Chen Ye stood calmly as Shen Ziling inspected him.
Before, he'd feared her "draining" him—but now, as a Martial Sovereign, he was ready.
Half-Step Transcendent? Still in the Martial Sovereign tier. Let's see who drains whom!
Yet Shen Ziling merely poked his meridians, then waved him off. "Dismissed."
A flicker of disappointment crossed Chen Ye's face. "Master, you're no fun."
Shen Ziling smirked at his retreating back. "Patience, Xiao Ye. You're still… inexperienced."
———
The Noodle Incident
Returning to his cabin, Chen Ye found Xiao Qingluan waiting with a bowl of… something.
"Brother, I cooked noodles for you!" She beamed.
The lump of dough, sprinkled with token scallions, resembled a failed alchemy experiment.
"Junior Sister… this is?"
"I followed your steps!"
Chen Ye's chopsticks trembled. Steps to culinary war crimes, maybe.
Gulping it down like bitter medicine, he nearly wept. Eight spoonfuls of salt. Junior Sister's cooking is lethal*.
"Promise me… never enter the kitchen again."
"But I'm not tired—"
"I'm scared for my life."
———
Rankings & Rumors
The updated Azure Cloud Ranking crowned Chen Ye as #1—no surprise after his one-sided victory over Jun Han.
But whispers now fixated on his looks:
"Senior Brother Chen is like a jade statue descended from heaven!"
"A line from 'Ode to the Immortals' fits him: 'Peerless in this world, eclipsing moon and stars!'"
"Funny how you mocked him before."
"Past me was blind! Present me sees the light!"
———
Demonic Disaster
News arrived: A demonic uprising in Dongzhou!
Ancient texts warned of demons—once humanity's overlords, now sealed underground. Their sporadic breaches caused Devil Calamities, uniting all human factions against them.
As #1 on the ranking, Chen Ye was drafted.
"Why me?!"
"You're the sect's face now," the Azure Cloud Sect Leader chuckled.
Xiao Qingluan stepped forward. "I'll go too! Demons are humanity's scourge—we must act!"
Chen Ye blinked. Junior Sister's righteous fury… Empress energy radiating.
The Sect Leader applauded. "With disciples like you, our sect—nay, humanity—will thrive!"
Resigned, Chen Ye mused: At least I'll see real demons. Do… succubes exist?