The Scum Is A ***

Xiao San returned together with Cheng Sheng, Fei Yin and Wu Yuan. They didn't return to the Cloud Square and met with xiao Huan.

"One of your shortcomings is being inexperienced." Cheng Sheng directly spoke as soon as he met the young man again. "Another is being timid." He added.

Xiao Huan's eyes and face reddened in shame.

"But, I like that you aren't a coward. Timid, but not a coward." Cheng Sheng smiled. "You also accept criticisms." He said. Then, suddenly, he casted a spell and directed it towards xiao Huan!

Everyone was shocked. "Xiao Huan!" xiao San cried in alarm.

But, it was too late. They helplessly watched as a green light struck xiao Huan!

"Ugh!" xiao Huan cried as he fell on his back.

"Xiao Huan!" xiao San cried and ran towards xiao Huan to help the other up. "Shen-daozhang. What was that for?!" he angrily asked Cheng Sheng.

"Didn't you ask for my help?" Cheng Sheng asked back.

Xiao San was taken aback.

"I do things this way." Cheng Sheng said before he turned to look at xiao Huan who was coughing with a hand on his chest where he was hit.

Xiao San fell silent.

Cheng Sheng saw his misgivings. "I want to see his reaction speed." He spoke.

Xiao San looked at him.

"Xiao Huan relies on his instinct to attack. And – " Cheng Sheng said as he took out a talisman. " – he would only move when push comes to shove." He finished.

They saw that the talisman he was holding was charred. They were stunned.

"This is a Replacement Talisman." Cheng Sheng smiled at xiao Huan. "You're quite good." He said.

They all turned to look at xiao Huan. In that split-second, just a little later after Cheng Sheng attacked, xiao Huan counter-attacked.

"Come. I'll teach you to become a master." Cheng Sheng said as he reached his hand out to xiao Huan.

"B-but… I'm a demonic cultivator." xiao Huan said.

"Difference was born from a set of choices." Cheng Sheng spoke. "Diversity was born from a set of consequences." He said. "If we were only given one choice, then everyone will be the same. If we have faced one consequence, then everyone will end up the same." He explained.

Xiao San's and xiao Huan's eyes reddened and felt hot while Fei Yin smiled. Wu Yuan's expression still looked cold, but his eyes turned soft. Everyone understood Cheng Sheng's words.

"Well said. Well said." Shang He clapped as he and Meng Gui walked towards them.

They all turned.

"Da ge!" xiao San called. "Ah Si-ge." He nodded to Shang He.

"L-leader… boss S-Shang…" xiao Huan stammered.

"Leader Meng. Boss Shang." Cheng Sheng, Fei Yin and Wu Yuan greeted and nodded at them.

Meng Gui smiled while Shang He wrapped his arm around Meng Gui's waist, eliciting a pinch from Meng Gui.

"What are you posturing for?" Meng Gui hissed at him. His cheeks flushed.

It was obvious that two of the three righteous cultivators are a couple – Cheng Sheng and Fei Yin, while the other one is full of abstinence – Wu Yuan. They didn't know that Wu Yuan is actually already married.

Shang He frowned and gently held Meng Gui's hand that pinched him. Then, he turned to Cheng Sheng, Fei Yin and Wu Yuan. "You're teaching someone something?" he asked.

Shang He, after being an officially couple with Meng Gui, turned more carefree.

"Ah Si-ge. Shen-daozhang is going to teach xiao Huan about spell casting." xiao San explained.

Everyone already knew about Cheng Sheng being a master level mage. There's no need to boast, nor hide his level, since they aren't afraid of fighting because he, Fei Yin and Wu Yuan have great strength to deal with it. In short, they are confident of their skills.

"Then, we will have to trouble you." Meng Gui spoke. After all, xiao Huan is his subordinate.

"No need for a reward in exchange this time." Cheng Sheng said.

They all looked at him in surprise, including Fei Yin and Wu Yuan. They know that this scum Cheng Sheng is opportunistic. Has the demonic qi gone to his brain for him to suddenly change? They thought, looking at Cheng Sheng with a doubtful gaze.

