Chapter Thirty: The Youth with the Radiant Aura

  Xin Youtao walked into the gate of the mansion, looking around with satisfaction. Zhang Lingshen, who was guarding the courtyard, immediately ran over and asked anxiously: "How is it? Is everything okay? I only told them that Mu Xingqiu used magic, but they already knew in advance, so they..."

  "It's okay." Xīn Yòutáo said with a relaxed face, "A law enforcement officer from the Department of Prohibition summoned me. Coincidentally, he had been to the Imperial Capital before and was acquainted with one of my paternal uncles. We chatted for a bit, then he had someone escort me down."

  Zhang Lingsheng let out a sigh of relief, "The Imperial Capital is the most prosperous place in the world, unfortunately I've never been there. Is Xin Daoyou's uncle a master of talismans?"

  "Uh-huh." Xinyin Tao responded vaguely and walked towards his trusted followers, "Everyone has worked hard, I won't forget your help. Later, each of you will receive a gift."

  Xin Youtao's face was still swollen, but that didn't affect his triumphant demeanor. The children in the courtyard had just witnessed him getting beaten up, and now they were all more or less confused, thinking that Wangzi seemed to have fought back too, resisting quite fiercely.

  Shen Hao walked over with big strides, his face having few wounds, most of which were inflicted by other kids. "Where's Xiao Qiuge? Why didn't he come back with you?"

  After this battle, Xin Youtao's fear of Shen Hao increased again in his heart. He pretended to be disdainful on his face, but his two feet still involuntarily retreated backwards. Seven or eight children blocked him from the front, and Zhang Lingsheng also shouted: "Shen Hao, what do you want to do again?"

  Shen Hao glanced at Zhang Lingshen, "Didn't you just say that fellow disciples should be friendly and affectionate? So I came to greet Xin Daoyou and ask a question."

  "Shen Hao, I'm going to let your uncle deal with you."

  "Ah." Shen Hao tore off his already damaged shirt, which was sent by his uncle from Xijie City. With a bare back, he said: "When you see my uncle, please tell him that I don't want to see him again in the future. My surname is Shen and his is Xiao. We're not even of the same surname, so it's better if we just keep our distance."

  "Well said." Erliang Shenhui shouted from behind, he was beaten more miserably, but his mood was extremely pleasant.

  Knowing that Shen Hua wouldn't hit someone in public, Xin Yutao's courage recovered, and he squeezed over from between the two trusted followers, "Mu Xingqiu was called away by the sect master, who knows if she'll be able to come back."

  The children around them exclaimed, and Master Pongshan was more majestic and mysterious than the lonely old ancestor peak. It seemed that Xia Qiu's trip this time was indeed fraught with danger and uncertainty.

  "Xiao Qiuge isn't seeing the sect master for the first time," Shen Hao said loudly, drowning out the other voices. He turned his head and gave a reassuring glance to his companions from Ye Lin Town. "We were brought here by the sect master himself. Xiao Qiuge went to Lao Zu Peak on the very first day, nothing happened."

  Xin Youtao couldn't help but spread the news that the young men of Ye Lin Town had been invaded by the Demon Species. In his account, Xiao Qiu and others were foolish and refused to listen to advice, while he saw through the Demon Species' conspiracy at a glance and ultimately saved the lives of these young men. However, he couldn't erase one fact: the Great Master of Pengshan believed that there was no Demon Species in the bodies of these nine young men and personally decided to recruit them into the mountain gate.

  The master's decision is never wrong, this is one of the most common views among children, they have unknowingly developed a sense of reverence for the young people in Ye Lin Town.

  "This time it's different." Xīn Yòu Táo said in a louder voice, feeling the change in the gaze of the people around him, determined to turn everyone's views around again. "Mù Xíng Qiū has a demon seed in his body, and before there was no direct evidence, so the sect master let him off lightly. But just now when he cast his spell, it was clearly the demon seed at work."

