Teacher by day, Farmer by passion - Chapter 255

Chapter 255: Little Aoki [1]
“By the way, Master,” Lily asked, her voice light as she sipped from her teacup, “what’s your plan for the upcoming auction?”

Ace paused, giving it a moment of thought. “Honestly, Lily… I don’t think we should be attending such an event. It’s pointless.”

Lily instantly pouted. “What? But Master… you’re the sect master! Our sect barely has any disciples. How are we supposed to run things smoothly with just two per elder? We need to assert dominance and recruit for helpers!”

She leaned forward, voice turning dramatic. “We don’t even have enough people to assign basic chores! It’s tragic!”

Ace gave her a slow stare. “That’s not why.”

Then, tilting his head with a teasing glint, he added, “Also, if you just acted a little friendlier with the people from the Fairy Pavilion Sect, maybe we could recruit some of their disciples to help out around.”

Lily’s eyes lit up with revelation. “Wait! Master… don’t tell me… Is that why you’ve been acting so friendly with them lately?”

She slammed her palm down with conviction. “Master! You don’t have to! Not anymore. I’ll go tell them myself to send people over. If I say it’s for you, they’ll definitely throw their whole outer court at us!”

Ace sighed, massaging his temple. “Lily…”

She gave him a wide-eyed look of innocence.

He exhaled, letting the auction talk drop. “Forget it. How’s the village faring?”

Lily’s smile vanished. She sat beside him, her tone turning sharp. “Horrible, Master. They refuse to send their children here. Instead, they ship them off to the White Ice Sect. I don’t get it, we are way stronger and way closer.”

At the mention of that name, she clicked her tongue in disgust.

“If you hadn’t stopped me,” she said darkly, “I was this close to razing that place to the ground. Can you believe they still have a bounty on Liu Mei and refuse to remove it?”

Ace laughed softly. “Let them be. No one can touch Liu Mei. Not even with her spirit bonds. She’s more than capable.”

Lily’s brows furrowed, eyes flaring with pride.

“I can,” she said coolly. “I don’t even need a soul bond to break them all.”

Ace couldn’t help a chuckle at her bravado and reached over to ruffle her hair.

“You’re her teacher, Lily, you are not her rival nor a bounty hunter.”

She crossed her arms but didn’t move away. “…Just saying. If anyone tries to, I’ll break their knees.”

“Well then,” Ace said, reclining slightly.

“Contact Elder Yuu. Have her place a bounty on the White Ice Sect’s leader.”

Lily, sitting beside him, added casually, “Branch leader.”

Ace blinked. “Why the branch leader?”

“He’s the one who issued the bounty on Liu Mei,” she replied with a mischievous smile.

“But wouldn’t it make more sense to put it on the sect leader instead?” Ace asked, confused.

Lily leaned in, her grin widening. “Heh. Master, you’re so bad. If you put a bounty on the sect leader… I’ll be the first to hunt him down and cash it in.”

Ace blinked. “…Aren’t we doing this just to scare them?”

“Oh, absolutely. It’s all just posturing,” she said sweetly, with the tone of someone who’d definitely take the bounty seriously.

Ace sighed, rubbing his temple. I forgot. My companions are literal monsters.

“Well, then,” he muttered, “how much is Liu Mei’s bounty, anyway?”

Lily’s face scrunched with indignation. “One million gold ingots. One. Can you believe it? They clearly have no idea what she’s capable of. Honestly, it’s insulting. If they are putting any, they should add two more zeroes!”

Ace raised an eyebrow. “Wait… doesn’t Shan Yifeng also have a bounty?”

“He does?” Lily blinked innocently.

“I’m pretty sure, yeah,” Ace replied, narrowing his eyes at her.

Nervously, she fidgeted. “Well, I—I didn’t know before… but now I do! Ahem.”

“Ace stared at her, narrowing his eyes. “Lily… how much is Shan Yifeng’s bounty?”

She hesitated, then muttered, “…Fifteen million.”

Silence.

“…Fifteen. Million?” Ace repeated, as if hearing it for the first time, even though his heart was already sinking.

“Yep,” she confirmed with an awkward smile. “Way more than Liu Mei.”

Ace stared into the distance, horrified. Was I seriously about to send out a kid worth fifteen million gold taels into the world… without any guardian?

He stood up. “Tell Yuu to meet me tomorrow.”

Lily gave a playful bow. “Yes, Master~” she chimed and hurried out of the guest room.

Ace sat there for a moment, mentally preparing himself.

“Monsters… I live with monsters.”

With a thought-command murmured under his breath, Ace activated the internal spirit system tied to his cultivation core.

“Open system tab,” he said, wth a soft hum, a translucent blue screen shimmered to life before his eyes, illuminating his face in the quiet room.

Lines of glowing script flowed into view, clean, precise, and pulsing with a faint spiritual rhythm.

[Name: Shan Yifeng, 2nd disciple]

Talent: Heavenly grade

Cultivation Realm: Peak Legend Rank

Soul Bond: Raikhan — Spirit Sovereign Wolf (Unique Rank)

[Bloodline: Crimson dragon]

Ace closed the system tab with a flick of his fingers, the soft hum fading into the air like mist.

He slouched into his chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“I wonder how I’m supposed to break into the Divine Step Realm…” he muttered to himself. “It’s been ages, and I’ve still got no clue. I’m already nearing the peak of the Legend Rank, and still got nothing.”

With a sigh, he stood up and stretched his arms over his head, stepping out into the sunlight.

And that’s when he saw it.

A giant spirit bear thundered across the courtyard at full speed, its eyes wide with panic.

Hot on its heels was a maniacal girl, her expression beaming with unfiltered joy, completely oblivious to the bear’s emotional damage.

The two disappeared behind a hill, a trail of dust in their wake.

Ace blinked as the dust settled. “…Eh… Was that who I think it was?”