◎ When tired, take a break and gaze into the distance, eyes sharp as a hawk. ◎
To address her physiological needs, Lin Shuang dashed away with her sword.
Her sky-blue sleeves fluttered in the wind, and the red cord in her sleeve flew high, almost touching Huangfu Yuan’s face.
Bai Yu was riding his sword, carrying Huangfu Yuan with him. At this moment, he was completely stiff and had forgotten to move aside.
He had just remembered…
The dead memories were attacking him again!
Today was Lin Shuang’s… fat-burning, sweating day!
Bai Yu was in a daze.
*
Several hundred miles away.
Meng Zi stood on the flying table and he led the three evil cultivators towards his sword techniques.
“The other two are yours!” He shouted to his two colleagues from the Annihilation Pavilion.
With third-tier speed-enhancing talismans under his feet, Meng Zi could escape at any time. He engaged in guerrilla tactics, taking on three opponents and occasionally harassing them.
“Ranked 1023rd on the Nascent Soul Stage wanted list, with a bounty of two thousand spirit stones… 944th, with a bounty of three thousand five hundred spirit stones… Wanted 491st, with a bounty of five thousand five hundred spirit stones… Huh?”
Meng Zi counted the spirit stones, his eyes shining. But as he turned around, he saw that one of his prey was missing.
Huh?
He was worth a whopping five thousand five hundred spirit stones!
“Where’s my money?!”
Hearing Meng Zi’s furious roar, Zhao Ming, who had been chasing one of the fleeing evil cultivators, blinked and was already within a hundred steps of Meng Zi.
But with his shout, Zhao Ming felt a rush of wind beside him.
In the corner of his eye, he saw a broadsword like a shooting star, dragging a long silver claw hook, closely following a black-robed evil cultivator, pulling him into a small grove in an instant!
“Zhen Nan Mountain?!”
Zhao Ming’s eyelids twitched.
Zhen Nan Mountain, at the third layer of the Nascent Soul stage, had a relatively low cultivation level, but he was extremely ruthless and ranked 491st on the Nascent Soul wanted list.
Ten years ago, he slaughtered a village, and seven years ago, he massacred 113 members of an immortal cultivation family.
He looked at the small grove in shock. Whose broadsword was this? Was there a fourth person from the Annihilation Pavilion here?
…
【Ding! You’ve burned 292 calories! Hang in there for a little longer. You’re doing great~】
The small grove swayed.
The burly evil cultivator looked at the cute girl in pink with fear in his eyes.
This girl had charming features, but at the moment, sweat dripped from her forehead, one drop at a time.
She was panting heavily, and her hands, clad in gloves, were trembling, slowing down her movements.
【Rest for 5 seconds. Prepare for the next move, swinging the battle rope.】
【Let’s work on those arm muscles!】
The strange, cute commentary made the burly evil cultivator’s neck turn cold, and he turned to run. But in an instant, his back was pulled by two heavy ropes, dragging him back like waves.
“Don’t move. I’m almost at my limit, I don’t even have the strength in my fingers…”
“In the last three minutes… you better not make any unnecessary moves, or I’ll get angry…”
The burly evil cultivator: “!”
Sweat dripped from her forehead onto the green grass.
The ends of the ropes she was holding were soaked with sweat from her hands.
【Congratulations, you’ve completed the 124th Hell-Level Fat-Burning III Course.】
【Great job! The next Hell-Level Fat-Burning session will be in seven days~】
Lin Shuang heard the voice and finally took a long breath.
She took out a clean towel from her sleeve and pressed it against her red and hot face. Her legs were trembling, and she leaned against a tree, squatting down, and poked the last evil cultivator who had fallen unconscious during the fight.
She picked up the mustard bag he had dropped on the ground.
There were three to four hundred spirit stones, some elixirs, a small knife, and poison.
Nothing else.
She searched through it twice but didn’t find any suspicious bones or the like.
Lin Shuang lowered her eyelashes.
Although they were all evil cultivators, didn’t they have any peculiar habits? Were they not associated with Liu Ba and his golden hammer?
Well, it seemed like her attempt to kill two birds with one stone had failed.
She suddenly lost interest and wiped the sweat from her face as she walked out of the small grove.
The assassins from the Annihilation Pavilion had a distinctive attire, all dressed in black with bamboo hats and masks.
Outside the grove, a masked man was fighting an emaciated old man, who had suffered seven or eight bloody wounds. His attire was similar to the person Lin Shuang had just robbed, clearly from the Annihilation Pavilion as well.
