Chapter 162: Chapter 162: The Moment of Parting, Dong Qiang’s Ancestor
Outside the City Lord’s Mansion of Whitefloat City.
A red list had been posted.
It’s title read boldly six words, “Demon Slaying Competition Rankings.”
The crowd’s gaze moved downward, landing on the three characters in the first place.
Misty Sect.
“I guessed right!”
“Did that even need guessing?”
People crowded around, and soon a heated discussion erupted, with everyone acting like a sage after the event, claiming they had always known Misty Sect would come first.
“Tyrant Blade Sect second place, Nishang Palace third, Feathers Sect fourth, Falling Mountain Sect fifth…”
The onlookers gazed at the rankings and quickly spread the news.
Nishang Palace.
“As expected, the Misty Sect is first, and the Tyrant Blade Sect being second makes sense, but we’ve actually got third… Is it because last time I stopped the evil beast and made a greater effort?”
The Palace Master lay lazily on a warm jade throne, stroking a red fox in her arms, looking toward the door.
That battle, she had been tossed around by the evil beast.
But without her, the western part of Whitefloat City would have been destroyed, and countless thousands of people would have perished. Getting third place was quite fair and reasonable.
Tyrant Blade Sect.
Learning that his sect had secured second place, the Sect Leader of Tyrant Blade Sect let out a sigh of relief, turned his head, and said to the several hundred disciples in the sect, “We have done our best. Although it’s only second place, it’s still pretty good.”
Feathers Sect.
The Sect Leader was sitting in a bamboo chair, drinking spiritual tea, feeling that today’s brew was a bit bitter, and muttered, “This is the first time Feathers Sect has been squeezed out of the top three, how embarrassing…”
The news gradually spread.
“Misty Sect is first!”
“Misty Sect’s Sect Master Ye has slain Souhun Zhenren and the evil beast. If it weren’t for him, our Whitefloat City would have been doomed by now. First place is truly deserved.”
Not only within Whitefloat City, but also in nearby places like Five-Colors City, Beacon Fire City, and Dafeng Ancient Town, the news had been received.
Many who had been undecided began to genuinely recognize Misty Sect, contributing a large amount of Prestige Points within a short period.
At the summit of Misty Peak.
[Sect Prestige Value +2203]
[Sect Prestige Value +2793]
Ye Feng stood on the roof, staring at the prompt sound that kept ringing in his ear, his eyes widened, somewhat baffled.
Sect Prestige Value has gone up so much out of the blue?
Did Huo Yunjie do some great feat outside?
That shouldn’t be the case!
Ye Feng was slow to realize.
Thud!
The sound of the Summoning Bell came from halfway up the mountain.
Ye Feng waved his hand, revealing the passage through the Misty Area, exposing two figures standing at the pavilion on the mountainside.
“Xin Guangxuan and Baihua Xiao… Why are they here?”
Although puzzled, Ye Feng still allowed the two to ascend to the peak.
“Sect Master Ye, congratulations! Today, the rankings for the sub-sect competition of Demon Slaying have been announced. Your sect has rightfully taken the top spot and earned the right to attend next year’s Demon Slaying Convention at County King City,” Xin Guangxuan congratulated repeatedly as soon as he reached the peak.
“Ah?” Ye Feng was stunned, “How were the rankings decided already, don’t we need to take the spoils of war to the City Lord’s Mansion to exchange for points?”
Xin Guangxuan shook his hands continuously, “Sect Master Ye, in front of the whole city you slew the vanquishing Souhun Zhenren and the evil beast, secured first place for sure, not to mention the records of Tiger General and numerous demonic beasts — there is no need for point exchange. As for the other sects, they have already completed the point registration exchange in the past few days.”
Ye Feng came to a realization, “I see.”
At this moment, Baihua Xiao, the Tower Master of Jade Green Tower, took out a wooden box, opened it, and revealed one hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones.
“Sect Master Ye, previously our Vice Tower Master made Ru Yu suffer. She has already been executed by me with a needle, and these Spirit Stones are an apology. Please, accept them,” Baihua Xiao offered.
“How could I possibly accept this?” Ye Feng declined verbally, yet his hands honestly accepted the Spirit Stones.
Seeing Ye Feng accept the Spirit Stones, signifying that this matter would be put to rest, Baihua Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Big sister, why are you here?” Yan Ruyu, carrying a pot of Divine Vegetable seedlings, passed by, saw Baihua Xiao, and immediately approached.
“I came to see you,” Baihua Xiao revealed a warm smile.
“I’m off to plant some vegetables; see you later!” Yan Ruyu was busy with Jia Yulan planting Divine Vegetables, she waved to the group and then carried seedlings into the Miniature Cave Heaven World.
