“So if I want to stay alive, I have to enter the other world?” Luo Xiaoyou rubbed her wrist, still a little shaken.
“Yes. As long as you complete the mission requirements of the other world, you’ll survive. Perhaps you’ll even get an unexpected surprise.” The Mysterious Stranger’s expression was unreadable, and his tone revealed little emotion.
Luo Xiaoyou felt miserable. She had been working so much overtime lately that she was going bald, only to get into a car accident after a moment’s distraction on the way home. She had thought her brilliant life was ending right there.
Yet when she opened her eyes, heh, she was alive again.
But she had come back to life in another world.
“Is there any help?” Luo Xiaoyou hesitated. After all, suddenly arriving in another world made her uneasy.
“No rush. Your other world is actually built from a novel. I’ll tell you the plot.” The man in black took out a script and began muttering about how the story would unfold.
As Luo Xiaoyou listened, she felt something was wrong. She beat her chest and stamped her feet. “Do I really have to go to this other world?”
“You can also go on and die.” The Mysterious Stranger stated the other ending in a calm tone.
“I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go, isn’t that enough?” Luo Xiaoyou closed her eyes, looking as if she were facing death with equanimity.
All around was silent. Luo Xiaoyou opened her eyes and looked around in confusion. She found herself in the center of a huge plaza, while the people nearby had all retreated several feet away, staring at her in shock, as if Mu Zhiyao were some kind of monster.
Mu Zhiyao was stunned. What was going on? What did that mean? Holy crap, what were they all wearing?
Then, a moment later, a middle-aged man, drenched in sweat and potbellied, struggled through the crowd shouting, “Make way, make way!” He squeezed out and came to a stop in front of Mu Zhiyao. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. “A-Yao, you mustn’t fool around. You absolutely must be selected in the triennial Disciple Selection Assembly.”
“Huh?” Mu Zhiyao froze, then reached out and grabbed the potbellied middle-aged man before her. She closed her eyes and steadied herself. “What did you just say my name was?”
“Oh, my little A-Yao, what’s wrong with you? How can you not even know your own name? You’re Mu Zhiyao, Mu Zhiyao!” The middle-aged man wore a constipated expression.
“Fine, fine, fine. So you just sent me straight over, huh?” Mu Zhiyao laughed out of sheer fury. Not giving her anything and dumping her straight into such a wretched world?
And besides, Mu Zhiyao was the name of that rather pitiful girl in the plot who didn’t survive more than a few episodes.
Mu Zhiyao, as the only daughter of the Mu family, had spiritual root aptitude that was too poor. No sect was willing to take her. The head of the Mu family had no choice but to offer the Mu family’s supreme treasure in exchange for a chance for Mu Zhiyao to enter the Lingxiao Sect. Unfortunately, after entering the sect, Mu Zhiyao’s carefree personality, plus her decent family background, caused her to be ostracized within the sect. In the end, her life ended shabbily. She truly didn’t live for more than a few episodes and could not even count as a female supporting character.
In the original plot, at today’s Disciple Selection Assembly, Mu Zhiyao did not even reach the passing line of the spiritual root test. Her father, the head of the Mu family, was about to be forced to contribute the family’s heirloom supreme treasure in exchange for Mu Zhiyao’s chance to enter the Lingxiao Sect.
“Mu Zhiyao, why are you standing in the middle? Withdraw at once!”
After waiting a long while with no response from Mu Zhiyao, the person chiefly responsible for the Disciple Selection Assembly, the Lingxiao Sect Master, Daoist Master Tianxu, used spiritual power to amplify his voice.
Luo Xiaoyou shook herself awake and realized, right, from now on she would be called Mu Zhiyao.
She raised her head and glanced at Daoist Master Tianxu sitting upright on the high platform. Mu Zhiyao closed her eyes again. “Hold back for now. Can’t beat them, can’t beat them.”
Afterward, Mu Zhiyao put on an expression of someone who had been dealt a heavy blow. “Yes, yes, yes. Right, right, right. I think my ability is too weak. I’ll go home and get myself reforged. Everyone, farewell, farewell.”
