Chapter 86: Threat

"True Disciple?"

Zhu Dafu heard the words from outside, froze, and said with some gravity, "I fear the visitor means no good!"

However, he had no intention of turning the other party away. Some things could not be avoided by hiding, so he spoke:

"Ask that senior brother to come in!"

"Yes, Shopkeeper."

Soon, a shopkeeper from Tianfu Shop entered, pushing the door open with another person.

Seeing the visitor, Zhu Dafu, though unfamiliar with him, still stood up to welcome him with a smile and asked, "May I ask how senior brother is addressed?"

Facing Zhu Dafu's smile, the other party merely kept a stern face and replied coldly:

"Zhao Yuanji."

Zhu Dafu did not mind Zhao Yuanji's coldness and continued smiling, "So it is Senior Brother Zhao? What business does senior brother have with this junior brother?"

This time, Zhao Yuanji did not reply but casually glanced at the shopkeeper of Tianfu Shop standing nearby.

Seeing this, Zhu Dafu understood immediately and directly ordered:

"Ziyu, you may step down for now!"

Hearing Zhu Dafu's order, Ziyu respectfully said:

"Yes, Shopkeeper."

He then left the room, closing the door behind him.

Seeing this, Zhao Yuanji's expression eased slightly. He stepped forward, walked to the main seat of the room on his own, and sat down.

Seeing Zhao Yuanji's such arrogance, Zhu Dafu's eyes darkened for a moment. Knowing the visitor meant no good, he reined in his smile, moved to sit aside, and said lightly, "Senior Brother Zhao, just speak your mind directly! Although this junior brother may not be able to help."

Since the other party refused the face offered, Zhu Dafu stopped pretending.

After all, if one offends, one offends. Within the Xuantian Sect, a great formation covers the area; would the other party dare to strike directly? Watching Zhu Dafu's change, Zhao Yuanji's eyes showed displeasure as he spoke:

"Is this your attitude toward your senior brother?"

Sensing Zhao Yuanji's displeasure, Zhu Dafu paid no heed and retorted directly:

"Is this your attitude toward your junior brother?"

"Bang! How dare you!"

Hearing Zhu Dafu's words, Zhao Yuanji flew into a rage, slammed his palm onto the table, and smashed the table and everything on it into powder.

But Zhu Dafu did not even blink, sneering, "Senior brother need not play such games. Speak directly. This table is not cheap; it is worth three hundred high-grade spirit stones. You will have to trouble senior brother to settle the bill later."

Seeing Zhu Dafu show no fear, Zhao Yuanji looked at him deeply, then narrowed his eyes again, pondering something in his mind.

The next moment, Zhao Yuanji burst into laughter, "Hahaha, Junior Brother Zhu has great courage. Senior brother was merely joking with you."

Zhu Dafu did not reply, merely staring coldly at Zhao Yuanji.

Seeing this, Zhao Yuanji spoke again:

"Senior brother has come this time to help Junior Brother Zhu resolve his worries."

"Junior Brother Zhu is currently merely at the Purple Mansion realm cultivation base. Senior brother fears you cannot handle the vast interests of Tianfu Shop, so I wish to lend you a hand by taking a share in Tianfu Shop. What is Junior Brother Zhu's intention?"

When mentioning the three words "Purple Mansion realm," Zhao Yuanji deliberately emphasized them without concealment, the underlying threat unmistakable.

Zhao Yuanji was not foolish. Bluffing was fine, but if he openly threatened Zhu Dafu in words, and Zhu Dafu recorded it and submitted it to the Law Enforcement Hall,

even with his status, he would not escape punishment.

After speaking, Zhao Yuanji tested again, "Of course, if Tianfu Shop has others behind it, and Junior Brother Zhu cannot make the decision, just say so. Senior brother can go find the person who can decide."

Seeing Zhao Yuanji finally state his purpose, Zhu Dafu was unwilling to engage in empty pleasantries and directly refused:

"The affairs of Tianfu Shop need not trouble Senior Brother Zhao. If Senior Brother Zhao has no other business, then this junior brother will cease to entertain."

