NOVPUB"Yao Wudi, what are you here for?!"
Inside the Spirit Plant Department, there was immediately a voice tinged with wariness and puzzlement.
"you little Ma really have no sense of respect, not even calling me senior brother."
Yao Wudi stood with his hands behind his back, a smile on his face.
But when he saw the figure flying towards him, he was suddenly startle:
"You, how did you become so pale?!"
Ma Shengxu, who had just landed in haste, turned a difficult shade upon hearing this, as if reminded of a shadowy past experience. Nevertheless, he managed to maintain his composure and said with furrowed brows:
"What are you doing here? Are you here to flaunt your Immortal Ascension in front of me? Or do you want to burn me with your Solar Fire again?"
"Ahem, how can you be so rude to someone who has achieved Immortal Ascension..."
Seeing Ma Shengxu’s unexpectedly tough attitude, Yao Wudi couldn’t help but scratch the back of his head guiltily and muttered to himself.
A rare shade of embarrassment flickered across his face, which he then covered up with a cough and a loud laugh:
"That... don’t worry, I didn’t continue practicing that damn Solar Divine Fire, I’ve practiced something else, and even if I wanted to burn you, I’ve got nothing to burn you with."
"It’s not really showing off, it’s just that I’ve just achieved Immortal Ascension, and I thought of coming over to help you with that past issue..."
Yao Wudi’s words, however, made Ma Shengxu pause in surprise.
His expression cleared slightly, but he couldn’t help casting a surprised look up and down at Yao Wudi and spoke with a strange tone:
"Oh, you’ve achieved Immortal Ascension, and you’ve even changed your temper?"
Yao Wudi’s face froze for a moment, but then he proudly said:
"I’ve always been like this, bold and straightforward. If I hadn’t been unsure about curing you before, I would have... Alright, since you’ve improved, that saves me the trouble."
"By the way, who cured you? How many merits did it cost? Tell me the amount, and I’ll pay you back later."
Ma Shengxu’s expression didn’t change much, but when he heard the last sentence, he couldn’t help but shake his head, his tone softening slightly:
"You don’t need to pay me back; your disciple has already paid it off for you."
"Disciple?"
Yao Wudi was taken aback, then as if realizing something, his expression suddenly darkened and his gaze fixed on Ma Shengxu, filled with a dangerously prickling sensation:
"What did you do to my disciple?!"
Ma Shengxu, who had initially felt nothing, suddenly felt his hair stand on end the moment Yao Wudi’s gaze landed on him.
As a Nascent Soul Later Stage cultivator close to the peak, he suddenly felt an intense fear as if he were a tiny, frail boat tossing in a storm-tossed sea in front of Yao Wudi.
The sky that was originally clear and bright seemed to darken all at once in his vision.
"So strong!"
Ma Shengxu was inwardly alarmed.
At the same time, he realized that his words had caused Yao Wudi to misunderstand and couldn’t help feeling both angry and annoyed.
This brute!
Can’t he use his brain?!
Though reluctant to yield, the increasingly intense sense of danger forced him to say urgently:
"Spirit food! It was Wang Ba’s spirit food that cured me!"
Whoosh—
The world regained its brightness in an instant.
The peak of fear evaporated just as quickly.
Yao Wudi was a picture of confusion and astonishment:
"Spirit food?"
"This thing... has such an effect?"
"You’re not messing with me, are you?"
Ma Shengxu, covered in cold sweat, snapped back after recovering, his voice filled with unspoken rage:
"Messing with you? As Wang Ba’s master, don’t you know about his talent in the field of spirit food?"
"It seems you really don’t know. You, of all people, even with your Immortal Ascension, how could you deserve to be his master!"
"In my opinion, Qi Yan would do a better job than you. If not, come to Lishu Peak, I will be his master, and that would be better than you!"
Yao Wudi, lambasted by Ma Shengxu, unexpectedly did not retort but just frowned and said:
"Indeed, I’m not quite cut out to be a master, but to say Qi Yan would do a better job than me, that’s going too far... And you, little Ma, don’t overdo it. Since my disciple cured you, we’re even, and if you keep disrespecting me, remember that I’ve achieved Immortal Ascension, and messing with you wouldn’t bring any repercussions."
Ma Shengxu was unappreciative and sneered:
"Sure, you’ve achieved Immortal Ascension and you’re the senior brother, so naturally, no one would dare to object to how you want to treat me. But do you really think we’ve settled the score? You have the nerve to claim Wang Ba’s merits for yourself?"
Yao Wudi involuntarily coughed guiltily, "This... after all, I am his master, and I did teach him a lot of things..."
Ma Shengxu grew increasingly irritated:
"Teach him things? You better quit it! Besides that flawed Cultivation Method of your Myriad Laws Lineage, what else have you taught him? Did you teach him to craft spirit food, or to raise spirit beasts, or handle sect affairs? He made it on his own effort, became Right Enforcer of the Diwu Hall, what did you contribute?"
"Right Enforcer of Diwu Hall? My disciple?!"
Yao Wudi was taken aback.
In his eyes, there was no shock, just astonishment.
Because he absolutely couldn’t connect Wang Ba, who could only hold such a position as a Nascent Soul cultivator, to the impression he had of him from decades ago: a rather cautious and low-key figure.
Seeing this, Ma Shengxu said with some surprise:
"You don’t know? Didn’t Bu Chan tell you?"
Then his expression revealed understanding: 𝚗o𝚟pub.𝚌𝚘𝚖
"Oh, that’s right, she is not like you, she doesn’t like to show off, so she didn’t tell you, haha. Did you know that Wang Ba is not only the Right Enforcer of the Diwu Hall, but also holds the positions of Vice Minister of both the Spirit Food Department and the Beast Control Department?"
