THIS MASTER MADE A GOLEM

Dumbstruck, both Mo Ran and Xue Meng did not move after being slammed against the bamboo trees behind them. They sat on the ground in a daze, leaning against broken bamboo trees. Shi Mei ran to check on Mo Ran first before he went to check on Xue Meng. To his greatest relief, both of them were doing fine without a single scratch.

Xue Meng lifted his head up and his eyes met with Chu Wanning's calm and collected gaze. The little boy was still playing a tune on his leaf, unaffected by the fight between his two shixiongs. Xue Meng's face burned with embarrassment when he recalled his arrogant words just then. He could not unleash his anger on a little child, so he threw a tantrum at Mo Ran instead.

"You dog! Are you using some kind of dirty trick???" he exclaimed, pointing his saber at Mo Ran's face.

Mo Ran's mood was extremely foul. He had wanted to beat Xue Meng up behind Chu Wanning's back for a long time, and what better weapon could he use other than the saber that Chu Wanning gave him? Since their weapons were twinned, Xue Meng would not have any other excuse to dish if Mo Ran truly won. That would be Mo Ran's ultimate victory, guaranteed to wipe that arrogant smile on the peacock's face at least for a month. Unfortunately, Chu Wanning thought ahead of time. It was not a coincidence that he chose to give them twinned sabers. Mo Ran knew that the sabers were connected to each other and could not be used against each other. Mo Ran gritted his teeth in displeasure. This wonderful saber that his Shizun gave him unexpectedly hid a special feature to prevent him from beating Xue Meng up.

"Young Master, calm down," Shi Mei helplessly tried to mediate between the two young men.

At that moment, Chu Wanning lightly jumped down from the stone platform and walked toward his disciples.

"Are we done?" he asked with an innocent voice. "Can I go now?"

"Not at all!" Mo Ran and Xue Meng shouted in unison. Right after that, they glared at each other in disgust.

"Hey dog, you said that my performance was basic. Why don't you show the little Shidi here the proper way to wield a saber?" Xue Meng challenged Mo Ran.

Mo Ran smirked.

Not only the little Shidi, Xue Meng himself had to learn from this ancestor how to wield a saber. If only Xue Meng knew that in his previous life he was defeated by Mo Ran many times using Bugui, would he still talk so big? Heh. Well, Mo Ran had nothing better to do. Maybe just show him some moves to let Xue Meng know the differences in their skills.

Mo Ran smiled at Chu Wanning and nicely told him, "Little Shidi, why don't you stand a bit far away? I am worried that I might accidentally hit your head when I do my moves."

"If you cannot avoid my head, there is no point in you practicing sabersmanship," Chu Wanning quipped.

Mo Ran humphed.

It turned out that not only did he have to teach Xue Meng a lesson, he also needed to teach this little Shidi a lesson. Never mind. Mo Ran smirked again. He could do both just fine. At the end of his wonderful display, he was going to have Xue Meng kowtowing at him and the little Shidi begging for lessons.

Mo Ran did not become the Emperor of Cultivation World for nothing. Drawing from the years of experience in his past life, Mo Ran's movement was smooth and precise. He went from one move to another like flowing water. Beautiful and yet deadly. It was unbelievable that someone as young as Mo Ran was able to wield the saber skillfully with such grace!

Shi Mei's face was full of admiration. Xue Meng's face was as black as the pot bottom. Chu Wanning did not look the very least impressed. Mo Ran's irritation grew. It was showtime, then. Mo Ran deliberately struck in two directions, causing a bunch of bamboo poles to rain down on both Xue Meng and Chu Wanning. This little trick would not harm Xue Meng, who grunted and waved the bamboo poles away. But what about the little Shidi? Mo Ran rushed to Chu Wanning's side to "save" the little Shidi with a smile on his face. He did not at all expect that Xue Meng would deflect the bamboo poles in Chu Wanning's direction. Both Mo Ran and Xue Meng were horrified when the sharp ends of bamboo poles were aimed directly at Chu Wanning's head. Mo Ran was only able to deflect the bamboo poles coming from one direction, not two at the same time!

"SHIDI!!!"

"SHIDI!!!"

Chu Wanning did not even blink. In a split second, the leaf left his lips and was torn into hundreds of tiny pieces, which struck at the middle of each bamboo pole with such precision. The bamboo poles dropped on the ground one by one, not one of them managed to even graze Chu Wanning.

"…"

"…"

Both Mo Ran and Xue Meng were speechless. Chu Wanning gave them a bright, victorious smile.

