Chapter 42: A Fortuitous Encounter and a Debt to Repay

The sky was clear, without a single cloud.

Sunlight bathed the vast outer disciple training grounds of the Azure Phoenix Sect, making the already magnificent area appear even more expansive.

Within these grand cultivation grounds, a petite girl with silvery-white hair, seemingly out of place, followed two cultivators, curiously taking in her surroundings.

“Junior Sister Xixi, this is the Azure Phoenix Sect’s Martial Arts Hall. If your cultivation path leans towards martial arts in the future, you can come here for further study.”

“This is the Literary Cultivation Hall. Typically, literary cultivators come here for advanced training. However, literary cultivation requires learning ‘Etiquette Calligraphy’ and emphasizes artistic conception. As such, not many people in the Azure Phoenix Sect choose this path!”

“And this is…”

Having just resolved a ‘Carefree Wanderer’ incident and stepped out of the dormitory, Xiao Xixi noticed that besides Zhou Zhiruo, another person had joined them to tour the Azure Phoenix Sect: Senior Brother Rongqiao.

She watched as Senior Brother Rongqiao, ever the gentleman, kindly introduced her to the various aspects of the Azure Phoenix Sect.

Xiao Xixi, for her part, detected a faint, sweet scent of budding romance in the air.

She could, however, understand the situation, given that the two had only just implicitly confirmed their romantic relationship.

Leading her on a tour of the Azure Phoenix Sect was clearly an ideal opportunity for them to spend time together, wasn’t it?

Thus, Xiao Xixi, who had once been a boy, did not expose Senior Brother Rongqiao’s enthusiastic intentions.

The Azure Phoenix Sect’s outer disciple training grounds were vast. Within the two main areas, the Martial Arts Hall and the Literary Cultivation Hall, there were many more specialized doctrines.

Along the way, Xiao Xixi listened intently to Senior Brother Rongqiao’s descriptions of cultivation.

Honestly, there was a moment when Xiao Xixi almost thought she had returned to her high school days.

The reason?

Cultivation also involved so much theoretical knowledge!

Things like ‘Vigorous Fist,’ ‘Forceful Fist,’ ‘Inner Fist,’ and ‘Inner Palm’—weren’t these all practical applications?

And why were there theoretical exams every month?

****

Before she knew it, under the meticulous guidance of Senior Brother Rongqiao and Senior Sister Zhou Zhiruo, Xiao Xixi finally completed her tour of the Azure Phoenix Sect’s outer disciple training grounds and returned to the starting point where her master had brought her that day.

After bidding farewell to the smitten couple, Xiao Xixi casually settled onto a large bluestone beneath the shade of a tree. Although the stone was shaded, she could still feel the warm touch of the sun when she sat down.

Feeling the pleasant warmth beneath her, observing the ancient-style buildings around her, and inhaling the natural scent of the summer breeze.

She thought of all the other cultivators around her, diligently practicing, while she enjoyed her leisure.

In such a stark contrast, Xiao Xixi found herself quite content in that moment.

Due to her enjoyment and her short stature, Xiao Xixi, sitting on the warm bluestone, unconsciously swung her two slender, pale legs gently.

While swinging her small legs and waiting for her master, Su Mei, to arrive on her sword, Xiao Xixi wasn’t idle. Soon, she found herself pondering the problem that had occupied her thoughts earlier.

This was the pressing issue of how to repay her brother’s ‘debt.’

She didn’t want to owe her senior sister or her master any favors, feeling that it was the first step into a bottomless pit.

Now that Xiao Xixi had crossed the ‘borrowing’ option off her list, it meant she had to find a new way to solve the problem.

From Senior Brother Rongqiao’s earlier introduction, Xiao Xixi had learned that the Azure Phoenix Sect’s elders occasionally issued sect missions, which offered ‘raw stone rewards’ and ‘pill rewards.’

Her brother had plundered these very mission rewards. As an elder, after a team completed a mission, the rewards were first given to the ‘higher-status’ captain.

If she wanted to repay Xiao Changgu’s ‘pills,’ it meant she needed to obtain pills first, didn’t it?

However, she recalled the missions she had seen on the sect’s mission board earlier today.

Tasks like slaying fierce beasts that harmed humans down the mountain?

Or escorting certain individuals?

Or exploring dangerous ancient caves?

Considering the nature of these missions, most seemed to require a high level of cultivation and were inherently perilous.

She was still just a little fox who had only just begun her Qi Condensation, without knowing any techniques. Thinking of this, Xiao Xixi couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened.

So, what exactly should she do?

Just as Xiao Xixi was troubled, pondering how to solve her brother’s debt, she suddenly overheard a discussion among several female cultivators from the Literary Cultivation Hall in the courtyard behind her.

“Have you heard? Someone practicing in the back mountain last night claimed to have seen an auspicious Hundred Spirits Bird! Many people are going to the back mountain to search for treasures today!”

“The Hundred Spirits Bird? The one rumored to bring good fortune and treasures?”

“That’s right! Just now, someone even followed the bird’s footprints and found some hidden treasure manuals of our sect!”

Listening to the two women’s conversation from the courtyard behind her, Xiao Xixi suddenly recalled a crucial piece of information from the original novel concerning the ‘Hundred Spirits Bird’ they mentioned.

In the original story, before the protagonist Ye Chen’s sect competition against the villain Xiao Changgu,

Facing a life-or-death battle and desperate to enhance his strength, Ye Chen went out to practice his sword alone one night while everyone else rested.

Then, with the dual buffs of the protagonist’s halo and being the author’s favored son, Ye Chen discovered the legendary creature, the Hundred Spirits Bird, in the darkness.

While chasing the mythical bird, Ye Chen uncharacteristically tripped over a tree branch.

When he stood up, the bird had vanished, but he suddenly noticed something sparkling on the ground. Picking it up, he discovered it was a ring left behind by a powerful expert.

Inside, there were not only pills that helped ‘Foundation Establishment stage’ Ye Chen advance his cultivation, but also a cultivation technique and a weapon, the ‘Soul凝剑’ [Soul Condensing Sword], which seemed tailor-made for him.

After that night, Ye Chen’s cultivation soared. Besides naturally defeating Xiao Changgu, he also gifted the ‘Soul Condensing Sword’ to the main female protagonist, Bai Luozhu.

This single act significantly boosted the female protagonist’s favorability towards him.

As a reader, Xiao Xixi clearly remembered reaching this part of the story.

Because of Xiao Changgu’s resemblance to her own brother, she empathized with the villain and found the plot utterly cliché and, more importantly, not at all inspiring.

After all, although the villain had ill intentions, he truly cultivated diligently. Why should he ultimately lose to a protagonist who gained a cheat-like ‘opportunity’? Due to this, Xiao Xixi’s impression of this plotline was exceptionally deep.

Recalling this passage from the original novel through the mention of the ‘Hundred Spirits Bird,’ Xiao Xixi suddenly realized a very important issue.

She lacked pills, and didn’t the ring the Hundred Spirits Bird left for the protagonist Ye Chen contain everything?

As for whether doing so would be fair to the protagonist Ye Chen?

After considering the protagonist’s heaven-defying luck, Xiao Xixi quickly shook her small head.

‘Wouldn’t it be enough if I just prevented him from dueling my brother?’

‘Besides, the protagonist has so many opportunities; taking just a little shouldn’t be a problem, right?’