Chapter Fifteen: The Heroine Is Remarkably Devoted

The seeds of the wooden spirit that Xiaoxiao Chi gave were small and inconspicuous, so the opponent lost in pondering his godson, paying no attention to the sudden appearance of a pile of sesame-sized grains on the stage.

“Let’s start quickly—after the match, you can ask him yourself whether he’s my son,” Cheng Yu, ready, said to his opponent.

The opponent nodded, clasped fists in greeting, and the two began to probe each other with tentative moves.

Ming Shuang watched from the high platform, surveying the dense sea of hearts below, when she suddenly spotted a blazing heart inscribed with Cheng Yu’s name. Her mind buzzed, and she leapt excitedly from her seat.

“What’s wrong?” the junior uncle asked coolly, utterly unmoved by the rainbow-hued hearts filling the air, not even lifting his eyelids.

“Oh, seeing all the sisters below with hearts over their heads, I thought this match would be exciting. I stood up to get a better view,” Ming Shuang replied, eyes fixed on the two figures atop the platform, puzzling over which one was Cheng Yu, or whether this Cheng Yu was the same as his roommate.

On the stage, the two exchanged blows, tentative at first, but Cheng Yu’s opponent soon grew impatient and began to intensify his attacks, each punch and kick gaining ferocity.

Seeing his opponent grow serious, Cheng Yu decided not to drag things out any longer. Dodging a punch laced with forceful wind, he turned and bolted.

His opponent, clearly unprepared for such a move, gritted his teeth and gave chase, and the stage erupted into a spirited pursuit. They chased each other much like Ling Qiqi and Xiaoxiao Chi had during their match, though Cheng Yu lacked Xiaoxiao Chi’s effortless agility—several times, he nearly let his opponent grab his sleeve.

After all, the seeds had been scattered randomly, so it was impossible for them to be perfectly spaced. Cheng Yu temporarily decided to sacrifice himself as bait, luring his opponent toward the area thickest with sesame grains.

Thanks to his persistent legs, he finally managed to draw his oblivious opponent right into the densest patch of seeds.

“Balala energy, sesame—bloom!” Cheng Yu exclaimed, invoking a transformation chant. Instantly, all seeds on the stage sprouted into tender shoots, entangling both his opponent and himself.

Cheng Yu fell facefirst, eating dirt, yelping several times before he managed to climb upright—much to the hilarity of the audience below.

Ming Shuang, able to concentrate spiritual energy in her eyes, had noticed the dense green sesame dots on the platform long ago. Now, seeing these green dots grow into a cluster of tiny green onions, she immediately recalled Xiaoxiao Chi’s fiery footsteps from before.

“Junior uncle, look—doesn’t this person use the same spellcasting method as Xiaoxiao Chi, who summoned the fire serpent?” Ming Shuang asked, moving to sit beside the junior uncle.

The stage now teemed with green sprouts, transformed into a field of hope, with two foolish children staring wide-eyed at each other amidst the verdant expanse.

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“Who would have guessed you could wield such a formidable spell…” the man tangled in vines exclaimed, crouching to try and tear the vines at his feet, only to discover their remarkable toughness; brute force alone would never free him.

Cheng Yu, just recovered from his tumble, looked sheepish and glanced toward Xiaoxiao Chi in the audience. Their eyes met, and the little devil tossed him a flirtatious wink.

“Brother Cheng Yu, you’re amazing! Finish him off in one go!” Xiaoxiao Chi called out, summoning a host of flame roses to whirl around the stage, playing the role of a devoted fan leader.

The junior uncle glanced at the stage, commenting indifferently, “The vine growth lacks order—it’s not formation step-casting. He must have used some artifact to take a shortcut.” He then looked at the girls conjuring a pile of hearts for Ling Xiaozi, noting that Er Gou was oblivious and seeing no need to elaborate.

Ling Qiqi withdrew her watery giant heart and squeezed through the crowd to reach Xiaoxiao Chi. Pointing at the fiery roses circling the platform, she remarked, “You’re full of tricks—first you wrote words and drew hearts with fire, and now you’ve conjured a cascade of flame flowers. Aren’t you worried you’re making it harder for Cheng Yu to find a spiritual partner?”

Xiaoxiao Chi puffed up proudly, then manipulated the flaming roses into an even larger heart, flashing a mischievous grin at Ling Qiqi: “Only short-sighted female cultivators like you spend all day thinking about finding a partner. A cultivator’s life is long—there’s plenty of time to do whatever one wishes. Why chain yourself to another person?”

“You know immortals live long and pursue the Dao over countless years. Naturally, girls hope to have someone accompany them on the endless path,” Ling Qiqi retorted. “Besides, when you men meet a beauty like a celestial maiden, don’t you drool three feet?”

