Chapter 5: Ice and Fire, Twofold Heaven

Staring at the Elixir Pill Xia Yinxi held out, Yan Ling did not take it right away. Instead, she let just the right blend of surprise and wariness show in her eyes. “Oh? You know who I am?”

“Of course!” Xia Yinxi’s voice jumped an octave, her eyes shining like they held starlight. She looked the very picture of a starry-eyed fangirl meeting her idol. “You haven’t formally joined the sect yet, Junior Sister Yan Ling, but your fame has reached my ears long ago: ‘Atop the southern peak, spirit flames burn fierce; deep in the northern sea, the moon’s shadow chills.’ I’ve even seen a portrait of you, though the brushwork didn’t capture a ten-thousandth of your real beauty!”

The moment she spoke, the younger disciples around them erupted into excited whispers.

“Whoa, so she really is that Eldest Miss of the Yan Family?”

“The Yan Family? You mean the one whose Eldest Miss passed the True Disciple examination, only to be ambushed by Evil Cultivators and have her whole clan wiped out?”

Overhearing their chatter, Martial Uncle, who had shown zero interest in an ordinary mortal like Yan Ling until now, sharpened his gaze and hastily sized her up.

Once he confirmed the girl before him was indeed the very person who had been appearing all over the sect’s mission board lately, intense delight flashed across his face. He quickly reined it in and barked in a deep voice, “Quiet! Disciples, hear my command! Abandon all other missions immediately and devote your full strength to escorting this prospective True Disciple back to the sect!”

Oh? All this fuss just for me?

Yan Ling was a little surprised, though she caught on right away. They’re just after my reputation as a “former genius.” I really wonder how they’ll react when they find out my Spirit Root is actually ruined~

They’ll definitely be disappointed, and then…

Hehe!

I’ll fleece them dry for Card Drawing!

Seeing Yan Ling standing there lost in thought, Xia Yinxi seemed to recall something, and deep sympathy welled in her eyes.

She stepped forward, took Yan Ling’s hand, and half-pressed the Origin-Recovery Pill into her palm, gazing gently into her eyes. “Don’t worry, Junior Sister Yan Ling. Starting today, the sect is your new home, and we are your new family.”

Feeling the cool touch of the pill in her palm, Yan Ling looked at this warm-hearted Senior Sister with complicated emotions. Maybe this Senior Sister, who risked her life leaping into the Flower Demon’s jaws to slay evil and stopped me from “killing myself” over and over, is different from the rest of them?

Wait… what is that?

Standing right beside Xia Yinxi, Yan Ling suddenly noticed something purple poking out from the tattered folds of her chest—a seed? Yeah, a strange seed the exact same color as that demon flower.

“Thank you, Senior Sister.” After a moment’s thought, Yan Ling kept quiet about what she had seen. She pocketed the pill, slipped off her outermost Sacrificial Offering cloak, and draped it over Xia Yinxi’s shoulders before clasping her hands in a formal salute. “A single drop of kindness shall be repaid with a gushing spring.”

“Ah…? Ahaha, not at all~” Xia Yinxi naturally noticed the gesture. After blinking in surprise, she scratched her head awkwardly. “Just don’t forget your Senior Sister once a Heavenly Prodigy like you makes it big, alright?”

Yan Ling winked at her. “I’ll remember you… for the rest of my life~”

“Huh? The rest of your life?” Xia Yinxi froze, unable to make sense of the sudden intimacy.

Before long, escorted by a thorough and capable team, Yan Ling returned smoothly, safely, and effortlessly to the sect.

“I have to report back to the Demon-Extermination Hall now. Xia Yinxi, I’m leaving Yan Ling in your care. Take her to the Immortal-Guiding Pavilion to register first. By procedure, she still hasn’t finished her entry formalities.”

With those instructions, Martial Uncle hurried off, and the rest of the Demon-Extermination Squad dispersed on the spot.

That left only Yan Ling and Xia Yinxi.

Although they had grown fairly close on the journey back, Yan Ling still spoke with utmost politeness. “You’ve taken care of me the whole way here, Senior Sister. Why don’t you go back to your quarters and rest? Just tell me where the registration hall is.”

“Haha.” Xia Yinxi laughed heartily and looped an arm through Yan Ling’s with natural warmth. “Why are you being so polite with me, Junior Sister? We’ve been through life and death together! Who knows, I might even have to rely on you someday. Come on, I’ll walk you there and catch you up on the big news in the sect lately.”

“Big news?” Yan Ling asked curiously.

