“Caidié is going into the Secret Realm for her trial in just a few days. That place is full of the Saint Sect’s outstanding young talents—I’m really worried she might get bullied.”
“Secret Realm? I’m heading to a Secret Realm in a few days too… Could it be the same one?”
After being treated to a lavish lunch by the Wanling Sect’s senior sister, Huajian felt she had so much in common with this senior sister—and with Caidié.
As long as there’s some benefit involved, we might as well be half-sisters!
When she overheard the senior sister muttering with a hint of worry, Huajian’s interest immediately piqued.
A few days later, a Secret Realm, the Saint Sect’s young elites—hey, doesn’t that sound a lot like the Secret Realm she was going to?
Huajian didn’t dismiss these coincidences as mere illusions but boldly asked outright.
“Huh? But the entry requirements for that Secret Realm are very strict. Caidié got her qualification from the Peak Lord, so how did you, Huajian, get yours…?”
“It was given to me by a senior sister from Yaochi. A while ago, I traveled for some time with Saintess Linglong of Yaochi…” Huajian briefly recounted her connection with Linglong.
After hearing this convoluted story, the Wanling Sect senior sister’s eyes widened slightly. So Penglai wasn’t even their biggest rival—the real one was Yaochi?
Wow, even the Saintess herself got involved. Yaochi, you’re so ruthless!
“If Yaochi gave you the qualification, then you and Caidié must be going to the same Secret Realm,” the senior sister said after a slight pause, her expression still tinged with concern. “But I have to be blunt—you two are probably going to get bullied in that Secret Realm.”
This senior sister also possessed the Lingwang Realm strength, so naturally, she could see exactly how strong Huajian was.
To put it nicely, Huajian was a promising talent, a raw jade waiting to be polished.
To put it harshly, she was basically Combat Strength Five right now—no match for anyone head-on.
Caidié might even coordinate with her spirit beast to pin Huajian down and pound her into the ground.
“I’m mentally prepared for that. Besides, we have our own advantages,” Huajian said without a hint of concern.
She had already prepared her combat gear to enter the realm; facing fully armored prodigies head-on was impossible.
But if she found an opening in their defense, then sorry—I’d make sure all the damage hit your legs without scratching your gear.
“Little Caidié, Sister will teach you a few tricks to make you stand out in the Secret Realm.” Huajian waved to Caidié, signaling her to come closer.
“First, we must strike where they are weakest…”
……
“Why is Caidié so well-behaved today? Oh, and she’s even reading books? Did you hypnotize her or something?”
“No way. I just took her to play with that Huajian girl for a day. Then Huajian taught her some little tricks for the Secret Realm, and Caidié found it interesting enough to start learning,” the senior sister, who had spent the day pestering Huajian with Caidié in tow, looked dazed and like she was questioning life itself.
Another senior sister, clearly incredulous, said, “No way. When we taught her before, she was clearly struggling to stay awake.”
“Maybe she didn’t like what we taught her…”
Thinking about the little tricks Huajian had taught Caidié, the senior sister was at a loss for words.
Those weren’t survival tips—they were sabotage tricks!
Huajian hadn’t taught Caidié how to avoid danger or how to negotiate with stronger cultivators. Instead, she taught her how to secretly take down opponents using various means.
Poisons, smokescreens, whatever came in handy. And these things hit Caidié’s sweet spot.
The senior sisters’ lessons were too boring; Huajian’s were much more interesting!
Using your strengths to exploit your enemy’s weaknesses and ultimately defeat them—that kind of trick was far more appealing than normal survival tactics.
“That Huajian girl really is something else. But should we just watch Caidié be led astray like this? Didn’t the Peak Lord of Five Poisons tell us to take good care of her?”
“I don’t see the problem. The Peak Lord himself doesn’t fight head-on. Caidié is just learning the traditions of Five Poisons Peak.”
“Hmm… that actually makes sense?”
The two girls from Lingcaifeng exchanged glances and reached an unspoken agreement.
Let the young girls sort out their own affairs. They wouldn’t interfere.
……
With the senior sisters’ tacit approval, Caidié’s visits to Huajian’s place became more frequent, coming over every day to ask how to get her little bees and butterflies to sting opponents.
Often she would run into Su Xiaoxiao, standing guard for Huajian, keeping watch against theft or any other threats.
But since Caidié had no concept of what a face even was, Su Xiaoxiao’s furious glare—looking ready to bite someone—had no intimidation effect on her.
As for Huajian, of course, she welcomed Caidié’s visits. The girl was very well-behaved and brought gifts every day—always good stuff from Wanling Sect. As a little treasure hunter, Huajian couldn’t resist that.
After accepting the spirit flower pollen Caidié brought today, Huajian cleared her throat and continued teaching her how to sabotage opponents.
Outside her small room, Su Xiaoxiao was exchanging furious glares with a Wanling Sect senior sister.
Su Xiaoxiao was calling the other shameless. Huajian was clearly the disciple Penglai had set their eyes on, yet Wanling Sect shamelessly came to tempt her with bribes and seduction.
The other side replied that Penglai wasn’t even the first to have noticed Huajian; don’t think she didn’t know the complicated connections behind the scenes—Huajian’s ties to Yaochi ran much deeper.
“Since Caidié and Huajian will soon be entering that Secret Realm, their strength isn’t the top tier among this batch of entrants. If we build a good relationship now, we can watch each other’s backs inside. What’s wrong with that?”
“It’s Caidié who’s weak, not Huajian. From the looks of her, she definitely won’t be easily defeated in the Secret Realm,” Su Xiaoxiao scoffed. Did she not know how slippery Huajian was inside the Secret Realm?
Huajian had nearly a hundred battle achievements under her belt! She was a notorious outlaw in the Linglong Pavilion’s territory.
Su Xiaoxiao thought she shouldn’t worry about whether Huajian would be unhappy in the Secret Realm but rather worry if Huajian might go overboard and offend all the prodigies.
“Oh? Then you’re underestimating Caidié. Her abilities are far more complicated than they seem. Inside the Secret Realm, she’s even more formidable and dangerous.”
“Hah, what nonsense.”
“Let’s see about that. The Secret Realm opens in just a few days. We’ll wait and see.”