With that, she turned to leave, but her old father beside her grabbed her with a pained look. “A-Yao, my dear, if you wait another three years you’ll be 17. We can’t delay any longer.” As he spoke, her old father rummaged and rummaged in his spatial ring, making Mu Zhiyao’s heart pound with fright. Was he about to take out the family heirloom? Right? Right?
Mu Zhiyao pressed down her old father’s hand and said aggrievedly, “Boohoo, I’m just weak, I’m just no good.”
This time her old father stopped rummaging. He shuddered, goosebumps rising all over. Looking at his daughter, who usually swaggered around like she owned the place, now acting cute and coy, his face turned green. His mind was full of, “Who am I, where am I, did I give birth to this thing?!”
This time Daoist Master Tianxu could not hold back. “Does the head of the Mu family have some objection?”
The head of the Mu family cupped his hands in salute and wiped his sweat again. “Sect Master, although my daughter’s talent is insufficient, she has always been diligent. Could you make an exception and let my daughter enter the Lingxiao Sect to study? My Mu family is willing to…”
Before he could finish, the head of the Mu family was silenced by a hand over his mouth from his unfilial descendant Mu Zhiyao. Mu Zhiyao looked up and said, “The Lingxiao Sect is such a big sect. Surely you need some properly pedigreed people! I’m the type who loves to slack off. I’m not worthy, not worthy.”
Her old father was so anxious that his head was covered in sweat, but because Mu Zhiyao was covering his mouth, he could not say anything. He could only keep winking at Mu Zhiyao, trying to make this rebellious daughter change her words. Mu Zhiyao chuckled and reached out another hand to cover her old father’s eyes. Well, now he didn’t need to glare either. Her old father was completely helpless.
Mu Zhiyao’s gaze wandered over the scene and landed on the most inconspicuous person standing at the very edge of the many sect masters. Or maybe she should just randomly latch onto a big shot?
“Me, me, me. I’m interested in joining this sect.” Mu Zhiyao pointed.
“Interesting.” Sect Master Tang Luochuan of the Xuanming Sect stroked his chin and suddenly spoke. “Girl, do you really want to come to our Xuanming Sect?”
“What?!” Mu Zhiyao had been thinking that if all went well, she would quickly drag her still-struggling old father away from the main battlefield. Hearing this, she froze.
“Little girl, do you really want to come to our Xuanming Sect?” Tang Luochuan asked again.
Mu Zhiyao quickly searched her memory for the Xuanming Sect’s role in the novel’s plot. Good heavens, the Xuanming Sect had exactly six direct disciples, and no other disciples besides them. Moreover, in the original plot, none of the six met a good end. Their deaths were all rather bizarre. In short, they appeared quickly and their endings happened quickly too.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Mu Zhiyao could not help clicking her tongue. This sect really did fill one with awe. Maybe she should just run.
The next second, Mu Zhiyao pretended not to hear. While dragging her old father, she continued walking out of the arena. She also waved frantically. “We don’t want to, uncle, we don’t want to.”
Her old father was not happy. His own little daughter had always had poor talent and average ability, and she slacked off by fits and starts. Now, after all this difficulty, a sect was finally willing to take her. No matter whether this sect was at the bottom of the Four Great Sects, at least his little daughter would have a guide for cultivation, and would not blindly practice until she suffered qi deviation. As long as they would accept his little daughter, he would sell everything he owned.
So her old father grabbed Mu Zhiyao back, pushed her in front of Tang Luochuan, and beamed. “Sect Master Tang, my daughter is untalented. I’ll have to trouble you to look after her in the future. This is a small token of our appreciation.” Her old father then took out an exquisite box from his spatial ring. The box radiated abundant spiritual energy. Who knew what mysterious treasure it was?
Beside the Lingxiao Sect Master, Mu Qingrou narrowed her eyes and sized up the box a few times.
Sect Master Tang, however, pushed the box back with his hand. “The little girl is quite to my liking. There is no need for such courtesy, head of the Mu family. Although my Xuanming Sect is not some great sect, we still have our own rules for accepting disciples. Now that the little girl has joined my sect, the sect will certainly guide her properly. You can rest assured. The little girl can come back to the sect with us today.”
Mu Zhiyao was stunned. She knew the plot, yet she still had not escaped. What was going on? Sure enough, nameless nobodies were all stepping stones for the plot’s development. If not now, then certainly in the future. How detestable!