Cai Lian had meant exactly that all along, but she was too shy to say it outright. Instead, she guided him into bringing it up himself. Then, with a haughty pout, she declared, “There are no other empty rooms available. It has to be this way.”
Yan Zhen thought to himself that his Snake Snake Wife was still upset and understandably didn’t want to share a room with him. “Actually, there’s still an empty room on the third floor,” he said. “It just hasn’t been cleaned. If you’d like to stay there, Cai Lian, I’ll go tidy it up right now.”
The Sovereign Lady’s face froze. Her delicate brows shot up as she glared at him. “Are you saying you don’t want to share a room with This Sovereign?”
Yan Zhen blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected another trap. Hurriedly, he backpedaled. “No, what I meant was that the two of us move up to the third floor, and we leave this room for Long Ying. Three people in one room really isn’t convenient, after all.”
Cai Lian’s expression eased, her heart shifting from irritation to delight. “Do whatever you think best,” she said coolly.
“Then that’s settled.” Yan Zhen grinned. “Long Ying’s still waiting for us downstairs. We’ll sort out the rooms after dinner.”
“This Sovereign isn’t hungry. You two go ahead.” Cai Lian turned down the invitation. She worried that appearing in public might cause trouble for Yan Zhen, since she wasn’t part of the academy. “This Sovereign needs to rest.”
“You’re pregnant. How can you skip meals entirely?”
“Pills will do.”
“Cai Lian~”
“This Sovereign isn’t suited to show her face.” At last, Cai Lian voiced her concern. “If anyone finds out you sneaked someone in, won’t that bring you trouble?”
“So that’s what you were worried about.” Yan Zhen chuckled. “No need to fret. I’m number one on the Inner Academy Star General List now, which comes with some privileges. The Great Elder favors me too. If anyone runs their mouth, I’ll just pay a visit to their club.”
“Regardless, This Sovereign isn’t going out.”
“Alright then. I’ll head to the cafeteria and pack some food to bring back. What would you like, Cai Lian?”
“Anything’s fine. You choose.”
Yan Zhen headed downstairs alone. He instructed Long Ying to go up and keep Cai Lian company, then made his way solo to the cafeteria to pack up some meals.
Long Ying nodded her little head. “Yan Zhen Zhen, hurry back, okay? I’m starving~”
Yan Zhen flashed her an OK sign and proceeded to the cafeteria, where he ordered a full table’s worth of dishes.
He took both Cai Lian’s and Long Ying’s tastes into account, with a mix of meat and vegetables. Cai Lian likely didn’t have much appetite, so he loaded up more on the meats for Long Ying.
Once the orders were placed, Yan Zhen lingered in the public seating area, waiting for the food to finish cooking and get packed. By chance, he overheard a peculiar phrase—
“Yan Huang Four Beauties.”
Word had it that a few days earlier, the four young women had ventured to the Firmament Nine-Story Tower for cultivation training, only to be hassled by members of rival clubs. To everyone’s shock, these four pretty junior sisters—who seemed like delicate flowers—unleashed astonishing power. They triumphed over stronger foes, thrashing the fools who’d picked on them. Their reputation exploded across the Inner Academy. Even the new leader of Transformation Butterfly had personally extended an invitation for them to join. Remarkably, they turned it down, yet they hit it off famously with her, chatting like old friends. That only elevated their fame further.
It was a lot to take in.
In the original script, by the time those four girls arrived at the Inner Academy, Yan Zhen had already been preparing to depart for Jialan Holy Land.
As a result, they never joined Yan Huang. Instead, thanks to their connection with Mentor Yu Xuan—and their own striking looks and impressive talent—they’d risen quickly through the ranks in Transformation Butterfly.
Now they’d inexplicably become close friends with Transformation Butterfly’s new leader… Could they truly be reincarnators?
Yan Zhen couldn’t help but grow suspicious.
That aside, Transformation Butterfly gaining a new leader meant that Cousin Sister Yudie had advanced to the Mystic King Realm. She’d stepped back from club management and rankings competitions, now simply biding her time to enter the Holy Land.
Ling Fei had likely reached Mystic King status as well.
Add in Gu Tiange, who’d broken through long ago, and Wen Canglan, who’d still gotten a sound thrashing even after his own breakthrough.
With all these club leaders turning over, the Inner Academy was in for some turbulent times ahead.
For the four girls’ safety, something had to be done.
Yan Zhen turned and clapped the chatty bespectacled fellow on the shoulder. “Brother, which clubs were the ones hassling those four girls?”
The interruption soured the bespectacled man’s mood. He turned with a frown, only to pause at the sight of Yan Zhen’s handsome, slightly boyish face. “You… who are you? You look familiar.”
“I’m Yan Zhen, leader of Yan Huang.”
“Y-Yan—Holy shit!”
The bespectacled man leaped to his feet in alarm. His two companions across the table went pale as ghosts.
In the Inner Academy, the name Yan Zhen was synonymous with ruthless ferocity. Seniors had drilled it into them: never provoke anyone from Yan Huang. They’d even passed around portraits of him.
The chatty bespectacled fellow stammered, “Y-Yan Zhen Senior, i-it wasn’t us! O-other clubs!”
“Which ones?”
He spilled the details without hesitation. Yan Zhen nodded and offered a sincere, “Thanks.”
Right on cue, the food arrived, all packed up. Yan Zhen swept the boxes into his storage ring and left the cafeteria.
Rather than heading straight back, he made a detour to the headquarters of one of those clubs. He called out their leader directly for a “chat.”
In essence, he wrecked shop!
Yan Zhen hadn’t bothered with the specifics of who exactly had targeted the girls. A solid thrashing for each club leader would sort that out—the leaders would then dish out double or triple beatings to their own blind underlings.
After paying visits to all three clubs, Yan Zhen returned to Yan Huang Tower in high spirits. He sat down with Cai Lian and Long Ying for a meal, a modest welcome dinner for Cai Lian.
Once they’d eaten, Yan Zhen set off for the Great Elder’s residence. He climbed to the top-floor office and reported his return to Elder Great-Aunt.
Great Elder Yu Yan, with her ever-present squint, appeared as warm and approachable as always. Seated in her elder’s chair, she smiled gently at him. “Welcome back, Little Yan Zhen. Everything sorted? If there’s any trouble, you can always tell Great-Aunt.”
Yan Zhen scratched his cheek, a touch bashful. “Thanks for your concern, Great-Aunt, but it’s all handled. That said, I do have some news for you.”
“The Heavenly Gu Elder? Xiao Qing already sent word.”
“Yeah. Over a year ago, back in the City of Water, I crossed paths with Demon Domain agents. They stirred up Sand Scorpions to assault the city, sparking a drawn-out conflict. Now they’ve planted spies in Garo Kingdom’s National Protection Sect. I suspect they’re gearing up for something big.”
“This is grave. I’ll report it to the Sovereign Lady for her judgment.”
“Perfect. Oh, one more thing.”
“You’re going after the Wind-Thunder Crystal Fire?”
“That’s right, Great-Aunt. Is it alright?”
“Little Yan Zhen, even the Thunder Supreme couldn’t subdue it. Are you truly confident?”
“I’ll make every preparation before making my move. I hope you’ll approve.”
“There’s no problem with that. Truth be told, the wind-thunder power gathering at the top of the Nine-Story Tower is on the verge of overflowing. It needs to be dispersed soon. If you can claim the Wind-Thunder Crystal Fire, it’ll save us a lot of effort. Just be sure to leave a child flame behind in the Thunder Pool above, to keep the tower running smoothly.”
