Chapter 512 : Bold Provocation
512: Bold Provocation
Jiang Mo felt that after her previous days of challenges and her recent breakthrough, she should have established a tacit understanding with everyone—although she was the only one benefiting from the challenges, with the demon race as a common enemy, her strength increase also represented an improvement in her faction's power. Therefore, in situations that caused no major harm, no one should refuse to help her.
The little tiger's mental calculations clicked away rapidly as she believed she had found the most approachable candidates. However, when she actually approached Peak Master Qingyuan and Peak Master Qinglan, they rejected her without a second thought.
Joking aside, entertaining juniors was one thing, but if word spread that they had ganged up two-against-one to bully a junior, what would become of their reputation?
No matter what, Peak Master Qingyuan and Peak Master Qinglan were still peak masters. They couldn't engage in such embarrassing behavior, and they had their own pride and principles. At this moment in Lingyun Hall, everyone present was either a sect leader, an elder, or a peak master—none of whom could easily set aside their dignity.
Jiang Mo's enthusiastic point-farming plan had died before it even began.
Seeing the little tiger's dejected appearance, Yun Qingyue sighed, stepped forward to squeeze her nape, and comforted her: "It's alright. Since the two Martial Uncles have declined, continuing as before is just fine."
Jiang Mo always listened to her Senior Sister, but this time she couldn't help but object inwardly—it was completely different. Challenging both mothers-in-law together had quadrupled her reward. Even if battles against others didn't offer such a high multiplier, doubling or tripling would still be immensely profitable. Now, with an excellent point-farming opportunity before her that she couldn't utilize, how could she not feel regretful and frustrated?
Beyond this, she also couldn't understand something and mumbled quietly: "Why did the two peak masters refuse me? Previously, they just went through the motions perfunctorily. Why can't they do the same thing in a different format now?"
Though Jiang Mo had lowered her voice for this mumble, given the keen hearing and sharp eyesight of everyone in the hall, naturally everyone heard it... Jiang Mo knew they could hear her, so this question was essentially asked directly. After speaking, she looked up, cautiously scanning everyone, only to see these powerful figures either pretending not to hear or casting her half-smiling glances.
Jiang Mo was instantly exasperated, but giving up felt too unsatisfying.
Finally, the young and impetuous little tiger, without waiting for her Senior Sister to stop her, stepped forward and called out to everyone: "I wish to challenge everyone present! Do you all dare to accept?!"
With these words, the scene instantly fell silent, and the atmosphere became subtle. This time, all eyes turned toward Jiang Mo.
After a moment of silence, before anyone could respond, the little tiger who had just boldly shouted already felt somewhat timid. But believing in never conceding in attitude even if defeated, though she wanted to hide behind her Senior Sister, her feet remained rooted. She even steeled herself to meet the gazes of the powerful figures one by one—after all, they were all on the same side. At worst, she would receive another beating, but certainly wouldn't be beaten to death.
Thinking of this, Jiang Mo felt somewhat reckless. She even raised her chin and emphasized again: "I wish to challenge everyone. Do you elders dare to accept?"
This time after her words fell, there wasn't such a prolonged silence. A woman's cold laugh immediately broke the quiet: "Huh, it seems some tigers just have itchy skin and want a beating. The previous thrashing was apparently too light."
Jiang Mo's body instantly stiffened. This voice was all too familiar—it was Sect Leader Zhu who had spoken.
The little tiger, fearing another severe beating from her mother-in-law for no reason—mainly because there would be no reward after being beaten this time—immediately squeezed out a fawning smile: "No, how could that be? Sect Leader, you've already made your move earlier. This time there's no need to trouble you and the Peak Master. I'm challenging the others. You just rest, just rest..."
Hearing this, Sect Leader Zhu tugged at the corner of her mouth, smiling without mirth, her gaze still revealing a hint of danger.
This time Jiang Mo finally couldn't resist. She secretly moved her feet, inching bit by bit to hide behind her Senior Sister. Seeing this behavior, Yun Qingyue felt both irritated and amused. The tiger who usually stood in front of her when facing danger became utterly timid when confronted by Sect Leader Zhu.
Fortunately, Zhu Baiyi was only speaking rhetorically. She certainly understood Jiang Mo's purpose in challenging everyone and had long observed the frequency of her challenges. Today wasn't her turn to act, but if she wanted to beat the tiger again, she could always wait until tomorrow.
……
Although Zhu Baiyi's interjection wasn't to be taken seriously, with her buffering, the subtle atmosphere in the great hall eventually eased. However, since Jianbing had already brazenly issued challenges, the others needed to respond with some attitude.
Qingxiao and his group didn't speak up, because they were from Xuanqing Sect and were in the same faction as Jianbing no matter what.
The Buddha Sect members also remained silent. The monks were always laid-back and wouldn't fuss over such trivial matters.
Surprisingly, it was Fei Yuan who finally spoke up. This once proud and aloof person now regarded Jiang Mo with an interested gaze—demonic path cultivation methods each had their own characteristics, but generally prioritized speed, not hesitating to use various methods that the righteous path would look down upon. Yet according to Fei Yuan's knowledge, neither the righteous nor the demonic path had any cultivation technique like Jiang Mo's, advancing so rapidly.
