Young Master Means More Than My Life

Steady, don't get worked up.

The cheat is great, but I have to use it well.

I'm still just a piece of trash with a deadly poison in my body.

Lu Yuan composed himself and immediately chose to perform a basic copy on Qing Lin.

For both copying and plundering, basic represented twenty percent, intermediate forty percent, advanced sixty percent, supreme eighty percent, and perfection one hundred percent.

Copy: randomly obtain any one of a person of fortune's physique, Dou Qi attribute, soul power, cultivation experience with Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills, cultivation, and so on, as listed in the registry. After reaching the advanced level, a random copy could be performed once a year, without causing any harm to the person of fortune.

Plunder: obtain everything a person of fortune possessed, including their physique, Dou Qi attribute, soul power, cultivation experience with Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills, and cultivation, as listed in the registry. After plundering, everything the person of fortune possessed would vanish completely.

The two methods were different, and so were their benefits and accompanying drawbacks.

Copying offered far fewer benefits than plundering, but it could provide a long, steady flow.

Plundering could bring a comprehensive harvest all at once, but it was like draining a pond to catch the fish. Once the plundering was done, there would be nothing left.

For his own people, Lu Yuan chose to copy without hesitation, but he could choose to plunder enemies in the future. He couldn't spare his enemies just to cast a long line for a big fish.

[Basic copy successful. Obtained twenty percent of the Heavenly Snake Great Emperor Bloodline (atavistic)]

"Hiss."

A cold, dark force surged from the depths of his bloodline and spread through his limbs and bones.

Obtaining twenty percent of Qing Lin's Heavenly Snake Great Emperor Bloodline did not mean his own bloodline changed into something else. Instead, the source of that portion of bloodline power fused into his own bloodline for his use, rather than replacing it.

In short, a trace of the special power found only in the descendants of the Heavenly Snake Great Emperor had fused into Lu Yuan's bloodline.

"Rounding up, does a fifth-grade like me count as an Emperor Clan descendant now?" A trace of green light flashed in Lu Yuan's eyes.

He had originally cultivated pure Lightning Attribute Dou Qi. Having fused with twenty percent of Qing Lin's Heavenly Snake Great Emperor Bloodline, he would very likely gain a yin Dou Qi attribute as well.

That wasn't all. The bloodline power also brought changes to his body.

A wisp of dark blue power tinged with green was circulating through his meridians at an astonishing pace.

At first, it was no more than a trickle, but it circulated faster and faster until it gathered in his dantian, drawing along the Dou Qi remaining in his body.

The thick, grayish-black toxins lodged in his dantian were partly washed away by this energy. Though they did not disappear completely, they had clearly grown fainter.

As the energy washed through them, the walls of his meridians also became tougher, faintly gleaming with a pale green sheen.

When one complete cycle was finished, he felt that the Dou Qi in his body had become more condensed.

"Seventh Stage Dou Qi." Lu Yuan's heart leaped with joy.

He had actually recovered to the Seventh Stage Dou Qi.

According to the Lu Clan's rules, anyone who had reached at least the Seventh Stage Dou Qi at their coming-of-age ceremony could remain in the clan and cultivate until the age of twenty.

If he returned to the Lu Clan now, with his father, the clan leader Lu Tong Xuan, backing him, he could stay and continue cultivating instead of being sent away.

But that thought did not linger in Lu Yuan's mind for even a second. Instead, he was even more eager to go to Qingshan Town.

Even a basic copy from Qing Lin gave me this much. What about Xiao Yi Xian?

Xiao Yi Xian had the Woeful Poison Body.

All the poisons under heaven were nothing more than nourishment to the Woeful Poison Body.

If he could copy twenty percent of the Woeful Poison Body, the little bit of residual poison in him would no longer be poison, but an excellent supplement for cultivation.

As for the hidden danger of countless poisons devouring the body that came with possessing the Woeful Poison Body, he could simply choose to copy only twenty percent, or forty percent at most. That should be enough to make him immune to all poisons without losing control.

