You Are Called Changming

"..."

Other than Li Xin, who was still unconscious, Qi Jianzhu and the others all went blank with shock.

They had originally been worrying about what would happen to them next.

They had felt that being silenced forever was unlikely. After all, they had been teleported directly from Huayang Sect's teleportation array, and True Person Lingyang knew they had come to cause trouble for Wang Li.

But now that Wang Li had suddenly said this, they abruptly realized that these two people from Profound Heaven Sect seemed utterly unreasonable, impossible to judge by ordinary standards.

In that case, others might not kill to silence witnesses, but this person might.

"Fellow Daoist, what was your name again?" Having successfully stopped Qi Jianzhu from speaking, Wang Li thought for a moment and asked.

Several more flakes of frost seemed to fall from Qi Jianzhu's face. After some hesitation, he said, "Qi... Jianzhu."

"Qi Jian-zhu? Literally 'a simple pig'?" Wang Li frowned deeply and shook his head. "Remember this. From now on, when you are in front of me, you are called Qi Kai."

"Qi Kai?" A chill roiled through Qi Jianzhu's heart. He could not fathom the other man's train of thought at all.

"And you?" Wang Li's gaze fell on Yang Mei, who stood closest to him on the left.

The two female cultivators, Yang Mei and Shen Suzhen, had merely been struck by the power of talismans. The True Essence in their qi seas had been temporarily frozen. Though they looked rather bedraggled, their ordinary movements were unaffected.

The instant Yang Mei realized Wang Li was looking at her, her body trembled. "I..."

"I recognize you, so don't worry about what you were called before." Yet to everyone's surprise, Wang Li waved his hand impatiently. "From now on, in front of me, you will be called De Sheng."

"Qi Kai... De Sheng... Qi Kai De Sheng?" Only then did He Lingxiu, who had been silently watching from afar, finally understand Wang Li's train of thought.

Qi Jianzhu and Yang Mei both wore utterly bewildered expressions.

Wang Li lowered his head slightly and pondered seriously. "Then should the rest be called Smooth Sailing... or Great Fortune and Great Prosperity... or... forget it. Shun Xin Ru Yi."

"From now on, you will be called Ru Yi." Having made his decision, he pointed at Shen Suzhen and said this. Then he pointed at Shen Yu, who was still clutching his abdomen and struggling for breath, and said, "You are called Shun Xin."

"Qi Kai De Sheng, Shun Xin Ru Yi." Having bestowed four auspicious names in a row, Wang Li immediately felt rather satisfied, even a little intoxicated with himself.

"Then... what about him?" Qi Jianzhu's voice rang out.

He looked at Xu Xin, who lay unconscious on the ground.

He was the senior brother among them, and he had also taken the lead in begging True Person Lingyang to activate the teleportation array and send them here. Now, he feared Wang Li's thoughts were too bizarre. If Wang Li decided Xu Xin was superfluous and killed him, Qi Jianzhu would find it difficult to bear the blame even if he returned.

"Him?"

Wang Li glanced at Xu Xin without much hesitation. "He'll be called Changming."

Qi Jianzhu inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

He instinctively felt that Wang Li did not truly intend to kill them.

Although the demand that they change their names whenever they stood before him was indeed bizarre, and he had no idea whether it was the other man's unique method of humiliation, it still seemed more acceptable than dying here in such a stiflingly miserable fashion.

Now that he had time to recall what had just happened, he felt that the power of the other side's spells had not been especially great. Yet their methods of concealing their aura and confusing perception had been truly impossible to deal with. Most crucially, their casting speed was indeed astonishing.

Though he had previously relied on the superiority of his cultivation realm and had not regarded Wang Li as worthy of notice, he was not a fool. Though he still felt stifled and aggrieved, his mind was now clear: this person had certainly experienced many truly perilous battles to the death.

