CHAPTER 1215: CHAPTER 1213: THEN I WON’T BE POLITE

Lu Ye had long wanted to talk with Yang Qing again, but after Yueh Xin’s death, he went to the Unparalleled Continent and had been too busy.

Now that the base over at the Unparalleled Continent has been set up, and the Heaven’s Augury Pillars he brought have been placed in suitable positions, basically, there’s nothing much for him to do there.

As for battle merit, while other cultivators might be in need, he isn’t lacking at all.

His current accumulation of battle merit points has already exceeded seven figures. Even though he doesn’t dare say there will be no successors, it’s definitely unprecedented.

Therefore, upon receiving the message, he immediately returned to the Nine Provinces from the Unparalleled Continent.

Tianzhou, one of the Nine Provincial States of the Nine Provinces, though named after heaven, is actually not much different from the other states and is not the center of the Nine Provinces.

To those uninformed common folks, the theory of a round sky and square earth might be deeply entrenched, and even many cultivators with low cultivation believe so.

But actually, the Nine Provinces is a spherical shape, which Lu Ye has clearly seen from stellar space. Such a spheroid celestial body could have any spot as its center, thus there is no notion of a center.

Lu Ye arrived at a branch of the Heaven’s Augury Mercantile Union in Tianzhou through teleportation via the Heaven’s Augury Pillar, identified the direction slightly, and leaped forward, speeding all the way.

Even though he has returned from the Blood Refinement World, Number Nine still maintains the privilege for him to teleport using the Heaven’s Augury Pillar, which is the only favor he can currently get from Number Nine.

After half a day, he reached a spirit mountaintop.

According to the ten-part map, this spirit mountaintop belongs to a sect called the Heavenly Cloud Sect, but it is not within the core industry of the sect; it barely counts as part of the sect’s sphere of influence.

Just like Mount Ao for the Righteous Blood Sect.

Theoretically, the whole Mount Ao belongs to the Righteous Blood Sect, but in reality, the foundational industry of the Righteous Blood Sect, at present, consists of just a few spirit mountaintops, perhaps more, but they haven’t yet managed to encompass the entire Mount Ao.

The spirit mountaintop is unnamed and compared to other nearby spirit mountaintops, doesn’t stand out.

Originally, this place was sparsely populated, and even cultivators from the Heavenly Cloud Sect wouldn’t specifically come here, at most just passing by.

But just a while ago, a passing Tianyuan Sect cultivator surprisingly discovered a small wooden cabin on this spirit mountaintop, with the presence of a cultivator moving in and out.

The Heavenly Cloud Sect naturally wouldn’t ignore it and sent cultivators to inspect, confirming it was an independent Cloud River Realm cultivator settling here.

Regarding the group of independent cultivators, the Nine Provinces’ various sects maintain a relatively lenient attitude. So the Heavenly Cloud Sect didn’t trouble the person, as it’s just a Cloud River Realm cultivator; there’s no point in making it difficult. Seeing this unnamed spirit mountaintop, settling here is also a common occurrence, just advised not to cause trouble or disturb the life of nearby common folk.

The young man, of course, readily agreed and settled down here.

When Lu Ye arrived here, he immediately saw someone dressed in green, leisurely lying on a homemade recliner, shaded by a tree, enjoying the cool.

Beside was a snow-white rabbit, its eyes teary, looking aggrievedly at Lu Ye, who arrived late.

Beside his ears, the voice of Number Nine sounded: "Lu Ye, why did you take so long to come!"

With a look of ’I’ve been waiting for you for a long time’.

Lu Ye gave it a calm-down look and stepped forward respectfully with a bow: "Senior Yang!"

The cultivators of the Heavenly Cloud Sect knew this was just a Cloud River Realm independent cultivator, but they didn’t know he was now the strongest force in the entire Nine Provinces, able to twist off the neck and head of a Sun Blaze Realm like Yueh Xin.

If they knew, they wouldn’t know what to think.

Yang Qing, with closed eyes, was resting, as if not hearing a thing.

Lu Ye didn’t mind, took out tables, chairs, and a set of tea brewing tools from the storage space, and sat down opposite him.

Others couldn’t find Yang Qing because Yang Qing didn’t want to see them. For someone with Yang Qing’s powers, if he were unwilling, no one in the Nine Provinces could force him.

Lu Ye was able to find this place all thanks to Number Nine tipping him off. However, if the other didn’t really want to see him, they could have just left. Since staying behind, that’s a good start.

Brewed tea with meticulous care, Lu Ye’s movements were precise.

Lu Ye was not proficient in the art of tea, just that such a time and place seemed unsuitable without some tea, so he went along with it.

Shortly after, presenting the tea, Lu Ye still respectfully said: "Senior, please drink."

Yang Qing opened his eyes, sat up, picked up the tea, and took a big sip.

Lu Ye couldn’t help but grin inside, this fellow didn’t look like he was knowledgeable in the art of tea. Someone truly understanding tea wouldn’t drink it like alcohol.

"If you have something to say, say it. If you have to fart, fart. If not, get out, don’t disturb me." Yang Qing showed no awareness of courtesy, his tone was utterly blunt.

This instead made Lu Ye feel a hint of closeness, as if the figure before him wasn’t a Dragon Race with vast divine abilities, but rather a senior of considerable age.

