Before the Discussion

The venue where the conference was about to be held was a large, prehistoric building left behind by the ones who were here even before the ancients.

The style of the building was a strange mishmash of various elements and cultural influences that nonetheless looked pleasant when put together.

The building was rectangular and wide, reaching several stories high. The topmost story seemed as tall as the rest of the building put together and was where the conference would be held. The reddish roofs of the building were curved up at the corners, and running along its edges was a line of intricate metallic lattice with lustrous gems set into it. The doorways were all wide with foldable doors, while more intricate latticework covered the large and round windows.

After using the transportation array in the Heavenly Peak Sect, the group of four was directly deposited in an empty and high-ceilinged room in this building where the other end of the transportation array was situated. Once they had ascertained that they had reached their destination, Qinghe, Wei Xiang, Zhen YiLan, and Chen Xiande walked out of the room and into a wide corridor stretching right outside the doorway.

One side of the entire length of the corridor was open to the elements, letting the people inside enjoy the cheerful blue skies and the fresh morning breeze of the outdoors.

As the four people strolled through the corridor with measured steps, Qinghe and Wei Xiang kept whispering to each other, chuckling and playing around even as they somehow managed to maintain their aura of noble dignity.

Shaking his head at his junior brother and his lover, Chen Xiande spoke to Zhen YiLan quietly, "Master, let's leave them both to catch up at their own pace for now and make haste towards where the others are gathered for the conference. As the sect master and head disciple of our sect, we cannot afford to be late."

Looking back at his second disciple with a thoughtful gaze, Zhen YiLan nodded. Since his Qing-er was having fun, they should just leave him be. And hearing his first disciple's words, rather than misunderstanding his intentions like he would have before, Zhen YiLan understood that his Xian-er also in truth wanted to let his junior brother enjoy himself as much as he wanted.

And so, Zhen YiLan and Chen Xiande sped up their steps, decisively leaving the couple behind so that the pair of lovers could play and flirt to their heart's content.

Not missing this chance of having this empty corridor all to themselves, Wei Xiang immediately pulled Qinghe close and pressed their lips together, suckling gently, then extending his tongue to slowly lick at the seam of his little lover's mouth.

Surrendering to the sudden passion of his beloved, Qinghe parted his lips and allowed his lover to invade his mouth, letting his Xiang caress and explore the sensitive tissue inside with his moist and flexible tongue.

But just as Qinghe began to swipe his own tongue over his lover's, his body growing soft as he started rubbing it sensually over his beloved's firm one, Wei Xiang abruptly let go while simultaneously stepping back.

Standing unsteadily on his own, Qinghe looked at his lover dazedly, his cheeks flushed and his glistening lips still parted, not understanding why his beloved had stopped all of a sudden.

With an innocent look that belied his smirk, Wei Xiang said, "Now, now, let's not get too carried away. I can hear people coming, so let's save this for after the conference, alright?"

As Qinghe blinked his eyes, the fog in his gaze slowly cleared, turning into something sharper, a corner of his lips unexpectedly twisting up as if in a snarl.

"Alright my ass! Wei Xiang, do you think you can get away that easily after riling me up?" Qinghe spoke heatedly.

Wei Xiang's eyes widened, but before he could say anything, he found his back being pushed against the wall as a familiar hand wound behind the nape of his neck to pull his head down.

Qinghe lightly bit the still-smirking lips of his beloved before slowly licking over it. Then aggressively thrusting his tongue into his lover's mouth, he began claiming ground, putting into action what he'd learnt so far from his beloved as he enthusiastically took charge.

Wei Xiang hummed in pleasure, his palm cupping the back of his little lover's head to press his mouth tighter against his. Another arm wound around Qinghe's waist and pulled him as close as physically possible before the errant hand wandered downward, kneading Qinghe butt.

The rising signs of their arousals were pressed together through the layers of their clothes, beginning to push and rub against each other rhythmically even as their lips and tongues were engaged in a sensual battle.

Wei Xiang's need burned brighter and brighter, but just as he was about to ignore the circumstances to begin undoing his little lover's clothing, the slender body in his embrace suddenly slipped out of his arms.

Mischievous laughter sounded in a voice still tinged with desire as Qinghe teased, "Now, now, my dear Xiang, let's not get too carried away. Didn't you say that you heard people coming? So let's save this for after the conference, alright?"

Hearing his own words returned to him like this, Wei Xiang's thoughts became complicated. As expected of his Qinghe, he should have known that retribution would soon befall him after the way he'd teased his impish little lover.

