The Demon Lord and I: Frenemies - Chapter 29

Fei Wanghuai was already standing before the Meditation Slate. He waited until he confirmed she had come to his side before raising his eyes to the questions on the bluestone slab, striving for them to read the topic simultaneously.

Silently, the competition began. After reading the question, they split left and right, each following one side to consult the ancient texts on the tower wall.

Fei Wanghuai focused all his attention on searching. He had witnessed Chu Zaishuang’s ability to read ten lines at a glance and remember everything; she could even flip through tedious, complex chess manuals until the pages frayed-mere ancient texts were nothing to her. If he didn’t give his all, he’d soon fall behind.

By contrast, Chu Zaishuang’s mind was scattered, unable to concentrate at all. It was as if vivid images flashed before her eyes, the content of the mural branded into her mind like hot iron, lingering for a long time and leaving her feeling weak all over, as if she were treading on clouds.

The massive mural was like a stone, suddenly thrown into water, stirring up memories that had settled for years.

The plum blossoms outside the window were a brilliant red, falling onto pure white snow, like sparks drifting away in the wind, or blood splattered across the ground. A bird perched on a plum branch, pecking at the snow on its wings with its sharp beak, carefully grooming its feathers.

After her illness, she woke in a daze, sitting at the bedside in Thousand-Gold Peak, being questioned by her parents while staring at the little bird on the branch.

“Shuang’er, what did you see that day? Did you go anywhere?”

“…I forgot.”

The bird fluttered its wings and flew away, knocking snow from the plum branch, which happened to cover the traces of petals in the snow, leaving only a vast expanse of white.

[Are you still feeling unwell?]

Xiao Shi’s voice sounded, finally bringing her back to herself.

Chu Zaishuang looked at the dense ancient texts before her, then glanced at the white-robed youth not far away, finally realizing the competition was still ongoing. This was not Thousand-Gold Peak, nor the sickroom peering at plums through the window, but the solemn, silent Tongtian Tower.

Fei Wanghuai had already found the answer to the Meditation Slate. After passing through the transparent barrier of spiritual energy, he discovered her standing absent-mindedly in the corner and asked suspiciously, “Why are you so slow today?”

If it were any other floor, Chu Zaishuang would have solved the problem long ago, joyfully hopping down to the next level-she would never stand still like this.

He had been frowning, but seeing her pale face, he seemed to realize something and his voice softened considerably: “Are you feeling unwell?”

“…No.”

“If you’re uncomfortable, let’s stop for now and continue another day.”

Chu Zaishuang was taken aback: “But haven’t you always wanted to surpass me?”

“If your mind isn’t on solving the problem, what’s the point of surpassing you like this?” Fei Wanghuai took out an Elixir from his storage pouch and handed it to Chu Zaishuang. “The Heart-Clearing Pill can help with spiritual energy, but your Dao Heart is unstable. When you reach higher levels, you should use a Mind-Calming Pill-it might ease your symptoms.”

Chu Zaishuang accepted the Elixir, momentarily flustered by his considerate gesture: “…I didn’t expect you to act so human.”

She had thought he would never give up until he achieved his goal, always scheming and using any means necessary-after all, he was half Spirit Beast.

Fei Wanghuai smiled, eyes narrowed: “Listen to yourself-do you sound human?”

“I’m not unwell, just thinking about something.” Chu Zaishuang gripped the Elixir, glanced at the mural, then quickly looked away, as if the vivid colors stung her eyes.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Is having profound cultivation really a good thing?”

“There you go again with your strange logic.” Fei Wanghuai looked at the little figure on the pillar, his tone calm. “Aside from you, who dislikes cultivation, everyone wants higher cultivation. At least most people in the world do, so of course it’s a good thing.”

Chu Zaishuang hesitated: “Why are you so sure?”

“The higher your cultivation, the more choices you have. How many people are powerless to control their own fate? Only by gaining strength can they break free from their shackles. Even if you don’t want to follow the path of the strong bullying the weak, you must first have the ability not to be oppressed before you’re qualified to say such pretty words.”

