Chapter 163 - 106: The Lawless Zhong Ming

"..."

Lin Qingqing clenched her fists at his words, but in the end, she said nothing.

The decision to become Ji Qingyue’s enemy was not hers to make.

Finally, she could only say through gritted teeth, "I hope you don’t regret the choice you made today."

As she finished speaking, her venomous eyes landed on Zhong Ming. Her attitude toward him was not nearly as civil. "Insulting our Qianqiu Valley comes with a price. You were lucky the Commandery Princess interfered and saved you this time..."

Before she could finish, Zhong Ming’s voice cut in.

"You’re all bark. The Commandery Princess was merciful and let you off the hook, but you won’t be so lucky next time!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Zhong Ming, from a minor sect, was threatening Lin Qingqing of Qianqiu Valley. This shocking reversal of roles left Lin Qingqing speechless, and the others all stared at Zhong Ming with peculiar expressions.

Even the ever-elegant Ji Qingyue felt the urge to facepalm.

’Lin Qingqing is certainly arrogant, but Zhong Ming... how is he even more brazen than she is!’

Ji Qingyue sighed, mentally exhausted. Lin Qingqing, however, started to laugh. For the first time, she understood that a person could truly laugh out of pure rage. "Heh, good. Very good. I’ll be waiting for next time to see how you plan on making me ’unlucky’!"

And with that, a seething Lin Qingqing departed.

After she left, the composure vanished from Ji Qingyue’s face, replaced by a mixture of worry and apology.

The next moment, she looked at Zhong Ming, her voice tinged with guilt. "I’m sorry. I failed to make a decision sooner and kept dragging things out with Qianqiu Valley. It’s my fault you got dragged into this."

"I’ll have someone move you and the other Cultivators from the Seven Profound Sect to a new station right next to mine. From now on, please be extra careful while you’re in the Prefecture City..."

Ji Qingyue said this because she was afraid Zhong Ming would be ambushed.

In truth, if Zhong Ming failed to secure a position as a Child of the Morning Star, even if he survived this incident in the Prefecture City, the world was about to fall into even greater chaos. Qianqiu Valley would still have plenty of opportunities to get their revenge.

This was also why the people backing Ji Qingyue, despite being furious at being insulted to their faces, dared not object.

They feared retaliation from a Major Sect.

Zhong Ming, however, wasn’t fazed in the slightest.

He was absolutely confident he could secure a spot as a Child of the Morning Star.

’Hmm... just being a Child of the Morning Star won’t be enough to escape a Major Sect’s retaliation. But once I get this position, and the Seven Profound Sect and I are prepared to pledge allegiance (temporarily) to Prince Qinghe’s Mansion, then the situation will be different.’

’At that point, I won’t just be a disciple of the Seven Profound Sect. I’ll be considered a member of Prince Qinghe’s Mansion—a top-tier genius among his retainers.’

’Trying to make a move against me then won’t be as simple as dealing with a disciple from a minor sect. It would be a slap in the face to Prince Qinghe himself.’

’As for whether Prince Qinghe will protect me...’

’Heh, if he didn’t have other plans, he wouldn’t have made such a big scene, nor would he have invited so many minor sects.’

’The Qinghe Heroes, the Thirteen Sons of the Morning Star, even a promise to help us get positions in the Immortal Dynasty... He’s doing everything he can to save himself, to protect his family’s status and power so they aren’t devoured like a piece of fat meat during the second impact.’

’At a time like this, he couldn’t possibly refuse the allegiance of a Child of the Morning Star.’

’Especially since the Seven Profound Sect behind me isn’t strong...’

’A Child of the Morning Star with the backing of a Major Sect will always favor their own sect when faced with a choice.’

’And those sects might plunder the resources of Prince Qinghe’s Mansion when the Immortal Dynasty’s order collapses and the imperial family’s influence wanes.’

’Under these circumstances, Prince Qinghe can’t possibly trust anyone from those Major Sects. He’d want to find others to counterbalance them—which explains this grand gathering of so many sects.’

’Come to think of it, in my past life, the emperors of old were always deeply wary of aristocratic clans and factions. They much preferred to employ people from humble origins who had no affiliations.’

’And I am precisely that type of genius from a humble background—someone with few ties, who seems both controllable and trustworthy.’

