The sun rose, and the world awakened. After getting out of bed and heading to the cafeteria for breakfast, Xu Chuyao returned to rest for a while. She looked in the mirror, brushed her long, straight black hair, and tied it into a clean ponytail before heading to the lounge.
At this time, there were almost no people in the lounge, only a few staff members helping out and a middle-aged councilor dozing off on the sofa. Xu Chuyao took a closer look and realized it was Gong Daide.
This guy spoke often in the Council, usually paving the way for Wen Shengqing’s speeches. His presence was quite strong, so she recognized him at a glance.
“Hey, wake up, Mr. Gong.”
“Who is it…?”
Gong Daide was startled awake, nearly jumping out of his skin. He opened his eyes, took one look, and gasped. “You… why are you here?”
“Didn’t Marshal Wen invite me?” Xu Chuyao said innocently. “Yesterday, after the meeting, he specifically invited me to come over and discuss matters.”
Gong Daide was momentarily speechless. He looked at the clock, picked up a teacup to take a few sips, and finally cleared his groggy head as he sorted through the situation.
“Didn’t you say you’d come when you had time?”
Because of Xu Chuyao’s attitude the previous night, everyone here assumed she was being arrogant due to her newfound favor. They thought she would definitely sleep in and only come after a long rest. Consequently, the group was still asleep, leaving only Gong Daide here.
“That’s right. I’ve slept enough, and I even finished breakfast, so I came.” Xu Chuyao spoke with total confidence. “We young people are like that. Early to bed, early to rise makes you healthy!”
After figuring out the situation, Gong Daide couldn’t just let her sit there alone. He hurriedly ran out to notify the others, first calling a few colleagues and then knocking on Wen Shengqing’s door together.
“Marshal Wen, the young lady Xu is here…”
They explained the situation through the door in one breath and waited carefully for a long time. They finally breathed a sigh of relief when the sound of washing up came from inside.
Good, the Marshal didn’t blame them.
In that short time, they had cleared things up—they thought Xu Chuyao meant she would arrive late when she said “when I have time,” but they didn’t expect her to actually come as soon as she was free, maintaining a healthy schedule by waking up early.
Of course, whether she was truly being healthy or doing it on purpose was anyone’s guess, and no one was rude enough to say it out loud.
As long as she was here, it was fine!
Ten minutes later, the group arrived at the lounge one after another. Gong Daide and the others walked in, but no one greeted Xu Chuyao. They acted as if she didn’t exist, going to the other side to tidy up things like blankets and tea.
Clearly, they already had an answer to that earlier question. Since they knew the girl was troublesome, the best way to deal with her was to not say a single word.
After they finished tidying up the seating area, Wen Shengqing finally walked in and sat opposite Xu Chuyao.
“Miss Xu, there are some things you might not know yet. That General Chu who recently appeared at the Council claims to have a group of brothers, but in reality, they are the remnants of the Supreme Society—the people on the list. The reason we couldn’t find them lately is because they were hidden by General Chu.”
‘I know that,’ Xu Chuyao thought to herself. ‘Wait, no, I’m supposed to act like I don’t know.’ She put on a surprised expression.
“So it was them.”
“Indeed. That is why I have invited you here. You are an expert at dealing with them. I said this last time, and it remains true.”
Wen Shengqing adapted quickly. Besides his usual long-standing gentleness, his voice now carried a hint of solemnity. This was an acknowledgment of Xu Chuyao’s current status and position.
Xu Chuyao knew there was no other reason for this than the fact that he was a man of dignity.
People who enjoyed being treated with dignity in this world also valued dignity the most.
However, besides being polite, his words also suggested an arrangement. He wanted the girl to follow his previous plan and take out the people on the list.
“No problem. I didn’t like fighting with them here anyway,” Xu Chuyao said. “Dismantling the Supreme Society has always been my job.”
Wen Shengqing’s expression relaxed, but then he heard her continue, “However, Marshal, as you know, I am a professional when it comes to dealing with them. So, it’s better if I do it myself.”
‘I listened to your commands before, but if I still have to follow your orders now, wouldn’t my seat on the Council be for nothing?’
“How do you plan to act, Miss Xu?”
“I’m still thinking. Don’t worry, I have my own rhythm… I mean, I’ve always had my own plan. I’ve succeeded so many times without a single failure.”
After saying this, Xu Chuyao stood up and walked outside. The others didn’t stop her and simply watched her leave.
Outside the corridor, she ran into Yu Jing, who was wandering around. She was pretending to pass by occasionally, but in reality, she was worried about Xu Chuyao’s safety.
Xu Chuyao waved her small hand and greeted her, “Head Teacher, what are you doing here?”
“I saw you come out so early and was worried they would make things difficult for you.”
“It’s fine. They can’t make things difficult for me now.”
Besides, Xu Chuyao was clever and wouldn’t give anyone an excuse.
The two quickly walked out of the corridor, left the hall, and headed toward their room on the second floor.
“What are we doing next?” Yu Jing asked.
Xu Chuyao chuckled, her eyebrows arching slightly. “We just need to wait.”
‘Wait? Wait for what?’
Out of trust for the girl, Yu Jing didn’t ask the question. If she had, Xu Chuyao would have told her two words.
Shen Ning.
What else was there to wait for? She was waiting for the female lead to activate her cheat.
In any case, she was going back to take a nap now.
Back in the lounge, the main subject of the conversation had left, but since Wen Shengqing was still sitting there without giving new orders, the others didn’t dare to move.
After a few minutes of silence, Gong Daide finally had a flash of inspiration. He felt the Marshal might be waiting for them to speak first and discuss the less “dignified” topics.
“Miss Xu said she had her own decision. Is she really willing to be the vanguard, or was that just a stall tactic?”
Well, doubting an ally you just finished a strategic talk with was indeed not very dignified.
Several people instinctively looked at the table. The cup of tea in front of Xu Chuyao’s seat was now cold, and she hadn’t taken a single sip.
“I think we should still be careful,” one person said. “She has a special status now. Perhaps she wants to wait for a better offer.”
The others nodded in agreement.
The logic held up, but there was nothing they could do. They could only continue to observe from the Academy’s side.
***
Xu Chuyao originally intended to come back and sleep for a while, but thinking of Shen Ning, who was still in the Hearing Stone World, she suddenly became interested. She wanted to see how her “wife’s” cheat was progressing. So, she pulled a Strange Stone from her luggage, gripped it, and let Shen Ning bring her over.
As soon as she reached the place where the white mist swirled, she saw Li Xueli crouching on the ground with a book—there was no choice, as there were no tables on the White Mist Plain.
“Teacher Li, how is the learning going?”
“Exceedingly well,” Li Xueli said happily. “She’s already finished the popular science category and has an understanding of both natural geology and humanities.”
Originally, when she was reading the books, Shen Ning had been standing opposite her listening. She thought knowledge was like water—it would flow in through one of the girl’s ears and out the other. She didn’t expect that when she tested her after the reading, she found the girl actually remembered everything.
How could she not be happy? She was overjoyed.
At that moment, Li Xueli was thrilled. She patted Shen Ning’s shoulder and said earnestly, “See? You clearly have the talent for studying. Why didn’t you pay attention in class? If you listen well from now on, you’ll definitely be an expert in both scholars and martial arts after graduation.”
The girl’s face turned red and then pale as she listened.
She had only memorized it; it was clearly the answer provided by the reflections.
However, the doppelgangers were indeed helpful. Not only did they provide answers when the teacher asked questions, but they also gave many constructive suggestions.
“Then what are you doing now?” Xu Chuyao asked. “Why did you come all the way out here?”
Although the name “Venom Mist” wasn’t very auspicious, it was still a Holy Land with complete facilities. There should have been places to sit; there was no need to crouch on the ground like this, which looked quite tiring.
But Li Xueli didn’t look tired at all. Instead, she was glowing with excitement. “Student Shen Ning learned many things earlier. After integrating them, she has some new ideas on how to cut open that Firefly Jade and decided to put them into practice.”
As she spoke, Xu Chuyao looked around and noticed that there weren’t just the three of them on the White Mist Plain. Behind them stood dozens of people. Their faces looked a bit dull, but at least they could stand upright without swaying. They had undergone at least three days of treatment at the Hourglass Plaza.
“Student Shen Ning brought them here,” Li Xueli said. “To try the power of the collective.”
“Impressive, Shen Ning!” Xu Chuyao said excitedly. “You even thought of this? You’re really talented!”
Shen Ning tugged at the corner of her clothes, unsure whether to be happy about her “wife’s” praise.
She hadn’t thought of it herself, of course. It was an idea from the Milk Tea Reflection. Although she didn’t know what use it had, the Sexual Repression Reflection kept saying something about “Milk Tea, you’ve found a bug again,” which sounded like a very important and key step.
“You guys continue. Quick, continue implementing your ideas,” Xu Chuyao clapped her hands. “Don’t mind me, I’ll just watch.”
Li Xueli also looked over expectantly. “Student Shen Ning, continue with your next step.”
Shen Ning fell silent.
Saying she was “silent” might be an understatement. Besides not speaking, she didn’t move at all, standing there with her head bowed, staring at her toes.
If it were Xu Chuyao, she wouldn’t have to look at her toes because her chest would block them… wait, why was she thinking about that now?
Then again, her mind was full of those messy thoughts. How could she expect to have any inspiration?
‘Milk Tea? Where are you? What do I do next?’
“She can’t say it,” the Gong Shadow poked out a cup of coffee from under her short skirt. As she added sugar and milk, she said, “Xu Chuyao hasn’t said it yet.”
‘Xu Chuyao hasn’t said it? Said what?’
As Shen Ning stood there in a daze, Xu Chuyao watched her and began to see what was going on.
“You… don’t tell me you haven’t thought it through yet?”
Shen Ning’s body trembled slightly, and she lowered her head, nodding gently.
“No, you’ve integrated everything and even gathered people. How could you not know what to do?”
Xu Chuyao was bewildered, and Shen Ning didn’t argue at all, just keeping her head down in shame.
She knew her own situation. Her behavior was equivalent to writing only the answer to a major exam question—knowing the result but not the process.
Seeing her discouraged look, Xu Chuyao didn’t have the heart to scold her. After thinking for a bit, she said:
“Fine. How about this? I’ll give a suggestion. Maybe you can try…”
Just then, a small gate suddenly appeared overhead. Several silk-like ropes dropped down, heading straight for the Big Thunder Beautiful Girl.
‘Is the Head Teacher calling me?’ Before coming here, she had told Yu Jing that she was just coming for a quick look. If there was an emergency in reality, Yu Jing was to summon her back immediately.
Seeing that the ropes had already looped around her and were pulling her toward the gate, Xu Chuyao couldn’t care about anything else. She shouted loudly to her wife in the air:
“The relationship between the collective and the individual is reciprocal! Just as you could use your emotions to influence them before, you can now use their emotions to feed back into yourself! Use that power and try to cut that glowing stone open!”