The deaths of two Hawkwolf Guard commanders was a ground-shaking matter in certain places, through the eyes of certain people. However, in other places, in the eyes of other people, this was insignificant.
The difference in authority and power resulted in differing focuses. Whether it be Wang Pushi who disliked Li Qingshan or Hua Chengzan who liked him, they both handled this matter as something unimportant. They reached an agreement after just a short talk.
Wang Pushi said, “Fair enough. It’s not like we need to do anything to deal with the kid anyway.”
Hua Chengzan asked, “How come?”
Wang Pushi said, “Vice sect master Wei of the Sect of Clouds and Rain has already ventured to Jiaping city with the four grannies. That sh*tty son of his went underground in search of Li Qingshan and hasn’t returned since. I think he’s dead. What, didn’t that cohabitor of yours mention it?”
Hua Chengsan said, “You’ve answered your own question. Even you said that she’s just my cohabitor, not my wife. She’s the sect master, so she obviously has to consider the interests of the sect. The child does seem to be rather important to them. They sure don’t take me seriously as a vice commander!” He had forbidden the Sect of Clouds and Rain from laying a finger on Li Qingshan, but they defied his request now, forcefully going about the manner. That was equivalent to disregarding his authority.
Wang Pushi raised an eyebrow. “Once you get through the heavenly tribulation, we can work together. I’d like to see if there is anyone who’s bold enough to defy your requests in the fifteen hundred kilometers of the Clear River prefecture by then.” Two Foundation Establishment cultivators who were also Hawkwolf guards possessed absolute authority within the entire Clear River prefecture. In comparison, while only a step separated them from tenth layer Qi Practitioners, a significant difference existed.
Hua Chengsan smiled in a disappointing manner. “Cultivation is about going with the flow. You can’t force it.”
Wang Pushi said, “Forget it. We’ll just stick with what you want. We won’t bring him to justice, nor will we protect him. We’ll just wait and see. I’d like to see if the kid can survive this!”
Hua Chengzan sprang up from his seat and crouched on the desk, patting Wang Pushi’s shoulder. “At the end of the day, he can still be regarded as a person that boss Gu admires. Just stop being dissatisfied with him, old Wang. You’d better be careful if it affects your cultivation.”
Wang Pushi said, “So what? I’m also a person that boss- commander Gu admires. You’ve almost carried me away! If it weren’t for this dissatisfaction, I would be an old man gasping my last breath of air right now! I’ll pay a visit to the Academy of the Hundred Schools and see which kids are willing to head down and take over the position of commander and vice commander.”
Regular Qi Practitioners would have to work laboriously and risk their lives, and only then would they barely be able to become a Black Wolf guard. Yet, those from the Academy of the Hundred Schools could directly become commanders. There really was quite a difference between them.
After Wang Pushi departed, Hua Chengzan became slightly gloomy. He sighed gently. Even if he was as intelligent as they came, standing proudly as a genius, what was the point of all of it if he could not close this distance, even just by a tiny bit?
As geniuses stood where they were, sighing, the ordinary crawled along on the ground.
Smack! A crisp slap sent Qian Rongzhi flying. She rolled in the air and slammed into a wall viciously, falling to the ground. Her entire cheek had already swelled up as blood oozed from the corner of her lips. She no longer seemed charming at all.
“Why didn’t you stop him? And why have you only reported it now?” A grizzled, middle-aged man in expensive, violet robes roared. His true qi surged in a formidable manner, crushing down on Qian Rongzhi from a certain distance away. She was immobilised like an insect about to be squashed.
The middle-aged man was the vice sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, a tenth layer Qi Practitioner, Wei Zhongyuan. He had already reached the highest level of the Method of Clouds and Rain. Only a step separated him from Foundation Establishment. He was a figure who stood at the apex among Qi Practitioners.
To the sides of the hall sat four shrivelled, old women, all covered in cosmetics. It was quite a strange sight. Even from ten steps away, it was possible to smell the cosmetics they wore.
They all tweaked their appearances, drawing their eyebrows, applying eye make-up, and manicuring their nails. None of them even glanced at Qian Rongzhi. A few young men stood behind them as they served them with their utmost attention.
One of them was the West Gate Granny. Two handsome young men massaged her shoulders, while she lowered her head and sipped some tea. She paid no attention to her disciple’s miserable state.
Qian Rongzhi’s eyes were teary as she said in a pitiful manner, “I tried everything, but I wasn’t able to dissuade young master Wei. Sect master, you really can’t blame me for this!”
“How dare you talk back!” Wei Zhongyuan extended his hand and true qi flew over thirty meters away, lifting Qian Rongzhi into the air. “With my son’s temperament, he would have never tried to search for Li Qingshan if he hadn’t been bewitched by a whore like you. There’s no news of him even now.” If it were not for the fact that Qian Rongzhi was just too weak, he basically would have suspected Qian Rongzhi to be the culprit behind it all. Of course, this did not originate from his rational thinking, but from the pure anger that he wanted to vent on her.
With a shriek, all of Qian Rongzhi’s bones creaked. They were close to being crushed. “I… really…”
The door was suddenly flung open and several Black Wolf guards barged in. “What are you trying to…” After seeing what was going on, they all paled in fright. They received news that a Black Wolf guard was trapped in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, so they all rushed over in a hurry. However, they never thought that they would run into such a powerful group of Qi Practitioners. They had almost been left speechless.
“W- what are you trying to do? A- are you trying to kill someone from the Hawkwolf Guard?”
