Chapter 99
Thank you to El and an anonymous reader for the Ko-fis!
Editor: Sahloknir
Rong Jue could clearly feel Shizun softening as he demonstrated how he was just as righteous and pure as before.
Overjoyed, he put extra effort into showing off in front of Shizun.
After the alliance between the demon realm and the cultivation world was finalized, Rong Jue, the demon lord, made his home in Chi Yun Sect. He didn’t give a damn about the rumours that were circulating outside.
Everyone fell into two groups regarding his behaviour.
The first said it was reasonable that Rong Jue felt a sense of duty towards the sect that raised him.
The second said that this lovesick demon lord was obviously gunning for his shizun, judging by the condition he added to the treaty.
Of course, it was also possible that both reasons factored into Rong Jue’s decision.
Even when the outside world made a kerfuffle about it, no one told the demon lord to go back to the demon realm.
After all, the demon realm was now allied with the cultivation world. If Rong Jue wanted to stay here, the people of the cultivation world couldn’t drive him away even if they wanted to.
Moreover...
No one could win against Rong Jue either.
This man just defied all logic. He was already as strong as an immortal cultivator, and he only became stronger after turning to demonic cultivation.
Why try when there was no chance of success?
Some disciples from the other sects used the excuse of visiting their friends to go to Chi Yun Sect and see the demon realm army. They were also hoping to catch a glimpse of the legendary demon lord.
After arriving, they learned that Chi Yun Sect had not even arranged a place for the demon lord to live.
Wow, no wonder they were the number one immortal sect.
They were still so regal and defiant in the face of overwhelming might.
Truly worthy of admiration.
When one particular disciple returned to his own sect, he let everyone know how much he admired Chi Yun Sect.
Chi Yun Sect, which suddenly gained a reputation for being fearless: “...”
Fearless my ass.
As soon as Rong Jue said he wanted to stay, Chi Yun Sect immediately arranged their best room for him. But then the demon lord said that was unnecessary!
Then he ran to Qing Jian Peak and camped out there on the floor.
What were they supposed to say at that point? “Oh, don’t chase after Supreme Elder Shi Qing anymore and come to the room we set up for you to rest”?
With Rong Jue’s power level, what were they supposed to do if he decided to beat them up?
But it would be too embarrassing to publicize the truth. What were they supposed to say at that point? “Oh, we didn’t give Rong Jue a room because we were afraid of being beaten up”?
So in the face of the rumours, Chi Yun Sect closed their eyes and played dead.
It was better to say that they were fearless than to say that they were afraid of being beaten up.
It was true that Rong Jue was sleeping on the floor.
To be precise, he wanted to sleep on the floor.
Of course, everyone knew that it was definitely not the floor he wanted to sleep with on.
It was Supreme Elder Shi Qing.
Alas, although the demon lord was cold, arrogant and overbearing to everyone else, he was like a pitiful little wolf dog in front of his Shizun.
The relationship between the two was also complicated by the Charm Pill. The supreme elder has gradually warmed up to this disciple of his again, but he refused to let Rong Jue stay in the same room as him due to the Charm Pill.
Immediately, Rong Jue knelt outside the house.
His movements were practised, crisp and natural.
He spoke very quietly in his deep voice.
“This disciple knows that Shizun has not yet forgiven me, and this disciple doesn’t want to be a nuisance either. But before, in the demon realm, I was&#k2026;I was scared. I find it hard to sleep these days, and nightmares plague my dreams. It has been so long since this disciple has had a restful night of sleep. I would not have come to ask to seek refuge with Shizun if I was not truly exhausted.”
His words were so earnest and his tone so sad that it broke the hearts of all who heard him.
If those demon cultivators who had died under his sword were to hear this, they would certainly be moved to bawl as well.
Rong Jue was so pitiful (and so good at acting) that the Supreme Elder Shi Qing finally could not bear it and let him in as he wished.
Due to this, Rong Jue finally got the hang of what he had to do to make Shizun’s heart soften towards him.
Shizun liked the pure and innocent person he was at the beginning.
That was fine.
The demon lord didn’t think it mattered in the slightest, for the man he used to be was still him in the end.
As he set up his bedding on the floor, Rong Jue ordered his army to go and do good deeds.
Preferably the kind that would let the whole world know that he, Demon Lord Rong Jue, was the kindest of people.
The demon soldiers: “...”
On this day, under the setting sun, the demon soldiers recalled who they were before they joined the army.
If they could go back in time, they would definitely give their past selves two big slaps.
What a fool they were!!
Out of all the things they could’ve done, why did they join the army?!!
While the dejected demon soldiers half-heartedly set out to complete their task, Rong Jue was pleased to note that Shizun was warming up to him.
The relationship between master and disciple was easing up at a speed visible to the naked eye.
And finally, on one fateful night...
Rong Jue was thinking with his eyes closed, “I heard that Zheng Han Sect has been hit by a disaster... Should I donate some money to show how kind I am?”
