This was likely a favor from her Senior Sister to Hua Jian.
After learning she was finally allowed to leave, Xiao Qi was moved to tears, nearly hugging Hua Jian while shouting that the girl was truly her lucky star.
Over the next few days, Xiao Qi treated Hua Jian as if she were her dearest relative.
No matter what Hua Jian asked for, she would comply without hesitation, as if Hua Jian were the senior sister instead.
Hua Jian was a bit uncomfortable with such treatment, but she didn’t mind it.
Having a Senior Sister who was so easy to get along with wasn’t a bad thing at all.
As the days passed, Hua Jian’s life settled into a steady routine, entering a quite peaceful period.
She attended classes during the day and cultivated at night; both her knowledge and her strength were growing steadily.
Linglong, having finished her busy period, became more available.
She occasionally sparred with Hua Jian and Shiqi to ensure Hua Jian didn’t fall behind in practical combat while focusing on her studies.
During their matches, Hua Jian usually lost more than she won.
Without using her “cheating” methods, her combat strength couldn’t compare to the Little Dragon Girl, who was essentially a walking cheat code.
Then again, Linglong was currently the most formidable genius.
The fact that Hua Jian could fight her and only lose by a narrow margin proved just how powerful Hua Jian’s talent truly was.
As for Shiqi… it was better not to hurt the child’s fragile heart.
“My rank has risen to eighth. Also, here is the information on the ten geniuses you asked that young girl to find.”
One day, Shiqi returned from the outside, bringing back something Hua Jian had almost forgotten.
Hua Jian paused for a moment before remembering that she had indeed asked a young girl to collect information on the Top Ten Geniuses a few days ago.
She hadn’t expected it to take so many days to arrive.
The young girl naturally didn’t have a high-end item like a Jade Plate.
She had honestly written down all the information she gathered in several notebooks and entrusted Shiqi to deliver them.
Flipping through the notebooks, she saw that the girl’s handwriting was decent and easy to read.
There was a significant amount of information recorded, showing that the girl hadn’t slacked off.
Probably because the rankings on the Genius List had fluctuated so much recently, the notebooks contained more than ten names—there were actually more than a dozen.
Among them, three geniuses had significantly less information than the others: Shiqi, the Justice Swordsman, and Ji Caiyue’s fiancé.
Yes, Ji Caiyue’s fiancé was currently on the list. His rank had risen as fast as a rocket, and he had already surpassed Shiqi, currently competing for a spot against the Justice Swordsman.
Visibly, their limits were not yet reached. The geniuses ranked further ahead probably wouldn’t be able to stop them either.
“Recently became famous. Rumored to have saved a merchant caravan from vicious bandits on the way to Ascension City… why does this look so familiar?”
The introduction for the Justice Swordsman made Hua Jian frown slightly.
The trope of ‘drawing a sword for justice’ and ‘the hero saving the beauty’ couldn’t be that common, could it?
“It’s the guy we followed before. I ran into him, and his strength is indeed quite good. I can’t beat him.” Shiqi confirmed Hua Jian’s suspicion.
This Justice Swordsman was indeed the same guy they saw throwing a fake match earlier.
But that match-fixer’s strength was genuinely impressive. Shiqi had fought him once and felt that his power was steadily superior to hers.
Reasonably speaking, even without fixing matches, a person like that could become famous in Ascension City and be recruited by the Saint Sect. Why go through the extra trouble?
“Linglong, didn’t you have your Senior Sisters investigate? Did they find anything?” Hua Jian couldn’t figure it out, so she turned her head to look at the Little Dragon Girl.
“Everything seems normal. My Senior Sisters have been following him, but his recent performance isn’t suspicious. He lives with that merchant caravan, and every day he either spars with people or cultivates.”
Linglong also felt the swordsman was problematic, but after he directed and acted in that grand ‘hero saving the beauty’ drama, he hadn’t made any other strange moves.
It left them with no starting point for an investigation.
Could it be that his goal was really just to create some hype for himself?
“And then there’s Ji Caiyue’s fiancé. He was a piece of trash a few years ago, but now he’s a great genius. Surely he didn’t actually encounter an ‘old man in a ring,’ did he?”
“According to his own words, he was taught a powerful Cultivation Technique by a mysterious senior.” Shiqi had been in the Outer City and knew a bit more.
