Chapter 23: Desire

Master???

Chi Xiaoyuan, the gang leader, and the little gangsters all felt like they were hallucinating.

If this were a comic book world, their jaws would’ve hit the floor by now, with their eyeballs popping out like two round white columns.

“Master, what’s going on with you?” The gang leader hurried forward to help up Master Lu, trying to pull him away from my feet. “Are you tired or something? Look closely, she’s just a kid!”

“Kneel! Useless brat! From today on, she’s your grandmaster! Show some respect!”

Master Lu slammed his fist into the back of the gang leader’s knee, forcing him to kneel before me.

“And you two! You disgraceful disciples! Kneel down and apologize now!”

With a furious glare from Master Lu, the two little gangsters reluctantly dropped to their knees.

“Master, when did we get a grandmaster? The Spirit Awakening only happened seventeen years ago. All your forging techniques are self-taught… Are you confused?” the gang leader wailed in frustration. “Does she even deserve it?”

“Deserve it? You fool! Do you know how many people would kill to become her disciple? Even if you want to call her grandmaster, it depends on whether she’s willing!” Master Lu smacked the gang leader on the head. “Hurry up and kowtow to apologize! If she refuses to take you in because of your rudeness, we’ll be done for! I’ll kick you out of the sect right now!”

Is it really that serious?!

The gang leader was completely dumbfounded.

What the hell is going on? Why? How?

Has Master lost his mind?

Master Lu pressed his forehead to the top of my foot and used one hand to push the gang leader’s head down too.

Bang bang bang — he forced him to kowtow three times to the ground.

“It’s my failure as a teacher. This brat offended you, Master. Please… punish him as you see fit.”

This old guy could change faces faster than a Peking opera performer.

He was really going all out just to get me to take him as a disciple.

But I shook my head gently.

“You don’t have to keep calling me ‘Master.’”

“Master?” All the color drained from Master Lu’s face.

“You’re not worthy to be my disciple.”

“……”

“You skim materials from your clients, hoard supplies. And to boost business, you tried to make Xinyue develop a habit of spending recklessly…”

“Master! I’ve been wronged! You don’t understand how much it costs to research and refine techniques! If I didn’t skim a little, how would I afford the experiments? But if you disapprove, I’ll stop, I’ll change, I swear!”

“No, I’m not blaming you for your professional ethics.” I shook my head.

After all I’ve been through in the cultivation world, I’ve seen far worse.

Master Lu’s actually got a conscience, relatively speaking.

The truth is, ninety-nine percent of artificers skim materials, and Master Lu only takes half — most of them take seventy percent minimum, some even up to ninety.

There’s just no helping it.

When you have skills, you can be picky. Even if clients know they’re getting skimmed, they still line up for miles.

Top-tier artificers are rare, and their time is limited — many customers are already queued centuries in advance.

“I won’t take you in because your mind is too cluttered.”

I sat on the cardboard box, my heels thumping lightly against it.

“Cluttered?”

“Your thoughts are all over the place. And my forging technique is risky — it requires full concentration. You won’t be able to learn it, and it’ll only ruin you.”

Of course, that was just an excuse.

The real reason?

What I practice isn’t ordinary forging. It’s the ‘Great Derivation Forging Art’ — it can only be used by cultivators with spiritual essence.

Master Lu isn’t a cultivator.

And I have no intention of teaching him how to become one.

The fewer cultivators there are on Earth, the better.

I don’t want the world turning into a blood-soaked mess like the cultivation realm.

Besides…

This guy was acting all smug earlier, saying he wanted to teach me how to forge! He was ready to give me a lecture!

Totally not the main reason tho 0v0!

“Master, I understand.” Master Lu sighed deeply. “But I won’t give up. I’ll return all the skimped materials with extra, and personally visit every client to apologize… Also, I’ll expel these useless disciples.”

A prodigal man turning back — not bad.

“I hope you stick to your word… Oh, and one more thing.”

My gaze shifted to the gang leader.

“Who sent you here?”

“It was my cousin! Lu Ming! He said the school’s about to organize a field trip, and there’s a special reward for the top five in the monthly exam. He recently dropped to sixth place, so he wanted me to take out one of the high-scoring girls who’s been in the spotlight lately…”

The gang leader was already mentally crushed, so he quickly threw his cousin under the bus.

“…All that just for this?”

I patted the box next to me. “See? Someone’s jealous of you. Be confident — you’re amazing!”

Just as I finished speaking, something unexpected happened.

The box suddenly lifted up, and tough, powerful tendrils burst out from within, wrapping tightly around my arms and legs in an instant.

“Ah—!”

I was completely bound and swallowed whole into the world inside the box.

“You… you… what are you doing again?”

Feeling the tight pressure binding my body, I panicked and tried to struggle.

But… I couldn’t move! This force was completely overpowering!

In the darkness, Cluru raised her tiny fists.

I had no idea what kind of tantrum she was throwing, so I nervously closed my eyes.

The fists came down.

Came down.

Bang bang bang—

Huh? She’s not hitting me?

Cluru was mimicking me, knocking on the surface of the cardboard box.

In this cramped space, the sound was deafening.

Bang bang bang—

Then she tapped it with her heel, making the same loud sound.

She looked at me with full-blown resentment and said:

“You were knocking the whole time just now.”

“…”

“Stop knocking. My head’s still ringing.”

……

Every debt has a debtor.

After sending Master Lu and his crew on their way, Teacher Xiao Yuan went off to deal with the one who started it all.

Hiring people from outside school to bully a classmate—definitely grounds for a serious disciplinary record.

Cluru and I didn’t follow her.

We went back to Teacher Xiao Yuan’s room to enjoy a relaxing afternoon after exams.

How should you spend a half-day break after exams?

Isn’t it obvious? Game till you drop!

Cheering, I dove onto the bed, hugged the pillow, rested my chin on it, and reached my arms out from under either side to hold up my phone.

Feet kicked up~

Perfect~

“Let me see what fun new stuff has come out these years… Heh…”

I was so immersed in my phone screen, I didn’t notice Cluru’s strange behavior beside me.

……

Not far away, Cluru sat quietly on the bed, her eyes never leaving the girl in front of her.

Me? Excellent? Be more confident?

She couldn’t imagine anyone saying something like that to her.

Ever since she was born, those words had never had anything to do with her.

This was the first time Cluru had ever heard someone say that—say it to her.

“She said… be more confident?”

Cluru closed her eyes, trying to imagine what it would be like if she did become confident—if she truly set herself free.

Just a tiny bit of that imagination was enough to stir her tendrils into motion.

They began twitching, writhing, flailing with growing intensity.

That was a reflection of her deepest self—what she had been suppressing, the raw desire she hadn’t dared to act on for days!

And in the end—

All of those desires pointed to one single goal.