A Consequence of Opposing the Heroine’s Halo (GL) - Chapter 39

After watching the image, Liu Sanye remained dazed for a long time. She looked at Jun Yining, and in a heat of passion, she blurted out a heroic vow: “I’m going to be as powerful as our Ancestor in the future!”

Jun Yining burst into laughter upon hearing this. “You?”

He only spoke one word, but it infuriated Liu Sanye. She jumped in frustration, even stuttering as she spoke: “You-you-you! What do you mean by that!”

Jun Yining shook his head and smoothed out his hair, which had been tousled by his laughter. “I don’t mean anything. It’s good to have ideals; Senior Brother supports you.”

Although he said that, his demeanor was clearly telling Liu Sanye: Wake up, kid!

Liu Sanye got even angrier: “Hmph! Just keep looking down on me then!”

Jun Yining wagged a finger at her. “It’s not that I look down on you, but do you know what realm your Ancestor reached?”

“What realm?”

Jun Yining suddenly leaned in and said with a serious expression: “Tribulation Transcendence!”

With that, he flopped back into his chair, clicking his tongue in amazement. “Kids these days really don’t know the height of the heavens. What kind of realm is Tribulation Transcendence? It’s just one step away from Ascension! Even in our Hegui Sect’s prime, we had fewer than five Tribulation-stage powerhouses. That’s not a realm you reach just by having good talent; it’s more about temperament and destiny. With your temperament? If you can reach the Tribulation stage, Senior Brother will pluck his head off and let you kick it around like a ball!”

Liu Sanye was never one for composure; the provocation sent the blood rushing to her head. She replied huffily, “Fine! Then I’ll reach Tribulation just for you to see! I don’t need you to pluck your head off, though. Senior Brother, you just have to hang a board saying ‘Ugliest Senior Brother’ on you and fly three laps around the cultivation world for public display!”

Jun Yining loved being praised for his looks and hated being called ugly more than anything. Hanging such a thing on him would be more painful than death. However, he reckoned it was impossible for Liu Sanye to reach Tribulation—she’d likely struggle to even reach Great Ascension.

Finding it amusing, he laughed and replied, “Deal. But we need two more conditions. First, if you fail to reach Tribulation, you have to hang a ‘Ugliest Junior Sister’ sign and fly three laps around the world. Second, we need a time limit. How about reaching Tribulation within a thousand years?”

“The first part is fine, but don’t you think a thousand years is overkill!”

In the original novel, even the heroine’s “cheat-code” cultivation speed didn’t reach Tribulation in a thousand years!

“Then how long do you think is appropriate?”

Liu Sanye gestured for a bit, then finally gritted her teeth: “Two thousand years!”

“Deal. I’ll be waiting to see you on public display.” Jun Yining patted the storage bag at his waist, his smile exceptionally punchable. “I’ve got the crystal images ready for you; I’ll record your ‘great moment’ in full.”

Liu Sanye was beyond furious. She stepped forward, grabbed Jun Yining by his clothes, and tried to drag him out. Jun Yining clung to the chair and wouldn’t move, so Liu Sanye eventually pushed the entire chair toward the door. “Hmph! Since you don’t believe in me, you aren’t welcome here! Out! Out!”

Seeing this, Jun Yining’s expression became quite a spectacle. “Hey, hey, hey! This is where you’re in the wrong! I’m the one who found this treehouse for you, and now you’re kicking me out? How can you be so ungrateful!”

Liu Sanye didn’t listen and pushed him, chair and all, out of the treehouse.

BANG!

With a deafening slam of the door, Jun Yining successfully received his second “cold shoulder” of the day. He awkwardly straightened his appearance—he hadn’t technically been kicked out!—and then left the area, acting as if nothing had happened.

After driving away the annoying Jun Yining, Liu Sanye climbed onto the meditation platform with a happy face. She took out a small mirror she had brought from the dwelling and checked her face; once she confirmed it was perfect, she took a deep breath.

With her preparations finished, Liu Sanye finally opened her Soul Tool to connect with Bai Tong. On the other end, Bai Tong asked with a smile, “Sanye, are you getting used to Green Wood Peak?”

The moment Liu Sanye saw Bai Tong, her lips curled upward uncontrollably. “I’m used to it! Do you know where I am? I’m at the Sacred King Tree; the spiritual qi here is incredibly dense.”

“Then you can’t be lazy; you must seize the time to cultivate.”

“Don’t worry, I’m just checking in with you. I’ll start cultivating as soon as we’re done.”

“Why do you need to check in?” Bai Tong couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you really used to Green Wood Peak? I heard Elder Xun say today that there are many rules there. Also, be careful when you’re flying; if you see celestial cranes on the way, give them some space.”

Liu Sanye nodded repeatedly. “Don’t worry, I’m great at using the flying carpet now; I even flew through the dense network of tree branches just now without any problems. There are a lot of rules on Green Wood Peak, but they’re okay. It’s just that Master wants me to take care of a chicken. Heavens, that chicken is so fierce! It even pecked me this morning!”

Bai Tong grew a bit tense. “Where did it peck you? Let me see. Is it serious? Why does the Peak Master want you to take care of a chicken?”

“Sigh, it’s just the Morning Chicken meant to wake me up. It’s not like I can’t wake up on my own! It makes me so mad.” Liu Sanye felt a bit embarrassed. “It pecked my thigh, so I won’t show you. It’s not serious, just a tiny bit of red skin.” As she spoke, she gestured with her fingers—it was only the size of a fingernail.

