12 Chapter 12

The sun was moving in the sky from East to West. The expedition of the Holy Orchid students had continued. They were having fun and chat and all while moving, while commoners were trying to establish connections. Ye Qi, who was observing the surroundings, was using the resting time to cultivate slightly. However, each time he does that, Huyan Lanruo, who was a very insisting girl, would appear next to him.

As he was sitting by a tree, far from everyone, as soon as he opened his eyes, he found Huyan Lanruo had sneaked at him from behind, with a charming smile and a charming face and charmer body.

"Brother Qi, I have some expensive juices, do you want to drink some."

She was acting sweet, as she had been since he met her.

Ye Qi, if not knowing that she is a competitive person who doesn't accept losing, would believe that she is a very sweet girl, and he may have even acted sweet.

"Mm…" He looked up as if he was thinking. "I will drink later."

"Come on, Qi. I'm starting to think that you are trying to avoid me. Don't you like this sister?" Huyan crossed her arms, making her chest jiggle, as she harrumphed.

"Not near that." Ye Qi smiled, trying hard not to look at her chest. He thought of the Dark Gold Elder who should be guarding him in secret. It would be a painful experience to guard him, right, from another point of view. But it's not like he cares.

"Then what it is?"

"You are taking things too fast." After saying that, he stood up and placed his hand on her shoulder, before walking past her.

Some times, one needs to let girls pick him up, and play the hard target role.

"Hey, where are you going." Huyan held his shoulder and grabbed him from behind, crushing her soft flesh melons on his back.

Ye Qi paused for a second. Huyan Lanruo was more mature than Xiao Ning'er. Her chest was so huge, and so soft, that it was hard to ignore its presence.

"Come on. I'm just treating you like a brother. No need to be too shy."

"I'm not shy." Ye Qi said, turning his face. "I'm not hungry."

Damn, this girl is insisting on playing him. To have this astonishing beauty, one has to resist her, until some gorilla attacks her.

"You're sure?" Teasing, she shook his shoulders, making her chest jiggle on her back, which felt like a message.

'Ah… if she came at me alone, at night, I wouldn't know what to do. But I have to cultivate now.'

"Hey." Ye Ziyun came to the scene all of the sudden. Lanruo flinched and let go of Ye Qi. When Ye Ziyun was in front of her, she gave her a cold frown.

"Did you forget what I did tell you?" Ye Ziyun yelled.

"You told me what?" Lanruo pretended ignorance.

It wasn't the first time they got in an argument today, with Lanruo taking it teasingly.

Ye Qi slipped when things were intense, and continued his cultivation somewhere Else from everyone's eyes.

Things continued like this two more times. Lanruo showed signs of frustration with him. Meanwhile, Ye Qi's soul force advanced faster, because.

As it seems, his Yang energy got accumulated from that physical interaction, which increased his cultivation speed.

Ye Qi, who just stood up to continue the expedition, looked at his hand and channelled his soul force.

'Currently, I am at the peak of the Bronze Rank.'

'One more cultivation session and I would be good to use that technique.'

By the night time, Ye Qi assumed that he would break through to the Silver Rank and become a spiritualist that can fuse with a Demon Spirit.

Probably he may get another skill related to time-space. Who knows.

The area was surrounded by trees, green grass, which was covered by a slight layer of snow. Wintertime had ended lately, yet the mountains still felt as cold.

Demons beasts, although were very powerful, were still acting like animals of their specs. Some of them would be in slumber during winter and would wake up by now.

"Ye Qi, what's with you." Ye Ziyun, who had been walking next to him and glaring at the boy's huntress, halted her steps when she saw him looking at one spot, almost silent.

"Something doesn't feel right."

Ye Qi felt that he remembered an essential detail from the original TDG.

"What thing?"

Ye Ziyun looked around. She didn't feel a strong soul force from a Demon Beast nearby or something like that.

After putting his hands on his eyes, to cover them, Ye Qi's eyes turned silver, as he looked down at his footed.

He started to look into the near past of the area.

To the others, it would be like Ye Qi is covering his face.

However, from his perspective, Ye Qi was seeing into the past of the area. To others, it would feel like a blink, but to him, it would feel longer.

Ye Qi was seeing, that, from the ground, a group of Demon beasts were getting out.

They looked like Foxes, who had just woken up from their slumber and went on their way.

Judging from the direction of the sun, Ye Qi assumed that his group of hundreds is heading in the direction where thousands of demons of beasts are.

