Dual Cultivation God Returns Chapter 998: Flames of Progress

"What an interesting young man", the old man appeared next to Yin Xiu who sat down with a pondering look on her face.

"You think so too, Uncle?", she smiled.

"Hehe, how could I not when he managed to leave an impression even on you, Young Miss", the old man chuckled, "If he spoke sincerely his ambitions are..."

"Insane?"

"I was going to pick a nicer way to say it, but yes"

"You won’t report this to Father, will you?"

"Young Miss...", the old man’s tone changed.

"For now. Just for a bit while the trial period we agreed on lasts... I feel like Father might not give him the chance...", and then turning to him, added, "Please..."

"My loyalty to your Father commands me to not agree. But I am on your Mother’s side of the family, even if I am just a junior, and she will never forgive me if I go against your wish and this goes the way I think it will go...", he sighed heavily, stuck in between two impossible choices.

"That’s why I’m asking you to just hold off telling him, you can report to Mom... she’ll understand me"

"Haa~... that... I can do", he finally agreed after sighing.

And then seeing the tea shop owner lady go in this direction, disappeared into thin air again.

"Tha-...", Yin Xiu made an amicable smile toward the lady but before she could thank her and start to get up to go, the lady heavily sighed.

"Don’t worry, there’s plenty of fish in the sea", the lady said, causing Yin Xiu to pause in confusion, not understanding what this meant while the former continued, "Tsk tsk tsk, I thought you had a good atmosphere... to simply walk away and leave you sitting there like that all alone in melancholy... what a heartless jerk"

"Ah... no...! That...", Yin Xiu, starting to understand, raised her hand as she became flustered but the tea shop owner lady shook her head, placing a hand on her shoulder with a warm and encouraging smile.

"Don’t be discouraged. To be honest you’ll find a better one. Just look at him, you’re a fine young lady and he’s sitting there in a ridiculous mask. Fine, he wore another one, but if he’s hiding his face so much he’s likely not that good looking anyway. You’re young, you’ll find a much better one. Hang in there! I believe in you!"

And left before Yin Xiu could recover, as she was left there frozen in place, with her hand still in the air.

—

"She’s a feisty one, isn’t she? There were a couple of times she looked at you like a true member of those cold-blood worms", Fen Baihu appeared on his shoulder on his way back.

"Hahaha, Dragons are ’oversized lizards’, and Serpents are ’cold-blood worms’... what’re Phoenixes for you then? Glorified chickens?"

"And you telling me they’re not?", she said as a matter of fact in a carefree voice while playing with her tails.

He simply laughed, shaking his head, disappearing into the mist.

—

Ko Zhumen looked at his eldest son with a cold steel gaze.

The swelling went away, but the red palm imprint indented into the side of his face didn’t improve no matter how many recovery pills he took or what remedies and ointments he applied., so he stood while turning his head slightly sideways, showing the normal side to his father.

That was how that meeting started. It was not clear what went on after that, but Ko Gunwen went to his favorite courtesan that night as he did every time he felt extreme frustration.

And within the hour Wu Long was looking at the report.

"So he did indeed change his mind", he simply stated without much emotion.

"I knew it!", Zhao Xieren, however, was very distressed, as he stood up, "I knew dep down inside we shouldn’t have trusted that snake, but he looked such an easy mark I proposed it anyway! Damn it! That snake of a bastard! It is my fault, Valley Master"

"It is as much my fault as it is yours. I was the one who ultimately approved using him and the overall plan of action", Wu Long spoke while gesturing the old man to relax and sit back down instead of standing there with a guilty look.

Though a weird expression appeared in his eyes when Zhao Xieren used ’snake’ as a derogatory term. Lately he started hearing all his followers use it more often for some reason. Though he simply didn’t contrast it with the disappearance of the ’sly fox’ or ’wily old fox’ kind of phrases because it didn’t cross his mind to care about seemingly mundane speech patterns. Even now, he only noted the word because of recent events, and immediately dismissed the thought.

