Chapter 18: So You're Wealthy Heavenly Emperor!

Smack!

The final slap landed, and Huang Bin’s eyes rolled back. He fainted on the spot. Wang Biao was startled. “Class rep, I didn’t beat him to death, did I?”

“Don’t worry. He’s alive.” Lin Yang checked with his spiritual sense. Huang Bin had merely fainted from rage and the humiliation of being ridden around in public.

Only then did Liu Feng dare approach with the others. He first checked Xiao Hei; seeing that the dog didn’t intend to attack again, he hurriedly hoisted Huang Bin onto his back.

“Lin Yang, this isn’t over!” Liu Feng tried to issue one last threat. Xiao Hei bared his teeth.

“Oh, shit!”

Liu Feng jolted in fright and ran off carrying Huang Bin, with the other followers scrambling after him. The sect master’s personal disciple, recently surrounded by attendants, was carried away from Coldwater Peak with his head drooping and both cheeks swollen like a pig’s. He couldn’t have looked more miserable.

Tang Yu came to Lin Yang, worried. “Huang Bin is the Supreme Sect Master’s personal disciple. Won’t there be trouble after you beat him like that in front of so many people?”

“It’s precisely because there were so many witnesses that he won’t spread it,” Lin Yang said unconcernedly. “The esteemed personal disciple was ridden around like a horse by a dog in shorts, then Wang Biao slapped his face into a pig’s head. If he makes a fuss, how can he show his face in the Qingyuan Sword Sect afterward?”

Huang Bin couldn’t afford the embarrassment. If the Supreme Sect Master learned that his disciple couldn’t even beat a dog, he might wonder whether he’d chosen the wrong person.

“Besides,” Lin Yang added, looking toward Qingyuan Peak, “even if he tells the sect master, what of it? If the master of the Qingyuan Sword Sect wants a fight, I’ll give him one.”

The classmates’ eyelids twitched. Lin Yang was getting more frightening by the minute. Yet after seeing Xiao Hei pin Huang Bin with one paw, they couldn’t dismiss it as empty boasting. At least the dog really was powerful!

Wang Biao approached Xiao Hei, curious. “Brother Hei, what realm are you?”

“Brother Hei? I’ve lived millions of years. Call me Lord Hei!” The dog held his front paws behind his back.

“Lord Hei.” Wang Biao readily changed his form of address.

Xiao Hei nodded in satisfaction. “Good. If anyone bullies you, give them my name.”

“You got it!” Wang Biao agreed at once. Those slaps had left him thoroughly satisfied.

Lin Yang addressed the other classmates. “Don’t rush the main quests for now. If you’re not strong enough, cultivate first. Don’t get yourselves killed in the mountains trying to keep up. Today I’ll take Tang Yu and Qingyao out to gain experience and try to get them to late-stage Qi Refining. Once they’re stronger, they can team up and help the rest of you with quests.”

Many classmates perked up. The demon-hunting quest worried them most. Many had first- or second-grade spirit roots and hadn’t even reached the first level of Qi Refining. Sending them to kill beasts would be suicide. If Tang Yu and Fang Qingyao reached the late stage and helped them, it would be much safer.

But another question arose.

“Class rep, you’re going to get them to late-stage Qi Refining in one day?”

“That’s impossible, isn’t it?”

“How many beasts would you have to kill?”

“A tier-one beast doesn’t give much cultivation, does it?”

Tang Yu was doubtful too. She had a sixth-grade water spirit root and personal instruction from the Coldwater Peak master, yet was only at the first level. Reaching the late stage in a day meant five or six consecutive breakthroughs. Normally, that was impossible!

Lin Yang didn’t explain. He waved a hand, and a streak of azure light flew out: the Verdant Wood Radiance Sword Tang Yu had given him. It hummed, hovering in midair and rapidly growing to five or six meters long, spiritual light flowing around its blade.

Tang Yu’s expression changed slightly. “You know sword control? You can only learn that flying method after the third level of Qi Refining!”

“I know you have questions. Don’t worry; you’ll have your answers soon.”

Lin Yang stepped onto the flying sword. Xiao Hei jumped to the front and stood facing the wind with his paws behind his back, his black shorts flapping.

“Come on.”

Fang Qingyao jumped on first. Tang Yu hesitated briefly, then stood at the back. At a thought from Lin Yang, the sword-control art activated. Whoosh! The sword shot skyward as an azure streak.

Fang Qingyao hadn’t expected such speed and instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist. Tang Yu staggered and quickly grabbed Fang Qingyao’s shoulders. In a blink, the three people and dog vanished into the sea of clouds.

Cold Moon Square fell quiet again. A Sword Peak disciple stared at the trail overhead. “Sword flight? You can barely start learning it after the third level. Wasn’t the class rep only at the first?”

