After Becoming a High-Risk Master, I Flipped the Script Chapter 29

Inside the secret realm and before the water mirror alike, everyone wanted to avert their eyes, not knowing how to classify this embarrassing scene. But it didn’t go so far as to be unwatchable—for the two Red Feather Dragons began to fight.

Stimulated by the Mating Incense, the wounded dragon turned savage and furious, and could actually hold its own against the newcomer. Clearly, the injured beast refused to submit to humiliation, and so fought with its life.

The scene was brutally bloody. The Zixiao Sect disciples shrank back into the fissure, waiting for the earthquake-like battle outside to subside.

“What… what on earth is going on?” someone finally demanded of Mo Xuanli.

Mo Xuanli looked a little embarrassed, giving a brief explanation.

Since he aimed to obtain Red Feather Dragon bone, naturally he had planned out the safest, most efficient method in advance.

His idea had been to capture another beast, smear it with the Mating Incense, and lure a male Red Feather Dragon over. When two beasts met, they would surely fight to the death, giving him the chance to safely harvest the bone.

But he hadn’t expected to encounter one so soon. In that case, the incense was useless. Used alone, it only drove the Red Feather Dragon into frenzy, doubling its danger. So he had to change his hunting method.

Then, by ill luck, a second dragon appeared. What seemed like despair turned into opportunity—Mo Xuanli, quick-witted, recalled his original plan. He worried the scent might not work on two males, but unexpectedly, they were deceived all the same. The gamble paid off—it was luck as well.

The disciples were left slack-jawed.

Outside the water mirror, the explanation made sense. After all, many sects specialize in studying beasts, and they were familiar with Mating Incense. They simply hadn’t expected a sword cultivator to know so much—or to dare use it this way. Daring yet meticulous, it left them utterly stunned.

Everyone finally understood: this youth had prepared so thoroughly—he’d aimed to capture a Red Feather Dragon from the start.

By now, Fu Zhiyi and Chu Fei had already flown to a higher vantage. Fu Zhiyi raised his feather fan and smacked it against Gu Baiqing’s forehead. “You knew all along, didn’t you? Why didn’t you say so earlier, made me worry myself sick.”

Gu Baiqing rubbed the spot, looking wronged. “Mo Xuanli didn’t tell me anything. He prepared it all himself. I only knew his nature—if he wanted the dragon bone, he would surely prepare well. If it had been some other beast, I might have worried, but against a Red Feather Dragon, least of all.”

“Truly impressive. Calling him a ‘promising youth’ before was modest understatement.” Jingcheng’s face showed admiration. “Even my younger brother is not his equal. Baiqing, you really took on a fine disciple. It’s your teaching as well.”

From Jingcheng, that was the highest of praise.

“Many thanks for the compliment,” Gu Baiqing replied with a smile.

Fu Zhiyi couldn’t help smirking as well. After all, Mo Xuanli was already a key candidate for heir training. Still, he said with mock disdain: “Look at you, all smug. Didn’t want this disciple before—now proud as can be.”

From the sounds below—praise and heated discussion about Mo Xuanli—Gu Baiqing truly did feel proud. With his disciple’s performance today, the pride was deserved. After all, in the original text, this part of the story went differently.

In the original story, Mo Xuanli could coldly let companions sacrifice themselves. Not that he wanted them dead, but he wouldn’t bother exhausting effort to keep them alive—his heart fixed solely on obtaining the bone.

So with everyone safe now, at most lightly injured, Mo Xuanli had clearly spent effort and thought. Gu Baiqing counted it as a credit to himself.

Before long, Dragon One was dead, and Dragon Two, half-dead, was brought down by the Zixiao Sect disciples.

They had directly seized the first prize of the Void Spirit Secret Realm.

And not just any prize—an enviable one.

Two colossal Red Feather Dragons. Even if they spent the rest of their time resting until the secret realm ended, they would still return fully laden with spoils.

The crowd gathered around the corpse, all excited.

But Mo Xuanli spoke directly: “It’s already getting dark. We need to pack up and leave quickly—this place will soon attract other Red Feather Dragons.”

Everyone’s enthusiasm instantly deflated.

“How do we divide it?” someone brought up the key point.

“I don’t want anything. I didn’t help much, and there’s nothing on the Red Feather Dragon that I need,” Yun Yue was the first to step forward. “Junior Brother Mo did the most—he should get the largest share.”

“Mm, that’s what I think too,” Nan Zhi added.

Though there was a trace of envy, no one objected. Everyone knew that without Mo Xuanli’s great effort, they’d all be dead here. So they nodded in agreement.

The final division was simple: one dragon went directly to Mo Xuanli, while the rest shared the other. For each person, it was still quite a harvest.

With storage bags, even gigantic beasts could be packed away, so they quickly tidied up and set off.

“Which way do we go? Should we find a safe place to heal and rest?”

By now, everyone instinctively turned to Mo Xuanli for guidance.

