"Brother Ji! Brother Jiao!" three young men greeted them hastily.
Despite their cheerful greetings, the expressions on their faces differed.
Two of them appeared quite nervous, unsure if their new leader would be difficult to please.
The third, however, was full of excitement, his eyes practically gleaming like light bulbs as he looked at Shān Jī and Xiāngjiāo Jūn...
"Are these the people you found during this time?" Shān Jī glanced at the trio, his brow furrowing. "Their aptitude isn't very good, is it?"
The two who looked nervous were merely in the Huàshén realm. The other was even weaker, only in the Yuán Yīng realm...
As a gang destined to shock Géshān City in the future, Xīn♂ Rìmùlǐ felt it was rather undignified to recruit such low-level followers...
"Please forgive me, Brother Ji," Guāng Yī wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Firstly, time was tight, and secondly, my abilities are limited..."
"Brother Ji, Brother Jiao!"
The Yuán Yīng realm young man exclaimed excitedly:
"I'm so thrilled to be able to join Xīn♂ Rìmùlǐ!"
"You have no idea! I've tried to join other gangs before, but they all looked down on me."
"Later, I lowered my standards and joined a slightly less prestigious one, but for some reason, they kicked me out not long after."
"I'm a Yuán Yīng realm cultivator, surely I'm not that bad?"
"Plus, I'm hardworking and can endure hardship. I always volunteer for the dirtiest and most strenuous tasks, so why did they kick me out?"
...
The energetic young man spoke at length, leaving Shān Jī and Xiāngjiāo Jūn somewhat stunned...
This young man was truly full of vigor?
However, he didn't seem very intelligent.
Look at the things he was saying!
He had joined gangs with lowered standards before.
So, by joining Xīn♂ Rìmùlǐ now, he meant their gang's standards were not good enough?
But looking at the person, he seemed like a straightforward individual, not intentionally malicious.
To put it politely, he was frank.
To put it bluntly, he was dim-witted...
Where on earth did Guāng Yī find such a peculiar person?
To be honest.
If not for the gang's urgent need for new members, Shān Jī truly wouldn't have wanted to keep this fellow...
Never mind, let it be for now!
"Wait aside for now," Shān Jī said calmly.
"Okay!"
The energetic young man replied and obediently retreated to the side.
"Brother Ji, is this spot okay?"
"Do I need to do any preparations now?"
"If I had known the two leaders were coming today, I would have styled my hair..."
"Brother Ji, do you think I need to change these clothes? I feel like they don't match our gang's style?"
"Did the two leaders eat when they arrived? I happen to be a good cook, how about I make something for you?"
...
Although he stood aside, his mouth wouldn't stop talking...
Shān Jī felt as if there was a fly...
No, that's not right.
It was like hundreds, even thousands, of flies buzzing around him...
Now he roughly understood why this person was always kicked out of gangs...
He was an energetic young man, but unfortunately, he had a mouth...
"What you need to do now is immediately! Right now! Shut up!" Shān Jī glared at the energetic young man.
"Okay, Brother Ji!"
"By the way, are you guys hungry?"
"I'm actually a pretty good cook, I worked as a chef before..."
Shān Jī casually unleashed a strand of demonic energy, attaching it to the energetic young man's mouth.
The energetic young man's mouth continued to move, but thankfully, no sound came out.
Finally...
Peace descended...
"Brother Jiao, the rest is up to you," Shān Jī instructed and stepped aside.
Xiāngjiāo Jūn nodded and took a few steps forward.
The remaining two cultivators couldn't help but swallow hard, feeling even more nervous.
This ritual of meeting the leader felt ominous in every way...
"There's no need to be nervous," Xiāngjiāo Jūn offered a gentle smile. "You don't need to do anything. Just relax your mind and body."
"O-okay... Brother Jiao..." the two stammered.
Xiāngjiāo Jūn nodded.
"Are you ready?"
