Cultivation must be practiced at every moment, everywhere.

Although Shen Lang was anxious to get back and settle matters concerning the Thousand-leaf Fruit, he still insisted on running all the way up from the foot of the mountain.

By the time he huffed and puffed his way up to Feixian Garden on Songdu Peak, he could already hear a familiar voice from a distance.

"All of you who think I’m handsome, dashing, suave, and drop-dead gorgeous, please step forward."

Chu Qingcheng’s voice was as magnetic as ever.

And because it was so magnetic, the ones who stepped forward this time were all females.

Every single one of them gazed at Chu Qingcheng with stars in their eyes. The only thing missing was a river of drool from the corners of their mouths to complete the Milky Way Galaxy.

Chu Qingcheng smiled charismatically. "Very good. Now, run ten laps around Feixian Garden."

A group of female disciples from Songdu Peak shrieked with delight and immediately took off running, ever so obediently.

Chu Qingcheng watched them go, shook his head, and said, "All of you, remember this. As Martial Artists, you cannot be dishonest like them, complimenting me against your conscience when you know full well I’m not handsome."

"Alright, the rest of you, listen up! Chest out, stomach in! Run ten laps around Songdu Peak..."

"What the hell? That’s outrageous! I protest!" The large crowd gathered in front of Shen Lang’s courtyard immediately erupted in protest.

Chu Qingcheng gave a scornful laugh. "First, you’re the ones who said you wanted to cultivate. Second, you can’t beat me, so protesting is useless. I’ll beat up anyone who dares not to run! And rest assured, you all said that getting beaten up by Xiaolang can improve your cultivation. I, on the other hand, guarantee that a beating from me will make it plummet."

The crowd was dumbfounded.

This guy had only been on Songdu Peak for a few days, but he’d already become a nightmare for the male disciples.

If they didn’t show up, they might miss their chance to cultivate if Shen Lang returned.

But if they did, they had to obey this guy or get beaten up. And to make matters worse, none of them could defeat him.

Zhan Wuji had challenged him out of defiance and had been beaten so badly he couldn’t get out of bed. He was still lying there, sighing in misery.

"Go on, everyone, hurry up and run! If you don’t, you’ll get another beating," the two Shen Jianfeng brothers said, laughing their heads off on the sidelines.

They didn’t have to run, so they were quite happy to watch the others being tormented.

Shen Lang’s eyes went wide as he walked over. "You’ve got to be kidding me. Why are all of you here?"

"Ah, Shen Lang is back!" someone cheered.

Chu Qingcheng snapped his paper fan shut and grinned. "Well, that’s a long story. It all started back when I was in the prime of my youth, a mere sixteen years old, captivating thousands of maidens, improving social mores, and elevating the minds of young women. Then one day, an unexpected opportunity appeared before me, changing my life forever... Your sister came to the Profound Dao Sect, so naturally, I came too."

"Sister’s here!" Shen Lang laughed heartily.

Just then, the senior and junior female disciples who had been running laps returned, jogging back in neat formation after their first lap.

Shen Lang glanced at the group of women and was startled to see Hao Fengliu—the woman who had tried to kill Shang Xiaoran in Wooden Man Alley—among them!

He took one look at Hao Fengliu, then averted his eyes.

But the moment he did, he froze and immediately snapped his head back for a second look.

Hao Fengliu was staring right at him, a malevolent glint in her eyes, and she provocatively puffed out her chest.

The critical part wasn’t her puffing out her chest, but the fact that her chest was now a tumultuous sea, with one wave cresting higher than the next!

Shen Lang clearly remembered that the last time he’d seen Hao Fengliu, she was certainly seductive, but her chest had been completely flat. He’d even mocked her for having no breasts or butt when he’d angrily spanked her.

’How did they get so big in just a few days?’

Shen Lang scratched his head, completely baffled. "Hey, what are you doing here? Looking for trouble?"

