Chapter 485: Chapter 70: United as One, the Li Family

May 4, 2018

By the lake outside Golden Jade City, when Shen Qingming, full of resentment and disappointment, once again sought warmth among her companions and family, she unsurprisingly received relentless mockery once more.

Li Chaolu even laughed so hard she rolled on the ground.

"Hahahaha, so you just willingly degraded yourself to become the lowest in the food chain? It’s hilarious, the proud daughter of the Li Family becoming a slave to a Qian Family girl. You’ve really brought glory to your family!"

Shen Qingming retorted angrily, "I’m not at the bottom of any food chain!"

Li Chaolu forcibly restrained her laughter and asked seriously, "Then, when she laid out her malicious intentions, did you refuse and demand a duel with her on the spot?"

Shen Qingming said, "...No."

"So you willingly accepted being at the bottom, didn’t you? What’s wrong with us making fun of it?"

Shen Qingming said angrily, "What makes you assume I’m at the bottom? I’m just grateful for her advice that allows me to continue staying by Ah Jiu’s side. What’s wrong with that?"

Li Chaolu glanced back at Sister Wanqing and, seeing her only shrug helplessly, suppressed her impatience to explain the situation to Shen Qingming.

"First, let me ask you, do you have a good relationship with Qian Yue and Zhao Chenlu?"

"...Of course not."

"So since the opposing positions cannot change, the oppressive relationship will inevitably exist. Are you confident in taking the leading role in this hierarchy of oppression?"

"Uh..."

Li Chaolu asked, "Can you be smarter than Qian Yue or stronger than Zhao Chenlu? Even Zhao Lingbo surpasses you in both intellect and strength, so once you join that team, it’s unquestionable that you’ll be at the bottom. Even so, how can you still be cheerful about it? Other than willingly falling, what else can I say?"

Shen Qingming was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I understand what you’re saying, but if I don’t do this, I’ll have to separate from Ah Jiu."

Upon saying this, Shen Qingming looked up again and asked, "And what about you? Didn’t you really like him too, why..."

"Because forcing something you cannot achieve won’t yield any good results." Li Chaolu said helplessly, "Of course, I also hoped to go to the Saint Sect with him, but look at their team members now, a City Lord Golden Jade, a City Lord’s Maid... To be honest, I think the Qian Family girl is purely courting death. I don’t want to suffer needlessly."

"But..."

"Rather than becoming the bottom of the food chain in front of someone I like, subjected to flirting and humiliation, I’d rather maintain a beautiful memory in his mind." Li Chaolu said, "So I suggest you stay back as well, stay far away from that pit of fire. After all, you can still keep in touch with him through letters, it’s not like you can never meet."

This suggestion obviously couldn’t satisfy Shen Qingming, so she looked at Li Wanqing again.

Li Wanqing said, "My opinion is more or less the same, following him like this would only add humiliation and leave you battered. You will definitely not get the happiness you want."

Shen Qingming was silent for a while, then asked, "So all this time, you haven’t been to the city?"

Li Wanqing said, "Yes, it’s better to stay away from that Zhao Chenlu person. It’s a warning my instincts gave me."

"But, doesn’t that leave you unwilling?"

"Of course, it does." Li Wanqing said, "I really like Wang Jiu too."

This sentence weighed heavily on Shen Qingming’s heart once again.

Because this competitive environment is already too harsh.

Although the battlefield surrounding Wang Jiu has always been intense, and recently Zhao Chenlu the Great Demon King emerged, Shen Qingming has never lost her fighting spirit. Even if the abyss ahead is despair, she remains unyielding.

All this time, the 15-year-old girl has been fighting with this attitude. When she hit the lowest point in her life in the Li Family Mansion, she never considered giving up. Even if it meant being battered and bruised, she charged forward courageously.

But now, with Li Wanqing’s statement, Shen Qingming finally feels an overwhelming pressure. This sister, who made a great name in Cyan Cloud City, to her, is no different from Zhao Chenlu, an opponent almost impossible to defeat with reason...

"Don’t misunderstand; the nature of liking is different." Li Wanqing said, "From a cultivator’s perspective, his existence is a deadly temptation. Just being with him for a few months has overturned my knowledge of immortal cultivation several times, and my cultivation has advanced rapidly because of it... and from a personal perspective, being by his side, there’s never a shortage of interesting stories and women, so I have no reason not to like him. Moreover, you know that I also have a contract with him, good feelings are naturally arising."

Shen Qingming savored the taste of the words, but really couldn’t settle her mind.

Looking at this woman before her, more mature, more lively, and stronger than herself, Shen Qingming asked again, "So, are you also quite unwilling?"

"Of course I am, I also want to go to the Saint Sect! It’s said that the women there have a sacred demeanor and a captivating appearance, a unique charm... Besides, it has been the sacred place of immortal cultivation in Xiangzhou for two thousand years, even knowing Mr. Wang Jiu is closer to the true meaning of the Immortal Dao, I can’t help but yearn for the Saint Sect." Li Wanqing said, sighing, "But in this world, just being unwilling is useless. Those men whose love I brutally took are quite unwilling too, but what good does it do them?"

