Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

For someone like Yan Yu, dealing with trolls was nothing new.

Thanks to the aggressive marketing by Miti's Superhero Alliance, what should have been a very solemn event – the national battle of cultivators – became highly commercialized, turned into entertainment and sports. It was quite ironic, to say the least.

Yet, perhaps it is in human DNA to harbor fragments of cruelty and a thirst for blood.

Just like the Roman nobles witnessing gladiator games for the first time, people from all over the world were quickly captivated by these brutal and bloody spectacles.

With nationalism fanning the flames, the popularity of the cultivator national battles soon surpassed all sports leagues, becoming a global phenomena that transcended race, region, and class.

It also gave rise to countless hardcore fans and trolls.

Who you support or slander is strongly associated with where you come from. For example, in my past life, the Southeastern Six Provinces had a massive fan base for the Spirit Transport Team, with Jianghai Prefecture being the most extreme, and, for some unspeakable reasons, it was also the largest "Lord Master hate congregation."

Take the battle for Mount Tai as an example. When the Spirit Transport Team was defeated by Lord Master in a three-to-one fight, it infuriated the comedian Lu Ming so much that in a public performance at the Jianghai Comedy Center, he blurted out that "northerners are worms in international fights but dragons in domestic ones," earning himself a three-year performance ban from the Media Bureau...

He was willing to blacken Lord Master's name at the cost of his career. It just goes to show, you can never fully get rid of trolls.

Yan Yu didn't care much for trolls. Even if they were trashing cultivators from Lu Country, or even if they were to say to his face, "You, Yan Yu, are trash," he would just smile slightly, never retort, and watch as his fan club tore the opposition to shreds.

But Sister Lin clearly didn't have his level of composure, as she was still grumbling unhappily while brushing her teeth the next morning.

"Excuse me, I need to use the water," Yan Yu pushed her aside from the sink, "It's been a whole night; how come you're still not over it?"

"Don't talk about it," Lin Ning said through her toothbrush, her words muffled, "I've already let it go."

"You better have," Yan Yu saw her furrowed brow, the drooping corners of her eyes, and an expression that screamed "I am not happy," and knew she was still being stubborn. He didn't call her out, simply took his turn to rinse and went on his way.

After breakfast, everyone headed to the school to prepare for the final training before departure – but first, they had to drop Yan Jing off at the high-speed rail station.

"Behave and go straight home," Yan Yu patted his sister's head at the station, "When your brother triumphantly returns from the battlefield, I'll bring you some spoils, okay?"

"I don't want spoils," Yan Jing said with a quivering voice, "Big brother, just come back in one piece, without losing any arms or legs. That's all I want."

"What nonsense are you talking about," Yan Yu ruffled her hair, smiling, "Your big brother, I..."

"But, am not the strongest in this world, okay?"

"Stop messing up my hair, big brother!" Yan Jing initially wanted to keep arguing, but then she hesitated.

I don't care if big brother is the strongest in this world, I just hope he's stronger than all the enemies, so he can come back safe and victorious.

Really, you have to come back, big brother.

After seeing off his sister, everyone in the car on the way back to school felt a sudden sense of loss and sentiment.

"Don't be sad, everyone," Su Yunjin communicated secretly to the girls, "We'll have the chance to meet again next time."

"Crap!" Zhao Yuanzhen suddenly exclaimed, "I forgot to ask her how to deal with little thieves!"

The girls were speechless. Discover stories with empire

"It's fine," Chen Lingyun said with a sweet smile, "I have her good friend on my contact list."

"Quick, add me!"

"I want to be added too."

"Pass her contact to me, Ling Yun."

Yan Yu, watching the girls who were silent, each engrossed in their phones, suddenly felt that something was off.

Is someone secretly communicating without me? Talking behind my back, huh? Have I been slacking off with our additional training?

Of course, they were due to depart for the South Sea that afternoon; even if he was a beast, he wouldn't ruthlessly enforce training on the morning of. He simply took note quietly, preparing to settle scores after the completion of the Three Islands Treasure Ship.

I, Yan Yu, am not the type to be small-minded. Ensuring everyone maintains a good state of mind before the battle is my responsibility, no need to thank me.

The girls were, of course, oblivious to his thoughts. They continued to practice the Three Arts in the morning, had lunch at noon, and in the afternoon, they went to the airport to board the plane and begin their journey.

Near the seas adjacent to the Three Islands Treasure Ship, to maintain a deterrent against Miti's CVN-144 carrier strike group, the Annan Navy's "Tailfire Tiger" carrier strike group had also arrived at the battlefield.

Both parties carried out routine cruising on either side of the Three Islands Treasure Ship, with their daily mission being to challenge each other's communication, shouting for the other side to make way, all while putting on an aggressive front as if they were about to strike at any moment.

The military aircraft landed on the deck of the Tailfire Tiger, and Yan Yu and his group finally boarded the aircraft carrier, just in time to see the Three Islands Treasure Ship convoy sailing in the distance.

It's not apparent from the videos, but only when you are there can you feel the grandeur of the Three Islands Treasure Ship. The size of this tower ship is on par with that of the aircraft carrier itself, with its tall, sturdy masts rising like mountains, nearly a hundred meters tall, casting enormous shadows over the sea with the sails hanging from them, adorned with giant tadpole script.