"Since this was a sparring match, it is perfectly normal for Qi Refining stage cultivators like us to consume some magical implements and accidentally drop a few things." After naming all five of them, Wang Li immediately felt that his luck had increased a little. In high spirits, he looked at Qi Jianzhu with a beaming smile and asked, "Did you drop anything? If you dropped quite a few things, I will not make things difficult for you, and you may leave."

"..."

Qi Jianzhu and the others were instantly speechless.

How could they fail to understand the meaning behind his words?

Other than the unconscious Xu Xin, Shen Yu and the others all looked eagerly at Qi Jianzhu.

It was obvious that they could not get away without handing over some benefits.

But as for exactly how much they should hand over, they hoped Qi Jianzhu would make the decision.

After all, though they had not brought much spirit sand, they had come prepared to cause trouble for Wang Li, so they had brought quite a few treasures and magical implements. If they had to leave all their treasures behind, they would truly have a difficult time explaining themselves after returning to Huayang Sect.

Qi Jianzhu wanted to cry but had no tears.

If he had to decide such matters again, then if punishment came down, he would once more be the most unfortunate one.

"Fellow Daoist... Wang Bihui."

Looking at Wang Li, Qi Jianzhu felt there still seemed to be room for negotiation. He simply gathered his courage and asked, "How much do you think it would be normal for us to drop in a place like this?"

"Oh?" Wang Li immediately gave him an approving look for his quick wit. "You can drop half your spirit sand. As for consumable magical implements and the like, you would certainly have used them all up here. As for treasures, though, those should not have been dropped."

Upon hearing this, Qi Jianzhu, Shen Yu, and the others all shuddered, their hearts overflowing with delight.

"Though of course, that includes what he has on him as well." At that moment, Wang Li pointed at the unconscious Xu Xin. "Though he is unconscious, the things on him should still be dropped."

"Of course." Qi Jianzhu felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted. If his body had not still been numb and unable to move, he would have immediately taken out Xu Xin's magical implements and half of his spirit sand.

Wang Li smiled as he cupped his hands toward the two female cultivators, Shen Suzhen and Yang Mei. "Then I must trouble Fellow Daoists De Sheng and Ru Yi to help pick up the dropped spirit sand and magical implements."

Only then did the two female cultivators from Huayang Sect understand the meaning in Wang Li's gaze. They lowered their heads. Faced with such an odd cultivator, they did not even dare entertain the thought of deliberately taking less spirit sand and fewer magical implements.

The two silently gathered half the spirit sand and all the consumable magical implements from the five of them, placing them separately into a spirit sand pouch and an implement pouch before handing them to Wang Li.

"Since that is the case, Fellow Daoists Qi Kai De Sheng, Shun Xin Ru Yi, and Fellow Daoist Changming, farewell!"

Wang Li took the two pouches without the slightest pause. As he spoke, his body was already flung toward the opposite bank by a whirlwind.

While his voice still echoed across this riverbank, his figure had already vanished. Yet several talismans activated among the five of them.

Qi Jianzhu and the others were horrified. Just as the thought that this man might still be planning to strike a fatal blow rose in their hearts, the power unleashed by those talismans washed over them like spring wind and gentle rain.

As those several different auras spread out, not only did the True Essence within Qi Jianzhu and the others begin to flow again, even Xu Xin, unconscious on the ground, had his blood and qi begin to circulate smoothly as he slowly awakened.

Qi Jianzhu looked toward the place where Wang Li had vanished, his expression incomparably complicated. His feelings were a mixed bag, containing every possible flavor.

Xu Xin woke up without any idea what had happened. He looked around in confusion. "What happened? That Wang..."

"Shut up!"

The moment the word Wang left his mouth, Qi Jianzhu and the others all reacted at once and shouted sternly, "Remember, when you see him in the future, you must address him as Fellow Daoist Wang Bihui! Remember, you are called Changming!"

Xu Xin stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

He felt that perhaps his head had suffered a heavy blow, and even his divine sense had been damaged.