Volume 1 Chapter 22: Twenty Percent Off!
Tn: Edited at 5 / 16 / 2025
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"Bai Yuelin… Bai Yuelin…"
After leaving the Profound Star Sect's business registration office, Ye Anping wandered through the streets while murmuring the senior sister's name under his breath as he searched for a suitable place to set up his therapy clinic.
It took him a while, but then it hit him—wasn't she the same senior sister in charge of evaluating new disciples' swordsmanship and spellwork during the sect entrance trial?
In the game, she was part of the combat tutorial for players who chose to join Profound Star Sect.
She even had a small side quest tied to her, called—"Comforting the Injured Senior Sister Bai."
As a disciple of Profound Star Sect, Bai Yuelin's job was to handle the sparring evaluations for incoming disciples—in other words, she'd duel one-on-one with newcomers seeking to join the sect.
She was at the mid-stage Foundation Establishment Realm and her swordsmanship wasn't bad. Unfortunately, in this particular trial, she got assigned to the group that included Feng Yudie.
When Feng Yudie stepped up for her duel, Bai Yuelin saw the younger girl grinning and assumed she was being cocky—relying on her Heavenly Spiritual Root and looking down on her. So Bai Yuelin threw a few snarky remarks her way.
The result of that duel? Let's just say it was brutal. Feng Yudie completely crushed her.
And it wasn't a private match, either. The spar was conducted in front of elders, new disciples, and hundreds of inner sect members. News of Bai Yuelin's devastating loss to a mere Qi Refining Realm junior quickly spread across the entire sect.
Afterward, Bai Yuelin locked herself in her room, curled up under her blankets, and cried for days. She even began to doubt her entire life.
Which, honestly, was understandable. Someone who had spent decades painstakingly cultivating their strength suddenly getting obliterated by a girl who'd only trained for less than ten years? Unless your heart was made of stone, that kind of blow was soul-crushing.
In the world of cultivation, the difference brought by talent and spirit roots was nearly insurmountable.
Recalling all that, Ye Anping suddenly stopped in his tracks and glanced back at the Profound Star Sect business registration office he'd just exited.
'Maybe… I should go back and help Bai Yuelin build up some emotional defenses early…'
But after thinking it through rationally, he decided it would be better to talk to her about it another time.
After all, in the game, if a player completed the quest to comfort her, they'd get a permanent 20% discount at all vendors in the Profound Star Sect marketplace.
He had already planned to use his therapy clinic to make money, and then use that income to buy necessary cultivation pills and books for himself and Pei Lengxue. A twenty percent discount meant a massive amount of saved spirit stones.
So instead of dwelling on Bai Yuelin's situation, Ye Anping began seriously considering how to design and run his therapy shop.
Judging by Bai Yuelin's reaction to his foot massage, his therapy techniques seemed solid—he should be able to treat anyone below the Nascent Soul Realm. But her reactions also made it clear that therapy was still a very unfamiliar concept for cultivators.
The biggest problem was having a strange man touch their bare feet and back. Male cultivators wouldn't care much, but for female cultivators, it would definitely be a major issue.
Even Bai Yuelin probably only agreed to let him touch her feet because he looked like an innocent 15-year-old boy.
To solve this, the simplest method would be to hire a female disciple as an apprentice.
But who would willingly sign up to be an apprentice in some unknown "therapy" clinic?
Not to mention… Ye Anping wasn't the type who liked to ask others for help.
"Hmm… this is going to be tricky."
He stroked his chin, deep in thought, when his eyes suddenly landed on a nearby clothing store.
He paused for a second, an idea popping into his mind like a light bulb turning on above his head. Then he headed straight for the shop.
Inside, a female cultivator gave him a quick once-over before hurrying over with a friendly smile.
"Young Master, are you looking to have clothes custom made?"
"Yes," Ye Anping nodded.
"Do you have any specific requirements regarding fabric or style? Here at Hongyi Pavilion, we can make anything—formal wear, wedding robes, mourning clothes, even ceremonial death robes."
"I don't know much about fabrics or styles," he replied, glancing around. His eyes eventually landed on the robe the woman was wearing.
"I'll take one like the one you're wearing."
