Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Chen Lingyun caught up with Yan Yu from behind, her face full of smiles, eager to say something, but she noticed that Yan Yu's expression was rather gloomy.

It wasn't the usual "annoyed by her" gloominess, but one tinged with a hint of melancholy and desolation, a kind of listlessness.

Being as clever as she was, she immediately guessed what was troubling Yan Yu and tentatively asked,

"Was Ye Jun someone formidable in his past life?"

"Formidable?" Yan Yu was silent for a moment, then sneered, "Of course he was formidable, the spokesperson for the Dingbei Army, isn't that formidable?"

"Oh my, that's really..." Chen Lingyun's smile bloomed like flowers.

A spokesperson, that's a civilian staff position! Ye Jun, you were at least a cultivator, how did you end up so down on your luck to switch to a bureaucratic job?

Thinking back to Yan Yu's attitude just now, Chen Lingyun already had her answer and said with a laugh,

"Working under the Lord Master, it's not surprising to encounter such things."

The main position is too radiant, the deputy will inevitably be overshadowed, that's the case all over the world.

"It's not like she had a choice in the matter." Yan Yu looked at Chen Lingyun speechlessly, "I've clashed with her. Ye Jun's true skill is actually much higher than what the outside world thinks. Even though she's not on par with the Lord Master, it's not fair to compare all the cultivators of the Dingbei Army to him, right?"

"So you deliberately provoked the Lord Master just to make him pay attention to his deputy, Ye Jun?" Chen Lingyun said with a smile, "Aren't you worried that if Liu Longtao really does that, and they become stronger, they might turn around and overpower us?"

"If the Lord Master could really do that, would he be lumped together with you, called 'Idiot of the South, Fool of the North'?" Yan Yu sighed deeply and said, "Does anyone not know the true strength of their own deputy? Does Liu Longtao not know? I guess in the end, the Lord Master simply doesn't want a deputy leader at all, so it doesn't matter to him whether Ye Jun stays or goes."

But on further thought, although she couldn't change the personnel decisions of the Dingbei Army, when the time comes, she could poach him using her personal identity!

Instead of being some kind of press officer, it would be better to persuade Ye Jun to retire and come help me!

If Chen Lingyun has Secretary Su, why can't I, Yan Yu, have Secretary Ye?

Poach! This must be poached!

"Alright, I've got it." Chen Lingyun said with a smile, "So what exactly did you do in your previous life?"

"I've given you so many hints, you still can't figure it out?" Yan Yu raised his eyebrows and asked.

"Hmm, first of all, I rule out being a university student cultivator." Chen Lingyun said with a clap and a laugh.

"Why?" Yan Yu asked, puzzled.

"It's just not that." Chen Lingyun smiled, her eyes curving, "You tell me what you did first and then I'll tell you my rationale."

"Forget it, it's not important." Yan Yu waved his hand helplessly, "The unit I belonged to back then isn't even established yet."

"Was it some kind of special forces?" Chen Lingyun asked tentatively.

"No, in terms of responsibility, it would be more like military police." Yan Yu answered.

Military police… Chen Lingyun was stunned for a moment, then slowly began to understand.

A special unit dedicated to hunting down cultivators?

——————————

Inside the nearby food stall.

"I'm telling you, Yan Yu is super annoying." Zhao Yuanzhen, after a few beers, became more talkative, "He never orders my favorite food when he gets takeout!"

"But he's the one paying for it." Anna reminded her, "He has the right to decide what to eat, doesn't he?"

"And another thing!" Zhao Yuanzhen continued to complain, "He's always nagging me to do the housework!"

"If you're sharing an apartment with him but not paying rent, helping out with chores seems fair." Anna kept reminding her.

"He talks more to Chen Lingyun than he does to me!" Zhao Yuanzhen said through gritted teeth.

"If he and you were in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, that would indeed be quite improper." Anna hesitated slightly, then asked, "But Yan Yu is still single, right?"

"Whose side are you on?" Zhao Yuanzhen was close to tears, grabbing Anna's arm and refusing to let go, "At least join me in cursing him!"

