“Ugly, it’s you again!” That was the same voice again. When the few of them got to the top of the eddy, those below seemed to notice something. Compared to the pranking tone they heard earlier, this voice was much angrier. A moment later, a water column charged toward Ying Zhi. “You liar how dare you come any closer!”

　　Ying Zhi seemed to be used to this already. He raised a hand and a defensive array formed, blocking off the water column. Unfortunately, that was not the end of it. On top of the seabed, a wave took the shape of a huge fishtail. One by one, the waves started to attack them.

　　“Get lost, you liar!”

　　The immortals who were on top earlier landed on the water one by one. Ying Zhi looked at them apologetically. Then, he led the group back by a few metres. The waves stopped.

　　“Celestial Emperor Ying Zhi, why is the Cloud Beast doing this?” Chen Ge asked. It was obvious that the attacks were targeted at Ying Zhi. Yet, the Cloud Beast was supposed to be his contracted immortal beast. It should not be attacking him like that.

　　“Well…” Ying Zhi’s expression changed. He looked like he did not know what to say. After awhile, he spoke again, “It’s a misunderstanding.” He subconsciously glanced at Lan Hua. In his eyes, there was a hint of blame mixed with indignation. Lan Hua’s goosebumps rose when he felt Ying Zhi’s gaze.

　　“I’ll say it!” Lan Yu could not help but speak up. He sighed and then told the story of Ying Zhi and the Cloud Beast.

　　The Cloud Sea was different from all the other six continents and three seas. It had a special kind of environment, so that anyone who became the Celestial Emperor of the Cloud Sea not only had to be of a celestial emperor cultivation level, but also had to be affirmed by the Cloud Beast. Afterall, the Cloud Beast was the embodiment of the Cloud Sea. Whoever wanted to stay on the Cloud Sea would have to apply for something like a land permit. This “land permit” was the contract between the Cloud Beast to make it a contract beast.

　　Only one Cloud Beast would be born every couple of hundred years. Once it matures, the Cloud Beast’s strength would be comparable to that of a Celestial Emperor. Before Ying Zhi’s cultivation level increased, the Cloud Sea did not have a new Cloud Beast. At the time, although the Cloud Sea did not normally interact with the other continents and seas, it was not as isolated as it is now. Ying Zhi had a water-elemental body-type, but he was not yet a Celestial Emperor. He always took on his human form when he walked next to Lan Yu, so everybody thought that he was an immortal. To this day, everybody thinks that the Cloud Sea’s Celestial Emperor is an immortal and not a demon. What’s more, Yun Feng had always been right next to the Cloud Sea. Half of the Cloud Sea even overlapped into Yun Feng continent’s skies.

　　The water-elemental beasts naturally loved to stay near water. That explained why Ying Zhi often went from Yun Feng to the Cloud Sea to train. As time went by, he became close to the demon immortals in the Cloud Sea. Later, he became the first to achieve the level of Celestial Emperor. When he took over the Cloud Sea, he did not meet any resistance or objections whatsoever.

　　Later, when the Cloud Beast was born, Ying Zhi thought that it would take awhile before he would earn the validation of the Cloud Beast. If he went to battle the Cloud Beat immediately, he would either become an official Celestial Emperor sooner or he would be eaten by the Cloud Beast. Unexpectedly, when he first met the Cloud Beast, it was especially attracted to Ying Zhi. In fact, the Cloud Beast took the initiative to request to become Ying Zhi’s contract beast. That was how Ying Zhi officially became the Celestial Emperor Ying Zhi.

　　It could be said that among the ten Celestial Emperors, Ying Zhi had the easiest time becoming a Celestial Emperor. After a few thousand years, perhaps Heaven thought it strange to let people go without any pain or troubles. As the Cloud Beast grew more mature, it became more and more intelligent. Suddenly, it hated Ying Zhi!

　　“You stupid, ugly liar! To think that I thought you were a beautiful lady before. It was all a lie!” An angry roar came from the seabed. “You lied to me when I was pure and simple. Hmph! I will never validate your ugly face. I’m leaving this place to look for a beautiful sister!”

