As dusk approached, the competition outside the mountain gate of Zixu Sword Sect finally reached its deciding match.
Every outer sect disciple stood beside the Sword Trial Platform, their eyes fixed on the young girl who was dressed like a ball and struggling to climb onto the stage.
She was wearing far too many layers. Three layers underneath, the standard outer sect disciple robe on top, a fur-lined coat wrapped around that, and even a bear-head hat on her head. From a distance, she looked exactly like a plump little bear.
Although outer sect disciples were not as talented as inner sect disciples, their physiques were still far beyond ordinary mortals. Even in the depths of winter, a thin robe would be enough. Sword cultivators especially valued agility while practicing their swordsmanship.
Yet this cold-sensitive girl, who found it difficult just to climb the three steps leading to the Sword Trial Platform, had already won seven consecutive days of matches. Today was finally the deciding round.
As long as she won this match, she would earn a place in the inner sect and gain access to the Bixi Secret Realm.
“Who did you bet on? Junior Sister Tian Luo or Senior Brother Huang Ren?” someone in the crowd whispered.
“Even though Junior Sister Tian has been lucky enough to win these past few days, how can she compare to Senior Brother Huang? He used to be an inner sect disciple! Sure, he got expelled from the inner mountain, but his swordsmanship is still far beyond anything us outer sect disciples can match!”
“But Junior Sister Tian is really amazing! She only used a few moves to win every day for the past week! She only joined the sect half a month ago!”
“Just lucky, probably. If she were really that talented, why didn’t she enter the inner sect during the Spirit Selection Assembly? Anyway, I bet on Senior Brother Huang!”
While climbing the steps, Tian Luo thought, Well, I bet on myself.
On the platform, Huang Ren had already grown impatient from waiting.
His brows furrowed, causing the scar between them to tighten and making him look even fiercer than usual.
His voice carried a note of arrogance.
“Junior Sister Tian, if you admit defeat now, there’s still time. My sword is not something an outer sect disciple can withstand.”
Tian Luo finally climbed onto the highest step. Hearing that, she raised her head and looked across at him.
Beneath the bear-head hat, her face appeared innocent and delicate. The impatience in Huang Ren’s eyes faded slightly.
“Junior Sister Tian,” he said, “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Tian Luo rolled her eyes.
Oh, give me a break. You’re just a cannon-fodder character who bought your way into the inner sect, got kicked out, and forcefully piled yourself up to Foundation Establishment with pills. How dare you brag in front of a ten-thousand-year-old ginseng spirit like me?
Without saying a word, she made a gesture inviting him to begin.
She only wanted to finish this quickly and collect her winnings.
She still had a long journey ahead to reach the inner mountain. Since she couldn’t fly on a sword, she would have to rely on her own two legs.
Seeing that Tian Luo insisted on competing, Huang Ren sneered.
He didn’t take her seriously at all.
Charging forward, he flourished his sword at no fewer than three different angles along the way.
The tip of his sword was already about to strike her vital point.
Yet Tian Luo still hadn’t moved.
Huang Ren became completely certain of victory.
Soon he would return to the inner sect and enter the Bixi Secret Realm to seek treasures and opportunities. Having an inner sect disciple like him fight a junior sister who had only joined the sect half a month ago was simply—
Bang!
Huang Ren was sent flying off the Sword Trial Platform by a single strike from Tian Luo’s sword.
Dust exploded everywhere.
Some disciples below were stunned.
Some looked as if they had expected this all along.
Others turned green and howled miserably.
“It’s over! I’ve lost all my money!”
“Senior Brother, thank you for letting me win.”
On the Sword Trial Platform, the girl who had remained silent the entire time finally spoke.
The truth was, Tian Luo felt that after listening to him talk so much, she ought to put on a little show herself.
She sheathed her sword and raised her hand.
A ripple suddenly appeared in the air above the platform.
A jade-green token materialized overhead.
She quickly grabbed it.
At the same time, a voice transmission rang in her ears.
“Outer sect disciple Tian Luo. Enter the inner mountain.”
This jade token was the entry pass to the Bixi Secret Realm.
Every inner sect disciple had one, but the outer sect only received a single spot.
After working hard for half a month—
Waaah! I finally got it!
As long as she entered the Bixi Secret Realm, she could obtain the Nine-Qilin Armor.
Once she wore it close to her body, she would never again have to fear exposing her secret as a ginseng spirit through injuries and bleeding.
Only she knew how difficult it had been to survive these past two weeks after transmigrating into this novel!!!!
She had originally been nothing more than a weak and helpless freshman. She thought entering university would finally free her from mathematics, only to be crushed by Advanced Calculus instead. After studying late into the night in the library, she had suddenly died.
Then she woke up inside a novel called Entangled Love, which she had read during summer vacation.
It was a xianxia novel.
