Martial Cultivator

The “uncle” remark was only a joke. Both of them could hear that clearly, but the fact that the High Priest could never form a Dao companion bond with Redsleeve was already a foregone conclusion.

The Demon Emperor would never stand by and watch.

If this second most important figure of the demon race were to end up together with the Eldest Royal Princess, who carried royal demon blood, that alone might be left aside for now. But if one day the two of them were to have offspring, no one could guarantee what thoughts might arise. A little one carrying royal demon blood, saying they wanted to become demon emperor, could simply do so.

So at this moment, the Demon Emperor was already able to think that far ahead.

Some things did not need to be spoken aloud, but that did not mean this group of people was allowed to do them.

The matter was simple, and the emperor’s heart was not especially difficult to fathom. Someone as intelligent as the High Priest naturally understood.

Redsleeve blinked and suggested, “How about I take you and run off to the human race? After that, the two of us won’t help either side?”

The High Priest shook his head helplessly and said, “The human race has a saying: if you commit an extremely wicked deed, you will be stabbed in the spine by others.”

That so-called extremely wicked deed was nothing more than the word “defection.” Such a thing had never occurred in the histories of either the human race or the demon race. If they truly did it, it would not merely be a matter of being stabbed in the spine. If one day the demon race were to destroy the human race, the two of them would have nowhere to flee, and their end would certainly be miserable.

Redsleeve narrowed her eyes and said, “Then we defect to the human race and help them wipe out the demon race.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the High Priest felt even more helpless. He looked at Redsleeve and sighed, saying, “Listen to yourself. Do these words have even the slightest bit of sense?”

The Eldest Royal Princess of the demon race actually saying something about destroying the demon race.

Redsleeve smiled. “I just said it casually. You didn’t really think I could do something like that, did you?”

The High Priest shook his head and said, “Having such a thought at all is already unusual.”

This time Redsleeve did not argue further with the High Priest. Instead, she went with him to a tall building. After climbing it and overlooking the entire Southern Frontier City, the Eldest Royal Princess of the demon race softly said, “Jing Zhu, many times I think about what we should actually do.”

The High Priest naturally understood the implication in Redsleeve’s words and said calmly, “Without the greater whole, where do the lesser parts come from? According to the human race’s way of speaking, it is the two words ‘family and state.’ The state comes before the family. When the state is destroyed, the family perishes.”

Redsleeve frowned and said, “But your own clan has long since died out. You don’t really have any so-called family.”

The High Priest sighed and said, “There may be no family left, but the land beneath my feet is still here. If one day this all becomes human territory, then even in death there would be no place to rest.”

Redsleeve thought for a moment and asked curiously, “What kind of reasoning is that? Utter selflessness?”

The High Priest smiled and did not respond.

Redsleeve did not rush to speak again. The two of them simply watched as Southern Frontier City gradually grew dark. Some households hung lanterns at their doorways.

This was naturally a human custom, but after spreading to the demon race side, some found it interesting and adopted it.

“At the main residence, two lanterns are hung as a matter of course. They’re the largest in the entire Southern Frontier City, and the candles inside aren’t ordinary items. They’re made from fish oil obtained from the merfolk race, and they can burn for a hundred years...”

Redsleeve rambled on, talking to the man beside her about many things. As the Eldest Royal Princess of the demon race, her status suggested she should not be speaking so much, but in front of the High Priest, that identity seemed to disappear, and she became like a young girl.

The High Priest asked a very mood-killing question, “In the Southern Frontier, how many people can you actually mobilize?”

Redsleeve gave the High Priest a slightly resentful look, but still said, “About seventy percent. Given some time, I can make the remaining thirty percent listen to me as well.”

The High Priest nodded and said, “As soon as possible.”

Redsleeve said in surprise, “Jing Zhu, I haven’t agreed to any of your requests.”

The High Priest asked patiently, “Then what will it take for you to agree?”

“Unless you agree to one condition.”

Red Sleeve glanced at the High Priest, her whole bearing bright and animated.

The High Priest gave a bitter smile. “I already told you, that thing can’t work. No matter what, it can’t.”

Red Sleeve was expressionless. “Who told you it was that?”

This time, it was the High Priest’s turn to be surprised.

Red Sleeve looked at the High Priest in front of her with a serious expression, then somewhat uncontrollably reached out her hand and gently touched his cheek. She said softly, “Jing Zhu, promise me that no matter what happens, you must live well.”

Feeling the touch on his face, the look in the High Priest’s eyes toward Red Sleeve softened somewhat, but he still shook his head and said apologetically, “If it really comes to that day, I won’t be able to step back.”

