Chapter 247: The Petty Woman Who Repays Every Slight

"Imperial Preceptor, wait."

Ye Tinglan turned around; it was the Gu elder calling out from behind: "Imperial Preceptor... may I have a word in private?"

Ye Tinglan nodded, signaling Si Han to enter the hall himself, then followed the elder to the corner outside the hall.

The elder spoke in a deep voice: "Does the Imperial Preceptor know what he is doing?"

Ye Tinglan said coolly: "Then does Prince Dingxi know what he is doing?"

The elder was Gu Shaoli, the great-great-uncle of Gu Zhanting, Prince Dingxi of Great Qian. Years ago, he had failed to break through the barrier and nearly died; he barely managed to extend his life by piling up heavenly treasures and rare herbs to reach the Super Grade, but perhaps due to the forced breakthrough, he remained stuck at the initial stage, unable to advance even half a step no matter what heavenly treasures he consumed.

The Huangji Jingshi Sutra is a very special cultivation method; its power is boundless, majestic and domineering, swallowing mountains and rivers. However, it has no strength in the direction of health preservation, adding far less lifespan than other methods. Generally, if a method reaches Super Grade, it grants several hundred to nearly a thousand years of lifespan; if one specializes in health-preservation arts, it might even double. Yet the Huangji Jingshi Sutra, in this aspect, is actually half that of ordinary methods.

Truly, gain must be balanced by loss.

So many years have passed, and the lifespan Gu Shaoli barely scraped together by forcing a breakthrough is now running out. He usually cultivates in secret within the imperial hidden grounds, uninvolved in worldly affairs. This time, if not for the so-called "ancient bone dragon still active to this day" luring him out, he would belong to the type who asks about nothing and tells everyone to leave him alone.

Hearing Ye Tinglan's counter-question, he said coldly: "This King naturally knows. Abolish Si Han, install a puppet faction, and we can control Tianshuang."

"And then?"

"And then what? This is Great Qian's method to gain control of Tianshuang Kingdom at the smallest cost, without spilling a drop of blood! What more 'then' is needed?"

"Does Prince Dingxi mean he will station himself here permanently to manage Tianshuang?"

Gu Shaoli choked; he knew he could not possibly expend energy for some Great Qian cause. With only a few years left to live, not pursuing life extension, but instead pouring his heart and blood for Great Qian? The empire is not mine; either you, Gu Zhanting, pass the throne to my descendants, or I might reluctantly keep some interest.

But verbally he still had to say: "It is not impossible for me to station myself here."

Ye Tinglan revealed a mocking smile: "How many years can you stay?"

Gu Shaoli: "..."

It felt like being scolded. Especially paired with Ye Tinglan's mocking gaze, it was particularly hard to maintain composure.

"Even if Prince Dingxi is willing to station himself here, he may overestimate his own deterrent power," Ye Tinglan said coldly. "Tianshuang Kingdom has sects like Lin Li, and its people are fierce. Trying to control this land with a useless puppet is far too presumptuous... Seeing that even the high ranks of Yingyue Sect dared today to form an array with just a single sect's power to resist, even if Prince Dingxi suppresses this campaign, the troubles in the future will be endless. I see Prince Dingxi, having expended all his effort, can at most control one Yingyue Sect, and that too is an Yingyue Sect seething with rebellion. How can one even speak of controlling Tianshuang?"

Gu Shaoli said: "Then according to the Imperial Preceptor's meaning, you would instead support Si Han? Is it not better to simply help him unify Tianshuang? What a joke! You are making enemies for Great Qian; do you still consider yourself Great Qian's Imperial Preceptor!"

Ye Tinglan smiled slightly.

Cultivation holy lands do not involve themselves in worldly affairs; in their eyes, there are truly not many distinctions between nations. The reason they have become so deeply entangled with Great Qian is twofold: first, because the founding ancestor of the sect back then was a partner of the Gu family in establishing the dynasty; small partners together eradicated evil in the world, one building a dynasty and the other building a immortal gate, which counts as a fine tale; second, mainly because Great Qian is the secular main force resisting the demon race, so the two have maintained such a partnership for a long time—Great Qian needs the Tianyao Holy Land, and the Tianyao Holy Land needs Great Qian.

