Chapter 176: Junior Brother, I Spoke Too Loudly Just Now

"Ke Ke, which institute is this Ye Beixuan from? He's just an outer sect disciple, right? I'll have someone teach him how to show proper respect to his seniors."

Yan Xu's face darkened. He was fairly well-known within the Inner Court of the Sword Dao Institute. In the last inner sect competition, he had ranked in the top fifty.

He only needed to casually greet a few junior brothers from other institutes, and teaching Ye Beixuan a lesson would be effortless.

When Ning Keke heard this, her face instantly lit up with joy. "Senior Brother Yan, I knew you were the best! That Ye Beixuan is from the Miscellaneous Dao Institute. He only caught the eye of that Half-Saint Chu because of his fancy name."

"But I heard he didn't even stay in the Miscellaneous Dao Institute for a few months before he was kicked down the mountain by Head Chu."

The more she spoke, the more animated she became, completely oblivious to Yan Xu's face growing darker and his gaze shifting from affection to disgust.

"Get lost!"

Yan Xu suddenly shoved the clingy Ning Keke aside.

Ning Keke stared at him in confusion and asked, "Senior Brother Yan, why are you being so mean all of a sudden? If you keep being mean to me, I won't talk to you anymore!"

Smack!

Yan Xu slapped Ning Keke across the face and said sternly, "I'm not just being mean to you today, I'm going to slap you too!"

Ning Keke was stunned by the slap, clutching her face as tears streamed down. She glared at Yan Xu with both grievance and hatred.

On the side, Su Qing's chest heaved with anger as she shouted, "Senior Brother Yan, what are you doing?!"

"Hmph!"

Yan Xu snorted coldly. "Say one more word and I'll let Senior Brother Cao give you a good lesson too, help you learn your place. Do you country bumpkins think you can mess with someone from the Miscellaneous Dao Institute?"

Ever since Su Qing had entered Wendao Academy, she had never suffered such humiliation. Most of her fellow disciples treated her with great respect. Yan Xu's words hurt even more than a slap to the face.

She pressed her lips together and glared at him, unable to say a word.

Beside her, Cao Youde said indifferently, "Junior Sister Su Qing, considering our brief affair, let me give you a reminder. The strength of Half-Saint Chu is not something a mere outer sect disciple like you can comprehend. Our connection ends here."

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother."

Though Su Qing felt extremely unwilling, she didn't throw a tantrum like Ning Keke.

"Junior Brother Yan, let's go."

Cao Youde turned and left. Yan Xu followed without sparing the two girls another glance.

They left behind an indignant Ning Keke and a silently smoldering Su Qing.

"Big Sister Qing, we can't just let this go."

Ning Keke was still unwilling to accept it. She blamed the slap entirely on Ye Beixuan.

If that guy hadn't relied on his status to bully others, she wouldn't have lost such a powerful backer.

Su Qing gave a slight nod, her expression unusually resolute. "I don't believe we'll lose to that bumpkin Ye Beixuan. As long as we're strong enough, the elders will surely side with us."

Ning Keke's eyes lit up. "You're right. If we can break into the top hundred of the Outer Sect Competition, we'll definitely be stronger than Ye Beixuan."

"Mm."

Su Qing responded softly and silently vowed that she would dazzle everyone in the upcoming competition.

On the other side, Cao Youde expressionlessly led Yan Xu toward Miaomiao Mountain.

Yan Xu asked, "Senior Brother Cao, do you think Junior Brother Ye will give us some face?"

Cao Youde thought for a moment. "Even if he doesn't give us face, he'll give some to Youqian. I'll offer him a few pills afterward, and this matter will probably blow over."

Yan Xu nodded. "Then I'll leave this to you, Senior Brother. From now on, I'll follow your lead."

"Not a problem."

As the two of them flew up Miaomiao Mountain, they saw Ye Beixuan's figure.

Cao Youde was the first to speak. "Junior Brother, please wait."

Ye Beixuan frowned slightly upon hearing the voice. When he turned and saw two familiar figures landing nearby, he instinctively frowned deeper.

'These two guys actually dared to chase me all the way here? Do they think nothing of me, Ye Beixuan?'

He said, "Senior Brothers, you couldn't even wait a little, could you?"

Yan Xu laughed. "It's true, we were getting a bit impatient. As the saying goes: better to make peace than hold a grudge. Junior Brother Ye, I spoke a bit too loudly just now. I hope you can forgive me."

"???"

Ye Beixuan was stunned. He hadn't expected this guy to pull such a move on him, leaving him momentarily speechless with his prepared rebuttals stuck in his throat.

Seeing this, Cao Youde stepped forward and added, "Junior Brother Ye, we didn't realize you were from Daqian. This was truly a case of the river flooding the Dragon King's Temple—family not recognizing family. I hope you won't hold a grudge."

As he spoke, he took a porcelain bottle from his storage pouch and handed it over.

"Junior Brother Ye, this contains several top-grade Essence Condensation Pills. Consider it compensation from the two of us."

Ye Beixuan finally came back to his senses and sneered, "You two Senior Brothers sure have some nerve—using me to show off in front of those junior sisters?"

Cao Youde quickly explained, "That's really not it. We no longer have any connection with those two women. If you're still upset, we can even have someone bring them here to kneel and apologize to you."

If anyone else had said this, Ye Beixuan wouldn't have believed it. But judging from the previous conversation, Cao Youde was from the same generation as his second senior brother in the Cao family.

To someone like him, disciplining two mere outer sect disciples was indeed a trivial matter.

Yan Xu added, "Junior Brother, I've already taught that woman a lesson. If that's not enough, just say the word—whatever you want, I'll do it."

Since they'd said so much, Ye Beixuan couldn't keep pressing the issue. Having lived two lives, he understood that cultivation wasn't just about fighting—it was also about navigating relationships.

"Since you've both said as much, I'll accept these pills. Let's just consider the whole thing a minor misunderstanding."

Cao Youde's face lit up with a trace of joy when Ye Beixuan took the pills.

"Junior Brother Ye, you're truly magnanimous. If you ever need anything, just come find me at the Alchemy Institute."

"Much appreciated."

Ye Beixuan cupped his fists toward them.

Yan Xu said, "Junior Brother Ye, I suppose this counts as becoming friends through conflict. Why not take this opportunity to share a drink at the foot of the mountain?"

Ye Beixuan declined, "Thank you for the kind offer, Senior Brother Yan. I've just returned to the mountain and ought to go pay my respects to Master first. After the competition, I'll treat you both to a drink instead."

"It's a deal then!"

"Sounds good."

Seeing that Ye Beixuan was no longer angry, the two men finally relaxed and took their leave.

Ye Beixuan watched them disappear and muttered, "Why don't these guys act like the characters in storybooks? Backing down like this so easily—how am I supposed to feel accomplished?"

Just as he finished speaking, a familiar voice rang in his ear.

"What, were you hoping to say something fierce first and then slap them in the face hard?"

Hearing that, Ye Beixuan quickly turned around and bowed. "Disciple greets Master!"

"No need for formalities."

Chu Feng had noticed two inner sect disciples coming up to Miaomiao Mountain earlier and casually came by to check it out—only to witness the entire exchange, prompting his teasing remark.

Being stared at by his master with that amused gaze made Ye Beixuan feel a bit awkward. He scratched his head and said, "Master, I really did plan to do that before. But you're too powerful—they didn't even give me the chance."

"Hahaha…"

Chu Feng burst out laughing. "Who knows what you went through while you were off the mountain this time. Come on, let's go back to the courtyard. Tell me all about your journey."

Ye Beixuan responded respectfully, "Yes, Master!"

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