Wen Changgeng's face turned livid. He had never expected such a disastrous start-first someone had toyed with him, and now he had run into his mortal enemy. Heaven itself must have wanted him dead!
"Yan Yunhe, you hypocrite!"
Yan Yunhe strolled forward and tipped Wen Changgeng's chin up with his folding fan, seemingly savoring this prodigy's rare humiliation. "The illustrious head disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect. What a sorry sight you are now."
Wen Changgeng seethed. "Get lost!"
Yan Yunhe chuckled. "If I leave, who'll help you get your spirit stones back?"
Xiao Qinghe stiffened.
Weren't these two sworn enemies?
Had I read a fake version of the original novel?
Wen Changgeng remained skeptical. "A hypocrite like you would never help me for nothing. What are your terms?"
Yan Yunhe's smile deepened. "Agree to the condition I proposed last time, and I'll undo the Immortal-Binding Lock for you. With the two of us working together, Xiao Qinghe won't stand a chance."
Xiao Qinghe sensed trouble. He racked his brains but couldn't remember these two ever discussing any conditions in the original novel. Had he skimmed past it because it wasn't part of the main plot?
"System, what's this about Yan Yunhe setting a condition for Wen Changgeng?"
System: [At last year's Heroes' Conference, Wen Changgeng narrowly defeated Yan Yunhe. Afterward, Yan Yunhe proposed that if either sought a favor from the other, or if they fought again, the losing party would become the winner's servant and address the winner as master.]
Xiao Qinghe: "..."
Little harm, but absolutely devastating humiliation!
Was this why Yan Yunhe had spent an entire year cultivating hard in seclusion?
But Wen Changgeng was proud and arrogant. How could he possibly agree?
Wen Changgeng's face turned livid as he thundered, "In your dreams, Yan Yunhe!"
That was exactly what Xiao Qinghe wanted. If those two joined forces, even his Teleportation Talisman cheat might not give him a chance of winning.
Xiao Qinghe raised the Jade Gourd. "Immortal Master Yan, I don't want to fight you. How about this? I'll split these Spirit Pills with you, and you let me pass. Deal?"
Yan Yunhe raised an eyebrow and glanced at Wen Changgeng. "You really won't cooperate with me?"
Wen Changgeng gritted his teeth in fury. "You may kill a man, but you may not humiliate him!"
Yan Yunhe gently waved his folding fan, then turned to Xiao Qinghe. "Deal."
Wen Changgeng's face instantly contorted.
Relaxed and cheerful, Xiao Qinghe divided the spoils with Yan Yunhe right in front of him.
The system leaderboard updated in real time.
Wen Changgeng's Spirit Pill count fell to zero, sending him plummeting from first place to the bottom. Yan Yunhe took his place, rising to first with thirteen spirit stones.
Meanwhile, Xiao Qinghe's haul of five spirit stones propelled him into the upper ranks.
On the raised platform at the foot of Deer-Cry Mountain, the elders of the various sects fell silent. "..."
The sect leader of Spirit Sword Mountain offered a slight bow. "Sect Leader of the Azure Cloud Sect, thank you for conceding."
The sect leader of the Azure Cloud Sect: "..."
Bai Yuqing leisurely sipped some tea. "Sect Leader of the Azure Cloud Sect, those are the rules. You'll honor the outcome, won't you?"
The sect leader of the Azure Cloud Sect: "..."
Ouyang Chong was deeply gratified. "Junior Brother Bai, when did you teach Qinghe these techniques? How has his cultivation improved so much?"
Bai Yuqing didn't answer, but his gaze darkened slightly.
Xiao Qinghe suddenly shivered and unconsciously rubbed his arms before checking the leaderboard again.
Xie Jun's rank and Spirit Pill count hadn't budged an inch.
Rank: near the bottom. Spirit Pill count: zero.
This made absolutely no sense!
Just then, six Azure Cloud Sect disciples approached from ahead, all gnashing their teeth.
"To think the six of us together still couldn't beat her. Her cultivation probably rivals Senior Brother Wen's!"
"All those spirit stones we worked so hard to get ended up hers. Damn it!"
"We don't seem to be the first people she's robbed of spirit stones, either. Who exactly is she? Why haven't we heard her name before?"
"Judging by her robes, she seems to be a disciple of the Demon-Slaying Sect. She even asked me whether I'd seen Xiao Qinghe. Who's Xiao Qinghe?"
Looking for me?
Then that had to be Xie Jun.
Xiao Qinghe checked the leaderboard again. Xie Jun's rank remained immovable as a mountain, steady as hell.
