Chapter 124: Number One

After all that, I ended up eating common mess-hall food for half a month!

Still, Jiang Xiaoxiao’s actions warmed Ye Wuya’s heart; having an apprentice really does change things. She would stand in front of him during a fight and bring him meals at dinner time...

"Let's go!" Ye Wuya stood up, stretched his limbs, and said. Eating alone wasn't enough; he needed to digest it!

"Where are we going?" Jiang Xiaoxiao asked.

"Out for a walk to digest," Ye Wuya said as he reached the door, not looking back. "Put away that coffin lid; I have no room for it here!"

Jiang Xiaoxiao quickly stowed it away, followed him out, and asked with pleasant surprise, "Master, are we finally heading out?"

"Not yet, there are still a few things to finish, but it won't be long—a month at the soonest, three at the latest," Ye Wuya said, looking out at the cloud-shrouded Qingyun Sect.

"Oh, where are we going then?" Jiang Xiaoxiao asked.

"The martial arts arena!"

Ye Wuya shot into the sky first, his long blue sword emitting a long-awaited chime.

The martial arts arena was a sea of people. Disciples from every faction were practicing with swords, sabers, halberds, and staves, sweating profusely. Most of them were outer sect disciples; the inner sect disciples had long since passed the body-tempering stage.

As Ye Wuya knew, the entire Qingyun Sect was divided into four categories: chore disciples, outer sect disciples, inner sect disciples, and core disciples. Chore disciples were not allowed in this area. They were generally novices in cultivation, ranging from the first to the sixth level of the body-tempering realm. Those above the sixth level but below the Spirit Gathering Realm were outer sect disciples, while those in the Spirit Gathering Realm were inner sect disciples. Core disciples were in the Shape-Forming Realm. Above them were the ordinary elders, who were at the peak of the Shape-Forming Realm but had not yet successfully condensed a Golden Core. Higher still were the elders of the Golden Core Five-Viscera Realm, then the powerful elders of the Golden Core Four-Pole Realm. Above that were the Vice Sect Master, the Sect Master, and the Supreme Elders.

Jiang Xiaoxiao and Ye Wuya landed on the largest platform in the arena, which was deserted. As soon as the crowd saw Jiang Xiaoxiao land, a wave of enthusiastic cheering erupted.

"The Goddess!"
"It's the Goddess!"
"Wow, Goddess Xiaoxiao is really here!"
"Goddess Xiaoxiao, I love you!"
"Goddess Xiaoxiao, I want to bear your children!"

Ye Wuya was stunned by the scene. What was going on? A goddess? Since when did Jiang Xiaoxiao become a national goddess? Hearing a three-hundred-pound man fanatically shouting about bearing her children made Ye Wuya shudder.

He turned to look at Jiang Xiaoxiao, who had already donned her veil, and asked in a low voice, "What is this about?"

"Master, I don't know. Maybe I beat it into them?"

"You beat their brains out?" Ye Wuya asked, speechless as he looked at the deliriously excited Qingyun Sect disciples below.

"That's about right," Jiang Xiaoxiao said with certainty, smiling. "Hehe, Master, look, so many people like me!" She looked at Ye Wuya with a smile, adding, "But I'm used to it. They're all trash; they can't take a hit at all. One slap and they're out cold."

"Have they seen your face?" Ye Wuya asked. He couldn't believe the only explanation was her looks, though given how beautiful she was, it wouldn't be unreasonable for her to be called a goddess if seen. But he received the opposite answer: she told him no, only he had seen her true face.

People were blindly calling her a goddess without even knowing what she looked like? How was this any different from blind celebrity worship?

"Hey, you guy up there! Get lost! You aren't allowed to stand next to my goddess!" someone in the crowd shouted.
"That's right!"
"Get down here, or we won't be polite!"

Ye Wuya thought, *Am I getting old, or have I lost my touch with a blade?*

"Shut up, all of you!" Jiang Xiaoxiao let out a cold snort, her eyes flashing with a startling golden light. The crowd fell instantly silent. Everyone below clamped their mouths shut, afraid to provoke her further.

"Master?" Jiang Xiaoxiao felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Ye Wuya.

"It's fine. You step back; let me play with them," Ye Wuya said, gesturing for her to retreat. He beckoned to the loudmouthed fat man below with a provocative finger.

"Fatty, beat him! He's being so arrogant!"
"If you're a man, get up there! Don't dither!"

Jiang Xiaoxiao watched with interest, covering her mouth to hide a giggle. Seeing the provocation, the fat man couldn't hold back—especially with the goddess watching. If he didn't go, it would be a huge insult to his manhood.

He leaped into the air. Despite his massive size, he was surprisingly agile, jumping eight meters high and landing like a round black shadow. "Thud!" The platform trembled, his feet sinking into the stone. He pulled himself free, his Spirit Gathering Realm fourth-level cultivation erupting. Glaring at Ye Wuya, he puffed out his chest, cupped his fists, and shouted coldly, "I am Nan Bowan! Known as Fatty Bo! Pray, enlighten me!"

"Pfft!"
"Hahahahaha!"
"No. 1, Nan Bowan?"
"Hahaha, I can't, I'm dying of laughter."

Ye Wuya almost choked on his own breath. Who names themselves that? Seeing Fatty Bo's gloomy expression, he tried to restrain his laughter to maintain his senior image. He couldn't help but ask, "Do you happen to have a younger sister named Nan Botu?"

At this, the fat man's face turned even darker. "Who are you? How do you know I have a sister named Nan Botu?"

*Damn! She actually exists?* Ye Wuya stifled his laughter again, straightened his expression, and said mysteriously, "I am merely a cripple with shattered meridians. As for your names, I deduced them from yours."

"Enough talk! Fight!" Nan Bowan roared, refusing to listen to any more "flowery words." He vibrated his layers of fat and charged at Ye Wuya like a bowling ball.

"Stop! I have something to say!" Ye Wuya shouted.

With a screech of rubber against stone, the fat man skidded to a halt in front of him. "What is it? Speak quickly!"

Ye Wuya smiled and said, "Nothing! A-dah!" He threw a punch that slammed squarely into Nan Bowan's face.