At the 9999th floor of Zhenchuan, there were only the three-year simulation and two-year gaokao question bank for the inner disciples of Qingshui Sect. Lin Shuang had already seen through this.
“From the 3353rd to the 3361st floor, the elders’ guidance.”
Her soft couch had not yet been transported out of Zhenchuan by Meng Zi when she was again teleported to the 3353rd floor.
Within the teleportation formation, all around were twisted mists. The surroundings were too dark to see clearly.
She calculated with her fingers: 3353—3361, totaling nine floors.
Indeed.
Each set of nine floors formed a complete question set, covering all key knowledge points comprehensively.
“This floor divided by nine leaves five remaining?” Meng Zi calculated quickly.
This floor was for attack trials.
Since entering Zhenchuan, the three of them had never entered an attack assessment.
They always circled through layers focused on comprehension, defense, speed, and other less deadly trials.
Following Lin Shuang’s suggestion, they chose easier questions first.
This had apparently been seen through by the elders.
The elders’ first round of guidance dragged them straight into the attack layer.
Lin Shuang’s eyes flickered, Huangpu Yuan lowered his eyelids, and no one knew what they were thinking.
[Layer 3353: Will you help me reap the harvest?]
They opened their eyes and quickly found themselves in the familiar scene of Lijia Village.
But this time, Old Li had not appeared yet.
Instead, the pink-robed elder Li Min stood before them.
“For the twelve sects’ competition next spring equinox, winning one match will be considered as ascending one floor in Zhenchuan.”
“Same rewards of techniques, spirit stones, and contribution points will be given as usual.”
“If you rank first among the middle and lower ranks of the twelve sects in the Ning Yuan realm, the sect will provide additional rewards.”
She waved her hand, and behind her the treasure rack of Zhenchuan opened fully.
“Below 4000 floors, each person can choose three items.”
“From 4000 to 6000 floors, each person can choose one item.”
Lin Shuang, who originally had a pained expression, instantly spotted the twelfth volume of “Shao Ke Accompanies You in Talisman Crafting” available for borrowing for ten days on the bookshelf at 6000 floors, and her eyes lit up.
Meng Zi was about to refuse, but his gaze caught sight of several items labeled ‘150,000 spirit stones,’ ‘90,000 spirit stones,’ ‘120,000 spirit stones,’ and so on.
Huangpu Yuan smiled faintly, his gaze landing on the bookshelf at 6000 floors, “Elder Shui’s Great Diary (Including the Origin of Formation Comprehension)” priced at 520,000 spirit stones.
The origin of comprehension often contained a wisp of the elder’s divine consciousness.
It was extremely weak, but if three or five such books were collected, a usable amount could be synthesized.
Once extracted, one could search for divine consciousness in the future and explore the opponent’s consciousness sea.
Perhaps then he could uncover the truth of the past and all the participants behind it.
Huangpu Yuan’s phoenix eyes showed a smile, “Alright, I’m in.”
“Bring it on, the twelve sects!” Meng Zi roared to the sky with his sword on his shoulder.
Lin Shuang touched her forehead, “The twelve sects include Qingshui Sect, Senior Brother Meng.”
But she gazed at the pink-robed elder Li Min, unable to hide her excitement.
“I’ll join.”
Elder Li Min, skilled in achieving multiple goals at once, coincided perfectly with her thoughts.
Lin Shuang greatly admired this.
“I am willing to fight for the elder.”
Pink-robed elder: “…”
“Ah, if I win this match, does that count me as an elite inner disciple?”
Lin Shuang finally remembered the main reason she entered Zhenchuan this time.
“I also need to participate in the outer disciple arena. Elder, can you request the outer sect to exempt me from the outer disciple arena?”
Pink-robed elder: “…You go together, the matches are all at the same time…”
“The outer disciple arena is usually near the inner disciple arena. Since you’re going there anyway, you can stand in the middle and fight both at once, right?”
“…”
Lin Shuang took a step back.
Got her!
The elder got her!
She covered her chest, her dantian quivering wildly.
