Not even knowing what those powerful Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters looked like, how could Hua Jian avoid harm?
The only powerful cultivators she knew were probably Linglong and those two Venerables.
And as for those slightly famous Inner Sect Disciples of the Saint Sects, Linglong truly didn’t believe Hua Jian could recognize them accurately every time.
After all, even she couldn’t do that. Communication between Saint Sect disciples varied, and Linglong belonged to the type that didn’t go out to interact with others much.
“Cough, I’m someone who has firmly memorized that Righteous Path Fairy Ranking. I definitely wouldn’t fail to recognize the Senior Sisters on it.” Hua Jian coughed lightly with a guilty look, then began to make excuses for herself.
“As for peers who aren’t on the Fairy Ranking, hmph, they are all my defeated opponents. They should be the ones recognizing me, not me recognizing them.”
She spoke quite proudly, but Hua Jian indeed had the capital to be proud.
Her battle record was solid, and after traveling around the Central Continent with Linglong, her combat strength had already reached a level that not many could understand.
Even for Linglong, the chances of winning against the current Hua Jian were less than fifty percent.
The combination of the Illusory Dream Flower and various spiritual plants was simply too frustrating to deal with.
Even knowing that Hua Jian had these abilities, Linglong wouldn’t be able to handle them once the fight started.
“Look at that Senior Sister over there. She looks a lot like the one ranked seventh on the Fairy Ranking… mm, yes, Senior Sister Luo Yingying!”
Hua Jian pointed toward a red-clothed girl who had just walked upstairs, using her to support her argument.
As it turned out, her words seemed to have been overheard by the red-clothed girl, who walked toward her aggressively.
“Huh?” Hua Jian was startled at first, but then the more she looked, the more something felt off.
This Senior Sister looked way too much like Senior Sister Luo Yingying on the Fairy Ranking.
That face shape, those eyes, and that petal mark between her brows—it was practically carved from the same mold.
“Little sister Hua Jian knows me?” After the red-clothed girl asked her first question, Hua Jian was even more dazed.
‘So I really did run into the real person?’
Well, this was the Inner City of Ascension City after all, a place where the density of Saint Sect disciples was incredibly high.
Meeting a Senior Sister who was already famous wasn’t a rare occurrence.
But it was one thing for her to recognize Luo Yingying; why did Luo Yingying also recognize her?
Was she, Hua Jian, really that famous now?
“How does Senior Sister Luo also recognize me?” Hua Jian shrank her neck and asked softly.
“Oh? So you didn’t find out about me from my Master?” A flicker of curiosity flashed across Luo Yingying’s face, but she didn’t delve into the question. Instead, she introduced herself.
“The Lingcaifeng Master is my Master. She asked me to come ahead and wait for you, but as soon as you arrived at Ascension City, you were snatched away by Jade Pool. I didn’t even have time to stop you.”
As she spoke, Luo Yingying very familiarly sat on an empty chair at the table where the two were dining.
Linglong’s gaze toward Luo Yingying immediately turned dissatisfied.
Don’t think she didn’t know; Luo Yingying appearing here was absolutely no coincidence.
This eldest disciple of the Lingcaifeng Master had come specifically for an “accidental” encounter with Hua Jian!
“So that’s how it is. Thank you for your trouble, Peak Master and Senior Sister.”
The Fairy Ranking Hua Jian had read only said that Luo Yingying was an Inner Sect Disciple of Wanling Sect; it hadn’t mentioned that Luo Yingying studied under the Lingcaifeng Master.
Now that she knew, she had a feeling of realization. That explained everything.
“It’s no trouble. Just consider it coming down the mountain to relax.” Luo Yingying scrutinized Hua Jian closely, the more she looked, the more she found the child pleasing to the eye.
She was beautiful, had a good personality, and that faint floral fragrance on her was intoxicating. Oh, she was even holding a small white cat in her arms!
Looking closer, Luo Yingying immediately recognized the small white cat as a Shuanghua Spirit Civet from the North.
Such little creatures were not something that could be easily subdued.
The fact that Hua Jian could subdue a Shuanghua Spirit Civet was enough to prove how outstanding she was.
“Little sister Hua Jian, have you formed a contract with this little guy?”
“Yes, I have!” Hua Jian nodded.
‘Look at that, even the Spirit Beast contract is done. Isn’t this our Wanling Sect’s chosen disciple?’ Luo Yingying tried hard to suppress her facial expressions, not letting her pleasant surprise show.
Even without those other things, just based on the achievement of subduing a Shuanghua Spirit Civet, Wanling Sect could directly take Hua Jian into the Inner Sect.
