Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

After refining the core of the Mysterious Realm, everyone used teleportation to leave the realm.

The Cloud Summit Mysterious Realm was different from the Three Isles Treasure Ship Secret Realm. Although both cores were seized by Lu Country, the Three Isles Treasure Ship could still navigate the seas for further exploration, while the Cloud Summit Mysterious Realm was located on land and under the firm control of the Bear People's Power, so it was best to loot it all in one go.

Of course, if one really wanted to come back next time to finish the job, it wasn't impossible, since the core was with Zhao Yuanzhen anyway, and no one else could open it without her.

Upon exiting the Mysterious Realm, there weren't many Giliya Bear People outside the entrance, obviously because the Dragon Soar Team was fighting in a nearby city, drawing away the local troops.

Time to switch homes!

Yan Yu pressed the communication button on the side of the camera and called Liu Longtao:

"My team completed the mission, calling Lord Master."

"... (rustling) My code name is Liu Shao. Please use code names during work, thank you," Liu Longtao's speechless voice rang out.

"Where are you, do you need assistance?" Yan Yu took a few steps away from the entrance to the Mysterious Realm, checking if moving away might reduce the signal interference.

"Assistance my ass," Liu Longtao burst out laughing, "We've taken out the leader and deputy leader of the Bear Gang!"

Yan Yu was initially surprised, but upon further thought, it seemed to be expected.

Decapitating the Giliya Bear People's power top and second-in-charge meant that after the Rikoku Cultivator left, the remaining forces would definitely attack each other, scrambling for the sudden power vacuum at the top. This would give the Amur Witch clan a precious time window.

By the time the Giliya Bear People decided the winner among them, the Amur Witch clan might have already unified the North—so this is what chaotic times are like: either you grow fast enough to consume others, or you don't grow fast enough and become fodder for someone else.

But the chaos of the Spiritual Energy Resurgence Era was far crueler than in normal chaotic times. There was very little tolerance and generosity among Transcendents of different professions; they often sought to kill all Transcendents of hostile forces, leaving only ordinary people as production materials.

"If you don't need assistance, then we're heading out," Yan Yu said.

"Or what? You wanna come over and see Ye Jun?" Liu Longtao teased.

"Let's go!" Yan Yu laughed heartily and rose into the air by Sword Control.

The group flew from Black Dragon Isle toward Lu Country. Due to Lord Master's last divisive remark, some people were obviously unhappy in the team... Let's not say who.

Chen Lingyun, also someone who reveled in chaos, asked with a smile:

"By the way, aren't you going to say goodbye to Anna?"

"It's not convenient," Yan Yu replied, "The Amur witches must be countering the battle lines now. It's not nice to disturb her while she's making her mark."

"Then why could Lord Master make contact?" Lin Ning also remarked.

"Are you dumb? Lord Master was providing cover for us," Yan Yu revealed a "Do you even have to ask?" exasperated expression. "If we don't say a word to him, they'll think we're still inside the Mysterious Realm—how would we leave?"

"Let's not talk about that for now. After we get back, let's rest for a day, and then Chen Lingyun, you get the footage of this fight. We'll properly review it."

"This was our first encounter with an Onmyoji, but it definitely won't be the last. Everyone, pay attention."

The North.

On a battlefield strewn with corpses, Anna, covered in blood on one side of her body, suddenly had a premonition and turned to the south.

He... at this time, he should have left, right...?

"What's the matter, Anna?" Anastasia, the leader of the witch clan, asked when she noticed Anna's strange demeanor.

"I'm thinking about the Rikoku Cultivator," Anna replied with a hint of loss in her voice.

Anastasia glanced at her expression and suddenly said:

"Anna, I plan to have you succeed my position."

"... What?"

"The ones capable of destroying the Amur Witch clan aren't just the Giliya Bear People," Anastasia also looked towards the sky to the south.

A line of wild geese was flying south in a V-formation, needing to reach a warm place quickly before the cold wave fully hit Siberia.

——————————

The group flew along the coast of East Asia on their swords, stopping a few times for True Yuan replenishment, until they reached Jianghai Prefecture, then followed the river back to Jinling Prefecture.

The girls went home to rest, while Yan Yu took the pair of spike hammers to the school alone, heading to the principal's office to report.

Hmm, why is there no one?

After knocking on the door and finding no response, he guessed someone was out.

Yan Yu turned to leave but ran into Qi Changping in the corridor. The latter was holding a cloth banner that made him look like a fortune-teller.

"How did you get back so quickly?" Qi Changping asked in surprise.

"Came back on a sword flight," Yan Yu answered. "We've taken down the Black Dragon Isle Secret Realm. I've come to deliver something."

"Oh, alright then," Qi Changping handed over the banner he was holding, "This is a trophy from the last Changping Secret Realm, it's probably for Chen Lingyun, right? I'm returning it to you."

"You've researched it pretty quickly," Yan Yu commented with a smile, as he took the Nine Heavens Yin Demon Prison Banner.

