"Why should disciples of the Heavenly Gate Sect concern themselves with anyone else's approval?"
Ye Ling spoke in an even tone, utterly calm, without the domineering edge his words seemed to carry.
Yet whatever he said felt absolute, as though his words themselves carried authority. It made people believe him without question.
"..."
Leng Qingqiu fell silent. It was the first time she had seen Ye Ling this overbearing.
But… those were Orthodox Dao Cultivators from all across the world!
She could believe he could fight ten. Even a hundred.
A thousand, ten thousand, even a hundred thousand—she could force herself to believe that too.
But the cultivators of the world numbered in the hundreds of millions. Not just one person—no sect in existence could stand against that kind of force.
She understood all of this perfectly.
And yet, when she looked at Ye Ling's calm, serious expression, she couldn't help feeling that he was the one who was right.
There was something about him—an indescribable charisma—that made people believe in him, believe he could accomplish the impossible.
"It's not at the level of a miracle yet."
Ye Ling lightly tapped Leng Qingqiu on the head. He had seen that kind of adoring look before—from Bai Yiyi.
Unfortunately, Leng Qingqiu had already been drained dry. She could no longer provide him with any Emotion Points. A real pity.
"Who exactly are you?"
The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. Ye Ling's mystery had far exceeded her expectations.
"Me?"
Ye Ling pushed open the door and walked inside.
"Just a passing disciple of the Heavenly Gate Sect."
He needed to check on Eve's condition. More importantly, he still didn't truly trust her. He would need to draft another contract.
But that would have to wait. His Mental Force had already been pushed to its limit.
Even though he had stepped into the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, seven characters in a day was his absolute maximum.
By his estimation, once he reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he should be able to use Reverse Deduction to push that to fifteen characters.
He still had a long road ahead.
A passing disciple of the Heavenly Gate Sect?
Why did that sound so impressive?
Leng Qingqiu remained where she was and did not follow him inside.
She had built up some connections of her own, but when it came to brothels—especially ones that specialized in the Demon race—she was completely at a loss.
Knowing about them was one thing. As a woman, how could she possibly set foot in such a place?
Still, since Ye Ling had told her to arrange it, and given that his current identity was that of an examiner invited by the Righteous Path Alliance, it wasn't entirely impossible.
She just needed to think carefully about how to bring it up.
There was no way she could walk up and say the examiner wanted to visit a brothel. If it were anyone else making such a request, she would have walked away on the spot. Only because it was Ye Ling did she even consider it.
More importantly, if she could avoid it, she didn't want to become enemies with the Demon race.
If the Righteous Path Alliance and the Demon race truly went to war, it would always be the common people who suffered.
So if she could create employment opportunities for the Succubus clan, in a certain sense, that would count as a meritorious deed.
And the only person who could possibly make something like that happen was probably Ye Ling.
Otherwise, the contract alone would shut countless people out.
...
Headquarters of the Guard Army.
"The reinforcements will arrive tomorrow."
"Oh."
"Don't just 'oh' me."
"What do you want me to do? I'm arranging tomorrow's defensive deployment. Or do you want to take over?"
"N-No, you handle it."
"Hmph."
"But among the reinforcements this time, there's a Tribulation Transcendence Stage powerhouse."
"What?!"
"The Chess Saint of Hongming Pavilion, Lu Changtian."
"The Chess Saint of the Xuanwu Imperial Dynasty?"
"Not just him. There's also Qishan's Medicine Elder Tan Yue, Taohua Garden's Huang Qiuyun, Qianqiu Valley's Long He, and Hulongdi's Zhang Shisan."
"Five Tribulation Transcendence Stage experts?!"
"Aren't you going to receive them?"
"Are you stupid? One expert from each of the Four Great Imperial Dynasties, plus one from our Righteous Path Alliance. Are they trying to tear Tianqiong City apart? We're done for, we're done for…"
"Not necessarily."
"Hm?"
"Huang Ren is currently in our city."
"What?"
"He was sent by that great lord to protect his grandson. Our little Tianqiong City—how could it possibly attract Tribulation Transcendence Stage figures on its own?"
"I see. Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"So stop arranging deployments. Thanks to Young Master Huang, Tianqiong City has nothing to worry about this time."
"That makes sense. If it's that great lord, then it's understandable."
"Come on, let's go have a drink."
"Let's go."
After learning that Huang Ren was present, the two highest commanders of Tianqiong City's Guard Army immediately abandoned their military deployment plans.
It wasn't that they were neglecting their duties.
It was that in the face of Tribulation Transcendence Stage power, no amount of preparation would matter.
Let alone five such experts—just one would be enough to wipe Tianqiong City off the map.
So even if they exhausted themselves making arrangements, they would never be able to influence the games played at that level. They might as well lie flat and go drink instead.
As for whether those five had truly come to protect Huang Ren or for some other purpose… that wasn't their concern.
No, more accurately, it wasn't something they were capable of concerning themselves with.
The gap between Nascent Soul and Tribulation Transcendence was so vast that comparing it to the difference between them and dogs would still be flattering.
...
Meanwhile—
"Oh?"