Meng Zi: “…”
Huangpu Yuan: “…”
She had an episode.
Looking at her, they often felt they were still quite normal.
Strangely reassured, their heart demons all disappeared. What was going on?
“Alright, training starts now.”
Li Min snapped her finger instantly.
She released a flash of spiritual light, shooting toward the sky of Lijia Village!
[Elder’s guidance, Nine Linked Rings!]
[Temporarily requisitioning Zhenchuan’s 3353rd to 3361st floors. All disciples attempting the trials, please exit immediately!]
[Trial results will be preserved. If you do not retreat 300 floors, you can go to nearby layers for practice!]
Disciples of Zhenchuan instantly saw the red notice.
Even in the Ten Thousand Snake Valley, many disciples who had forced themselves into meditation were awakened.
Looking at the red notice, they couldn’t help but show envious looks.
Receiving individual guidance from an elder was a privilege not even core disciples usually got.
Normally within the sect, elders not in retreat or traveling outside numbered only a dozen or so.
Too many disciples, too little guidance.
But soon their expressions turned serious.
The projection slowly appeared:
[The Nine Linked Rings guidance is specially for the twelve sects’ competition of Qingshui Sect, so all disciples’ viewing rights are open!]
[May all disciples of Qingshui understand the efforts of the participating disciples.]
[Next year, no matter the outcome, do not blame your fellow disciples.]
Additionally, during the Nine Linked Rings’ closed-door guidance, if any mid-to-low level disciples at the Condensing Yuan stage gain insights while watching the projection and enhance their strength, they can challenge these three at any time.
Victory will replace Huangpu Yuan, Meng Zi, and Lin Shuang to represent Qingshui in the competition!]
[All disciples of Qingshui’s inner sect, listen up! The strongest sect competition in the Donghua Realm is about to begin—starting today, no slacking off!]
[After the Nine Linked Rings’ guidance ends, the trial content of these nine layers will be preserved for ten days, so you can come and try!]
Everyone was shocked.
In the projection, soon Lin Shuang faced three ragged figures covered in small snakes.
They were tall Mei Xin with a two-stringed fiddle on her back, cautious Chen Xingchuan holding a sword, and Dao Dong in his patchwork robe.
Elder Li Min nodded at them, “The three of you will participate in this closed-door trial together. As substitutes for the middle and low-rank arena of the Condensing Yuan stage, you will assist in the training. After the session, the punishment in the Ten Thousand Snake Valley will continue.”
“If during the Nine Linked Rings, your results surpass Lin Shuang’s trio, you can replace them.”
After speaking, Li Min pointed into the void, leaving no time for greetings.
Suddenly, a mountain fell from the sky.
This towering mountain was about a hundred meters high.
With a loud boom, it crashed onto the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
This giant mountain rock exuded faint spiritual energy, soon condensing into five large characters on the cliff wall.
——I am Shanhai Sect
Li Min clasped her hands behind her back solemnly, “Use your strongest attack to break this mountain, and you pass this layer.”
Lin Shuang and the five others: “…”
[…]
[Ha, what a big grudge between Shanhai and our Qingshui.]
[From competing for springs to competing for disciples, the two sects have long looked down on each other.]
[Not getting first place is fine, but losing to Shanhai Sect is not acceptable. Remember.]
“What are you all standing around for, coming here to dream?”
“Complete this trial with excellent results, and you can also become the floor master and receive Zhenchuan rewards!”
In an instant, Meng Zi charged out, appearing before the mountain.
Dao Dong followed, then Mei Xin, and Chen Xingchuan closely behind.
Blades and swords flew, formation disks collided, and the two-stringed fiddle was played.
With several bangs, the mountain trembled, and the four instantly flew backward.
In a moment, four heads-down figures were stuck upside down into the yellow soil next to Lin Shuang and Huangpu Yuan.
The ground resembled four radish pits, cracking layer by layer.
[!]
[…]
“Too weak, try again!”
Elder Li Min shouted.