“Then are you interested in coming to our place to let your little Spirit Civet learn some combat techniques? Although I’m from Lingcaifeng, there are many fellow disciples at the station who are skilled in controlling Spirit Beasts…” Luo Yingying smiled with her eyes narrowed, starting to entice Hua Jian right in front of Linglong.
This was a bit too disrespectful. Linglong coughed loudly, interrupting Luo Yingying’s temptation.
“Senior Sister Luo, Hua Jian hasn’t joined Wanling Sect yet.”
“I know, but she hasn’t joined Jade Pool yet either, has she? We’re competing fairly.” The interrupted Luo Yingying wasn’t angry at all.
On the contrary, seeing Linglong’s protective behavior, she was very happy.
After all, Hua Jian was indeed in Jade Pool’s hands now, and what she had to do first was prevent Linglong from being able to keep her there indefinitely.
As long as that control loosened a bit, or she really managed to snatch a bit of Hua Jian from Jade Pool’s hands, her mission would be considered a success.
“Besides, shouldn’t we ask for little sister Hua Jian’s opinion on this? There’s not much point in you and me arguing here.”
Saying that, Luo Yingying looked at Hua Jian, eagerly anticipating her next answer.
If it had been before, Hua Jian might have truly fallen into a dilemma. However, after having a heart-to-heart with Linglong, she was no longer so afraid of making choices.
“I promised Linglong to accompany her at the Jade Pool station for a few days to get familiar. Can I visit Wanling Sect in a few days?” Hua Jian asked softly.
Luo Yingying slapped her palm. ‘What could be wrong with that?’ Hua Jian’s choice was already one of the best outcomes she could imagine.
Expecting Hua Jian to directly leave Linglong and jump into her arms, sweetly calling her “Senior Sister,” was something that only happened in dreams. This current situation was only natural.
“Of course. Here, keep this Token for now. Just come find me directly when the time comes.” A beaming Luo Yingying took a Token, which seemed to be made of wood, from her sleeve.
But after Hua Jian took it and looked, she realized that this Token wasn’t crudely made like an ordinary wooden Token.
It was crafted from extremely high-quality materials, and the ring of flower vines surrounding the outer edge carried a unique aura that made an image of the Lingcaifeng Master involuntarily appear before her eyes.
“Could it be… the Peak Master gave this to me?” Holding the Token with both hands, she looked up and asked Luo Yingying.
“Your perception is quite sharp. It was indeed personally made for you by my Master. It’s much more exquisite than the one I have, isn’t it?”
After giving Hua Jian the Token, Luo Yingying took her own Token from her waist and handed it to Hua Jian as well, letting her see the difference.
Hua Jian took them and compared them. She could indeed feel the difference in workmanship between the two. The one in her hand was clearly much more carefully made.
This made her a bit embarrassed. She hadn’t even entered the sect yet and was already receiving such treatment. It was quite bashful.
Returning the Token to Luo Yingying with a red face, Hua Jian said softly, “But I still don’t know how to choose…”
“Haha, there’s plenty of time. Don’t feel pressured,” Luo Yingying said with a smile.
She understood the principle that “going too far is as bad as falling short.”
Forcing Hua Jian to choose between the two right now would surely be a mistake.
She had to wait until Hua Jian had enough favorability toward them before letting her choose; that way, the chances of winning would be higher.
Just as she was thinking this, a pleasantly surprised voice suddenly came from behind Luo Yingying.
“Little Yingying!”
Then, in Hua Jian’s field of vision, Luo Yingying’s expression changed from happy to gloomy within a single second.
Trepidatiously, she poked her neck out to look behind Luo Yingying and found that the person who had called out such a pet name was a girl wearing a Penglai Inner Sect Disciple uniform.
This girl held a wine gourd in her hand, and her eyes were blurred; she was clearly drunk.
Looking more closely, Hua Jian realized that this person also looked familiar. Wasn’t this another Fairy from the Fairy Ranking?
Her rank was several spots lower than Luo Yingying’s.
According to the reason given by the ranking’s author, her rank was lower because she was naturally addicted to alcohol.
A “drunkard fairy” was truly a bit outside of conventional aesthetic standards.
However, this fairy was simply too beautiful, so it wouldn’t have made sense not to include her on the list.
In the end, she could only be given a lower ranking.
If she didn’t have the flaw of being fond of alcohol, her final rank on the list probably wouldn’t have been much lower than Luo Yingying’s.
Now it seemed that these two Fairies from the Fairy Ranking knew each other?
“Little Yingying, don’t you usually hate coming to our place? Could it be you’ve changed your nature and want to try this ultimate worldly flavor? I’m telling you, you have to drink strong wine. Wine like this is for little brats who haven’t even grown their hair yet!”
