Soaring the Heavens

Is she saying that bastard was the only capable person in the entire South Edict Manor? These words made Qin Weiwei’s teeth itch, and as she gnashed her teeth in hatred, she said, “This is no excuse for him to act as he pleases. Even if this was indeed the case, he still should have informed me beforehand.”

Yang Qing had a faint smile, as he turned around and asked, “If he had told you, would you have agreed to let him go to the Sea of Constellations?”

“I…..” Qin Weiwei could not deny it—she would definitely have disagreed to it—and so added, “Don’t tell me the Manor Head is planning on pretending as though this never happened?”

Yang Qing replied with a question of his own, “The place he is heading towards is the Sea of Constellations, what do you think about his odds of returning alive?”

“There’s only a small chance he’ll come back alive…” Qin Weiwei was suddenly shocked as she said this. That’s right! If the person in question died, then what was the point of taking advantage of this situation to exact her revenge on him? “What is Manor Head trying to say?”

“I’m not trying to say anything.” Yang Qing waved his hand slightly, then said, “If East Arrival Cave does encounter any sort of trouble, then you can do as you should to the guy, but of course, on the condition that he makes it back alive. If he doesn’t make it back by the end of the year when it would be time for the handover of the Orbs of Will, then you can make whatever arrangements you want to East Arrival Cave, but for now…. Weiwei, I want you to pretend you don’t know anything. Just keep one eye closed and the other open for now. Any news of this matter will be kept under wraps for the time being.”

This was the equivalent of giving Miao Yi another chance, and Qin Weiwei could only reply solemnly, “What if East Arrival City were to encounter some kind of trouble, and thus affected the handover of the Orbs of Will at the end of the year?”

Yang Qing indifferently answered, “I can still shoulder the loss of a hundred or so low-grade Orbs of Will.”

In the entire South Edict Manor, only he had the confidence to say such words. Without mentioning the other yields of Orbs of Will, every single manor had a major city with a population in the millions under the jurisdiction of the Manor Head. All things associated with the city under their jurisdiction would be the Manor Head’s taboo, as the thousands of Orbs of Will that were collected from the city belonged solely to the Manor Head and he could control it however he wished.

When one has reached a certain level, the higher-ups would not be so strict with the rules. They had to leave some autonomy for those subordinates, such as rewards and the like for good merits, otherwise how could they expect their subordinates keeping guard over a single domain to do their job?

Out of all the stages, those at the Cave Master level were the most pitiful; even though they could take out twenty percent of the Orbs of Will that were handed over every year, that was still only twenty orbs or so. In addition, they still had to take care of their subordinates.

The treatment of those at the Mountain Chieftain level was different. Although they could only take out ten percent of the gathered Orbs of Will, they still had ten abodes of Immortals under them, bringing it to a total of over a hundred Orbs of Will. Of course, the number of subordinates they had to take care of was increased as well, but they had a small city of a hundred thousand followers under their jurisdiction, and could use over a hundred Orbs of Will every year as they pleased.

Manor Heads also took ten percent out from the orbs handed over from those under their command, and had over a thousand Orbs of Will they could use to take care of their subordinates. In addition, they could have over a million people in the city under their jurisdiction, and thus could freely manage over a thousand Orbs of Will.

If one reached the Hall Master level, the difference was even greater. Disregarding the fact that they could take out over ten thousand Orbs of Will, they also had a subordinate city with five million people in it, and had the rights to control five thousand low-grade Orbs of Will every year as they pleased.

Palace Lords had a ten percent share every year, which equalled to a hundred thousand Orbs of Will. They also had a major subordinate city with up to ten million people, and had the authority to freely control over ten thousand low-grade Orbs of Will every year.

If one manages to become the Overlord of a single Earthly Branch Domain, just their annual share of ten percent reached figures of a million orbs, and under their command were ten major subordinate cities with a population of up to ten million—thus they could freely handle up to a hundred thousand Orbs of Will every year!

However, at every level the number of followers in the respective subordinate cities were strictly controlled, so one could not expand as they wished.

The Six Sages that stood at the apex of all living creatures didn’t have any subordinate cities, but even so they still had the Twelve Domain Overlords of the Earthly Branches. Furthermore, the Six Sages had the major share, being able to take out thirty percent, and if the Orbs of Will handed over every year from those under their command were to be converted to low-grade Orbs of Will, it would be a total of at least 36 million orbs. How frightening was that!

