Spring Pavilion, Flower Queen Banquet Hall.
Mo Hua stepped on the flower-patterned carpet, left the Flower Queen’s boudoir, and had just landed on the ground.
It was like a drop of water falling into a boiling oil pan.
In an instant, countless jealous, hateful gazes struck Mo Hua like sharp swords, and resentment boiled in the air.
The previously dead-silent hall was suddenly on the verge of battle.
Mo Hua calmly looked around. The young masters of Kun Prefecture, together with their guards and elders, had packed the Flower Queen hall so tightly that not even water could pass, and they had also blocked him in the center of the hall.
Faced with such an adversarial situation, Mo Hua was not nervous. In this life, he had experienced many scenes where he was surrounded by “enemies” just like this.
Instead, he asked in slight surprise,
“It’s so late. Why haven’t you all left?”
No one paid him any attention. There were only venomous stares and cold killing intent filling the hall.
Just then, a young master in green robes whom Mo Hua did not recognize stepped forward and demanded coldly,
“What did you and Miss Yu... do upstairs?”
Although his tone was restrained, his face still revealed irrepressible jealousy and resentment.
In particular, when he thought that the “Jade Fairy,” pure as ice and chaste as jade in his heart, might just now have been alone with this pretty-faced boy in the boudoir upstairs, exchanging intimate words, billing and cooing, and doing unspeakable things, his heart felt as if a thousand knives were slicing at the tip of it, dripping blood.
To spare his feelings, Mo Hua said frankly, “Nothing much. We only chatted.”
Hearing this, the young master in green grew even angrier.
Only chatted? Who are you trying to fool?
There were so many times to chat. Why did she have to invite you alone at the Flower Queen Banquet, in front of so many people?
A lone man and a lone woman shut in a room together just to chat? No adult would believe that lie.
Especially when the woman was such a stunning Flower Queen—what man could bear not doing something improper?
Playing the zither and discussing the Dao was only an excuse; a secret tryst was probably the truth.
Of course, anything more than that would have been impossible. The Flower Queen had her rules, and the Jade Fragrance Pavilion would not allow it.
But besides that, all the soft warmth, cheek-rubbing intimacy, and clinging like glue had probably been done over and over...
With that thought, the green-robed young master’s chest felt as if a giant hammer were pounding it from side to side. He almost drew his sword on the spot and cut down this “pretty-faced boy” Mo Hua.
Seeing the expression on the green-robed young master’s face, Mo Hua knew what he was thinking and felt a bit helpless.
Aside from everything else, these young masters really did have vivid imaginations.
Mo Hua could only say, “Don’t overthink it. It was really just chatting. I’m a well-behaved person.”
The green-robed young master demanded angrily, “What did you talk about?”
Everyone else was also staring fixedly at Mo Hua.
Mo Hua kept silent and thought to himself:
These young masters have to be out of their minds. The things I talked about involve confidential matters of Kun Prefecture—how could I tell them?
But Mo Hua’s silence made everyone’s hearts thump.
It was probably because this pretty-faced boy and Miss Yu had been too busy being affectionate upstairs to say more than a few words.
Although Miss Yu was probably not the kind to lose her reason to lust, this Mo kid’s face was indeed so handsome it was detestable.
Add that to his rumored identity as a disciple of a great Qianxue sect and his talent in formations, and women probably fell for it. Miss Yu likely wasn’t an exception either.
As they thought about it—that this Mo fellow had probably “laid a finger on” Miss Yu and made this pure, translucent peony touch the dust—jealousy gnawed at everyone’s hearts.
Another young master in red clothes said, “In that case, Master Mo, you’d better stay.”
“That’s right,” another young master said, “explain this matter clearly.”
“What exactly did you do to Miss Yu?”
A young master felt sour and suddenly said, “Miss Yu is a Flower Queen. She keeps herself pure and would never do anything improper, let alone develop mortal feelings... She treated you like this—could it be that you have some leverage on her?”
At these words, all the young masters were startled, but upon careful thought, they all felt it made perfect sense.
