While Wu Qi and King Yang Qiu were studying the formation through the map, Yu Qingcheng, ashamed of having one of his disciples killed by Wu Qi, left the tent with all his disciples and returned to his own tent under the pretext that he felt ill with an old injury to his legs.
"Too impulsive!"
Yu Qingcheng picked up a cup and took a sip of the tea which had a few slices of fire ginseng in it, then curled his lips and added disdainfully, "Pedantic!"
He was sitting in a comfortable cloud bed in his tent, leaning against the arms of a charming maid in white clothes and letting her clean his ear with a special set of tools while his left hand was hugging another maid in green cloth and caressing her soft body. While sneering, he made a final comment about Wu Qi.
Several young men and women were sitting respectfully on two rows of stools in the tent, looking up at Yu Qingcheng. When the white-clothed maid had cleaned one of his ears, and as he was turning his head to let her clean the other one, a young man rose to his feet, then cupped his fist and said, "Master, little junior brother was killed by that Tan Lang. How are we going to explain this to his father?"
"Why do we have to explain when his son was killed by that Tan Lang?" Yu Qingcheng said airily with a cold snort. "Do you remember what happened six months ago? At that time, when I was arranging for some of your senior brothers to serve in You Province, how did that Prefecture Overseer respond? The loss of a son is my lesson to him for his refusal to cooperate with Yu Academy! If he is a man with a sensible mind, he'll naturally cooperate with us in the future. But, if he still doesn't understand how to work with us, he has just lost a son and is sentenced to stay in seclusion for three months this time, but it may not be so simple the next time!"
In front of all his disciples, Yu Qingcheng rubbed and squeezed the bosom of the little maid in green clothes, then narrowed his eyes and chuckled. All his disciples smiled as they anxiously reflected on whether the seniors in their clans had offended their Master in the past; and if so, they would have to quickly send a letter back home and have the seniors apologize to Yu Qingcheng.
Yu Qingcheng narrowed his eyes and toyed with the little maid's body as he analyzed Tan Lang's character to his disciples.
Wu Qi, whose current identity was Tan Lang, was so impulsive that he killed someone in front of so many people! But, an impulsive youth was always easy to deal with. King Yang Qiu had recruited someone who could hardly contain his temper, and even if he did have some skills, he could not trump Yu Qingcheng.
If truth be told, Yu Qingcheng liked pedantic people, for such people had a moral bottom line in mind and were equally easy to deal with. "He jumped up and killed someone who had insulted his parents before that person even finished saying that. Hehe…What's the big deal about having your parents insulted?" In fact, Yu Qingcheng himself had drained many a cup of humiliation in recent years. If a person could not let go of some of his insistence, how could he distinguish himself among others?
"Remember to be prudent in your ways and don't act like Tan Lang, who kills anyone who doesn't agree with him!"
Pointing to his head, Yu Qingcheng said with pride, "You are all my favorite disciples, men and women with brilliant minds. Those who toil with their minds make others work for them while those who toil with their hands work for others and serve those who use their minds. It is like the relationship between riders and mounts. We're all riders, and people like Tan Lang are mounts. We have to kill with our minds, never with our fists. Such gross behavior is what we disdain to do!"
After laughing triumphantly, Yu Qingcheng told his disciples again, "Actually, I've seventy percent confidence that I can break the formation in that chasm. But, why did I act so helpless and even caused His Excellency to lose a lot of people in it? Go back and think about it for yourselves, and tell me your answer in a few days. Take this as the question of your major exam this year!"
All the disciples hurried to their feet and bowed in awe of their Master. For a moment, everyone felt that Yu Qingcheng had grown taller and mightier.
Pleased with their response, Yu Qingcheng put his hand into the little maid's dress, and then fished out two fair, smooth bosoms in front of all the men and women, toying them slowly with his hands while gently rubbing the two red berries with his fingers. "Let me give you some hint…" he said lightly. "Over the years, His Excellency's father has placed a lot of trust in me, but His Excellency has his own thoughts. He always said that it makes him uncomfortable for me to point fingers around him."
His disciples' eyes lit up as they nodded their heads. They already had some answers in their minds.
With a faint sigh, Yu Qingcheng beckoned to one of his disciples. The disciple hastily fished out a scroll from under his sleeve and respectfully handed it to him. As Yu Qingcheng unrolled the scroll to read at the information, the disciple bent slightly to explain to him and the other disciples what had been recorded on the scroll, the information he had spent a lot of time gathering.
The scroll contained Wu Qi's personal details.
Yu Academy had actually planted many people in the Yu Clan in Zhong Province. Yu Qingcheng himself was from the Yu Clan in Liangzhu, and he was the current clan lord of all the Yu clans under the heaven. Yu Mu, on the other hand, the current clan leader of the Yu Clan in Zhong Province, was also from Liangzhu; to help him build his roots in Zhong Province, he brought with him many people, among which included those from Yu Academy. With him serving as the clan leader in Zhong Province for so many years, the power of Yu Academy permeated every part of Zhong Province.
Tan Lang came from the wilderness with an untraceable background. He was a very brilliant man, and after learning by himself how to absorb Pangu Sacred Energy to strengthen his fleshly body, he joined the army in An He City, a small city in An Le County of Zhong Province. In almost no time, he was placed in an important position, and later roped in by Yu Mu's grandson, Yu He, to become his aide in the struggle for power.
After successfully helping Yu He seize the power of Hai Province, Tan Lang was given all sorts of curse spells by Yu Mu. Subsequently, he showed an impressive aptitude for cultivating both magic and body at the same time, and even attained great accomplishments in the field of magic and curse spells in just a few days. Just this morning, in front of the Yu Clan's residence, he killed Yu Lei, the son of Yu Clan's Grand Elder, Yu Miao, who was later severely wounded by the Ghost God he had summoned from some outer domain.