Therefore, disciples of the Tianyao Holy Land are heavily deployed in the army, for the purpose of resisting demons. Few of the successive sect masters have personally gone to serve as Imperial Preceptor, as it lowers one's status and affects cultivation.

The reason Ye Tinglan personally took the position was first to better coordinate with the battle ten years ago, and later because he noticed Gu Zhanting was acting somewhat inhuman; to check him up close and grasp the pulse of the world up close, not to protect his Gu family dynasty.

In the game between the two sides, it was a relationship of both cooperation and opposition; originally, he felt the situation was awkward and the path ahead unclear. Lu Xingzhou's words, "not just a holy land for one nation of Great Qian," almost cleared the clouds to reveal the sun, making the world suddenly wide.

Gu Shaoli's question, "Do you still consider yourself Great Qian's Imperial Preceptor," caused Ye Tinglan absolutely no harm.

Did you really think this Seat was your Gu family's subject or something?

"Is it not Your Majesty himself who is making enemies for Great Qian?" Ye Tinglan said coldly. "Is it not Gu Zhanting who helped Si Han obtain the bone dragon and assisted him in unifying Tianshuang?"

Speaking of this, Gu Shaoli felt somewhat displeased, but still said: "The Imperial Preceptor has no evidence; how can you say Si Han's bone dragon was obtained with the Emperor's help? That might well be something Si Han achieved himself; Your Majesty's series of arrangements were precisely to seize the bone dragon."

"Ha..." Ye Tinglan sneered: "So when Prince Dingxi attacked this Seat, was it because Prince Dingxi privately holds a grudge against this Seat?"

Gu Shaoli had already prepared an explanation for this matter and hurriedly said: "Misunderstanding, misunderstanding! At that time, this King's attack was directed at the Demon Emperor; the situation was chaotic, and perhaps it caused the Imperial Preceptor to misunderstand."

Because Lu Xingzhou had reminded him, Ye Tinglan had flashed away in advance; that strike indeed did not even graze Ye Tinglan, with the entire clash involving Gu Shaoli, Long Qinghuang, and Si Han's bone dragon. At this point, if one insists on saying who that strike was truly aimed at, it is truly unclear.

Ye Tinglan said coolly: "If this Seat had truly been injured at that time, Your Majesty would certainly have said later that it was Prince Dingxi, in his frenzy to seize the bone dragon, attacking friend and foe indiscriminately, while he knew nothing about it."

Gu Shaoli was stunned for a moment, his expression changing slightly.

Ye Tinglan had applied eye medicine and did not continue to argue this topic. Gu Zhanting had cleared himself of everything, appearing completely uninvolved; arguing would not clarify anything, and forcing a break now was not the right time.

So he changed the subject: "This Seat's emergence from seclusion holds major significance in dealing with the demon race. Regarding the demon race issue, a Tianshuang Kingdom capable of maintaining the strength of past sect alliances is far more useful than a Tianshuang Kingdom turned into a scattered mess by supporting a puppet; this is the big picture."

Gu Shaoli said: "But the threat this poses to Great Qian..."

"As for the so-called threat Tianshuang Kingdom poses to Great Qian... Tianshuang Kingdom's strength is already far inferior to Great Qian, and it is remote and desolate. Si Han has established a kingdom for so many years without any conflict with Great Qian; why suddenly now? Why is there a threat? Don't you have a clue?" Gu Shaoli fell silent.

Ye Tinglan said coldly: "Inside Tianshuang Kingdom, it is not all peaceful either; Yingyue Sect is not the sole dominant power; Tingxue Pavilion and other sects like Lin Li are watching hungrily. If Si Han merely organizes resistance against demons, that is one thing; if he organizes to fight Great Qian, Great Qian has countless methods to turn other sects against him; what threat could there be? Prince Dingxi should not properly enjoy his remaining years; why come to this cold, harsh land to worry and toil?"

