"Hey, look… isn't that guy Mo Zhiran? He dared return to the sect?"
"Yeah, didn't they say he ran away after destroying his cottage and beating up people?"
"I heard he beat up three people, and one of them was Wu Kang, who was at the 5th level of Qi Condensation."
"How is that possible? Has your brain rotted that you believe such stupid things?"
"But… I saw it with my own eyes."
As soon as Zhiran landed inside the outer courtyard of the Divine Cauldron Sect, he heard faint whispers from other disciples talking about him.
And from the content they were discussing, it seemed his deed with Wu Kang had spread throughout the sect.
"Tch… what is so good about that? No matter what the case, Wu Kang had already filed a complaint with the disciplinary committee. They might already be coming for him. Let's see how he fares then."
Suddenly, Zhiran heard someone snicker behind him… followed by a few others casting looks of gloating in his direction.
After all, fighting and destroying the cottage in the outer sect could get you into serious trouble. It was fine if your talent was good or if you had a background.
But if you have none, hehe…
'Hmm, disciplinary committee, huh. That Wu Kang sure is fast.'
However, even after hearing them talk, a bit loudly for him to hear, Zhiran didn't show any reaction.
Only the direction he was heading changed, directly toward the Affairs Hall of the outer sect.
After all, although the disciplinary committee sounded impressive, it was nothing more than a few sect disciples wearing a vest of law.
The real power was all in the Affairs Hall, which looked after everything.
In fact, before Zhiran used the Crimson Burst Talisman to bombard Wu Kang and his gang, he had already made a plan to leave the sect for a while and only return after a month during the inner sect trial.
But now the plan had changed since he successfully managed to reach the late stage of the Qi Condensation Realm on the Spirit Boat.
'Sigh… my talent is still too low. I wasted all of that middle-grade spirit stone just to promote.'
Zhiran couldn't help but lament that the number of middle-grade spirit stones in his hand had already been reduced to four.
Although he now had a high comprehension of the Divine Core cultivation technique, his talent was only mediocre.
Even with proper conditions, he couldn't absorb the spirit stones entirely, resulting in so much waste.
'Finally here, Outer Affairs Hall!'
It didn't take long for Zhiran to appear in front of the imposing, tall pavilion that he was quite familiar with from his previous life.
After all, this was the place where he searched for outer sect missions and collected his monthly allowance, all to improve his realm fast.
'Hah… let's go and get this trouble sorted immediately.'
Although he felt a hint of nostalgia, Zhiran had no intention of getting lost in it.
Before the disciplinary brat came to his door and dragged him to prison, he had to sort out the trouble he was in.
And he had the perfect way to do that, all because of his knowledge from his previous life.
"Brother, I want to meet Elder Qiu. Can you please tell him?"
As soon as Zhiran arrived at the Affairs Hall, he went straight to the core room and asked the disciple politely.
Qiu Ronghai, Peak Qi Condensation Realm, was the elder in charge of this Affairs Hall as well as the entire outer sect. Of course, there was someone above him, but Zhiran couldn't hope to meet someone like that.
"Hmm? Want to meet Elder Qiu? Why would he meet you for no reason?"
Sure enough, even meeting Elder Qiu was out of the question.
After all, such a person had solid backing in the Divine Cauldron Sect, and how could someone like him meet anyone just because they asked?
"Haha… who said there is no reason? There are plenty of reasons, brother; you just need to be in the mood to look at it."
Zhiran laughed amiably at the irritated guard disciples and sneakily handed over 5 low-grade spirit stones.
Then, he took out another pouch from his storage bag, handing it over while speaking with a smile:
"Can you, brother, please convey to the Elder that the outer sect disciple Mo Zhiran wants to meet him? This is a little reward I have prepared for him, if you don't mind."
He said it, finally changing the look on the guard disciple's face.
After all, the person before him was just at the level of mid Qi Condensation. Five low-grade spirit stones just to convey the news was really a bargain.
"Haha… you are right, brother. I was just short-sighted. Wait here for a second, I will come as I go."
Sure enough, feeling the rough texture of the spirit stones, the guard disciple visibly brightened and laughed, directly agreeing to Zhiran's request.
Then, he stuffed the spirit stones into his storage bag, grabbed the pouch given by Zhiran, and left the hall without a second's delay.
'No matter the world, money always talks.'
Zhiran shook his head, feeling that this world was also quite similar to his previous one, just in a cruder way.
After just a minute of waiting, the disciple who had entered the room came back and said with a smile:
"Brother, Elder Qiu has agreed to your request. You can just go along this corridor and meet Elder Qiu as you like."
"Oh? That's good news. Then, I will do as you say."
Zhiran wasn't surprised to hear the news and nodded slightly before entering the hall.
'If that stingy guy didn't want to meet me even after taking 20 low-grade spirit stones, I would have to extract his brain to collect my debt.'
He thought, recalling some information from his previous life.
It was rumored that Elder Qiu was already nearing the end of his age and was desperate to buy a foundation-building pill to advance his cultivation one last time.
Here, "nearing his age" didn't mean he was dying, but that his age of promotion was about to run out.
In the cultivation world, if someone exceeded the age of 50, it was said to be impossible to reach the foundation-building realm in their lifetime.
Elder Qiu was already 47 and had already spent quite some time in the Peak Qi Condensation realm.
If he didn't try now, he might never reach the next realm in his life, dying just like a mortal. So, he needed any help he could get.
In fact, the real age barrier was said to be 40, but there were always exceptions, so the range was made higher.
"Are you Mo Zhiran? The one who dared to try to kill three people within the sect?"