"Is your head really made of a block of wood?" Bai Qingling asked in an annoyed tone.
"What? Watch your mouth woman, why would you say something like that?" Peng Xiaoli growled.
"Then what, that man is a mortal. He has zero cultivation. Frankly, I think he might not even know much about cultivation. And you want such a man to explain to you the intricacies of transforming killing intent into slaughter qi, huh?" Bai Qingling asked in a tone that conveyed how stupid she thought that idea was.
Peng Xiaoli scowled and looked over at the battle in the distance. His face flushed as he realized how erroneous his thoughts were. Yet, he didn't want to accept that. Especially, to this particular woman. Someone, whom he had defeated prior.
"Hmmph, then how do you think he is doing it? He must have a secret technique. If I can get my hands on it, my battle prowess will rise to a whole new level."
"I doubt it, I think that man is doing that instinctively. I don't think he knows what he is even doing. The best option will be to rope him into our faction and get the secret out of him slowly," Bai Qingling said frowning.
"I don't have that much patience," Peng Xiaoli growled. "If he refused to hand over that secret technique, I will smash him into a pulp."
"No, you will do no such thing. This man may not have an ounce of cultivation in him. But, what he is doing is special. The higher-ups in our sects would be very happy if we can rope him into our faction. That way, we can figure out his secrets slowly and try to replicate them," Bai Qingling said sternly.
"Hmmph, whatever, this is becoming boring already. At least tell me that you have a plan to rope him into our faction," Peng Xiaoli said somewhat dissatisfied.
"I do have one. Who do you think I am? Do you think I have wood for brains like you? Haven't you noticed that despite all these special things about him, he doesn't have cultivation at all? That means a man like him will be eager to cultivate. All we needed to do was to offer him a place in our sects," Bai Qingling said looking into the distance.
"Oh, then it doesn't matter. My sect wouldn't accept someone who has no cultivation despite being nearly 20. It must mean that the boy's cultivation talent must be really low for no one to take him in until now," Peng Xiaoli frowned.
"Don't worry about it, my Blue Wind Society Hall will take him in," Bai Qingling said confidently causing Peng Xiaoli to look at her suspiciously. "I will personally make sure of that."
"A recommendation from you is more like an order," Peng Xiaoli snorted. "Why do you even want to go that far for a mere mortal?"
"I have my reasons," Bai Qingling said succinctly looking hungrily at the direction of the battle.
"What if he refuses?" Peng Xiaoli asked after a while.
"Don't be stupid," Bai Qingling snorted. "He won't be in a position to do that. I am not telling you I will be forcing him. That would only create trouble in the future. No, by the time I am done, he will be willingly groveling at my feet to get accepted into my Blue Wind Society Hall."
Peng Xiaoli looked into the distance and saw the man battling a demonic beast head-on without even a bit of cultivation. He sincerely doubted that such a valiant man would grovel for anything.
"You don't believe me," Bai Qingling said in a superior tone tinged with pride. "Haven't you noticed that despite his efforts he has not yet made a single scratch on the demonic beast? If this continues, he will be exhausted soon. I will waltz in decimating all the beasts including the demonic one and he will be grateful for it."
"Moreover, with my beauty, it would be incredibly easy to charm him as well. And with a small hint here and there, he would be putty in my hands. He will want to follow me and grow stronger. Then I will grudgingly accept him to be my follower. This way I will earn both his adoration and loyalty."
Peng Xiaoli looked shocked upon hearing Bai Qingling's plan. He never knew that even saving someone can be leveraged like this. He preferred to be straightforward and all these convoluted approaches made his head ache.
"Is that how you earned most of your followers and pursuers?" Peng Xiaoli asked curiously.
"Mostly, some fell for my beauty. Some want me for the power they will get if they get me. Some pursue me because their elders asked them to. But, most men I have as followers and pursuers are someone I helped out just like this," Bai Qingling said shamelessly.
"And here is the interesting part, I wouldn't even bat an eye if they died. And these morons will eagerly lay their life down to get a smile from me," Bai Qingling said with a proud smile.
Peng Xiaoli could only shake his head. Good thing he preferred battle then. He didn't know if he wouldn't become one of these morons as well. After all, Bai Qingling had both power and beauty. Which man wouldn't covet her? Not to mention the rise in status they would obtain by marrying her.
"So, are you interested in pursuing me as well?" Bai Qingling asked in a mischievous tone.
