I am the Senior Sister (2)
Lin Qianshuang watched the male protagonist on the screen, being mercilessly beaten by Han Shengyao. His face was a mess of bruises, and he was being castrated, his cries echoing like a slaughtered pig. Finally, he was thrown, bloodied and broken, into the wilds of the human cultivation world. She compared this scene to the original text, specifically the chapter she’d fast-forwarded through, remembering Liang Jingxuan’s smug dialogue. A sense of satisfaction washed over her.
“Karma,” she thought. “If he can’t be punished in this life, he will be in the next. He deserves to pay for his actions.”
Lin Qianshuang knew, however, that Liang Jingxuan, the destined Son of Destiny, wouldn’t die so easily. He was surrounded by threads of fortune and opportunity, favored by Heaven itself. The entire world revolved around him.
If he disappeared, the world in the book might collapse. To truly eradicate him, she would need to strip him of his status as a Favoured One, challenge Heaven’s unfair favoritism, and realign the world’s fate.
Lin Qianshuang stared at the screen. Han Shengyao stood atop the Jiuchong Demon Palace, overlooking the Demon Realm. All the demons bowed before her.
Her comment had come true. The proud woman had finally obtained everything she deserved, becoming free and unbridled once more.
A faint smile played on Lin Qianshuang’s lips. The successful rescue of the first character proved that even the Heavenly Dao wasn’t perfect. As long as one went beyond its judgment and analysis, and displayed a reasonable and gradual character transformation, the Heavenly Dao wouldn’t arbitrarily erase them.
She, however, was a failure. Her eagerness for quick advancement in cultivation had likely caught the Heavenly Dao’s attention, explaining the terrifying rain of thunderbolts she’d faced during her mere Demon Infant stage, a tribulation normally reserved for ascension.
Lin Qianshuang pondered this, unaware that Han Shengyao’s phoenix eyes, withdrawing from the defeated demons on the ground, landed directly on her, a flicker of emotion passing through them, as if sensing her gaze through the screen.
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Back in her bamboo hut, Lin Qianshuang felt a parched throat. She lifted the teapot on the table, only to find it empty.
She remembered seeing a clear spring hidden behind the dense forest on the Hanlan Peak while riding with Fairy Jinghua. It should be clean enough for water.
Picking up the wooden bucket from the corner, Lin Qianshuang opened the door.
Fairy Jinghua, just about to enter, saw the bucket in her hand. “Senior disciple, are you going out?” she asked.
“Ma-Master, I’m thirsty and want to get some water.”
Lin Qianshuang struggled to call Fairy Jinghua “Master.” The title brought Han Shengyao to mind, making her feel uneasy.
Fairy Jinghua pulled a jade from her sleeve and hung it around Lin Qianshuang’s neck with a red cord. “My wife has been worried about you, afraid you’d reveal your demonic cultivator identity in the human cultivation world. This is the Spirit Transformation Jade she asked me to give to you. As long as you wear it, your demonic energy will appear as true energy to others. Only cultivators above Nascent Soul level will be able to sense it. You don’t need to worry anymore.”
Lin Qianshuang touched the jade. Filtered by the Spirit Transformation Jade, her demonic energy truly did appear as pure, clean true energy, the dark purple aura gone.
This jade must be incredibly expensive. Du Shuang was a true friend.
With the Spirit Transformation Jade, hiding her demonic energy would be much easier. She wouldn’t have to constantly worry about accidentally revealing it.
Lin Qianshuang happily tucked the jade into her clothes and smiled at Fairy Jinghua. “Master, please thank your wife for me. She’s very thoughtful.”
Fairy Jinghua observed Lin Qianshuang’s broad smile, then gently lifted her chin with her fingers.
The force was so strong, Lin Qianshuang feared her jaw might dislocate.
Fairy Jinghua withdrew her hand and reminded, “Remember, you are the eldest daughter of the Lin family, a prominent cultivator family in the Dongling Realm. Even if you’ve forgotten your memories, your every word and action represents the Lin family. As a lady from a prestigious cultivator family, you should smile without showing your teeth and maintain a dignified and generous demeanor.”
