CHAPTER 112: ELIMINATE THE ROOT CAUSE

"Are you nuts?!"

Lin Bai raised his hand.

A bolt of lightning flew out, striking the "Professional Mage" square on the head.

A wisp of black smoke rose from his afro. The "Professional Mage" seemed unfazed, still chuckling while live-streaming, "Verification confirmed! Folks, get those rockets spamming! Damn, this really is the ultimate tool against Lin, the Storekeeper!"

The Beggar Gang disciples’ faces darkened. They all glared at the "Professional Mage", wishing they could tear him limb from limb.

"Damn!"

Perhaps it was because he had verified Lin Bai’s "bug," or maybe he was egged on by the viewers’ rocket spam. The "Professional Mage" stared at Lin Bai and cursed again.

Lin Bai raised his hand and zapped him once more.

MBD! Isn’t this over yet?

Lin Bai circled his left palm, unleashing Overbearing Dragon Has Pride. A dragon’s head shot out from his palm, bypassed the Beggar Gang disciples blocking the way, and flew straight at the "Professional Mage".

Suddenly, a streak of sword light slashed in diagonally, cleaving the dragon’s head Lin Bai had launched in two.

Then, a young man in black, wielding a sword and looking to be almost thirty, stepped in front of the "Professional Mage". He glared at Lin Bai and demanded, "What do you think you’re doing?"

Damn! Lin Bai looked curiously at the black-clothed young man. To be able to split even Overbearing Dragon Has Pride... this guy is definitely someone formidable!

"Brothers, remember his name! We’ll kill him all the way back to the Novice Village!" Lonely Old Man ignored the black-clothed young man, his gaze fixed on the "Professional Mage". A hint of malice flashed in his eyes as he initiated the team voice chat.

"Master, since we’re all Players, I just went over to greet them. I wanted to invite them to join our Morning Yuan Sword Sect," the "Professional Mage" whined, hiding behind the black-clothed young man and pointing at Lin Bai. "Not only did they refuse, but they also attacked me! He even said the Morning Yuan Sword Sect is crap, not even fit to shine the Beggar Gang’s shoes..."

"Not even fit to shine their shoes?" The black-clothed young man looked at Lin Bai, an inexplicable flash of disgust in his eyes.

From his point of view, the "Professional Mage" had done nothing wrong. He’d been zapped twice for no reason, and then viciously attacked. If he hadn’t sensed something was amiss and intervened in time, this new disciple of his would likely already be dead.

"Bullshit!"

"You were clearly the one provoking us!"

"When did you ever mention the Morning Yuan Sword Sect?"

"So shameless!"

Lin Bai coughed lightly. The Beggar Gang instantly fell silent, but the team voice chat raged on.

"Kill him! I’m definitely going to kill him! He’s too shameless!"

"That bastard is just trying to stir up trouble!"

"What a despicable piece of scum!"

"If we don’t kill him back to the Novice Village, I swear I’m not fit to be called human!"

Playing such scheming tricks? How childish!

Lin Bai’s gaze swept past the "Professional Mage" to the black-clothed young man. He smiled and said, "He’s right."

The Beggar Gang disciples froze collectively.

Is our leader really this arrogant? Is this the legendary disdain for bothering to explain oneself?

"Are you looking to die?" The black-clothed young man raised his sword, pointing it at Lin Bai.

"Do you really think he could speak fast enough to greet all of us, introduce himself as a disciple of the Morning Yuan Sword Sect, *and* invite my Beggar Gang disciples to join them? All while tanking two of my Palm Thunders?" Lin Bai looked disdainfully at the black-clothed young man and sighed. "With a master as foolish as you, the Morning Yuan Sword Sect truly isn’t fit to shine the Beggar Gang’s shoes. I’ve heard that to reach the pinnacle, a swordsman’s Heart of Sword must be clear and perceptive. Tsk, tsk..."

The black-clothed young man’s face flushed red, and he froze on the spot.

[Resentment from Zhao Yi; +1+1+1]

"Master, don’t listen to his nonsense!" The "Professional Mage" stammered, his face flushed as he frantically tried to defend himself. "He’s just twisting things! He only denied it because he saw you coming..."

"Senior Brother Zhao," Lin Bai began, glancing at the "Professional Mage" with a faint smile, "to see who’s right and who’s wrong, just have your disciple reenact what happened. It’ll become perfectly clear. A duel between us can happen anytime; that’s no big deal. But being manipulated by your own disciple? If word of that got out, it wouldn’t reflect well on your reputation, Senior Brother. Besides, we have plenty of time. Let’s just enjoy the show."

