At the gates of the Bamboo Sword Sect, two bored guards were chatting.
"Have you noticed something in common among the disciples from the Infinite Dao Sect who arrived in the past half-month?" One of the guards asked his companion with a somewhat serious expression.
"Something unusual?" The second guard, visibly bored, was surprised by the question, but soon a mocking smile appeared on his face. "Are you talking about how most of them look ready for the grave? When their elders showed up, I thought their sect's background wasn't simple, but their disciples don't seem that great — more than half already have one foot in the coffin." He mocked their age.
But the first guard's brows furrowed at that.
"I suggest you learn to control your mouth and stop spouting nonsense." He reprimanded seriously.
"What did you say?!" The second guard widened his eyes and turned angrily to his companion.
"I said you'd better watch your mouth. You're so focused on their outward appearance that you didn't notice the most obvious thing. Whether they're old, young, or even children — all of them are at the peak of Qi Refinement." The first guard said firmly, shooting him a solemn look.
The second guard, still furious, froze upon hearing that. Soon, his heart pounded as he recalled the Infinite Dao Sect disciples he had seen at various times, and to his horror, it really was as the other had described.
"Don't judge people by appearances. That sect is anything but ordinary. Be careful not to talk too much and end up attracting trouble for yourself and those around you." The older and seemingly wiser guard advised him like a senior.
The second guard nodded. Although internally irritated, he knew his senior said that for his own good — though he still felt some resentment.
Just as the senior guard was about to say more, from the corner of his eye he saw a massive wooden platform approaching the sect.
His eyes widened in horror. There were no formations sustaining that enormous platform — only pure spiritual energy. To maintain something of that magnitude using cultivation alone, he believed even a Golden Core cultivator might not be capable.
"G-go inform the sect! Run!" He insisted to the junior, still staring at the platform in shock.
"Huh? What are you—" The second guard was confused, but when he followed his companion's gaze and saw the platform, his legs gave out. Drawing strength from sheer cowardice, he turned and ran as fast as he could.
But he didn't get far before the energy dome protecting the platform dissipated, and a terrible, powerful aura far beyond anything they had imagined spread over the entire sect.
...
In the main hall of the Bamboo Sword Sect, a large meeting was taking place. On one side were fifty men in dark red robes, and ahead of them, twenty men in deep purple robes.
Leading them was Tian Zhu, wearing black robes with golden patterns.
In front of them, about ten men wore various robes with a silver sword symbol on them, representing their status as inner elders of the Bamboo Sword Sect.
Leading them was Jian Huiyin, who, in practice, was also an elder of the Infinite Dao Sect.
There was no conflict happening, only negotiations regarding the Infinite Dao Sect's residence within the Bamboo Sword Sect.
At that moment, standing at the center of the hall, Bao Hui and the Grand Elder of the Bamboo Sect led the negotiation, while the other elders and sect leaders sat on either side of the hall, listening in.
"...our sect, during our stay, will require a place for the mission pavilion, one for the inheritance pavilion, one for the sword pavilion… we'll need more cave mansions for outer disciples and also for inner disciples, as we'll be recruiting more people soon… private pill refinement rooms, private forging rooms… access to your disciples' trade area, access to your information networks and hunting grounds, access to…" Bao Hui's mouth seemed uncontrollable, and the requests just kept coming.
The great elder's eye twitched, the elders behind Jian Huiyin were wide-eyed, and even she, with her usually indifferent expression, looked a bit dizzy.
When she turned to Tian Zhu, she saw he had raised his hand to his mouth and coughed lightly, seemingly about to interrupt the elder Bao's outrageous requests, showing he wasn't as shameless...
At least, that's what Jian Huiyin thought… until she saw him lower his hand and calmly continue listening.
Her eyes widened slightly — inwardly incredulous.
The great elder kept listening, more and more shaken, as Bao Hui went on.
