Level Crushing

For the next period of time, Bai Qianshuang had been immersed in comprehending the Empress's legacy, while Ye Chuan neither entered the Tianxuan Continent nor disturbed Bai Qianshuang.

"Once Qianshuang's cultivation improves, we'll take revenge on the Qingyun Sect."

Time was on his side.

Before long, winter arrived in Haizhu City.

Despite the season, the temperature remained around twenty degrees Celsius, so much so that long sleeves weren’t even necessary. Without a cold front moving in, one could comfortably wear a short-sleeved shirt all the way until the New Year.

Of course, with Ye Chuan and his companions' physical conditioning, they could simply use spiritual energy to shield themselves from the cold, eliminating the need for extra layers.

"Tap!"

"Tap!"

"Checkmate."

"Ugh."

The sound of paper tearing echoed as Ye Chuan peeled off a slip and stuck it onto the face of the girl in front of him.

Lan Xiaoke bit her lip, her chubby cheeks already plastered with slips of paper. Yet, she stubbornly kept her eyes locked on the chessboard.

"One more round!"

Someone desperate to win couldn’t afford to smile.

"Again?" Ye Chuan propped his chin on one hand. Lan Xiaoke had already lost five times in a row, and judging by her expression, victory didn’t seem within reach.

"Nah, I'm done." Ye Chuan stretched lazily.

"One more time, please!" The white-haired girl grabbed his hand. "Just one more game, I swear!"

"Ten thousand per round," Ye Chuan said.

Lan Xiaoke: OvO...

After a brief silence, she declared, "Fine! This time, I’ll win for sure!"

"Alright."

A few minutes later, Lan Xiaoke’s pieces were on the verge of annihilation, her chin resting on her hand as she sank into deep thought once more.

"Want to surrender?" Ye Chuan smirked.

"Not yet. I’m not losing," Lan Xiaoke shook her head.

Just then, Luo Xi walked in through the door. "Chuan~ Oh, what are you two up to?"

Lan Xiaoke turned her head. "Luo Xi, you're back!"

Coincidentally, as she spun around, her hip sent the chessboard flying.

"Clatter, clatter." The pieces scattered across the floor.

"Ah, how did that happen?" Lan Xiaoke turned back with an exaggerated look of shock. "Guess this round doesn’t count then."

"Don’t worry, we can reset it," Ye Chuan said.

"Oh no, no way to reset now!" Lan Xiaoke swiftly gathered the pieces into the box, then stood up nonchalantly, stretching. "Luo Xi~ I’ll help you wash the veggies!"

"Sure!"

Ye Chuan watched as Lan Xiaoke scampered off to the kitchen to assist Luo Xi and could only shake his head in resignation.

Whatever.

He wasn’t going to fuss over it.

Settling onto the sofa, Ye Chuan turned on the TV, and the broadcast filled the room—

"Recently, a massive fissure has appeared in the city’s outskirts. No monsters have emerged so far, but citizens and superhumans are advised to avoid the area until the Alliance assesses the danger."

"The mysterious armored vigilante who fights evil turns out to be a girl named Xiao Yang?!"

"The first Superhuman Tournament is about to commence, with participants from across the nation eager to compete."

"Qiao Pharmaceuticals’ new wound-healing drug promises recovery in just three seconds!"

"..."

One news segment after another played, though none particularly caught Ye Chuan’s interest. Just as he was about to put his phone away, a familiar call came through—

"Hello?" Ye Chuan answered.

"Ye Chuan, something’s come up," Wang Yanran’s voice sounded from the other end.

"What is it?"

"The [Players] have appeared again, and this time, there are many of them—stronger too," Wang Yanran hesitated slightly.

"The superhumans can’t handle them. Can you send someone?"

"Superhumans can’t win?"

"Right."

"Another Player invasion, huh?" Ye Chuan rested his chin on his hand, thinking. "I won’t intervene this time."

"I see… Alright, I understand." Wang Yanran’s voice faltered slightly at his refusal, but she didn’t press further.

"I’ll hang up now..."

After all, Ye Chuan was her boss. She had only asked if he could step in.

"I won’t act personally, but I can send someone," Ye Chuan said, his gaze shifting toward the kitchen.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"That’s great! Should I come pick you up?"

"Sure."

Ye Chuan set his phone down just as the doorbell rang—Wang Yanran had clearly been waiting outside the whole time.

He wasn’t the least bit surprised. In fact, he was long accustomed to her habit of calling while standing at his doorstep.

"Xiaoke, get the door."

"Me? Got it." Lan Xiaoke shuffled over in her slippers, the soft "tap-tap" of her steps accompanying her to the entrance. She opened the door and ushered Wang Yanran inside.

"Ye Chuan." Wang Yanran changed into house slippers.

"How strong are these Players?" Ye Chuan asked.

"About… Tier 3 or higher," Wang Yanran replied.

"So, same as before." Ye Chuan nodded. Even so, the local superhumans still weren’t a match.

The problem was, the superhumans in this world were progressing too slowly.

Aside from Ye Chuan’s household, most others were only around Tier 2—nowhere near capable of dealing with those Players.

Especially the ones with [Firearm Immunity] from last time.

"In that case…" Ye Chuan scanned the room. Ye Yue wasn’t home, Ke Ning was purely support-oriented, and Lilith had recently turned into a shut-in who couldn’t be bothered to move.

As for Qianshuang, sending her would be like using a nuke to kill a mosquito.

After some consideration, his eyes landed on Luo Xi and Lan Xiaoke in the kitchen.

"Send Xi’er and Xiaoke," Ye Chuan decided, then added after a moment,

"Oh, and the spider-dog duo in the yard. They can tag along too."

"Miss Xiaoke?" Wang Yanran sounded surprised.

"You talking about me?" Lan Xiaoke poked her head out from the kitchen.

"Yeah, you’re going to fight. Time to test your recent training," Ye Chuan said.

Lan Xiaoke never actually trained, but thanks to the Spirit Gathering Array, she had reached the Golden Core stage. Though her combat skills were lacking, sheer level advantage should suffice against those Players.

Luo Xi’s cultivation was slightly weaker, but this would be good experience for her.

As for the spider-dog pair outside—whether they were on some kind of cultivation steroids or what—they were advancing at a ridiculous pace, nearly at the Nascent Soul stage already.

"Della." Ye Chuan snapped his fingers, summoning Della into the room.

"Clank, clank." The metallic clinking of her movements sounded as Della gripped her small hammer.

As Ye Chuan’s avatar, she shared his Dao Comprehension realm power. Sending a Tier 7 entity to suppress a bunch of Tier 3 opponents?

Seemed perfectly reasonable.