Perhaps due to this curiosity, Fei Yuan spoke up, accepting Jiang Mo's challenge on behalf of everyone: "Since Jianbing is so confident, naturally we can indulge her a bit." After speaking, she turned to look at the others: "I assume you all have no objections?"
Since someone had already taken the initiative to speak, the others naturally had no objections and all agreed.
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Jiang Mo had casually challenged everyone, probably with a reckless mentality, thinking that at worst, she wouldn't be beaten to death.
Of course, her boldness in challenging everyone also stemmed from her own calculations. After all, challenging two people individually might seem like bullying, and they might refuse due to various concerns. But challenging everyone was different—by pulling everyone in together, the issue of face no longer existed, and she could more easily provoke everyone's interest.
In the end, reality proved that Jiang Mo's momentary impulse had garnered a response. After Fei Yuan agreed, the others also accepted her challenge. However, the challenge process differed somewhat from her expectation, and the results weren't quite perfect...
In a guest room at the back of Lingyun Hall.
Yun Qingyue sighed as she skillfully retrieved medicine from her storage space, addressing a certain black-and-blue-faced tiger: "I told you not to force things and to continue as before. See? Now you've suffered for it."
Jiang Mo looked utterly pitiful. She had just pouted when the wound at the corner of her mouth immediately throbbed with pain. She gasped sharply, her entire face almost contorted with pain, but thinking of the blue and purple bruises on her face, she ultimately restrained herself from moving. This made her feel even more wronged, her eyes brimming with tears as she complained: "They all said it was just going through the motions. How was I to know they would be so harsh?!"
Considering that Jiang Mo had challenged so many people at once, she wasn't even sure who had inflicted the facial injuries. That person had a heavy hand indeed. It was bad enough to hit someone in the face, but these bruises weren't even from direct hits, yet they hurt terribly.
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue shook her head: "You brought this on yourself by being so forceful. Suffering a bit is exactly what you deserve."
The little tiger couldn't believe it. She was already so pitiful, yet her Senior Sister was being unsympathetic. She was hurt, she was aggrieved, she wanted to bury her face in her Senior Sister's embrace and have her comfort her with kisses and hugs...
But Senior Sister was cold and merciless. She grabbed Jiang Mo by the collar, pulled her out, then casually applied the medicine to the wound at the corner of her mouth. The next moment came an "Aooo" of agony as Jiang Mo nearly jumped up from the pain—medicinal ointments in the cultivation world typically had immediate effects, yet though her Senior Sister had clearly applied medicine, when it touched the wound, it felt like it was burning, seemingly worse than before.
Yun Qingyue hadn't expected such a reaction either. Startled, she quickly formed a hand seal to conjure water and washed away the medicine she had just applied. The little tiger who had been yowling in pain finally quieted down, though she appeared even more dejected.
Perhaps feeling she had done something wrong, Yun Qingyue's attitude softened. She looked at the medicine in her hand and explained: "It must be Peak Master Qinglan's doing. He's tampered with your body, so ordinary healing pills won't work." After a pause, she added with regret and self-reproach: "Knowing Peak Master Qinglan was present today, I shouldn't have tried to medicate you."
Jiang Mo felt wronged and wanted her Senior Sister's comfort, but hearing her self-blame and regret, her heart immediately softened. She grasped her Senior Sister's hand, looked up, and tugged at the corners of her mouth, trying to squeeze out a smile: "This isn't Ah Yue's fault. How could you blame yourself?"
At this moment, one sitting and one standing, Yun Qingyue lowered her gaze to meet Jiang Mo's eyes, her expression gradually relaxing.
Seeing this, Jiang Mo's heart stirred. She applied pressure with her hand, attempting to pull her Senior Sister onto her lap for an embrace. However, her Senior Sister's stance remained firm, and she couldn't move her. So she simply opened her arms and softly pleaded: "Ah Yue, I've just been beaten. Come give me a hug to comfort me, please?" Fearing her Senior Sister would remain unmoved, she added pitifully: "It really hurts so much."
Yun Qingyue believed she had truly suffered and, seeing her so vulnerable, couldn't help but soften. She indeed stepped forward to embrace her little tiger, but after providing comfort, she couldn't resist lightly tapping her forehead: "Since you know it hurts, learn from this lesson next time."
Jiang Mo didn't know who had inflicted her facial injuries, but whoever did wasn't venting personal anger, otherwise they wouldn't have stopped at merely causing pain. This intervention was likely because Jiang Mo had been too flamboyant, prompting someone to teach her a lesson—not to mention the challenged elders and powerful figures, even Yun Qingyue, listening from the side when Jiang Mo made her announcement, couldn't help but feel a jolt in her heart, wanting to beat her.
Meeting her Senior Sister's warning gaze, Jiang Mo knew she was in the wrong. Rubbing her tapped forehead, she obediently admitted her mistake: "I know I was wrong. I won't be so reckless next time."
Though verbally admitting fault and promising, Jiang Mo knew in her heart that if she encountered such a situation again, she would probably still be unwilling to give up the opportunity.
Thinking of this, Jiang Mo felt somewhat guilty and couldn't even meet Yun Qingyue's eyes, her gaze slightly lowered.
However, soon her chin was lifted by a fair white hand, followed by a soft kiss landing on the wound at the corner of her lips. At the same time, Yun Qingyue's voice, no longer cool, reached her ears, speaking affectionately a single word: "Behave~"