Xiaoxiao Chi couldn’t agree with such girlish reasoning, and the latter half was clearly prejudiced against men. He shook his head: “A beauty is a vase for display, no matter how exquisite, she’s only an ornament in life. The truly indispensable person is either unrivaled in cultivation or so clever as to be almost supernatural. Otherwise, what’s the use of keeping someone nearby?”

Ling Qiqi raised her brows, about to retort, but found Xiaoxiao Chi’s words surprisingly reasonable. If placed in the context of a mortal emperor, his logic would compare generals and ministers to palace beauties—the difference in importance is obvious. In the face of empire and ambition, romance is trivial, and of the three thousand in the harem, two thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine exist only to consolidate power.

“So by your logic, women are just ornaments in men’s lives—how pitiful, offering their hearts and dedicating their lives to bearing children and supporting their husbands,” Ling Qiqi said bitterly, thinking of her own unfortunate mother.

Xiaoxiao Chi hadn’t expected his casual remarks to affect the young woman so deeply, and continued to fan the flames: “Exactly, it’s best if you understand. Rather than finding a Dao companion, raise a spirit beast. When it grows up, it can fight and be ridden. Look at the thriving crane breeding industry at Jade Gate—it’s clear the generations of sect leaders realized companions are inferior to immortal cranes. Otherwise, why would Master Xu, over a hundred years old, never mention wanting a wife?”

Up on the platform, the sect leader sneezed twice, innocently caught in Xiaoxiao Chi’s singlehood propaganda.

Ling Qiqi was struck as if by lightning; if not for her steadfast pursuit of Ling Xiaozi, she might have succumbed to Xiaoxiao Chi’s brainwashing.

“I understand now…” Her worldview rocked, Ling Qiqi said with a woeful face, “If I want Senior Brother Ling Xiaozi to see me differently, I must work hard to become someone of profound cultivation.”

How did you reach that conclusion? Xiaoxiao Chi was dumbfounded, realizing this girl’s thinking was refreshingly odd and unlike the naive girls who easily fell for his traps.

“My first goal is to defeat you!” Ling Qiqi declared, her limpid eyes ablaze with fighting spirit.

Xiaoxiao Chi scoffed, about to crush the ignorant little girl’s confidence, when he sensed the water spirits in the air begin to fluctuate strangely.

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Those on the high platform also sensed someone gathering large amounts of spiritual energy; after all, the sect leader himself possessed a water spirit root and quickly pinpointed the source in the crowd.

“Isn’t that the girl who used the Water Dragon Chant earlier? What’s she up to?” Master Xu asked curiously.

Ming Shuang shook his head, indicating he didn’t know. Junior uncle, however, narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at Ling Qiqi.

For the first time, Ling Qiqi was manipulating and controlling such a massive amount of spiritual energy, and it took her a while to get the hang of it. She divided the energy into small bundles, gradually condensing them into tiny physical forms mimicking miniature hearts.

“Seriously? You said you wanted to defeat me, but now you’re pulling this stunt to confess to your beloved? Damn it, stop right now, or you’ll interfere with Cheng Yu’s fire formation!” By the time Xiaoxiao Chi realized what Ling Qiqi was doing, it was too late to stop the impending explosion of romantic surprise.

The sisters also sensed the air becoming increasingly dry, retracting the spiritual energy wasted on hearts to protect themselves. In an instant, the rainbow cluster of hearts vanished, leaving only countless unfinished water globules floating in the air.

“Senior Brother Ling Xiaozi, I adore you!” Ling Qiqi’s earth-shaking declaration transformed the water globules into a sky full of tiny hearts, their numbers surpassing the sisters' earlier collective effort.

Master Xu smiled with a subtle expression, gazing at the sea of water hearts, marveling at the joys of youth. This little girl had good taste, falling for his most beloved disciple; he wondered what Ling Xiaozi thought. With that, the dignified sect leader sneaked a look at Ling Xiaozi, eyes faintly hopeful.

The two on the stage were stunned, staring at each other like wooden dolls. Cheng Yu thought that if he interrupted the confession of the story’s main characters, he’d risk angering the heroine prematurely.

“What… the heck?” Ming Shuang finally caught on, realizing all the hearts from the girls earlier might have been for Ling Xiaozi, and broke out in a cold sweat.

Junior uncle saw Ming Shuang’s total confusion, his demeanor showing he’d been thoroughly frightened, while the sect leader, a deeply hidden gossip, was clearly content to watch the drama unfold.

Yun Ting stood up, and above the stage, dense black clouds gathered, churning with flashes of violet lightning. Peals of thunder battered the hearts of everyone present, making it hard to breathe.

“Junior uncle, what are you doing? Please calm down…” Sensing the shift in atmosphere, Ming Shuang stood up and tugged at his uncle’s sleeve, afraid the next moment he’d strike Ling Qiqi down.

Oh heavens, I’ve tried so hard to avoid the heroine, so why does she still like me?! Ming Shuang stared at the darkening sky, feeling as if he had two heads atop his shoulders.