Mission: Seduce the Master!

As he looked at the tall pavilion of the inn, Xie Qing thought for a moment and then thanked the guard with five Spiritual Stones. He said goodbye and went with his mother to rent a room.

"Hm, it looks luxurious," commented Xie Meiling, raising an eyebrow. "Last time I couldn't stay here, there were too many people."

"Yeah, there are still a lot of people here, I don't even see the end of the line," commented Xie Qing, whistling.

In front of him was a line that stretched from the entrance. It was clear that the Nine Pills Sect, compared to other sects, was much more popular and open. This was not surprising, as the sect was focused on trade.

"Looking at this crowd, I'm already starting to feel tired... ugh!" muttered the young man, dejectedly sighing. "I don't want to spend the night outside the sect's territory."

At one point, the crowd dispersed, and the people in line began to murmur. From the upper floor, a stunningly beautiful girl was descending the stairs. She wore a light green dress, her eyes were green, and her hair was blue. Her chest was not very prominent, she was a slender girl.

The girl had a pleasant and gentle smile on her face, and she was surrounded by several elders who behaved respectfully and acted as her bodyguards.

Xie Qing, watching this scene, raised an eyebrow. He recognized this girl. It was Lu Yin, the girl who once beat his cousin and father. She was from the influential Lu family and was the heir to the Nine Pills Sect.

Moreover, legends were told about her alchemy skills. Xie Qing had seen the pills she prepared with his own eyes - they were all high-quality and highly effective.

The disciples affectionately called her "Healer Lu" and respected and admired her skills.

"Hm, this girl... oh, I remember. Lu Yin from the Lu family, heir to the Nine Pills Sect," said Xie Meiling's voice, sounding surprised. "She visited my family, the Xie family when I went on a business trip. Because of the bastard Xie Hai, we left a bad impression and went a whole year without valuable pills."

"Heh."

Xie Qing casually smiled and turned his gaze away from the beautiful girl. While the line was focused on Lu Yin, they quickly registered and moved forward, unnoticed by anyone.

"Healer Lu!" human voices rang out. Everyone unanimously greeted her and respectfully bowed to the alchemy genius.

At the young age, of 29, she was a Core Formation cultivator of the fourth stage, and among the main disciples of the great sects, she was the strongest. Well, this title belonged to her until Xie Qing announced his existence. Until then, she was considered the strongest.

Responding to the people's greetings without any arrogance, Lu Yin greeted them in return.

"Good day." Her voice was gentle, full of kindness and friendliness, but it also had a mysterious aura that seemed to make you calm down.

Xie Qing and Xie Meiling were passing by her at that moment, and the young man felt a distinct scent of herbs. The elders standing nearby looked at Xie Qing, and one of them stepped forward, blocking the young man's path.

"Hm?" Xie Qing raised an eyebrow and then looked the elder up and down, asking, "Can I help you?"

"The inn is temporarily closed, brat," the elder said in a calm voice, then snorted with notes of contempt. "Get lost and come back only tomorrow, then you can stay."

"Hee..." Xie Qing made a strange sound and tilted his head to the side. Everyone could see that his smile was strained and not the most friendly, but no one expected him to argue.

"Indeed, I didn't know that," agreed Xie Qing, then smiled. "But I ask you not to be rude to me, old man. I can break your jaw."

"Eh..."

There were surprised gasps in the crowd. Many looked at Xie Qing with incomprehension - why was this young man rude to the elder of the sect?

"Oh..." Xie Meiling covered her face with her hands. She knew that her son had a strange pride that sometimes led to problems. Moreover, he was deliberately provoking the elder into a fight, as he wanted to fight a strong opponent.

"Although, I would also break this bastard's legs. How dare he call my son a brat?" thought Xie Meiling, and her eyes dangerously gleamed.

Lu Yin also raised an eyebrow in surprise and looked at the elder with narrowed eyes. She was not blind and saw that he was the first to be rude to Xie Qing.

"Elder Wei... stop it."

However, Elder Wei was no longer paying attention to Lu Yin's glances and warnings. He released his Qi as a Soul Nascent cultivator and dangerously narrowed his eyes.

"What did you say, bastard?"

Feeling how the opponent's Qi suppresses him, Xie Qing smiled without a hint of fear. He felt only impatience - after so long, he finally found a cultivator stronger than him.

At that moment, something clicked in his head, and the words "logic," "caution," and "vigilance" were erased from his dictionary. He hungrily smiled and released his Qi, which, although inferior to Elder Wei's, was not far from the Soul Nascent stage.

