This was no exaggeration on Xu Lai's part.

One only had to look at Chong Yang. Here was a seventy-thousand-year-old ancestor of the Demon Race, and she was already thinking about getting the Chongming Bird demon tribe hooked up to the internet. What left Xu Lai most speechless was that Ruan Lan had actually dared to agree. When the time came, the communication giants—China Unicom, China Telecom, and China Mobile—would probably fight to the death to dominate the Universe market. Of course, the more likely scenario was that someone would end up calling the police.

They arrived at the bath center. Xu Lai sent a telepathic message to Chong Yang, "You can come out now."

Before long, Ruan Lan and Chong Yang emerged from the bathhouse. Seeing the BMW 3 Series parked at the curb, the two women trudged toward it with pained expressions, their steps agonizingly slow. But no matter how slow they were, they eventually reached the car.

After getting in, Ruan Lan sensed the icy atmosphere and said cautiously, "Sis, I was just showing Yang Yang our East Sea customs. We didn't do anything wrong."

"Sister-in-law, I'm so sorry..." Chong Yang whispered.

Ruan Tang, who had been furious, shot a glance at Xu Lai. She then rubbed the bridge of her nose and forced a smile. "It's fine. Just try not to pick up Ruan Lan's bad habits next time."

"We just went for a soak and a massage! We didn't do anything wrong," Ruan Lan protested indignantly.

"This bathhouse..." Ruan Tang bit her lower lip, enunciating each word. "It has a bad reputation."

She had overheard some male classmates discussing this place back in college, and what she heard was too vulgar to repeat. That was why she was so furious.

"How is that possible?" Ruan Lan exclaimed in shock. "The place is perfectly legitimate."

Xu Lai muttered, "The first and second floors, where you were, are legitimate. But the third floor and above are not for kids."

Before he could finish, Xu Lai put the car in gear and stepped on the gas, only to feel Ruan Tang's suspicious glare from the passenger seat. The car fell silent in an instant.

"Brother-in-law, you seem to know a lot," Ruan Lan said meaningfully.

Ruan Tang's expression grew even more troubled.

"...No, honey, let me explain."

Just as Xu Lai started to explain, his sister-in-law cut him off.

"Five years!" Ruan Lan mimicked Xu Lai's tone, her voice dripping with mock heartache. "Ruan Tang, do you have any idea what I've been through these past five years?!"

She pointed out the window at the bathhouse, her expression becoming wildly animated. "I lived on the third floor with the curtains drawn, suffering a dark, sunless existence! I was so poor I barely had clothes to cover myself! My life has been so hard!"

"..."

Xu Lai nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood. I sensed that with my Divine Sense! Ruan Lan, what on earth are you making up? Besides, I never once set foot outside the Heavenly Court in the last five years!

Xu Lai was in an agonizing situation he couldn't explain, forced to suffer in silence. Since leaving Earth five years ago, he hadn't been involved with any other woman; his record was spotless. Yet Ruan Lan's words were so convincing that let alone Ruan Tang—even Chong Yang was starting to believe her. As a result, Xu Lai spent most of the thirty-minute drive back to Haitang Court trying to explain himself.

Wanting to save Xu Lai some face, especially with Chong Yang present, Ruan Tang said calmly, "I don't want to dig into your past, but in the future..."

"If he's ever unfaithful, I suggest castration!" Ruan Lan proposed.

Xu Lai's mouth twitched. My sister-in-law must have a personal vendetta against me!

After arriving home, Ruan Lan and Chong Yang didn't go to their rooms to rest. Instead, they started playing games cheerfully in the game room. Parched from all the talking, Xu Lai took a sip of water and said calmly, "You two should go to sleep. Don't stay up so late."

"No way," Ruan Lan said earnestly. "The night is when life truly comes alive. We can't waste it. Ah, Yang Yang, watch out! There's a turtle monster up ahead, don't let it hit you."

"Oh, okay!" Chong Yang fumbled with the game controller.

Xu Lai turned and shouted toward the bathroom, "Honey, you never sold your old apartment, did you? Ruan Lan wants to move there. She said she's worried about her late nights disturbing Yiyi's rest."

"..."

"Wow, you rotten brother-in-law! You're so cruel!" Ruan Lan fumed. She knew this was Xu Lai's revenge for what she'd said in the car.

Wretched fellow, she thought. To think he would try to drive away his gorgeous and talented sister-in-law! Could she, Ruan Lan, possibly stand for that? She definitely couldn't stand for it, not when his delicious cooking was on the line!

"The feeling is mutual," Xu Lai said with a smirk. "That's what you get for slandering me."

In the end, Ruan Lan huffed, and she and Chong Yang went back to their respective rooms to rest.

But today's war of words ended in Xu Lai's miserable defeat.

...

「In the middle of the night.」

Beibei returned to Haitang Court. Her weapon had been sent to the best forge master in Sea City to be remade. She hadn't waited in Sea City, having refused Demon King Yuan Man's enthusiastic attempts to make her stay, and hurried back to Haitang Court instead. She had to go to school with Yiyi tomorrow!

But Beibei felt quite helpless. It was bad enough having that clingy pest Qian Xiao at school, but at home, she had Xiao Hei competing with her for affection. The real problem was that Xiao Hei often slept in Yiyi's room, so Beibei didn't dare go in. After all, if she got caught, he'd slurp a mouthful of her energy.

That feeling... She never wanted to experience it again!

So, lately, Beibei had been spending her nights in the courtyard.

I must work hard on my cultivation, Beibei resolved, sitting on a rock. Before her lay the vast sea, bathed in moonlight, as the conch girl began her arduous training.

She hadn't been cultivating for long when she was disturbed by a faint HUFF... PUFF... sound. Opening her eyes, she saw a round, black-and-white figure squatting just a step away.

Sensing her gaze, Xiao Hei tilted his head and cracked a friendly smile.

"AAAAAHHH!" Beibei shrieked, grabbing her conch shell and leaping from the clifftop toward the sea below. That was too scary!

"WHIMPER?" Xiao Hei scratched his head in confusion before sadly nibbling on a stalk of Purple Bamboo.

Although the rooms at Haitang Court were very well soundproofed, both Xu Lai and Chong Yang heard the commotion. Having keen senses could be quite annoying at times. Unable to sleep, they both teleported into the courtyard, startled to see each other before sharing a knowing smile.

"Brother, you're still awake?" Chong Yang asked.

"Yeah." Xu Lai nodded, gazing at the moon's reflection on the water's surface. He said casually, "A few days ago, I caught a Phantom Beast. It told me there's a Quasi-Emperor's Tomb on Earth."

"A Quasi-Emperor!?" Chong Yang's eyes widened in shock.

A Quasi-Emperor. That was an existence standing above all others, second to only one. Each was a peerless genius with the potential to ascend to the supreme Emperor Realm, capable of leaving a spectacular mark on any era. How could such a figure exist in a remote star system like Earth?

"Mm, a Quasi-Emperor," Xu Lai chuckled. "Go search for it when you have time. It might help you break through to the Quasi-Emperor Realm."

"Thank you for the kind thought, brother." Chong Yang shook her head helplessly. "Setting aside whether I could even find it... even if I did, that person's path might not be suitable for me."

This was indeed true. Cultivators above the Immortal Venerable realm, whether human, demon, or any other race, had all carved their own unique paths. Blindly following another's methods was a dangerous gamble. In minor cases, it led to an unstable Dao heart. In severe cases, it could damage the very foundation of one's Dao.

"That's true," Xu Lai didn't push the issue.

"Brother, with your strength, you should be able to find it quickly, right? Why don't you look for it?" Chong Yang asked, puzzled.

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