But Wei Xiang was hardly reconciled to taking this lying down.

And so, before Qinghe knew what happened, his world turned upside down as Wei Xiang simply hefted him over a shoulder, an arm securely wrapped around his beloved's butt as his expression turned fierce with barely-suppressed lust.

Qinghe showed a rare shocked expression at this unexpected move, then began laughing delightedly. As long as he got what he wanted in the end, he would count this as mission successful!

Around the corner and a few ways away, Jing Shui, Wu Xiao, and Liu Xue were walking with graceful poise.

Jing Shui had a large, rolled up scroll in his arms, which contained the most detailed and up-to-date map of their world that would be suitable to be used for strategizing in the conference. Walking by his side were Wu Xiao and Liu Xue, both of whose injuries had healed completely by now.

As the three thus sedately made their way forward, they witnessed the shocking sight of a black-garbed Sentinel suddenly rushing around the corner with a white-robed figure carried over a shoulder.

Recognizing the identities of the two people, the group of three blinked incredulously as they froze in their tracks.

Qinghe's merry chuckles rang out in the corridor while Wei Xiang's face radiated sexual tension, a corner of his lip slightly reddened seemingly due to a gentle bite. And as if uncaring of his position, Qinghe was resting his elbow on Wei Xiang's back while supporting his chin with a palm. The other arm dangled lazily down, occasionally roving over his beloved's firm muscles with appreciation as they bulged and rolled while Wei Xiang walked.

As Qinghe caught sight of the trio gaping at them from the side, he raised a hand and happily waved at them in greeting.

Wu Xiao quickly broke out of his shock and cheerfully waved back with an understanding grin. He hardly even needed to think to realize that everything must be going according to that sly Xiao Feng's expectations.

Lowering his arm, Qinghe continued to brazenly grope his beloved's firm butt. Hmm, this felt so nice…

Through gritted teeth, Wei Xiang forced out, "Qinghe, kindly retrieve your hand from my backside." He was barely able to control himself as it was!

Qinghe giggled, playfully squeezing the aforementioned backside before he stated cheerily, "No."

The hand holding Qinghe's butt suddenly gave him a little pinch as Wei Xiang warned in a growl, "Behave."

Renewed laughter rang out from Qinghe again as he and his lover disappeared around another corner, leaving behind Jing Shui and Liu Xue to watch aghast while Wu Xiao merely smiled amusedly.

With pink cheeks and an awkward cough, the thin-skinned Jing Shui muttered disconsolately, "Shameless, truly too shameless…"

Grinning at his adorable lover, Wu Xiao lifted a long lock of his Ah-Shui's hair and delicately kissed its tip, making Jing Shui blush harder.

Leaning closer, Wu Xiao spoke in a deep voice, "But Ah-Shui, I thought you liked it when couples behave shamelessly. Or at least, you seemed to enjoy it whenever we act shameless…throughout the entire night, without pausing in between and trying out different things until your voice gives out, unable to even ask for more… Isn't that so?"

Jing Shui's face was redder than blood, almost emitting steam through his ears as he heard his lover's brazen words. "W-W-Wu Xiao! W-What are you e-even saying in f-front of my master!"

With a quiet chuckle, Wu Xiao leaned his head over to nuzzle his lover's flushed cheek while murmuring huskily into his ear, "Then are you saying that if she weren't here, you wouldn't mind my words? Hmm, my Ah-Shui is becoming naughty~"

Hearing Wu Xiao speaking with a slightly rough voice that seemed to caress him from top to bottom, Jing Shui couldn't help but feel like his body was melting.

"W-Wu Xiao…" he called softly, his eyelashes lowering over dazed eyes as one of his arms let go of the map and pulled up his lover's head up so that they were face to face. Jing Shui leaned closer, his mouth wandering over Wu Xiao's cool cheek of its own accord before meeting a pair of silky lips.

Seeing her junior brother and little disciple making out so openly, Liu Xue shook her head and started walking towards the conference room on her own so that she wouldn't be seen together with this unabashedly flirting couple.

Then thinking back to how another unabashedly flirting couple had just passed through, Liu Xue couldn't help but wonder whether shamelessness was contagious.

Meanwhile, as he still happily dangled from his lover's shoulder, Qinghe reminded Wei Xiang in a merry voice, "Xiang, did you forget that your ability to travel through shadows is already known? So why not simply use that to get back to the sect faster?"

Wei Xiang halted, suddenly recalling that it was indeed the case.

And so, the pair of lovers immediately vanished into the shadows, returning to Qinghe's room to quickly discard their clothes and continue where they left off in a so much more intimate and intensely passionate way.