Although foxes are only Bronze Rank ones, their number can present a problem for them. Not to mention, not everyone here is a Silver Rank spiritualist here.

"Ye Qi, are you alright."

"Mm…" Ye Qi moved his hand from his face. "Tell Chen Linjian that we should move on that way. I can smell Demon beasts from this direction."

"What?" Ye Ziyun tilted her head in confusion. "You're sure?"

However, after Ye Qi gave few pieces of evidence about the beasts, their habits, and showing where they hide their poop under the dirt, she, like everyone else was convinced, and the group changed their direction.

Chen Linjian later thanked Ye Qi and told him that he would have an extra share of the treasures.

Ye Qi didn't refuse and only nodded, politely.

Though, Ye Qi is planing not to change one thing from the original TDG. The attack of the Silver Rank Demon beast. With that, he would be able to take as much as a good treasure for himself.

And so, taking the new direction, Ye Qi continued his journey, with Huyan Lanruo trying to conquer him, while Ye Ziyun acted as a shield against the playgirls. Lanruo was known for breaking the hearts of many, which made the City Lord's daughter act like a shield.

Ye Qi only treated that like an extra, and didn't mind some fluff, but, he would always hide and cultivate when the chance comes.

From the side, Shen Yue was looking at his future uncle with his teeth greeted.

Ye Qi, this bastard, was taking his Ye Ziyun from him.

Not only so, but Shen Yue had been seeing how Ye Qi and his brother's fiancee are warmly talking, not to mention that his aunt has a good impression on Ye Qi.

Is Ye Qi targeting the Sacred Family's women or something?

And now, as it seems, he is getting a fluffy moment with a mature woman like Lanruo, who is chasing after him.

'That bastard. He is trying to establish a connection with all noble families. Ye Qi, I didn't know he is too scheming. He must be doing this because he has weak talent and a dick.'

"Guys." Shen Yue turned to the pathetic fighters who were around him.

"Yes, young master."

"Give him a good beating." Shen Yue said.

"But he is noble."

The guards behind exclaimed. Beating the grandson of the Legend Rank Spiritualist and beating a commoner isn't the same thing.

"Wear masks then." Shen Yue said. After all, Ye Qi had a high statue, and it would be stupid to beat him, which would cause him troubles. "The more bones you break, the better."

"But we are Silver Rank fighters," one of them spoke. "It would be easy to link it to us."

"Geez. Just declare that you're Dark Guild members. Can't you think, or what?" Shen Yue scoffed at them.

The Silver rank fighters looked at each other, before nodding.

Ye Qi didn't seem to bring bodyguards with him.

It would be easy to beat the shit out of him. That what they originally thought.

The only thing that they should be careful of is to not get caught.

Probably, if they wear masks, everyone would think of them as a dark guild member. Now, finding a chance to beat him was the real deal.

A few hours later, the night arrived and everyone went camping.

Ye Qi, of course, found Lanruo in his direction.

"Brother Qi, don't you want to play some games, in my tent." She had a very seductive expression on her face while wearing light clothes, exposing her curves.

Ye Qi tilted his eyebrows. This girl is professional in seducing boys, isn't she?

However, Ye Qi now has a very important thing to do.

He would prefer if Shen Xiu was the one to invite him to her tent.

"Sorry, I need to cultivate." Ye Qi refused.

Women can wait. Reaching Silver Rank can't wait.

"Hmm…" Lanruo frowned, pretended to be sad as she put her small hands on her big perky melons. "But it's night. You need to relax some times. Your Yang energy may bother you while cultivating."

Now, by saying Yang energy, it was a clear sign that she's talking about his sexual desire.

It was a clear invitation for some teasing in her place.

"I can deal with that." Ye Qi smirked.

"How?" She looked at his hand and half-closed her eyes, drawing a seductive smile.

She won't leave, would she? Ye Qi thought. It's night, he is full of hormones, and she is making seductive attempts on him.

He needed her to leave before his instincts take control over him, as the tent is forming down.

"Hey, what's that behind you." Ye Qi pointed behind her while frowning.

"What… it's nothing."

Huyan Lanruo turned her face in a quick motion. Noticing that there is nothing, she tilted her eyebrows.

"Were you trying to tease me? What?"

When she turned back, she found that Ye Qi wasn't in his place, which was shocking to her, since she was Silver Rank Spiritualist, yet he could slip away from her.

"Did he escape from me!" However, that was a blow that her pride as a woman more than a spiritualist. She smirked as she clenched her fist. "Fine, if you want to play cat mice game, I'll play with you." And so, she walked away.