He glanced at her sideways: “I don’t know what you’re thinking now, but you’ve always had this problem-thinking too much and doing too little. Many things don’t need to be figured out; you’ll understand once you’ve done them halfway.”

And he thought little but did much, yet sometimes she found a clever trick and surpassed him by other ingenious means.

The white-robed youth crossed his arms, leaning calmly against the wall, his gaze remarkably candid. The plain Cloud Water Robe draped over him didn’t resemble smooth, delicate jade, but rather a mass of cold fire, like the ghostly blue flames that filled the forest that day-no matter how strange the color, the heat was always scorching.

Chu Zaishuang was silent for a few seconds, then softly asked, “If you could know the future, and knew that higher cultivation would lead to a bad outcome, and that outcome couldn’t be changed, would you still think the same?”

“What you’re describing is impossible.”

“How is it impossible?” she argued. “Anything is possible. Maybe there’s someone whose fate is the opposite-higher cultivation leads to worse results…”

Fei Wanghuai looked up, calmly replying, “I didn’t say that was impossible. What’s impossible is that the outcome can’t be changed.”
“Whether it is a spell or some prophecy, as long as you know the result in advance, it can definitely be changed-and must be changed.” His dark, lustrous eyes fixed on her, his tone suddenly deepening as he spoke each word with emphasis, “If you are allowed to know beforehand, then it must be something that can be controlled. Otherwise, foreknowledge becomes meaningless.”

If he could receive a Soul Transmission Dream, then nothing was set in stone; otherwise, there would be no need to send a dream.

Therefore, he absolutely refused to believe that the future was immutable, that one could only sit and wait for doom.

Chu Zaishuang stared blankly and said, “Sometimes you’re so confident you border on arrogance.”

But she had to admit, this kind of conviction that man can triumph over fate was perhaps a common mindset among outstanding cultivators.

“If you don’t want to climb today, then stop. Let’s rest for a bit, and then we’ll go down together.” Fei Wanghuai straightened up and walked toward the stone steps leading down the tower, his tone gentle. “And don’t try to be clever again by saying that high cultivation is useless-I won’t believe your nonsense.”

“Who said I don’t want to climb? Even if I really have to go down, I’ll climb two more floors first.”

Chu Zaishuang had been weighed down with worries, but his words disrupted her thoughts, sweeping away all her doubts. She immediately used the Meditation Slate to quickly ascend the floors.

Fei Wanghuai saw her dart past and exclaimed in surprise, “Weren’t you just saying you didn’t want to climb?”

She had been listless a moment ago, but now she was full of energy.

“I have to be one floor higher than you, otherwise it’ll look bad on the Tongtian Ranking. I must surpass you before I leave!”

“…”

*

At the entrance of the Tongtian Tower, a crowd gathered before the Tongtian Ranking, all cultivators drawn here for the spectacle. Recently, a dark horse named Fei Wanghuai had burst onto the ranking, and even the long-absent Nameless One had reappeared at the top, naturally attracting much attention.

“Higher, it’s even higher! Now it’s the 177th floor!”

“Nameless One is back at first place, but the gap with second place is very close.”

“Which peak is Fei Wanghuai from? That peak’s score will increase a lot, right?”

“I’d like to know who Nameless One is. There hasn’t been any change in their floor count for so long-why did they suddenly rise?”

The crowd buzzed with discussion, eyes glued to the changing rankings.

In a corner, a striking female cultivator stood holding a whip. The long whip in her arms was sturdy and powerful, her ink-black hair tied up, a crescent moon token hanging at her waist, giving her a heroic and dashing appearance. A circle of cultivators surrounded her, clearly making her the leader of the group.

“Senior Sister, I’ve checked with all the peaks-Fei Wanghuai is a disciple of Lone Star Mountain.” Someone hurried over to report the details.