The drunkard fairy laughed as she approached Luo Yingying, hooking her arm around Luo Yingying’s shoulder despite the murderous look in Luo Yingying’s eyes, and even pointed at the wine Hua Jian was drinking to criticize it.
Hua Jian immediately put down her glass with a guilty conscience. She truly seemed to be a little brat who hadn’t grown her hair yet.
However, this drunkard fairy was also strange. Logically, the scent of a drunkard should be quite repulsive, but the scent on her was not like that at all.
It was… even a bit fragrant?
“Hiss… phew… you guys chat first, I’ll deal with this trouble.” Several veins popped on Luo Yingying’s forehead.
After taking a deep breath, she stood up directly, and several sturdy, thick Spirit Vines grew from her shoulder, pushing away the drunkard fairy’s hand.
Then, she grabbed the drunkard fairy’s wrist and disappeared from everyone’s sight in an instant.
Only a faint sentence from the drunkard fairy remained in the air: “Little Yingying, why are you so proactive today?”
Dozens of seconds later, a rumbling sound came from the distance, sounding like people were fighting on the surface of the Penglai lake.
The cultivators eating and drinking here looked at each other, then quickly lowered their heads as if they hadn’t seen or heard anything.
Are you kidding? This was clearly two Great Ones clashing. Why would low-level disciples like them join in the excitement?
However… some cultivators looked up again at Linglong and Hua Jian. These two girls had chatted with another Great One for so long, so their identities probably weren’t simple.
Hua Jian didn’t pay attention to these people’s gazes. She was looking out the window with a very vacant look.
From this angle, she seemed to see flashes of light in the distance, which was likely the scene of the battle between Luo Yingying and the drunkard fairy.
‘Is the way Saint Sect disciples get along really this exciting? Is this the norm?’ Hua Jian turned her head to look at Linglong.
If so, she might have to think about equipping more sinister little gadgets to face battles that could break out at any time.
“No, this is an exception.” Linglong shook her head.
The drunkard fairy was a unique character even in the Saint Sects—very annoying, but people’s impression of her wasn’t that bad either.
First of all, she didn’t hold grudges. Even if they had a fight, she wouldn’t hold a grudge.
“That is Senior Sister Du Xiaoyue. She is a Direct Disciple of the current Penglai Sect Leader. In terms of status within her sect, she’s even a notch higher than me,” Linglong introduced the drunkard fairy’s identity to Hua Jian in a low voice.
“It’s not that she actually likes drinking; it’s that her physique needs to be stimulated by Penglai’s Spirit Wine. As for the specific effect, I’m not clear either. Anyway, when my mother mentions her, she often says that this Senior Sister is likely the only disciple Penglai has right now that’s worth looking at.”
Penglai Sacred Sect was currently facing a shortage of new talent.
The number of geniuses in the sect was only slightly more than in the Tiandao Sect, and it even looked like they might be overtaken by Tiandao Sect.
But Penglai’s luck couldn’t be called bad. At this darkest moment of talent depletion, they had actually found Du Xiaoyue, a genius whose compatibility with Penglai was explosive.
This had also led to a very strange situation in the current Penglai.
If you said things were good, the quality of disciples was getting worse and worse; if you said things were bad, Du Xiaoyue was right there.
“My mother said that barring any accidents, this Senior Sister Du has a high probability of ascending. Senior Sister Luo can’t beat Senior Sister Du.” Linglong sneakily said something bad about Luo Yingying.
Even though Luo Yingying was the one who initiated the fight this time, the one being beaten to the ground in the end likely wouldn’t be Du Xiaoyue.
One was the Direct Disciple of a sect leader, and the other was from a Peak Master, and from a branch that wasn’t skilled in combat; the result of this battle was clear at a glance.
“Haha, but why is Senior Sister Du here?” Hua Jian didn’t pick up on Linglong’s words, wisely choosing to change the subject.
“I’m not sure. It might be an internal transfer within Penglai.” Linglong picked up her wine glass and took a sip, indicating that she wasn’t omniscient.
She didn’t even know which people Jade Pool would send from the main sect next, let alone the personnel transfers of other Saint Sects.
It was perfectly normal for a Direct Disciple to come to Ascension City to maintain order. Look, wasn’t Luo Yingying also a Direct Disciple?
This Ascension City wasn’t some dragon’s den. Could a Direct Disciple with the strength of a Spirit Emperor really meet their end here?
To put it bluntly, if such a thing really happened, what the Right Path should care about wasn’t the life or death of this one Direct Disciple, but what big news the Magic Path had managed to pull off.
“Anyway, you don’t need to be too afraid of this Senior Sister. She looks unreliable, but she shouldn’t be that unreliable.” By the time she finished, even Linglong herself wasn’t quite sure.
‘Will this Senior Sister Du really be reliable?’
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