Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

When it came to the danger posed by freelance cultivators, a typical case was that of Rakshasa Country in Northern Lu Country.

Rakshasa Country had the largest territory in the world, but most areas were covered with permafrost of ice and snow. Official power was mainly concentrated on the western side, which belonged to Europe, and it was difficult to extend its influence to the vast central and eastern regions of Siberia.

Therefore, after the resurgence of spiritual energy, many cities and villages within Siberia bred a massive number of ungoverned cultivators (known as Spirit Communicators within the Rakshasa Country), such as werewolves, vampires, necromancer wizards, and so on, almost all of whom were evil wrongdoers who would stop at nothing to become stronger.

These Spirit Communicators quickly seized control over the majority of the cities, forcing the Rakshasa officials to launch the first, second, and third witch-hunting campaigns.

Each time the military suffered heavy losses among their cultivators, until they had no choice but to retract their influence and set up a military defensive line in the Ural Mountains, ceding the territories east of the mountains to the Spirit Communicators.

After a prolonged and ruthless competition and slaughter among themselves, these Spirit Communicators eventually unified to form the notorious "Blood Moon Alliance". They created a vast canopy of eternal night that shrouded the entire northern part of Asia in a dark energy barrier, turning it into a hunting paradise for dark creatures.

As Lu Country's Northeast was adjacent to this area, the Dingbei Army cultivators faced tremendous national defense pressure, and every year, the number of martyrs who fell in the fight against dark creatures was the highest in the nation.

What was more heart-wrenching was that the Blood Moon Alliance's leader, the "Eclipse Queen", had once been a citizen of Lu Country and even had the chance to become a cultivator in the Dingbei Army... but due to a series of unfortunate events, she ultimately took the path that led her to turn against the Dingbei Army.

The reason Yan Yu considered it all "unfortunate events" was that he truly knew the inside story; in fact, neither side was at fault, which was precisely what made it so frustrating.

Well, I could intervene in advance; after all, this is my mission as a reborn individual!

"I need to make a trip to Shengjing this weekend," Yan Yu suddenly declared.

"Oh?" Chen Lingyun asked in surprise, "Do you have some fun plans again?"

"Who told you it was something fun?" Yan Yu displayed a speechless expression, "I'm on a serious mission, okay? Not everyone is like you."

"If you need to go to Shengjing, you must apply for it," Chen Lingyun said with a leisurely smile, "Without a valid reason, you can't just leave the school; after all, we are ultimately a military academy."

"No kidding, it's because of the paperwork that I'm telling you," Yan Yu said icily, "Would I come to you if I didn't have to follow the procedure?"

"Is that your attitude when asking for help?" Chen Lingyun raised an eyebrow.

"Nonsense," Zhao Yuanzhen chimed in from the side, "He came to you because he respects you, understand?"

"Do you plan to take Yuanzhen with you?" Chen Lingyun asked with a smile.

"I'm going alone," Yan Yu replied.

Zhao Yuanzhen immediately became as dumbfounded as a wooden chicken, before finally saying:

"Wait, aren't we supposed to be cultivating partners?"

"So what exactly is your misunderstanding about cultivating partners?" Yan Yu asked, baffled, "Cultivating partners are companions in cultivation, not trinkets hanging on a key ring! You don't need to follow me everywhere I go, right?"

"Exactly because we cultivate together, we can't give up halfway," Zhao Yuanzhen said seriously, "If you go alone, without me to aid your cultivation, how will you manage your daily breathing exercises? One day of play leads to every day of play, eventually resulting in neglect of your cultivation and missing out on the great Dao! When your life ends, you will regret it!"

Because of Yan Yu's mysterious and inscrutable mentor, she subconsciously guessed, "Could it be that your mentor is arranging for you to gain an advantage again?" And the more Yan Yu refused to let her accompany him, the more convinced she became of her suspicion.

Humph, thinking of ditching me to reap the benefits alone? Dream on!

Yan Yu was left stupefied by her words and after a long moment, he responded:

"Enough already, who taught you all this nonsense?"