“Lone Star Mountain’s score is always low each year, and he still can’t surpass Wangyue Marsh. But Nameless One’s identity is unknown-we don’t even know which peak they belong to.” The female cultivator frowned. “This person has always been ahead of Chu Bingxiao. If first place hadn’t been taken this time, perhaps they wouldn’t have shown up at all. How can such a formidable disciple have no information at all?”

Disciples listed on the Tongtian Ranking could increase their sect’s score. Every so often, the Lotus Flower Sect would tally the scores of each peak, and the disciple from the top-scoring peak would receive additional rewards. In the most recent ranking, the top three were, in order: Wangyue Marsh, Thousand-Gold Peak, and Dragon Tiger Peak.

“Actually, there’s no need to make a fuss. Don’t we have Senior Brother Chu? The score gap isn’t that big-he’s at the 126th floor.”

“That guy is so stubborn. I told him to climb the tower more often so our sect wouldn’t lose points, but he just said, ‘It’s fine.'” The female cultivator gritted her teeth in frustration. “My fifth place alone isn’t enough. If Wangyue Marsh falls behind, how sad would the Sect Leader be!”

Seeing her so indignant, others tried to comfort her: “Qin Huan, you’re exaggerating. Maybe the Sect Leader doesn’t even care. We’ve taken first place so many times already.”

Wangyue Marsh was the perennial champion among the peaks, almost always securing first place every year.

Besides, these were just disciple scores. Chu Chenyue had always been calm and unruffled, unmoved by external matters. As the Sect Leader of the vast Lotus Flower Sect, how could she care about such trivial things?

But Qin Huan was a devoted follower of Sect Leader Chu-not only did she aspire to become a cultivator like Chu Chenyue, she also often ran errands for Wangyue Marsh.

“Just because the Sect Leader hasn’t mentioned it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive.” Qin Huan raised her brows. “The Sect Leader may not have the highest cultivation, but she manages the Lotus Flower Sect in perfect order. As her disciples, how can we tarnish her reputation? Do we really want to end up like Tingyun Lake and be laughed at behind our backs?”

“Actually, ending up like that is a kind of skill too,” someone said blankly. “Logically, with Su Sect Leader’s cultivation, there’s no way they should be at the bottom, no matter how they teach.”

“That’s why if we don’t work hard, maybe our Sect Leader will end up the same way.” Qin Huan looked around the group. Her features were striking, and she encouraged them, “The Sect Leader is so amazing and so good to us-we should deliver excellent results!”

“…Alright.”

The others, hearing her rousing tone, secretly sighed in relief that Chu Bingxiao was so quiet. Otherwise, the atmosphere at Wangyue Marsh would be a bit too passionate. Qin Huan admired Chu Chenyue to the extreme and possessed a strong sense of honor-sometimes she cared even more than the Sect Leader’s own child.
Strangely enough, she felt nothing for Chu Bingxiao, whose temperament was similar to the Sect Leader’s. In fact, there was even a faint sense of rivalry.

*

The final thirty floors of the Tongtian Tower were anything but easy. Chu Zaishuang and Fei Wanghuai battled fiercely here, desperately chasing after each other. Sometimes, Chu Zaishuang would surge ahead, only to be caught up with before long; at other times, Fei Wanghuai would suddenly take the lead, but if he was even slightly careless, he would be overtaken again.

Inside the tower, Chu Zaishuang rapidly read through ancient texts while sneaking glances at Fei Wanghuai not far away. She caught sight of his smooth, handsome profile and felt a momentary confusion. By rights, her problem-solving speed was faster than his, so there was no reason he should be able to keep up so closely-he even made her, usually so steady-minded, feel a sense of urgency.

The first hundred floors were within the island, the latter hundred outside it. His speed on the higher floors remained unchanged. Perhaps there was another possibility: he was very familiar with the world outside the island?

Her knowledge of the outside came only from books, but he had once casually mentioned the “Moon Devouring Night,” something not recorded in any text. He had likely traveled far more than she had. Even if he had never summarized these experiences, they had long since become a part of his very bones.

