The Scum Is A

"Between a disciple and a rogue cultivator, which will you choose?" Cheng Sheng asked as he turned to Fei Yin, Chen Han, Sun Yi, Li Tian and Feng Mo.

"Maybe one disciple and one rogue cultivator?" Feng Mo asked.

"But, if we'll only have one disciple, maybe he'll think he's out of place in our group." Li Tian said. "It'd be better if it'll be two rogue cultivators." he said.

"However, they're used to being a lone wolf. There's a chance they won't cooperate with us." Chen Han said. "It'd be better if it'll be disciples. They belong to a sect, so they would know how to cooperate." He added.

"Then, either two disciples, or two rogue cultivators?" Sun Yi said.

"Can be." Fei Yin nodded.

Shu Mu turned to Cheng Sheng. "I heard you are looking for only two people. You're currently only six people. Who are the other two you found?" he curiously asked. If it's Cheng Sheng, he'd definitely not choose a simple person.

"Wu Xi came to us last night under your recommendation. We asked for his help in exchange for Ah Sheng helping him." Chen Han answered.

"Oh. That's a good decision." Shu Mu said. They already saw how strong Wu Xi is. "Then, the other one?" he asked.

"Yu-ge." Feng Mo said. "Yu Sheng." He said.

"Oh… Yu Sheng… wait, Yu Sheng?!" Shu Mu exclaimed as he looked at them in shock. He can feel how strong Yu Sheng is when he watched his match.

"Yes." Fei Yin nodded.

Shu Mu fell silent. He looked at Cheng Sheng. Well, if it's him, he'd definitely pick Yu Sheng to his team. He thought. "Your team is strong." He said.

"If you only hadn't been crazy, we would've chosen you, too, to be our team." Sun Yi said and smiled.

A vein popped in Shu Mu's forehead. "Yeah. My bad." He said and frowned and then looked at them. "Including Yu Sheng and Wu Xi, there're six sword cultivators." he said. "Then, two mages – Cheng Sheng and Li Tian." He said, including Cheng Sheng as a mage. "You should also consider if you wanted to add mages, or sword cultivators." he told them.

They looked at Shu Mu. Their eyes filled with appreciation. This guy's a good leader. Too bad he lost. They thought.

"What's with that look?" Shu Mu asked when he saw them staring at him.

"It's nothing." They answered and looked away.

Shu Mu just scratched his cheek and ignored what just happened. He turned to Cheng Sheng. "If you like to add a mage, I know someone." He said.

"Who?" they asked. Shu Mu surprisingly knew Tang Zhe – the eldest disciple of the Huakai Sect, which is a strong person. Then, he befriended Wu Xi and recommended him to them. Now, who could be this person he's going to recommend to them again? They thought, feeling very curious as they looked at Shu Mu.

"... that gaze again…" Shu Mu muttered and sighed.

"Take us to him." Cheng Sheng told Shu Mu.

"Okay!" Shu Mu said and took out a Voice Transmitting Talisman. "…" he looked at the talisman before he looked at Cheng Sheng. He suddenly felt awkward. "… you're so amazing to create these convenient things…" he told him. The Voice Transmitting Talisman is Cheng Sheng's another creation.

"Don't you also know how to make talismans?" Cheng Sheng asked.

"Only a little. And it's really troublesome, so I didn't take my mage badge." Shu Mu explained. He may have taken out a talisman during his match with Qian Lin, but he only did it to scare him.

"That's a waste." Li Tian said. He's also good with his sword, but he loves spell casting more. He only improved his swordsmanship to be of help for his friends in the future. And it turned out to be a wise decision.

Shu Mu just shrugged. "Xiao Le. Where are you right now? Can you come in front of the Doll House Shop?" he asked before he threw the Voice Transmitting Talisman.

"Xiao Le…" they said. They felt familiar with the name.

Shu Mu turned to them. "Xiao Le is also a sword cultivator and talisman maker." He said and glanced at Cheng Sheng before he turned to the others. "He's from the Huli Sect." he told them.

"The Huli Sect… there're only two people who passed." Chen Han said.

Shu Mu nodded. "He's one of them." he said and turned when he heard someone's running.

"Mu-ge!" a loud voice called and waved as he approached them.

They all looked at the teenager who wore his uniform sloppily. "… he's Xiao Le?" they said.

Shu Mu smiled and patted Xiao Le's head before he turned to them. "Don't be discouraged. This guy's also talented." He told them.

