It was near evening when Zhu Furong had entered the Nine-Layers Pagoda and now it's evening too when he has gotten out.

Zhu Furong took back the Nine-Layers Pagoda inside his lower dantian then with a plop, he sat down. Too tired, and slight headache from depletion of Soul Energy.

Zhu Furong had spotted a cave nearby before, so he asked Zhu Xingzuo to warn him of any danger while he slept to recover. He slept from evening to the next morning and then decided to leave for Sunlight Sect to turn over the items for the tasks he had taken.

Thanks to Zhu Xingzuo covering the cave with his aura, none of the spiritual beasts in the vicinity dared to go inside the cave.

Humming a tune and killing a few low level beasts which blocked his path, Zhu Furong soon reached the exit of the forest.

Fwoosh... Bam!

Dust covered the ground where Zhu Furong stood a moment ago, while Zhu Furong landed on a tree branch, crouching on it.

With his brows puckered, Zhu Furong swept his gaze around. He noticed 4 young men blocking his way. Two wearing white hanfu and two wearing cyan. The uniforms of the Inner and Outer Sects of Sunlight Sect.

"What's the meaning of this?" Zhu Furong asked with his eyes half closed. Somewhat pissed because of the surprise attack.

"I am surprised you dodged it. Though I wasn't serious, it still was an attack from a peak Foundation Establishment rank Cultivator." One of the men in white hanfu praised.

Zhu Furong jumped off the branch and stood 5 meters away from them. "Why did you attack me?"

"Hehe, just take it as a Senior testing his Junior's skills." The man in white hanfu sneered.

"Humph! Don't think of me as a fool. Who sent you? There are many people in the sect who are not pleased with me, but most of them see me as a rival. If I have to pick someone... Is it Hao Bo or the Second Prince of Xidi Kingdom, Xidi Junjie(handsome and outstanding)?" Zhu Furong clicked his tongue. "This is the first time I stepped out of the sect and they couldn't wait to take their revenge?" Zhu Furong made an amazed look.

"Pffft... Why does anyone need to think of revenge when we can just squash you like a mosquito? A kid who has just stepped in the Foundation Establishment rank thinks he is someone great? Hahaha..." The leader of the group mocked.

Zhu Furong nodded. "Well that's true, compared to the peak Foundation Establishment rank, early Foundation Establishment rank is just like a cat fighting a lion." He looked sad. "Since I am about to die, why don't you tell me who is behind my death. At least I should know the name of the great person I have messed with."

The other man in white hanfu who hasn't spoken till now jeered. "You are not worthy to know his name. Brother, why waste time, let's just get done with it. Senior also promised us that whatever we find on his body is ours to take. I can't wait to see how rich we will get after today. I heard this bastard has a lot of gold coins." The man spoke while drooling.

"How do you know I have a lot of gold coins?" Zhu Furong made a shocked look. He realized the culprit behind all this. The only time he showed someone his wealth was at the Beast Pavilion market when he bought the rank 6 monster core and blood essence. The one present there who is now hostile to Zhu Furong is none other than Hao Bo.

Hao Bo did well holding back his grudge, because Elder Ma Li had taken a liking to Zhu Furong. But now after things have turned sour between Elder Ma Li and Zhu Furong, Hao Bo can do whatever he wants.

Zhu Furong instantly spread his Divine Sense for a second and checked the Cultivation of the 4 men. Two peak Foundation Establishment rank, one mid Foundation Establishment rank and one early Foundation Establishment rank.

The 4 men felt some tingling sensation for a moment but they didn't notice their body was swept by Divine Sense.

The man in white hanfu who couldn't wait suddenly stepped forward while cracking his knuckles. "Let me do it. We have talked enough."

Zhu Furong took a deep breath. "True, we have talked enough. Now you can talk to my fists." Saying this Zhu Furong dashed forward at an astonishing speed unexpected to the 4 men.

The knuckle cracking man suddenly saw a fist zooming into his face. Out of shock he also hurled his fist at Zhu Furong.

Smack!!

A sharp sound echoed through the forest.

Three of the men watched with their mouths agape. The knuckle cracking man is now in tears, covering his left cheek with his hand while a thin line of blood could be seen dripping from the corner of his mouth.

On the other side Zhu Furong is blowing his right hand palm.

It was a slap, not a fist. And a tight slap at that.

After staying in shock for a while everyone woke up from the stupor.

The three men behind could help but make suppressed laughter while the man who got slapped by Zhu Furong pointed his finger at Zhu Furong, shaking. "You-you..." 

He yelled. "How dare you?! You bastard! I will kill you." Shouting, he pounced at Zhu Furong with all his might, making claws with his hands.

Zhu Furong didn't even blink. This time he raised his left arm and with the perfect timing...

Smack!!

A tight slap landed on the right cheek this time.