“Well, here you go.”
Lin Shuang panted as she flew up to them, still holding the unconscious burly evil cultivator, and dropped him at the feet of the masked man.
Zhao Ming, who was locked in combat with the emaciated evil cultivator, turned his head, his eyes widening.
Zhen Nan Mountain, like a dead fish, was still twitching. Was he killed just like that?
The emaciated old man was hesitating whether to flee. Then he saw the female cultivator, who had wiped her face with a towel, climb onto her flying sword. Her legs went weak, and she almost fell onto the sword.
Fortunately, she reacted quickly and propped herself up on the sword.
But her hands were trembling so badly that she could barely support herself.
Her spiritual energy was so weak that it was almost imperceptible.
The emaciated old man was overjoyed, while Zhao Ming felt a heavy heart.
“Young female cultivator, wait here, we’ll deal with this one first!” The emaciated old man grinned wickedly.
“Or you can both come at me!” he added.
Lin Shuang was panting heavily.
The Hell-Level Difficulty III Fat-Burning, which occurred once every seven days, was much more exhausting compared to the introductory fat-burning that took place every two days.
After completing one session, she just wanted to lie down.
With great effort, she let out a long sigh and said, “I’m sorry, but I’ve already finished my fat-burning for today.”
Zhao Ming was bewildered.
Fat… burning?
Wasn’t that the fat-burning thing that Junior Brother Xiao Qi had mentioned in his note?
Was this the woman Junior Brother lost to so outrageously?
“Fat… burning exercise…?” Zhao Ming recalled.
“Huh? What did you say? Speak louder!” The old man frowned and looked at him.
Lin Shuang raised an eyebrow slightly, and her broadsword beneath her suddenly soared into the sky.
Zhao Ming breathed a sigh of relief.
Her departure was a burden to him.
The flying swords she left behind were swaying left and right, apparently due to insufficient spiritual energy to control them steadily.
“Your opponent is me!” Zhao Ming immediately attracted the old man’s attention with a swift strike towards the black serpent accompanying him.
However, before the attack could land, the old man’s scythe cut through Zhao Ming’s right arm, tearing flesh and revealing bone.
“Gah, I told you, no one has ever seen me leave alive!” The emaciated old man squinted his eyes and grinned maliciously.
Far away, the Annihilation Pavilion assassins, who were dressed in disheveled clothes, were in over their heads, attempting to take on two opponents at once and struggling to defend themselves.
In another area, another assassin was locked in a fierce battle and couldn’t gain the upper hand.
“No one can save you! Die for me!” The old man shouted.
Zhao Ming’s blood, now flowing down his sword, thought of what Junior Brother Xiao Qi had told him before. He was going back in four days, which made him smile bitterly.
The two enhancement talismans from the mustard bag had all been used up.
Was he going to meet his end here this time?
From the day he entered the Annihilation Pavilion, he had been prepared for this.
When you go out into the world, there will always come a day when you meet your end.
Zhao Ming’s back was drenched in sweat. When the black serpent bit him once again, he reached for the communication stone in his ring.
With a gentle touch, he sent out the divine sense that he had prepared before each mission.
[Junior Brother Xiao Qi, this time I might be away for a long time.]
[Take care of yourself. Don’t worry about me.]
After sending the message, Zhao Ming gritted his teeth and rushed toward the evil cultivators.
Just as he was about to burn his Nascent Soul Golden Dan and forcibly elevate his cultivation level, a voice, exhausted but clear, came from mid-air.
“One hundred and twenty breaths.”
“?”
Zhao Ming raised his head in confusion.
“Hold on for one hundred and twenty breaths.”
The self-damaging secret technique that Zhao Ming was operating instantly stalled.
What did she mean by one hundred and twenty breaths? After that, was she going to start… fat-burning again?
“No, my next exercise is to practice the Fire Eyes and Golden Vision technique.”
“!”
“?”
The Fire Eyes and Golden Vision technique, what use was there for it?!
Zhao Ming and the emaciated old man continued to battle, both of them having this absurd and incomprehensible thought in their minds at the same time.
Someone was still practicing the Fire Eyes and Golden Vision technique at this time? This ridiculous technique?
Low-level, worthless, and the manual for this technique was unreasonably thick!
Twenty years ago, cultivators had used it to prop up their tables.
“Haha, did I hear it correctly? Is it that storyteller who has been practicing for a hundred years and created the Fire Eyes and Golden Vision technique?”
The emaciated old man couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Zhao Ming was left with a bitter taste in his mouth.
