Inside the Scripture Pavilion, Ye Youran cleared everyone out and ordered the pavilion to remain closed for the next two days. Only then did she turn toward Lu Qing.
With a smile in her beautiful eyes, she sat intimately beside him and said, “Little Brother, you’ve grown up.”
“Senior Sister, why are you sitting so close? Move farther away.”
Lu Qing was speechless.
In his previous life, Ye Youran had always liked staying close to him like this. It was almost ridiculous. However, back then, Lu Qing had devoted nearly all his attention to his disciples and had actually been rather distant toward the family and friends around him.
Thinking about it now, how utterly unworthy those disciples had been of everything he sacrificed.
Ye Youran frowned slightly and asked, “What? Now that you’ve grown up, you’re starting to distance yourself from me? I even changed your diapers when you were little.”
“Enough…” Lu Qing was embarrassed. “Sister, can you please stop casually talking about things that shouldn’t be mentioned?”
He helplessly continued, “I’m already the Peak Master of Heavenly Sword Peak. I have a reputation to maintain in public.”
“Hehe, it’s not like I’d tell outsiders about any of this.”
Ye Youran wrapped both arms around one of Lu Qing’s arms. She seemed completely unaware that her already developed body was pressed against him as she hugged his arm and playfully shook it back and forth.
“So tell me… what are you thinking?”
“What do you mean?”
Lu Qing tried pulling his arm free, but failed. Ye Youran was holding him far too tightly.
He could feel his arm repeatedly brushing against something soft. The astonishing elasticity was impossible to ignore, almost enough to make someone curious about exactly how soft and springy it could possibly be.
Lu Qing glanced helplessly at Ye Youran.
‘Does she not realize she’s an unparalleled beauty? Or is she genuinely this oblivious?’
Fortunately, Lu Qing had lived for 3,000 years. His self-control and state of mind were more than sufficient, allowing his heart to remain calm and undisturbed.
He was merely somewhat helpless.
In the end, he simply let her do as she pleased.
Ye Youran said, “About Elder Zhang. I can tell that he’s holding a grudge…”
“What’s there to think about? If he behaves himself, then that’s the end of it. If he doesn’t…” Lu Qing’s tone remained indifferent. “Plenty of people die unjustly in this world every day. Adding one more won’t make any difference.”
A trace of worry appeared between Ye Youran’s brows.
“Little Brother, managing this sect isn’t easy for your sister. Right now, we’re caught between generations. Most of the older generation are approaching the end of their lives, while the younger generation hasn’t grown strong enough yet.”
She continued, “As long as Elder Zhang doesn’t betray the sect, don’t act recklessly. I’ll try to mediate the matter. If we can keep him, it would be best to do so. The sect is desperately lacking capable people right now.”
A faint smile appeared on Lu Qing’s face as he asked, “And if he betrays the sect…?”
Ye Youran immediately felt another headache coming on.
Eventually, she said, “If he betrays the sect, you can deal with him however you like. Your sister will clean up afterward.”
“Good. I promise.”
Lu Qing’s smile deepened as he agreed without hesitation.
Lu Qing understood Zhang Sanlai very well.
Although Zhang Sanlai had appeared cowardly earlier, his restless gaze had betrayed him.
Someone like Zhang Sanlai would never truly behave himself.
If the roots were not removed after cutting the grass, it would simply grow again when the spring wind blew.
In his previous life, Lu Qing had first become the Peak Master of Heavenly Sword Peak and later a Great Emperor. He had not accomplished those things through the system alone.
Ruthlessness and decisiveness in killing had always been part of Lu Qing’s nature.
Of course, Lu Qing cared about Ye Youran.
As long as Zhang Sanlai caused no trouble, Lu Qing could not simply kill him. Otherwise, it would inevitably create numerous problems for Ye Youran.
For example, many of the Outer Sect Deacon Elders were genuinely loyal. If Lu Qing began killing them indiscriminately, their loyalty would inevitably turn cold.
Lu Qing himself did not care.
But he still had to consider Ye Youran’s position to some extent.
Of course…
If Zhang Sanlai did nothing wrong, Lu Qing could not kill him.
That was fine.
Lu Qing would simply give him an opportunity to cause trouble.
Then, once Zhang Sanlai took the bait, Lu Qing could crush him openly and with perfect justification.