The man instantly fell face down on the ground, unconscious. He saw stars before passing out. This time the center of the slap was unfortunately his ear, so now his ear was bleeding along with his mouth. A few teeth also flew out of his mouth scattered on the ground.

The three men laughing have suddenly eaten a fly. No one was in a mood to have fun. They all realized how serious the matter has become.

The first slap could be said to have landed because the man in white hanfu was careless. But the second time the white hanfu man was enraged and used his whole strength of peak Foundation Establishment rank to attack Zhu Furong. But Zhu Furong not only didn't get harmed, he successfully landed another slap making the man unconscious.

The leader of the group, the other man in white hanfu glared at Zhu Furong.

"Who are you? There's no way you are a nobody. A peak Foundation Establishment rank Cultivator got beaten by an early Foundation Establishment rank Cultivator... It cannot be done without using some sort of pills or artifacts. And both of which are not easy to get hands on. What is your background?" The group leader asked seriously.

"Does it matter now?" "Just come at me." Zhu Furong jeered.

The man nodded. "It doesn't matter since you are going to die here." He gestured to the two cyan hanfu men to attack and he himself dashed towards Zhu Furong with a sword in hand.

Three men all attacked with full power with their swords, sending Sword Qi flying in sharp angles towards Zhu Furong.

Zhu Furong would be an idiot to fight three men with weapons at the same time. With a jerk of his body he dashed into the forest. The three men followed. 

After being unable to find Zhu Furong in this dense forest, the three men separated in different directions.

Zhu Furong was waiting for this. A sharp sound of slap echoed within the forest followed by a shill cry of pain. Then it went all quiet.

One slap was enough to take down the man with early Foundation Establishment rank.

Another similar situation occurred and the mid Foundation Establishment rank Cultivator was also sent unconscious by Zhu Furong's tight slap.

The last remaining man in white hanfu, the leader of the group, became more serious. He raised his vigilance to the max. He started slashing the bushed and hidden spots with his Sword Qi. He searched around the forest before heading to the place of the first shrill cry but couldn't find anybody there. Same for the second place.

With his chest heaving up and down he shouted with all his might, enraged. "Zuo Rong, come out, stop hiding. You coward!"

Unexpectedly the one who answered back wasn't Zhu Furong but a few rank 4 spiritual beasts. One rank 4 spiritual beast, the man doesn't care. But few of them at the same time? No thank you.

Scared witless, the group leader ran out of the forest only to see Zhu Furong waiting for him at the same spot they started. Zhu Furong is sitting on the three unconscious men and sipping tea.

"Ah, you are back. It's only been 30 minutes, but you are sweating bullets. You alright?" Zhu Furong asked with fake concern.

"Aaaaa..." Without waiting, with a long shout he dashed to Zhu Furong pointing his sword at his chest.

"Oof. Didn't they teach you to have a calm mind when fighting? It's bad if you lose your senses because of anger and can't even see where you are going, you know?" With a slight smile, Zhu Furong just twisted his body slightly at the right timing letting the group leader pass. After running straight for a few meters the group leader slipped and fell on face. He tried to get up but was pushed down by Zhu Furong stepping on his back.

Zhu Furong kicked the sword aside then turned the man. Zhu Furong sat on his stomach while holding his collar with his left hand. With his right hand he carefully turned the man into a pig face. Making sure he doesn't go unconscious.

"So? Who sent you?" Zhu Furong asked with a sweet smile, still sitting on the man's belly.

'Devil, ah this young boy is a devil. How can someone like this exist? Why me? What did I do in my past life to suffer like this? Oh mother... Save me... Boohoo...' The man started weeping while blaming his fate.

"Don't wanna talk? Fine?" Zhu Furong raised his hand to slap again.

"Wait, wait, my godfather please wait. It was Hao Bo, Hao Bo. Please don't slap me anymore. I will die. Boohoo..." The man begged.

"Well, I knew it. Since he is the only one in the sect who knows about my wealth. It was quite fun playing with you guys though. Hehe..." Zhu Furong smiled evilly, sending chills through the group leader's spine.

"Since I won, I will be taking my loot." Zhu Furong stood up holding the group leader's spatial bag. He emptied the Spatial Bag on the ground and with an unsatisfied look took some of the things which looked useful. Nothing much but some Spirit Crystals and a few herbs. He gave the Spatial Bag back.

"I am warning you. If you don't want to die, better keep your mouth shut." Zhu Furong spoke with killing intent. Before turning to the other three men. "Just get attacked by a few low rank Spiritual Beasts, it may work as an excuse for failing your mission. I am not that heartless, take this tip for free, haha..." Laughing loudly, Zhu Furong looted the rest three men then went on his way.

"T-Thank you... Sniff, sniff… Even if I tell someone, who will believe me? We got beaten up by someone who didn't even use Qi during the fight… Sniff…" Still in tears, highly depressed, the group leader fainted while murmuring.