Meanwhile, Ye Qi, who was at the top of a near high tree, swept his forehead while looking down.

"That was close."

He waved his hand, and a group of silver needles appeared in front of him.

Ye Qi took off his shirt.

On his body, there were some circles drawn on specific spots.

Each one of them represented a trigger point on his nerves — Also known as Acupuncture points.

Breaking through Silver Rank requires a special mindset that would force the body to work in a certain way, which would force the soul realm to break into a higher realm. However, fortunately, it's easy to force that with the needles.

Ye Qi closed his eyes and cultivated for a couple of hours, before reaching the point where it seemed very hard to increase his soul force anymore.

He opened his eyes. He had reached the point where it can be called a bottleneck.

It's time to break it. While holding the needles in his hand, Ye Qi looked around, to see that his group was looking in one direction. Feeling curious, he followed their sightline.

Apparently, in their original direction, passed a big group of foxes. Everyone could see it. Ye Qi could hear the people down praising him.

"Young Master Ye is surely amazing, to predict that."

"Mm… not that amazing though, he could smell them."

"Why couldn't you then."

"Because I don't have a good nose."

"You don't have anything good. At least, we're saved from the unnecessary clash."

Ye Qi stood up, and jumped a couple of trees forward, before sitting down.

He was not worried that some beast may annoy him, since there is an elder watching over him.

"Now, the moment of the truth."

He held the needles with his hand. Infusing his soul force in their tips, he started placing them in acupuncture points that have relation to cultivation. Once he was done with that, Ye Qi could feel that his body was absorbing the soul force from the surrounding at a crazy rate. His soul realm was forcefully opened.

Cultivating, his soul force increased, and his soul realm produced a creaking voice. Ye Qi, after one hour of applying his cultivation method, felt the aura around his body changing, and the pressure of his soul force became stronger.

Now, he had gained the ability to open his soul realm.

Without needing to calculate that, Ye Qi assumed that his soul force has surpassed the 1000 mark. He is a Silver Rank Spiritualist.

Meaning that he can now use his Time-Rate Warp with more ease, compared to his previous level.

Not only so, but he can increase the rate of time flowing to himself with 4 to 1 in the price of using more soul force.

However, if he used the normal rate of 3 to 1, his soul force recuperating rate with the usage rate would be almost balanced, with skill having the bigger consumption rate.

Ye Qi, assumed by the time he reaches the next star, he would be at the level of moving with a super speed casually.

"So, all I have to do is find a Demon Spirit with proprieties related to space and time."

Because of his cultivation method, Ye Qi's soul force attribute has changed. Integrating with a Demon Beast that uses fire wouldn't be likeable to happen. He needed some Demon Spirit that has the ability to manipulate space. Probably, the Shadow Devil Spirit would work for him, since it has a void form, which is related to space. Or, at least, he can try to make a new one, with the Demon Pot. After all, the only Time Space beasts that were shown in TDG all had a level of Dark Gold and higher. And a Demon Spiritualist always needs something within his level

Now, not only Ye Qi can fuse with a Demon Spirit, but he gained another technique that came with his cultivation method.

<< Coordinates Rewind>>

This was more of Space focused skill.

Ye Qi thought as the information has invaded his mind. This skill allows him to go back to the location he was at, from 1 to 5 seconds ago.

However, the consumption of energy here was crazy. The more seconds he teleports back, the more he consumes.

Ye Qi wanted to try it.

Slipping from the tree's top, his body started falling.

Ye Qi, as he was seeing the ground becoming bigger, activated the skill.

Suddenly he found himself back at his previous location of the tree.

"Ha…" He exhaled a forced breath, as he found that he used 500 soul force. Almost half of his soul force was consumed.

Now he understood how it works.

That was instant teleportation to the previous location he was at.

He went back in space, not in time itself.

Thinking of how useful it is, yet how much it consumes, Ye Qi thought it's a hidden card.

Ye Qi put on his shirt and fell from the tree, landing on his feet like it were nothing.

Ye Qi suddenly sniffed the smell of blood. It was something a spiritualist could easily feel, as he looked around. Probably it belonged to a beast or something.

Quickly activating his Eyes of Present and Past, Ye Qi looked to the past of this area.

Apparently, as Ye Qi was cultivating, some guys had been approaching his standing spot.

They were wearing black masks, which would make anyone sees them looks like a member of the dark guild, and they had weapons within their hands.