“Huangpu Yuan, Lin Shuang, what are you doing!”
Huangpu Yuan, expressionless, stepped forward with his sword.
Lin Shuang helplessly touched her forehead, rushed forward, and pulled out a broadsword from her spatial bag.
This hundred-meter mountain was filled with spiritual energy.
It felt even stronger than the combined presence of Mei Xin’s trio.
There was no way to split it open.
Wasn’t this just wasting her spiritual energy?
Lin Shuang helplessly lifted the broadsword, activating her eleventh dantian, the one on duty, to its peak.
This was a trial.
Success or failure didn’t matter; only effort counted.
She gritted her teeth and swung the sword.
With a bang, she disappeared from sight.
As Huangpu Yuan’s palm just stopped before the mountain, his hair was instantly pulled by her… and they both flew backward!
Huangpu Yuan: “!”
Meng Zi and the others had barely pulled their heads out of the pits when they looked up and saw Lin Shuang flying away… flying so far they couldn’t see her anymore…
With two bangs, very close together, the sounds of falling came from at least a hundred miles away.
If they weren’t all at the fourth level of Ningyuan, they might not have even heard it.
[…]
[…]
“Flew out of the projection screen?!”
“Wow, I didn’t know Lijia Village’s map was this big.”
“It sounds like it’ll take two hours to return by sword flight.”
“This is a Mountain-Shaking Stone. If your attack is weaker than its durability, you’ll be bounced back.”
“The bigger the gap, the farther you’re thrown…”
“At this point, I believe she’s reached the level of Qi Transformation.”
(Note: “化气” is translated as “Qi Transformation” based on common Taoist/Qigong terminology. If this refers to a specific cultivation stage in a particular context, the translation might need adjustment accordingly.)
She rolled farther than all the fourth-layer Ning Yuan disciples present.
And she threw Huangpu Yuan out too.
[Probably this mountain rock requires at least the strength of the sixth layer of Ningyuan to be cut through without rebounding.]
The distinction between the Huaqi and Ningyuan sixth layers explains why she vanished.
Elder Li Min’s temple twitched instantly.
Far away in a deep pit, out of the projection screen, Lin Shuang was also trying to get up, holding her forehead.
“Indeed, the eleventh dantian at the third layer of transforming qi isn’t sufficient.”
She summarized her experience.
But as she pushed herself up, she touched a warm, solid chest.
Lin Shuang lowered her gaze into a pair of deep, ink-black phoenix eyes.
At this moment, the black pupils seemed to swirl.
“Junior apprentice sister, you pulled out my hair.”
A crease deeply formed at the corner of Huangpu Yuan’s left eyebrow.
Lin Shuang looked down and indeed saw a coiled black hair strand in her palm, unbranched and shiny.
But in an instant, because it had left its owner, it turned snow-white with silver, and the end emitted a flame.
Uh.
Pulling out the hair…
His disguise was ruined.
“Can I put it back?” Lin Shuang tried to stick the broken hair strand near the lush hairline on his handsome face.
Huangpu Yuan looked down: “Hmph, should I dig out your dantian and put it back?”
“…”
Don’t be so aggressive.
It was just a mistake, right?
Lin Shuang slowly pushed herself up against his chest, climbing up under his increasingly deep and dangerous gaze.
She stuffed the red-and-white long hair into her spatial bag, erasing the evidence.
“Senior apprentice brother, the elder is coming. How long will you lie here?”
Huangpu Yuan leaned on his forehead, sitting in the pit.
“Beep, Xiao Ai reminds you not to rush into training when you’re in a bad mood.”
“Do you want to read a storybook?”
The next moment, the book “Female Immortal Disguised as Male Descending to the Mortal World” was shoved into his hands by her delicate fingers.
Lin Shuang patted the dust off her clothes and stood on the broadsword.
“It’s time to go back. The return trip takes an hour.”
Huangpu Yuan looked down at the cover with small characters reading “Disguised as Male.”
—Was her heart in turmoil? Would her identity be exposed this time?
