The Ruan Clan looked very unremarkable on the surface and looked like an ordinary small clan. However, after Ning Cheng entered the Domain of the Ruan Clan, he immediately realised that it was not what it appeared on the surface. The Starry Skies’ Essence Qi in this region was very rich and dense, much purer than the outside. Moreover, he could also feel several powerful auras concealed around this region letting Ning Cheng know that this place had many influential individuals.
It was not until Ning Cheng saw Ruan Cheng that he realised that what he sensed was most likely just a small part. This Ruan Cheng’s cultivation most likely was at the Heaven’s Mandate Realm; perhaps even the Lesser Thunder Star’s Celestial Lord might not match up to him.
Ning Cheng could not help but think about the evaluation of the Lesser Thunder Star’s Celestial Lord that Lan Ya had given, i.e. weak and incompetent. Initially, Ning Cheng did not care much about it; however, he now felt somewhat sympathetic towards the Celestial Lord of the Lesser Thunder Star. If any Domain within the territory controlled by a Celestial Lord contained a powerhouse like the existence within the Ruan Clan, it only served to show that this Celestial Lord had fallen on hard times.
Moreover, if this Ruan Clan was such a powerful clan, why did it choose to stay in such a shrunken and low profile territory within the Lesser Thunder Star?
Ruan Chen was a tall fellow with big eyebrows, giving off the feeling of a battle-hardened army veteran even without any expression over his face, and did not look like any Starry Skies’ Cultivator he had met before.
“Good, Ruan Zhuo truly did not misread you. You really have a powerful Spiritual Consciousness. Since you have already made it here, please make yourself comfortable, you are exactly the type of person I am looking for. My name is Ruan Cheng. Dao Friend Ning, please take a seat.”
Ruan Cheng spoke with mild enthusiasm, while the tone of his speech was loud and clear to the ears.
Ning Cheng cupped his fists and spoke, “Thank you for the invitation Manor Master Ruan; however, this Ning is most likely not competent for the task you have in your mind.”
“No. You are competent enough. Let me get to the point; I have two tasks that need your help. First is to escort my daughter and help my daughter enter the Perpetual Moon Lake in the Time Wilderness.”
“Perpetual Moon Lake?” Ning Cheng repeated the words; guessing that it must be what Ruan Zhuo hinted in their talks before.
“Yes. The Perpetual Moon Lake.” Ruan Cheng affirmed. “There is an ancient desolate fort beneath the Perpetual Moon Lake. And the Perpetual Moon Pill is within the desolate fort.”
“Is this pill left behind by the ancients?” Ning Cheng asked once again. He, anyway, had never heard of the Perpetual Moon Pill.
Ruan Cheng gave a calm reply, “No. The Perpetual Moon Pill is not something artificially refined. It is actually pure Celestial River Essence Qi condensed to the extreme and never has experienced any kind of artificial refining. These kinds of pills also contain a law inside and multiply the effect on one’s cultivation. Moreover, because it is not something artificially refined, there are also no side effects associated with it. Plus, there is also practically no wastage if one cultivated with it.”
Ning Cheng felt his heart move a bit, “What Manor Master Ruan means is that I can easily advance to the Celestial Bridge Realm by obtaining a few Perpetual Moon Pills?”
Ruan Cheng nodded with appreciation, “Yes, your reward is the Perpetual Moon Pill. These kind of pills are scarce. Even within the Striking Order Starry Skies, these pills are not common. As for what we want, you will have to follow my daughter’s instructions.”
Ning Cheng gave a slight nod. From his previous conversation, he already knew that he would have to act as an escort to this Ruan Cheng’s daughter.
Seeing Ning Cheng remaining silent without asking about it made Ruan Cheng feel even more satisfied. “My daughter is called Ruan Mingshu. Because of some misunderstandings from my part, I ended up falling out with a cultivator by the name of Zhao Yanxing. I hope that you can keep an eye over my daughter and don’t let her get too close to Zhao Yanxing…..”
Ning Cheng immediately understood the situation. In other words, Ruan Cheng did not feel very satisfied with this Zhao Yanxing; however, his daughter and this Zhao Yanxing most likely shared some intimate feelings with each other. Ruan Cheng feared that his daughter and this Zhao Yanxing would end up acting unreasonably within the Time Wilderness and wanted to make him work as a divider between them.