"Sigh, they say it's completely incomprehensible," Qi Changping shook his head. "Seems like we might need to refine it to figure it out."
Discover hidden content at My Virtual Library Empire

The Nine Heavens Yin Demon Prison Banner was a magical treasure, and many of its powers required the owner to refine it for use. But how could researchers casually let a treasure recognize their ownership? That would be a direct waste. At most, they would first hand it over to a team, and then have an Assistant Officer come over with the treasure to assist with experiments and such.

Yan Yu turned the Nine Heavens Yin Demon Prison Banner upside down, slowly left the school, and went to a nearby deli to buy some braised foods, preparing to add a meal for the girls in the team.

The shop assistant was a middle-aged woman in her forties who smiled and asked:

"What would you like?"

"Give me six chicken legs, and extra sauce," Yan Yu glanced at the window, "and two boxes of salted duck."

"Alright." The woman was about to scoop the sauce when she suddenly exclaimed, "Aren't you that Yan Zhanlong?"

"Ah?" Yan Yu was taken aback.

"Yan Zhanlong, it's you! I've seen you on TV!" The woman immediately could hardly contain her excitement and turned to shout, "Husband! Yan Zhanlong is in our shop!"

Yan Yu also found it hard to keep a straight face when he saw the bald shop owner emerging from the kitchen, looking at him in surprise, then snatching the spoon from his wife's hand, saying impatiently:

"Stop bothering people! What a fuss… What would you like?"

"Uh, six chicken legs and two boxes of salted duck."

"Hmm." Without another word, the shop owner neatly chopped the duck, plopping it into five large boxes, and said, "Oops, I cut too much! Never mind, I'll just charge you for two boxes."

Yan Yu: ......

"Sorry about that," the shop owner casually picked up the spoon again and fished out eight or nine chicken legs, stuffing them into two large boxes. "I'll give you a few extra chicken legs as an apology—be sure to come back next time."

Yan Yu: ............

"It's fine, the auntie will give it to you guys," the woman said eagerly, packing things up and handing a plastic bag to Yan Yu, "You guys have been working hard to protect our country!"

"What do you mean, give?" The shop owner interrupted her, saying, "I accidentally cut too much! It's already cut, there's nothing I can do about it!"

"Right, right, right, we cut too much!"

Yan Yu was at a loss for words and silently scanned the QR code to pay, thanked them, and then turned to leave, hearing the shop owner arguing with his wife behind him:

"Don't take photos! Not even of the back! Did they agree? Just don't bother them for no reason…"

Walking down the street with the plastic bag in hand, Yan Yu couldn't quite describe his feelings.

The hero who defends his home and country...

I never intended to become your hero, nor did I want to become your fear and nightmare.

Forget it, I'll just go back on my sword.

The sword light descended in the courtyard. When Yan Yu took out his keys to enter, he saw Lin Ning, wearing a kitchen apron, coming to greet him.

"Why did you buy so much stuff!" Seeing the several bags of food in Yan Yu's hand, she complained as if scolding him, "Then all the dishes I cooked are wasted!"

"It's okay, we can continue eating them for dinner if we can't finish," Yan Yu said carelessly, "The shop owner recognized me and insisted on giving me so much."

"Oh, oh." As soon as she heard it was a gift from a fan, Lin Ning instantly lost her temper and chuckled, "Then you must be really happy, right?"

"Why would I be happy?"

"Because someone admires you~"

"It's nice being carefree like you," Yan Yu glanced at her sideways.

"What do you mean? Humph." Lin Ning didn't quite understand his implication, but she sensed he was teasing her and immediately rolled her eyes, "Put the food on the table and come help me taste the soup for seasoning."

"Can't you taste it yourself?"

"I like strong flavors, I'm afraid you guys won't like it."

Yan Yu followed her into the kitchen, watching as Lin Ning turned the stove down to a low flame, scooped a spoonful of soup, and carefully blew on it for a long time until it stopped steaming, then with a smile, brought it to Yan Yu's lips.

"It's indeed too salty," Yan Yu sipped a little and commented.

"Then I'll add some more water."

As Yan Yu turned to leave, he heard Lin Ning suddenly say from behind:

"Yan Yu, actually, in the Mysterious Realm, I wasn't jealous or fighting with Yun Jin."

"I just… don't know how to explain, but that wasn't my intention, you understand, right?"

"Yeah, of course, I understand," Yan Yu turned back to reply, only to see Lin Ning leaning back against the kitchen countertop, her eyes brimming with water as she looked at him.

In her eyes, there was no softness like Su Yunjin's, but rather a hard-to-describe, shy attachment, as well as the unease and panic of desperately hiding her feelings, her fingers gripping the countertop so hard they seemed to whiten.

In the face of the same emotions, some go all out, taking the initiative, while others hesitate and cannot find peace—even in their sleep. Such is the biological diversity of us humans!

Yan Yu didn't quite know how to deal with this, but the strongest of this age was never afraid of facing the unknown. After briefly pondering, he turned back around, placed his hand on Lin Ning's shoulder, and with a gentle smile, said:

"It's alright, Ningning."

"Just look at my sister. She's always prideful and will never back down from a challenge."

"...Huh?" Lin Ning was bewildered.