Chapter 3: Mild Punishment (Part 2)

When the topic came up, Ku Mu was furious, though he remained expressionless, with only the corners of his mouth slightly drooping. Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh and say, “Master, why get angry? We’ve already gotten what we wanted. Without the ancient talismans of the Gu Fu Sect, they can’t enter the Tan Ya Secret Realm. Hehe, you’ve reaped plenty of benefits.”
Ku Mu shook his head slightly, but he didn’t want to say any harsh words anymore. He would deal with those people when the time came.
A moment later, Monier returned alone. Guo Shier asked, “Masteress, didn’t Dingding come with you?”
Monier smiled and said, “She left early because of some matters. What? Already missing her after just parting? Don’t worry! She’ll come back in a few days. I exchanged message talismans with her.” Even within the same sect, message talismans were needed to stay in touch; otherwise, it would be difficult to find people. In a large sect with countless professionals, the only way to contact someone you know is by exchanging message talismans.
Guo Shier said, “That girl is an elite disciple of the inner sect and holds a high status there.”
Monier said with a smile, “What? You’re interested in her?”
Guo Shier shook his head. “I don’t have such thoughts. It’s more important to focus on cultivating and advancing.”
Ku Mu agreed, “Yes. Only by advancing to Grand Sage as soon as possible can you gain a firm foothold in the higher continents.”
Monier said unhappily, “You stubborn woodhead! Leave it to me! I’m helping our dear one find a wife.” Guo Shier realized that his masteress shared the same hobby as those aunts from his past life—enjoying matching people up and seeming thoroughly fascinated by such matters.
Guo Shier felt a headache coming on and tried to decline, “Masteress, let’s talk about it later. I really don’t have time now. I’ll be leaving soon.”
Monier said firmly, “Don’t rush to leave.”
Ku Mu also added, “Stay at the Fire Sect for a while and learn from its heritage. Even if you don’t need it, Ying Mo and Luo Zhan also need time to digest and absorb it.”
Guo Shier thought it made sense. Learning the heritage was crucial. Simply obtaining it wasn’t enough; one had to thoroughly digest it, turn it into one’s own skills, and master them. This required a lot of time and couldn’t be achieved overnight. But when it came to learning, few could compare to Guo Shier—his comprehension was extremely strong, and he learned at an astonishing speed.
Ying Mo agreed, “Shier, stay here for a while.”
Guo Shier nodded. “Alright.”

Monier said happily, “Hehe, that’s great. We can also spend more time chatting… Baby, your woodcraft master may not be great at anything else, but his understanding of spells is truly extraordinary.”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “I know. The master is the best.” He promptly flattered her.
Kumu actually liked this kind of treatment. No one in the Chenxiao Sect dared to flatter him; seeing him was like encountering a ghost—most feared him, and few praised him. So he enjoyed his disciple’s compliments. Though his face remained expressionless, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but lift slightly.
…
After resting for two days, Guo Shier began to retreat to study. Inheriting knowledge was the most efficient way to learn, as all ancestral memories were stored in the soul. One only needed to follow the steps systematically. This time, he received a large amount of knowledge, and once immersed in it, time passed unnoticed.
Apart from coming out occasionally to eat, Guo Shier stayed in his room most of the time, un disturbed by anyone. Even if Zhou Xiaoling came, she couldn’t see him. Since Kumu had ordered that no one should disturb Guo Shier during his studies, it remained that way.
Another half year passed quickly. Guo Shier had only roughly studied a portion of the inherited knowledge, mostly the parts related to himself, with many other details left unaddressed. He didn’t want to stay in his room anymore, realizing that gaining experience outside was also an essential learning method. Especially if he wanted to reach the level of Great Sage Master, he needed to venture into secret realms—this was the fastest way to advance.
That day, Guo Shier left his room and went to the living room downstairs. Monier was chatting with a group of female professionals. On the table in the middle of the living room were plates of preserved fruits and glasses of juice, all brought by Guo Shier.
Guo Shier said with a smile, “Madam.”
Monier didn’t stand up and said cheerfully, “Baby, you’ve finally come out. Come… let me introduce you to a few ladies…” She enthusiastically introduced those female professionals, all of whom were experts at the Sage Master and Great Sage Master levels. Guo Shier politely greeted each of them one by one, then said, “Madam, I’m going out for a walk. Is Uncle Eagle Demon outside?”
Monier nodded, “In the next room.” Before she finished speaking, Eagle Demon already came out.
Guo Shier bid farewell to everyone and left the living room with Eagle Demon. Soon, they heard chatter coming from inside. Eagle Demon said with a headache, “Shier, shouldn’t we leave here? Listening to your madam chat with a bunch of women every day… it’s so noisy…”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “It seems that the master’s wife is happier in the Fire Sect than she was in the Chenxiao Sect, hehe.”
Eagle Demon frowned and said nothing more, but his expression clearly showed his feelings. He preferred adventuring and fighting in the wild and disliked having a bunch of women chatting around him; it felt uncomfortable to him.
Guo Shier held back his laughter and asked, “Where has Uncle Luo gone?”
Eagle Demon replied, “He went to the fighting arena of the Fire Sect.”
“What’s a fighting arena?”
It was the first time Guo Shier had heard of it, so he asked curiously.
Eagle Demon explained, “You’ve been staying in your room almost all the time and hardly gone outside, so of course you don’t know about fighting arenas. I’ve been there a few times—fighting against professionals of the same level. The highest rank is Sage, but Sages rarely go to fighting arenas. It’s mainly a place where disciples below the rank of Mad Master spar with each other.”
Guo Shier asked, “Spar? So it’s not a life-or-death fight?”
Eagle Demon smiled and said, “Of course not. There are experts watching over them, so they can’t use too powerful skills. It’s just to get familiar with combat techniques. They can’t kill or hurt anyone—just stop at a certain point… I’m not very interested. I went a few times and then stopped. But Old Luo is very interested. He often hangs around there, looking for someone to fight whenever he has time, thinking it’s helpful for him.”
Guo Shier said, “Well, I just want to relieve some stress. Let’s go to the fighting arena together.”
Eagle Demon smiled and said, “Follow me.” He soared into the air, and Guo Shier followed closely behind as the two flew toward the fighting arena.
……
The Fire Sect’s fighting arena is the favorite place for mid- and low-level professionals. High-level professionals prefer to go to secret realms or the continent; such mild fights in the arena don’t attract them. But mid- and low-level professionals love to participate in arena battles because there’s no risk of death, and it allows them to gain combat experience and get used to the fighting atmosphere.
Unlike secret realms, the fights here are controllable, with strict rules and severe penalties for causing injury or death. If one accidentally kills their sparring opponent, the punishment is very harsh; if it’s intentional murder, the maximum punishment can be execution. That’s why deaths are extremely rare in the arena.
The fighting arena is actually a large square. On the ground enhanced by spells, there are stone circles of various shapes—square and round. The circles also differ in size. The stone walls surrounding them are quite low, only over half a meter high, so many mid- and low-level professionals stand outside the circles.