The setting involved the gradual depletion of spiritual energy throughout the cultivation world. The barriers separating the Demon Realm, Mortal Realm, and Cultivation Realm were becoming unstable, threatening disaster. The male and female protagonists joined forces to search for the source of spiritual energy and save the cultivation world.
The theme sounded grand and noble.
But at its core, it was still a romance novel.
The male lead, Tian Yue, was a cold and aloof sword cultivator who practiced the Dao of Emotionlessness.
The female lead, Nan Rong, was also a sword cultivator, but she was thoughtful, sensitive, and had an overactive imagination.
The two grew up together.
However, Tian Yue had no idea that his junior sister had long fallen in love with him.
Nan Rong did countless things for him, yet he remained completely unaware. Through a series of unfortunate misunderstandings, he repeatedly lost the keepsakes she gave him, ignored her hints about becoming cultivation partners, forgot their appointments because he was too focused on sword practice, and so on.
After enduring countless misunderstandings, the two eventually joined forces to defeat Tan Gu, the Demon Ancestor, who sought to destroy the cultivation world.
In the end, they finally became cultivation partners.
To be fair, it wasn’t a particularly melodramatic tragedy.
It mixed sweetness and angst.
Aside from the female lead, the male lead never had ambiguous relationships with anyone else, nor did he ever intentionally hurt her. He was simply an emotionally clueless blockhead who was far too straightforward.
Because he was so dense and the female lead was so good at overthinking, endless misunderstandings followed.
Sometimes reading it was enough to raise a person’s blood pressure.
But that wasn’t the important part.
The important part was that the character she had transmigrated into was a ten-thousand-year-old ginseng spirit.
A spiritual treasure of the novel.
A being destined to be fought over by everyone.
A being destined to die after being dismembered.
Just thinking about it was terrifying!
The ginseng spirit had originally been raised by Guo Lin, the Sect Master of Xingluo Sect, a branch sect under the number one immortal sect in the novel—Tianyan Sect.
The day Guo Lin discovered the ginseng spirit happened to be the day she gained human form.
After her transformation, she stayed by Guo Lin’s side.
He made her call him “Father.”
Guo Lin always presented himself as a kind and benevolent man. He constantly carried a string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hand, looking more like a Buddhist cultivator than many actual Buddhist cultivators.
The innocent ginseng spirit trusted him completely.
But Guo Lin wasn’t human.
He imprisoned her beneath the sect grounds inside a sealed formation and cut flesh from her body every day to eat, increasing his cultivation through her suffering.
The ginseng spirit remained imprisoned for ten full years.
During those ten years, Guo Lin successfully advanced all the way to the Tribulation Crossing Realm.
He was only one step away from surviving heavenly tribulation and ascending.
Then, during his final attempt to consume the ginseng spirit, an accident occurred.
The ginseng spirit escaped.
Her secret became known throughout the entire cultivation world.
As a result, the whole cultivation world began hunting her.
The male and female leads encountered the ginseng spirit during one of their adventures.
It became a side story within the novel.
The protagonists were severely injured while helping the dying ginseng spirit.
Touched by their kindness, the ginseng spirit blocked a fatal attack for the female lead in her final moments.
Even so, she was ultimately torn apart and divided among countless cultivators.
The ginseng spirit’s entire existence was a tragedy.
On the day Tian Luo transmigrated, she had still been a tiny ginseng with two little arms and two little legs. She had not yet fully transformed.
Terrified, she relied on her stubby legs and ran for three days and three nights to escape that mountain.
Only after reaching a cave did she finally take human form.
Then, after endless hardships, she found her way to Zixu Sword Sect.
By coincidence, the sect happened to be recruiting outer sect disciples to perform miscellaneous duties.
She immediately signed up, passed the examination, and became an outer sect disciple.
After all, no matter how much the protagonists caused drama in their relationship, they were good people.
Zixu Sword Sect might not be the largest sect in the cultivation world, but it was a harmonious one.
The sword cultivators spent all day competing with each other and practicing their swords.
They had no time for messy schemes and intrigue.
Safe.
Very safe.
There was only one problem.
As soon as she was injured, her blood would release an intense spiritual fragrance.
In the novel, the ginseng spirit was constantly injured, which was why she could never successfully hide. She was practically a walking beacon that revealed her location wherever she went.
That was why Tian Luo wrapped herself in layer after layer of clothing.
She absolutely could not afford even the tiniest wound!
Of course, clothing could only provide so much protection.
She knew that within the Bixi Secret Realm there was a treasure called the Nine-Qilin Armor.
After recognizing its owner, it could be worn beneath clothing, covering the entire body like a layer of scales and rendering the wearer impervious to blades and weapons.
It was a divine-grade treasure.
Most importantly, after wearing it, it looked as though nothing had changed.
The armor was invisible.
Only the skin became much tougher.