His ink-black pupils suddenly turned into straight lines.
Had he lost control of his irritation?
Had she noticed?
Was she reminding him that if he continued like this, Elder Li Min would notice?
That’s why she pulled him back a hundred miles.
An hour.
She calculated the hour-long sword flight back, letting him calm down during this time?
Huangpu Yuan closed his eyes, reopened them, and complexly looked at the bright woman who had already started lying on the soft couch reading a storybook.
“Senior apprentice brother, you drive on the way back.”
“…”
The two flew back, indeed taking an hour.
They saw Elder Li Min’s dark and stormy expression.
Meng Zi and the others continued to assault the Mountain-Shaking Stone with their most powerful attacks, yet each time they were hurled back into the very craters they had just created.
Now they lay there helplessly, glaring at Lin Shuang and the others.
Their hands were already trembling uncontrollably.
Gasping for breath.
Their spiritual energy was nearly exhausted, while Lin Shuang and Huangpu Yuan seemed fine, returning as if they had just gone for a leisurely walk.
Standing on the mountain, Li Min gave Lin Shuang and Huangpu Yuan a cold smile.
“If you dare to fly back that far again, I’ll shove both of you into the Mountain-Quaking Stone.”
Lin Shuang coughed lightly.
Huangpu Yuan looked down at her.
But just as the four in the pit were about to rise and charge at the Mountain-Shaking Boulder once more, Lin Shuang uttered something eerie.
“Unless you’ve reached the fifth level of Ningyuan, your strongest attack won’t be able to break this stone, right?”
The four figures stopped.
Each of them had reached the fourth level of Ningyuan.
Breaking through to fifth was no easy task?
Lin Shuang rubbed her wrist, looking back at their battered figures and scattered spiritual energy.
Sigh.
She silently exhaled.
Looking at pink-robed Li Min, “Elder, my hand hurts.”
“…”
[Ha ha ha ha!]
[Time to rest?]
“Regardless of the gap,” Lin Shuang touched her forehead, “I hurt my wrist and need time to heal. I injured my eleventh dantian and need time to recover it.”
“Not worth it.”
Elder Li Min’s eyes widened instantly.
Eleventh what?
Dantian?
[Eleventh dantian beep, here we go again!]
[What’s going on? Besides the sixth dantian from the Ten Thousand Volumes Book Room, she has an eleventh?]
[Hurting the eleventh dantian needs time to recover? Along with the wrist, does she name the meridians her sword qi travels through?]
[…]
[Who names meridians? Meridians already have names!]
[So the sixth is the meridian for the ‘Unwilling to Return’ sword technique? Makes a bit of sense.]
Discussions flooded the projection.
Outside the projection, Zhao Keran in her rest cave at the 6000th floor covered her mouth.
Even when the green-robed elder looked at her curiously, she pretended not to notice.
This was VIP content.
She couldn’t say anything.
Zhao Keran watched the projection, where Lin Shuang stood before the Mountain-Shaking Stone.
She had just been thrown out but landed on Huangpu Yuan, so her robes still fluttered gracefully without injury.
Only the red cords tying her double sleeves were loose, fluttering long in the wind.
“Fast Learning Clothing Chapter.”
Behind the counter, the green-robed elder with her legs crossed perked up her ears.
“One must wear more convenient clothes while working, and looser clothes when resting or not meeting people.”
The green-robed elder raised an eyebrow.
Hmph, obvious.
She shook her head, gazing at Lin Shuang standing before the Mountain-Shaking Stone. With the red cords loosened, her wide sleeves fluttered freely, radiating an extraordinarily ethereal presence.
“Hmph, in front of the Zhen Shan Stone, which can only be severed by the power of the fifth stage of Yuan Condensation, she thinks this will help with the attack?”
What nonsense is this?
“No,” Zhao Keran wipes the table, “Senior sister is about to finish her shift.”
“…”
“The fastest way to learn combat is, when you encounter someone you can’t beat, just leave.”
Zhao Keran’s eyes are shining.
