Yun Fuzhao could hardly believe her ears.
‘Is that something the main villain would say?’
But his face was expressionless and his tone was flat, completely lacking the deference one would expect from someone asking for a favor.
She watched Yu Ze warily.
“Why do you want me to teach you?”
He stated an irrefutable fact.
“Only you know how.”
“…”
Yun Fuzhao was starting to get curious about why he insisted on staying at the Wuya Sword Sect, especially since he was being bullied so badly.
‘Could it be for the heroine?’
‘So he’s the devoted type.’
‘As someone dedicated to the art of slacking, teaching another person swordsmanship is just too tiring.
It’s not just the energy it would drain, but also…’
[Xi Muzhe has rewarded you with 100 top grade spiritual stones.]
—it builds camaraderie between fellow sect disciples.
Yun Fuzhao patted his shoulder.
“Satisfaction guaranteed.”
Yu Ze turned his head, his eyes sweeping over the hand she had placed on his shoulder.
It was slender and fair, her nails a faint, healthy pink.
She was too close, and a crisp, clean scent filled his senses.
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
Yu Ze brushed her hand away.
“I will compensate you.”
Yun Fuzhao’s eyes lit up.
‘What?
I can get paid twice for this?’
Under Yun Fuzhao’s expectant gaze, Yu Ze handed her a round, black Jade Pendant about the size of a marble.
An ordinary person might not have seen anything unusual about this Jade Pendant, but Yun Fuzhao, who knew the entire novel by heart, knew it was the only thing his father had ever left him.
In the original plot, he gave it to the heroine, promising that as long as the Jade existed, his feelings for her would never change.
Later, to secure a meeting with Yu Ze after he had become the Demon Lord, the heroine made a point of wearing this very piece of Jade.
In other words, this piece of Jade represented a promise from the future Demon Lord.
By then, he would be bloodthirsty, his personality twisted and depraved, and he would harbor a deep loathing for all Cultivators.
He would even kill a few Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators to liven things up when he was in a bad mood.
‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to defeat him by then, so I absolutely have to accept this Jade Pendant.’ But adhering to custom, she made a show of refusing.
“Oh, there’s no need for that.
We’re fellow disciples of the same Sect; you don’t have to be so formal…”
As she spoke, however, she pulled open her storage bag and held it out in his direction.
“Well, this is awkward.”
Yu Ze stared at her for a moment before silently placing the Jade Pendant into her storage bag.
Satisfied, a subtle smile danced in Yun Fuzhao’s hazel eyes.
“Alright then, let’s get started.
I’ll teach you.”
“…”
In the time it took for a single stick of incense to burn, Yu Ze had already mastered Sword Flight.
His aptitude was remarkably high.
He had likely failed to make a breakthrough before simply for lack of proper guidance.
In truth, Yun Fuzhao herself only had a rudimentary understanding of the art, but her live stream chat included Yunding, the number one Sword Cultivator, and Xi Muzhe, who was anxious to protect his nephew.
With these two Great Powers giving instructions, even a rock could learn to sing.
“Those people who bully you,” Yun Fuzhao said as he put his sword away.
“Want me to take care of them for you?”
At her words, the young man standing there shot her a look, his eyes dark and heavy.
Perhaps from years of rough living, Yu Ze was gaunt, and his sect robe only accentuated his slender waist.
He looked as if a strong gust of wind might blow him away.
And yet, he was quite tall, and when he looked down at her, he gave off an inexplicable sense of pressure.
“Why?”
Yu Ze fixed his gaze on her, as if trying to decipher her motives from her expression.
Yun Fuzhao sighed internally.
‘What can I do?
Your uncle just pays too well.’
“There’s no particular reason.
Just consider it my good deed for the day,” Yun Fuzhao said earnestly.
“Bullying one’s own sect members is a shameful affair.
As a disciple of the Sect, I have a duty to punish the wicked, eliminate evil, and uphold the virtues of our community!”
[Yun Family Team 1 Wei Heyu: Excellent!
