Chapter 9: Let's Get Married!

Jiāng Jiāng slowly opened her somewhat dazed eyes; this arrangement was her own room.

"Did she faint again?"

Jiāng Jiāng shook her head back and forth, then slowly got up from the bed.

She opened the door and came to the main hall, glanced at the clock on the ceiling, and saw it was already afternoon.

"Haah—"

On the sofa, Chén Chén lay there, snoring.

Jiāng Jiāng let out a long sigh.

This guy, I don't know if he even had dinner ready for me.

But after thinking about Chén Chén's cooking skill, Jiāng Jiāng breathed a sigh of relief; good thing it wasn't that bad.

Chén Chén's cooking skills are hard to describe.

Jiāng Jiāng went to the kitchen, picked up the ancestral Mysterious Iron Kitchen Knife, and began chopping vegetables with a swish-swish-swish.

In the living room, Chén Chén's bodily awareness, sensing the movement, shifted from standby mode to walking mode.

Hearing the sound of Jiāng Jiāng cooking in the kitchen, Chén Chén felt very relieved.

Jiāng Jiāng has great talent in cooking; although she uses fairly ordinary home-style methods, the taste is surprisingly good—if placed in some anime, it would definitely be the kind where lifting the lid makes the dish glow and rolling up the sleeves reveals an Azure Dragon, a shame she was born in a martial artist's world.

Soon the dishes were ready; the two of them filled the table with four dishes and one soup.

"Say, Chén Chén, you haven't been going to work, so how are you still able to get such good ingredients?" Jiāng Jiāng asked while picking up vegetables.

Chén Chén enjoyed scooping his rice bowl, swallowed two mouthfuls of food, then continued his reply:

"To be frank, I, your older brother, have been absorbed by a major power due to my extraordinary talent, and these ingredients are member benefits."

"Really?!"

"Why didn't you consult me first? What if you ran into a scammer and signed a slave contract?!"

Of course, Jiāng Jiāng was just saying that; although Chén Chén was a bit showy, he still had intelligence—indeed, his cleverness surely surpassed hers. However, not telling her which power he'd joined did make Jiāng Jiāng a bit annoyed.

"Don't worry, don't worry, I joined a big organization, and its reputation is excellent." Chén Chén said casually.

Jiāng Jiāng suppressed her anger, after all she was just a freeloader; perhaps Chén Chén joined the organization to pave the way for her. Thinking this, Jiāng Jiāng felt guilty again, and so she asked further:

"What organization? Could you tell your superiors that I, your extraordinarily talented younger sister, also want to join?"

"No way, your talent is too poor."

"(▼ヘ▼#)"

Jiāng Jiāng was afraid she couldn't help but slam the vegetable plate onto his face and then follow up with a punch.

"Isn't my talent at least as good as yours? After this mental power breakthrough, my physique is surely close to yours, right?!"

"Besides, I'm a Spiritual Thought Master; that faction out there would be fighting to have me!"

Although Jiāng Jiāng constantly reminded herself that her ability was lacking and she shouldn't be arrogant about her talent, that didn't mean she lacked experience.

Just considering being a Spiritual Thought Master, her talent already beats ninety percent of people; of course, she's still limited to commoners. But if using Chén Chén as the standard, she probably isn't that bad either.

"Look, your perspective is too low; to ordinary people, a Spiritual Thought Master seems incredibly rare, but does becoming one instantly elevate you to heaven? Just like martial artists, Spiritual Thought Masters also have strong and weak varieties, and talent likewise varies—what if you're the weakest kind?"

Jiāng Jiāng narrowed her eyes and frowned: "Indeed."

After a moment's reflection, Jiāng Jiāng felt Chén Chén's analysis made sense; one must always prepare for the worst-case scenario.

"But compared to you, older brother, my talent isn't that far off! After this faint, I can now use spiritual thought power, and my physique might even catch up to yours—who knows if I could beat you or not?"

Jiāng Jiāng objected.

"I've trained so hard; my talent among commoners must at least be top-notch. If some organization values older brother, why wouldn't it value me?"

"Look at you showing off; after we eat, let's spar a bit so you can feel the difference in strength."

"Bring it on!"

Jiāng Jiāng said while hurriedly trying to mobilize her spiritual thought power.

"Thinking she could beat Chén Chén is a joke; Jiāng Jiāng still has a clear grasp of their respective levels."

"In terms of physique, the two aren't that different, but in actual combat, she's lagging behind by a hundred thousand miles."

"But Jiāng Jiāng also wanted to prove her strength to Chén Chén, so she couldn't be underestimated."

After dinner.

On the rooftop, the two stood a few meters apart, each holding a mop and a broom, just like kids fighting.

Jiāng Jiāng stared intently at Chén Chén.

"If the enemy doesn't move, I don't move."

"Chén Chén is stronger than me in physique and combat experience; recklessly attacking would not be wise."

"Defense as offense—"

As Jiāng Jiāng pondered, Chén Chén stepped forward, swinging the mop diagonally in a strike.