"...and some menial disciples to serve our disciples and elders would also be appreciated. I think that's all the little things. I made a list in case you forget something." Bao Hui smiled and pulled a scroll from his storage pouch, then unrolled it.
The bottom of the scroll fell to the ground and rolled a considerable distance under the stunned gaze of the crowd.
Smiling sheepishly, Bao Hui said:
"It's a hobby of mine to write on paper..."
Reaching his limit, trembling, the great elder shouted, spitting in rage even in front of so many powerful cultivators from the opposing sect:
"This is an outrage!!"
But he had barely finished speaking when, at that very moment, a powerful and terrifying aura enveloped the sect.
Everyone from the Bamboo Sword Sect froze under the pressure of sheer terror.
The Infinite Dao Sect's elders, on the other hand, "recognizing" the aura, barely reacted. They remained calm — some even wore faint smiles.
Unlike them, upon feeling that overwhelming presence, Bao Hui's expression turned stormy.
"That damn old man has arrived!" He muttered in irritation, a touch of fear in his voice, which was heard by all from the Bamboo Sword Sect, who stared at him in disbelief.
'Could this terrifying aura be enemies the Infinite Dao Sect attracted?! Do the heavens want to destroy my sect?!' Jian Huiyin, upon hearing his words, fell into despair, feeling like a sinner for having harbored people with such powerful enemies.
But then, a voice echoed from outside, breaking through the oppressive presence.
"Bao Hui, you unfilial brat, I can hear you muttering nasty things about Grandpa from miles away!"
The loud voice came from outside, and the great hall's doors opened on their own as Bao Wuji walked in with a serene smile and his hands behind his back.
With his entrance, the overwhelming aura gradually dissipated until he appeared no more than a mortal elder with extraordinary presence.
Behind him followed Rihai, Aotian, and the Red Tiger, who was lucky the hall's doors were large enough for him to pass through even with his 13-foot (~4-meter) height.
"Grandpa! I missed you so much!" Bao Hui, upon seeing Bao Wuji, immediately swapped his stormy face for a sunny one and ran cheerfully toward him.
As he approached, he quickly clasped his hands and bowed before his grandfather.
Bao Wuji observed his grandson calmly, smiling wisely as he stroked his white beard.
Rihai, walking behind, watched the interaction with curiosity, keeping her head slightly lowered to avoid standing out. With no choice, Aotian did the same — as "outer disciples", they couldn't just openly stare at powerful elders and ancestors.
The Red Tiger, on the other hand, didn't care at all. He merely tilted his head curiously, watching the scene with a puzzled look.
'This man is related to Ancestor Bao? Aotian said this family has a peculiarity, I wonder what it is?' Rihai thought, observing discreetly.
"Hehe, you didn't seem so happy earlier when you sensed my presence. I even heard someone muttering 'That damn old man has arrived!'" Ancestor Bao narrowed his eyes at his grandson with a dangerous smile.
"W-What?! Someone said that?! But now that you mention it, it does sound familiar… if I'm not mistaken, I think it came from over there!" Bao Hui widened his eyes, pretending to remember, and shamelessly pointed toward the grand elder and the elders of the Bamboo Sword Sect.
"Ah!!" The elders in the line of his finger panicked and jumped to the side, trying to avoid being targeted.
But Bao Hui didn't give up and kept shifting his finger, trying to point at them, which caused chaos — people jumping everywhere.
Bao Hui's eyes glinted slightly, as if enjoying the scene. It all ended abruptly when he received a heavy smack on the head, nearly popping his eyes from their sockets.
The elders of the Bamboo Sword Sect nearly cried with relief at the sight and stopped jumping. Internally, they glared furiously at the demon Bao Hui.
But at this moment, the demon himself was struggling.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" He immediately curled up from the smack, hugging his head and crying out in pain.
"You naughty brat! Who taught you to shift blame onto others?!" Bao Wuji shouted angrily, still with his hand raised for another smack.
But Bao Hui froze at that question and slowly turned his head to face his grandfather.
