Translator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy

  "Actually, I have always had a problem that I can’t figure out."

  Night time within the valley, three people and a dog sat down around the campfire. On the shelf on the fire, there was a roasted stout boar. As its grease plunged into deep abysses and its fragrant smell dissipated everywhere, the sound of people putting a big chunk of meat into their mouth could be heard.

  Xiao Qi unceremoniously tore a hind leg; while chewing, she asked, "Through hardships, you led us to this place, spent a hundred thousand spirit stones to fight with the people from the Beast Master School, and then just wait it out here. But, even if we encounter the immortal beast, what are you going to do?"

  "Yeah, I also want to ask that."

  As she raised that question, Liu Li equally tore off a front leg bluntly. However, unlike Xiao Qi who ate like a bandit with mouth dripped with oil, the girl carefully used her sword qi to slice off the boar’s leg into numerous small pieces on the porcelain plate on her knees, and then put them one by one into her mouth with a bamboo stick as she revealed a satisfied smile.

  This was the education result of the Brilliant Peak of Spirit Sword Mountain. Though the Fourth Elder Zhou Ming felt that he had failed in educating his Successor Disciple, his years of effort have left an indelible mark on Liu Li, which in the end has a practical result. Although the girl didn’t understand the concept of lady or ladylike, the everyday words and deeds, and the rules have been deeply etched in her bone marrow.

  However, naturally, there were some areas that Zhou Ming couldn’t take care of. While eating the roasted meat, Liu Li forgot that she wasn’t supposed to eat while talking or something like that. In her mind, she thought that I’m not eating while talking but talking while eating a bit… Then she mumbling-ly asked, "Yeah, Senior Brother, what are you going to do to that immortal beast? Are you going to roast it and then eat it?"

  Xiao Qi sneered. "Roast it and eat it? Nice try! Within the Beast Master School, there’s one Yuanying and a group of Jindan, yet they can’t even catch it. Even if you can find the target one step ahead of them, with your ability, can you catch it?"

  Wang Lu chuckled. "Catching with brute force is just a lowbrow practice. I and those savage Beast Master School people are different."

  Xiao Qi curiously asked, "Why don’t you tell us your plan in detail?"

  "In short, it’s to deduce with logic and tempt it with benefit. First of all, our arrival was of great help to it. Because, according to the progress, if we do not put our foot in and let the Beast Master School finish the spiritual treasure of beast collar, it probably couldn’t run away anymore. And the way Beast Master School treat their spirit beasts, since it has already been in the Grand Cloud Mountain for quite some time, it ought to deeply know. If it can accept their treatment, it would have already thrown itself into their arms along time ago. Now, since it tries as best as it could to hide from them, it is clear that it loathes them very much. If we help it avoid the Beast Master School, naturally, it would feel gratitude toward us. Secondly, it’s impossible for it to spend its lifetime on the Grand Cloud Mountain. The fame of immortal beast is too big, and since it’s still young, unfortunately, after it’s whereabout is exposed, it simply does not have the strength to protect itself. Sooner or later, it will be subdued by other sects. Thus, rather than being with the Beast Master School, it might as well go back with us to the Spirit Sword Sect. As for how to do it, we can just bait it with some food and capture it!"

  Xiao Qi was silent for a moment. "I think it shouldn’t be that stupid."

  Wang Lu waved his hand. "It doesn’t matter. If it doesn’t take the bait then fine. In any case, my goal is very clear. As long as I can foil the Beast Master School’s great undertaking, I would be satisfied.

  "… It’s indeed great bitterness, bitter hatred; harming others without benefiting oneself."

  Wang Lu wagged his finger. "Seventh Madame, you don’t understand. It’s not harming others without benefiting oneself. If this plan works well, even if I ultimately can’t obtain the immortal beast, I can still reap some benefit."

  "How does it work?"

