Side story: Busy Little Pear Blossom

During a mission call, Shen Binghua saw Cheng Rui's name.

This mission also allowed Shen Binghua to rediscover the joy he had experienced at the Zhongdu Military Academy.

Although the two were no longer adversaries, she still felt very happy to fight alongside Cheng Rui.

But this newly emerging joy quickly turned into an indescribable sting.

Cheng Rui disappeared.

Shen Binghua had never made friends before, nor did he know how to make friends with people.

She tried posting task calls many times, Cheng Rui never joined again.

She went to "Late Night" several times in her spare time, but never saw Cheng Rui.

She even passed by the Nature Pavilion many times, but still didn't see Cheng Rui.

Why?

Shen Binghua couldn't understand it.

She felt they worked together very well, had excellent chemistry, and enjoyed the experience immensely.

Is it just wishful thinking on her part?

Shen Binghua suddenly remembered that when he thanked him, he said a... "no".

Why not?

Shen Binghua felt a tightness in his chest.

Shen Binghua has always put aside things he can't understand.

Nothing is more important than spiritual practice.

As our ancestor once said, once you reach a high enough level of understanding, many things will become clear.

So the reason she can't understand it must be because her level of understanding isn't high enough.

When Cheng Rui finally felt confident, he was shocked to realize that so much time had passed.

Cheng Rui started to panic.

Has Shen Binghua completely forgotten him?

But soon, Cheng Rui comforted himself, thinking, "It's good to forget about that idiot me. The me of today... I'll definitely make her look at me with new eyes!"

Just then, the Star Nexus Pavilion held a martial arts competition for Fourth-Grade Star Wielders.

Cheng Rui spotted Shen Binghua had signed up, at a glance.

Shen Binghua also spotted him at a glance.

Shen Binghua's lips moved, but he didn't say anything. He just turned his gaze to the registration list.

Cheng Rui grinned and said, "I saw you signed up!"

Shen Binghua: "Aren't you going to sign up?"

Cheng Rui: "No."

"Why?"

"Anyway, I can't beat you."

Shen Binghua frowned; for some reason, her heart felt heavy again.

Cheng Rui then asked her loudly, "Are you interested in the doubles competition?"

Shen Binghua: "?"

Suppressing his nervousness, Cheng Rui asked in a natural voice, "Let's team up and sign up for the doubles competition!"

Is it a doubles competition?

This was a possibility that Shen Binghua had never considered.

After Cheng Rui finished speaking, he also became nervous and quickly added, "Ahem... You're definitely more than capable in the singles competition, but as for the doubles... if you didn't originally intend to participate, then even if our results aren't good..."

"Take first place."

"?"

"Either don't participate," Shen Binghua said, looking at him. "If you participate, you have to win first place."

Cheng Rui's heart pounded, and after a long while, he finally broke into a wide grin. "Okay!"

Shen Binghua: "..." She looked away because Cheng Rui's smile was too intense.

The individual competition was a foregone conclusion.

Shen Binghua easily took first place.

Everyone was surprised that Cheng Rui hadn't participated. In Si Yue, someone even asked in a chilly tone, "What, you've given up already?"

This statement has a double meaning.

Cheng Rui rubbed his hands together, eager to prove himself, and said, "Giving up is impossible, I will never give up in this lifetime!"

Si Yue raised her eyebrows, intrigued, and asked, "Then why...?"

"She and I signed up for the doubles competition..." Cheng Rui said confidently, "I'm sure I'll get first place this time."

Si Yue paused for a moment, then laughed, "You little rascal." You're using this roundabout method to achieve your goal.

In the doubles competition.

The pairing of Shen Binghua and Cheng Rui surprised many people.

In the eyes of fellow Star Wielders, they were mortal enemies, like kings against kings.

One is the rising Heavenly Chosen of the Shen Family, and the other is an outstanding student in the Nature Department... Although the latter has always been overshadowed, the Nature Department have always been known for their gradual accumulation of strength, and surpassing the former is only a matter of time.

They were all waiting to Cheng Rui defeat Shen Binghua, but they never expected the two to team up.

What's so interesting about teaming up?

"Keep fighting!"

"Damn, I bet on Cheng Rui to win, why did he just give up on the singles match?"

"Don't underestimate the doubles competition; it really tests your teamwork!"

"That's right, no matter how good their individual skills are, without teamwork, they're just a disorganized mess!"

Soon, those who were skeptical of the Star Wielders were proven wrong.

Tacit agreement?

Cooperate?

They were so perfectly in sync, it was as if they had been fighting together for decades!

Not to mention others, Shen Binghua and Cheng Rui were also very surprised.

They no longer had time to train in private; relying on their superior fighting skills, they treated the elimination rounds as practice matches.

At worst, one person can stand still while the other fights two against one and still wins.

Once we've practiced our teamwork until the finals, it should be pretty much over.