"How about this." Chen Lingyun said with a smile, "If you let me come with you, not only can I get you approved to go to Shengjing, but I can also help you get reimbursed for the travel expenses, how about that?"

"Why do you want to tag along?" Yan Yu asked, frowning.

"I'm going for the entertainment," Chen Lingyun said with a playful twinkle in her eye.

Yan Yu: ......

"Fine," he struggled with his expression for a moment before conceding with difficulty, "Come to think of it, after all, there are inconveniences when traveling outside."

After a pause, Yan Yu turned to Zhao Yuanzhen and instructed:

"Zhao Yuanzhen."

"Present," Zhao Yuanzhen responded eagerly.

"During the trip, the task of washing clothes will be yours," Yan Yu said seriously.

Zhao Yuanzhen: ......

"No, it's just using the Purifying Spell," she pretended to be nonchalant, but inwardly she began to seethe, and once again made a major note in her book of grudges:

"Today, the little thief set out on a long journey, initially unwilling to take me with him. Later, he blackmailed me with laundry, treating me as a servant or concubine. I've noted this debt! If one day I come to power, I'll make him wash my clothes and fold my blankets, and he will likewise serve as a manservant attending to chores!"

"As for you," Yan Yu turned his head to look at Chen Lingyun, "the task of handling travel documents and lodging will be yours."

"Why are you suddenly speaking in half literary and half vernacular Chinese?" Chen Lingyun covered her mouth and laughed.

"Because only by imagining myself as a noble young master from Jiangnan on his way to the capital can I barely accept the fact that I need to travel with two beauties as maids," sighed Yan Yu, "Ah, women are indeed troublesome."

"Hehe." Chen Lingyun wasn't angry, just smiling along, "Then please rest assured, my lord, this young lady will arrange everything properly."

"Hmph, you wench, don't disappoint me," huffed Yan Yu as he stood up, holding his unfinished tray of food, and walked toward the conveyor belt where dishes were discarded.

Chen Lingyun watched his retreating figure, the smile gradually fading from her face, turning into a thoughtful expression.

She looked at Zhao Yuanzhen who was quietly eating across from her and thought that this Demonic Sect Enchantress didn't have much going on upstairs and probably knew nothing of Yan Yu's true intentions.

Why go north?

Is it to find Mei Yingxue?

Humph, even if you won't tell me, I'll find out.

Dear, just don't let me grow tired of you too soon…

Meanwhile, Yan Yu returned to the base of the dorm building, only to see Qiu Ze, clad in basketball attire with his arms bare, joking with a female classmate before finally watching her leave.

He turned to greet Yan Yu:

"Yo, Yan the Handsome."

"What 'the Handsome'?" Yan Yu asked with a frown.

"Short for 'handsome guy,'" Qiu Ze slapped his shoulder, chuckling, "Two out of the four prettiest girls in our program are already interested in you... Yan Yu, you still say you're not a handsome guy?"

Qiu Ze was really good with words, making Yan Yu unable to help but laugh:

"Indeed, but is it possible that they're interested in my talent?"

"Then you're both talented and handsome, how's that?" Qiu Ze burst into laughter, paying a compliment before asking, "Big Handsome, seriously though, you're too awesome, right? You haven't been enrolled for long and you already know the Three Arts and Five Spells, how did you do it? Is there some kind of trick to it?"

"There's no trick," Yan Yu waved it off, "just diligent study and practice."

"Got time now?" Qiu Ze seized the chance to invite, "Let's go to the practice field and train. You can give me some pointers too."

At the end of this afternoon's training session, the instructor assigned homework for everyone, to master the Shifting Technique within a week, so many students had arranged to practice with their peers in the evening.

It seemed like a normal invitation, but knowing Qiu Ze as Yan Yu did, he figured the guy probably had a competitive mindset.

After all, Qiu Ze had exceptional natural talent in the Shifting Technique, the Cloud Ascending Technique, and the Wall Penetrating Technique in their previous life, outstanding even outside the Zhendong Army. He probably had some awareness of this by now.

But if you're using me as a standard for comparison, haven't you picked the wrong person?