“Great Teacher Tong, I truly wish to invite Great Teacher Sun to treat the illness of my young master. Vice Sect Lord Liang can be my witness!”

  The old butler felt helpless and angry.

  (When have I, the great butler of Secondary Saint Zhou’s clan, ever suffered like this before? In my life, I’ve also interacted with many high star-ranking great teachers before. Sun Mo, you better not fail to appreciate my kindness.)

  “Teacher, this fellow seems to be pretty unwilling!”

  Qin Yaoguang reported.

  “Kids shouldn’t interrupt. Great Teacher Sun, look at my expensive gifts. Is my sincerity not enough yet?”

  The old butler was so angry that he puffed out his beard and glared at Qin Yaoguang.

  (If this was a slave that was under my management and she dared to interrupt like this, I would definitely smack her until her front teeth fell out.)

  “Scram!”

  Sun Mo couldn’t be bothered to chat more.

  “Great Teacher Sun, what do you mean by this? My Zhou Clan is already giving you face and treating you politely, yet you actually d…don’t give us face?”

  The old butler was annoyed too.

  He actually wanted to say ‘don’t know how to appreciate favors’ but he didn’t dare to!

  “The ‘politely’ you mention refers to these gifts?”

  Li Ziqi coldly smiled. “If that’s the case, if I give you 100x or even 1,000x more of these valuables, can I send a servant to invite Secondary Saint Zhou to come here?”

  The butler’s face immediately turned red as he roared loudly.

  “I’m the great butler of the Zhou Clan and have followed my master for 40 years!”

  Boss Li had been standing at the side. Upon hearing this, his lips involuntarily twitched as he silently evaluated.

  “What a crafty slave!”

  This was it!

  Because their ego had swelled as they kept relying on their master’s might, they had forgotten that they obtained everything they currently had only due to the authority and fame of their masters.

  (Do you really think that people would fear a butler like you? What people fear is that they might offend Secondary Saint Zhou if they kill you.)

  (You can’t even understand this?)

  Boss Li shook his head and prepared to return. He wanted to teach this lesson to his servants and get them to learn the proper etiquette.

  “Shut up!” Even Tong Xugao couldn’t continue watching. “Scram!”

  “The young master of my clan…”

  The old butler was so angry that he coughed up blood.

  “Slap yourself!”

  Seeing that this fellow was still being so noisy, Tong Xugao berated again.

  Boom!

  Profound Words activated.

  After being illuminated by the halo, the old butler’s left and right hands uncontrollably started to slap himself furiously.

  Pak! Pak! Pak!

  The other customers at the top level had long since been paying attention to this place. After all, someone so famous as Sun Mo was present. And now, after they saw the old butler slapping himself, everyone immediately started exchanging whispers.

  The face of the old butler was flushed red. Firstly, it was from the impact of the slaps. Secondly, it was because of anger.

  “Eldest Martial Sister, this crafty slave of Secondary Saint Zhou’s Clan is really impressive. He actually dares to order a 7-star great teacher. With such manners, I’m sure that the slave’s owner probably isn’t much better. It might actually be a lucky thing that you didn’t enter Secondary Saint Zhou’s tutelage.”

  Qin Yaoguang felt that things weren’t chaotic enough so she intentionally said this to provoke the old butler.

  Tong Xugao was mainly angry because of how the butler was treating Sun Mo. The old butler’s attitude was too arrogant and he had also interrupted his learning. This was why he chose to punish the butler.

  As for the butler slighting him, Tong Xugao didn’t care about this at all.

  Given his current cultivation realm, he wouldn’t feel anger over such minor matters. If not, he wouldn’t have consulted Sun Mo in public. Other high star-ranking great teachers would surely feel embarrassed to consult a lower-rank great teacher in public.

  “Secondary Saint Zhou seems to be in seclusion perpetually. I think the matters of their clan now should be fully managed by his youngest son!”

  Lu Zhiruo explained.

  “Bring your gifts away with you and scram!”

  Tong Xugao impatiently waved his hands. After that, he instructed Boss Li, “Don’t let others disturb us again.”

  “Understood.”

  Boss Li smiled apologetically and assured him. However, this Sun Mo was truly bold. He even didn’t want to give face to people from the Zhou Clan.

