Every time the secret realm entrance activates, the teleportation was random. As soon as Ye Yong was teleported in, he saw the last person he wanted to see.
The male lead, Long Tian.
There was still blood on Long Tian’s body. If it wasn’t from butchering game, then it was probably from killing someone earlier.
Their eyes met. The atmosphere was awkward.
If he could, Ye Yong would’ve left immediately. But doing so would definitely raise suspicion in Long Tian’s mind.
“You’re Long Tian, right?” Of course Ye Yong didn’t pretend not to know him. Back when the Heavenly Luo Sect recruited disciples, he’d observed Long Tian from afar and had even been noticed. As for calling him by name, it wasn’t a problem. After all, Ye Yong had appeared at the Sword Pavilion’s sparring matches, and Long Tian’s “not bad” performance meant remembering his name wasn’t unusual.
“Yeah.” Long Tian looked at him with interest. “You just came in from outside the secret realm?”
“Yes, I found a few demonic sect disciples and sent them out. Afterward, the elders let me to come back in.”
Long Tian nodded, thinking Ye Yong really was someone he thought had a bright future. He was a perfect target to chase. “Wanna eat?”
No. But Ye Yong couldn’t say that. He couldn’t act like he looked down on Long Tian. That would only earn his resentment. Long Tian could be extremely generous- willing to give away life-saving treasures- but also incredibly petty, killing without hesitation.
“Sure.” Ye Yong sat down across from Long Tian and picked up a piece of roasted meat.
The two ate silently.
Then Long Tian suddenly asked, “Have you been to the center of the secret realm yet?”
“No.” Ye Yong wasn’t going to admit it. He smiled, saying, “I got tangled up with those demonic sect disciples before and wasted too much time. Now that I’m back, I plan to check it out.”
“There’s a giant spirit turtle guarding a small island there,” Long Tian said. “It’s strong. How about we work together? I’ll draw it away, and you can go see if there’s treasure on the island.”
Since Long Tian made the offer, it was natural that he would be the one luring the beast.
Ye Yong nearly slapped himself. Why didn’t I just say I won’t go? Why did I say I want to check it out?
Though he was panicking inside, he remained calm on the surface. He shook his head: “From what I’ve heard, the strongest creature here is at the 9th layer of the Crystallization Realm. That turtle you mentioned must be it. We’re far weaker than that. It’s too risky. We shouldn’t gamble when we aren’t confident, since we only get one life.”
Long Tian agreed. He had thought the same thing before, which was why he hadn’t tried to force his way onto the island. And the turtle might not even chase them. It could just sit in the lake, making the whole thing a waste of time. “Alright, forget it then.”
Ye Yong finished the meat, wiped his hands, and stood up. “Ten hours left before the secret realm closes. I should get moving. Thanks for the hospitality. Goodbye.”
“Hardly counts as hospitality. See you.” Long Tian watched him leave, then started chatting with the Fallen Immortal Elder.
“This Ye Yong- talented, strong background, handsome, and still not arrogant. Quite amazing.”
“Mm. He’s not blindly confident; he is realistic and polite,” Long Tian said, picking up a pill bottle Ye Yong had left behind.
Opening it, he saw a few top grade Blood Vitality Pills. Nothing precious to Long Tian, but it was impressive that Ye Yong hadn’t eaten for free. In fact, the value of a few top grade pills far exceeded a piece of Foundation Establishment Realm layer 6 spirit beast meat.
“I can’t see through him. He’s got a very high-grade concealment artifact.”
That didn’t bother Long Tian much. He was just wondering when he’d meet Ye Yong again. That was because, everyone else, whether rogue cultivators or young masters, looked down on him. But Ye Yong didn’t. Their conversation hadn’t been overly friendly, but it had been calm and unpretentious. Very nice and refreshing.
Before, when the Fallen Immortal Elder said that Ye Yong was worth befriending, Long Tian hadn’t been convinced. Now, though, he was starting to feel that way too. But Ye Yong’s brilliance was blinding. Long Tian didn’t think he had the strength or status yet to befriend someone like that, so he quickly put the thought aside. The only thing left was a burning determination to grow stronger.
…
“Mother! That was terrifying!”
Just moments ago, Ye Yong had kept a composed face. Now that he was away from Long Tian, he looked like someone who’d just escaped death.
“‘See you’? See your head!”
Seriously, any male character who got involved with the son of the realm rarely had a good time.
Ye Yong never imagined he’d get teleported right in front of Long Tian. His luck was absolute garbage. If he had known, he wouldn’t have come back at all.
But there was no “if” in this world. What’s done was done.
Ye Yong mentally replayed their entire conversation, trying to remember if he had accidentally looked condescending or said something wrong.
Once he was sure he hadn’t slipped up, he finally let out a breath of relief. Don’t panic! I’m still just a background character! No way I’ll get involved with the male lead!
Comforting himself, he opened his map and activated Swimming Dragon Steps. Right now, all he wanted was to find Ye Gou and the others as quickly as possible. With Long Tian in the secret realm, Ye Yong didn’t want to stay a second longer than he had to.
Half an hour later, he heard the sounds of battle. He rushed over, but it wasn’t Ye Gou and the others. They were just a few weakling cultivators getting beaten up by spirit beasts.
Ye Yong didn’t see himself as some saint, but since they spotted him and cried for help, he couldn’t just walk away.
A few quick moves and he took care of the spirit beasts.
The cultivators wept with gratitude.
If possible, who wouldn’t want to stay until the secret realm closed?
But it was exactly this “I’ll leave at the last moment” mentality that got so many people killed.
If everyone valued their lives and ran at the first sign of danger, the death rate in secret realms would drop drastically.
But then again, the chance of obtaining opportunities would also drop.
Not everyone had a male lead’s halo. For ordinary cultivators, aside from being lucky, getting a fortuitous opportunity usually meant risking their lives.
“Senior Brother Ye, thank you so much!”
One male cultivator tried to cling to Ye Yong’s leg and get familiar with him, but Ye Yong subtly stepped aside.
Pretty girls can approach. Guys, stay away.
“Have you seen any younger members of the Ye family? Ye Mao, Ye Gou, and the others from the Sword Pavilion Hall.” Ye Yong asked.
“Wild cat and wild dog from the Cheapskate Hall?”¹ The guy blinked. One of his companions immediately sent him flying with a smack and bowed repeatedly, embarrassed. “Sorry, Young Master Ye, he has bad hearing. We did see Senior Ye Gou and the others about an hour ago. I think they went that way.” There weren’t any illusion arrays here, so the directions were pretty reliable. They gave Ye Yong a general, accurate direction.
“Thank you.”
“We should be thanking you. If not for you, we’d have had to forfeit and leave. Oh, and we’ll help you dismantle those spirit beasts for materials.”
“No need. If they’re useful to you, take them.” Ye Yong waved a hand. “I’ve got things to do. Farewell.” He turned and walked away, leaving behind a graceful, admirable figure for them to watch.
Translator’s Notes:
¹ Ye Gou’s name, 叶苟, has the same pinyin as 野狗 (wild dog). Ye Mao’s name, 叶茂, has the same pinyin 野猫 (wild cat). The Sword Pavilion Hall, 剑阁堂, has the same pinyin as 贱格堂 (Jian Ge Tang) (roughly means cheapskate/third-rate/low-class hall).