  "You also cast a spell, conjuring up a fireball, and everyone saw it." Shen Hao was furious, Zhang Lingsheng hastily walked over to prevent the child from suddenly striking out again, he couldn't let the prince be bullied in front of him.

  "I haven't even touched a magic seed, I can emit fireballs because I'm stronger than all of you."

  The two men glared at each other, the atmosphere suddenly becoming tense. Just as Zhang Lingsheng was about to speak and end the standoff, Erliang Shen Youwei suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "Xiao Qiuge is back!"

  Xiao Qiu had just walked into the courtyard when dozens of eyes turned to him at the same time, and many people pointed at him in surprise, as if they had seen a ghost, which startled him. "Zhang Daoshi, Meng Du Jiao wants you to see him immediately."

  "What? What's wrong?"

  "I don't know."

  Zhang Lingsheng hastily ran outside, turning around at the door to say: "No one is allowed to fight, otherwise..." He didn't know what kind of threat to make, and Mu Xiuqiu seemed not to have received severe punishment, which made him flustered.

  Zhang Lingsheng left, and all the young men in Yelin Town gathered around Xia Qiu. You asked one by one for details, Xia Qiu smiled with a pout, scratched his forehead, "Went up the mountain to take a nap, and then let me come back."

  "Didn't Master Zong say anything?" Er Liang asked in puzzlement.

  "Just let me cultivate properly and stop causing trouble."

  Other young men slowly gathered around, all of whom were incredulous at Xia Qiu's unscathed appearance. Xin Yu Tao couldn't believe his eyes; he had heard that the masters of the Pangshan Sect and the head of the Forbidden Department were extremely strict people, so why would they show leniency to a child from a small town?

  "Didn't Master Zong detect any demonic aura on you?" Xin Youtao couldn't help but ask, "You don't even have an inner elixir, how is it possible... this is simply impossible."

  Xiao Qiu glanced at him and shrugged, "The sect master did say that the Taoist techniques are endless, and most of them rely on the inner elixir. However, there are always some exceptions, as long as you have a foundation in the Tao, you can cast them out. These techniques usually don't have much power, they can't be compared to the orthodox Taoist methods, but they're enough to deal with ordinary people. He told me to use them as little as possible, unless it's absolutely necessary when facing danger."

  Xin Yutao hid behind his trusted aide in terror, feeling that Murong Qiuxia's last words were a threat to himself.

  Xiao Qiu pushed through the crowd and walked up to Shen Xiuming of Dalang.

  Shen Xiuning hastily lifted his head, opened his mouth to say something, took a deep breath and swallowed it back, suddenly pointing at Erliang Shen Xiuyi, "I won't let them hit my brother, Xiao Qiuge, I... I'm also from Yelin Town."

  "We are all from Yelin Town." Xia Qiu smiled with a pout, missing the feeling of being close to Da Liang like siblings.

  When Da Liang Shen Xiu Ming first joined the fight, he just wanted to pull his brother out. But when he saw the opponent being ruthless, he got angry too. He had fought many people and been beaten many times, completely offending Xin Yu Tao. At this time, he tore off the clothes given by Wang Zi and threw them fiercely on the ground, like Shen Hao, with a bare back. "Little Autumn brother, we don't want charity from others in Wild Forest Town!"

  Other young men from the Wild Forest Town returned to Xiao Qiu's side, some were helping Shen Hua, some just watched at first, but eventually got involved in the fight due to their identity as Wild Forest Town residents and stood on the opposite side of Xin Yu Tao. At this time, they all took off their shirts and threw them on the ground, even stepping on them twice, standing together with their companions.

  Er Lang Shen Xiu only wore the ordinary clothes distributed by the temple, and when he got excited, he took them off. After thinking for a moment, he didn't throw them on the ground, but instead clenched them in his hand and stood beside his brother.

  The oldest child in the hall was no more than fourteen years old, and seeing a group of bare-shouldered boys standing shoulder to shoulder, the sunlight broke through the clouds and shone on them, making their thin bodies look like tigers and leopards. The other children were deeply shocked and impressed by this scene, even more so than by the prince's appearance.