Red Sleeve shook her head. “Jing Zhu, your personality really makes me dislike you.”

The High Priest looked at Red Sleeve and said pointedly, softly, “I can’t change it.”

Red Sleeve said irritably, “You stubborn thing, is it really because of what was passed down?”

The High Priest said helplessly, “It has nothing to do with bloodline.”

......

......

In midsummer in the Divine Capital, the sound of cicadas grew ever more incessant, their chirping and buzzing calling endlessly, making a certain great sword immortal dozing in front of a bamboo pavilion very dissatisfied.

So that great sword immortal opened his eyes, casually picked up a small fragment of stone, and threw it toward a nearby tree. With a faint sound, one summer cicada went silent, then fell to the ground, and the stone returned to the young great sword immortal’s hand.

The young great sword immortal threw the stone again, watched another cicada fall, caught the stone once more, and repeated the action. In just a short while, the ground in front of the bamboo pavilion was littered with summer cicadas.

The young great sword immortal clicked his tongue and laughed. “Hey, Little He, pick up these cicadas and fry them in oil. They make a fine dish!”

To the side, He Liang, who had been practicing fist techniques, raised his head and answered with a grunt. Having fished and hunted birds since childhood, He Liang naturally knew that cicadas tasted quite good. He immediately stopped practicing and went inside to fetch a basin.

Yu Xiyi reminded him, “Little He, remember to use plenty of oil, otherwise there’ll be a strong earthy smell.”

As the sword cultivator of the Sword Sect who had roamed the world the longest, Yu Xiyi could be said to know these foods inside and out. There was scarcely anything he did not know.

He Liang nodded and said, “Got it, Martial Uncle Yu.”

After speaking, He Liang, already a youth, turned and went back inside. Watching this scene, Yu Qingfeng rolled his eyes. He was quite unhappy with this nominal marital uncle constantly ordering around his junior brother, yet for some reason, that Little He did not seem to mind at all.

Yu Xiyi glanced at Yu Qingfeng and clicked his tongue. “Little Qingfeng, very dissatisfied? That’s fine. If you’re dissatisfied, just say it. Come and test your blade against martial uncle once. As an the martial uncle, I won’t bully you. I’ll suppress my realm by one level and fight you, how about that?”

Yu Qingfeng forced a smile that was not quite a smile. “Martial Uncle truly cares for the juniors.”

Yu Xiyi narrowed his eyes, surprised. “What, Little Qingfeng, your ambition is that big? You want me not to suppress my realm and fight you? That wouldn’t be too good. If martial uncle fails to hold back for a moment, when your master returns to the Divine Capital, wouldn’t he fight me to the death? Although your master can’t beat me either, I still can’t do something like that to a junior, right? White-haired people sending off black-haired people, that sort of thing is the least interesting of all.”

Yu Qingfeng clenched his teeth, looking as if he were about to throw a punch regardless of the consequences. Damn it, who cared whether he could hurt Yu Xiyi even a little? First, he needed to vent this pent-up anger.

But before he could make a move, the little girl Jiang Xiao’an, who had been sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed not far away, suddenly opened her eyes and said impatiently, “Master, can you stop talking? It really affects people’s cultivation!”

Yu Xiyi, who had been feeling rather pleased with himself just moments before, glanced at this newly accepted final disciple of his and immediately lost all momentum. Damn it, what kind of situation was this?

He had always said he would not take a disciple, not take one at all, but only after truly accepting this little girl did Yu Xiyi belatedly realize that she was actually a natural seed for sword cultivation. And when it came to talent, she was not lacking at all. Among women in the world, he reckoned that perhaps only that Miss Xie could barely surpass her.

Having belatedly realized he had picked up a treasure, Yu Xiyi immediately went all out and decided to take this little girl as his final disciple. But after spending some time together, he began to regret that decision somewhat.

This little girl was simply too good at manipulating people. Leaving aside whether she ever gave him, her master, a pleasant expression on ordinary days, whenever Yu Xiyi wanted to scold her harshly, she would immediately put on an air of having suffered some tremendous grievance, saying she would stop practicing the sword and go find her martial artist father. That so-called martial artist father, in Yu Xiyi’s eyes, was nothing more than a single sword strike to finish off.

Even if that man really came looking for him, braced himself, and threw punches at him, it would be nothing worth worrying about. But the problem was that this little girl could cry on cue. Once her eyes reddened and she put on that pitiful look, Yu Xiyi truly could not bring himself to say any harsher words.

It even made Yu Xiyi feel that bullying such a little girl was downright damnable.

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