"This will be annoying," after walking out of the restaurant I noticed idiots following me. Circulating my true qi to my eyes, I determined their cultivation. The strongest is only at the third layer after confirming their strength. I branched to an alleyway, hehe...let's see how strong you are. The fools didn't comprehend that they might be heading to a trap. If they did, they didn't care.

"Seniors, is there a reason you're following me?" After all of them entered the alley, I calmly asked. For a moment, they jolted, and their faces showed surprise. Maybe they didn't expect me to notice them.

"Who is following you? This is the way to our courtyard," the one with the third layer of cultivation arrogantly declared. 

"Could it be that the junior disciple thinks we are following him? Do you think we have nothing better to do?"

"The junior disciple should be really careful with his words lest you offend some other unforgiving seniors,"

"You're lucky we are magnanimous enough to forgive you, that is, if you hand over your goods and kowtow three times and admit your wrongs."

After the leader spoke, his shrimp soldiers chimed in words I'm all too familiar with. It looks like this fight is inevitable. I remembered Elder Da Wei's words about no fighting allowed in the sect grounds. They should have a way to enforce the policy and punish offenders, a hidden recording talisman? A recording talisman functions like the brain and eyes, but unlike the brain that only the owner can access, a recording talisman content can be accessed by anyone.

I should avoid striking first. The others, too, should know of the hidden talismans. That's why they are going out of their way to conceal their intentions. To anyone watching, they'll be seniors lightly guiding an overconfident junior.

"Let's stop this nonsense. I'll let you know; I have no intentions of pursuing that vixen," after seeing me with their 'goddess,' they must have somehow felt threatened, so they want to use their power to suppress me. I declared my stance. Hopefully, the sect didn't accept brain-dead zombies.

"Hmph! At least you know your place, but for the sin of sullying the goddess's presence, you better start kowtowing," saying that the shrimp soldiers surrounded me. That damn bitch, I swear if I don't pay her back, I Jiang Ming won't be a man anymore. My life could have been peaceful, but she just had to storm in. Now that I think about it, I can trace all of this to the surnamed Kong. My vengeance list just got bigger.

"I have already told you my stance. Do you still insist on endlessly pursuing this matter?" My words fell to deaf ears. Why am I still talking nonsense with these idiots?

"If you continue pursuing this matter, then don't blame me for not giving face," saying that, I summoned my palm technique and aimed it at the leader. If I want to finish this in the shortest time possible, then demoralizing them by thoroughly and mercilessly beating up their leader is the way to go.

"You dare..." The leader in question cried out with a panicked expression. It seems he didn't expect I would really attack; he didn't defend against the attack.

*Bang!*

The palm connected, and the guy flew like a broken kite before colliding with the wall.

"Y-You..." He tried to say something, but his body didn't allow it, his last strength seeped away, and he collapsed on the ground with a plop like a sack of potatoes.

"D-Do you know what you've just done?" One Of them pointed at me with a shaking finger.

"And I'm about to do the same to you," I didn't need to move to deal with them, maybe due to their low morale or fear, but they didn't resist the beating. After ensuring all of them were unconscious, I searched them for any valuables, but surprisingly they had nothing on them. I frantically checked if anyone was watching and hurriedly walked away.

"Where do you think you're going after causing so much chaos in the sect?" A voice I'm all familiar with sounded just as I took a step. 

"This was your plan?" I confronted the bitch, but my outburst only served to amuse her.

"What does any of this have to do with me? You broke the second rule of the sect; unlawful fighting amongst disciples," she ominously moved closer to me. "Do you know who I am? I am the head enforcer of the outer-sect," her smug face told me she was expecting a nervous reaction out of me, but who am I? Sooner or later, this sect will be surnamed Jiang after I subdue Jiang Yan, so her declaration is the same as wind trying to blow away a mountain.

"Can I go now?" 

"No, you must come back with us to the enforcement hall," before the girl could answer, an arrogant voice sounded behind me. I turned only to see a dwarf of a man wearing a blue sash on his robe. His nose high and hands clasped behind his back; he's the ultimate embodiment of arrogance.

"Mu Zhong, what are you doing here?" The girl seethed with anger at his mere presence, and I guessed the relation between them wasn't that good. 

"Hehe... I'm only doing my duty. I was passing by and happened to witness a crime," Mu Zhong shrugged his shoulders in a way to show that he couldn't help it being here. "This is the boy you have been searching for?" He then turned to me, and for a moment, I could see jealousy on his face, another lover? I sighed and resigned myself to fate.

"That doesn't concern you. Please leave. I will handle this matter alone," the vixen was frustrated. A glance and you could tell she doesn't like Mu Zhong's company. Now, if she could only stop for a moment and see her hypocrisy, the world would be a better place; just as she doesn't appreciate Mu Zhong's company, I also don't appreciate hers. 

