Chapter 2: Retaliation

"To get better martial arts and more practice time, I must keep completing tasks."

Shi Xiaole thought for a while, but finally did not impulsively trigger the system mission.

His current martial arts are weak, if he triggers a one-star mission, that's fine, but if he is lucky and triggers a five-star mission, that would be comical.

Besides, who knows how difficult a one-star mission is.

In any case, this matter can't be rushed, it's not unlikely to be fatal.

Shi Xiaole could not take the risk.

After much ado, time was late. He rushed to the mess hall of the Huajian Sect for dinner, then returned to his room, sat cross-legged on the bed, with his five hearts facing the sky, and began to silently run the basic martial arts mind methods of the Huajian Sect.

A moment later, a faint invisible white qi emanated from Shi Xiaole's nostrils, wrapping around him like a tiny snake.

In his perception, there was a stream of qi in his body being transported along the path of the mind method to a place one inch and three parts below the navel, the spot commonly referred to as the lower dantian.

The martial arts realm of this world follows the stages of breaking through the three dantians, breaking the three barriers, and fusing the three elements. And the Hidden Qi Realm is the first stage in breaking through the three dantians.

"It's strange. In the memories of the original owner, improving by two small realms within a year was considered above average within the Huajian Sect. Why does it seem so simple to me to practice this qi movement?"

One 2-hour period later, Shi Xiaole took a deep breath and woke up from his meditative state.

He had a feeling that it wouldn't take him too long to break through to the third level of the Hidden Qi Realm. Shi Xiaole judged that this was not solely due to the original owner's accumulated efforts, or at least only partly.

The more significant reason lay within himself.

"Fusion of souls, does it make martial arts practice twice as effective?"

Shi Xiaole murmured to himself.

"Forget it, it's a good thing anyway, why bother to explore so much if I don't understand it for the time being."

A little tired, Shi Xiaole simply stopped pondering, blew out the candle in the room, undressed and lay down on the bed, and fell asleep in no time.

Nothing happened during the night.

Early the next day, Shi Xiaole had already finished washing up and started practicing the Huashan Sword Technique in the courtyard, also practicing the basic swordsmanship of the Huajian Sect a few times in between.

Being a personal disciple has this advantage, possessing an independent courtyard, and not having to worry about being disturbed by others.

Unfortunately, the tranquility was soon broken by several unwelcome guests.

Bang!

The courtyard gate was kicked violently open and slammed against the wall. Several cocky disciples of the Huajian Sect swaggered in.

Shi Xiaole stopped and watched them.

"Well, junior brother Shi is so diligent! Others are still asleep, and you are already practicing your skills. You really are a martial arts expert."

The leader, a tall and thin seventeen or eighteen-year-old, spoke this sentence, and everyone else started laughing.

"A few of you have also made a lot of effort to get up this early for me."

Shi Xiaole's voice was calm and even.

As per the memories, these few people bullied the original owner all year round, sometimes one-on-one, sometimes bullying him together, practically turning the act of bullying him into a life's joy.

Yet the original owner was stubborn, a loner, and a bit cowardly, never willing to tell the Sect Master the truth, always thinking about avenging himself once his martial arts skills greatly improved.

Poor boy, he suffered so much for nothing.

"Junior brother Shi, have you recovered?"

Yang Yuan narrowed his eyes.

He overdid it yesterday and was afraid that he might have killed this kid, putting them all in a state of fear. If it hadn't been for the news brought by someone else, they might have packed up their belongings and ran off.

This kid, on the other hand, was practicing martial arts quietly as if nothing had happened, he really deserved to die!

Shi Xiaole blandly said, "Aren't you all aware whether I have recovered or not since you hit me so hard?"

Yang Yuan said, "Junior brother Shi, don't slander us! When did we ever hurt you? You missed yesterday's annual test and were expelled from the Huajian Sect, don't blame your mistakes on us."

Expelled from the Huajian Sect?

Shi Xiaole was taken aback, suddenly remembering that yesterday was the annual test of the Huajian Sect. According to the Sect's rules, disciples who have been in the Sect for a year must pass the test.

Even the personal disciples of the Sect Master were no exception.

Watching the few people in front of him, a trace of coldness flashed through Shi Xiaole's eyes. These guys chose yesterday specifically to make their move, they really put a lot of thought into it.

"Shi Xiaole, what's with those eyes of yours, do you believe I'll gouge them out!"

Yang Yuan stepped forward and yelled angrily.

Usually, Shi Xiaole would be scared enough to shake all over, which was exactly what Yang Yuan found amusing.

But today, Shi Xiaole didn't even blink his eyes, let alone shake. He simply said, "Gouge out my eyes? Okay, come and try."

Yang Yuan paused, the other people were also stunned.

Yang Yuan was retorted for the first time and a cold smile appeared on his face, "It seems learning that you've been expelled from the Sect, you've become desperate, Shi Xiaole. Haha. I won't stoop to the level of a dog. Quickly pack your things and go back home to play with your seductive aunt. Tsk tsk, I must say your aunt's figure, she's quite the vixen..."

Before he could finish, he was met head-on with a sword.

Shi Xiaole's sword.

"You son of a bitch, you're asking for it."

Yang Yuan sneered, activated his third level Hidden Qi internal power, sidestepped, and threw a punch at Shi Xiaole's face.

Against others, he wouldn't be so contemptuous, but Shi Xiaole had only practiced basic swordsmanship for just under a year, and he was more than capable of dealing with him.

Yang Yuan would never know that today's Shi Xiaole is not the same as yesterday's Shi Xiaole, and he was destined to pay the price for his carelessness.