An inner disciple beside him shook his head. “That isn’t ordinary sword control. Carrying three people and a dog at that speed is beyond many late-stage Qi Refining disciples!”

Wang Biao grinned after Lin Yang. “I knew the class rep had something up his sleeve! Huang Bin wanted to fight him? All he did was bring the dog a snack!”

…

Above the clouds, the Verdant Wood Radiance Sword flew faster and faster, peaks racing beneath them. Fang Qingyao’s eyes shone as clouds streamed past. “This is more exciting than a plane! Lin Yang, where did you learn sword control?”

“Found it.”

“Could you be any more dismissive?”

“I drew it in a lottery for a penny.”

She rolled her eyes. “You might as well have said you found it.”

At the front, Xiao Hei’s ears streamed back in the wind. “Slow down! My shorts are about to blow off!”

“I’ll buy you another pair if they do.”

“It’s not about the money!” Xiao Hei clamped a paw over his waistband. “I’m a dog of standing!”

Lin Yang ignored him. His spiritual sense was fully extended, bringing forests, rivers, and demonic beasts within tens of thousands of meters clearly into his mind. Soon he found a beast den more than thirty li—over fifteen kilometers—to the southwest.

“Found it.”

The sword turned. A little over ten minutes later, a mountain covered in fiery red trees appeared. A huge cave sat at its summit, with dozens of red demon lions lying outside. The smallest was as large as a water buffalo. At their center lay a scarlet lion over ten meters tall.

Sensing the presence overhead, the giant raised its head and roared. The sound echoed through the forest as red flames burst from its body. The summit’s temperature climbed rapidly, and some trees caught fire on the spot.

“What I hate most is humans flying over my head!” the giant lion said in a human voice. “Are you looking for death?”

Tang Yu immediately used the system’s inspection function on the lion. A crimson panel appeared before the three of them.

【Scarlet Flame Mountain-Splitting Lion!】

【Level: Tier three, level 3!】

【Grade: Rare!】

【Status: Wild lord!】

【Strength: 116800!】

【Physique: 138600!】

【Soul: 72500!】

【Overall combat power: 428000!】

【Skills: Scarlet Flame Lion’s Roar, Mountain-Splitting Flame Claw, Forest-Burning Fire Domain!】

【Lord talent: Pride Command! Each nearby lion of the same kind grants it an increase in strength!】

【Assessment: A mountain lord commanding dozens of demon lions. An ordinary early-stage Violet Palace cultivator who encounters it alone should turn and run!】

Tang Yu’s face changed. “A tier-three demonic beast! And a wild lord!”

An ordinary tier-three beast was already comparable to a human Violet Palace cultivator. Wild lords had special bloodlines and were often stronger than ordinary beasts of the same level. She’d assumed Lin Yang would look for tier-one beasts. Instead, the very first was a tier-three lord!

“Lin Yang, let’s go! Its attributes are too high. Even at tier two, Xiao Hei can’t beat it!”

Fang Qingyao was frightened too. The giant lion’s head was nearly as large as a room. It could probably swallow the Verdant Wood Radiance Sword whole.

“Who said Xiao Hei would fight?” Lin Yang flexed his wrist. “I’ll handle this myself.”

Tang Yu stared. “You? Aren’t you at the first level of Qi Refining?”

“That’s fake.”

“What?”

Before she could react, Lin Yang stepped forward, hovering in midair, and raised his right hand. Red-gold true essence poured from him. Boom! The sky turned red-gold. A golden sun over a hundred meters across rose above him, and a huge golden seal covered in flame patterns formed at its center. The heat rapidly evaporated the surrounding clouds.

Fang Qingyao and Tang Yu stood on the flying sword, stunned. The power was terrifying!

Below, the Scarlet Flame Mountain-Splitting Lion sensed mortal danger. Its flames burned wildly. “Senior, let’s talk!”

“I liked you better when you were defiant.”

Lin Yang struck downward. “Great Sun Mountain-Burning Seal!”

The red-gold seal and enormous sun crashed from the sky. The lion roared, gathering flames above its head into an even larger fire lion that charged upward. The instant they collided, the fire lion exploded. The seal fell unhindered onto the summit.

Boom! The mountain shook. Huge rocks flew into the sky and crumbled to powder in the red-gold fire. The blow flattened dozens of meters of rock from the summit. The Scarlet Flame Mountain-Splitting Lion died before it could scream, and the shock wave killed the dozens of tier-one and tier-two lions around it.

【Congratulations! Player has killed the tier-three level-3 wild lord: Scarlet Flame Mountain-Splitting Lion!】

【Cultivation gained: 14880000!】

【Congratulations! Player has killed a tier-two demonic beast: Scarlet Fire Demon Lion!】

【Congratulations! Player has killed a tier-two demonic beast: Scarlet Fire Demon Lion!】

【Congratulations! Player has killed a tier-one demonic beast…】

Notifications flooded Lin Yang’s view.

