Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Because He Ye had already left, Liu Longtao, who had just come back, quickly announced that he too had to leave.

Thus, everyone went their separate ways, Yan Yu flew south on his Sword Control journey, while Liu Longtao drove to pick up Ye Jun and return to the team base.

"Lord Master," Ye Jun, sitting in the backseat and looking out the window, suddenly said, "I want to go to the Zhenhai Team."

"Huh?" Liu Longtao, who was driving, was taken aback and said, "Now? That's hardly possible."

"I know," said Ye Jun, "But I don't want to wait for you guys to not need me and kick me out before going."

Liu Longtao pondered for a moment and said:

"Why don't you continue practicing your swordsmanship for now? Even if there was a chance to go there now, you wouldn't be able to play a role, right?"

"Mmhmm," Ye Jun replied.

After a moment, Lord Master suddenly caught on and tentatively asked:

"Ye Jun, if you've already mastered swordsmanship and shed the label of being exclusively defensive, and if the team here is still willing to keep you..."

"I still want to go to the Zhenhai Team," Ye Jun said.

"Understood," Liu Longtao nodded.

If the previous Ye Jun was considering joining Yan Yu because she was worried about losing her value in the Dragon Soar Team in the future, now Ye Jun was determined to join the Zhenhai Team, regardless of whether the Dragon Soar Team still wanted her.

"It's still not feasible now," Liu Longtao continued, "first wait for Ai Lu and Guo Feiyun to reach the Hua Mansion Stage and master the Sword-Human Unity. That way, your self-protection ability will be sufficient, and then I will check with the higher-ups."

"Bai Ran on this end should also consider tactical flexibility when choosing Spirit Beasts in the future," Ye Jun also suggested, "After all, the future Dragon Soar Team won't be short of output options."

"Of course," Liu Longtao fell silent for a while, then suddenly said:

"Ye Jun, over there with Old Yan... you have more than one competitor. This isn't exactly a mutual pursuit; in the end, it might turn out to be all for nothing. What will you do then?"

"I know," Ye Jun said, "But if I don't go, there will be nothing to compete for."

"The decision to go is final," Liu Longtao said.

"Indeed, the decision to go is final," Ye Jun affirmed.

"Hope I can witness your two's wedding... Oh right, He Ye just told me she added you as a friend, remember to accept it," Liu Longtao said.

"Surely you don't need my help to assist?" Ye Jun was somewhat surprised.

"Actually, she figured out you two aren't a couple," Liu Longtao helplessly said, "Luckily, I reacted quickly, and changed my story to say you two actually liked each other all along, but neither dared to make the first move. So I pretended to assist her and me, persuading you two to pretend to be a couple, hoping she and I could actually help you both."

Ye Jun: ...........

"That's good," she insincerely said, "So, is it true?"

"Of course not," Liu Longtao took it for granted, "I just wanted to use that as an opportunity to stay in contact with He Ye. So if He Ye sends a message later asking how you and Old Yan are doing, definitely don't talk much with her, so she will have to get the details from me."

"This He Ye is quite the gossip," Ye Jun said with a slight frown.

"Isn't everyone... cough, I mean, it's quite normal," Liu Longtao said.

——————————

Yan Yu flew back to the Mysterious Realm on Sword Control, sending a message to his teammates.

Upon reaching the second layer of the Mysterious Realm, Yan Yu suddenly felt somewhat guilty.

Leaving everyone behind this time, he had been secretly cozy with Anna and cuddling with Ye Jun, truly living it up... just afraid that the girls would get jealous and it would backfire, making things ugly!

Cough cough, Lord Master said he had already mentioned it to Song Jia and only hoped that Cai Qianlong was under his wife's thumb and wouldn't let the information about Ye Jun slip out.

As for Anna, since she's far beyond the borders, there's no need to worry.

Upon reaching his doorstep, Yan Yu had already thought of an excuse. He would say that Emperor Peter was an unparalleled mighty contender whom hardly anyone in the world could match. Fortunately, he himself had been a cut above and had fought with him for dozens of hours, grinding the very essence of the path they fought on to nothing, until he finally spotted a flaw and delivered a terrifying blow that sent Emperor Peter flying clear across the Eurasian Continent and into the Atlantic Ocean.

