Little Girl, Do You Desire Power? (Thanks to Bùshèng Jiǔlì Sù Huánzhēn for Becoming a League Leader)

The flawless white space gave off a faint glow, peaceful and tranquil, putting her at ease.

Chu Xiaoyao stood in the very center, looking utterly bewildered.

"What is this place?"

How did I suddenly end up here?

"Little girl, this is your dream." A voice rang out, its gender and age impossible to discern. It seemed to blend countless voices together, vast and resonant.

Chu Xiaoyao turned her head. A Jade Seal hovered silently in the air, as though it had been there since time immemorial, eternal and unchanging, and she had simply never noticed it.

"Are you the one talking?"

The Jade Seal bobbed up and down, as if nodding.

"Little girl, do you desire power? Do you desire to become the strongest under heaven, to wield authority over the entire world?"

At the same time, the dream changed. Countless figures appeared in the flawless white space: ethereal immortals in seamless robes, armored generals who fought far and wide, princes and nobles, peddlers and laborers. All the people under heaven bowed at the feet of Chu Xiaoyao, who sat upon the imperial throne.

Then the dream changed again. Lightning flashed and thunder roared as heaven and earth shattered. Chu Xiaoyao wielded boundless power, sweeping aside every immortal and reigning over the world.

Both the Jade Seal's voice and the scenes it conjured were immensely tempting. It seemed that if Chu Xiaoyao so much as hesitated and nodded, everything it promised would become reality.

Chu Xiaoyao looked confused, unable to understand what the Jade Seal meant.

"But I'm already the strongest under heaven."

"Huh? No, wait a second-"

The dream shattered.

Chu Xiaoyao sat up in bed and stretched, her eyes unfocused as she yawned, her hair a tangled mess.

"I think I had a dream. What was it about again?"

Chu Xiaoyao tilted her head back and thought for a while, remaining perfectly still.

She had fallen asleep again.

By the time Zhou You reached the classroom, Chu Xiaoyao was already at school.

Chu Xiaoyao wore the Ghost-Seeing Glasses, which had come from who knew where but let her see Vengeful Ghosts. They lent her an air of quiet, literary elegance. If she were to sit reading quietly in a library, people would surely take her for a bookish girl who made their hearts flutter.

Wearing them in the classroom, however, added not only a literary air but also a touch of apparent mental instability.

Chu Xiaoyao was having a delightful conversation with Nuomi. To everyone else, she was talking to herself.

After all, although Chu Xiaoyao frequently had her episodes, she had never made a habit of talking to thin air during their two years of high school.

The conclusion was obvious: Chu Xiaoyao's condition had worsened.

Zhou You, however, wondered what he had looked like when he chatted with Nuomi before.

Wasn't I talking to myself just like Chu Xiaoyao?

Oh no. My classmates don't think I'm just like Chu Xiaoyao, do they? Zhou You considered himself a normal person and hoped his classmates would not get that impression.

He had known Chu Xiaoyao for five years. Although she had fooled him for the first three, he had wised up once they started high school. He had remained unsullied by her influence and kept himself on the straight and narrow.

Chu Xiaoyao had found some stamp ink somewhere and was using the Jade Seal they had fished out yesterday to confer titles on members of the Carefree Sect, establishing its legitimacy.

As usual, she found a quiz paper and wrote a Carefree Sect appointment decree on the back:

Nuomi is hereby appointed Vice Sect Master of the Carefree Sect. By imperial decree.

"Carefree Sect" and the date were written in the lower-right corner, along with a stamped impression. The eight characters meaning "Mandated by Heaven, may longevity and prosperity endure forever" stood out strikingly.

Nuomi joyfully accepted the decree, thanking her profusely and wishing the Female Emperor boundless longevity, among other things.

Zhou You sighed. Picking up a fake Jade Seal had given her Female Emperor persona the upper hand. From the Sect Master's perspective, the Carefree Sect's future looked bleak. From her deskmate's perspective, so did life in senior year.

After putting down his schoolbag, Zhou You discovered another Carefree Sect appointment decree on his desk, appointing him Sect Master.