By the time they were done quickly rolling around on the bed, before cleaning up, redressing, and using the shadows to transport themselves back again, half an hour had already passed.

With peaceful expressions and satisfied smiles, they finally strode to the topmost floor and entered the room where the conference was just about to start.

The room was gigantic and spacious, it's dark roof several hundred meters above.

Directly opposite to the wide opened entrance with its door folded to the side was a huge rectangular wall covered in metallic golden reliefs. These reliefs were in the shape of large, swirling designs. Cradled at the centers of the largest designs were colorful gemstones in vivid green, blue, and red, sparkling brightly as if newly cut. The gems ranged from the size of a baby's head to an adult's fist, but none smaller than that. As a whole, the entire wall looked like an ocean of swirling golden waters with colorful and gleaming stars floating between the waves.

A few meters near the walls of the room ran a neat row of slender pillars whose length extended from the floor to the invisible ceiling above. As if reinforcing these extremely tall structures, wider glass orbs in various colors were fixed into the middle of the pillars at regular intervals, their translucent shells shining while holding within them what seemed to be shifting puffs of glowing clouds.

At the very center of the room was a long, rectangular table that almost touched the walls at the far left and right, leaving barely a meter from its edges. Its surface consisted of a huge slab of smooth black marble. This tabletop was supported from beneath by another type of stone that was carved realistically to look like a dense mass of large and thick vines extending from the floor, their slender tips sometimes even curling up over the edge of the table. The stone that made up these vines was a dark bluish color with big splotches of turquoise and green blending into it.

The entire room was windowless, but was lit up completely by the evenly diffused light that was emitted by the colorful orbs that the pillars seemed to pass through. And high above, just below the edge of the ceiling, the openings of several round ventilation shafts were situated in a line on the walls. Inside these shafts, the prehistoric spells that were left behind continued to labor tirelessly to keep the air circulating and fresh.

Apart from these strange physical quirks of this place, there was also a heavy ambiance permeating throughout.

It was as if everything in the room—from the walls and floors, to the pillars and the table—had soaked in the voices of kings and emperors, sages and immortals, as they held momentous discussions regarding matters of state or about the fate of the world itself. The weight of age, of the passage of countless years, seemed to hang from every brick and beam, making even the air seem reverent and solemn.

In this room, legends were born and histories were made, truly a place worthy of hosting the gathering of the entire cultivation world this time.

When compared to the usual sight of the buildings that the cultivators saw, this was definitely an unforgettable experience.

Inside the room, on the far left side of the table, Feng Huixin stood with Kong Min. In front of them, the map that had previously been held by Jing Shui was now spread open on the black marble.

On the far right of the table, Hei NingYu stood alone, lazily leaning against the wall with closed eyes, his expression blank except for when his gaze occasionally wandered over to meet the eyes of his little sheep. Then he'd promptly discard his dignified aloofness and mouth things like 'Little Sheep, wanna fuck?' or 'Xiande, let's ditch and make out', all of which Chen Xiande studiously ignored with a stoic expression and reddened ears.

Standing on either side of the long table were the sect masters and renowned Elders of various sects, with their head disciples or favored ones standing a step behind them respectfully.

Directly to the left of Feng Huixin stood Liu Xue, then Wu Xiao, with Lu Feiyu after him. Behind their respective masters and standing slightly to the side were Jing Shui and An YaLing.

At Feng Huixin's right were Zhen YiLan and Fu Cangyun, with Chen Xiande and Lei Zihua occupying an appropriate position behind their masters.

The other spaces in the table were all taken by the sect masters and Elders of various well-known mid- and low-tier sects, with their head disciples standing behind them deferentially.

Restless murmurs and subdued chatter rang low in the room, seeming to echo strangely in the giant space, their voices floating above and bouncing off the stone and metal walls.

Suddenly, two figures darkened the doorway of the room. As they strode inside with steady steps, the folding door closed shut behind them to signal that everyone who was expected was done arriving.

The entrance of these two people caused many a scrutinizing gaze to fall upon them immediately. After all, one of them was Feng Qinghe, the cultivator who was witnessed to have been able to engage a deity in a fight and hold his own against him after his realm mysteriously rose up to that of a demigod. On top of that, not only was it discovered that he had been hiding his enchanting features behind appearance changing talismans all this while, he was also just recently revealed to be the son of the Sentinel Grandmaster himself, and the one whom the Grandmaster was rumored to have been searching for all along.