"That sentence of yours is especially persuasive..."

Recalling the pitiful men whose lives were ruined by Li Wanqing in Cyan Cloud City, Shen Qingming felt a bit discouraged.

Indeed, the role she plays now is too similar to those people. Facing overwhelmingly strong opponents, relying only on injustice and anger won’t help at all, so...

"Special training, then."

"Hm?"

Shen Qingming earnestly repeated, "Special training, teach me how not to be at the bottom of the food chain... A rival like Zhao Chenlu, I’m outmatched and admit defeat. But why should Qian Yue be able to climb over me too?"

Li Chaolu listened on the side, feeling a toothache, "Why, don’t you know in your own heart?"

"I know I’m not as smart as she is! But not everything in the world can be solved by just being smart. So... Sister Wanqing, please teach me." Shen Qingming sincerely pleaded, "I know that back in Cyan Cloud City, Qian Yue was terribly afraid of you, there must be some trick to it."

Li Wanqing said with a mix of anger and amusement, "Qingming, the way you’re asking makes it sound like you’re mocking my intelligence as insufficient... However, indeed, I’m not extraordinarily smart. The scheming of that Qian family’s girl is indeed above mine. She’s afraid of me because I have a weapon that can be considered her ultimate nemesis."

"Ultimate weapon?"

As soon as the topic was brought up, Li Chaolu and Li Xinyu nearby also became interested and leaned in closer.

The fact that Qian Yue feared Li Wanqing was not news, but the specific reason why was something not many could explain clearly.

With Qian Yue’s fearless nature, why does she uniquely fear Li Wanqing alone? In terms of cultivation, Li Wanqing indeed surpasses Qian Yue by far, but in Cyan Cloud City, there are easily hundreds or thousands with a higher cultivation realm than Qian Yue. Why does she not fear others?

So now hearing Li Wanqing mention an ultimate weapon immediately piqued everyone’s curiosity.

What weapon could make that Qian family girl also bow her head?

"Could it be that Sister Wanqing holds some dirt on her?" Li Xinyu proposed a possibility.

Li Chaolu immediately brightened up, "Dirt!? A twelve-year-old girl indulging in nightclubs and accidentally getting pregnant? Incestuous love within the family bloodline? Or perhaps..."

Li Xinyu was so frightened that she took several steps back on the spot, "Chaolu, you, calm down..."

Li Chaolu hurriedly shook her head, "Sorry, hearing the word ’dirt,’ I couldn’t control myself..."

Shen Qingming asked, "Qian Yue’s behavior indeed seems like Sister Wanqing has something over her."

Li Wanqing sighed, "What hold? The things she did at the Qian Family Mansion, if there really was dirt left for others, she would’ve been caught and crushed long ago. She’s afraid of me because I can bend her." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"..." Shen Qingming was dazed for several seconds, repeatedly confirming in his mind that there was no error in his hearing, no problem in language comprehension, then asked, "Sister Wanqing, are you serious?"

Li Wanqing said, "At least Qian Yue is serious, and to be honest, it’s not impossible."

"Really possible?!" Shen Qingming was simply shocked.

"Do you not believe?" Li Wanqing asked, "Leaving aside my illustrious feats in Cyan Cloud City, are you interested in trying it yourself? This time I would go all out."

"Absolutely not!"

How could Shen Qingming dare to try such a ghostly thing, with Li Wanqing’s reputation as a war goddess in Cyan Cloud City, almost all married men were well aware of it. Besides, she’s not like she hasn’t been flirted with by Li Wanqing before, it was truly an extreme taste between life and death.

Faced with Shen Qingming’s adamant refusal, Li Wanqing was not discouraged, leisurely chuckling, "Qian Yue also doesn’t dare to try."

"... But this kind of thing can’t be taught." Shen Qingming said dejectedly, "I could never be as good at flirting with women as you are."

"That’s right, everyone has things they are good at and things they aren’t. But human progress is made by letting people who are good at things do what they’re good at. You may not be good at flirting, but I am."

Shen Qingming was silent for a while, "You’re not suggesting that if I allow you to do as you please, you’ll help me flirt with Qian Yue, are you?"

"Is it okay?"

"Of course not!"

Li Wanqing said, "So are you just going to endure humiliation and become Qian Yue’s plaything in front of Wang Jiu?"

"That’s why I’m here seeking your help!"

"I’ve already given you a solution, just a little sacrifice, and you can gain a lot."

"You’re totally speaking like a pimp now!"

Li Wanqing finally couldn’t help but laugh, "Alright, I’m just teasing you, we’ll help with your matter."

Li Chaolu suddenly raised her head, "We?"

Li Wanqing reached out and pressed her head, "Of course, it’s us. The opponent is the Qian family’s girl, we Li Family people naturally have to stick together, right?"

"Well, alright then, let’s prioritize family interests first."