【Total cultivation gained in this battle: 18600000!】

【Distributing team cultivation!】

【Primary killer receives 80%!】

【Each of the other two members receives 10%!】

【Player Tang Yu receives 1860000 shared cultivation!】

【Player Fang Qingyao receives 1860000 shared cultivation!】

Before either woman had recovered from the strike, enormous waves of cultivation energy entered their bodies. Both let out a soft gasp.

【Congratulations! Player Tang Yu has successfully broken through!】

【Current realm: Second level of Qi Refining!】

【Current realm: Third level of Qi Refining!】

…

【Current realm: Sixth level of Qi Refining!】

Fang Qingyao broke through repeatedly as well.

【Current realm: Second level of Qi Refining!】

【Current realm: Fourth level of Qi Refining!】

【Current realm: Sixth level of Qi Refining!】

In less than a minute, both had gone from the first to the sixth level! Fang Qingyao felt the power surging inside her and stared. “I’m at the sixth level already? We didn’t do anything!”

Tang Yu adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses. For once, she struggled to process what had happened. With her sixth-grade water spirit root and a peak master as her teacher, she’d thought she was among the fastest starters in class. Then she’d gone out with Lin Yang, used no techniques at all, and jumped straight to the sixth level. Was cultivation really this easy?

White, blue, and purple lights burst from the ruins below, along with a golden tier-three lord chest. Lin Yang landed and searched the remains of the Scarlet Flame Mountain-Splitting Lion, soon retrieving a fist-sized red inner core. A tier-three rare core! The Myriad Treasures Pavilion would exchange it for at least several hundred high-grade spirit stones. There was his money for the tier-three shop!

“I’ll take the core and lord chest. You two divide the rest.”

Fang Qingyao looked at the chests and drops covering the ground. “All of this is for us?”

“Take it. I can’t use tier-one or tier-two items.” He spoke casually. Tier-two weapons, pills, and robes had little value to him now, but a single rare piece of equipment could greatly improve Tang Yu’s or Fang Qingyao’s strength.

Xiao Hei jumped down from the sword. The Great Sun Mountain-Burning Seal had roasted many lions, filling the air with the smell of meat. The dog sniffed and immediately drooled. “Perfectly cooked! Crisp outside and tender inside! You know how to do things, kid. I like it!” He lunged at a lion leg several meters long and bit down.

A notification appeared.

【Congratulations! Your team has killed a tier-three wild lord!】

【Demon-hunting points earned: 128600!】

【Current team rank: First in the Black Mountain Region!】

Tang Yu and Fang Qingyao saw the leaderboard too.

【Black Mountain Region Demon-Hunting Team Leaderboard!】

【First place: Wealthy Heavenly Emperor’s Team!】

【Members: Wealthy Heavenly Emperor, display name not set, display name not set!】

【Demon-hunting points: 128600!】

【Second place: Demon-Slaying Alliance Team!】

【Demon-hunting points: 5300!】

First place had more than twenty times second place’s points. But neither woman was looking at the score. Both stared at the captain’s name.

Wealthy Heavenly Emperor!

How could they forget it? The first Blue Star player in the Black Mountain Region to reach Foundation Establishment, then Violet Palace—the mysterious expert announced twice to the entire region!

Fang Qingyao turned sharply. “Lin Yang! You’re Wealthy Heavenly Emperor?”

Tang Yu stared at him too. “You’ve already reached the Violet Palace Realm?”

“Yes.” Lin Yang admitted it readily. Both knew he had the Heaven-Deceiving Mirror of Mountains and Rivers, and he trusted them. There was no need to hide it any longer.

Fang Qingyao opened her mouth. She finally understood why Lin Yang dared say he’d have the Qingyuan Sword Sect’s master walked like a pet. He wasn’t at the first level of Qi Refining at all. He was already in the Violet Palace Realm! And the strike he’d just used was clearly beyond an ordinary Violet Palace cultivator.

Tang Yu remembered yesterday’s announcement too. Lin Yang had already reached Violet Palace. The gap between them could no longer be explained by talent!

“You two should set display names too.” Lin Yang put away the Scarlet Flame Mountain-Splitting Lion’s core. “I don’t want my real identity exposed before I reach Golden Core.”

“All right!” Fang Qingyao nodded immediately. In less than half an hour with him, she’d risen from the first to the sixth level of Qi Refining and gained equipment, pills, and chests covering the ground. With a patron like this, setting an alias was nothing; she’d even change her real name on the spot if he asked!

Tang Yu nodded too. She looked down at her sixth-level cultivation, then at the loot. No wonder so many people wanted a powerful patron. It felt wonderful!