"Who are you cursing?" Yan Yu stood behind her, asking with a dark expression.

Zhao Yuanzhen immediately sat upright and said seriously,

"Complaining about the boss. They watered down the draft beer at this food stall, it's tasteless; Anna and I were just griping about how the boss is ripping us off."

The stall owner, who was still busy grilling, looked up in confusion and glanced this way.

"Time to go," Yan Yu said coldly, "Time's up, let's head to the airport to regroup."

"You guys are leaving?" Anna stood up, asking in astonishment.

"We're leaving," Yan Yu nodded, "We're heading back to Jinling."

"I'll see you off," Anna said hastily.

"No need," Yan Yu waved his hand, "You can't get into a military airport."

Anna lowered her head, looking somewhat disheartened, unsure of what to say.

She didn't know how to describe her feelings at the moment. Although they had only known each other for two days (actually, considering from last night, just one day), she truly felt reluctant to see Yan Yu leave. Perhaps because Yan Yu was her first "Cultivator" friend?

Yan Yu noticed her reluctance and her embarrassment in showing her feelings, and said with a smile:

"Why the long face? It's not like we can't keep in touch after I leave. If there are any problems later on, just ask me via mobile."

"Oh," Anna said.

"Zhao Yuanzhen, we should go," Yan Yu quickly said when he saw the Demonic Sect Enchantress still stuffing skewers into her mouth, and forcefully pulled her up, "We'll miss the plane if we're any later. Anna, you should head back soon too, don't make your dad worry."

"Oh," Anna said.

Zhao Yuanzhen still wanted to take the unfinished skewers with her, but Yan Yu accurately predicted her intention, forcibly dragging her away before she could do anything more embarrassing.

By the roadside, Chen Lingyun waited with a beaming smile, a taxi beside her with the door open.

"Aren't you going to talk to her some more?" she asked teasingly, "We should still have a bit of time."

"No need," Yan Yu said.

"So, does this mean you've achieved your goal?" Chen Lingyun continued smiling, "After all, wasn't she the main reason for your visit to Shengjing in the first place?"

"Why so many questions?" Yan Yu pushed Zhao Yuanzhen into the back seat of the taxi.

"Mmm-hmm~ I'm just solving the puzzle," Chen Lingyun said happily. Explore stories at empire

This useless woman... utterly hopeless.

Taking a taxi to the outskirts of the airport, they met up with the rest of the Zhendong Army and then boarded the plane back to Jinling.

On the return flight, Zhao Yuanzhen refused to sit with Chen Lingyun and firmly occupied the seat next to Yan Yu.

Bored, Yan Yu looked out the airplane window and then took out his phone to check.

The most satisfying outcome of this inter-academy competition for the Zhendong Army's higher-ups was Yan Yu's three straight victories, demonstrating the strength of the Zhendong Army.

But for Yan Yu himself, the most valuable thing was actually making and acquiring three new friends.

Li Minghu from the Annan Army, Ye Jun from the Dingbei Army, and most importantly, the "Eclipse Queen" Anna.

Acquiring friends was one thing, but the most important was the acquaintance; that way, if any issues came up later, they could at least talk to each other in time.

If he hadn't met them in person, even if Yan Yu tried to add them as friends from memory, most likely he wouldn't get accepted.

Yan Yu silently closed his eyes, organizing the memories in his mind.

It was now the beginning of June, with about a month of rest time ahead.

When July arrived, there would be a small-scale increase in global Spiritual Energy density. As the baseline was raised, the hidden depths of some of the famous mountains and rivers at home and abroad would progressively open to the public.

The upper echelons would start team trials in the Dingbei Army, probably anticipating this. After all, at this stage, even the most capable solo Cultivator couldn't stand against an entire team.

Once the Zhendong Army started pushing the team system, he'd have to shift his focus to team management.

To prevent disorderly competition, domestic teams were standardised to five members, for five-on-five combat. Of course, when facing foreign Cultivators, several teams would stand side by side; international righteousness wouldn't come into play.

As for which members to recruit, the team configuration of Chen Lingyun's previous life was there; naturally, her judgment wouldn't be wrong.