"Heavenly Masters are really becoming more and more common these days," Huai Xu commented, following behind Zhou Li.

"Hmm."

"But you can't really blame anyone, can you? You were the first, after all. The earlier Heavenly Masters acquire more Spiritual Power and are thus rarer; those at the very front are doomed to walk alone," Huai Xu continued. "If you have to blame something, blame your country's system that keeps kids cooped up in schools every day, unable to find companions."

"I'm not blaming anyone..."

"I think as time goes... goes..."

"Moves on."

"Right, right, moves on," Huai Xu nodded. "As time moves on, we'll meet more and more Young Heavenly Masters."

"You could have just said 'as we go on,'" Zhou Li said, stopping. He seemed somewhat at a loss. "I don't know how to tell her."

"Scared?"

"..."

Zhou Li still stepped forward. Once he stood in front of the girl, he asked, "Junior, looking for a club?"

The girl turned around. She was wearing glasses and holding a popsicle—the 'Green Tongue' type that Huai Xu loved. Upon seeing Zhou Li, her eyes blinked rapidly. She was dazzled by his striking handsomeness but managed to maintain her composure.

"I'm just... looking..."

"Joined any clubs yet?"

"Not yet."

"Why don't you join our club?" Zhou Li invited sincerely. "Our club is called the Probability Society. It's a newly established... and very excellent club."

"Um... what do you do?"

"We're very good at dealing with all sorts of mysterious and strange things," Zhou Li hinted.

"Like luck and lotteries?" the girl asked, licking her popsicle.

"No, not really," Zhou Li contemplated.

"You're making this too complicated," Huai Xu said, stepping forward to stand beside Zhou Li. His gaze swept over the girl's popsicle and finally rested on her shoulder. "This little thing of yours is quite unique. Where did you get it?"

"!!"

The girl, still holding the popsicle, suddenly froze.

The little thing on her shoulder also stiffened, looking first at Huai Xu, then at Zhou Li.

"A human Heavenly Master?" the little creature asked.

"Can you..." The girl put down her popsicle.

"I am," Zhou Li nodded.

"I'm not," Huai Xu said, still fixated on the little fellow.

"Then how can you see me?" the little creature asked.

"I'm a Demon."

Seemingly to prove his point, Huai Xu shrugged his shoulders, suddenly dropping his disguise.

「In an instant」

In the little demon's eyes, the human-shaped creature before him emitted a massive and terrifying aura, mixed with the stench of blood and a chilling malevolence. This aura didn't burst out explosively but seeped out slowly, yet it was like a slow, unstoppable flood, almost suffocating him.

The little creature instinctively clutched the girl's hair, its claws piercing through the fabric of her clothes. If it hadn't, it likely would have been scared right off her shoulder.

It took great effort to steady its mind. Taking a closer look, it saw a myriad of floating, glittering points of light behind Huai Xu, varied in color and size, like a splendid starry sky.

But as beautiful as this starry sky was, each star represented the life of a Demon.

The little demon almost fainted on the spot.

"Th-this..."

"What's wrong?" The girl sharply perceived her companion's emotions.

"Gr-Great... Great Devil King! My life is over!"

"R-Really?"

The girl's face also instantly stiffened.

In the blink of an eye, Huai Xu had concealed his aura again.

After all, this was Chunming, where Great Demons were far too numerous. In his view, such behavior was akin to streaking in public; only brutish, brainless Demons would do such a thing. However, it was still an improvement compared to Zhisha's actions when he first awoke last year. His behavior was equivalent to defecating and urinating in public—utterly uncultured.

The well-educated, university-attending old Demon leaned close to Zhou Li, lowered his voice, and said very proudly, "Now you see I really am the Great Devil King, right?"

Zhou Li nudged him away with his shoulder. "Stop scaring her."

"Heh heh..."

Huai Xu smiled at the girl and the little demon before him, waving his hand. "Don't be afraid. I've already washed my hands of my old ways, turned over a new leaf, mended my ways, and I'm starting afresh as a Demon."

