Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Chapter 33: Chapter 33 Who is Slandering Me!

Dinner time.

The cafeteria was about two-thirds full.

Yan Yu sat at a corner table, and although some wanted to join him, they were quickly stopped by their companions.

"Don't you see who that is?"

The lofty lone swordsman, the abstinent iron-clad martial god, a peerless powerhouse who can't be budged even by the most brutal battlegrounds!

Since the semester had just started and everyone was still unfamiliar with each other, the students judged from their first impressions that Yan Yu must be difficult to get along with.

If even a beautiful girl is harshly scolded and snubbed by him, what chance do we ordinary people have to interact with him?

Zhao Yuanzhen, however, didn't care about that, or rather, the Demonic Sect Enchantress didn't bother to pay attention to what her sect mates thought, and went straight over with her tray to sit opposite Yan Yu.

"This is so boring," she complained quietly. "The spiritual energy of this world is so depleted, a dignified cultivator can only practice the Three Arts and Five Spells. If my elder sisters saw me mingling with these mediocre cultivators, they'd surely laugh their teeth off."

"Take it slow," Yan Yu replied. "The concentration of spiritual energy will rise sooner or later."

"It had better," Zhao Yuanzhen frowned. "Otherwise, even if I cycle through tens of thousands of celestial circuits, I might not regain my original cultivation level..."

She suddenly stopped speaking because Chen Lingyun also came over with a tray and smiled, "Do you mind if I join your table?"

"I do," Yan Yu said offhandedly.

"Then I'll be intruding," Chen Lingyun ignored his rejection and sat down beside him.

"Where are your two maids?" Yan Yu glanced at her and asked, "Why aren't you eating with them?"

"They are practicing the Shifting Technique in the practice fields," Chen Lingyun said with a smile. "And, they are not maids, classmate, you can't just say things like that~"

With Lin Ning's serious personality, she probably felt she couldn't keep up with everyone else, so she decided to stay for extra practice; Su Yunjin, however, had a very laid-back attitude, so expecting her to study extra on her own was out of the question. She probably stayed to keep Lin Ning company... Had Chen Lingyun worked her magic, turning these two into good friends already?

Girls make friends too quickly, terrifying!

"By the way," Chen Lingyun had a bite of her meal and suddenly said, "The mysterious realm at the mouth of the Qiantang River has been confirmed. We're currently negotiating with Chongying Country, and they claim to be completely unaware of it."

"Mysterious Realm?" Zhao Yuanzhen pricked up her ears, "What mysterious realm?"

"The Fixed River Mysterious Realm," Yan Yu raised an eyebrow, "Are you interested?"

"Not interested," Zhao Yuanzhen immediately lost interest upon hearing what it was.

The so-called mysterious realm is an extremely powerful cultivator's creation of a subspace world.

There are various reasons for creating such realms, such as nearing ascension or the end of one's life span, with no disciples to pass their legacy onto, leaving their unused techniques and treasures in a hidden world with the intent of "leaving them for the fated," making the exploration of such realms extremely valuable.

But the Fixed River Mysterious Realm was different.

In the distant past, when floods were rampant, Da Yu opened up these kinds of mysterious realms in many places to control the myriad rivers, and by planting a Heavenly River Anchoring Needle inside, he stabilized the water vein—so there's not much of value in the Fixed River Mysterious Realm except for the Heavenly River Anchoring Needle, which, if removed, would cause the water vein to go berserk, making it a poor trade.

Moreover, since Yan Yu had already acquired such a treasure for her last time, Zhao Yuanzhen was even less interested.

"So it seems the story of Da Yu controlling the waters is indeed a myth," Chen Lingyun mused, "What about Noah's Ark?"

"It's at Mount Ale in Tekki Country," Yan Yu answered, "It probably hasn't emerged yet."

"Aah, in Tekki Country, huh," Chen Lingyun's eyes narrowed as she laughed, "That could trigger a religious war, right?"

