“Three-leaf emblem… Three-Leaf Qianwu Practitioner… Qingshan, you’ve become a Three-Leaf Qianwu Practitioner?”
Kevin’s tone was incredulous.
As a veteran Domain Master who had been stuck at the Domain Master stage for hundreds of thousands of years, he knew very well how difficult it was to break through to World Master.
In the Black Dragon Mountain Starfield, those sixteen great clans, second only to the two Holy Lands, had been founded by World Masters, and each of them held countless star systems as its territory.
“Father…”
Lu Lingxiao’s eyes were full of shock.
How long had it been since Father left Maple Leaf Star?
Less than fifty years, and he had already broken through to the World Master realm.
Seeing the astonishment on the faces of his two kin, Lu Qingshan let a faint smile appear. “Conditions for cultivation in the Qianwu Secret Realm are excellent, and I was lucky enough to obtain some resources by chance, which sped up my progress at the Domain Master stage. So I broke straight through to World Master.”
“Qingshan… how did you…” Kevin was beyond coherent words.
“Father-in-law, Lingxiao, tell me—what did you want from me? I was cultivating just now and didn’t receive your call requests.”
“Qingshan, it’s like this…”
Kevin pulled his gaze away from his son-in-law with difficulty and looked at Lu Lingxiao. “It’s about Lingxiao. I think we should discuss it with you before deciding.”
“What is it?” Lu Qingshan looked at his son.
Lu Lingxiao drew a deep breath and calmed himself before recounting what had happened.
It turned out that while Lu Lingxiao was cultivating at the Killing Field, he had caught the eye of a powerful figure from Black Dragon Mountain, who wanted to take him as a disciple.
Lu Lingxiao knew nothing of the man’s identity, nor his true strength, so he could only consult his grandfather. His grandfather, too, found the decision hard to make on his own, and that was why they had come to Lu Qingshan.
“What does the man look like?”
Lu Qingshan asked, mildly surprised.
“He’s a man in golden armor. He wasn’t the one who first spoke to me—he only came to me later and said he wanted me as his disciple, but he didn’t force me. He told me to think it over carefully.”
“I see…”
Lu Qingshan had not expected the mysterious powerhouse who had taken a liking to his son to be so confident about taking a disciple that he wouldn’t even give a name.
“Do you have any image records of him? My access level is high; I might be able to look him up for you.”
Lu Qingshan thought for a moment, then asked.
“No. We only ever met in the Virtual Universe. A powerhouse like that—how would I dare record him right in front of him…”
“Mm, it’s fine… Then don’t refuse him for now. From your description, he should be a World Master powerhouse. Perhaps I can ask the Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain…”
“Father, you can get in touch with the Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain?” Lu Lingxiao was stunned.
The Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain—he was the local emperor of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. Nearly half of the yearly income of their Maple Leaf Empire was handed over to the Black Dragon Mountain Empire… Never mind an Undying Divine Lord like him; Lu Lingxiao had met even the Black Dragon Mountain Emperor only once.
“I don’t have his contact details, but perhaps I can pay a visit as a Three-Leaf Qianwu Practitioner.”
Lu Qingshan smiled.
Kevin patted his grandson on the shoulder. “Lingxiao, you may be an emperor of a nation, but your experience is far behind your grandfather’s. A Three-Leaf Qianwu Practitioner—what standing that carries! Even the Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain would hardly refuse a visit offered on those terms.”
Lu Lingxiao opened his mouth, then closed it. In only a few short decades, his father had grown to a level he could never have imagined.
Lu Qingshan went straight to the Black Dragon Mountain Office and submitted a calling card… following the proper diplomatic channels.
The officials at the Black Dragon Mountain Office saw Lu Qingshan’s standing as a Three-Leaf Qianwu Practitioner and dared not treat him lightly. They submitted the documents on the spot.
…
Lu Qingshan did not wait long.
The next day, he was granted an audience with the Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain.
Inside a great hall of the Black Dragon Mountain Sacred Land, Lu Qingshan met the legendary Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain—a towering powerhouse covered in black dragon scales, with dragon horns growing from his head.
Beside him stood more than a dozen World Master powerhouses.
“Lu Qingshan pays his respects to the Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain.”
As a Three-Leaf Qianwu Practitioner, he represented the Qianwu Dojo officially, so a slight bow was all that was required to show respect to an Undying Deity.
