Chapter 4: The Master (Part 1)

The woman said, “They’re from the Northern Talisman Sect.” The little girl blurted out, “Oh, they’re bad guys!” The people in the Beast Pavilion burst into laughter.
Guo Shier sighed and said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, now I believe it—no wonder there’s a fight.”
The woman didn’t continue to provoke her. She took the little girl by the hand and said, “Xiaoyun, what do you like? Your sister will buy it for you.” The little girl smiled and said, “There’s a little tiger, it’s so cute. Sister, please buy it for me.”
Guo Shier said, “Let’s go upstairs and take a look.”
A few burly men blocked the stairs, sneering, “Hold on. Only those from your Northern Talisman Sect are allowed to go upstairs.”
Guo Shier didn’t expect the people from the Western Talisman Sect to be so reckless, blocking the way and provoking a fight. He sneered, “Oh? Then what do we need to do to get up there?” He despised them in his heart—they wanted to stir up trouble but lacked any skill, relying purely on force.
The leader was a Beast Curse Master, with four followers who were all Beast Warriors.
The guy said, “Beat me…” The five of them were blocking the way, meaning it would be a fight between five people.
Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh and said, “I thought the people from the Western Talisman Sect were smart. Turns out they’re just a bunch of fools! Haha, Uncle Eagle Demon, since they want a team fight, you can go alone.” Having followers who are great Beast Warriors is really convenient.
Eagle Demon laughed, “Don’t laugh at him. I guess he’s an inner disciple who’s never left the sect, hehe.” With a quick movement, he arrived in front of the five men, punching and kicking them. In just a few seconds, all five were lying on the ground. He hadn’t even exerted much effort—their opponents were too weak.
The five men lay on the ground, groaning in pain. Eagle Demon didn’t kill them, as this was after all the inner realm of the Western Talisman Sect. Killing someone here would cause trouble.
An old man walked over and said sternly, “Eagle Demon, you’re a great Beast Warrior. How dare you attack a junior?”
Eagle Demon tilted his head and stared at the man for a while before finally remembering who he was. He laughed and said, “Hehe, it’s Ou Chu. I didn’t expect that after all these years, you’ve also advanced to a great Beast Curse Master.”
Ou Chu asked, “Eagle Demon, why did you attack the junior?”
Eagle Demon smiled and said, “It’s not my fault. He challenged my master. As a follower, I had to act!”
Ou Chu was shocked and said, “What? When did you become a follower? That’s impossible… Who do you follow?”

Guo Shier was extremely annoyed. He had anticipated difficulties before coming out, but he didn’t expect that as soon as he entered a shop, he would be blocked at the stairway and only after getting rid of those people would another old man start nagging him. He quickly interjected, “I’m sorry, Uncle Eagle Demon follows me. Do you have any objections, sir?”
Silence fell instantly around them. The young woman and her sister also stared at Guo Shier in surprise. Great Symbol Warriors were no ordinary people; even in a major sect, there were few at the master level.
Ou Chu frowned, unable to understand how a renowned Great Symbol Warrior from the grasslands could follow a child. He said, “Eagle Demon… how is that possible? You’re a master!” He had wanted to say, “Who are you trying to fool?”, but saying that would inevitably lead to a fight. He wasn’t confident enough to fight a Great Symbol Warrior, as none of his followers were at the master level.
Guo Shier was already impatient. Ou Chu completely ignored him. As a master, he certainly wouldn’t take a kid like Guo Shier seriously.
Luo Zhan stepped forward and said, “I’m also a Great Symbol Warrior, and I’m one of his followers!”
Everyone around was shocked. There were two Great Symbol Warriors following him? What kind of status did this child have? It was unimaginable.
Ou Chu felt even more disappointed. He didn’t even have a single master-level follower. It wasn’t surprising—he had only reached this level in the past decade, so it was impossible for him to recruit masters. It was also difficult to train them himself, as master-level experts were usually acquired through wealth.
Guo Shier said, “Let’s go up.” He was too lazy to argue with these people.
Ou Chu shouted, “Wait!”
Instantly, anger surged in Guo Shier’s head. He had been holding back, but being blocked repeatedly finally made him lose control of his anger. With a cold snort, he said, “What do you mean? If you want to fight, go fight outside. If not… stop nagging! Get out of the way!”
Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan were both shocked. Guo Shier rarely got angry, but it seemed he was truly furious this time, his aura being terrifying. Ou Chu stepped back, his face turning red, and also grew angry. He said, “You… you little brat! Who are you cursing? Haven’t your elders taught you to respect those older than you?”
Guo Shier sneered contemptuously, “Which family’s elder are you? Don’t think just because you’re a Great Beast Sorcerer makes you special. In my eyes, you’re nothing…” He was known for his harsh and cruel insults. Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan remained silent, standing firmly on either side of Guo Shier to protect their master.