With Miss Yu’s heavenly beauty, she absolutely could not have taken a fancy to this pale-faced pretty boy surnamed Mo.
And that he had seen Miss Yu for just one spirit stone—that was also impossible.
How could Miss Yu’s taste be so shallow?
No matter how they thought about it, it had to be that Mo Hua held leverage over Miss Yu and forced her to submit.
Miss Yu had been completely coerced by this “little lecher” surnamed Mo.
After all, she was a vulnerable Flower Queen. If this Mo fellow used the Flower Queen Banquet as an opportunity to threaten, harass, and molest her, she probably would not dare resist and could only silently bear the humiliation.
With this thought, pity surged in everyone’s hearts, and then they became even angrier, seeing Mo Hua as a despicable lecher.
Mo Hua sighed secretly.
Yu Lian’er really lived up to her reputation as the Holy Maiden of the Union Sect. Her skill at manipulating hearts was impressive—she had “trained” these young masters perfectly.
She did not need to say anything or do anything. Whenever anything happened, these young masters who regarded her as their exclusive prize would fill in the gaps themselves and do everything possible to protect her.
This was not Dao Heart Demon-Seeding, but in a certain sense, it was no different from Dao Heart Demon-Seeding.
“Dao Heart Demon-Seeding...”
Thinking about this, Mo Hua suddenly had some inexplicable realization.
But the aristocratic young masters in the hall saw that this insignificant Mo Hua, under everyone’s attack and condemnation, not only showed no shame, self-blame, or regret, but even seemed to be absent-mindedly spacing out as if no one else was present. He was simply unbearably arrogant.
Still, they did not dare to attack Mo Hua rashly.
At that moment, the green-robed young master secretly glanced at the Earth Sect’s Great Young Master.
While everyone was indignantly denouncing Mo Hua, the Great Young Master and the legitimate young masters of the Four Great Families had not said a word.
It seemed that someone like Mo Hua was not worth their vying in jealousy, for they were true blue-blooded heirs.
But their silence did not mean their anger and jealousy were less.
After all, the Second Young Master of the Zhu family had brought a Red Silkworm Cloud-Silk Fan, the legitimate young master of the Jin family a Moonlight Glaze Mirror, the legitimate young master of the Lu family an Ice-Jade Cicada-Silk Robe, the legitimate young master of the Wu family a Heavenly Fragrance Jade-Blossom Rouge, and the Earth Sect’s Great Young Master an innate spirit crystal.
None of them was a match for Mo Hua’s mere one spirit stone.
If such a laughable matter spread, the faces of these aristocratic young masters of Kun Prefecture would be stomped to pieces by this Taixu Master Mo from Qianxue.
They had to win back their honor today. This Master Mo had to bleed a little and pay the price.
A cold murderous intent flashed in the Great Young Master’s eyes.
Seeing this, the green-robed young master understood and sneered at Mo Hua,
“You may have some renown in Qianxue Prefecture, but don’t forget, this is Kun Prefecture. Coming to my Kun Prefecture to harass the Flower Queen of the Jade Fragrance Pavilion is looking down on all the aristocratic young masters of Kun Prefecture.”
“Don’t blame us for being impolite.”
With these words, the green-robed young master immediately drew his treasured sword, turning out a jade-green sword light, and slashed at Mo Hua.
This sword stroke surged with power and killing intent, but in the end, it was more of a probe.
They wanted to know just how much ability Mo Hua, this prodigy of the Taixu Sect, really had, and whether his battle power was as impressive as the rumors said.
If this Mo Hua was really a fraud and could not show any real strength, then the Jade Fragrance Pavilion tonight would be his nightmare.
These young masters, who spent all year hanging around brothels, had ten thousand ways to torment this kind of pretty-faced boy.
They had done it before.
The others also looked at Mo Hua with cold eyes, magic treasures ready to be unleashed, planning to seize any opening to take him down first and then slowly deal with him.
Just as the green-robed young master’s sword light was about to reach Mo Hua, in a flash, white light flickered from nowhere. Bai Xiaosheng, serving as his “attendant,” appeared in front of Mo Hua and, with a barehanded grab, crushed the sword light into pieces.