Excellent!
Excellent!
A new generation of talent has arrived!
If not for the rule that the Upper Realm cannot interfere in the affairs of the Lower Realm, I would pass my mantle to Yu!]
[Wei Heyu has rewarded you with 100 top grade spiritual stones.]
Yun Fuzhao’s flattery had really struck a chord with Elder Wei, prompting him to praise her three times in a row.
Yu Ze: “…”
…
Before returning to her residence, Yun Fuzhao made a trip to the back mountains.
She had promised to bring Jiao Yu a Beast Core and couldn’t go back on her word.
The area was full of wild, low rank spirit beasts, and with her current Cultivation, even taking down a third grade one would be no trouble.
As a Heavenly Spirit Beast, Jiao Yu was extremely rare.
By the same token, it was also a picky eater and wouldn’t even glance at anything below the third grade.
Yun Fuzhao caught three spirit beasts in total: one first grade, one second grade, and one third grade.
The little snake didn’t even glance at the other two, swallowing the third-grade one with a single GULP.
And even then, it made a face as if the meal was barely palatable.
Yun Fuzhao picked it up.
“You’re a hard one to please, little snake.”
Its snow-white tail coiled around her arm, and Jiao Yu opened its mouth wide in a show of dissatisfaction.
Yun Fuzhao wasn’t afraid of it anymore, especially after hearing one of the Great Powers say it might be a descendant of the Dragon Clan.
Her fear had plummeted.
‘Are you kidding me?
I’m a descendant of the dragon, after all.’
Still, she had no idea when Jiao Yu would finally grow up.
As things stood, it looked no different from an ordinary White Snake.
Yun Fuzhao gently rubbed the small bony ridge on Jiao Yu’s head.
It immediately acted like a contented kitten, eagerly nuzzling its little head into her palm.
“You’re still growing, so feeding you only third-grade Beast Cores isn’t a long-term solution…”
‘Conveniently, I’m heading to the underground exchange tomorrow.
Maybe I can see if there are any high-rank Beast Cores up for auction.’
Yun Fuzhao sat up and quietly took stock of the Spirit Stones in her storage bag.
She now had 200 top-grade Spirit Stones and fifty mid-grade Spirit Stones.
The mid-grade Spirit Stones were what she had managed to save up over her years at Purple Sun Peak.
She used to have more, but she had spent it all on those two ingrates.
The thought made her wince with regret.
Song Ying had gone down the mountain today to see her father, claiming he’d caught a severe cold and was bedridden.
That was why she had been in such a hurry when she left via Sword Flight.
She was alone in her room tonight.
Yun Fuzhao was feeling drowsy.
The moment she lay down on her Purple Sandalwood Beauty Couch, she drifted off to sleep.
But she had only been dozing for a moment when her body’s instinct, honed by her status as a Golden Core Stage Cultivator, jolted her awake.
Someone had snuck into her room.
Her eyes remained closed, but her mind was racing.
‘Who would come here at this hour?
It must be someone with ill intent.
Yu Nian’er?
No, it couldn’t be her.
She’s busy falling in love with the male lead right now; how could she possibly have time for me?
Then who is it?’
A figure flashed through her mind.
The next second, an icy presence pressed in on her—dark and damp, carrying the stench of earth and blood.
‘He killed someone?’
Yun Fuzhao’s mind raced.
‘The current Yu Ze is no match for me.
If I summon Wuji, I could slice this little villain up like a pizza.’
‘In the face of absolute power, everything else is meaningless.’
Yun Fuzhao was already prepared to run him through.
“Yun Fuzhao.”
The man standing in the shadows spoke, his voice low and gravelly, his gaze so intense it felt tangible as it landed on her.
The sound of her name sent a jolt through Yun Fuzhao, and her eyes snapped open.
Yu Ze stood by her bed, his face spattered with fresh blood.
His dark eyes held an eerie light, making him look like an Asura that had just climbed out of Hell.
‘AHHHHHH!
This psycho is going to scare me to death!’