Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

But Yan Yu, this formidable man, was speaking too much with force, and the host Lu Zhiyu couldn't keep up, so he decisively played a card to redirect the topic, picking a less tricky question to ask Chen Lingyun:

"Deputy Captain Chen, as the right hand of Captain Yan Yu, can you talk about the relationship between the two of you?"

"Relationship?" Chen Lingyun pretended not to understand and chuckled with her hand covering her mouth, "Isn't it just the usual deputy and chief relationship?"

"On the job, we're comrades in arms, of course," Lu Zhiyu said, smiling amiably as he continued, "What about your personal rapport?"

Although her expression was very composed and proper as if she was just talking about something very ordinary, there was indeed an implied gossipy tone. A slight misstep in answering, and the host would seize the opportunity to dig further—the audiences always love this kind of topic; it's a classic hot-button issue.

"Privately," Chen Lingyun drew out her words, "not too bad, we could be called frenemies, I suppose."

Lu Zhiyu: ?

She politely widened her eyes slightly, only to hear Chen Lingyun laugh again:

"Forget it, it's a public interview, let's not bring up personal matters, just cut this part out."

Lu Zhiyu suddenly felt like she had a date stuck in her throat, not going up nor coming down—it was supremely uncomfortable... What did she mean by "frenemies"?

You could have just not said anything, but since you did, at least clarify it for me! This is material with even more value to dig into than a "romantic relationship"!

What does it mean to leave it hanging after saying only half of it?

Just as she was about to press for more information, she saw Yan Yu suddenly gesture and said:

"This 'frenemies' thing, there's no other meaning. It's just that she, as the deputy captain, is always overestimating herself, liking to challenge authority. But it's useless, because our team speaks through strength, and anyone who doesn't have enough and dares to step out of line will only be severely suppressed, no matter whose official son or daughter you are."

Lu Zhiyu: ..........

She couldn't follow up on that, because she truly knew who Chen Lingyun's father was—already a level that public media should not mention, and would soon be completely off-limits.

Offstage, Qi Changping spoke with a numb expression:

"Cut this part as well."

"Sure, cut it," Cao Wendan nodded and took out the walkie-talkie to command, "Tell little Lu not to ask Chen Lingyun any more questions."

The girl's family background was sensitive and ultimately not something that could be casually discussed on air.

Having just breathed a sigh of relief, Qi Changping then heard Cao Wendan instruct:

"Let her focus on asking Yan Yu, as he's the main guest for this interview."

This left Qi Changping tied up in knots again. I agree with not asking Chen Lingyun, but telling her to ask Yan Yu...

Lu Zhiyu noticed the cue from offstage and knew that the previous segment would definitely be cut, which made her feel a bit frustrated and helpless.

However, due to her professional composure of being a host, her demeanor remained unchanged as she switched to another subject to continue the interview:

"Captain Yan Yu, you and Liu Longtao of the Dingbei Army's team are considered the two rising stars among military cultivators. As the saying goes, 'There's no first in art, no second in martial arts,' how would you evaluate Liu Longtao's strength?"

"Liu Longtao, huh." Yan Yu pondered for a moment, "His strength is pretty good, decent."

"What if you were to compete against him?" Lu Zhiyu immediately struck while the iron was hot, asking with a smile, "Do you have the confidence to defeat him in the next simulation exercise?"

"Hahaha," Yan Yu laughed, "You shouldn't be asking me that, you should go ask him. After all, he is someone who has lost to me, and these days, he's probably got his mind full of thoughts about how to beat me."

Lu Zhiyu was suddenly lost for words. She had done her homework before the interview, and of course, she knew the outcome of the academy exchange competition.

But that's all in the past now! The famous mountains and great rivers and mysterious realms have opened across the country, and Liu Longtao is leading his team in sweeping through North China and Northeast, both the Immortal Sword and techniques have been completely renewed, and even the number of mysterious realms conquered by his team has surpassed yours by now!

If he were to challenge you again, the outcome might still be uncertain, right?

Of course, you can't just bluntly question this, otherwise, it would truly be picking a fight. After organizing her thoughts for a brief moment, Lu Zhiyu tactfully said:

"I've heard that the Dingbei Army managed to consecutively secure three mysterious realms within a week, such a team cannot be considered weak, right?"

"Certainly not weak," Yan Yu looked at her puzzledly, "If you consider Liu Longtao's strength weak, then the Dingbei Army has no strong cultivators at all."

Lu Zhiyu: ..............

"But, just now, your evaluation of Liu Longtao's strength was merely 'not bad' at all," she continued unwillingly, emphasizing the words "not bad" to remind Yan Yu that those were his exact words.

"Evaluations are relative," Yan Yu patiently explained. "Compared to the cultivators of the Dingbei Army or the mainstream cultivators in the country, Liu Longtao is undoubtedly a top-tier contender, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he is among the elite."

