At the summit of Bluestone Mountain, Mingye wore luxurious black robes. Chongli had brought him clothes after his transformation was fully complete.
"Congratulations on becoming a Greater Yokai, Lord Mingye!"
Chongli bowed, his face beaming and his eyes alight with excitement. He could not stop grinning, barely able to contain himself.
"Mm, not bad. Your strength hasn't slipped over this past year."
Mingye slowly turned, his gaze piercing the void and seeing straight through Chongli. He nodded slightly, reasonably satisfied with Chongli's progress.
Improving his strength while recovering from his injuries was quite an achievement.
"It was all thanks to your cultivation method, my lord. It strengthened the power of my bloodline and allowed me to reach my current level!"
Chongli spoke gratefully. He had followed Mingye for only a little over two years, but those years had been ten thousand times better than all his earlier days.
He had once been weak, living at the very bottom of yokai society, liable to die at any moment.
After following Mingye, however, he had obtained a powerful, profound cultivation method that drew out the power of his calamity beast bloodline, making him a being feared by the yokai of the Western Country.
He owed all of this to Mingye. It was the grace of being given a new life, and Chongli was willing to sacrifice everything for him. Even his life was Mingye's to take.
"No matter how good the method is, you would never have made such progress without the will to train hard. Chongli, you've done very well."
Mingye patted Chongli's shoulder. He was in an excellent mood. With his very existence elevated to a higher level, his body felt better than ever.
Chongli grew excited. Lord Mingye had acknowledged him! That was a rare honor, one very few