"Eh?" The female cultivator blinked in confusion, glancing down at her own flowing skirt. "Young Master, this is a woman's outfit. How am I supposed to tailor this for you?"
"Well, yeah. I never said I was here to order men's clothing."
. . . . . . .
At the same time, in front of the Profound Star Sect's Grand Hall…
Pei Lengxue was dragging her feet, one step at a time, her hand still covering her face as she finally reached the last of the thousand stone steps leading up the mountain.
The corner of her eye twitched as she glanced down—only to see Feng Yudie still clinging stubbornly to her leg.
At this point, Pei Lengxue didn't even have the strength to be angry anymore.
She honestly had no idea what Feng Yudie was trying to do.
She'd barked like a dog in public, then let herself be dragged up an entire thousand-step staircase without letting go. Through it all, she stayed flat on her stomach, letting her chest and stomach scrape against every stair without even a whimper.
"…"
Sensing Pei Lengxue's gaze, Feng Yudie looked up and gave her a squinty-eyed smile.
"Woof! Woof-woof~~"
Pei Lengxue opened her mouth, then let out a long, weary sigh and asked with grave patience, "What exactly are you trying to accomplish? Let go!"
"I just wanted to cheer you up! Come on, Junior Sister Pei~ Smile for me!"
Pei Lengxue clenched her fists. She raised her free foot and attempted to kick Feng Yudie off, but the girl was annoyingly nimble. She twisted her body, dodged the kick, and immediately latched onto her other leg.
Seeing this, Pei Lengxue tried a few more times to shake her off, but no matter how many times she kicked, Feng Yudie always managed to dodge just right, never once letting go.
Completely exasperated and noticing that some of the Profound Star Sect disciples waiting ahead were now looking their way, Pei Lengxue quickly covered her face with one hand and asked in a low voice, "What will it take for you to let go?"
"Just smile once. One smile and I'll let go immediately."
"… …" Pei Lengxue bit her lip, then gave a stiff, forced smile that looked more like she was imagining murder. "There. Happy now?"
Feng Yudie pursed her lips and shook her head. "Not sweet enough. Do it again."
Unbelievable!
Pei Lengxue finally lost all patience. She formed a sword seal with her fingers, and with a swift motion, summoned the sword from her storage bag. With a sharp whoosh, she thrust it toward Feng Yudie's back with enough force to impale her straight through.
Startled, Feng Yudie immediately let go of her leg and rolled several times across the ground to dodge the strike.
Sweating a little, she scrambled to her feet and stared at the sword now embedded ten inches deep into the stone floor. "Junior Sister Pei, were you trying to kill me just now?!"
"Hmph." Pei Lengxue gave a cold snort and sheathed her sword.
"Alright, alright!" Feng Yudie quickly bowed her head, hands behind her back. "I'm sorry, okay? I won't do it again. But didn't you say you'd feel better if I acted like a puppy? You didn't even smile once the whole way up. Your smile is seriously beautiful, you know!"
Pei Lengxue didn't even bother to respond.
At that moment, a disciple from Profound Star Sect finally approached to greet them.
Seeing Feng Yudie's disheveled hair, her robes covered in dust and leaves, the disciple instinctively assumed she was Pei Lengxue's attendant and asked, "Young miss, are you here to participate in the disciple selection event?"
Pei Lengxue immediately offered a respectful bow and gestured toward Feng Yudie. "Senior, I think you're mistaken. I'm actually her attendant."
"Eh?" The disciple blinked, glancing at Feng Yudie again, looking puzzled. "You're here to take the disciple selection event?"
"Yep, that's right!" Feng Yudie smiled brightly, her eyes twinkling.
"Only those with singular or unique spirit roots, or from powerful noble clans, are eligible to join Profound Star Sect."
—"Bring those two over!"
A stern voice rang out from behind the disciple—it was Elder Wang.
The disciple turned back at once and bowed. "Yes, Elder."
Elder Wang approached Feng Yudie and Pei Lengxue, his expression darkening when he saw the mess Feng Yudie was in. "What happened to you?"
"I was hugging—"
"She fell while climbing the mountain," Pei Lengxue quickly interrupted.