Volume 1 Chapter 27: The Female Lead Talk with Junior Sister
Tn: Edited at 5 / 16 / 2025
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Wang Shaoren didn't dare press the issue any further.
It seemed… Master Qi was very fond of Pei Lengxue.
In all the years Wang Shaoren had known him, Qi Baishi had rarely taken interest in any disciple. He'd even show a sour face to the Sect Master of the Profound Star Sect herself on occasion.
"Sir," Wang Shaoren ventured carefully, "you seem to like that girl, Pei Lengxue, quite a bit?"
"Mhm," Qi Baishi replied with a glance, nodding. "That Feng Yudie… well, she's the disciple of Tai Xu. If she couldn't write answers like that, I'd be disappointed and go knock some sense into her. But that other girl—Pei Lengxue—she's different."
He paused, recalling something with a strange look.
"During her heart-questioning trial, I examined her meridians. And let me tell you…"
"…Let you tell me?" Wang Shaoren repeated dumbly.
"Ahem—" Qi Baishi coughed to clear his throat. "Her master must've really put her through hell."
"P-Put her through hell…?" Wang Shaoren stammered.
"Indeed. That girl's been cultivating through sheer pain and discipline. Her body refining technique was the Bone-Breaking Knee-Shattering Technique, and she's ingested parasitic Gu, even soaked in freezing water."
Wang Shaoren's jaw dropped lower with every word. "She ingested Gu? Why would anyone—?!"
"Same reason one takes medicinal pills," Qi Baishi sighed. "The more you consume, the less effective they become over time. It's the same with poisons. The more parasites she's been exposed to, the more immune she becomes. These days, even the Gu tricks of the demonic cultivators wouldn't work on her."
"…"
"That's why her willpower and spiritual sea are leagues above others at her level. If she can find a better cultivation technique, and stumble upon a few lucky encounters along the way, she won't be any weaker than those so-called singular spirit root geniuses."
Wang Shaoren was reminded of someone—Ye Anping.
Back when he went to the Hundred Lotus Sect to examine Ye Anping's meridians, he'd been shocked too. At the time, he thought Ye Ao was just a heartless father, making his own son suffer through such brutal training.
But now, hearing what Qi Baishi said… it sounded like that heartless man had even dragged a young girl to suffer alongside his son!
"So that's how it is…"
Qi Baishi exhaled deeply, then added, "But even so, there's still something I don't get."
"What is it?"
"Feng Yudie's essay—I can accept that Tai Xu taught her that reasoning. But Pei Lengxue said her answer came from her senior brother. Now that's what I don't understand."
"Her senior brother? What about it?"
"Then who taught him?" Qi Baishi narrowed his eyes.
"That would be… the Hundred Lotus Sect Master, I suppose?" Wang Shaoren offered.
"Ye Ao?" Qi Baishi scoffed. "No chance. I've met that blockhead. Dense as a rock, mediocre spirit roots—no way he taught something that profound."
At that, he glanced at the mountain of test papers beside him, then abruptly stood up.
"Also, the cultivation technique Pei Lengxue uses—it felt slightly unusual. I'm going to the library to look into it."
"Ah—yes, of course."
As he watched Qi Baishi leave, Wang Shaoren didn't think much of it at first. He simply sat down and continued grading the remaining answer sheets.
But after marking just a few more…
He suddenly froze.
'Wait a minute.'
'Master Qi is gone… and that means—'
'Over ten thousand answer sheets. All left for me… alone…'
In an instant, dark lines of dread formed on his forehead. But what else could he do? He was just a Deputy Elder, after all.
"Ahhh—"
Wang Shaoren sighed heavily and dutifully picked up the next answer sheet.
… …
The next morning.
While Feng Yudie was still snoring in bed, wrapped up in her blanket like a dumpling, Pei Lengxue was already up and practicing in the courtyard of their Sanheyuan.
With a wooden sword in hand, she gracefully flowed through the movements of her Shadowleaf Sword Art.
Every flick of her wrist sent fallen leaves swirling into motion—darting forward like daggers, rolling sideways like soldiers in formation, then, with a sharp thrust of her sword, all converging toward her target.
Crack!
A nearby bamboo stalk was instantly sliced into neat, uniform sections by the flurry of razor-sharp leaves, each segment falling to the ground with a dull thunk.