Lin Qianshuang listened to Fairy Jinghua’s words and felt hesitant to say, “But I’ve almost forgotten my past memories. I don’t know anything about the Dongling Realm or the Lin family.”
Her behavior and mannerisms were bound to be different from the original owner, and she had also been wandering in the demon realm for a period of time. Fairy Jinghua was the master of Senior Sister Bai Yueguang, and with the time they spent together, it was normal that she should be a bit suspicious of her now.
Lin Qianshuang hesitated for a moment, then nervously glanced at Fairy Jinghua and said, “Well, Master, don’t you doubt that I am simply possessing this body?”
Fairy Jinghua looked at Lin Qianshuang for a few seconds and chuckled, saying, “If you were truly taken away, you wouldn’t be able to enter the Penglai Immortal Sect. After each disciple enters the Immortal Sect, they leave a mark on the stone gate with their divine souls. If you weren’t a disciple of our sect, you would never be able to enter the entrance.”
Listening to Fairy Jinghua’s explanation, Lin Qianshuang felt her intelligence had declined again. How could the system make her an unreasonable setting? She was too foolish to ask this question.
Seeing Lin Qianshuang’s ever-changing expression, Fairy Jinghua sighed and said somewhat strangely, “I don’t know what method you used, Senior Disciple. My wife has always been stingy, yet she is willing to help you like this.”
Lin Qianshuang pondered for a moment, then decided that she must have made a good first impression on everyone. She recalled their first meeting with Du Shuang, who had almost fallen for her, and a twitch played across her lips as she said to Fairy Jinghua, “Maybe I just have a good eye for people?”
Fairy Jinghua, ever perceptive, sensed the undercurrent in Lin Qianshuang’s words and expression. A suspicion began to form in her mind – could her eldest disciple have a secret connection with her wife?
Fairy Jinghua knew all too well about her disciple’s less-than-stellar reputation in the Demon Realm. The gossip in Tianshu City claimed that Lin Qianshuang had married two Demon Emperors in a single day, throwing the entire Demon Cultivation World into chaos. The Demon Realm was still reeling from the aftermath.
Fairy Jinghua grabbed Lin Qianshuang’s ear, her tone stern. “You are my direct disciple, and I don’t care about your past actions. From the moment you entered the Penglai Immortal Sect, you are my disciple. You must be strict with yourself and abandon any bad habits you may have learned from the Demon Cultivators.”
Fairy Jinghua placed three thick volumes of classics on the table, picking them up one by one and introducing them to Lin Qianshuang. “You must read and master the ‘History of the Four Worlds of Cultivation,’ ‘The Way of the Immortal Sect,’ and ‘The Rules of the Penglai Immortal Sect’ within half a month. I will personally check your progress. If you fail, you will be confined to your cave until you have memorized them.”
“Half a month? Such thick books!”
Lin Qianshuang stared at the towering stack of books, a bitter expression on her face. It felt like she was back in high school, facing the daunting pressure of the college entrance exams.
Fairy Jinghua tossed the wooden bucket Lin Qianshuang was holding to the ground and handed her a high-grade spirit sword that was still unclaimed.
Lin Qianshuang took the sword and asked, “Master, why are you suddenly giving me this sword?”
Fairy Jinghua opened the “Penglai Immortal Sect Rules,” pointed to a page, and explained, “The ranks of Penglai Immortal Sect disciples are determined by the sect competition held every two months, and the benefits associated with each rank vary. After you disappeared, Liang Jingxuan became the top disciple in the recent competition and the senior brother of the entire sect. However, now that you’ve returned, you are still the senior sister. You don’t need to do these physical tasks. Just go directly to the Luoyun Pavilion to register and receive your identity jade slip.”
The bi-monthly competition requires using only the sect’s mental sword techniques.
Lin Qianshuang had only mastered the fourth level of the Floating Sword Technique. How could she possibly compete with those disciples who had been practicing the sect’s swordsmanship since childhood?
She stared at the thick stack of books on the table with a look of despair, not even bothering to send Fairy Jinghua off when she left.
What kind of cultivation sect was this? The bi-monthly competition was like a monthly exam, with rankings based on performance. Penglai Immortal Sect should be renamed Penglai Cultivation School.
