“…You think-…”

Nie You finally found a way to retort to Wu Long and regain some face after being humiliated before but just as the corners of his mouth rose and he started to speak Wu Long moved forward and unleashed a barrage of attacks that instantly overwhelmed him.

Some attacks partially went through his defenses and gashes started accumulating all over Nie You’s body.

“You! You hid your abilities!”

Nie You furiously shouted as he was both frustrated by the struggle and angry that Wu Long was going to just act like that moment before did not exist.

“I am going to make a blood poodle out of you so stop shouting and behave”

Wu Long said, adamantly pressing on with the ‘poodle’ narrative.

“That doesn’t even make any sense!!! How are you going to make that?!!”

Nie You shouted, rage blazing in his eyes as he was losing ground, not being able to counter even once, only defending against an unending stream of Sword Qi strikes.

‘He really hasn’t changed… That trait of not showing it on the surface but becoming slightly careless with his mouth when he is irritated or annoyed is still there ‘

Ye Ling sighed while placing the fingers on her forehead and shaking her head with a wry smile, thinking to herself about how little the real parts of who he was changed over the long period of time he lived after her. What changed were only superficial things like knowledge, strength, skills, and experience, but the fundamental parts of who he was as a person remained largely unchanged.

‘And on top of that, once someone catches on he still doesn’t acknowledge it and tries to push through’

She held in her chuckle while the others were visibly struggling to suppress their laughter.

“Alright! I get it! You win! Stop! Stop now and you will survive! I am part of the Wood Spirit Empire’s Imperial Family!”

Finally, a big gash appeared on Nie You’s thigh and he instantly became a sitting duck, waiting to be cut down. He immediately shouted out his identity as fear rose in his eyes.

They stopped and Nie You immediately went down on one knee as he tried to catch his breath, using his halbert as a support.

“Heh, it seems your imperial family is pretty lax if they allowed you to practice Lust Cultivation”

Wu Long said as worry appeared on the faces of his beauties. Dealing with one person or shadowy people who were reluctant to expose themselves was one thing, but openly going against one of the three empires was no laughing matter.

“It does not matter to them! I am still a legitimate member of the Imperial Family, and you cannot touch me”

Nie You said as he gradually calmed down, slowly becoming more and more reassured by the influence of his identity and untouchable status. And as he saw the worried faces of the beauties in the distance a smile appeared on his face as he finally was encouraged by how intimidating his background was.

“Since you offended and wounded me, you will also have to compensate. Heh, I am not going to make it hard on you. Leave behind three of them and scram. I will not bother with you anymore. Otherwise, once you are all captured later, I am going to first torture you, and then make you watch as I…”

Nie You did not have time to even start describing all of the acts that he vividly imagined doing to the five women behind Wu Long as the world slowed down around him and partially lost color. Wu Long’s eyes flashed with a dangerous light and his sword flickered already being brought into the sheath. As the blade of the sword hid in the sheath completely, Nie You’s head popped up still with a smile on his face that was now starting to distort and fell, then bounced off the uneven rock he was standing on and into the lava running down below. Horror could be glimpsed in the final moments his eyes could be seen above the lava.

Before the headless body that was propping itself on the halberd could tumble down after the head Wu Long caught it and took off the spatial ring, taking away the halberd as well before letting the body follow the head as it was about to do before. .𝒄𝒐𝒎

“Wu Long…”

Wei Lan said with some worry but Ye Ling placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.

“I get your worry and am slightly worried as well, but if he decided that he could deal with the consequences there must be something that is reassuring him. Besides, it is a done deal”

She said and Wei Lan nodded after some hesitation. This was a very serious offense to the dignity of the Empire and could bring him massive headaches. But it was indeed spilled milk at this point so saying anything now would not be helpful in any way.

“But… it seems a little bit of a waste. He had that rare physique… wasn’t it possible to steal it for Wu Long?”

Hua Ziyan asked, but Wu Long who approached them shook his head.

“If it was possible to steal or absorb physiques, there would be no original owners anywhere in the world. Physique is something innate like the cultivation talent, you cannot change, steal, or erase it. Besides, this is an Extreme Yang physique, just the idea of absorbing someone else’s Extreme Yang Qi to strengthen my own is something that brings bad goosebumps all over”

Wu Long slightly shook his head to clear away the uncomfortable idea while all five beauties trembled and also paled a bit.

“No, definitely no”

Hua Ziyan agreed with Wu Long’s point of view, nodding, as the idea of using Yang Qi from that man and merging it with Wu Long was nauseating.

“So… even with your knowledge, it is not possible to change cultivation talent?”

Wei Lan asked somewhat dispirited.

Cultivation talent was a vague concept, as it defined how fast and easily a person could breakthrough in certain realms. Someone’s talent could be unique, and they might experience sudden growth during specific realms while being extremely slow in others.

But very generally, it was acknowledged that the absolute majority of practitioners who reached higher realms achieved the realm their talent allowed them to when they were relatively younger. If someone reaches the halfway mark of the natural lifespan of a particular realm, it is a quite good indicator that the next realm might be the highest their talent would allow them to achieve.

Wei Lan was close to the halfway mark of the natural lifespan of a Foundation Building Realm, which meant that her talent was reaching the end of its potential. She used to not care about it as much, as she saw it a little philosophically, also admitting that even if she died early she still lived far longer than any common mortal could ever dream. But when Wu Long revealed his identity, he clearly expressed his willingness to take them to higher heights together, and the appearance of a man who would share a longer time with her made it that much more precious than it was to her before.

“No, talent is not something that could be altered. There is constant research and studies by cultivation scholars on it, but it still remains something not influenced by the hands of cultivators”

As talent was not clearly defined or found to be connected to any particular explicit aspect of the practitioner, it was considered a mystery, and was not something that could be improved or in fact changed in any way. Two people with similarly same constitutions, cognitive abilities, and any other measurable indicators could cultivate at different reasons for no apparent reason.

She nodded, slightly lowering her head. He then caressed her cheek as he lifted her face to look her in the eyes.

“But don’t worry. Didn’t you hear from me that I reached higher realms even with my inferior talent? My cultivation talent is so bad I would enter the one percent of the worst talents I have ever seen. It requires a lot of work and dedication, as well as a fair bit of luck, but it is definitely possible to reach higher realms with any talent.

Most people are just way too reliant on this vague thing, ignoring the possibilities of a practitioner to defy the laws of the world and change their fate”

Wu Long soothed her and she nodded with understanding.

“Besides, there were many times, when people who had inferior talent were able to reach higher realms than they were supposed to because they had a Dao Cultivator supporting them”

Wu Long said with a smile, and Luo Mingyu blushed as she realized that she was now the center of attention.

“I… I will try my best”

“Haha, relax Mingyu, Wu Long reached his past heights somehow, so he knows ways to go about it, so you do not need to feel any pressure”

Ye Ling chuckled at how she clenched her fists in front of her in a cute pose which Wu Long also admired. There was determination in her purple eyes that were brimming with enthusiasm.

“That’s true, Mingyu. I will support you regardless of whatever your journey will entail. That goes for each one of you”

Wu Long then looked at each of the beautiful women around with a smile and they all smiled back at him.