Smiling, Ye Ming was walking back to his house. Liu Li, behind him, was breathing with relief; she was finally out of that place.
"Why don’t you just buy a new Alchemist’s Set?" She asked him, after getting over the smell.
"Won’t the Association look for me after they learn that someone bought a set? Won’t this way I will have more time to prepare for their eventual arrival?" He said with a shrug.
"...You are not thinking of leaving Cloud Sword Sect?" The Fallen Princess asked with a surprised look.
"Why should I?" He looked back with a similar surprised look.
"...Resources, alchemy techniques, access to Master Alchemists, influence of the level of Imperial family..." The girl named the things on the top of her head.
"Sounds good, doesn’t it? But all I need to do is betray my old Sect." He rolled his eyes at her.
For a second, none of them talked, but then she said something that surprised him.
"...It may sound bad coming from me, but this Sect didn’t give much to you." Liu Li said with a voice barely above a whisper.
"That’s not it. It would seem you don’t understand my nature. I don’t like changing places. I do not like it when someone just keeps handing me things.
I accepted everything Mengxue gave me because it was essential.
Maybe that is why I have a talent for Alchemy, because I like making things. Honestly, I do not care if the Master Alchemist comes here and begs me to become his disciple. I would prefer to learn things on my own.
It’s to satiate my curiosity." He explained about himself to her.
"...You are one strange individual, Master Ming." Liu Li commented that she was relieved to hear that he wouldn’t leave her on ice. That is all that she cared about.
’Yes, I am the opposite of what a person from a cultivation universe should be.’
Ye Ming is well aware of who he is and what he likes, which is the opposite of most of the cultivation books he’s read.
The whole idea of a lone warrior travelling through the world... or worlds, pillaging his way like a locust swarm.
Yeah, he always found that annoying; he loves his base-building stories far more...
"Indeed, and you are now with that strange individual." He teased her.
"I never said that it’s a bad thing." Liu Li got closer to him all of a sudden.
’Is she copying Mengxue?’
The Alchemist wondered for a second; he didn’t mind as his hand went to her willow waist as he pulled her closer.
"The best part of all of this is that this way I can have beauties around me." He smirked, making her blush from the contact and the meaning behind his words!
"...Y-Yes... this makes me... relaxed to know that Master Ming is not going anywhere." She said while looking at how close they were!
~~~
*CLANG*
A beautiful goblet from pure gold and full of wine hit a kneeling minion of Jiang Longtian.
"Do you realise how much I had to pay for a Foundation Realm Beast!? A Thunder Horn Beast no less! And you say it was killed before we could even act!? How useless were you!?" The Number 1-ranked Core Disciple ranted at his shaking follower; the guy ignored the wine all over him and instead listened, looking at the floor.
"Y-Young Master! There was a third party there!" The Minion declared why they had failed.
*Tsk*
"Third party? What are you talking about? That location was secret! That beast was kept there on purpose!"
Jiang Longtian wanted to use that beast to make a gear for the tournament! Such a lineup of Foundation artefacts would have made him unstoppable in the tournament!
Now there was a chance someone could beat him in that critical competition!
’In that case, I will reach Foundation Realm!’ He clenched his fist.
"Tell me what happened, and don’t you dare to skip anything!" Jiang Longtian demanded with a twisted look.
"Y-Yes, Young Master!"
...
...
...
’This is worse than I have expected! I wanted to use my Foundation beast to gauge Mengxue’s alchemist, or make her die in that encounter.
But she was far less desperate than I had expected, and she reached Stage Nine of the Qi Gathering Realm as well.’
The Young Master stroked his chin. Now it made sense why his annoying cousin was not rushing to get his Thunder Horn Beast, which is perfect for the Cloud Sword Style they use.
’I was not expecting that an Innexperienced Alchemist would assist her this much!’
’In that case, I need to make Jiang Mengxue disappear and get that Alchemist under my sponsorship.’
At that moment, even Jiang Longtian decided to use his minions to censor any information related to the Alchemist from the outside world.
He will use this time to build up resources and wait for the perfect time to strike down Jiang Mengxue!
Little by little, things are starting to become chaotic without Ye Ming doing anything!
~~~
As the Young Master continued to plot, Jiang Mengxue decided to deal with something that was bugging her.
Ye Ming reminded her that someone had betrayed her.
Her father could wait; there was a situation that she needed to resolve.
The girl and her followers arrived at one of the countless houses in the Inner Sect Grounds.
"Bingyun, if you would." Jiang Mengxue motioned with her chin at the doors before them,
"Yes, Mistress." The Cold beauty motioned with her hand, and ice blasted the doors open.
"Lingxi! Show yourself; this Young Mistress wants to talk to you." Jiang Mengxue, with a cold tone, walked into the house of one of her followers.
"Mistress Mengxue..." Bai Lingxi showed herself as she walked over from one of the rooms. The girl looked pale, knowing this was coming.
"Do you know why I am here?" The Sect Master’s daughter asked with a pissed-off look.
"..."
"When I recruited you, we had a deal: I would nurture your talent, I would protect you from enemies, and I would share my resources with you.
And what did I ask in return?" Jiang Mengxue reminded her of their deal.
"..."
"In turn, you belong to me. Your life is mine. That was our deal!
You were supposed to go where I go, and do what I tell you to do!" The black-haired girl snapped at Bai Lingxi.
"Leave her out of it!" A male voice said from the same room as he walked over and revealed himself.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Jiang Mengxue and her followers looked speechless- a man!?
