Martial Arrogance Dragon Soul-Chapter 269 - 257: Ulterior Motives

Heavenly Lake Palace.

The Heavenly Lake Palace is situated roughly three hundred li north of Wu City.

Here, there are continuous mountains that rise steeply into the sky.

Unlike the mountains in the south, the mountains at the Northern Borderlands don’t have such lush vegetation; from afar, they look like bare stone mountains.

The Stone Mountain is very clean.

The sky over the Northern Borderlands also appears exceptionally clear.

The mountain peaks beneath the sky seem as if they’ve been cleansed by the azure expanse above.

The mountaintops are covered with perennial snow, making each one resemble an elder with white hair from a distance.

The Heavenly Lake Palace is located among these mountains, not as a single palace, but as the name of a Sect.

In fact, the Heavenly Lake Palace has many halls and pavilions, similar to Luochuan Institution, Great Qian Martial Institute, and other imperial Martial Institutes.

However, in the Northern Borderlands, such powers exist in the form of Sects.

At this moment, Ye Xin and her younger brother Ye Jiang were following their uncle as they walked on a mountain peak of the Heavenly Lake Palace.

"Ye Xin, entering the Heavenly Lake Palace is nothing like Kaiyuan County,"

Ye Tianming cautioned Ye Xin, "In Kaiyuan County, our Ye Family is considered reputable. But here, in the Heavenly Lake Palace, no one recognizes that."

"So, here, you all need to restrain yourselves. Remember not to argue with others; if you can endure, then endure. Don’t be competitive!"

Ye Xin nodded, taking Ye Tianming’s words to heart.

In fact, Ye Xin wasn’t really a competitive person to begin with.

"Right..."

Ye Tianming spoke again, "About that Qin Qing... I see that his intentions are not pure."

Hearing this, Ye Xin looked at him with some confusion.

"That man, his gaze is dishonest, and he probably harbors ill will in his heart," Ye Tianming continued.

"But... I think Big Brother Qin is very nice," Ye Xin remained silent, while Ye Jiang expressed his confusion.

"You think he’s nice?" Ye Tianming laughed contemptuously, "Little Jiang, you’re still too young. You don’t understand that human nature is inscrutable. The reason Qin Qing is nice to you, is because he has his eye on your sister!"

As he said this, Ye Tianming turned to Ye Xin and remarked, "I could tell at a glance that Qin Qing harbors indecent thoughts towards you, and he’s probably coveting you."

"Is it so?" Ye Xin also harbored doubts in her heart.

"Of course. What is Qin Qing but a merchant who scrambles at the border pass? Merchants devoid of any status or standing would consider it the luck of eight lifetimes to be able to cling to you," said Ye Tianming.

"But Big Brother Qin is really strong. If it weren’t for him, my sister and I would probably have already died at the hands of those bodyguards," Ye Jiang questioned again.

Ye Tianming glared at him and said, "At best, he has learned a little bit of martial arts. The bodyguards who work in the mundane world are just low-skilled trash. Defeating a few trashy bodyguards doesn’t count for anything..."

"Our Ye Family, no matter how you look at it, is a noble family. Although it’s nothing compared to the major families of Great Qian’s imperial city, we are well-regarded in Kaiyuan County. If Qin Qing could get close to us, it would be like he’s entered a noble family..."

Continuing, Ye Tianming passionately advised Ye Xin, "Ye Xin, now that your uncle has brought you to the Heavenly Lake Palace, you should start a new life!"

"Here, you must broaden your horizons. That Qin Qing is simply not of the same world as you. In the future, you will become a person high above, while he will only turn to dust in the mud. Your uncle has told you so much, surely you understand what I’m saying?"

Ye Xin nodded, seemingly understanding yet not fully grasping.

But she still had some doubts in her heart, could it be that Qin Qing really took a liking to her?

However...

Ye Xin trusted her uncle more.

After all, her uncle was an elder of the Heavenly Lake Palace, albeit just a Law Enforcement Elder, but for the Ye Clan, this uncle had always been the pride of the entire family.

"Good, you’re very smart!" Ye Tianming was very satisfied with Ye Xin’s response, at least from what he could see now, Ye Xin was seriously listening to him, and she didn’t raise any objections.

"Now, your uncle will take you to meet someone, his name is Murong Hao, his father Murong Qingsong is a Law Enforcement Elder of the Heavenly Lake Palace. It’s beneficial for you to get closer to Murong Hao."

Upon hearing this, Ye Xin couldn’t help feeling odd.

Her uncle had just reminded her that she was not on the same level as Qin Qing, and in the blink of an eye, he was encouraging her to get close to Murong Hao; wasn’t that a bit too pragmatic?

Ye Tianming seemed to have read Ye Xin’s thoughts and added, "Ye Xin, uncle is doing this for your own good. Although uncle can bring you and your brother into the Heavenly Lake Palace, I can’t give you a formal identity. If you want to become an official disciple of the Heavenly Lake Palace, you still have to rely on yourselves... Ye Xin, whether it’s for your own sake or for your brother’s benefit, it’s good for both of you to actively befriend and get close to Murong Hao!"

"Okay, uncle. I understand!"

Ye Xin bit her teeth.

She also knew that in the Heavenly Lake Palace, she had no background whatsoever.

Here, no one cared whether she came from the Ye Clan or not.

To the Heavenly Lake Palace, the Ye Family wasn’t worth mentioning, let alone that the Ye Clan no longer existed.

Having witnessed her parents being killed by enemies and seeing her clan members die, Ye Xin’s heart had long since changed.

She yearned for powerful strength.

She wanted to become a disciple of the Heavenly Lake Palace, then cultivate to a higher realm, possess stronger powers, and then kill the enemies to avenge her parents.

Therefore, getting along with Murong Hao was not unacceptable!

...

...

Upon learning that the Heavenly Lake Palace was about to host the Burial Dragon Debate, Qin Qing decided to stay in Wu City.

Since entering the Heavenly Lake Palace offered the hope of approaching the Burial Dragon Stele, why go further away when it is so close at hand?

After spending a day in Wu City, Qin Qing had roughly understood the distribution of forces at the Northern Borderlands.

Actually, there were only three main sects at the Northern Pass, namely the Heavenly Lake Palace, the Snow Eagle Sect, and the Primordial Spirit Temple.

The Primordial Spirit Temple was the most mysterious, located deep in a desert of the Northern Borderlands, a place where ordinary people could hardly enter.

It was between the Heavenly Lake Palace and the Snow Eagle Sect where there was an extremely fierce competitive relationship.

Now, for Qin Qing, the most important thing was to enter the Heavenly Lake Palace and participate in the Burial Dragon Debate.

Through the previous two Burial Dragon Steles, Qin Qing was certain that the Burial Dragon Stele could directly enhance his cultivation.

Besides, the Secret Techniques on the Burial Dragon Stele were incomplete; if he could collect the nine Secret Techniques from the nine Burial Dragon Steles, he would be able to obtain a truly complete Cultivation Technique.

Qin Qing was eager to know what kind of changes this complete Cultivation Technique could bring him.

Today, he could start registering for the Burial Dragon Debate examination.

Qin Qing, along with many other martial cultivators who had come for its reputation, also arrived at the Heavenly Lake Palace that day...