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Translator: Fate
Proofreader: Silavin
“Lady Xianer, so we meet again.”
Right when Gu Xianer was sinking in her thoughts, someone landed in front of her from the sky. Instantaneously, Gu Xianer’s cool, prideful face turned into a stone cold frown that bore contempt.
“Sky King Zhi Yang, I warned you last time, not to appear before my very eyes again.” Her voice was ice cold as she was glaring at Sky King Zhi Yang. Ever since his self-fabricated white knight act got exposed, Gu Xianer had nothing but disdain for him.
Yet, he acted as if nothing happened and continued seeing her whenever he had the chance. In spite of her numerous warnings, he did not seem to care, proceeding to cling to her like a bug. He was a Ranked Disciple, who used to be known as the greatest young prodigy in the Upper Realm. He was famous, and gossipers all felt that he was wooing Gu Xianer, the Gifted Lady of the Immortal Gu Family.
“Aren’t you aware that what you’re doing is awfully revolting?” Gu Xianer’s tone was filled with disgust.
Nevertheless, Sky King Zhi Yang remained unbothered as he shook his head with a smile. “It’s only natural that a fair lady catches the eyes of a man. I was coincidentally nearby and decided to greet you. Why are you so agitated?”
Hearing that, Gu Xianer coldly stared at her and irritatedly replied, “I’ll make sure you regret it the next time you dare approach me.” With that, her body turned into green mist, swiftly vanishing from the room.
To Gu Xianer, the fact that Sky King Zhi Yang approached her without a purpose, only to greet her was distasteful. Yet, she could do nothing about it and could only clench her fist without throwing out a punch. Given her personality, she could never bring herself to attack anyone who came to her on friendly terms. It was moments like this that she wished Gu Changge was by her side, since he would definitely ignore all reasons and stomp Sky King Zhi Yang’s repelling face.
[Ah, that attitude… Still the same old Junior Sister, Dao Xian.] After watching as Gu Xianer disappeared, Sky King Zhi Yang subconsciously shook his head, unaffected by the matter.
After Gu Changge foiled his plans, Sky King Zhi Yang knew Gu Xianer’s impression of him had turned bad. Nonetheless, he believed that as long as he was sincere enough, Gu Xianer would be able to feel his genuineness and understand that everything he did was for her sake.
[Now, I wonder if the man that came out of the Wondrous Stone is actually…] Quickly, Sky King Zhi Yang grew visibly confused.
Back when the man in the Wondrous Stone surfaced, Sky King Zhi Yang wasn’t there to witness it, but judging by the reports from his followers, the man in the Wondrous Stone somehow gave him a sense of familiarity, though he couldn’t believe it unless he saw the man for himself.
[If that’s really Senior Wuya, then the gods must have really blessed me…] Thinking that, Sky King Zhi Yang couldn’t help getting exhilarated.
…
“So, the Successor of Demonic Arts has actually sneaked into the Immortal Academy. Although I can’t understand why there are two Successors of Demonic Arts existing at the same time, it’s no doubt an advantage to you and me.”
Meanwhile, in a cave, Su Qingge appeared calm; her milky skin resembled a craft made of exquisite jade. At that moment, she was discussing with the other voice in her mind after hearing about the young prodigy who had got attacked by the Successor of Demonic Arts.
Originally, she was rather concerned given that she might draw suspicion onto herself and ultimately reveal her secret, that she was a Successor of Demonic Arts, were she to make a move in the dark. However, since there was apparently another Successor of Demonic Arts, no one would suspect her if she were to devour the Sources of other young prodigies. Those who investigate would think it was Ying Shuang’s doing, and only look for him.
[As long as I am careful and stay away from the attention of the Elders, I’ll be fine. By then, Ying Shuang will be the one punished for everything.] Su Qingge revealed a contemplating look.
Due to her practice of the Forbidden Demonic Arts, her cultivation level was at least on par with that of the Unranked Disciples. Although she had been keeping it from Gu Changge, she had no idea for how much longer she could hide it, given that Gu Changge was too intelligent and no flaw could ever escape his eyes.
[Let’s hope that day will not come so soon.] Su Qingge lightly sighed. As her body flickered, she left her cave, advancing towards her target.