“Do you think the enemy will feed you if you wait there? Maybe, but it’ll be a last meal before your head gets cut off.”
The green-robed elder: “…”
Disciples in the six-thousandth layer’s rest cave: “…”
In the projection, indeed, Lin Shuang is seen stopping Meng Zi and others.
A bit dusty on her forehead, she is wiping it with a cloth, saying, “Let’s go, it’s time to do homework.”
Meng Zi and the four others: “?”
Looking at Li Min on the Zhen Shan Stone, Lin Shuang nods.
“Senior, when we were pulled into this layer, you once said that those below the fifth stage of Yuan Condensation cannot leave.”
“This Zhen Shan Stone definitely requires at least the fifth stage to be overcome.”
“And we don’t have that.”
The corners of Meng Zi’s mouth twitch.
They don’t.
But to be so shamelessly honest about it—what kind of situation is this?
“Senior, see you at the fifth stage.”
Lin Shuang turns and waves at Li Min, then retracts her broadsword.
She leaves.
“Senior sister’s words make sense. Cultivation cultivation never lies.”
Huangpu Yuan follows behind her.
[???]
[…]
[Can this really work?]
[Senior: Demonstration begins. Disciple: Sorry, I can’t learn it. Wait until I get smarter to come back.]
[This is what the senior wants us to see—how hard the disciples work for the arena matches…]
[Hahaha, but what if she goes up against a high-level opponent from the Shanhai Sect? Sorry, farewell for now—I need to go level up first.]
[So funny, but why do I feel like our mid- to low-level Yuan Condensation fighters are doomed?]
[What do you call a sword heart? The kind of spirit that dares to challenge heaven! Will she just run away because it’s the fifth stage???]
The projection text erupts into arguments again.
Not only that, but even on-site, Meng Zi and the four others hesitate slightly.
Training… leaving the elder alone here while the disciples run off—will that be okay?
Watching Lin Shuang and the other two leave immediately, Mei Xin hesitates, unable to move.
Meng Zi’s eyebrows twitch as he watches Lin Shuang and the others walk far away, finally panicking, “Ah ah ah…”
“Wait for me…”
They’re on the same team.
If the two of them leave, what’s he staying here for?
“Senior, I’m also going to go level up.”
Meng Zi says, then hoists his blade and turns to chase after Lin Shuang, who has already walked about ten steps away.
Mei Xin, Chen Xingchuan, and Dao Dong all look speechless.
What’s going on? These three are just talking among themselves?
But Chen Xingchuan only hesitates briefly before quickly bowing to Li Min, “Senior, I am now at the peak of the fourth layer, yet to break through the fifth layer’s barrier.”
“Disciple… will go cultivate first.”
[He left too.]
[Hehe, looks like Lin Shuang’s victory left quite a few mental scars on him.]
[Exactly, instinctively following Lin Shuang, who defeated him, how much does that show his spirit has dimmed?]
[Since he decided to go to the outer sect, the inner sect Chen Xingchuan is already ‘dead’.]
Most of the projections view Chen Xingchuan’s act of following her very negatively.
A cultivator can lose, but his fighting spirit must never be broken.
Yet just as these reflections float by, the projection shows Lin Shuang and the four others already reaching the edge of the frame—revealing the wheat fields of Li Village and the distant thatched cottages.
In an instant, a hurried old man, very familiar to everyone—the village elder Li Lao of Li Village—comes rushing out with three hundred strong villagers behind him.
“Miss Lin, oh, Immortal Meng…”
Li Lao and the three hundred villagers seem to have found their relatives!
Smiling, they bring their families and rush to Lin Shuang, grab her hand, and excitedly shake it.
“I saw the descent of immortals at home and couldn’t believe it…”
“You immortals want to level up? Stay at my house! Stay at my house!”
[?]
[!]
“Ah ah ah, don’t fight me for it. Miss Lin should stay at my house! My wheat fields are about to be harvested. Immortals left a prophecy a hundred years ago—harvest, and you’ll break through!”
[???]
