Chapter 122: Chapter 118: Top Ten Model Masters of the Demon Sect
In the blink of an eye, another year passed.
With more frequent contact and a deepening understanding, Du Youqian found his guard against this nominal master lowering bit by bit.
He began to genuinely accept her as his teacher and benefactor.
Feng Xiaoyi never forced him to compete for the position of True Successor Candidate, nor did she push him to fight to the death in Secret Realms. She even accepted his willingness to live a life of mediocrity.
A master like her was a rare find.
Alright, Feng Xiaoyi wasn’t without her flaws.
For example, she had countless male lovers, a debauched private life, and her reputation wasn’t particularly good.
But looking at it another way, she was practically a benevolent goddess, bestowing her ’charity’ on countless men!
Granted, she was sometimes capricious and would slaughter the innocent without cause.
But, I mean, she’s a woman. It’s normal for them to be a little sensitive, a little emotional, right?
It’s not like reaching Core Formation changes one’s gender.
Besides, it was also the fault of those male disciples who got killed. Why wasn’t your Cultivation higher?
Don’t you people know that even though Chun Xiao Master is quick to anger and kill, she gets a little sad afterward? She’s not some kind of demon, after all.
If your Cultivation were a bit higher and you weren’t so easy to kill, Chun Xiao Master wouldn’t have to be sad so often, right?
Alright, enough of this nonsense.
When it came down to it, in the Holy Blood Sect, Feng Xiaoyi’s way of doing things was actually the most normal.
She’s a Demon from the world’s number one Demon Sect. What more could you expect?
In any case, she hadn’t made a move on Du Youqian, right?
Although she would, out of habit, occasionally flirt with Du Youqian, she never got handsy, giving him a sufficient amount of respect.
That was enough.
On this day, the lesson ended.
Hai Tang came in to clean up, making eyes at Du Youqian. She even used the opportunity of turning around to brush her thigh and her shapely rear against him.
Du Youqian remained completely unfazed, like an old monk in meditation, as placid as a dry well.
Feng Xiaoyi also turned a blind eye to Hai Tang’s little maneuvers.
Although Hai Tang’s aptitude was ordinary—just a commonplace Middle Grade Spirit Root—she hadn’t been taken in as a disciple, only kept by Feng Xiaoyi’s side to handle miscellaneous tasks.
But in her eyes, the girl could be called "diligent."
When it came to ruthlessness, she had also learned a thing or two from her master.
Although Hai Tang could never be the one to inherit her mantle, she still hoped the girl could find a good place for herself.
Therefore, if Hai Tang could become "Yu Fei’s" Dao Companion, she would be happy to see it happen.
This disciple of hers, "Yu Fei," seemed ruthless but actually had a heart. He was reserved and savvy, habitually concealing his true abilities. Even if he possessed ten parts of strength, he would only ever reveal three.
In the Holy Sect, two kinds of people thrived the most and had the last laugh: one was unscrupulous and overwhelmingly powerful, so no one could do anything to them.
The other kind was Yu Fei’s type.
If Hai Tang could win Yu Fei’s heart, she certainly wouldn’t come out on the losing end.
However, Feng Xiaoyi had no intention of playing matchmaker.
Hai Tang had privately pleaded with her a few times, but she just laughed it off.
’What a joke. Do they really take me, Chun Xiao Master, for a matchmaker?’
"Yu Fei!"
"I am here," Du Youqian replied, hastily bowing.
He knew that Feng Xiaoyi was vain, cared about face, and liked a sense of ceremony.
Normally, he could be a bit playful to close the distance between them, but he also had to be careful to give her enough face and show her superficial respect.
’Never think that just because you’re close to her, you can neglect the details.’
’That was the path to ruin.’
Sure enough, Feng Xiaoyi completely bought it. The smile on her lips was faint, but her eyes showed extreme satisfaction.
"Your Cultivation... you’re about to break through, aren’t you?"
