"Princess... the king is like this... sigh!"
Li Qingjun looked grimly at the empty dragon throne.
It was the morning court, and the officials had gathered, but Li Qinglin was absent.
He hadn’t shown up for several days now.
A few days ago, he claimed to be lacking energy and drowsy, so Li Qingjun had to take charge of the court affairs in the name of the princess. She even handed him the techniques left by Qin Yi.
She knew Li Qinglin had sent someone to the East Huazi's tomb to look for cultivation methods. Even if he hadn’t started cultivating yet, it was only a matter of time. It was better to let him practice Qin Yi's techniques; no matter how he ended up, it would at least lift his spirits and help him focus on state matters.
She believed Li Qinglin had that kind of self-control.
But it turned out she was too naïve.
Li Qinglin might be a bit "low on energy," but he was far from being in such a drowsy state that he couldn’t attend court. After all, he was a congenital martial artist; how could it come to this?
His act was merely because he guessed that Qin Yi would definitely leave behind techniques for her, prompting her to hand them over.
Li Qinglin could tell himself that he had never mentioned wanting to cultivate.
Self-deception!
"Let’s wrap it up for today." Li Qingjun suppressed her irritation and said to the officials, "Please hurry with the matters we just discussed; time is short. I’ll go check on my brother."
"Thank you, Princess."
The officials left the hall, and Li Qingjun suddenly turned around and grabbed the eunuch by the collar. "Take me to see my brother!"
The eunuch gulped, his heart almost stopping from fright.
In the past, Li Qingjun was fiery and often asked questions like this, but back then, it felt more like a charming temper. Now, with her fierce gaze, she exuded an intimidating presence, almost like seeing the once gallant Li Qinglin on the battlefield.
Qin Yi himself couldn’t keep track of time in the rift valley. To the people of Nanli, it had only been about half a month since he left.
In just half a month, Li Qingjun had changed completely in demeanor.
She had already ordered the execution of generals who embezzled military funds, and a line of heads hung at the noon gate, shocking to behold. Once, she had roamed the world, killing evildoers and monsters, perhaps even more than this? That was when she did it herself; this was just an order... but it felt different... The eunuch didn’t know how to describe it; it was just really different.
"We... we’ve arrived, Princess." The eunuch trembled as he stood before a quiet room, cautiously saying, "The king is in quiet meditation..."
"Bang!" Li Qingjun kicked open the quiet room door.
Li Qinglin was sitting cross-legged inside, slowly opening his eyes at the sound and smiling, "Still so fiery."
Li Qingjun glared angrily, "Our spies in the West Wilderness have reported multiple times that there’s unusual activity with their food supplies. General Xie believes they will invade in the spring. I don’t know much about these matters, and the officials are waiting for your orders to respond, and you still have time to meditate here!"
Li Qinglin replied calmly, "I had General Xie report to me yesterday evening; I’m aware of the situation."
Li Qingjun was taken aback and retorted, "Then why aren’t you attending court?"
"Most court matters are just petty squabbles, annoying and disruptive," Li Qinglin said slowly. "One must know the priorities; if the West Wilderness hasn’t come yet and I die first, everything ends. As for the troublesome court matters... you can handle them."
Li Qingjun angrily said, "I can’t manage this; it would be a mess!"
"No one is born knowing how to do this. Listen to the opinions of the officials; you’re very smart."
"You!" Li Qingjun stomped her foot and said, "Are you doing this for longevity or for eternal life? Can you even tell the difference?"
Li Qinglin remained gentle, "I can tell the difference; you can rest assured."
Li Qingjun took a deep breath and suddenly asked coldly, "So what have you achieved in your cultivation?"
"Almost there?" Li Qinglin replied, "If Qin Yi can cultivate, then I certainly can too."
"Qin Yi is just at the beginning of his transformation, far from true eternal life. He has never claimed he could achieve it." Li Qingjun paused and slowly said, "Brother, there is no such thing as a method for eternal life."
