A Demon's Path Chapter 71

"I can't use them anyway. I don't feel heartsick gifting them to you," Ling Xiao said with a mischievous chuckle.

Cheng Yu rolled her eyes. What's his deal? He's clearly gifting me these things, but he doesn't want anyone to owe him favours. However, she had long since grown accustomed to Ling Xiao treating her in such a strange manner. She wasn't upset. Rather, she politely thanked him for the gifts.

Ling Xiao unexpectedly sighed. "Master, what's your understanding of Seadragon City?"

Cheng Qiantai shook his head. "Nothing much. I only know it's located along the common borders of Demonic Pack Island and the Sunken Wind Valley. There'll be one or two outbreaks of unrest amongst the Demonic Clan a year. The Sunken Wind Valley sends newcomers there to train every year after the newcomers tournament. It's a common occurrence."

At this moment, a disciple from the Sunken Wind Valley respectfully shouted from outside the room, "Elder Ling, may I enter? I have a list with the names of the disciples who will be going to Seadragon City with you. Please, take a look."

"Enter," Ling Xiao solemnly ordered. He had made ample preparations to behave like an Elder. His behaviour was out of place with his clothes, making him look like a monkey in human skin. Seeing this, Cheng Yu couldn't help but sneer and laugh.

Ling Xiao glared at Cheng Yu as he took the list of names from the disciple. As expected, the other nine disciples from the top 10 in the newcomers tournament were all listed. Ling Xiao also saw two familiar names on the list, Xue Lan and Lan Xiuhua.

Ling Xiao mischievously chuckled. "It looks like the people Valley Master finds inconvenient to kill will also be sent to Seadragon City!"

Cheng Qiantai frowned and sent signals to Ling Xiao with his eyes, indicating he should be more careful of his words. It wasn't wise to talk so brazenly about Shen Nanfeng in the presence of others.

How could Cheng Qiantai know that Ling Xiao was watching his words around Cheng Shi already? It didn't matter one bit what he said in front of some disciple. The disciple could spill the beans all he wanted, but his words held no weight when compared to Ling Xiao's. Either way, since he dared to speak so freely in front of Cheng Shi, why would he be bothered whether this disciple listened in on their conversation?

"You came at just the right time." Ling Xiao wrote down the names of a few pills and handed it to the disciple. "Take this list to Elder Chen and ask him to prepare them all. I need them in three days."

The disciple took the list from Ling Xiao without another word and left. After he'd walked out of earshot, he disdainfully snorted, "What's so great about him? Fuck! You want me, your daddy, to be your lackey?! I'm a yellow ranked Celestial Soul Master! You're nothing more than a red ranked brat!" In the middle of his loud string of curses, the disciple saw someone approaching. When he saw who it was, his face sank. "V-valley Master!"

Shen Nanfeng had a cold expression on his face. "If you don't want to do it, I can always get someone else to do it. But let me tell you something. This is not the attitude you should ever have toward an Elder. Looking down on any one of the Sunken Wind Valley's Elders is the same as looking down on me, the Valley Master."

The disciple quickly fell to his knees. He kowtowed toward Shen Nanfeng for dear life. "Valley Master, I'm in the wrong! Please, forgive me!"

"Get lost!" Shen Nanfeng bluntly said. These words were the disciple's amnesty. He ran off with haste, pissing his pants in terror.

Shen Nanfeng withdrew the scowl from his face and pushed forth a smile. "Elder Ling, Valley Master Shen has arrived."

"What's he doing here?" Ling Xiao softly muttered. "Oh well. Since he's here, I might as well let him in."

"Please, enter!" Ling Xiao shouted before putting on a smile to greet Shen Nanfeng. "Valley Master, you've personally come and graced me with your presence. Ling Xiao is terrified!"

Ling Xiao was disgusted with himself. The words that left his lips, the appearance he took, weren't they identical to the prostitutes enticing customers outside the Floating Red Courtyard? But alas, he had no choice. When faced with a fake person, he had to be even faker.

"I pay my respects to Valley Master!" Cheng Qiantai, Li Yuanhuan, Cheng Yu, and Cheng Shi politely greeted Shen Nanfeng.

Shen Nanfeng chuckled. "Oh Qiantai, we're both Elder Ling's family. You don't need to be so polite with me from now onward."

Everyone took a seat around the table. After which Ling Xiao immediately popped the question, "Valley Master, what can I help you with?"

Shen Nanfeng stretched his hand out and a talisman appeared in his palm. "This is a Teleportation Talisman. It can teleport you across five kilometers. Take it. You can use it to save your life when you're in danger."

