Leaving the deep mountains and dense forests behind, a bustling city came into view in the distance.
Luo Luo's inner voice was deafening.
"Hot bath! Clean clothes! Braised pork knuckle! Sweet and sour mandarin fish! Glutinous rice balls in fermented rice wine! Jujube cakes!"
"Elixirs! Heaven-grade restorative pills! Bone-reviving flowers! Vigor-replenishing tonic! Dragon-and-tiger stamina night battle frost!"
The corner of his eye twitched. "Enough, stop. What the hell would I need that 'frost' for?"
Luo Luo replied, "That’s to cover your dark circles."
He: "..."
Luo Luo: "And these two vertical lines—no idea what they are either."
When the previous Divine Master was bound to the sacrificial altar, the marks on his face had vanished, and he lost all his power, becoming nothing more than a frail, ordinary man.
These two crimson lines seemed like a brand, marking the divine power and curse passed down through generations of bloodlines.
Luo Luo waved her hand. "We’ll cover them all!"
Her earnest, meticulous planning looked very serious, very proper—almost to the point of seeming a little rigid.
Back when she was with Li Zhaoye, Luo Luo often spoke like this too, especially when she was hiding some small, secret thoughts. She had always played the part well.
He tilted his head slightly to look at her, a strange sense of familiarity rising in his chest again. Just as he was about to dwell on it, her inner voice suddenly echoed in his ears.
"If my hands touch that frost, then hold his face, rubbing under his eyes… would that be crossing a line? Would it seem like a newlywed couple—STOP THINKING! Stop! Oh no… he already heard!"
He turned to stare at her, his expression indescribable.
Luo Luo blinked back at him, dumbfounded.
Because her reactions were always a beat slow, her face remained frozen in that carefully crafted mask of calm and seriousness. Gradually, that flawless pretense crumbled, inch by inch, revealing a pair of utterly despairing eyes.
Her little face fell in layers.
He: "…Pfft—HAHAHAHA!"
Luo Luo, utterly mortified, turned her back to him and covered her face with both hands.
"Hey, no, no," he said, laughter still leaking into his voice as he reached out to pat her shoulder from behind. "No need to feel embarrassed. Really, there’s no need."
Luo Luo muttered, "Oh."
He laughed even harder. "No need to compare yourself to others—just compare yourself to your past self. Honestly, you’ve improved so much! You’ve really reined it in!"
Luo Luo: "..."
Then it hit her—all those mountains upon mountains of filthy thoughts she’d had.
Her soul withered.
After trudging ahead in silence for a while, Luo Luo lifted a pair of hollow, zombie-like eyes and posed a soul-crushing question: "When you find that person… will you talk to her like this too?"
On the first night he brought her back to his palace, he had told her he was searching for someone—the reason he lived, the meaning of his existence.
The reason he lived. The meaning of his existence. Knowing death was inevitable, yet refusing to surrender to it.
Luo Luo didn’t dare dwell on it.
Even when she tried not to think about it at all, her eyes would grow hot and sore on their own.
She pressed down hard on the feeling, making sure not a single trace of it showed.
He glanced at her carelessly, pausing briefly on her slightly reddened eyes and nose before looking away. With a shameless grin, he said, "Hard to say."
Luo Luo: "What do you mean, 'hard to say'?"
"Stop overthinking useless things," he said impatiently, patting her head. "We’ll deal with the future when it comes."
Luo Luo: "Oh."
"Don’t worry," he added, his tone infuriatingly casual. "Before everything’s settled, this Divine Master definitely won’t fuck you."
Luo Luo: "…?!!!"
She drew her sword with a clang—but she was too slow.
The sealing threads yanked him backward, effortlessly dodging her lethal strike.
He laughed all the way, floating like the world’s most insufferable kite.
"Hey. Hey. HEY?"
Luo Luo ignored him completely, striding toward the towering city gate ahead.
He leaned in with a grin. "In such a hurry to go shopping—you must’ve brought a lot of money, right?"
Luo Luo, mid-cold-war: "..."
Thunderstruck.
Pursing her lips, she turned to glare at him. "No money. You?"
He chuckled. "Where would I get money?"