"Well, it has nothing to do with us anyway," Yan Yu cut short her daydreaming, "How is the Qiantang Mysterious Realm being handled?"

"Of course, the surrounding area is sealed off and a restricted zone is established," Chen Lingyun said with a smile. "No more watching the tide, then."

Whether being able to watch the tide or not didn't matter; Yan Yu wanted to ask, "How were those two bodies handled?", but that despicable woman deliberately pretended not to understand.

"Speaking of which, I'm also quite curious," Chen Lingyun glanced at Zhao Yuanzhen, then suddenly asked Yan Yu, "Are there many such people?"

"Who?" Yan Yu lazily inquired.

"You know what I mean."

"I don't."

"Then I'll just say it clearly." Chen Lingyun showed a helpless smile that said "you little rascal" and asked, "Why does Chongying Country have cultivators not officially managed by the government, but we don't?"

"Because they dare not show themselves," Yan Yu replied.

"I see." Chen Lingyun immediately understood, "Then now that spiritual energy is gradually reviving, civilian cultivators will surely increase in future, right?"

"Do you think that's a good thing or a bad thing?" Yan Yu suddenly countered.

"That must be viewed dialectically..." Chen Lingyun smoothly stated, only to be interrupted by Zhao Yuanzhen abruptly.

"Why would that be a bad thing?" She looked at Yan Yu, puzzled, having guessed the attitudes of the two—Chen Lingyun was optimistic about the increase in the number of civilian cultivators, while Yan Yu was not, "Cultivation should not be controlled by the imperial court, right?"

"Think about it, what is the attitude of independent cultivators towards mortals?" Yan Yu asked leisurely.

Zhao Yuanzhen paused for a moment, then also understood instantly.

Lu Country cultivators are all officially trained, so everyone has little concept of this, but Zhao Yuanzhen, having come from that world, knew very well the behavior of these independent cultivators.

To put it nicely, it's called having no taboos, but if speaking crudely, they are utterly unrestrained. For example, discovering a cultivator's Mysterious Realm in a remote forest and slaughtering an entire nearby mortal village to prevent the leak of information was nothing out of the ordinary.

Being raised in the Evil Sect and especially the Qiansi Sect, Zhao Yuanzhen naturally could not take mortal lives seriously. However, the actions of many Evil Sect independent cultivators were such that even she found them disgustingly abominable, which shows how deplorable they truly were.

She wanted to say more, but then she heard Yan Yu speak solemnly:

"The so-called order needs strength to maintain it. As soon as strength is dispersed, the order will collapse, and the new order will inevitably be written by those with new power. Do you know what the new order will look like?"

Zhao Yuanzhen, of course, knew, having come from a world where cultivators could move mountains and fill seas. So actually, Yan Yu was questioning Chen Lingyun.

"I don't know," Chen Lingyun put away her smile and said lightly, "But as you said, this will inevitably happen, regardless of whether we think it's good or bad, we can only learn to accept it."

"Be stubborn while you can," Yan Yu let out a cold laugh and did not continue to argue.

While you can? Does that mean I will regret it in the future? Chen Lingyun's thoughts turned, but she did not respond; she just looked at him eating with a smiling face.

After Yan Yu finished eating, he suddenly asked:

"Is there any regulation from the school about not staying in the dormitory and renting a house outside instead?"

"There shouldn't be any," Chen Lingyun said with a smile, "Why do you ask? Can't wait to live with me? Mind you, I haven't agreed to be with you."

Zhao Yuanzhen couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out angrily:

"He was talking about living with me!"

The voice of the Demonic Sect Enchantress rang out clear and loud, immediately catching the attention of most people in the cafeteria. The students turned to look.

After all, they had seen her during the practical class that afternoon. Seeing that it was the same aloof swordsman with two women who tried to influence his sword-drawing speed, everyone calmly turned back and resumed their eating and chatting.

Yan Yu frowned slightly, feeling that his reputation within the school had somehow been subtly damaged.