Chapter 535: Rubbing Shoulders Once Again
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
The Kui Cow King surged across the void and hurried towards the Great Zhou Empire’s capital – Tianjing City. Even though he was not known for his flying speed, he still reached his destination without much delay.
Once he reached Tianjing City, the Kui Cow King followed Zhu Yi’s instructions and arrived at a small residence outside the city. This was a small property that Zhu Yi signed and purchased on his own accord, with an appropriate environment to cultivate and prepare for his exams.
The Kui Cow King changed into his human form and transformed into a tall and proud man. He entered the compound and saw Zhu Yi standing in the middle of the garden. Zhu Yi immediately greeted the Kui Cow King upon his arrival. "Thank you for making this journey."
"His level of mastery has increased a lot since he left the mountain," The Kui Cow King thought to himself as he glanced at Zhu Yi, "The disciples of the Celestial Sect of Wonders are all so talented and prodigious. Even the Great Void Sect doesn’t have this many prodigies."
Even though he was in the demonic lord intermediate stage, he did not dare to think too take himself too seriously in front of Zhu Yi, Shi Tianhao and the others. Previously, even though he was more powerful than these guys, he still respected them because of their status as Lin Feng’s disciples.
But right now, their powers were beyond him. Even though he lamented a little, his respect for Zhu Yi was nothing short of a respect for Zhu Yi himself rather than his status.
The Kui Cow King replied, "It’s nothing. The leader of the sect has orders for me anyway, and a journey like that is no big deal."
Zhu Yi nodded his head as he clapped his hands. Two young girls came running out – one was wearing a red shirt and the other was clad in purple.
The one wearing red was Luo Qingwu, and the girl wearing purple was Jun Zining. The two girls arrived beside Zhu Yi and curiously scrutinized the human form of the Kui Cow King. They could already feel a little bit of his power.
"This is the Kui Cow King, and he will bring the two of you back to Mount Yujing." Zhu Yi began to make his introductions.
Jun Zining finally realized that this was the Kui Cow King. She had seen the original form of the Kui Cow King before, and now that he was in his human form she could still feel a little bit of familiarity. She immediately realized what was going on from Zhu Yi’s words.
She greeted the Kui Cow King with Luo Qingwu at once. "Greetings, sir."
The Kui Cow King was humble and loyal by nature and was not condescending at all. He nodded his head and replied, "Hello, you guys."
He had received instructions from Lin Feng before he arrived. He knew that his task was to bring these two little girls back to the mountain.
Even though the two little girls were only in the Qi cultivation stage, he sought to complete the task properly and impeccably since it was Lin Feng who put this task to him.
He was not about to let the two little girls climb on his back, so he immediately released a ball of demonic energy and swept them up.
Zhu Yi said, "The little girl wearing red is injured and needs to be brought back to the mountain for medical help. Time is of the essence, so I will hold you back no longer. Please forgive me."
The Kui Cow King smiled a little and replied, "You’re too kind. My trip out here is purely professional, and all I wish for is to complete my task without fail. I wish you all the best with your exams, and I hope you make the honor roll."
Zhu Yi returned a gr
eeting and laughed as well. "Thank you for your kind words."
The Kui Cow King had just left when a servant came reporting to Zhu Yi. "Master Yi, somebody is here to see you."
Zhu Yi glanced the arriving party but did not recognize the person. He looked a little closer and could faintly feel that this person completely changed his physical appearance with pills and medicine. Even his mana aura was different.
"I had to resort to this to avoid the eyes and ears of others. Do forgive me, Master Zhu Yi."
After Zhu Yi’s servant removed himself from the scene, this person immediately removed his artificial appearance. He looked like a skinny old man, and immediately transformed into a proud young man.
"Oh, it’s you?" Zhu Yi recognized the face that appeared in front of him. It was Chu Yang, one of the younger cultivators under the command of the fourth prince of the Great Zhou Empire, Liang Gan.
He looked up and down at Chu Yang, and even though his facial expression did not change, he was a little surprised.
This was because Chu Yang was now in the foundation establishment stage.
When they first met on Mount Yujing a year ago, Chu Yang was only on the tenth level of the Qi cultivation stage, and was not even close to completing the final level of the Qi cultivation stage.
Fast forward a year, and he was already in the foundation establishment stage. This speed could not possibly be considered slow – it was actually extremely fast.
It was sill acceptable if he had already been at Level 12 of the Qi cultivation stage before he attempted the break to the foundation establishment stage. There were times when waves of epiphanies could save a lot of precious time.
However, the road to from the Qi Cultivation Level 10 stage to the pinnacle of the foundation establishment stage meant that he had multiple checkpoints and obstacles to pass. It was really impressive that he could make such progress in such a short period of time.
He was still relatively slow when compared to Zhu Yi and the others. Even though Zhu Yi and his fellow juniors and seniors were not yet up the mountain when they were in the foundation establishment stage, Chu Yang’s cultivation could never compare to Lin Feng’s Great Celestial Way of the Eight Trigrams.
Zhu Yi could tell that Chu Yang had not spent time inside caves that sped up time, and simply just grinded it out year for year.
Chu Yang just turned sixteen and he was already in the foundation establishment stage. He would be considered an outstanding disciple no matter which sect he was in.
Chu Yang’s sect, the Ethereal Mountain Sect, was not considered a prominent power. It was already inferior even when compared to sects like the Aeolus Sect and the Yu Family, both which Lin Feng had previously eliminated. There was nothing much to say about their strength compared to the Celestial Sect of Wonders or the Great Void Sect.
