Unworthy of Favor

If she didn't become a disciple, it meant she still hadn't truly earned their recognition.

At the thought, she lowered her head, her long, curled eyelashes trembling faintly. From afar, the empty training grounds seemed to hold a solitary figure, standing all alone—almost forlorn.

On the other side.

When Li Yilin returned to his palace, Liu Qing eagerly asked, "Master, when are we going to explore the universe?"

The past five years had been rather uneventful, but one thing had made Li Yilin happy: Liu Qing had finally evolved into an intelligent life.

What's more, after developing feelings of her own, Liu Qing had evolved into an intelligent life in a flash. The time between the two events had been less than three days.

Since Li Yilin had nurtured her into an intelligent life, she naturally regarded him as her father.

"I want to pilot a battleship and fight in space, too." Now that she had become a living being, she was beginning to develop preferences of her own.

For example, when she had first come into being, she'd loved entering the Virtual Universe and filling her database with information. Not long afterward, she'd gotten hooked on video games and even asked Li Yilin for quite a bit of pocket money. Now, she was obsessed with flying spaceships.

Having a body of their own was something every intelligent life longed for.

To an intelligent life, a spaceship was a kind of machine—and before they had a body of their own, it could serve as a temporary substitute.

Liu Qing was at that stage now.

A helpless look crossed Li Yilin's face. "Didn't I take you out a month ago?"

"That wasn't enough." Liu Qing flew over and clung to his arm, gazing up at him with an ingratiating smile.

Combining Li Yilin's preferences with her own, she had fashioned her body into that of a little boy, less than a meter tall, with blood-red wings.

She had stiff, bristly hair sticking straight up, yet her face was adorably youthful. She wore cool black battle armor, but had also wrapped a soft red sash around her arm. Her blood-red wings looked striking, but she'd topped them with a golden halo like a sun angel's—

The chaotic combination made Li Yilin's vision go black again and again. He didn't want to admit that he had anything to do with her fashion sense.

And now she was trying to wheedle him while wearing that ridiculous getup. It was even more aggravating.

Liu Qing didn't care. She kept sweet-talking him, and as for her appearance—her master was simply all bark and no bite.

He claimed to dislike it, but he must be pleased with it deep down. Otherwise, he would have ordered her to change her look long ago instead of letting her wander around dressed like this.

It was fine. She understood her master best. She'd keep this look until he liked her next outfit more.

"You really want to go out and play?" Li Yilin's gaze shifted slightly. Liu Qing nodded vigorously, her eyes shining with excitement.

Li Yilin thought it over, then said, "I remember Gui Jiao is on Cloud Sea Planet, isn't he?"

Gui Jiao was a Domain Lord Li Yilin had befriended by chance in the Killing Field lobby. He came from the Cloud Sea Family, one of the Sixteen Families of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire.

Each of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's Sixteen Families had at least one World Lord. The Cloud Sea Family was no exception. Gui Jiao was a descendant of their World Lord ancestor, a hundred generations removed.

Come to think of it, he and Gui Su had known each other in the Virtual Universe for years, but had never met in person. Liu Qing's sudden desire to go out had given him the urge to meet an online friend.

"Gui Jiao?" Liu Qing's eyes spun as she thought of something. She nimbly climbed onto Li Yilin's shoulder, wrapped her arms around his neck, and cried eagerly, "Master, let's go find Gui Jiao on Cloud Sea Planet! That's where he is!"

Li Yilin raised an eyebrow and asked casually, "How do you know?"

"You just said Gui Jiao is there." Liu Qing looked at him strangely, as if wondering why he'd ask such a silly question.

Li Yilin:—

"Wanting to go isn't enough. I have to ask Gui Jiao first," he said. He couldn't just show up at someone's door without an invitation unless there was a good reason.

"I'll email him!" Liu Qing cheered and dashed back to the intelligent optical terminal. She logged into Li Yilin's Virtual Universe account and sent an email to Gui Su.

