Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

After returning to school, Yan Yu still went straight to the headmaster's office, planning to report to Old Man Li Weiguo.

However, upon reaching the headmaster's office and pushing the door open, he saw that both Li Weiguo and Chen Tianming were not there. There was only a white-robed Taoist nun standing by the window, looking out at the college cultivators.

Mei Yingxue.

A national hero from a previous life, she was also the key to making Empress Yuanzhen renounce her dark past and embrace the light.

From this incident alone, it was clear that she held the greater good of the nation in her heart.

Though I have personal grievances with Zhao Yuanzhen, for the sake of the countless citizens of Lu Country, I can set aside past grievances and join forces with her to protect our nation!

In contrast to the Demonic Sect Enchantress Zhao Yuanzhen, who still harbors deep resentment towards Mei Yingxue to this day, even regarding her as a bitter enemy and shrinking from her as if she were a snake or scorpion. In comparison, the superior choice becomes obvious.

Yan Yu had great respect for such virtuous individuals. Otherwise, he wouldn't have treated Li Minghu so courteously. Now, his enthusiasm for Mei Yingxue was even greater. He first pulled up the chair he used to sit in and settled down. Then he cheerfully invited her with a laugh,

"Have a seat, please."

"No need," Mei Yingxue shook her head, "I'm short on time. I just came to see you and then I'll leave."

She turned to face him, scrutinizing Yan Yu intently.

Yan Yu also looked at Mei Yingxue. He had seen this face too many times on television in his previous life. Her features were not stunningly beautiful, merely pleasant and unremarkable. Her attractiveness fell short compared to the female cultivators in his cellphone's friend list.

But she was a national hero after all!

"I am Mei Yingxue," she introduced herself, "You might not know me, but Zhao Yuanzhen… she's now Zhao Jiuzhen, right? We come from the same place."

How could I not know you? I know you all too well, Teacher Mei!

Yan Yu nodded: "Hmm."

Seeing his brevity, Mei Yingxue wasn't sure how much he knew about Zhao Yuanzhen's past, so she decided to lay all her cards on the table:

"Zhao Jiuzhen, she was born into the evil Demonic Sect, showing no mercy and causing harm to the innocent. I intended to act on behalf of heaven and take her down, but she managed to escape after coming here."

"Now that we've met again, seeing her finally following the right path, willing to defend and protect the nation, I too am relieved. Let's put aside past enmities for now."

"Meeting you must be the fortune of several lifetimes for her."

Yan Yu thought to himself, "You're absolutely right about that," but said,

"Not at all, I've only done a little. The main credit goes to her good heart and willingness to turn over a new leaf."

Mei Yingxue didn't believe it. She was sure about Zhao Yuanzhen's evil nature and was convinced that Yan Yu must have made significant efforts and even sacrifices to force the Demonic Sect Enchantress to reform so profoundly. It wasn't something that could be dismissed as "a little work."

But since Yan Yu was modest about his role, it only improved her impression of him, and she said gently:

"Regardless, as long as she continues to act as 'Zhao Jiuzhen', the upper echelons of Lu Country will not delve into her past origins, and you won't have to worry about her identity being exposed. I can guarantee this myself."

No, no, no, I wasn't worried from the start, alright? Plus, I suggest you continue pretending that you know nothing. Keep the pressure on the Demonic Sect Enchantress so she doesn't revert to her old ways. Otherwise, it might not turn out well.

After a moment of contemplation, Yan Yu confirmed with a question:

"Daoist Mei, you truly won't pursue it further?"

Mei Yingxue shook her head, replying:

"I won't."

She continued to gaze out the window, speaking softly:

"This Lu Country… it's very similar to the court from where we come, whether it's the secular authorities, cultural history, or even the characteristics of the people. The only difference is that, over there, there are no warships forcing entry, no hundred-year concessions, no unjust treaties of land cessions and indemnities, and there has not been so much suffering…"

Speaking of the recent history of Lu Country's many tragedies, Yan Yu had nothing to say but remained silent.

"The resurgence of Spiritual Energy marks an era of great strife. Those who lag behind will be beaten, even slaughtered at will by enemies, who, after the killing, still point at the bodies and say: 'Look, they were meant to die,'" Mei Yingxue spoke slowly. "As long as I remain in this world, I will not allow the people of Lu Country to fall into such tragic circumstances again."

"I will do the same," Yan Yu suddenly said.

"Right, so we have a consensus on this matter, don't we?" Mei Yingxue turned back to him, smiling, "As long as Zhao Yuanzhen is willing to help, I am prepared to look past our previous conflicts, for there are matters more important than personal grievances."

"Please convey this message to her."

With those final words, Mei Yingxue suddenly transformed into a streak of sword light that shot out the window and disappeared.

Truly deserving of her status as a preeminent being of another world who is above this world's level cap, this Sword Flight is so immediate, without the need to worry if there's enough True Yuan.

After making sure the office window was locked up tight for Li Weiguo, Yan Yu then slowly made his exit.

He held Mei Yingxue in high esteem, but as for the message she requested him to pass on, he could only pretend he hadn't heard it. Experience more tales on empire

Zhao Yuanzhen, now, is like a wild horse temporarily yielding to the reins, hastily removing her bridle would only allow her the possibility to return to her wild nature.

Keep enduring, she will understand in the future.

Returning to his villa, Yan Yu lay down on the sofa and turned off airplane mode on his phone.

As expected, there were over 99 new messages and missed calls. It's a good thing I predicted this!

Yan Yu began leisurely looking through the messages one by one.