Only the Rikoku Cultivators would instinctively understand the meaning the moment they saw the tadpole script:

```

Isles.

In this context, "isle" refers to an island.

The Three Isles Treasure Ship represents three "sea islands" capable of navigation.

At the edge of the deck, a media team was broadcasting live, with Lu Zhiyu, an old acquaintance of Yan Yu's and Chen Lingyun's, as the host.

Wearing a safety helmet, Lu Zhiyu was almost blown blind by the fierce and vigorous sea breeze, struggling to shout at the camera:

"We are currently on the deck of the Tail Fire Tiger aircraft carrier, (turning to the side) and now you can see, that in the distance is our Three Isles Treasure Ship…"

The director caught sight of Yan Yu and others disembarking the plane and quickly gestured to Lu Zhiyu, meaning to quickly finish the introduction and then go interview our team members.

When Lu Zhiyu saw it was Yan Yu's Team, his heart was quite reluctant. But work was work after all, so he had to rapidly memorize the script and then quickly walked over to intercept Yan Yu with the cameraman.

"Next, let's interview the protagonists of this mission, the captain of the Zhenhai Team, Yan Yu, and his teammates," Lu Zhiyu quickly shouted his lines as a warning to Yan Yu that this was a live national broadcast, then asked, "Captain Yan, you are teaming up with the Qing'an Team to combat the Sulu Allied Forces, what preparations have you made for the upcoming battle for the Three Isles Treasure Ship, and how confident are you?"

These two questions were common inquiries posed to military personnel, with standard answers usually being safe but unhelpful platitudes like "We have fully analyzed the intelligence" "We have meticulously rehearsed for the battle situation" "We will surely achieve victory in the war," enough to reassure the audience in front of the TV.

However, Yan Yu clearly wasn't one to give stock responses; he merely frowned slightly (a look that made Lu Zhiyu's heart skip a beat) before asking the camera in wonder:

"Fight Sulu, need to prepare?"

With that said, he led the still awkwardly forced-smiling girls straight into the bridge, leaving Lu Zhiyu and the film crew standing on the deck, their expressions blank and disheveled in the wind.

Inside the bridge, people like Li Zhaojiang were in the command room analyzing intelligence, when they saw Yan Yu bringing his team in.

"What's the situation?" Yan Yu found a chair and sat down, "When does the Mysterious Realm open?"

"The current estimate is the afternoon of September 1st," Li Minghu answered soberly.

"What about the enemy?" Yan Yu continued, "Which strong ones have arrived, Annan Army on their side must have confirmed as well."

"We have a suspected list," Li Zhaojiang replied. "It's on the computer over there, go have a look yourself."

"Fine then." Yan Yu knew that this kind of intelligence was top secret; once the enemy knew you were aware of their lineup, they might just pull a last-minute substitution… so it had to be stored on a physically disconnected electronic medium to prevent leaks.

Upon reaching the computer in the corner and waiting for the guard next to him to help unlock it, Yan Yu picked up the mouse and started browsing.

Hmm...

Wow, Miti Team has really splurged this time! They even sent out the Three Birds.

Phoenix, Roger the "Thorn Bird," and Margaret the "Thunder Bird." In the past life, these three were a famous hero combo from Miti, officially named "Triple Eagle Meric," or "Miti's Three Eagles."

However, Rikoku netizens called them "Miti's Three Birds"...

To be remembered and nicknamed by Rikoku netizens, the power level of these three "superheroes" was of course substantial. If the prime of Lord Master was set at T1, then these three were at least at T1.5, undoubtedly A-listers in the Superhero Alliance.

Looking next at Southeast Asia, Yan Yu scrolled the mouse wheel for quite a while, finding only two familiar names:

The Curse Technique Master Ajarn Luo and the Shadow Magician Mo Ha.

Unlike Miti and Rikoku, the main force of Southeast Asia's Transcendents were mainly in the folk, hence there were not many famous ones, but there were plenty of formidable ones, and the turnover rate was astonishingly fast.

Last month's infamous Curse Technique Master might be found dead in the gutter the next month, with all his turf and influence taken over by others... So remembering names was of no use; Yan Yu merely had some recollection of these two.

Hmm, it looked like the upcoming battle was truly going to be tough, more perilous than the previous few.

Though worried at heart, Yan Yu remained impassive on the surface, slowly scrolled through the list to the bottom, then let go of the mouse, stood up, stretched out, and yawned.

"How does it look?" Chen Lingyun asked from behind him.

"A motley crew," Yan Yu said nonchalantly, "not worth mentioning."

Seeing the captain making such an assessment, the girls also secretly breathed a sigh of relief—though their captain had high pride, seeing everyone as if they were a rabble, his evaluation still boosted their morale.

"Damn!" Jiang Hong, who was playing with his phone at the table, suddenly cursed, "Yan, you've gone viral!"

"What?" Li Zhaojiang asked in surprise.

"Check the trending searches," Jiang Hong instructed.

Everyone hastily pulled out their phones, only to see topping today's trending search list were seven words, with a strangely familiar tone:

Fight Sulu, need to prepare?

```