"Do you guys want to go again?"

None of the shixiongs answered.

"Then, I will be on my way," Chu Wanning said cheerfully and made to leave the forest.

Spurned by the humiliation, both Xue Meng and Mo Ran trained separately in the forest for the whole day, and then every afternoon after they finished their classes. One thing was to be humiliated by a peer, the other to be humiliated by a kid that did not even reach their waist! If news were spread, how could Xue Meng and Mo Ran hope to show their faces in the cultivation world anymore? They would be a laughing stock for everyone!

Chu Wanning was left to brood in the Red Lotus Pavilion peacefully for the time being. Three weeks had passed and his body did not change at all. Chu Wanning started to believe that he would stay in a child's body for a long time. That might not necessarily be a tragedy if he did not have to save the world from the eventual Heavenly Rift Incident!

What to do?

His cultivation was intact, but could a small child defend against the ghosts? Chu Wanning thought about this particular problem for a long time, and then he came up with an idea. He was going to use golems to strengthen the barrier with him in the center. That was the best he could do. If he had come up with the idea sooner in his previous life, he could possibly save a lot more lives, not only Shi Mei's.

Chu Wanning thus got to work, making one golem at a time from metal parts. His first golem took him a whole week to make. It did not help that he was tiny, so he also had to make a personalized staircase when he started to assemble the golem together. Chu Wanning designed the golem to be able to move when injected with sufficient spiritual power. When the first golem was ready, Chu Wanning took it like a dog without leash out of Red Lotus Pavilion, heading to the barrier at the backside of Sisheng Peak's mountain area to test it out. The autumn wind was not too chilly, but Chu Wanning was never good with cold weather. He pulled his winter coat tighter around his tiny frame and walked one step at a time, kicking at the fallen leaves on the ground for fun.

On his way there, he met with Xue Meng who was diligently practicing. Beads of sweat covered his face as he swished and slashed with the saber. He noticed Chu Wanning passing by, but he decided to ignore him. And then he saw the giant golem in front of Chu Wanning and he could not help but stare. Chu Wanning only gave him a quick glance before continuing to move forward. Having decided that his Shizun would never let the little Shidi hang around with a giant golem without a reason, he went back to practice with ease.

Some distance ahead, Mo Ran was also practicing with his saber with his robe off, leaving his upper body bare. Sweat ran down the toned body, his muscles moved sexily with his every movement. His originally fair skin color had assumed the color of honey after a few days of training under the sun. He looked dazzling as the torrent of fallen leaves of multitude colors swirled around him while he displayed a range of moves one after another. Chu Wanning could not help but swallow the accumulating saliva in his mouth.

-How indecent!

The little boy flicked his sleeves angrily and turned away from Mo Ran, who had just noticed him. The young man broke in a bright smile and greeted him.

"Shidi! Where are you taking the golem to? Do you need any help?"

Chu Wanning retreated a step. He felt very uncomfortable with a half-naked Mo Ran approaching. His cute face quickly flushed red, and for the first time since he turned into a child, he stammered like an innocent child, "Shizun asked me to bring it to the back mountain…"

Mo Ran frowned. He tucked his saber away.

"Shidi, do you know what is at the back mountain?"

"Yes, the ancient barrier between the ghost realm and human realm."

Mo Ran was speechless. What the hell was wrong with Chu Wanning? How could he send such a small child to do such a dangerous errand? If the barrier broke again, the little Shidi would be devoured in one single gulp. He would not even have time to scream for help! Mo Ran's eyes flashed dangerously. Typical of Chu Wanning, he seethed inside. Chu Wanning did not care about any of his disciples! For him, a disciple's life was not worth a single penny. Yuheng of the Night Sky, Beidou Immortal his foot!

Mo Ran stepped forward and took Chu Wanning by his tiny hand.

"Come with me."

Chu Wanning resisted.

"No, I want to go to the back mountain."

"It is dangerous! Come with me, it is not a place for a child like you!"

Chu Wanning pursed his lips. He held back from saying, "A child like me could beat you anytime."

Instead, he pulled his hand free from Mo Ran's grasp.

"I need to go to the back mountain," he said with determination and turned away from Mo Ran.

Mo Ran sighed.

What's with this little boy? No, what's with every disciple under Chu Wanning's wings? Why was everyone so eager to throw their lives away? The young man threw his hands into the air with exasperation.

"Fine," Mo Ran gritted his teeth. "If you insist, then I will come with you."