Even if something did go wrong, he could use the Poison Pill Method to reshape his physique and completely eliminate the hidden danger.

"Young Master, what's wrong?"

Seeing Lu Yuan's body go rigid, Qing Lin looked at him with eyes full of worry.

"I'm fine." Lu Yuan reined in his emotions and said with a smile, "Qing Lin, your young master's cultivation failed the assessment, and the clan has sent me away. I've come to take you with me."

At his words, Qing Lin's emerald eyes lit up, her heart filled with nothing but joy. "Then can Qing Lin stay by Young Master's side from now on?"

"Yes." Lu Yuan nodded slightly, his gaze gentle. "From now on, it'll be just the two of us relying on each other. I didn't even bring a maid or a guard."

"Ahem." An old man's voice came from outside the door.

Lu Yuan's lips twitched, and he added, "Not two, three. There's Uncle Zhang too."

Qing Lin nodded like a chick pecking at grain. "Young Master, Qing Lin will always follow you. You didn't bring a maid, but you have me. You didn't bring a guard, but I can guard you. Qing Lin will cultivate diligently and protect Young Master in the future."

"Silly girl." Lu Yuan hugged Qing Lin tightly, then took her hand. "Come on, let's set off for Qingshan Town."

Lu Yuan helped Qing Lin into the carriage, and Uncle Zhang raised his long whip.

"Crack!"

The wheels rumbled, and they soon left Salt City, leaving its clamor farther and farther behind.

In the blink of an eye, seven days passed.

A broad horse road wound through the forested mountains, and the carriage sped along it.

Inside the carriage, Lu Yuan sat cross-legged, his hands forming a seal as he cultivated diligently.

Not far from him, Qing Lin was doing the same.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a surge of power appeared.

Lu Yuan's eyes snapped open, and he looked at Qing Lin.

Her long hair stirred without a breeze, and invisible energy from heaven and earth poured into her body.

The disturbance did not last long and soon vanished. Qing Lin slowly opened her eyes.

Lu Yuan gazed into those emerald snake pupils and saw three extremely faint flower images appear within them.

Only when the flower images disappeared did he come back to his senses. His head felt heavy, and his strength seemed to have been drained in an instant, leaving him somewhat dizzy.

Qing Lin was completely oblivious to the strange change in herself. She was examining her own condition, and she cried out in delighted surprise, "Young Master, there's a Qi cyclone in my dantian! I think I've broken through!"

As she spoke, Qing Lin sprang up excitedly and threw herself into Lu Yuan's arms.

Lu Yuan was still dizzy, and the impact knocked him straight to the floor. One hand instinctively wrapped around Qing Lin's waist.

"Young Master!?" Panic appeared on Qing Lin's face.

"I'm fine." The collision actually cleared Lu Yuan's head. He thought to himself that the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils were damn powerful: they had stolen the soul of a human like him before they had even fully awakened.

But no matter how powerful they were, they would be his eventually.

"I was so happy for you that I wasn't paying attention," Lu Yuan said gently. "Congratulations, Qing Lin. From today on, you're a Dou Zhe."

"Yes!" Seeing that Lu Yuan really did seem fine, Qing Lin reached out and hugged his arm. The smile in her eyes was almost overflowing as she said, "Young Master, I can protect you now, can't I?"

She had been a mixed-blood despised by people and dogs alike. Her mother had abandoned her early on, and in Stone Desert City she had never known where her next meal would come from. Even among beggars, she had been the worst off.

When she was close to starving to death, the brothers Xiao Ding and Xiao Li established the Desert Iron Mercenary Group. Out of kindness, they had someone rescue her and gave her a job as a maid, so she could eat her fill.

But in the Desert Iron Mercenary Group, she was still the "disgrace" everyone shunned.

A year later, Uncle Zhang sought her out, bought her from the Desert Iron Mercenary Group, and settled her in a small courtyard.

When Lu Yuan arrived, he treated her even better than an ordinary older brother treated his younger sister. He soon became like a ray of sunlight shining into her heart, filling it completely.

To her, Lu Yuan meant more than her own life!