Hao Fengliu jutted out her chest again and said in a sickeningly sweet voice, "I’m going to stay by your side, learn your Combat Techniques, and familiarize myself with your personality and habits. Then, I’ll find the perfect opportunity to kill you. Are you scared?"

"I’m not afraid, no matter how big they get," Shen Lang said dismissively, unable to stop himself from stealing another two glances at those towering peaks.

’Those peaks could rival Nalan Ziyun’s. I have no idea how they sprouted up like that.’

Just then, a murderous glare shot over from the side. At the entrance to the courtyard, Nalan Ziyun was staring daggers at Shen Lang. Her gaze was sharp enough to dice him into a thousand pieces—at least eighteen times over.

Just as Shen Lang was about to speak, a white-clad Shen Moran stepped out from behind Nalan Ziyun.

A rare smile graced Shen Moran’s face. "Xiaolang, you’re back."

While Chu Qingcheng had captured the attention of all the women, the appearance of Shen Moran and Nalan Ziyun instantly drew the eyes of most of the men.

Caught in the middle, Shen Lang’s presence was completely overshadowed.

"Sis," Shen Lang said, striding over to her.

For a moment, laughter filled the air...

Setting aside the joy of the sibling reunion for a moment, once they had finished catching up, a senior brother was pushed out from the crowd. Timidly holding a bamboo stick in both hands, he said, "Junior Brother, can you guide our cultivation today? I haven’t been beaten in a few days, and I’m starting to feel awful."

Everyone in the surrounding crowd nodded vigorously in agreement.

After all, Xia Xiaoting had gone from the Qi Martial Realm Eighth Heaven straight into the Spirit Martial Realm after just a few whacks of the cane. The others were green with envy.

Shen Jianfeng and Shen Daofeng ambled over to Shen Lang’s side with cheeky grins, about to greet him. But when they heard the request, they stopped in their tracks and exchanged bewildered glances.

’Holy hell, are the people of this Profound Dao Sect complete weirdos? They actually *want* Shen Lang to beat them up?’

’They feel awful if they go a few days without a beating?’

’Is everyone in the Profound Dao Sect a masochist?’

The looks on the faces of Shen Jianfeng and Shen Daofeng were a sight to behold.

Both of them had been beaten by Shen Lang before, and Shen Daofeng, in particular, had gotten it bad.

Who would willingly sign up for another beating?

Especially since Shen Lang had later cut down Yuwen Huaji, a Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven master, with a single slash. Thinking back to their own beatings, they knew they were lucky they hadn’t been obliterated by a single punch.

"People from a Profound Iron Level Influence really are a different breed..." Shen Daofeng nodded, his flab jiggling with the movement.

Just then, Ma Ling’Er stepped forward. She laughed, the sound like silver bells, and said, "Senior Brother, we were all waiting for you to come and whip us. You’ve been gone for days, and it’s made us feel so awful..."

This time, it wasn’t just the Shen Jianfeng brothers; even Chu Qingcheng’s eyes went wide. He cupped his chin, looking back and forth between Ma Ling’er and Shen Lang.

"Has Xiaolang really become this perverted in just a few months?" Chu Qingcheng muttered. "Moran, you were right to suggest we come sooner. If we’d waited any longer, who knows what he would have turned into. Look, even a sweet young thing like her is begging him for a whipping. Is that... even allowed? Ah, how the times have changed, the world has truly gone to the dogs—why does this kind of good fortune never fall on me?"

The surrounding crowd stared blankly, not understanding what on earth Chu Qingcheng was rambling about.

Only the Shen Jianfeng brothers nodded along in vigorous agreement.

Before Shen Moran could react, the tall and brawny Yan Qi stepped forward. "Junior Brother, I protest! You can’t just beat them and not us! I strongly demand that our group be added to the beating queue! It’s completely unfair otherwise!"

Shen Jianfeng and Shen Daofeng turned pale as ghosts. ’Holy crap, even a huge dude like that has this kind of kink? The Profound Dao Sect is a terrifying place!’