Luo Luo snapped, "The Divine Palace is filthy rich. You’re the Divine Master—how do you not have money?"
He barked a laugh. "The Divine Palace is filthy rich—why didn’t you ask the old witch for some?"
Luo Luo froze. "Wu Xie said they had spirit stones and elixirs aplenty… Why didn’t I make her show me five hundred spirit stones first to prove it?"
He raised a brow. "Yeah, why didn’t you?"
After a long stare-down, Luo Luo sighed deeply.
"I have a solution," she declared.
As a cultivator, she couldn’t rob mortals—that would disrupt her spiritual clarity.
But a sword cultivator couldn’t just starve either.
So…
With an innocent expression, Luo Luo crouched by the roadside and began fishing for criminals.
If some unscrupulous scum tried to take advantage of a poor, helpless girl like her, then after beating them senseless, demanding compensation for her "injuries" wasn’t unreasonable, right?
Watching her practiced squat, his eye twitched. "Li Zhaoye, you absolute bastard."
There was no way this honest blockhead came up with such a scam on her own.
That beast must’ve taught her.
He strode over, grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, and hauled her upright.
The Divine Master truly couldn’t afford this humiliation.
Before Luo Luo could steady herself, he coolly undid his belt—swish!
Luo Luo: "…?!"
Before her brain could spiral into restrain or bind or force territory, he warned, "Stop thinking."
Glaring at her as if daring her to keep fantasizing, he pried the gold-inlaid jade buckle from his belt and tossed it at her.
Thud.
"Sell it," he said flatly.
Luo Luo: "…Oh."
One hour later.
Luo Luo lounged in a steaming bath, muscles melted, nibbling on premium salt-cured snowflake meat by the gilded window. Exhausted, she asked, "I’m signing up for the Ascension Tournament. What about you?"
He raised a brow. "Didn’t take you for the subtle type. You’re not wrong—the more visible we are, the less the Divine Palace will dare act recklessly."
Luo Luo: "..."
Huh? What? She just wanted to stab Chen Xuanyi.
But since he’d already praised her… She tearfully accepted the credit.
"So," he drawled, "I’m joining too."
Luo Luo: "…?!"
He waved a hand in front of her gaping face. "Close your mouth. What, is there a rule against it?"
Luo Luo: "…Not really."
His smile was icy. "In front of the entire world, they’re the ones who won’t dare flip the table. Not me."
Luo Luo didn’t fully understand, but she had a more pressing question: "But… you don’t even have a name. How will you register?"
He: "..."
The Divine Master smacked the table. "Before we reach the registration site, give me a satisfactory name."
Luo Luo: "…Oh."
"I’m so mad!"
By the upper cabin window of the flying vessel, Xu Junlan clutched her swollen cheek, her fingers crushing several porcelain cups as she spat through gritted teeth, "That old bastard Qing Xu has no decency! All the best resources go to Gu Meng—how does she deserve any of it?"
On the other side of the window, her elder sister Xu Junzhu had remained coldly silent for a long while.
"Something's off about this," Xu Junzhu finally murmured.
Xu Junlan widened her teary eyes. "Of course it's off! That Gu Meng—phony, pretentious, no talent, no diligence! Kicking her down the mountain would be too kind! Yet Qing Xu spoils her rotten, even giving her his own treasured resources for breaking through to the Unity Realm!"
Xu Junzhu's tone remained steady. "It's not just about Gu Meng. Don’t you think there’s something strange about the First Senior Brother’s cultivation too?"
Xu Junlan’s face flushed at the mention of him. "W-what’s strange about him? H-he’s the most genius talent in the world! But... if A-Jie thinks so, I’ll go investigate for you!"
"Honestly." Xu Junzhu sighed at her lovestruck sister. "Look at yourself in the mirror first. Can you even face anyone like that?"
Xu Junlan grabbed a mirror—her left cheek was swollen like a melon.
"Rest properly." Xu Junzhu stood. "I’ll send a letter to Master. Stay here and don’t cause more trouble."
Xu Junlan huffed. "No! I have the Jade Scar Ointment from Luo Luo—she wouldn’t dare trick me!"
Xu Junzhu paused at the door, shaking her head with a faint smile. "You..."