"Hm? A cultivator on the verge of the Soul Nascent stage?" Elder Wei was surprised and then narrowed his eyes. "But that's not enough to stand against me!"

Ignoring the displeased looks of the other elders, Wei Jia strengthened his Qi and used a soul technique, unleashing it on Xie Qing.

The young man, who encountered a sudden attack, felt death breathing down his neck. He narrowed his eyes and directed his energy to protect his soul. And he did the right thing.

His Golden Core was subjected to a powerful attack, and mysterious dense energy uncontrollably flowed through his spiritual channels, trying to break through the body's defense.

At one point, struggling with the sudden attack, Xie Qing activated his cultivation technique, and his eyes turned gold. At that moment, Elder Wei felt his attack being erased, and he opened his eyes in shock.

"My attack... couldn't kill him?" he wondered. For reference, Elder Wei was a Soul Nascent cultivator in the third stage.

He had rich experience, and only a month ago, he managed to obtain the status of an elder. So now, he was using Xie Qing to assert himself. However, it didn't work out for him! Instead of demonstrating his strength, Elder Wei could not even leave a scratch on the young man.

Then, the next attack was supposed to happen, but Lu Yin's voice rang out - it was the girl. "Elder Wei, I think that's enough."

"Eh..." Elder Wei finally came to his senses after his anger and looked at Lu Yin, whose eyes were cold.

"Get back in line and don't interfere with the young man entering his room. I have finished my business in the inn, so the guests can settle into their rooms."

After that, Elder Wei, no matter how displeased he was, did not dare to disobey Lady Lu Yin. "Eeh..." Xie Qing disappointedly sighed and shook his head. He was already expecting a battle, but at the critical moment, this girl interfered.

Lu Yin, looking at Xie Qing, shook her head and left the inn without saying anything, and the young man went upstairs and began to look for his room. The people on the first floor lost their speech, seeing how reckless the young man was. They were visited by one question... What the hell?

"You're too reckless," said Xie Meiling, narrowing her eyes. "I know you were excited about the prospect of breaking through to the next cultivation stage, but this was too much. Provoking an elder of the sect is not the best solution."

"What's wrong with that?" asked Xie Qing, popping a grape into his mouth. "Cultivators should solve their problems precisely this way. Besides, I'm not to blame - I was just defending myself."

"You... ugh!" Xie Meiling shook her head, not understanding why her son was so impulsive.

Compared to her cold and calculating behavior, Xie Qing was more straightforward and solved his problems with the sword. Although this was a fast and reliable method, it did not always suit all situations. However, who could convince him otherwise?

One way or another, Xie Meiling was partly glad that the young man was able to stand up for himself and not let Elder Wei shove his face in the dirt.

"Lady Lu, we cannot allow such a ruffian to run wild on sect territory! He threatens our safety!" complained Elder Wei.

"Threatens what? He behaved carelessly and did not release his Qi until you did it yourself," countered Lu Yin.

"Yes, I admit I acted impulsively, but I did it for your protection!" said Elder Wei and thumped his chest. "And he! His eyes were burning intending to kill an elder, right in the sect! Outrageous!"

"Enough already, Elder. Just admit that you brought this upon yourself." Lu Yin shook her head, clearly not wanting to listen to Elder Wei. She insisted that the elder was to blame, but he did not agree.

"Enough already, Elder Wei. You are displaying behavior unworthy of your status. Why argue with a young man? He is young and hot-blooded, and that's why he was rude to an elder," one of the accompanying elders said. "And you - an adult, be polite, you represent the Nine Pills Sect."

"Pf!" Elder Wei did not want to listen to him, so he just snorted and turned away.

The others shook their heads. The reason for the elder's high-handedness was his origin - he was from the Wei family, one of the major families in the capital. His status had been high since birth, and therefore he was arrogant. He did not want there to be people who would be rude to him.

Meanwhile, Lu Yin thought for a moment and remembered the woman accompanying the young man.

"That's Lady Xie Meiling, right?" she recalled. Her impression of this woman was positive; she respected her for her wisdom and calmness.

After the incident in the Xie family, Xie Meiling personally visited her and apologized for the behavior of the members of her family.

Lu Yin was not vindictive, so she reduced the punishment from a lifetime ban on purchases to just one year.

She did not expect to see her again.

"Who is that young man, by the way? He had the energy of a cultivator who was on the verge of the Soul Nascent stage. It seems like another old monster." Lu Yin did not believe that Xie Qing was young. She considered him an old master who had preserved his appearance.