The Academy Can't Set This Precedent

After leaving the Time-Reversing Demon Willow, Lu Qingxu returned to his residence and immediately took out a voice-transmission jade slip. He contacted the current Demon Emperor, the Demon Emperor Dugu, to report what he had seen.

"Demon Emperor, greetings. I encountered someone here who should interest you!" The moment the transmission connected, Lu Qingxu unconsciously put on a false smile as he made his report, even though he knew the other man couldn't see his expression.

Far away, somewhere in the central region of the Demon Domain.

The Demon Emperor Dugu sat upright in the depths of a grand hall. Demonic Qi surged around him like an abyss, his expression was cold as a blade, and all things fell silent wherever his gaze landed. He was like a god of slaughter descending upon the world, his oppressive might suffocating.

When he heard Lu Qingxu's message, the Demonic Qi around him suddenly seemed to riot, whirling madly as he cultivated.

"You're not lying?!"

He's back?!

"I wouldn't dare lie to you, Demon Emperor! He's with Xiao Qingyi, and he should still be at our Demon Willow Academy!"

"Good! I'll credit you with a great merit for this!"

After ending the transmission, the Demonic Qi around the Demon Emperor Dugu continued to churn wildly. He did not stop cultivating.

"Once I've cultivated another cycle, my cultivation and strength will rise another notch!"

He had waited far too long for this day!

Compared to back then, he was more than ten times stronger!

He should have surpassed him long ago!

"Lu Qing'an! Just you wait. I'll show you what I'm capable of..."

Dusk crept across the sky, staining it dim; demonic mist pressed down from above as night descended.

Lu Qing'an and his two companions waited until nightfall.

Only when the night was deep and still did Lu Qing'an and Xiao Qingyi open their closed eyes at the same time.

He's back!

"I sensed a very faint trace of his presence, but I can't be sure whether he's returned," Xiao Qingyi said.

Lu Qing'an nodded decisively. "It's him. It seems he knows we're here at Demon Willow Academy and deliberately concealed his presence when he came back. Apparently he doesn't want to see us. Come on, let's go meet him."

With that, the two flashed away, leaving Song Xu behind. In the blink of an eye, they arrived in front of a secluded courtyard in Demon Willow Academy.

A very special formation enveloped the front of the courtyard, and there were all sorts of other special formations nearby, making it easy to get lost and impossible to approach.

But to Lu Qing'an, who had grown several times stronger, those little tricks might as well not have existed.

"Fellow Daoist, aren't you coming out to greet your guests? Or should we let ourselves in?" Lu Qing'an called into the empty space ahead.

After a breath, a white-haired elder in white robes emerged from the courtyard, frowning. His ruddy face, with its kindly features, was now scrunched up in a most unhappy expression, as if he'd been forced to come out and do business.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, is that expression really necessary?" Xiao Qingyi complained openly when he saw Liu Xiyue's face.

Liu Xiyue said nothing. With a wave of one hand, he made all the formations vanish in an instant. Then, still without a word, he turned and entered the house.

Lu Qing'an and Xiao Qingyi entered the courtyard and followed him inside.

A candle flame flickered, leaving the hall somewhat dim.

Xiao Qingyi acted as though this wasn't his first visit and went straight to a seat.

"Say what you came to say. I have other things to attend to," Liu Xiyue said in a deep voice.

"You know who he is, right? I don't need to introduce him, do I?" Xiao Qingyi asked.

Liu Xiyue glanced at Lu Qing'an. He didn't need to look to know who it was. There weren't many people in the entire Demon Domain who could give him such a sense of danger.

Seeing Liu Xiyue's tacit acknowledgment, Xiao Qingyi was about to continue, but Lu Qing'an interrupted him.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, I'd like to trouble you with something," Lu Qing'an said. "Please do me a favor and let my daughter come to your Demon Willow Academy to cultivate."

Liu Xiyue hadn't expected Lu Qing'an to make such a request at all, and he froze for a moment.

This fellow had disappeared for over a thousand years, and now he had a daughter?

After recovering from his surprise, he answered decisively, "All right."

"Haha, you're a good man, Fellow Daoist Liu! Then we'll bring the child here tomorrow." Xiao Qingyi had thought Liu Xiyue was a hidebound old fossil who followed the rules to the letter, but he hadn't expected him to be as flexible as himself.

Then again, faced with Lu Qing'an, even someone who couldn't be flexible would have to be.

"Then many thanks, Fellow Daoist Liu." Lu Qing'an cupped his hands with a smile.

"Tomorrow won't do. The next assessment for new students won't be held for another three years. If she passes, she can naturally come here to cultivate," Liu Xiyue suddenly added after the two had finished speaking.

At those words, the entire courtyard abruptly fell silent.

The corner of Xiao Qingyi's mouth twitched. "Old Liu, that's not very decent of you. Are you playing with us?"

"Rules are rules. I've given the same answer to many of the Demon Domain's top factions and many Peak Great Emperor Realm experts. They have to pass the assessment to enter our academy," Liu Xiyue said, staring at the two men and enunciating every word.

"You really won't give us even this much face? Whatever you want, just name it," Xiao Qingyi said in a deep voice.

Liu Xiyue said solemnly, "I can't set that precedent."

Lu Qing'an stood up.

Xiao Qingyi jumped in fright and hurriedly grabbed him. "Don't! We're all on the same side!"

Liu Xiyue was startled too, and his confidence wavered, but he still relied on the foundation of his many years of cultivation to keep any fear from showing on his face.

"What are you thinking? Since this won't work, let's go back. My daughter must be missing me."

Lu Qing'an glanced at Xiao Qingyi, looking a little speechless.

Was he the kind of person who resorted to fighting and killing at the drop of a hat?

He then turned to Liu Xiyue, who looked calm at that moment, his expression unchanged as though Mount Tai could collapse before him. "Then I'll come back in three years."

A glimmer of surprise flashed through Liu Xiyue's weathered eyes.

Since when was the Eternal Night Demon Emperor so easy to talk to??

Xiao Qingyi blinked. He hadn't expected Lu Qing'an to leave just like that without doing anything, either.

He hurried after Lu Qing'an out of the courtyard and asked, "Are we really leaving just like this? Three years isn't long for us, but a child would miss out on a lot in that time. If there's really no other way, we don't have to kill him. We could just beat him up, couldn't we?"

Inside the house, Liu Xiyue heard Xiao Qingyi's words, and his old face twitched.

That old fellow!!

"If he cares that much about the rules, beating him won't help. I have an idea. This thing seems to want to eat something belonging to the Time-Reversing Demon Willow. If I secretly let it out, he won't be able to deal with it at all, given his strength. When the time comes, he might come begging me for help. If he doesn't, rules are dead things, and the tree should be too."

Xiao Qingyi looked at the mass of energy radiating a terrifying presence that Lu Qing'an had suddenly taken out and froze for a moment.

Uh, I thought you were really leaving!

Inside the house.

Liu Xiyue instantly felt a terrifying sense of danger that chilled his heart, and he focused all his perception on the mass of energy in Lu Qing'an's hand.

At once, he could sense an incredibly strong desire to devour radiating from it!

It was aimed straight at the Time-Reversing Demon Willow!

"Hehe, then let's secretly put this thing over there before we leave! Come on!" Xiao Qingyi glanced back furtively, yet didn't lower his voice in the slightest.

"Ahem! You two, please wait! I've just given it some thought. Actually, it seems some rules might perhaps be bent just a little."