GB Chapter 38

No one in this world knew the Demon Lord’s true origins. Even his real name was unknown. The cultivators who participated in the Demon Extermination War had either ascended or perished, and only the ancient texts left behind by the Heavenly Dao Alliance contained some records. It was said that the Demon Lord first appeared in the mortal realm by destroying the most powerful sect at the time, the Purple Cloud Sect. When the rescue cultivators arrived, they only saw mountains of corpses. A man in black was sitting on the pile, drinking wine as he looked at the moon. Then, they became part of the corpse mountain, except for Yu Qing, who immediately knelt before the man.

Yu Qing had a near-obsessive obsession with the Demon Lord, so he knew the weaknesses of demon blood. No matter how strong, demon cultivators were still human, and human blood was limited, even for the former Demon Lord.

What appeared in Qian Ren’s sight were countless fierce ghosts and formations. With one glance, he recognized that the Yu Qing on the roof was an illusion. Not only on the roof, but also scattered among the ghosts were several phantoms of Yu Qing to confuse the vision. It seemed that from the moment he broke into the secondary palace, this person had already begun preparations.

Yu Qing had indeed made a detailed plan targeting the time the demon blood was separated from the body. With such an immense number of enemies, even Qian Ren, who was in the late Nascent Soul stage, would not have an easy time if he tried to force his way through. However, he wasn’t that Demon Lord who liked to break through with sheer force. Qian Ren’s expertise was being the number one assassin in the world.

When the black-clad man appeared in front of him, holding a blood-stained blade, Yu Qing’s expression was genuinely astonished. Even as the demon blood pierced his body, his words were filled with disbelief, “Even the Lord could not have found me among ten thousand ghosts. Why…”

“It is indeed impossible in your era, but, in these six hundred years, demon cultivators have already researched several methods of blending into heaven and earth. The times are always moving forward. You, immersed in the past, have long been eliminated.”

This was no longer the era when the Demon Lord ran rampant. Not to mention Yu Qing, even if the former Demon Lord returned, he might not be able to defeat the Xuanmen Sect Leader, who was in harmony with the Heavenly Dao, and He Huan, who possessed both saintly and demonic power. Although Qian Ren had not yet reached the Transcending Tribulation stage due to his state of mind, he had been constantly improving his cultivation techniques over the years. In terms of scouting and stealth, no one in the world could surpass him. Yu Qing’s ancient tactic of hiding with illusions had already been cracked by the Demonic Cult using at least ten different methods.

Cultivators had a very long lifespan. With the spread of Xuanmen cultivation, the once secret techniques had all found successors. In recent years, cultivators from both the righteous and demonic paths had been striving to improve their cultivation for the sake of ascension. Such rapid progress was something that Yu Qing, who could only barely survive by possessing other bodies and clinging to the past, could never see.

Qian Ren was never sentimental. His choice to face the battle alone was not out of a desire for revenge or arrogance, but because the current Yu Qing was truly not a difficult opponent for him. This issue had already surfaced sixty years ago when Yu Qing schemed against He Huan. However, Yu Qing, who firmly believed that the methods left by the Demon Lord were invincible, never paid any attention to it. Or, even if he did notice, he would not change, because he was blindly devoted to everything that belonged to the Demon Lord.

Unlike him, the first thing Qian Ren learned in the martial world was to face his mistakes. He didn’t give Yu Qing any chance at all. The demon blood immediately ensnared the ghosts, and watched as they were slowly devoured. It was then that he used a tone as if talking to an ant, and said, “No one is born a cultivator. Everyone starts as a mortal. It is precisely because we recognize our weakness that we begin to cultivate, and it is precisely because we know that the human heart is unpredictable that we need the guidance of the Tao. A cultivator’s lifelong pursuit is to surpass oneself and to surpass those who came before, of course, including the Demon Lord you see as unreachable.”

“Nonsense! How dare you compare yourself to the Lord!”

To a fanatic like Yu Qing, the most devastating blow was to see the god he worshipped brought down from the altar. At these words, his face contorted, and his eyes were filled with madness, wanting nothing more than to tear Qian Ren apart and drink his blood. However, Qian Ren only said one sentence that left him speechless, “So, was the Demon Lord able to capture you so easily?”

Qian Ren’s demon blood was identical to the Demon Lord’s. Yu Qing’s calculations were all targeted at the Demon Lord’s weaknesses, so he had no way to refute it. He could only look at Qian Ren and say with malice, “So what? At least the Lord has me who has been thinking about him for so many years. What about you? The world fears you, nobody dares to get close to you. Though I die by your hand, you won’t have an easy time either!”

Qian Ren had heard these types of curses from those who couldn’t win an argument many times. He didn’t take it to heart at all. He was about to let this man see what was truly heart-piercing when Zhuge Qingtian, who had been quietly hiding beside him, couldn’t listen anymore. He took the initiative to burrow into his master’s arms and angrily said to Yu Qing, “Who says that? Can’t you see that I’m such a big person hanging onto him? Let me tell you, if Master wasn’t so wary, I would have dared to kiss him!”