He suddenly heard a choked whimper.
It was Shizun!
His eyes snapped open. The darkness was not enough to obstruct the demon lord’s sight. He looked straight at the cloud bed, and the faintly flushed supreme elder resting there. Shi Qing’s moist, red lips were slightly open, and he was whimpering softly.
His small, pitiful sobs caused Rong Jue to subconsciously panic. He scrambled to his feet and approached the cloud bed to see what was wrong.
“Shizun?” the demon lord called out apprehensively.
Shi Qing did not reply.
Rong Jue looked carefully in the darkness again, only to find that Shi Qing was still asleep, albeit with restlessly twitching eyelashes.
Was Shizun...having a nightmare?
Rong Jue almost immediately knew that he was present in Shizun’s nightmare.
After all, everyone knew that Supreme Elder Shi Qing had never suffered since he was a child.
The only hardship he had suffered was the month that no one else knew about.
Rong Jue had imprisoned his Shizun in this house and forced him to...
No!
This couldn’t be!
“Shizun said that he didn’t blame me.” Rong Jue tried hard to convince himself.
But the next moment, the supreme elder on the cloud bed shivered and curled up into a ball under the blankets.
With moist, red lips slightly open, he shuddered and called out a person’s name...
“Rong Jue...”
It was like he was struck by a bolt of lightning on a clear day.
Rong Jue instantly paled as he froze in place.
The demon lord had never been so disgusted with himself.
Even though Shizun had stated that he did not blame him and had never scolded him a single time, this only made Rong Jue loathe himself more.
He had always been forcibly suppressing these feelings. He tried his best to please Shizun by playing the role of a devoted disciple.
But now, all Rong Jue could do was watch at Shizun’s bedside as the man cried softly due to his nightmares. His heart ached fiercely.
Shizun...
In the end, it seemed like Shizun hadn’t forgotten about the wounds a disciple like him had inflicted.
Yet he acted so shamelessly, wanting to stay by Shizun’s side despite what he had done. Rong Jue was even deluded enough to wish he and Shizun were cultivation partners.
But in reality, Shizun wanted nothing to do with him, even in his nightmares.
Rong Jue stood in place for a long time. His recent good mood had all but vanished in an instant.
How could he daydream about becoming cultivation partners with Shizun at this point in time?
He wasn’t worthy.
The demon lord clenched his fist tightly and slowly turned around...
However, the supreme elder behind him called out brokenly again, “Slow down a little...go slower, Rong Jue.”
Rong Jue was quite familiar with those words.
During that month, it was what Shizun had said the most.
He turned around sharply with constricted pupils.
With an almost trembling hand, he lifted the bedding.
After seeing the scene underneath, the demon lord froze once again.
Was Shizun actually having that kind of dream..?
Then when Shizun just called him...
Before Rong Jue could consider this further, Shi Qing blearily opened his eyes, still whimpering occasionally. His beautiful, dewy eyes seemed bewildered, but they calmed down as soon as they landed on Rong Jue.
As if he still thought he was in a dream, Shi Qing actually took the initiative to stretch out his thin, fair arms and wrapped them around Rong Jue’s neck, guiding the demon lord to fall onto the cloud bed.
Rong Jue: “!!!”
He could not speak or move because Shizun just voluntarily embraced him.
Like it had once done, the cloud bed accepted the two of them. One of them lowered the curtain. In the dark, Shi Qing’s choked sobs grew louder.
Three days later...
Shang Lu and Qiao Lingyu sat by the flowerbed, depressed.
“After disappearing for three days, they announced that they’re holding their cultivation partner ceremony soon.”
Qiao Lingyu sighed. “Er-shixiong, I think Shizun and Da-shixiong only have eyes for each other now. What am I supposed to do if I run into problems with my cultivation in the future?”
Shang Lu patted himself on the chest. “That‘s simple, just ask me.”
He was confident in teaching his shimei. “Don’t worry, Shimei. Although I’m not as talented as Da-shxiong, I should be able to answer all of your questions.”
Qiao Lingyu nodded, reassured. She suddenly clapped her hands. “Er-shixiong I have a question right now.”
Shang Lu nodded earnestly. “Tell me. I’ll definitely be able to answer.”
Qiao Lingyu blinked innocently. “After the cultivation partners ceremony is over, should we call Shizun sister-in-law or Da-shixiong mother-in-law?”
Shang Lu: “...”
Was it too late to take back his previous words?
****
“The demon lord becoming cultivation partners with Chi Yun Sect’s Qing Jian Peak supreme elder, Shi Qing, reflected the unification of the demonic realm and the cultivation world. Since then, more than 8000 years have passed, but the two factions continue to discard their old grudges and move forward together.”
On the podium, the teacher continued his lecture.
“Many students nowadays may not know that 8000 years ago, demonic and immortal cultivators had to fight when they crossed paths. Sometimes to the death. Not to mention sitting together in class like now, even meeting gazes was considered a provocation.”
