A Consequence of Opposing the Heroine’s Halo (GL) - Chapter 17

Because she hadn’t found the cave, Liu Sanye remained gloomy for the next few days. Her mind was entirely occupied by the cliff, and she failed to notice that Bai Tong had been staring at her for several days straight.

“Why do you keep staring at me?” Liu Sanye finally realized something was off and couldn’t help but ask.

Bai Tong replied, “I have cultivated my divine sense. Everything is still very blurry, but I want to see what you look like.”

Liu Sanye hadn’t expected Bai Tong to develop divine sense in just four short months—an entire month faster than in the original novel. She gave Bai Tong a thumbs-up, praised her for being amazing, and then leaned in close. “How far can you see? Can you see me clearly at this distance?”

“I can see about two zhang [approx. 6 meters] around me…” As Bai Tong spoke, Liu Sanye stepped forward, getting closer and closer. In Bai Tong’s vision, Liu Sanye shifted from a heavy mosaic of pixels to a light blur. Although she still couldn’t see her face clearly, a pair of spirited, large eyes were deeply etched into her heart.

Liu Sanye said, “It’s okay if you can’t see clearly yet. I can stay close until you can.”

Hearing this, Bai Tong instinctively stepped forward and reached out with both hands to touch Liu Sanye’s face. She gently traced the contours of Liu Sanye’s features bit by bit.

Gradually, Liu Sanye’s appearance began to clear before Bai Tong’s eyes. She could even see the beautiful, feather-like eyelashes on Liu Sanye’s bright, dark eyes. The grey, misty world centered on Liu Sanye began to expand, slowly becoming bright and clear.

Bai Tong froze in place for a moment, whether immersed in the joy of finally being able to see or some other emotion, it was hard to tell.

“Can you see now?” Liu Sanye asked with a smile.

Looking at Liu Sanye’s smiling eyes, Bai Tong pulled a smile from her daze. She said, “I see you. You are very beautiful.”

Liu Sanye touched her own face, pinching and rubbing it. She pouted and grumbled, “I’m as dark as a lump of coal. How is that beautiful?”

Despite her words, Liu Sanye was inwardly delighted. It was rare for someone to appreciate her.

Liu Sanye kicked off her shoes and hopped onto a stool. Crossing her legs, she asked curiously, “Now that you can project your divine sense, does that mean you know a few spells?”

“Spells won’t be taught until I enter the Heaven Class.”

“Huh?” Liu Sanye was a bit disappointed.

Not wanting to let her down, Bai Tong added, “But I know some small spells my mother taught me before.”

She formed a hand seal, injecting spiritual power into a cup in front of Liu Sanye. The cup suddenly lifted into the air. “This is called the Object Manipulation Technique.”

Liu Sanye found it magical. She clapped while showering her with “rainbow farts” (flattery): “Bai Tong, you’re so amazing! You even know how to manipulate objects!”

The flattery made Bai Tong feel a bit self-conscious. She told Liu Sanye, “You’ll be able to do it too in the future. Maybe you’ll be even better than me.”

“I can do it too?” Liu Sanye watched the flying cup, her eyes shining as if she could already see her cool future self soaring through the sky on a flying sword.

“Of course you can.”

Encouraged by Bai Tong, Liu Sanye said with determination, “In that case, I must study hard. Bai Tong, don’t let me surpass you!”

Bai Tong nodded with a smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you surpass me. Just focus on your cultivation.”

Seeing that Bai Tong seemed much more cheerful than before, Liu Sanye was surprised. “I feel like you’ve changed a bit.”

“How have I changed?”

Liu Sanye put on the air of a grand master and shook her head repeatedly. “You’ve become arrogant…”

Bai Tong: “…”

Late that night, Bai Tong sat alone clutching her cane, feeling a bit anxious. She felt her performance today had been poor, leaving Sanye with a bad impression of arrogance. She had to find a way to make it up to her tomorrow.

The next day, just as Liu Sanye entered the school, Hao Mingjun called her over. He pointed at her and said, “You, come here.”

Hao Mingjun usually only appeared once every few days. This time, he called her over the moment he arrived. Based on her previous experience, Liu Sanye felt it wasn’t a good thing.

Sure enough, Hao Mingjun pulled out a roll of black bamboo slips and handed it to her. As soon as Liu Sanye took it, she collapsed to the floor. The slips were incredibly heavy; her hands turned red from the impact.

“Elder, what are you trying to do?” Are you trying to murder me?!

Hao Mingjun replied, “Look at this bamboo slip. Can you understand it?”

Since she couldn’t lift the slips, Liu Sanye used all her strength to push them open on the ground. She skimmed through and realized these weren’t ordinary celestial characters; they were formed into a complete “artistic conception.” The meaning was obscure and difficult; she couldn’t grasp it immediately.

“Do you understand it?”

Liu Sanye shook her head.

Hao Mingjun manifested a stick and tapped her. “I’m not asking if you understand the meaning. I’m asking if you can read the words.”

Liu Sanye immediately nodded.

“Very well.” Hao Mingjun took the slips back into his storage space. He said, “Since you can read the words on a cultivation manual, you may graduate from the Yellow Class.”