Walking hundreds of meters away, Zhu Furong suddenly stopped and started meditating sitting on a boulder.

"This Demon Qi is such a pain in the ass. Sigh!" He murmured after a while then stood up. With steady steps, humming a melody, he walked towards the Sunlight Sect.

...

The sun is shining high in the sky. It's afternoon when Zhu Furong returned to the sect. He walked towards his abode rather than visiting the Mission Hall to report the completion of his tasks. The first thing he wants to do right now is take a long bath.

Zhu Furong met Tian Su on the way who had also just returned from the outside after completing some tasks. The two friends agreed to visit the Mission Hall together after cleaning themselves up.

With steady steps Zhu Furong reached his residence. But he didn't expect to find someone waiting for him outside the door. And the person waiting has attracted quite a crowd, mostly men.

"Ehem! Senior Sister Chu, how come you are here? If you needed something you could have just called me, hehe..." Zhu Furong approached the waiting lady with an awkward smile.

Chu Dongmei didn't answer but just stood silently making the awkward moment more awkward.

With the corner of his mouth twitching Zhu Furong unlocked the door and before he could step inside, Chu Dongmei zoomed past him.

"What the hell? Fairy Chu entered his room? How could this happen? Oh my god, what is happening here? Someone pinch me. I don't believe it." Someone held their head and cried in alarm.

The rest of the crowd showed a similar reaction and the place got noisy.

Zhu Furong doesn't know what to do. He just stood at the door scratching his head.

A country toppling beauty has just entered his room on her own accord, it is no joke.

"What are you doing? Close the door. Don't waste my time." A sweet voice sounded from inside the room. Zhu Furong turned around to see Chu Dongmei frowning at him.

With shaking hands, Zhu Furong closed the door and instantly heard people outside cursing at him without holding back. Gulping, Zhu Furong wiped the cold sweat off his forehead.

He looked at Chu Dongmei who was standing near the bed and couldn't help but perspire.

He couldn't help but have weird thoughts. Chu Dongmei was already a beauty when the last time Zhu Furong saw her three years ago but now...

Now at the age of 19, Chu Dongmei has fully matured into a peerless beauty, with an oval face and curvaceous  body. Her silky, long black hair, small rosy lips, long eyelashes and jade white skin... Truly mesmerizing.

Zhu Furong couldn't help but stare at her.

Without paying any attention to this pervert, Chu Dongmei swiped her hand and pulled out several items from her Space Ring, putting them on Zhu Furong's bed.

"Since you have reached the Foundation Establishment rank, Master sent these gifts to help in your Cultivation. There are 1000 low grade Spirit Crystals and 100 mid grade Spirit Crystals. Some healing pills and Spirit Ginseng to help with Spiritual Qi conversion and purification." "Use them well." She pointed at each item while speaking.

Then she looked at Zhu Furong. "Also, the Master asked if you need anything else. If it's within her capabilities she will help you out." She spoke with a calm demeanor.

Zhu Furong broke out of his stupor and went into deep thinking. "There are definitely a few things I am in need of right now, but..." Zhu Furong showed hesitation.

"Master said, you can just think of it as a trade. You help us, we will help you, nothing more." "Ah, by the way these things here are gifts so these don't count." Chu Dongmei explained.

"Then I won't hold back. Please ask the Pavilion Master to help me procure the blood essence of high rank Spiritual Beasts, hmm... Rank 6 or higher. The more the better." "You can tell me the trade requirements, else I can pay the market price in gold and silver." "Also I need some Spiritual and Medicinal Herbs and some ores, I will make a list of the materials required, if you can help me procure these as well, it would be great." "The payment will be the same, either we trade or I pay with gold and silver." Zhu Furong spoke about his requirements.

Chu Dongmei showed a shocked look while Zhu Furong was speaking but she calmed down by the end. At the end she nodded slightly. "I will pass your words to the Master first, then let you know later if your request can be fulfilled. As you know, the things you want are not easy to get even for someone at the position of my Master." "You can also hand me the list of the materials later." Saying this, Chu Dongmei cupped her hands and slightly bowed. "Then I will take my leave." With the greetings done, she started to leave.

Zhu Furong hurriedly opened the door and bid her farewell with a salute and bow. "Take care on the way, Senior Sister."

Before Zhu Furong could close the door, Tian Su rushed to him at lightning speed and held the door. Tian Su stepped inside and closed the door on the faces of a few men who were trying to get inside too.

After that, it was an inquiry about the stuff lying on the bed and the reason for the visit of the beauty.

It took a lot of effort and shenanigans for Zhu Furong to fulfill Tian Su's curiosity and kick him out of the room before he could finally go and take some rest.

The next morning Zhu Furong went to the Mission Hall to submit the items and report his completions of tasks. The rewards were Sect Points and few low grade Spirit Crystals.