Young Man, Do You Crave Power?

Lian Yi slowly lowered her hand, doubting her own charms for the very first time. She had initially thought that since Chu Xiaoyao was unfathomable and had a Dao-protector concealed somewhere unknown, it would be smarter to start with the people around her—such as Zhou You, who was also part of Carefree Sect. By building a good relationship with him, she could make discreet inquiries and glean intelligence about Carefree Sect. Who would have guessed he wouldn't take the bait at all, showing zero interest in paying attention to her? "Seems he's an emotionally obtuse fellow." "Whatever. Take it slow, no rush." She had only arrived today, and if Lian Yi had an abundance of anything, it was patience. Lian Yi opened one of the cardboard boxes and took out a brand-new set of textbooks spanning from tenth to twelfth grade. Sitting down at the desk, she opened one of them and began jotting down notes on the pages. Her persona was that of an inquisitive, studious model student who had moved from a rural county to the city and was beloved by her teachers. Her textbooks couldn't look this pristine; filling them with notes was the only way to make it look authentic. *** Zhou You logged into the Immortal Cultivation Forum and clicked on the Heaven Market. Seeing his balance was zero and that he couldn't afford a single thing, he exited the market in one fluid, practiced motion. "Better stick to browsing the forum for a bit." [I feel like pill refining isn't for me and want to switch to artifact refining. How can I break it to my master tactfully?] "Tell your master: 'Old geezer, you have zero talent for teaching disciples. Hang it up.'" "Thanks, took your advice and told him. Master slapped me into fine dust." "There weren't even chunks that big left." "Take some bro-to-bro advice: if you can't even learn pill refining, don't even think about artifact refining." "Bullshit! Pill refining is way harder than artifact refining! Since ancient times, pill refiners have held higher status than you artifact refiners!" "That's ancient history. We in artifact refining are researching how to refine smartphones into magic treasures. Do you pill refiners have anything like that?" "We pill refiners are currently learning how to refine Amoxicillin out of Chinese herbs!" "Why not switch to pill furnace maintenance? That way you touch both pill and artifact refining." [Rational discussion: Mount Longhu's Su Tingxue vs. True Martial Great Hall's Duan Yuxian—who's stronger?] "Does this even need discussing? Definitely Su Tingxue!" "Su Tingxue is only good at catching ghosts. In a real fight, she's definitely no match for Duan Yuxian. Who doesn't know Duan Yuxian grew up in the True Martial Great Hall, received the True Martial legacy, and sweeps all peers in her rank? Who in the Qi Refining stage could possibly be her match?" "Fly high the banner of Su Tingxue!" "Stop clowning around. Duan Yuxian has cultivated since childhood, while Su Tingxue only joined Mount Longhu halfway through. Isn't it obvious at a glance who has greater talent? How is this even a contest?" "Mount Longhu disciple here. I heard Su Tingxue made a breakthrough with her Yin-Yang Heavenly Eye. If Duan Yuxian hasn't made any progress, she's no match for Su Tingxue." "Tingxue fanboys are malding. Everyone knows the Yin-Yang Heavenly Eye is only good for ghost catching and does nothing for combat prowess." "Can't even take you seriously. Pretending you know what you're talking about! What you're describing is an ordinary Yin-Yang Heavenly Eye. Su Tingxue's eye has evolved! Even Foundation Establishment disciples can rarely achieve an eye evolution, yet Su Tingxue did it in the Qi Refining stage." "Even so, it's no match for Duan Yuxian's True Martial Sword Technique." "Hurry up and fight already! I'm dying to see the two of them throw down again." From the descriptions, Duan Yuxian seemed evenly matched with Su Tingxue. True Martial Great Hall and Mount Longhu were both top-tier sects, so her backing was every bit as formidable as Su Tingxue's. Since this involved an acquaintance, Zhou You posted a reply below as a small gesture of support for Su Tingxue. "Support Su Tingxue! Never even heard of Duan Yuxian." Afterward, Zhou You searched the forum using Duan Yuxian as a keyword, pulling up numerous threads related to her. It was clear she was extraordinarily popular, her fame far outstripping that of Carefree Sect. The posts provided detailed introductions to Duan Yuxian's background, combat prowess, and so forth, alongside a picture of an aloof, beautiful face that was not at all inferior to Su Tingxue's. "Fair enough. No one would compare an average-looking girl to Su Tingxue." [Following