There was absolutely something fishy going on.
He knew Li Hu well, and there was no way he’d miss an event like this.
Also, every other representative of Skyspan Academy was there. Didn’t they have matches to fight too? Could they really afford to keep guzzling wine like this in the middle of a competition?
Furthermore, Ye Zichen got the sense that Murong Xue and the others were deliberately trying to keep him here.
“Brother Ye, drink up!” Pang Zheng came up to him, carrying a glass of wine. Then, without so much as waiting for Ye Zichen to respond, he drained his class, then proffered it as if to prove he’d done so. Murong Xue soon followed suit, insisting on drinking with him as well.
It was just too strange.
Naturally, he drank the wine they offered, but under the table, he sent Xue Mo a message.
…..
From the moment Ye Zichen entered the tavern, he became the absolute focal point.
People kept toasting in his honor, one after the other, without end. Every time he drained his glass, someone refilled it. Meanwhile, under the table, he’d silently linked hands with Pu Jingwan.
A tender caress?
Of course not.
He’d asked Pu Jingwan to use this method to keep him from getting drunk.
The wine they were toasting with him was no ordinary brew; it was divine immortal brew. Even diviners could get tipsy after drinking too much of it.
As soon as he swallowed a mouthful of wine, Ye Zichen started circulating his divine power to prevent intoxication, but there were far too many people toasting him. He had no choice but to ask Pu Jingwan for help.
“Being popular seems like an awful drag, huh? They all want to get you drunk.” Pu Jingwan’s transmission echoed through Ye Zichen’s consciousness, but he didn’t respond. He just kept on drinking, one glass after another.
“You can’t keep doing this. Their goal is to get you drunk, no matter the cost. You ought to give them face, right? Besides, if you stay sober even after so many toasts, you’ll make them suspicious.”
Ye Zichen’s hand tensed. He glanced at Pu Jingwan, then looked at the other students. They’d all been drinking too, and their faces were gradually reddening.
And yet, despite being the subject of so many toasts, Ye Zichen was the only one still sober. This really would make them suspicious.
Pu Jingwan was right.
He relaxed his grip on her hand, then drained the glass Murong Xue offered him. Then, without giving him so much as an opportunity to catch his breath, Jiang Yong stagged up to him, glass in hand. “Brother Ye, you sure can drink! Let’s have another!”
“Spare me, please! Divine brew is enough to get even diviners drunk. I’m afraid I’ll have to check out early.” Ye Zichen laughed and gently pushed Jiang Yong’s proffered glass away. “I’ve had enough to drink for now, but we can do this again sometime. I’ve had as much as I can handle, so I’m going to head back….”
“Don’t!” Without so much as giving Ye Zichen the opportunity to finish his sentence, Jiang Yong wrapped his arm around his shoulder and let out a hearty laugh. “We’re not leaving until we’re all drunk! Besides, if you go back now, you’ll just interrupt their rest. There’s no place for your lovely companion to stay in the academy, either. Let’s just stay here drinking. Even if you really wind up drunk, we can just arrange for you to stay here. When you wake up, you can head back to the academy without any further delays.
The others chimed in their agreement. Ye Zichen furrowed his brows.
Buzz!
His cellphone suddenly buzzed in his pocket.
Ye Zichen had been waiting for word from Xue Mo, but to his surprise, the message came from his phone, not his jade transmission slip.
He opened his social media app, then saw that the top notification was a new message from Yang Jian.
“Brother Ye, we need reinforcements!!!”
He’d used three exclamation marks; from that alone, it was clear how urgent Yang Jian’s need was.
Hadn’t he gone in search of Fairy Zixia with the Great Sage? Ye Zichen felt a surge of anxiety, and his heart sank. “What happened?”
As soon as he sent the message, he saw Yang Jian typing a response. “The monkey’s gone crazy!”
He accompanied his message with yet another exclamation point, and without waiting for Ye Zichen to respond, he sent a ten-second video.
Ye Zichen opened the video.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening explosions emanated from his phone’s speakers, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.
Countless shattered boulders whirled about on screen.
The Great Sage stood in the sky, his expression hideously contorted, his staff extended until it was hundreds of meters along. Illusory stages swung throughout the nearby mountain range, scattering broken rocks all over the place.
Everything within ten thousand square miles was a mass of shattered rock and snapped ancient trees.
It was utter devastation. At the end of the video, Ye Zichen even heard Yang Jian muttering, “He’s gone mad! Truly mad…’
It was only a ten-second video, but it was more than enough to see how unstable the Great Sage’s mental state was.
After sending the message, Yang Jian sent another message: “See? That monkey seems to have lost his mind. He’s been destroying the surrounding landscape to vent his emotions for an hour already. Hurry over! Bring Pu Jingwan too; not even I can stop him on my own.”
“Not even you can stop him?” Ye Zichen was dumbfounded.
Yang Jian was a ruler capable of slaughtering Divine Demon Generals instantaneously. It’s true that back in the Heavenly Court, the Great Sage lived up to his title as the “Victorious Fighting Buddha.” He’d suppressed Yang Jian, putting him into a pitiful state. But now, in the Upper Three Realms, the Great Sage was a mere diviner, and a low-level one at that. How could he possibly overpower Yang Jian?
“This is no time for explanations. Hurry over! If you don’t get here soon, you’ll have to arrange my funeral.”
“Send your coordinates!”
A map appeared onscreen. Ye Zichen responded, “Hold on!”
When he saw this message, Yang Jian gulped and put his phone back into his pocket. He peered through gaps in the flying boulders, watching the maddened Great Sage. He wiped the sweat from his brow and muttered, “What on earth is up with him?”
Yang Jian’s gaze was solemn.
He didn’t know what was going on earlier. He’d brought the Great Sage to see Zixia. The monkey had gone in on his own while Yang Jian stood outside, waiting for news.
An hour later, the monkey emerged. At the time, his expression was normal, but after leaving and reaching this mountain range, he seemed to have gone mad. His aura had expanded like crazy, shooting up until not even Yang Jian could handle him anymore.
“What on earth happened? Did they break up? Was he rejected? Or….?” Something suddenly seemed to occur to Yang Jian. If he was right, the Great Sage’s over-the-top reaction suddenly made sense. “He wasn’t…. Cuckolded, was he!?”
