Under the pine, the old Daoist priest flew into a rage. His Qi and blood were surging with loud sounds.
Nie Changqing sent the arrow flying by hitting it with the palm of his hand.
Miao Renyu remained in the stance of drawing his bow, his pupils constricted.
The wound on his cheek grew wider. Blood flowed out of it.
Although he had anticipated it and knew how strong Nie Changqing was, it was still a big blow to Miao Renyu when he saw it with his own eyes.
He was ranked third in the Daoist School, second only to the sibling duo, Li Sansi, and Li Sansui.
Under his gentle disposition, he was actually very competitive by nature. Nie Changqing had sent his arrow flying in such an easy manner. More than that, he could have killed Miao Renyu when he changed the arrow’s direction if he intended to do so.
He lost.
Old Ten, who used to be the one seeking his advice with an open mind, outdid him in an overwhelming manner.
Nie Changqing walked forward slowly. Spirit Pressure overwhelmed him.
Miao Renyu could not handle it anymore. He flopped onto the ground.
Nie Changqing strode over in a white robe, holding the butcher knife in one hand. He had walked past six of the most distinguished young men in the Daoist School.
He used to be ranked tenth, but now he seemed to have topped his peers.
On the field, the disciples of the Daoist School were all startled.
Cultivator Nie Changqing was strong!
Six of the most distinguished young men in the Daoist School and six martial arts Grandmasters were overwhelmed by Nie Changqing’s techniques. They did not even dare to raise their heads.
Even Miao Renyu, the third rank of the Daoist School, who had shot an arrow at Nie Changqing, was also as weak as a baby!
“Guys, suppress this sinner!”
Under the pine, the old Daoist priest sprang to his feet. His Daoist robe was fluttering. The palms of his hands, which seemed like scrawny dead branches before, were open. He landed on the ground as lithe as a swallow and then he jumped into the air.
Other senile Daoist priests shouted in anger one after another.
They landed on the field in different directions, emanating strong Qi and blood.
They did not look down on cultivators. After all, the philosopher of the Daoist School had warned them of cultivators before his seclusion started.
And the Secret Realm of the Dragon Raising Site at Star Picking Peak also showed them how dreadful cultivators could be.
However, to deal with cultivators, the philosopher of the Daoist School created a formation of Qi and blood revised from the original grand formation of the Daoist School. This new formation could gather all their Qi and blood.
The senile Daoist priests’ Qi and blood seemed to flow into the elder’s body.
Instantly, that old Daoist priest’s dry hair started to float. His wrinkled face was shaking.
He cried for a long time.
Then, he jumped onto the field.
The waving of his flywhisk created surprisingly dreadful energy. Even the flagstones on the ground were broken.
Nie Changqing slightly raised his eyebrow. He was still standing there.
He spread his feet apart.
Spirit Pressure spread.
The six disciples of the Daoist School who had flopped to the ground were all sent flying.
Nie Changqing raised the butcher knife in his hand.
The old Daoist priest threw his flywhisk down hard. It collided with Nie Changqing’s butcher knife and clanged as if it was made of metal.
“You wicked b*stard! His Excellency trained you well, but you are just an ingrate!”
“You should know the precepts of Daoist School. You broke them, and you deserved all those punishments!”
“Don’t you think you can run amok just because you joined White Jade City and became a cultivator!”
Boom!
The old Daoist priest continued cursing. Strengthened by several of the senile Daoist Grandmasters’ Qi and blood, he looked as majestic as a Grandmaster even while jumping around.
Nie Changqing did not speak. He simply focused on parrying the old Daoist priest’s attacks.
Finally, Nie Changqing let go of the butcher knife.
“Are you done talking?”
Boom!
“I just want to leave with my wife.”
“I just want to reunite with my family. Is that too much to ask?” Nie Changqing said.
When that had been said, the floating butcher knife started to spin at a high speed in front of him, pale blue Spirit Qi wrapping around it.
Vague at first, an unreal knife outline emerged along with the butcher knife.
Nie Changqing roared in a low, profound voice, “Knife Control!”
Then, he lifted his hand with great effort.
The butcher knife also moved with him. With tremendous Spirit Qi wrapping around it, it struck the old Daoist priest.
The old Daoist priest’s flywhisk was cleaved into half.
His scream echoed over the whole field.
Blood splattered.
