Dog of a Man

Bai Meng was even wondering if the sun had risen again from the western horizon. His elder sister, Tang Yushang, was actually smiling so brightly at a complete stranger—it was practically a miracle. He said, "Brother Qin, let's go over. My sister has a very good impression of you. In all these years, peers who could catch her eye can be counted on one hand." Qin Ming turned to look at him sideways. "Did you hear what she said? 'The road to Shu is hard as hell!'" Bai Meng wore a look of utter bewilderment. "I didn't hear anything." Qin Ming said, "I think she doesn't want to see me at all—she's just calling you over. Besides, I have things to do today. Let's catch up another day." "Don't do that! I'm sure of it—my sister ordered me to invite you over." Bai Meng felt an instant rapport with Brother Qin, so he offered a timely pointer, sharing a few of his sister's preferences: "Let me tell you, my sister has extraordinarily high standards. She loves all kinds of beautiful things and detests cowards." Qin Ming summarized, "In short, she loves good looks and worships power." At the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Field, the tournament had just concluded, and the clamor of the crowd was at its peak. Tang Yushang had employed an auditory secret technique, allowing her to clearly catch Qin Ming's critique. Instantly, flames nearly shot from her eyes, burning with dazzling brilliance as her gaze locked onto him with a death stare. "Old Bai, let's make it another day," Xiang Yiwu also chimed in to persuade him, knowing there was bad blood between Qin Ming and the red-robed woman. "My sister is coming over," Bai Meng said. "Kind hospitality is hard to refuse. Why push it away?" Jiang Ran said. "So it's Da Tang," Li Qingyue spoke up. Having both been chosen by Earth Immortal Mu Qinghe, they naturally knew each other. Lately, Jiang Ran, Xiao Jinye, Jin Puti, and others had been receiving instruction from Mu Qinghe and had been granted audiences with high envoys from the Nine Firmaments, drawing intense scrutiny from all sides. For rumors held that a "Blazing Sun" was bound to emerge from this group—and quite possibly, more than one! "If she and I meet, we'll start fighting immediately," Qin Ming sent a secret voice transmission, having already briefly mentioned to his companions what had happened back at the Great Thunder Sound Temple. Naturally, he omitted the poetic detail of that kick delivered beneath the setting sun within the ancient sanctuary. Li Qingyue replied via transmission, "Jiang Ran has been wanting to spar with her. If she wants a fight, that works out perfectly." Tang Yushang glided gracefully through the crowd, her eyes naturally settling on Qin Ming. She never hid the fact that she held grudges. It was bad enough that she had been kicked, but now even her own subordinate had been duped into hobbling along behind him. How could she not be furious? "Come here," she said, looking at Bai Meng. Hearing this, Old Bai eagerly scurried over, still not forgetting to put in a good word for his good brother Qin Ming even now. "Sister, not only is my brother handsome, he's a heaven-sent genius! You must've heard by now, right? Last night, he used Chaos force to defeat the youth who mastered the Calamity-Avoiding Immortal Scripture..." Tang Yushang immediately probed his spirit field to see if he had been possessed. How else could he have ended up buddying around with that adversary? Worst of all, they were acting like lifelong friends at first sight! In an instant, her face darkened slightly. She sensed that Bai Meng had indeed fallen under an effect. It was tricky to handle, existing on a spiritual level; if she forcibly tried to untangle the fog entwined around his heart and mind, it would likely injure the fundamental source of Bai Meng's consciousness. However, she could also tell that the fog was not permanent and would disperse on its own after some time. At this moment, Qin Ming's standing in her eyes was naturally rock-bottom. If she had to assign him a seat, he would probably be placed at the dogs' table. Tang Yushang said, "I hadn't expected you to be in the earthen city as well." Had she known he was in the same city all along, she would have stormed his doorstep long ago. "Oh? Da Tang, when did you meet Qin Ming?" Li Qingyue asked, pretending ignorance. Tang Yushang maintained a calm expression with a faint smile, though it was fast slipping, for every time she "looked back" upon the Great Thunder Sound Temple, she was