Hello, You're Such a Tease

After leaving Su Lake, the Fishing Elder traveled swiftly, maintaining the demeanor of a reclusive hermit while deliberately erasing his traces, and returned to Clear Water Village.

Once back in the village, he relaxed. This ambitious old man first went home to put away his belongings, and after resting until dusk, he couldn't help but rush out the door, jogging all the way to the vicinity of Bai Qiuran's courtyard.

Perhaps knowing he was coming, Bai Qiuran and Bai Li didn't even close the courtyard gate. The master and apprentice squatted on a rock near the curb, talking about something.

Therefore, they also saw the Fishing Elder running all the way here.

"The Fishing Elder."

Bai Li couldn't help but say to him, "You're so slutty."

How can you say that?

Bai Qiuran criticized, "His great wish is about to be fulfilled; if it were me, I wouldn't be able to resist being so flirtatious too."

"Ahem, I've lost my composure."

Upon hearing this, the old Fishing Elder blushed and coughed awkwardly.

But immediately, he couldn't help but ask Bai Li, "Huai Li, what should I do next?"

"Wait."

Bai Li calmly said, "Although you deliberately concealed your whereabouts on your way back, it will still be easy for the Emperor of Great Xia to mobilize the Imperial Court to find you. He should find Clear Water Village soon... When that time comes, he will send someone to invite you. You must politely refuse the first time, and continue to refuse until he is willing to come here in person to invite you to serve. Of course, if he comes in person the first time, you should still refuse."

"He's not going to just not come, is he?"

The Fishing Elder smacked his lips and asked.

"No, you are now one of the top martial artists in the world, and you have saved the lives of the royal family and important officials. If he doesn't come because of this, it means he lacks the magnanimity of a ruler. In that case, we might as well abandon this plan and push him to become emperor in the future."

Bai Li replied nonchalantly, "At worst, I'll just have to work harder and go back to my old ways... Just wait and see. After about two or three times, pretend you have no choice but to agree to his appointment. For a while after that, the Emperor of Great Xia will definitely value your opinion highly."

"What do you mean by overthrowing himself and becoming emperor?"

The Fishing Elder waved his hand and said, "Huai Li, you can't just say things like that."

"Tch, it's not like we haven't done it before."

Bai Li curled his lip in disdain and whispered.

In short, Fishing Elder, just do as he says.

Bai Qiuran patted his chest and assured him, "If you are unable to enter the court as an official, I will personally help you solve this problem."

"With the teacher's assurance, I feel at ease."

The Fishing Elder bowed to Bai Qiuran.

Just as Bai Li said, it wasn't long before the emperor's men found this place.

Bai Qiuran and the other two clearly sensed, through their Spiritual Sense, that the royal guards were sneaking around the village.

Although their martial arts skills were inferior to the Fishing Elder's, they successfully tracked down this place thanks to their powerful intelligence network and investigative abilities.

However, they did not act rashly. After confirming the Fishing Elder's residence, they quietly returned home.

Two days later, a grand procession arrived in Clear Water Village. It was the Emperor of Great Xia who came in person to invite the Fishing Elder to come out of the mountains.

Upon arriving at Clear Water Village and meeting the villagers, the emperor and his court officials were secretly alarmed.

Originally, Clear Water Village was a place where high-level martial arts Jianghu gathered after retiring. However, after Bai Qiuran came here, held Foundation Establishment Class, and spread the faith of the Foundation Establishment Heavenly Venerable, the martial arts cultivation of the villagers here quickly became higher.

The village's elders are now mostly at the highest level of Tenth Layer of the Qi Refining Stage, the most powerful martial arts in the world. Some villagers who were originally weaker have even increased their martial arts level by two or three levels in just a few months after paying homage to the Foundation Establishment Heavenly Venerable and participating in the Foundation Establishment Class.

Along his journey, the emperor encountered villagers who were almost all as strong as his elite Tiger Guards, the most elite Great Xia Imperial Clan.

It should be noted that even in the Great Xia Kingdom, the Tiger Guards only numbered three hundred. These Tiger Guards were all composed of High-Level True Persons at the Sixth Layer of the Qi Refining Stage, and were only responsible for protecting the safety of the Emperor and the Crown Prince. They did not even care about the Prince and concubines.

"I never imagined there was a place like this."

The emperor couldn't help but sigh to his close advisors.

"Your Majesty, Jianghu artists are most adept at using martial arts to break the law, should we...?"

A close advisor asked in a low voice.

"So, did the villagers here break the law with force?"

The Emperor of Great Xia countered with a question.

"No... no."

The close advisor hesitated.

"Then they will be my Subjects. I will not only treat them as Subjects, but also treat them well, until they neither help me nor my enemies."

The Emperor of Great Xia smiled mockingly.

"I don't want to end up like that fool Shangli next door, crippling myself and ruining my most powerful Sword God."

"Your Majesty is wise."

The emperor arrived in the village, but the villagers of Clear Water Village, upon seeing the emperor's entourage and knowing that it was the emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty in person, did not seem to show him much respect.

Given the age of these villagers, they had all lived through the chaos of war, and some were even remnants of the Previous Dynasty. Although the Great Xia Imperial Clan claimed to be divinely ordained and Son of Heaven, there might be some among these peasants who had dealt with the Great Xia's Founding Emperor back then. Therefore, the Great Xia emperor did not care about their disrespect.

Based on the intelligence relayed by the guards, the Emperor of Great Xia went straight to the Thatched Cottage where the Fishing Elder lived, but did not see anyone else.

Just then, a villager passed by. Seeing this, the Emperor of Great Xia quickly stopped him and asked, "Excuse me... could you please tell me where the old Fishing Elder's family is?"

"The Fishing Elder..."

The villager knew perfectly well that the man before him was the emperor, but pretended not to know, replying, "He's probably either in the Foundation Establishment Class learning Cultivation Technique or at the village ancestral hall worshipping the Foundation Establishment Heavenly Venerable."

"Fishing Elder worships gods?"

The Emperor of Great Xia was somewhat taken aback.

False gods and puppets are naturally not qualified for us to place our hopes on.

The villager replied, "But it's different if it's True God who can help people break through their limitations. Since believing in them can make you stronger, why not believe?"

After saying this, he cupped his hands in greeting to the Emperor of Great Xia, then left on his own to attend to his own affairs.

"Does anyone know what kind of Deity this [Foundation Establishment Heavenly Venerable] is?"

The Emperor of Great Xia looked somewhat wary and asked his guards and close advisors.

Having experienced the chaos of war and fought alongside his father, he naturally understood the cruelty and madness of the Blood's Delight Sect. He had even fought against them personally, so the Emperor of Great Xia was very wary of this belief that resembled that of the Blood's Delight Sect.

The courtiers and guards exchanged embarrassed glances, then could only awkwardly reply, "Your Majesty, we do not know... It is probably Religious Sect that has recently sprung up in this village."

"I don't know... Never mind, since I'm already here, I'll just have to see for myself."

The Emperor of Great Xia raised his hand and said, "Let's go, we'll go to the ancestral hall at the village entrance."