In the projection, Lin Shuang is slightly stunned, but soon she reveals a knowing smile.
She knew it.
Why would a trial layer, designed to test the ability to attack the Zhen Shan Stone, be placed in the dungeon map of Li Village?
Because it needs props from Li Village!
Relying solely on brute force, even if you pass this level forcibly, there’s no benefit.
It’s a linked chain—a level specially designed by the elders for disciples to level up.
If you don’t level up, if you don’t progress, you just smash stones and leave empty-handed.
You’d be wasting your time, right?
There’s no reward at all…
Lin Shuang smiles and gently pats the old man’s hand, “Then Grandpa, we’ll trouble you.”
“Nonsense!” Old Li thumps his chest, “You taught so many of our children the ‘Return to Sword’ technique, and even helped us seize the spring! You can pick any room you like!”
“Meng Immortal too.”
“Ah, Immortal Huangpu is here too…”
Old Li shows a complex expression.
Huangpu Yuan: “…”
Back in Xiao Fang’s layer, he received a review—Li Village thought he was too aloof and dared not invite him for tasks anymore.
“Alright then, everyone come.”
Old Li reluctantly concedes, “Those kids studying alchemy also have some questions they want to ask you.”
Old Li directly leads them back to five thatched cottages, offering his village chief’s house to them.
He lifts the tattered mat, revealing a jade bed underneath that rapidly restores spiritual energy.
He opens the tattered cabinet, inside are pills that refresh the mind and enhance insight.
He lifts the wooden lid of the well, revealing spring water overflowing with spiritual energy.
“What else does the immortal need?”
“Be sure to tell me, old man.”
Old Li still feels he hasn’t done enough.
He claps his hands, and in rush a dozen village aunties, carrying nectar-like delicacies, steaming spiritual grains and vegetables.
All are spiritual foods, pill-free meals, spiritual teas, and wines supplied by the inner sect cafeteria of the Clear Stream Sect.
[!]
[Wow!]
In the projection, in front of the Zhen Shan Stone, Li Min looks at the stunned Mei Xin and Dao Dong and shakes his head.
“Still daydreaming?”
“Now, either cut the stone and pass the level,”
“Or go train yourselves!”
Mei Xin and Dao Dong suddenly realize and hurriedly bid farewell to the elder, rushing toward Li Village.
Li Min gazes at their retreating figures, sighs softly, and disappears in an instant.
Old Li gives the village chief’s house to Lin Shuang and the other three.
Chen Xingchuan gets the second, smaller thatched cottage with a drafty window.
Mei Xin arrives third.
Old Li shakes his head, “No rooms left. If the immortal doesn’t mind, there’s only a woodshed.”
When Dao Dong arrives fourth, Old Li spits on the ground in disgust.
“No rooms left, not even the woodshed.”
“Immortal, make do for yourself!”
He throws out a tattered mat.
[… First come, first served?]
[Sorry, Chen Xingchuan, I shouldn’t have said that about you earlier. You were right.]
Chen Xingchuan is already sitting cross-legged in the thatched cottage with the drafty window, looking through the window frame at Mei Xin in the woodshed and Dao Dong on the mat, his eyes flashing relief.
Good thing.
His entire Chen family lost to Lin Shuang three times.
From Chen Cheng’s challenge, to his senior’s precious item being lost, to his own challenge against Lin Shuang.
If he still didn’t understand by today that Lin Shuang thrives in Zhen Chuan like a fish in water, and didn’t follow her, how foolish would he be?
Chen Xingchuan shakes his head.
Those who recognize the times are heroes.
He closes his eyes and enters meditation.
Outside, Mei Xin and Dao Dong can only smile bitterly.
Lin Shuang sits on the village chief’s jade bed, holding spiritual food given by the aunties, sipping spiritual tea.
She waves at them.
“Senior sister Mei Xin, Senior brother Dao Dong, you two better hurry.”
“Start building up favorability first.”
“Your favorability isn’t enough.”
Having said that, she pulls her head back in.
