Little Girl, Do You Crave Power?

A pristine, flawless white space radiated a faint halo of light, tranquil and serene, bringing a sense of peace. Chu Xiaoyao stood right in the center of the space, looking utterly bewildered. "What is this place?" How had she suddenly ended up here? "Little girl, this is your dream." A voice came forward, impossible to discern whether male or female, young or old. It sounded like countless voices blended together, majestic and drawn-out. Chu Xiaoyao turned her head. A jade seal floated quietly in the air, seeming as though it had been there since time immemorial, eternal and enduring, only that Chu Xiaoyao had never noticed it until now. "Are you the one speaking?" The jade seal bobbed up and down, as if nodding. "Little girl, do you crave power? Do you yearn to become Number One Under Heaven, holding supreme sway over the realm?" At the same time, the dreamscape shifted. Countless figures appeared within the pristine white space: immortals clad in seamless garments with an ethereal aura, generals draped in armor who had campaigned across the four quarters, princes and nobles, peddlers and laborers—all the living souls of the realm knelt in submission beneath Chu Xiaoyao's feet as she sat upon the imperial throne. Then the dream shifted once more. Lightning flashed and thunder roared; heaven cracked and earth shattered. Chu Xiaoyao wielded boundless mighty power, sweeping through legions of immortals and reigning supreme over the universe. The jade seal's voice and the visions it conjured were alluring in the extreme, as if all the seal had spoken would come to pass the instant Chu Xiaoyao gave even the slightest hesitant nod. Chu Xiaoyao wore a puzzled expression, not understanding what the jade seal meant. "But I'm already Number One Under Heaven." "Wait, what—hold on—" The dream shattered. Chu Xiaoyao sat up in bed and stretched, her eyes blurry with sleep, yawning with messy, disheveled hair. "Feels like I had a dream... What was it about again?" Chu Xiaoyao tilted her head back and pondered for a moment, completely motionless. She had fallen back asleep. *** When Zhou You arrived at the classroom, Chu Xiaoyao was already at school ahead of time. Chu Xiaoyao was wearing the glasses from who-knew-where that allowed her to see vengeful ghosts. They added a touch of artsy tranquility to her look; if she were reading quietly in a library, people would surely take her for a charming, bookish girl. Worn in the classroom, however, aside from adding an artsy vibe, they lent an extra dash of neuroticism in the eyes of onlookers. Chu Xiaoyao was chatting animatedly with Nuomi, which, to anyone else, looked like she was talking to herself. After all, although Chu Xiaoyao frequently had her episodes, in the past two years of high school she had never had a habit of talking to thin air. The conclusion was obvious: Chu Xiaoyao's condition had worsened. What occurred to Zhou You was: what did it look like when he used to chat with Nuomi? Wouldn't he have been talking to himself just like Chu Xiaoyao? *Shoot, in our classmates' eyes, they couldn't possibly think I'm just like Chu Xiaoyao, could they?* Zhou You considered himself a normal person and hoped his classmates wouldn't develop such a misunderstanding. He had known Chu Xiaoyao for five years. Although he had been fooled by her for the first three, ever since starting high school his eyes had been opened. One could say he had emerged unstained from the mud, keeping himself pure and upright. Holding an inkpad she had scavenged from who-knew-where, Chu Xiaoyao was using the jade seal fished up yesterday to confer titles upon the members of the Carefree Sect, thereby establishing orthodoxy. Following her usual practice, she grabbed a quiz paper and wrote an appointment certificate for the Carefree Sect on the back: *Nuomi is hereby appointed Deputy Sect Master of the Carefree Sect. Respect this.* In the lower-right corner, the signature read "Carefree Sect" alongside the date, stamped with the seal. The eight prominent characters stood out conspicuously: "Having Received the Mandate of Heaven, May Longevity and Prosperity Endure Forever." Nuomi received the decree with sheer delight, pouring out thanks upon thanks, proclaiming things like wishing the Empress boundless longevity. Zhou You sighed. Having picked up a fake jade seal, her Empress persona had gained the upper hand. From his perspective as sect master, the Carefree Sect's future looked bleak; from his perspective as her deskmate, his life in their third year of high school looked equally bleak. Putting down his backpack, Zhou You noticed there was also an appointment certificate for the Carefree Sect on his desk—appointing him as sect master. "Now