“F-Fake?!”
Qingyang Painting Immortal’s jaw dropped.
Even at the end, he hadn’t realized these wild beasts were only painted constructs… They were just too lifelike, every hair and detail vivid! With such fine detail, how could they possibly be painted illusions?!
Then this Candle Dragon, could it be…
The Candle Dragon twined its tail around Qingyang Painting Immortal, then suddenly flung him, sending him crashing into the Yanjia Courtyard.
After that, the Candle Dragon transformed into droplets of ink and vanished without a trace.
It was a painting as well.
Yet this struck a far deeper blow than if a real Candle Dragon had been summoned.
He was so dizzy from the throw that the world spun. When he raised his head, he saw Jiang Ke’er standing at the table, holding a brush in her hand.
It was… her?!
So, it was the Demon Race?
A member of the Demon Race had reached a level in the Dao of Painting that most humans could never hope to match?!
It’s over.
The Dao of Painting is finished.
History would repeat itself as it did with the Sword Dao—another Jiang Ke’er had emerged. Maybe before long, the Dao of Painting would become infamous just like the Sword Dao.
—But what did any of that matter to his own situation now?
“Don’t kill me! Please, have mercy, Daren! I have a family and a business, I only did this on a moment’s impulse—”
“The Yan Family has a family and a business too. The Yan Family’s servants also have parents and children. On a moment’s impulse? Sorry, but I also acted on impulse.”
Jiang Ke’er gripped the sword hilt. A flash of cold, water-blue sword light flickered by.
Qingyang Painting Immortal’s soul passed to the Western Paradise.
Yet he did not die a brutal death. The cold aura wrapped in Frostshadow froze his wounds in an instant; not a single drop of blood leaked out.
When Jiang Ke’er killed, she neither avoided those nearby nor spared a thought for the young Yan Liben…
For this was a world where the strong preyed on the weak. From the moment one stepped onto the path of a cultivator, it was only a matter of time before you killed—or were killed.
Everyone had long since grown used to it. Even though Yan Liben was still a child, he would have to accept this reality.
“I killed your teacher. As compensation, from today onward, I am your teacher,” Jiang Ke’er said to Yan Liben.
“Uh…” Yan Liben didn’t dare answer right away. Instead, he sneaked a glance at Yan Pi from the corner of his eye.
Yan Pi was furious. “You brat, hurry up and kneel to your new Shifu! Why are you just standing there like a fool?!”
“Yay!” Yan Liben was overjoyed. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed three times to Jiang Ke’er. “Qing Yi Sis—no, Teacher Qing Yi! Please accept your disciple’s respects!”
“No need for such formality. The two of us are just ordinary teacher and student, and you’re only a regular student in the school. Starting tomorrow, you’ll attend class with the older brothers and sisters of Three Cun,” Jiang Ke’er waved her hand, glancing at Yan Pi from the corner of her eye.
Yan Pi truly lived up to his shrewd reputation. He gave a knowing smile and took the initiative to say, “May I ask… would a tuition fee of 1,000 Magic Crystals per month satisfy you?”
“Yan Daren, you’re too polite. Yan Liben is just to my liking. There’s no need for such a costly gesture,” Jiang Ke’er replied, smiling with narrowed eyes.
“Forget the Magic Crystals. But if I don’t have Yibi while traveling through the Ancient Scholarly Realm, I might not be able to take a single step… Daren, I’ll let you decide.”
The hardest price to bargain with—‘I’ll let you decide.’
Yan Pi felt a headache coming on and asked tentatively, “5,000 Yibi?”
Yibi was the actual currency used in the Ancient Scholarly Realm. Magic Crystals were precious, but not as convenient there.
5,000 Yibi equaled over 2,000 Magic Crystals. It wasn’t a small sum. Even for the wealthy Yan Family, providing that much money every month was no easy feat.
“Deal.” Jiang Ke’er hadn’t set her price sky-high. Actually, if she weren’t so poor and didn’t sense she’d need massive resources to develop Underworld Province, she wouldn’t have charged Yan Liben tuition at all.
