Free Web NovelChapter 195: Chapter 188: Junior Sister, the Disciple Arriving Today Is Much Stronger Than You Were Initially
The first light of dawn was breaking as Su Ling’er awoke from a nightmare to a sharp, stabbing pain.
The memory of being forged and tempered a thousand times in the Artifact Refining Pavilion yesterday still echoed relentlessly in her mind.
She tried to move, but every inch of her body, from muscle to bone, screamed as if it were about to fall apart.
Although she had successfully advanced to the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment thanks to the Sword Refining Skill and that inhuman forging, the agony of being hammered repeatedly like a piece of stubborn iron was still fresh and vivid with every recollection.
She dragged her body, which felt like it barely belonged to her, and struggled to get out of bed, only to collapse powerlessly back onto it.
Just as she was tossing and turning, wondering how she would get through the day, a Sound Transmission Talisman floated unsteadily before her.
Her eldest brother’s voice emerged from it:
[Lin Qingfeng]: Little Sister, are you awake? We have new disciples joining today. Come to the sect gate to receive them. Oh, right, I’ve also prepared a little surprise for you. You’ll see it the moment you step outside.
’New disciples again?!’
Su Ling’er’s mind jolted, and the soreness racking her body seemed to lessen somewhat.
’Could it be... that Qingxu Temple sent more people over?’
The thought instantly invigorated her.
She quickly got up, gritting her teeth against the pain as she straightened her clothes. While pondering what her eldest brother’s "surprise" could be, she pushed open the door of her small bamboo house.
And then, she froze, completely petrified on the spot.
A massive image was playing on a loop across the azure sky above the Guixi Sect.
The protagonist of the image was none other than herself.
In the scene, an Asura-like figure with crimson eyes, wreathed in black miasma, and resembling a vicious demon, was grinning ferociously as she twisted the head clean off a Cursed Vengeance, then crushed it with one hand!
The next moment, she plunged her bare hand through the chest of another Cursed Vengeance, crushing its heart!
The crazed, bloodthirsty display was so terrifying that even she felt her own heart pound in fear watching it!
And alongside this footage was a juxtaposed image of her from when she first joined the sect—looking clueless and even a bit dorky.
What made her want to die was that the shameful scene of the Dawa Sect members prostrating themselves before her and hailing her as their "Holy Mother" had also been edited in—as proof of her "majesty" as the sect’s Holy Daughter!
There was even a promotional tagline.
In that instant, Su Ling’er felt the world spin as blood rushed to her head.
’What the hell is this?!’
She screamed internally.
’This is a surprise?!’
’This is a goddamn fright!’
’This is a public execution!’
She could even imagine the looks on the faces of the spies from Qingxu Temple when they saw their Miss Su had turned into... this.
’If the newcomers really are spies from Qingxu Temple, when they see this, they’ll probably think I’ve defected to a demonic sect and abandoned the righteous path.’
She stiffly turned her head to look around.
Wang Xiedi’s thatched hut was still quiet; that guy was probably still sleeping in.
But the other undercover disciples were already standing outside their houses, staring up at the promotional video in the sky with solemn expressions.
When they saw Su Ling’er emerge, all their gazes shifted to her at once.
Li Chunfeng, however, seemed unfazed and simply nodded at her.
"Morning."
Then he went back to his morning exercises.
He was in a horse stance, drawing and sheathing his sword with a rhythmic CLANG, CLANG, organically combining the mortal martial arts from his memory with his "Sword Dao."
The other spies saw her and greeted her as well, but their friendliness felt forced.
"Good morning!"
"Morning, Senior Sister!"
Su Ling’er watched all this with mixed feelings.
’Of course!!!’
’Eldest Brother must be using this method to drive a wedge between us!!!’
’That has to be it!’
’That cunning, slippery Eldest Brother!’
She could feel the invisible barrier between them growing even deeper.
And the architect of all this chaos was standing leisurely on a nearby hillside, admiring his masterpiece.
’You’re this close, so why did you even bother using a Sound Transmission Talisman?’
Su Ling’er took a deep breath, suppressed the helplessness in her heart, and walked toward Lin Qingfeng.
...
Meanwhile, the architect of it all was standing leisurely not far away, waiting for Su Ling’er.
Lin Qingfeng was contentedly watching the "harmonious" scene below when he suddenly noticed Dong Changsheng, after greeting the others, cast an inadvertent glance in his direction.
He recalled the scenes of "repaying kindness with revenge" on the Asking Dao Ladder.
’Although I have nothing to fear,’ he thought, ’for the long-term peace and stability of the sect, and for my own mental and physical well-being, I must perform a routine antivirus scan!’
The moment the thought arose, Lin Qingfeng’s body moved before his mind could even catch up.
His figure blurred, and in the next instant, he appeared before Dong Changsheng.
"Mr. Dong, good morning," he said with a smile.
Dong Changsheng was about to return the greeting when Lin Qingfeng’s palm was already whistling through the air toward him.
SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!
Three crisp slaps echoed.
The surrounding undercover disciples instantly froze, the smiles stiffening on their faces.
And then...
Lin Qingfeng seemed to enter some kind of merciless combo mode. His hands became a blur as he unleashed a torrential storm of morning greetings upon Dong Changsheng’s cheeks, striking from left and right.
SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!
The rapid succession of slaps became a continuous drone, making one’s scalp tingle.
Dong Changsheng’s head wobbled violently from side to side like a tumbler doll. His mind was buzzing, and he could hear nothing but a sharp ringing in his ears.
He saw stars, the world spun, and everything seemed to be shaking violently.
His cheeks swelled and turned purple at a visible rate, eventually becoming so bloated he looked like an over-fermented pig’s head, his original features almost unrecognizable.