As of today, Immortal Academy had gathered the most outstanding young prodigies in Upper Realm. Each of the young prodigies possessed a distinctive bloodline and physique, and among these physiques, many unique ones caught Su Qingge’s interest. Ever since she got used to cultivating Forbidden Demonic Arts, she could never bring herself to cultivate the normal way again.
In the meantime, Gu Changge already sensed Su Qingge’s departure the instant she left her cave as he had something planted on her.
[Is she finally on the move?] He opened his fascination-filled eyes, having been waiting for Su Qingge to make a move. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to let Elder Mo notice her. And so, Gu Changge took a step forward and followed Su Qingge.
Nonetheless, before that, he took a detour to a mystic mountain in the depths of Immortal Academy. Within the mystic mountain, a spectacular palace stood, wherein Elders were holding a conference, before finding themselves baffled by Gu Changge’s visit.
“Young Master Changge, to what do we owe the pleasure in the middle of the night?” The Elders courteously greeted Gu Changge.
Hearing that, Gu Changge, seemingly helpless, replied, “Regarding the Successor of Demonic Arts, do you Elders have any lead?”
At once, the Elders’ faces froze in embarrassment. Even the atmosphere in the room grew awkward as they assumed Gu Changge was here to interrogate them. Despite being Elders of the Immortal Academy, they were not able to locate the slightest traces of the Successor of Demonic Arts, so they couldn’t help but feel ashamed about it.
Nevertheless, being among the Elders, Elder Mo tensed his brows, sensing something was up as he wondered whether Gu Changge had the means to locate the Successor of Demonic Arts. As such, Elder Mo grew distressed, worried that Gu Changge actually found something.
“Ah, it seems the Elders are as clueless as I am…” Gu Changge wasn’t at all surprised by the expression of the Elders.
Shaking his head, he added, “Honestly, after so pompously declaring that I will find the Successor of Demonic Arts in front of all my fellow disciples, I feel rather ashamed now as I am still unable to come up with anything, which is why I came to see whether the Elders have any leads.”
Upon those words, the Elders, including Elder Mo, felt relieved as they revealed a smile. They were quite appreciative of Gu Changge’s honesty that unshackled them from embarrassment.
“Ah, no wonder, Young Master Changge. The current Successor of Demonic Arts is truly cunning, leaving no tracks. Hence, it has been difficult for us, too, to come up with a strategy.”
“Indeed, thank you for your hard work, Young Master Changge.” A few Elders said while expressing their helplessness.
“Do not blame yourself, Young Master Changge. This matter is indeed problematic.” Put at ease, Elder Mo nodded his head. [No wonder Ying Shuang is so confident. It seems he was really did it with utmost caution. Even Gu Changge could discover nothing and had come over to ask for help. How relieving…]
“If it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t have come and troubled you Elders.” In response, Gu Changge heaved a sigh, appearing more frustrated, after which he continued, “Though, I do have an idea that may help us in locating the Successor of Demonic Arts, which sadly may rather be inconvenient and time-consuming, so I am wondering if any of the Elders have the time to lend me a hand in an organised search.”
“An organised search?” Elder Mo’s heart skipped a beat. What he feared the most eventually happened, and he couldn’t help but wonder why Gu Changge would go such a length.
“The wind is howling and the moon is dim tonight. If I were the Successor of Demonic Arts, I wouldn’t be forgoing such a perfect opportunity to strike,” Gu Changge confidently assured.
“About that, an organised search is indeed a hassle and very time-consuming, and it is definitely luck-dependent. What if the search ends up fruitless?” The Elders grew silent as they were obviously intimidated by the task and were reluctant to help.
“Then forget what I said.” Seeing that, Gu Changge wasn’t surprised either. With a condescending look, he was about to excuse himself.
On the other hand, the Elders felt awkward to hear that, but they remained silent as they had no intention of wasting their time and effort on an uncertain possibility.
Essentially, there were so many disciples in Immortal Academy, and none could tell whether the Successor of Demonic Arts would make a move during the organised search. Of course, there were too many uncertainties, as if they were picking a needle in a haystack.
