Chapter 18 – Wait for Me for Two Minutes

Su Lin stepped forward. “I didn’t expect Lord Azure Dragon to be this cautious. Long time no see.”

Mo Qing pointed at Su Lin. “Hey, you were secretly following me, weren’t you? I thought there was an enemy!”

Su Lin: “The world is vast, and there are only a few at the Grandmaster Realm. Did you think anyone could slip past your detection?”

Azure Dragon was also delighted. “National Preceptor, it truly has been a long time.”

Su Lin took out a small coffin. “This was originally used to protect Lin Qingmei’s soul. It should be able to protect you too. Why don’t you come inside first? The space isn’t large, but it’s enough to fit you.”

Azure Dragon: “Is this thing reliable? This old dragon can’t withstand any mishaps, you know.”

Su Lin smiled helplessly. “Has the Lord Azure Dragon who once dominated the world become this fragile? Besides, I happen to have an opportunity here that can give you a hand.”

Azure Dragon came down from the stone pillar, twisting its body. “Fine. As long as I can take down that son of a bitch from the Zhou Kingdom, I don’t care if I die!”

With Su Lin’s help, Azure Dragon smoothly entered the small coffin. There was already plenty of soul vapor inside, and Azure Dragon’s entry allowed it to nourish its soul.

Su Lin: “So you’re also planning to use that saint’s Pseudo-Azure Dragon body?”

Mo Qing: “Of course, what else? Why not use what’s already available?”

Su Lin: “I’ll make a trip. I reckon that person will have a hard time killing that soft, squishy one.”

Mo Qing was puzzled. “Which soft, squishy thing?”

Su Lin: “That thing that’s soft and squishy to eat. What was it called again?”

Mo Qing rolled her eyes. “Guo Dong, right? It’s not ‘jelly’! Pun deductions!”

Su Lin: “Never mind him. I’ll handle it myself when the time comes. I refuse to believe I can’t take that guy down. Besides, isn’t Su Ming participating in some match? Watching the livestream is no better than being there in person.”

Mo Qing sighed. “Ah, Su Ming… she’s ultimately not Su Ming after all. Our son died long ago.”

Su Lin patted Mo Qing on the shoulder. “There’s no other choice. For the sake of kingdom restoration. And she does look a lot like him.”

Azure Dragon: “May I ask, why is Her Highness the Princess not a woman? How does she look so much like your son?”

Su Lin: “Shh! I’ll tell you in a few chapters.”

Azure Dragon scratched its head, wondering what those people had turned his little princess into. He remembered the days when he used to carry the little princess around, flying through the skies.

Su Lin: “Then it’s settled. I’ll bring you along, and when the time comes, you’ll contract with her. But one thing—you can’t reveal that I went. This is a secret mission.”

Azure Dragon was excited. “I… I can contract with Her Highness the Princess?”

Su Lin: “There’s no other way. For the Four Sacred Beasts to rise again, you must contract. Only when the Four Sacred Beasts are reunited can the rank of sacred beasts be restored.”

Azure Dragon still couldn’t let it go. “So… I can contract with Her Highness the Princess?”

Su Lin: “Yes, yes. Also, do you have any news about White Tiger?”

Mo Qing: “Right, we’ve been searching for over ten years and haven’t found him.”

Azure Dragon looked innocent. “How would I know? Back then, after being severely wounded, we were all scattered. Though I think I may have heard something about Qilin.¹”

Su Lin and Mo Qing were shocked. It was Qilin that had been controlled by the Zhou Kingdom’s military, and at the cost of consuming all of Qilin’s blood qi, spiritual power, and fortune, it had gravely wounded the Four Sacred Beasts, who had let their guard down…

Mo Qing: “Give me a location. I’ll go search again.”

…

The day of the competition arrived quickly. Su Ming had interrogated the system for a full day and night, but the system refused to reveal who its loli form actually was.

Su Ming realized that within the beast domain, as its creator, he could enter with just his consciousness.

Vermilion Bird looked at Su Ming: “Master, do I need to participate in the battle?”