The creator of this technique was said to be highly skilled in selective quoting and literary nonsense.
He had serialized the technique for a total of 144 chapters, each of which had ten small realms!
A total of 1,440 levels!
“I heard that he only practiced to a little over five hundred levels himself, and it took him eighty years.”
The emaciated old man laughed so hard that his scythe shook.
“In the end, after all that, his eyesight was only at the Nascent Soul low level. The Ancestral Master must be rolling in his grave!”
Eighty years, with no lack of talent, were enough to enter the Nascent Soul level.
What was the use of practicing this Fire Eyes and Golden Vision technique?!
It was evaluated by the Myriad Blossoms Tower as the most ridiculous technique of all time, without exception!
The emaciated old man wasn’t in a hurry to kill Zhao Ming. Instead, he looked at the broadsword in mid-air and the pink-clad woman who was patting her forehead with a towel.
He burst into laughter and said, “How many levels have you reached in your practice? It’s been so many years since I’ve heard this joke!”
Zhao Ming smiled bitterly without saying a word.
But in an instant, he heard the woman’s clear response.
“Well, today is the day I broke through to level 916.”
“???”
“What… what?”
[Ding, Fire Eyes Golden Gaze technique, 916th level, progress: 97%.]
[Please focus. It is estimated that after gazing into the distance 13 more times, you will reach the full 916th level.]
A strange, soft voice echoed in the air again.
Zhao Ming and the old man were dumbfounded.
“It’s impossible. I’ve never heard of…” The old man started to laugh.
But halfway through, his throat was choked.
[Three more times are required.]
[…One time.]
[Congratulations, you have reached level 916!]
In his bewildered state, Zhao Ming suddenly felt a slight and cold touch in his eyes.
[Xiao Ai reminds you, Level 916 provides pinpoint accuracy with 100% efficiency!]
Who… was Xiao Ai?
Was that the name of his Junior Sister?
Zhao Ming hadn’t figured it out yet, but everything within his field of vision suddenly became much clearer.
The entire plain, the willow leaves beside him, and the old man’s withered wrinkles all expanded several times, making everything much clearer!
He was originally at the Nascent Soul Third Layer in terms of vision, but this technique…
Before he could finish his amazement, he noticed something remarkable. The black snake in front of him, with its blood-filled gaping mouth, had a faintly colored weak spot on its forehead!
Moreover, its movements seemed to have slowed down!
Its body, the size of a water barrel, now had a gap of four inches in the middle of its body!
Zhao Ming: “!”
He immediately thrust his sword at the weakened scales of the black snake, aiming for its vulnerable point!
The black snake instantly sprayed out foul-smelling blood, and countless scales fell off.
Zhao Ming was shocked.
“It can’t be, it can’t be… Fire Eyes Golden Gaze, this low-level useless technique!” exclaimed the emaciated old man, his eyes wide in disbelief.
Why was it impossible?
Lin Shuang sat on the sword, her breathing already calm, but her body was still exhausted from the Hell-level Fat Burning exercise.
She leaned weakly against the small table on the wide sword’s surface, supported her forehead, and looked at the old man with sympathy.
“You’ve been practicing for how many years… 916 levels…” The old man’s right shoulder was pierced through by Zhao Ming’s sword, and he stared at Lin Shuang in disbelief.
Lin Shuang sat cross-legged, leaned forward, and her eyes took on a faint glassy color.
“Considering you don’t have much time left, I’ll tell you.”
She lowered her head. “Well, I’ve been practicing this technique for three years and two months.”
Indeed, a very long time.
No, wait!
The old man’s figure stiffened, and Zhao Ming also paused his incantations.
Three years, practicing to 916 levels.
On average, she practiced one level a day?!
What kind of cultivation speed was this?!
Lin Shuang, ignoring their astonishment, saw that the outcome was decided and turned her snowboard-like wide sword, swiftly flying away.
“Senior from the Mountain and Sea Sect, I’ll take my leave. Please convey my regards to Xiao Qi.”
“!?!”
Zhao Ming was momentarily panicked and touched his mask.
The snowboard-like wide sword disappeared from his sight.
“Brother! I’ll help you—”
Meng Zi, who had finally finished dealing with two other evil cultivators, hurried over.
He saw a floral-patterned sword hilt adorned with two red ropes.
On both sides of the sword wings, yellow paper talismans fluttered, their cinnabar ink fresh and red.
Hiss…
Meng Zi furrowed his brow. “Brother, who is this?”
