Regardless of Ye Zichen’s expression, seeing him nod in agreement put Xuan Ji in an excellent mood. This business deal would wipe away lingering resentment over how much she’d spent on him in one fell swoop.
She laughed and patted Ye Zichen on the shoulder, then nodded solemnly. “No problem. Leave it all up to your auntie. You’ll definitely be satisfied with the results.”
The stark difference in her behavior made Ye Zichen widen his eyes in shock. After this brief exchange, he’d finally seen through his auntie’s personality.
She loved money as much as life itself!
She was stingy, reluctant to part with a single penny, yet she’d just generously given away over a dozen Pills of Fortune. She’d been generous, but then, she was his senior after all. Yet now, she wanted to get even with him, her junior! And at double her expenditure at that!
Although the Outside stood behind Ye Zichen and he wouldn’t be the one to suffer a loss, he’d still have to pay her back twofold! Just thinking about it made his heart ache. If he gave those extra resources to Upheaval, he could train up a whole bunch of peerless experts.
In truth, everyone who stood at the top of a given faction had a similar thought process. They all had to vie for resources to train up their subordinates. But in Ye Zichen’s eyes, Xuan Ji was different: she was greedy!
Who were her subordinates?
Divine Generals!
Did experts at this level need her to raise them up? Of course they didn’t. And yet, she still held onto her resources so tightly. Didn’t that mean she was greedy?
Ye Zichen pursed his lips resentfully, then took in Xuan Ji’s faint but victorious smile. He couldn’t help but mutter to yourself, “And now you call yourself my aunt?”
Xuan Ji ignored his complaints, but she knew she’d come out ahead, so she’d best not rub it in. “My dear nephew, I’m off to complete your favor. If you want, you can stay here. If not, you can go to the Divine Martial Academy.”
“Is the Battle of Geniuses still in progress?”
After causing an enormous ruckus the first day, Ye Zichen had disappeared with Yang Jian.
He had no idea if the Battle of Geniuses had proceeded any further since then, but given that Heavenly God City was on such high alert and that he still saw the odd yao and demon expert around, he figured the contest was still in progress. Otherwise, there was no way experts of other races would be wandering around in the open like this without the slightest reservations.
“Of course. This is a rare opportunity for yao and demons to wander freely in Heavenly God City, and it was hard won. How could they pass up this chance so easily?” Xuan Ji’s smile faded, and she snorted, “They’ve been up to some petty tricks lately. Didn’t you see it too? Heavenly God City is on high alert. They’re investigating everyone rather thoroughly.”
Ye Zichen nodded. He’d experienced this himself. If not for their thorough, strict investigations, he would never have caused such a fuss.
He arched his brows and Xuan Ji, then pointed at Pu Jingwan. “Auntie, Jingwan is an Outsider. She doesn’t have a crystal card, so it’s inconvenient for her to wander around the Divine Mountains. Is there any way you can….”
“That’s simple.” Xuan Ji took out a token emblazoned with the character “Profound” and placed it into Pu Jingwan’s hand. “If anyone investigates you in the future, just show them this jade token. When they see it, they’ll stop immediately.”
The jade token was made of white jade, an ordinary material. There was nothing special about it; it was just a symbol of affiliation with the Profound Pavilion.
Pu Jingwan nodded and put it away. Although her cultivation was high enough that she could do essentially whatever she wanted without fear of consequences, she didn’t want to rely on violence to resolve all her problems. If this jade token could eliminate the need for force, she was delighted to accept it.
The way she saw it, she was a young woman, as gentle as a kitten. She didn’t want to be so vicious all the time.
If Ye Zichen knew what she was thinking, he would undoubtedly have stuck his tongue out at her, just like she had earlier.
As gentle as a kitten?
Feh!
In a single punch, she’d embedded the Wang family patriarch several meters into the ground.
Was that “gentle”?
Xuan Ji was just about to go fulfill her promise to Ye Zichen. She knew his plan and knew they couldn’t afford to wait.
She had a jade slip in her hands, which was flashing. She was most likely using it to contact her subordinates and call on any relationsh.i.p.s she could exploit.
Ye Zichen was just about to go to the Divine Martial Academy and seek out his friends. After all, regardless of his other identities, he was still one of Skyspan Academy’s main combatants. Fortunately, every team could bring along a substitute. Otherwise, the Anti-Upheaval Society would have been in real hot water.
However, as Xuan Ji sent out her transmissions and gave her orders, she received a message that made her frown.
“Don’t go yet. There’s someone who wants to see you.” Xuan Ji put the slip away and walked over. Ye Zichen turned to look at her, and saw that her expression was unsightly.
“Zhou Wu?”
“Oh? Kid, do you have talent for divination too?” Xuan Ji laughed, but her words were clear proof that he was right: Zhou Wu wanted to see him.
Ye Zichen chuckled.
All cultivators could perform a little bit of divination, it was just that there were huge differences in skill.
His divination skills were nowhere near sufficient to discover Zhou Wu’s desire to meet with him. He’d simply guessed based on his circ.u.mstances and Xuan Ji’s expression.
Who but Zhou Wu could make her put on such a solemn face?
“Do you know what he wants to see me for?” asked Ye Zichen.
“How could I possibly know? No one can grasp his thoughts,” said Xuan Ji. “But if you really want to hear my thoughts, it’s almost certainly those things you’ve got on you.”
“The Yao-Sealing Pagoda? The Five Elements Great Emperor’s inheritance? Or my relationship with the Outside?”
“It seems you already understand.” Xuan Ji smiled but didn’t deny it.
“But regardless of which one it is, him wanting to see me isn’t good for me, is it?” asked Ye Zichen.
Xuan Ji pursed her lips but didn’t deny it. Ordinary people of the God Realm had no idea of the true relationship between Zhou Wu and the Five Elements Great Emperor.
They had no idea how he’d obtained his celestial fate or how he’d come to occupy the seat of God Emperor.
But people at Xuan Ji’s level were all well aware of their history.
It would be better if Zhou Wu had summoned Ye Zichen because of the outsiders. Even the God Emperor, Zhou Wu, had reservations in the face of the Outside.
But the Yao-Sealing Pagoda had made an appearance, and it was in Ye Zichen’s hands. How could that not enter the conversation?
“Do I have to go?”
“You have to go,” she said. “It doesn’t matter why he wants to see you, or what conflict there is between you. He’s still the God Emperor of the God Race. Him calling on you, a minor cultivator who hasn’t even become a diviner yet, is like an emperor of your world calling upon an ordinary citizen. What reason do you have to refuse?”
“But you don’t need to worry. Let me come with you. Add that to your relationship with the First Era, and he won’t dare touch you. Even if he’s the God Emperor, you’re allied with the Outside. He’ll have to think twice before making a move, and if he does, he’ll realize it’s not worth the effort.”
After hearing her analysis, Ye Zichen sunk into thought and realized she was right.
Besides, looking at it from another lens, the God Emperor was a lofty figure, and he’d done nothing to offend him. The God Emperor had no reason to lower himself to dispose of a trivial figure such as himself. Besides, in the future, he’d have to seize Zhou Wu’s celestial fate. Meeting him now just bumped the inevitable up a little.
Given that that was the case, what were the God Emperor’s motives?
He’d know when he got there.
