Chapter 104: Innate Expert

The residence of Meng Lingyun was brightly lit.

Ma Suxuan and Meng Lingyun sat on opposite sides, neither speaking a word; the atmosphere appeared extremely awkward.

After a long while, Ma Suxuan finally spoke.

"Meng Lingyun, you spent so many years and failed to advance to the Innate Realm, instead becoming an old man. Do you think you've done right by me?"

She stared at Meng Lingyun, her eyes flickering.

Meng Lingyun felt awkward inside; how could he not know this? When he was young, his ambitions were higher than the sky, but now they were lower than the earth.

"Forget it, I won't demand anything of you. Since you have conceded to me, then besides helping you solve your troubles, I have come this time to take you back, and I will ensure you advance to the Innate Realm."

Ma Suxuan said this suddenly, her tone extremely overbearing.

"I am currently the Division Chief of the Bei'an Demon Suppression Division; Bei'an City cannot do without me." Old Man Meng said stubbornly.

"I am not asking for your opinion."

Ma Suxuan said softly.

Meng Lingyun's heart stiffened, knowing things had gone wrong. Although he was at the peak of the True Qi Realm, a Half-step Innate, and infinitely close to the Innate Realm, he could not defeat Ma Suxuan, who was a true Innate.

"Old Master Meng, I have an urgent matter to report."

Suddenly, Li Heng's figure appeared at the courtyard entrance. Seeing the awkward atmosphere between Meng Lingyun and Ma Suxuan, he remained expressionless and spoke thus.

He certainly didn't want to be a third wheel and disrupt the atmosphere.

The matter of the Yin Soldier army borrowing a path in the West City was truly no small matter. Right now, the Yin Soldiers were only borrowing the path and would not cause much trouble, but what if they encountered special Yin Soldiers who wanted to rest in Bei'an City and harvest living souls?

That could not be guaranteed!

"Li Heng, you're back. Come, sit, sit, sit."

Seeing Li Heng arrive, Meng Lingyun's eyes lit up as if he had seen reinforcements, and he displayed an extremely attentive expression.

Li Heng chuckled inwardly; it was the first time he had seen the old man so flustered—it seemed this was a case of one thing subduing another. However, on the surface, he remained calm and walked over to sit beside the two of them.

"Come, let me introduce you."

"This is the Second Division Chief of the Prefecture Demon Suppression Division, Ma Suxuan."

Meng Lingyun said happily.

"Greetings, Division Chief Ma." Li Heng said politely.

Ma Suxuan nodded slightly, a look of approval on her face. "So you are the Li Heng that Ling Yun mentioned? It seems he wasn't lying; you are indeed handsome. You look much better than that so-called adopted son he took in, and your cultivation is also higher than that so-called adopted son's."

"You don't need to be so formal in the future; just call me Aunt Xuan."

Clearly, she was very satisfied with Li Heng. At the end, she added another sentence, her words astonishing. "Li Heng, would you be willing to serve as the Division Chief of this Bei'an Demon Suppression Division? I think you are a very good successor."

Once these words were spoken, Li Heng was slightly startled.

Let him be the Division Chief of the Demon Suppression Division?

Meng Lingyun, sitting nearby, appeared somewhat embarrassed. Was Suxuan serious? After hesitating for a moment, he hurriedly spoke to explain. "Li Heng, don't take it seriously; Suxuan is just joking."

Naturally, he was not greedy for the power of the Demon Suppression Division, but he had his reasons for not wanting to leave. Not to mention, if he really agreed to Ma Suxuan and followed her away, wouldn't he become a man who lived off a woman?

He had been stubborn for decades, only to end up living off a woman?

No, he, Meng Lingyun, was a dignified tough guy; he could not live off a woman!

Ma Suxuan, however, began to laugh and shook her head slightly.

"I am not joking."

"Division Chief Meng Lingyun is advanced in years; it is time to retire and go back to the General Administration to enjoy life. How can he continue to linger here and block the path of progress for the young? Division Chief Meng, don't you agree?"

She looked at Meng Lingyun meaningfully.

Having been stubborn for so many years, now that he had conceded, he should have the awareness of a loser. Now that I want to manipulate you, I can manipulate you however I like, and you cannot resist...

Who told you not to be an Innate? Ma Suxuan smiled inwardly.

Upon hearing this, Li Heng's expression turned strange.

Why did he feel that this wasn't about forcing Meng Lingyun to abdicate, but rather about trying to pull an old lover who had gone astray back onto the right path? If anyone else said such things, given Old Master Meng's fiery temper, he would likely have started a fight instantly.

"Suxuan, stop joking."

"Li Heng is currently only at the peak of the Blood Exchange Realm. To serve as a county-level Demon Suppression Division Chief, one must at least be in the True Qi Realm. If you let him take office now, it clearly goes against the rules."

"Even if I agreed, others might not necessarily agree."

Meng Lingyun said with a bitter smile.

Ma Suxuan rolled her eyes at Meng Lingyun and continued to smile.

"He is already at the peak of the Blood Exchange Realm; with his talent, he will soon be able to advance to the True Qi Realm. What harm is there in being a little early? I have great confidence in him; he will surely achieve great things in the future."

Just after meeting him, Ma Suxuan had already given him a very high evaluation.

Meng Lingyun felt depressed inside.

You have only just met this kid Li Heng once, how do you know his talent? Could it be just because this kid is handsome? Even a few degrees more handsome than he was when he was young?