that we have an official seal, our sect needs to be more formal when conferring positions. We had to complete the paperwork." Even though Zhou You hadn't voiced any doubts, Chu Xiaoyao still explained earnestly—whether she had learned this from novels or from the Hongmeng Continent was anyone's guess. The Carefree Sect was no longer the ragtag outfit from when it was founded. It had the Carefree Empress presiding over it; three positions established—Grand Elder, Sect Master, and Deputy Sect Master; a territory consisting of two school desks; two desk nameplates showing off their status; an article published in the school newspaper spreading their fame far and wide; a sect master roaming the martial world spreading the sect's prestige; and the Hereditary Jade Seal serving as the sect's official seal. Thinking along these lines, Chu Xiaoyao felt the Carefree Sect had been built up quite nicely. It was just a bit lacking in headcount and territory; the sect's future development could focus in that direction. No sooner had the thought struck her than she took action, striving to expand the sect: "Zhao Zhuo, have you ever thought about joining the Carefree Sect? Join now, and you can even get stamped with the Hereditary Jade Seal." Zhao Zhuo cast a disdainful glance at the Hereditary Jade Seal. "Even if you put my name on the Investiture of the Gods, it wouldn't do any good." Chu Xiaoyao continued trying to hoodwink Zhao Zhuo's deskmate, Ma Changcheng: "Ma Changcheng, have you ever thought about joining the Carefree Sect? Join now, and you can have your name listed on the Investiture of the Gods." Ma Changcheng: "?" *Do I look easier to fool than Zhao Zhuo? At least Zhao Zhuo got a Hereditary Jade Seal; where is my Investiture of the Gods?* Sect expansion: failed. Zhao Zhuo turned around to chat with Zhou You while he was at it: "Youzi, have you heard? Our class is getting a new transfer student." Zhou You was slightly surprised, but not overly astonished. After all, the gaokao cutoff scores here were quite low, so transferring in during the third year of high school was completely normal. "How did you know?" Zhao Zhuo chuckled. "Passing by the teachers' office, I overheard the teachers talking about it. Didn't dare linger outside the door, so I didn't catch everything—just that it's a girl." Zhou You didn't pay it much mind. To him, this wasn't even worth calling excitement; his current life was already eventful enough. He was now an immortal cultivator at the grand completion of early Qi Refinement; he needed to concentrate on his cultivation and his studies. "How can I get my soul to touch physical objects?" Zhou You asked the Empress for cultivation methods. Since he didn't need to dive anymore and his skin refining had paused for now, Zhou You figured he could train his soul a bit. He had noticed that Nuomi was like a living person: she could touch objects whenever she wanted, or phase right through them whenever she wanted. Yet after his soul left his body, he couldn't touch anything at all. Since he was currently practicing the cultivation system of the Hongmeng Continent, it was only natural to consult the all-knowing Carefree Empress. Chu Xiaoyao was taken aback. How was she supposed to know how to cultivate? She had only been able to see Nuomi starting last night. *Where are the Empress's memories? Why haven't they returned yet?* "At present, I am merely of mortal flesh, still studying the cultivation methods and heavenly laws of this realm. Offering you guidance might lead to limitations; you would do better to learn from Nuomi." The Empress offered a practical, actionable suggestion. "Right, Sect Master, just ask me! I know this stuff inside out." As a vengeful ghost, Nuomi sounded very convincing saying this. "Then how do I grasp things?" Zhou You asked. "By feel!" Zhou You: "..." *Where's the 'inside out' in that?* Nuomi pointed her two index fingers at her temples and twirled them, emphasizing, "You have to rely on your imagination! Imagine yourself being able to grasp things." Now there was further explanation, but it was still exceedingly abstract. Zhou You decided to give Nuomi's method a try. Zhou You's soul left his body. He tried hard to imagine grabbing something, but when he went to grasp the mechanical pencil on the desk, his spiritual form passed smoothly right through it. Failure. Nuomi shook her head and critiqued, "Sect Master, you have to unleash your imagination! Imagine holding the pencil." Zhou You tried several more times, each ending in failure. He felt this wasn't something that could be accomplished by sheer effort. "Not enough imagination." Nuomi clasped her hands behind her back, shaking her head and sighing like a teacher dealing with a dull student.