Ou Chu was furious and stammered, “You… you…” When it came to arguing, even adding another Ou Chu wouldn’t make him a match for Guo Shier.
Guo Shier said, “What ‘you’? Get out of the way!”
Furious, Ou Chu shouted, “I challenge you!” He panted heavily after speaking.
A faint smile appeared on Guo Shier’s lips. Eagle Demon suddenly realized the kid was doing this on purpose. Upon further thought, he wanted to establish his authority.
Guo Shier said, “Alright! No problem. Do you want a one-on-one fight or a group fight?”
Only then did Ou Chu regain his senses and inwardly groaned in frustration. A group fight? That meant team against team. But the opponent had two powerful rune warriors—his own team would be utterly annihilated. A one-on-one fight? Fighting this kid would be a joke. He was a Great Beast Sorcerer, known as the most aggressive sorcerer. Even if he won, it would attract the kid’s elders.
But he had already declared a challenge. Retreating now would be humiliating.
“I’ll fight you one-on-one!” He said this without any confidence.
Even the people of the Western Rune Sect found Ou Chu’s decision shameful.
Eagle Demon tutted in amazement and said, “Ou Chu, you’ve indeed advanced to Great Beast Sorcerer status. How dare you challenge a child? It’s unbelievable! You’re shaming yourself all the way to the grasslands!”
Ou Chu was trapped and forced to say, “I want to teach him a lesson so he knows how to respect elders!”
Guo Shier said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, stop wasting words with him. A shameless person is invincible!” These words turned Ou Chu’s face pale.
Ou Chu said, “If you can’t fight one-on-one, just apologize to me, and this matter will be forgotten!” He had no other choice and tried to find an exit strategy, hoping Guo Shier would go along with it.
If Guo Shier wanted to annoy someone, he could drive them mad. He calmly said, “You made your own mess… you have to eat it back! Since you want to fight… I’ll accompany you!” Then he turned and left.
Ou Chu was furious—he had never suffered such an insult. He had no idea Guo Shier was trying to establish his authority by defeating a master, so no one would dare to provoke him again.
The woman, holding the little girl, stared at Guo Shier in astonishment. How dare this kid challenge a Great Beast Sorcerer? Judging from the symbols on his clothes, he must be a rune caster. This wasn’t just a challenge beyond his rank—it was two levels below. How could he possibly accept? Was he trying to die?

The little girl asked, “Sis, that bad guy… uh, that bad guy… is he going to fight Grandpa Ou?”
The woman nodded first, then shook her head. She was confused herself—whether she thought Guo Shier was arrogant or found it unbelievable. She had never seen anyone so bold even in the Xi Fu Gate. This child was really strange.
Guo Shier stepped outside, where a biting cold wind blew, making him shiver and curse under his breath.
Ou Chu, forced into this situation, had no choice but to leave the shop as well. He still didn’t understand why he had challenged such a young kid. He was usually quite calm, but he didn’t know what had taken over him today. He sighed and said, “If you regret it now, it’s not too late.”
Guo Shier replied, “Stop talking nonsense and hurry up! It’s freezing here. I still need to buy things after we fight!”
Ou Chu was furious. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Then don’t blame me!” He crushed a few beast talismans, and several wild animals appeared. Instead of using his own life talisman book, he fought with ordinary beast talismans.
They were just a few brown bears and a tiger, which slowly closed in under Ou Chu’s command. He thought that by using the wild animals to pressure Guo Shier, the latter would surrender—after all, a talisman user had little offensive power. He was worried about the two great talisman martial artists, so he didn’t dare harm Guo Shier; he just wanted to scare him.
Guo Shier understood Ou Chu’s intentions and secretly smiled. He said, “Is that all you’ve got?” He didn’t need to summon his life talisman sphere. Suddenly, two golden beams shot from his eyes. This time, they didn’t rise into the air but directly struck the approaching beasts. With a few soft sounds, before the onlookers could even see clearly, all the beasts were shattered.
A pungent smell of blood filled the air. Ou Chu’s expression turned serious immediately. Realizing he had underestimated his opponent, he quickly unleashed his life talisman book. Before he could summon a spirit beast, a light blade the size of a door slab hovered above his head, scaring him so much that he froze, not daring to move. He couldn’t figure out what kind of talisman this was.
Guo Shier lazily said, “Move even a little… and I’ll split you in half!”
Eagle Demon held back his laughter. This kid was too cunning. It was all part of his plan—he took advantage of the opponent’s underestimation to catch them off guard and subdue them.

Ou Chu’s hands and feet were ice-cold. That massive blade of light moved slowly, from above his head to his neck. Its precise control left him speechless. After a long while, he said, “Impressive, truly impressive. I was blind—turns out you’re a great spellcaster! No wonder two masters follow you… I… surrender!”
Silence reigned everywhere; everyone was stunned. Could this kid really be a great spellcaster?
Guo Shier didn’t dislike Ou Chu; he just wanted to use him as an example. With a slight smile, the massive blade of light transformed into two golden threads and suddenly retracted, disappearing directly into his eyes.