With a creak, the big phoenix tree collapsed. The gigantic tree crown hit the ground and completely blocked off the entrance of the village. The few brawny guys were shocked. They quickly dodged so that they would not be hit by the branches of the big phoenix tree.
"You destroyed an ancient tree in our village with a blow. Do you even have respect for us, the Bi Clan Manor House?" A youth stared at Mo Wen angrily. His expression was unkind. When he was young, he used to play under this ancient tree. He had sentiments for this big phoenix tree at the entrance of the village. Now, this tree was struck by an unexpected calamity. A perfectly good tree had been ruined.
The other few members from the Bi Clan Manor House were staring at Mo Wen angrily, too. They merely asked the youth to demonstrate his Cultivation. There were many methods he could have used to do so. Mo Wen could have simply released his pressure, and they could tell his Cultivation level from that. He had absolutely no need to destroy the big tree at the entrance of their village.
His act was clearly ill-intentioned. There was actually someone who dared to make a scene at their Bi Clan Village. He was bold and arrogant.
Not only were the members of the Bi Clan Manor House shocked, Wang Yuan was shocked, too. His face turned pale. Was Mo Wen here to attend the Martial Arts Symposium, or was he here to trash the territory? Even he knew that Mo Wen's action would cause resentment among the people of the Bi Clan Manor House. How could Mo Wen not know?
The middle-aged man kept silent, but his facial expression turned serious. He narrowed his eyes. The gaze he directed at Mo Wen was sharp and serious.
Just now, when Mo Wen made a move, he didn't realize what was going to happen. By the time he realized it, the phoenix tree had been snapped in two. It wasn't because the middle-aged man was incapable of responding, but rather he didn't expect Mo Wen to be daring enough to do such a thing. He was caught off guard, so the youth managed to cleave the tree with a blow.
Even so, it was enough to prove that this youth was not simple. He released his Inner Qi. He would at least have the Sea of Qi realm Cultivation. His Cultivation was most likely not as simple as the beginning stage or intermediate stage of the Sea of Qi realm.
He was merely a youth, and he already had such Cultivation. He was comparable to those top geniuses in the Five Aristocratic Families. He would most likely become a top master in the ancient martial arts world in the future.
With a glance, Elder Bi You understood that this youth was most likely not simple. He might have some background.
"Little brother, you have extraordinary Cultivation. But it is somewhat uncivilized to destroy other people's property, don't you think?" Elder Bi You said coldly. This youth had cleaved the ancient tree at the entrance of the Bi Clan Village without warning. If he didn't demand an explanation from Mo Wen, then the Bi Clan would become a laughing stock.
"I'm sorry. My Cultivation is still shallow. I can't control my Inner Qi smoothly, so I couldn't control my strength and accidentally destroyed your ancient tree. If I have caused any property damage, I am willing to compensate the full price." Mo Wen smiled, saluting Elder Bi You with his fists. Whatever he said was naturally bullsh*t. He intentionally cleaved the ancient tree. His aim was to overwhelm the people in the Bi Clan Village. It would save him the trouble of being restricted by all sorts of rules—because he didn't have any factions or background—when he attended the Martial Arts Symposium.
Only when the people of the Bi Clan Manor House thought highly of him, treating him as someone who could not be crossed easily, could he then have a smooth-sailing journey in the Martial Arts Symposium. For this reason, he didn't mind showing off a little of his Cultivation. He cleaved the ancient tree to provoke the people of the Bi Clan Village so they would fight with him.
"As a youth, being a little ambitious is good. However, the stiffest tree is the most easily cracked. Being ostentatious is not a good thing. Since I asked you to demonstrate your Cultivation, now that you have destroyed an ancient tree, I am responsible for it, too. You don't have to compensate. But remember, there is no next time. If there are cases where you damage the property of Bi Clan Manor House again, I will make sure you are responsible for that," Elder Bi You said calmly, taking a deep glance at Mo Wen.
Mo Wen had destroyed the ancient tree with a casual strike. In his opinion, youths had the desire to show off. Mo Wen purposely did that to show off to them. After all, the young lads naturally were a little ostentatious. They loved to do things that would attract people's attention everywhere they went.
However, this kind of youth was too impulsive and immature. They easily died young because of their unusual way of doing things. After all, the ancient martial arts world was so big, and there were talented people everywhere. It was not easy to be thriving all the time.
As an elder of the Bi Clan Manor House, Bi You wouldn't want to lower his stature by finding fault with this youth because of such a matter. After all, it was just an ancient tree. It didn't really affect the Bi Clan Village. Not punishing this youth could demonstrate the generosity of the Bi Clan as a huge clan and aristocratic family.
Furthermore, this youth had achieved the Sea of Qi realm Cultivation at such a young age. On top of his talents, he would definitely have a large ancient martial arts faction behind him. Starting a fight because of such a small matter was not a large clan's way of doing things.
Of course, even though he didn't plan to punish Mo Wen, he needed to warn him. He demonstrated the Bi Clan's generosity, yet at the same time he wouldn't let others think that the Bi Clan Manor House was a pushover.
"Since you said so, I thank the Bi Clan's elder for being so considerate." A glint of surprise flashed in Mo Wen's eyes because the Bi Clan's elder had actually settled this incident in such a way. He had belittled the Bi Clan. His plan of provoking this group of people had failed. It was not without reason that the Bi Clan could become a huge clan with hundreds of years of heritage.