The first were messages from home, saying that to prevent further harassment of the family members of cultivators, the local military command had moved them into the guardhouse, alongside other senior military officers' families. Apparently, the guards at the gate were armed with loaded guns.

Father Yan and Mother Yan felt a bit uncomfortable and unaccustomed, while Yan Jing was happy because the new house allocated by the government was much larger than the old one and even came with a small walled garden.

Yan Yu felt a bit ashamed at this point.

Here he was, living in a large villa, while his parents and sister continued to stay in the old house back home, which indeed sounded a bit unfilial.

But he had known for a long time that the guardhouse was the eventual destination for his family, as with his growing power and fame as a cultivator, it was hard to guarantee that external forces wouldn't attempt to target his family.

It wasn't just Yan Yu's family; Lin Ning's and Su Yunjin's families were in a similar situation and would soon have to move into their local guardhouses as well.

Zhao Yuanzhen had no family, and as for Chen Lingyun... her family's security was even tighter than the guardhouses, so there was really nothing to worry about.

Yan Yu replied to the messages from his parents and continued browsing. Next were messages from the girls on his team, densely packed and not a few.

Skip, will look at them all together later.

Then there were messages from Anna in Siberia, which had piled up to over 99 again after a few days of no contact, truly terrifying; he would look at them when he had time.

After that were messages from Liu Longtao... hmm.

When the Zhenghai Team joined forces with the Qing'an Team to confront the Miti Allied Forces in the South Sea, Lord Master was also in the Mysterious Realm of the Ezo Islands dueling with a Transcendent from Shinkoku. After barely winning and returning, he found that the whole country was concerned with "Yan Zhanlong," so he sent a message to ask.

[Liu Shao]: Congratulations, Brother Yan, you have really become famous this time. Yan Zhanlong, that's a grand nickname! With this record and popularity, even if you wanted to marry into the Governor's family in the future, you would have the qualifications.

[Yi De Fu Ren]: Why are you beating around the bush to insult me again? Feeling unbalanced?

[Liu Shao]: At first a bit, but after watching the live broadcast replay, I realized that Flood Dragon was indeed tough to handle, so your title of Yan Zhanlong is well-deserved, and I truly acknowledge that.

Look at that, a Flood Dragon that wiped out ninety percent of the Miti forces is merely described as "tough to handle" by Lord Master, implying nothing but "if I were there, I could have beaten it too."

[Yi De Fu Ren]: How about your fight in Ezo?

[Liu Shao]: Naturally, it can't compare to the dragon-slaying in the South Sea, but it wasn't as simple as cutting melons and vegetables. Have you heard the name "Shenyuan Simie"?

[Yi De Fu Ren]: No, it sounds very chuuni, definitely not his real name.

Yan Yu was actually playing dumb. As someone notorious among the Four Great Demon Kings of Shinkoku in his past life, how could he not have heard of the pseudonym Shenyuan Simie?

However, he only knew that this person's real surname was "Shinyori," but he didn't know his given name.

Just from the moniker "Simie" he chose for himself, one could deduce that this was a person with a mental disorder, and indeed that was the case.

Born into the Shinyori Clan, a historically significant political family, both his father and grandfather held lifetime seats in the upper house, yet he himself was the product of a one night stand.

The status of being an illegitimate child made him suffer the torment of his cousins during his childhood in the clan's mansion, eventually leading to a complete psychological twist, though it remained hidden.

It was only after he became a Transcendent that Shenyuan Simie finally freed himself from his constraints, embraced his madness, and began to lose control.

He once beat a sparring partner to death during base training, then danced around the ring holding the corpse; he also frequented Kabukicho, rewarding the courtesan who served him after a spring night, then turned around and killed everyone else working in the pleasure establishment... His behavior was completely illogical and he completely disregarded traditional morals and ethics.

Despite all this, his talent in cultivation was exceptional, utilizing the Onmyoji's uncanny strengths to the fullest, his skill with "Shikigami substitution" was extraordinary, having been defeated by Lord Master several times in the past but always managing to survive. This forced the elite-oriented Shinkoku to reluctantly cultivate him, always having people on standby to clean up his messes.

The ultimate end of his life was even more twisted: conspiring with another Demon King to defect, he brazenly attacked the upper house on his own, failed, then returned to the Shinyori family estate and mercilessly wiped out his whole clan. Afterward, he summoned a fiery inferno to incinerate the ancestral home.

Before he died, he sat among the roaring flames, holding a shamisen, singing "Life is but Fifty Years" until he perished...

Don't ask why he defected, why he attacked the upper house, or why he killed off his own clan, no one knew what was going through his deranged mind.

[Liu Shao]: All I know is that he seems to be from the Shinyori family but wasn't valued by the main house. He was part of a motorcycle gang for a while after coming of age, then got involved with the yakuza, being an extreme social Darwinist and fanatical militarist.

[Yi De Fu Ren]: Is he deliberately stacking up a bad guy image? So you encountered him in the Mysterious Realm, did you beat him?

[Liu Shao]: Alas, it's really embarrassing to talk about. I won, but didn't kill him. The guy was slipperier than a mouse, he threw a substitute and vanished.

[Yi De Fu Ren]: Oh come on, that's very normal. I also won against the Thorn Bird in the South Sea, but didn't kill him, let him escape with magic. Nowadays, which real top-tier Transcendent doesn't have a few ultimate lifesaving tricks?

[Yi De Fu Ren]: Oh, I also slayed a dragon and made the national headlines. That's all then, you were saying?

[Liu Shao]: ......

[Liu Shao]: Don't feel like talking anymore, you go on with your business.