Thinking of this, he took a good look at Zhao Ying. This was the woman he used to love so deeply. However, she was now the source of his shame. He now had to defeat her in order to regain his dignity as a man!

　　He took a deep breath and made up his mind as he suddenly took a step back.

　　“Junior Sister Zhao, I am going all in now!”

　　Zhao Ying sheathed her sword. “Brother Zhuo, we should end this here. I am no match for you. I cannot believe that you have achieved innate mastery!”

　　“Junior Sister Zhao, you have not lost just yet!” Zhuo Feiyang said in a menacing tone. “Your Swallow Reversal is indeed skillful, come and show me what you’ve got!”

　　Then, he activated his Blazing Sunder.

　　Immediately, he could feel his blood boiling, as if gasoline had just been dumped on a hot fire. He felt as if he was burning and was desperate to jump into some water.

　　However, the burning was soon followed by an indefinite strength – powerful and strong.

　　His eyes were blood red and every inch of his muscles seemed to be twitching. He had a strong urge for bloodshed. His soul was conflicted to the point that he would not be satisfied unless he quenched his bloodthirsty instincts.

　　‘Tssssk!’ He drew his sword and stabbed outward like bolts of lightning. Each stab was accompanied by loud swooshing from the parting air.

　　Zhao Ying swerved to the side to avoid the stabs. She was shocked. She did not expect him to be so fast. As she looked at his bloodshot eyes, she saw that he now looked terrifying and demonic, as if he wanted to eat her alive.

　　Out of self-defense, she drew her sword.

　　‘Ding…’ Both the blades clashed against each other. Zhao Ying felt a strong power surge from her sword, numbing her hand. The sword immediately dropped out of her hand as she simultaneously felt something sharp poke against her throat.

　　Zhuo Feiyang lifted the tip of his sword away from Zhao Ying’s throat and sheathed it back into its scabbard. Then, he nodded at her. “Thank you for letting me win, Junior Sister Zhao.”

　　Zhao Ying forced a smile. “I am impressed, Brother Zhuo!”

　　She rubbed her neck, the cold from the blade could still be felt, as if the sword was still pressed against her throat. She dared not move.

　　She had a gut feeling that Zhuo Feiyang had actually wanted to kill her but had managed to control himself. This was not the Zhuo Feiyang which she knew. The old Zuo Feiyang was selfish and self-centered, but this one… was merciless.

　　Zhuo Feiyang gave her fist salute. “Junior Sister Zhao, we shall chat again next time!”

　　He turned and strode away. Hopping into the boat, he called out to Bai Zhijie, “Let’s go!”

　　Bai Zhijie paddled and the boat slowly glided back out into the lake.

　　Zhuo Feiyang sat cross-legged at the front of the boat, meditating. Bai Zhijie noted that his face was blood red in color and asked softly, “Master, are you alright?”

　　Zhuo Feiyang responded lightly, “Yes.”

　　Bai Zhijie heaved a sigh of relief but was secretly worried. His master had been obsessed with his cultivation recently, to the point where he had locked himself up and cultivated the whole day without rest. He was concerned that Zhuo Feiyang may be consumed by his obsession if he did not achieve innate mastery in time.

　　The boat arrived at the island where Zhuo Feiyang resided. Bai Zhijie slowed the boat down and stood aside quietly, so as to not disturb Zhou Feiyang.

　　‘Ouh!’ Zhou Feiyang suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood into the water.

　　The blood dissolved, slowly diluting away into the turquoise waters.

　　“Master…?” Bai Zhijie was shocked.

　　Zhuo Feiyang’s face turned pale, but he seemingly felt better after spitting out the blood. He heaved loudly before wiping his mouth.

　　He glared at Bai Zhijir angrily. “Don’t make such a big fuss, I’m fine.”

　　“Understood,” Bai Zhijie answered hurriedly.

　　Zhuo Feiyang reached out his hand and looked at Bai Zhijie impatiently.

　　“Help me out of the boat! Can you pay more attention, please?!”

　　Bai Zhijie quickly helped him out of the boat. In the past, Zhuo Feiyang would never have allowed people to help him.