Everyone else’s expressions turned stern.
Although the green-robed young master’s swordsmanship was not top-notch, this sword light was not something that could be crushed with bare hands.
Someone in the crowd recognized Bai Xiaosheng, and his face became serious.
Bai Xiaosheng might be unreliable, but his reputation was not small.
Since Bai Xiaosheng had stepped in, the Earth Sect’s Great Young Master could not ignore him and slowly said, “Elder Bai.”
Bai Xiaosheng nodded and returned the greeting, “Great Young Master.”
Clearly, the two were not meeting for the first time.
The Great Young Master fixed his eyes on him and asked, “Elder Bai, aren’t you going to mix in the mundane world and temper your Dao Heart?”
Bai Xiaosheng pointed at the bright red Flower Queen hall. “Isn’t this the mundane world? Am I not mixing in it? In this world, is there anything better than a Flower Queen’s beauty for tempering the Dao Heart?”
The Great Young Master frowned.
He knew that this Elder Bai was extremely unusual among the great families, undisciplined in behavior, hard to fathom in thought, and very eloquent—he never lost an argument.
The Great Young Master did not want to argue with him, so he asked, “What relation is this Master Mo to the Bai family?”
Bai Xiaosheng thought to himself: His surname is Mo. How could he be any relation of the Bai family?
If not for the relationship of senior and junior fellow disciple with that little girl, he would have nothing at all to do with the Bai family.
Of course, on the surface, Bai Xiaosheng said, “He is a distant relative of my Bai family. You could say he is my junior brother.”
Mo Hua gave Bai Xiaosheng a look.
Bai Xiaosheng looked proud of himself.
The Great Young Master frowned.
The legitimate young masters of the Four Great Families were stunned, and all the other young masters furrowed their brows.
The Bai family was a sixth-rank great family. Even a distant relative had the Bai family’s name behind him and could not be easily humiliated.
The Great Young Master’s gaze hardened. “Since he’s a distant relative of the Bai family, why is his surname Mo?”
Bai Xiaosheng waved his hand. “White is black, black is ink (Mo). White and Mo are one family—same meaning.”
Hearing this, the Great Young Master could not help sneering. “Elder Bai, I respect you, but don’t take the aristocratic families of Kun Prefecture for fools.”
“How can someone surnamed Bai and someone surnamed Mo be one family?”
“You are free to come and go in the Jade Spring Tower, and we naturally welcome you, but this Master Mo...”
The Great Young Master pointed at Mo Hua and said coldly, “He must stay today.”
Bai Xiaosheng’s gaze turned solemn, and he felt that this might not be easy to settle.
At that moment, Mo Hua looked at the Great Young Master and suddenly smiled faintly, “Back then at the Qianxue Sword Debate, even the prodigies of the Four Sects and Eight Schools could not stop me, let alone you chickens and dogs?”
The Great Young Master changed color. The others were even more enraged.
Even Bai Xiaosheng’s scalp went numb.
He should have sealed this kid’s mouth earlier! That mouth was really doused in poison—it could kill.
Why are you taunting them at a time like this?
The Great Young Master was so angry that he laughed. “Fine, I want to see just how you, Master Mo, will walk out of the Jade Fragrance Pavilion today!”
Bai Xiaosheng’s face also turned cold. “What? Does the Earth Sect intend to make a move against a member of my Bai family?”
The Great Young Master shook his head. “If he really were a member of the Bai family, naturally we would not dare. But his surname is Mo, and he has touched our taboo. He must stay today and give us an explanation.”
Bai Xiaosheng frowned.
The Great Young Master said grimly, “Attack.”
The moment the words fell, the young masters and elders who had been readying themselves drew their treasured swords or unleashed magic treasures, and all charged at Mo Hua.
Bai Xiaosheng spat, but he could not ignore Mo Hua, so he pulled out an extraordinary life-bound sword and fought with them.
Bai Xiaosheng was from the Bai family, so the sons of Kun Prefecture’s aristocratic families naturally did not dare to actually trouble him.
