Chapter 15 The Rise of the Ji Clan

"Young master." Qiuye's eyes glistened with tears—tears of joy.

Ji Ning smiled too.

It had been a long time since he last saw Qiuye. Since childhood, the people closest to him were few: his father, mother, Uncle Bai, Chuncao, Qiuye... His parents and Chuncao had already passed away, leaving only Uncle Bai and Qiuye as his most familiar and dear ones. Ji Ning knew that what he felt for Qiuye was not romantic love, but a kind of familial affection.

"Four years. You haven't changed much, Qiuye. You must have broken through to the Xiantian stage." Ji Ning walked over.

Qiuye quickly wiped away her tears and said, "It was only with the help of the elixirs you left behind, young master, that I was able to break through to become a Xiantian lifeform."

Ji Ning was not at all surprised that Qiuye had broken through. After all, being chosen as his maidservant meant she had decent talent, and with the elixirs and other items he had left behind, she indeed had a high probability of becoming a Xiantian lifeform.

"Have things been well these past four years?" Ji Ning asked.

"Well enough. Mingxin Island remains as it was. The Ji clan, however, has grown stronger and stronger," Qiuye said. "That battle greatly weakened the Yanshan branch. Although the Snowdragon Mountain sent three more Zifu cultivators to garrison the Yanshan branch, ever since word spread that you had joined the Black-White College, the Snowdragon Mountain Yanshan branch has dared not act rashly."

Ji Ning nodded.

In terms of strength, the Snowdragon Mountain Yanshan branch, backed by its sect, had a steady stream of experts and far greater resources than the Ji clan.

However, when he had joined the Black-White College, Beishan Baiwei, who had been sending people to Yanshan to collect the 'element ore veins,' had also sent word to the Ji clan about Ji Ning's enrollment.

With this news, the Ji clan's prestige soared.

Heavens.

The Black-White College! To the other powers of Yanshan, the Black-White College was an unassailable behemoth. Legend had it that every cultivator who could join the Black-White College was a peerless genius, a monstrous talent. Even the Snowdragon Mountain, which had once been at odds with Ji Ning, temporarily set aside their enmity and let matters rest.

"Where's Qingshi?" Ji Ning asked.

"Qingshi." Qiuye turned and called out. In the distance, a very tall young man walked over.

Ji Ning was surprised.

So tall—he must be about one meter ninety. Much taller than himself. When he had left, Qingshi was still a boy; he hadn't expected that four years later, he would be this tall.

"Brother." Qingshi walked over.

"Why were you hiding in the corner?" Ji Ning scolded with a smile. He had watched Qingshi grow from a child and had long regarded him as a younger brother.

Qingshi grinned. "Wasn't I letting Sister Qiuye have some time alone with you, brother?"

Qiuye immediately glared at him.

Ji Ning laughed too.

"Brother, why is there a snake on your arm?" Qingshi looked curiously at the small green snake coiled around Ji Ning's wrist.

"Xiaoqing." Ji Ning called out.

Whoosh. The small green snake instantly turned into mist and then condensed into a green-clad maiden, startling Qiuye. Beside her, Qingshi jumped up. "Demon! A great demon!"

"I'm a Wanxiang great demon! A Wanxiang Circle great demon!" Qingqing raised her head proudly.

"Wanxiang Circle?"

Qingshi blinked.

Although Ji Ning had left behind Marrow Cleansing Pills and other treasures, Qingshi's talent was even less than Qiuye's. Qiuye had become a Xiantian lifeform, but Qingshi had yet to break through and was still only a Houtian. Still, he knew the major realms of cultivation.

"Wanxiang Circle? The Ji clan chief is only a Zifu cultivator." Qingshi looked at the green-clad maiden, unable to imagine that she possessed the power to easily crush the Ji clan chief.

Ji Ning laughed. "Xiaoqing was originally a Void Green Snake from our Yanshan. Later, she met me in the Swallow Mountain Wasteland and followed me, becoming my spirit-beast."

"Brother's spirit-beast." Qingshi finally relaxed, then asked curiously, "Brother, are you at Wanxiang Circle now?"

"Wanxiang late stage, a bit behind Xiaoqing." Ji Ning said.

"Though he's at Wanxiang late stage, I'm far from being his match," Qingqing said, lowering her head. "Master... he's truly monstrous, even more monstrous than me." She couldn't forget how Ji Ning, at the Wanxiang early stage, had easily slaughtered over a dozen Wanxiang great demons and scared away the Dragon Whale Demon King to save her.

Qiuye and Qingshi were both shocked and delighted.

Qiuye noticed the Whitewater Hound behind Ji Ning. "Uncle Bai, you..."

"Uncle Bai is also at Wanxiang late stage." Ji Ning said.

"This, this..." Qiuye suddenly felt that, though a few years had passed, her young master's progress was far too fast.

The Whitewater Hound spoke in human tongue: "Demon cultivation is inherently slow. Many demons take a thousand years to go from Zifu to Wanxiang. From Wanxiang to Yuan Shen, tens of thousands of years is common. Though my realm was sufficient long ago, accumulating elemental energy takes a very long time. Fortunately, with Ning'er's help, I was able to reach the Wanxiang stage so quickly."

"Three Wanxiang cultivators." Qingshi was overjoyed. "The other powers in Yanshan don't even have a single Wanxiang True Person. Our Ji clan suddenly has three Wanxiang True Persons. This is too, too... haha, invincible!"