But it wasn’t over. The moment Yan Qi finished, Tian Hao, wrapped in bandages like a mummy, was helped out by others. "Yan Qi is right! Junior Brother, you have to be fair! You can’t give up on me just because I’m seriously injured! Come on, let the whips fall even harder!" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

’Well, I’ve seen it all now. He’s beaten to a pulp and still wants more? Isn’t he afraid of being killed? What kind of people are these?’ Shen Jianfeng and Shen Daofeng stared, utterly dumbfounded.

With a look of tragic indignation, Chu Qingcheng tilted his head back and began counting the clouds in the sky, one by one.

Just then, Nalan Ziyun walked over and sent the Shen Jianfeng brothers flying with a slap to each of their faces.

"You two perverts, what kind of filthy things are going through your minds? It’s disgusting! ’Whip training’ is a cultivation method Shen Lang created! What the hell would you two know about it!"

Only then did everyone else understand, and the whole place erupted into raucous laughter.

Just then, Hao Fengliu moved closer to Shen Lang and whispered in his ear, "Let me tell you something. I just saw your friend Zheng Donghong over there. A grown man, squatting in the woods and crying his eyes out... It was so pathetic even I couldn’t stand to watch."

"Huh? What’s going on?" Shen Lang asked, taken aback.

Noticing Nalan Ziyun’s murderous glare, Hao Fengliu instantly dropped her seductive act and adopted a serious tone. "Zheng Donghong came to the Profound Dao Sect for his childhood sweetheart, Ying Xin, but... sigh, how should I put this..."

"Ying Xin has caught the eye of a senior brother from the Inner Sect’s Shao Hufeng, Qin Tianfeng. And who is Qin Tianfeng? He’s a master at the Spirit Martial Realm Fifth Heaven, the prized disciple of Shao Hufeng’s Peak Master, Lin Bucai!"

"I heard that Lin Bucai himself personally intervened to get Ying Xin to agree to marry Qin Tianfeng."

A chill filled Shen Lang’s eyes as he spoke in a grim voice, "Have the people of Shao Hufeng sunk so low as to be this shameless?"

Seeing Shen Lang’s anger, Hao Fengliu raised an eyebrow. "Well, that’s not entirely fair. As far as I know, Qin Tianfeng genuinely likes Ying Xin. And by a great coincidence, he’s from the same hometown as both Zheng Donghong and Ying Xin. They all grew up together."

"Qin Tianfeng is using Ying Xin’s family as leverage. If she agrees to marry him, his family will hand over two of their mines to hers. That’s why her family came to the Profound Dao Sect a while back; they’ve been pressuring her every day to accept."

"On the other hand, Qin Tianfeng has also hinted that if she refuses, the Qin Family will likely move against Zheng Donghong’s family... The Zheng Family is no match for the Qin Family. If the Qins really make a move, the Zheng Family will certainly be annihilated."

"Because of all this, Ying Xin finally gave in. Now she refuses to see Zheng Donghong."

"Qin Tianfeng himself is an Inner Sect Elite Disciple, one of the few geniuses among the Nine Inner Sect Peaks to have reached the Spirit Martial Realm Fifth Heaven. On top of that, he has the backing of Shao Hufeng’s Peak Master, Lin Bucai. And back in their hometown, his family is also incredibly powerful and influential. Zheng Donghong is completely powerless to change any of it, so..."

"And today is the day of Qin Tianfeng and Ying Xin’s engagement. Shao Hufeng is all decorated with lanterns and banners right now, and it’s quite a lively scene! I hear they’re even holding a grand banquet... So, as Zheng Donghong’s good friend, don’t you want to go take a look?"

As she said this, Hao Fengliu watched Shen Lang out of the corner of her eye.

She knew about Shen Lang’s relationship with Zheng Donghong and understood his personality well enough to be direct.

She knew that for a man like Shen Lang, there were certain things he would inevitably get involved in, no matter what.

Even if he knew Hao Fengliu harbored ill intentions...