Chapter 3: Mild Punishment (Part 1)

This was a five-member patrol team led by a junior Mad Master, with the other four being mid-to-senior masters. Such strength would be considered top-tier military power in the lower continents, but in the Fire Sect, they could only serve as patrol team members, classified as mid-to-low-level disciples—useless in critical situations yet indispensable, as the sect’s foundation relied on them.
Participating in patrol duties also earned sect points. Guo Shier was surprised to find that these five people dared to harass Zhou Xiaoling. There were many professionals in this world, but such unwise ones were rare. Guo Shier looked at the man spouting nonsense with pity.
Chen Mond was the leader of this team and also an outer disciple of the Fire Sect. He had only joined the sect for over half a year; originally a wandering professional, he took advantage of the sect’s expanded recruitment to become an outer disciple. Since joining, he had been assigned patrol tasks, and after several months of evaluation, he was appointed team leader just a few days ago.
“Beauty, come here to your big brother. Hehe, where are you from?”
Chen Mond acted lecherously. He was sensible enough not to touch her physically but tried to take advantage verbally. He must have been foolish—in such a remote place with few high-level professionals and only low-level ones passing by, he failed to assess her strength.
He expected Zhou Xiaoling to slap him, but instead, she pretended to be weak, hiding behind Guo Shier in terror, repeating, “I won’t go… I won’t go…”
Guo Shier was stunned, faintly hearing Zhou Xiaoling’s mocking laughter behind him.
Luo Zhan was about to step forward when Eagle Demon pulled him back, shaking his head to signal him not to interfere.
Chen Mond, blinded by greed, laughed even more obscenely, “Little beauty… don’t hide!” He glared at Guo Shier and ordered coldly, “Kid, get out of the way!”
Given Guo Shier’s temper, he would have slapped such a guy to death on the spot. Strangely, he replied, “Okay, I’ll move!” Before his words faded, he teleported away and reappeared ten meters away.
Zhou Xiaoling complained playfully, “Shier! How can you do this? You’re so stubborn! How could you leave me here alone?”
Chen Mond was stunned. A delicate, beautiful girl actually calling herself “lady” was as shocking as a beauty removing her mask. He stammered, pointing at Zhou Xiaoling, unable to say a word.

Zhou Xiaoling snapped, “What are you staring at! Keep looking… and I’ll dig out your eyes! Daring to harass me—do you want to die?”
Chen Mond trembled. Only then did he realize something was wrong and tried to determine the other person’s rank. To his despair and regret, the beautiful woman before him was a junior holy priest, while the guy who had teleported away was actually a senior holy priest. He even thought about giving up on life—why harass anyone but a holy priest?
Luo Zhan shook his head with a bitter smile; this girl was really fierce.
Eagle Demon said with a laugh, “Alright, let’s go. We’ve wasted too much time.”
Guo Shier smiled and asked, “Hey, can we leave now?”
Chen Mond and his four subordinates turned pale. He was still hesitating, wondering whether to send a distress signal.
Zhou Xiaoling said, “So boring! Go to the punishment hall by yourself and explain this matter!” With that, she shot out her identity token and said seriously, “A disciple of the Inner Circle of the Fire Sect, junior holy priest—Zhou Xiaoling!”
Chen Mond took the identity token in confusion, glanced at it briefly, and his hands began to tremble violently. She wasn’t just an inner-circle disciple but also an elite one. He knew he had caused a huge problem. Instead of attacking him, she simply ordered him to report to the punishment hall. Terrified, he kept saying, “I… I deserve death… I deserve death…”
Zhou Xiaoling reached out, took back her identity token, and said, “You don’t deserve death yet. You’ll suffer a little to learn your lesson. Next time you see a woman, you won’t be so vulgar! You four should go with him and explain everything clearly. Remember, send me the decision made. Hmph! If I’m not satisfied…”
Chen Mond nodded in a dazed state, agreeing repeatedly. He didn’t dare refuse and could only obediently take his four teammates to the punishment hall.
Only then did Guo Shier say, “Let’s go. Dingding, you’re inciting people to commit crimes!”
Zhou Xiaoling retorted, “You’re even worse than that guy—just avoiding responsibility!”
Guo Shier chuckled, “I’m not from your Fire Sect. I have no interest in disciplining scum like you from your sect.” He spoke with such confidence that Zhou Xiaoling rolled her eyes in frustration. She admitted he had a point and snapped, “Let’s go!” before flying away first.
Eagle Demon laughed, “Shier, stop teasing her.”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Dingding’s getting more and more interesting.”
Zhou Xiaoling snapped angrily, “You’re the one who’s interesting!”
Guo Shier nodded. “Of course!”