　　Once ashore, Zhuo Feiyang pushed Bai Zhijie away and walked slowly but steadily back to his courtyard. He nodded his head and smiled politely whenever he bumped into someone he knew.

　　Upon laying down on his bed, Zhuo Feiyang went as limped as a rag. It was fortunate that he had only used one strike with the Blazing Sunder, otherwise, he would not have it so easy right now.

　　The Blazing Sunder was indeed terrifying. He recalled the sword strike he made and agreed that it was truly as fast as lightning. It was infallible! Even Chu Li would not be able to dodge such a fast strike!

　　“Hahaha…” Zhou Feiyang laughed aloud as he thought.

　　…

　　The next evening, Chu Li returned to the East Garden. The plants there were a handful to care for. If one was careless, then something would definitely go wrong. He was worried about Li Yue, hence he Chu Li decided to visit every two days.

　　Li Yue and Zhao Ying greeted him as soon he disembarked.

　　Chu Li smiled at Zhao Ying. “Junior Sister, did you just come out from seclusion?”

　　“Brother.” Zhao Ying was dressed in a lake green robe, looking as lovely and gentle as usual.

　　Chu Li observed her attractive features and her slender figure. His love for her deepened, but he knew that he needed to be patient. Instead, he smiled at Li Yue. “Brother Li, is there another problem?”

　　“Not the flowers!” Li Yue waved his hands and replied, “Nothing to do with the flowers!”

　　He handed a fiery red invitation card to Chu Li. “Erm, Zhuo Feiyang sent this over!”

　　Chu Li glanced at it but did not accept the card. “A battle invitation? How silly. Throw it away!”

　　Li Yue’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You’re not accepting it?”

　　Chu Li laughed. “Of course not! I’m a Scribe, not a Protector!”

　　“Hoho, you truly are a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Li Yue laughed while shaking his head. “Do you really feel that it’s right to not accept the invitation?”

　　After all, Chu Li was the first Scribe in the Public House to achieve innate mastery.

　　Chu Li scoffed loudly. “I don’t have the time to play with him, I’m not going to accept it!”

　　Li Yue shook his head and sighed. “Zhuo Feiyang is now also an Innate Master. He went to the Ranking Tower this morning, and now he’s a rank six Protector!” He stopped to look at Chu Li for a while before continuing. “He is going to be more arrogant than before, his self-praise of him being a genius will be louder than ever before now!”

　　Chu Li smiled. “Him being a genius? He was already loud enough about it before all this.”

　　Li Yue disagreed. “It’s different this time, Chu Li. Zhuo Feiyang is now being referred to as the best young master in the Public House!”

　　“Oh…?” Chu Li furrowed his brows and looked at Zhao Ying.

　　“Junior Sister, could not even you take him down?”

　　Zhao Ying shook her head and replied, “Brother, Brother Zhao is now an Innate Master!”

　　“Aren’t you also near innate mastery? Besides, with your swordsmanship, defeating a fresh innate should not be a problem.”

　　Zhao Ying pursed her lips and reluctantly answered, “I was defeated in one strike!”

　　“Interesting. He must have improved tremendously!” Chu Li laughed as he walked into the courtyard.

　　The three of them sat around the stone table. Wisps of white smoke billowed from the small clay furnace as Li Yue skillfully made tea for all of them.

　　He served the tea and asked Chu Li, “Come, let’s see if the tea I made can surpass that of that pretty maid of yours?”

　　“Pretty maid? ” Zhao Ying looked at Chu Li, puzzled.

　　Chu Li glared at Li Yue. He shrugged and kept his mouth shut.

　　Zhao Ying looked at Chu Li. “Who is this pretty maid that Li Yue was talking about, Brother?”

　　Chu Li smiled meekly back at her. “Don’t listen to anything he says.”

　　Zhao Ying looked towards Li Yue and snorted. “Brother Li, are you lying to me?”

　　Li Yue quickly shook his head. “What I said just now wasn’t important! Forget about it!”

　　“Brother Li!” Zhao Ying stared at him angrily.

　　Li Yue got nervous and quickly explained. “Chu Li has a maid, she’s pretty… but of course, not as pretty as you are!”

　　“I should congratulate Brother Chu!” Zhao Ying turned to Chu Li with a faint smile. “It must be great to have a pretty maid! Do bring her along next time, I’d like to meet her!”