He then added, "Besides, it is not like we didn’t think it was possible, you did prepare a contingency, after all"

"You mean, we’re not going after him?"

"Now? Why would we take him out of the equation? By now he should’ve already told the City Lord there was a force gathering against him", Wu Long shook his head.

"The damage he could do is already done", Old Yen nodded in agreement.

"Not that the City Lord didn’t know anyway. So what’s the big deal?", Nie Guanting, who recently was in such a good mood that nothing could shake him, added without dropping the smile that was seemingly permanently stuck on his face, "Rela~x"

"He might’ve known but he didn’t have definite knowledge", Zhao Xieren disagreed with that easygoing attitude toward the issue, "Besides, he now knows the Soaring Feather Trading Company is definitely involved..."

"He cannot do anything against us at this point, if he interferes with the auction the backlash is too big", Sui Luxiao shook her head, "If he does make a move, it will be after the auction, but by then we were already expecting the whole situation to explode"

"Regardless, it is already foregone conclusion", Wu Long spoke, belatedly realizing General Feng was in this meeting as well.

"You can’t uncook the rice that’s been cooked!", the latter exclaimed with much enthusiasm, nodding in agreement to Wu Long as a few smiles appeared around the room at the sight of Wu Long’s face.

"...ehem", Wu Long cleared his throat, "Exactly. That... with the rice... what’s important is that Ko Fuan did what he could do. Now he is harmless to us. But not to the City Lord, thanks to you. I was initially not very keen on that sneaky move but it turned out to be a way to use him even if he betrayed us"

"I see", Zhao Xieren heavily sighed, seeing that Wu Long still had ways to profit from their involvement of Ko Fuan.

Their meeting continued long after that.

—

The day finally came when the delegation from the Wei Dynasty reached the Soft Meadow Continent, as City Lord Ko sent out his second and third sons to greet them into the city.

"Uncle, you have arrived", Wei Yuanjie was also present along with Wu Long standing behind him along with Duan Feng.

’The Emperor’s younger brother, Wei Lufan... I heard Li Weifang mention he was the head of the delegation... but it’s still surprising to see him here...’, Wu Long looked at a middle-aged looking man in the 2nd level Essence Ignition Realm with interest that didn’t show outwardly.

"Hahaha, Yuanjie, have you been well? You look quite good! Growing up to be a real man!!!", Wei Lufan spoke with a wide smile, floating down from the ship.

Behind him, was the face of the 5th prince, Wei Liheng, who tried to put on a show of lightheartedness and mild ridicule, but his eyes betrayed a grim look as he watched his younger brother on the ground below, and a twitch around his eyebrows revealed a barely stopped frown when he saw Wu Long.

Unlike Wei Yuanjie, however, the 5th prince arrived with an entourage, the same entourage that Wu Long saw in his personal side palace within the Imperial Palace Grounds. Who also "graced" him with their looks of either disdain or intimidation, to which he returned a bright friendly smile, throwing them into silent and impotent rage.

And then there were court officials and nobles - these people were here, not as useful additions to the delegation, nor to perform any official functions. They were the audience. It was to them that the two princes had to show who was the dominant one here.

The ceremony of arrival proceeded smoothly after that.

Except that, there wasn’t even a single conversation between the princes as the 5th prince chose not to acknowledge his presence here prior to the arrival of the ’official’ delegation, trying to deny him legitimacy.

At first their ’audience’ read that as a win for the 5th prince.

But when it was revealed that the mission of the 9th prince had already been officially acknowledged by not only the delegation of the Martial Alliance, the three big Cultivation Sects, but also by the official representatives of the two major cities, crucially by the Silver Wing City which was considered to be the official one recognized by the Dynasty on the continent, it became a resounding loss of face for the 5th prince who ’threw a childish tantrum’.

And with the score opening 0-1 for the 9th prince, this event was swiftly concluded.

Later that day, Wu Long informed Wei Yuanjie that he will be going into seclusion for a period ranging from 4 days and up to a week.