However, in their very first match, they displayed perfect teamwork.

Cheng Rui knew Shen Binghua very well, and Shen Binghua also knew Cheng Rui very well... The latter excited Cheng Rui greatly, and he suddenly realized that he was not the only one pursuing her all these years.

Cheng Rui's recent period of seclusion was simply a period of adjustment, where he transformed himself into a defensive character, enabling him to better cooperate with Shen Binghua.

This allows Shen Binghua to simply be herself and thus resonate with him.

"We surrender! We surrender!"

Shen Binghua only stopped, still not quite satisfied, when the other side cheered and shouted.

We didn't get enough of the match, but the opponents were just too weak.

Cheng Rui smiled brightly again, like the rising sun, and asked Shen Binghua, "How was it?"

Shen Binghua: "..."

Cheng Rui coughed lightly and said, "If you feel anything is wrong, I can..."

"Very good." Shen Binghua maintained his icy demeanor, but his words were incredibly sincere and pleasant to hear. "Better than ever before."

Cheng Rui: "!"

He instantly became incredibly excited, as if he had been injected with adrenaline!

They won first place in the doubles competition without any doubt.

The combination of Shen Binghua and Cheng Rui was a pleasant surprise for many, and even sparked a craze for duo teams.

However, most pairs teams later became five-person teams.

Because combinations of two people or more than five people are still very rare.

Si Yue had been waiting for these two kids to finally understand.

Unexpectedly, it wasn't until they condensed their Star Soul that they finally broke through that incredibly thin layer of paper.

Cheng Rui's Star Soul is half a wing.

Shen Binghua's Star Soul is also half a wing.

When their Star Soul come together, just like their team, the sum of its parts is far greater than the sum of its parts!

Even after seeing Shen Binghua's Star Soul, Cheng Rui was still filled with disbelief. "You..."

Shen Binghua looked at him. "Do you want to be my partner?"

Cheng Rui: "!!!"

"If you don't want to..."

"Yes!" Cheng Rui's voice was loud enough to echo throughout the entire Huaxia Heavenly Palace, "I want to be your partner!"

Chapter 261 (Bonus): Busy Little Pear Blossom

Dawn Calendar, Year 100.

100 years is not a long time in the Astral Realm, and for most Star Wielders, it is just a blink of an eye.

But these past 100 years have been different; the entire Astral Realm has undergone earth-shattering changes.

The gloom that shrouded the Upper Three Realms did not completely dissipate after the war ended.

It took these 100 years for the various Realm Domain to gradually forget the shadow of being ruled by the Upper Three Realms.

Huaxia Heavenly Palace did not attempt to unify the Astral Realm because the differences between the various Realm Domain were unimaginably vast.

Although life in every Realm Domain yearns for human form due to the Daowu, even those who cultivate human form still have vastly different living environments and values.

Forcing unification will only lead to greater hidden dangers.

A more stable and long-term path undoubtedly lies in respecting all Realm Domain, allowing them to leverage their strengths and achieve mutual benefit.

Therefore, Li Yang has been exceptionally busy with this for the past century.

After she woke up, she first recuperated in the Huaxia Realm Domain for a while, where she served as the dean of the Agronomy Department for a full ten years.

The dean of the Agronomy Department has started his rotation again.

No one would question this young dean; in fact, countless scions of prominent families would fight tooth and nail to get into the Agronomy Department because of Li Yang's appointment.

The Star-Slaying Military Academy was extremely anxious, visiting them almost every day to inquire about the possibility of establishing Agronomy Department Star-Slaying Military Academy as well.

After finding no way out, Star-Slaying Military Academy finally found a key breakthrough.

That is... Jiang Yuqing, Grandmaster of the Alchemical Dao Department who graduated from the Star-Slaying Military Academy.

Grandmaster calmly said, "What's the rush? Do you think my Sister Yang is such a petty person? Stop bothering her. Once she sorts things out, she'll get what she deserves."

The executive principal of Star Slaying nodded and bowed repeatedly, agreeing.

Now that Li Yang has been accepted by the entire Astral Realm, why would he target a particular military academy?

Moreover, everything, from the largest to the smallest, needs a balance.

It is not a good thing for the Zhongdu Military Academy to have such a dominant position.

This could easily lead to a lack of ambition at the Zhongdu Military Academy, ultimately affecting cultivation throughout the entire Huaxia Realm Domain.

Li Yang's ten years have also been a small-scale simulation exercise.

She started with the Agronomy Department, carefully adjusting the secret treasures such as the Tree Tower and Divine Soil, and then made corresponding adjustments for other departments.

She can do many things that others can't.

Because Sister Longevity collected a large number of Origin Soul fragments, and each fragment carries "knowledge" related to it.

This is the most valuable asset.

It is precisely because of this that Li Yang was able to make such a targeted overall plan.