At these words, not only was Liu Sanye stunned, but the rest of the class was dumbfounded. Many had been in this class for years, yet Liu Sanye was graduating after only four months. The gap between them was so vast it felt like a weight on their chests.

As Liu Sanye walked out, Shi Zheng told her, “You’re so lucky to have such great talent.”

Liu Sanye also felt her luck was quite good.

Having obtained the pass for the Mystery Class, Liu Sanye decided to go check it out since it was still early. She walked to the boundary of the Yellow Class and held up the pass. Under the golden light, a massive ripple appeared in the barrier. As she stepped in, it felt like a giant stone being dropped into water, sending up splashes.

Like the Yellow Class, the Mystery Class had very little description in the original novel since the protagonist skipped straight to the Earth Class.

Inside the barrier, Liu Sanye saw many scrolls floating in the air. Amidst a sea of white clouds, a plump old woman came flying toward her atop a large red carp that was blowing bubbles.

The old woman smiled. “Are you the new student promoted to the Mystery Class?”

“Yes.” Liu Sanye stared blankly at the old woman on the carp’s back. Through the multicolored fish bubbles, she saw the woman had completely white hair and only one tooth left. From her features, one could tell she had been a beauty in her youth.

“Elder, how should I address you?”

The old woman laughed. “I’ve lived too long; I forgot my name long ago. You can just call me Madam Fish.”

Liu Sanye replied respectfully, “Okay, Madam Fish. My name is Liu Sanye.”

Madam Fish giggled. “Good child, your name is interesting. Why ‘Three Leaves’? Why not two or four?”

Madam Fish seemed very approachable—unlikely to punish people randomly like Elder Hao. Relieved, Liu Sanye smiled and replied, “Because I’m the third child in my family, so I’m called Sanye.”

“I see.”

Curious about the fish, Liu Sanye asked, “Madam Fish, your fish is so strange. Why isn’t it swimming in water? Why is it flying in the sky?”

Madam Fish leaned down to pet her fish. “This is a Sky Fish. A fellow from the Dragon King’s Palace in the East Sea gave it to me over a thousand years ago. But it’s been so long, I forgot his name.”

“Over a thousand years ago?” Liu Sanye was startled. Even the Sect Leader, the male lead Yun Yixian, wasn’t that old. It turned out Madam Fish was a hidden, ancient powerhouse.

“May I ask your age, Madam Fish?”

Madam Fish shook her head with a smile. “I don’t remember.”

Liu Sanye: “…”

Liu Sanye suddenly remembered the setting: a thousand years ago, a world-shattering war between Immortals and Demons took place. Although the Immortals eventually drove the demons to the Northern Snowy Plains, the Hegui Sect paid a heavy price. Their high-level experts, including the former Sect Leader, had all perished, creating a generational gap.

The Madam Fish before her had lived over a thousand years; clearly, she had survived that terrible war. To survive such an event, she must be a formidable elder.

“Madam Fish, did you experience the Immortal-Demon War a thousand years ago?”

Madam Fish looked a bit lost. “I did experience it. But unfortunately, I don’t remember what happened.”

Liu Sanye: “…”

Madam Fish smiled kindly. “Many people come to ask me, but my mind is a blank. Perhaps my time is coming, and my brain isn’t working so well anymore.”

Liu Sanye was dazed. Do cultivators get dementia too?

Madam Fish laughed. “You’re here to learn; why are you asking only about me?”

“What are we going to learn?”

Madam Fish reached out and grabbed a floating scroll. “Cultivation culture and common knowledge, of course.”

For some reason, hearing those words made a chill run down Liu Sanye’s spine. She felt a premonition of bad things to come.

“Five million years ago, the heavens and earth were a chaos. First came space, then air, then water…”

Sure enough, Liu Sanye spent the next half-day enduring Madam Fish’s rambling culture and history lesson.

When evening finally came and Madam Fish prepared to let her go, Liu Sanye didn’t even have time to be happy before the old woman revealed a mountain-sized pile of scrolls. “Once I’ve explained all of these to you, you can finish the course.”

That many scrolls… it’ll take at least a month! Liu Sanye chose death.

After a full day of lessons without rest, Liu Sanye’s head felt twice its size. Madam Fish’s words felt as if they were enchanted, drilling into her brain and forcing her to remember. With too much knowledge crammed in at once, her head felt like it was going to explode.

With every step she took, her head throbbed. She stumbled back to the courtyard, wanting nothing more than to collapse onto her bed. But just then, Bai Tong stopped her.

Liu Sanye forced herself to smile. “What is it? Why so happy?”

“I learned another spell. Do you want to see?”

Liu Sanye really didn’t want to see; she just wanted to sleep. But seeing Bai Tong so excited, how could she not support her? She nodded with painful joy. “Sure, sure.”

She forced herself to watch Bai Tong’s “Water Ball Magic.” She watched as Bai Tong controlled a thin stream of water to pierce through a bamboo leaf in the courtyard. It was quite impressive.

“Wow, only one day and you’re already this amazing!”

Bai Tong shook her head expressionlessly, indicating she wasn’t that great.

Liu Sanye: “…” I give that flex a perfect score.