"Y-You can’t leave me now! I’ll have to butt heads with my brother every single day, in front of that ridiculous crowd of clownfaces, and you’re telling me you won’t be by my side?", the 9th prince spoke with despair.

"Me being there would do more harm than good to you", Wu Long chuckled, "The 5th prince is dying to make a comeback after today. And he’ll be expecting me to be by your side from tomorrow on. He’ll be preparing to use my identity to attack you all day today, and caught off-guard tomorrow when I won’t be there"

"What about the day after that?"

"You’ll figure it out, Yuanjie. I believe in you", Wu Long spoke with a suddenly serious face, placing a hand on the prince’s shoulder with a motivational look and tone.

"Don’t give me that bullshit!", Wei Yuanjie didn’t buy it, shaking off his hand.

"Ah, not enough dramatism?"

"You can’t leave me to those wolves! I’m serious!"

Wu Long smiled, this time more genuinely, "Did you see the look on your brother’s face today?"

"Well, yeah, you prepared everything to achieve that"

"No, before he even stepped off the ship", Wu Long shook his head.

"Before? I wasn’t looking... sorry, I was focused on Uncle Lufan..."

"Yuanjie, he’s afraid", Wu Long cut in, causing the 9th prince to widen his eyes, "When he saw you, he saw that you’ve changed. You just didn’t notice it because you don’t look in the mirror..."

"I look in the mirror at least 5 times every single day, an hour in the morning"

"What the-...?! ", this caught Wu Long off-guard, so he tried to get back on track, "I mean... you know that thing... about subtle changes every day but bigger ones over longer perio... sorry, you look at yourself in the mirror for a full hour each morning? What’s wrong with you?!"

"I’m trying to see if I gained some muscle or became a bit more-...", Wei Yuanjie began explaining aiding his speech by waving his hands in front of him for some reason.

"N-never mind. I-.. don’t want to know", Wu Long stopped him bu putting his hand up, shaking his head and closing his eyes as he tried to salvage his thoughts in his head, and then opening them again trying to reset the mood, "In any case, he saw a change you didn’t see"

"But I che-...:"

"It doesn’t matter what you see or don’t in the mirror", Wu Long placed both hands on the prince’s shoulders, "Just... hoo~ ... just, listen, okay? He’s not as secure as you think he is. His maternal family had to spend a fortune and a good portion of their political capital just to squeeze him into here. You came here without using a dime of anyone and without needing to lift a finger. If he loses the battle here, he is out of the succession race, you are not even in the succession race, he has much more to lose. You don’t answer to anyone, not even to your sister who didn’t really send you here, that was a plot I came up with for her. He has much more to answer for before his mother who is, unlike in the city, not here to advise him or back him up. He is also outside the Imperial City... no, even outside the Imperial Palace for the first time in his life. You have already lived here for so long you don’t feel how weird it is. But you should remember that feeling. You felt it not long after leaving the Emerald Falls City"

As he spoke, Wei Yuanjie started realizing that the older brother he was, deep down, fearing to confront, was far more vulnerable than he ever thought, which began to calm him down.

"Add to that the effect of the blow you made to him today. You showed that you have already secured all the rights to stand on the stage - he... doesn’t even have the same qualifications to stand beside you on that same stage yet. He has to obtain them from now on. So, remember our conversation about controlling your opponent that day, controlling where they look before they look there. Keep in mind where we want them to look, what we want them to see. Not long ago, you put this City’s Lord, an Essence Ignition Realm cultivator in his place. The kid has nothing against you"

Wei Yuanjie gulped, feeling how much true trust he gained from Wu Long with his performance against City Lord Ko. He knew Wu Long’s subordinates like Zhao Xieren and Old Yen had reservations about putting almost the entire weight of that evening’s plan into Wei Yuanjie’s hands. And it was Wu Long who believed he could do it.

