AGM 289 - Very Adorable
After Di Feng left, his group of followers all rose in the air and followed after him.
They could already guess where this group of protectors came from, the incident today had already surpa.s.sed what they could have predicted.
The reveal of the Azure Emperor Token as well as the appearance of those from the Celestial Lake Palace had forced them to accept that their mission here at the White Deer Inst.i.tute, was effectively futile. They could only choose to leave for now.
Not only that, with the way things were developing, it was a disastrous blow to the plans that they had been making.
The Azure Emperor Token already had an owner, and to think that that owner also had the support of Fairy Qingmei. In this case, it would be almost impossible for them to control the remaining ‘hidden’ branches of the Azure Faction. Because Qin Wentian, this successor of the Azure Emperor, would also carry out what they planned to do—to unite all the hidden branches and eventually become the leader of the Azure Faction.
Now, the only recourse left to Di Feng was that he had to mature even faster. Only by having heaven-defying combat prowess and a sufficiently domineering power would he be strong enough to disregard even the Azure Emperor Token.
Only after killing the four transgressors did those from the Celestial Lake Palace quiet down. Each of them descended onto the ground and turned their gazes onto Qin Wentian as well as the silhouette standing beside him—Qing`er.
“Young Master Qin, Princess Qing`er.” All of them bowed low in greeting. Qin Wentian was the Azure Emperor’s successor, while Qing`er was the favourite disciple of Fairy Qingmei. In the Celestial Lake Palace, Qing`er’s status was comparable to that of the Palace Mistress.
Qing`er lightly nodded her head as she quietly stood there. Yet the gazes of those from the White Deer Inst.i.tute were filled with extreme shock when they looked at Qing`er. So it turned out that this celestial-like beauty beside Qin Wentian actually had such a terrifying ident.i.ty. That group of supreme powerhouses still had to refer to her deferentially as ‘Princess Qing`er’.
“Go contain this news. No external people can know of this.”
The headmaster waved his hands, instructing the various elders of the White Deer Inst.i.tute. The matters here today would definitely attract the attention of the other powers, and so they needed to prepare measures to deal with any sort of aftermath.
“Don’t worry, we flew down straight from the skies. Other than the members of your White Deer Inst.i.tute, there should be no other powers that knew of our presence. Granted, you should still take all the appropriate measures, we don’t want any accidents to happen.” The middle-aged woman directed her sentence to the headmaster. The only people remaining here today belonged to either the Celestial Lake Palace or the White Deer Inst.i.tute. Even though their agendas might not be the same, there was one thing both sides would never compromise—the security of the secret of the Azure Emperor’s ‘hidden’ branches.
“Noted, I will make the arrangements.” The headmaster nodded. However, he knew that the deaths of the fourth-ranked Grandmasters couldn’t be totally concealed. After all, at the time when they died, Fenrir and some others were present as well.
The middle-aged woman came to face Qin Wentian and Qing`er, a smile appearing on her face. Her smile wiped away all traces of the fearsome facade she wore as a mask, revealing the aged beauty of her features.
“Did you bully our Qing`er?” the middle-aged woman teased.
“Erm&h.e.l.lip;” Qin Wentian blinked rapidly, did he bully Qing`er?
He didn’t even know where Qing`er was half the time, she always appeared and disappeared with the same elusiveness as an apparition, so how could he bully her?
“Senior Sister, why must he bully me?”
This girl was still as innocent and adorable as before.
The middle-aged woman involuntarily laughed when she heard Qing`er’s words. Smiling, she gently pulled on Qing`er’s arms and led her to the side.
“Qing`er, Master wants us to ask you something,” the middle-aged woman spoke in a low voice, her secretive tone causing Qing`er to blink. “What does Master want to ask?”
“Master asks...do you like him?”
A crafty and astute light flashed in the eyes of the middle-aged woman. Although this was something Fairy Qingmei wanted her to ask Qing`er, she also wanted to take this chance to tease this emotionless junior sister of hers.
Yet how could poor Qing`er understand matters of the heart? An expression of contemplation appeared on her face as she seriously replied, “I... don’t know.”
“Ehhh&h.e.l.lip;” Qin Wentian, who stood at the side, rolled his eyes. Even though the volume of their words was low, it wasn’t so low that Qin Wentian couldn’t hear them.
“Then, what do you think of his character?” The middle-aged woman laughed as she continued her questions.
Qing`er’s eyelashes fluttered, turning her head to glance at Qin Wentian, before replying, “He’s very adorable!”
“Cough, cough&h.e.l.lip;” Qin Wentian’s face was immediately covered with black lines when he heard Qing`er’s words. His heart was filled with melancholy, ‘very adorable’... these words were used by himself on Qing`er back then, to think that she still remembered the definition of these two words! [1]
The middle-aged woman involuntarily let out peals of laughter, the image unbefitting of someone her age. She turned her head to glance at Qin Wentian with a knowing smile in her eyes, causing his face to burn from the embarra.s.sment.
“To Fairy Qingmei, Little Sister Qing`er is the apple to her eye. You have to take good care of our Qing`er, okay?”
The middle-aged woman laughed heartily, yet her imposing aura unconsciously exuded again. Evidently, her status in the Celestial Lake Palace was exceptionally high as well.
This time around, she had personally led her sect members over here, and with her actions she established a domineering might on behalf of Qin Wentian. It was also a form of deterrence to the White Deer Inst.i.tute. She wanted them to carve this memory into their hearts.
“Senior, actually Qing`er has always been the one taking care of me.” Qin Wentian felt terribly ashamed. After being acquainted with Qing`er, she had constantly stayed in the shadows protecting him.
“It’s good that you know this. If I’ve learned that you bullied her, I will definitely not spare you.”