Her sister had long since accepted Luo Luo deep down—she just refused to admit it.
Once Xu Junzhu left, Xu Junlan covered her face with a veil and slipped out, casually strolling toward Li Zhaoye’s quarters.
The window was slightly ajar. As she neared, Gu Meng’s voice drifted out: "Brother Li, I truly don’t know how to repay your kindness."
Xu Junlan curled her lip and mimicked the words silently, swaying her hips exaggeratedly.
Li Zhaoye replied, "No need for such words. Just focus on your cultivation."
Oddly, his voice carried an inexplicable chill—almost sinister.
Xu Junlan wondered if she’d misheard. She peeked through the window.
Li Zhaoye was smiling. Anyone seeing that smile would never suspect the coldness beneath.
He gazed at Gu Meng with feigned sincerity. "Stop wasting time painting my portraits or carving fruits and cakes, alright? Spend that effort on cultivation instead. Consider it a favor to me."
His smile didn’t reach his eyes, which gleamed with something darker.
"I—" Gu Meng’s face burned red. "Brother Li, how did you see my paintings? I... I never meant for you to know!"
For a fleeting moment, Li Zhaoye’s expression twisted.
Had he not lived through that experience, he might have reveled in a woman’s admiration.
But now, Gu Meng’s fawning gestures felt like slaps to his face—reminders of his own past foolishness. In the illusion, he’d groveled just as pathetically for the "mysterious woman" who fueled his cultivation.
Every simpering act from Gu Meng only deepened his disgust.
His gaze shifted abruptly.
"Junior Sister Xu?"
Xu Junlan, caught eavesdropping, froze as Li Zhaoye’s eyes met hers.
With a charming smile, he circled around to open the door for her. "Why linger outside? Come in."
His tone dripped with fondness.
Gu Meng stiffened.
Xu Junlan gaped.
Just then, a messenger crane arrived.
Soon after, Xu Junzhu summoned everyone to the main cabin.
The senior sister’s expression was grave. "At a remote registration site, Luo Luo signed up for the Azure Summit Tournament."
The group erupted in murmurs, reactions mixed.
"And," Xu Junzhu added, her gaze settling on one person, "she used a fake name to replace yours."
"..."
Half a day earlier...
Disguised as a dashing heroine, Luo Luo and her "sickly husband" arrived at the nearest immortal city.
He’d concealed his dark circles and scars, adopting the plain appearance of a scholar.
Along the way, Luo Luo had exhausted herself spinning tales.
"What’s wrong with the name Qian Duoyu?" she grumbled. "You said you’re a fish, right? Qian Duoyu—‘Money-Surplus Fish.’ Fitting and auspicious!"
Expressionless, he pinched her lips shut.
Last time he’d done this, she’d shrieked mentally, loud enough to deafen him.
This time, silence.
"Hm?"
He glanced down to find her staring blankly, cheeks flushing from lips to ears like a scalded snail.
Had he squeezed too hard? He withdrew his hand calmly. "Focus. Time’s running out."
Luo Luo mumbled, "...Right."
Ahead lay the registration site—an outpost of the Heavenly Path Sect.
Distracted, Luo Luo wandered in.
The Heavenly Path disciples barely spared a glance for the two "rogue cultivators." One turned to his companion but addressed Luo Luo: "Place your hand on the Engraved Stone to register. Below Foundation Establishment? Disqualified. Above? Unlikely. Pseudonyms allowed but unchangeable. Death or injury during the tournament incurs no liability to the hosting sect—us. Understood? Then register. Hand on the stone."
Luo Luo blinked. "If the instructions begin and end with ‘place your hand on the stone,’ couldn’t the middle part just be skipped?"
The disciple glared. "?!"
Luo Luo dodged further argument, turning to the nameless deity beside her for guidance.
—Haven’t picked a name yet. What now?
After a pause, he murmured, "Play defensively."
Her eyes lit up. "Got it—go all out!"
With resolve, she slapped her palm onto the glowing registration stone. "Luo Luo, Li Zhaoye. Two participants!"
He: "...?!"
Wait—what?
A belated realization struck.
Oh no.
He’d just been replaced.