a guide on the forum, I gave gifts to the leader so I could open a zoo. Now the leader has been called in for questioning by the Discipline Inspection Commission. Is this the right process? What should my next step be?] [Help wanted! The cat café opened by the humans is booming. After doing market research, we realized their cat café only has domestic cats, which is so boring. A few of us tiger, lion, and leopard demons all belong to the felid family and feel pretty competitive. Can we open a cat café?] The forum's discussion atmosphere was very friendly, with replies below unanimously encouraging the tiger and lion demons to be bold entrepreneurs, telling them to go ahead and open it, promising they would definitely show up to support the business. After browsing the forum, the exhaustion from a long day melted away. Zhou You truly enjoyed this way of unwinding. Lying in bed, he soon drifted off to sleep. *** When Zhou You opened his eyes again, he felt utter confusion. Where was he? The space was a vast expanse of stark white, whiter than fresh snowfall, impeccably clean without the slightest blemish. "Chu Xiaoyao transmigrated before... is it my turn to transmigrate now?" Zhou You felt the odds were quite high. He wasn't panicking in the slightest. Chu Xiaoyao had already provided a successful model demonstration: armed with the divine-grade cultivation method, the Dao De Jing, start cultivating the moment you arrive. "Chu Xiaoyao told me so much about her experiences after transmigrating, and I remember every bit of it. This is my grand opportunity! I just wonder how I'll transmigrate back. Will I get betrayed and assassinated just like Chu Xiaoyao?" Wait a second—what if he didn't transmigrate to an immortal cultivation world, but to an ancient era without spiritual qi? Which parts of what he learned in class could actually come in handy? Or what if he crossed over to some other kind of world... "Young man." "Young man." The jade seal called out twice from behind Zhou You, but Zhou You didn't hear a thing, forcing it to fly over right in front of him. "Young man, this is your dream." "Oh, so it's just a dream." Zhou You felt a wave of disappointment. What a waste of emotional investment. He had just brainstormed all those possibilities for nothing. The jade seal was speechless. *That's your first reaction?* *Aren't you even surprised that I can talk?!* "Young man, do you crave power? Do you yearn to become Number One Under Heaven, holding supreme dominion over the realm?" The jade seal's voice echoed, grand and ethereal, brimming with temptation. Throughout history, few had ever resisted such allure. The pure white space shifted. Zhou You's cultivation attainment stood peerless under heaven, the entire Earth within his grasp. He could do whatever he pleased, exuding irresistible charm, surrounded by throngs of wives and concubines, beautiful women flocking around him to the envy of all onlookers. Zhou You was indeed drawn in by this wonderful vision. "Can I really become Number One Under Heaven?" The jade seal bobbed up and down in a nod, continuing to entice Zhou You: "Of course. I can grant you unimaginable power, as long as you offer me a sacrifice..." "Meaning I can attain the seat of Immortal Emperor just like Chu Xiaoyao?" The jade seal froze. "What in the world is an Immortal Emperor?" *Does that realm even exist in the cultivation system?* "Then can you grant me major accomplishment in body refining, so that even if myriad realms collapse, time withers, and the universe turns to dust, I will still stand atop the pinnacle of the heavens, carefree and unconstrained?" The jade seal was dumbfounded. *Why does this major accomplishment in body refining sound completely different from what I know? Isn't the effect you're describing a little too absurd?! Who do you think you are, Pangu?!* Zhou You's expression turned to disappointment once more. "Looks like you don't actually have any decent skills. You can't make me an Immortal Emperor, and you can't grant me major accomplishment in body refining. I'd better just stick to cultivating with Chu Xiaoyao." "I'm going back to sleep. Goodbye." "Hey, wait a minute, you—" *** In the morning, Zhou You was jarred awake by his alarm clock, so sleepy he could barely pry his eyes open. "Did I have a dream last night?" Zhou You figured he felt this exhausted because of dreaming. That sometimes happened to him—after dreaming all night, he would wake up listless, as if he hadn't slept well at all. "What did I dream about?" Zhou You furrowed his brows slightly, racking his brain for a moment until a vague memory surfaced. "I think I dreamed that the jade seal said it didn't know how to do anything?"