Dual Cultivation System: The Villainous Servant’s Rise

Chapter 231: Don’t Speak, Kiss Me! Would Hall Master Black Sha Care to Cooperate?

“Why does she sound like a resentful wife?”

Han Lie secretly teased Ye Qingxuan in his heart as he hurried into the Violet Heaven Palace without stopping.

Inside the pavilion by the artificial lake in the courtyard, Ye Qingxuan sat at the edge. Her bare, jade-like feet dangled just beneath the water’s surface, creating gentle ripples. Beside her left hand, Xiao Zi lay prone, looking exceptionally well-behaved.

“Ahem…”

Han Lie took two quick steps forward and sat down on her right side.

When Ye Qingxuan offered no reaction, Han Lie grew bold. He wrapped his arm around her slender, willow-like waist and pulled her closer. “Who has angered my Sect Leader?”

Ye Qingxuan glanced back slightly, glared at him, and promptly slapped his hand away. “Hmph. Don’t push your luck!”

“Sect Leader, there’s no one else here. What are you afraid of?” Han Lie said shamelessly, immediately wrapping his arm around her again.

“Meow, meow, meow!”

Xiao Zi hissed loudly at the most inopportune moment, as if to say: Am I not a person? Do I not count?

However, Han Lie completely ignored the cat’s protest.

Turning back to Ye Qingxuan, he puffed out his chest with pride. “Sect Leader, look at me now. I’m already at the mid-Nascent Soul stage. At this rate, won’t reaching Soul Formation in a hundred years be as easy as eating and drinking?”

“Hmph. Talk about it when you actually get there!”

By now, even Ye Qingxuan found it difficult to come up with reasons to belittle him. Breaking through from early to mid-Nascent Soul in just over a year? That was a speed even she couldn’t match in her youth.

“Fair enough.”

Han Lie chuckled, then pressed on. “So, Sect Leader… what about my promotion to the Elder Council?”

“Mm. And then?” Ye Qingxuan’s tone remained flat. She had known about the promotion for a long time.

“Hehe,” Han Lie grinned. “I have no objection to living in the small wooden house, but… now that I’m an Elder, shouldn’t my menial duties at the Violet Heaven Palace be exempted?”

“You make it sound as if you’ve actually cleaned the Palace in recent years!” Ye Qingxuan rolled her eyes, her irritation evident.

“I’ve been busy cultivating! A Sect Leader as benevolent as you surely understands, right?”

“I mean, how about we find someone else to clean the place from now on?” Han Lie said with a straight face.

Ye Qingxuan stared at him dead-on, her eyes asking: Are you going to find someone for me?

“Ah, isn’t the perfect candidate right in front of us? Far away in the horizon, yet close enough to touch.”

As he spoke, Han Lie’s gaze drifted meaningfully toward Xiao Zi.

“Meow?!”

Realizing she was the target, Xiao Zi instantly bristled, transforming into her spine-dragon form in a panic. The memory of being coerced by Han Lie to do chores was still a vivid nightmare!

“?”

“Hahahaha~”

Ye Qingxuan paused, stunned for a moment, before bursting into laughter.

Making a demon beast—one that hadn’t even taken human form yet—do household chores? It was an idea so devoid of humanity that even she hadn’t considered it.

Yet Han Lie had!

Compared to him, she suddenly felt like a saint.

“Meow! Meow!”

Xiao Zi began rubbing frantically against Ye Qingxuan’s legs, whining pitifully to avoid a life of servitude.

Ye Qingxuan waved a hand, dismissing the beast. “Go.”

With the Sect Leader’s pardon secured, Xiao Zi didn’t hesitate. Her four legs blurred as she flew from the scene, escaping as fast as she could.

Splash!

Without warning, Ye Qingxuan shoved Han Lie hard, sending him tumbling into the mist-covered artificial lake.

Before he could react, she jumped in after him.

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him with urgent, demanding passion.

Glug, glug~

A long while later.

Han Lie and Ye Qingxuan surfaced together, gasping for air. Drenched, with water dripping from her hair and lashes, Ye Qingxuan looked even more devastatingly beautiful than usual.

“Sect Leader, you are…?”

“Don’t speak. Kiss me!”

Ye Qingxuan pulled him close and kissed him again.

This time, Han Lie understood. She had come around.

Shielded by the lotus leaves and the rising mist, Han Lie and Ye Qingxuan engaged in a fierce, earth-shaking battle beneath the water’s surface.

Fortunately, Han Lie possessed the Pure Yang Sacred Body. Otherwise, withstanding the successive demands of Grand Elder Chi Lian and Sect Leader Ye Qingxuan would have been impossible!

………

Meanwhile, far from the sect.

Old Ghost Black Sha wandered aimlessly through the wilderness.

He didn’t know where he was going or what he wanted to do. The humiliation of losing to Han Lie—of handing over the Elder seat that was already in his grasp—clung to him like a nightmare. It gnawed at his heart, refusing to fade.

He knew that if he didn’t overcome this failure, an Inner Demon would take root. And for a cultivator, an Inner Demon was a death sentence.

Twenty years ago, he never would have imagined that he would be driven to the brink of collapse by someone he once considered an ant.

Where had it all begun? Was it when Han Lie killed his disciples, Cai Zhen and Yun Xia? But why were they involved with Han Lie in the first place? Why were they found naked and brutalized in the wilderness?

He didn’t know. And now, the truth was buried too deep to find.

“Isn’t this Hall Master Black Sha of the Heavenly Void Sect’s Overlord Hall? Why do you look so vexed and dejected?”

Suddenly, a voice tinged with mockery cut through his thoughts.

Black Sha looked up to see a man with narrow eyes standing nearby, hands tucked into his sleeves.

“Holy Son Zhao Batian of the Sun Moon Sect?”

Black Sha’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Heh. This Senior is in a bad mood, and you just happen to walk into the line of fire. Very well… today, I will vent my anger on you!”

“Hold on, Hall Master Black Sha.”

Zhao Batian spoke unhurriedly. “I am not here to cause trouble. Besides, do you really think I would place myself in danger without preparation?”

As the words left Zhao Batian’s mouth, Black Sha sensed it.

A terrifying, predatory aura locked onto him from the shadows—like a primordial beast waiting to pounce.

“Hmph. Whatever trick you are playing, lay it out directly. I have no time or patience for hide-and-seek!” Black Sha growled.

Zhao Batian smiled faintly. “Heh. Hall Master, I sought you out today to discuss important business.”

“I heard that you lost to Han Lie in your sect’s Elder selection tournament, costing you your seat on the Council. Is that correct?”

“Are you courting death?”

Black Sha’s face darkened, and killing intent radiated from him in waves. This boy was poking a fresh wound. Did he think Black Sha wouldn’t dare to kill him?

“Please, calm down. I did not come to mock you.”

“Hall Master Black Sha may not know this, but I also have significant grievances with Han Lie. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“If we join forces—working from the inside and outside—killing Han Lie should be a simple matter.”

Zhao Batian’s smile widened, cold and sharp.

“I wonder… would Hall Master Black Sha be willing to cooperate with me?”