Gu Shaoli remained silent for a long time, finally clasping his hands: "This King does not involve himself in court politics in daily life and is not so clear on these matters. Since the Imperial Preceptor has made a decision, we shall act according to the Imperial Preceptor's thoughts. This King will depart first."

Seeing Gu Shaoli turn to leave, Ye Tinglan suddenly said: "Wait."

Gu Shaoli stopped: "Does the Imperial Preceptor have anything else?"

Ye Tinglan looked up at the sky: "This Seat will also make a move against the Demon Emperor."

Gu Shaoli: "?"

Before he could react, Ye Tinglan suddenly pushed a palm flat, striking straight at Gu Shaoli's chest.

How could Gu Shaoli have expected Ye Tinglan to suddenly attack him? Taken completely off guard, he tried to block, but how could he withstand Ye Tinglan's attack that had been gathering power for so long?

With a "Bang," Gu Shaoli spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his whole body flying up as if riding clouds, crashing loudly into the mountain rock behind him and into a deep pit.

"You... you..." Gu Shaoli barely crawled out of the pit, trembling as he pointed at Ye Tinglan: "You..."

Ye Tinglan said calmly: "I indeed saw the Demon Emperor's divine descent just now. If this Seat had not acted, Prince Dingxi would already have been injured by the Demon Emperor. No need to thank me."

Gu Shaoli, both injured and in pain, felt that the few years of lifespan he had left were cut in half by this palm strike; he was so angry he vomited another mouthful of blood.

Everyone says the Imperial Preceptor can endure greatly for the sake of the big picture; what is with this small woman who repays every slight?

In the end, since it was he who attacked first in the glacier, he could only swallow this silent loss now, unable to even leave a single harsh word, and angrily flew away on clouds, disappearing without a trace in an instant.

Lu Xingzhou emerged from behind the hall, smiling at Ye Tinglan.

Ye Tinglan's expression of indifference quickly failed to hold; she rolled her eyes: "What are you laughing at!"

"Nothing; seeing you willing to step out and beat him up comforts my heart greatly."

"Do you take me for some submissive little wife?"

"I almost thought you were."

Ye Tinglan was silent for a while, then sighed: "I just... did not want internal strife within the Qian Emperor, letting the demon race profit for nothing. But since he has already played his schemes against me, how could I endure in silence?"

"But in fact, there is truly no evidence; even that traitor from your Tianyao Holy Land may not have direct proof that Gu Zhanting ordered it. Everything is my analysis and speculation; what if I am wrong?"

Ye Tinglan looked at him for a while, then smiled slightly: "You predicted the development of events entirely correctly, so that root cause cannot be wrong. Moreover..."

"Hm?"

Ye Tinglan tilted his head slightly: "I believe you."

Lu Xingzhou blinked.

Ye Tinglan said, slightly sullen: "What are you standing there for? Enter the hall and talk."

Lu Xingzhou sighed: "What's the rush? You haven't even wiped your ass clean."

Ye Tinglan: "?"

"You said something right just now—Yingyue Sect isn't the only power; Tingxue Pavilion and other sects are watching closely. That's the source of your confidence in controlling Si Han, isn't it?"

"Isn't it?"

"That's true—but what if Tingxue Pavilion is gone?"

Ye Tinglan paused: "How could that be? I've been here the whole time—I sensed no sign that Yingyue Sect sent anyone out to hunt them down."

"Si Han is the sovereign, not merely the head of Yingyue Sect. He's built his influence over many years—his resources certainly aren't limited to his own sect... Worst case, there might even be demonic sects involved." Lu Xingzhou said: "If you can spirit-travel, find a way to rescue the Tingxue Pavilion leader and his party. To become the holy site of Tianshuang Nation, it's not enough to merely grant favors to the sovereign—you have much more to do."

(End of chapter)