  "Two words, media hype. For example, as an outstanding Spirit Sword Sect disciple, Wang Lu is brave, resourceful, and compassionate. Vigorously carrying forward the humanitarian spirit, he resists the pressure and foils the illegal animal capture act of the Beast Master School, rescuing the innocent immortal beast. Or, Wisdom Sect’s Sect Leader appeals to the Immortal Cultivation World to adhere to the concept of equality of all sentient beings and firmly resist the Beast Master School and other sects for their sort of inhumane treatment of spirit beasts…"

  Xiao Qi said in disdain, "This is bullsheet. It would be strange if you won’t be scolded to death by people. Clearly, you run to Beast Master School’s domain and foil their great undertaking there; can you still reason!?"

  Wang Lu smiled. "I’m not afraid of people’s scolding. I’m afraid no one would scold! For the spectators, it doesn’t matter who is who. Let alone if Beast Master School manage to capture the immortal beast so easily, would people not be really envious about it? Wouldn’t they want to see it even more? Therefore, I don’t even have to reason with them at all. As long as I incite their emotion so that they come to see the commotion with full attention, my popularity would continue to surge, as would my opportunity to acquire benefits later on. As for how will I able to turn this opportunity into benefits, it’s very simple. Compared to people of the Beast Master School who is obviously more powerful, I, alone, am naturally a vulnerable person and a vulnerable person would always occupy a superior position in the eyes of the masses. When the time comes, I just need to shout loudly: Although my cultivation base is not high, I still have some backbone! Certainly, the onlookers’ blood would boil, and they would loudly applaud. Then I can carry out a fundraising event, or simply to set up a fund. The benefits would be enormous! Not to mention I can also obtain the sect’s prestige point!"

  Hearing how Wang Lu incessantly gushing out his ambition, Xiao Qi was dumbfounded, and the piece of meat that was held near her mouth almost fell on the ground.

  "Y-You really are talented!"

  Wang Lu was not in the least bit ashamed. "That is natural. I am, after all, a professional adventurer! In short, as long as we can find this immortal beast moon spirit, no matter how things develop later on, I have the confidence to profit from it."

  With that, Wang Lu was finally ready to eat something. Just now, while he was prattling about his plan, Xiao Qi and Liu Li weren’t just listening to him in idle. In the blink of an eye, the two had eaten most of the big wild boar; the most tender and juiciest parts were almost all snatched up by them!

  Wang Lu was preparing to reach out for some tenderloin when Huahua, who was near his feet, suddenly raised its head and showed a vigilance face, its throat making a growling sound.

  Wang Lu patted its head. "Speak up!"

  "Oh, I smell that cat girl’s scent."

  As soon as it said it, the cat girl Ling Yan’s figure slowly appeared from the dim light of the night.

  Cat girl was born hunter and had a unique advantage in the night. Her footsteps were silent, her whereabouts were hidden, her perception was keen, and her action was quick… However, at this time, Ling Yan didn’t try to hide herself, openly appearing in front of Wang Lu and the others. Upon arriving before the fireplace, her small face appeared calm.

  Upon seeing Ling Yan, Xiao Qi was surprised. She put down the boar’s leg in her hand and quietly reached out for the dog beating stick on her side. Although the cat girl’s injury was extremely serious, she was, after all, a Jindan Stage, thus, the more the precaution, the better. As for Liu Li, the girl was pleasantly surprised. She directly threw aside the plate of meat on her lap, stood up and seemingly about to throw herself at her. "Ling Yan, you’re here!?"

  Wang Lu held the fool back and then said with a faint smile at the cat girl, "You come here to die?"

  The cat girl opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say.

  "Well, think about it first. Try to come up with a decent story. Don’t just tell me your master’s humiliation of you is unbearable, so you want to defect, that’s just an insult to my IQ."

  The cat girl was silent for a long time. "I… I was indeed extremely humiliated, so…"

  Wang Lu simply jumped up. "So you deliberately come here to insult my IQ!?"

  "No, I…" The cat girl was somewhat embarrassed. "I wasn’t lying."

  Wang Lu was about to scold her again when he heard Xiao Qi said with a frown, "She didn’t lie."

  "Hey, Seventh Madame, you…"

  Xiao Qi waved her hand to Wang Lu to let her finish, "Think about it. Even if you don’t believe me, you’ll always believe in Liu… Xian’Er’s intuition, right? Upon seeing the kitty, Xian’Er’s first reaction was to be intimate rather than being alert. Moreover, I didn’t see any hostility from her."