Zhou Xiaoling was instantly speechless. She flew forward rapidly and soon arrived at a newly built town—this was the entrance to the Fire Sect. She landed and said, “Shier, will you come with me to the inner sect? I’ll arrange accommodation for you.”
Guo Shier smiled and replied, “No need. I have acquaintances in the Fire Sect.” With that, he sent a message token.
A moment later, Kumu and Monier arrived. Guo Shier asked curiously, “Master, Masteress, how did you get here so fast?”
Zhou Xiaoling was stunned because Kumu and Monier were dressed in the attire of inner sect elders, and the identity badges around their waists were also those of inner sect elders. She couldn’t help asking, “Shier, are you from our Fire Sect? How come I didn’t know?”
Monier spotted Zhou Xiaoling at once and rushed over with a joyful smile, saying, “This young lady is… Oh, an inner sect disciple…” She turned to Guo Shier and said, “Baby, you’re amazing! You found a wife so quickly. Hehe, your potential for spells is incredible, and so is your ability to find a partner.” She spoke without any restraint.
Zhou Xiaoling blushed. Guo Shier remained calm and said seriously, “Masteress, she’s not my wife. Her name is Zhou Xiaoling, nicknamed Dingding. She’s an inner sect disciple of the Fire Sect. We met in the Bloody Secret Realm and fought together.”
Monier ignored Guo Shier’s explanation completely, hugged Zhou Xiaoling, and said, “What a pretty girl! I like her.”
Guo Shier broke into a cold sweat—this masteress was way too infatuated.
Kumu asked, “Shier, why did you come?”
Guo Shier replied, “I came to see Master and Masteress.”
Kumu nodded and said, “Follow me. We’ve allocated a small courtyard for you in the inner sect. You can move in there.”
Monier and Zhou Xiaoling were chatting happily, unaware of what was going on. Kumu shook his head, said nothing, and took off into the air.
Guo Shier shouted, “Let’s go!” He also soared into the sky, with Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan following closely behind. Monier and Zhou Xiaoling continued to laugh and chat at their original spot, ignoring them completely.
The four of them disappeared quickly beyond the horizon. Only then did Monier and Zhou Xiaoling fly off hand in hand, acting like close friends who had known each other for a long time.
Before entering the inner sect, Guo Shier and the other two obtained temporary identity badges. Since they had participated in the battle against the Golden Beetle swarm and had records in the Fire Sect, and since Luo Zhan had received the sect’s inheritance, there were no obstacles in obtaining the temporary badges—especially with an inner sect elder acting as a guarantor.

The courtyard where Ku Mu and Monier lived was not large, containing only a small building with the courtyard behind it. There was a small street in front of the door, flanked by many trees. The two-story building was exquisitely constructed of wood and stone, blessed with spells, and looked very beautiful.

The household employed two ordinary people to clean and cook, aside from which there were no other servants. This place was completely different from the Chenxiao Sect—everything seemed very simple.

Guo Shier found that he had the best treatment at the Northern Spell Gate, with a large number of male and female servants, numerous followers, as well as estates and family guards. It was not bad at the Chenxiao Sect either, after all, he still had a family. But in the sects of the Advanced Continent, he had nothing—though he didn’t really care about such things.

After entering the house, Ku Mu sat directly on the ground; the thick fur of the spell beast made it very comfortable. The entire room was empty, with no decorations or furniture. Ku Mu had never cared about food or shelter.

Guo Shier glanced around, took out a rectangular low table, placed it in the middle of the room, then set out several plates of snacks and some fruit juices and wines. Smiling, he said, “This looks better. Everyone, feel free to eat something.”

Everyone knew that Guo Shier loved eating and collecting all sorts of things—such as tableware, stoves, tables, chairs, furniture, as well as strange snacks—and storing large amounts of food. So when he brought out these things, no one found it strange.

Eagle Demon picked up a piece of candied fruit and said while eating, “Apart from the roasted meat cooked by Shier, my favorite are candied fruits and fruit wines.”

Ku Mu picked up a cup, took a sip of the fruit wine, and smiled slightly, saying, “I like drinking it too.”

Guo Shier smiled and asked, “Master, how was your time at the Fire Sect? Not bad, right?”

Ku Mu nodded. “There wasn’t much to do, and the benefits weren’t great either. It was just about finding a place to settle down. Even if that guy brought people here last time, he wouldn’t dare to act— the Fire Sect is quite strong.” After living there for some time, he gradually learned more about the Fire Sect. Of course, this was all information gathered by Monier. He himself had never shown any interest in such things. He could be asked to kill, but asking him to gather information was simply impossible.

Thanks to Monier accompanying him, Ku Mu didn’t have to worry about these trivial matters and could focus entirely on absorbing the teachings he obtained in the Tanya Secret Realm. He had always been a fanatic about cultivation, and after getting these teachings, he devoted all his time and energy to studying and practicing cultivation.

Guo Shier asked, “Master, how much longer will it take for you to advance to a senior Great Sage?”
Kumu took a sip of wine and shook his head. “I don’t know how long it will take. I won’t go out until I’ve constructed my own virtual altar. Let those people wait outside! Once I’ve built my virtual altar, even if they don’t come, I’ll still go after them! How dare they play tricks on me and set traps! I won’t spare them!”