Apparently, the middle-aged woman was truly concerned about Qing`er. She repeatedly reminded Qin Wentian of this in a teasing tone, but her manner of speaking didn’t seem to be a joke. She truly cared for Qing`er.
At the side, those from the White Deer Inst.i.tute had long fallen silent. They were all thinking, if this middle-aged woman was already so terrifying, who might her master be?
As for the four supreme elders and the headmaster, they already guessed the origins of this group of protectors and had a clearer understanding of Qing`er’s position.
“Enough. Qing`er, we will return first.”
The middle-aged woman spoke, and Qing`er responded by lightly nodding her head, with no other hint of emotions. Their group naturally wouldn’t fault Qing`er for this, they were already long used to this celestial-like junior sister of theirs.
“Take good care of Qing`er,” the middle-aged woman reiterated. Qin Wentian nodded, as he asked, “Seniors are leaving so soon?”
“Yes. We have already completed the things we came here to accomplish. For the other challenges which you might face, you have no one to depend on but yourself, don’t expect us to help you again. As the successor of the Azure Emperor, you have to rely on your own strength to walk to the top.”
After speaking, her silhouette flickered as she instantly appeared high up in the skies. Waves of demonic qi surged, as a pair of gigantic wings appeared on her back. The other members of the Celestial Lake Palace similarly soared skywards, and moments later, all of their silhouettes disappeared as they flew through the clouds, vanis.h.i.+ng from the eyes of the crowd below.
They appeared in a grandiose manner, and departed in such a low-key manner.
The people from the Celestial Lake Palace only had a single objective today. They were here to help Qin Wentian establish dominance and to let those from the White Deer Inst.i.tute know of Fairy Qingmei’s stance.
Only after those from the Celestial Lake Palace left did the members of the White Deer Inst.i.tute heave a sigh of relief. The headmaster cast his gaze to the horizon, as a pondering expression appeared on his face.
“Wentian, you can be at ease and remain in the Inst.i.tute for your cultivation in the future. If you have any demands or requirements, you can let Little Yi know, or just directly come to me,” the headmaster stated.
“Right.” Qin Wentian smiled as he nodded his head.
“From today onwards, how you treat Wentian should be the equivalent of your treatment of me. But keep this matter a secret from the non-core members,” the headmaster added to the crowd. “Wentian, I hope you understand why we must still maintain a low profile.”
“Don’t worry, Great-Grandfather. Wentian understands.” Qin Wentian smiled. “Oh, and one more thing, I once told Little Yi before, even if the White Deer Inst.i.tute is willing to submit to my control, I wouldn’t casually use the Inst.i.tute to do things, or place it in danger. Before I have absolute confidence in my own power, I will not reveal the fact that the White Deer Inst.i.tute is a branch of the Azure Faction.”
“Understood, it is only that this decision is too major. There are some decisions I cannot make alone. I will organise an elder-level meeting and inform you once we have come to a decision.”
Undoubtedly the reason behind the headmaster organising an elder-level meeting was solely for him, the Azure Emperor’s successor.
“Everyone, help to spread the information to the other elders not present today,” the headmaster instructed. As a power with a solid background of over thousands of years, the White Deer Inst.i.tute didn’t merely have the four supreme elders and nine grand elders, there were other elder-level figures of the previous generations in the Inst.i.tute as well. These group of elders were known as the doyens, and they were all extremely powerful cultivators at the peak of Yuanfu. They were currently in seclusion to focus on their cultivation and didn’t partic.i.p.ate in matters of administration for the White Deer Inst.i.tute. If the current matter wasn’t of such magnitude, these elders wouldn’t have been disturbed.
The crowd respectively nodded. It had been far too long since the White Deer Inst.i.tute mobilised the doyens.
“Let us leave as well,” the headmaster stated to a supreme elder, only to see that the supreme elder had been fixedly staring at Qin Wentian, with a sharp light in his eyes. This supreme elder was none other than the father of Bailu Tong.
Qin Wentian knew that this supreme elder would definitely harbour hatred for him for the death of his son and grandson. But he believed that the headmaster would have a method to resolve this conflict peacefully.
After the headmaster and the supreme elders left, the large-eyed elder smiled and stepped forth, patting Qin Wentian on his shoulders. “Don’t take to heart what happened today. With you acquiring the Azure Emperor Token and the approval of the Celestial Lake Palace, there was no need for us to doubt your talent in terms of cultivation. Moreover, as a nineteen-year-old fourth-ranked Grandmaster, your achievements are too ill.u.s.trious. I believe that even without our White Deer Inst.i.tute, your name would still be able to rock the whole of Grand Xia.”
“Great Elder thinks too highly of me, but the matter today may be a blessing in disguise.” Qin Wentian smiled.
The news that Qin Wentian became a fourth-ranked Grandmaster soon circulated around the Moon Continent, easily creating waves of commotion and even attracting the attention of the Star-Seizing Manor.
A nineteen-year-old fourth-ranked Grandmaster? This was unprecedented in the history of the Moon Continent.
Regretfully, the Moon Continent had no transcendent powers that strongly emphasized on the importance of Divine Inscriptionists. It would be a different matter if Qin Wentian was in the War Continent, there would surely be people fighting over themselves to recruit him for his talent in forging Divine Weapons.
But naturally, even though they were in the Moon Continent, there would still be people from the transcendent powers out scouting to see if it were possible to recruit Qin Wentian into their ranks.
And when the Leng Clan of Moon Continent’s Eastern Region received this news, they thought of the lasting enmity between themselves with Qin Wentian. The thought of what might have been, angered them so much they almost coughed out blood!
Translator Note:
[1] Qin Wentian explained the definition of adorable to Qing`er back in Ch 208: