The Villain is Soft and Clingy [Transmigration] - Chapter 4
The stone pillar suddenly lit up, streaks of light overflowing from beneath its intricate patterns, spreading outwards in layers from Zhang Lan’s palm – a truly magnificent sight.
Unfortunately, the light soon faded, leaving behind only the stone pillar faintly tinged with dark green.
The Grand-master frowned and said, “Foundation Establishment Stage Two.”
Zhang Lan withdrew her hand, then turned and gave Xia Zhitiao a shy smile, saying, “Senior Sister is still more amazing.”
Xia Zhitiao thought to herself: *When I first started, I had no spiritual power at all. As a modern person, it took me a long time to reach this level. For you to be only one stage lower than me right off the bat, you could say you’re exceptionally gifted…*
She had heard of a few legendary figures in Yashan, like those who reached the Void Transformation stage in their teens or the Nascent Soul stage in their twenties, constantly praised by the Grand-master. But such exceptional individuals were few and far between across the entire continent, not enough to serve as a reference.
The Grand-master’s expression was complex, neither surprised nor displeased. He patted the stone pillar. Once the light completely faded, he conjured a small wooden plaque and handed it to Zhang Lan, saying, “You may go back now.”
Zhang Lan, mimicking the gesture, tied the wooden plaque to her waist. Then, like a radar, she turned and excitedly ran to Xia Zhitiao’s side.
Xia Zhitiao, who had been on edge for most of the day, finally breathed a sigh of relief: “Congratulations, you’ve officially entered the sect.”
“Don’t relax too soon. There’s still an initiation trial that you’ll take with the outer sect disciples,” Xia Zhitiao said earnestly, mindful of Yashan’s rules. “Only after passing that can you be considered a true Yashan Sect disciple.”
Zhang Lan hummed twice, but Xia Zhitiao felt she hadn’t really absorbed anything. She stood beside her, full of vigor, like a sunflower: “Senior Sister, will you be my mentor after that?”
It was inevitable for a child who had just passed a test to be excited. Xia Zhitiao sighed helplessly, saying, “You’re only one stage below me. It’s unlikely I’ll be your mentor, but you can come to me for anything else.”
Zhang Lan nodded excitedly. Xia Zhitiao, seeing her cling to her side, couldn’t resist ruffling her fluffy little head again: “Come on, I’ll take you to your room.”
To her surprise, the junior sister’s face immediately stiffened, and she cautiously asked, “…Room?”
“Did you think you’d still stay with me?” Xia Zhitiao calmly stated, “As an initiated disciple, you have your own designated residence. Although you’ll still live with others, each person has a private room.”
Zhang Lan opened her mouth, but no words came out. She could only pack her belongings with a wronged expression, waving goodbye to Xia Zhitiao with a long face.
—
For the next ten-plus days straight, Xia Zhitiao didn’t see any sign of her junior sister. It was said that she had been taken to train with other newcomers in a closed-off setting.
It was pretty much like military training for college freshmen. Xia Zhitiao actually wanted to join the fun and see these raw newcomers looking all wilted.
However, the Grand-master hadn’t said where they were training, so she couldn’t observe.
The life of cultivation was monotonous: gathering qi, cultivating, breaking through stages, and occasionally going down the mountain to help people catch ghosts or cure demons. For Xia Zhitiao, who was used to modern phones and computers, it was incredibly boring.
She was a proper, upright young person from the 21st century. In school, her physics, chemistry, and math scores were always in the top ten of her grade. Now, she was suddenly forced to believe in “spiritual power of heaven and earth” and feel “qi flowing in her dantian”…
It was too difficult.
Xia Zhitiao silently sighed. She glanced up at the many inner disciples meditating around her, closed her eyes, and let her mind wander.
There was nothing she could do. Ask her to gather qi? For an adult who grew up in modern society and believed in science, it was already a miracle that she managed to muddle her way to Foundation Establishment Stage Three.
“Everyone, please rise.” Hearing the Grand-master’s deep voice, Xia Zhitiao breathed a sigh of relief. She eagerly opened her eyes and stood up from her meditation cushion.
Normally, after cultivation, disciples would share their insights. But this time was different. The Grand-master stroked his beard with a smile and said, “If you have a junior brother or sister under your name, please come forward.”
What was going on?
Xia Zhitiao was a little confused, but she followed the Grand-master’s instructions and walked to his side. There were also over a dozen other inner disciples with her, each responsible for a junior brother or sister.
“Today is the first initiation trial. You’re here to see your junior brothers and sisters’ performance and encourage the newcomers.”
The Grand-master chuckled, “The rest of you who are curious can also come and join the fun.”
—So soon?
Xia Zhitiao was somewhat surprised, and at the same time, subtly worried for Zhang Lan: the junior sister had only been on Yashan for a few dozens of days. Compared to those disciples who had been here for several months, she was at a disadvantage.
Clearly, curiosity was human nature. Hearing the Grand-master, most of the disciples stayed. They gathered together, mounted their swords, and enthusiastically rushed towards the trial grounds.
Xia Zhitiao followed. She saw the Grand-master’s figure hidden in the faint clouds. The group walked further and further, gradually deviating from Yashan’s training grounds and cultivation stones, heading north.