That way, there would be no gossip, nor would Ye Youran be affected.
After all, Lu Qing was an old monster who had lived for several thousand years.
Zhang Sanlai was still far too inexperienced.
Lu Qing only needed to move a finger to play him to death.
Hearing his agreement, Ye Youran’s lips curved upward into a breathtaking smile.
“Hehe, Little Brother really does care about his sister. Speaking of which, I helped you clean everything up today, and I’ll still have to deal with the mess you left behind. Aren’t you going to compensate your sister?” Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Her beautiful eyes stared intently at him.
The more she looked at the little fellow she had watched grow up, the more fond she became of him.
He had truly grown into an extraordinarily handsome man.
“What compensation?”
Lu Qing had been thinking about how to deal with Zhang Sanlai, so Ye Youran’s question left him somewhat helpless.
He could put Zhang Sanlai’s matter aside for now.
His current priority was gathering Qi Condensation arts and creating one of his own.
Yet as long as Ye Youran remained here alone with him, Lu Qing could forget about getting anything done.
She would probably annoy him to death first.
Fortunately, she had become the Sect Master and was constantly occupied with sect affairs. She rarely had enough free time to be alone with Lu Qing.
Otherwise, if she clung to him like this every day, Lu Qing really might feel like crying.
Of course, he did not actually dislike it.
Deep down, he even enjoyed this atmosphere.
After all, Ye Youran was one of the very few people genuinely close to him.
In his previous life, however, they had eventually been separated by an enormous distance.
Lu Qing wondered what she had felt when she heard news of his death…
Ye Youran suddenly said, “My chest hurts a little. Help your sister massage it. Right here.”
“That’s serious. Your heart meridians must be blocked. Sister, your cultivation realm is too high, so you should ask Granny Lingyin to massage it for you. My cultivation isn’t profound enough. I might make things worse.”
Granny Lingyin was also a Supreme Elder and was already extremely old.
“But I want you to do it.”
It took Lu Qing quite some time before he finally pushed the resentful-looking Ye Youran out of the Scripture Pavilion.
By then, much of his clothing carried the faint, delicate fragrance of her body.
Lu Qing caught the scent and felt utterly helpless.
A faint ripple stirred within his heart.
However, with 3,000 years of cultivation and an immensely tempered state of mind, his emotions returned to tranquility almost instantly.
He resumed his work.
Outside the door, a smile appeared on Ye Youran’s lips.
Naturally, she had merely been teasing Lu Qing.
If Lu Qing had genuinely agreed to massage her, she would have been the one to panic.
After all, Lu Qing was already an adult.
How could she actually allow him to touch her carelessly?
After sending Ye Youran away, Lu Qing finally regained his peace.
He continued reading attentively, recording one Qi Condensation art after another and repeatedly deducing and refining them within his mind.
Time passed, second by second.
While searching for suitable cultivation arts for his two disciples, Lu Qing was also attempting to create an Emperor-Grade Qi Condensation Art.
This was for his own future.
His thoughts moved rapidly.
‘Ye Lian’er possesses exceptional talent, but she values relationships deeply. Judging from what happened in my previous life, once she acknowledges someone, she will never change her mind. That can be both an advantage and a weakness.’
‘The Slaughter Sword Qi of Heavenly Sword Peak would actually suit her quite well. Unfortunately, I already incorporated the Slaughter Sword Qi Art into other Qi Condensation arts and used it to obtain an Emperor-Grade Qi Condensation Art through the system’s return.’
‘It basically can’t serve as the foundation for another new Emperor-Grade Qi Condensation Art. I’ll have to find another method.’
Lu Qing had experimented with obtaining Emperor-Grade returns countless times in his previous life.
He understood the process far too well.
‘As for Zhang Shi, his personality is calm and steady, though somewhat slow and straightforward. He’s like an enormous stone buried deep within the mountains. More importantly, his word is absolute. Once he promises something, he will do it.’
‘I need to carefully design his Qi Condensation art as well.’
Lu Qing continued thinking as he wrote and drew across sheets of paper.
‘But an Emperor-Grade Qi Condensation Art… Forget Emperor Grade. Even with the seven finished Emperor-Grade Qi Condensation Arts from my previous life as references, I still have no clue how to create even a quasi-Emperor-grade one.’