As soon as Si Yao returned to her palace, her servant, Chang Yu, came to meet her with a small plate of spirit fruit, the kind suited for replenishing energy and mental strength after cultivation.

She placed the plate within Si Yao's reach, then said, "Master, Xiao San broke through to Universe Level last night."

Since Si Yao was there, Li Yilin had later gone out of his way to buy another batch of Universe Level slaves, to serve as her guards and bodyguards.

Chang Yu and Chang Yue were Si Yao's personal bodyguards and stewards, responsible for protecting her at close range.

Chang One through Chang Ten were members of Si Yao's guard team. All of them were at Universe Level.

Xiao One through Xiao Ten were the ten Star Level slaves Li Yilin had helped her choose back then. They remained servants, responsible for managing the palace's daily affairs.

An ordinary person would have been overjoyed to learn that one of their slaves had broken through an entire major realm. After all, a Star Level slave could cost thousands, even tens of thousands, of times less than a Universe Level slave.

But Li Yilin had always been generous with Si Yao. Although she was only at Planetary Level Nine, her pocket money had long been measured in Hunyuan Units. She naturally didn't care how the price of a Universe Level slave had changed.

She gave a slight nod, her expression unchanged, and said casually, "Now that she's reached Universe Level, move her to the guard team and have her train with them. As for her name—change it to Chang Eleven. The team is one short, so ask someone to go to the slave market later and buy a Star Level slave to fill the vacancy."

"Yes, Master." Chang Yu nodded respectfully, and a touch of admiration joined the reverence in her eyes.

No wonder the great master cherished Si Yao above all others. Her temperament, strength, and talent all made her worthy of such affection.

After taking care of a few trivial matters and resting for a while, Si Yao was about to head to the underground cultivation room when Chang Yue hurried in. "Master, Shuang Yue is here."

Shuang Yue was the castle's steward and Li Yilin's personal maid. Although she was only at Star Level Nine, Li Yilin had given her the authority to command everyone in the castle except Si Yao and the twenty slaves under Si Yao's control. Even those at Universe Level were no exception.

She only took orders from Li Yilin. Even Si Yao couldn't command her.

Si Yao's eyes shifted, but she didn't hesitate. "Show her in."

"Yes." Chang Yue left the palace. About five breaths later, she returned, this time accompanied by a tall, beautiful woman with a cool, refined air.

Shuang Yue had Li Yilin's trust, but she was still a slave. As the person Li Yilin cherished most, Si Yao was somewhat naive by nature, and wouldn't lower herself to do anything unnecessary. So she sat comfortably on the throne, waiting for Shuang Yue to enter.

Shuang Yue wasn't surprised by Si Yao's attitude, nor did she question it. She strode to the lower part of the palace, inclined her head respectfully toward Si Yao on the throne, and said, "Your Highness, Master would like you to go to his palace."

"Teacher wants to see me?" Si Yao's eyes lit up. She didn't even spare Shuang Yue another glance. With a flash, she appeared at the palace entrance; after a few more flashes, she was gone from sight.

Looking at the spot above her that had suddenly become empty, Shuang Yue shook her head helplessly. "Master was right. Her Highness really does have a childlike streak." She hadn't even finished speaking.

Li Yilin's palace.

On the open-air terrace on the second floor, Li Yilin sat in a chair, leisurely admiring the scenery outside. The table at his right was piled with various pastries and spirit fruit. Half of them were Si Yao's favorites, while the other half were his.

Beyond the table stood another empty chair—

Si Yao ran out of the palace and spotted Li Yilin on the terrace from afar. Though she had seen him countless times, she couldn't help being amazed by her teacher all over again.

The man on the terrace wore a long purple robe, embroidered with a few elegant purple flowers at the cuffs and hem. Purple was already a brilliant, noble color, and the seemingly unremarkable flowers added a mysterious air of nobility.

A vertical purple eye rested between his brows, its depths shimmering with divine light, too dazzling to look at directly.

"Teacher!"

Si Yao flashed forward, leaping straight up from below. She leaned over the terrace railing and looked at Li Yilin with bright, smiling blue eyes.