Lu Ye attentively poured more tea for Yang Qing.

Yang Qing squinted and said, "Are you thinking, young man, that I don’t understand a thing about tea ceremonies?"

Lu Ye was somewhat astonished, "What do you mean by that?"

Yang Qing snorted coldly, "It’s commonly said that filling a glass of wine honors someone, but overfilling a cup of tea mocks them. You’ve poured so much tea that it’s overflowing—is this your way of asking me to leave?"

Lu Ye looked aggrieved, "That’s impossible! You just helped the Nine Provinces escape from disaster, we’re beyond grateful! How could I be trying to send you away? I’m planning to suggest to the major sects to establish a longevity plaque for you, with an incense offering every morning and night, accompanied by three bows, eternally revered and worshipped by future generations."

Yang Qing gave him an amused look, "Do you know that my Dragon Race has an innate divine ability? It allows us to discern the truth and falsehood in people’s words."

Lu Ye looked at him earnestly, "What I say comes from the heart, every word is sincere, each sentence is heartfelt without a hint of falsehood."

With some doubt, he asked, "The Dragon Race truly has such an innate divine ability?"

Yang Qing replied irritably, "That’s the innate divine ability of the mythical creature Xiezhi."

Realizing he’d been fooled, Lu Ye couldn’t really blame him. After all, he was young and inexperienced. This was the first time he heard about innate divine abilities, how was he supposed to know what the Dragon Race possessed?

He simply asked, "Then what is the Dragon Race’s innate divine ability?"

Yang Qing leisurely replied, "Time."

"Time?" Lu Ye was perplexed; how could ’time’ be an innate divine ability?

Then he saw Yang Qing raising his hand towards him, and suddenly, Lu Ye felt as if his entire thought process slowed down many times over. Although Yang Qing’s movements were slow, Lu Ye found himself unable to evade in any way.

This was an utterly excruciating sensation. Imagine being affected by such an innate divine ability in combat—it would spell certain doom, regardless of the number of lives you had.

In what seemed like a moment or forever, Lu Ye abruptly came to his senses, his face showing a hint of lingering fear.

With a solemn expression, he said, "Senior’s cultivation is truly astonishing; I am filled with admiration."

This was an honest statement, and Yang Qing’s actions just now weren’t merely a matter of cultivation; it was the Dragon Race’s innate divine ability in action. Even if Yang Qing’s cultivation were the same as his, Lu Ye would still have the same experience.

Switching his tone, he said, "Senior, being such a noble and powerful figure, isn’t it a bit of an injustice to be confined to a small place like the Nine Provinces? After all, it’s said dragons fly the Nine Heavens, while the Nine Provinces is just a small pond, suitable for raising fish and shrimp..."

Yang Qing interrupted him, "After all that talk, you’re still trying to get rid of me!"

Lu Ye shamelessly replied, "No, absolutely not. Having senior oversee the Nine Provinces is truly our fortune; if anyone dares try to send you away, I’d personally deal with them! But senior, you should understand the concerns of us little shrimps. I came here not for anything else but to learn your actual stance towards the Nine Provinces."

Roundabout remarks were pointless; ultimately, it had to be laid bare, the plight of the weak.

"Senior, if you wish to vent your frustrations over being suppressed for thousands of years by destroying the Nine Provinces, then please proceed. It would save us the continued fear and anxiety. But if old ties compel you to protect the Nine Provinces, then billions of the human race here would be eternally grateful. In the end, we need your definitive answer."

The stance of the Nine Provinces wasn’t truly to send Yang Qing away; with someone as strong as him, who could even try? They simply wanted to understand his position.

"Protect the Nine Provinces?" Yang Qing chuckled, "Wishful thinking! Why should I guard the Nine Provinces for you? Killing Yueh Xin earlier was simply reciprocation for you releasing me. The reason I’m still here is to recuperate. Once that’s done, I’ll naturally leave, rest assured; I won’t cause any trouble for the Nine Provinces."

Upon hearing this, the heart that Lu Ye had held suspended finally eased. Although based on past interactions, Yang Qing held no real malice towards the current Nine Provinces, it was never certain.

Now that he said so, it must be true.

Indeed, the difference between Yang Qing and the Nine Provinces was akin to the gap between a Divine Sea Realm cultivator like Lu Ye and a regular person. Would he just bully regular people randomly now? Not to mention his lifelong principles wouldn’t allow it; even if he did, there would be no sense of achievement.

"If senior needs to recuperate, and there’s anything that the Nine Provinces can help with, please speak freely. I, along with other cultivators of the Nine Provinces, would gladly assist."

These were formalities, and Lu Ye knew he couldn’t offer much help. If he could advance to the Constellation level, perhaps he could go to the stellar space to find spirit jade for Yang Qing. But currently, at the Divine Sea level, he couldn’t even step into stellar space, let alone assist.

Saying a few flattering words wouldn’t cause him any loss.

Yang Qing immediately responded, "If that’s the case, then I won’t hold back."

A bad feeling suddenly crept into Lu Ye’s thoughts; he couldn’t quite pinpoint what was about to happen, but he had an ominous sense of having fallen into a trap.

This Dragon Race powerhouse, conversing loopily with him, might just have been waiting for this moment!

Words spoken are like water spilled—it can only be forced. "What can I do to help then, senior?"