Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

Chapter 722: Chapter 56: Reunion with an Old Friend

The Qin siblings could not come to a conclusion and could only turn their gaze to Long Long.

Long Long pondered for a moment, yet he didn’t speak, instead looking towards the fox, Long Hu.

The little fox’s mind raced, suddenly saying,

“The Qu Nu river is long and has a relatively calm section, while the Lian River is short yet perilous; why not take a middle path?”

“We will neither take the closest tributary, the Lian River, nor head south all the way; instead, we will follow the Qu Nu river for a short distance.”

“After all, the further south we go away from Wu River City, the less likely we are to encounter Horned Clan cultivators. We can then turn eastward and take another shorter tributary to save time, how about that?”

...

Long Long just wanted to award her a little red flower.

Agile! What is agility? Truly worthy of being my fox, possessing such wit and at least thirty percent of my cultivation!

The Qin siblings also suddenly saw the light.

Indeed, taking the Qu Nu River was too slow to accept, while the Lian River was too dangerous to consider; why not just find a compromise with an acceptable route?

Therefore, the group quickly turned westward. With Long Long’s scanning ability, the journey was fraught with suspense but no danger, and they soon successfully reached the Qu Nu River.

The Qu Nu River, the largest in South State, appeared calm on the surface, but fierce currents rushed beneath.

The four used the Water Escape Technique to travel swiftly along the riverbed without encountering any dragon palaces, underwater ruins, or mysterious whirlpools… They headed south through nearly 800 li of waterways before turning eastward into a tributary.

Since they were nearing the heartland of South State, encounters with Horned Clan cultivators were significantly less frequent. The few they did see were mostly engaged in battles with the Feathered Clan cultivators.

Long Long carefully observed their battles, finding them “lacking in cunning yet excessive in ferocity.”

In the late ancient times during the great war between the Demon Race and the Human Race, the Demon Race, despite its larger numbers, was ultimately expelled to the Eastern Emperor Realm. Humans generally believe this was because they were “oviparous and inherently lacking in intelligence.”

It seemed this conclusion was rather fitting.

The supernatural powers of the Demon Race’s bloodline were indeed formidable, but outside these powers, they had little to show for themselves.

For instance, in the battles between the Feathered Clan and the Horned Clan, the former frequently used Wind and Thunder Techniques, while the latter relied on Earth Escape Spells. Both sides were engaged in a simple contest of Bloodline Rank and Realm strength, with no clever strategies involved.

If it were human cultivators, they would counter an Earth Escape Spell with a Yimu technique, playing upon the idea of “wood conquers earth” to gain superiority. But whether it was due to bloodline limitations or rigid thinking, members of the Demon Race rarely practiced spells beyond their innate powers.

For example, the Azure Dragon Clan mostly employed Water Escape Spells and Yimu techniques, while they seldom ventured into fire, earth, or metal systems. Many dragon cultivators didn’t even bother to learn these… So what happens when they encounter a situation where they are disadvantaged by the Five Elements? They just endure it.

With this in mind, it would be possible to study and devise a strategy to counter most Azure Dragon and Xuanwu cultivators, teaching the little fox as well.

While Long Long was plotting shrewdly in his heart, he continued to lead the team eastwards along the tributary. When they were still about two hundred li from the border, they unfortunately encountered a group of Horned Clan cultivators.

“Eight individuals, five in the Transformation Realm, three in the Dong Yuan Realm,” Long Long raised his arm underwater, signaling the others behind him to stop advancing and conceal their presence, “Let’s wait for them to pass by before we continue.”

Above the water ahead was a crudely built wooden bridge.

Because the Feathered Clan could fly, there were virtually no bridges over the rivers of South State; most outside merchants traveled by boat, so this bridge was definitely constructed by the Horned Clan cultivators. This suggested there might be a Horned Clan stronghold nearby; otherwise, there would be no need to build a bridge specifically…

As Long Long was deep in thought, he suddenly saw a Horned Clan cultivator on the shore turning their head, casting a swift glance down into the river bed, then seemingly nonchalantly turning back.

Though the cultivator withdrew their gaze quickly, they could not hide from Long Long’s scanning.

“We’ve been spotted!” he quickly warned. As the words left his mouth, fluctuations of Earth Magic were already forming underfoot.

In a desperate situation, Long Long pushed Long Hu beside him away, his feet swiftly stepping on the ground, incorporating the Cloud-Parting Eight Trigrams Step into his movements, and his figure vanished from the spot.

Where they had initially stood, countless sharp spikes of earth thrust up as if large horns were piercing through the ground. Water offered more resistance than air, making it even harder to move quickly underwater. If Long Long hadn’t taken the risk of being exposed by employing the Cloud-Parting Eight Trigrams Step, he might have been impaled by now.