"Your brother's skill isn't yours. Give you a good technique, a good master, treasures, and elixirs, and you still haven't become a Xiantian lifeform. When your brother was your age, he could easily slay Zifu cultivators." Qiuye scolded.

"How can I compare to brother? In cultivation, I can't even match you, Sister Qiuye." Qingshi shook his head.

"No effort, and still making excuses." Qiuye fumed.

Seeing this, Ji Ning felt a deep warmth. It was just like before—Qiuye treated Qingshi like her own younger brother.

...

Ji Ning had returned. The news that the monstrous disciple of the Black-White College, 'Ji Ning,' had come back to Yanshan shook the entire Ji clan, filling them with excitement and joy.

Soon, clan leader Ji Jiuhuo and others, Ji Youyang and Ji Honghua from West Prefecture City... and even the most brilliant youths of the Ji clan in recent years, all came to Mingxin Island on Yishe Lake.

"This is a Wanxiang snake demon?"

"The Whitewater Hound is also a Wanxiang great demon?"

The clan leader and others were surprised by this, but they were not surprised that Ji Ning had become a Wanxiang True Person. After all, he had easily slain the Wanxiang True Person Xu Li back then. And since he had entered the legendary Black-White College, in their minds, such monstrous progress was normal for Ji Ning.

If Ji Ning had progressed as slowly as they did, that would have been abnormal.

"Clan leader." Ji Ning said, "I recently joined the Yinglong Guard."

Ji Jiuhuo, Granny Ying, Ji Liuzhen, Ji Youyang, and the others, though all very composed, still showed surprise and delight. They had not yet heard that Ji Ning had joined the Yinglong Guard. But given his strength, they were not surprised he could join.

"After becoming a Yinglong Guard, one can choose a territory ten thousand li in radius, which will be under the protection of the Yinglong Guard. Even if I die in the future, this territory will still be protected by the Yinglong Guard for a thousand years. The territory I marked out centers on Ten Thousand Swords City, barely encompassing the four surrounding prefectural cities."

"This is the token." Ji Ning took out a token. "Only a Zifu cultivator can refine it. After refinement, hang it in front of the city lord's manor of Ten Thousand Swords City. Then, a faint 'Yinglong' will appear on the city walls. Others will know it is under the protection of the Yinglong Guard and will not dare to invade or offend."

Ji Jiuhuo reached out excitedly to take it. "The clan's foundation, the clan's foundation! With this token, our clan's foundation becomes even more secure. Our Ji clan is sure to flourish, flourish!"

Beside him, Ji Liuzhen and the others were also excited and hopeful.

"Ji Ning, how long will you stay?" Ji Jiuhuo asked.

"From now on, I'll live long-term on Yishe Lake, occasionally going out on Yinglong Guard missions. Occasionally, I'll visit my master at the Black-White College in Anchan City." Ji Ning said. "Most of the time, I'll be here."

Some disciples of the Black-White College lived permanently in the college.

Because the college had the 'Black-White Diagram,' which they could often contemplate, and they could often discuss the Dao with fellow disciples. But Ji Ning was different... First, the Immortal Diancai only occasionally guided his disciples. As for the Black-White Diagram? It wasn't that helpful to Ji Ning; he could look at it occasionally, because he had a better option—the 'Water Mansion.'

The Star Hall in the Water Mansion was far more powerful than the Black-White Diagram.

Whether for the clan, for the Water Mansion, or for peace of mind, Ji Ning chose to live long-term on Yishe Lake.

"Good, good." Ji Jiuhuo was delighted, then quickly asked, "It won't affect your cultivation, will it? No matter what, cultivation is the most important thing."

"It won't." Ji Ning shook his head.

"That's good." Ji Jiuhuo nodded repeatedly. "With you here long-term, especially with two Wanxiang great demons, our Ji clan's strength has naturally skyrocketed. With such strength, our clan should become even more powerful and expand its territory."

"Right. Three Wanxiang True Persons, and Ji Ning may even achieve Yuan Shen in the future! Our Ji clan's territory is far too small."

Granny Ying, Ji Liuzhen, and the others were all eager.

One eats according to the size of one's stomach.

In the past, the Ji clan had limited strength and dared not hope for too much. But now, with Ji Ning so powerful, two Wanxiang great demons, and the backing of the Black-White College, the Ji clan was bound to flourish.

"Go ahead." Ji Ning agreed, as this was also his father's wish. "If you encounter trouble, Xiaoqing and Uncle Bai, you can lend a hand."

"Leave it to me." Qingqing said confidently. "In Yanshan, with just the three of us Wanxiang cultivators, we can walk sideways."

"Haha..."

Ji Jiuhuo and the others all laughed heartily.

...

Ji Ning's long-term residence on Yishe Lake greatly encouraged many in the Ji clan. Ji Ning also gave some guidance to the new talents that had emerged in the clan over the past few years. But these so-called talents were only geniuses by Yanshan standards; none particularly impressed Ji Ning. He soon realized that the fellow disciples he usually interacted with were from the Black-White College—how could the little geniuses of his clan compare?

After gathering with his clansmen and instructing the younger generation, Mingxin Island finally quieted down three days later.

Ji Ning entered a meditation chamber.

"Water Mansion." With a thought, a huge phantom of a bear's head appeared in the chamber. The phantom bear's head even showed a faint smile, then opened its mouth and swallowed Ji Ning whole.

Ji Ning vanished from the chamber.

He arrived in the 'Water Mansion' in another space.