Senior Brother Was Playing a Grand Game

The sudden gale had died down, and the entire crowd fell silent.

Li Wuxie's sword pressure had been so tightly contained that it barely extended beyond a yard. With the cultivation of those present, no one could sense it, so they all wore baffled expressions.

You said he won, and he said you won. So who had actually won?

Chief Li had suddenly dropped to his knees and spat blood. Had he fallen ill again?

Elder Lu was actually this powerful?

And... what was that about a daughter?

Li Wuxie hadn't seen the Snake Immortal for three thousand years. Where had this daughter come from?

How could he slander an innocent man out of nowhere?

Li Wuxie was just as confused. He couldn't help feeling that something was off.

But judging by Lu Ya's expression and tone, he didn't seem to be lying.

"Daughter?"

"Don't disbelieve me. Some people really have been pregnant for three thousand years."

Lu Ya sent Ning Zhongzi a mental message. She soon brought Lady Black Sheep over.

Ning Zhongzi had suspected this all along, but it seemed too absurd to believe.

A short while later, Lady Black Sheep arrived at the edge of the plaza, holding a half-snake infant girl.

The infant had been fussing and crying, but the moment she reached the cliff's edge, she suddenly went quiet. Her big, bright eyes stared up at the sky, fixed on Li Wuxie.

Li Wuxie glanced over, and his heart shuddered.

Those eyes, that hair, those colorful scales...

He didn't even need to use his divine sense to be certain. This really was his daughter!

He hung motionless in midair, his rugged face trembling faintly. Memories sealed away for three thousand years surged through his mind, filling his heart with a thousand tangled emotions until he was nearly in tears.

In fact, from the moment Li Wuxie had stepped into Azure Phoenix City, Lu Ya had noticed the blood ties between them.

At the time, he'd planned to return the infant girl to Li Wuxie. After all, she drank an enormous amount of milk and was a burden.

But when he discovered that Li Wuxie was the Chief of East Float, he suddenly realized the infant was a perfect miniature tool!

With Li Wuxie backing them, did he still need to worry about Azure Phoenix City's development?

Thinking this, Lu Ya added:

"Since you're a Chief of the Immortal Court and a bachelor, raising a daughter is too much work. So I'll raise her for you until she grows up... Heh heh heh. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I trained her into a snake-girl shipgirl?"

Li Wuxie's expression suddenly turned cold.

He thought, Hasn't this woman caused me enough trouble?

Now she's going to give birth to a little one and keep tormenting me?

Even if my kidneys fail and I never rise again, even if I'm cursed for ten thousand generations, I, Li Wuxie, will never look at her again!

Thinking this, he said coldly:

"This isn't my daughter. I, Li Wuxie, am a dignified Chief of the Immortal Court. How could I have a child with a demoness from the Immortal Tail?"

Lu Ya smiled.

"I was just saying. If you won't admit it, then fine. In any case, you can't take these seven ships with you."

Li Wuxie no longer fixated on the Immortal Ships.

"In the Immortal Realm, people stronger than me are as plentiful as carp crossing a river. Don't get too full of yourself. Also... the recent Beast Tide may well be heading for your Bamboo Spring Sect. Take care."

"Thanks for the warning."

"Everyone, off the ships!"

At Li Wuxie's shout, the inspectors aboard the Immortal Ships were stunned.

"Lord Li, these are the Immortal Court's inspection ships!"

Li Wuxie had already prepared an excuse.

"No matter. Leave these seven ships here in Deacon Wine Fox's care. They'll help Azure Phoenix City with its construction. Consider it a small gesture of goodwill from the East Floating Immortal Court."

Lu Ya was taken aback. No wonder he was an official!

Impressed, he clasped his hands in salute.

"Thank you, Chief Li."

Li Wuxie raised a hand and brought out a huge, black, rectangular stone slab. With the Immortal Court's people aboard, it swept away from Bamboo Spring Sect in a grand procession.

Its imposing presence was even greater than when it had arrived!

Azure Phoenix City.

Things had ended in a way no one could have imagined.

The battle had left everyone bewildered and utterly confused.

Had Elder Lu defeated Chief Li through sheer strength, or had Chief Li suddenly fallen ill, letting Elder Lu snatch a lucky win? Or had Chief Li deliberately held back for his daughter's sake?

No one could make sense of it.

But one thing was certain: if Lu Ya could fight Li Wuxie to a standstill, he was at least—

Powerful.

No one knew just how powerful, but powerful he certainly was.

After this battle, Azure Phoenix City ought to be secure.

After all, Chief Li's daughter was here, and these seven Immortal Ships were more or less toys he'd left for her. As for Xu Yinglong, perhaps Li Wuxie would sort things out.

The only one they were somewhat worried about was Xu Yinglong, but they believed Li Wuxie would sort things out.

Li Wuxie had served as the Chief of the East Floating Immortal District for three thousand years and commanded extraordinary influence. What was more, he had once been an Immortal Emperor. Even after his fall, ordinary Immortal Saints would still show him some respect.

Once they understood this, everyone admired Lu Ya even more.

Cooking.

Building a city.

Fighting.

Making plans...

Only then did everyone realize that Elder Lu hadn't been staying indoors for ten days because he was slacking off. He'd been working himself to the bone, secretly putting in overtime!