Bai Tong suddenly laughed; she seemed to be imagining the scene of Liu Sanye being chased by a chicken.

The two chatted and laughed for a while before turning off the light screen to begin cultivating. This became their routine: every day was spent either chatting or cultivating. Sometimes Liu Sanye cultivated through the night and didn’t even return to her own dwelling.

Her progress in the treehouse was incredibly fast; in just one month, she reached the middle stage of Qi Refining. By this time, snow had piled up outside Green Wood Peak, but inside, it was still as warm as spring.

When Liu Sanye reached the middle stage, the swarm of wood spiritual qi attracted many Demon Spirits. Some were round little white puffs, while others had flowers growing on their heads. Centered on Liu Sanye’s treehouse, the surrounding small flowers and grasses actually uprooted themselves to move closer.

At first, Liu Sanye didn’t notice, only feeling that the flora around her had increased. It wasn’t until one night when she woke up from her cultivation and happened to look out the window.

The Sacred King Tree was filled with green fluorescent light at night. Amidst these sparks of light, Liu Sanye saw a small five-colored flower in the distance actually pull itself out of the ground. It used its large leaves to bashfully cover its roots and then wiggled its way toward the base of her treehouse.

The ground beneath her treehouse was already crowded with other plants. The five-colored flower searched and picked for a long time before finding a patch of soft, fertile soil. It circled the spot three times in satisfaction before burrowing into the ground to settle down comfortably.

Witnessing the whole scene, Liu Sanye gasped: “Could these be… the legendary fairies?”

A month later, the ground beneath her treehouse had become “prime real estate.” Sometimes when Liu Sanye peeked out at night, she could even see the grasses fighting over a patch of land the size of a palm; their wobbling postures looked exceptionally comical.

To give these little demon spirits more spiritual qi, Liu Sanye cultivated even more seriously. Under her diligent nurturing, the flora beneath her treehouse grew plump and sturdy. Whenever Liu Sanye peeked out the window, she wore the smile of a proud mother.

The cultivation world also celebrated the New Year, though the festive spirit was thin. On New Year’s Eve, the Hall of Affairs symbolically issued extra talismans and spirit stones. Liu Sanye collected her share and sneaked off to the outer sect.

Bai Tong had already reached the late stage of Qi Refining. Because she had hit a bottleneck, she stayed in the Heaven Class lecture hall to listen to lessons alongside a group of “old-timers” also stuck at the late stage. The lecturer was none other than Elder Xun.

After Liu Sanye left, the outer sect quickly entered a deep winter. Within a few days, the plants and trees on the Southern Dividing Ridge had withered. Thick snow and icicles hung from the branches. As soon as Liu Sanye arrived, the biting cold snapped her mind into focus.

She shook her head and navigated the twists and turns to sneak into the Heaven Class, peeping through the window.

There were about twenty late-stage Qi Refining cultivators; Bai Tong was the youngest and the most attentive. Elder Xun was usually informal, but when lecturing, she possessed the air of a venerable elder—though her tongue was a bit sharp. Within the time it took for an incense stick to burn, she had scolded everyone in the class except Bai Tong, calling them either stupid, thick-headed, or lazy.

Xun Qiu also held a pointer; anyone who couldn’t answer correctly got a lash. Every strike was met with a wail; she was incredibly strict—hardly the same person Liu Sanye knew!

Seeing this, Liu Sanye felt a wave of relief. Fortunately, she had never taken a class from Xun Qiu, or she would have been lashed miserably—and lashed in front of Bai Tong, which would be too humiliating!

Liu Sanye patted her chest to catch her breath, but before she could finish, a hand suddenly slapped her back. Her breath hitched, and she nearly died of fright. Turning around, she saw it was Xun Qiu’s second avatar.

Xun Qiu had changed to a light silk fan; the round fan covered her face, leaving only a long tassel swaying from the handle. The surface of the fan manifested a terrifying crow’s head, stitched together with dense, eerie needlework.

Liu Sanye brushed aside the crow illusion and hissed at Xun Qiu: “Why did you scare me!”

Xun Qiu laughed. “You not using the front door and peeping is the ‘Cause’; me scaring you is the ‘Effect.’ It’s perfectly logical.”

“Fine, logical,” Liu Sanye replied dismissively before asking urgently, “Elder Xun, how has Bai Tong been these past few days? Has that guy Ma Shi caused any more trouble?”

Although she asked Bai Tong about her situation every day, Bai Tong always reported the good and hid the bad. Liu Sanye didn’t feel at ease.

Xun Qiu tapped her chin with her fan and thought for a while: “Bai Tong is stuck at the late stage of Qi Refining; it’s a watershed moment, so it’s normal. Ma Shi has been in seclusion since the last competition and hasn’t caused much trouble. However, Guan Rong often causes a scene in front of Bai Tong. But she can’t beat Bai Tong, so she just settles for some verbal sniping.”

Liu Sanye felt a bit more relieved. Xun Qiu then added: “Actually, Guan Rong isn’t a bad kid by nature.”

Liu Sanye instantly grew unhappy at that: “She’s ‘not bad’?! Are you kidding!”

Xun Qiu glanced at her but didn’t offer any further explanation.