Evidently, in just two or three years, Tan Lang had not only attained great accomplishments in magic and curse spells, but had also even held a blood sacrifice, which gained him the recognition of a Ghost God from some outer domain. He now had the support of a mighty Ancestor God who could control the power of thunder and seemed to be stronger than Gui Shao, the Ancestor God Yu Miao worshiped. At least, according to the information from the disciple of Yu Academy who witnessed the fight between Wu Qi and Yu Miao, the thunderbolt-wrapped Ghost God appeared to have rushed straight into Gui Shao's lair to fight him.
Beyond that, even how Wu Qi got into King Yang Qiu's sight was found out.
When King Yang Qiu and his generals were patrolling around to guard against any troubles that Myriad Immortal Alliance might cause, he witnessed how Wu Qi defeated a group of Heaven Immortals with soldiers who were way less powerful. He liked Wu Qi's fighting style very much, and that was the first time he had the idea of recruiting Wu Qi. Later on, Wu Qi joined Bo Yunting's army and cracked a formation laid out by a Gold Immortal, killing more than a hundred Gold Immortals from the alliance in a single battle. Such a feat prompted King Yang Qiu, who was losing a lot of manpower in formations laid out by immortals, to immediately recruit him, which he did by taking him directly from Bo Zhongfu.
"He had merely cracked a simple heavenly thunder formation which is based on the basic inter-promotion and inter-restriction rules of the five elements. That doesn't mean he has the ability to crack the 'Scattered Stars Formation' in that chasm!" Yu Qingcheng gave a sarcastic laugh, then tossed the scroll aside in disdain and said in an airy voice, "Remember, taking a step down sometimes may be your best bet for ultimate success, and this is my current strategy. Let His Excellency put this fellow in an important position first, and when he had lost many generals and soldiers in the formation, I'll crack that formation with one swift stroke. At that point in time, His Excellency will have to put me back in an important position, even if he doesn't want to!"
All the disciples bowed and cried out in unison, "A brilliant strategy, Master!"
With a satisfied smile on his face, Yu Qingcheng picked up the scroll again and saw a line of words that were written with red ink.
"He was once wounded by Fiend immortals, causing his spiritual ocean to be flooded by hundreds of millions of evil spirits and his souls trapped? Even the Oracles from Zhong Province's Directorate of Celestials said he couldn't be treated? Only a Supreme Oracle can kill all the evil spirits and save his soul?"
Yu Qingcheng's face grew unsightly. He gave a few strange laughs, then squeezed the scroll into pieces with his palm. "So apparently, that Tan Lang's ability to crack formations is not the focus, it's this that His Excellency is looking for!" He nodded and murmured under his breath. "Hundreds of millions of evil spirits refined by Fiend immortals...Even an ordinary Sun Oracle cannot guarantee that he would survive such an attack, but that fellow managed to do it!"
The more he thought about it, the gloomier his face became. There was an enormous soul power contained in hundreds of millions of evil spirits, and if Wu Qi had survived by absorbing all that power, wouldn't his soul now be as strong as a Nine Suns Oracle? The reason King Yang Qiu was so nervous about recruiting Wu Qi as his guard was probably not his ability to crack formations, but his future potential.
He was a freak who was cultivating both magic and fleshly body, and the strength of his soul was equivalent to that of a Nine Suns Oracle. In other words, as long as he was not a fool, he would certainly have the cultivation base of a Nine Suns Oracle in the future! Moreover, as the advancement rate of human Oracle was very fast, so fast that it was very common for people with outstanding talents to become Supreme Oracles in just a hundred years, Wu Qi might only need several decades of hard work to have the power of a Nine Suns Oracle, and then step into the realm of Supreme Oracles in a very near future!
With King Yang Qiu's prestigious status, the great power in his hand, and the nearly endless resources at his disposal, it was easy enough for him to push Wu Qi into the realm of Supreme Oracles. At present, King Yang Qiu could only rely on those Supreme Oracles from Yu Clan to help him accomplish what he wanted to do, but could not completely control them. However, Wu Qi was different, for he had no root or clan behind him. Therefore, as long as King Yang Qiu could catapult him into the realm of Supreme Oracles, he would definitely become his most loyal subordinate.
"What a clever plan!" A drop of cold sweat trickled down Yu Qingcheng's forehead. "Having a Supreme Oracle raised by himself and borrowing the power of other Supreme Oracles are two completely different matters! His Excellency is indeed full of schemes and wisdom…No wonder he didn't give me any face today but was siding that fellow!"
He gave the little maid's bosom a hard pinch and said furiously, "How could that Tan Lang be so lucky? How could he have survived the attack of hundreds of millions of evil spirits? He's not a human being...He's a rascal!"
As he rose to his feet in a huff, Yu Qingcheng gritted his teeth and cried out in a low voice, "Find out more information for me in the field headquarter! Starting today, I want eyes on this Tan Lang! Send all the disciples and apprentices of Yu Academy who are now in Mingu Province to do this. I want to know everything about him, including where he went, what he did, what he ate, what he said, whom he met, and even which girls he slept with!"
After all his disciples had left the tent under his order, Yu Qingcheng said to himself, "That's a good try, Your Excellency! But, I've worked very hard for years to get this status in front of your father... So, you better work as per my arrangement! This Tan Lang really deserves to die!"
With a cold snort, he took off his clothes and pressed the two maids on the bed.