  How unyielding!

  “Teacher Sun, let us continue!”

  Tong Xugao lifted his little notebook and looked at Sun Mo.

  “Huh?”

  Right now, Boss Li was closer to them than before. When he heard this term of address, he was so shocked that his eyeballs almost popped out.

  Tong Xugao actually addressed Sun Mo as ‘teacher'(laoshi)?

  (Did I hear wrongly?)

  Although Boss Li wasn’t someone from the great teacher world, he also knew that only after a great teacher had vastly improved due to the guidance from another great teacher would the former address the latter as ‘teacher’.

  “Teacher Tong, I’ve said it before. We are merely discussing things together. You don’t have to act like this.”

  Sun Mo smiled bitterly.

  (Ai… This Teacher Tong is really an inflexible fellow.)

  “How can that be possible? It doesn’t matter who starts learning first. The one who masters the truth is the teacher. You don’t have to care about my identity!”

  Tong Xugao urged. “Shall we begin?”

  Tong Xugao’s eyes were filled with anticipation, like a little puppy waiting for its owner to feed it.

  “Teacher is so awesome!”

  Xianyu Wei felt even more worship for Sun Mo.

  “That’s only natural!”

  Lu Zhiruo proudly heaved her chest and placed her hands on her hips. “I’m someone who discovered our teacher’s talent when he was just a logistic staff, when he was not even an intern teacher.”

  (Aiya! To think of it, I really do have an astute eye for recognizing valuable pearls. I’m really very impressive to be able to acknowledge such an awesome personal teacher so early.)

  “Let us leave!”

  The old butler cast a deep glare at Sun Mo before turning to leave.

  …

  When the old butler returned to the mansion, he was still thinking of an excuse to answer to Liang Hongda.

  After all, he didn’t complete the mission successfully. But just when he returned, a servant reported to him, saying that little Master was back.

  Upon hearing this, the old butler was immediately filled with joy. It was like he had found solid support. After that, he rushed toward the back area of the mansion.

  Secondary Saint Zhou was already old and he was often in seclusion for the sake of trying to achieve a breakthrough to the Saint Realm.

  As for the eldest Master, second Master and third Master, they had long since left the Zhou Clan and set up somewhere else. Hence, the only master remaining in the clan was the fourth Master, which everyone referred to as ‘little master’. He was the youngest son of Secondary Saint Zhou.

  The old butler had been accompanying the little Master since he was young. Their relationship was definitely extraordinarily good.

  After turning a corner, when the old butler saw his Little Master with Liang Hongda and the others waiting before the door, his tears immediately began to flow.

  “Master!”

  The old butler called out. After that, he rushed forward rapidly and knelt on the ground.

  “What’s the matter?”

  Zhou Xingtong was already very vexed. Now that he saw Old Gao (the butler’s name), coming back with a swollen face, he immediately grew angry. “There are people who dare to humiliate my Zhou Clan?”

  After hearing this, the great teachers in the surroundings cast a glance at the old butler. They all mentally mused that he must have been beaten up because he had tried to bully Sun Mo, right?

  (Speaking of which, Sun Mo’s guts are truly big! I will flash a thumbs-up for you simply based on this point.)

  Actually, everyone was also annoyed with this butler. It was just that they didn’t dare to take action because of his connection with Secondary Saint Zhou.

  “It is Sun Mo. I brought expensive gifts over to invite him to help out, but he actually suspects that this invitation might be a plot to harm him. Hence, he ruthlessly humiliated me.”

  The old butler was still pretty smart and knew to direct the spearhead at Sun Mo and not Tong Xugao. A 7-star great teacher was considered a major character.

  The butler didn’t have so much prestige that his Little Master would offend Tong Xugao for him, but in the future, the butler could slowly tell tales about Tong Xugao and speak ill of him.

  “Sun Mo isn’t coming?”

  Zhou Xingtong frowned.

  After he received the letter sent by the old butler and learned that something had happened to his grandson, Zhou Xingtong immediately rushed over. After arriving at the mansion and not seeing the butler, he immediately asked around for the reason and knew that the butler had gone to invite Sun Mo.

  “Nope, he told me to scram with my gifts!”

  The old butler complained. After that, he lifted his hand and slapped himself. “I can only blame myself for bringing gifts that are too cheap.”