Although Tian Luo wasn’t particularly skilled in swordsmanship, a ten-thousand-year-old ginseng spirit had immense spiritual power.
A casual sword swing from her was more than enough to overwhelm ordinary outer sect disciples.
She was cheating a little.
But when traveling the jianghu, everyone needed a special skill to survive!
Tian Luo happily gripped the entry token.
She planned to collect her gambling winnings before heading into the inner mountain.
Traveling from the outer mountain to the inner mountain would take her around three hours of climbing.
Cheerfully, she hopped down from the Sword Trial Platform.
At that moment, a furious shout suddenly shattered the silence.
“Impossible! You cheated!”
It was Huang Ren’s voice.
Tian Luo turned around.
Huang Ren had already climbed back to his feet, sword in hand.
His face was gloomy, practically screaming You definitely cheated!
“I was once an inner sect disciple!” he shouted. “I learned the finest Zixu Sword Arts! How could a disciple who joined only half a month ago knock me back with a single move? You must be hiding a divine artifact! That overwhelming spiritual power definitely couldn’t have come from a little disciple like you!”
The more he spoke, the more excited he became.
“You’re wearing so many layers to hide your cheating, aren’t you?!”
Tian Luo thought, Sure enough, novels never lie. The classic cannon-fodder scene where someone accuses the protagonist of cheating is absolutely mandatory.
But I’m not the protagonist!
She needed to finish this quickly, collect her money, and enter the inner sect.
“It’s like this, Senior Brother. Look at what I’m wearing. These clothes were issued by the sect. The fur coat was bought from the market at the foot of the mountain for one low-grade spirit stone. Everything I’m wearing combined isn’t worth as much as a single one of your hairpins. Where would I get the money to buy a divine artifact?”
Tian Luo put on her poorest expression.
Huang Ren: “…”
“Besides, if I had enough money to buy a divine artifact, I’d definitely have enough money to buy a Fire Silk Robe. It’s lightweight, warm, and pretty. What girl wants to dress like a bear? If I had a choice, I wouldn’t wear this either. It’s not even convenient for sword practice. Don’t you agree?”
Huang Ren: “…”
“Most importantly, the inner sect elders already approved the match. They even gave me the jade token to enter the mountain. My name, Tian Luo, is written right on it. Senior Brother, you’re not trying to say your eyesight is better than the elders’, are you?”
Huang Ren: “…”
Huang Ren had no response.
Instead, he became so angry that he drew his sword and attacked again.
Tian Luo was thoroughly annoyed.
She casually swung her sword.
Huang Ren flew ten meters through the air and embedded himself directly into a rock wall.
The surrounding outer sect disciples looked at Tian Luo with expressions that clearly said:
You are truly the pride of the outer sect!
“Junior Sister Tian, when you come back, make sure to tell us what the Bixi Secret Realm is like!”
“Of course!”
“Junior Sister Tian, if you find any treasures, let us see them!”
“No problem!”
“Junior Sister Tian, work hard and find yourself an inner sect disciple as a cultivation partner! Entering the inner sect permanently will be just around the corner!”
“…I’ll do my best!”
Tian Luo waved her hand and jumped off the platform.
Then she happily headed toward the betting table run by Senior Brother Qian.
Senior Brother Qian, the outer mountain’s greatest financial expert, turned green when he watched her collect her winnings:
One thousand two hundred low-grade spirit stones.
Four hundred medium-grade spirit stones.
Two hundred high-grade spirit stones.
Tian Luo happily stuffed all the spirit stones into the mustard-seed pouch she had received when joining the sect.
She had struck it rich!
Absolutely rich!
Traveling from the outer mountain to the inner mountain by flying sword only took the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
Climbing on foot, however, required crossing three mountains.
It was around five in the afternoon now.
She estimated she would arrive around eleven at night.
She didn’t have anything to pack.
Everything she owned was already stored inside her mustard-seed pouch.
Outer sect disciples didn’t have official masters.
The only authority figure was Elder Lin, who guarded the outer mountain.
Tian Luo planned to say goodbye and thank him for taking care of her during these past few weeks.
However, just after she finished saying farewell to Elder Lin and stepped beyond the outer mountain’s boundary, she suddenly sensed a fierce gust of wind rushing toward her from behind.
Tian Luo reacted instantly.
She sidestepped.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a sleeve arrow.
And although she had clearly dodged it, the arrow unexpectedly curved in midair.
She couldn’t avoid it completely.
A cut instantly appeared across her cheek.
Damn it!!!!!!
Can a girl’s face be injured so casually?!
Tian Luo saw Huang Ren behind her.
His face was filthy and gloomy as he charged forward with his sword.
She didn’t even have time to deal with him.
Immediately lowering her head, she rummaged through her mustard-seed pouch.
Very quickly, she found exactly what she was looking for—
A handful of cilantro.