“However! In that tense era on the brink of war, Rong Jue of Qing Jian Peak had to change to demonic cultivation due to an accident that destroyed his spiritual root. He ascended to the position of demon lord in just seven days, known as the Seven Day Battle. This is an important point for the exam, please write it down.”
“Okay, moving on, the demon realm at the time was still a feudal society, so the demon lord was equivalent to the emperor of the mortal realm. Rong Jue ascended to this position but he did not settle down there. Instead he chose to return to the cultivation world and sign an alliance with them.”
A demonic cultivator student interjected, “I know that already. My dad said that Rong Jue went to the cultivation world because he liked Supreme Elder Shi Qing.”
“My mom said the same thing.”
“So did my grandfather.”
“That is but a common misconception.” The teacher stopped the students’ words with a serious expression. “Everyone, we are not here to speculate on what happened. Let’s stick to the facts.”
“Rong Jue grew up in Chi Yun Sect and was taught by Supreme Elder Shi Qing from a young age. In his memoirs, it is detailed that Supreme Elder Shi Qing cared for him since he was a child and personally instructed him. It was also recorded how Supreme Elder Shi Qing was an unbelievably good person, would such a person lead Rong Jue down the wrong path?”
The teacher changed tack. “Speaking of which, this is another question that often pops up on the exam. Everyone, turn to page thirteen line two. Do you see where it says, “Supreme Elder Shi Qing is a person who is strict on himself and kind to others, how he treats the world with kindness and his disciples with sincerity? This usually appears as a fill in the blank question, so you all need to memorise it.”
A student raised his hand, “Teacher, all the immortal and demonic cultivators from 8000 years ago have already either fallen or ascended. Where did all this information come from?”
The teacher sighed. “From the memoirs of Rong Jue, of course.”
“Okay, let’s continue. In short, because Shi Qing was such a good person, Rong Jue did not go astray after becoming a demonic cultivator. Instead, he strove to save the demonic cultivators who committed all sorts of evil back then from themselves. Although those who practice demonic cultivation cannot ascend, it is the best choice for those with bad spiritual roots or none at all. By the way, the best example of this is how Rong Jue and Shi Qing were buried together after their deaths.
“Even demon lords cannot ascend. As for Supreme Elder Shi Qing, his spiritual root was not the best, nor was his cultivation high. He could only leave this world after expending his lifespan. But Rong Jue wrote in his memoirs that he and Shi Qing had anticipated that already. The two of them were even happy that they could leave together.”
“After all, it would be too cruel for fate to only take one out of this pair of notoriously loving cultivation partners.”
“In my personal opinion, Rong Jue and Shi Qing became cultivation partners because their three views were in alignment. They were both the kind to willingly sacrifice their own benefits to protect others. Of course, regarding how Rong Jue had always been secretly in love with his Shizun...there does seem to be some basis of that in history. For example, when the cultivation world signed the treaty with the demon realm, Rong Jue had asked to add a clause that masters and their disciples could also become cultivation partners...”
When some of the more mischievous students heard that, they whispered to one another. One spoke up, “My grandfather said that at the beginning, some of the demon cultivators wouldn’t change their ways and stop killing people. It was all thanks to Rong Jue’s emotional yet logical persuasion that the demon realm changed for the better. At that time, no one there would say anything bad about Rong Jue.”
His immortal cultivator deskmate snorted. “But my grandfather said that Rong Jue killed anyone who said a bad word about him.”
“That’s totally a lie! How could a good person like Rong Jue do that.”
“My grandfather said that Shi Qing was the good one.”
“Stop wasting your breath. Everyone knows that Shi Qing’s a good person. It’s clearly written in the history books.”
***
Back to when Shi Qing and Rong Jue closed their eyes together.
[Ding! Task complete! Please choose to either: 1. Continue onto the next task, or 2. Take a break.]
[Let’s continue.]
*****
Shi Qing opened his eyes. He saw a man in front of him.
This man was slender and handsome, but a tired frown adorned his face. When he noticed Shi Qing’s gaze, disgust and repulsion flashed in his eyes. “Shi Qing, you’ve gone too far this time.”
“You’d better curb those thoughts of yours from now on. Otherwise, you can get the hell out of Tan family once you graduate from university.”
Seeing Shi Qing staring at him with a pitifully bewildered expression, the man wrinkled his eyebrows. He quickly turned and walked out with big strides.
Shi Qing: [Father and son?]
The System cautiously emerged to offer a reminder: [Host, he’s not your father. You usually call him uncle since he hasn’t officially adopted you. According to Mo Jiang Quick Transmigration Bureau’s rules, we won’t place hosts in roles related to the protagonist. Otherwise, there’s a very high chance we’ll be blacklisted and locked in a small dark room.]
Shi Qing suddenly realized: [Uncle and nephew.]
[How exciting!]
Arc 8 complete! Next up is the little tsundere and his handsome CEO uncle!
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