Hua Chengzan said in a hurry, “Qingshan, this is head scholar Wen of Pine Sough academy!”
“They will be here when they arrive. Give me all the information on that wretched daemon.”
Li Qingshan could not help but praise, How meticulous!
Four Golden Core cultivators would be facing a single Daemon General. He was outnumbering the weaker opponent by four-to-one, yet he still wanted to closely study any information regarding the opponent. He showed no conceit or arrogance at all. An attitude like this in itself was already rather terrifying.
It would be fine if he did nothing, but once he struck, it would be certain death.
Hua Chengzan said, “Please come with me, senior!”
Before Wen Zhengming left, he lectured Li Qingshan again, “You must live up to the responsibilities of your position. Since you’re a Scarlet Hawk commander, how can you only think for yourself and neglect the greater good of the world around you? You are to blame for daemons running amok!”
Li Qingshan said, “The matters of the world will obviously have people of the world to handle them. Now that the war has finally come to a close after so much difficulty, the common people require peace and contentment to rebuild their homes. If it weren’t for the sake of your disciple’s revenge, why would you have lowered yourself to such a level in the first place, senior? I just wonder how many people by the shore of Moon Court lake will suffer once the battle begins.”
“You are not worth my attention, boy. As long as daemons remain, the world will struggle to find peace. How can you only focus on what goes on before you?” Wen Zhengming said furiously.
Li Qingshan smiled. “Well said, senior. It’s just a pity that the lowly words of this junior carry little weight and my cultivation is low. Even if I go to Moon Court lake, I’ll only be seeking my own doom. Since senior has such a thorough understanding of the greater good, please do go dragon slaying in Ink Sea. I’m more than willing to follow along.”
He was basically implying, You’re just harassing the moon demon, a mere Daemon General, yet you still claim you’re purging daemons for the greater good? If you really come across an opponent you can’t defeat, won’t you piss off like everyone else? If you’re bold enough to risk your life with the Dragon King of Ink Sea, I’m bold enough to accompany you!
Though, once we get to a critical moment, I’ll definitely have to call out, Sir dragon king, don’t shoot! I’m one of you!
Wen Zhengming became even more furious. To think a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator was bold enough to speak to him like that! He held back his anger and snorted coldly, leaving in a huff.
Li Qingshan originally wanted to follow along and take a look so that he could learn a little more about what was happening. This was a matter of life and death, as well as a matter of his so-called pride. However, upon further thought, he decided against it. Whether he knew a little more about the situation or not, it was all the same.
No matter how they attacked him, Li Qingshan only had a single response, which was to unleash the spirit turtle’s special characteristic of patience and forbearance. With a “Spirit Turtle Holes up in its Shell”, he would cope with anything they threw at him with the same response!
With his current strength, dealing with a Golden Core cultivator was still rather difficult. Dealing with four basically guaranteed defeat. He would not even necessarily be able to escape even if he wanted to. A battle where defeat was certain was obviously pointless.
Hua Chenglu whispered, “Commander, you don’t even know him? Senior Wen is one of the four grandmasters of confucianism in our Ruyi commandery.”
The four grandmasters of confucianism!
Li Qingshan’s heart skipped a beat. The alias did ring a bell. “May I ask who the four are?”
Hua Chenglu explained it to him. As it turned out, Wen Zhengming was actually the weakest among the four grandmasters of confucianism. He was only an early Golden Core cultivator, while the other three were all at mid Golden Core.
“I never thought his highness the marquis would actually send the four of them together. It’s certain death for the moon demon this time.”
The Ruyi commandery was only a commandery, but the actual area it covered was even larger than all of China. They were truly worthy of the title of “grandmaster”.
Not necessarily, Li Qingshan thought. He said to Hua Chenglu, “Alright, I understand. I’ll be taking my leave first. If you plan on returning to the academy, I can accompany you.”
“Commander, this is something major to our Clear River prefecture, so how can you just leave?”
Li Qingshan laid out his hands. “I’m a measly Foundation Establishment cultivator. What right do have I to become involved in something so big? The sky has to rain and brides have to get married. What am I supposed to do?”
Hua Chenglu burst out laughing. “What brides have to get married… Oh right, commander, if you want to see elder sister Han, there is a way!”
“Oh? What way?”
……
“To think the Hawkwolf Guard has a place like this.” Li Qingshan stood in a room covered in inscriptions.
Hua Chenglu said, “This is our reporting room. It’s been specially established for contacting the White Wolf guards in the commandery city when we need to.”
The various rooms in the Hawkwolf Guard served different purposes. During the hand-over last time, Li Qingshan had only gained a rough understanding of a few relatively important rooms. He had only glanced past the other places. He did not know about how Wang Pushi had once reported to Gu Yanying with Chu Danqing about the existence of “Northmoon”.
“I see.”
“Commander, have a good conversation with sister Han. I’ll be taking my leave.” Hua Chenglu told Li Qingshan where to put in the spiritual stones before leaving.
The inscriptions lit up, and the figure of an envoy in black appeared in the room. He said politely, “Sir, what are your orders?”
Li Qingshan took in a deep breath. He had actually become slightly nervous. “Let me see Han Qiongzhi.”
Before long, a figure appeared before Li Qingshan, but she was not Han Qiongzhi.
Gu Yanying said leisurely, “Little bro Qingshan, long time no see! How have you been?”
“Commander Gu!” Li Qingshan was taken aback. This was the woman he had once fallen in love with at first sight. Even though she was only an illusion right now, she no longer seemed so unreachable. He replied with a smile, “I’m still living in good health!”
“Probably neither of us thought there would be a day when we can meet with our current identities back then outside Qingyang city!”