“Ah, Meng Senior brother, put down Old Li’s Immortal Unyielding Robe. You’re not exhausted yet…”
“Huangpu Senior brother, put down the spiritual chicken leg… it’s not lunchtime yet…”
Mei Xin and Dao Dong: “!!”
[The Immortal Unyielding Robe??? The one that instantly restores spiritual energy when worn?]
[Li Village internally rivals my six-thousandth layer cave residence.]
[Only when disciples have enough admiration can they enjoy such treatment?]
[Dao Dong in Xiao Fang’s layer not only failed to gain Li Village’s admiration but also helped Wang Village, making him a sworn enemy of Li Village…]
[More than that, he once activated a formation and injured a hundred Li Village villagers…]
The words just float by.
Then in the projection, Dao Dong stands in front of the thatched cottage as many young Li Village men come out.
“Spit.”
“Spit.”
“Spit spit spit!”
Dao Dong: “…”
[…]
[Indeed, admiration does matter.]
[In every puppet level of Zhen Chuan, one must be careful…]
[Mei Xin in the three-thousandth layer helped Wang Village seize the spring, but she didn’t injure anyone from Li Village, so she’s slightly better off than Dao Dong.]
[No way around it—Dao Dong challenged Lin Shuang and had to stand with Wang Village, fighting three hundred youths.]
[What no way? He could have gone straight for Meng Zi and the three others. If any of them lost more than sixty percent of their blood, the match would end immediately, and the three hundred villagers would disappear.]
[Dao Dong ignored Meng Zi and, with his first move, injured a hundred Li Village villagers. From Li Village’s perspective, who else should they spit at besides him?]
In the projection, Lin Shuang holds her spiritual tea cup, sipping a little.
She closes the novel in her hand, sits on a bed made of spiritual stones, and looks at Dao Dong outside the window with sympathy.
Zhen Chuan is like a mock exam.
Within Zhen Chuan, if disciples fail, they retreat three hundred layers.
Being hated by a family name, having no place to stay, suffering cold stares.
But outside the Sect?
Lin Shuang closes her eyes.
Spiritual treasures in the world are limited, and cultivators’ struggles are as numerous as crossing a river of herring, everywhere to be seen.
If outside, encountering conflicts between two great cultivation families, what should a neutral party do?
Help one side, and you inevitably earn the other’s hatred.
If you strike hard, it becomes an unresolvable feud for generations.
The question hidden in Li Village subtly contains a warning from Clear Stream Sect to its disciples.
Taking a side creates karma.
Striking creates hatred.
Should one watch coldly from the sidelines or get involved?
Should one befriend the strong or aid the weak?
In Zhen Chuan, there’s no choice—you’ve already accepted a one-sided task upon entry.
But once outside the Clear Stream Sect, the sky is wide and the sea is vast, disciples can follow their Dao hearts.
All consequences must be borne by oneself!
The enlightenment Zhen Chuan gives disciples can only go this far.
Lin Shuang nods, then opens her novel again.
“I underestimated the questions in Li Village a bit.”
“The ancestral hall, Xiao Fang, the struggle for the spring—I hastily helped Li Village without asking right or wrong, which was a mistake.”
Lin Shuang shakes her head.
She didn’t get full marks on these two questions.
No wonder the ranking of disciples who passed the three-thousandth layer, marked ‘You’re finally here,’ was quite strange.
At that time, the words carved on the ancestral hall said—rankings are based on the admiration gained from Li Village.
In theory, the Zhen Chuan assessment of disciples’ strength shouldn’t be ranked by preference.
Lin Shuang holds her forehead, “It turns out we were biased from the start.”
In an instant, a divine light descends, enveloping her.
Lin Shuang: “?”
[?]
[Lin Shuang discovers the hidden truth in Li Village’s trial—what you hear isn’t necessarily the truth.]
[Three-thousandth layer evaluation upgraded to Superlative Plus!]
[Indeed, the Li family claims their ancestral hall was burned and Xiao Fang was deceived into marriage, but how do you know Li family didn’t burn Wang family’s ancestral hall first, or break a marriage promise beforehand?