Humiliation! Rage! Hatred!
Countless negative emotions festered wildly in his heart, nearly bursting the dam of his reason!
Dong Changsheng gritted his teeth and forced himself to endure.
’Endure! I must endure it! This is a test!’
’The demon lord is using the most extreme pain to forge... PTHOO—!’
Meanwhile, the surrounding undercover disciples could only watch helplessly, none daring to step forward and intervene.
’That demon lord is humiliating Mr. Dong like this?!’
’Mr. Dong’s face... he’ll probably need some expensive medicine for that...’
’This is too tragic... You can’t even recognize Mr. Dong’s face anymore!’
’This demonic den is terrifying. Even someone like Mr. Dong is treated like a punching bag and beaten daily. What does that make us?’
’Are we just dust, not even worthy of being beaten?’
The rapid succession of slaps became a continuous drone, making one’s scalp tingle.
Su Ling’er stood to the side, her eye twitching uncontrollably. Her heart throbbed with every "SLAP."
’No... I can’t let him keep hitting him!’
’Should a Cultivator of the righteous path just stand by and watch a fellow disciple be abused like this by a demon lord, his dignity trampled underfoot?’
’The stories of righteous Cultivators helping the weak and fighting the strong... they can’t just be empty words on paper!’
Her heart was in turmoil.
She took a deep breath, her heart pounding in her chest.
But still, she stepped out from the crowd, one step at a time.
Finally, she stood between him and Dong Changsheng.
"Eldest Brother, we have important matters to attend to!"
Steeling herself, Su Ling’er bowed deeply. She didn’t dare look Lin Qingfeng in the eye, speaking in the most diplomatic tone she could muster:
"Eldest Brother... you sent a transmission just now, saying new disciples are arriving today."
"For... for the image and prestige of our Guixi Sect, would it be... inappropriate for the new disciples to witness such a scene of... ’deep camaraderie’ within the sect?"
Lin Qingfeng’s raised hand did indeed pause.
He glanced at Su Ling’er with great interest, then at Dong Changsheng behind her, who was clutching his face, furious but not daring to speak.
’Mm! This expression is perfect!’
’He definitely won’t be feeling any gratitude toward me!’
’Felt good, too. A great stress reliever!’
He nodded in satisfaction. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, a brilliant smile spread across his face as he asked Su Ling’er:
"By the way, Little Sister, what did you think of the little surprise I prepared for you?"
Su Ling’er’s heart leaped into her throat.
’Surprise?! You call that a surprise?!’
’I could almost forgive you for looping the footage of me looking like a demon while tearing apart Cursed Vengeances, but you also had to include that shameful scene of me being worshipped by that bunch of perverts?!’
’Do you think my life isn’t surreal enough?!’
’Are you a devil?! No, you’re the devil himself!’
But after a fleeting moment of stiffness, Su Ling’er’s face blossomed into an incomparably brilliant smile.
"Eldest Brother... that surprise... was... was absolutely wonderful!"
"Really! I never imagined I had such a... such a majestic side to me!"
"The video perfectly showcases the transformation process of our sect’s disciples from ordinary to powerful!"
"It reflects the sect’s profound strength and is incredibly inspirational!"
"I’m sure any new disciple who sees it will yearn to join our Guixi Sect and be eager to become part of our warm, big family!"
’Please, if you hit him again, I’ll... I’ll just praise you even harder!’
’Just please don’t turn on me! My face can’t take that kind of abuse!’
Hearing his little sister’s lavish praise, Lin Qingfeng satisfactorily retracted his hand.
’Little Sister truly has a discerning eye.’
However, this unexpected interlude made an interesting thought pop into Lin Qingfeng’s mind as he looked at Su Ling’er and Dong Changsheng.
One is a little sister who looks like a heretical demon on the outside, but is so pure on the inside that she’s a bit of a blockhead;
The other is a paranoid zealot who proclaims himself to be great, glorious, and correct, constantly spouting nonsense about the Great Dao and success, yet in his attempts to "repay kindness," he always manages to screw over his benefactor and other innocent people.
He wondered when his little sister would discover the truth about this "NPC" Dong Changsheng’s inner settings on her own.
What would her reaction be then?
Lin Qingfeng thought with great interest.
He pulled his thoughts back to the present. Su Ling’er had already walked up to him.
Lin Qingfeng cleared his throat and said to her solemnly, "Little Sister, a disciple is coming to pay respects to the sect today. You must make a good impression.
"This person has a dual Spirit Root, so their aptitude is decent. Their Cultivation is at the peak of the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, just one step away from the late stage. In any case, they’re much stronger than you were when you started."
"You must understand that a virtuous path is never walked alone, and a sect’s prosperity is not the work of one, but the strength of many heroes.
"Although your Cultivation is slightly inferior, on the path of the Dao, those who start first do not always finish first, and latecomers can also surpass them.
"When you receive them today, you must treat them with sincerity and show them our might. Only then will you not fail the trust the sect has placed in you."
Su Ling’er looked at her eldest brother, speechless.
’You didn’t have to emphasize the "much stronger than me" part, you know!’
’And peak Mid-stage Foundation Establishment?’
’Dual Spirit Root?’
Su Ling’er’s heart sank.
No matter how she thought about it, she felt that this newcomer was probably not another spy.
With that kind of aptitude and Cultivation, they would definitely be an Inner Sect Disciple at Qingxu Temple!
How could the Sect Leader possibly be willing to send such a heaven-blessed prodigy on such a dangerous undercover mission?
A wave of disappointment washed over her.
She took a deep breath, pointed at the shameful video in the sky, and asked listlessly:
"Eldest Brother... that thing in the sky... can you take it down now?"