“Thank you, Sect Master Ye, for your magnanimity. We shall take our leave now.” Baihua Xiao performed a salute and led Xin Guangxuan away.
With some reluctance, Xin Guangxuan looked back and said, “Sect Master Ye, in a few days, I will be returning to my sect. I hope we meet again if fate allows.”
After that, the two of them flew away on their swords.
Ye Feng watched Xin Guangxuan’s retreating figure, feeling somewhat melancholic.
Departures always lead to reluctance.
Although Ye Feng had known Xin Guangxuan for only about a month, they had found common ground and become friends. Unfortunately, Xin Guangxuan’s mission was about to be completed, and it was time for him to return to the Liuyun Sect to report.
“Speaking of which, why haven’t I seen Dong Qiang at all?” Ye Feng muttered to himself.
When Lu Shanyue arrived at Whitefloat City from the Liuyun Sect, he brought three disciples: Xin Guangxuan, Pang Haiyun, and Dong Qiang.
At this stage, Xin Guangxuan spent all his time with Baihua Xiao.
Pang Haiyun got along well with Xie Jiaren and is probably still in the Spirit Beast Sect’s branch.
As for Dong Qiang, Ye Feng hadn’t spoken much to him and knew only that he was a male disciple with small eyes.
On the outskirts of the Taiyue Mountain Range.
A young man held a compass while searching in a dense forest.
“How strange, I’ve searched for so long yet there’s no reaction. Wasn’t it said that the object is nearby?”
Lowering his gaze to the compass in his hand, Dong Qiang saw the needle was frozen, not moving an inch.
He came to Whitefloat City with Lu Shanyue for two reasons: one was for his Sect mission, and the other was to find a family heirloom.
Ding!
Suddenly, the compass needle moved.
Dong Qiang hurriedly followed the indicated direction and arrived at a cold pond. He dived about ten meters deep into the water, found a cave, proceeded deeper, and eventually emerged into a luminous underwater space.
The space was vast, with a jade platform standing a meter tall in the center, radiating a soft glow.
On the platform rested the head of an old man. Dong Qiang drew out a portrait for comparison and was shocked to find it was his own ancient ancestor!
“Ancestor, I’ve finally found you.”
Dong Qiang quickly pricked his fingertip, and on the forehead of the head, he wrote a special rune that caused the head to open its deep blue eyes.
“Who awakens me?” the old man asked, his authoritative voice echoing endlessly in the cave.
“Great Ancestor, I am your descendant, Dong Qiang. In our clan records, I found an account of you perishing alongside a Divine Origin Realm great power. Using the bloodline compass, I tracked you here, hoping that you would bestow upon me the lost bloodline auxiliary cultivation method,” Dong Qiang said, his voice fading toward the end.
His family, the Dong clan, was once a three-star family, illustrious for a time, but ever since the great ancestor fell, and the bloodline auxiliary cultivation method was lost, the clan gradually declined.
Now, the strongest among them was him, in the ninth level of Qi Refinement.
“Come closer so that your ancestor can check your bloodline. If you qualify, I will consider transmitting the bloodline auxiliary cultivation method to you,” Dong Qiang’s ancestor said.
“Alright,” Dong Qiang approached as instructed.
The next moment, beams of light shot from the ancestor’s eyes, hitting Dong Qiang’s eyes directly. Dong Qiang trembled and was suddenly unable to move, a great shock filling his heart.
“Not bad, your bloodline concentration is satisfactory. With some hard work, you should be able to re-cultivate the bloodline auxiliary cultivation method that your ancestor created,” Dong Qiang’s ancestor murmured.
Hearing this, Dong Qiang felt a wave of relief.
But just then, a terrifying devouring force erupted in Dong Qiang’s sea of consciousness, causing him to tremble violently before he completely lost consciousness.
As for the head on the jade platform, it turned to ash in an instant.
When Dong Qiang again opened his eyes, his lips curved into a sinister, unfamiliar smile.
“Delivering a body from a thousand miles away – my good descendant indeed! Rest assured, under my leadership, the Dong clan will reclaim its peak and show those in the Mystique Kingdom the prowess of Dong Dongqiang!”
Half an incense stick’s time later.
Dong Dongqiang, having possessed Dong Qiang’s body, returned to the edge of the cold pond. Observing his reflection in the water and finding that his new body, save for the small eyes, was nearly perfect, he laughed contentedly.
“According to the memories, my name is now Dong Qiang, an inner sect disciple of the one-star Liuyun Sect… Humph! How the Dong clan has fallen, to think we would have to join a sect as trivial as this one,” Dong Dongqiang fumed as he sorted through the memories.
He reminisced about the past when he was a Divine Origin Realm great power, one of the top strongmen in the entire Mystique Kingdom. Even the king had treated him with respect, addressing him as “Brother Dong.”
But now, the glory of the Dong clan had faded!