In the struggle for the spring, you relied too much on one side’s account, trusting Li family too easily.]
[Who is right and who is wrong? Can a cultivator be an all-knowing judge, seeing every case clearly? Yet acting hastily without inquiry can lead to consequences far graver than those of ordinary people.]
[Congratulations, Lin Shuang, you’ve realized it, and fastest of all!]
[Congratulations, Huangpu Yuan, you’ve realized it, second fastest!]
[?]
Lin Shuang: “??”
She holds her forehead, receiving the sudden influx of spiritual energy, and looks at Huangpu Yuan beside the tea table.
He too now wears the same expression of realization, and the same look of reluctance.
He doesn’t want this spiritual energy gift either.
In the projection, the next moment, everyone sees the carvings on Li Village’s ancestral hall change.
[Three-thousandth layer master: Lin Shuang, Huangpu Yuan, Meng Zi.]
Their names, originally on the first line of the pillar, instantly turn golden.
[Disciple rankings are sorted by the admiration gained from Li Village.]
This line of small text suddenly twists and changes.
Rewriting—
[Disciple rankings are sorted by evaluation: Lin Shuang and Huangpu Yuan understood the deeper meaning, Superlative Plus, first and second in a hundred years.]
[!]
[…!]
[I always thought it was just admiration-based ranking.]
[No wonder I always felt the disciples on Wang Village’s side in the three-thousandth layer were ranked unfairly. It’s because of this.]
[You didn’t realize it—you saw the mountain as just a mountain. When you realize the truth, the mountain is no longer just a mountain, and the words on the stone pillar change.]
[After she explained, all watching disciples understood, so you all saw the true ranking method on the stone pillar.]
[… Zhen Chuan is so deep!]
[That’s why high-ranking disciples can’t casually reveal the answers. But if someone like her realizes it themselves and speaks it out, there’s no problem.]
[Strange, this kind of thing should have been blocked by the Zhen Chuan secrecy mechanism…]
Inside the six-thousandth layer’s rest cave.
The green-robed elder and the pink-robed elder Li Min, sitting on either side, both have complex expressions.
The Zhen Chuan secrecy mechanism only targets the secrets and cultivation techniques of the current layer’s completion method.
Who could have imagined that both Lin Shuang and Huangpu Yuan would run to the three-thousand-three-hundredth layer and expose the secret of the three-thousandth layer!
In an instant of sudden realization, spiritual energy is granted, changing the ranking of the three-thousandth layer’s masters.
The two hold their foreheads.
“Well, this was something disciples should have understood.”
“But having someone else point it out can never be as complete as realizing it yourself.”
“Still, it’s better to think about these things early rather than learn them late.”
“If it leaks, let it leak.”
They sit back down, looking indifferent.
But soon, the green-robed elder straightens his neck again, looking at the shocked disciples in the six-thousandth layer drinking tea and snacking.
He glares.
“All disciples who haven’t comprehended before should come rent caves from me—minimum three years! Let this remind you of what you’ve gained today!”
The 6,000th layer of disciples: “…!”
Li Min smiled.
In the projection,
The elder Li’s cry appeared at the window the next moment.
“Immortal, it’s terrible! A strong wind is rising on the river surface. Could you please help us harvest the wheat fields?”
Lin Shuang had just suppressed the descending spiritual energy from the sky when she stood up in one breath.
Within less than half an incense stick’s time, the six of them stared in shock at the golden wheat stalks outside, thick and tall like small trees.
Golden wheat at the peak of Qi Condensation.
Golden wheat at the first stage of Core Formation.
Golden wheat at the second stage of Core Formation.
Golden wheat at the third stage of Core Formation.
…
All the wheat in the field had transformed into little monsters for leveling up!
Lin Shuang inhaled deeply.
Then, she smiled and walked into the field.
This task was absolutely no problem.
Experience points for leveling up? Here she comes.
A new wave of admiration from Li Village? Here she comes too.
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