Demon Willow Academy

The next morning.

Wang Duanshan and He Hong finally returned to the courtyard, only to find Lu Miaomiao and Xue Tianfei there. Everyone else was gone.

Wang Duanshan looked at Xue Tianfei, who was playing with Lu Miaomiao, and asked, "Where's Lu Qing'an?"

Xue Tianfei said, "He went over there to teach the two children some fighting techniques."

Wang Duanshan and He Hong nodded and flew in that direction. Before long, they saw Lu Qing'an standing in the sky, instructing Lu Zixuan and Sun Minzi as they sparred.

"You're back? Is the artifact-forging room finished?" Lu Qing'an looked at Wang Duanshan and He Hong as they flew over.

Wang Duanshan smiled. "It's finished. It's definitely an artifact-forging room that every artifact refiner in the Demon Domain-no, every artifact refiner on the Cangyun Continent-would love! And last night, the two of us old fellows carefully assessed the heavenfall divine metal you gave us. These are all blueprints for treasures we can forge from it. Pick ten!"

"As many as ten? Not bad." Hearing the number, Lu Qing'an's eyes flashed, and the corners of his mouth curled up.

"Haha, if we don't make armor, we can make a few more."

"Armor is a must. I need to get a set for my eldest daughter too."

Lu Qing'an took the blueprints the two men handed him and examined them carefully, eventually selecting ten.

"These ten, then. By the way, Old Wang, which power in the Demon Domain has a time treasure these days? I want to get one for my child," Lu Qing'an asked.

Actually, he wanted to see if Wang Duanshan had one. Such treasures were extremely difficult to forge, requiring a great many special materials and a complicated process.

Wang Duanshan was the strongest artifact refiner in the Demon Domain, so he might have one.

"Didn't you have a time treasure with a flow rate of one to a hundred back then? I don't have one, but a while ago, I spent many hundreds of years forging one especially for Demon Willow Academy. Its time flow rate is about the same as the one I forged for you back then. But I heard that, used together with their academy's guardian treasure, the Time-Reversing Demon Willow, it can reach a maximum of one to three hundred!" Wang Duanshan said.

"When I left the Demon Emperor Palace, I left that time treasure with the Devil Palace. I gave it to my disciple, and it's hard to ask for something back once you've given it away," Lu Qing'an said.

At those words, especially when he heard Lu Qing'an mention his "disciple," a well-concealed, meaningful look flashed through Wang Duanshan's aged eyes.

Beside them, Xiao Qingyi, who had also been watching the two children spar, reacted similarly. A trace of unusual emotion flashed in his eyes.

"I see. Then shall I take some time to forge another one for you? But as you know, it would be hard to make one quickly. The process is really troublesome, unlike weapons and armor, which are relatively familiar and simple to make," Wang Duanshan said.

"Forget it. I'll think of another way myself."

Lu Qing'an shook his head, then told the two men to work hard on the artifact refining before returning to the sky.

Xiao Qingyi turned to Lu Qing'an and smiled. "Both of them are fighting geniuses. One is your child, and the other is his child. They just lack the tempering of real combat."

"Old Xiao, I remember you sent several of your disciples to cultivate at Demon Willow Academy before. Your disciples are all doing quite well now, so you should have some connection with the academy's dean, right? Do you think it would be better if I sent the two children there to cultivate for a while, so they could spend more time with geniuses at their own level?" Lu Qing'an asked.

He had once raised a genius disciple in that same secluded manner. His disciple had grown very strong and successfully become an emperor at astonishing speed, obtaining an Emperor Position only slightly inferior to his Eternal Night Emperor Position.

But because that child had been raised solely under his guidance, his temperament was almost identical to Lu Qing'an's, and he carried an extremely strong air of slaughter.

And because he had not spent time with many geniuses of the same age and level, he was extremely withdrawn, had not a single friend, and hardly knew how to befriend others.

When Lu Qing'an no longer wanted to be the Demon Emperor, he had passed the position on to his disciple. The current Demon Emperor of the Demon Domain was his disciple.

From then on, he had been a hands-off boss. Once he was certain his disciple could handle the position of Demon Emperor, he had left a letter and departed the Demon Domain without a word...

Now that he had to raise two daughters, he honestly did not quite dare use his old methods again.

That was also one of the reasons he had promptly asked Sun Minzi to come along after meeting her.

At least his daughter would not be left without a single friend.

Xiao Qingyi said with great seriousness, "I think you absolutely must let the children meet more people!"

Seeing Xiao Qingyi's serious, resolute gaze, Lu Qing'an was a little surprised.

"All right. Take me to meet the dean of Demon Willow Academy when you have time."

"That's easy. Everyone else says that old fellow wanders like an idle cloud or a wild crane and is extremely hard to find. But I'm different. If I want to find him, it's very easy!" Xiao Qingyi said with a smile.

The dean of Demon Willow Academy was something of an oddity in the Demon Domain. Many people there had rather impatient tempers because they needed Demonic Qi to cultivate.

Those who were naturally fond of fighting were even more numerous than could be counted.

The dean of Demon Willow Academy, on the other hand, was renowned throughout the Demon Domain for his learning. His strength was naturally formidable as well, and he was one of the Demon Domain's ten foremost experts.

But he did not enjoy fighting. He was gentle, refined, and widely learned, and he had founded the unique Demon Willow Academy, using learning to convey the Dao and educate geniuses of all kinds from the Demon Domain.

Over the years, the Demon Domain experts who came out of Demon Willow Academy had spread throughout the domain like flowers in bloom.

Every one of these talented people was exceptional, possessing unique abilities and a broad outlook. They had brighter prospects than some Demon Domain experts who knew only how to fight and kill.

Even Lu Qing'an, who had proven his Dao through slaughter and become the Demon Domain's strongest Demon Emperor, had met the dean of Demon Willow Academy only once.

As the saying went, those who walked different paths could not work together.

He had proven his Dao through slaughter, making him precisely the kind of person the dean of Demon Willow Academy disliked most.

"Then help me find him, so the children can go cultivate at Demon Willow Academy from now on," Lu Qing'an said.

If he wanted the children to go out and meet more people, Demon Willow Academy was the best place. Unlike the major regions of the Demon Domain, it was not so dangerous and bloody, making it a fairly good choice for a newbie village.

Of course, he would also teach the children when they came home after studying at the academy.

That way, the children would progress faster.

"Then I'll get in touch with him." Xiao Qingyi smiled and nodded, telling Lu Qing'an not to worry.

About an hour passed.

Xiao Qingyi brought Lu Qing'an good news.

"I got in touch with him. He just happens to be planning a trip back to Demon Willow Academy. When are you free to come with me and corner him? Ahem, I mean, go and see him together..." Xiao Qingyi hastily corrected himself, looking embarrassed.

Corner him?

Why do I get the feeling you didn't get in touch with him...

"I'm always free," Lu Qing'an said.

"All right, then. We'll go as soon as it gets dark!" Xiao Qingyi narrowed his eyes and chuckled.

Lu Qing'an said, "..."

Why does something seem a little off about Old Xiao?