Chuxuan walked over to a rock in the back mountain of Longhu Mountain, sat down to rest for a moment, and decided to see what the disciples trailing him were up to.
Up until now, Chuxuan had no idea why these disciples were following him. In his view, since they were all fellow disciples of Longhu Mountain, they should be able to get along in harmony.
Little did Chuxuan know that the fellows who had tailed him all the way did not harbor the kind intentions he imagined. What they had in mind was how to thoroughly teach Chuxuan a lesson.
Completely unaware of this, Chuxuan simply sat and waited for their arrival. Sure enough, after a short while, the group of disciples walked up to him.
Chuxuan looked at the seven or eight disciples. All of them wore plain Taoist robes and had steady strides, suggesting their strength was not to be underestimated.
As soon as they arrived, they surrounded Chuxuan, casting hostile glances in his direction.
By this time, Chuxuan could also sense that they meant business.
In fact, halfway along the path just now, Chuxuan had already noticed that a few people were trailing behind him.
At the time, Chuxuan hadn't paid much attention to them, assuming they were just like him—disciples of the Celestial Master Mansion—and surely meant no harm.
After all, Chuxuan had been busy with his cultivation lately. While he had learned some things about Longhu Mountain, his understanding was still rather limited.
In Chuxuan's view, every disciple in the Celestial Master Mansion ought to be as warm and friendly in their dealings as Senior Brother Rongshan.
However, Chuxuan had failed to realize another fact: no matter where one went, there were always good people and bad ones, which was precisely why a situation like this had arisen.
Looking at the unfriendly disciples before him, Chuxuan felt no particular fear and asked calmly, "My friends, is there something you need from me?"
The disciples stared at Chuxuan with hostile expressions. "We heard you're the Old Celestial Master's newly accepted disciple, and this is our first time seeing you. Since you were able to catch the Old Celestial Master's eye, you must have some extraordinary qualities. So today, a few of us senior and junior brothers would like to witness your strength for ourselves, to see if you're really qualified to be the Old Celestial Master's disciple."
Hearing these words, Chuxuan immediately understood what was going on. It seemed these disciples had seen him taken in as a disciple by the Old Celestial Master, grown jealous, and come looking for trouble.
At this thought, a faint, cold smile tugged at the corner of Chuxuan's lips. It appeared someone wanted to make things difficult for him, yet facing these disciples, Chuxuan felt not the slightest bit of panic.
He could not sense any formidable aura coming from them, and judging by their appearances, they weren't very old—probably around thirty. Having practiced for only a short time, their strength likely wouldn't be all that impressive.
This couldn't help but stir a trace of fighting spirit within Chuxuan. Lately, he had been entirely caught up in his cultivation and had no clear idea of where his abilities currently stood. With a few disciples showing up right now, he could perhaps use them to test his own strength.
With a calm expression and a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, showing not a trace of anger, Chuxuan looked at the disciples and said, "In that case, how could I, as your senior, refuse your request?"
Since Chuxuan was a disciple of the Old Celestial Master, his seniority was naturally higher than theirs, so there was no need for him to lower himself to argue with these troublemakers.
Hearing this, the disciples felt a flicker of anger, but they dared not vent it. After all, Chuxuan's seniority was right there, and they couldn't dispute it. Secretly, however, they resolved to give Chuxuan a harsh beating later.
Hearing Chuxuan's consent, the disciples let out complacent smiles. One of them looked at Chuxuan and said, "Little Uncle-Master is certainly straightforward! I'll go first, then—let me spar with Little Uncle-Master for a few rounds."
With that, the disciple stepped directly forward and took up a stance, preparing to fight Chuxuan.
The other disciples stepped back, clearing a space between Chuxuan and the challenger, and watched the impending match.
"Little Uncle-Master, please enlighten me!"
Chuxuan gave a slight nod and slowly walked over to stand opposite the disciple. He looked at the somewhat lean and wiry youth, whose lower stance was stable and whose feet gripped the earth tightly, indicating a very solid foundation in basic cultivation methods.
Chuxuan spread his arms, took a stance, and smiled faintly as he looked at the lean disciple across from him. "Come on, let me see what you're capable of."
"Little Uncle-Master, you'd better be careful." The disciple issued a low warning, then directly raised his fist and lunged toward Chuxuan.
Faced with this aggressive onslaught, Chuxuan circulated the Qi within his body ever so slightly. A very faint layer of the Golden Light Spell formed across the surface of his skin, enveloping his entire body.
Because the color of Chuxuan's Golden Light Spell was quite pale, the lean Longhu Mountain disciple did not notice it as he charged forward, nor did the other onlookers realize that Chuxuan had already cast the Golden Light Spell.
The next second, the disciple's fist slammed directly into Chuxuan's body.
Chuxuan showed no intention of dodging. He took the disciple's blow head-on, his stance as steady as Mount Tai, without swaying in the slightest.
At that moment, the attacking disciple and the onlookers around them all felt a jolt of surprise. They had never expected Chuxuan to take a punch straight on and remain completely unharmed.
This immediately filled their hearts with a trace of worry. Although they were deeply annoyed with this Little Uncle-Master Chuxuan, they didn't actually dare to harm him—they had only wanted to teach him a lesson.
Yet now, to their horror, Chuxuan hadn't resisted at all. They were suddenly terrified that they might have beaten Chuxuan into a serious injury, in which case they would be guilty of a grave mistake.
The lean disciple who had struck Chuxuan hurriedly withdrew his fist, and the other disciples rushed over, looking at Chuxuan with anxious expressions.
Seeing the worry written across their faces, Chuxuan understood their thoughts immediately. They were obviously afraid he was hurt, a consequence they wouldn't dare to face.
However, Chuxuan hadn't suffered the slightest injury. He had simply wanted to test how well he had mastered the Golden Light Spell, and the result left him extremely satisfied. The disciple had put at least half of his strength into that blow, yet Chuxuan had dodged nothing, absorbed the attack completely with his bare body, and successfully blocked it without taking any damage at all.
Chuxuan closed his eyes to check his internal condition. Finding everything completely unaffected, he slowly opened his eyes, cast a faint smile at the fellows, and asked, "What's wrong? Weren't we going to spar? Why did you stop?"
Chuxuan's words startled the disciples, causing them to instinctively take half a step back and stare at him in astonishment.
Seeing that Chuxuan had opened his eyes, appeared uninjured, and spoke in a steady, robust voice, they finally relaxed just a little.
The disciple who had attacked Chuxuan remained somewhat apprehensive. Looking anxiously at Chuxuan, he asked, "Little Uncle-Master, are you really not hurt?"
Chuxuan looked at the disciple and asked with a faint smile, "Well, do I look like someone who's injured?"
Hearing this, the disciple shook his head hurriedly. "No, Little Uncle-Master, you're not hurt."
"Come on, let's pick up where we left off and keep fighting!" Chuxuan looked at the disciple, extending a hand to signal him to resume the attack.