His deliberate aloofness of her feelings exasperated her. She felt like twisting him into a fried dough.

She didn’t know why her bloodline was so afraid of him. It seemed that this instinct has been imprinted into her blood, perhaps from one generation to another.

“What’s your name?” She took another deep breath. This was already her lowest bottom line. Any more and she would really explode and take it out on him.

“Li Qiye.” Li Qiye nonchalantly said, still relaxing.

“Li Qiye.” She murmured. She had never heard of this name before, at least not in the northern region of West King among the list of geniuses. She certainly would have remembered.

Wait a minute. She kept on thinking about this name and found it familiar as if she had heard it long ago. It’s a shame that she couldn’t come up with any specifics.

“Have we met before?” She was no longer angry after reflecting on the circumstances. She felt as if she had met him before. Now, even his name sounded familiar. This feeling only grew stronger.

“No.” Li Qiye said.

The girl still didn’t like his tone. She snorted and decided to leave. Lingering here would only serve to infuriate her even more.

“Send my regards to your clan’s old men.” Li Qiye casually spoke as she was leaving.

She naturally froze for a moment before turning around again.

“You know who I am?” She thought that Li Qiye didn’t know who she was at first.

“No, but I know your bloodline and your eye. It’s different but the seal in the bloodline can’t change.” Li Qiye still didn’t open his eyes.

“Who are you?” The girl was astonished. He seemed to know their clan’s secrets.

Remember, they were extremely old, dating back to the Ancient Era or even an older epoch.

“Li Qiye.” Li Qiye repeated.

She didn’t know how to respond because of his attitude.

“Who do you want me to tell?” The girl took a deep breath and asked.

“The oldest geezer in your clan then.” Li Qiye nonchalantly said.

“...” She staggered backward while staring at him in disbelief.

“Do you really know our ancestor?” She said with uncertainty. Very few people had the privilege of meeting their strongest ancestor.

“You have a certain something on you.” Li Qiye opened his eyes for a look before returning to his lazy state.

She stood there in a daze, lost in thoughts.

“Go now, remember to learn how to make tea. That was terrible.” Li Qiye waved his hand.

She didn’t know what came over her but she immediately followed his order.

After traveling a long distance, a gust of wind woke her up. She shuddered, not understanding why she obeyed several times in one meeting. The whole thing felt like a dream. She thought that he had put a spell on her.

She regained her composure and knew that something was going on.

“No, I have to return to the clan to get to the bottom of this.” She glanced back at the village and became determined. She then sped off towards the horizon.

***

On the other hand, Li Qiye didn’t care about her visit in the slightest.

The children improved greatly. After a period of hard training, they broke out of Mortal Shell and entered Iron Skin.

Fuyou was ecstatic. Already being Iron Skin cultivators at their age? They could definitely join Divine Black.

This was ten years earlier than his expectation. Such achievements were beyond his wildest dreams.

He still hasn't become an Enlightened Being yet since he listened to Li Qiye and focused on his dao foundation instead. A strong one would bear greater fruits in the future.

However, there was one thing confusing him. The children were at the Iron Skin realm yet Li Qiye was still stuck in Mortal Shell. It took him a long time to go from minor to intermediate. Even the slowest child in the village was faster than Li Qiye in this regard.

Fuyou didn’t think that Li Qiye lacked talents and comprehension. Someone like that wouldn't have been able to teach the children so well.

“Young Master, why are you cultivating so slowly?” He finally asked one day.

“Cultivation requires slow and steady to go further.” Li Qiye leisurely responded.

Fuyou didn’t respond. He understood the logic but it didn’t really apply to him and the others. This might be Li Qiye’s own path.

When Huang Jie returned to the village the next time, he was caught off guard by the children’s development.

“Senior Brother, looks like you’re as good a teacher as you’re a cultivator.” Huang Jie said: “I bet you will be a famous instructor back at the sect.”

“It’s not because of me.” Fuyou shook his head.

Huang Jie assumed that the guy was only being humble and took another gander at the children: “Senior Brother, the children are qualified to join the sect now.”

Fuyou discretely glanced at Li Qiye after hearing this.

Huang Jie saw the hesitation and said: “Senior Brother, the sect needs talents, especially our peak. Thousand Demon and Furious Tiger outnumber us, if we don’t keep trying, we’ll lose our influence completely.”

“Sorry, forget about this mess. Just think about the children though, there are many merit laws for them at the sect. You can’t keep them here forever nor teach them new merit laws that belong to the sect.” He continued.

Huang Jie was right. Fuyou only had two merit laws and they might not be suitable for the children. Moreover, he couldn’t actually teach them without permission from the sect, not even to his own children, let alone the villagers.

“Let me think about it.” Fuyou eventually said.

“Yes, the Peak Lord would love to have them join.” Huang Jie said before leaving.

“What is your opinion, Young Master?” Fuyou then asked Li Qiye.

“It’s fine to join Divine Black because this place is under its jurisdiction in the first place. Making them stay here will narrow their vision. Let them go out and see the world.” Li Qiye agreed with Huang Jie.