seized by the urge to beat someone senseless. She replied, "I heard Chaos force possesses astonishing offensive might. I came today wanting to witness it for myself." Jiang Ran smiled and said, "I hear you come from the heaven-chosen land—Taixu. In the distant past, Yujing truly descended there, merging as one with its projection on the ground. I would love to spar with one chosen by heaven." Tang Yushang frowned. She knew Jiang Ran was not someone to trifle with and likely a formidable opponent. She had come today purely to vent her spleen, not to fight a bloody, grueling battle with an outsider. She said, "Another day. Today, I only wish to experience Chaos force." Qin Ming politely declined, saying, "Another day. I have not been feeling well lately and need time to recuperate." "Are you deficient in yang qi, suffering kidney weakness, or did that white-robed youth shatter your foundation in last night's battle?" Tang Yushang asked sharply. Bai Meng immediately felt something was off. His master and elder sister was on full offensive mode today; normally she would never utter such words. Right now, her temper seemed raging. Wu Yaozu said, "What Brother Ming means is that after a while, once he breaks through to the fourth realm, he'll fight you. If you spar with him now, wouldn't you feel embarrassed?" Tang Yushang replied, "Whose fault is it that he cultivates so slowly? I just love crushing opponents from a higher realm." Bai Meng badly wanted to say: *Wait, Sister, don't you normally champion combat prowess above all, believing that so long as innate talent remains constant, one will naturally ascend through the realms when the time comes?* Yet he dared not undercut her, so he could only keep his mouth shut. Jiang Ran spoke up, "Well, I've actually set my sights on you. How about the two of us spar first? Your match with Qin Ming can come after." Li Qingyue added, "I wouldn't mind an exchange with you either." Qin Ming nodded, looking at the red-robed woman ahead. "Why don't we do that? We'll postpone ours." To have other women standing up for him was genuinely beyond Tang Yushang's expectations. The smile vanished from her face completely. She glared at him daggers, deeply exasperated that her burning desire to kick him twenty times was put on hold for now. "Master, did I embarrass you?" Su Mohua pushed through the crowd, smiling radiantly as she approached. "Not bad at all, martial niece! You took first place this time," Wu Yaozu praised. "Oh? Is this... Master's wife?" Su Mohua looked toward Li Qingyue. Clearly, she was aware of certain rumors. Her large eyes blinked as she turned to Jiang Ran, glanced over at Tang Yushang, and finally muttered under her breath, "Are they all Master's wives?" Though her voice was barely above a whisper, Tang Yushang still caught it. "Dog of a man!" She spun around and stormed off, unwilling to be counted as any part of Su Mohua's absurd speculation. Su Mohua's ascent to the pinnacle and her first-place finish naturally caused quite a stir. Many gathered around her, and even the old fellows from the Nine Firmaments were genial and generous with their praise. A cohort of youths from above wore complicated expressions. Earlier, they had been waiting to see Su Mohua make a fool of herself for taking a youth from the surface as her master. In the end, they had become the joke themselves, every one of them having suffered defeat. Even members of the celestial observation delegation, such as the green-skirted young woman Lü Lin and her peers, were dazed. Naturally, Qin Ming was also encircled by a crowd. After all, Su Mohua was his disciple; at this point, keeping a low profile was out of the question. …… Under the long night, Qin Ming returned to his residence and sat in deep contemplation within the quiet chamber. He did not attend the celebration party for Su Mohua's victory, instead returning to study the relics left behind by the white-robed youth, resonating with faint, bizarre strands of emotion. *Could it be an ape inside an ape?* At this point, he harbored serious doubts that the white-robed youth had even been the true master. Given the white-robed youth's terrifying innate talent, had he pursued the immortal path from childhood, it would have been impossible for him to remain in the third realm—he should have broken through long ago. "He was likely another Mind Ape severed from the original, endowed with a partly fabricated life." Qin Ming's brows furrowed deeply. If that were the case, just how terrifying was the true Ape Lord? In the earthen city, what gave the white-robed youth the audacity to try to assassinate Qin Ming? To act with such fearless confidence, he probably did not fear mishap at all. In particular, before dying, the youth had cursed furiously and placed special emphasis on the Subduing the Mind Classic, which had already given Qin Ming much food for thought. *This is a truly formidable adversary!