Legend of the Great Sage

an arcane treasure.
If news of this gets out, he’ll definitely become a target for all.
Everyone will want to steal it from him.

But upon further consideration, the Marquis of Serene Sea decided to keep his mouth shut.
If he were up against a normal person, refusing to admit he divulged the news was enough.
After all, they could not fall out with him over some suspicion.
However, this unreasonable ruffian Li Qingshan probably would not listen to his explanations at all.
As long as he had even the slightest bit of suspicion, all he had to do was utter, “You look like you collude with demonic cultivators.” and it would be bold enough to kill him!

Anyways, this person is far too ostentatious! I better avoid him for now and wait until the day he digs his own grave!

 ……

Outside the Mist capital, in the Hawkwolf Guard.

An attendant rushed to the back of the mountain and arrived before a towering tree.
The tree stooped over a thousand meters tall.
It was not particularly conspicuous, but the attendant bowed politely towards the tree.

“Commander, there’s been a report from the South Sea commandery!”

“What’s the matter?”

The huge tree suddenly opened a pair of eyes.
A tiny Gold Hawk tablet hung from a branch high up, glistening with light.

“There’s been a report from the South Sea commandery that the White Hawk commander Huang Siqin has been colluding with demonic cultivators.
He’s already been executed by Li Qingshan, and the others are still under investigation.
He requests to be promoted to White Hawk commander!”

“Oh? Looks like he’s very suited for the south!”

If this were the Green province, a White Wolf commander killing a White Hawk commander would definitely lead to a huge uproar.
It was even possible for them to be taken back to the headquarters of the Hawkwolf Guard in the Dragon province for investigation.

However, this was the Mist province.
The South Sea commandery was to the very south of the Mist province, a place of utter chaos.
Huang Siqin was not a White Hawk commander completely loyal to the Hawkwolf Guard either.
If someone said he was colluding with demonic cultivators, there was no need for any investigations at all.
This was a secret that everyone in the southern region knew about.
It would be a great crime in the Green province, but it was absolutely nothing in the Mist province.

“Grant his request!”

 ……

As a result, Li Qingshan was promoted at a startling pace, becoming the new White Hawk commander of the South Sea commandery.

“Heh, if you wanna hold a post as an official, you really gotta commit murder, arson, and enlist rebels into your ranks!”

Li Qingshan changed into the uniform of a White Hawk commander, standing tall and gracefully.
A tiny, silver hawk hung from his waist as he smiled at Xiao An.

Now, he would be waiting for various kinds of people to come kill him so that he could enjoy the warm welcome from the locals of the South sea.

However, no matter how he waited, he did not even catch the glimpse of an enemy.
Even the master of the White Wolf guard he had smashed to death did not come to avenge his disciple.
His days here were basically even more peaceful than when he was in the Green province.

Li Qingshan was utterly puzzled.
Was this still the danger-ridden south? He felt like he had misunderstood something, so he visited the Marquis of Serene Sea’s estate again.

“Congratulations on being promoted to White Hawk commander! May I ask what has brought you here today?” The Marquis of Serene Sea asked cautiously.

“Governor, tell me, why hasn’t anyone come to kill me?” Li Qingshan sat down without any invitation and asked with a frown.

The Marquis of Serene Sea was left at a loss.
What kind of question was that? He even seemed distressed about that.
He asked carefully, “Why would anyone come to kill you?”

“Look, I’m from an orthodox sect.
That day, I even claimed I wanted to purge demons and maintain justice, saying that those who abide by me will prosper and those who defy me will die! News of this should have spread, right? What are these demonic cultivators waiting for before they come and kill me?”

“You want them to come and kill you?” The Marquis of Serene Sea was left as his wit’s end.

“Of course.
Why else would I say all that? Huhu, how embarrassing would it be if I were to name them one by one?”

“Why do you want this?”

The Marquis of Serene Sea looked at Li Qingshan with a gaze like he was looking at a monster.
As it turned out, he had intentionally said that to mock the demonic cultivators of the South Sea commandery so that he could provoke them and have them come to kill him.

What was wrong with him?

“I want to kill people! It doesn’t even have to be people.
Anything works,” Li Qingshan said at complete ease.

With everything that had happened so far, he did not want to hide his true intentions anymore and ramble on some nonsense about upholding justice.
His main objective of coming to the South Sea commandery was to fight to his heart’s content so that the tiger demon’s desire for slaughter could be completely satiated!

“Isn’t the first precept of buddhism to refrain from taking life?” The Marquis of Serene Sea was left stunned for a good moment.

Li Qingshan chuckled.
“Eradicating the demonic and preserving the orthodoxy, eradicating the demonic and preserving the orthodoxy!”

The Marquis of Serene Sea was very tempted to say, You don’t need to explain anymore.
You’ve been smothered and inhibited by the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga! The south that was a zone of danger in the eyes of others was a place for him to vent.

As a result, he let out a long sigh.
“There probably won’t be anyone trying to kill you any time soon!”

“Why? I heard that Huang Siqin had quite a lot of friends? Don’t tell me none of them have any loyalty to him?”

The Marquis of Serene Sea let out a dry cough.
He was also technically one of Huang Siqin’s “friends”.
After beating around the bush, Li Qingshan finally understood why no one was making trouble for him.

First of all, the great strength he had demonstrated when killing Huang Siqin was already enough to deter most demonic cultivators.
Even with Huang Siqin’s network, a person dying was far all too common.
This was the south.
No one would be willing to work for a corpse’s sake.

Li Qingshan’s words and actions that he believed to be highly provocative achieved exactly the opposite effect.
With how arrogant and brutal he was, killing people without even batting an eye, he was clearly a demon himself.
Even the cultivation method he practised reeked with demon qi.
Even if he was a disciple of an orthodox sect, he was merely one of them in disguise.

As a result, the demonic powerhouses and demonic organisations capable of threatening Li Qingshan felt that they could try befriending or roping him in instead.

“It can work like that?” Li Qingshan was astounded.