"Silence!" Elder Jin roared, his demeanour was not of an Elder looking after his disciple but instead of glared at him with almost a killing intent.
Lei Bo scrunched back like a scared dog.
Elder Jin then turned his glare back to Feiyu. "Once you belong to one man, the other dogs will stop barking. Order will return. You have three days to announce your partner."
"And if I refuse?" Feiyu asked, her voice low.
" Then you are more of a liability than the stability of Our Sect. You will be exiled. And outside these walls..." Jin pointed toward the gate. " The Sun Lizard Clan would love to have a new toy."
Ye Feiyu's mischievous expression completely vanished.
"But Master!" Lei Bo stepped forward, unable to help himself. "If she must choose, then surely…"
Elder Jin turned slowly to his disciple. The look in his eyes was so void of affection that Lei Bo felt his knees knock together.
"Lei Bo. You have disappointed me for the last time. Your cultivation has stalled because your heart is full of lust. You are an embarrassment."
Elder Jin leaned in close, his voice a whisper meant only for them. "If you continue to act like a stray dog, causing scenes in the whole sect, in the whole Greenwater Town... then you can leave with her. I will strip your rank, break your cultivation base, and toss you out myself. Do you dare?"
Lei Bo turned pale as a corpse. It was a death threat. "I do dare…I do not dare, Master. I will obey…"
"Good." Elder Jin turned back. "Three days, Ye Feiyu. Make your choice."
He announced without looking back at her as he returned to his study room.
The door to the study slammed shut.
The courtyard was silent. Ye Feiyu let out a breath she was holding. A smirk slowly returned to her lips as she looked at the trembling Lei Bo.
Lei Bo saw that smile and misunderstood it as if she is welcoming him.
"Did you hear that, Feiyu?" Lei Bo whispered, his voice shaking from the earlier threat by his master. "Three days. You have to choose. I am the strongest disciple in the Enforcer Hall. I am the obvious choice."
Ye Feiyu laughed in a harsh, mocking sound. She stepped close to him, her eyes filled with cruel amusement.
"Oh, Lei Bo. You still don't get it. Your Master just threatened to cripple you if you bother me."
"He... he didn't mean it. He wants me to claim you properly!"
"Is that so?" She smiled mischievously. "Yes, I do have to choose. But I like men who are... harder. Stronger. Men who don't bark, men who are not easy, men who can tame me, put a lease on me..."
Her mind flashed back to the river. The towering, cold figure. The iron will that ignored her charm. The indifference.
"I think I already met someone interesting today," she whispered in a venomous sweetness.
She pulled back, winked, and walked away, hips swaying, her wet dress still clinged to her, showing more than anyone can imagine.
Lei Bo stood frozen on the spot.
His hands clenched into fists until his fingernails pierced his palms, drawing blood. He knew who she met today. The rumor was everywhere, he heard them while looking for her in the entire Greenwater Town.
"Tie Yuan. That northern savage..." Lei Bo hissed with burning jealousy. "You think you can take her? You think you can humiliate me?"
He looked at his forearm. His own brand was dark, but the image of that Twenty-Stroke mark on the shoulder made him pause for a moment, a clarity of situation, the truth but then lust, jealousy and rage took over.
"You are dead, Three days. Before she chooses... you will be dead."
—------------
T-800 was inside the sect library, looking at the caretaker of library.
"What?...what are you saying?"
"I want to read every book here…" T-800 emotionlessly declared, the caretaker, an old man with a smoking pipe, couldn't tell if this brute man is making fun of him or being honest.
Lin Feng standing behind was looking for a moment to inform his master that it's not possible at all.
"You are new, right?"
T-800 nodded. Lin Feng immediately found his chance as he came in front in between both of them and bowed to Tie Yuan addressing him.
"Master," Lin Feng whispered hurriedly, gesturing Tie Yuan to pull back so that he can explain, his voice barely audible to ensure the grumpy caretaker didn't take offense.
T-800 took few steps back turned to listen to Lin Feng.
"The Shadow Wolf Sect... or any sect, really... guards its knowledge jealously. You cannot just... browse. It works in tiers, Master. It is a strict system."
He gestured to the dusty wooden shelves on the ground floor, filled with yellowing paper books and bamboo scrolls.
"The First Tier is free for all disciples and Enforcers. This contains the 'Common Knowledge.' Geography of the Boundless Seal Realm, History of the Sects, basic beast encyclopedias, and the 'Basic Breathing Techniques' to sense Qi. These are... well, they are considered trash by the experts, foundations for children."
Lin Feng pointed to a staircase guarded by a large Gate & lock and a hidden formation.
"The Second Tier holds Low-Grade Yellow Tier martial arts and movement techniques. These are recorded on Jade Slips. You can't just open them, you must pay Spirit Stones to copy the contents. Usually five to twenty stones per technique."
T-800 nodded. Seeing his words made Tie Yuan react, Lin Feng got happy so continued.
"The Third Tier... that is the Sect's true foundation," Lin Feng said with a shaking voice of reverence.
"Middle and High-Grade Yellow Tier arts. You cannot buy these with Spirit Stones. You need 'Sect Contribution Points.' You earn those by completing missions from the Notice Board…hunting beasts, mining ore, killing enemies. It takes years to save up for one scroll."
Lin Feng paused and then continued.