However, since they didn’t even know when the Successor of Demonic Arts would attack, there was no way they could investigate, which was why the search was perceived as luck-dependent. Regardless, they were all impressed by Gu Changge’s determination, and he certainly earned his status as the number on in the younger generation.
“Please stop, Young Master Changge, why don’t I join you on your search tonight?” All of a sudden, Elder Mo suddenly suggested, as though he just made a difficult decision.
Disrupted by Gu Changge’s words, he now wondered whether Ying Shuang was actually going to strike tonight and he was worried that Ying Shuang might get apprehended by Gu Changge. Therefore, he decided to join Gu Changge’s search and perhaps he might be able to cover for Ying Shuang impromptu.
Shocked, the rest of the Elders peered at Elder Mo as they didn’t expect him to accept Gu Changge’s request.
“Oh? Then I shall thank you in all disciples’ stead, Elder Mo.” Carrying a subtle smile, Gu Changge seemed surprised, though he wasn’t really surprised at the slightest. As a matter of fact, his whole plan was to draw Elder Mo into volunteering, only for him to discover that Ying Shuang was a fake Successor of Demonic Arts. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to actualise his future plans.
“Don’t mention it, Young Master Changge. This is all for the sake of the disciples. Such a thing is of no trouble at all.” Elder Mo waved his hand and spoke with a righteous, generous look.
“Elder Mo, why don’t we split up? I’ll cover this area and you cover that. Whenever we’re finished, we shall rendezvous at the next region. Good?”
Later, Gu Changge and Elder Mo transformed into divine rainbows and arrived at the region where young prodigies were cultivating. After scanning the nearby mystic mountains, Gu Changge pointed at the region Su Qingge was heading as he smilingly suggested to Elder Mo.
“Certainly.” Elder Mo hesitated for a bit before nodding. He didn’t refuse as he was afraid that Gu Changge might suspect him.
And so, the two split up.
Carrying a perturbed expression, Elder Mo scanned the entire area with his divine sense during his search.
…
“Sun Hao, possessing the Frost Physique and the Frost Source, comes from the Ancient Sun Family…” Meanwhile, under the concealment of the night sky, Su Qingge swiftly arrived at a region where extremely giant mountains stood next to one another. The mountains were either glowing vibrantly or covered in exuberant aura and anomalies.
Fortunately, the land within the Immortal Academy was vast, and there was no one to be seen, especially in the middle of the night.
Furthermore, with her discreet movements and calculated timing, none would sense her presence at such a moment. In front of her, there was a cave between mountains, emitting colourful lights.
Once Su Qingge reached the location, her eyes were unusually cold and her face was still, much like a jade. She then stepped forward and knocked on the door of the cave naturally, triggering the array at the door and grabbing the attention of the young prodigy inside.
Sensing the disturbance, the young prodigy who was cultivating was confused and asked, “Who’s there in the middle of the night!?”
As he was no fool, he did not mindlessly open the cave, aware that the Successor of Demonic Arts had been active recently. Including him, many were on alert. Besides, a visitor late at night seemed highly uncanny to him, and it might even be the Successor of Demonic Arts who came to kill him.
“Senior Sun Hao, it’s me, Chen You…” Su Qingge said with a calm, vivid voice that resembled that of a young girl.
“What? Chen You?” Hearing that, the young prodigy in the cave was dazed as a bashful delicate face popped up in his mind, and he instantly wondered if his beloved Junior was going to reciprocate his feelings.
Earlier today, Sun Hao went to look for Chen You to confess his affection, only for the latter to run away. With that in mind, he came to a realisation and immediately grew thrilled and eager.
“Ah, there were too many eyes during the day. Chen You must have been shy. And now that there’s nobody at night, she decided to come to me…” The hesitation in his eyes thoroughly vanished. After all, the Successor of Demonic Arts was identified as a man, so his Junior, Chen You, mustn’t be it.
At the entrance of the cave, Su Qingge was calmly waiting for Sun Hao to open the door. She wasn’t surprised by his reaction since she had done her investigation beforehand.
Very soon, an excited, joyful face revealed itself and quickly froze upon seeing Su Qingge.
“W—Who are y—”
Alas, before he could finish, Su Qingge swung her delicate hand and gleams surged.