Eagle Demon explained, “As long as you don’t enter the circle, no one will come looking for a fight with you.” He added, “If there are people inside the circle, you can go in and challenge them… There’s no reward for winning, and no loss for losing either.”
Guo Shier asked, “It seems there are quite a few ordinary people standing outside the circle. What are they here for?”
Eagle Demon smiled and said, “They’re here to watch. It’s the most popular form of entertainment here, and ordinary people can also come to watch.”
Guo Shier knew that the ordinary people in this world were different from those in his previous life. They could fight against wild beasts, and even against rune beasts—of course, as long as they didn’t encounter mutated rune beasts. Each of these ordinary people knew some basic fighting skills.
There were also many professionals flying in the air to watch, so there were people everywhere, both above and below, with only the inside of the circle appearing relatively empty.
Guo Shier asked, “Where is Uncle Luo?”
Eagle Demon turned around in the air and looked around, then said, “There are too many people. Forget it; I’ll just send a message token.”
Guo Shier said, “No need. Let’s take a look first.” He flew toward one of the circles, where two master-level disciples were fighting—both masters of the rune-wielding martial arts.
The two were exchanging punches and kicks, creating a lively spectacle, with the onlookers cheering constantly.
After just a brief glance, Guo Shier lost interest. This level of fighting was purely low-level brawling. Having seen the battles of experts like Li Ran, his battles seemed dull and meaningless. Disappointed, he shook his head and said, “It’s boring. Is there any more intense fighting?”
Eagle Demon smiled and said, “Over there, there’s a circle wherecrazy masters are fighting. It’s barely worth watching. Unfortunately… although there’s a circle whereSaint Master-level fighters battle here, almost noSaint Master come to fight.”
Guo Shier said, “Then let’s go take a look.”
The fighting arena was huge, with a hundred or so fighting circles. The circle where thecrazy masters fought had the largest crowd, packed tightly with people, with many professionals in the air as well. By the time Eagle Demon and Guo Shier arrived, a battle was already in progress—between twocrazy masters who used rune weapons. One held a sword, while the other wielded an axe and shield, fighting back and forth.
In the battles of thecrazy masters, rune lights flashed, making the fights look much more exciting. Yet Guo Shier still wasn’t very interested. His eyes scanned the crowd, searching for Luo Zhan’s whereabouts.
At that moment, thecrazy masters with the sword let out a loud roar. His rune sword emitted a blade of light over two meters long, which continuously slashed at the opponent’s rune shield, forcing the opponent to retreat step by step.

Guo Shier turned to look and couldn’t help saying, “The sword-wielding mad master is scared.” Before his words faded, the mad master holding a shield suddenly lunged forward, swinging an axe that sent the opponent’s talisman sword flying. He declared, “You’ve lost!” The sword-wielding mad master said nothing either; he merely bowed slightly before turning and leaving.

“Who wants to challenge him?”

A strange cry rang out, and everyone immediately gathered around. Eagle Demon said, “It’s Lao Luo! Over there in the circle.”

Guo Shier hurriedly said, “Go take a look!”

There, Luo Zhan stood in the circle, holding a talisman sword, shouting nonstop, “Who wants to fight me?”

Seeing Luo Zhan’s excited expression, Guo Shier wondered, “Since when has Uncle Luo become so aggressive?”