Of course, all of this was predicated on Zhong Ming being able to secure a spot as a Child of the Morning Star. Only that level of Talent would make Prince Qinghe see him in a different light and be willing to withstand the pressure from a Major Sect for his sake.

...

Because he was confident he could obtain the title of Child of the Morning Star, Zhong Ming wasn’t particularly afraid of Qianqiu Valley’s threats.

But Ji Qingyue didn’t know the source of Zhong Ming’s confidence, and she certainly didn’t believe he could actually secure a spot as a Child of the Morning Star.

Being kind-hearted, she was racking her brain, trying to figure out how to protect Zhong Ming from Qianqiu Valley’s persecution.

’The Demonic Fiend assault is imminent. It’s not just our Prince Qinghe’s Mansion that’s changing; the entire Immortal Dynasty is in flux... I remember the imperial court is forming a New Army next month. I could get Zhong Ming into the New Army. With an official position in the Immortal Dynasty, Qianqiu Valley wouldn’t dare to act rashly...’

Just as Ji Qingyue thought of a way to protect Zhong Ming, his next words left her completely stunned.

"You let her stand here and undermine your authority without decisively driving her away. For being so indecisive, you are, of course, at fault."

"I helped you by forcing this troublemaker away today, so in a way, I’ve done you a favor."

"Aren’t you going to show some gratitude to your benefactor?"

Zhong Ming’s posture—as if he had done the right thing and was now demanding a reward—left Ji Qingyue opening and closing her mouth, at a complete loss for words.

The onlookers were utterly speechless.

"No way, does he really think he deserves credit for this?"

"If it weren’t for him, Princess Qingyue wouldn’t have had a complete falling out with Qianqiu Valley..."

"I remember the whole reason the Commandery Princess was arguing with Lin Qingqing was because he was late in the first place, right...?"

Zhong Ming’s "arrogant" and "overbearing" personality left everyone at a loss.

Zhong Ming, too, seemed to realize that "demanding a reward for nothing" was a bit inappropriate.

So, the next moment, he puffed out his chest and declared with flamboyant confidence, "There’s another reason I want these resources. On this trip to the Star Moon Treasure Vault, I will definitely secure a spot as a Child of the Morning Star."

"Having a Child of the Morning Star fully supporting you would be a great help, wouldn’t it?"

"And for someone as powerful as myself, getting some resources in advance isn’t asking too much, is it?"

"..."

The assessment hadn’t even started, yet he was already arrogantly claiming a spot as a Child of the Morning Star. This time, even Ji Qingyue felt that Zhong Ming was getting a bit too conceited.

’The Zhong Ming from yesterday clearly wasn’t like this, was he?’

She wore an expression of someone questioning her life choices, which was exactly what Zhong Ming wanted.

Knowing he was bound to stand out and would soon become a thorn in the side of the Demons and Evil Spirits, Zhong Ming had been thinking about how to mitigate the risks he would face.

’I have to keep some trump cards hidden. Only with enough aces up my sleeve will I have a chance to turn the tables and kill my attacker, or at least escape, when they try to assassinate me.’

’I also need to put on a false personality... If, on top of my Talent, I also appear to be a deep and calculating schemer, I’ll definitely become a ’grave threat’ in the eyes of the Cultists and be placed at the top of their assassination list.’

’But if a talented person is an arrogant, conceited fool who looks down on everyone, that’s a different story.’

’Even if they are targeted for assassination, a genius like that would be put at the bottom of the list.’

’Besides, enemies will subconsciously underestimate an arrogant fool. They won’t design overly complex traps to kill him, which gives me an opening to exploit.’

’And no one would ever suspect that an arrogant, condescending guy would be hiding multiple trump cards.’

Zhong Ming took his own life very seriously.

As he prepared to acquire resources while also ensuring his own safety, he decided to put on a disguise.

He couldn’t be sure if this disguise would work, but it didn’t cost him anything, so there was no harm in trying.

’Besides, a condescending personality will also keep people from wronging me.’

To make his disguise more convincing, Zhong Ming tilted his head back slightly, adopting an air of supreme self-importance. "Are you worried about the upcoming results?"

"Don’t worry. I can’t speak for the past, but now that I’m here, your faction’s performance definitely won’t be poor!"

Zhong Ming’s words gave Ji Qingyue the urge to bury her face in her hands.

And when she remembered that this version of Zhong Ming was supposed to be her number one champion, the light nearly faded from her eyes.