Pei Lengxue nodded in satisfaction, then quickly reversed her grip on the wooden sword and let it hang behind her back, steadying her breath and gathering her focus.
"I wonder what Senior Brother is doing right now?" she muttered, puffing out her cheeks in mock frustration. "Didn't he say he'd come find me later? It's already the second day of the disciple selection event, and he still hasn't shown up! Hmph!!"
Just then, a voice called out from behind her.
"You're really using that bamboo as a training post?"
"Ah?!"
Pei Lengxue was startled. She spun around—and saw the girl she and Feng Yudie had run into yesterday, the Young Mistress of the Profound Star Sect.
Xiao Yunluo now wore an elegant purple dress, a rather expensive-looking sword strapped to her back. She leaned casually against the garden fence, as if she'd been standing there watching Pei Lengxue's sword practice for quite a while.
"…"
Pei Lengxue stared at her blankly, then glanced over at the chopped bamboo pieces littering the ground. In a small voice, she asked, "Was that… bad?"
Xiao Yunluo walked over with a sigh. "That bamboo was a young Cloud Thunder Bamboo. One stalk costs two thousand spirit stones. These were just saplings—and you went and cut them down."
"T-Two thousand spirit stones?!!"
Pei Lengxue's eyes practically popped out of her head.
"T-this… this…" She glanced from the bamboo to Xiao Yunluo and back again, then lowered her head in embarrassment. "I didn't know…"
"Not knowing doesn't mean you can just cut whatever you want, does it?"
"Uuuh…"
Pei Lengxue didn't know how to respond. How was she supposed to know this completely ordinary-looking bamboo cost that much?
After a pause, she suddenly remembered the pill given to her yesterday by that Nascent Soul elder. She quickly fished it out of her storage bag and asked, "C-can I use this to compensate?"
"This?"
Xiao Yunluo eyed the pill bottle. It had the mark of the Profound Star Sect engraved on it, which made her frown.
"Where did you get this?" she asked.
"The Nascent Soul senior who proctored the exam gave it to me yesterday."
"Master Qi…"
Xiao Yunluo frowned even deeper. She'd grown up in the Profound Star Sect—if anyone knew how stingy Qi Baishi was, it was her. The idea that he would gift someone a pill?
She took the bottle and popped it open for a look.
"A high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill… hmm, that's actually worth quite a bit."
Pei Lengxue asked innocently, "So… does it cover the bamboo?"
Looking at Pei Lengxue's sincere and utterly guilt-ridden expression, Xiao Yunluo couldn't help but giggle.
"Pff—Did you actually believe me? If it were really Cloud Thunder Bamboo, you think they'd plant it here without any guards?"
"…"
Pei Lengxue stood frozen in place, utterly mortified. She had never even seen a Cloud Thunder Bamboo before!
"Alright, alright, I was just teasing you," Xiao Yunluo said. "But that sword technique you were practicing just now—it was really strange. What sword style is that?"
"It's…"
Pei Lengxue hesitated for a second. She suddenly recalled what her senior brother had told her before they left the Hundred Lotus Sect:
—If anyone asks about your sword technique, just say your senior brother taught you.
So she nodded and replied, "My senior brother taught me."
"What sword style is it, then?"
"It's… the one my senior brother taught me."
Xiao Yunluo glanced down at the fallen leaves, then shrugged indifferently. "Fine, whatever. The sword trials are about to start anyway. Go get your little assistant and head to the dueling platform."
"My little assistant?"
Xiao Yunluo tilted her head. "What? That silver-haired girl isn't your attendant?"
"She's… I'm her attendant," Pei Lengxue said.
"…"
Now it was Xiao Yunluo's turn to freeze.
She'd just watched this girl practice swordplay so skillfully and naturally assumed she was the one entering the exam. But now…
An awkward smile tugged at her lips. She cleared her throat and said, "Ahem. Right. I forgot to properly introduce myself yesterday. I'm Xiao Yunluo. Just call me Senior Sister Xiao."
"Mm, Elder Wang mentioned you yesterday."
Pei Lengxue nodded and gave her a respectful salute. "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Sister Xiao."
That said, she turned around, ready to go back inside and wake Feng Yudie.
But just as she left, Xiao Yunluo suddenly panicked a little, reaching out to grab her by the shoulder.
"H-Hey! Wait a minute—aren't you going to tell me your name?!"
"Oh, mine is Pei Lengxue."