* Qin Ming felt a heavy weight on his heart. The white-robed youth's talent was already extraordinary, yet he was merely useless emotion and restless desire severed by the true master—a negative byproduct of the mind. Qin Ming had good reason to suspect that the true master's strength bordered on the uncanny! Even in a fair fight at the same level, that person would likely be an unimaginably dangerous enemy! And in reality, the true master's cultivation realm was definitely higher than his own. If such a monster ambushed him from the shadows, the mere thought of the consequences sent chills down his spine. Qin Ming felt mountain-like pressure. He was already facing an invisible threat of death! Pondering carefully, he reasoned that the true "Ape Lord" probably feared the many experts gathered in the earthen city and thus dared not attack in true person. "Well, every time I break through a major barrier, it is accompanied by rebirth. My physical constitution undergoes a comprehensive nirvanic renewal, and even my heavenly light transforms alongside it." Qin Ming considered his own advantages. This meant that as his realm rose, his bone structure and marrow were altered and purified, and his inherent talent improved along with them. He felt that if he reached the fourth realm, even if that Ape Lord's talent broke all conventional limits, he would have nothing to fear. *And then there's Tang Yushang.* Qin Ming's thoughts turned back to the red-robed woman from Taixu. When he had called her a tyrannosaur, it had been no joke. This woman was genuinely powerful and terrifying. Back then, with her hands tied, relying solely on simulating Bai Meng's spirit field to enter the Great Thunder Sound Temple, she had still fought fiercely with him. In reality, now that her shackles were severed, just how strong this tyrannosaur truly was remained impossible for Qin Ming to gauge. *In the end, all the problems troubling me point back to strength. I must find a way to raise my realm.* Qin Ming recognized this with utmost clarity. …… At the banquet, Su Mohua was treated like the moon surrounded by stars. The victor was king; battle achievements were the most powerful weapon against detractors. Several old men from the heavens conversed with her for a long time. A high envoy at the level of peak Earth Immortal warmly encouraged her, telling her that if she ever encountered any trouble, she should come to him without hesitation. The green-skirted girl Lü Lin took the initiative to approach Little Rulai Zhao Chengyu, acting quite warm. She, too, had set her sights on Chaos force. To her chagrin, however, Little Rulai asked her whether she wanted to become his disciple. "Can't I just call you Senior Brother Zhao?" Lü Lin asked softly. Having mocked Su Mohua earlier, she naturally refused to follow suit. To her surprise, Little Rulai shook his head and refused outright. Su Mohua had taken Qin Ming as her master; if her close friend called him senior brother, what kind of joke would that be? If he took Lü Lin as his disciple, he truly did want to "temper" this celestial prodigy. Training a disciple to clash against Qin Ming's would also count as an indirect contest between them. Not long after, Little Rulai noticed that Lü Lin had returned. Furthermore, behind her came a man and a woman approaching from different directions, nodding in greeting toward Little Rulai. Lü Lin seemed somewhat nervous. She had not expected that two "great gods" from the Nine Firmaments had altered their appearances to quietly follow the group down to the surface this time. The man and woman had each sought her out, wanting to speak with Little Rulai, who had mastered Chaos force. Both were in their twenties and had long stood firmly in the fourth realm with profound cultivation. Most terrifying of all, both were already regarded as strong contenders for the title of "Blazing Sun." Though Lü Lin possessed exceptional talent, her realm lagged significantly behind theirs. Thus, she was deeply wary of both, her body tense as she led the way. "You wouldn't want me to take you as my master too, would you?" the man said with a smile. Little Rulai's expression grew solemn as he felt subtle strands of pressure. This man struck him as exceedingly dangerous—taking him as a disciple was utterly out of the question. "Brother Zhao," the disguised woman said, remaining very polite. She revealed a young, plain face, offering a radiant smile. …… After a brief period of secluded cultivation, Qin Ming stepped out of the quiet chamber and immediately found two visiting cards. "Prodigies from the heavens wanting to discuss Chaos force with me?" Qin Ming tossed the cards aside, thinking to himself: *Do you people even understand this force?