Gu Yanying sighed slightly. Originally, she found Li Qingshan slightly special at most, but never did she think he could grow to such a level and grow so quickly. Under his identity of a Daemon General, he had actually managed to clash with a Golden Core cultivator and force the Sword Collection palace into temporarily stopping their investigation of the Soaring Dragon Elder’s death.
“Yeah. I really didn’t think of that.” Li Qingshan sighed too. “Oh right, is Qiongzhi in the Ruyi commandery, commander Gu? Could you get her to see me?”
“Are you really that sick of talking with me?” Gu Yanying said with a faint smile.
“Hey, of course not. If commander Gu doesn’t mind, I’m more than willing to talk with you for three whole days and nights.”
“Great scholar Wen is with you, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You best remind him that with regards to this rising star of the Daemon race, ‘that one’ in Ink Sea won’t just sit on the sidelines and allow them to do whatever they want with him, such as executing him.”
Li Qingshan was taken aback before remembering, So I also have an organisation, and I’m some rising star of the Daemon race too!
Without a doubt, the one who had been the most dazzling in this game of chess was him. He had directly influenced the progress of the war, even clashing with Zhou Tong at the end. Although it never developed into a proper battle, it still brought everyone great shock.
The chess piece that even left the chess player slightly surprised obviously attracted attention from everywhere.
As a result, the Marquis of Ruyi unleashed the “four grandmasters” right off the bat and scattered many backup plans across the board just to kill this genius of the daemons.
However, as Gu Yanying had said, would the Dragon King of Ink Sea really allow them to do this?
Li Qingshan suddenly came to a realisation. He no longer felt the situation was as bad anymore. He had never thought of this because he had fallen out with his superior, clashing who knew how many times in bed and out. He had never depended on Lolth assisting him.
However, from a different perspective, what went on between him and Lolth was merely internal conflict. Once human cultivators attacked, she clearly understood the principle of being in the same boat. As it seemed, he should contact her again. At most, he would offer up his handsome body again.
And that “sir Golden Cicada” in the magma underground—he should have been a prominent figure among the Daemon race too.
Once he got back, he had to properly investigate that fellow’s identity and origins. In the world of cultivation, “nameless masters” never existed. The stronger a figure was, the deeper their trace throughout history would be.
As Li Qingshan pondered, Gu Yanying smiled and vanished. Before long, a familiar figure appeared before Li Qingshan.
“Qingshan!” Han Qiongzhi’s voice trembled slightly. As she said that, her eyes became slightly teary.
“Qiongzhi!” Li Qingshan took a step forward, wanting to pull her into his arms, but his hands passed through her figure and only then did he remember it was all an illusion. He smiled self-deprecatingly. His nose tingled slightly too.
How long had it been? Four years? Five?
Even to cultivators, this was not a short time. He had countless things he wanted to say, but he actually had no idea how to start right now. All he could do was stare at her silently.
Suddenly, Li Qingshan smiled. “Have you prepared the dowry?”
“Not even a cent!” Han Qiongzhi bit her lip. She wanted to cry, and she wanted to laugh right now. He still remembered their engagement.
……
“This is all the information on the moon demon. His body is tough, probably close to the level of Daemon Commanders already. Coupled with the support from the god seal, the quantity of his daemon qi and his recovery rate probably even exceeds that of Daemon Commanders.”
“And, he doesn’t seem to possess two innate abilities like regular Daemon Generals. It’s possible that he has more than four, or even five. In particular, the wings of wind on his back allow him to fly with unparalleled speed.
Hua Chengzan retrieved all the information on the moon demon and also gave a rough explanation and analysis, outlining Li Qingshan’s powers, strengths, and weaknesses.
Wen Zhengming only nodded along, listening extremely carefully. Only when Hua Chengzan was done did he ask, “What about his character?”
“Hmm?”
“You’ve had a lot of contact with him. What is his character like? Is he prudent or conceited, crafty or courageous? As mentioned in the arts of war, attacking cities is inferior; attacking the heart is superior.”
Not only did Wen Zhengming want to understand Li Qingshan’s strength, but he also wanted to understand his character so that he could come up with some strategies that corresponded to his personality. He was as serious as when he studied. His grievances from his dead disciple failed to influence his judgement at all.
Hua Chengzan said, “That would be difficult to say. Sometimes, he does seem extremely conceited, but that is often when he has the strength to back it up. He’s not exactly crafty, but he’s not someone who would fall for tricks easily.”
“Then with his personality and strength in mind, what kind of strategy do you think will guarantee his death, commander Hua?”
Wen Zhengming demonstrated only modesty. None of it was an act as he asked for guidance from Hua Chengzan who was only an early Foundation Establishment cultivator with great seriousness.
“With senior’s learnedness and ability, this junior dares not demonstrate his incompetence.” Hua Chengzan took a step back and bowed.
“Even among any three people, I can learn something from at least one of them. I am but a bookworm. I am not skilled in the arts and stratagem of war. I’ve heard how commander Hua is highly resourceful, so please do give me guidance.”
Wen Zhengming brought his hands together and his huge sleeves fluttered in the air, performing a great, formal, confucian bow of seeking knowledge to Hua Chengzan. He was filled with sincerity.
A Golden Core cultivator bowing to a Foundation Establishment cultivator was like a person walking along before suddenly bowing to an ant. If it were not the fact that he was a confucian, if it were not for the fact that reputation no longer meant anything to him, even a Golden Core cultivator with the best temperament in the world would not do something like that.
“You treat me with too much regard, senior!”
Flattered, Hua Chengzan returned the bow in a hurry. He thought to himself, Northmoon, oh Northmoon, you’re really in trouble this time! If I had an opponent like this, I wouldn’t even be able to eat or sleep in peace.