Elder Bi You didn't know that the youth before him was not afraid of their Bi Clan at all. Mo Wen was waiting for them to fight him, then he could overpower them. His method of settling the case had actually saved the Bi Clan's face.
"Now, most of the Martial Arts Symposium is over, but it has also reached the most interesting part. You coming here now is not a waste of time. Mu Qing, lead them to the manor house," Bi You ordered a youth dressed in blue clothes. Then, he waved his sleeves, turned around, and left, not caring about Mo Wen anymore.
"Yes, elder." The youth named Mu Qing bowed towards Elder Bi You respectfully. Then, he walked to the front of Mo Wen and Wang Yuan and said coldly, "Follow me."
He walked into the village after he had spoken, not showing any kind expression to Mo Wen and Wang Yuan at all. Just now, Mo Wen had damaged the ancient tree at the entrance of their village. The people in the Bi Clan Village did not have a good impression of them.
Mo Wen didn't care as he leisurely followed behind Mu Qing. Wang Yuan came to his senses, seemingly awakening from a dream. He stared at Mo Wen, who was walking into the village. A glint of joy flashed in Wang Yuan's eyes. They had succeeded! They could really attend the Capital's Martial Arts Symposium. Before this, he had given up all hope. Unexpectedly, things had turned around.
Wang Yuan dashed into the village as though his feet were greased. He followed behind Mo Wen goofily.
"Huh? Why are you two here?" Mo Wen and Wang Yuan were following behind Mu Qing. Just when they passed by the entrance of a house, a slender figure came out from the house, spotting the two of them at a glance. Her eyes were filled with surprise.
"Wang Xiaofei!" Wang Yuan turned around and looked. Immediately, he rolled his eyes. The figure who came out from the house was none other than his classmate, Wang Xiaofei! He had encountered a familiar face again.
However, Wang Yuan was not too surprised, because he knew long ago that technically Wang Xiaofei was his distant relative. It was because Wang Xiaofei was part of the Wang Clan, one of the Five Ancient Martial Arts Aristocratic Families. However, unlike him, Wang Xiaofei's status in the Wang Clan was not low. Her father was the younger brother of the Wang Clan's current clan leader. She was considered a member from the main line of descent.
Therefore, he was not at all surprised that Wang Xiaofei could come to attend the Capital's Martial Arts Symposium. Of course, he knew that even though Wang Xiaofei's Cultivation was much higher than his, it was considered cheap tricks when being compared to that of others who attended the Capital's Martial Arts Symposium. She would not have any achievement. She was merely here to have fun.
"Mo Wen, you b*stard, stinky rat, where have you been for so long? Don't you know that Xiaoyou misses you! During the days when you were not around, Xiaoyou talked about you every day. You have disappeared for more than a month. Don't you have any sense of responsibility?"
Wang Xiaofei seemed to have not noticed Wang Yuan and walked past him furiously. She only had her eyes on Mo Wen now. This b*stard was too exasperating. He had left for more than a month without reason. He didn't even send a text or give a call.
Her temper came about when she saw that Qin Xiaoyou was depressed every day. Why did she get herself such a stinky rat? If it had been her, she would have long ditched him.
"Where is Xiaoyou?" Mo Wen asked. He hadn't contacted Xiaoyou, not because he didn't want to, but rather because he had been deep in the barren mountains without any cell signal. Furthermore, in his mind, it was not a big deal for a woman to wait at home for more than a month when the man was away for work.
Wang Xiaofei's face reddened, and her hair stood on end because of anger. She seemed to be angrier than Xiaoyou. It was baffling.
"What if I don't want to tell you?" Wang Xiaofei turned her head aside forcefully.
"I won't know if you don't tell me. I'm here to find Xiaoyou." Mo Wen's lips curled to form a smile. Staring at Wang Xiaofei, he said, "If Xiaoyou found out that her bestie knew that I'm here to look for her, but that you didn't tell me where she was, I'm not sure what she would think of you."
"Wang Yuan, come here. Surely you are the one who told this heartless man." Wang Xiaofei shouted angrily at Wang Yuan with her hands on her hips. There were not many people who knew that Xiaoyou came to attend the Capital's Martial Arts Symposium. Wang Yuan was the only one in class who knew about it. Since Mo Wen came there to look for Xiaoyou, surely it was Wang Yuan who leaked the news to him.
In her eyes, disclosing Qin Xiaoyou's whereabouts to Mo Wen was no different from revealing information to the enemy. This heartless man, why should he be able to meet Qin Xiaoyou immediately when he wanted to, but when Xiaoyou missed him, she could only stare blankly into the night sky?
"Um…" Wang Yuan was speechless. What did this have to do with him? Furthermore, she didn't ask him to keep this information from Mo Wen. However, when he stared at Wang Xiaofei and saw how furious she was, he didn't dare to say anything back.
"That's it. Comrade Xiaofei, quickly lead the way. Don't make me angry. Otherwise, you will pay for it." Mo Wen was too lazy to say much to Wang Xiaofei. He grabbed onto her wrist, dragging her forward. He and Wang Yuan were new there, so naturally they wouldn't know Xiaoyou's exact location, but Wang Xiaofei would surely know. Having her as a guide would save them a lot of trouble.