This information was naturally in the notebook the young girl wrote as well.
The girl had even figured out the fiancé’s address and knew he was hiding a mistress in a ‘golden house.’
Indeed, the fiancé hadn’t come alone; he had actually brought his little lover along.
His purpose for coming here wasn’t to join the Saint Sect, but to slap Ji Caiyue’s face and completely ruin her future.
Currently, what he wanted to do was break into the top five of the Genius List and then defeat Ji Caiyue in a direct battle, stepping on her once and for all.
“In short, they’ve come with ill intent. This Ascension Gathering is certainly lively. Were there this many incidents in previous years?” Hua Jian muttered.
Although these individual matters didn’t have much to do with her, she felt that things weren’t that simple.
There was a heavy feeling, like the calm before a storm.
“No. I heard people in the Outer City say that this year… wait, the New Year is in one month. Next year’s Ascension Gathering should be the liveliest one in the last ten years.”
Shiqi shook her head, indicating that their current gathering was definitely unusual.
Many Cultivators who lived permanently in the Outer City said that this Ascension Gathering would be very eventful.
Whether it was the quality and quantity of geniuses or the love-hate entanglements between them, it far exceeded the gatherings of previous years.
And those Outer City residents didn’t even know yet that this Ascension Gathering would adopt a completely different process.
This would undoubtedly take the excitement to an even higher level.
“Ha, this is just my fate as a protagonist.” Hua Jian slumped onto the table. She knew that such a big event would definitely run into trouble.
These current small problems were surely the fuses for much larger issues later.
Once the big problems combined, they would certainly lead to a crisis capable of blowing the Ascension Gathering to bits.
When that time came, she, the destined transmigrator protagonist, would have to step in to save the day, defeat the villains’ conspiracy, and allow the Ascension Gathering to continue perfectly.
“Is it possible we’re overthinking it?” Shiqi asked softly.
Before Linglong could reply, Hua Jian shook her head vigorously, indicating that they couldn’t afford such thoughts.
Overthinking? How could they be overthinking? Her previous experiences had already taught her that no matter how much she thought, it wouldn’t be too much.
With so many elements combined, Hua Jian didn’t believe for a second that this Ascension Gathering would go off without a hitch!
But she could only say such things in private. She couldn’t just round up everyone with suspicious points and torture them based on a little suspicion, could she?
That wouldn’t work. They could only have the Saint Sect members tighten their surveillance, so they could strike like thunder to take down these suspicious individuals the moment a problem occurred.
……
Unfortunately, the actions of these suspicious individuals weren’t suspicious at all.
Hua Jian attended classes for one month. From the bleak autumn to the time snow began to drift from the sky, those suspicious individuals hadn’t shown even the slightest flaw.
It did snow in Ascension City, though not for long. It only snowed for about a month during the coldest part of the year.
On the day the New Year arrived, it was a tradition that it would snow the entire day in Ascension City.
Even if the heavens refused to let it fall, Cultivators would fly into the sky and forcibly create a snowy day.
In the world of cultivation, the New Year festival wasn’t actually that highly regarded. Cultivators in secluded training often lost track of time; how could they remember when the New Year was?
However, things were different in Ascension City. This was the intersection between the Saint Sect and the mortal world.
The Cultivators living here all dreamed of joining the Saint Sect. At this special time, it was common to pray to the gods and seek the protection of ancestors.
Even the Saint Sect would perform sacrifices to their ancestors at this time, let alone anyone else.
Although the Saint Sect Cultivators at the Saint Land residence couldn’t return to the Sect to participate in the grand internal Ceremony, they could still take part in a simplified ancestral sacrifice ceremony here.
It wouldn’t be missing for them.
Once the ceremony, which lasted about half a day, was over, the residence would give the Disciples a few days of holiday to let everyone relax.
“Why do I have so many social engagements? Is this reasonable?”
While Linglong was participating in the ancestral sacrifice ceremony, Hua Jian was already having a hard time facing the invitations on her table.
There were naturally social obligations among Saint Sect Disciples. During this festival, calling friends together for a gathering was part of the routine.
Hua Jian had received several invitations. Most were from the Wanling Sect side—there was one from Luo Yingying, one from Xiao Qi, and even some from Senior Sisters whose names she didn’t even know.
There was one from the Jade Pool side as well, which was a personal invitation from Linglong.
