Chapter 25 – Arriving at Qingzhou, Discovering the Protagonist
Su Qingyue's homeland was called Qingzhou.
It was an immense continent, spanning countless millions of li, with Holy Lands standing in its territory.
A Holy Land was a Dao lineage founded by a Saint Realm expert, detached from the mortal world, ruling mountains and rivers stretching billions of li.
Her sect was the Moonwatching Holy Land. Her father was the current Holy Lord, with cultivation in the Void Dao Realm.
In Qingzhou, such a realm was already considered a supreme powerhouse, unrivaled beneath the heavens.
As for higher levels, most were either in endless seclusion or had gone to broader worlds in pursuit of the Great Dao.
Saint Realm, within Qingzhou, had long since become a legendary existence.
Even Venerate Realm experts had vanished, leaving only King Realm ancestors to guard the Holy Lands.
The flying boat tore through space at terrifying speed. In a mere month, it leapt across countless star rivers and arrived at Qingzhou.
During this time, Gu Qing never stopped cultivating. He consolidated his gains and advanced all the way to the sixth level of the Profound Core Realm.
He even cultivated the Minor Thousand Sword Art to its introductory stage, opening three thousand acupoints.
Each acupoint nurtured a strand of sword qi, carrying peerless sharpness.
"Senior brother, you've broken through to the sixth level already," Su Qingyue whispered, at a loss for words.
He had advanced three small realms in just one month.
Two months ago, he had only been at the first level.
That meant in two months, Gu Qing had ascended six levels.
"You are not bad either—third level of Profound Core," Gu Qing said with a smile.
His rapid progress was not only due to talent and diligence. Standing beneath the shade of a great tree, resources had never been an issue since joining the Star Temple.
"Ji Ning, may I trouble you with something?" Gu Qing asked.
"Speak freely," Ji Ning replied.
"I need a vast number of demonic beast corpses. The more, the better, regardless of rank."
Gu Qing knew his own efficiency at hunting beasts was too low.
Ji Ning had been sent by Zhimeng to act as their protector. If help was needed, he could ask her.
Since he had a powerhouse at hand, why exhaust himself in the forests alone?
He could always repay her later when the chance arose.
"Very well. But I must first ensure your safety. I can only act when there is time," Ji Ning answered curtly.
In truth, she wished for nothing more than to be asked. Once Gu Qing grew into his potential, even a small gift from him would be enough for her to benefit for life.
"Good."
Gu Qing nodded, then turned to Su Qingyue.
"Let's go. I am curious to see my junior sister's sect."
Su Qingyue's cheeks flushed red. Thinking he wanted to meet her father, she hurriedly sent a message back home.
…
Elsewhere, upon receiving his daughter's transmission, Su Wu's face lit with joy. Without hesitation, he summoned the entire sect to open the mountain gates in a grand ceremony, welcoming his daughter home in glory.
"Why has the Saintess returned?"
A single elder's question darkened Su Wu's face instantly.
That phrasing made it sound as if his daughter had been dismissed and sent back.
"N-no, I mean—does the Saintess return with a special mission?"
The elder quickly corrected himself, desperate to survive.
"Of course she simply missed me, and wished to temper herself here," Su Wu replied with a proud smile. Then his tone grew solemn:
"This time she is not alone. Accompanying her is her senior brother, the personal disciple of a Saint Realm mighty one. You must all be careful not to offend him."
"A… Saint Realm?"
"The Saintess became the disciple of a Saint Realm expert?"
The gathered elders and true disciples turned pale with shock.
Saints were legends in Qingzhou. Without Saint artifacts left behind, they would not even believe Saints existed.
"Indeed!" Su Wu nodded, standing tall and proud.
Truthfully, when he had first heard the news, he too had been stunned for half a day.
If the person who came to take Su Qingyue had not been a Venerate Realm powerhouse, he would never have believed it.
It was fortunate Su Qingyue had not mentioned that she herself was already the Star Temple's Saintess.
Otherwise, Su Wu would likely have shouted the news to the whole world in his excitement.
"Saint Lord, rest assured. Whoever dares offend this honored guest, I, Gao Jinsheng, will not spare him."
"That's right, all of you remember—anyone who dares to offend the disciple of a Saint Realm expert, at the very least will be expelled from the sect, at worst crippled and thrown into the Ice Hell."
A middle-aged man with a stern, upright face swept his gaze over the crowd and spoke coldly.
At those words, many present began doubting reality, staring at him in disbelief.
This was the head of the Law Enforcement Hall, renowned for being upright and unyielding, someone who even dared to challenge the Saint Lord himself.
Now he was acting even more obsequious than they were?
Truly a sight never seen before.
No one expected that someone with thick brows and righteous eyes like him would turn out to be such a person.
Though they thought so, none dared voice it aloud. The Law Enforcement Hall Master's authority weighed heavily in their hearts, so they all quickly nodded in agreement.
"Heh, a bunch of sycophants. With such weak hearts, this is all you'll ever be in this life."
Among the crowd, a handsome but resolute youth secretly looked down on them.
But as soon as he thought of soon meeting the one he longed for—Su Qingyue—his expression turned excited.
"Three years apart… I wonder if little junior sister still remembers me by the pool behind the mountain."
"My talent has already recovered. I can now fight shoulder to shoulder with you, and no longer need your protection." Lin Yang thought to himself.
"They're here!"
Su Wu's spirit stirred, and he shouted loudly. The entire Wangyue Sect instantly fell into strict formation.
Only to see multicolored clouds fill the sky, a cloud of auspicious light approaching from afar.
Gu Qing wore a black starry Dao robe, tall and upright, his appearance incomparably handsome, like a banished immortal.
Beside him, Su Qingyue's ribbons fluttered, pure and ethereal. The two looked like a pair of celestial immortals.
"Father."
Su Qingyue's face lit with joy. After 3 years apart, she finally saw her father's stern features again.
Only, he now bore a few more wrinkles than when she had left.
"Mm." Su Wu gave a brief nod. Though his heart was full of countless words, he did not know how to begin.
"Greetings, Uncle."
"Good, good. You must be Qingyue's senior brother, right? Please, come in quickly."
Su Wu looked at him as a mother-in-law might look at a son-in-law—the more he looked, the more satisfied he became.
So handsome, and a disciple of a Saint Realm expert, his talent was certainly extraordinary.
The key point was, from Qingyue's letters, all filled with praise for Gu Qing, how could he not guess that his daughter liked him?
If she didn't, she would never have brought him home.
"Uncle flatters me."
Gu Qing's gaze swept over the grand welcome before him, emotions stirring.
These were all figures who ruled over their own domains, whose words could decide countless lives and deaths.
Any inner sect disciple who walked out was treated as the center of the world.
Yet now, all of them were bowing and currying favor with him.
[Detected: Lin Yang harbors malice toward the host and is attempting to plunder the host's fortune. Triggering Super Countermeasure—reverse plundering 1000 fortune points from Lin Chen.]
Gu Qing immediately smiled.
Just as he expected, there was indeed a protagonist beside Su Qingyue.
His gaze quickly swept the crowd and locked onto him.
The protagonist was far too easy to spot.
Among this sea of handsome men and beautiful women, his short, ordinary appearance looked downright ugly.
And second, his indifferent gaze, as if everyone he looked at was trash.
Gu Qing could hardly fail to notice.
"Wait!"
"Saint Lord, this disciple has something to say."
At that moment, Lin Yang's calm, indifferent voice rang out.
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