"However, such a high evaluation can be made by anyone except me. Because he was defeated by me, if I brag about him being invincible, then what level does that make my strength? A celestial being from beyond the heavens? Should I still have any shame left? There's a limit to boasting about oneself."

Lu Zhiyu: ......................

"Get it?" Yan Yu gave a wry smile, his expression weary as he said, "Alas, in truth, who is stronger and who is weaker is meaningless when debated verbally. Only victory or defeat on the battlefield is the ultimate test of strength."

"Yes, you're right," Lu Zhiyu finally composed herself, relying on her strong professional qualities to quickly adjust her stiff expression back to normal and summarizing, "Captain Yan, what you said is correct.

In fact, we have discussed many times before that 'strength determines everything,' and also that 'victory determines strength.' As for who will become the number one among the Rikoku Cultivators, only the battlefield of the future will give us the answer."

"What you said is mostly right, but we don't need to wait for the future to find out the answer," Yan Yu said with a grand wave of his hand, laughing heartily. "Because during the four-college exchange competition, I defeated them all, so the number one Rikoku Cultivator at the moment is me."

Lu Zhiyu: .............................

Enjoying the stiff expression of the famous hostess, Chen Lingyun couldn't help but feel pleased and added with a smile:

"This is the way of result-oriented thinking. If a certain Lord Master doesn't agree, then he only has the option to challenge our captain again and defeat him."

"Yes, result-oriented," Lu Zhiyu, not knowing what to say for the moment, but drawing on her rich professional experience, still put on a listening posture, nodding convincingly as if in agreement.

Offstage, Qi Changping fell silent for a moment, just about to speak, only to hear Cao Wendan suddenly ask:

"Should this segment be cut as well?"

"If it's broadcast without cutting, the Dingbei Army might have some objections," Qi Changping reminded him.

"If we cut any further, we'll really have no material left to air," Cao Wendan frowned, "I need to think."

"You'd better take it easy," Qi Changping emphasized. "I remind you, those prominent figures might also see the content of this first interview."

"Of course I know that," Cao Wendan replied seriously. "Don't rush me, any interview content unfavorable to the Zhendong Army, I will not let it go out."

"This Yan Yu guy started off pretty seriously, but why is he acting pretentious again later on!" Qi Changping was helpless and couldn't help voicing his annoyance. "Your host also has issues, bringing up sensitive topics and giving him the space to perform!"

"Lu Zhiyu was working at a local TV station before, and she's only recently joined the military station, indeed bringing over the extravagant style of blindly pursuing traffic," Cao Wendan explained casually, moving on from the subject. "Of course, it's not possible to replace her now, so we should think of a solution instead."

"How about we halt for now," Qi Changping suggested. "We can interview again another day. Your side can send over the scripted questions in advance, and after we firm them up, we can have Yan Yu memorize his lines. Then he can just go up on stage and recite the script with Lu Zhiyu."

"Memorizing the script will definitely be too late," Cao Wendan rejected the idea." Let's see if we can do some post-production instead, and while retaining enough content, try to polish the meaning conveyed by Captain Yan as best as we can."

Director Cao, who had once worked for a lengthy period in the cultural troupe, was skilled at extracting audio tracks and scanning them into text, immediately moved to the computer beside him, exporting the recorded interview content into text, and quickly began editing.

He started by rapidly deleting sensitive content such as the "Zhendong Army cultivator's strengths are rubbish," "Chen Lingyun and Yan Yu are friends and foes," and "Liu Longtao, a defeated underling, not worth mentioning" – frantically deleting, complete deleting! After a long bout with the backspace key, he managed to clear it, and then began piecing together the remaining text.

Qi Changping watched intently, and soon the document on the screen began to take on this meaning (approximately):

Lu Zhiyu: "May I ask, what criteria did you have when you chose these female team members?"

Yan Yu: "I choose members for the team based on two criteria: one is strength, and the other is potential. I believe in the future, many excellent male cultivators will also stand out swiftly after they join other teams based on their capabilities."

Lu Zhiyu: "Vice-Captain Chen, as Captain Yan's deputy, you have a comradely relationship at work, but how's your personal relationship?"

Chen Lingyun: "Personally? Not bad... But let's not get into private matters during a public interview."

Lu Zhiyu: "How would you evaluate Liu Longtao's strength?"

Yan Yu: "Liu Longtao is undoubtedly a top-tier contender, even an elite standard would not be an overstatement. In fact, debates about who is stronger or weaker are meaningless. Only victory or defeat on the battlefield can truly measure one's strength."

(To be continued)

Upon reviewing the content that had been pieced together, Qi Changping stood stunned, speechless for a long while.

Although the context had been cleverly manipulated, it subtly eased one's concerns. What was going on here?