Ning Cheng could not help but secretly curse this person in his heart. Although he might possess a mighty Spiritual Consciousness, he cannot actually stop two people from a fling, especially if consensual. Moreover, this matter absolutely had nothing to do with him.
“I’m sorry, Manor Master Ruan. I cannot take up this task. Besides, the Bright South Celestial River King has already invited me to visit the old man’s Bright South Celestial River. I’m afraid that I can’t stay too long in the Orchid Borough Celestial River.” Ning Cheng did not hesitate to reject the task, even mentioning the Bright South Celestial River King to incite some fear in this Ruan Cheng.
Ruan Cheng gave a smile, “Ruan Zhuo had already heard the complete message left behind by the Bright South Celestial River King and had passed on the words to me. However, you do not have to worry about it too much. If you truly feel that this task is a bit too difficult, then let me add a second clause to it.”
After he finished, he did not wait for Ning Cheng to give an answer. He directly called out, “Mingshu, you can come out now. Come out and meet your partner Ning Cheng.”
Ruan Cheng conveyed a clear intent. That is, you do not have to use the Bright South Celestial River King to pressure me. You are just a paper tiger; at the same time, the relationship between you and the Bright South Celestial River King is not as good as you say.
Chapter 0501 – Ruan Clan’s Power
Translated By – DemonKiller
Checked and Edited By – Livewidsmile
Proofread By – DemonKiller
Please do not host our works anywhere else without our permission.
Ning Cheng internally criticised this slimy old fox. Just when he was about to talk, a woman wearing a light purple robe came out.
However, even Ning Cheng could not help but secretly give praise in his heart; she really was quite the beautiful woman. A pair of crescent moon shaped eyes that seemed to speak volumes gave a stunning impression over anyone who laid their eyes on her for the first time. With a plump and full bosom, packed tightly within her robes and only revealed her white neck, made any person who gazed at her to think of how amazingly white her skin might look like under her dresses.
She even had a tall figure, if Ning Cheng stood directly in front of her, he would only be a few centimetres taller than she would. At the same time, her cultivation was also significantly higher than Ning Cheng’s, and by the looks of it, most likely was in the Celestial Gatherer Realm.
Just a glance at this girl would be enough for anyone to realise that she was a well-cultured and educated young woman. Ning Cheng honestly did not know why Ruan Cheng wanted to expose his daughter to him in such a manner.
“Mingshu, this is Ning Cheng. Most likely, he would accompany you to the Time Wilderness. After entering the Time Wilderness, you must focus on the main objective and try to stay close to Ning Cheng. Take care of not making small mistakes that would end up costing you big, do you understand?” Ruan Cheng spoke out in a very soft tone; evidently, he doted upon his daughter a lot.
“Father, your daughter understands.” Ruan Mingshu replied with grace as if she understood every word that came out of Ruan Cheng’s mouth without a shred of misunderstanding.
After Ruan Mingshu answered her father, she slowly walked over to Ning Cheng and gave a gentle bow in ceremony before speaking, “Senior Apprentice Brother Ning, please look after me.”
In Ning Cheng’s view, Ruan Mingshu projected a very humble and modest pi
cture and did not look like the type that wanted to rebel against her father’s words or engage in open flings.
“My cultivation is not as good as you. It should be me addressing you as Senior Apprentice Sister, or rather hope that Senior Apprentice Sister could take care of me.” Ning Cheng quickly replied with a very polite tone.
Ruan Mingshu gave a smile but did not refute it.
“Well, that’s that. Three days later, we will go to the Orchid Borough Celestial River’s main planet, the Orchid Borough Star. Ning Cheng, you can either live with us or by yourself.” Ruan Cheng spoke while gently nodding towards Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng quickly spoke up, “Manor Master Ruan, are we not going to participate in the Lesser Thunder Star Try-outs?”
“Haha, my Ruan Clan already has two quotas to enter the Orchid Borough Celestial River. So why would we need to participate in the selection here? You think too little of my Ruan Clan.” Ruan Cheng gave a laugh while speaking.