Mo Xuanli pointed in a direction: “This way. We should pass by the Red Feather Dragon’s nesting ground.”

Everyone was startled. They were already unused to refuting him, so they simply followed on sword flight while asking why.

“The Red Feather Dragon of this territory is already in our storage bags. That place is empty, but still thick with its aura. Ordinary beasts won’t dare approach, and Red Feather Dragons themselves hate the scent of their own kind. Even if they take new territory, they won’t go near it. So for us, it’s the safest place to spend the first night.”

After he finished, the group stared at him blankly, like students listening to a lecture.

Thinking he hadn’t explained clearly, Mo Xuanli was about to go on when Nan Zhi swung her heavy sword lightly, knocking each of them on the back of the head.

“The elders taught all this in class. You didn’t pay attention and still have the nerve to ask.”

Yun Yue chuckled. “Nan Zhi, you’ve got a lot of nerve talking—you didn’t remember the first time either.”

Nan Zhi pouted unhappily.

Yun Yue turned back to Mo Xuanli. “Didn’t expect you to even remember details like this.”

Mo Xuanli smiled gently. “That’s because Master taught me well. And if we’re lucky, we might even gather some red scales.”

Not long after, they saw a massive nest-like place, scattered all over with red scales.

The group landed, looking for a place to set up formation and rest—only to see Mo Xuanli picking up scales.

“What are you doing?” they asked in puzzlement.

“You don’t want them?” Mo Xuanli replied.

Everyone was dumbfounded. “What would we want them for?”

“Scales that naturally shed will harden into something like jade. They can be carved into ornaments. Many people buy them, at a pretty good price.”

The group: ????? Collect them, bring them out, and sell them? For money? But they were cultivators! Things with no cultivation use—what was the point?

Seeing no one react, Mo Xuanli said, “If you don’t want them, I’ll just take them all then?”

The group: !!!!! Wasting precious rest time to pick up this stuff?

One after another, they declined, and really did just watch as Mo Xuanli picked them up one by one.

Nan Zhi’s mouth twitched. “What on earth is he doing? If he’s not injured, wouldn’t this time be better spent training sword?”

Yun Yue explained quietly, “Junior Brother’s been a little short on money lately.”

Everyone perked their ears—so that was it! Otherwise, after killing the Red Feather Dragon, who would still scavenge its shed scales? Sweeping the place clean like this—if not for needing money, they wouldn’t believe it.

They even started to suspect that Mo Xuanli had chosen this as their safe spot just to pick up scales.

Outside the water mirror, those unaware of the truth raised their heads strangely, puzzled but not daring to voice it.

Could it be that his master, or the Zixiao Sect, was being too harsh on this little disciple, forcing him to swallow his pride and find every way possible to earn money? Did the boy not realize his actions might be seen by outsiders?

But those who knew the truth only looked on enviously—this kind of money-grubbing must be for the sake of Ten Thousand Swords Island. What a good disciple, taking the initiative to share his master’s burden of debt.

Jingcheng coughed, sensing the awkwardness in the air, and said: “Uh… Baiqing, your disciple really is a thrifty, family-minded young man. You’ve taught him well.”

“Junior Brother? What’s going on? Didn’t you not tell him?” Fu Zhiyi looked confused.

Gu Baiqing was stunned too. Just moments ago, he’d been wondering if this kid had somehow peeked at his own “Wealth Collection Ledger” in the Void Spirit secret realm—after all, scales were indeed recorded there as a safe, profitable item, and he’d just been comparing options. But Mo Xuanli wasn’t the type to love money.

Just then, Gu Baiqing noticed Chu Fei, who had been silent all along, quietly take a step back.

Gu Baiqing suddenly reached out and grabbed Chu Fei, startling him so much he blurted: “I don’t know anything!”

“I haven’t even asked yet!” Gu Baiqing narrowed his eyes. “But I’m asking now. Tell me honestly!”

Chu Fei’s thick brows furrowed. “I accidentally let it slip—about the debt. He probably just wants to help shoulder it for you.”

Gu Baiqing’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. With Mo Xuanli’s mindset, he would definitely think Ten Thousand Swords Island was his responsibility. That this was for his sake. D*mn it—he’d been tricked again.

Suddenly, Gu Baiqing’s heart gave a jolt, a bad premonition rising. “You… you didn’t also tell him about me ‘selling my body,’ did you?”

Jingcheng: Sell… body????

Seeing Gu Baiqing’s terrifying expression, Chu Fei used all the acting skills of his life, shaking his head firmly: “No, I didn’t. Just that Ten Thousand Swords Island is in debt. Lots of people know that, you couldn’t have hidden it from him anyway.”

Gu Baiqing let out a breath of relief. Given his strict orders not to say anything, Chu Fei couldn’t possibly be that much of a fool.

Back then, Mo Xuanli hadn’t shown any abnormal behavior—given his filial nature, if he had known, he would’ve exploded on the spot.

