Chapter 5: Returning to the Altar (Part 1)

Guan Yuntao said, “I don’t know who they are either. They paid a high price to rent the tenth floor—probably merchants from some sect. I wasn’t the one who handled their request, so I’m not very clear about it.”
Over there, Eagle Demon had already engaged in a fight with two burly men.
A large wine jar, filled with seven or eight jin of rice wine, weighed over ten jin. Coupled with the brute force of a high-level Talisman Martial Artist, it emitted a whooshing sound as it was hurled straight at one of the men. The man swung his talisman sword and slashed fiercely. With a loud crack, the sword split the jar in two, but it couldn’t stop the rice wine from splashing all over his head and face.
Eagle Demon didn’t draw any talisman weapons; he rushed after the jar. His speed was extremely fast. By the time the man managed to hit the jar, Eagle Demon had already reached him, delivering a punch and shouting, “Get lost!” The shock from the punch made the man stagger. Hit hard in the chest, he lost his balance and fell into the arms of the other man. Eagle Demon pushed off the wooden floor, causing it to crack with a snap. Using the strength in his shoulders, he launched himself at the two men.
Bang! Bang!
The two men were sent flying together.
The swift and decisive move left Guan Yuntao and the other two in awe. Only then did they realize just how powerful Eagle Demon was, and their faces showed expressions of ecstasy. Such combat strength was beyond their expectations. No wonder Guo Shier remained seated—there was such a formidable guard.
There was chaos on the stairs as a group of people rushed down from the tenth floor—seven or eight people in gorgeous clothing. Leading them was a young man in his twenties, dressed extremely extravagantly in a dark green patterned robe, with a black leather belt adorned with talismans, leather boots up to mid-thigh, and various exquisite talisman pouches hanging around his waist. He was also very handsome. In Guo Shier’s eyes, he was clearly the “handsome guy” mentioned in his past life.
The young man stepped down the stairs and glanced around, seeing his two subordinates lying on the ground, struggling in pain as they tried to get up. But Eagle Demon’s attacks were so powerful that even with talismanic protection, their ribs had cracked. After all, they were just Talisman Martial Artists—how could they withstand the blows of a high-level one?
“Worthless scum!”
An old man stepped forward from behind the young man, lifting the two men one by one. Two more servants came to help support them. The old man checked them briefly before approaching the young man and saying, “They’re not in life-threatening danger…”

The young man carefully observed Guo Shier and the other four. From their clothing, it was clear that all five were inner disciples of the Chenxiao Sect. He frowned slightly—Wuyu Town had always been under the control of the Chenxiao Sect. Fighting against its inner disciples here would only result in his own loss. So he stopped provoking them further.

“Outer sect… inner disciples, Xiao Baorong. May I ask who you are…?”

Guo Shier suddenly understood. No wonder these people had come down to scold them—they were disciples from an outer sect. Seeing Xie Xiaoping and the others looking at him, Guo Shier took a sip of wine and said, “We are inner disciples of the Chenxiao Sect. Do you have something on your mind?”

This remark was rather insulting. Guo Shier put on an innocent expression, as if he had just met a stranger, conveying the message, “If you have nothing to do, don’t bother me.”

Xiao Baorong was stunned. He hadn’t expected it to be a child talking to him. He said, “Kid, who are your elders?” His intention was: You’re too young; let your elders speak for you.

Guo Shier replied, “Kid? Who’s your friend?” He was quite annoyed inside.

Xie Xiaoping and the two others couldn’t help but snicker. Xiao Baorong examined Guo Shier closely, secretly amazed. At first, he thought Guo Shier was just a child brought out by Xie Xiaoping and the others for fun. But Guo Shier was wearing silver-white robes, the attire of intermediate inner disciples of the Chenxiao Sect. Moreover, he had an identity badge on his belt, meaning this child was at least a master-level professional.

Xiao Baorong reacted quickly and said, “Gentlemen, I don’t know why you’re insulting our outer sect.”

Guo Shier replied calmly, “Who insulted your outer sect? How would I not know?” He denied it outright and added, “I don’t know about insulting the outer sect, but I do know that someone came here aggressively to provoke us. Hmph… But we’ve already given them a lesson. They’ve suffered a bit. If… you really insist on causing trouble for us, then… let’s continue!”

Xie Xiaoping and the two others felt ashamed. When it came to being unreasonable, they might not be as bad as Guo Shier. Thinking about it, it made sense—Guo Shier hadn’t cursed the outer sect once from start to finish. It was the three of them who had been cursing, and he hadn’t said anything wrong. As for whether he had heard them cursing, why should he tell them? So he simply denied it.

A faint blush appeared on Xiao Baorong’s pale face. He was already very angry and said, “A man… can’t he keep his word?”