Du Youqian smiled. "Nothing escapes your eyes, Master. I expect to break through to the Foundation Establishment Second Layer in another month or two."
"Good! I knew I wasn’t wrong about you." Feng Xiaoyi made no effort to hide her admiration.
A Cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Stage needed to increase their Magical Power.
This was a slow, grinding process with no shortcuts.
It was possible for an ordinary Cultivator to be stuck at the Foundation Establishment First Layer for twenty or thirty years.
With a Middle Grade Fire-Wind Spirit Root like Du Youqian’s, his Cultivation speed was comparable to someone with an Upper Grade Spirit Root. Even so, without external aid and relying purely on arduous practice, it would still take about seven or eight years to break through to the second layer.
But Du Youqian had obtained all of Xi Mengran’s fortune.
Xi Mengran’s fortune wasn’t exceptionally vast, but covering the expenses of the Foundation Establishment Early Stage was a trivial matter for it.
Du Youqian was practically popping all kinds of high-quality Elixirs like jelly beans, as long as he was careful not to accumulate Elixir Poison.
In the eyes of outsiders, Du Youqian was ostentatiously wealthy.
In reality, Du Youqian refined most of his Elixirs himself.
He would find a Marketplace, rent a courtyard, and secretly practice Alchemy. This not only reduced his costs but also served to improve his proficiency.
With his current Cultivation, refining Tier Two Elixirs was more than ten times easier than when he was in the Zhongxuan Sect.
During the refining process, he constantly had new insights.
Back in the Zhongxuan Sect, his Magical Power had been insufficient. It had taken all his concentration just to manage refining Tier Two Elixirs, leaving no mental space for any new insights.
As a result, not only did he have a cheap and plentiful supply of Elixirs, but his Alchemy Dao, which had long since hit a bottleneck, also showed some slight progress.
Perhaps by the middle or late stage of Foundation Establishment, he could even attempt to break through to the Tier Three Alchemy Technique.
"Any small progress I’ve made is all thanks to your excellent guidance, Master."
’Does flattery cost Spiritual Jade?’
’Of course not.’
’Then I’d better lay it on, and lay it on thick!’
Feng Xiaoyi was grinning from ear to ear. She tapped Du Youqian’s forehead with a slender, fair finger that felt cool and delicate. "You little monkey, don’t you try these tricks on me. I’m not falling for your sweet talk."
Du Youqian put on a serious expression. "Master, my words come from the bottom of my heart. If you don’t believe me, feel free to perform a Soul Search."
"Alright, alright, let’s be serious," Feng Xiaoyi said with a wave of her hand. "I’ve suggested several times that you compete for the True Successor Candidate position, but you always fob me off. I know that’s not where your ambitions lie, but what are your plans for the future? Go on, tell me. Let me help you think it over."
Du Youqian looked at Feng Xiaoyi’s expression and quickly judged that she wasn’t testing him, but genuinely wanted to help him.
’What a master!’
’She could practically be a candidate for the Demon Sect’s Top Ten Model Masters!’
Du Youqian had, of course, considered his future prospects.
But if a top-tier bigshot like Feng Xiaoyi could offer a few words of guidance, it would surely save him decades of hard work.
When it was time to be thick-skinned, Du Youqian’s skin could definitely be as thick as a city wall.
He immediately bowed. "Master! I don’t want to compete to be a True Inheritor. The struggle is too brutal; the slightest misstep could mean death and the end of my Dao. But that doesn’t mean I lack the will to pursue the Dao. So, if there’s a good post somewhere—one where I can develop safely and steadily, hold a decent position in the Sect, and not lack for Cultivation resources—that’s where I’d most like to go."
"Pah!" Feng Xiaoyi looked like she wanted to spit at him. "If there were such a cushy post in the Sect, you should introduce it to me. I’d like to go too!"
Du Youqian laughed. "That’s simple. When I become the Sect Leader, I’ll just create a position like that for you, Master."