Yan Pi was delighted, blushing from joy.
He cupped his hands and bowed to Jiang Ke’er. “The Yan Family knows well that such a Dao of Painting legacy is priceless! Money cannot buy it… I, Yan Pi, swear! From today on, the Yan Family will do all we can to repay Teacher’s kindness in passing on her teachings! If ever needed, everyone in the Yan Family, from top to bottom, will go through fire and water, without complaint or regret!”
It seemed today’s greatest gain wasn’t the monthly 5,000 Yibi, but the Yan Family’s favor.
“It’s nothing. Your house is big. Just lend me your place for now,”
Jiang Ke’er didn’t care much for all this back-and-forth formality.
Yan Pi had intended to chat more with Jiang Ke’er, but suddenly his expression changed slightly. “There’s urgent business in the army that needs handling. I’ll speak with you another day!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, his projection flickered and vanished from the courtyard.
“The South Zhan Tribe launched a night raid, but our sentry cultivators failed to report anything. Our forces suffered heavy losses… The Ling Emperor has ordered a retreat to the Imperial Capital.”
“Retreat?” Yan Pi was shocked at the news.
Retreating to the Imperial Capital meant giving up on the war entirely. All their previous efforts would be wasted.
“There’s unrest in the Great Sima Nation as well. The situation hasn’t reached all-out chaos yet, but the rebels are already making moves. The Imperial Guard commander Yu Wenhua Ji has already escorted the Ling Emperor back to the capital, and Li Yuan has led his troops ahead to suppress the rebellion.”
Yan Pi fell silent.
The Great Sima Nation was about to descend into chaos.
At the Nine Palaces Chamber of Commerce Main Hall, several hazy figures gathered in the grand hall. Their true bodies were not present, only their avatars faced each other, clearly preparing to discuss a major matter.
“Mingzhou Houtu has emerged, and it’s clearly connected to the missing Underworld Province Cauldron. This matter isn’t especially serious, but it’s definitely not trivial…”
“Should we contact the State Preceptor?”
“The State Preceptor isn’t in the Three Realms and can’t be reached. We’ll handle this ourselves.”
“Find that new Houtu and kill her. That’s all.”
The Xian discussed the matter all at once, but gradually their voices died down.
The man standing in the lead thought for a moment and said, “Last time, when we hunted Jiang Ke’er, we lost both the Underworld Province Cauldron and the Golden Crow. The Sword Dao was badly damaged, and even now, Jiang Ke’er’s whereabouts remain unknown… This time, I don’t want a repeat of that incident.”
“Yuan Zheng, you’ll go. Think of this as your chance to atone for past mistakes.”
Yuan Zheng was there in person, not as a projected avatar.
He looked ashamed and replied, “Yes, Shifu! This time I will not be swayed by Demons. I guarantee to complete the mission swiftly and cleanly!”
Until yesterday, Yuan Zheng had still been in a daze, savoring the taste of grilled fish.
He’d eaten that fish for days in a row. Not until yesterday, after he’d gnawed his fingers clean of the flavor, did he finally break free from that nostalgia and realize the enormity of the trouble he’d caused.
He’d carried a deep sense of grief and anger all the way to today, vowing inwardly to take revenge!
Now that he had a chance to prove himself, of course he wouldn’t let it slip by!
So it’s just Houtu? Even if it were Huang Tian, I’d kill for you!
Heh, if I can’t kill Jiang Ke’er, don’t tell me I can’t kill you.
“Judging by the fluctuations, Houtu was born this time in the Realm of Novice Cultivator, probably near Shiwei Zhou. You can suppress your cultivation and go in to search… Just be careful—this time, absolutely don’t have another reckless breakthrough! Understand? Even the Tribulation Immortal Hall’s items for suppressing cultivation are almost used up! There’s hardly any left!”
“Yes, Shifu, you can rest assured!” Yuan Zheng replied with a confident smile.
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