Volume 1 Chapter 30: Senior Sister Bai's Silent Despair
Tn: Edited at 5 / 16 / 2025
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Bai Yuelin bit her lip gently, forcing herself to stand tall on the sparring platform despite the crushing shame that weighed on her shoulders. She stood there in silence, waiting for the next challenger to step forward.
From beneath the stage, she could clearly hear the murmuring voices of the crowd.
— "This senior sister is way too weak… she actually got her sword broken by a junior cultivator from a lower realm?"
— "That girl called Feng Yudie didn't even seem that strong to me. I bet I could've broken that senior sister's sword myself."
Not everyone was doubting her, but at this moment, every word of mockery pierced her heart like a blade.
Bai Yuelin wanted nothing more than to shout back at them, "If you think it's so easy, why don't you come up here and try?! You don't know how hard it is until you've been through it yourself!"
But she couldn't scream. All she could do was swallow the indignation and hold it in.
Her mind kept replaying the sparring trial just moments ago, searching for the reason Feng Yudie had broken her sword so easily. But no matter how many times she reviewed it, she simply couldn't figure it out—why did Feng Yudie's wooden sword remain untouched while hers had been sliced clean in two?
That thought made her heart sink even deeper.
If she could at least understand where she'd gone wrong, she could chalk it up to carelessness. But not being able to grasp it at all only proved that the gap between her and that silver-haired girl was a chasm that couldn't be crossed.
All her decades of rigorous training, all the blood, sweat, and exhaustion—yet she was still no match for a girl who looked barely more than a child.
A bitter question surfaced in Bai Yuelin's heart: What was all my hard work for, then?
"For those so-called geniuses… am I destined to be nothing more than a backdrop to their brilliance?" Her head drooped lower, and a faint, broken smile curved her lips.
"Heh… hehehe…"
At that moment, Pei Lengxue stepped nervously onto the platform. The number of eyes on her made her stiff as a board, but she forced herself to mimic what Feng Yudie had done earlier—walking over to grab a wooden sword and bowing deeply toward Bai Yuelin with clasped fists.
She then took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and shouted with all her strength:
"Please instruct me, Senior Sister!!!"
Her voice was so loud that it startled the entire audience—and even snapped Bai Yuelin out of her daze.
Bai Yuelin blinked, looking at the girl in front of her with an odd expression. "…Why are you yelling like that?"
"Ah…" Pei Lengxue kept her bowing posture, replying sheepishly, "My senior brother said when you salute, you should do it with energy… not like a wilted vegetable, so…"
Bai Yuelin sighed and turned toward the disciple recording the matches.
That disciple quickly announced, "Trinary spirit roots: water, wood, and earth. Peak of Qi Refining Realm."
Bai Yuelin nodded in understanding and gave a few words of advice, her tone softening slightly.
"You're here as an attendant, so the standards won't be as strict. I'll go easy on you. If you feel overwhelmed at any point, just drop your sword and call to stop."
"Mhm!"
"Don't push yourself just for a good score. We've had attendants injure themselves badly doing that."
"Thank you for the warning, senior. I'll be fine."
'Let's just get through this group…' Bai Yuelin took a long breath and flicked her finger, picking up a wooden sword from the rack.
"Come, then."
"Then, Senior, please be careful!"
Pei Lengxue lowered her stance, eyes closed in focus
Just as Bai Yuelin was wondering what kind of sword technique this girl was using, a wave of bone-chilling killing intent suddenly washed over her.
In the very next instant, Pei Lengxue swung her wooden sword—seemingly into thin air.
"Hyaaah!"
With that sharp, high-pitched shout, Bai Yuelin's eyes flew wide open in shock.
Reflected in her eyes were not one—but six figures. Each one held a wooden sword, coming at her from six different directions in perfect unison.
"W-What the—?!"
Startled, Bai Yuelin instinctively raised her sword to defend herself. She managed to block three of the phantom strikes—just barely—but the remaining three swords landed solid blows:
—One to her shoulder.
—Another to her left waist.
—And the last, to her left thigh.
BOOM!
With a thunderous crash, Bai Yuelin's body was launched off the platform, tumbling through the air before slamming into several disciples waiting nearby for their turn.
The entire exchange had happened in the span of a single breath.
The disciple tasked with keeping records stood frozen in place—completely dumbfounded. He looked even more stunned than he had during Feng Yudie's earlier match.
From his point of view, all Pei Lengxue did was swing her sword in the air… and then Senior Sister Bai was suddenly flying off the stage.
He stared blankly for a moment before glancing toward the elders' viewing platform. One of the Grand Elders gave a silent nod.
Only then did the recorder raise his voice to declare:
"Pei Lengxue—win by disarming."
