Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Xuanyuan Lingyan had gone back to her clan. Jiang Yi thought that she would never come back. He did not want to see her either. He never expected that they would meet again so soon and that she was the Demon-Killing Pavilion’s Special Envoy.
A weird feeling surfaced in Jiang Yi’s heart, but he was not afraid of meeting Xuanyuan Lingyan. He and Commander Liu walked towards the visitors’ central hall in big strides. Indeed, there stood a familiar figure. Only a short time had passed, but Xuanyuan Lingyan was visibly skinnier. She also looked much more mature and serious.
When she saw Jiang Yi walking towards her in big strides, her face flushed red. Anger and hatred flashed across her eyes, but she reverted to a calm expression almost immediately. She stood up and said, “Greetings, Hunting Envoy!”
There was an elderly man next to Xuanyuan Lingyan. Noticing that Jiang Yi was scanning the elderly man from head to toe, Xuanyuan Lingyan introduced him, “This is Lord Cheng from the General Pavilion. We’re here on the General Pavilion’s Assistant Pavilion Lord’s orders and on a special mission from the General Pavilion!”
“Oh? It’s Lord Cheng.”
Jiang Yi’s gaze shifted, and he understood something in his heart. The Assistant Pavilion Lord’s orders? There were two Assistant Pavilion Lords in the General Pavilion. One of them was the Clan Head of the Xuanyuan Clan. It was obvious that Xuanyuan Lingyan’s grandfather had sent her here to resolve the feud between them.
“Serve the tea!”
Jiang Yi sat at the host’s seat, and a few maidservants immediately appeared with tea on trays. Jiang Yi nodded at Lord Cheng and reached out his hand. “Lord Cheng, Young Mistress Xuanyuan, please, have some tea.”
Lord Cheng was very happy with Jiang Yi’s humble attitude. He smiled and sipped the tea, without saying anything more. Xuanyuan Lingyan took a sip of the tea and said, “Hunting Envoy, the General Pavilion is stripping you of your role as the Hunting Envoy and naming you the Great Minister of Public Works instead. In addition, you will be named the Pavilion Branch Lord of Demon-Killing Pavilion in Divine Eagle City.
“The Great Minister of Public Works is very important and special to the General Pavilion. This means that you, Jiang Yi, can be promoted to a Demon-Killing Battle God immediately. The General Pavilion hopes that you will continue to work hard. If you can obtain some glory on behalf of the pavilion, the General Pavilion will consider giving you a special title and allowing you to become a Titled Battle God!”
“Uh?”
Jiang Yi looked at her in confusion and blinked. He did not quite understand what she was saying. Commander Liu behind him stiffened, his expression filled with admiration. Jiang Yi glanced at him, and Commander Liu sent a voice transmission, explaining: “City Lord, this Great Minister of Public Works is a very special position. Let’s put it this way… the Hunting Envoy has the power to check the power of all the pavilion branches, but when he discovers a problem, he can only report it upwards. He himself has no power to deal with the problem.
“The Great Minister of Public Works, on the other hand, can represent the General Pavilion to supervise the pavilion branches. If they discover a problem, they can immediately get rid of Pavilion Branch Lords in the smaller cities and activate all disciples who are Titled Battle Gods and below!”
“Uh…”
Jiang Yi finally understood. He straightened his spine, shocked.
A Hunting Envoy was an official without any real power. This Great Minister of Public Works was an official with real power, who could play important military and political roles. In Stellarsky Continent, these people were called Imperial Envoys, envoys with the authority to kill. They could kill whoever they did not like. If they were going to war, he would be able to gather an army of the Demon-Killing Pavilion, too.
“Lord, the Assistant Pavilion Lord has no power to give such a role. I think the General Pavilion’s Pavilion Lord had something to do with this!”
Commander Liu sent another voice transmission, causing Jiang Yi to think of Di Ming. He had a feeling that Commander Liu was right. Even if Di Ming was not the one who thought of it this time, the General Pavilion would not dare to assign such an important role to a young man like him without Di Ming’s approval. What’s more, he was a young man who only had the skills of a God General and just ascended not long ago. It would be impossible.
Demon-Killing Battle God!
Jiang Yi’s heart thudded. If he was a Demon-Killing Battle God, didn’t that mean he would be able to enter the Primitive Mystic Realm again? He had not achieved the first level of the Mighty God Technique yet. Moreover, it felt too good to train inside there. Jiang Yi missed the feeling of being inside and cultivating.
He jumped to his feet and bowed towards Xuanyuan Lingyan and Lord Cheng. “Please tell the Assistant Pavilion Lord and the various lords that Jiang Yi will do his best to fulfill his duties. I will spare no effort in trying to complete it until the day I die. Revitalizing the Demon-Killing Pavilion would be my personal responsibility! Thank you both for coming here especially to pass the message.”
