hide in the banished palace and level up to a big boss
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Old Demon Han paused for a bit and took a deep breath before continuing, “Having broken into Saint level now, I guess I have nothing to hide.
“During my travels many years ago, I stumbled upon a huge secret.
“The founder of Great Xia, Liu Ling, hailed from a noble clan that had isolated itself from the world. He was an important member of his family.
“Legend has it that important members of these kind of clans that isolated themselves from the world would have a jade piece that verified their identities.
“As long as a member gets their hands on such a piece of identification jade, this member would be accepted back into the clan and be fostered.
“Even if the one holding the piece of jade is not a member of the main family, having this piece would allow one to gain something nonetheless.”
Li Mu nodded as he listened to Old Demon Han.
He’d never expected that the founder of Great Xia would have had such a past.
Clans isolated from the world…
He thought that he’d overheard the members of the Xuan Sect talking about this before.
The powers that such clans commanded were every bit equal to those of the Xuan Sect.
So that was why the grand founder of Xia had been able to conquer the entire country and keep it for so many years, eh?
“Is this the identification jade that you are speaking of?”
Li Mu took out the piece of jade that he’d gotten from the stone room and handed it to Old Demon Han.
The man took the piece in his hand and had a good look. He paused for quite a long time, seemingly steeped in his recollections.
Suddenly, he seemed to have realized something as he inspected the jade piece. He threw his head back and looked at Li Mu with a terrified look on his face. “This…you a…are, you really are tha…”
“I’m not.”
Li Mu knew that Old Demon Han had mistaken him for that dead old person from the stone room.
“You, sir, are living yet another life!”
“I’m really not him.” Li Mu shook his head.
He then continued right away, asking, “Do you know where this clan is?”
All of a sudden, he noticed that the look in Old Demon Han’s eyes seemed to be off.
That look seemed to be saying something like:
Yeah, right, let’s just keep pretending that you know nothing, eh?
You wanna lie to me saying that you’re not him? You really think I’ll believe you?
You’ve got something like this on you, and you’re frighteningly powerful.
Who else would you be if you’re not Liu Ling?
Old Demon Han just wouldn’t believe him, no matter how hard Li Mu tried to explain himself.
He had no choice but to let Old Demon Han keep on misunderstanding him.
The man followed right behind him when Li Mu emerged from the dungeon.
“You’ve not seen the stars in the night sky for years. Feel free to gaze as much as you’d like. But let me remind you that there are now three Saint-level warriors out there in the city. They’re all more powerful than you are, and they’ve been out there looking for you as of late.”
Li Mu turned around and informed Old Demon Han about all this as soon as they emerged from the dungeon.
“Thank you for the reminder, sir.”
Old Demon Han then took off for Mount Yan as soon as he’d finished speaking. He stopped when he got to the mountain.
Li Mu was able to sense that Old Demon Han was watching him in secret.
Who cares?
If he likes thinking that I’m someone else, let him.
I’ll just ask him about the clan when he no longer believes that I’m Liu Ling.
He stood in the compound of the Shouning Palace.
He looked up at the stars.
He was in his 30s, and so was the emperor.
Time passed just as quickly as it had back in his past life.
He was all grown up before he even realized it.
Old Demon Han sorted out his meridians at Mount Yan, then internalized all that true qi that Li Mu had infused him with.
His powers saw significant growth after that.
It took only two days for Old Demon Han’s powers to grow from early Saint level to the peak of the first tier of Saint level.
“Shouning Palace? That old guy is actually a eunuch of Shouning Palace?”
Li Mu’s true identity caught him off guard and baffled him.
The figure who had been wearing green robes had the same aura signature.
Even his facial features vaguely matched those of that man.
How could this be possible?
The founder of a nation had come back to life again just to castrate himself and live as a eunuch?
What was the point of living such a life then?
Especially so given the appearance of Concubine Jing of that “cold” palace.
What a beauty…and a widow.
Wouldn’t this be a terrible waste then?
Old Demon Han, who was feeling stunned as his jaw dropped to the ground, wanted to head into the palace, grab Li Mu by the collar, and interrogate him.
What is the meaning of this?
Why are you doing this?
Haven’t we trained for our entire lives just to get our hands on riches and prestige?
How could you cast everything aside just like that?
A beauty is right beside you, and power is within your grasp.