In that instant, Sun Hao could only feel the terrifying black gleams engulfing him as massive Grand Runes appeared, shifting into crystalline flowers that pierced their roots through his forehead and turning his Knowledge Sea completely dark. He didn’t even have the chance to defend himself as his whole Knowledge Sea was instantaneously stripped away.
Followingly, the flowers gradually sprouted and bloomed before a fruit filled with darkness grew out of it.
“Target acquired.” Su Qingge revealed a slight grin as she was about to harvest the dark fruit.
“Damn it! An Elder is here!” However, the next second, her expression drastically changed when she detected a divine sense as frightening as the might of the universe scanning the area before falling upon her. Instantly, her entire body trembled as she felt chills all over her body.
She was in dismay. [Why? I’ve calculated everything! There isn’t supposed to be an Elder tonight! My calculations were perfect, So why? Why is there an Elder!?”
“We’re finished. We’ve been discovered!” The other voice in her head was also shaking.
Subconsciously, Su Qingge thought of Gu Changge. If he were to discover her real identity, perhaps he, too, would be shocked.
*Whoosh!* High in the sky, Elder Mo was visibly stupefied as he couldn’t believe what he just saw and was confused by the female disciple’s ability to use Forbidden Demonic Arts. Naturally, he was knowledgeable about the Forbidden Demonic Arts as he was a member of the Cult of Demonic Arts, which was why he instantly recognised Su Qingge had used the Forbidden Demonic Arts.
[Impossible? Why is there a second Successor of Demonic Arts? Did I make a mistake? Impossible, there should only be one Successor of Demonic Arts in the world. Or is Ying Shuang just pretending to be one? Is he a fake?] Elder Mo’s emotions were speedily changing. He then took a step forward and landed from the sky, expressionlessly staring at Su Qingge.
In the meantime, Su Qingge’s face turn completely white as she grew anxious, but she was still forcing herself to remain composed.
[An expert in the Sacred Emperor Realm. He’s just right in front of me! Even with all my power, I wouldn’t be able to escape him, let alone fight him! I’m going to die today. I’m dead for sure!] With such thoughts, Su Qingge felt excruciatingly bitter as what happened today was totally outside her expectation. She was devastated. She felt too ashamed to face Gu Changge. After all, she, the Successor of Demonic Arts, who Gu Changge was constantly looking for was right beside him, continuously lying to him.
“Follow me.”
Nonetheless, what left Su Qingge absolutely bewildered was how the Elder before her did not do anything. Despite the change in his expression, he didn’t say much as he simply swung his arm, leading her out of the region.
“Keep what happened today a secret, or no one will be able to save you.” On another mountaintop, the figure of the two appeared, as Elder Mo sternly warned Su Qingge.
At that moment, Su Qingge was still puzzled as she had yet to realise what just happened. [Why did things turn out this way? Why didn’t the Elder attack me after discovering my identity? Why is he even telling me that he intends to help me?]
“Things are going to get ugly if Gu Changge notices…” Elder Mo’s expression changed again as things grew dire. Essentially, the suspicion on Su Qingge was too great to be washed away.
Right when Elder Mo was speaking, a divine rainbow appeared from another direction, and the person appearing from it was none other than Gu Changge, who was carrying a solemn expression.
“Elder Mo, it is as I expected, another disciple was attacked by the Successor of Demonic Arts. We were too late once again…” As Gu Changge was speaking, he sounded somewhat dazed, as if he was surprised to see Su Qingge appearing beside Elder Mo. “Qingge, why are you here?”
Then, as if he remembered something, he immediately grew silent.
“Young Master…” Su Qingge’s voice was shivering as she was extremely panicked and restless.
“Don’t worry, I’m here.” Gu Changge glanced at her before turning to Elder Mo as his voice grew deeper. “Elder Mo, there must be some kind of mistake. Qingge is one of my people. I assure you that she is by no means related to the Successor of Demonic Arts.”
Lol this guy is too smooth
That last phrase… Fifty style points to Slytherin o_O
Bruh Gu Changge is playing 4d chess fr
Many thanks
Hahaha
Many thanks
Many thanks 🙂