Gui Ying's eyes, hidden in the darkness, flickered with amusement.
"They actually sent five Tribulation Transcendence Stage experts? For a mere wastrel?"
He had received the news as well, almost at the same time as the Guard Army. That alone spoke volumes about how poor the Righteous Path Alliance's secrecy was.
"Though it's not impossible. That man has always doted on his grandson… Still, what unfortunate timing."
He said it like that, but the smile in his eyes only deepened.
He had been pondering how to weaken the Sect Leader's faction when this information fell into his lap.
With this, he now had a perfect excuse to request more experts from the Sect Leader. At the same time, he could use the opportunity to eliminate members of the Sect Leader's faction. How could he not be pleased?
It was like someone handing him a pillow just as he was getting sleepy.
The irritation from losing a capable subordinate for no clear reason earlier vanished without a trace.
If the plan had only been to kidnap Ye Ling, a mere Foundation Establishment ant, then deploying five Tribulation Transcendence Stage experts would have been the limit.
But now Tianqiong City had five more Tribulation Transcendence Stage experts.
With that, even someone at his level could easily boost his performance metrics.
He could kidnap Ye Ling, kill five Tribulation Transcendence Stage experts, and then, for good measure, slaughter a city. This mission would be executed flawlessly.
Once he returned to the Heavenly Demon Sect, he would stand firmly as the number one beneath the Sect Leader, untouchable.
Not only that—during the battle against those five Tribulation Transcendence experts, he could conveniently eliminate a few internal rivals.
He could already picture himself personally killing the Sect Leader and ascending the throne of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
Right. He should bring him along.
Confidence swelling, Gui Ying thought of someone above him—the top figure in the sect beneath the Sect Leader, a Great Ascension Stage Demonic Cultivator.
He had just survived his Demonic Tribulation. Once his cultivation stabilized, his advancement to the Great Ascension Stage would be complete.
If he could scheme against this Great Ascension Stage "colleague" during the mission and remove him, then his position as second only to the Sect Leader would be secured.
The thought of taking that risk stirred in his mind.
After all, ten Tribulation Transcendence Stage experts, plus himself—a half-step Great Ascension Stage powerhouse—and one true Great Ascension Stage supreme expert…
For a small place like Tianqiong City, that lineup was absolute annihilation.
In his view, no one could possibly turn the tables under such circumstances.
With strength like that, how could they lose?
So instead of worrying about the enemy, he focused on plotting against his own side, determined to play the role of a true insider traitor.
…
The next morning.
Ye Ling woke from his cultivation and glanced at Eve, who was still fast asleep on the bed. As he rose, he began sorting through his plans for the day.
Yesterday, Leng Qingqiu had informed him that the Talisman Master Examination Assembly would proceed as scheduled. It hadn't been postponed because of the Demonic Cultivator incident.
The moment he heard that, he knew today wouldn't be peaceful.
The bait was far too obvious. Even someone as inexperienced as Leng Qingqiu could tell something was off. There was no way he wouldn't notice.
Still, it wasn't a big issue.
How strong of a Demonic Cultivator could a Qi Refinement–level Talisman Master Examination Assembly possibly attract?
Foundation Establishment?
Golden Core?
Fine. Let's be generous and say Nascent Soul.
Even then, so what? He could still fight a Nascent Soul cultivator.
As long as it wasn't some monstrous, genius-tier Nascent Soul, wouldn't it just be a matter of rolling up his sleeves and getting it done?
To be honest, Ye Ling was feeling a little inflated.
He was even looking forward to those Demonic Cultivators showing up so he could have a proper fight.
Leng Qingqiu had been obedient lately, and besides, she was a woman. He couldn't exactly find a reason to hit her. At most, he could tease her verbally.
Demonic Cultivators, on the other hand, were different. Beating them up came with no psychological burden whatsoever.
As for the possibility that someone beyond his ability might show up?
Don't joke around. This was just a Qi Refinement–level assessment. What, was a Soul Formation powerhouse going to appear?
Did Soul Formation experts have no pride? Would they really come to a backwater place like this to meddle?
Ye Ling knew very well that Demonic Cultivators at the Nascent Soul or Soul Formation level set their sights on major state capitals. At the very least, they targeted Second-Grade Sects. A place like Tianqiong City simply wouldn't interest them.
So he had nothing to fear.
"Wake up."
Ye Ling didn't bother being cautious. After Eve reverted to her little-girl form, she stirred absolutely nothing in him.
He simply lifted her from the bed, the gesture more like an older brother carrying his younger sister.
"Let me."
Leng Qingqiu's voice came from the side, complicated and hard to read.
She took the still-drowsy Eve from his arms and headed toward the washroom inside the room.
Even though Ye Ling had repeatedly assured her that he wouldn't do anything strange to Eve, she remained firmly stationed here. In any case, she was only cultivating while she kept watch, so it wasn't awkward.
"Alright. Get ready. We're heading out soon."
Ye Ling had no objections. He did have experience taking care of children, but with Leng Qingqiu acting as a maid, wasn't that even better?
Still, being suspected like that stung a little.
What? I taught her to be this cautious?
…Well, in that case, never mind.