Moreover, Bai Xiaosheng’s cultivation was very high, and they were no match for him.
Therefore, five or six Golden Core elders temporarily tied down Bai Xiaosheng, while a dozen or so others all surrounded and attacked Mo Hua, who was only at the early Golden Core stage.
Seeing all kinds of magic treasures and Dao techniques coming thick and fast, with blades and sword shadows like a forest, Mo Hua shook his head slightly. A watery light flickered around him, and he slipped out of the spells with ease, like a butterfly made of water.
After slipping out, Mo Hua did not stop. He activated the Flowing Water Step and fled toward the stairs.
The Golden Core cultivators of the Kun Prefecture aristocratic families activated their magic treasures and tried to intercept him.
But Mo Hua’s figure was full of illusions, drifting and unpredictable. No matter how they chased or attacked, they could not reach him.
Seeing this, the Great Young Master and the legitimate young masters of the Four Great Families narrowed their eyes.
This Master Mo, aside from everything else, had a rather remarkable ability to escape.
The other Golden Cores used move after move, but could not even touch the corner of Mo Hua’s robe.
And Mo Hua, moving through the crowd with an ethereal, waterlike bearing, was soon about to break free from the encirclement and reach the exit of the main hall.
The Great Young Master and the four legitimate young masters, who had initially disdained to act personally for the sake of their dignity, frowned and had no choice but to change their minds.
If they did not leave Mo Hua here now, they would really lose face.
The Earth Sect’s Great Young Master’s eyes turned cold, his pupils gaining a golden-brown tint, and his right hand clenched into a dragon-like claw.
With a flicker, he vanished from where he was. When he reappeared, he was already behind Mo Hua.
Then, on his right hand, a flood dragon phantom emerged and, with a roaring sound, grabbed at Mo Hua’s shoulder.
At the same time, the area of ten zhang around Mo Hua was firmly locked down by the divine senses of the four legitimate young masters. Sword techniques and Dao methods were condensed at the same time; if Mo Hua dared to flee, he would meet lethal attacks.
These five top young masters of Kun Prefecture’s aristocratic families had made their move. In a short, coordinated strike, they formed a tight, unbreakable siege and trapped Mo Hua solidly in the middle.
Then the Great Young Master grabbed hard and tore open Mo Hua’s shoulder.
But he was not happy. Instead, his heart sank. Looking closely, he saw that the Mo Hua before him had already scattered like water mist.
The Great Young Master looked up and saw, ten zhang away, just one step outside the “killing ring” they had formed together, Mo Hua standing there with a carefree bearing, his eyes as calm as water.
It was as if the fatal killing formation in front of him was no more than a leisurely outing with a fishing rod by the water.
The Great Young Master’s pupils contracted, and rage surged in his heart. He was just about to unseal his own power and unleash his true cultivation to kill Mo Hua on the spot, but in the next instant, Mo Hua’s figure turned into water mist again and vanished. When he reappeared, he was already at the exit of the Flower Queen main hall.
A few aristocratic scions were blocking the exit.
But naturally, these people could not stop Mo Hua. In a few exchanges, he had them spinning in confusion.
Then he left them covered in dust and ash with a few fireballs.
Mo Hua shook off the disciples blocking the door and was just about to step out of the Flower Queen main hall and leave this place of trouble.
But precisely at that moment, the aura in the hall suddenly shifted.
A powerful aura, clearly far beyond Golden Core, descended abruptly. Jade seals materialized all around him, shrouding Mo Hua.
Threads of transparent, glasslike spiritual traces flowed slowly in the air, embryonic forms of laws.
A mighty, ethereal presence, like crystallized feathers, flickered faintly in space.
Suppressed by this great power, the entire Flower Queen main hall fell silent in an instant.
Everyone looked fearful. Bai Xiaosheng frowned deeply.
But Mo Hua, trapped in the center of this power, felt helpless.
He raised his head, looked above, shook his head, and sighed: “A Golden Core game, and now Feather Transformation wants to join in? Have you no shame?”