  The great teachers all mused at how ruthless the butler was when they saw this scene.

  (This must be how internal fights for power inside a clan are carried out, right?)

  The old butler didn’t say that Sun Mo felt the gifts were too cheap. Instead, he blamed himself and lowered his position, becoming the weaker party. Also, he wanted to appear as a loyal old servant that was wronged by Sun Mo.

  If that was the case, Sun Mo would immediately become a despicable man greedy for wealth in the eyes of those who heard it.

  “I don’t know exactly how much Sun Mo’s net worth is. But for a man who could lead the Central Province Academy into the ‘B’ grade from almost being delisted, he probably wouldn’t care for such gifts, right?”

  Some great teachers could no longer bear to carry on watching. “Also, his eldest disciple is a princess of the Great Tang Empire. Do you feel that he would really slight your Zhou Clan because of the gifts?”

  Zhou Xingtong pondered and agreed. He then immediately looked at the old butler.

  “What’s the situation exactly? Speak!”

  “Truly, Sun Mo is worried we might harm him!”

  The old butler complained tearfully.

  And at this moment, the bedroom door opened and three doctors walked out.

  Zhou Xingtong hurriedly went over. “Divine Doctor Feng, how are things?”

  “Your grandson should have been poisoned!”

  Divine Doctor Feng stroked his goatee and had a heavy look on his face. “But as to what poison it is, please pardon this humble me for being useless. I have no way to identify it.”

  “Divine Doctor Feng, please don’t blame yourself. Identifying poisons has always been one of the most difficult things to do.”

  Zhou Xingtong actually consoled Divine Doctor Feng instead.

  There was no solution to it. This old fellow had a very good relationship with their Zhou Clan. He took the trouble of traveling a long distance just for the sake of treating Zhou Wenbin. This friendship was truly deep enough.

  “In that case, how should we treat him?”

  Liu Xu was a doctor. Now that there was a senior here, he naturally wished he could learn something new.

  “We can use herbs to protect his life first and do our utmost to quickly identify the poison before we can choose the correct medicine.”

  Divine Doctor Feng looked at Zhou Xingtong. “Send people to continue investigating. It would be for the best if we can catch the culprit. Next, I will need some assistants to help me with some experiments to identify the poison.”

  “Is there no other solution?”

  Zhou Xingtong was also a great teacher and understood that this was the most commonly used method. They might be able to save Zhou Wenbin’s life, but he would definitely be crippled.

  One must know that the longer the poison was in one’s body, the greater the degree of damage the body would suffer.

  Zhou Wenbin was the ‘rare horse’ of the Zhou Clan, their hope for future glory. If this horse was destroyed here, it would be too much of a pity.

  Divine Doctor Feng shook his head.

  “I think we better invite Sun Mo over.” A great teacher interjected, “I heard that his God Hands can dispel poison!”

  Everyone immediately nodded.

  Honestly speaking, nobody knew if Sun Mo could save Zhou Wenbin or not. But with Sun Mo’s current status, it wasn’t easy even if they wanted to watch him display his God Hands.

  Hence, everyone didn’t want to miss this rare-to-come-by chance.

  Zhou Xingtong muttered to himself irresolutely.

  Truly speaking, he didn’t like Sun Mo. Sun Mo accepted Li Ziqi which his father had rejected. This was still fine, but the main point was that he actually nurtured this ‘trash’ princess into a talent and this princess actually used his own beloved grandson Zhou Wenbin as a stepping stone to shoot to fame!

  “Old Zhou, it has come to this. If you want the ‘rare horse’ of your clan to survive, do you really have to care for a matter such as face?”

  Liang Hongda persuaded him, “Sun Mo might be arrogant, but he has true talent and ability.”

  “Alright, I’ll personally make a trip!”

  Zhou Xingtong decided. He looked at the butler. “Go prepare some gifts according to the standard of a 5-star, no, a 6-star great teacher.”

  “Ah?”

  When the old butler heard this, he grew unhappy.

  In the Zhou Clan, there was a ‘rule’ stating what sort of gifts to give to people of different ranks. How could a mere Sun Mo be worthy of gifts that were given to 6-star great teachers?

  (Based on what?)

  (Pui!)