　　Chu Li coughed nervously before laughing. “It was all arranged by Chief Su. Yes, she’s pretty but you are way prettier! Only Li Yue thinks that she was pretty! His tastes sure are different from the norm, right?”

　　Li Yue opened his mouth to protest but quickly remembered that his mouth had already caused enough disaster. He bit his tongue and remained silent.

　　Zhao Ying glared at Chu Li. The more he explained, the surer she was that the maid was a beauty. Especially since she was assigned by Chief Su!

　　Li Yue did his best to divert the topic. “Brother, are you sure you want to reject the invitation?”

　　Chu Li smiled as he shook his head.

　　“Zhuo Feiyang is going to spread this news all over in order to tarnish your reputation!”

　　Chu Li burst out laughing. “So what? I’m just a Scribe.”

　　Li Yue tilted his head and looked at Zhao Ying curiously.

　　Zhao Ying shrugged. “I agree with Brother, there is no need for him to accept the invitation.”

　　Li Yue sighed and shook his head. “I don’t think Zhuo Feiyang will back off that easily! A genius like him will not accept defeat, especially by your hands, Brother. To him, this is a huge insult so he will definitely find a way around it!”

　　“Let him be then. I will not accept it regardless,” said Chu Li.

　　Li Yue added, “Given his character, he will probably do whatever it takes when he’s desperate.”

　　Chu Li laughed again. “Well then, if he attacks me, I’ll simply remind him of the rules of the Public House.”

　　Zhao Ying pondered and thought of something. Then, she furrowed her brows.

　　Li Yue could be right. Zhuo Feiyang had always been a genius who was complimented and admired by everyone. He, out of all people, could not accept defeat. To make matters worse, he was defeated by Chu Li. He will somehow find a way to force Chu Li to accept his invitation, and he might even do something idiotic in order to do so.

　　——

　　The Sun set and shone its crimson-golden rays onto the surface of the lake.

　　Bai Zhijie came ashore, pushed the door open to the courtyard and entered it.

　　Zhuo Feiyang was practicing his swordsmanship when he glanced over at Bai Zhijie without pausing.

　　“How was it? Did Chu Li accept the invitation?” He asked.

　　Bai Zhijie shook his head. “Master, Chu Li declined.”

　　Zhuo Feiyang sneered and laughed in delight. “Hmph. Such a scoundrel. He’s afraid of me now! I wouldn’t have gone to the Ranking Tower if I had known that he would react this way!”

　　Bai Zhijie hesitated but said nothing.

　　“What else? Tell me,” grunted Zhao Feiyang.

　　Bai Zhijie looked at him and murmured, “Miss Zhao also went to the East Garden, will she…?”

　　“Nonsense!” Zhuo Feiyang interrupted him mid-sentence, his handsome face dark and somber. “Junior Sister Zhao never liked us fighting each other!”

　　“Yes,” Bai Zhijie nodded his head quickly. “Chu Li is shameless. He hid away immediately like a turtle hiding in its shell as soon as he realized how good you are. He is not a man!”

　　“This bastard is always up to his petty tricks!” Zhuo Feiyang scoffed. “Even with Junior Sister Zhao there, he still did not accept the invitation. This makes him look like even less of a man!”

　　If it was himself, he would never back down from a challenge in front of the woman that he loved. He would still charge into battle even if he could not defeat his enemy. This was about a man’s bravery and dignity! He would not allow himself to be a coward!

　　“Master, what should we do now?” asked Bai Zhijie.

　　“If he really doesn’t want to accept the invitation, then there’s nothing we can do about it. He doesn’t even go to the training halls! He always hides in the East Garden. We can’t catch him even if we wanted to!”

　　“I’ll write another letter to tell him off! I don’t believe he is so resilient!” Zhuo Feiyang scoffed again.

　　Bai Zhijie smiled. “Alright! I will personally send the letter to him, just to see his expression when he reads it!”

　　“Such bravery! Aren’t you scared that he will take it out on you?”

　　Bai Zhijie laughed. “That would be great! The Third Lady is known to be strict. Chu Li will not escape punishment even if he is under her!”