Is it really true that people who look good don't have bad talent?

"Then let's wait until I advance to the True Qi Realm to discuss it."

Li Heng suddenly spoke up and smiled slightly.

If he really let this couple keep arguing, it would likely be endless, and he was still waiting to report the matter of the West City Yin Soldiers. Right now, that was the important matter at hand.

"I previously accepted a mission to investigate the matter of the West City Yin Soldiers. Then I discovered a massive secret; there are Yin Soldiers borrowing a path..." Before the two could speak further, Li Heng immediately stated the information he had learned.

Originally, Ma Suxuan had wanted to persuade Li Heng a bit more. But upon hearing Li Heng's news, she immediately furrowed her brows, her expression becoming serious. Meng Lingyun, on the other hand, looked bewildered.

After listening, Ma Suxuan pondered for a long time, then sighed, and immediately spoke. "I didn't expect them to have already connected to this side. You don't need to worry about this matter, and we don't need to worry about it either; we can't handle it."

Ma Suxuan's attitude was very passive.

Li Heng felt a slight shock in his heart. Although Ma Suxuan seemed to have said nothing, from this attitude, one could see the gravity of the matter—could even the forces at the Prefecture not handle it?

It seems these Yin Soldiers really are the former armies of the Great Ming? Crawling out from various ancient battlefields, walking from the depths of death, and returning to the Present World? Then what exactly is their purpose?

Because of this matter, Ma Suxuan felt somewhat dispirited.

To have run to such a small place and unexpectedly still find traces of those fellows. And now, they are actually so bold as to use the Ghost Domain of a human city to march their troops? What on earth is His Majesty thinking?

She did not continue the previous topic, but instead recalled the child she had encountered at the Sanshan Gathering back then, as well as the Terror flame within that child's body.

Her words were filled with praise for that flame.

She almost boasted that it was something that existed only in heaven and not on earth.

"Ling Yun, although you haven't made any progress in so many years, you should still have some understanding of the surroundings of Bei'an City, right? I saw a child at that Sanshan Gathering before..."

She slowly recounted the things she had encountered.

"Do you recognize the Innate Expert behind him?"

In the end, he looked at Meng Lingyun expectantly, wanting to know an answer. However, it was a pity that he could only see a look of confusion in Meng Lingyun's eyes.

"Sigh, forget it, you really are ignorant of everything."

Ma Suxuan supported her forehead, feeling somewhat speechless. Had she known that Meng Lingyun had simply been drifting through life all these years, she should have cast aside her pride and brought him back then. It was fine now, he had wasted so many years of time, and in the end, he couldn't even advance to the Innate realm.

Li Heng, who heard this, had a rather strange expression.

So it was this matter?

Back then, he felt a connection with that child and did not erase the Sun True Fire Seed within his body, thinking that perhaps in the future, he could use this as an opportunity to guide him into the Dao, or perhaps protect him for a lifetime of peace.

Unexpectedly, it was seen by this Innate expert just like that?

With so many people at the Sanshan Gathering, she just happened to see him? That is absurd.

Could this be what is called Luck?

Also, when did he become an Innate Expert?

Meng Lingyun expressed that he was very innocent.

He didn't even want to go to a place like the Sanshan Gathering that was close to a demon seal, so how could he know anything about it? Not to mention that if it were an Innate Expert, that was not something he, a person in the True Qi Realm, could know about.

If he had known that an Innate Expert existed there, he would have long since run over there at the first opportunity to ask for guidance on the Innate Dao. How could he have ended up with such an overly thick accumulation due to practicing that cultivation technique?

And be unable to break through no matter what?

However, after thinking it over, he still decided to salvage his image in Ma Suxuan's heart, and then he pointed directly at Li Heng and said, "This kid went to the Sanshan Gathering before, perhaps he knows."

He looked at Li Heng expectantly, hoping this kid would be reliable.

Li Heng was slightly stunned.

Is it really okay to just pass this burden to him?

"You went to the Sanshan Gathering before?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Suxuan turned her expectant gaze toward Li Heng. If even Li Heng did not know, she planned to take some time to find that child surnamed Lu and ask him properly.

If she could get to know that expert behind the scenes, then the trip would not have been in vain.

That was a flame that even the Yang Extreme True Flame could not reach!

Li Heng nodded slightly, "I did go."

"The expert you mentioned, Aunt Xuan, I also know."

He did not intend to hide it, nor was there any need to hide it; his current strength was already enough to protect himself. Not to mention that as long as she went to ask Lu Dafu about such things, she should be able to guess the truth of the matter very quickly, so it was better to just say it now.

"Then who is that expert?" Ma Suxuan became even more expectant.

"Because... that expert is... myself."

Li Heng smiled slightly, and under the expectant gaze of the two, he said this sentence, which directly stunned them both.

"It's you? How is that possible." Ma Suxuan shook her head.

Although she believed that Li Heng would have a bright future and might even reach her realm, he was currently only in the Blood Exchange Realm, and strictly speaking, he was still a mortal body.

How could he possibly possess that kind of Terror flame?

"Why is it impossible?"

Li Heng smiled slightly, and a wisp of Sun True Fire rose on his finger. The firelight danced like an elf of the world, full of strange vitality, actually overpowering the lamp light covering the courtyard. In the night, it presented the radiance of the Sun!