She frowned, feeling that something was subtly off. If she remembered correctly, this direction should lead to a cliff.
The Grand-master is leading us to a cliff, or rather, Yashan is bringing a group of newcomers to a cliff to do what?
Yashan was called Yashan not because of the “treasure basin” terrain formed by its thirteen connected peaks, but because of one of its main peaks, Yubai Peak, with its steep, dangerous, mirror-like rocky mountain body.
When Xia Zhitiao first joined, she was taken to see it once. The rocks on the peak were smooth and uniform, without a single plant. The mountain body was like a sharply cut blade, looking a bit eerie.
She estimated that the slope on the back of Yubai Peak was probably close to 90 degrees. She wondered how it managed to stand for centuries.
They instantly traversed several peaks. From afar, they could already see a group of ant-like figures standing by the bottomless cliff, seemingly waiting for someone.
Judging by their attire, the respectfully standing people should be the new disciples, while the leading master, dressed in a white feathered robe, was standing with her arms crossed, instructing the new disciples.
“Qin Zhi!” The bearded man laughed heartily, leaping off his immortal sword and reaching out to pat the leading master’s shoulder. “How are these new little brats doing?”
The woman he called “Qin Zhi” glanced at him, avoided the bearded Grand-master’s hand, and said coolly, “Not good enough.”
She frowned, her dark long hair casually draped over her shoulders. As she raised an arm, the layers of white feathers on her sleeve gently swayed, rustling softly.
The bearded Grand-master didn’t mind, rubbing his palms. He pointed to the group of disciples following him and said, “See, I brought a crowd to watch. Good turnout, right?”
“This batch of disciples is alright. Their comprehension is barely passing, and there are a few with good spiritual roots,” Qin Zhi rested her chin in her hand, stating blandly, “Under my guidance, this first trial should be no problem.”
Yashan recruited once every ten years, and the mentors varied each time, so the trials set were also different. Xia Zhitiao was taught by the bearded Grand-master, so she naturally didn’t know what kind of trial this Master Qin Zhi had set.
Xia Zhitiao stood properly behind the bearded Grand-master. She looked with some curiosity at the new disciples of this batch and immediately spotted her junior sister.
Seeing Xia Zhitiao look over, the junior sister’s originally indifferent small face suddenly brightened. She stood on her tiptoes, stretching her arms, and vigorously waved at Xia Zhitiao.
She was so excited she almost rushed over and clung to Xia Zhitiao without letting go.
Xia Zhitiao blinked at her, then began to observe the other disciples.
The leading few males and females were clearly the most talented, with barely concealed arrogance in their expressions. The wooden plaques tied to their waists also varied in style, indicating their respective ranks.
The junior sister seemed a bit out of place. The new disciples were all standing in small groups of two or three, but she was standing alone far away in a corner, with no one interacting with her, looking rather pitiful.
…What’s going on? Is she being excluded?
What’s wrong with these kids? Xia Zhitiao felt a bit displeased, but in the current situation, she couldn’t say anything. She could only silently pray for Zhang Lan, hoping her trial would go smoothly.
Qin Zhi briefly explained her teaching methods, then slightly tilted her head, pointed to the abyss beside everyone, and calmly said, “Go, show us what you can do.”
Xia Zhitiao followed her finger and looked at the cliff beside them. She saw the sheer drop disappearing into the clouds, with darkness beneath, no end in sight.
She turned to look at the group of young newcomers again, and a very bad premonition suddenly welled up in her heart.
Wait, Master, are you trying to make all these young disciples jump off a cliff?!
She looked at Qin Zhi in surprise. The other woman was unhurried, calm, and looked pleased; the new disciples had spontaneously formed several groups, neatly standing at the edge of the cliff, activating their spiritual power, truly looking like they were about to jump.
The leading few disciples summoned their wooden swords and rushed down the cliff face on their blades, while other disciples who couldn’t use sword flight also had their own methods.
Some channeled water spiritual power to create a small path, others built rock steps, all carefully descending step by step.
Although the methods of descending the mountain were largely different, they were basically tied to one’s spiritual root nature and spiritual power abilities…
Except for the junior sister.
While other disciples were hastily rushing downwards, Zhang Lan, with a leisurely air, dragged a thick bundle of hemp rope from who knows where and unhurriedly tied it around her waist.
What was the junior sister doing? The other disciples had already set off, but Zhang Lan was still on the cliff, turning around and around with the other end of the rope.
Xia Zhitiao was a little confused. As a senior, she couldn’t help, but she could still say a few words.
She walked towards Zhang Lan. The junior sister was stepping on a protruding rock, wrapping the hemp rope around it several times, with the other end tied to her waist.
“Senior Sister!” Zhang Lan tied the rope and bounced towards her, “Are you here to watch me?”
The young girl’s voice was sweet, soft and fluffy like cotton candy, looking utterly delighted, seemingly completely unaware that she was already falling behind in the trial.
Seeing her like this, Xia Zhitiao sighed inwardly, anxious beyond measure:
—If you don’t go now, you’re really going to be last!