And as for the other, who in the cultivation world didn't yet know that he was this Feng Qinghe's lover? And as the Grandmaster's third disciple and the future leader of the Order of Sentinels, the Sentinel Wei Xiang would have certainly made a great match with Feng Qinghe indeed, except…

He was a heavenly wyvern.

And though the name of the heavenly wyverns was not that well-known by the younger generation, they were still very well remembered by the older generation as ruthless killers who'd slaughtered countless innocents, decimated many sects, and devoured innumerable beasts.

The entire cultivation and mortal world had been so very thankful when they found out that that blasted race of vicious reptilian beasts had been completely wiped out. And yet, here they saw that there was one still left, having been living among them all this while.

Realizing this, many of the Elders and sect masters hadn't been able to help feeling horrified.

Among them was an Elder from a mid-tier sect who immediately voiced his protest in a cultured tone, "Now that we know that Sentinel Wei is one of the heavenly wyverns, I can't say I'm reassured by his presence here."

In the silent room, this statement rang especially prominent and loud.

Halting mid-step as he heard this, Qinghe turned to look at the speaker.

The Elder who had just spoken wore a plain white robe that seemed to be made of the coarse cloth of the common folk, his entire person remaining unadorned. His wrinkled hands were modestly clasped in front of him as he stood tall and straight. His hair was a greyish white that was fastened in a bun at the top of his head with a simple hair stick before continuing to spill down his back. His beard was equally as long, flowing down his front and visibly extending further below the table.

As soon as this Elder spoke, another quickly agreed with a nod while saying in a raspy voice, "We all know how those wyverns were as they cut a swath through the land, murdering and slaughtering all in their way. Who knows when Sentinel Wei will lose his reason and do the same?"

The speaker this time was a hunched over bald cultivator who seemed to be the sect master of a low-tier sect. He had a short, black, and frazzled beard covering his mouth and chin. The detailed tattoo of a thin wooden branch started from beneath his left collar and reached upward, over his neck, jaw, cheek, passing beside the ear, and finally spreading into smaller branches on his bald head. Little red blossoms and buds decorated the branches on his smooth pate, their details meticulously drawn.

Though it seemed as if this bald sect master was speaking to the white-haired Elder, his voice had been loud enough for everyone to hear his words clearly.

At the side, another Elder of a mid-tier sect rubbed his black goatee and frowned. With one hand behind his back, he stood with a valiant and overbearing posture, his aura declaring loud and wide that he was a martial artist.

In a deep voice, he also joined in as he opined, "You all raise valid points and I would like to add another―How will we know whether or not this Sentinel Wei is a part of a greater number of wyverns hiding in the dark, waiting to make their comeback?"

Then turning his disapproving gaze to Feng Huixin, he advised self-righteously, "Grandmaster, you shouldn't let your nepotism cloud your reason. Please stay unbiased and denounce this beast as your disciple."

Watching all this play out, Wei Xiang simply cast them an amused glance, but remained silent as if completely unbothered.

On the other hand, deep rage blazed in Feng Huixin's gaze. How could he bear to hear such words about someone he held dear as his own son?

But before Feng Huixin could articulate his fury, Qinghe's calm voice cut into the heavy atmosphere, "How ironic of the venerated Elder to say that the Grandmaster is showing nepotism. I think it's you revered seniors who are biased."

Narrowing his eyes at the pleasantly smiling figure of the young cultivator, the Elder with the goatee responded in a harsh voice, "Feng Qinghe, what did you just say?!"

Unperturbed, Qinghe continued from before, "Why haven't any of the esteemed seniors considered the reason behind the Grandmaster's choice? Such narrow-mindedness in this current day and age is unseemly."

The bald sect master and the Elder with the goatee puffed up in anger while the white-haired Elder who'd first spoken only frowned.

Scowling fiercely, the bald sect master retorted, "Then pray tell, why should we not fear that Sentinel Wei will start killing people left and right just like the rest of his clan? What sets him apart from those other bloodthirsty beasts?"

Huffing in agreement, the Elder with the goatee also weighed in, "Feng Qinghe, aren't you also biased? Just because he is your lover, you go against your own kind?"

Qinghe's smile dropped as his gaze grew sharp and cutting. "There is no 'my kind' and 'his kind'. Wei Xiang is a good person who has risked himself countless times for the sake of the people of this world. Are you going to ignore his achievements so easily just because he isn't human like you? That's bigoted and the height of idiocy. I hope that the esteemed seniors won't stoop to using such faulty reasoning and baseless slander to disregard someone's hard-earned accomplishments just like that."

