Suddenly, Li Qingshan looked back with his teeth exposed and his face twisted, like an angered ape. No matter how fun and playful the ape demon usually seemed, it was still a demon born with a demonic nature. With his widened, orangey-yellow eyes, he stared at the two protectors.

  “You pieces of trash!”
The expressions of the two protectors changed. They were both renowned swordsmen, so when was the last time they were hit with such insults?

  Li Qingshan sneered. “What, you’re unconvinced? The path of the sword is a path of slaughter, yet you don’t even have the courage to kill, so what are you apart from pieces of trash? Are you going to capture all the enemies you encounter in the future and hand them over for me to deal with as well? Why’re you even practising the sword? You can piss off back home and pick up embroidery instead!”
The two protectors’ faces darkened and reddened. They said nothing. Both of them had claimed several dozen souls under their swords, so how could they be lacking the courage to kill him?

  “I know. This old bastard has some status, so you’re afraid. Not only are you pieces of trash, but you’re fools too! If you support me, then you should cast away any second thoughts and advance valiantly by my side. If you cannot bear the sight of me and want to kill me before stealing the White Ape Sword Classic, then there’s even more reason for you to butcher this old bastard so that you earn my trust. Your hesitance truly is laughable!”
“You’re in the right, manor lord. I understand where I’ve gone wrong!” “We definitely have no intentions of betrayal!”
The two protectors lowered their heads. From the moment the old man was thrown off the cliff, they had already developed a grievance with the Abstruse temple, so they were better off killing him resolutely and satisfying Li Qingshan. After all, after witnessing his extraordinary swordsmanship, it was impossible for them to give up and disperse. Now, they could only follow him down this path to the very end.

  Li Qingshan’s anger immediately vanished, now replaced by joy. “There’s nothing better than learning from your mistakes. At least I haven’t misjudged you. Your heart of the sword right now cannot even be considered as a sword embryo, which just happens to be in need of forging. Even the White Ape King could not achieve this. Waging war across the world with me is a heaven-sent opportunity. Try not to let it slip by.”
“Definitely not!”
“Alright, prepare to leave the mountain.” Li Qingshan waved his hand and turned towards Gu Yanying. “You organise them.”
Gu Yanying shrugged and went up to issue orders. In a few words, she mobilised everyone.

  Some went off to gather lumber and build sleighs. Some went off to dig up the granary and food. Some continued to put out the fire and gather precious treasures that could not be burned… In the end, she made the two protectors maintain order here and supervise everyone.

  She ensured that everything was fair and reasonable, ordered and methodical. On top of that, their tasks all linked up together perfectly, maximising their efficiency.

  She had spent so many years in the Ruyi commandery as the White Hawk commander, so a trifle like this obviously could not trip her up. However, it only filled everyone with admiration. With their strength and intelligence, perhaps they really can achieve something great!

  Li Qingshan stood to one side leisurely with his arms crossed.

  Gu Yanying said softly, “Qingshan, is this a little too intense? We could have taken our time with everyone.”
“If you don’t have such a bearing, how are you supposed to motivate everyone? A revolution isn’t a simple task. The heavens are watching every single act of man!”
Li Qingshan disagreed with that. With their unluckiness, even if they tried to take their time, it would only lead to endless accidents. In the end, they would still make an enemy out of the clans and sects with only a group of dishonourable scoundrels on their side. Compared to that, they were better off standing forward with their heads held high, winning over the public and riding the momentum into a satisfying battle with all their enemies.

  “I think all you have is a bearing. I really don’t know what you’ll do without me,” Gu Yanying said in exasperation.

  If they wanted to oppose all the clans and sects in the world, just Li Qingshan and his two fists definitely were not enough. They had to build a complete organisation and borrow strength from everything they could borrow from, expanding and strengthening like a snowball. The multitude of matters involved would definitely fall on her shoulders. She would have to consider and examine what the general public wanted too.

  “This is training for you.” Li Qingshan patted her shoulders. “If you want to go from a kun to a peng, you need to experience the violent undercurrent first and clash with the fierce winds and waves. Only then can you rise up into the heavens.”
“That does sound quite reasonable…” Gu Yanying could not help but sink into her thoughts, but when she noticed that Li Qingshan’s smile was identical to when he made mischief, she grumbled, “I actually almost believed you!”
“Whether you believe me or not is up to you, but I do have plenty of experience in this field.”
That was not a boast. Li Qingshan practised the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, which was to constantly comprehend the spirit behind each transformation. When he traversed through space, he had also comprehended the spirit of the kunpeng slightly. That was a breadth that could embrace everything in the world, yet it lacked the silence and forbearance of the spirit turtle. Instead, it was filled with a will to rise up high.

  Even if it dove deep into the ocean, it was for the sake of rising up into the heavens. Even when it relied on the seas and the skies to live, it wanted to break free from its binds. He took a great liking towards this spirit. As a matter of fact, he even felt slightly disappointed, as the figure of a kunpeng was not among the three remaining transformations.

  “Alright!” Gu Yanying was not a timid or overly cautious person either. It was only because she currently lacked strength and had just experienced a lightning storm that she became so cautious. Right now, Li Qingshan had ignited her fighting will again, so she said, “Then I’ll gamble with you!”
Before she had even finished saying that, the kunpeng feather in her clothes flashed gently as if it was responding to her.

  “How’s that? I wasn’t wrong, was I?” Li Qingshan smiled.

  “You’ve taught me something.” Gu Yanying bowed slightly. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. Hurry up and go down to the secret room to fetch everything.”
“Alright, alright!”
At the same time, a skinny, furious old man clung firmly onto a pine tree that grew horizontally from the cliff face. He was the elder of the Abstruse temple that Li Qingshan had tossed down, and his aura had instead become even greater than before.

  As it turned out, when he faced life-threatening danger this time, he had instead broken through his bottleneck and reached the eighth layer, breaking free from the seals on his pressure points in the process. He happened to encounter this tree half way down, which was why he managed to stay alive. However, he was still quite injured, so he refused to move around carelessly. He decided to make his way down the mountain once night arrived and return to the Abstruse temple.

  “The heavens are definitely helping me so that I can purge the evil and get revenge! Li Qingshan, just you wait!”
The sun reached its zenith, and all of the preparations were complete atop the mountain. They were only waiting for an order from Li Qingshan before setting off.

  Li Qingshan raised his arm high into the air. Right when he was about to formally announce they would be setting off, he suddenly sensed something and murmured to himself, “Looks like some people just don’t die when they fall off a cliff!”
“Manor lord, I had already sealed up all of that old bastard’s pressure points. He’s dead for sure!” the protector of the right said.

  “Not necessarily!”
Li Qingshan arrived by the cliff and took a close look. Sure enough, he discovered a figure halfway down the mountain through the hazy mist. He smiled. “What’d I say? Looks like I’ve become softhearted too. To think I didn’t kill him with my own hands!”
Afterwards, he looked around and picked up a boulder, tossing it down forcefully. He missed, so he went again with brimming interest.

  Everyone shivered in disgust. And that’s being softhearted!?

  A while later, there was a familiar cry, except it was much shorter this time.

  “I have to finish them off when I need to finish them off. I can’t be careless like this in the future!” Li Qingshan was satisfied. He flipped off the sky with his middle finger and waved his hand. “Let’s go!”