Bao Wuji began to steam with rage.
"If you answer, I'll hit you again!" He yelled, increasingly irritated.
"No, Grandpa! That hurts!"
"You know what hurts? Having such a wild grandson! I'm confiscating that storage pouch as punishment!"
"What?!! Grandpa, you already stole my pouch last time! The kids at home went hungry for days! If you take it again, they won't survive!"
"I didn't steal it, I borrowed it to help some street folk. And what kids?! You don't even have a wife, and you keep saying it's too expensive to have one! The Bao family line will end with you at this rate!"
Suddenly, the heavy and terrifying atmosphere that had filled the Bamboo Sword Sect completely dissipated under the increasingly ridiculous bickering of the Bao family.
Jian Huiyin, realizing they weren't enemies, sighed in relief. Still, recalling the aura the newcomer had released, she remained shaken by the increasingly terrifying background of the Infinite Dao Sect.
Tian Zhu, seeing the quarrel between grandfather and grandson, stood up and massaged his temples.
"Ancestor Bao." He called, interrupting the squabble and drawing everyone's attention.
To show at least minimal respect, he clasped his hands and greeted the ancestor with light indifference.
"Tian Zhu." Bao Wuji turned his gaze from his grandson and nodded, returning the gesture.
Tian Zhu's gaze then shifted to Aotian and Rihai, pretending to examine their robes — the elegant gray robes of outer disciples.
"Ancestor Bao, why did you bring outer disciples with you?" Tian Zhu asked indifferently, looking away.
Rihai was inwardly surprised by the question.
'They didn't recognize him?' She thought, confused and concerned, casting a discreet glance at Aotian.
But before she could grow uneasy, a voice echoed in her mind.
'Little girl, there's no need to worry. Since you and the brat decided to keep things discreet, I've already informed the elders and the sect leader to pretend they don't know you, treating you both as ordinary disciples.' Bao Wuji's voice rang in her head through sound transmission, startling her before a wave of relief washed over her.
No one noticed the transmission — Bao Wuji's cultivation level was far too high for anyone to detect such a thing.
"Them? I saw them along the way and brought them, along with that tiger who seems quite talented." Bao Wuji replied with a light smile.
"I see…" Tian Zhu nodded and, without turning, called the elder in charge of outer disciples, "… Elder Zhao!"
"Sect Leader!" Elder Zhao stood up and bowed respectfully.
"Elder Zhao, take them to find a cave mansion where they can live and cultivate. As for the tiger, we haven't decided on the location of the beast pavilion yet. Let him stay outside until the end of the meeting — we'll settle it soon." Tian Zhu said calmly, without much emotion.
"Yes, Sect Leader!" Elder Zhao clasped his hands and bowed again, then turned and approached the two. "Come."
"Yes, Elder. We thank the Sect Leader!" Aotian and Rihai nodded to the elder, then clasped their hands and solemnly bowed to the sect leader before turning to leave.
The tiger said nothing. He simply turned and walked away with his head lowered.
'Hehe, laughable. We beasts don't have these humble bowing customs like you weak humans. At most, when faced with a stronger beast of noble blood, we lower our ears, tuck our tails, and whimper cowardly.' The tiger mused with pride and arrogance about human customs as he exited the hall.
With their departure, silence once again took over the room.
Bao Wuji's presence made the atmosphere of the Bamboo Sword Sect even heavier than during the previous negotiations.
But the silence was broken by a cough.
"Ahem!"
It was Bao Hui, the negotiator, rising from the ground where he had curled up in pain, coughing into his fist to get everyone's attention.
With a large, mischievous smile on his face and rubbing his hands together, he turned to the great elder of the opposing sect.
"Well, let's continue where we left off, just ignore Grandpa's presence. So… what do you think about those small requests I made earlier?" He asked, grinning with his narrow fox-like eyes.
The great elder stared at him in disbelief, barely restraining himself from unleashing a barrage of curses.
'Ignore Grandpa, my ass!'