‘Difficult. Far too difficult. It’s practically as difficult as ascending to heaven…’
‘I’m afraid creating one myself will be nearly impossible. I’ll probably have to search outside the sect. It seems I’ll need to make a trip.’
Lu Qing gradually understood the problem.
Things of this level were unique throughout the world. They could almost be considered miraculous treasures born and nurtured by heaven and earth itself.
It was practically impossible.
Obtaining one from the outside world would not be easy either.
Most importantly, Lu Qing had no clues regarding any Emperor-Grade Qi Condensation Art.
Anything related to the Great Emperor Realm was an extraordinary secret, shrouded in profound mystery.
Across both his previous and current lives, aside from the Emperor-Grade Qi Condensation Arts he had personally obtained, Lu Qing had never heard of another genuine Emperor-Grade Qi Condensation Art appearing in the world.
He had, however, heard several times of quasi-Emperor-grade Qi Condensation arts appearing.
‘I wonder if too many Emperor-Grade Qi Condensation Arts appeared because of me in my previous life and occupied the world’s limited unique paths. Perhaps that’s why no more Emperor-Grade arts appeared afterward, while a few quasi-Emperor-grade ones still emerged…’
‘If I really can’t create one, then I can start planning around a quasi-Emperor-grade art.’
‘Whenever something related to a Great Emperor appears in this world, it inevitably causes rivers of blood. However, if it’s merely a quasi-Emperor-grade Qi Condensation art, the strength and foundation of my sect should be more than enough to seize it.’
‘I’ll deal with things as they come. There’s no need to rush over these few days. I should try first. Perhaps I’ll actually succeed.’
‘After all, I was once a Great Emperor. I possess the insights of a Great Emperor, so there is still some possibility.’
As Lu Qing thought about this, he could not help reflecting on how much he had changed.
In his previous life, nearly all his energy had gone toward his seven disciples.
When it came to himself, he had merely reconstructed his foundation carelessly and cultivated without much thought.
As a result, even after becoming a Great Emperor, his innate foundation had remained somewhat inferior.
But in this life, Lu Qing considered his own future far more carefully.
As for his disciples?
The thought barely even crossed his mind.
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
Seven more days went by.
Lu Qing remained inside the Scripture Pavilion throughout those seven days.
Finally, he obtained the finished products.
Using numerous low-grade Qi Condensation arts as foundations, Lu Qing had successfully created two entirely new Qi Condensation arts.
The first was the Extreme Emotion Qi.
The more deeply its cultivator valued emotions and relationships, the faster their cultivation would progress and the greater its power would become.
It possessed several other advantages as well.
However, it also had a weakness.
A truly heartless person would be incapable of mastering the Extreme Emotion Qi. Attempting to forcefully cultivate it could even cause the art to backfire upon them.
That was both an advantage and a hidden danger.
If Ye Lian’er ever dared betray him in the future, the Extreme Emotion Qi would make her Dao Heart far more vulnerable to collapse, forcing her to pay an enormous price.
The second was the Bedrock Qi.
The steadier and more composed its cultivator’s temperament, the faster they could master it.
It was perfectly suited to Zhang Shi.
This cultivation art specialized in defense rather than offense. Even if Zhang Shi eventually betrayed him, it would hardly matter.
He would not pose much of a threat.
Lu Qing had carefully selected countless cultivation arts, gathered the strengths of their different Qi methods, and finally created these two Qi Condensation arts himself.
If he gave these two arts to his disciples and triggered the ten-thousandfold return, they should be enough to produce Emperor-Grade Qi Condensation Arts.
‘Success.’
Lu Qing rubbed the space between his brows.
Unfortunately, creating an Emperor-Grade Qi Condensation Art himself remained impossible.
Even creating a quasi-Emperor-grade one was still far beyond his current reach.
For now, there was no chance of succeeding.
‘It seems I’ll have to obtain one from outside.’
‘If I remember correctly, before long, a quasi-Emperor-grade Qi Condensation art will emerge from a cave dwelling alongside several other opportunities.’
‘In my previous life, I was busy gathering materials for my disciples, refining Marrow-Cleansing Pills, and repairing their foundations. I didn’t have the time to concern myself with that opportunity, so I simply ignored it.’
‘But in this life…’
‘I’ll be taking part.’
With that thought, Lu Qing rose to his feet.
He left the Scripture Pavilion and returned to Heavenly Sword Peak.