As long as this matter didn’t come to light, it was fine. After all, he wasn’t putting on a tragic act; it was just a task.

But now, watching Mo Xuanli obediently picking up scales in the water mirror, Gu Baiqing, while comforted that he had taught a good disciple, also felt as if he had ruined Mo Xuanli’s character setting rather badly.

In the original story, master and disciple were inside accomplishing life’s great matters.

Now, master and disciple were only thinking about which things would sell better to pay off debts.

The more he thought about it, the more sour he felt!

Weary for no reason, Gu Baiqing had no mood to keep watching. Since Mo Xuanli had settled down to rest and there would be no more plot today, he decided to continue tomorrow.

The first night in the secret realm passed peacefully.

The next day, as soon as he arrived, he heard others excitedly talking about what had happened to others. But aside from Li Xiuran, who had a wealth of experiences, the rest weren’t nearly as interesting compared to Mo Xuanli.

“Just what kind of luck does Li Xiuran have, running into the legendary Venom Phoenix Demon—and it happened to be right when it was transforming, at its weakest. That luck is incredible.”

“Exactly! If he had gone a bit earlier or later, he would’ve died in that cave.”

“You didn’t see—after resting a bit, he went back in and picked up plenty of treasures left behind by that demon.”

“So compared to Young Master Mo, who had to risk his life to shine, Young Master Li’s luck is ten times better.”

“You can’t put it that way. Young Master Li also had to be bold, meticulous, and strategic to obtain all that. And… at that time, he held off the demon alone so his companions could escape. That’s righteous enough.”

Gu Baiqing listened half-dazed. Since Li Xiuran was only a side character, the original story never detailed his experience, so Gu Baiqing wasn’t sure whether Li Xiuran had really performed so well in the secret realm.

In the end, the one who shone brightest should still be Mo Xuanli—the only one to gain a legacy of cultivation methods.

Others were also curious how Mo Xuanli’s group was doing, but after their tracking failed, they could only scan around with the water mirror.

Soon, they saw another team—the Four Young Fairies of Chuixue Pavilion, led by Si Chun.

Chuixue Pavilion was a sect mainly of women, with the rule that no one but beauties could enter. The sect was like a garden in spring, full of flowers of every kind. All dressed in uniform pale-blue skirts, they were elegant and beautiful, their special weapons even more distinctive.

Their blue-white “wave parasols” concealed sword hilts in the handles—Chuixue Pavilion’s signature weapon.

The moment the spectators saw this team, they could hardly look away—it was a feast for the eyes.

“They say yesterday they hunted a Greyrock Wolf together and even found Deer Immortal Grass. Though few in number, they’re all formidable Golden Core cultivators, and not a single one is injured yet.”

Just then, the beauties in the water mirror grew alert.

In the next instant, five Greyrock Wolves appeared, surrounding the four.

Greyrock Wolves were pack beasts with strong vengeful instincts. The spectators all sighed—this would be a tough fight.

Very quickly, the battle was joined, the beautiful disciples clashing with the wolves.

Gu Baiqing watched from above. Jingcheng happened to arrive, and seeing this, chuckled: “What, you’re interested in watching Chuixue Pavilion’s disciples now?”

“Huh?” Gu Baiqing froze. Sure, watching beautiful women was pleasant, but that wasn’t his main purpose—he was here for the plot. Still, why did Jingcheng’s tone sound so odd, and why did his glance carry so much teasing?

Meanwhile, below, voices of commentary rose: 

“They can’t hold out—they’re in trouble!”

“In the end, they were careless. Attacked Greyrock Wolves without concealing their traces.”

“There’s someone!”

“It’s Mo Xuanli and Nan Zhi.”

In the mirror, the four Chuixue Pavilion disciples were already fighting like cornered beasts. One was struck aside by mistake; leader Si Chun flew to save her, but a wolf fixed on her instantly, leaping with claws outstretched. Holding her companion, Si Chun couldn’t block—she could only brace herself to take the blow.

At that critical moment, two figures flew in front of the two female disciples.

Nan Zhi slashed at the claws, while Mo Xuanli struck at the wolf’s eyes with a spell, forcing it back.

The other wolves lunged immediately.

Mo Xuanli shouted: “Now!”

From all directions came a storm of spell nets—the Zixiao Sect disciples had struck, weaving nets of magic to entangle the wolves, leaving them reeling. Sword cultivators then pressed the attack.

The Chuixue Pavilion disciples didn’t even need to intervene—the battle turned instantly.

“A hero saving beauties!” Outside the mirror, a crowd immediately gathered to watch the fun.

Listening to the clamor, Gu Baiqing couldn’t help but think—if this were a romance novel world, wouldn’t this be a perfect setup for a love story? Wait… if Mo Xuanli still hadn’t deviated, maybe it could work?

“I feel like I’m watching history repeat itself. Your disciple and Chuixue Pavilion really are tied by fate. Things are about to get lively,” Jingcheng said with meaning.