Inside a candy shop.

Muyu Feifei was trading freshly picked herbs for candied hawthorns.

The battle had ended too quickly, making them nervous.

The shopkeeper asked curiously:

"Honored Tiger Immortals, can you tell me how your Elder Lu defeated Chief Li? Was it because of Chief Li's daughter?"

Muyu grinned shamelessly.

"Give us two more candied hawthorns, and I'll tell you the truth."

The shopkeeper quickly handed over two more.

"Here, take them!"

Once she had the candied hawthorns, Feifei abruptly gave a thumbs-up.

"What's there to say? My junior uncle is invincible under heaven."

The shopkeeper suddenly regretted it.

"You really dare to say that."

Azure Phoenix City soon returned to peace.

In front of Yuelai Inn, by the cliff.

Lu Ya handed the seven Immortal Ships over to Ning Zhongzi. She was to find people to repaint them and replace the flags and the totems on their sides with images of the Azure Phoenix and Xiuchiu. From then on, the seven ships would be Azure Phoenix City's shuttle buses for welcoming guests.

Ning Zhongzi shook her head with a sigh.

Even though they were inspection ships from the Immortal Court, Li Wuxie was backing them. Besides accepting them calmly, what else could she do?

Ever since Lu Ya had arrived at Bamboo Spring Sect, she'd felt as though she were walking a tightrope over an abyss. Every time, the danger had been terrifying, yet every time, they'd come through unscathed.

This time, Lu Ya had made her worry for nothing again... She decided she'd never worry again.

She'd finally seen the truth.

Senior Brother was playing a grand game!

When she looked at Lu Ya again, her eyes were different. For the first time, she felt genuine admiration.

"I can't believe Senior Brother knew the child's identity all along, and had already planned to use it to help Azure Phoenix City survive this crisis. It seems I've been blaming you unfairly this whole time."

Lu Ya blushed.

"Ahem, it was a tiny contribution, not worth mentioning. Not worth mentioning."

"What do you mean, your contribution? Wasn't I the one who risked my life to save her?"

Wine Fox Immortal rode down on the Giant Gourd and kicked at Lu Ya. She missed, and nearly fell off the gourd herself.

"Ow!" The wound on her shoulder split open.

Ning Zhongzi hurriedly slipped off half of her clothes, applied some medicine, and bandaged the wound.

Lu Ya retorted:

"You say you risked your life to save her? Then let me ask you this: where did you rescue the newly born child of a high-ranking Female Snake Immortal from the Immortal Tail?"

Wine Fox Immortal bared her teeth in pain, at a loss for words.

After all, someone else had handed her the Snake Infant.

As for who, she couldn't say.

"I, I... Didn't Golden Peng and the others find her?"

"Would Golden Peng take in a half-immortal? Do you believe that yourself?"

"..."

Wine Fox Immortal was speechless. She simply pretended to be mute and drank, acting as though she hadn't heard a thing.

Lu Ya didn't press her further. After settling Lady Black Sheep and the infant girl, he returned with Ning Zhongzi to the City Lord's Office on the third floor of Yuelai Inn.

"What instructions does Senior Brother have for me next?"

Ning Zhongzi straightened her lapels and looked up at Lu Ya, her bright eyes full of expectation.

Lu Ya had originally come to ask for a little pocket money to go enjoy himself, but Ning Zhongzi had roped him into more work again. He replied casually:

"Fan Ni can go off duty now. After this battle, I predict a large wave of immortals will move into Azure Phoenix City. Sister, get ready to expand. Increase the number of shops from thirty to two hundred, then switch to a double-row layout. A single-sided street has no soul."

Hearing this, Ning Zhongzi felt even more certain that Lu Ya was playing a grand game.

Only then did Lu Ya lower his voice and say:

"Now that everyone's gone, Sister, let me ask you something. You should have quite a bit left over from the rent, right? I'd like some Immortal Crystals to spend. You know, in this society, you can't take a step without money."

Ning Zhongzi smiled. As Liu Xuanye's representative, she was naturally in charge of the money. She also knew the money had been earned by Lu Ya, so she had no reason to refuse his request.

"Sure. The city expansion will cost money, but I can give you a thousand Immortal Crystals for now. Is that enough?"

Just then, Wine Fox Immortal's sly voice came from outside the door.

"The Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion asked me to collect your room fee. You left in such a hurry today that you forgot to pay."

At that, Ning Zhongzi's bright eyes turned stern and resentful. She stared at Lu Ya without a word, then turned and left.

"Hey, Sister, don't go! You haven't given me the Immortal Crystals yet."

But there was no reply.

Furious, Lu Ya dragged Wine Fox Immortal into the office, pinned her to the long table, and gave her a vicious beating.

Wine Fox Immortal fought back with all her might, stretching out three tails to coil tightly around Lu Ya's right hand.

"Stop hitting me! Listen, you're the great hero of Azure Phoenix City right now—at least for today. While everyone's still excited about you, let's go drink and listen to music. Who'd charge us?"

You make a good point!

Lu Ya stopped beating her. The strength in his hand suddenly turned gentle and firm.

"Does it hurt? I'll rub it for you."