Seeing Zhu Dafu so ungrateful and unwilling to say anything, Zhao Yuanji snorted, "Hmph. In that case, Junior Brother Zhu should take care of himself!"

Having spoken, Zhao Yuanji was about to leave when Zhu Dafu called him back: "Senior Brother Zhao, this is a small shop with small capital. Damaged items must still be compensated."

This time, Zhao Yuanji did not fly into a rage as expected.

He merely gave Zhu Dafu a cold look, left three hundred high-grade spirit stones, and silently departed from Tianfu Shop.

After Zhao Yuanji left, Zhu Dafu instantly slumped onto the chair behind him, his back covered in cold sweat.

Zhao Yuanji was a Soul Transformation cultivator, while he was merely a small Purple Mansion realm cultivator.

Confronting a Soul Transformation cultivator, even within the Xuantian Sect under the protection of its rules, Zhu Dafu felt immense psychological pressure.

What if Zhao Yuanji truly acted recklessly? Even if he suffered punishment from the Xuantian Sect afterward, Zhu Dafu would still be beyond saving!

Yet he could not yield. Once he yielded, troubles would follow endlessly. Since offending the other party was inevitable, he might as well be decisive and gamble that the other party would not risk his own life to strike within the Xuantian Sect.

After recovering, Zhu Dafu looked at the table turned to powder and murmured, "It seems, for the short term, it is best not to leave the sect."

Meanwhile.

After Zhao Yuanji exited Tianfu Shop, Li Xue, who had been waiting outside the gate, immediately approached and asked:

"Senior Brother Zhao, how did it go?"

Zhao Yuanji did not answer directly. After leaving the market district with Li Xue, he ordered, "From today on, send someone to watch Zhu Dafu. The moment he leaves the sect, inform me immediately!"

"This?"

Hearing Zhao Yuanji's words, Li Xue did not agree immediately. After hesitating for a moment, Li Xue spoke up to advise:

"Senior Brother Zhao, for the sake of a Zhu Dafu, we need not take such a great risk and violate the Xuantian Sect's rules!"

Zhao Yuanji glanced coldly at Li Xue and said icily, "Li Xue, you need only obey my orders. You do not need to worry about other matters. Who said I intend to violate the sect rules? Hm?"

At the end of his words, Zhao Yuanji's powerful aura pressed directly down upon Li Xue.

Crushed by the pressure, Li Xue sweated profusely, gasping for breath, and repeatedly said:

"Yes, yes, yes. Senior brother's teaching is correct. Li Xue understands."

Although he said so with his mouth, Li Xue cursed inwardly.

He now regretted it bitterly; back when he was merely a servant disciple, he should not have, in a fit of heat-headedness like the others, signed a service contract with Zhao Yuanji for cultivation resources.

If not for the fact that the contract term had not yet expired, he would have left long ago; once Zhao Yuanji truly violated the sect rules, he would bear joint responsibility.

Seeing Li Xue submit, Zhao Yuanji finally withdrew his aura, snorted coldly, and led Li Xue toward his own cave dwelling.

Although Li Xue was bound by the contract and could not betray him, Li Xue was still a disciple of the Xuantian Sect, so he dared not directly attack Li Xue within the sect.

Moreover, even with the contract in place, it could only ensure that Li Xue and others did not reveal anything about him or commit acts that truly betrayed the sect.

After all, when everyone entered the Xuantian Sect, they all swore a Dao vow not to betray the sect.

But violating certain sect rules does not equate to betraying the sect.

Just as a person violating some national laws does not mean that person has betrayed the country.

The Xuantian Sect is a Daoist sect; naturally, it knows humans have seven emotions and six desires, and the Dao heart must be tempered by oneself, not forcibly shaped and bound by the sect.

With so many disciples under its banner, conflict among them is inevitable, but appropriate conflict is more beneficial to a disciple's growth.

If everything were forcibly suppressed by the Dao vow, it would only backfire, capping the disciples' potential, which is not what the Xuantian Sect wants to see.

Therefore, as long as one does not truly betray the sect, the Xuantian Sect relies on its established rules to constrain and punish its disciples.

Otherwise, if every matter were handled by a blanket application of the sect's Dao vow, the sect rules would have no purpose for existing.

(End of this chapter)