To a cultivator like Miao Yi, such an astronomical figure in Orbs of Will was something he could only dream about, and drool over in envy. However, to those cultivators that had reached such a realm, the amount of Orbs of Will they used up were even more colossal in number. In addition, the higher the cultivation the faster the refining speed, so they wouldn’t say it was too much to spend, only too little.

Since the Manor Head was actually willing to spend those Orbs of Will he could freely use to compensate for the possible loss, Qin Weiwei was unable to dispute the matter, and could only gnash her teeth in hatred and say, “What remarkable qualities does he possess for the Manor Head to be so willing to cover for him?”

“This isn’t covering up for him, it is only that I had treated him unfairly last time. When I kept one eye open and the other closed in regards to Xiong Xiao, I had already forced him on the path of no return. Compared to Xiong Xiao, he is at a complete disadvantage with not a single chance of victory, so if I bound his hands and feet on top of that, and shut him inside East Arrival Cave, it would undoubtedly be sending him to his death.” Yang Qing looked at Qin Weiwei and sighed, then added, “Weiwei, last time, after that incident between him and Xiong Xiao, I had already instructed Qing Ju to let him know in private, that so long as he has the ability, I will give him the opportunity. If he doesn’t, then that’s not my problem! You wouldn’t make me go back on my promise, right?”

Since he had already said this much, what else could Qin Weiwei argue about. She forced out a salutation of farewell, then turned around and left.

Yang Qing leaned on the railing as he stood. Gazing at the figure heading down the mountain, he sighed and asked, “Could she be angry with me?”

Qing Mei poured a cup of tea and placed it beside him, then said softly, “The young miss simply hasn’t thought things through for the time being.”

Besides Yang Qing, only Qing Mei and Qing Ju knew, that Qin Weiwei was actually Yang Qing’s biological daughter. Not even Qin Weiwei herself knew of this inner secret, and only believed that Yang Qing was her adoptive father.

In the world of cultivation, one was never afraid of having no enemies, so hiding this relationship benefited both parties.

“That little runt is as desperate as always. I just knew he wouldn’t sit around and wait for death, so I’ve always looked forward to how he was going to fight it out with Xiong Xiao. But I never could have imagined that he would actually dare to take such a risk by venturing into the Sea of Constellations. Do you two think he’ll make it back alive?” Yang Qing asked with his back facing the two of them.

Qing Ju frowned and shook her head. “I’m afraid the chances are slim.”

Yang Qing replied solemnly, “I don’t know why, but I’ve always felt like that brat won’t let himself die so easily…. I have now given him the chance, I hope he won’t disappoint me.”

Qing Ju smiled. “What aptitude and character does this Miao Yi possess for the Manor Head to think so highly of him?”

Yang Qing gazed towards the distance with melancholy, and slowly said, “Is the Sea of Constellations a place that everyone dares to enter? Besides him, I still can’t find another one just as courageous amongst my subordinates. Clearly understanding that a tiger dwells in the mountain, but still chooses to brave the mountain path. Just on account of him actually braving the Sea of Constellations, how could I not admire such a fearless disposition?”

To Miao Yi, the kind of reaction Qin Weiwei would have when she found out that he’d decided on his own to bring men over to the Sea of Constellations was something he could guess even with his butt. However, just as he’d mentioned to Yan Xiu, as long as he could return alive, with Yang Qing supporting him, Qin Weiwei wouldn’t be able to do anything to him.

People often found one another annoying, but could just as well have a sense of admiration for one another.

Qin Weiwei found Miao Yi annoying, Miao Yi also felt the same towards Qin Weiwei. Both of them hated each other.

Yet Yang Qing admired Miao Yi, and Miao Yi also felt that Yang Qing wasn’t a bad person. He had a certain degree of faith towards Yang Qing’s character. At times, a thing like faith was nothing more than a feeling.

But to the Miao Yi who had already mounted the tiger and couldn’t dismount, he couldn’t be bothered with so many things right now. Almost three months had passed on their journey at sea, and over the trip they had experienced raging storms and violent waves of various magnitudes. The journey was absolutely spine-chilling, and now they had finally entered the domain of the Sea of Constellations.