Chapter 57

No wonder he had been so generous when they first met, gifting her a whole storage pouch as a greeting. She had thought herself irresistibly charming, but it turned out he had already recognized her! What a waste of emotion.

As she recalled that day, another thought struck her: something didn’t add up. How old was her uncle, really? Her mother wasn’t that old, yet her grand-mentor had called her uncle “that old fellow,” and even referred to him as the Demon Lord. Didn’t that mean her uncle was older than her grand-mentor? How could he possibly be her mother’s younger brother?

Unable to contain her curiosity, Li Mengze spoke up. She noticed her uncle’s gentle gaze toward her mother and his kind eyes when he looked at her, so she felt safe to ask.

“Father, that day when I saw Grand-mentor, he clearly said Uncle was the Demon Lord, and that he belonged to the demon cultivators... um.” She glanced up at her aloof uncle, relieved to find his expression still gentle, then whispered, “He also said Uncle was an old codger. So how old is Grand-mentor, really? Is he younger than Uncle? That would be unbelievable! Uncle is your younger brother, after all, and there’s barely a hundred years’ difference between you. As Grand-mentor is of the same generation as Uncle’s teacher, how could he be younger than Uncle? What a rare thing!”

The demon cultivator’s eyes lit up. He glanced surreptitiously at his sister, who sat calmly nearby, then leapt to his feet, indignantly declaring, “That old scoundrel! How dare he slander me in front of my niece and ruin my reputation? I must go and settle accounts with him!”

With that, he moved toward the door, pausing as he passed Li Mengze to hand her a half-moon peony hairpin. “Last time was too rushed; this is a special gift I prepared for my little niece.” As soon as he finished, his figure vanished.

“Oh, this boy! He was a handful when young, and even now he’s no easier to manage,” Madam Li lamented. Her daughter had never caused her such trouble, and had grown up smoothly; though she worried for her, it was nothing compared to her rebellious brother. Just seeing him gave her a headache!

Li Mengze, cheerful as ever, sat beside her father, fiddling with the hairpin. It looked dull and lackluster, hardly fit for a cultivator of the Nascent Soul stage. She had yet to bind it to herself, and didn’t understand its properties, so she handed it to her father.

Li Yunran examined it, then passed it back. “A high-grade treasure, and it can be upgraded. When you reach the Nascent Soul stage, I’ll refine it for you; it might become a low-grade immortal artifact then.” By the time his daughter reached Nascent Soul, he would surely be in the Spirit Transformation stage himself, and refining an immortal artifact ought not to be too difficult.

Li Yunran had already promised the item before he had acquired the skills to refine immortal artifacts, giving it on credit.

Li Mengze tucked the hairpin into her storage pouch, planning to bind it later, then turned to her troubled mother, teasing, “Mother, how come I’ve never heard you talk about Uncle? Was he naughty when he was young and you kicked him out?”

Madam Li gave her daughter a look. Ah, she and her brother were opposites—her daughter had never caused her concern, while her brother never gave her peace. If only they could balance each other out.

“Your uncle, when he was young, was the type to suffer in silence. I fought his battles for him from childhood. He had great talent and was very likable—every parent praised him as the model child. But behind the scenes, he was quite mischievous. I’d beat up his tormentors for him, and he’d quietly get back at them in other ways. Eventually, fewer people wanted to play with him.

I figured, cultivators who lack friends can just focus on cultivation; it’s no big deal, so I didn’t pay much attention. But in the blink of an eye, he found himself a companion—the direct grandson of the then Demon Ancestor. The two became inseparable, and before I realized, my brother had gone from a righteous cultivator to the Demon Ancestor’s disciple. I couldn’t even cry for him.”

Now, things had turned out well—her brother’s cultivation soared, while she hadn’t yet formed her core, and he had already reached the Spirit Transformation stage. His choices had been proven right. She thought, since the boundary between the righteous and demon paths was less clear, let him be a demon cultivator. He had reached Spirit Transformation; it was time to find a sister-in-law and continue the family line. Even if that was impossible, a brother-in-law would do. Unexpectedly, he really brought home a husband. Well, that was fine—two companions supporting each other, progressing together.