"R-ready... ready..."
"Haa—!"
Xiāngjiāo Jūn roared, and his clothes instantly ripped apart!
His toned muscles were revealed to the two, clad only in yellow shorts.
Coupled with his shiny bald head...
The two male cultivators felt a tightening in their backs, their bodies stiffening completely...
"Embrace freedom!"
With these words, Xiāngjiāo Jūn's body began to move with a bizarre rhythm and tempo!
Gradually, Xiāngjiāo Jūn began to move so fast that afterimages appeared!
His movements appeared very slow, yet he produced afterimages that should only appear at high speeds!
The scene...
Became increasingly bizarre...
The two cultivators felt their breathing becoming more difficult, as if they were suffocating...
Their minds buzzed...
Unknowingly, Xiāngjiāo Jūn's hand landed on the crown of one of them.
Then, his fingers moved skillfully and nimbly across his body, tracing his crown.
Each time his fingers brushed past, a stream of golden-green light would emanate...
Perhaps from seeing it so often, Shān Jī felt nothing out of the ordinary.
On the other hand, Guāng Yī.
He watched the entire scene with adoration, like a fervent believer...
The energetic young man's eyes began to glaze over, seemingly entering a profound state.
However, his mouth continued to move, as if still saying something...
A quarter of an hour later.
Xiāngjiāo Jūn withdrew his fingers, a look of disappointment on his face.
"Failed again..."
As his words fell, the cultivator's body slumped and he fell to the ground...
His expression was peaceful, but he could no longer stand.
In the horrified gaze of the other cultivator, Xiāngjiāo Jūn turned towards him.
On his face, the same gentle smile remained.
But to the eyes of this cultivator, it became the most terrifying sight he had ever witnessed.
After all, he had just watched the person next to him die so casually...
He wanted to escape.
But his body was completely immobile.
He could only watch helplessly as Xiāngjiāo Jūn put on another set of clothes, then roared and ripped them apart again.
Finally...
That terrifying right hand slowly covered his head...
Another quarter of an hour passed.
This cultivator followed the same fate as the previous one, lying peacefully on the ground...
Xiāngjiāo Jūn's gaze fell upon the last energetic young man.
Unlike the previous two, the energetic young man showed no signs of terror.
His gaze was even more fervent than before!
Without waiting for Xiāngjiāo Jūn to speak, he rushed forward himself!
He was utterly impatient!
Xiāngjiāo Jūn smiled, took out a new Daoist robe, and ripped it apart again.
Another quarter of an hour passed...
Xiāngjiāo Jūn put on a new Daoist robe, looking gratified and excited.
Because...
He had finally succeeded again!
"Shān Jī, remove the demonic energy from his body," he said.
Shān Jī nodded and withdrew the demonic energy that had sealed the energetic young man's mouth.
"Congratulations, you are now a member of Xīn♂ Rìmùlǐ," Xiāngjiāo Jūn said with a smile. "By the way, I still don't know your name."
"Brother Jiao, my name is Huá Láo," the energetic young man replied. "I am deeply honored to officially become a member of Xīn♂ Rìmùlǐ."
Huá Láo spoke calmly, and this time, his words were surprisingly few...
Shān Jī felt a surge of relief.
It seemed Brother Jiao's 'enlightenment' had cured this fellow's bad habit as well.
Thank goodness...
Otherwise, if his mouth kept babbling ceaselessly in the future, it would have been unbearable...
As it turned out, Shān Jī's wishful thinking was too optimistic...
"I will definitely work hard in the future and strive to contribute more to our gang!"
"I, Huá Láo, swear by my Dao heart, from now on, Xīn♂ Rìmùlǐ and I will share glory and hardship!"
"Although I joined early, I will honestly start from the bottom, striving to forge a future through my own hard work and strength, absolutely without special treatment."
"By the way, are the two leaders really not hungry? My cooking is actually quite good."
...