(P.S. The plot will start moving forward quickly from here. I'll keep up the interactions with the multiple female leads and get to the later parts sooner. It feels like hardly anyone's reading anymore.)
(If you're reading, you can leave a 1.)
Days slipped by like flowing water. In the blink of an eye, nearly a month had passed since the exhibition match.
Over the past month, Golden Spatula's popularity hadn't waned. Instead, it had swept across the entire continent with even greater force.
The main hall in Spirit City was receiving over thirty thousand visitors a day. The queue at the Heaven Dou City branch stretched from dawn until the afternoon. All five branches on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's territory were running at full capacity, while the Zhu Family in the Star Luo Empire had opened four new halls in just one month, yet they were still packed every day.
The total number of registered players had surpassed five million, and it was still growing faster by the day.
The Golden Spatula Association had gradually grown from a fledgling organization into a force the continent could no longer ignore.
Letters and visitors poured into the Association Building every day from all over the continent. Some were applying to open new branches, some were asking about the season rules, and others hoped to establish partnerships with the Association.
Yi Chen had no choice but to bring in a group of people from Shrek Academy to help handle the daily affairs. They included Flender and Zhao Wuji, who, after trying Golden Spatula, had quickly gone from curious onlookers to devoted fans and volunteered to help.
No matter how busy he was, though, Yi Chen still set aside time every day to train Xiao Wu and Rongrong in the back hills.
That afternoon, after training, Xiao Wu and Rongrong sat side by side on a stone bench beneath an old tree, each holding a cup of hot tea.
Autumn had deepened. The trees in the back hills were already tinged with swathes of gold and deep red. With every gust of wind, leaves rustled down, twirling through the air.
Holding her teacup, Xiao Wu gazed at the layers of red leaves covering the distant mountains and suddenly said, "Master, tell me... wouldn't it be wonderful if things could stay like this forever?"
Yi Chen sat across from them in a wicker chair. At her words, he looked up at her. "Stay like what?"
"Just like this." Xiao Wu gestured around them with her chin. "Autumn, the back hills, sitting together for tea after training, watching the leaves fall. No need to think about all that messy stuff."
Yi Chen didn't answer at once. He lifted his teacup, took a sip, then set it down. His gaze settled on the mountains dyed red with autumn color. After a moment of silence, he said, "I'd like that too. But just because we don't think about certain things doesn't mean they won't happen."
Xiao Wu and Rongrong both turned to look at him.
Yi Chen didn't avoid their gazes. He continued calmly, "Golden Spatula has grown too big to exist quietly anymore. Spirit Hall, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, the Star Luo Imperial Family—they're willing to work with us because Golden Spatula brings them benefits. But if one day they decide the benefits aren't enough, or that the threat outweighs them, cooperation could turn into conflict at any moment."
He paused, then added, "Besides, there are people who never wanted Golden Spatula to exist in the first place."
Xiao Wu frowned. "You mean... Tang San?"
Yi Chen neither confirmed nor denied it. He simply lifted his teacup and took another sip.
Ning Rongrong put down her teacup, her voice more serious than usual. "Master, if anyone ever tries to harm Golden Spatula, we'll stand with you."
Xiao Wu nodded too, her gaze resolute. "That's right. Whoever it is, they'll have to get past us before they can touch you."
Looking at the two girls' earnest expressions, Yi Chen's lips twitched slightly. He set down his teacup, stood, and rested a hand on each of their heads. "All right, don't get so worked up. If the sky falls, let the tall ones hold it up. Your job now is to train properly and climb the ranks. Leave the rest to me."
He withdrew his hands and turned toward the foot of the mountain, a hint of depth in his gaze. "Besides, I'm not entirely unprepared."
Meanwhile, in Heaven Dou City, at the Crown Prince's Mansion.
Qian Renxue sat behind her desk, a freshly delivered intelligence report from Spirit City spread open before her.
The report was brief, but packed with information: the number of registered players in the Golden Spatula Association had surpassed five million, and was expected to reach ten million before the end of the year.
Spirit Hall had officially submitted a second proposal to expand its cooperation with the Association. The plan was to establish Golden Spatula branches in all major cities under Spirit Hall's jurisdiction before the beginning of next year.
She set down the report, tapped the desk lightly twice with her fingertip, then picked up another file. It was a summary of intelligence from across the Heaven Dou Empire over the past few weeks. One item caught her attention: someone was secretly gathering information on how the Golden Spatula System worked and its underlying architecture. The methods were quite professional, nothing like an ordinary player's curiosity.
Qian Renxue's gaze lingered on the item for a moment. She circled it with her pen and wrote a brief note in the margin: "Find out where the information is coming from. Don't alert them."
She put down her pen and leaned back in her chair, gazing out at the night sky. The moonlight was cold, and the stars were sparse. After a moment, she murmured, "It seems I'm not the only one who's getting restless."
She turned her gaze back and picked up the report on the Golden Spatula Association again, lightly stroking the edge of the paper with her fingertips.
She thought of the night a few days earlier, when Yi Chen had seen through her disguise in the Crown Prince's Mansion's back garden. There had been no shock or wariness in his eyes, only calm understanding—as if he'd known everything all along and had merely been waiting for her to reveal it herself.
At the time, she had thought the man was interesting. Now, she thought he was not only interesting but unfathomable.
She closed the file, rose, and walked to the window. She gazed at the cold moon in the night sky and remained silent for a long time.
Then she turned and walked back to her desk. Picking up a pen, she wrote a line on a blank sheet of stationery:
"Elder Yi Chen, I have recently learned of your Association's plans to expand within Heaven Dou. I have a few suggestions to add. If you have time, please come to the Crown Prince's Mansion for a discussion. —Xue Qinghe"
When she finished, she folded the letter, sealed it in an envelope, and handed it to the attendant outside the door. "Take this to the back hills of Shrek Academy tonight and deliver it personally to Elder Yi Chen."
The attendant bowed in acknowledgment and hurried away.
Qian Renxue stood by the study window, watching the attendant disappear into the night. She tapped the window frame lightly twice with her fingertips, her gaze deep.
She had a feeling the days ahead would not be peaceful.