But she swore she never expected her brother to be the one being married off! In her mind, with his cultivation at Spirit Transformation, he should be the dominant partner. Yet seeing his unruly face, just like when he was a child, she knew her brother had married himself off!

Though male-male marriages were now commonplace, she couldn’t bring herself to tell her daughter, “Your uncle married himself off,” so she simply said, “Why aren’t you off cultivating? If you get knocked down at the centennial tournament, people will say you’re your father’s and my daughter, and I’ll be embarrassed.” With that, she turned away, refusing to say more.

Li Mengze glanced at her father and sighed. She was clearly being scapegoated. Well, her mother needed her father’s comfort; she’d better retreat.

After Li Mengze left, three more figures appeared in the hall: Li Yunzan, the demon cultivator, and another man clad in black, whose stern face suggested he was not to be trifled with.

Yet this person was quite courteous. After Li Yunzan and the demon cultivator sat down, he did not stand on ceremony, but respectfully saluted Li Yunran and his wife.

He Lian Pingyu, grandson of the previous Demon Ancestor, had always been a favored child of heaven, never bowing to anyone—especially not to cultivators of lower rank. But for the demon cultivator’s sake, he made an exception; after all, she was his elder sister, the one who raised him.

Li Yunran felt the situation was awkward, but seeing his wife receive the salute without hesitation, he knew if he left, he’d be sleeping alone that night; so he stayed seated.

This centennial tournament was taken seriously by every sect, but not to the extent of Spirit Transformation cultivators leading teams. It was just that these old fellows had nothing better to do and seized the opportunity to stir up trouble—perhaps even a few fights. That’s why they arrived faster than anyone.

However, it was uncertain if they would show up during the tournament itself. The two demon sect cultivators were currently the highest-ranked and youngest among their peers. Their presence puzzled outsiders, but those in Kunlun who knew the truth found it unsurprising.

In the cultivation world, marriages between sects were common—whether between men and women or between men. Among these alliances, some were equal, others not. Equal alliances counted as family, while unequal ones rarely amounted to much.

For Kunlun, the demon cultivator was an indirect relative, but one of considerable importance, hence their permission to appear in the inner mountains.

He Lian Pingyu had long accepted his partner’s tendency to sneak off. Luckily, this time the journey wasn’t far; he could finish his sect duties and catch up. He was quite content.

Earlier, while Li Mengze was present, He Lian Pingyu had been absent—he and Li Yunzan had gone to see the Kunlun Sect Master. By rights, his cultivation was higher, and the roles should have been reversed, but as a guest on someone else’s turf, he had to show proper respect.

These two only lingered a few days in Kunlun before leaving. Li Mengze didn’t see them depart, but she had already received He Lian Pingyu’s greeting gift, which was quite generous.

The first round of the centennial tournament was a chaotic battle—only the top hundred in each cultivation stage would advance to solo matches.

Elite disciples from each sect could bypass the first round, a privilege not to be wasted, and Li Mengze accepted this without qualms.

Even so, the melee was quite a spectacle—over a thousand participants in a ring, knocking each other out. While those left weren’t guaranteed to be the strongest, at least eighty percent had real skills.

The first day was for the Foundation Establishment disciples. Li Mengze stood on the Kunlun viewing platform, watching the arenas below. Foundation Establishment had the largest numbers—each sect sent hundreds, sometimes thousands. Not all were elite; most had to earn their place in the second round.

Including the rogue cultivators, Li Mengze shook her head. It was a grueling contest. Yet no matter how many there were, talent shone. These Foundation Establishment cultivators weren’t fools; before the contest began, they sought information on their opponents, giving rise to a trade in hot contestant profiles.

In such circumstances, if they encountered a listed opponent, they would avoid rash attacks and target weaker competitors instead.

In Arena Thirteen, closest to Li Mengze, she spotted a particularly interesting team of four. They huddled together, able to attack or defend as needed. What made them stand out was their strategy: rather than avoiding the active contestants, they targeted them first, picking opponents of equal strength. Among them was a girl skilled in formations; the other three supported her, holding off the crowd to buy time for her to set up. Once the formation activated, their opponents vanished—teleported out before they realized what was happening.

This team, she thought, would surely make it to the second round. Their abilities were balanced, but whether they would advance further depended on luck as much as skill.