A Consequence of Opposing the Heroine’s Halo (GL) - Chapter 22

Liu Sanye had no desire to court death by practicing that technique, so she decisively put it back, intending to pick a different scroll.

However, the other scrolls dodged her as soon as she touched them. No matter how much she jumped around, she couldn’t catch a single one. Xun Qiu, not wanting her to waste her energy, lay lazily in mid-air and glanced at her sideways. “Give up. You’ve already been chosen by the Wood-Devouring Sacred Scroll. The other scrolls won’t want you now.”

“So I don’t actually have a choice? Then why did you ask me earlier?”

Xun Qiu waved it off. “I was just asking casually~”

After several fruitless attempts, Liu Sanye gave up. She looked at the pitch-black scroll that had returned to her hand, her mind a mess of tangled thoughts.

Although the Wood-Devouring Sacred Scroll has a high probability of backlash, as long as I maintain a steadfast mind and don’t become consumed by jealousy like the original host, it shouldn’t be a huge problem… Plus, its power is truly tempting; its ‘Berserk’ state allows for slaying enemies above one’s rank. You know, slaying enemies of a higher rank is usually a protagonist-only perk…

Seeing her silence, Xun Qiu assumed she was coming around and propped up her head. “Although the side effects are a bit heavy, the progress is lightning-fast, comparable to demonic cultivation. As they say, you seek strength through danger; it isn’t without its benefits.”

Liu Sanye asked back, “If it were you, Elder, what would you choose?”

Xun Qiu replied, “That depends on whether I urgently need power. If there was no external pressure, I would choose a safer method.”

“I see.” After weighing the pros and cons, Liu Sanye finally chose the Wood-Devouring Sacred Scroll. “Fine. I’ll take it.”

In the original story, Bai Tong would reach the Foundation Establishment stage in a year and head to the Kunlun Mountains to pluck the Mandui Fruit for her brother. Liu Sanye didn’t have the heroine’s luck; if she missed this scroll, she couldn’t guarantee finding another suitable technique within the year. If she didn’t reach Foundation Establishment, she wouldn’t be able to follow Bai Tong out for trials. Furthermore, she had to “Draw Qi into the Body” within a month.

Under all this pressure, she had no choice but to pick this technique.

Xun Qiu smiled at her. “Then, good luck.”

Liu Sanye thanked her. Seeing her so decisive, Xun Qiu felt a hint of admiration. “If you have questions, feel free to find me in the Heaven-Earth barrier anytime.”

Liu Sanye wasn’t one for excessive politeness and agreed.

Liu Sanye left the Earth Class with her manual. Unlike the previous two classes, in the Earth and Heaven classes, you could manage your own cultivation time and location; you only returned to ask Xun Qiu questions if you were stuck. The barrier was too crowded, and Liu Sanye preferred a quiet atmosphere.

She headed to the Heaven Class barrier to wait for Bai Tong to emerge from the Treasure Pavilion. She waited for a long time, eating Food-Water Pills when she got hungry. She waited from day until night, until a gale picked up and a storm approached. Only then did Bai Tong walk out of the barrier.

When Bai Tong emerged, she was covered in items: a hammer as tall as a person, a two-meter-long halberd, a sharp sword radiating a chilling aura, a delicate short blade, a blanket the size of a tablecloth, a petite fan, an intricately crafted floral umbrella, a crystal-clear gourd…

No fewer than dozens of treasures, large and small, were stuck to Bai Tong, emitting multicolored light that illuminated her “done with this life” expression.

Liu Sanye trotted over excitedly, looking at the treasures clinging to Bai Tong and beaming brilliantly. “Bai Tong! You actually got so many treasures at once? You’re incredible!”

Bai Tong said in despair, “No, they’re the ones who ‘got’ me.”

“Can you imagine the scene of thousands of treasures chasing after me? As they say, ‘as big as the heart is, that’s how many treasures there are’…”

Liu Sanye was surprised. “Just how many treasures were you thinking about at the time?”

Bai Tong facepalmed. “I was thinking… I want them all.”

Liu Sanye was shocked. “Your heart is too big! Weren’t you afraid of getting caught for emptying the Treasure Pavilion?”

Three literal black lines of frustration seemed to appear on Bai Tong’s forehead. “That’s why I ran for an entire day to shake them off. These ones on me are the ones I couldn’t get rid of.”

Liu Sanye was silent for a long, long time. Then Bai Tong said, “Sanye, you’re quite good at reading faces. I believe now that my destiny is indeed very good.”

No kidding. Treasures were practically begging for her attention; this wasn’t just “good destiny,” this was heaven-defying luck! No wonder the original host was so jealous. Even Liu Sanye felt a bit salty now.

She felt blinded by the seven-colored radiance emanating from Bai Tong. Just then, a bolt of lightning cracked across the night sky, and a torrential downpour began.