The life span of a person is only decades, and even those who are cultivators only live for centuries.
We would all return to dust one day.
What are you doing not enjoying whatever you can in the last years of your life?
Even if you’re not that grand ancestor, you, sir, are at least a Saint-level warrior.
Why are you a eunuch instead?
Old Demon Han felt his mind crumbling.
His presence somewhat leaked out as the state of his being fluctuated under all these bursts of emotions.
Back in the Shouning Palace~
Li Mu looked in the direction of Mount Yan.
What is that dude doing?
Why doesn’t he fear losing control of himself with all those emotional fluctuations going on?
At the same time, elsewhere~
In a brothel somewhere in the city, a well-mannered young man’s head jolted in the direction of Mount Yan.
“What’s up, brother?”
The middle-aged man by his side, who had his arm around a girl asked, seeing how the young man’s face had turned so serious.
“Carry on. I’ll be back in a short while.”
The young man forgot all about the two girls who had been in his arms mere moments ago and left the building.
The girls cursed as a result.
The young man headed straight for Mount Yan as soon as he left the brothel.
Back in the brothel, both the middle-aged man and the stout man looked at each other with puzzled expressions.
“Come here, boys! Let’s play some fun games today, and the one who loses has to take off all their clothes.”
The girls in their arms had turned their heads.
Their soft words had ensnared them, casting them into a world where pheromones reigned supreme.
Both of them then thought for a bit.
That brother of theirs was a Saint-level warrior at the fifth tier.
What danger could he run into in this country anyway?
Even if he were to be caught in a pinch, it’s not like the two of them could do anything about it, and actually we might just be in his way.
The stout man kissed the girl in his arms right away.
“You naughty boy!”
The middle-aged man simply lay down and let the girls do as they pleased with him.
Back at Mount Yan~
Inside a cave~
Old Demon Han was still unable to calm himself down.
He had been trying very hard to do it.
Man, I guess only by being able to cast aside the trappings of the mortal realm, can one truly be great.
He noted that his state of mind couldn’t compare with that guy’s.
He began to review himself.
“Good words. Only by being able to cast aside the trappings of the mortal realm can one reach the peak of warriorhood. However, you and I are still both men. I never expected to see someone with such vision and knowledge in the mortal world.”
A soft-spoken voice could be heard coming from outside the cave.
“Who goes there?”
Old Demon Han was startled.
What level is that person at?
He’s already outside the cave, and yet I couldn’t sense him.
“Peak of the first tier of the Saint level. I take it that you’re the guardian of the royal palace, no?”
The young man walked into the cave.
Old Demon Han’s pupils contracted.
This man was far more powerful than he was.
“I take it that you’re from the Xuan Sect?” Old Demon Han probed.
He remembered his savior had told him that there were several Saint-level warriors from the Xuan Sect in the city.
He didn’t answer the young man’s question.
“I am indeed. Seems as if you know quite a lot.”
“I happen to know enough.”
He had been in contact with those from the sect when he was young.
They had had a high opinion of him, thinking that he was quite a genius and wanting to take him back to the Xuan Sect.
He’d learned of the rules of that sect and found them to be restrictive, and so he had run away.
“I see.” The young man nodded and continued, “I’d like to ask you something.”
“What would that be?”
Old Demon Han frowned.
Why do all these capable people like asking me stuff so much?
“Do you know Dugu Feng, and where he’s been?”
“Dugu Feng, eh. A name I haven’t heard for quite a while.” Old Demon Han began recollecting and then asked, “Didn’t he go with you people from the sect?”
“So, you haven’t seen Dugu Feng around then?”
“No, I haven’t.” Old Demon Han shook his head adamantly.
“Very well, then.”
The young man turned around and left, disappearing from the cave.
Old Demon Han wiped the sweat off his brow and emerged from the cave.
Gosh, that was scary! If I am ever going to hide in a cave again, I’ll sure as h*ll find one with a backdoor. If these people were to turn hostile, I’d at least be able to run.
Back in Shouning Palace~
Li Mu took a look at Mount Yan.
He’d never expected that a warrior from the Xuan Sect would actually look for Old Demon Han over there.
Lucky for him that nothing untoward had happened.
He then sensed that Old Demon Han had found himself another cave.
Li Mu was baffled.
People don’t usually stick their necks into dangerous places. This guy really is something indeed.