On the way back, when passing by Shengjing, he ran into old Liu. Hearing of my Buddha's Palm, he was so astounded he insisted I demonstrate it to him then and there, which delayed me for half a day. I've just got back, and I'm sorry to have kept everyone waiting.

If any lady should ask about Anna, just describe in detail how terrifying Emperor Peter was, until everyone has had enough.

With his thoughts carefully arranged, Yan Yu pushed open the door and said,

"I'm back!"

No one paid him any attention.

The living room was empty.

Yan Yu silently took out his phone and sent Su Yunjin a message:

"Where is everyone?"

"At the TV station," Su Yunjin quickly replied. "Watch the TV, central channel seven."

Yan Yu sat on the sofa, picked up the remote control, turned on the TV, and switched to channel seven, only to see a character interview program on air. Five girls were sitting in chairs, being interviewed by the host.

The host was none other than Lu Zhiyu, who had interviewed him and Chen Lingyun before, famous for her talent in mentally grueling interviews... However, this time it was a key publicity program arranged by the military, so there was not much room for her to ask questions freely. Therefore, she just smiled and straightly asked,

"Ruoxi, you have now become the first Transcendent in the world to advance in cultivation. What are your thoughts on this?"

"Very proud," Xie Ruoxi followed the script honestly, "and quite surprised. From what I know, many cultivators have excellent talents. The fact that I was the first to advance to the Hua Mansion stage also involved some luck."

"Ruoxi is very humble," Lu Zhiyu smiled and said, "Does it feel hard when you cultivate?"

"Not hard," Xie Ruoxi said without changing expression, "fighting for the country, there's nothing hard about it. Zhendong Army has provided me with an environment where I can cultivate with peace of mind, and team leader Yan Yu has always been behind supporting and encouraging me, so I have endless motivation to cultivate."

The four other girls all smiled, thinking indeed it was endless motivation—fail to perform and you get beaten, who would dare not to cultivate earnestly?

"Ling Yun," Lu Zhiyu shifted the question, "you heard Ruoxi's speech just now. What do you think of Ruoxi?"

"Ruoxi is a very diligent and hard-working cultivator," Chen Lingyun said with a full-faced smile. "The heavens reward the diligent. That she was the first to advance to the Hua Mansion stage is no surprise to me."

The moment Yan Yu poured himself some tea, he took a sip and almost spit it out when he heard this.

Xie Ruoxi cultivates diligently? Then are there any incompetent people left in the world?

"Yes," Su Yunjin also stated seriously, "We practice breathing exercises every night, and whenever everyone finishes the daily lessons and goes to the bathroom, we can always see that Ruoxi is still sitting cross-legged—she's the type who absolutely won't waste even a bit of effort space."

Lin Ning barely managed a smile next to her, clearly uncomfortable with this lie; Zhao Yuanzhen just kept nodding, but Yan Yu knew her too well—he could tell she wasn't really listening, probably lost in her own thoughts!

"Have you ever seen the starry sky at four in the morning?" Chen Lingyun added, "Ruoxi has because she sleeps no more than five hours a day, from four in the morning to nine in the morning. There were a few times we asked her why she didn't sleep a bit more, and she said she couldn't because of the training schedule team leader Yan Yu had set for her, which she aimed to complete 200 percent. By the way, the schedule is with Ningning."

Lin Ning took the opportunity to pull out the schedule and spread it out in front of the camera. Host Lu Zhiyu instantly exclaimed.

Watching from in front of the TV, Yan Yu focused and saw that it was indeed full of various daily routines—breathing and energy refining, basic training, tactical guidance, actual combat training... It really was the schedule I had set for her, and the details were correct, but the timing was completely off!

Based on this schedule, Xie Ruoxi would have to cultivate for 19 hours a day! Even if it was to motivate other cultivators to train hard, this schedule is a bit too fake!

"Cough cough," Xie Ruoxi cleared her throat and said, "This schedule seems very full, but it's not difficult to carry out. I'm just using everyone's usual rest time to improve my own strength."

She looked at the camera, her expression firm and resolute, and declared passionately:

"Diligence can compensate for lack of skill, which is something I've always believed in."