Su Ming: “I was actually going to remind you—unless I’m truly about to die, absolutely do not make a move. If you don’t act, there’s still a chance for us to talk our way out. But if you act, we really won’t be able to walk out of here alive.”

Vermilion Bird wasn’t stupid. She knew Su Ming was keeping her hidden, and that she had only recovered to the Seventh Realm by using a beast core. Her injuries still hadn’t healed. And if even Sword Ghost couldn’t protect Su Ming, then she probably wouldn’t fare much better either…

Su Ming looked at the matchup chart. Because the venue wasn’t large enough, he was scheduled for the second batch as a Black Tortoise Academy contestant.

At this moment, students from the Four Great Academies and people from all over the world were gathered here. The Heavenly Saint Sect’s defenses were at their most lax right now.

Su Ming wandered around. This time, his mission was to go to Half-Ghost City to find the Ghost General, and he still needed to get his hands on a VIP Card. He wondered if there was a chance to sneak into the saint’s room and retrieve it.

But the current problem was that Yun Shang was following him…

For the past two nights, Yun Shang had slept in the room next to Su Ming’s. Du Liang genuinely hadn’t come back to sleep these past two days either, so they often chatted late into the night through voice transmission.

Su Ming: “Yun Shang, why are you following me?”

Yun Shang said shyly: “I’m afraid you might get into danger.”

Su Ming was speechless. How was she supposed to steal anything with someone tailing her? And it felt like there was a sour smell of jealousy wafting through the air…

Guo Dong had been secretly watching Yun Shang the whole time. “Wugou” and the military Grandmaster Realm expert were also nearby, protecting Guo Dong.

Guo Dong had told the two of them and the sect master that Su Ming had Vermilion Bird on him. Though there was no evidence, if they could force Vermilion Bird to reveal herself, they could take Su Ming down on the spot.

The Black-Robed Man hid in the shadows. From what he understood, the sect master was only at Peak Grandmaster Realm. As long as he could quickly deal with the military expert, everything would be easy.

Meanwhile, Su Lin sat in the spectator stands. Seeing that none of the ten students currently fighting included Su Ming, he pretended to be confused and asked a student beside him:

“Excuse me, young man, could I ask—wasn’t Su Ming supposed to be competing?”

The student took one look at Su Lin—the typical look of a farmer:

“Hello, uncle. The venue isn’t big enough, so the first round is split into two batches. Are you his father?”

Su Lin: “That’s right. Thank you, young man. Could you do me a favor and watch over my vegetables for me? I’ll give you some later.”

The student figured no one would steal vegetables anyway, so he casually agreed. Su Lin secretly slipped away with the Small Coffin.

About an hour and a half later, the battles basically concluded. To Su Ming’s surprise, Du Liang—the weakest of them all—had actually won.

Su Ming stepped onto the field. His opponent was a student from Black Tortoise Academy.

“May I ask what realm you’re in, brother?”

Su Ming: “I’m Unranked.”

The opponent smirked. He had a chef ghost at the Third Realm—this round was basically in the bag… ( ͯω ͯ)/

Su Ming asked the ghosts and the Ice Crystal Turtle inside him: “Who’s going up?”

The Ice Crystal Turtle was still sleeping. There was no helping it—he chatted with Turtle Sister until late every night, plus he was naturally fond of sleep. And besides, the contract had stated from the beginning that he wouldn’t fight.

Sword Ghost had no consciousness, and his strength was too absurdly overpowered. Su Ming wouldn’t call on him unless it was absolutely necessary.

Blood Soul Ghost and the group of chef ghosts were still deliberating over who should step up, while the Chef Ghost Leader was now furiously cultivating in the ghost domain, having already reached the strength of the Fourth Realm.

Su Ming apologized to the opponent: “Sorry about this, we haven’t decided who’s going up yet. Can you give me two minutes?”

Just then, the bell for the match rang, and the other platforms had already erupted into fierce battles, while Su Ming’s side was still mulling over who to send.

A crowd of people stared at Su Ming’s platform—why weren’t they fighting?

What they didn’t know was that the opponent couldn’t even summon their ghost. Blood Soul Ghost activated the Blood-Qi Soul Severance skill, directly severing the connection between the opponent and their ghost…