"If you guys can't handle your matters, I'll be going," saying that, I tested the waters to see if they would actually allow me to go, but it seems I was too naive.

"Surround him!" Mu Zhong ordered, and silhouettes emerged from their hiding place and surrounded me. Like Mu Zhong, they all have sashes with the words discipline hall engraved on them. I tried to sense their cultivation, but it was useless. They are all way above me. I gave up resistance and allowed them to do as they saw fit.

"The rest of you, carry those idiots," Mu Zhong ordered, and once again, multiple figures emerged and executed his orders like the sheep they are. How many are still hiding? I wondered. If Mu Zhong can order his cronies as he wishes, doesn't that mean he is practically invincible?

"Mu Zhong, I'll remember this," the vixen declared with a face filled with hatred. What did she want to do with me? She said that she is a member of the disciplined force, so Mu Zhong taking me to the discipline hall shouldn't be inconvenient unless she wanted me for something else. I remembered her words about dispelling her technique, but sincerely, I don't remember doing such.

Like a criminal, I was tied with red glowing rope and escorted to what I presume to be the discipline hall. The only thing that made the journey less boring was the anger on the vixen's face hehe... maybe I can befriend this Mu Zhong guy.

After a while, I could see a lone building in the distance. The atmosphere surrounding it is so peaceful and at the same time, ominous; not a single disciple roamed the site. Immediately, I knew it must be the discipline hall. The words discipline hall written in bold confirmed it.

"Elder, this lowly disciple has brought offenders," once we entered the hall, Mu Zhong rushed an old man sitting by the counter and proudly announced. The white-haired old man did nothing to hide his menacing eyes and stern face.

"What is the offense?" After giving me a stern glance, he turned to Mu Zhong and asked.

"Unlawful fighting!" Mu Zhong shot me a victorious glance, making me wonder what exactly we were competing on.

"Explain it clearly," the elder held back a slap and said.

"I was patrolling the sect watching out for evildoers when I heard some disturbance at the sixth and seventh Pavilion. I remembered my oath to enforce the sect 's rules no matter the situation and used all my strength to rush towards the area. I almost lost all my will to live after seeing these disciples breaking the law."

".."

".."

".."

I was amazed by Mu Zhong's shamelessness that knows no bounds. He narrated and made himself the hero and us the villains.

"Send them to the first floor of the ice prison for one week," the elder suddenly declared without hearing my part of the story.

"Elder... wait," just as I was about to defend myself from an unlawful verdict. The vixen suddenly spoke.

"Hu Ninger, do you have anything to add?" The elder surprisingly used a gentle tone for the first time. 

"He only fought as self-defense," the vixen, Hu Ninger, surprisingly defended me. I thought she was going to fan the flame so that I could be added more sentences. She isn't too bad, just a little bit unreasonable. 

"This is the first time I see you defend someone. Is there some relation between you two?" The elder raised his brow suspiciously. Hu Ninger frantically shook her head; for some reason, she now looks beautiful, just a little. "If you two can't get your stories straight, then I'll have to check the talismans," saying that, he waved his sleeves, and a small globe fell on his hand. This thing again? I have only recently started cultivation, but the number of globes I have seen is more than three.

A recording of my previous fight played, from the start to when Mu Zhong appeared with his arrogant aura.

"Mu Zhong, it appears you were hiding information from me," the elder glared at the surnamed Mu.

"I don't dare," the dwarf Mu Zhong got on his knees and kowtowed earnestly. He hit his head on the ground, making me worry about the floor. 

"You're free to go, these guys, on the other hand; their sentence shall be two weeks more than the original," the golden rope binding my hands loosened and released them. "As for you, I don't need to say it out loud," the elder pointed at Mu Zhong and said.

Mu Zhong got up and shot me a hateful glance before walking away. I had nothing more to do, so I walked after him.

"Jiang Ming, wait," some distance away from the hall, Hu Ninger stopped me. I didn't feel as repulsed towards her as before, so I obediently slowed my pace. "You owe me," on second thought. She's still hateful.

"I owe you nothing; you're the one that started all of this," I refused to heed her demands just because she is beautiful. "If you left me alone, none of this would have happened. It is already good enough that I don't demand your body as compensation, but you still dare say I owe you?" Of course, I didn't dare say the last part out loud.

"I'm not talking about that. What I mean is that you owe me spirit stones," I finally remembered the previous dining and dashing.

"Wait, how do you know my name," I mainly asked to divert her attention and partly because I'm curious.

"How do you think I found your allocated courtyard?" To know the location of my courtyard, she must've known my name. My eyes strayed to my identification talisman, and I felt betrayed. 

"Now, what technique were you talking about?"

"You really have no idea?" I shook my head to her question. "Then let me try again," saying that, she stopped walking and touched my shoulders. I was wary at first but ultimately let her proceed. "Strange, the technique is working, but..."