Chapter 25 The Scheming Disciple and the Charming Master 25

Chapter 25: The Scheming Disciple and His Beautiful Master 25

"I'm telling you one more time—let go of me right now! Otherwise, I won't be nice!"

"Apologize to my master, right here, in front of everyone!" Qin Du sneered, the spirit sword he had conjured already appearing in his hand.

He wasn't trying to scare these Baqi Sect disciples. He didn't want to shed blood needlessly, but that only held as long as no one crossed his bottom line.

And his bottom line was Lin Huaiqing.

When they saw Qin Du draw his sword, the other Baqi Sect disciples got restless. Seeing their fellow sect member getting bullied, they immediately closed ranks and drew their own weapons.

The other Baqi Sect disciples shouted, "Let Senior Brother Zhang go!"

"Hmph! You see, we Baqi Sect disciples aren't pushovers. If you let me go now and kneel to apologize, I'll let bygones be bygones. Otherwise..."

Before he could finish his threat, Zhang Ting was sent flying by a single palm strike from Qin Du, slamming hard into a solid wooden table.

The table shattered into pieces.

Zhang Ting's agonized screams echoed through the tavern.

Qin Du had only used three-tenths of his strength in that palm strike, but it incorporated a technique from the *Discourse on Immortals and Demons*—a palm method that merged spiritual energy with demonic qi.

Unexpectedly, it proved several times more effective than a pure burst of spiritual energy.

As one of the Baqi Sect's top disciples, Zhang Ting had already broken through to Foundation Establishment at a young age and reached the early Golden Core stage.

He'd thought himself quite accomplished among the disciples of the various immortal sects, but never imagined he'd be casually sent flying by just anyone. His pride was wounded.

He climbed up from the shattered remains of the table, his voice shaking with rage:

"You... you're Lin Huaiqing's disciple? What's your name?! You dare lay a hand on someone from the Baqi Sect—do you have a death wish?!"

"An incompetent fool like you isn't worthy of knowing my name." Qin Du raised his chin, looking down at the crowd with the contempt you'd give a dog.

Arrogant and unyielding.

Seeing that Zhang Ting had already lost to this guy, the other Baqi Sect disciples naturally didn't dare act rashly. They held their swords at the ready, but none stepped forward.

This infuriated Zhang Ting, who cursed at his useless fellow disciples.

"Fine, fine, fine! If you've got guts, don't run. Wait right here! We're out!"

At Zhang Ting's command, all the Baqi Sect disciples in the tavern filed out.

In an instant, the tavern was half empty, leaving only disciples from other sects who'd stayed to watch the show.

Seeing this, Fu'er approached with good intentions and advised:

"Fellow Cultivator, you should leave quickly. The Baqi Sect people aren't to be trifled with—they might come back for revenge."

But Qin Du showed no fear at all. He even went back to his seat as if nothing had happened and kept drinking.

Seeing that her well-meaning advice was wasted, Fu'er shook her head and went back to her seat.

Her fellow senior and junior sisters nearby gathered around curiously.

"Senior Sister Fu'er, do you know him? He's so handsome! Is he really a disciple of Immortal Venerable Huaiqing?"

"Yes, I saw him on the big screen."

"Oh my, at such a young age he can already defeat Zhang Ting from the Baqi Sect—he must have a bright future ahead! I wonder if he has a dao companion..."

"Is the person who accompanied Senior Sister Yu'er through her tribulation his senior brother?"

"It's his junior brother, actually. Although Fellow Daoist Mu is a few years older than Fellow Cultivator Qin, Fellow Cultivator Qin is the Immortal Venerable's eldest disciple."

Qin Du waited in the tavern for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

He'd thought it'd be nice to have someone serve as free practice—he'd welcome it.

But after waiting so long with no one coming back, it seemed they were just making empty threats to scare him.

The sun was about to set. He needed to hurry back to Lingxiao Peak before sunset to avoid his master noticing he was gone.

He couldn't afford to wait any longer.

Just as he paid for his drinks and got up to leave, a large crowd of Baqi Sect disciples suddenly gathered outside the tavern entrance.

Among them, the man at the lead wasn't wearing the Baqi Sect disciple uniform. Judging by his age, he was likely an elder of the sect.

The group surrounded the small tavern completely. The leading man entered with Zhang Ting and several other Baqi Sect disciples, encircling Qin Du.

"Oh? You brought your parents along?"

"How dare you! This is our Baqi Sect's Admonishing Elder. Why aren't you kneeling before our elder?"

Zhang Ting seemed to have regained his confidence, strutting around as if he'd already trampled Qin Du underfoot.

"Elder?" Qin Du curled his lips into a sneer of contempt. "Aren't all the notable elders in the cultivation world up on the mountain attending a meeting? When did some obscure, nameless elder pop up to fight your battles for you?"

Watching from the sidelines, Fu'er had to admit Qin Du's verbal attacks were just as sharp.

After that speech, the middle-aged man in ornate robes had a face as dark as the bottom of a wok.

"You insignificant rats—it's only natural you wouldn't know our elder's name. You struck someone from our Baqi Sect, so you should kneel and apologize. Otherwise, we'll drag you to the Xuantian Sect, and it'll be your master's face that gets disgraced!"

"Oh?! You'd better have the ability to do that!" Qin Du summoned his life-bound spirit sword, already entering a battle-ready stance.

The middle-aged man who'd remained silent in the crowd finally spoke:

"Utterly arrogant!"

In an instant, the two clashed fiercely inside the tavern.

Tables, chairs, vases, and wine cups shattered all over the floor.

The owner came running from the back room, wailing and pleading for them to take their fight outside.

If they kept this up, his little shop would be forcibly demolished.

The Baqi Sect's Admonishing Elder was also a newly appointed elder who hadn't been in his position long. His cultivation was barely at the late Golden Core stage.

Both were sword cultivators, but there was a full major realm gap between their cultivation levels. Qin Du managed to hold his own at first, but after five exchanges, he gradually lost ground.

"You little brat, you've got some skill. But the gap between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core is still vast. You'd best surrender quietly!"

The middle-aged man let out a mocking laugh, pouring 70% of his full power into a single palm strike that sent Qin Du flying more than ten meters.

Falling from a height of several dozen meters, Qin Du's body left a large crater in the dirt.

Yet Qin Du refused to admit defeat. Propping himself up with his sword, he forced himself to climb out of the pit.

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Qin Du glared daggers at the middle-aged man, raised his sword, and sneered:

"So this is all the Baqi Sect's elder has to offer? How laughable."

The middle-aged man, provoked by Qin Du's words, came flying in from a distance, sword drawn, set on finishing him off.

"Kiss your cultivation goodbye!"

The middle-aged man's final strike was aimed directly at Qin Du's dantian.

Inside the dantian reside the divine sea and spiritual roots. One thrust through a cultivator's dantian would strip even a low-level cultivator of their most basic spiritual roots.

After that, they'd be reduced to mere mortals, never able to step foot on the path of immortality again.

It was hard to believe such a vicious move came from an elder of a so-called righteous sect.

Qin Du had already seen the tricks of these so-called righteous sects in his past life.

He seized his chance, pretending to defend while secretly gathering most of his demonic energy and spiritual power in the hand behind his back.

Ready to launch a full-force counterattack.