"I don't care who reserved it first," I had already reserved this "Thousand Water Cold" long ago, and it's only because I've been dealing with Sect missions this month that I've been delayed in coming back to get it. Now hurry up and put down the secret manual, or face the consequences!"
As Jian Ruyan's voice, unwilling to show weakness and confrontational, rang out, closely followed by another cold male voice.
It was apparent that this man was very goal-oriented, his heart unswayed by Jian Ruyan's beauty, and he didn't care about the bad reputation of forcibly taking something a junior sister had set her eyes on first.
"Face the consequences?" Jian Ruyan sneered and said, "Why don't you try? A mere cultivator at the Third Layer of the Divinity Transformation Realm dares to act so arrogantly in front of me!"
"Alright, you want to fight? Then let's go outside and try!" The cold voice of the man now carried a hint of anger!
Clearly, he had been infuriated by Jian Ruyan's repeated non-cooperation and bold retorts.
Upon hearing this, Mu Jinyu quickly walked forward, turned around a bookshelf, and saw Jian Ruyan and a young man with a proud look standing off against each other.
Mu Jinyu spoke up: "Bullying a woman, how impressive! Come on, let's go outside and have a try!"
"Huh?!" The young man turned to look at him upon hearing Mu Jinyu's words, then noticing Wen Rou following behind, a flicker of apprehension crossed his eyes.
These were three cultivators, two at the Fourth Layer and one at the Third Layer of the Divinity Transformation Realm, none weaker than him.
If he were only facing Jian Ruyan, he might not feel too pressured, confident in dealing with her, but with Mu Jinyu and Wen Rou added to the mix, he felt it wouldn't be easy!
"Who are you? I've never seen you in the Heavenly Sword Faction Outer Gate before," the young man asked with a serious expression, starting to calm down as he inquired about their origin.
Mu Jinyu replied, "My name is Mu Jinyu, these two are my friends, we just arrived at the Heavenly Sword Faction a few days ago. It's normal you don't recognize us. So what? No matter who came first, and you want to fight? Come fight me. I'll even let you have one hand free!"
"Just arrived a few days ago?" The young man, hearing Mu Jinyu's words, showed a flash of sudden realization and understood why he hadn't seen the trio before.
For the past half month, he had been dealing with a troublesome but highly rewarding Sect mission to earn some Contribution Points and had hastily returned to the Heavenly Sword Faction, disheveled without even changing his clothes and headed for the Scripture Pavilion, naturally not hearing the various rumors about Mu Jinyu that had been spreading far and wide.
The young man was unclear about the backgrounds of the trio of Mu Jinyu, but his several followers, after hearing Mu Jinyu's introduction and looking at the combination of one man and two women, all around the Third Layer of the Divinity Transformation Realm, immediately realized they were the trio who had refused the Sect Leader's apprenticeship.
The followers' faces changed color, and they quickly stepped forward to tug at the young man's sleeve, then whispered in his ear, "Brother Chen, they are..."
The young man, originally named Chen Qiuqiao, upon hearing the followers' account, also had his expression change and his gaze towards Mu Jinyu became more apprehensive.
A genius with a Wood Element Spiritual Root, reaching the Middle Stage of the Divinity Transformation Realm at just eighteen, with the Sect Leader himself wanting to take him as a disciple...
Any of these conditions on their own were quite impressive, let alone combined, they seemed quite terrifying and exerted considerable deterrent power!
After all, even though Mu Jinyu had refused the Sect Leader's invitation, his remarkable talent meant the Sect Leader would still pay close attention to him; in fact, Mu Jinyu had the support of the Heavenly Sword Faction Sect Leader behind him.
Thinking this, Chen Qiuqiao immediately abandoned the idea of fighting with Mu Jinyu and said in a cold voice, "I am currently only at the Third Layer of the Divinity Transformation Realm and not a match for you, a genius with a spiritual root. I concede; "Thousand Water Cold" is yours. However, I won't just let this go. Half a month from now, there's the half-yearly Outer Sect Disciple promotion exam for advancing to Inner Sect Disciple. We will see the truth on the stage then!"
"Oh, that sounds good." Although Mu Jinyu didn't mind having a fight with him, since the other party admitted defeat willingly, he wasn't going to pursue the matter further.