The old Daoist priest fell to the ground. His robe was stained with blood.
The arm that had been holding the flywhisk was cut off by Nie Changqing.
It fell to the ground.
His tragic scream echoed over the expansive field of the Daoist School.
The senile Daoist priests were instantly startled. They retreated, staring at Nie Changqing, unable to believe what had happened.
The Daoist School had been cooped up in their own little world. They knew cultivators were strong, but it was really a shock to them to see the true strength of the cultivators.
Nie Changqing did not speak. He lifted his hand and the butcher knife hovered.
His technique made a lot of disciples at the Daoist School speechless. After all, remotely controlling a knife was like something only immortals could do.
On the ground, the old Daoist priest screamed in pain.
Nie Changqing’s face was cold. He had killed many people over the last few years. He had seen much life and death.
The old Daoist priest’s face was hideous. Covering the shoulder where he had been mutilated, he trembled with pain.
“Call Li Sansui over! Find her now!” the old Daoist priest screamed, turning to the senile Daoist priest behind him.
“We can’t allow him to trample all over the Daoist School’s honor!” the old Daoist priest screamed, stretching his neck as far as it could go. There was hatred and also fear in his eyes.
The senile Daoist priest hesitated for a second. Then, he turned and headed for Star Picking Peak.
Nie Changqing glanced briefly at the Daoist priest who hurried away. He did not try to stop the latter.
He was just looked back at the bleeding old Daoist priest indifferently.
“The Daoist School’s honor…”
“I just want to leave with my wife. Am I wrong to want that?”
“I was a disciple of the Daoist School after all. For old time’s sake, I didn’t go all out.”
“But I will count down from five. Tell me where Ru’er is, otherwise… I will really butcher everyone,” Nie Changqing threatened slowly.
His voice echoed over the field. Everyone there was trembling, terrified of him.
“You wicked b*stard! if Li Sansi and Li Sansui are here… You wouldn’t have been allowed to run amok inside the Daoist School!” the old Daoist priest snarled.
He was bleeding so much that his face turned pale as a ghost.
Nie Changqing threw him a casual glance.
Standing with his butcher knife, he started to count down calmly, “Five.”
The disciples of the Daoist School around him started an uproar.
Lying on the ground, the old Daoist priest glared at Nie Changqing with hatred. “You wicked b*stard! You deceived your master! It was His Excellency’s biggest mistake to have trained you!”
On the field, an aggressive killing intent spread through the air.
The disciples of the Daoist School were in a panic. Some of them were so scared that they retreated. Nie Changqing’s killing intent had scared them off.
The Daoist School was one of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy, but they had closed their gates for too long. Except for the execution of tasks, no one left the school.
Many disciples of the Daoist School only fought with their companions in their lessons.
Some of them never saw blood before.
As a result, Nie Changqing’s killing intent was extremely terrifying to them.
“Four,” Nie Changqing continued counting.
Standing with the butcher knife in one hand, the wind blowing through the Daoist School lifted his hair some more.
The old Daoist priest stopped cursing. Instead, he looked at Miao Renyu in the distance.
“Get me out of here. Get me out!”
Nie Changqing’s killing intent was getting stronger and stronger. It made the old Daoist priest panic.
Miao Renyu hesitated. He approached Nie Changqing, intending to take the old Daoist priest away.
However, the black butcher knife suddenly fell.
Poof!
It pierced the old Daoist priest through his body.
The old Daoist priest screamed in excruciating pain. Even his eyeballs almost popped out.
He had thought it would be his anger venting when he roared while tearing his opponent into pieces, but at the moment, he was the one screaming—and it was full of fear.
This was karma.
“Changqing…” Miao Renyu spoke involuntarily.
His hands were shaking.
But Nie Changqing did not respond.
He still felt the wind blowing past the mountain, lifting his hair from his back like a curtain.
“Three.”
Miao Renyu looked at Nie Changqing, who seemed strange and cold to him. His facial expression kept changing.
He stopped paying attention to the old Daoist priest. Instead, he ran.
And the old Daoist priest, whose body had been pierced through by the butcher knife, was extremely terrified. He had been abandoned.
…
Lake Island, Beiluo.
Leaning against the back of the wheelchair, Lu Fan smiled involuntarily. He was glad Nie Changqing was White Jade City’s disciple. His temper was exactly the same as Lu Fan’s.
