“Creak!”
The carriage came to an abrupt halt, after they had passed a small brook. The setting sun indicated that it was time to set up camp. Since they’d been continuously marching around the clock, they were desperate to get some rest. As fatigued as they might be, they decided to have a sound sleep near the brook, and tomorrow, they would go on with their homeward journey.
“Elder Qingniu, Young lord Qinghan, and Miss Qingwu, we’ve finished preparing the camp. You may get out and have a rest!”
A little while later, Ye Ping rushed in front of the main carriage, to remind them to get out. Elder Qingniu responded with a slight nod, and stepped out of the carriage, before he glanced at the two youngsters in the carriage. While, at the same time, Qinghan winked at Qingwu, and held her hand tight as they went out together. To Qinghan’s surprise, however, Qingwu threw a rebuking glance at Qinghan, escaped his grip with a pouty expression, as if she was annoyed by Qinghan’s rude behavior, or she just pretended to be so. After that, she closely followed behind her grandfather.
“Respectful Elder Qingniu!”
As soon as Ye Qingniu walked into the crowd, he immediately received a warm welcome from all the other elders and young lords. Hurriedly, he bowed back as response. Among all of them, Ye Qingniu was apparently the most-senior in both family status and cultivation ability. It was no surprise for him to be revered among the youngsters, for he was ranked third in terms of defensive ability throughout the Mars Prefecture.
“Hehe, take it easy. I understand it, you guys must be tired from the long, and hasty journey!” With a faint trace of a smile on his face, Ye Qingniu got himself seated next to a burning bonfire.
“Young lord Qinghan, Miss Qingwu, come here and sit with us!” Feng Zi waved to Qinghan, suggesting them to go to another bonfire, which had been surrounded by Qingcheng, Sainan, and Shuiliu already.
“Yes, we’re coming!” Qinghan bowed to Elder Qingniu and the other elders, and took Qingwu towards Feng Zi, and the others. Like the other youngsters, they’d rather stay with their peers, rather than their elders; in that way, they could behave and talk more causally.
“Come, come! Young lord Qinghan, this is your spot. Haha, please sit beside Qingcheng. Oh, Miss Qingwu, errr… take a seat on the other side of Qinghan!” Feng Zi pushed Qinghan forward by his shoulders, showing him the spot, that was reserved for him beside Qingcheng. He was trying to make fun of the intimate relationship between Qinghan and his future wife.
“Young lord Feng Zi, you’re so robust these days. Qingcheng, you have to choose some really special girls for him when we get back.” Qinghan retorted in a mocking tone. While, at the same time, he sat on his spot.
“Why do all nice things all come to Qinghan?” Shuiliu murmured, as he was obviously rather displeased.
“Hehe, the world we live in is so volatile, and no one can predict what will happen several years from now. Young lord Shuiliu, it’s likely that you’ll see big improvements in your cultivation several years from now. Don’t be pessimistic, dude. Ah… the Luo Shen Mountain… it must be a nice place I guess. I’d like to have a look tomorrow!” Qinghan replied perfunctorily, as he was in the middle of a private conversation with Qingcheng.
On the other side, Sainan discovered the depression in Shuiliu’s eyes, so she glanced at Shuiliu before she spoke up, in an instructive tone, “Hehe, hey… if he puts all his time and energy on cultivation, rather than on women, he would already be a Marshal-Realm cultivator! Right? Young lord Shuiliu? You know, I strongly suggest all of you to focus on cultivation, so that we’ll all be allowed to enter the mountain to seek treasures! Some of you, perhaps, can even pass the third trial, and get the most-valued item preserved in the Small Immortal Pavilion at last!”
“Small Immortal Pavilion? The most-valued item? Is that item supposed to be more valuable than a saint-level item?”
“Immortal-level item!”
The crowd of youngsters were fully motivated by Sainan’s remarks. As inexperienced young lords and ladies, neither of whom had the chance to get even a saint-level item, let alone use it. Now, to their excitement, the Luo Shen Mountain indeed contained countless such items, and even immortal-level ones. This new information gripped their heartstring for a long while.
Following Feng Zi’s passionate statement, Hua Cao yelled hysterically, “Me too! I promise, in five years, I’ll have caught up with you in cultivation!”
“We really appreciate it, Miss Sainan. I… I admit my lax attitude in cultivation, but, I will close the door and cultivate inside my room until I’ve improved sufficiently! I hope I can join all of you!” Shuiliu spoke with a blushed face, but his attitude was sincere.
“Heihei, since you guys all vowed to be serious in cultivation, I have to cultivate around the clock in case to be outstripped by any of you!” Qingwu chuckled, as she replied jokingly. While, at the same time, being tired from sitting in an unmoved stance for so long, she stretched herself leisurely, giving emphasis to her proud breasts.
“Yeah, we all have to cultivate hard. Let’s make a five-year appointment at the Luo Shen Mountain!” Qingcheng looked rather confident, for she had Qinghan, who could enter the Soul Tranquil state and help her to improve in cultivation. As long as she married Qinghan, they could both escalate in cultivation with the so-called Dual Cultivation.
“Hey, Little Qinghan? Why are you so silent? Don’t you have confidence in your own cultivation?” Qingwu turned to Qinghan, who just smiled at everyone but didn’t say a word.
“Hehe… To break into the Realm of the Emperor in five years? That’s a piece of cake! I’m only two realms away from it. Don’t you guys remember, I made three breakthroughs within a year!” Qinghan replied absentmindedly. Of course, like Sainan, he was just trying to goad the others to be more diligent.
“Ohhh…” But, Qinghan had somehow left the others embarrassed, including Sainan. Right now, she was the most advanced cultivator among them all, with her current achievement at the peak level of the Realm of the Prince. However, compared with Qinghan’s terrifying speed in cultivation, she would be surpassed by him sooner or later.