The "Professional Mage" was dumbfounded.

[Resentment from "Professional Mage"; +1+1+1]

"You know me?" The black-clothed young man was taken aback.

"Senior Sister Jiang of the Hundred Flower Valley mentioned you," Lin Bai said with a smile, clasping his fist to his palm in salute. "She said Senior Brother Zhao is an exceptionally upright person. Seeing your straightforward nature, I, Lin Bai, took a wild guess, and it seems I was right. A moment ago, I saw that you, Senior Brother, were being deceived by a villain and had lost your composure, which is why I spoke so harshly. Please forgive me, Senior Brother."

As the saying goes, you don’t hit a smiling face.

Zhao Yi looked at the composed Lin Bai, then glanced at the "Professional Mage" with a slight frown. "No matter."

"Go on, show us," Lin Bai said to the "Professional Mage" with a smile.

The "Professional Mage" swallowed hard, his resentment for Lin Bai steadily growing.

"Come now, the innocent have nothing to fear. With your master here, what are you afraid of?" Lin Bai chuckled. "It shouldn’t be hard for you to reenact what just happened."

"I..." The "Professional Mage" stammered, unable to utter a single word. He knew his master was impulsive, which was why he’d orchestrated this whole charade, hoping to push the Beggar Gang into opposition with the Morning Yuan Sword Sect.

He never expected Lin Bai to dismantle his scheme with just a few sentences.

When I watched his livestream, I thought Lin Bai was all talk. But facing him directly, I finally realize how sharp his mind truly is. Fabricating a few lies isn’t hard; the hard part is claiming I said all that so quickly!

"Idiot!" Dumbelldore muttered, watching the "Professional Mage" with a cold, disdainful gaze. The tension he felt vanished.

"Moron!"

"Should’ve just run after the verification! Why add so much unnecessary drama? This streamer’s an idiot, confirmed!"

"And such childish drama at that! Did he learn this from some palace intrigue show?"

"Told ya before: to beat Shopkeeper Lin, you either steamroll him with power or get NPCs on your side to suppress him strategically. Clever little tricks won’t work on him."

"Just delete your account! This streamer’s finished!"

The barrage comments flew by, all mocking him. Not a single one of the viewers who had been spamming ’666’ earlier was anywhere to be seen.

The "Professional Mage" wanted to cry but had no tears left.

By now, how could Zhao Yi not understand the truth? His gaze instantly turned ice-cold.

"If you don’t want to reenact it, I’ll do it for you!" Lin Bai chuckled. "You ran over, and the first thing you shouted was, ’All Beggar Gang members are stupid pigs!’ Then you got hit by the first lightning bolt. The second thing you said was, ’Hit me again if you dare!’ and you got the second bolt. The third thing was, ’If you can’t kill me, you’re my grandson!’..."

"I didn’t! All I said was ’Damn it!’..." the "Professional Mage" cried out desperately.

ZZT!

Another bolt of lightning struck his afro.

The "Professional Mage’s" voice died in his throat.

"Now *that’s* what you call a crushing display of power!" Lonely Old Man exclaimed, looking at Lin Bai with admiration.

Dumbelldore gulped and nodded in agreement.

"Senior Brother Zhao, one should be discerning when accepting disciples. A disciple like this will one day bring disaster upon your sect," Lin Bai said to the black-clothed young man with a soft sigh.

Zhao Yi’s gaze, sharp as a blade, fell coldly upon the "Professional Mage". "Leave," he said. "The Morning Yuan Sword Sect has no place for you."

"Master, I was wrong!" the "Professional Mage" pleaded, his face a mask of despair.

"Senior Brother Zhao, you have such a good temper to still keep him around in this situation," Lin Bai sighed, shaking his head. "A person with such a wicked heart, once expelled from the Morning Yuan Sword Sect, will likely turn around and join an Evil Sect. Then he’ll come back to raise his slaughter knife against you."

The "Professional Mage" shot a furious glare at Lin Bai.

[Anger from "Professional Mage"; +1+1+1]

"Beggar Gang disciples, hear my order!" A cold glint flashed in Lin Bai’s eyes. "Memorize this man’s face and name. Kill him on sight, every time, until he no longer dares to show his face!"

With that said, under the "Professional Mage’s" regretful gaze, Lin Bai thrust out another palm. Overbearing Dragon Has Pride! The dragon’s head flew out and claimed his life.

"Yes, Leader!"

The Beggar Gang disciples erupted in excitement, each one eagerly affirming the order. They swarmed forward and, without waiting for the body to respawn, looted everything from him, mocking the "Professional Mage" for being broke as they did so.