  Apart from piles of gifts and a fireball spell, the distant Western Kingdom's influence on Pong Sahn Tao Tong was not much greater, compared to the unity among the young people in Ye Lin Town.

  Xin Yutao had bought off several followers with gifts, but now they were all somewhat vague. They had experienced the fighting strength of these young men and felt that it was not worth getting a nosebleed for the prince just for a few small gifts, so they slowly dispersed, and no one dared to make a sound.

  Xin Youtao was sensitive to such things, and upon discovering that the system he had established was rapidly collapsing, he retreated faster than anyone else. He snorted disdainfully, grabbed the two children closest to him, and said, "Come on, go to my room, I'll show you something fun."

  All the boys in Yelin Town came to Xia Qiu's room, only Fang Fang did not participate in this "bare buttocks gathering".

  The boys excitedly chatted, showing off their scars, intentionally or unintentionally covering up the rift of the past month.

  "Little Autumn, the masters all said it's nothing serious, so teach us the incantation now. What if Dizzy Three can do fireballs? Next time let him become Dizzy Four." Second-rate Shen Xiu was more excited than anyone else, jumping around like a little monkey that had just been released from its cage.

  What disappointed him was that Xia Qiu surprisingly shook her head at his request, "No."

  Xiao Qiu was not as excited as the others, and it seemed that he had not fully woken up from his sleep on the mountain. He felt a bit dizzy in the head and lacked energy. "The Master told me that when cultivating the Tao, one must avoid taking the easy way out. Although the spell is effective, it will make people dependent on it, leading to neglect of the proper path, and it also has other hidden dangers. I promised him that I would try not to use that spell again and would not teach it to others."

  Not only Er Liang, but everyone else was also disappointed. Shen Hua shook his fist, "With just this, I can beat Xin Yu Tao to the ground and make him pick up his teeth, but I'm afraid he'll secretly throw fireballs at me."

  "No." Xia Qiu shook his head again, there were some things he didn't say in the yard. "Xin Youtao doesn't dare to use magic again, the Precepts Department said so, if they find him abusing it again, they will send him back to Xijie City."

  The little Taoist priest of Laozu Peak's Taiyuan was very willing to chat with Xiao Qiu and told him all about the events that had occurred in the Precepts Department.

  "So that's how it is, no wonder Xin Yutao wasn't so arrogant just now." Shen Hao clenched his fists together, even more confident.

  "Don't fight anymore." Xia Qiu is now the only calm youth in Ye Lin Town, "Zhang Daoshi was summoned by Yangshen Peak to reprimand him. From tomorrow on, Mengdu Church will move into the residence hall. He really can drive away troublemakers."

  Shen Hao was still indignant, hesitated for a moment before saying: "As long as Meng Dou is fair, and Xin Yutao's gang doesn't come to provoke me, I'll put this punch on hold for now."

  The boys chatted for a while, and Shen Hua suddenly slapped his forehead. "Xiao Qiuge, we were so caught up in our conversation that you should go take a look at Fangfang. She's fighting desperately for you, I've never seen a girl fight so fiercely."

  "Not at all." Er Liang burst out laughing, "The little kid who was beaten by Fangfang later begged for mercy with his head in his hands."

  In the room in the backyard, Fangfang was reading a book. Because she had been isolated for some time, she didn't have any roommates and it was actually quite peaceful.

  She is now Mr. Qin's strictly disciplined daughter, with tightly closed lips, and even when she sees something interesting and smiles, she covers her mouth with her hand, never revealing her imperfect teeth.

  Xiao Qiu was pushed into the room by his companions, Fang Fang looked up at him and didn't say a word, continuing to read her book.

  Xiao Qiu also casually picked up a book and sat down across from Fang Fang, looking serious. When the snickering sounds outside the room finally stopped, he put down the book and said, "Fang Fang, was it you who recited the incantation to stop the fireball?"

  (Collection needed, recommended)