  Wang Lu froze for a moment, and then he nodded. "When you put it that way, it’s actually reasonable… Very well, I’ll give her a chance. Hey, you, kitty over there, I’ll give you time to convince me."

  With that, Wang Lu put down the plate in his hand, and sat with legs spread on the stone, his eyes looking directly straight at the opposite party. His whole body sent out a breathtaking imposing manner that vaguely crossed over two stages, which overwhelmingly crushed that of the Jindan Stage cat girl.

  "Don’t rush it. Think about it slowly. You can introduce yourself first. Talk about your hobbies, why you want to join us, and where do you see yourself in the future. I’m listening."

  The cat girl was stunned by Wang Lu’s series of questions. Only after a long time did she clear her thoughts and slowly open her mouth.

  "I, I, was indeed… ordered by my master A Xia to gain your trust before later on plotting against you."

  Wang Lu was not surprised; he nodded. "Continue."

  "Actually, about my situation, you can all see it yourself. Though my identity is an Elder of the Grand Cloud Mountain Division, with Jindan Stage as cultivation base, but…"

  Wang Lu said, "But your original master, who has trained you in the past, attempted to ‘bind’ your hands and feet, keeping you still from escaping the fate of slavery."

  The cat girl mournfully nodded, acknowledging Wang Lu’s supposition.

  "This time, it was A Xia who wanted me to come, telling me to do anything I can to cause you trouble." With that, she shook the small purple vase in her hand, and then opened the cork. Immediately, a breath of death diffused out from the bottle. "He wanted me to find a way to get you to consume this thing."

  Wang Lu tilted his leg and reached out his hand to support his chin, listening to the cat girl’s story with interest.

  The cat girl’s eyes were sparkling as she said, "I don’t want to follow his order, but I can’t go against his order, therefore… I just came here."

  Wang Lu mused, "So this means, you really do come here to die? Why don’t you just swallow the poison in the bottle and be done with it, why must you want to dirty our hands?"

  The cat girl said, "I… still have a glimmer of hope."

  "Are you expecting us to willingly swallow the poison?" Wang Lu laughed in spite trying not to.

  "No, my hope is that, she can help me." The cat girl then pointed to Liu Li.

  "Me?" Liu Li exclaimed, "I do really want to help you, but if you want me to swallow the poison, that would be a bit…" With that, she showed a worried expression.

  Wang Lu sighed. "See that. Though she doesn’t promise you, she really does consider to take the poison to save you. With how kind she is, how could you let her sacrifice for you?"

  "No-no-no, you guys misunderstood." The cat girl hurriedly clarified, "What I mean is, I want to borrow her sword strike. Previously, she told me that her sword strike could cut anything. Although I’ve never heard of such sword strike, but if it’s true, then… it might be able to help me cut the shackles that bind my primordial spirit, so that I can achieve a real liberation."

  Upon hearing this, Wang Lu just chuckled and then turned around and struck Liu Li’s head.

  Clack!

  The girl held her head as tears almost flowed out of her eyes. "Senior Brother, why did you hit me?"

  "On behalf of fourth uncle, a punishment for poor action. No matter how good your relationship is with that cat girl, how can you tell her about your method? How can you casually talk irresponsibly like that!?"

  "Oh… I am sorry. I forgot."

  Wang Lu rubbed her head and then looked up at the cat girl and said, "Since you already know, then I don’t have to hide the truth. The pinnacle of Brilliant Sword Heart does have a sword strike that can cut anything. However, with her cultivation method, if you want to push your luck and let her sword intent break your shackles, you would need at least twenty years before she could do that. So, you better come back in twenty years."

  "No, I have a way!" The cat girl eagerly said, "She doesn’t need to directly break the slave mark on my primordial spirit. That mark has already long been engraved, only I, myself, when my strength is sufficient, can peel it off. Otherwise, if the sword struck that mark, it would cut my primordial spirit instead, and without a doubt, I would die. However, as long as she can cut off the connection between A Xia and me, the effect is the same! Please, help me! I’d do anything for you!"

  With that, the cat girl even knelt on the ground and lowered her head deeply.

  "… Are you offering to give me a baby?"