Xue Qingluan still felt the chill seep into her bones long after returning to her tent, the lingering fear refusing to fade. She couldn’t recall how she’d made her way back. Each time she closed her eyes, that icy stare flashed through her mind, making her tremble anew.
Yang Lingrui truly lacked cunning or skill in manipulating people’s minds. But the simple act of killing never failed. He neither wanted nor needed Xue Qingluan’s loyalty. All he needed was to keep her trapped in fear’s shadow.
After dismissing his new companion cultivator, Yang Lingrui walked toward the southwestern edge of Central Camp. A plantation sprawled there, filled with vegetation unique to the Eastern Wilderness. Similar plots existed wherever He Shenglai stayed – containing both spiritual plants and ordinary species extinct in Tiger-Chasing territory.
Since the land wars began, He Shenglai had withdrawn from battlefronts. Instead, he roamed conquered hills bearing the He Family’s name, gathering plants for cultivation at rear bases. Captured Eastern Wilderness cultivators now toiled in these fields – commoners couldn’t meet the He Family’s exacting standards.
Yang Lingrui found He Shenglai beneath an azure giant tree in the plantation’s western corner. The He Family heir performed a secret method, his palm glowing as sunlight made the leaves shift colors. Sand-like powder rained down as branches quivered. With a finger gesture, He Shenglai guided the dust into his waist pouch.
Yang Lingrui waited until the technique ended before approaching. "Lord He."
"You may call me He Shenglai if titles feel forced."
The younger man grinned. "Lord He suits my tongue better."
"Loyalty becomes you. The Yang Family prospers with such roots." He Shenglai’s lips curved slightly as they strolled through crops. "News travels fast. The Noble Family Order will reach Song Mountain within days."
"What difference? You’re heaven’s chosen now. Condensing Essence becomes mere ceremony."
As the He Family’s direct descendant, He Shenglai needed no battle reports – Guhui Town’s events had already reached him. Yang Lingrui skipped retelling the incident. The dynasty’s actions surprised neither man nor his clan.
"Don’t refine those palms yet. Wait until Condensing Essence for better results."
He Shenglai observed the toiling cultivators around them and remarked, "That female cultivator from the Lanyue Sect has a temperament that responds better to firmness than kindness. Don’t show her too much leniency."
"Your guidance is appreciated, Lord He."
Despite becoming a celebrated prodigy, Yang Lingrui maintained proper respect for He Shenglai.
This stemmed not only from the influence of the He Family but also from He Shenglai’s unwavering support for the Yang Family and himself.
Though calculated in nature, results spoke louder than intentions – without He Shenglai’s aid, neither the Yang Family’s current standing nor Yang Lingrui’s achievements would exist.
The two individuals arrived at a freshly cultivated spiritual field where tender green shoots barely breached the soil. He Shenglai knelt by the field’s edge, fingertips brushing a sprout. "Lingrui, when we first met over a decade past, you appeared as fragile as this seedling in my eyes."
Yang Lingrui chuckled nervously. "Your lordship frightened me thoroughly that day."
"Truly?" He Shenglai’s eyes narrowed in recollection. "I’d just entered court service then – raw in judgment and unseasoned in tactics. Reviewing those events now, I realize your family manipulated me like clay on a potter’s wheel."
Surprised by He Shenglai’s vivid memory of the incident, Yang Lingrui sighed. "Poverty forced desperate measures. We stretched every spiritual crystal until it nearly cracked, resorting to theatrics with our two Elders when you visited. That ploy to win your sympathy for more crystals shames me still."
He Shenglai nodded understandingly. "Hardship spares none. My own family only settled in Tiger-Chasing after being driven from our ancestral lands."
Yang Lingrui listened intently. Few beyond the royal court or rival Su Family knew the He Family’s origins, and He Shenglai showed no desire to elaborate.
Kneading the spiritual field’s soil, He Shenglai changed subjects. "Amusing how my early methods left me universally despised at court."
Yang Lingrui’s smile turned strained. "Despise" understated the reality – most associated He Shenglai with calamity, his name alone causing pallor. As the dynasty’s enforcer, he’d hounded officials to suicide without regard for status, becoming the administration’s preferred disciplinarian while the He Family honed his leadership through these trials.
Public perception solidified: arrogant tyrant, mercurial and cruel. Yet through years of collaboration, Yang Lingrui witnessed He Shenglai’s transformation – the once-brutal enforcer now mentored him with surprising insight.
"The court dispatched two mediators fearing I’d resent your success," He Shenglai stood, gaze lifting from sprout to protégé. "Fools. They miss the essence of cultivation – whether nurturing plants or people, true satisfaction comes only at maturity’s fullness. Your prodigy status and my Dao attainment? This dual triumph leaves no room for grievance."
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