"And besides, my people will be helping you as much as it’s possible", seeing the look in the prince’s eyes change, Wu Long then let go of his shoulders and straightened up, turning to the window while speaking now with his usual lighthearted tone, "So relax, and keep that kid’s head down for me while I do things I need to do"

"Hhh...Fooo~.... Alright", after a loud deep breath, Wei Yuanjie nodded with a detemined look, and then as if remembering, his eyes lit up, "Ah, by the way, Uncle did ask about my guards when we were left alone just like you said. I said they suddenly disappeared like you told me"

"Good", Wu Long nodded, "Did he mention your Mother?"

The look on his face turned more complicated, "He did. He brought a letter from her. She only expressed worry and nothing much more. Though she did send me this"

He reached out into his sleeve...

—

Wu Long arrived in the Oak Fortress.

He would be going into Dual Cultivation seclusion in Fen Baihu’s Dream Realm, of course, but there was something he had to collect from this place first.

He went into the most secure underground chambers, and in one of the chambers, directly above the one with the formation connecting to the Desolate Fortress World Stone, there was another powerful formation tied to the Grand Formation, and the formation in the chamber below.

At the center of this formation floated the paragon-quality Alchemy Pill.

Using the formation in this chamber, it caught the majority of the natural Yin and Yang Qi of Heaven and Earth within the increased flow of Qi between the Iron Claw City World Stone and the Desolate Fortress World Stone, supercharging both the Yin and Yang attributes of the pill to the extreme.

Collecting the pill, he retreated into Fen Baihu’s Dream Realm.

His Dao Family was already aware they were going into seclusion for the next 3 days at least.

This time, the Yin Qi that he would be able to distribute to them all after eating the pill would not only rapidly allow them to improve their innate Yin Qi quality, but also withstand an intense session of Dual Cultivating with him without spreading it out over a longer period of time. Normally, doing so would be harmful to their health, but with the pill’s effects there was no risk or harm whatsoever.

The method of distributing Yin Qi to them also was a bit different, as he was going to do it while Dual Cultivating with them - absorbing the Yang Qi of the pill at the same time himself. This ensured the maximum effects of the pill, which would continuously react within him, as Yin and Yang would clash producing more and more Qi of both attributes.

Thus the vague deadline he gave to Yuanjie, as he estimated the pill’s explosive clash reaction to last 3 to 4 days, but it could also last up to a week.

Before setting out to settle final preparations outside, he received news that Luo Mingyu, Shen Min and Xue Bing will be participating in this Dual Cultivation seclusion, as they finally finished their closed-doors seclusion, succeeding in adapting to their physiques’ awakening.

So as he arrived at the mansion, he was greeted by the sight of all of his beauties except the trio, as they were staging a dramatic reveal. The only two not of the Dao Family here were Hong Yue, who was feeling a bit awkward and out of place, but trying not to ruin the moment for everyone and blend in the celebratory mood, and Yuanfen, who was as excited as everyone else, caught up in the mood around her.

He smiled seeing how excited they all were, making an almost formal ceremony.

Gong Cui sat with her zither, beaming with happiness both for her Dao Sisters, and because she was given the important role of providing music for their grand reveal.

There was a big bronze bell floating quietly behind her, now filled with a different atmosphere from when Wu Long saw it last, as it took on Gong Cui’s unique traits of Qi.

The bell rang, and Gong Cui’s fingers began floating above the strings of the zither like butterflies, producing heavenly sounds of music.

Gong Liwei, made hand seals, and thin green canopy of plant vines grew from her Vessels of LIfe pots, covering the entirety of the terrace they stood on with flowers of a great variety, petals slowly falling down from those above.

And with Fen Baihu’s thought, fireworks went into the sky around the mansion.

The grand-looking double doors, which were the reason this particular part of the mansion was specifically chosen, opened revealing them and it was instantly possible to tell that a great transformation took place in all three.

Xue Bing approached him first.

She no longer froze the ground she walked on, and there was no aura of biting chill around her, and it was effortless and natural. However, her eyes re