She thought more; he did more. Yet, by different paths, they both advanced toward the finish line.

Chu Zaishuang watched as he passed through the spiritual energy barrier and ascended the stairs. For once, a rare surge of unwillingness rose in her heart, and she followed closely, stepping onto the next level. Her heart pounded like a drum in the heat of competition, her organs drawing in spiritual energy, as if something long suppressed was about to burst forth in this contest, stirring her usually calm Sea of Consciousness into rippling waves.

Xiao Shi dared not speak, afraid to disturb her state.

The youth’s upright figure blocked her path, like a snow-covered boulder on a mountain cliff.

She pursued him step by step.

She refused to lose. She could lose to anyone, but not to him.

A powerful subconscious force drove her, pushing her to constantly surpass her own limits, as if warning her that losing to the person before her would mean falling into an abyss from which there was no return.

For the first time, she realized how tall Fei Wanghuai was. His back looked slightly thin, but in truth, it concealed a hidden strength, possessing the resilience of cold bamboo. Under immense pressure, he could still stand tall, a dense and sturdy bamboo grove forming a fence, transforming into a rocky wall that blocked her way.

Holding her breath and focusing, Chu Zaishuang suddenly could no longer hear the sounds around her, falling into a state of Wuwo, as if time no longer flowed and only her thoughts surged on. Her anxious emotions abruptly faded away, allowing her to browse the ancient texts with calm composure, advancing even faster than before.

Flow state-this was a state of selfless cultivation, one that could not be interrupted by external factors.

Anything that could be interrupted was not true flow.

On the 195th floor, Fei Wanghuai advanced unhindered. When he saw the Meditation Slate, he gasped, feeling troubled for the first time. He hesitated, glancing at the stone stairs leading downward.

The final ten floors required complete mastery and integration of knowledge. Unexpectedly, the 195th floor referenced content from the 194th, but his memory of it was vague. His usual strategy was to quickly solve problems without delving too deeply, but here, he suddenly hit a wall.

People always think they have mastered the laws of the world, not realizing that change is constant and can shatter old understandings at any moment.

Chu Zaishuang, however, did not linger on this floor. She passed the 195th floor as usual, continuing forward at a steady pace. Her face was now expressionless, and she did not observe Fei Wanghuai’s reaction, as if she were completely immersed in her own world.

Seeing this, Fei Wanghuai made a decisive choice to turn back and review the 194th floor, imitating her method of studying the ancient texts. Perhaps he could catch up in the last five floors. If he stubbornly stuck to his own ways, he would have no chance of winning.

The 196th floor.

Then the 197th.

And then the 198th.

Fei Wanghuai finally caught up with Chu Zaishuang’s pace, only to be stuck again on the 198th floor, unable to solve the problem for a while. He watched helplessly as she disappeared at the end of the stone stairs, his slender fingers trembling before clenching tightly into a fist, not relaxing for a long time.

So close-still just a little behind her.

Defeated again.

His chest felt empty, as if something had been lost, yet something new was flooding in. He took a deep breath, pressed his lips together, and continued to study the problem.

Perhaps there truly was a fate in this world that could not be controlled, but even if he was destined to lose, he would find a way to move forward, to get one step closer to the brilliant victor.

The 200th floor-the final bluestone slate was solved, suddenly turning into countless fine powder, drifting through the hall at the top of the tower.

Chu Zaishuang finished solving the problem, finally emerging from her flow state, and now had time to look around the top of the tower. She had remained calm in the Tongtian Tower, unaware that a great commotion had erupted at its base.

“The Nameless One has a name now! The first place is showing a name!”

At these words, a sea of people surged before the Tongtian Ranking, all Lotus Flower Sect disciples craning their necks in curiosity.

Where once the top spot on the Tongtian Ranking had been blank, now, in bold characters, it read: “Chu Zaishuang.”