"Now I have to give this Fiery Lizard monster core to senior apprentice-brother Ren…" Mo Zhou sighed in a dejected manner.

"Do you really have to give it to him? You didn't do anything wrong, so there's no reason for you to listen to his nonsense," said Yuan.

Mo Zhou shook his head and said, "You don't understand, Daoist Yuan. This is a world where the strong makes the rules and the weak obey their rules, even if such rules are unreasonable and full of nonsense."

"And I'm telling you that only an idiot would follow such rules," Yuan shrugged. "You are the one who doesn't understand here."

"An idiot?" Mo Zhou looked at him, who'd unknowingly called everybody in this world an idiot, with a weird expression on his face.

"Then, how about I come with you to meet this Ren guy?" Yuan suddenly said, dumbfounding him.

"It's fine," Mo Zhou said a moment later with a bitter smile, "This is my own problem, I cannot drag you into it, especially not after all that you've done for me already."

Yuan turned silent and looked at him with a calm expression.

"Is that so? Then—"

Suddenly, a loud voice resounded from the distance.

"Hey, isn't that the kid who tried to court senior apprentice-sister Xing and ended up offending you?"

Both Yuan and Mo Zhou turned to look at the direction of the voice, and Mo Zhou's face paled the instant he saw the two handsome young men in the distance looking at him.

"S-Senior apprentice-brother Ren! Senior apprentice-brother Zhen!"

When Yuan saw how Mo Zhou's legs were shaking like jello, he knew just how fearful he was towards these two individuals.

"Mo Zhou, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! How dare you make me go to your living quarters to look for you!" The handsome young man on the right approached Mo Zhou with an angry expression, his hands grasped tightly into fists.

"Where have you been hiding? Didn't I say that today was the last day for you to bring me a monster core from a Fiery Lizard or else—?!"

"I have it! I have a Fiery Lizard monster core with me! Here you go!"

Mo Zhou pulled out a small red crystal from his robe pockets and showed it to Ren Fuchen.

"That brat really managed to obtain a Fiery Lizard monster core!" Ren Fuchen's eyes widened upon seeing the crystal. He did not think that someone as weak as Mo Zhou would have the ability to slay a powerful beast like the Fiery Lizard, yet there was its monster core in his grasp.

"How did you get it? Don't tell me you bought it?"

"It doesn't matter how I obtained it! I have gotten what you asked, so leave me alone from now on!"

"Hahahaha!" Hearing his words, Ren Fuchen burst out laughing. "You really are an idiot! You really think that I'd leave you alone just because you somehow managed to obtain the monster core?"

"What?!" At this point, Mo Zhou's heart was filled with bitterness. "You promised that you'd forget about me courting senior apprentice-sister Xing if I give you the Fiery Lizard monster core!"

"Of course, I will honor my words and forget about your disgraceful act of courting senior apprentice-sister Xing. However, after you give me the Fiery Lizard, it will no longer be about that. How dare a lowly trash such as yourself have feelings for senior apprentice-sister Xing! Just your feelings are enough for you to get beaten!"

Mo Zhou trembled uncontrollably upon hearing those words. Just his love for his senior apprentice-sister Xing is enough to get beaten? Where is the justice in that? But alas, he was weak and Ren Fuchen was a Chosen — their status in this world was simply too far apart.

"Wow, what a statement!" Yuan suddenly said loudly, causing Mo Zhou's body to mysteriously stop trembling. "Beating someone up just because they love the same person as you? You are a pretty funny NPC." Yuan laughed out loud, almost like he was watching a funny movie.

"NPC? What is that and who the h.e.l.l are you? You are clearly not a disciple of this Sect, so how did you get in here?" Ren Fuchen finally noticed Yuan and Xiao Hua standing by the side.

"Who am I? I am the person who gave him that Fiery Lizard monster core," said Yuan, his expression calm.

"Daoist Yuan!" Mo Zhou looked at him with wide eyes.

"Hoh? So you are the one…" Ren Fuchen looked at Yuan with narrowed eyes.

"Why did you give him something as precious as the Fiery Lizard monster core? What did he offer in return?" he asked.

"He didn't give me anything, nor do I want anything from him. I gave him it simply because I felt like it," Yuan casually replied.

"..."

Although he didn't know who Yuan was, Ren Fuchen was wary of him. After all, what kind of normal individual would give away something as valuable as a Fiery Lizard monster core for free?

"And? What do you want?"

"I'd appreciate it if you leave him alone," said Yuan with a smile.

"And what if I said no?" While Ren Fuchen didn't want to offend someone as mysterious as him, he wasn't afraid of him. Not only is he a Chosen but they are still inside the Flying Sword Sect, where he has protection in every direction.

"Of course, you will refuse…." Yuan turned to look at Mo Zhou and said, "I have already saved his life once, it won't be weird if I do it again, right?"

"You…" Ren Fuchen instantly frowned at his words.

"Daoist Yuan!" As for Mo Zhou, he looked at Yuan with tears in his eyes, his gaze filled with admiration and his heart filled with grat.i.tude.