Ning Cheng did not feel pleased in the heart with the apparent arrogance shown by Ruan Cheng. With such people in their own territory, no wonder the Celestial Lord could not take control of the entire situation.
However, since he was now teaming up with the Ruan Clan, he quickly spoke up, “In that case, I will come back to this place three days later. I still have a few things that I have to deal with.”
“Oh, no issues then.” Ruan Cheng also gave the nod before he turned to Ruan Mingshu and spoke, “Mingshu, you accompany Ning Cheng and show him around. Remember not to snub people. I’m going to rest for a while.”
“That’s not needed, not needed…..”
Ning Cheng did not have the time to refuse when Ruan Cheng had already made his way to his backyard and soon disappeared.
“Senior Apprentice Brother Ning, I’m not very familiar with the Thunder Enforcement City, I hope that Senior Apprentice Brother Ning does not mind it.” Ruan Mingshu spoke out in a whisper-like voice like a well-cultured woman while standing just a step behind on Ning Cheng’s side. Apparently indicating that she would follow Ning Cheng’s lead.
Ning Cheng waved his hand and spoke, “I can move around by myself. Senior Apprentice Sister Ruan can rest up. After three days, I will come back to this place as promised to the Manor Head.”
Ruan Mingshu showed a smile before shaking her head but not leaving. Showing her intentions of following Ning Cheng.
Ruan Zhuo, standing at one side, quickly spoke up, “Brother Ning, Little Miss Mingshu takes the words of Manor Master extremely seriously. Since the Manor Master has told her to accompany you, then she will accompany you.”
Ning Cheng could not help feel gloomy, making him think of ghosts. Ruan Cheng clearly stated that his daughter definitely was not obedient, yet this same daughter behaved in the complete opposite manner. It felt weird.
Since trying to convince her would not seem to work, Ning Cheng also put away the thought. He decided to find a place to stay before dealing with sending away Ruan Mingshu.
……
The Thunder Enforcement City was a lot busier compared to the Ocean Gambling City. Just the shops themselves had a forest of cultivators, even Ning Cheng had never seen so many cultivators with Celestial Wheels concentrated in such a place.
Ning Cheng directly went to the largest Resting Pen before speaking to a server within the Resting Pen, “Give me a single room, I will be staying for three days.”
Saying that Ning Cheng then turned to Ruan Mingshu and spoke, “Senior Apprentice Sister Ruan, I plan on resting for a few days, you can go back first. We will see each other in three days.”
The server had not yet spoken when Ruan Mingshu took the initiative to talk to the server, “Please reserve a double room for us, we two will stay there.”
After she said that, she looked at Ning Cheng and spoke in an apologetic voice, “I’m sorry, Senior Apprentice Brother Ning, father has instructed me to stay with you at all times. I cannot go against my father’s instructions. And Senior Apprentice Brother Ning, please do not address me as Senior Apprentice Sister, just call me as Junior Apprentice Sister Mingshu.”
Ning Cheng opened his mouth slightly before closing; did these people want to spy on him? However, he did not reveal any of his secrets, except for his Spiritual Consciousness, which was slightly stronger. Even with an above average Spiritual Consciousness, if Ruan Cheng wanted to keep an eye on him, did it not also mean that he would end up invariantly checking over his own daughter?
Although most cultivators were not exactly magnanimous, they usually refrained from living within the same room with the opposite sex, unless they had mutual feelings or some other thoughts. Moreover, even Ning Cheng did not want to entertain even half a point of view of sharing his living space with Ruan Mingshu.
“Can…” The server hesitantly tried to clarify things with Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng just waved his hand and spoke, “Just do what she says.”
Even if they want to put him under surveillance, so what?
“Junior Apprentice Sister Mingshu, I am going to buy something, Junior Apprentice Sister Mingshu can stay here and rest, while….”
“I naturally will accompany Senior Apprentice Brother Ning. I rarely come out to roam around in the Thunder Enforcement City, so I would also like to take this chance to roam around for a bit. Maybe I might not have such a chance in the future.” Ruan Mingshu spoke with a kind smile.
“Ok, I want to go take a look at the Void Battleships.” Ning Cheng spoke with a nod.
