Xiao Fei and Xiao Yun got angry. They rushed toward Cao Mao, planning to rescue their colleague. Yet, Zhao Bao grabbed their collar clothes and pulled them back.

“Do not intervene, Yun’er, Fei’er.”

“Why!? That man is beating our brother!” Xiao Fei bared his fangs as he wanted to tear Cao Mao to pieces.

“Just wait and see. It can prove a valuable experience for all of you.”

Zhao Bao hadn’t sensed a tinge of killing intent from Cao Mao, so he figured that the latter might have an ulterior motive for beating his arrogant disciple. He also didn’t mind it since it would be a good lesson for Xiao Xin to not overestimate himself in the future.

Meanwhile, Cao Mao slapped Xiao Xin’s face five times in a row. The latter’s cheek swelled and flushed from the hard slap.

But Cao Mao hadn’t had enough. He went further that his action shocked Zhao Bao and the others.

BANG

Cao Mao slammed Xiao Xin’s face on the puddle of the latter’s yellowish puke.

“Snotty brat, do you know what you’ve done wrong?”

“… DAMN YOU! LET ME GO!”

BANG

Cao Mao pulled the boy’s head up and slammed it to the floor again.

“If you don’t answer, I’ll keep smashing your face into your puke. Now, are you going to answer my question, or do want me to drown you with your puke?”

Xiao Xin gritted his teeth, “SCREW YOU!”

BANG

Xiao Xin’s face hit the floor again. His nose was crushed and broken from the previous impact, and blood dripped from his nostrils.

Cao Mao pulled the boy’s hair and raised his head up. Then, he slapped the boy’s face one more time to make sure that Xiao Xin was still awake, “You know, a great man from my hometown once said that the only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance.”

BANG

As if Cao Mao was enjoying this, he slammed Xiao Xin’s forehead on the floor for the fourth time.

Cao Mao pulled Xiao Xin’s head up. This time, the boy’s forehead was bleeding.

“Another great man also said [Arrogance diminishes wisdom]. Well, if you combine the two quotes together, we can say that arrogant people are beyond stupid. I can say that they have an intellectual disability.”

BANG

Cao Mao didn’t pull Xiao Xin’s hair this time. He pressed his hand, squeezing the boy’s head and wiping the floor with the latter’s face.

“Therefore, my dear snotty brat, I want you to remember today’s event and my face. I want you to remember what happens when you overestimate yourself.. Never forget that confidence is a combination of humbleness, power, and experience. Arrogance stems from vain pride and ego. If you brag about something that you can’t do, that’s also arrogance!”

Cao Mao raised Xiao Xin’s head one more time to check the boy’s condition.

“…”

Xiao Xin’s eyes were dimmed. The head-slamming had rocked his brain, and he was about to pass out.

On the other hand, Cao Mao didn’t particularly care if Xiao Xin would die from a concussion. Still, just to be sure he fed the boy a healing pill before he continued the torture.

Xiao Xin’s wound started to heal, and he slowly regained his senses.

However…

BANG

Before Xiao Xin fully recovered, Cao Mao smacked his face to the floor again.

“Just so you know, improving your cultivation base from the first stage to the second stage in a year isn’t that impressive. Last year, my strength had merely been level 3 of the muscle tampering realm. But hey, look at me now, I’ve become an essence gathering realm expert!”

Hearing about Cao Mao’s achievement, Zhao Bao widened his eyes in astonishment. As for the other boys, they looked at each other as they couldn’t fathom the hurdle that essence gathering realm experts had gone through during the early stages.

“…”

Xiao Xin’s consciousness recovered a bit. Still, he didn’t believe Cao Mao. He thought that the latter just made up that story to make himself impressive.

Cao Mao sighed as he patted Xiao Xin’s face, “But even then, I don’t go around claiming to be some Chosen One. I’m not worthy to wield that weapon. Do you know why?”

“… Because you’re an asshole.”

Cao Mao laughed in joy. He let go of Xiao Xin’s hair. The latter’s face still fell to the floor, though.

Clap Clap Clap

Cao Mao slowly clapped as if he were Heath Ledger Joker when he was inside a prison.

“Bravo! DING DING! Congratulations! You’ve proven my point!”

“What!?”

“Can’t you see? We’re the same. We can’t wield the spear because we’re unworthy, and unworthy people are practically assholes.”

Cao Mao paused as he had to resist the urge to laugh, “My dear snotty brat, arrogant people are assholes. You just haven’t realized it that you’re one of them… no, you’re one of US!”

“FUCK YOU! I’M DIFFERENT FROM YOU! YOU’RE NOTHING LIKE ME!”

BANG

This time, Cao Mao stomped the boy’s head with his right foot.

