Chapter 39: Gonna Be Number One

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The demon hunters exchanged looks, until finally one man growled, “I’m forty-seventh.”

“What a coincidence—it just so happens that I’m seventy-fourth!” Zhe Huo produced her badge of rank, and waved it before his eyes cheerfully. “Well then… how about we switch?”

The man harrumphed, pulled out his own badge, and threw it at her. She deftly caught it, and tossed her own back to him.

The other demon hunters were grinding their teeth with frustration at hearing her rank. Whatever unbelievable stroke of luck she’d encountered, to bring down the wasp demon so quickly, the rank was hers to claim as long as she’d beaten them to it.

Naturally, the demon-hunting scene was highly competitive. A higher place on the leaderboard meant being able to command larger rewards. Among the top twenty, half of them were said to originate from Tiancheng, and because of their vastly multiplied income, they’d managed to amass enough power to ascend to divinity. Rumor had it that one demon hunter had even become a general of the heavenly guard—now that was a demon hunter’s ultimate dream!

When she’d finally received the blessings of all the locals in the Valley of Blossoms, and was leaving with the reward as well as her new badge of rank, she found Luo Qinghan and Tao Feiyan waiting for her outside. What startled her was the blackened waste that the labyrinth of flowers had become, although her two companions seemed untroubled by this.

Zhe Huo flew over all the rot and decay, touching down on the other side. “What happened here?” she asked them. “Everything was fine when we went in—why are the flowers all dead now?”

Qinghan shook his head in confusion.

Feiyan shrugged with indifference.

Well, it certainly didn’t seem to have anything to do with them. Happily, she waltzed up to Qinghan and showed off her new badge of rank. “Check it out! With one move, I’ve suddenly risen to Rank 47! Among the Lavender Mountain disciples, Wu Shan holds Rank 31, Chang Feng is Rank 53… now I’m second place among the disciples! Do you think I’ll be better than Wu Shan, soon?”

The mere thought was making her giddy!

Qinghan wagged his tail, his adorable little mouth hanging open as he gazed up at her. He smiled and said, “Rank 31 is nothing. Zhe Huo is gonna be number one, some day.”

Zhe Huo gaped at him, chewed on one rose-red lip, rolled her eyes in deep thought… then clenched her fists, nodding with absolute conviction. “Yup! I’ve gotta work hard, so I can be the best!”

“Alright, come back to reality now…” The gorgeous Feiyan, holding his oil-paper umbrella, could endure this display no further. He glanced askance at Zhe Huo, his voice low and sultry, “Well, darling? Got your reward, have you?”

Zhe Huo was in a great mood, and the same seemed to be true of Feiyan. She beamed and nodded. “Eighty-five thousand spirit gems, in the bag!”

“All I did was draw out some of the nectar for you, though. I don’t need the gems, just let me have the wasp demon. And also…”

Zhe Huo echoed uncertainly, “Also…?”

Feiyan batted his eyelashes at her. “Treat me to a feast.”

“Zhe Huo, give him some of the gems,” Qinghan cut in icily. “Let him treat himself.”

“Zhe Huo darling, the child is a child—but surely you’re not so uncouth, yourself?”

Qinghan shot him a look to corrode steel. Before he could regain the initiative, however, he heard the young woman cough twice overhead, before saying, “Why, that’s nothing! Of course I’ll pay for dinner! Where would you like to eat, Mr Tao?”

The boy flattened his ears and looked up at her with wet eyes. “Zhe Huo…”

Zhe Huo was of course unable to endure this, but she nevertheless pulled him aside and whispered, “Qinghan, it’s only dinner. Compared to giving him half the reward, this is totally our gain!”

At this, Qinghan was lost for words.