  Chapter 1012: How Could Accepting a Personal Student Like This Not Be Good?

  Translator: Lordbluefire

  “Master, you mustn’t blame me for speaking too much. I’m also thinking on behalf of our Zhou Clan!”

  After the old butler spoke, he knelt with a thud and kowtowed heavily before he continued.

  “It’s true that Great Teacher Sun is extremely famous. If our young master’s body was injured due to training in certain cultivation arts, we could go and beg him for help. But right now, Divine Doctor Feng said that our young master is poisoned!”

  The butler sighed. “Great Teacher Sun not only doesn’t have ‘doctor’ as one of his titles, but he also doesn’t have experience in poison studies. His expertise in the study of spirit runes might not be bad, but spirit runes cannot save our young master, right?

  “Our clan wouldn’t view Great Teacher Sun with hostility because of Li Ziqi, but he is now viewing us with hostility because of her.

  “Naturally, I feel that the most important reason is that Great Teacher Sun basically has no solution. Rather than trying and failing, he might as well choose not to come. Other than being able to maintain the prestige of God Hands, he can also scold me to vent his anger.”

  The surrounding great teachers were all stunned.

  (Damn! His tongue is pretty glib. All the reasons the butler listed out sound logical.)

  (As expected of someone who could become the great butler of the Zhou Clan. His words alone could kill!)

  Zhou Xingtong sank into conflict.

  For things like gifts, no matter how valuable they were, others would always send them to their clan as long as his father was still around. Hence, what Zhou Xingtong cared about was the face of his clan.

  Just like what the old butler had said, if they couldn’t get Sun Mo to help despite asking him, the gains wouldn’t make up for the losses.

  “Divine Doctor Feng…”

  Zhou Xingtong decided that he still wanted to seek out the opinions of the professionals.

  “If my luck is good, I need at least three days to get the first correct diagnosis. At that time, even if Wenbin didn’t die, his body would be damaged.”

  Divine Doctor Feng sighed.

  Poison had always been the most troublesome thing to resolve.

  Since no one had any idea what the poison was, they would naturally not have a solution for it.

  “Go and prepare the gifts!”

  Zhou Xingtong couldn’t bear to lose this ‘rare thousand li horse’.

  “Old master!” The butler tried to persuade him again.

  “Go quickly!” Zhou Xingtong urged.

  When Liang Hongda saw this, he was badly shocked. This old dog actually was ignoring Zhou Wenbin’s condition for the sake of striking at Sun Mo.

  This meant that in his heart, the life of his young master wasn’t as important as his own face.

  Truly, a ‘crafty slave’!

  Liang Hongda heard some stories before. A few crafty slaves actually schemed and caused their owners to die in the end. They then forcefully seized their owner’s wives and lands.

  It was just that no one had expected that the famous Zhou Clan would have such a rotten slave.

  But it wasn’t strange. After all, in history, some subjects had even played an emperor in the palm of their hands.

  …

  Very soon, Zhou Xingtong brought a large group of people and went to the Swallow Phoenix Inn.

  Although Boss Li was preparing to clear the area, how would he dare to obstruct a major character like Zhou Xingtong? He even had to accompany him.

  They then went up the stairs.

  Their noisy footsteps broke Tong Xugao’s train of thought and caused him to roar out in frustration immediately.

  “Can you guys keep it down?”

  “Teacher Tong, it has been many years since we last met. How have you been?”

  Zhou Xingtong squeezed out a smile.

  “Teacher Zhou?”

  Tong Xugao was astonished.

  “For the sake of my little grandchild’s safety, please forgive me if I have offended you!”

  Zhou Xingtong clasped his fists and his gaze drifted toward Sun Mo.

  Ze!

  Even if he felt no good will toward this person, Zhou Xingtong had to admit that Sun Mo was really handsome.

  Just based on his looks, many people would surely be fond of him.

  Yet, other than looks, this man was also overflowing with talent and was already famous despite being at such a young age.

  “This must be Teacher Sun, right?”

  Zhou Xingtong smiled politely, yet his gaze swept past the notebook in Tong Xugao’s hand with some puzzlement.

  Why did he feel that Tong Xugao was taking notes?

  Shouldn’t things be the opposite?

