Starting with a Super Five-Star Hotel

"My very purpose for coming here is to get expelled from the sect!"

Looking at the gatekeeping disciple who was sneering at him, a glint of mischief sparked in Su Xuan's eyes.

He didn't care why the gatekeeper was treating him this way. In fact, he was delighted, because it gave him an opportunity... to make a mistake. If I beat up this gatekeeping disciple, that must be against the sect rules, right? Even if I'm not expelled for it, I'll at least get a demerit, won't I? Then I'll just keep making mistakes, over and over again... until I'm finally expelled! And getting expelled is the most foolproof escape plan I can think of!

"Ahem, ahem!" Su Xuan cupped his hand to his mouth, coughed twice, and strutted over to the gatekeeping disciple, repeating what he had just said. "Are you blind? Don't you recognize me, the prodigy whose name shakes Immortal Mountain?"

PFFT, HAHA!

No sooner had Su Xuan spoken than the gatekeeping disciple burst out laughing. He pointed at Su Xuan and said, "You? Shake Immortal Mountain? I'd say you could shake your Golden Lotus Peak at most!"

"Uh..."

Su Xuan was stunned.

Had Feng Zhengyuan been bragging? Am I not the prodigy of the entire Immortal Mountain, but just of a single peak, Golden Lotus Peak? That's a huge difference!

Ying Lan, the girl in the blue dress, couldn't help but twitch the corners of her mouth when she heard Su Xuan.

I've said my senior brother is a prodigy, but that was just us boosting one of our own. Why is Su Xuan bragging about himself in front of an outsider? This... is a bit embarrassing!

Ying Lan tugged at Su Xuan's sleeve. "Senior Brother, let it go."

She then whispered to him, "They're with the Fifth Elder. They don't get along with us, so don't give them any ammunition."

"Oh..."

Su Xuan's mouth fell open as he suddenly understood.

He had read in Ying Lan's diary jade slip that their master had once argued with the Fifth Elder and almost came to blows. That had to be the reason for the current situation.

"I don't know you, and I certainly don't know any prodigy whose 'name shakes Immortal Mountain.'" At that moment, the gatekeeping disciple extended his hand toward Su Xuan with a cold expression, completely unaware that he was about to pay the price.

"You will."

Suddenly, Su Xuan lifted his palm and pressed it hard against the disciple's chest, shouting, "Explode!"

BOOM!

A fierce surge of energy erupted from the gatekeeping disciple and then detonated!

OW!

The disciple screamed, fell back some distance, kicked his legs a few times, and passed out. To add to the humiliation, his clothes had been completely blasted apart, leaving him as bare as a plucked rooster.

Su Xuan then approached the other gatekeeping disciple and, chin held high, said arrogantly, "Do you still need to see my identity token?"

This disciple had been quiet the whole time. Now trembling, he said to Su Xuan, "No need... no need, Senior Brother Feng, please go on in!"

Ying Lan, at a loss whether to laugh or cry, whispered to Su Xuan, "This one isn't with the Fifth Elder. We're actually on good terms with him."

"Oh?" Su Xuan gave an awkward smile, patted the disciple's shoulder, and said, "If anyone bullies you in the future, just drop my name."

With that, he once again strode grandiosely through the mountain gate.

Ying Lan followed close by his side, whispering, "Senior Brother, that was so satisfying!"

Su Xuan glanced at his junior sister and chuckled. "That's what they get for looking down on people."

Ying Lan's expression then grew worried. "Satisfying, yes, but what now? The Fifth Elder will certainly make a big deal out of this. You could be punished for it."

"You think I'm afraid of that?" Su Xuan said dismissively, clasping his hands behind his back as he continued his swagger.

Ying Lan glanced back at the pitiful gatekeeping disciple and pouted.

"Senior Brother, we should return the Nirvana Phoenix now."

Ying Lan then considerately led Su Xuan toward a certain place.

It was a lush bamboo forest enveloped in a thin mist. As they drew closer, Su Xuan was startled to realize that the mist was filled with an extremely dense nature's spiritual energy. A single breath made him feel refreshed!

And it's not just this bamboo forest. Ever since setting foot through the mountain gate, I've sensed that the spiritual energy is dense everywhere on Immortal Mountain! It's completely incomparable to places like Hua Shui City! Cultivating in a place like this, you could probably advance your cultivation level in your sleep, right? No wonder there are Longevity Realm Experts everywhere!

"Huh?"

Looking at the Nirvana Phoenix, Ying Lan was suddenly surprised.

This bamboo forest is the Nirvana Phoenix's habitat. Why is it so indifferent now that it's here? It's still following Su Xuan so obediently...

Su Xuan quickly shot the "Nirvana Phoenix" a look. The Golden-Scaled Crocodile, which had been lost in the misty grove, snapped back to reality. It let out an arrogant cry, spread its wings, and plunged into the bamboo forest, even snapping a few stalks in the process! Spiritual liquid oozed from the broken bamboo. Then, with a hiss, it dissolved into the air!

This bamboo must be spiritual bamboo!

HEE HEE! Seeing the Nirvana Phoenix's arrogant display, Ying Lan smiled. "And here I thought you'd actually tamed it!" she said to Su Xuan.

"Back to Golden Lotus Peak now?" Su Xuan asked.

"Yes!" Ying Lan nodded. "The Fifth Elder probably already knows you beat up his disciple. He might come looking for trouble, so we need to tell Master about this right away."

With that, Ying Lan quickened her pace, leading Su Xuan toward Golden Lotus Peak. After a few steps, she added, "Senior Brother, when we see Master, just say that the disciple was slandering Golden Lotus Peak, and that's why you taught him a lesson. We need a plausible reason."

Su Xuan just shrugged.

Soon, the two left the bamboo forest. Just as they were about to step onto the thousand-step stone staircase leading to Golden Lotus Peak, Ying Lan stopped. She even took two strange steps backward, as if she had seen something terrifying.

Su Xuan looked ahead and saw two disciples in brocade Daoist robes pointing and whispering in their direction.

Having already read Ying Lan's diary jade slip, Su Xuan instinctively guessed that these must be the two who had injured her with the Nine Layers of Profound Ice Palm. The reason she was beaten was infuriating. They had claimed that he, her senior brother, was unworthy of Senior Sister Miao Tong. When Ying Lan had tried to argue and defend his honor, they had struck her.

"Senior Brother, ignore them!" Seeing Su Xuan looking at the two, Ying Lan immediately grabbed his arm to lead him on a detour. "The Enforcement Hall already punished them for injuring me last time," she said. "They won't dare cause trouble for me now."

But Su Xuan stopped in his tracks.

How could I let them 'not dare' cause trouble? If they don't cause trouble, how can I make a mistake?

Su Xuan stared at the two disciples and said with a grin, "So, you two don't want me to fancy that pretty little thing, Miao Tong?"

HISS!

Hearing this, Ying Lan gasped.

Why did Su Xuan have to provoke them? A normal provocation would have been one thing, but why drag Senior Sister Miao Tong into it? And to call the celestial Gongsun Miao Tong a 'pretty little thing'? That one phrase could offend ninety percent of the male cultivators on Immortal Mountain!

"Feng Zhengyuan, it's bad enough your junior sister is so insolent!" one of them snapped. "Are you looking to die, too?"

Sure enough, upon being provoked by Su Xuan, the two disciples walked toward him with ice in their eyes. And it wasn't just their gazes that were cold; they also exuded a bone-chilling frost that seeped into the air...