These guys are the perfect people I had in mind. My faction is starting to take shape!’