"Why?" Meng Gui asked after he recovered his surprise.

"Because I'll kill him if he won't beat me, or be of equal strength with me, at the least." Cheng Sheng spoke.

Xiao Huan's face paled while everyone was stunned.

"What?!" xiao San exclaimed in anger. If he had known this, he wouldn't have introduced xiao Huan to Cheng Sheng for him to teach him.

"What?" Cheng Sheng spoke, unperturbed with the hostile gazes on him. "You've introduced him to me, so you should be confident of his talent." He looked at xiao Huan who was profusely sweating in fear. "Once I teach my student, either they would be of equal strength with me, or even surpass me." He said.

Fei Yin and Wu Yuan heard this and they looked at each other in understanding. Cheng Sheng really isn't joking. Li Tian really is a master spell caster after Cheng Sheng guided him. His array and talisman skills are on par with Cheng Sheng. Although this can be contributed to Li Tian's talent and earnest in studying, but Cheng Sheng's contribution is no joke, either.

Everyone knows that Cheng Sheng has a bellyful of novel ideas. Part of Li Tian's meteoric rise to being a master level spell caster is due to Cheng Sheng. The same can be said with Lei Ling and You Rou, as well as Xiao Le. Although these three were invisible, but they aren't lagging behind and continued to practice. Or else, Cheng Sheng will really beat them up once he comes back and see his apprentices became wastes.

"You asked for my help, so all the responsibility falls on me after I accepted your request." Cheng Sheng said. "I do as I say. I will really kill him if he will just become a waste in the end. I don't have a useless apprentice." He harshly said.

Everyone immediately became incensed. But, before they could attack Cheng Sheng, Meng Gui stopped them. "I understand." He spoke as he faced Cheng Sheng.

"Da ge/leader!" Meng Gui's subordinates cried. But, Meng Gui didn't speak.

"Hey. Will you listen to yourselves?" Shang He spoke.

Everyone immediately turned to him.

"A child raised in a castle is to be likely killed than a child raised in the wilderness." Shang He said.

"Boss…?" they called, puzzled about what Shang He said.

"If you shelter xiao Han, he'll learn to depend on you. If you continue to shelter him, he'll continue to depend on you. He won't grow." Shang He spoke. "This isn't a demonic cultivator should be like. Each second that passes, we can die. We might be killed." He frowned. "If you let xiao Huan rely on you, he won't learn anything. He won't get stronger, since you're always protecting him." He looked at xiao San.

Xiao San's face reddened in shame.

"One should taste bitterness before he knows the taste of success." Shang He said. "As Shen-daozhang said, xiao Huan is inexperienced. And because of his inexperience, he is weak. He didn't notice that the whole Drunken Moon City was covered with a spell. If he can't even do this, then how can he hope to remove the spell to release the city from it, much less teach this enemy a lesson for messing with the Drunken Moon City?" he asked them.

Meng Gui's subordinate didn't speak a word. They just realized the weight of the situation.

Meng Gui sighed and patted Shang He's shoulder, indicating for him to stop scolding his subordinates. Meng Gui has always been soft-hearted, and now, after he heard what Shang He said, he reflected on it. He realized that he also has his wrongs, and that's being soft-hearted, that lead to his subordinates being reliant on each other. Although it is good that there is unity in them, but it won't do good always. Instead, it'll just make them weaker.

"Xiao Huan." He called. "Do you want to learn from Shen-daozhang?" he asked. "Although Shen-daozhang is a righteous cultivator and you are a demonic cultivator, but skills can never be one's burdens." He told him.

"I – I…" xiao Huan bit his lower lip. He's obviously hesitating.

"Let me decide for you." Cheng Sheng spoke.

Xiao Huan turned to him.

"If you'll refuse to be my student, that's fine by me. It's just that your leader will have to pay me to kill this spell caster. But, there won't be a feeling of satisfaction for you since I am the one who killed your enemy." Cheng Sheng said. "However, if you'll become my student, I assure you that you will definitely learn many things from me. At the end, you can kill your enemy, and you can contribute more to your group since you're a master spell caster." He explained. "As for your life… it's still debatable whether I will kill you or not." He told him.