Wei Zhongyuan remembered how Qian Rongzhi possessed another identity. The West Gate Granny coughed gently. “Sect master, just leave the matter be. It’s not Rongzhi’s fault anyway. We better find little Jie quickly instead! I’ve watched that kid grow up, so I don’t wish for anything to happen to him either.”
Wei Zhongyang snorted coldly before tossing Qian Rongzhi aside resentfully. The Black Wolf guards were afraid to come help her up. Qian Rongzhi managed to get back onto her feet, and she knelt at the West Gate Granny in gratitude. “Thank you, granny!” Then she bowed her head towards Wei Zhongyuan. “Thank you, sect master!”
“If we can’t find Jie’er, just you wait!” Wei Zhongyuan turned around swiftly and made his way out. The four grannies followed closely behind, while the young men all walked past Qian Rongzhi in a chattery manner, looking at her dishevelled shape in disdain. They discussed loudly, “Look at her! She looks like a bitch!”
A young man beside the West Gate Granny said, “Right? She even wanted to suck up to granny. How shameless.”
Qian Rongzhi kept her head lowered, such that her messy hair hid her face, preventing anyone from seeing the light in her eyes.
Fortunately, she had thought of sending someone to seek reinforcements from the Hawkwolf Guard first, or she really might have been killed in this old bastard’s rage, which would have been a waste. If she used the Vitality Devouring technique on a tenth layer Qi Practitioner, would it be enough for her to break through to the sixth layer and condense a sea of qi?
The Black Wolf guards glanced at Qian Rongzhi. One of them said, “Now you know the consequences that come from trying to cling onto the stinky feet of the Sect of Clouds and Rain!”
“When the Parlour of Clouds and Rain opens again, we’ll take good care of the business considering the fact that we’re colleagues. Rongzhi, once you recover from your injuries, hopefully you’ll treat us well!”
A few people smiled nefariously as they fearlessly ogled Qian Rongzhi’s lovely stature.
They were Black Wolf guards who had originally been pushed to one side by Zhuo Zhibo. They were filled with envy and disdain towards Qian Rongzhi, who had managed to get on Zhuo Zhibo’s good side as soon as she had joined the Hawkwolf Guard. Now that Zhuo Zhibo was gone, they all felt like it was time for them to rise up. They felt extremely pleased with themselves, such that they became arrogant from their success.
Qian Rongzhi stood up. Under the soothing of true qi, her swollen face returned to normal, only leaving behind some dark, blue bruising. She wiped away the blood from the corner of her lips and smiled. “I just happen to be interested in carrying out a mission, but I probably won’t succeed if I go alone, so I’ll have to ask for your help. I’ll definitely pay back your kindness properly.”
The Black Wolf guards looked at one another. They were all tempted, but the disdain they showed deepened. Qian Rongzhi was just a whore who used her body to climb up. Now that the person she relied on, Zhuo Zhibo, had collapsed, she obviously needed someone new to depend on. Out of them, one was at the fourth layer and three were at the third layer. They were basically all of the core strength that remained in the Hawkwolf Guard of Jiaping city. They were very good targets to curry up to.
It was perfect for them to try this woman. It was not like they had to be afraid of any tricks she could use with their strength.
Right after Qian Rongzhi and the four Black Wolf guards received the mission in the falconry and were about to set off, they ran into Diao Fei.
Diao Fei glanced at Qian Rongzhi and immediately moved to one side. He asked politely, “You’re all…?”
The leading fourth layer Qi Practitioner said, “We’re going on a small mission. Some daemons have been acting up, so we want to take a look. Do you want to come along?”
“Hehe, big brother, it’s just a small mission. Won’t that be a little too many people?” A Black Wolf guard smiled nefariously, leading to a wave of laughter.
Come along!? Diao Fei did not even have enough time to avoid this woman, yet they somehow had the courage to go on a mission with her. Ever since the mission in Ancient Wing city, he became extremely cautious about Li Qingshan and Qian Rongzhi. He swore that he would never do anything with them again. He maintained a low profile and went about his matters alone, accumulating resources and avoiding disturbances. He was preparing for his breakthrough to the fourth layer.
When he heard that Zhuo Zhibo had led a group of Black Wolf guards to hunt down Li Qingshan, he was not like the other Black Wolf guards who firmly believed that Li Qingshan was done for. The end result from all of this was the disappearance of nine Hawkwolf Guards, with two commanders among them. He was not bold enough to say that Li Qingshan was behind all of it, but he definitely felt that Li Qingshan had something to do with it.
This consolidated his thoughts all the more. He could not afford to travel alongside a tiger! However, it was possible to guard against tiger attacks, but venomous snakes were impossible to defend against. His gaze towards these Black Wolf guards was rather strange. He basically said with some pity for them, “I still have things I need to do.” before leaving in a hurry.
“What a loner.”
“Forget it. Let’s go.” The fourth layer Qi Practitioner placed his hand around Qian Rongzhi’s hips in a natural fashion and brought it downwards.
Qian Rongzhi smiled. While different types of true qi would cause a slight problem, how could she turn down prey that was basically delivered to her?
The next day, Qian Rongzhi returned to Jiaping quietly with four round sacks. She returned to the palace below the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.
Whether they were geniuses or ordinary, they all had to find a way to live, no matter what the method was. However, when the ordinary refused to remain in mediocrity and accept the arrangements of fate, desiring everything that geniuses possessed, they would have to rack their brains and pay a price. This price was not just hardships and hard work. It could even involve sacrificing their dignity, enduring abuse, abandoning their feelings, and throwing themselves into hellish misery.
Deep underground, in the Zombie Daoist’s dwelling, Li Qingshan underwent a great trial as well as sweat poured from his black iron-like body.
