After a night’s rest, waited upon by the Divine Punishment Empress until he was refreshed to the bone and brimming with vigor, Yue Yang made his way back to the students’ quarters in fine spirits.

The moment he stepped out, he saw Young Lord Mingzhu sitting at the foot of his bed.

His expression was thoroughly foul — as though someone owed him three million and refused to pay up.

Yue Yang ignored that murderous glare, plastered a smile across his face, sat down beside Mingzhu, and reached out to sling an arm around the shoulder of this “friend” who had supposedly sworn to go chase girls with him and fulfill life’s grand ambition of a good group romp. But Mingzhu, all puffed up with anger, spun away, shrugged the arm off, and presented him with the back of his head. Yue Yang burst out laughing, apologies tumbling out one after another: “I was wrong, I shouldn’t have run off and left you all alone to go steal my pleasures in secret. But you know it wasn’t for any lack of loyalty on my part — it’s only that you haven’t been through the ways of men and women yet, and your delicate little face is still too tender, so you can’t cut loose just now. I wanted to bring you along, truly, but you’re the one who wouldn’t come… There, there, don’t be angry. I’ve admitted I was wrong, haven’t I? As long as you’re not angry, there’s nothing I won’t do!”

“Truly?” Mingzhu suddenly turned back around, bright eyes like stars, glaring at Yue Yang.

“Ahem — of course. Even if you wanted the moon out of the sky, I’d pluck it down for you. Just say the word.” To coax Mingzhu back into a good mood, Yue Yang decided to go all in.

“Then let’s see you pluck the moon down!” Mingzhu gave a cold laugh the instant he heard it. You dare talk that big?

“Give me a ladder up to heaven and I guarantee I’ll fetch it down.” Yue Yang spread both hands, signaling that though he possessed the ability to pluck the moon, he lacked the ladder to heaven, and so on this “simple little request” of Mingzhu’s he was, sadly, powerless to help. Seeing this scoundrel act, Mingzhu somehow felt half his anger drain away, and found he couldn’t work up the heat to stay angry.

“I don’t have a ladder to heaven, so go ahead and boast all you like. You could name ten thousand things and not manage a single one of them.” Mingzhu sulked and gave a hmph.

“Now you’re just looking down on me!” Yue Yang struck the pose of a man ready to duel Mingzhu, glaring right back, feigning outrage: “Say that again and I really will get angry. For a friend like you, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do — why, even if you asked to borrow my treasured, uncensored, unabridged secret manual of bedchamber arts, I’d hand it over without a moment’s hesitation… It’s just that you obviously want to read it but won’t open your mouth to ask — how is that my fault? Here — this is my most prized possession. I’ll lend it to you without your even asking. Take it back and study it properly; it’ll do wonders for your, ah, conjugal happiness down the road… See how good I am to you, and here you go misunderstanding me!”

Mingzhu stared dumbstruck at the secret manual of bedchamber arts before him, then looked at Yue Yang, who wore the air of a man who’d suffered some colossal injustice.

For a good long while he couldn’t get a single word out.

Yue Yang pressed the manual into Mingzhu’s hands, admonishing him over and over: “Be careful when you study it — don’t crease it, and don’t go secretly tearing out pages. We’re both good children; we must cherish our books…”

Mingzhu’s first impulse was to rip the manual to shreds and then bring the great golden hammer down on the bridge of this kid’s nose.

But then a thought turned over in his mind, and a smile surfaced instead.

First he tucked away that so-called treasured, uncensored thingamajig. Then he patted the shoulder of the time-crosser — who was wincing at having parted with a beloved possession — and, his little face all wreathed in smiles, praised him: “Not bad. You’ve finally done one thing right. But it’s not enough. You’ll have to show even greater sincerity.”

A certain third young master already felt he’d hemorrhaged badly, and hearing this, asked with his heart in his throat: “What more do you want? I’ll tell you now, I don’t do idiotic stunts like walking through fire and boiling water!”

Mingzhu hastened to reassure him: “Nobody’s asking you to walk through fire and water. Relax. It’s just that I’m a little sick of that grinning, never-serious face of yours. Why don’t you make me the single most earnest face in all the world, and let me have a look? If it’s pleasing to the eye, I’ll forgive you, more or less.”

“Out of the question!” the third young master refused flatly. “A man ought to be sincere — letting true feeling shine through is what’s best. Besides, once I turn serious it’s really something — far too handsome, and inviting other people’s envy is never a good thing. A man ought to keep a low profile and know how to hide his talents. Let me tell you, when I was a boy in school, the teacher scolded me in front of everyone — told me to smile more and not wear such a bitter-gourd face, because that face was too handsome; it disrupted her lecturing, and it disrupted the other children’s studies too… For the sake of the motherland’s little flowers growing up strong, for the sake of the nation’s future pillars developing healthily, I had no choice but to keep a low profile and bury my merits and my fame, keeping a smile on my face every single day. You think that’s easy for me? But for the future of the motherland and the happiness of the little children, I’d sooner sacrifice that bitter-gourd face of mine… Well? A great man like me — I’ll bet you’ve never met his equal, have you?”

“A man as thick-skinned as you — no, I really haven’t!”

Listening to Yue Yang’s nonsense, the gloom that had filled Mingzhu’s heart quietly dissolved, most of it gone before he knew it. In the end he couldn’t hold back and let out a pfft of laughter. He simply couldn’t work up any anger. This fellow was just like this: either he vexed you until you couldn’t eat, or he made you laugh yourself silly. All in all he was a great big troublemaking villain, and no good man at all!

Having smoothed the ruffled Mingzhu back over, Yue Yang, in high spirits, went out to the door — where he saw Chimu, face heaped with fawning smiles, angling to hug his thigh and call him boss. Yue Yang planted a kick square in him.

The kick sent this ill-intentioned fellow flying to the ninth heaven and beyond.

But this undying little cockroach — a shoe-print still on his face, his smile unchanged — scurried right back in a puff of dust and gave Yue Yang a tight hug: “I knew you could win. I don’t mind telling you, in the whole crowd I was the only one who backed you a hundred percent in that hopeless situation. Who am I? Styled the Little Prince Eagle-Eye, no less — you think the man I bet on could ever be wrong? I said you’d take the championship, and champion you are! Oh, right — how are we going to blow the prize money we’re about to collect? I know a place where the girls are all absolute knockouts, so how about we go—”

The instant he caught sight of Mingzhu emerging from the room as well, he clapped a hand over his own mouth in fright and forced the rest of the words back down his throat.

Mingzhu shot him a glare, and this undying little cockroach immediately trembled all over, calves twitching.

Luckily the Principal came over just then, and only so was Chimu spared a death.

Hearing the commotion, more people caught wind and came flocking over. Cheers and applause fell like thunder, like rain.

The award ceremony proceeded on schedule, but the second-place Ranfeng was ill at ease from head to toe, terrified everyone would discover his secret — that divine power in his body. The moment he’d collected his prize, he cut his remarks short and made off at top speed. The third-place Qingmo, by contrast, found himself hemmed in on all sides by the Tall Tower War Wolf Mige, Young Lord Yangquan, and the rest, pressing him with questions about the 108-combo, hoping to learn a move or two and profit by it.

As for the overall champion, Yue Yang, the students had essentially no chance to get near him.

After the awards, the Heavenly Pride Chairman, the Principal, and the other elders asked him about the various matters of the “evil god’s power.” They never said so outright, but they surely knew something of the evil god’s secrets.

Yue Yang held nothing back, either. Setting aside his own personal secrets, the evil god’s revival and the evil god’s power were best left to these old forebears to handle. Shouldering everything himself would be far too exhausting.

The Heavenly Pride Chairman and the Principal and a few other elders exchanged views briefly, and then the Chairman spoke: “The matter of the evil god’s revival — best not announce it publicly for now, lest the whole of Human Valley fall into chaos and give those evil-god cultists an opening to exploit. A year is neither long nor short; there’s still time yet, and we should do everything in our power to stop it… So, let’s keep things as they are for the moment. Here’s the map of Human Valley. Having won the assessment championship, apart from a title of nobility, you’re also owed a small fief. Looking at this map — which spot suits you best?”

He didn’t say it outright, but the Principal, standing at his side, gave a small hint: “Little one, you’d do well to think this over carefully!”

Yue Yang was no fool. One look at the Principal’s hint and he knew exactly where he ought to choose.

Mingzhu, afraid Yue Yang still might not catch on, hurriedly stepped forward and answered in his stead: “Chairman, and all you elders — we’ve decided. We choose Emerald Isle!”

“Emerald Isle, is it? But that place is a barren, uninhabited overseas island where scarcely a soul ever sets foot. Can you explain why you’d choose there?” The Heavenly Pride Chairman nodded inwardly and exchanged a smile with the Principal and the others, but aloud he wanted Yue Yang and Mingzhu to give a reason the world would find convincing.

“I hear it’s rich in mineral deposits.” Yue Yang told lies without so much as a blink — much less a blush.

“Very well. In that case, the central district of Emerald Isle is assigned to you. But Student Titan, by regulation your fief is only the size of a single town, less than one percent of Emerald Isle — mind you don’t overstep the bounds!” On the map of Emerald Isle, the Heavenly Pride Chairman drew a small circle, then handed it to Yue Yang, who was grinning and bowing with cupped hands.

“Rest assured, Chairman. A man as rule-abiding as I am would absolutely never do such a thing as annex the whole island’s land.” Had Yue Yang been Pinocchio, his nose would have stretched a good twenty feet by now.

“Excellent!” The Heavenly Pride Chairman reached out and patted Yue Yang on the shoulder. “Little one, there’s not much we can do. You must bear with us old fellows.”

“Go on and make your preparations.” The Principal gently smoothed Yue Yang’s shoulder, then lifted Mingzhu’s hand and placed it in Yue Yang’s. “Whatever happens, I hope you’ll both remember this one thing: you must keep yourselves safe. Human Valley matters, yes — but however much it matters, it will never matter more than the two of you… If it comes to a point beyond helping, then I hope you’ll leave the Valley as quickly as you can. To let the young saplings weather the howling storm is a disgrace to us old ones; it’s only a pity we’re withered and feeble, and can’t offer you more shelter.”

“The storm will pass. I promise you — no power in this world can stop the power of life.” Yue Yang, leading Mingzhu by the hand, gave a bow to these old men who had given so much to Human Valley in silence, no one knew how much.

The Heavenly Pride Chairman and the others watched Yue Yang and Mingzhu depart. For a long while afterward, they exchanged a smile once more, nodding in silent understanding, and then each took their leave, each hurrying off to do all they could, each pouring out their own effort to meet the greatest challenge Human Valley had ever faced.

“The flying battle construct — even if it can’t stand against the evil god, it can at least keep the evil-god cultists from running rampant. Its appearance is so very timely.” The Heavenly Pride Chairman sighed up at the heavens. “You distant ancestors who gaze down upon us — is it because you knew Human Valley’s fated hour was drawing near that you sent us Little Titan? In truth, fifteen years ago, when that little girl came, I had a premonition of this… I only never imagined the little one would come so soon! Distant ancestors, please, go on guiding us — and above all, the road of that little one’s growth. I beg you, kindle the light bright for him!”

(End of Chapter)