"Mu-ge, you're flattering me!" Xiao Le said and giggled.

Shu Mu saw his jade hairpin was crooked and he immediately fixed it. "He's also a devil." He sighed.

"Mu-ge, that's mean!" Xiao Le said and frowned. He kicked Shu Mu's shin.

"What level are you as a mage?" Feng Mo asked.

Xiao Le turned to them and took his mage badge on his waist then showed it to them. "I'm only at level one." He answered.

Shu Mu saw the mage badge and he took it. "I was the one who taught him the basics of talisman making. But, he actually has a talent for it." He said and looked at Xiao Le. "It was a half-assed action of mine. I wasted Xiao Le's talent." He sighed. "If he only has a master to teach him, then he'll become a junior apprentice." He explained.

"May I see your talisman?" Li Tian asked.

"Sure!" Xiao Le answered and took out two talismans from his qiankun pouch.

"Isn't this a Cleaning Talisman and Moving Talisman?" Chen Han asked when they saw the talismans. They are of Cheng Sheng's brand.

"I… actually admire Cheng-shixiong." Xiao Le said and looked at Cheng Sheng. His gaze is direct.

Cheng Sheng really liked this daring teenager. "Can you make one like this?" he asked as he took out a Balance Talisman. He guided Lei Ling to make it, and it still hasn't been released to the market.

"Oh! A new kind of talisman?!" Xiao Le exclaimed as he took the talisman.

"Let's go find a place for him to make it." Sun Yi suggested.

"Yes." they answered and then left.

Just as they left, a beautiful woman with a pure air around her appeared. She's looking around and then found a medicine shop. Her eyes lit up and she immediately went inside.

"Welcome… oh, xiaojie. You came again?" the shopkeeper said. "Same order, right?" he added.

The woman nodded and politely smiled. She had found this shop just yesterday, thus she was lost.

Outside, the Huakai Sect passed by. "Da shixiong. There's a medicine shop. Shall we drop by and buy magic pills?" Guo Cheng asked Tang Zhe.

"But, it's not as good as Cheng Sheng's…" Tang Zhe hesitated.

Tang Yun frowned. "If everyone would want Cheng Sheng's magic pills, then he will monopolize the market." He said. His face showed extreme dislike.

Shan Lu looked at him. "Be thankful he didn't." he told Tang Yun.

Tang Yun glared at him and clicked his tongue. Tang Zhe sighed, feeling helpless. "Let's go inside." He said.

Guo Cheng opened the door and went inside. He found a woman standing by the way. "Xiaojie. Please excuse us." He told her.

The woman turned and was startled to see them. She immediately moved away and hid behind the bookshelves. "Guo-shidi. You scared her." one of the disciples teased Guo Cheng.

Guo Cheng helplessly sighed and scratched his head. He ignored them and looked for magic pills by his own. They didn't see the vigilance in the woman's eyes as she reached for the knife in her sleeves. When she saw them walked away, she paid for the medicines she ordered before she immediately left.

"Looks like the Huakai Sect plans to load themselves for tomorrow." Jing Hei said when they saw the Huakai Sect went inside a medicine shop.

"They don't lack money, as well as we are." Jing Bai said. "But, we also don't lack magic pills." He added.

They left and missed to see the woman who ran out of the medicine shop.

"Woah! You're really good!" Feng Mo exclaimed when they saw the three apples not falling on top of a branch after the Balance Talisman Xiao Le just made was pasted on them.

"To be successful in the first try, that's a talent." Li Tian agreed.

Sun Yi watched the three before he turned to Chan Han, Fei Yin, Shu Mu and Cheng Sheng. "Does he have a conflict with his sect?" he sharply asked. He's referring to Xiao Le.

Shu Mu looked at him. "You're right." He said. "But, it's not Xiao Le's fault." He frowned. "As I've said, Xiao Le is a talented youth. However, because of it, he had gotten himself into trouble." He looked at Xiao Le laughing with Feng Mo and Li Tian.

"His fellow disciples envied him." Fei Yin said.

"Yes." Shu Mu nodded. "He's good with his sword and he is hardworking. He advanced faster than his shixiongs." He said. "Not only that. When I taught him how to make talismans, his fellow disciples envied him." He sighed and scratched his head. He does this when he made a mistake.

"So you're partly to blame." Chen Han said.

Shu Mu's face registered guilt. "Yes… that's why I stopped teaching him and left." He said.