This was one Hua Jian definitely couldn’t decline, and she had already agreed to it.
“Don’t even mention yourself; I have one too. What is this ‘Genius Gathering’ thing?” Shiqi held an invitation in her hand, delivered a few days ago by a genius ranked on the Genius List.
It said the ten geniuses on the list should meet up and deepen their understanding of each other.
This would have been fine before, but now… Shiqi didn’t dare imagine how awkward the gathering would be.
The conflict between Ji Caiyue and her fiancé was explosive enough. Meanwhile, the Justice Swordsman had conflicts with other geniuses too.
This gathering might turn into a massive scene of sarcasm and group brawling.
To say something that might sound a bit funny, among the current Top Ten Geniuses, Shiqi was probably the most well-liked by the others.
She only fought and didn’t do anything else. Whether she won or lost, her attitude remained the same.
She didn’t hold grudges or mock others. Who wouldn’t like an opponent like that?
Furthermore, her destination was very clear. A Cultivator of her type only had one place to go, and that was the Jian Sect.
She had no competitive relationship with the other geniuses.
“Just endure it. I recommend you go check it out. A free meal is a free meal. If they start being sarcastic, just focus on stuffing your face,” Hua Jian began giving Shiqi bad ideas.
“You can even get first-hand gossip to sell to the people following these geniuses. Think of the profit! Wouldn’t it be great to buy yourself more Alchemy Pills?”
“I feel like you’re tricking me. What about you? Do you want to come with me?” Shiqi curled her lip but still accepted Hua Jian’s suggestion.
Hua Jian shook her head decisively; she already had a date tonight.
Inducing Shiqi to attend the Outer City gathering was also a way to make some small preparations for tonight.
“I’m going to have dinner with Linglong. I can’t go with you.”
“Huh?” Shiqi’s eyes widened. ‘So you two already made plans behind my back?’
Facing Shiqi’s hurt little gaze, Hua Jian looked away guiltily. She couldn’t be blamed for this.
When Linglong invited her, she emphasized it would be just the two of them.
Obviously, she didn’t want Shiqi to butt in as a third wheel. So, wouldn’t she have to find a way to get Shiqi out of the way first?
“The situation is special this time. Please understand.” Hua Jian put her hands together and apologized with a sincere face.
The relationship between her and Linglong was currently a bit subtle.
She had been living off Linglong and eating Linglong’s food, yet her heart was set on another Sect.
This gave Hua Jian a subtle sense of guilt when facing Linglong’s requests.
She could be shameless toward strangers, but she found it hard to be shameless toward Linglong.
She couldn’t refuse certain small matters within her power, like bringing something or helping with a minor task. If Linglong asked, she would do it.
The dinner for two this time was naturally the same.
Shiqi sighed. She was just saying it; she didn’t really want to be a third wheel.
She could see the subtle relationship between Linglong and Hua Jian and knew she couldn’t step in.
Since that was the case, she would listen to Hua Jian and go to the Outer City to gather gossip.
“As for these invitations, I should write replies to decline them…” Hua Jian looked at the invitations from the Wanling Sect again and finally decided to turn them down.
Even though they were events for the following two days, her desire to participate wasn’t strong.
To be honest, there was a part of Hua Jian’s personality that was a bit of a homebody.
Unless absolutely necessary, her preference was always to stay home and live her life quietly.
Her ‘social butterfly’ persona was just on the surface; the real Hua Jian didn’t actually like socializing at all.
Besides… half of her social ability came from her cute face. Her mouth actually had a negative effect.
Having arranged her schedule for the next few days, Hua Jian sat waiting for Linglong to return while mulling over the wording for her rejection letters.
While waiting, just as she finished the first reply to Luo Yingying, Linglong pushed open the door to the Cultivation Chamber and walked in.
Today, Linglong had once again returned to her Little Dragon Girl appearance.
She wore the ceremonial uniform of a Jade Pool Direct Disciple, looking like a fairy from the heavens.
“So beautiful!” Shiqi cried out in surprise.
Linglong had left very early today. By the time Shiqi woke from her cultivation, Linglong was already gone.
This was the first time she saw Linglong in this state.
The same was true for Hua Jian. While Shiqi could still exclaim, she was completely stunned into silence.
Hua Jian admitted she wasn’t a very noble person. In many ways, she could be considered a fan of beauty.
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