Peng Xiaoli snorted and looked away. Who would pursue her after hearing how she treated her other pursuers? He, Peng Xiaoli, did have his pride. He wouldn't fall to such a low level.
Still, it would be even more powerful to conquer a beauty like Bai Qingling, whom no one had ever managed to make an impression. Just obtaining her alone would declare to the world that he was a cut above the rest of the masses.
It is not as if she wasn't a beauty either, right?
Peng Xiaoli's eyes sneaked a few peeks at Bai Qingling's breathtaking figure. He couldn't help but lick his lips as desire stirred inside him. His pants felt tight for a moment before he comported himself and looked away.
Bai Qingling noticed this and had a small smile of victory on her face. One of her objectives in coming to the Grasslands was close to completion. And if she could rope in this strange mortal as her follower as well, this entire trip to Grasslands could be considered a huge success.
As for that Seven-Colored Soul Lotus, she didn't have much interest in it from the beginning. Sure, she was shocked to hear that such a rare treasure was found in the Grasslands. But, that was it.
If she wanted, she could obtain much better treasure with a simple command. Her status in Blue Wind Society Hall was such that, all its resources could be used by her on a whim.
But, that alone wouldn't help her in her goal.
She needed allies and helpers who are strong or had the potential to become stronger. That was why she came to the Grasslands. And roping in Peng Xiaoli was an unexpected surprise.
Pretty soon, he will be eating out of her hands. With that, she would have a connection directly to Xing Wuchen. And Peng Xiaoli himself wasn't half bad. While his mind didn't work like a normal human being, filled with battles and whatnot, he was a good support to have in battles.
And if this Peng Xiaoli ended up falling for her, it would be even easy to manipulate him into doing her bidding, all the time being unaware. Her mother was right, a cunning mind is a power of its own. And if one was cunning enough, one could rule the world while enjoying it as well.
As for Liu Kong whom she had set her eyes upon first, she didn't think befriending him would be a good idea. Liu Kong was too selfish and only cared for his interests.
Such a man would never bow to someone else's authority. While in any other era he would be a formidable opponent to have, this era was not destined to be his. So, he would most likely end up dead.
Such a man had no use for her. Sure, if Liu Kong would be infatuated with her, she might find some use in him. But, even that will bring more problems than it was worth.
The rivalry between Liu Kong and the Xing brothers is well documented. The Xing brothers were the top geniuses of this era. Even with this Seven-Colored Soul Lotus, Liu Kong would only be able to become on par with Xing Wuchen.
And Xing Wuchen wasn't even the strongest of them.
Satisfied with the way the events had unfolded, Bai Qingling smiled inwardly looking at the direction of the battle. It was clear that the mortal was beginning to feel exhausted. But, he still persisted in attacking the demonic beast like he was a savage himself.
While personally she loathed men like that mortal and looked down upon them, Bai Qingling realized that there must be something special about him to create this rare phenomenon of which she had no knowledge of.
Knowledge is power. In this wonderfully beautiful world filled with strange and wondrous things, without enough knowledge, you wouldn't even know how you died of one of the strange events.
So, knowledge is essential if one wanted to survive in this world. And it had a power of its own. Her mother had taught her that. So, she had been educated in the most mysterious of the world since she could read.
To come across a phenomenon that she didn't even know what it was and could only vaguely recognize based on some old tales that her elders scoffed about was truly jarring for her.
And a man capable of creating something like that must have something incredible either in him or on him. So, roping him in was just for her. If she could learn the secret, then she could use or leverage it according to her plans in the future.
So, Bai Qingling was pretty interested in the mortal who was battling the demonic beast down there. She decided to give him a few more minutes before rushing in to save him and earn his gratitude and if possible, undying love as well.
With a victorious smirk on her face, Bai Qingling watched the battle near the end. The mortal, despite his gallantness and defiance, was no match for a demonic beast. It was time she interfered.
Just as she prepared herself, a shocking event came into sight causing her to be stunned. She exchanged a glance with Peng Xiaoli and he too was stunned as well. His eyes were literally bugging out.
Not even in her dreams did she think such a thing could happen. How in the world did a mortal accomplish it? Many cultivators would give up their left arm to accomplish what the mortal did at that moment.
And he, a mere mortal with no cultivation, was able to do it when many other cultivators failed to even grasp its threshold.
This mortal was becoming more and more interesting for her….
*****
A/N: Hey folks!
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