When Ye Zichen returned to Anti-Upheaval’s base, it was already almost dawn.
Xue Mo told him that the societies would split into groups for the ranking competition in the afternoon. Then, once that was settled, they’d fight without pause to determine the championship.
It was fair to say that the student society ranking competition was fast and to the point.
The results didn’t just influence their rankings; it was also a matter of respect.
Although Anti-Upheaval had fallen, it still had its title as one of the top-five student societies. If they could score in the top five this time, that would be great; they’d keep their position. If not, well, that wouldn’t be so good.
As such, forming the devil dharma body and boosting his cultivation didn’t just benefit Ye Zichen; it made him more competitive against other student leaders, which was no different from helping out Anti-Upheaval when they needed it.
For Ye Zichen, this wasn’t just about his student society’s face; it was also about his own dignity. Ye Zichen sat in his room condensing divine power until. He wanted to make sure he was in his peak-condition before he faced the vicious battles between each societies’ representatives.
“Ha….” Ye Zichen sat cross-legged on his bed and exhaled turbid qi before his eyes popped open. He stretched, then headed toward Xue Mo’s residence.
They’d split into groups this afternoon, but even now, Ye Zichen didn’t know who else was representing Anti-Upheaval. He decided to take this opportunity, before the ceremony later today, to go find out.
However, when he arrived at Xue Mo’s place, he found that she was nowhere in sight.
He looked around the society’s headquarters and saw no sign of her, but he did see a cluster of ordinary society members chatting up a storm.
“What are you guys doing over here?” Ye Zichen walked towards them.
Hey smiled and greeted him. “Platoon Leader Ye.”
“You have an awful lot of free time today, don’t you? Just sitting around chatting ‘til you’re read in the face?” Ye Zichen looked them up and down and saw that their faces were flush with excitement, and the veins bulged in their necks. He couldn’t help but tease them.
“Platoon Leader Ye, you don’t know about this yet, do you?” said one of the society members mysteriously. “There was an incident in Skyspan City last night.”
There was an incident in Skyspan City?
It’s worth noting that of all the cities on the Northern Divine Mountain, SKyspan City was the safest.
After all, the Skyspan Trading Company was located there, and they had a deep-rooted relationship with the Sea of Innocence.
Ye Zichen furrowed his brows. “The Sea of Innocence is backing Skyspan City. Who would dare offend them?”
“That’s what I thought!” The society member pounded his thigh. “But there really was an incident! It even startled Qin Weibing of the city lord’s manor into action.”
“What exactly happened?” said Ye Zichen gravely.
“According to reliable sources, the area about one hundred miles outside of the city suffered a devastating, violent surprise attack. Practically everything in a ten mile radius was turned to rubble; even the mountain range was snapped at its center. The city lord’s manor and the academy have both sent people to investigate.”
“…..”
He’d slipped up!
This incident sounded a bit familiar…!
Ye Zichen was eighty percent certain the place the society member described was where he’d gone last time.
But it wasn’t as horrible as this guy was making it sound. All he’d done was experiment a little. Although in the end he couldn’t resist throwing a few punches, when he thought about it carefully….
Well, okay. Maybe he really had left the place in ruins.
Ye Zichen put his head in his hands, feeling utterly exasperated. He’d just wanted to test out the Devil Dharma Body’s power, but in the end, he’d stirred even the city lord’s manor into action.
“We were just discussing just who it was who invaded our territory. Didn’t you and Society Head Xue Mo run into some demons recently? I think it was most likely the demons, but they don’t believe me. Platoon Leader Ye, who do you think destroyed all that stuff?”
Everyone looked at him. Ye Zichen couldn’t help but laugh bitterly, “How should I know? I haven’t investigated the scene of the crime. Enough, no need to keep discussing this. No matter whether it was demons or not, raising your cultivation is your best bet. If the demons really do invade, are you strong enough to take to the battlefield and kill the enemy? If not, don’t just stand there: hurry up and get cultivating!”
“We’ll go now.” They laughed gleefully, but just as they turned to leave, one of them asked in obvious concern, “Platoon Leader Ye, do you think we’ll be able to maintain our position as one of the top student societies in tomorrow’s ranking competition?”
“Of course! You have to have confidence in our student society.” Ye Zichen chuckled.
“It seems you’re awfully sure of yourself!” The students’ eyes lit up.
“Drop the nonsense. Hurry up and get cultivating!”
“Yessir!” The ordinary society members laughed and ran off. In the days leading up to the ranking competition, they’d been focused on its results even though they couldn’t participate. It was their society too; they shared in both Anti-Upheaval’s glory and disgrace.
When they heard Ye Zichen’s words, they felt as if they’d set down the giant boulder looming over their heads.
Ye Zichen watched them run off. He was eighty percent certain that they were just going to go off and tell even more people about last night’s incident and what he’d said.
Still, Ye Zichen didn’ stop them. Recently, many of Anti-Upheaval’s members had been wracked with worry over the ranking competition. GIt wasn’t so bad to give them hope and a distraction.
It was just… he’d accidentally stirred the city lord’s manor while testing his devil dharma body.
Ye Zichen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Should I tell the city lord I did it?” Ye Zichen remained in place, still somewhat hesitant. However, after giving the matter some thought, he decided against it. If he took the initiative to confess, the city lord’s manor would inevitably take some time to interrogate him, and it would be a whole lot of trouble.
At that moment, the transmission slip in his spatial ring received a message.
Given that they’d used a transmission slip, it obviously wasn’t someone from one of his chat groups.
Ye Zichen took out the slip, reached inside with his divine awareness, and received transmission from Xue Mo. “One of our members said you were looking for me. I’m currently in the society’s main hall. You can come find me here.” When Ye Zichen arrived, he found quite a few people gathered in the hall. Ye Zichen recognized them all: Luo Zi, Li Hu, and Chen Guangfa.
These familiar members of Anti-Upheaval’s leadership were all present. However, it seemed there was someone else standing among them, right in the middle.
And it wasn’t Xue Mo!
Although Xue Mo was female, she wasn’t short at all. While she wasn’t quite as tall as Li Hu or Chen Guangfa, she was roughly the same height as Luo Zi. However, that person standing amongst them didn’t even reach Luo Zi’s shoulder; she was hard to spot from within the group.
When he peered between the gaps, he caught a vague glimpse of….
Pink shoes! “What are you just standing there for? Come on in!” Just as Ye Zichen was pondering who those shoes belonged to, Xue Mo showed up carrying a plate of freshly-washed fruit. She walked right up to him, then into the hall.
“Wait a moment.” Ye Zichen pulled her aside before she could go in. “Who’s inside?”
“The person I asked to help with the ranking competition.” Xue Mo smiled mysteriously. “Follow me inside; I wanted to introduce the two of you anyway.”
He followed her inside. Xue Mo set the fruit on a table, then her eyes lit up with doting. She walked right into their friends’ midst.
“Society Head.”
Xue Mo nodded at them, then narrowed her eyes and laughed, “Beibei, meet two of your sister’s good friends.”
A girl walked out and took Xue Mo’s hand, then followed her older sister up to Ye Zichen. She was a teenage girl, and when Ye Zichen saw her, he froze.
The girl, however, giggled and cocked her head. “Hello!”
