Li Qingshan used the skull to finish off all the alcohol. By now, he was already as drunk as he could be. It took him all the strength he had in him to crawl out of the pool. The clear pool water flowed off his bronze, powerful body.
It had already been many years since he had become so drunk. As his cultivation constantly increased, he would always maintain a sliver of clarity no matter how much alcohol he drank. He could rarely ever indulge himself like this.
However, he did not feel weak as a result. It was the exact opposite. He had become more dangerous than any other time. If those swordsmen dared to anger him at a time like this, then they would learn what violence meant.
Gu Yanying did not shirk away from him, much less develop any emotions like embarrassment. She sized him up and down and arrived by his side through the hazy steam. She picked up a towel from the ground and carefully dried his body.
Li Qingshan suddenly grabbed her hands. His gaze burned away brightly. Gu Yanying met his eyes quietly, but her gaze was as tranquil as the sky.
Li Qingshan seemed to see himself. He slowly let go, shut his eyes, and began snoring away.
Gu Yanying behaved like nothing had happened at all. She draped the cloak over him and sat down beside him with her legs crossed. She took out a map and began studying it. Compared to some White Ape Sword Classic, what she truly needed right now were books regarding the geography and history of this world.
Books piled up one by one. Before she knew it, it was already morning. The snowy white illuminated the window paper.
She let out a yawn, having gained a rough grasp of the world already.
This world was indeed much smaller than the nine provinces, less than five thousand kilometers across in any direction. They were roughly divided into five regions, the eastern, western, southern, northern, and central region. The geography and climate bore some resemblance to the nine provinces, cold in the north and warm in the south, except the mountains and rivers were smaller. She wondered whether some kind of connection existed between the many worlds.
The answer to this question was not something she could investigate right now.
The world basically did not have much of a concept of cultivation. The thing that was most dominant was martial arts and not spells or techniques. As opposed to personal cultivation, they placed more emphasis on battle. She realised the reason after a little bit of thought. The spells and techniques of Qi Practitioners were completely limited by the spiritual qi of the world. The rate at which they unleashed them was much slower than close combat too, so it was obviously eliminated through battles after battles.
The Qi Practitioners of the nine provinces did not place much emphasis on techniques in battle because even the Foundation Establishment cultivator that was the least skilled in battle could kill a Qi Practitioner with a flick of a finger. Rapidly increasing their cultivation was the dominant strategy.
However, there were also many similarities. They had undergoing the tribulation and ascending as their final objective, which was also known as shattering through space here. The powerful also ruled over this world, even though it had never led to any absolute monarchies like the Great Xia empire. The larger sects and clans only served as backbones behind loose alliances. The leader of the martial arts community would be constantly replaced to maintain the so-called righteousness of the martial arts community. From time to time, they would band together to purge any unorthodox practices. It was probably better described as order triumphing chaos than good triumphing evil.
As for the famous masters of the martial arts community, she did not put too much effort into memorising them. After all, even the strongest would only be on par with the White Ape King.
Actually, the path that Li Qingshan suggested was not necessarily impossible, where they killed as they pleased so that they became the embodiment of fear. They could use fear to extinguish any hostility. A book written by a demon king might attract far more attention than one written by a hero.
Thinking up to there, she glanced at Li Qingshan, but perhaps it was better to try strategy before brute force!
At this moment, Yuan Feifei’s voice rang out from outside, “Manor lord, there’s something I wish to tell you about!”
Li Qingshan snapped his eyes open. They were filled with caution as if he had never fallen asleep in the first place. However, by the time he returned to his senses, he became lethargic again. He stretched a little and noticed Gu Yanying’s exhaustion. “It was tough on you last night. Actually, I don’t need anyone watching over me as I sleep.”
Even if he had declined so much, his instincts forged through countless battles remained. If there were danger, he would sense it automatically.
“I was in a hurry to learn about this world. I have a rough idea in mind. I’ll tell you about it later.” Gu Yanying yawned again.
“No hurry. We have plenty of time. Catch some sleep first!”
“We’ll talk about it later. Go take a look at what’s happened. Don’t forget, try to preserve peace and win people over through virtue!”
Opening up the door, Yuan Feifei showed off what she had found eagerly. “Last night, I found these deceitful traitors. Please deal with them, manor lord!”
……
The wind and snow whistled for the entire night and only let up slightly when day broke. The snow piled up to their ankles, rendering the world snow-white.
Four women knelt in the courtyard. They were the four beauties that had served Li Qingshan last night. Their clothes were just as thin as before, except their graceful figures had almost been covered up by snow.
In particular, the woman in red was actually completely naked right now. She knelt in the snow without a single piece of clothing on her. Her skin had already turned blue from the cold. Even the approaching footsteps failed to make her respond.
“What have you done?” Li Qingshan frowned.
“Look, manor lord. These little whores actually tried to steal martial arts. They should be punished with death!” Yuan Feifei offered up the page of a sword manual in a hurry and even added, “I haven’t even taken a single glance at the martial arts on here.”
Gu Yanying said, “Haven’t I been clear enough last night? Everyone in the mountain manor can learn the martial arts on there. If you want to look at it, then look at it. They’re obviously allowed to do the same!”
“Yes, yes, yes. Kind be the vice manor lord, except these whores were messing around with the men in the outer courtyard as well. Who knows what kind of shameful things they’ve done…”
“Shut your mouth! Are you the manor lord, or am I the manor lord? How dare you abuse your power and punish them without my permission? Are you tired of living?” Li Qingshan showed his pale-white teeth.
“Hehe, caretaker Yuan, did you do this as well when the White Ape King was here?” Gu Yanying asked.
“I- I’m doing this to preserve the rules and order of the mountain manor!”
Yuan Feifei’s eyes darted about, and she lowered her head. These four women possessed the most outstanding appearances in the White Ape King’s harem. If the White Ape King were still around, she would have never found the courage to lay her hands on them. Now, she wanted to use this opportunity to punish them, but she never expected her intentions to be read so easily.
“I’ll teach you the rules.”
Gu Yanying extended her hand. Yuan Feifei wanted to avoid it, but she also dared not. When the tips of Gu Yanying’s fingers touched the back of her hand, she immediately crumpled on the ground. Her mouth hung agape, but she was unable to let out any sound at all. She stared at Gu Yanying like she was staring at a demon.
Even the White Ape King could not withstand the pains of hell, let alone her.
“Do you understand now?”
Yuan Feifei nodded in a hurry.
“Very good. You know what you should do now. Don’t let this happen another time.”
With that, Gu Yanying returned to the White Ape King’s training room with Li Qingshan.
Yuan Feifei sat up on the ground and checked herself. There was actually not a single wound on her body. She had no idea how Gu Yanying had managed to achieve something like that, but that was a sensation she never wanted to experience again. She did not dare to underestimate the new manor lords’ schemes and methods. She recovered and scolded them. “You whores, you’re lucky today. The manor lords are kind and generous. They’re sparing your puny lives!”
Not only did she have no complaints, but she instead developed even more respect for them. As a matter of fact, she found this to be perfectly logical. This was the might and influence that the manor lord of the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape should possess. She did not dare to waste any more time. If these whores actually froze to death, even her own life might be in danger.