While silently moving, they had been tracking him, as he was quite far from the camp.

However, on their way, they were met by a middle-aged man, who had his hands behind his back, while looking at them down like they were nothing.

Given the purple colour of his eyes, it was needless to say that he was a member of the Snow Wind family, from the branch ones, so he could be considered his far uncle.

The masked guys tried to attack him.

However, the middle-aged man, in no time, killed them easily by hitting the air with his palm.

A very high pressured soul force had hit their bodies, killing them in the process.

The bodies, on the ground, however, didn't stay there, as they got stored in specific spatial rings.

Seeing how the bodies had been taken like that, it was easy to assume that killing and hiding the bodies is an easy matter.

Ye Qi waved his hand up at the sky as if thinking the elder.

"Thanks."

It's good to know that one of the top elites is guarding your back.

The elder, however, didn't show any trace or reveal himself, making Ye Qi's talk seems like a person who talks to illusion.

Ye Qi, who started walking, thought a bit and paused before turning to the trees.

"Listen, elder. I understand that you have to protect me, but you know, the whole day I have been teased by Lanruo's big boobs…" Ye Qi was thinking of a nice way to tell his bodyguard.

He continued "As a fellow man, you know what I have to do. You can verify my tent first before I enter, and then you can guard me against outside. You don't have to keep a very close eye."

Had anyone of Ye Qi's elders heard him, it would be justified to beat him to a pulp.

Ye Qi, all of the sudden, felt a disturbance in the soul force in the surrounding, as strong winds surged, the ground shook, and a tree fell and landed next to him.

Knowing that it would get weirder if the guard decided to tell his family, Ye Qi shrugged his arms.

"I was testing you. You need to have nerves of steel. It may expose your cover."

Putting his hands behind him and acting like a mighty Spiritualist, Ye Qi walked away, after, what seemed, testing the elder.

Somewhere, the elder, who was behind the trees, was nodding. Young Master Qi is so wise for his age. 'I'll have to tell his father and uncle anyway.'

-x-X-x-

Since it was night, Ye Qi closed the door of his tent and rested there.

Dawn time came, and the group moved by the rivers and the forests.

Looking around, one can see that Shen Yue was walking while feeling paranoid, as he took far steps from Ye Qi.

His guards weren't there.

He wondered what happened to them.

Yesterday, he had sent them to beat Ye Qi.

Yet, now, they weren't here at all. This doesn't make sense

"I can tell you, there is a Demon Beast, Silver Rank at least, around." Shen Yue was telling the Chen Linjian, who was leading their group. However, very soon, Chen Linjian ignored him.

"Are you trying to copy young master Qi?"

"No, I swear."

"Stay with your age group. I have more important things to listen to."

Chen Linjian pushed Shen Yue away, as he clearly showed that he has more important things to do. Shen Yue was left to be frustrated, paranoid. He knew nothing.

Ye Qi, on the other hand, was walking with Ye Ziyun, who was holding his hand while looking around him with narrowed eyebrows.

Ye Qi, ignoring the feelings of his bodyguard who should be watching all of while being away from his home, didn't let her hand go.

'Let's pray that Ye Zong won't overreact when he sees this. The guard better tells him that she started this.'

"Ye Ziyun, this…" Ye Qi, as if mocking, smirked at her holding his hand.

"Don't worry Ye Qi." Ye Ziyun turned and smiled at his face, as though her stern expression hadn't been there. " I won't let anyone play you, at all."

Ye Qi narrowed an eyebrow. "But what if I want to."

"No," she shook her head. "Noble girls know noble girls better." She then shook her head in Lanruo direction. "That one's favourite habit is to collect fans and break their hearts." She looked down and bit her lip. "I'll fix that if it's broken."

"How?" Ye Qi smiled as he pressed on her hand.

Ye Ziyun had a slight blush as she looked around. And, then, she slowly took her hand back, as her body started feeling strange. The hand feeling, not only gave her a feeling of security, but warmth as well, and wariness as well. Looking at Ye Qi, who was there for her, she didn't want to see him getting hurt by anyone.

Very soon, everyone in the group halted their steps.

"Hey, look!"

"The ruins, we have arrived."

"It's only one hour away of walking."

In front of them, one can see ancient destroyed opened buildings, with plants covering their bricks. The streets had marks of destruction. Some demon beasts with Bronze Rank level were walking on the streets and playing around.

Ye Qi cracked his neck and back, before rubbing his eyes with some water that had been in his storage ring.