  Sun Mo clasped his hands and couldn’t even be bothered to smile politely.

  “Teacher Sun, there might be some misunderstanding between us. I came personally this time in order to explain things. As for Ziqi, we have no intention of humiliating her. It is just that…”

  Zhou Xingtong paused, considering what he should say.

  “It is just that you guys don’t feel she would amount to anything much?”

  Sun Mo’s lips twitched.

  (You guys only explain when you need me to help? Why didn’t I see you guys paying me a visit before this incident?)

  “Teacher Sun, your words are being too much of a bully.”

  Zhou Xingtong bitterly smiled. “You are a great teacher too and should understand that when it comes to the matter of accepting a personal student, it not only depends on the fact that both parties have to be willing, but the compatibility of the teacher and student is also necessary.

  “My father didn’t look down on Li Ziqi. He only felt that he wouldn’t be able to teach her. And if he accepted her, he might delay her future progress.”

  In truth, Secondary Saint Zhou’s thoughts weren’t like this. He purely felt that Li Ziqi’s aptitude was too shitty. If not, as long as she had the slightest bit of talent, how would he have chased her away?

  She was a princess of Great Tang, how could accepting such a personal student not be good?

  Qin Yaoguang immediately shook her head when she heard this. She asked Li Ziqi, “Eldest Martial Sister, is that true?”

  Li Ziqi looked at Zhou Xingtong with her little fists clenched up.

  “Nope!”

  Li Ziqi gritted her teeth in anger.

  At that time, Secondary Saint Zhou merely took a glance at her and asked her to execute a few martial moves. He then immediately advised her to give up on cultivation and simply relax and be a princess, living in luxury until the end of her life.

  “Your talent cannot inherit my dreams!”

  Even now, Li Ziqi remembered this sentence.

  The volume of the little sunny egg’s voice wasn’t loud, but what characters were currently present here?

  Their listening prowess was extraordinarily sharp!

  Zhou Xingtong immediately felt extremely awkward and also somewhat annoyed.

  (Doesn’t this Li Ziqi know respect?)

  “Let’s not mention this matter anymore. Everyone understands what happened then!”

  Sun Mo rose to his feet. “Teacher Tong, I wish to leave now.”

  “Ah?” Tong Xugao’s expression turned ashen. “It is still early…”

  “I’m tired!”

  Sun Mo shrugged.

  “How about tomorrow? If Teacher Sun is free, I wish to pay you a visit. How about at 5 a.m? Ah……that’s too early. How about 6 a.m?”

  Tong Xugao gazed at Sun Mo and was like a little boy waiting in anticipation for the girl he liked to agree to go for a walk with him.

  “6 a.m. is also too early!”

  Sun Mo bitterly smiled. He had been working hard for a while and really felt like having a good sleep.

  Ai!

  If it wasn’t for the fact that his students were all around, Sun Mo really felt like visiting the brothels of Song An Prefecture for a look. (I have so much money, but I still have to stay in my room alone. What’s going on? My little birdy is so lonely!)

  Zhou Xingtong was stunned. (So Tong Xugao was consulting Sun Mo and taking notes?)

  (Is your title as a 7-star fake?)

  “Old master, since even Great Teacher Sun isn’t confident, why don’t we forget about it?”

  The old butler persuaded.

  “How do you know my teacher isn’t confident?”

  Lu Zhiruo was unhappy.

  “Old dog, your attitude is infuriating!”

  Qin Yaoguang started scolding.

  “Old dog, if you still dare to insult my teacher, I will kill you!”

  Helian Beifang was already clutching his blade hilt and was preparing to step forward.

  “Look at this! Old master, what sort of students are they?”

  The old butler was so angry that even his hands were trembling.

  Even before Sun Mo could speak, Tong Xugao already couldn’t continue watching.

  “Teacher Zhou, let me cordially persuade you. This butler of yours is like a dog relying on its master’s might. He doesn’t even want to place a new rising superstar in his eyes. If this continues on, the bearing of your Zhou Clan would all be lost by him.”

  Tong Xugao was truly sincere. Hence, Priceless Advice activated.

  After seeing this scene, the old butler knew he was in for it.

  As expected, Zhou Xingtong’s gaze turned cold.