As he spoke, he winked his left eye, looking very cocky.

Zhou Li: ...

Huai Xu continued, "Really, I have a very good temperament. Previously, it was mainly because of my... line of work. Life's pressures, you know. These marks are remnants from those days. In modern terms, they're called occupational hazards."

Finally, he added, "Actually, I'm super cute... Don't believe me? Ask Zhou Li!"

After speaking, he nudged Zhou Li with his elbow.

Zhou Li said expressionlessly, "Yes."

"GULP!"

The girl swallowed hard. But she was quite brave and slowly regained her composure. Her eyes shifted tentatively between Zhou Li and Huai Xu. "So..."

"So, are you interested in joining our club?"

"Your club is all..."

"Not all of us are. Besides me, there's one other."

"Oh... I'll think about it."

The girl looked at the ground, hesitating.

Zhou Li kept sending friendly signals. "My name is Zhou Li. What's yours?"

"I'm Xiao Hua."

"..."

So she's using a pseudonym.

Several dark lines appeared on Zhou Li's forehead. He noticed the little demon on the girl's shoulder quietly pinching the skin of her neck, seemingly trying to send her a message.

At the same time, the girl quickly showed a troubled expression. "Actually, I want to join the Guitar Club or the Hanfu Society."

"We have someone in our club who also joined the Hanfu Society."

"Really?"

"It's okay. If you have any concerns, you don't have to join our club." Zhou Li saw the girl's face suddenly flush, and he quickly smiled. "I started out just like you; I understand how you feel."

"So..." the girl whispered, glancing at him.

"So, don't be embarrassed," Zhou Li said. "The Guitar Club is pretty good; the Hanfu Society's atmosphere isn't great. The Guitar Club often organizes activities. It can be fun if you're active, but you'll be quite invisible if you're not. Let's exchange contact information. I also know a few other Heavenly Masters. I can introduce you to them sometime. You can ask me anything—whether it's about us, them, or the school."

"After all..." Zhou Li paused. "We're the same kind, and it's a rare stroke of fate that we've met."

"I'll join!" The girl changed her mind on the spot.

"Hmm?"

"I'll join!"

The girl looked up at Zhou Li and noticed a faint smile on his face, as if he had anticipated her response.

The girl became even more embarrassed.

Zhou Li led her back to the Probability Society's booth but didn't have her fill out the form immediately. Instead, they stood in line. Four guys were ahead of them, probably from the same dorm, and Brother Nan was talking to them.

"There's a review process??"

"Yes."

"How do you review?"

"We see what talents you have and whether your personality is to our liking, things like that."

"Other big clubs don't have reviews!"

"Oh," Brother Nan said seriously. "To be honest, not only do we have a review process, but our fees are also quite high. Any objections?"

"Why, though? Do you guarantee us girlfriends or something? If you do, I'm in."

"Why don't you take a good look in the mirror at your own sorry self before spouting that kind of nonsense?"

"Sorry for bothering you, sorry for bothering..."

The four guys were scared off and hurriedly left.

Only then did Zhou Li lead the girl closer. He said, somewhat exasperated, "With an attitude like that, you'll scare off anyone who comes."

Brother Nan didn't care. "Just a lecher."

Zhou Li shook his head and introduced her to everyone. "This is a junior from my high school. You can just call her Xiao Hua."

Xiao Hua felt another wave of embarrassment.

Clearly, that name was just made up on the spot.

She quickly sent Zhou Li a look, and after a couple of seconds, shot him several more pleading glances, but Zhou Li pretended not to see. Meanwhile, a few club veterans had already started welcoming her.

A pen was thrust into her hands.

An application form was placed before her.

Left with no choice, Xiao Hua bent her head and began to fill it out.

Her name was Xie Minqing, gender: female, from the Computer Science Institute, student ID: 2020****002.

Native place: Guizhou.

Mianmian picked up the application form, looking somewhat puzzled. "You're from Guizhou, huh? How did you end up going to high school in Yi Province?"

Xiao Hua kept her head down, pretending not to hear.

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