The Elder with the goatee felt his face going red with rage as his veins bulged like fat worms under his skin. In his fury, all he could do was yell, "You―! Impudent, too impudent!"

Suddenly, the reasonable-sounding voice of the white-haired Elder cut in, "Disciple Feng, your lover might be like this now, but what makes you think he won't turn against us later? You must admit that there's a reason we fear the heavenly wyverns."

Qinghe face remained expressionless as he replied in a clear and cold voice, "I understand your doubts, but I assure you that they are unfounded. There is no way Wei Xiang will follow down the twisted path of his kin. After all, he was the one who decimated the entire population of heavenly wyverns in the first place."

A stunned silence suddenly descended over the entire room at this unexpected revelation. All the rebuttals in the three people's throats had to be swallowed down after hearing this.

"T-That…that's…" the bald Elder stuttered disbelievingly.

But not giving these people the time to spout any more nonsense, Qinghe interjected firmly as he began explaining, "Wei Xiang was the youngest wyvern, barely four hundred at that time. Even the next youngest wyvern was at least seven thousand years older than him. And yet Wei Xiang was the strongest of them all, someone who was to one day be crowned as the Sovereign of his race, but he was also the most sheltered and restricted one in the entire clan."

Of course, before telling everyone this, Qinghe had already received his Xiang's permission through an exchanged glance. And so, he decided to enlighten these pompous cultivators.

In a more heated tone, Qinghe went on, "After finally learning of the atrocities committed by his clan's people, Wei Xiang took it upon himself to personally kill each and every one of his own kind. Do you think it would have been easy? Do you think he didn't feel miserable having to bear the weight of murdering the entirety of his own clan? The very people he was born and raised amongst? Can you even imagine how something that horrifying must have felt like?!"

Qinghe voice progressively rose, his tone filled with icy anger and blistering rage as it continued to lash at them.

"And yet you have the gall to accuse him as being the same as those murderous beasts. What the fuck do you know? How dare you trivialize everything he did for this world since then just because he is of a race different from yours? Is this the progressiveness perpetuated by the current society? Are you all not ashamed of yourselves?"

Hearing these words, not only the three seniors, but even the others who'd had the attitude of watching a good show, or those who'd had doubts about Wei Xiang, all of them bowed their heads in shame.

Even if Wei Xiang had lived among the wyverns, it was ten thousand years ago. His behavior since then had been exceedingly upright, upholding the law as expected of a Sentinel without any flaws.

Thinking back on this and finally realizing that they had been taken in by superficial aspects like his race or the actions of his clan that obviously weren't his own, the two Elders and one sect master finally felt remorse.

Once he understood his mistake, the white-haired Elder immediately offered a sincere bow towards Wei Xiang. "Sentinel Wei, your lover is right. We have wronged you with our words just now. Please accept this apology on behalf of us all."

Though the bald sect master and the Elder with the goatee still had on unwilling expressions, they didn't refute the white-haired Elder's words of contrition in their stead.

Meanwhile, Wei Xiang was smoothing his palms over the shoulders of his beloved who seemed to have gotten puffed up in anger, still trying to calm the rage burning coldly in his little lover's eyes.

Wei Xiang felt exceedingly warm and gratified at his beloved's fervent defense on his behalf and hadn't been able to help smiling softly all this time.

After all, he didn't care one whit about what the rest of the world thought of him. The only opinions he cared about were that of his Master, his fellow Sentinels, and of course, his dear little lover.

And so, barely casting a glance at these seniors, Wei Xiang said, "There is no need for apology. I did not do any of those things just so it would be acknowledged by you."

As he was, neither their scorn nor their gratitude had the ability to move him.

But hearing what he said, the three seniors only felt even more guilty due to Wei Xiang's casual attitude towards their insulting words, feeling as if they themselves had been too petty in comparison.

Seeing how everything turned out, Feng Huixin felt very satisfied and impressed by the way his son had handled the entire affair, so he decided to not let everyone dwell over it too much and to quickly move on from this topic. After all, who knew what all fingers would begin pointing at his sons again?

And so, in his quiet and commanding voice, Feng Huixin spoke to the gathering at large, "Now that your suspicions have been addressed, I'm guessing no one will oppose Xiang-er joining in?"

No one dared to speak, only nodding to show that they had no problem with it.

Resuming their way forward, Qinghe and Wei Xiang quietly walked over to where Feng Huixin was standing, taking a place on either side of him as he spoke, "Since there are no more objections, let us now begin the discussion on how to deal with the demonic deity Xie Xingye."