The Qin siblings and the little fox, who narrowly escaped the sneak attack, were all tense with nervousness, with no spare attention to notice the step technique used by Long Long.

Long Long was also furious: You Horned Clan have no martial ethics! I won’t hold back either!

He pointed, and the Dragon Chant Sword burst forth from the water, charging at the Horned Clan cultivator who had launched the sneak attack.

The Horned Clan cultivator opened his mouth, and a small sword shot out, attempting to intercept Long Long’s Flying Sword.

However, how profound was Long Long’s mastery of Sword Dao Techniques? He had practiced swordsmanship at Shushan for over a hundred years, not wasting a single second. The Dragon Chant Sword merely dipped slightly, perfectly avoiding the opponent’s small sword, and continued its thrust toward that Horned Clan cultivator.

The surrounding Horned Clan cultivators reacted as well, their expressions changing drastically, each shooting out their Flying Swords or invoking Daoist Magic, and even a few who were close by dashed forward using Divine Skills, intending to use their own bodies to block the sword for their comrade.

It seemed this Horned Clan cultivator who had launched the sneak attack might have a rather extraordinary identity?

But no matter how high their status, could it be higher than mine?

Long Long sneered inwardly and suddenly released Dragon’s Might, a sweeping force that covered the sky and pressed down towards the riverbank.

The Horned Clan cultivator who had tried to flee, along with those trying to save or block for him, were all stifled by the sudden onslaught of Dragon’s Might. The Dragon Chant Sword took the opportunity to pierce through the cultivator’s abdomen. He coughed up a mouthful of blood from the pain and before he could even let out a scream, he was wrapped in the sword light and pulled back onto the river’s surface.

Long Long had already surfaced from the water, holding the Horned Clan cultivator in his hand, casually sealing the wound on his abdomen, and said coldly:

“If you don’t want him to die, then get out of the way!”

“Release His Highness!” the Horned Clan cultivators on the shore shouted in panic. However, none dared to step forward—clearly worried that Long Long would truly deliver a fatal blow.

“His Highness?” Long Long frowned as he looked at the Horned Clan cultivator he was holding.

Qi Weihuan had publicly acknowledged having two sons and a daughter, and all of his illegitimate children except Qi Qiaosong had been killed. Since he had already met the eldest son, Qi Qiao’an, could this be the second son, Qi Qiaofa?

Among the Mao Clan, it was the White Tiger that was the most cunning. No wonder you could use Earth Escape in such a cunning way. I thought you were from the Horned Clan!

“Brother!” A young girl pushed through several cultivators and rushed to the riverbank in urgency. It was the little princess, Qi Yingzhu, glaring at Long Long with anger-filled eyes.

Tsk, I had been too focused on identifying the number of people and their strengths, that I hadn’t paid close attention to their faces… but it doesn’t matter now.

“We meet again, Your Highness,” said Long Long, unabashed and with a slight smile, “Your brother is fine. I didn’t invoke any Sword Dao Techniques; it’s just a minor flesh wound.”

Being pierced through the Dantian, even for Human Race cultivators, was a severe injury that required immediate attention; however, the Mao Clan was known for their strong physique, and being stabbed by a sword was not too serious an issue for them.

Qi Yingzhu stared intently at Long Long’s face. After a moment of silence, she suddenly said:

“Let them go.”

“But, Your Highness is still…”

“Let them go!” Qi Yingzhu turned and roared furiously.

With this roar, the might of the White Tiger Clan was fully manifested, causing the Horned Clan cultivators to retreat repeatedly, their faces uncertain.

“Can I trust you, Long Long?” Qi Yingzhu locked her gaze onto Long Long and asked indifferently.

“Killing your brother would bring me no benefit,” Long Long calmly answered.

“If you go back on your word, I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth and sea,” Qi Yingzhu said coldly.

“Your Highness is jesting,” Long Long smiled again and said, “At present, we each serve our lords, and even if I keep my word, should we meet on the battlefield next time, could Your Highness refrain from killing me?”

…

Qi Yingzhu remained silent, merely scoffing before saying:

“That remains to be seen.”

“I grant you a quarter of an hour to travel downstream, after which you will place my brother on the shore. But you must not take him beyond the Two Rivers Plain.”

“Before that time is up, we will not chase after you.”

“A quarter hour is too brief,” Long Long pondered for a moment before speaking, “It should be at least…”

“It is a quarter of an hour!” Qi Yingzhu said coldly, “Otherwise, let’s have a fight right here. Let’s see if, after killing my brother, you can still escape alive!”