“You, you actually–”

Before this, Yu Qing had never seriously looked at Zhuge Qingtian beside Qian Ren, assuming that he was just a dead man that Qian Ren was using to keep warm. However, now that he looked up close, although his appearance and personality were completely different, his figure and voice were exactly like that person. But, how was that person possible…

Qian Ren saw the shock on Yu Qing’s face, but he still pretended to be unaware. He just calmly said to Zhuge Qingtian, “This is what I want to teach you today. When a cultivator believes that someone else is better than themselves, they have already lost. If you want to become stronger, you must learn to rely on yourself to judge right and wrong. Do not be afraid of making mistakes. A master’s job is to clean up your messes.”

Qian Ren never forgot his original intentions when doing things. This trip was to teach Zhuge Qingtian about the martial world. Although there were some unexpected events, the things that needed to be done had not changed. He would make all of his enemies become the nourishment for Zhuge Qingtian’s growth, to maximize their value, and that was the best revenge against them.

Although in Qian Ren’s eyes, this was something that a master should do, this kind of dedication still made Zhuge Qingtian feel a warmth that he had never experienced before. He could be sure that neither the crazy scholar of Zhu Jiaji in the past nor himself who had already forgotten about his previous existence had ever been treated so seriously. In the face of such deep hatred, the person who he was thinking about was still him, and just the thought of this gave him the illusion that he was deeply loved.

This sly master, just because of this, he can’t help but wonder how gentle the man would be once he falls in love with someone. It would likely be a unique kind of love, and to him, who yearned to be loved, it was a fatal temptation. He kept teasing him all day long, yet he didn’t actually make a move. Demonic cultivators really were all bad people!

Subconsciously hugging the man tighter, Zhuge Qingtian looked up at him seriously, “Even if I do things differently from what you expect, will you not dislike me or abandon me?”

This disciple rarely had such a serious expression. Qian Ren, who lacked experience in emotions, never thought that putting a person first would have such an effect. He himself had no desires, and now, the only person close to him was his disciple, so he naturally put him first in everything. At this moment, he just replied with a default attitude, “Are you sure you want me to count how many times you’ve done things that I have rejected until now?”

In Qian Ren’s eyes, this was just a teenager being affectionate, but he who had been doing his best to train his disciple had never thought that the strong were always very active in pursuing what they wanted. At this moment, Zhuge Qingtian, whose timidity was slowly fading away, revealed his own sharpness for the first time. Without further ado, he stared straight into his eyes and said, “Master, can I like you? Like the way lovers like each other.”

The Zhuge Qingtian of the past, who was afraid of being rejected, would have never dared to ask this question, because back then, even if he received a small setback, he would collapse. However, he believed that the current him would no longer retreat because of a few failures. It was Qian Ren’s teachings along the way that gave the boy the courage to pursue the person he desired. And it was him who had told his disciple not to be afraid of making mistakes. So, facing those challenging eyes, Qian Ren could only sigh helplessly, “I have to admit, your learning ability is excellent. You have quickly learned to seize the opportunity, which is most important for an assassin.”

“You promised you wouldn’t dislike me! Although you didn’t say it, I felt it. You’re not allowed to pretend you didn’t hear it!”

Although the boy’s voice was strong, his body was extremely nervous as he leaned against him. This was the first time he had mustered up the courage to seriously fight for what he wanted. There was no longer any of his usual joking behavior to use as a disguise, so he couldn’t just easily avoid it by acting like he was joking. Although he was mentally prepared, he would still be very sad if he failed.

At this moment, Qian Ren finally understood why He Huan looked so helpless when he insisted on cultivating demonic energy, even if it meant being alone for the rest of his life. It was a case of an eye for an eye, and now, it was his turn to face a stubborn and rebellious disciple. Although this disciple was an unknown ghost god, and Yu Qing’s expression was strange, when he met the boy’s ardent gaze, he, who never used his emotions, still made the same decision as his master. He only sighed softly, “If you think you won’t regret it, then do as you wish.”

Just one sentence made Zhuge Qingtian reveal an ecstatic look. But before he could respond, Yu Qing, who had been half-devoured by demon blood, began to laugh maliciously, “Hahaha, Bi Qianren, do you know who he is? He’s actually–”

Just as Qian Ren had expected, Yu Qing had indeed seen something about Zhuge Qingtian. This person had long lost his mind and could not care about the bigger picture. As long as he could make Qian Ren suffer, he dared to say anything. However, at this critical moment, a red lightning bolt suddenly fell, instantly reducing him to ashes.

Along with this sudden change, the ghosts that were surrounding the two of them split open and stood aside. A young man in blood-red clothing slowly walked out of the palace. He looked at the scattered spiritual ash with indifference and said, “Senior Yu Qing, you talk too much, please shut up forever.”

This change came so suddenly, Zhuge Qingtian had no time to think about the hidden meaning in Yu Qing’s words, nor did he have the mind to examine the young man’s profile, which was nearly identical to his own. He could only look at the flying spiritual ash and say what was on his mind, “You should have let him finish talking!”

The author has something to say: Yu Qing: Why isn’t he getting hurt when I’m attacking him? This is a bug!

Qian Ren: I really don’t know who gave him the courage to challenge the current squad leader with gear from last season.

Zhuge Qingtian: Master, I have learned that only cultivation partners will never go out of style!

Qian Ren: You, come here. I’m going to replace your head.