Bai Tong pulled a floral umbrella from her person and handed it to Liu Sanye. “This is for you.”

Liu Sanye was touched, but before she could say “thank you,” the umbrella suddenly took off, carrying her into the sky. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAH—!”

Along with the lightning, a piercing scream rang out.

“Sanye!” As Liu Sanye flew up, Bai Tong flew up after her, followed closely by the pile of treasures that feared being abandoned.

Bai Tong grabbed the umbrella handle and hugged Liu Sanye. Only then did the screaming stop. In the stormy night, Liu Sanye looked down at the dark ground below and was nearly moved to tears by fear. “This umbrella can actually fly!”

Bai Tong comforted her, “It’s okay, I’m here.”

Liu Sanye looked at the lightning crackling outside the umbrella and felt a chill. “Will we be struck by lightning if we use an umbrella in a storm?”

A drop of sweat appeared on Bai Tong’s brow. “It’s possible…”

Liu Sanye hugged Bai Tong tight. “Bai Tong, let’s fly home quickly!”

“Okay.”

They controlled the umbrella to fly back to their courtyard. Fortunately, they weren’t struck by lightning along the way, avoiding becoming the first cultivators in history to die from a literal umbrella-induced lightning strike.

Once back in their room, they dried themselves off and began to take stock of the day’s haul. Since the only table had been smashed by Guan Rong, Liu Sanye tidied her bed to use as a display area.

Liu Sanye showed her harvest first, placing the pitch-black scroll in the most prominent spot on the bed. “This is the Immortal Wood Treasure Scroll, a Saint-Rank Upper-Tier manual I got today. Impressive, right?” She emphasized the “Saint-Rank Upper-Tier” part.

Bai Tong nodded and smiled. “Very impressive.”

Liu Sanye asked smugly, “Come on, tell me about your haul.”

Bai Tong listed them while laying them out: “Saint-Rank Upper-Tier Hundred-Flower Umbrella, Saint-Rank Upper-Tier Illusionary Glaze Fan, Saint-Rank Upper-Tier Jade Frost Sword, Saint-Rank Lower-Tier Dark Cloud Halberd…”

By the end, Liu Sanye silently took her shabby manual back. There was no comparison! Damn it, they’re all Saint-Rank!

Bai Tong smiled. “Which one do you like?”

Liu Sanye’s dull eyes lit up. “I get a share too?”

Bai Tong nodded. “I can give them all to you.”

“Well, that’s not quite right…” Despite her words, Liu Sanye’s eyes were already scanning the items like a radar. Hammer is ugly, pass. Halberd is too heavy, pass. Jade Frost Sword belongs to Bai Tong, pass. What use is a blanket, pass…

After much picking, she chose the high-aesthetic Hundred-Flower Umbrella. She held it excitedly. “I don’t need much, just this one is enough!”

Bai Tong laughed. “Didn’t I give you that one already? Pick another.”

Knowing one shouldn’t be greedy, Liu Sanye shook her head. “No more, no more. This one is enough.”

Looking at the dozens of treasures on the bed, she grew worried. “How do we store so many things? If only we had a storage bag.”

Bai Tong suggested, “Should we trade one at the market?”

“With what?”

Bai Tong picked the ugliest hammer. “How about this one?”

The chosen hammer suddenly shivered.

Bai Tong: “…”

Liu Sanye: “…”

Liu Sanye said tremulously, “It seems this hammer can understand us.”

“Apparently so.”

“Then let’s pick another.” Liu Sanye eyed the second-ugliest item, the blanket. The blanket immediately began to shiver too.

Liu Sanye’s gaze swept over the room. Every item she looked at shivered three times, until eventually, everything was shivering and rolling around on the bed as if… acting cute and begging to stay.

Liu Sanye rubbed her chin solemnly. “Maybe… we should focus on preparing for the Grand Competition next month before worrying about the storage bag.”

Bai Tong agreed.

Then, she took out the Dust-Spirit Sword Manual she had found at the bottom of the cliff. With the Jade Frost Sword, their attributes matched perfectly, allowing her to practice the manual.

As the manual opened, dense water-blue runes floated into the air, clearly recording every stance. An afterword mentioned its origin: it was created by the third Valley Master of Sunset Water Valley, who hid it there before her ascension to wait for a fated person.

Liu Sanye was amazed. “The creator of this manual actually ascended.”

Bai Tong looked somewhat longing. “Only one person ascends every ten thousand years. She must have been truly exceptional.”

Liu Sanye patted her shoulder. “You’ll be just as exceptional as her.”

Bai Tong smiled back. “Let’s work hard together.”

“Sure.” As she took Bai Tong’s hand, Liu Sanye thought to herself: You’ll ascend, and I’ll go home.