"How could she possibly help me?" Sophie Shang shook her head.
"I'll go persuade her," Vivian Xiao said. "If she's smart, she'll listen."
Sophie wasn't convinced, but she still put on a grateful face and said, "Thank you, Vivian."
"Why are you thanking me? We're friends! I'll go find her now."
Sophie nodded.
The two of them left Cloud Brocade Palace together, and Vivian flew off toward the royal tree.
Sophie watched her go, her previously warm, sincere gaze slowly turning cold. She murmured two words: "Treat... illness..."
"Highness, if she cures the Celestial Empress, even if the Empress finds out she's the Phoenix Maiden's daughter, she'll owe her a favor. With the Empress's personality, she won't make things difficult for her anymore..." Ray Shang, Sophie's loyal dragon attendant, shadowed her as he spoke.
"She really is bold," Sophie sneered. "The Celestial Empress is so noble, and she's just a lowly spirit mage—she dares to treat her? If she succeeds, great. But if she fails... she'll be doomed!"
"Should I go look for Lucy?" Ray asked.
Sophie curled her lips. "Go on! But be careful—don't let anyone catch you."
"Don't worry!"
...
Leon Zane finally caught up with Ian Zhu.
Then he chased after him, demanding the Jade Spire back.
"Seriously! You're the mighty Young Master of Cang, but you can't even beat a spirit mage who hasn't ascended yet!" Ian Zhu sneered. "Even that half-breed hound you raised turned into a meat dog—serves you right if someone eats him!"
"How can you say that? Do you have any idea what Rina Chu has in her hands? The Celestial Lash! The Celestial Lash, man! It's the divine whip that belonged to Lord Jinchu! It can strike gods and demigods alike—back in the day, it shook all three divine realms!"
"Even if the Celestial Lash is powerful, the one wielding it is still just a spirit mage! Don't tell me you can't even beat her?"
"Of course I can beat her! But if I make a move, she'll die!"
"Isn't that what you want? You rant all day about how you want to skin her alive—if she dies, wouldn't that be perfect?"
"Me? I'm only doing this for the Crown Prince! She's Chloe Zhu's person, and Chloe Zhu belongs to the Crown Prince! Don't you know how politics work?"
"Oh, so you're the expert! Then stop talking to clueless people like me—you're just lowering your emotional IQ." Ian Zhu snorted and turned to leave.
Leon Zane grabbed him. "Give me back the Jade Spire!"
"We had a deal. How can you just ask for it back now?"
"What kind of lousy plan did you come up with? I lost Blackie and got beaten up by her! Look at my nose!"
Ian Zhu looked at his pitiful state, shook his head, and said, "So tell me, what do you actually want to do with her?"
"I just want her to yield! I want her to stop showing off in front of me!"
"That's easy," Ian Zhu said. "Here, I'll give you another idea."
"What idea?"
"Who are you, anyway?"
Leon Zane: "Who do you think I am?"
"You're a Spiritual Alchemist!" Ian Zhu said. "Just use some Mindfog Incense to knock her out and snatch the Celestial Lash! She'll have no choice but to yield!"
"Huh?" Leon Zane's eyes lit up. "That's actually a great idea! Why didn't I think of it before?"