Seeing Ruan Mingshu showing no intention of leaving his side, Ning Cheng added another question, “Do you know about the location of the Lesser Thunder Star’s selection for the Striking Order Starry Skies’ Try-outs?”
“Father said that we don’t have to participate in the qualifying rounds in the Lesser Thunder Star, we can directly head to the qualifying rounds for the Orchid Borough Celestial River.” Ruan Mingshu looked at Ning Cheng with a confused look and tried to explain.
Ning Cheng spoke up, “It’s not that I want to participate in the qualifying rounds. It is just that I have two friends here who are participating in the selections in this place. I just wanted to go meet with them.”
Ruan Mingshu gave a smile, “It’s a little late for that. The selection rounds for the Lesser Thunder Star have already ended. The selected cultivators had already left the Lesser Thunder Star a few days ago. It was also because of this that my father anxiously wanted to find someone to help me.”
When Ning Cheng heard Ruan Mingshu’s words, he immediately understood the underlying reason why the Ruan Clan showed such a favourable side to Ning Cheng. It was all because of the timing. If they had enough time, they could have looked for a more outstanding person; however, because of the timing differences, they had to settle with someone like him.
“The friends who I want to find are named Jing Wuming and Lan Ya. Can you help me look them up and see if they were selected?” Ning Cheng ignored the underlying implication of Ruan Mingshu’s words and asked directly.
“Please wait for a moment.” Ruan Mingshu sent the information through her communications pearl.
When Ning Cheng and Ruan Mingshu walked out and neared a merchant house, the communications pearl in Ruan Mingshu’s hand lit up. Ruan Mingshu looked at the communications pearl in her hands before showing a smile and speaking to Ning Cheng, “Looks like congratulations are in order, both of your friends passed the Lesser Thunder Star Selections and are on their way to the Orchid Borough Celestial River.”
Ning Cheng also felt relieved on hearing both Lan Ya and Jing Wuming’s selections. It was a good thing that both of them managed to leave the Lesser Thunder Star; otherwise, since he had already offended the Ocean Gambling’s Premier Casino, it would not bode well for the two of them to stay in this place.
“What would the two guests like to purchase?” Ning Cheng and Ruan Mingshu had just walked into this Merchant House when a shop assistant greeted them with a smile.
&
nbsp; “I want to see if you have any better warships.” With Ruan Mingshu sticking close to him, Ning Cheng did not intend to buy anything else. He just wanted to buy a battleship before going back and resting.
The shop assistant immediately spoke up with enthusiasm, “Yes, yes… Whether you want a Domain Grade or a Celestial Grade one, we have them both in our shop.”
“Celestial Grade huh, what’s the price for the best Celestial Grade Battleship you have?” Ning Cheng knew that the battleship that Lan Ya purchased was only an ordinary Domain Grade Battleship; however, it was already much more advanced compared to his 5-Star Battle Disc Sifting Orchid, which barely had much use in this part of the starry skies.
The shop assistant on hearing the words ‘Celestial Grade Battleship’ turned even more enthusiastic while speaking, “We definitely have Celestial Grade Battleships here, from Basic Rank to the Apex Rank. Of the Celestial Grade Battleships, we also have Speed Type and Combat Type, which type does this friend need?”
Ning Cheng thought for a moment before replying, “I need one with speed, with at least some decent combat capabilities.”
Ruan Mingshu suddenly spoke from the side, “If you want to purchase Combat-type Warships then don’t buy from this place, This place only has fake goods; if you want something combat oriented, you should head to a technological planet to purchase. However, the Orchid Borough Celestial River does not have any real technological planets; therefore, I suggest you do not waste your money here.”
“This Little Miss is just talking nonsense. Our Apex Rank Celestial Grade Battleships can even go up against the starry skies’ beast horde…..” The shop assistant on hearing Ruan Mingshu say that their battleships were not good immediately cried out in injustice.
Ruan Mingshu asked calmly, “Oh, then let me ask you something, is your best Celestial Grade Battleship equipped with Radium Light Arrows? Or does it contain those Flowing Sky Cannons, or at least the Sky Locking Optical Equipment?”
The Gate Of Good Fortune c1-905 Page 407