Why did he feel like he had seen this sword hilt somewhere before?
But in an instant, he kicked something hard on the ground, and when he looked down, his eyes lit up.
“Damn it, that’s a whole 5,500 spirit stones! So, you were here, after all!”
Zhao Ming: “…”
Zhen Nan Mountain: “…”
The emaciated evil cultivator: “…”
—
“My plan was flawed. I took a detour specifically to do fat-burning exercises, thinking I could find clues to the Finger Bone, but in the end, I found nothing.”
“It made me waste time taking the detour.”
“But it’s okay; I’ve achieved today’s breakthrough goal for the Fire Eyes and Golden Vision technique in advance.”
Lin Shuang supported her forehead.
“Xiao Qi still owes me a favor; I saved a fellow disciple of his. I’ll make a note of it and tell him next time.”
1 Fat Burning Tomato Timer √
2 Fire Eyes and Golden Vision Tomato Timer √
3 Strengthening Friendship with Xiao Qi (Additional Gains) √
Lin Shuang took a look and, despite taking a detour, gained something from the experience. She felt happy. She quickly accelerated her sword and caught up with the main group.
Ten miles away, on a tall tree, Huangfu Yuan stood holding a jade-carved hand warmer. He watched as she flew back, her face flushed, lying comfortably, her left hand talking to a book and her right hand holding a drawing.
Floating in the air, there was even a sound stone playing music.
“…Purchase those people’s mustard seed bags at a high price.”
Bai Yu took a deep breath. “Understood.”
All the evil cultivators who had come to attack had been defeated here, and not one of them was worth tracking!
“Her cultivation…” Huangfu Yuan’s phoenix eyes left a faint wrinkle.
Bai Yu’s figure shook, and after a moment of silence, he lowered his head. “Foundation Establishment Third Level. I used my spiritual sense to verify them last night.”
“Oh?” Huangfu Yuan lightly coughed, smiling.
When they rushed over, leaving Zhao Keran and Zhou Xuanwu behind, she was already sitting on the wide sword, weak and breathless.
Zhen Nan Mountain was unconscious on the ground.
“Her temperament is excellent.”
“Her eyesight is excellent.”
“Her cultivation is low and weak. Interesting.”
Bai Yu clenched his lips.
—
The Outer Sect Management Office of the Clearwater Sect.
Lin Shuang and the other two disciples arrived first to deliver the mission.
【Guarding Rong Bao Zhai’s manager in a trade mission (Grade A)】
【Client Evaluation (Prince Cheng)】
【Lin Shuang: Grade A. Lin Junior Sister’s time management method is very effective! Let’s meet again next time!】
Senior Brother Xu Rui’s eyebrows twitched.
【Client Evaluation (Huangfu Yuan, Manager of Rong Bao Zhai)】
【Lin Shuang: Grade A, too fast.】
Xu Rui raised an eyebrow and couldn’t help but look at the three dusty disciples in front of him, especially Lin Shuang.
It was fine if it was just a prince, but even Rong Bao Zhai’s manager gave her such a high evaluation.
But ‘too fast’—why did this evaluation from Rong Bao Zhai feel like it had some complicated emotions behind it?
Xu Rui shook his head.
“Huangfu Senior Brother and Bai Senior Brother said they wanted to check the local shops first and went ahead, but I didn’t expect them to have already submitted the mission evaluation.”
Zhao Keran, hearing that her senior sister got an excellent rating, was still quite happy, even if she didn’t get one herself.
“But why did Huangfu Senior Brother only give a Grade A? It should have been Grade A+.”
Lin Shuang waved her hand. “It’s better this way. This gives me more room for improvement next time.”
Xu Rui: “…”
【Mission Successful, 2000 Contribution Points Awarded】
【Lin Shuang receives a Grade A rating, with an additional 500 Contribution Points as a reward.】
【Disciple Rankings Update:
Zhou Xuanwu 1→1
Zhao Keran 2→2
Lin Shuang 9999→8999】
Xu Rui pressed on his throbbing temple and turned his eyes away, not looking at this glaring ranking.
Zhao Keran also sighed.
“The rewards given for missions are still too few compared to the cultivation evaluations. Senior Sister is still not in the top hundred of the Outer Sect.”
Zhou Xuanwu pursed his lips.
Far from the top hundred.
8999th place, she barely made it into the top half among the twenty thousand disciples.
“Lin Shuang, I have already reported your name as an elite Outer Sect disciple to the Elder Council.”