The mantras and resources that the Ethereal Mountain Sect provided Chu Yang with could not be considered superior or very high-level, therefore his progress today was largely due to his own hard work and talent.
Zhu Yi scrutinized him momentarily but could not discover anything unusual. However, his instincts could feel a sharp feeling emanating from Chu Yang’s body. Even though it was obscure and still dormant, it would break open the skies one day and soar into the heavens.
This feeling was extremely unique and mystical. There was no evidence of anything and it was simply Zhu Yi’s instincts speaking.
"A man with secrets…" Zhu Yi laughed to himself but did not pay any more attention to it. At the level he was now, along with Xiao Yan and Shi Tianhao, all they had to do was continue down the same path they had been travelling on.
Zhu Yi asked plainly, "So it’s you, my friend. I wonder what brings you here?"
He was clear that even though Chu Yang’s standards were inferior to him, he was still in the inner circle of the fourth prince Liang Gan.
Chu Yang made his intentions clear. The main item was to give Zhu Yi an invite on behalf of Prince Liang Gan as a show of goodwill. Liang Gan hoped to meet up with Zhu Yi.
The crown prince, Liang Yuan, was ill-advised by Chen Yu and made an erroneous move. As his feud with Zhu Yi became ever deeper, the situation as taken advantage of by the fourth prince, Liang Gan. Liang Gan wanted to take the opportunity to build a rapport with Zhu Yi.
Zhu Yi’s impression of Liang Gan was not too bad. He did harbor intentions to have more interaction with Liang Gan, but just not at this moment. He had to concentrate on the impending exams that he was about to take.
Both Liang Gan and Chu Yang understood that. They did not fix a time, and the message they were trying to convey was simply to invite Zhu Yi to make some time for a little gathering. It was extremely low-profile as well.
Zhu Yi would not reject an invitation like this, of course. He chatted idly with Chu Yang but began to realize that something was not quite right.
This was because he noticed that Chu Yang was not really being himself.
Even though their interactions were limited, Zhu Yi knew that this was a resilient, determined and decisive individual. Now that was a little disoriented while running an errand for Liang Gan seemed rare and out of the norm.
Over the course of their conversation, Chu Yang’s eyes would subconsciously dart around Zhu Yi’s courtyard. It did not seem like he was trying to spy on whatever or whoever is inside, but it did seem like he was looking for someone.
"Who are you looking for?" Zhu Yi thought to himself but did not point it out to Chu Yang. It was apparent that he was to return without a proper result, and he did not dare to use his consciousness or psychic senses to sweep the area in front of Zhu Yi. In the end, he could only depart with disappointment as he exited the courtyard with a dejected look on his face.
Zhu Yi was a little baffled. "What is this he up to? If things are unusual as such then there must be something wrong."
What he did not know was that Chu Yang was also having a headache. "Reports said that a red-clothed young girl entered Zhu Yi’s courtyard. But my trip here turned up nothing. If I knew this I would have found and excuse to try and enter Chen Yu’s pavilion that one time – but I can’t do the same with Zhu Yi’s courtyard."
Chu Yang glanced towards the west and thought to himself, "Where are you, Luo Qingwu?"
He ordered some subordinates to pay attention to the area surrounding Zhu Yi’s courtyard. The reason was not to spy on Zhu Yi, however, but rather to take note of whoever went in and out of Zhu Yi’s courtyard. Still, up till now they only reported Luo Qingwu’s entry into the courtyard but nobody saw anybody leaving.
However, the Kui Cow King brought the two girls away directly using his demonic powers, and was naturally not something that Chu Yang’s subordinates could detect.
At this moment, the girl that had Chu Yang head over heels, yet still just narrowly missed, was being escorted by the Kui Cow King and was well on her way to Mount Yujing.
The Kui Cow King did not stop at all along the way and returned to Mount Yujing as quickly as possible to report to Lin Feng.
Lin Feng smiled as he saw them arrive and said, "Thank you for your efforts." The clapped his hands lightly and a golden sphere of water enveloped in purple energy drifted in front of the Kui Cow King. It was part of the Kun Peng’s bone marrow, and contained large amounts of demonic essence within.
The Kui Cow King was elated and greeted Lin Feng with respect. "Thank you, sir."
Lin Feng laughed in response and said, "You have always been serious and efficient at completing my task. I will not lose you for anyone in the world."
The Kui Cow King answered, "Of the other demonic lords on the mountain, I am the only one leading an entire troupe of tribesmen. Everyone else is alone. The fact that you let us cultivate on top of Mount Yujing, a special place far superior to the outside world, is a great favor in itself. I do not dare to ask for any more."
Lin Feng waved his hands in dismissal and said, "Everybody that follows me that completes tasks seriously and properly shall be rewarded in kind." He pointed towards the Kun Peng bone marrow that he just produced. "This is just the start. Come and find me a while later, I have something else for you."
The Kui Cow King showed his gratitude repeatedly and left the scene at once.
There were only two timid little girls in front of Lin Feng at this moment, and they glanced at Lin Feng with uncertain eyes. When they saw Lin Feng turn his head towards them, they knelt down at once and said, "Nice to meet you, sir."
Lin Feng watched them in silence but said nothing more. He flicked his finger once and a single dot of light flew out and expanded in the sky. It transformed in the sky into a giant door and began to descend in the middle of the Two Elements of Creation Formation.