"Big Brother! I am sorry!"

Xue'er felt as if she had been sitting on pins and needles after she recounted her encounter. She was all but ready for some scolding but her brother remained dazed for several breaths of time, making her even more nervous. So she unconsciously called out.

Xue'er's shout broke Mu Chen's train of thought.

Looking at his little sister's pitiful expression, Mu Chen found it amusing and chuckled.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Huh...you aren't going to scold me?!" Xue'er was taken aback.

"Why would I scold you?"

"You...you really aren't going to scold me?"

"I won't." Mu Chen shrugged.

Xue'er felt relieved and confused. If it was in the past, she definitely wouldn't have got off so easily. The reason why she confessed earlier was to lower her punishment. If it was the Law Enforcement Elder who told Big Brother about the commotion she had caused, she would be in more trouble.

Mu Chen felt funny. Did his sister think he had a hobby of scolding her?

"All right. Wrap everything up and go to your room and practice. The punishment for causing a ruckus will be...you will not step outside the house for a week. Go to your room and cultivate...If I don't see any improvement in your cultivation even after a week..."

"Big Brother! You liar! You said there would be no punishment…" Xue'er complained in an aggrieved tone.

"Hey, I said I wouldn't scold you. Not that I would not punish you. It's different." Mu Chen shrugged.

"Big Brother! You...you...I...I hate you!" Xue'er cried out as she threw her chopsticks at him.

"That will be two more days!" My Chen nonchalantly said as the chopsticks bounced off his chest.

Xue'er shoulders slumped down as she slowly picked her chopsticks and gathered the utensils one by one. She looked very pitiful, but Mu Chen didn't fall for it. Before leaving, Xue'er shot another pitiful look at Mu Chen.

Mu Chen watched as a dejected little sister slowly disappeared into the residence. Then sighed. Being a Big Brother was indeed difficult. He had to constantly remind himself that he couldn't always pamper his little sister.

The reason why he punished Xue'er was to avoid getting her into unnecessary troubles.

The Family's internal tournament would soon be taking place. He just wanted to focus on his training without any distractions.

As long Xue'er stayed within the residence, she would stay out of trouble. The Family rules were pretty strict and it was prohibited to barge into other members' residence without notice. This way, whoever was trying to make things difficult for him would have fewer opportunities.

Moreover, if he didn't punish her, this lazy sister of his will not cultivate.

Mu Chen continued to ponder. Punishing Xue'er was just a temporary measure. It was not the solution to the problem.

The crux of the issue was, his position in the family was unstable. Even before his accident, he knew there were many people who were jealous of his status and the privileges he had gotten. There must be several people who wanted to knock him off his position. Now that the Family's internal tournament was near, they must be getting restless.

The annual Family Tournament was not just a simple competition. All juniors over thirteen years old would be able to participate in it and showcase their talents. You would get additional resources according to your rankings. The rewards for the top ten, especially the top three rankings were very generous.

Mu Chen himself had participated in the rankings in the past. But since he was elevated to the status of Core Member, he no longer had to struggle for resources or participate in the rankings.

What he was concerned about was the second half of the tournament. It was an open challenge. The participants would be members of Outer Court, Inner Court and Core Members of the Family. During this challenge even an Outer Court member can challenge a Core Member. If he won, he would take the position of loser and become a Core Member. The only requirement was that the challenger must be of the same age or lower than the one challenged.

Ironically, it was due to his injury that he was able to preserve his status as a Core Member of the Mu Family without being challenged. During the last tournament, he was injured and was still being treated. At that time many higher ups were still optimistic that he could recover after treatment, so he was exempted from participating in the second half of the tournament.

Later, it became certain that he could not recover from his injury and could no longer cultivate. Many people soon started voicing their dissatisfaction. Some demanded he give up his status as Core Member. Some started slandering him, calling him shameless for wasting resources of the Family.

Mu Chen faced countless accusations. In the beginning, he did feel guilty and thought he was being selfish. He had even planned to relinquish his status as a Core Member.

But later he resolved to maintain this status as far as possible. So he started turning a blind eye against all the accusations and slander. The more the people complained, the more persistent he was. Even if he couldn't use the resources himself, he could still give them to his sister or Zhou Mei.

Unsurprisingly, due to Mu Chen's attitude, he continued to fall out of favor. His popularity had already declined to its lowest. In the past many girls from the family used to swoon with just his presence, many junior brothers and sometimes, even senior brothers would often ask for his cultivation advice. Now he was being detested. Even younger members of the Family were now openly insulting him.

Mu Chen was well aware, many Elders in the Family were dissatisfied with him. Even those Elders who had once taken a liking to him and praised him were now disgruntled with him.

But since Mu Chen was unwilling to resign, the fastest way to remove his status was by letting the younger generation challenge him during the tournament.

Currently, Mu Chen was seventeen. This was also the age where most talented cultivators would step into Spirit Gathering. His current position was like the lowest hanging fruit in the garden. So there would be many who should be interested in challenging him.

Thankfully, regardless of the number of challengers, he would only need to face one of them. Anyone who wanted to challenge him and obtain his status would have to first defeat all other competitors.

As long as he managed to maintain his status for the next year, it would be enough. Zhou Mei would have enough resources to advance a level or two. And his sister would also have a decent enough environment to cultivate.

Xue'er was still in the foundational stages. The current environment they were living in was very beneficial to her. And if she worked hard, she should be able to make good progress. This was one of the biggest reasons why Mu Chen was unwilling to lose his status at this point.

Moreover, Xue'er would qualify for participating in the tournament next year. Mu Chen was confident, Xue'er could get decent enough standing. Although that brat was lazy, her talent was indisputable. Once she was valued by higher-ups, Mu Chen wouldn't need to worry about lack of resources for her cultivation.

As for his own cultivation, he could only smile wryly.

At least he had his sword, Mu Chen mused as he caressed his sword. Looking at the sword beside him, Mu Chen had an urge to immediately go back to his training. But there were some issues that needed to be taken care of.

First, the issue regarding the lack of servants needed to be handled. He couldn't always have his sister prepare their meals. She needed to focus on her cultivation. There was no guarantee he would be able to maintain his status in the upcoming tournament, so every moment she could spend training in this environment was precious.

Although cultivators could survive without food, it was only after they reached the Spirit Gathering realm. Cultivators at this stage could easily suppress hunger pangs and rely on spiritual qi for sustenance. This was one of the reasons why you are considered a true cultivator only after you reach Spirit Gathering.

Mu Chen's cultivation base had already dropped. He was no longer a cultivator of the Spirit Gathering realm. But his foundation remained. Technically, he could be considered to be in the Foundation Establishment stage, just like his sister.

So both Mu Chen and Xue'er needed to eat. Since Mu Chen was training his physical body intensely in order to pursue the sword. So he especially needed to eat- a lot.

So finding someone reliable to help take care of their daily necessities had unexpectedly become important. Additionally, he needed to find someone whom he could trust, in order to avoid a repeat of today's farce.

Second, it was the matter regarding the commotion caused by Xue'er. Normally, it shouldn't have been an issue. Small scale conflicts were actually common among large families. Unless someone stepped over line and caused serious or irreparable damage, the Law Enforcement Hall shouldn't intervene.

However, the current situation was rather unusual. Mu Chen wasn't sure if the other party would use it as an opportunity to make trouble at the door. Since Xue'er didn't completely fall for the trap, there shouldn't be any ground for them to act against her?

Ding!

The sound of a bell echoed pulling Mu Chen out of his reverie. Someone had just triggered the formation outside the residence.

They had a visitor.