“Where did you go?” Lonemoon looked at Radish, who rarely took on human form.

　　“We went to the immortal palace nearby and walked one round there,” Lan Hua answered before Radish could say anything. “You’re back early today. Is the competition over?”

　　Lonemoon looked suspiciously at the two of them. They had already arrived for a few days at the Heavens beyond Heaven for a few days now. In the beginning, Lan Hua was extremely cautious. When he realised that nobody could detect his demonic identity, he fully let loose. He took the chance when the disciples went out to compete to form extremely good relations with the children left behind. As they went around the compounds to explore, their relationship got better and better.

　　“Oh yes, Little Big Sister.” Radish seemed to have recalled something. It retrieved a storage bag and handed it over respectfully. “I’ve brought you something.”

　　The group: “…” Did you freaking go on a tour?

　　Shen Ying was obviously distrustful of this vegetable. She did not take the bag, but Lonemoon did instead. “What is this?”

　　“Meat!” The Radish answered proudly. “I took very long to catch it!”

　　Lonemoon opened the bag and reached inside. “What meat…” Before he could finish asking his question, he heard a whine from inside the bag. There was a gust of wind, and something black and white hit his face.

　　Lonemoon: “…”

　　Yi Qing: “…”

　　This…

　　This is not f*cking meat! This is obviously an immortal pigeon! This is the kind of pigeon that sent letters… Is that a communication talisman on its claw?

　　He felt his heart fall and a bad feeling rose in his chest. He firmly grasped the wing that was still hitting his face and pulled open the storage bag once again. More and more immortal pigeons flew out of the bag, each one of them fat and meaty.

　　“…”

　　Did you catch all the freaking immortal pigeons in the Heavens beyond Heaven?

　　Lonemoon sighed deeply and repressed the urge to boil Radish alive. For a brief moment, he thought he saw all the immortal postmen looking for their immortal pigeons.

　　“Are these… the presents… you brought?!” Lonemoon gritted his teeth…

　　“That’s right!” Radish showed no hint of guilt at catching others’ business tools. Instead, it proudly proclaimed, “I caught the especially fat ones on purpose. Little Big Sister, look… This one is even fatter than Radish!” It would definitely be really yummy! As Radish spoke, it picked up an immortal pigeon that was struggling for its life.

　　Lonemoon pursed his lips and turned to glare at Radish’s partner in crime.

　　Lan Hua raised both of his hands and said, “This has nothing to do with me – he insisted on catching them!” Lan Hua could not do anything about it either.

　　These motherf*ckers!

　　Something snapped in Lonemoon’s brain. He could not take it any longer. He grabbed Radish and took long strides out, stuffing it into a big flower pot in the yard.

　　“What are you doing? Let me go!” Before Radish could say anything more, Lonemoon took a pile of soil and dumped it on top of Radish. Radish struggled and shouted, “You ugly thing, stop trying to contaminate my pure body! Wait, I don’t want to turn back! I want to go out and meet the beautiful Little Big Sister. Why, you… Ji ji ji.” Before Radish could finish speaking, Lonemoon conjured a spell to turn in back into a radish.

　　Then, Lonemoon dumped another three handfuls of soil on top of radish and stepped on the soil so that it tightened. Only then did he calm down.

　　F*ck, one by one… they were causing him trouble!

　　“Shen Ying, let go of that immortal pigeon. This belongs to others, you cannot eat it even though it’s so fat!” Lonemoon turned back and called, “Yu Hong, bring a few disciples over and help me release all of these immortal pigeons. Help to treat those that are injured. And… Shen Ying, release those that you are hiding behind your back.”

　　“I’m not!”

　　“Not my ass – I can see their wings. Do you think I’m blind?”

　　Shen Ying tutted.

　　“Wait! Yi Qing, what are you doing? You can’t exchange the spirit beast meat for these pigeons – do you think this is a market?”

　　“…”

　　“Try hiding one more – better believe I would deduct your allowance!”

　　——————

　　An hour later…

　　“Chu Xuan?” Lan Hua paused, frowning and pondering for a long time. “Who?”

　　“You don’t know him!” Lonemoon exclaimed. That can’t be right?

　　“I don’t know him.” Lan Hua shook his head.

　　“Then why did he… look like he wanted so badly to stand up for you?” It also seemed like he kept causing trouble for Chen Ge for Lan Hua’s sake.

　　“How would I know?” Lan Hua shook his head and glanced at Shen Ying, who was upset that she did not have a single bite of the immortal pigeons. He could not help but retrieve a few immortal fruits and placing them in front of her. “I have beef with all of the ten Celestial Emperors. If none of them has been replaced in these few years… he should be one of the people who attacked me after I turned into a demon.”

　　That’s strange. Chu Xuan did not look like he was putting on an act before. What happened in between?

　　It looked like they would only find out the truth when they went for the competition in the Interspatial Arena the next day.

　　Moreover, it remained to be seen if Hui Ling had replaced Xuan Tong as the female lead.

　　***

　　The Interspatial Arena was a wasted ancient palace in the heavens beyond Heaven. It was said that during the ancient times, there was only one Celestial Emperor in the entire immortal realm. He managed all the four seas and six continents, and the Interspatial Arena was this Celestial Emperor’s only heavenly palace.

　　As time went by, the heavenly palace lost its former glory. Now, it was just a wasted temple.

　　Although this competition was only meant to determine the top three from every stage, it was mostly going to be a competition between the two continents. Apart from the emperors who brought their disciples to take part, several strange immortals came to view the competition as well. The previously empty and desolate Interspatial Arena became filled with people.

　　Lonemoon and Lan Hua also came to find out the situation with the Interspatial Arena. They brought Feng Ying as well, just in case. The disciples stayed with the crowd and did not go along with them.

　　Apart from the five disciples taking part in the competition, the rest were resting in the immortal palace. They were also mainly watching Radish!

　　They obviously arrived early. Chu Xuan had not yet turned up. In the middle of the heavenly palace was a floating stage atop a pile of waste. That was clearly where the competition was going to take place.

　　Chen Ge led a crowd of people and flew toward a stage on the right. His expression was less kind than before, but stricter. Beside him was Hui Ling.

　　She did not look too well – she had completely lost her proud demeanour. From time to time, panic flashed across her face. She did not dare to look over at Shen Ying.

　　Lonemoon knew why she was afraid. Her Golden Finger was destroyed by Shen Ying and she was the victor in the Earth Immortal group. This was not a friendly competition within the same continent – her opponent would not show Chen Ge any respect. Of course, this meant her opponent would not hold back with her.

　　Lonemoon suddenly felt glee in his heart. Indeed, she had to pay for wanting to make it big.

　　The time for the competition drew near. Hui Ling looked more and more nervous. Finally, she tugged at Chen Ge’s sleeve and said gently, “Master, I… I… I’m not feeling too well.”

　　“Little Ling, what’s the matter?” Chen Ge looked worried. “Did you get injured in the mystic realm yesterday?”

　　“No, Master, I’m thinking of…”

　　She lowered her voice and nobody around her seemed to care about the conversation, except Lonemoon, who noticed that she was acting strangely…

　　Suddenly, Lonemoon’s eyes brightened. Before Hui Ling could suggest pulling out of the competition, he put on a wide grin and spoke.

　　“Celestial Emperor, is your honoured disciple feeling unwell? I happen to have a Core-Restoring Pill, Core-Formation Juice and a Evil-Cleansing Talisman… They’re bound to solve any symptom you might be experiencing. Would Celestial Emperor care for some?” In exchange for some money, of course.

　　Hui Ling: “…”

　　Chen Ge: “…”