The green-robed cultivator had a sly look about him and rudely stepped forward. Once he said this, several cultivators from the Green Pond Sect looked over, and Li Xuanfeng slightly furrowed his brow, having no choice but to draw his bow.

Most of these cultivators were disciples of Yuanwu Peak, who had been toying with his group for more than a day or two. Fei Yihe and the others usually complied meekly and now looked nervously at Li Xuanfeng upon hearing his words.

"Bang..."

Li Xuanfeng remained silent, his golden longbow lifted in his hand. With an exhale, he vocalized his intent, and dazzling golden light converged, weaving and entwining to form a golden-white arrow.

His eyes reflected the image of a ragged figure, the longbow in his hand bristling with sharpness. The slave soldier paused midair as if alarmed and turned to look back.

Those who practice cultivation possess extraordinary eyesight. Over a hundred feet apart, their gazes met. Colliding with the resentful eyes of the other, Li Xuanfeng felt a wave of familiarity, a stirring in his heart, and his hands relaxed.

The arrow burst forth with brilliant light, streaking across the sky like a shooting star, aiming directly for the man. In an instant, it hit him squarely in the back. Like a bird with broken wings, the slave soldier awkwardly fell to the ground.

"Excellent!"

The green-robed cultivator laughed heartily, fixing his gaze on the golden-white light of the arrow as it traced a dazzling arc across the sky and said outright,

"That arrow was fast."

His appearance was sleazy, with predatory features, and he managed to wear elegant green robes with a lecherous air, laughing so hard that he doubled over as others cast sidelong glances at him.

The distinguished-looking man in front of him, with a noble bearing and a high nose bridge, glanced disdainfully at the man laughing uproariously beside him and said coldly,

"He's not dead!"

Fei Yihe, who had been waiting, quickly flashed a fawning smile and said respectfully,

"Upper Immortal may not be aware, but my brother's archery technique is unique. Once hit by this arrow, Gang Qi latches onto the body, turning it into blood water in less than three quarters of an hour."

The tallest disciple of the Green Pond Sect, towering over Fei Yihe by a head, his eyes lingered on Fei Yihe's face for a moment before suddenly waving his sleeve.

"Slap!"

The slap sent Fei Yihe stumbling back a step, clutching his face and repeatedly apologizing. Only then did the tall man suddenly turn around, his face twisted with fury as he kicked the crouching sly-featured man.

"Bang."

Completely unprepared for the blow, the sly man took the full force of the kick, getting sent a yard away by his fellow sect brother and tumbling awkwardly on the ground.

"Brother!"

The unexpected kick startled all the Green Pond Sect disciples behind him and confused the surrounding Noble Families' cultivators. They were uncertain why these Immortal Sect disciples were fighting among themselves. All of them bowed their heads, afraid to speak.

"Brother, you mustn't do this!"

The Green Pond Sect disciples hurriedly attempted to mediate, while the sly man appeared oblivious, patting the footprint off his Taoist robe and cheerfully saying,

"Brother Ning's kick was precise, carrying the flair of our ancestor when he threw his shoe at someone."

Brother Ning stepped forward, his expression fierce. His large frame imposingly shadowed the slender sly man. Grabbing his collar, he pulled his face close, gritting his teeth,

"Deng Yuzhi... you'd better truly be a wastrel spoiled by cultivation techniques, acting muddled your whole life until death. If I catch you slipping, I'll show you the methods of Yuanxing Peak!"

No sooner had his words fallen than he threw the sly man to the ground with a thud, shook his robe, and in a voice as soft as his silk-embroidered jade boots, said,

"Let's go!"

With his esteemed status, Brother Ning spoke, and none of the Green Pond Sect disciples dared to speak up for Deng Yuzhi. They silently lowered their heads and followed Brother Ning as he took to the skies headed for the city.

Only Deng Yuzhi was left in the dust, disheveled and in a sorry state on the ground. Everyone else could only pretend not to see, hurrying to tend to their matters.

"What a temper."

Deng Yuzhi calmly got up, formed a spell with his fingers to brush off the dust from his body, mumbling under his breath. He glanced at Li Xuanfeng, who was still gripping the bow and lost in thought, and scolded,

"So useless! A big reputation, difficult to live up to, aren't you afraid of inviting trouble?"

With that, he turned and leapt towards the city, leaving everyone else exchanging puzzled looks.

"That seemed to imply something else."

Li Xuanfeng watched Deng Yuzhi's retreating figure thoughtfully,

"It seems I have seen this man before, he had a long conversation with my ancestor when he came to recruit... perhaps the scene just now is also tangled with many internal struggles of Green Pond..."

He withdrew his gaze, with the young man's departing expression popping up in his mind, he touched the longbow in his hand, and mused,

"My arrow just now was strong on the surface but ultimately hollow, only for show. An enemy of Green Pond Sect is a friend of ours; it's never wrong to leave a favor."

As a cultivator at the Qi Cultivating Peak, Li Xuanfeng's cultivation level was far superior to the juvenile disciples of Green Pond Sect just now, not to mention his unrivaled bow control skill, so naturally he was able to deceive this group of Green Pond Sect disciples.

He shouldered his longbow, looked out at the slowly retreating tide of beasts, and turning to Fei Yihe, he asked, 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"What's the situation?"

"Nothing!"

Fei Yihe, having taken a slap for no good reason, had secretly wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth, and the red mark on his face was also slowly fading. He simply said in a gentle voice,

"To be fish meat for others, if a slap comes, then so be it, no harm done."

————

Eastern Shanyue.

The grand hall of Mulu City was resplendent, the dim lamps casting flickering shadows on the walls, like dancing demons and spirits.

Tian Zhongqing put away the Wooden Slip he had been studying, and an attendant rushed up anxiously, bowing and saying,