“Mhm.” Xia Yinxi nodded. “For example, while you were missing these past few days, a Supreme Elder who’d been in secluded cultivation for one thousand three hundred and seventy-five years suddenly came out of seclusion.”

“Oh! Really?” At first Yan Ling hadn’t thought much of it, but now she gave a genuine start.

An ancient monster over a thousand years old was someone capable of shaking heaven and earth. Normally, in an age like this where Spirit Qi was drying up, someone like that would never emerge lightly. Something massive must have happened.

“And then what?” Yan Ling pressed eagerly.

“And then that Supreme Elder immediately summoned the Sect Leader and all the Elders for a meeting. The very next day, the Sect Leader announced the Myriad Laws Succession Tournament.”

“The Myriad Laws Succession Tournament?”

“Right! Simply put, the sect is gathering every disciple below the Golden Core Stage. Under the fairest possible conditions, with the same Elixir Pills and the same grade of weapons, they’ll battle it out to determine the strongest Cultivation Technique! The final champion will inherit that Supreme Elder’s legacy. Not only will they gain unimaginable cultivation resources, they’ll instantly become… hehe.” Senior Sister Xia snickered mischievously and trailed off.

“Come on, Senior Sister, stop keeping me in suspense! Tell me, what other great reward is there?”

“Haha.” Xia Yinxi leaned in and whispered in Yan Ling’s ear, “You’ll become the Grand Martial Aunt to the current Sect Leader and Elders.”

Yan Ling couldn’t hold it back and choked out a laugh, instantly understanding why the other girl had snickered.

“On top of that, aside from generous prizes for the top-ranking contestants, anyone who comprehends or improves an impressive, distinctive Cultivation Technique will win other awards too. Basically, it’s going to be a massive free-for-all of techniques!”

Listening to Senior Sister Xia’s explanation, Yan Ling nodded meaningfully. “Oh~ Is that so? Then I’ll sign up too~”

Step onto the Fighting Arena and win first place? With my Spirit Root tainted and my Cultivation Base crippled, a complete nobody like me obviously doesn’t have the nerve for that. Using this competition as an excuse to steal everyone else’s Cultivation Techniques, though? Oh, I definitely have the nerve for that, and plenty of it!

Gathering every disciple below the Golden Core Stage in one place to pit their Cultivation Techniques against each other? Isn’t that just dropping a rat like me straight into a rice vat? How could I not rob them blind?

As the two girls chatted and strolled along, without them realizing it, more and more people began gathering around, all with their eyes fixed on Yan Ling.

“Is that the Eldest Miss of the Yan Family? That legendary peerless genius who reached Half-Step Golden Core in her teens?”

“Whoa, wouldn’t she practically qualify to be an Elder before even joining the sect? That’s insane!”

Without senior elders around to keep them in check, these youngsters couldn’t suppress their gossiping instincts at all. Once word spread from the Demon-Extermination Squad, everyone flocked over to gawk.

“Not only is she strong, I didn’t expect our new Junior Sister to be so gorgeous!”

“Just like the rumors say, she looks like a Goddess descended to the mortal world!”

“Yeah, yeah, and she seems super lively too! Not like that Iceberg. Sure, she’s devastatingly beautiful too and one of the top Heavenly Prodigies in the sect, but she’s way too aloof. She’s literally a block of ice. I don’t even dare look her in the eye, you know?”

“Totally! That Iceberg isn’t half as cute as our new Junior Sister. Come on, let’s go talk to her, she’s so adorable~”

Several female disciples brazenly pushed their way forward, showering Yan Ling with praise from head to toe while stuffing melons, fruits, and pastries into her hands and fussing over her hair and clothes.

Before long, a number of skilled male disciples from prominent families started edging closer, hoping to strike up a conversation.

Suddenly—

“The Iceberg is coming!”

With one sharp cry of alarm, a road that had been as noisy as a wet market fell dead silent in an instant.

Startled and curious, Yan Ling followed everyone’s gaze.

There stood a girl in a plain white robe, with pale blue hair flowing down her back and an air of frost that kept the world at bay. She stood apart from the crowd like a crane among chickens.

It was none other than the Heavenly Prodigy spoken of in the same breath as Yan Ling: Yi Hanyue.

She did not join the crowd, merely watching from afar like a Snow Lotus blooming atop a freezing peak, too cold and pristine for anyone to dare approach.

Suddenly, that Snow Lotus moved.

Wherever she walked, the crowd parted like the Red Sea, stepping back on instinct to clear a path straight to Yan Ling.

She walked right up to the steps in front of Yan Ling, looking down at her from above.

Her voice was colder than ice, yet carried a strangely melodic ring. “You… are Yan Ling?”