Xie Jun had successfully taken spirit stones from more than one group. At the very least, she ought to have had three or five. Her count shouldn't have stayed at zero.
Utterly baffled, Xiao Qinghe headed in the direction those disciples had come from.
When the sun sank halfway behind the mountains, he finally found her.
This time, however, Xie Jun wasn't alone.
A crowd of over a dozen people trailed beside her, all female disciples.
Strangely enough, they came from all sorts of sects. Even the female disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect and Spirit Sword Mountain, normally at each other's throats, had put aside their hostility. Like a flock of dazzling butterflies, they fluttered around Xie Jun.
It was quite a spectacle.
Xiao Qinghe wasn't surprised by this.
This scene had appeared in the original novel. As Xie Jun slaughtered demons and monsters along the way, she had inadvertently rescued many female disciples from various sects who had been surrounded.
Her reputation as the most handsome beauty was no idle boast. Add a descent from the heavens, extraordinary fighting skills, and a heroic rescue, and it was precisely the sort of scene that set young girls' hearts aflutter.
The girls' affection +50!
Xie Jun slew demons and monsters to collect spirit stones with speed, precision, and ruthlessness. Then she simply turned and left, disdaining the unnecessary step of robbing the female disciples of their spirit stones as well.
The girls' affection +100!
And so this spectacle had come about.
But something wasn't right.
Since Xie Jun had rescued so many beauties, she must have obtained at least as many spirit stones. Add those won from fights with other people, and she should have had twenty, if not thirty. Why did the leaderboard still show a big fat zero?
Was she saving up for some huge move?
"Immortal Master Xie, you're so amazing! Who's your teacher?"
"Who's this senior brother you keep talking about? Is he as powerful as you?"
A girl in green smiled brightly, acting as though they were already close. "My name is Mu Yingying. You can call me Yingying, just like Senior Sister Bai does. May I call you Senior Brother Xie?"
The Senior Sister Bai she mentioned was none other than Bai Liuli.
What was Bai Liuli doing here, too?
Xie Jun had knocked her unconscious and left her lying on the floor all night, yet she could still follow Xie Jun around without holding a grudge?
Xiao Qinghe was utterly flummoxed, and a faint thread of displeasure stirred in his heart.
He told himself it must be because Xie Jun belonged to the female lead, while all these fluttering beauties were circling her and ruining the female lead's romance. That was why he felt indignant on her behalf.
So why wasn't the female lead here yet? Someone was about to steal her husband!
Xiao Qinghe hesitated over whether to fetch the female lead, but suddenly his stomach spoke up first.
"Grrr... grrr..."
"What was that sound?" someone asked.
"I'm hungry..." Mu Yingying held her stomach, her pretty face flushing as she gazed at Xie Jun. "Senior Brother Xie, shall we stop and find something to eat?"
Xie Jun looked up toward the dense forest, thoughtful, but said nothing.
Bai Liuli took Mu Yingying's hand. "Junior Sister, the sun is setting. Demons and monsters hide by day and emerge at night, so this place isn't safe. We should keep moving and find somewhere safe to spend the night first."
The other female disciples nodded, unanimously agreeing that this was the best course.
"No!" Mu Yingying refused, hugging Xie Jun's arm as she wheedled, "Senior Brother Xie, I'm so hungry, and my feet are so sore I can't walk anymore. There's a lake right beside us. Let's catch some fish to eat, okay?"
Xie Jun frowned slightly and unobtrusively withdrew her arm, then headed toward the lake. "I'll catch some fish."
"You're so kind, Senior Brother Xie!" Mu Yingying beamed, drawing a wave of envious and jealous looks.
Hidden in the dense forest, Xiao Qinghe was startled.
We'd only been apart for half a day. What had happened to Xie Jun to make her indulge Mu Yingying like this?
No matter how charming Mu Yingying was, she was still a supporting female character who barely ranked!
Wake up, youngster! You already had a wife!
Down below, a campfire was lit, a cooking rack set up, and fish threaded onto skewers one after another.
Soon, a delicious aroma filled the air, making Xiao Qinghe even hungrier.
"Senior Brother Xie, you're incredible. You even know how to grill fish!" Mu Yingying leaned closer, her eyes full of admiration, making no attempt to hide her affection.
Xie Jun didn't look at her. She turned the fish over, her gaze gradually becoming distant. "Someone else is better at it than I am."
"Who?"
Watching the dancing flames, Xie Jun's lips curved into a faint smile, but she didn't answer.
The firelight cast a glow over her breathtakingly beautiful face, matching the tenderness that softened her eyes.
The sight made the girls blush, their hearts racing.
They could only wonder who could make her wear such an expression.
Before you continue