“Lu Qingshan… the Giant Axe Martial Arts Practitioner from eighty thousand years ago… I never thought you’d already be a Three-Leaf Qianwu Practitioner of the Qianwu Dojo. When I received your calling card, even I was startled…”
Black Dragon Mountain had its own intelligence apparatus… After receiving the card, it had run a full check on Lu Qingshan and knew everything about him before he had gone to Qianwu Dojo Headquarters.
A man who had broken through to Domain Master only a few decades ago was now a Three-Leaf Qianwu Practitioner—even the Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain was full of curiosity.
“I too obtained some resources in the Qianwu Secret Realm, and only broke through by luck. I would not dare compare myself to you, Sacred Lord.”
Lu Qingshan sat in the seat below the Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain, which also meant that, in that hall, his standing was second only to the Sacred Lord’s.
Even Menghuo had no objection. Lu Qingshan was a guest, after all, and he represented the Qianwu Dojo.
“Oh? You’ve been to the Qianwu Secret Realm as well?”
The Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain was somewhat surprised.
“I am unworthy, but thanks to Silver Moon Marquis’s regard for me, I currently serve as a Special-Grade Instructor in the Qianwu Secret Realm, teaching chiefly the disciples of Silver Moon Marquis.”
Lu Qingshan had not written any of this in his calling card; the Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain and the others present were hearing it for the first time.
“Hahaha, Brother Qingshan truly is extraordinary. No wonder you could become a Giant Axe Martial Arts Practitioner tens of thousands of years ago!”
Upon learning what Lu Qingshan did, the Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain’s attitude grew much more serious. That Silver Moon Marquis was one of the three hundred vassal lords under the Qianwu Country Master—someone even he had to look up to!
For her to take an interest in Lu Qingshan—no wonder he had achieved what he had!
“Brother Qingshan, what brings you to visit this time? If there’s any trouble within the borders of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, I will do my utmost to help.”
The Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain asked.
Only then did Lu Qingshan say, “It’s nothing major—just a small matter concerning my son, Lu Lingxiao. A powerhouse wants to take my son as a disciple, yet left no name. I wanted to ask…”
“Hahaha, that matter!!” The Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain laughed heartily, then pointed at Menghuo. “The one who took a liking to your son Lu Lingxiao was him. Except it isn’t this fellow who wants the boy as a disciple—it’s another brother of mine. He’s called Wode. He’s at the peak of World Master as well, only he took a grave injury, and no one knows how much longer he has to live…”
“Brother Qingshan, it really is fate. I never imagined the genius I spotted at a single glance in the Killing Field would be your own offspring!”
Menghuo exclaimed.
The Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain laughed uproariously. “This is what they mean by a tiger father begetting no curs of sons. Brother Qingshan, please give the matter of taking a disciple serious thought. Though my brother doesn’t have many years left, his strength is formidable, second only to mine… and his family fortune is considerable!”
That was practically an undisguised temptation.
Lu Qingshan understood perfectly well.
The Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain meant to deepen their ties.
It is easier to hold office when one has people in court. Lu Qingshan’s position as a Special-Grade Instructor in the Qianwu Secret Realm was of great importance to the Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain.
With that connection in place, if any genius of the Black Dragon Mountain imperial family were to enter the Qianwu Secret Realm in the future, with a Special-Grade Instructor like Lu Qingshan looking after them, their odds of turning into real talent would be far greater than anyone else’s!
“Since that powerhouse is the Sacred Lord’s brother, then this is Lingxiao’s good fortune—how could I possibly refuse? It’s only that Lingxiao is dull-witted, so I must trouble the Sacred Lord and his teacher to look after him.”
Lu Qingshan cupped his hands in thanks, and the matter was settled.
A living teacher is good, a dead teacher is better, but neither can compare to a teacher who is about to die.
The banquet was held in the Virtual Universe. The Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain spent lavishly—he even opened a bottle of the divine wine Divine Intoxication, worth eight Hunyuan units a bottle, and every World Master present was shouting in delight over it.
Put that stuff out in reality and it would cost eight thousand Hunyuan units; even in the Virtual Universe, it was beyond what they could afford.
Lu Qingshan quickly blended into the banquet. As cups clinked back and forth, he exchanged contact details with every World Master present—they were acquainted now… The Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain even gave a grand wave of his hand and waived every bit of the Maple Leaf Empire’s future taxes outright…
After the banquet, the guests dispersed, and only Lu Qingshan and the Sacred Lord of Black Dragon Mountain remained in the great hall.
Chapter 80