“The philosopher of the Daoist School does have good ideas. He created a formation of Qi and blood. That’s a real surprise. If he had the chance to get Spirit Qi, he might be able to create many more miraculous formations.”
Lu Fan took a sip of the wine, squinting ahead.
There were a lot of capable men in this world. Lu Fan was not surprised by that.
Lu Fan picked up a chess piece, stroking it gently.
“The Dragon Gate Secret Realm is open. It’s about time for the dragon’s descendants to be born…”
Lu Fan thought for a while.
“But it’s still hard to say whether this can make White Jade City an authentic Supreme Power…”
“People might recognize that White Jade City is powerful, but… They are more curious than awestruck by it. After this, maybe there will be something more than curiosity.”
While Lu Fan was thinking, heavy footsteps approached.
He saw Lu Changkong going upstairs.
“Father?”
Lu Fan was slightly dumbstruck.
“Fan’er, I heard from Ni Yu that you haven’t slept for days.”
Lu Changqing put the purple meal box he had been carrying on the table.
“Cultivating is great, but you should take breaks, too. Don’t exhaust yourself. Eat well and remember to rest well,” Lu Changkong told him while opening the meal box.
He took a wooden spoon to fill a bowl with porridge.
“I told the cook to make your favorite Eight Ingredient Porridge. Come on. Eat it.”
Lu Changkong scooped the porridge into a blue-and-white porcelain bowl. Then he placed the bowl in front of Lu Fan.
Looking at the porridge, Lu Fan fell silent.
This bowl of porridge made his heart tremble with emotion.
Lu Fan had always felt like a lonely person in this world.
His only goal was to make this world more powerful. That was his mission.
He was cold and aloof, focused on his mission.
Maybe his physical conditions affected his mentality. His low self-esteem and self-loathing made him indifferent to things like kinship and friendship.
But in fact, Lu Fan craved kinship and friendship, too.
Sometimes, seeing Ni Yu bend down to fart, he would smile secretly. Seeing Jing Yue and Nie Shuang playing together, he would feel envious.
He picked up the blue-and-white porcelain bowl.
He scooped the porridge into his mouth. It was sweet.
That sweetness made Lu Fan feel warm inside.
“Thank you, Father,” Lu Fan said.
“Well? Have more if you like it!”
Lu Changkong broke into a smile, rubbing his hands. The large smile made his crow’s feet squeeze together.
“Enjoy your meal. I need to go and guard the city tower now. Don’t become too exhausted. Remember to rest. Cultivation isn’t anything urgent. Even if you become the number one in the world, what difference will that make? As long as Beiluo remains uncaptured, your father will keep you safe your entire life,” Lu Changkong declared, smiling.
“By the way, Father, tell Uncle Luo Yue to take some elite soldiers to the Dragon Gate Secret Realm. When all eight of the Dragon Gate Secret Realms emerge, the world will change. It’s time for Beiluo City to change too,” Lu Fan said while scooping some porridge.
Lu Changkong was dumbstruck by this. Then his face hardened into a serious expression. He left White Jade City with a nod.
When Lu Changkong had left, Lu Fan, sat in his wheelchair and ate the porridge.
Ni Yu was hiding behind the rail, half of her head peeking out.
Lu Fan glanced at her. With a poker face, he said, “Come here if you want to eat. Don’t stare at me like that. I can’t finish all of it alone anyway.”
Ni Yu was pleasantly surprised. She came forward skipping, she had been drooling behind the rail.
…
In Daoist School.
“Two.”
Nie Changqing’s voice echoed over the entire field.
Around the field, the disciples of the Daoist School remained silent. Nie Changqing’s voice gradually disappeared.
He glanced over at them, and then glanced up at Star Picking Peak, where strong energy was coming.
Nie Changqing let out a sigh.
He pulled the butcher knife out. The motion hurt the old Daoist priest so much that he sucked air between his teeth.
“Ungrateful—”
The old Daoist priest had made an effort to open his mouth, intending to curse Nie Changqing.
But then, he blacked out, leaving the unfinished taunt lingering in the air.
“One,” Nie Changqing breathed out.
He slid the butcher knife across the old Daoist priest’s throat lightly.
The head, with its incredible facial expression, fell and rolled half a mile across the ground.
Blood splattered everywhere. The field of the Daoist School was now stained with blood.