Senior Brother Xu Rui frowned,
“Next year, during the spring equinox, there will be a competition among the Outer Sect disciples of the Donghua Region. The elite disciples will represent our sect in the competition.”
Lin Shuang hurriedly raised her hand, “I’m just a backup, Senior Brother.”
It seemed like Xu Rui hadn’t heard her. “…But you have been reluctant to make a breakthrough, and your ranking among the disciples is hard to convince others. All four masters are being cautious and want to see more.”
Lin Shuang was delighted.
But her joy was short-lived as Xu Rui bluntly stated, “I have discussed with the four masters of the art of transmission, and six days from now, we will open a secret realm at the West Mountain Gate for the selection of elite Outer Sect disciples.”
Lin Shuang’s eye twitched.
He chuckled, “I have already informed them that this year, you will use your strength to show everyone that you are qualified to represent the Outer Sect in the spring competition.”
“It’s not necessary, Senior Brother. Don’t worry too much about me.”
“…Arrive early in six days.”
“…”
She had no problem with the selection of elite Outer Sect disciples.
Xu Rui felt particularly reassured.
However, the next morning, Zhao Keran’s round face turned red, and she rushed into the management office in a hurry, panting.
“Senior Brother, Senior Brother!”
Xu Rui’s right eye twitched. “What’s wrong? Did Lin Shuang run away?”
“Of course not,” Zhao Keran denied, looking at him with a hint of reproach, “How could Senior Sister be the type to flee at the last moment?”
Xu Rui let out a sigh of relief.
“So, Senior Sister has gone to the secret realm at the West Mountain Gate.”
“Hmm?” Xu Rui was stunned. “Didn’t I say it was six days from now yesterday?”
Zhao Keran patted her chest, which was pounding. “Yes, Senior Brother, you did. But today, the secret realm for the selection of elite Inner Sect disciples is opening at the West Mountain Gate.”
“?”
“Senior Sister said that since she had to participate in the elite selection, she might as well take part in both the Inner and Outer Sect selections today.”
“??”
“If she succeeds in the Inner Sect selection today when she comes back to the Outer Sect, she might as well be an Outer Sect elite!”
Zhao Keran recounted Lin Shuang’s words.
“This is hitting three birds with one stone.”
Senior Brother Xu Rui’s composed expression gradually crumbled.
As he felt almost suffocated, Zhao Keran opened the communication stone again and played Lin Shuang’s original voice message.
“By the way, if I become an inner sect elite disciple, then when I advance to the Foundation Building stage, I won’t have to take the inner sect assessment again.”
They were all inner-sect elites, so they would be inner-sect disciples!
Did they still need to go through the inner sect assessment?
In one trial, she earned three titles.
Outer Sect Elite, Inner Sect Disciple, Inner Sect Elite!
“This is hitting three birds with one stone.”
“Junior Sister, remember when you suddenly have to do something you can’t avoid, don’t panic. We still have a way. For example, parallel multitasking. Do it along with other things. It’s not a loss, and it saves you ten or even a hundred years in the future.”
Xu Rui: “…”
“Tell Senior Brother Xu Rui for me that I’ve gone, and I should be back before the Outer Sect elite selection ends.”
After the transmission stone played this message, there was no follow-up.
Xu Rui held onto the treasure stand in the management office to prevent himself from swaying. But when he raised his head, he saw Zhao Keran’s brilliant round face in front of him.
“Senior Brother, can I go with Senior Sister? Hitting three birds with one stone, right?”
Zhou Xuanwu passed by and stepped in without saying a word.
Xu Rui: “…!”
A group of Qi Refining cultivators acting so carefree!
—
As the sun rose in the east,
Lin Shuang stood silently at the entrance of the secret realm outside the western gate of the Clearwater Sect.
With her Fire Eyes and Golden Vision technique activated, she looked at the group of Inner Sect disciples. Soon, she spotted some familiar faces.
Emaciated and pale Senior Brother Huangfu, beautiful and delicate Senior Brother Bai, and the one with disheveled clothes, Buying Talismans Brother [The Most Generous].
They were all her acquaintances.
She nodded seriously and walked forward.
Author’s Note:
“Headmaster Zhao’s Diary 20”: “The Outer Sect of the Clearwater Sect is about to rise!”
—Outer Sect Management Senior Brother: …
—Outer Sect Transmission Hall Master: …
Tl’s note: I may use some titles interchangeably, but I’ll try to re-edit them properly, please bear with me.
E.g. Yao Tribe – Demon Tribe etc.