* He reasoned that Su Mohua's rise to fame in that single battle had alerted certain seed figures from the heavens. They wanted contact with him without committing to becoming disciples—pure freeloaders looking for something for nothing. Thus, he set the matter aside for the time being, having no intention of meeting them right away. At that moment, in the earthen city, a group of old monsters—including Earth Immortal Mu Qinghe—were alerted, because a group of ancestral masters from Night Province had once again... filed a report with them. "Just who is the ancestor here? You lot are practically our ancestors!" A crowd of "first patriarchs" felt they couldn't take it anymore. Not to mention them; even the Earth Immortal had been unnerved by the antics of these old scamps. Last time, they had actually dug up two decaying Heavenly Gods, nearly scaring everyone out of their wits. "Night Province is too barren. Our top-tier resources have dried up, leaving us no way out except to pioneer outward into the wilderness. Perhaps the esteemed Earth Immortal could bestow some divine medicine to relieve our pressing emergency?" The ancestral masters of Night Province truthfully stated the crux of their present dilemma; they truly had no other recourse. "Your ambitions are remarkably lofty," Mu Qinghe said with a complex expression. Some of them might even be her descendants. These people had no wish to become Earth Immortals; instead, they hoped to become seven-day stackers and continue down their original path. The so-called Earth Immortals were naturally immensely powerful, standing as the supreme masters of this era, while Heavenly Immortals had faded into myth—within the scope of Yujing's influence, there was no "complete entity" at all. Yet the ancestral masters of Night Province seemed to have no desire to align with the paths of Earth Immortals or Heavenly Immortals. "Aren't we still young? We're only a few hundred years old—the prime of life for striving!" one of the ancestral masters of Night Province said. Pei Qingwu, Chunyangzi, Xiao Jinye, and the others happened to be at the Earth Immortal Mansion. Hearing such words, they were struck completely speechless. Yet soon they grew sober again. The ancestral masters of Night Province possessed genuine drive; in their old age, their fiery passion remained intact, refusing to admit defeat even now as they ceaselessly sought to forge new paths and break major barriers. Mu Qinghe spoke, "This time, I will watch in person as you dig the void tunnel!" "Fine, no problem!" "By the way, Senior, regarding the clue we provided last time about the two Heavenly God fugitives, the bounty hasn't been issued yet. Is there some difficulty?" Mu Qinghe answered honestly, "That wanted poster was issued by Yujing, and the reward must be bestowed from there. But Yujing remains dormant, having yet to awaken. None of us dare disturb it." Not to mention the people in the earthen city, even the masters of Sky City dared not approach Yujing recklessly. The next day, the ancestral masters of Night Province opened a path leading toward an alien realm. Earth Immortal Mu Qinghe arrived in person to supervise. "How did you dig so fast this time? It's about to connect through already?" Mu Qinghe was quite astonished. The Six Imperials Patriarch explained personally, "Actually, this path had been opened before. The mist passage was just one final step away from being breached." Soon, the route opened smoothly, officially connecting to the alien world. "Wait!" Mu Qinghe grew intensely nervous, her face draining of color. The bronze lamp she held in her hand had shifted from its initial gentle, sacred flame to a brilliant crimson in the blink of an eye, then neared purple, and soon deepened into a blood-red so dark it appeared black. "Quickly, sever this path immediately!" The Earth Immortal's face turned deathly pale with shock and sheer panic.