  There was no need to ask anymore. Previously, it must have been the old butler that slighted Sun Mo intentionally and caused Sun Mo to be so angry.

  “Slap yourself!”

  Zhou Xingtong made the decision and decided to do this to let Sun Mo vent his anger.

  “Ah?” The old butler was stunned.

  “Slap yourself!”

  Zhou Xingtong roared in rage. (For the sake of my grandson, I can only sacrifice you.)

  Under the gaze of Zhou Xingtong, the old butler had no choice. He could lift his hands and slap himself.

  Pak! Pak! Pak!

  Boss Li and the manager were both truly stunned when they saw this scene.

  Was Sun Mo’s prestige so great?

  “Wow, are you guys from the Zhou Clan bullying your servant? Look at his slaps, they are so weak. Are you guys intentionally starving them?”

  Qin Yaoguang teased.

  Zhou Xingtong frowned and berated.

  “Use more force!”

  The old butler felt so angry that his lungs hurt. However, he had no choice and could only continue slapping himself harder.

  Not long later, the corner of his lips was cracked.

  “Alright, don’t hit yourself anymore. If others saw this, they might assume that I’m an arrogant and despotic person.” Sun Mo shook his head.

  (Sun Mo. Just wait, I will definitely get revenge for this.)

  “Teacher Sun, you are also a great teacher and should place the safety of students as your first priority. Could it be that you are planning to stand aside when they are in danger?”

  Zhou Xingtong questioned.

  “Teacher Sun, if you have the ability to help, why don’t you just do them a favor and go to take a look?”

  Tong Xugao acted as a mediator.

  It was best not to offend a powerful clan like them. Hence, Tong Xugao felt that it would be better if Sun Mo took the chance to make them owe him a favor.

  “My Ancient Dragon Capturing Hands is only useful for certain illnesses. For something like saving people, you should look for a doctor!”

  Just after Sun Mo finished speaking, the system notification rang out in his mind.

  Ding!

  “Mission issued: Cure Zhou Wenbin and find the mastermind. Receive at least 10,000 favorable impression points from Zhou Xingtong.”

  “Teacher Sun, what else do you want me to do?” Zhou Xingtong counter-asked, “Beat this slave to death? If you want to vent your anger, feel free to do so personally!”

  The old butler shivered as tears filled his face.

  “Old master!”

  This voice was tinged with extreme grief.

  “I got my old servant who has followed me for quite a few decades to humiliate himself and apologize to you. Could it be that this is still not sufficient to prove my sincerity?”

  Zhou Xingtong’s anger was also rising.

  It had never been so difficult for his Zhou Clan to seek help from someone before.

  The old butler knew of the personality of his little master. Upon hearing this, he relaxed.

  He knew his master was starting to dislike this Black Doggy Sun.

  Sun Mo looked at Li Ziqi, and the little sunny egg lowered her head.

  “Teacher Zhou, please wait!” Sun Mo spoke.

  Swish~

  Everyone couldn’t help but sigh. As expected, Sun Mo wasn’t able to withstand the power of the Zhou Clan and was preparing to compromise.

  “Would Teacher go and save Zhou Wenbin?”

  Xianyu Wei felt somewhat nervous.

  In the eyes of people from the plains, their targets of love and hatred were clear. Since the Zhou Clan was an enemy, Sun Mo shouldn’t save him.

  “Definitely not, that person is an enemy of our eldest martial sister.”

  Even Helian Beifang felt like slashing that old butler to death.

  “That might not be certain. Zhou Wenbin is innocent after all. And once our teacher heads there, even if he couldn’t cure Zhou Wenbin, the Zhou Clan would owe our teacher a favor.”

  Tantai Yutang analyzed it in a rational manner.

  “Stop arguing guys!”

  Jiang Leng stopped them and cast a glance at Li Ziqi.

  Their eldest martial sister’s heart should be quite chaotic now.

  “That’s correct!”

  Tong Xugao patted Sun Mo’s shoulders with gratification. As a great teacher, one should have magnanimity. “Go and come back quickly, if you have any troubles, you can look for me!”

  “Heh!”

  Zhou Xingtong coldly laughed in his heart, but his expression remained unchanged. He halted his steps and turned around to look at Sun Mo…… He stretched out his hand in invitation. “Please follow me!”