Shi Xiaole twisted his wrist, didn't dodge, his sword grazed past the fist and aimed at Yang Yuan's shoulder from the side.

This strange and risky move, like a mutual destruction sword attack, made the others couldn't hold back their gasp.

Fizz.

An inch longer is an inch stronger, the tip of the sword was the first to penetrate Yang Yuan's shoulder. Shi Xiaole ducked, avoiding Yang Yuan's fist while withdrawing his sword for another stab.

"Damn it, ah..."

Yang Yuan was hurt again, shouted, and blood flowed from his shoulder.

However, Shi Xiaole didn't stop, and continuously stabbed seven or eight times. The chilling sound of the sword penetrating flesh made the others feel a chill, and Shi Xiaole's calm eyes gave it a touch of terror.

"Your mouth is too foul."

Shi Xiaole yanked the sword out with all his might. With a thud, Yang Yuan fell to the ground, his mouth smeared with blood, moaning in pain.

"You guys come here, let me taste your abilities."

Single-handedly holding his sword, Shi Xiaole looked at the remaining few.

His victory over Yang Yuan was due to surprise and Yang Yuan's carelessness. Otherwise, even if he was a genius, he would not have been able to defeat Yang Yuan after only one or two 2-hour periods of cultivation.

The remaining few were all in the Hidden Qi Realm. If they came at him all at once, where would Shi Xiaole be able to fend them off?

So he deliberately provoked them, used Yang Yuan's pitiful state, added to his own expressionless demeanor, to frighten them off.

Indeed, they were frightened.

They were all teenagers. It was okay to punch and kick a bit normally, but when it came to real fights with swords, they had no courage to participate.

Especially just now, Shi Xiaole continuously stabbed Yang Yuan seven or eight times, his merciless attitude like he wanted to poke a huge hole in Yang Yuan's body, was too scary.

"You, Shi Xiaole, you viciously injured your fellow sect member. You deserve death!"

"Shi Xiaole, you wait and see. The Grand Elder will deal with you."

A few of them picked up Yang Yuan from the ground and ran away without looking back.

Shi Xiaole took a deep breath, but felt bitter in his heart.

Earlier, when Yang Yuan insulted his aunt, he was inexplicably filled with anger, and as a result, he couldn't control his actions. It seemed he was still influenced by the original owner.

Most importantly, every time he thought about his aunt's vague figure, apart from respect and support in his heart, there was also an indescribable confusion typical of a teenage boy.

Shaking his head, Shi Xiaole tried hard to throw away these irrelevant thoughts. Suddenly, his eyes hardened as he jabbed his sword about two inches into his chest. He grunted, held back the pain to fetch a bucket of water, cleaned the sword and then disposed of the bloody water. Only then did he feign putting on bandages.

After a while, an elderly man in grey robes angrily led a group of disciples in.

"Shi Xiaole, you injured your fellow sect member. Do you know the crime you've committed?"

The Huajian Sect forbade private fighting. Minor scuffles were tolerated, but once weapons were used, according to the rules, you could be expelled from the sect.

The Grand Elder was about to scold him when he saw Shi Xiaole's pale face and bleeding shoulder, he was startled.

The others were also puzzled.

Yang Yuan and his friends were the most surprised, they had no idea what was happening.

Shi Xiaole frowned and asked, "Grand Elder, when did I injure my fellow sect member?"

The Grand Elder grunted, "Just now you stabbed Yang Yuan with your sword. You almost killed him, did this happen or not?"

Shi Xiaole shook his head.

"Shameless!"

Yang Yuan cursed.

Shi Xiaole said, "Grand Elder, fellow senior brothers, you all know my level of skill, how could I have harmed Senior Brother Yang? The truth is, Brother Yang came to vent his anger on me early in the morning, and after injuring me with his sword, he knew it was against sect regulations, so he inflicted injury on himself, then playing the victim."

His voice was low, he seemed to have touched his wound, and let out a muffled, pitiful groan.

The eyes of many disciples changed at once.

Yang Yuan's bullying of Shi Xiaole was no secret among the Huajian Sect disciples. Judging by Shi Xiaole's wound, it was close to his heart. This Yang Yuan, he was really ruthless.

"You, you're talking nonsense! It was clearly you who hurt me. I have witnesses!"

Yang Yuan's wound had been treated and it wasn't life-threatening. He was now shouting.

Shi Xiaole laughed, "Senior Brother Yang, you and your friends are as tight as thieves. Can your so-called witnesses be trusted? If you say it wasn't self-inflicted, why are the wounds on your shoulder and your mouth, relatively unimportant areas?"

"You..."

Yang Yuan was so angry his face turned red, and the few guys next to him started to tremble.

They thought of a possibility, did Shi Xiaole anticipate this situation earlier and deliberately chose the locations of his attacks?

This guy, was his scheming so deep?

Seeing his wound again, a few of them felt a chill, and gradually felt unable to look Shi Xiaole in the eye.

The Grand Elder was at a loss for words and his thoughts were unclear. He could only say gloomily, "Let's leave this matter for now. Shi Xiaole, you failed the examination yesterday, why haven't you left the sect yet?"

Shi Xiaole sneered in his heart.

This Grand Elder was surnamed Qin, as far as he could recall, he seemed to be the uncle of another Huajian Sect disciple, Qin Zhao. And that Qin Zhao was the leader of Yang Yuan and his friends.

The Sect Master of the Huajian Sect would only take in four direct disciples to nurture future sect masters. Before he arrived, there was one spot left and Qin Zhao was the most likely candidate.