Chapter 59: Ancestor?

Another thought suddenly crossed Qing’s mind as he looked at the old man floating before him. ’Is he another reason why the Sect Master still hasn’t taken any action?’ The possibility seemed highly likely, especially after seeing how casually Lin had intervened in the battle and healed both him and Jin without showing the slightest effort.

Qing kept the thought in the back of his mind as he considered the title he had just heard. ’Supreme Elder...This is the first time I have heard of such a position. I thought Grand Elders were the highest-ranking members of the Sect beneath the Sect Master.’

Just as Qing was thinking about the meaning behind the title, Lin calmly spoke, "Although I am occupying the role of the Supreme Elder, I am not quite in that position. You can simply say that I am one of the Ancestors of the Nine Lotus Sect."

The moment Qing heard those words, his eyes widened slightly, and he immediately looked at Lin with greater interest. ’Ancestor? Then isn’t he the strongest person in the Nine Lotus Sect?’ He already knew that the Sect Master of a sect was an extremely powerful existence.

But the fact that someone could stand above even the Grand Elders while possessing the title of an Ancestor meant the Nine Lotus Sect’s and maybe even other sects across other Grand regions’ true foundation was much deeper than he had assumed.

The realization immediately confirmed Qing’s earlier suspicion. If Lin was truly one of the Ancestors, then the Sect Master couldn’t simply control him, and she certainly wouldn’t dare act recklessly while someone of his status remained within the Sect.

’Hmm... For now, I can consider him differently from the rest of the Elders.’ Qing calmed himself down before respectfully bowing toward Lin and pressing his fist against his palm. "I am honoured to have made the acquaintance of Ancestor Lin, Thank you for the gift."

His expression remained polite and respectful, though his mind was already considering what this newly revealed existence meant for the Sect.

The old man nodded with a faint smile before shifting his attention toward Jin. Lin had already healed both Qing and Jin when he arrived, and now that Jin had completely recovered, the young man was standing on his feet once again.

Despite his defeat, however, Jin continued releasing Killing Intent toward Qing, his expression still filled with unwillingness and frustration. Lin couldn’t help but chuckle lightly when he saw this familiar reaction, ’His habit hasn’t disappeared one bit, and this new lad Qing seems unaware that this is simply his personality.’

Lin glanced between the two young cultivators before another thought appeared in his mind. ’Hehe, it’s better for him to stay unaware, that lad Jin will get two rivals now.’ His gaze soon shifted toward the drifting clouds in the distance, and a strange sense of relief washed over him as he watched them slowly move across the sky.

’Hah... Watching kids constantly for years after years must have made me this soft.’ He had lived through an entirely different era, one that had been far more dangerous than the peaceful scene before him, and comparing those memories to the current generation made him feel happier than he himself expected.

For a brief moment, the old man’s expression became slightly more serious. ’If not for those Demons... Sigh, the Heavenly Immortal Realm must be taking measures already.’ His gaze turned toward Jin, who was currently being laughed at by several surrounding disciples after losing the duel, ’The end of this Upper Realm may come if they decide to purge this entire realm.’

[A/N: Lower Realms --> Upper Realms --> Immortal Realms]

Lin shook his head and dismissed those thoughts for the time being, refusing to let such distant concerns affect the atmosphere before him. He then looked toward Qing and spoke in a calm voice, "New lad Qing, do well to make our Sect proud. All three Grand Regions hold a Tournament every year, so you should diligently cultivate and practice the Techniques of our Sect."

Qing immediately nodded and bowed respectfully. "I will do so, Supreme Elder."

His expression remained calm, but another thought appeared in the back of his mind as he processed Lin’s words.

Lin gave Qing one final look before slowly turning away.

In the next moment, he disappeared completely without leaving behind even the slightest trace of Spiritual Energy, as though he had never been there in the first place. Qing narrowed his eyes slightly while looking at the empty space where Lin had been standing, silently adding another powerful existence to the list of people he needed to keep in mind.

’A Tournament between all three Grand Regions? But when exactly is it going to be held?’ Qing thought one last time as he found it somewhat interesting that such an event existed, especially since the three Grand Regions were enormous territories with their own powers and factions.

Still, there was no reason to worry about the exact date yet, since he would most likely be informed by the Sect once the time approached.

Qing turned toward Jin, who was shouting at the other disciples who had gathered around him and were mocking him because he had lost. ’I had thought they would be a dog-eat-dog type of sect, but it seems the core disciples at least are not like that.’ A small smile formed on Qing’s lips as he looked at the scene in front of him.

He remembered the novels he had read where almost all the disciples would be at each other’s throats. ’Well, that happens either because of resources or something to gain from other disciples, like some inheritance or treasure, but this sect has an abundance of it.’ His gaze shifted toward the pagoda as he thought about the resources available within the sect.

’That Pagoda alone is enough for treasures and Inheritance, and as for resources for cultivation, I think the jade token already had way too much inside it.’ Qing looked at the pagoda for a moment before shifting his attention back toward Jin and the gathered disciples.

The sect clearly had enough resources that there was little reason for the disciples to constantly fight over them.

With that, he stepped toward Jin and the other gathered disciples, ’Well, there can still be feuds and Killing between them, as there will always be some emotions and reasons to trigger that.’

Qing arrived in front of them while thinking about it and then spoke in a polite tone, "Senior Jin, I hope you keep your promise of the bet. I won fairly." He continued playing the innocent role, wanting to get what he needed politely and easily without creating any more ruckus.

Everyone stopped muttering to Jin and spoke up when they sensed Qing had arrived. "You managed to defeat our second strongest guy! You are no joke, the Sect Master personally going to test you had made me a bit skeptical, but now I see why she did it!" The others also spoke things similar along those lines, with several of them praising Qing for defeating Jin.

Qing only looked at them once before replying, "Thank you for the praise, Seniors." He then shifted his attention toward Jin, who finally spoke up with his rough voice, "Damn it! I can’t believe I lost. What do you want to know?" Qing smiled beneath the facade as he heard those words and thought, ’Now we are talking.’

"For now, I don’t want to know anything, Senior, but I hope you keep that promise while I truly need it." Jin frowned for a moment before answering, "Fine then, but we will duel once again at another time, do not think this ends here!" Qing lifted his head and nodded with a smile before speaking, "Then I shall take my leave, Senior."

With that, Qing turned around and flew high up into the sky. He had already dispersed his Qi-Sword when the Supreme Elder had arrived, so there was nothing left for him to maintain as he left the dueling area. The surrounding disciples continued remaining there as Qing disappeared from their sight.

...

Several minutes later...

Qing could be seen inside his residence, sitting on the same platform of the cultivation chamber while thinking, ’The Clone would need time, the last message his consciousness shared with me confirmed what I had been suspicious of.’ He narrowed his eyes for a moment before exhaling a long breath, his thoughts remaining focused on the clone.

’For now, I can only depend on the clone. That clone is not merely some cheap one, it has the capability to cultivate on its own even though its talent is only ten percent of what I originally have.’ A small smile appeared on Qing’s face as he continued thinking about it. ’Meaning, even without a proper connection between him and me, he can survive almost anything and do the job for me.’

With that, Qing shifted his attention toward his own hands. He looked at them for a moment before thinking, ’Now it’s time to fuse my elements.’ He knew that he might not be able to fuse all of them at once, but he still wanted to try. ’Although I doubt I can fuse all of them at once, it is still worth a try.’