Li Qinglin's pupils slightly contracted, and Li Qingjun met his gaze calmly.
They both felt a strange sense of time distortion, as if they were the former king and prince.
It felt like a cycle repeating.
After a long while, Li Qinglin slowly said, "I am not our father."
Li Qingjun coldly replied, "I also hope I don’t have to become Li Qinglin."
...
Below the rift valley, Qin Yi, along with Ye Ling, returned to the stone formation from last night. He still needed to tend to his shoulder wound, and since Ye Ling had just woken up and started fighting, he needed to sort out the situation before taking further action.
"I... I don’t know what’s changed in me," Ye Ling scratched her head. "I just feel no pain anymore, my wounds are healed, and I’m stronger..."
Liu Su said, "Her lower-level bloodline has been replaced quite a bit. Now, her bloodline is a mix of various demon snakes, but these bloodlines don’t bring her any new talents; at most, they just strengthen her physical body. The Tengshe bloodline is too high-level; even if it’s thin, it still dominates."
Qin Yi asked, "So what’s with this breakthrough? I see she’s at least at the late stage of transformation now, while when I first met her, she was barely at the first layer of transformation. This breakthrough is faster than cheating."
"Her current breakthrough is indeed strange; normally, such a bloodline replacement shouldn’t increase cultivation," Liu Su explained. "In fact, this bloodline replacement only raised her development ceiling. The previous lowly snake bloodline would greatly hinder her cultivation, likely trapping her at the transformation stage, unable to enter the Dan condensation stage. Now, that’s definitely not a problem."
Ye Ling sat cross-legged in front of him, blinking her eyes at Qin Yi, not knowing what he was daydreaming about. Qin Yi, while treating his wound, also stared blankly at Ye Ling; both were confused.
Qin Yi suddenly thought that Ye Ling clearly didn’t have the Tengshe bloodline; she must have Saiyan bloodline, right? She broke through in the extreme pain of the demon refining array; she nearly died from Minghe's Seven Star Formation and then had another breakthrough; now, she was on the brink of death again, and once healed, she broke through.
Isn’t this just a Saiyan?
Liu Su pondered, "Her breakthrough should be due to personal factors. First, her talent for cultivation is very high, and second, her survival instinct and willpower are extremely strong. Therefore, every time she’s in a desperate situation, she can unleash her potential, which is essentially a means of survival..."
"..." Qin Yi immediately understood; this was indeed very Ye Ling.
Liu Su said, "But this can’t be a norm; it might even lead to an unstable foundation. She still needs a proper system of demon cultivation methods. I don’t know those methods, but I think this demon city agreement is indeed worth considering."
In the end, they returned to this point. Qin Yi looked at Ye Ling for a long time, hesitating to ask, "About this demon city agreement..."
Ye Ling said softly, "Brother, I want to go. I always feel that demons should stay in their own place; it’s hard to be in the human world..."
Qin Yi was taken aback and sighed.
Ye Ling’s experiences in human society didn’t seem very good. The malice from Dong Huazi, Li Qinglin’s manipulation, Minghe's hostility, the mountain top wizard's greed, and the fear and discrimination from ordinary people. That’s why he, Qin Yi, was seen as her brother, pulling her along; it was because she had never had a good experience in front of others.
Demons should stay in their own place...
"But brother... I know you’re on this journey to find a way to lift the curse, and it’s hard for you to do it alone." Ye Ling straightened up and said seriously, "I will definitely accompany you to finish this matter; I won’t leave on my own."
Qin Yi felt deeply touched; who said demons were cold-blooded? Ye Ling was so adorable.
He reached out and patted Ye Ling's head, softly saying, "Then let’s fight side by side once more. That mountain top wizard must have some trouble; let’s plan carefully; maybe we can catch him off guard."
Ye Ling's big eyes sparkled with excitement.
She actually held grudges.
(End of Chapter)