Ling Xiao naturally didn't turn this gift from Shen Nanfeng down. He accepted the large stack of talismans in one fell swoop. After which he inattentively asked, "Didn't you say we're only going there to gain some experience? It shouldn't be that dangerous, right?"

Shen Nanfeng chuckled. "The Demonic Clan aren't all that scary, no. But humans are. I can't say for sure, but it's likely the Blue Moon District will deploy people to kill you this time because you stole their business."

Ling Xiao scornfully thought to himself, Pah! You're clearly the bastard who stole their business. Why are you dragging that debt over my head?

However, Ling Xiao could only bear such a heavy blame. Whose fault was it that he was famous now, after all? He figured it'd only take a few days for his name to spread throughout the entire Clear Sky Continent. But he wouldn't worry about it. What point was there in worrying over matters he had no control over? Shen Nanfeng couldn't afford to let him die now. Knowing that was enough for Ling Xiao.

However, Shen Xuan did want to harm him, so he had to seriously consider that problem.

"I have something to consult the Valley Master about." Ling Xiao suddenly thought of a question. "Who's the Chief Commander for this operation? Is it Young Master Shen or me?"

This was a serious question. At least, to Ling Xiao it was.

Shen Nanfeng smiled. "Xuan'er is already a green ranked cultivator. He's the strongest amongst the disciples participating in this operation. And since he also has a basic understanding of Seadragon City, he'll be the Chief Commander."

The answer was within Ling Xiao's expectations. He wasn't shocked. Shen Nanfeng couldn't leave the matter of quietly killing Xue Lan and Lan Xiuhua to him, after all. The only problem with it was that Shen Nanfeng was wholly unaware his son would add Ling Xiao to the kill list.

Seeing as Ling Xiao didn't reply, Shen Nanfeng thought he was somewhat displeased. He said with a chuckle, "Don't worry. There are about 100 people going. Even though you can't command them all, you can disregard Xuan'er's orders if you feel there's an issue with his decisions."

The meaning behind Shen Nanfeng's words was as clear as day. If his son made a mistake when issuing commands, the others would have to follow them. If they died, so be it. But Ling Xiao was allowed to make his own judgement calls, with his survival as top priority.

A strange look appeared on the faces of Cheng Qiantai and the others when this point clicked in their heads.

Ling Xiao chuckled mischievously. This perfectly aligned with his intentions. What did it have to do with him whether the others lived or died?

Shen Nanfeng stood up, about to take his leave. "Alright. Valley Master won't disturb Elder Ling Xiao any longer. Rest up well. When the preparations are finished, set off for Seadragon City in three days!"

"Take care, Valley Master Shen!" Ling Xiao shouted out.

Shen Nanfeng frowned. Why does he make it sound so eerie?

…

Ling Xiao had previously thought Cheng Yu would need some time to breakthrough to the yellow rank. That was why he said he hoped she'd have done so by the time he returned from Seadragon City. But who knew, it didn't take anywhere near that long. Cheng Yu had reached a bottleneck a long time ago, only a step away from the yellow rank all this time.

With the Orange Soul Pills Ling Xiao gifted her, Cheng Yu passed the final barrier. She finally broke through the orange rank two days later and reached the yellow rank! In addition to that, she fused her old soul stone with the new one Ling Xiao gifted her. She now had 11 Strength Soul techniques at her disposal. She couldn't yet use them proficiently, but all she needed for that was time.

Cheng Yu became a little different compared to before when she reached the yellow rank. A hint of violence had crept into her due to self-doubt born from her inability to progress further. However, with the advance to the yellow rank came also a renewed sense of confidence. So much so that she even had thoughts of competing with Li Yuanhuan running amok in her head. These notions were naturally unrealistic, and she knew that. She brushed them off as quickly as they came.

Li Yuanhuan was a demon in his own right. He had three soul stones on his soul chain. They were the Heavenly Soul, the Elemental Soul, and the Strength Soul.

"Thank you." Cheng Yu expressed her gratitude toward Ling Xiao once again.

Ling Xiao didn't know why a wave of nervousness washed over him when he looked Cheng Yu in the eyes. The gaze she held was bright and full of expression. "I already told you. I gave it to you because it's worthless to me. What are you thanking me for?"

Cheng Yu was a little disappointed. She knew Ling Xiao probably wouldn't respond to her with a pleasant expression. She indifferently said, "You're heading off tomorrow. Be careful."

Chapter end