Lord Cheng touched his goatee and nodded, saying, “Great Minister of Public Works, you are young but capable. You are sure to progress significantly from here. Help the Demon-Killing Pavilion’s power to be known throughout Earth Domain and Heaven Domain so that we can surpass even the Battle God Pavilion.”
Jiang Yi had already heard so many formal words like this in his lifetime so he did not bother about it too much. Xuanyuan Lingyan stood up and looked at Lord Cheng before saying, “Commander Liu, can you please bring Lord Cheng around Divine Eagle City? I want to talk to the Great Minister of Public Works about other matters.”
The corners of Jiang Yi’s lips curled up in a smile. Commander Liu glanced at him and saw that the latter did not look worried so he led Lord Cheng out. Jiang Yi gestured for the maidservants to leave the hall as well. Finally, he turned to face Xuanyuan Lingyan. “Young Mistress Xuanyuan, what private matters would you like to discuss with me? It wouldn’t be good if word gets out that we, a man and a woman alone, remained in a hall for too long, right?”
Jiang Yi placed heavy emphasis on the words ‘a man and a woman alone’. Xuanyuan Lingyan immediately recalled the scene in the backyard of the Demon-Killing Pavilion and became embarrassed. She gritted her teeth and said, “Jiang Yi, don’t go overboard. The Xuanyuan Clan was the one that helped you obtain the position of Great Minister of Public Works this time. It makes up for what we did, doesn’t it? Are you still not going to give me that painting?”
Jiang Yi held onto the painting in his hand, causing Xuanyuan Lingyan to feel like a sharp knife was revolving around her head. If Jiang Yi spread this painting around, her reputation could be utterly destroyed in seconds. The Xuanyuan Clan’s name would also be dragged through the dirt. Then, they would have no choice but to kill themselves in order to make it up to their ancestors.
Especially after what happened in the Earth Emanations Hall, Xuanyuan Lingyan was afraid that Jiang Yi would cause trouble for the Xuanyuan Clan. This was why she reported what happened back to her family clan. Of course, she left out the part about the painting.
This time, she thickened her skin to meet Jiang Yi because the Xuanyuan Clan told her to come and acknowledge her mistakes to him. They wanted her to resolve the feud between Jiang Yi and herself. However, she came with her own motives: to get the painting back. She had already admitted subtly through her actions and words earlier that she was in the wrong. This meant that she had already brought herself extremely low.
However…
She thought she was bringing herself extremely low, but Jiang Yi did not think the same. He mocked, “Your clan helped me obtain it? If the General Pavilion’s Pavilion Lord did not give the nod of approval, would your clan be able to give me such a role? Do you think I’m an idiot? You want the painting? With your attitude, you can forget about it!”
“You…”
Xuanyuan Lingyan was so outraged that her entire body was trembling uncontrollably. She was extremely close to throwing a hissy fit. Her red phoenix eyes were opened so wide that they were shaped like circles, and she looked like an enraged lioness. Jiang Yi’s expression, on the other hand, did not change. He continued to stare at Xuanyuan Lingyan in the eyes, showing no sign of weakness. The corners of his lips were even curled up in a mocking smile.
Hoo-hoo!
A moment later, Xuanyuan Lingyan finally calmed down. She heaved a long sigh and recovered her calm expression. Through gritted teeth, she asked, “Jiang Yi, what do you want me to do before you’ll return the painting to me? Do you know that this entire time has been a living hell for me? I don’t even dare to close my eyes to sleep. If you don’t return the painting to me, I’ll go mad!”
“That’s your problem!”
Jiang Yi’s expression remained cool. Ruthlessly, he said, “Everyone has to bear the consequences of their own actions and pay the price of their wrongdoing! When you plotted against me back then, you should have expected that this day would come. I’ll give you four words: You asked for it!”
“I…”
Xuanyuan Lingyan looked down helplessly. She gripped her dress tightly with both her hands and said, “Jiang Yi, as long as you’re willing to give the painting back to me, I am willing to do anything for you. Are you happy now?”
“Anything?”
Jiang Yi’s eyes glinted torturously as he said, “Alright, then sleep with me for a night. Then, I will return it to you. I’ll even promise not to provoke you in the future; neither will I cause trouble for your Xuanyuan Clan. How’s that?”
“Well… no way!” Xuanyuan Lingyan immediately looked up, rejecting Jiang Yi decisively. He must be joking. If she lost her chastity, how would she marry in the future?
“Is that what you call ‘anything’? You’re not sincere at all!”
Jiang Yi smiled coolly and then shouted, “There’s nothing more for us to talk about. Someone, send our guest out!”