Guo Shier replied calmly, “First, I’m not a man; I’m a child. Second, I always keep my word. Only cowards refuse to admit it! Besides… who do you think you are? Daring to interfere with us…”

Xiao Baorong could hold back no longer. Filled with rage, he shouted, “Damn it, hit me!” Then he stepped back. The old man who had been by his side suddenly rushed forward.
Eagle Demon was shocked and immediately lunged out as well, for he had determined that the old man was also a great Symbol Martial Artist.
Guo Shier asked Guan Yuntao, “Don’t you have any experts here?”
Guan Yuntao replied, “Yes, we have experts sent from the inner sect.”
Guo Shier said, “Then call them over… Fight! Why be polite? They’ve already come here attacking—why be modest? He seemed eager for chaos. He didn’t really want to fight; he just wanted to vent his excitement. Since he was heading home anyway, causing a bit of trouble before leaving didn’t seem bad either.
Guan Yuntao let out a long howl. With intermediate disciples from the inner sect stationed at Star Lake Restaurant and two purple-robed elders in Misty Rain Town, they weren’t afraid at all.
Eagle Demon was already fighting the old man. The old man was clearly no match for Eagle Demon—after all, Eagle Demon was a high-level great Symbol Martial Artist, just one step away from becoming a Symbol Martial Madmaster. If it weren’t for his recent promotion and his incomplete mastery of the Void Mist Path, the old man wouldn’t have stood a chance.
Guo Shier shouted loudly, “Xiao Baorong! If you dare to act, I’ll make sure none of you get away. We’re all great Symbol Sorcerers… You have no advantage!”
Xiao Baorong immediately stopped. He knew Guo Shier was right and quickly called out, “Elder Qi, come back!”
Elder Qi roared and managed to withstand Eagle Demon’s punch before staggering back. But his complexion was clearly abnormal, pale and blueish, with sweat pouring down his forehead.
Guo Shier also called out, “Uncle Eagle Demon, come back.” He made a gesture, and Guan Yuntao quickly whispered a few words to a waiter, who then turned and ran downstairs. It would be best if they didn’t alert the inner sect experts of Misty Rain Town. Otherwise, if those experts arrived and they couldn’t fight, Guan Yuntao would bear some responsibility.
Xiao Baorong stared at Guo Shier for a while before asking, “What’s your full name?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “No need to be so formal. We’re not friends, so it doesn’t matter what my name is. What matters is… don’t mess with me!”
Xiao Baorong was so angry he almost spat blood. He said, “Let’s go!”
Xie Xiaoping asked in surprise, “Huh? Leaving already?”
Guo Shier replied, “What else can we do? In Misty Rain Town, what kind of trouble can a disciple from a minor sect cause?”

Xiao Baorong paused for a moment before speeding up and leading everyone down the stairs. He knew he had to be patient; if things went wrong, they might all die here.
Xie Xiaoping sneered, “A bunch of weaklings!”
Guo Shier said coldly, “They’re not weaklings—they know when to hold back! Continuing to be tough won’t bring any benefits. If it were me, I’d handle it the same way.”
Xie Xiaoping’s face turned red as he said, “We must fight to the death! How can we just leave like this?”
Guo Shier replied, “Fight to the death? Even if you die, you won’t win—you’ll only lose your life! Why risk your life? Are you crazy? It makes no sense…”
Xie Xiaoping was so scolded that he couldn’t say a word, while Tong Zhi and Guan Yuntao snickered in the background. These two agreed with Guo Shier’s words, but they enjoyed seeing Xie Xiaoping get scolded even more.
Not daring to get angry with Guo Shier, Xie Xiaoping gritted his teeth at the two and said, “Are you just watching? Is it that interesting?”
Tong Zhi smiled and said, “It is!”
Guan Yuntao went even further, grinning and saying, “This is the first time I’ve seen my junior uncle scold someone. Hmm, he has such authority—I’m really impressed…” He even gave a thumbs up.
Xie Xiaoping was furious and tried to fight those two ruffians.
Tong Zhi quickly stepped forward to pull back the furious Xie Xiaoping, saying, “Calm down, calm down. Hehe, it was just a joke, Xiaopingping… Your junior uncle is right. Stop yelling, hehe.”
Xie Xiaoping smiled bitterly and said, “I know, but that’s just my temper…”
Guo Shier shook his head slightly and said, “You didn’t have such a temper when you met my wife.”
Deeply shaken, Xie Xiaoping replied, “That’s different. My junior uncle is a master of our sect. No matter how arrogant I am, I wouldn’t dare provoke her!”
Guo Shier waved his hand and said, “Forget it. By the way, how did people from the Fanmen come here? Do their disciples come here often? Is the Fanmen far from here?”
To escape the awkwardness, Xie Xiaoping rushed to answer, “Junior uncle, disciples from the Fanmen come here often. There are also shops from the Fanmen in Wuyu Town, so there are quite a few of them there. But most are low-level disciples; few intermediate ones appear. The person we saw today probably came with a merchant caravan.”
Tong Zhi added, “The Fanmen is very far from our Chenxiao Sect. It’s common for them to take a year to travel if they go with a merchant caravan.”
Guo Shier sighed, “So far away?”

Xie Xiaoping said, “It’s not far… If flying, it would take about a month, but the route isn’t safe. If you’re not confident, it’s better not to fly.”
Guo Shier suddenly remembered something and asked, “Why don’t you have any flying vehicles here?” He thought of the hunting vehicle of the Fuye family he saw in the Secret Realm—it was really amazing.