The announcement echoed across the sparring platforms.
Once again, the crowd fell utterly silent.
From the other trial stages, disciples turned their attention to the Sky Cloud Peak Sparring Platform—but this time, the scene was even more jarring than before.
Earlier, at least Bai Yuelin had still been standing after being bested by Feng Yudie.
Now, she was simply gone from the stage.
Only after a long moment did the spectators piece together what had happened: Bai Yuelin had been knocked off the platform.
Normally, if a cultivator was forced off stage, they would immediately get back up, return to the platform, and resume the match with a proper bow.
But Bai Yuelin lay on the ground… unmoving.
It wasn't that she had been knocked unconscious—far from it.
The weapon used was a wooden sword, and none of the strikes had hit vital points. With her cultivation at the Foundation Establishment Realm, she couldn't possibly have been knocked out so easily.
No—she didn't return to the platform because she didn't want to.
She was tired.
Losing to Feng Yudie, a prodigious talent in the Qi Refining Realm, had stung—deeply—but at least she could still force herself to endure it. That girl was a genius, after all.
But this time… the one who had knocked her off the stage wasn't a genius.
She was a trinary-spirit-root cultivator, someone with even less potential than Bai Yuelin herself.
If Feng Yudie's dazzling performance had shaken Bai Yuelin's confidence in her years of hard work, then Pei Lengxue's strike had completely shattered it.
All of those years of sweat, toil, and discipline… for what?
If she went back up on stage now, she felt like all she'd be doing was bringing more shame to her master, her sect siblings, and to Sky Cloud Peak itself.
"Uuuu…!"
—I'm just a useless failure! Uuuu…
Tears welled up in her eyes, and Bai Yuelin wept in silence.
The once-bustling sparring platforms still echoed with murmurs—many of them undoubtedly about Bai Yuelin. But she no longer heard them.
A few fellow disciples from Sky Cloud Peak had hurried over to check on her. But when they saw her sitting there with blank, hollow eyes—as if her very soul had left her—they fell silent, unsure of how to comfort her.
In the end, they quietly fetched a stretcher and carried her back to the disciples' quarters on Sky Cloud Peak.
Soon after, several senior sisters who had already completed their sparring trials came rushing over as well.
They knew Bai Yuelin well. She had always been fragile, soft-hearted. And today's blow… it was massive.
They feared the worst—that she might do something reckless.
So, one after another, they came bearing her favorite treats—sweet preserved fruits—and gathered around her, chatting in gentle, familiar tones, trying to soothe her with comforting words and sisterly affection.
But Bai Yuelin lay on her bed, staring blankly out the window, her gaze dull and lifeless.
"Junior Sister Bai… it's really okay," one of the senior sisters said softly, trying to sound reassuring. "I asked Master just now. That girl, Feng Yudie—she have a Heavenly Spiritual Root, and she's a personal disciple of the True Immortal Tai Xu. Losing to someone like her isn't anything to be ashamed of."
"…"
"Here, I brought your favorite preserved plums. Just rest for now and eat a little later. They're really sweet…"
"…"
"Let's let her rest for a while," another sister suggested gently. "Junior Sister Bai, get some sleep. Everything will look better after some rest. Whatever happens, we'll be here for you. And don't worry about Master—she'll understand."
…
The sun dipped below the horizon, casting the mountain in twilight.
Night insects began to chirp, and one by one, her senior sisters quietly took their leave, leaving Bai Yuelin alone in the room.
No one knew how much time passed before a faint glimmer of light returned to her empty eyes.
She slowly sat up from her bed.
Her gaze drifted over the gifts and tokens of comfort her sisters had left behind. Her nose twitched, stung by emotion. Taking a deep breath, she wiped the corners of her eyes and silently walked to the desk in the corner of her room.
There, she ground some ink, dipped her brush, and began to write—tears falling quietly as she did.
. . . . .
To Master, Senior Brothers, and Senior Sisters,
Reflecting on the past, I, Bai Yuelin, a low-born and talentless disciple, have neither the skills nor the wisdom to repay the kindness and teachings of the sect.
Thus, I humbly resign, and seek another path.
—Bai Yuelin
. . . . .
Sniff—
Once the letter was complete, she removed her Sky Cloud Peak disciple's uniform, folded it neatly, and placed it on her bed. Then she set her identity badge and sword atop the letter, pressing it gently down.
Taking two steps back, she bowed deeply to the uniform.
"…"
Wiping her tears once more, she began to pack her belongings. Slinging her bundle over one shoulder, she stepped out of the room, her figure lit only by the moonlight.
She summoned the flying sword she had spent two years of savings to purchase.
With a quiet whoosh, she rose into the night sky and flew away.