"...This? You broke your promise because of this trash? He is a mere Seventh Stage of Qi Gathering! A weakling who can barely stand!" Jiang Mengxue showed an ugly expression.
She can’t believe this happened to her.
"Not only do you embarrass me in front of Master Ming by running away, but you betray me with this... trash..."
"Enough! Xi’er is not your property that you can boss around!"
Instead of saying anything, Bingyun appeared next to the man like a cold ghost and grabbed him by his head and slammed him into the table on the other side of the room.
He was pinned down on it with an enormous amount of force.
"Unhand me, you deviant woman!" The weakened ’protagonist’ exclaimed with annoyance, if only he were at his full strength! He would wipe the floor with these evil women!
"..."
"..."
Wu Bingyun’s grip tightened; Jian Long felt that her nails were digging into his skull.
"How did you just call me?" The Cold Beauty’s face twisted as she saw red. She lifted his head before slamming it into the table... over and over again, until the table broke, but she didn’t stop as she continued to hammer him headfirst into the floor and pieces of wood, remnants of the table.
’Sister Bingyun still flies into a rage the moment Deviants are mentioned.’ Yunyan sighed as she stood behind Jiang Mengxue, watching what was happening.
"E-Enough! I-I will do anything, just don’t hurt Long’er anymore!" Bai Lingxi began to plead as she saw the bloody state of Jian Long.
*Snort*
"And how can we trust anything you say?" Wu Bingyun lifted the bloody man from the floor by his head before slamming him into a wall headfirst, grinding him through it and then finally releasing him with a toss to the side.
Bai Lingxi looked ghostly when she saw Jian Long’s state. She wanted to rush over and check him, but that could only lead to more pain for him; she needed to deal with her old Mistress first.
"W-What do you want me to do?" She asked the Young Mistress.
"Hmph, I haven’t decided yet. Killing or crippling you would be a waste of resources I spend on you." For a second, Jiang Mengxue pondered what to do.
"Ah, I know. You can gather Qi Gathering Herbs and Pure Water Grass for me. I need several hundred kilos of them." She decided to use this useless and ’wasted’ girl until nothing was left of her. The Young Mistress will drain all of the possible use out of her!
"S-Several Hundred!?" Bai Lingxi gawked at the amount Young Mistress wanted!
’I-Is she trying to kill me with work!?’
"Or pay me back all of the thousands of Qi Stones I spent on you." The black-haired beauty smirked with a mocking smile, knowing that this girl didn’t have that money.
"I-I understand!"
"Good, then good luck. I will be waiting." Jiang Mengxue looked at the twitching piece of trash for a second before leaving the house with her followers.
...
...
...
After leaving the house, she needed a moment to sort her thoughts.
"Unbelievable. She used my resources to find some trash, a mere Seventh Stage of Qi Gathering; what was she thinking?" The Sect Master’s daughter could not believe such a betrayal had happened to her! It boggles her mind.
Moments later, she shook her head as she issued her next order.
"Let’s go; we can’t make Father wait any longer."
"Yes, Mistress!"
The group disappeared, rushing towards the Cloud Mountain in the distance.
~~~
Ye Ming didn’t even realise how much he changed the Sect’s future just by being in it. The ’Destiny’ of this place has shifted its course.
"Hmm, where should I put it..."
Instead, he pondered where he could put his newest toys in his small house.
He placed the rusty anvil outside, next to his door. Inside his house, he removed his old table and placed his ’new’ work table in its place.
"...Master Ming, you should ask the Contribution Hall to find a new house for you." Liu Li, who was sitting cross-legged on his bed, said to him.
"No, it’s fine. Knowing them, they would give me a house in the Inner Sect Grounds, and that place has no forests or a water stream where I can fish. It’s boring there."
He lived in big cities enough as it is. At least in this world, he can enjoy that suburban life he recalled from his childhood.
"Then at least ask the Elders to organise an expansion of your house." She commented with a sigh. The girl realised that her new Master was as stubborn as a mule.
"And miss a chance to build it myself? Who would miss such a chance?" He declared, realising that he could do that himself!
A smirk crept onto his lips as he looked around. He had most of the items at hand to begin expanding his house! He could turn it into a hybrid workshop house building!
Totally awesome! Even open a shop!
’Hmm, this is great! Jiang Mengxue even gave me helpers; besides, she would look great in a shop uniform...’
All of a sudden, Ye Ming even thought of opening a shop to sell pills and stuff. That could be a great source of income while he tinkers away in his workshop!
"..."
Liu Li didn’t even realise how this conversation led to her being dressed up as a clerk in a shop where she would be working for him.
"...To save time? You have many things to do, Master Ming." The Fallen Princess tried to persuade him, but she had lost him as the guy was daydreaming about something.
"...anyway, there are some things that we need to do before the whole expansion can take place." He pulled more things out of his storage ring.
’He ignored me...’ Liu Li pouted for a second. Such a thing rarely happens! And there is nothing she can do to get back at him!
’Damn, these Alchemists!’
[Extra Info]
Jian Long(Type: Mc [Reincarnator]) He is the son of the Founder of Cloud Sword Sect, Jian Xuan. He was killed by ambitious Jiang Fuyuan, the Ancestor of the Jiang Family.
He awakened in his namesake body, Jian Long, at the age of sixteen. Before that, he was ’disabled’, barely responsive; Bai Lingxi took care of him and protected him.
He hates the Jiang Family to the bone and wants to get back at them for what they did to him.