"Now that we have an official seal, our sect appointments need to be more formal. We have to complete the paperwork."

Although Zhou You had not questioned it, Chu Xiaoyao still explained earnestly. He had no idea whether she had learned this from novels or from the Primordial Continent.

The Carefree Sect was no longer the makeshift outfit it had been at its founding. It had the Free and Unfettered Female Emperor presiding over it; three offices-Grand Supreme Elder, Sect Master, and Vice Sect Master; a territory spanning two classroom desks; two desk signs proclaiming their identities; coverage in the school newspaper to spread its fame throughout the world; a Sect Master traveling far and wide to proclaim the sect's prestige; and the Imperial Seal serving as its official seal.

Thinking of it that way, Chu Xiaoyao felt she had done a pretty good job building the Carefree Sect. It was just a little short on members and territory. Those were directions she could work on for its future development.

She acted on the thought immediately and began working hard to expand the sect. "Zhao Zhuo, have you considered joining the Carefree Sect? Join now, and you can even get a stamp from the Imperial Seal."

Zhao Zhuo cast a disdainful glance at the Imperial Seal. "Even putting my name on the Investiture of the Gods wouldn't work."

Chu Xiaoyao moved on to coaxing Zhao Zhuo's deskmate, Ma Changcheng. "Ma Changcheng, have you considered joining the Carefree Sect? Join now, and you can get your name on the Investiture of the Gods."

Ma Changcheng: "?"

Do I look easier to fool than Zhao Zhuo? At least he got offered an Imperial Seal. Where's my Investiture of the Gods?

Her attempt to expand the sect failed.

Zhao Zhuo took the opportunity to turn around and chat with Zhou You. "You, have you heard? We're getting a transfer student in our class."

Zhou You was slightly surprised, but did not find it particularly unusual. After all, the Gaokao cutoff scores were quite low in their area, so transferring here in senior year was perfectly normal.

"How did you find out?"

Zhao Zhuo chuckled. "I heard the teachers discussing it when I passed the office. I didn't dare linger outside the door, so I didn't hear everything. All I know is that it's a girl."

Zhou You did not give it much thought. It barely counted as an interesting diversion for him. His life was eventful enough already.

He was now a Cultivator at the peak of early Qi refining, after all. He needed to focus on cultivation and studying.

"How can I get my soul to touch objects?" Zhou You asked the Female Emperor for cultivation guidance.

Since he no longer needed to dive, he had put skin tempering on hold for the time being. Zhou You figured he could work on training his soul instead.

Nuomi seemed just like a living person to him. She could touch objects whenever she wanted and pass through them whenever she wanted, yet he could not touch anything after using Soul Projection.

Since he was currently following the Primordial Continent's cultivation system, it was only natural to seek advice from the all-knowing Free and Unfettered Female Emperor.

Chu Xiaoyao froze. How would she know how to cultivate? She had only gained the ability to see Nuomi last night.

Where are my memories as the Female Emperor? Why haven't they returned yet?

"I currently inhabit a mere mortal body and am still studying this world's cultivation methods and heavenly laws. Any guidance I offer you may be limited. You would be better off learning from Nuomi." The Female Emperor offered a practical suggestion.

"That's right, Sect Master. Just ask me. I know this stuff inside out." Coming from a Vengeful Ghost like Nuomi, that sounded quite convincing.

"So how do I grab things?" Zhou You asked.

"Just go by feel."

Zhou You: "..."

What exactly do you know inside out?

Nuomi raised both index fingers and circled them beside her temples, emphasizing, "You have to use your imagination. Imagine that you can grab things."

That was a little more explanation, but still very abstract.

Zhou You decided to try Nuomi's method.

Zhou You used Soul Projection and tried hard to imagine grabbing something. Yet when he reached for the mechanical pencil on his desk, his soul passed smoothly through it.

Failure.

Nuomi shook her head and offered her assessment. "Sect Master, you have to really use your imagination. Imagine that you can grab the pencil."

Zhou You tried several more times, all ending in failure. He felt this was not something effort alone could accomplish.

"Not enough imagination." Nuomi clasped her hands behind her back, shaking her head and sighing like a teacher faced with a dim-witted student.