Moreover, the other party had set a date for a fair fight, not planning any sneaky tricks afterward, so naturally, he agreed.
"I'll take my leave."
Chen Qiuqiao saluted Mu Jinyu with folded hands and left the place with a cold face followed by his lackeys.
Once Chen Qiuqiao had left, Mu Jinyu muttered to himself, "Chen Qiuqiao, he sure knows when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em."
By then, he had also recognized Chen Qiuqiao's identity.
One of the three major Outer Gate disciples of the Heavenly Sword Faction already had the strength to be promoted to an Inner Sect Disciple. However, because the examination for promotion to the Inner Gate was only held once every six months, he and the other two had been delayed until now.
Such a person would undoubtedly be proud and arrogant. After all, in their eyes, he was already an Inner Gate Disciple. How could he possibly regard ordinary Outer Gate Disciples?
If an average person were in his position and provoked by a new junior, they would undoubtedly resist stubbornly to the end for the sake of their reputation.
Yet, upon encountering himself and finding it difficult to gain an upper hand, he weighed the pros and cons and surprisingly took the initiative to yield, merely setting a date for a duel during the Outer Gate examination.
Clearly, he intended to seriously improve his own strength and, at the time of the Outer Gate examination, severely defeat himself to reclaim the face he lost today.
In such a scenario, if he defeated himself, the Sect Leader could not possibly blame him. Instead, it was possible that the Sect Leader would look upon him favorably.
This was the reason for Mu Jinyu's admiration.
This fellow was definitely not your average brute warrior.
After Chen Qiuqiao left, Jian Ruyan looked at Mu Jinyu with a complex expression and said softly, "Thank you."
Although her strength had jumped from the Third Layer of the Divine Realm to the Divine Realm Fourth Layer after taking over Wen Rou's body, due to the short amount of time, she had not yet adapted to this change.
Moreover, the Cultivation Technique she and Wen Rou practiced differed, so if she had truly fought against Chen Qiuqiao earlier, she might not have been his match.
"Thank for what? It's my responsibility to take care of you after bringing you into the Kunlun Ruins. After all, your cultivation speed has slowed down a lot now. It is still a bit difficult to protect yourselves," Mu Jinyu said.
"Mhm." Jian Ruyan nodded slightly and did not say much else.
Mu Jinyu asked, "The secret manuals for Techniques and Supernatural Powers are over here, right?"
"Mhm," Jian Ruyan nodded and said, "I just saw a few that were quite suitable for the past me to practice. Take a look for Wen Rou... "
As she spoke, she picked up a secret manual from the shelf nearby, handed it to Wen Rou, and then softly began to explain it.
Seeing this, Mu Jinyu touched his nose in slight embarrassment and started to look for Techniques and Supernatural Powers suitable for his own learning!
...
Chen Qiuqiao and several of his followers stepped out of the Scripture Pavilion.
One of the followers carefully asked, "Brother Chen, are we really going to let it go just like that?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Qiuqiao, whose face was already grim, turned even more sullen and said, "Let it go? Of course, it's not possible to just let it go!"
With that, he sneered, his eyes burning with jealousy and a flame for battle.
"Didn't you just say that he actually came into the Kunlun Ruins from the outside Huaxia? Even though he has a Wood Element Spiritual Root, since he refused the Sect Leader's offer to take him as a disciple, the Martial Techniques and skills he knows definitely can't be more than mine. Although he is now one layer stronger than me, after I consume the 'Earth's Fire Red Lotus,' I will also be able to break through to the Fourth Layer of the Divinity Transformation Realm, and then, heh heh, I will step on him during the Outer Gate examination and let the Sect Leader know who the real talent is!"
The Earth's Fire Red Lotus is a Second-grade Spiritual Medicine, most suitable for cultivators at the Divinity Transformation Realm to consume, and extremely precious.
Chen Qiuqiao, in order to obtain it and have a greater assurance of breaking through his own strength, had deliberately wasted half a month's time to complete a Sect mission, earning Contribution Points, and had only recently returned to the Sect to finally get it!
Therefore, he was confident that after the upcoming Outer Gate examination, he would defeat Mu Jinyu!
"Haha, then let's advance congratulate Brother Chen on successfully advancing to the Inner Gate... "
The followers laughed fawningly upon hearing Chen Qiuqiao's words.