"Can't block it!"

Jiāng Jiāng jerked back, just dodging that blow, about to counter, but Chén Chén reflexively struck back with lightning speed—before she could steady herself, the mop came slashing from the right.

"This strike was already too late to dodge."

Jiāng Jiāng gritted her teeth, swept to block, and at the same time directed her spiritual thought power to launch the two chess pieces on the ground at Chén Chén.

"Smack—"

"The broom handle was snapped clean off."

"And the two flying black-and-white pieces were easily dodged by Chén Chén."

"The mop came to rest beside Jiāng Jiāng's head, its flying strands just grazing her cheek."

"Jiāng Jiāng, her face smeared with dust, looked a bit embarrassed; after just one round, she was 'cut down from her horse'."

"I... I'm really weak."

Jiāng Jiāng spoke while turning and rushing into the bathroom.

"Hey hey hey, you're not going to cry, are you?" Chén Chén looked at Jiāng Jiāng's defeated back, wondering if he should give in a bit.

However, Jiāng Jiāng's answer came from the bathroom right away:

"Wash your face, you bastard!"

Um, a momentary mistake—I didn't account for the length of the cloth.

……

After washing her face and returning to the balcony, Jiāng Jiāng let out a slight sigh. Jiāng Jiāng is not someone who can't withstand this blow; on the contrary, she is quite grateful that Chén Chén, at this moment, extinguished the faint flame of arrogance in her heart.

"So, what organization have you joined, and to what extent must I reach to be able to join?"

Chén Chén shook his head and said:

"Can't join."

"I'm really that useless (╥﹏╥)?" Jiāng Jiāng said dejectedly.

"Alright, alright, actually I've joined the World Tree—I myself don't know what the standard is." Chén Chén said irritably, lying.

Whether to invite Jiāng Jiāng into the World Tree is naturally just a matter of Chén Chén's word.

But Chén Chén still needs Jiāng Jiāng to go to other forces to increase his say a bit to perfect his grand unification plan; naturally, he couldn't waste it like that.

Moreover, given Chén Chén's understanding of Jiāng Jiāng, if he were to suddenly drop the act and reveal his hand, it would likely turn Jiāng Jiāng into a homebody; to properly train Jiāng Jiāng, Chén Chén decided to let her silently join as part of the unification plan. (secretly giving himself a thumbs-up for being thoughtful)

"World Tree!" Jiāng Jiāng couldn't believe her ears.

If one were to say which force the current generation of martial artists most wants to join, there is no doubt it is 【World Tree】.

Legend has it that the organization has been passed down for over a thousand years and inherited ancient civilization; only during the Great Nirvana period did it gradually appear in people's sight, officially emerging four or five years ago, faintly already poised to become the leading super organization among the major forces.

"What most attracts martial artists is still the 【World Tree】's formidable healing ability and its long history."

Healing techniques can guarantee martial artists' lives and bodily recovery; the long tradition means it has a superior martial artist training pipeline; it is said that the number of War Gods in the World Tree now far exceeds that of the Two Great Martial Halls.

"When did this happen!" Jiāng Jiāng continued to confirm.

"Um, it's been about a year, but only after I pass the martial artist assessment can I become an official member." Chén Chén continued lying, anyway he's gotten used to lying a lot.

"But… but I heard that all non-martial artist members of the 【World Tree】 are drawn to the headquarters for training?"

Jiāng Jiāng's tone began to sound unnatural, because this is exactly what she worries about most.

If Chén Chén were to go to the World Tree headquarters, then wouldn't I have to be separated from him!

"I don't need to now."

Before Jiāng Jiāng could even catch her breath, Chén Chén added: "But once you become a martial artist, you'll have to leave."

"I should be able to go along as a family member, right?" Jiāng Jiāng's panic was plainly written on her face, and she immediately asked again.

Chén Chén shook his head.

Jiāng Jiāng's heart sank straight to the bottom of the valley.

Yeah, actually I don't even count as Chén Chén's immediate family.

Almost all forces' welfare policies have such restrictions, after all the benefits given to martial artists' families are already extravagant; you can't have every great-aunt and uncle, adopted sons and daughters tangled up in social welfare, or society would fall into chaos.

What to do, what to do!!!

Jiāng Jiāng had never considered what life would be like after leaving Chén Chén.

Jiāng Jiāng had always thought that, no matter what, she would always live together with Chén Chén.

So she worked hard at her cultivation, did the chores every day, cooked meals on schedule, and called Chén Chén to wake up on schedule.

She did what she couldn't, and Chén Chén did it; she did what Chén Chén disliked, and she did it; they lived like that.

But now, Chén Chén suddenly wants to part ways with her.

How long will they be apart?

One year, three years? Or five years??

Jiāng Jiāng didn't know, and had never even considered such a situation.

In that second, Jiāng Jiāng almost depleted all the ATP and glucose in her brain, and a foolproof plan surfaced in her mind.

"Chén Chén! Let's get married!"