“Deny it all you want, but in your heart you know you’re the same as me. So, if you wish to grow up and become like me, you can keep doing what you have been doing. However, if you don’t want to walk on the same path as me…”

Cao Mao looked at Zhao Bao, Xiao Yun, and Xiao Fei, “You’d better stop thinking that you’re above them. If you do, well, I’ll be happy to come back and beat some more sense into you again.”

BANG

Cao Mao stomped Xiao Xin’s face to the floor again with more force. This time, the boy passed out.

Still, Cao Mao was not that heartless. He shoved an earth-grade healing pill in Xiao Xin’s mouth.

“Mhm, this should keep this idiot in check,” Cao Mao turned to Zhao Bao and cupped his fist. “I’m sorry for assaulting your disciple. Please keep the spear as compensation.”

Although Zhao Bao was smiling, the corner of his mouth twitched.

Just now, Cao Mao had been too excessive. The head slamming and the stomping part had both been unnecessary.

“Amitabha, Buddha is kind, benevolent, and merciful. Please don’t do something like that again.”

Zhao Bao was still smiling, but the monk’s eyes revealed his suppressed killing intent.

No sane person would be happy to watch their young disciple being beaten up in front of him.

“I know,” Cao Mao got goosebumps from being glared by a nascent soul expert. For the sake of his experiment, he had been pushing it too hard, but that wasn’t something he could openly admit.

“I was just doing you a favor. An arrogant prick can’t be taught with a simple method. They need to learn it the hard way or they won’t change their mindset. What I did was just showing him the consequence of being arrogant all the time. If he wants to flaunt his vain pride, he needs the strength to back it up.”

“Amitabha… That’s still excessive.”

“It’s still better than getting killed on the streets. You can’t always be there to protect him and many people are far more ruthless than me. They will sureply kill the boy if he keeps this up. I beat him, so he can learn it with his body. The next time he sees an asshole like me, he will think twice about acting so reckless.”

“Amitabha…”

The monk couldn’t refute it as he also agreed with Cao Mao. He had planned to give Xiao Xin a harsh lesson, but Cao Mao had masterfully done it for him.

Now, Xiao Xin should have learned a lesson that he was not as special as he had believed. Also, this experience would be a good lesson for Xiao Xin’s character. From now on, Zhao Bao could slowly teach the boy about humbleness and moderation.

“Alright, I’m done here. I shall take my leave. Again, thank you for your help with the spear.”

Cao Mao glanced at Xiao Yun and Xiao Fei. Both of them were glaring at him as if he had killed their parents.

“Oh, by the way, you two. Hatred is only useful if you’ve joined the dark side. You, young Padawans, should avoid drowning yourself with hatred, or you’ll become an evil man like me. Your idiot friend there was on the verge of becoming the same as I am, so you should take good care of him to prevent that.”

Cao Mao laughed as he left the VIP room.

Xiao Fei still glared at Cao Mao in resentment. He hoped that the latter would die a dog’s death somewhere on the street.

As for Xiao Yun, he blinked his eyes as he contemplated what Cao Mao had said. As a fast learner, he shook his head and discarded the evil thought.

Then, surprisingly, Xiao Yun cupped his head and bowed toward the door, but Cao Mao had already left.

“Thank you for your lesson, senior.”

Zhao Bao patted Xiao Yun’s head. He smiled and nodded as he appreciated what Cao Mao did.

…

Meanwhile, Cao Mao was reading the system notification messages.

Ding

[You have tortured a child for your own entertainment. You sick bastard!]

[Kunwu is disappointed in you.]

[Yuan Hua is disgusted by your action.]

[The Sun Crow laughs in satisfaction.]

[Your Sponsor nods in approval.]

[The Sun Crow and Your Sponsor have gifted you 100 essence cores. You can claim them from your inventory.]

[Your alignment has slightly moved toward [Chaotic Evil].]

Maintaining the balance between doing good deeds and evil deeds would be important for his future. Cao Mao had tortured Xiao Xin on purpose to test his theory, and it worked as planned.

‘All according to Keikaku!’

Ding

[You have sacrificed your reputation to educate a younger generation.]

[You have changed the alignment of Xiao Xin from Neutral Evil to True Neutral.]

[Xiao Yun has appreciated your lesson.]

[Zhao Bao is grateful for your sacrifice.]

[Your alignment has slightly moved toward [Chaotic Good].]

“NOT according to Keikaku!”

[Kunwu is taken aback. He apologizes for his misunderstanding.]

[Yuan Hua is stunned by your master plan.]

[Kunwu and Yuan Hua have gifted you 100 essence cores. You can claim them from your inventory.]

“… Well, never mind. Calculated!”