　　“Mm, that’s what happened!” Lan Yu concluded.

　　The four of them turned to look at the accused…

　　“What are you looking at me for? I’m not the one who dressed him up as a lady!” Lan Hua exploded, blushing. Why are you blaming me for the Cloud Beast being mistaken?

　　Lonemoon: “…”

　　Yi Qing: “…”

　　Chen Ge: “…”

　　Shen Ying: “…”

　　So the Cloud Beast so easily agreed to enter into a contract with Ying Zhi because it mistook him for a lady. Speaking of that… was this a common problem faced by all avatars?

　　What’s more, the Cloud Beast took a few thousand years to realise that Ying Zhi was a male. Was the Cloud Beast slow or did Ying Zhi play the role very well?

　　“The Cloud Beast is not yet fully mature – that’s why it’s acting this way,” Celestial Emperor Ying Zhi sighed. He had a pained expression on his face. “When it throws a tantrum, there’s nothing I can do as well. Anyway, the more we try to stop it, the more it insists on going out to look for a new Big Sister.”

　　“It’s just throwing a tantrum – why can’t you get a female immortal to pacify it? Why must you let it out of the Cloud Sea?” It seemed that the Cloud Beast only wanted to find a Big Sister to form a contract with from the very beginning. When it found out that Ying Zhi was a male, it could not help but lose its temper. The problem would be solved if they could just find it a female immortal. The Cloud Beast was not yet mature anyway – nothing much would happen if they did not let it out of the Cloud Sea to cause trouble.

　　“We tried that method…” Ying Zhi’s expression fell. “But while the Cloud Beast throws a tantrum, its true body is hidden in the deepest corners of the Crystal Palace. Whenever it says it wants to escape from the Cloud Sea, it would only turn into an avatar and appear at the water surface. In order to enter the Crystal Palace, one has to at least be an Exalted Immortal.”

　　So that’s the case. No wonder they only saw the waves but did not catch a glimpse of the Cloud Beast – it was hidden at the bottom of the sea.

　　“All the demons that are Exalted Immortals in the Cloud Sea have tried to persuade it,” Ying Zhi continued. “But all of them have been chased out.”

　　“Why?”

　　Ying Zhi pursed his lips. “It says… they look ugly.”

　　Everyone: “…”

　　Lonemoon subconsciously looked at Ying Zhi’s face. Honestly, if one did not bother that Ying Zhi’s body was that of a man’s, his face was really exceptionally beautiful. His eyebrows and other features were so feminine, and he was even dressed in women’s clothing. It was no wonder that the Cloud Beast would despise the other female immortals for being ugly. Ying Zhi already set such a high standard.

　　“There’s nobody else in the Cloud Sea that we can use. We’ve run out of solutions – that’s why we started looking outside of the Cloud Sea and invited female immortals from all around to come and try.” Ying Zhi frowned. “The immortals in the Cloud Sea have never had relations with the other continents. Our immortals have always been extremely pure. It took us a long time to find a couple of immortals to come and try things out, yet all of them were male and each had their own personal motives. It was extremely irritating.”

　　That was why they set up that sign outside the door?

　　“That’s why we have not removed the spell to this day.” Ying Zhi frowned even more deeply. He wanted to ask the few of them whether they knew any worthy females who were Exalted Immortals.

　　Shen Ying, who had been munching on a fruit up till then, suddenly spoke. “Why not I give it a shot?” She was quite experienced in educating children.

　　“You?” The moment Shen Ying spoke, Lonemoon retorted. “Save it! Didn’t Celestial Emperor Ying Zhi already say that the Cloud Beast has high expectations?”

　　Shen Ying tilted her head. “Am I not of a high enough standard?”

　　Lonemoon rolled his eyes and turned to look at her. “Don’t you have an inkling whether you are of a high enough…”

　　Before he could finish speaking, his eyes focused on the familiar yet foreign face in front of him. He lost his train of thought all of a sudden. He had not paid much attention to her face before, and this was the first time he was paying attention to it and looking at it from a male’s perspective.

　　It seemed that… she was quite pleasing to the eye!