Lin Qianshuang rubbed her forehead. This righteous path sect was incredibly troublesome. It was much easier to be a carefree demon cultivator.
Her stomach growled, signaling that she was hungry, and her throat felt dry and itchy.
Lin Qianshuang planned to follow Fairy Jinghua’s instructions and go to Luoyun Pavilion to register, get her identity jade slip, and then enjoy a good meal using her status as the sect’s senior disciple.
She touched her empty stomach and thin arms, feeling a pang of self-pity at her sickly thinness. Now that she was safe and comfortable, she needed to focus on taking care of her body.
A flock of geese, their wings cutting through the brilliant clouds, landed briefly on the golden-hued rooftops before taking flight again. In the sect square, little sparrows hopped down from the pine branches, leaving a trail of watermarks on the crane sculptures flanking the steps as they stepped in the puddles on the bluestone.
The ancient bell in the pavilion outside the Penglai Immortal Palace tolled three times, its resonant sound echoing through the towering jade buildings that adorned the majestic Immortal Mountain. A group of disciples, returning from their trials down the mountain, rode their swords back to the sect.
This was Lin Qianshuang’s first time flying on a sword. Unlike using demonic energy to fly, which was effortless, sword-flying required specific sword techniques to control the flight path, a task she found quite troublesome.
She simply placed the sword at her feet and used her demonic energy to fly, avoiding the need to memorize the sword techniques.
But she had a problem.
Lin Qianshuang spun around in the sky, a confused expression on her face as she looked out at the vast expanse of the sect.
“Where is Luoyun Pavilion?” she wondered, her gaze sweeping across the sprawling sect.
“Look, isn’t that Senior Sister? She’s back!”
The sect disciples, fresh from their trials, spotted Lin Qianshuang effortlessly spinning in the sky, their jaws dropping in astonishment.
“Senior Sister’s swordsmanship is truly remarkable. Even the sect’s top swordsmanship disciple couldn’t handle a sword like that.”
“Chen Shangqing boasts about his swordsmanship, but I’d like to see him witness Senior Sister Lin’s skills. That’s what true mastery looks like.”
“She truly deserves her title as the champion of the sect competition.”
Zheng Mingxia, surrounded by his fellow disciples, pointed towards Lin Qianshuang, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “Yan’er, look, it’s Senior Sister. You two were always so close, weren’t you?”
The delicate woman beside Zheng Mingxia, her face turning pale, whispered in disbelief, “Senior Sister… she’s alive?”
Zheng Yan saw Lin Qianshuang standing before her, unharmed, and her body trembled with fear. How could Senior Sister Lin still be alive? It was impossible. Trapped in the killing array set by the three real people, her soul should have been scattered and vanished. Even if she were lucky, she could only re-enter the six realms of reincarnation; how could she be resurrected?
Lin Qianshuang was surrounded by a group of cultivators who had suddenly appeared, but she wasn’t surprised. She had sensed their presence from a hundred miles away and could hear their conversations clearly.
Zheng Mingxia flew his sword to Lin Qianshuang’s side and said, “Cousin! Why are you wandering around here? Where’s Senior Brother Liang? Didn’t he say he was looking for you? Now that you’ve been found, isn’t he with you?”
“Senior Brother Liang is still in the Demon Realm, but he will be back soon.”
Lin Qianshuang quickly explained Liang Jingxuan’s whereabouts and, feeling a bit embarrassed, said to Zheng Mingxia, “Where is Luoyun Pavilion? It’s been a long time since I returned to Penglai Immortal Sect, and I can’t find my way.”
Zheng Mingxia said to Zheng Yan beside him, “Sister Yan, you and your cousin used to live together, and you two are familiar. Why don’t you take your cousin there?”
Zheng Yan looked at Lin Qianshuang, puzzled. How could Senior Sister Lin, who had been sent to Penglai Immortal Sect since she was seven years old, not recognize her way?
Zheng Mingxia whispered to Zheng Yan, “My cousin encountered many things in the Demon Realm and was deeply affected. She has lost all her memories. You grew up with her from a young age and talked to her more about the past. Maybe she will remember them after talking with you.”