Chapter 30
Lou Yuqing closed the system panel.
Unseen by her, a line of text flickered quietly across the panel:
…Huh?
A faint chill crawled up her spine, as if unseen eyes had suddenly fixed on her. She turned instinctively—only to find nothing there.
…Was she imagining it?
Frowning slightly, Lou Yuqing looked back toward the sky.
At the same time, the surrounding disciples were doing their best not to look at her—and failing miserably.
One by one, they stole glances like guilty thieves, eyes flickering with barely concealed curiosity.
The moment she spoke earlier, they had realized it.
That strange, omniscient voice… belonged to her.
Predicting the future. Exposing secrets down to the bone—Qi Luofeng hadn’t even had time to lie before everything was laid bare.
And the most frustrating part?
They couldn’t say a word about it out loud. Whatever strange force bound them kept their lips sealed. All they could do was whisper among themselves like conspirators sharing stolen secrets.
The plaza buzzed with suppressed excitement.
Si Nidie slipped right into the chaos, adding fuel to the fire every now and then. She had been one of the first to hear Lou Yuqing’s thoughts, and after holding it in for so long, she clearly had no intention of staying quiet now that she had an audience.
The entire square slipped into a strange rhythm—half solemn ceremony, half underground gossip exchange—as time quietly passed.
“He’s here,” someone suddenly said.
Under Elder Xu’s control, the light screen shifted, revealing the end of the Heavenly Ladder.
At the forefront, the white-robed youth had already reached the 990th step—an astonishing 266 steps ahead of second place.
Si Nanren let out a quiet breath. “He’s no ordinary person.”
There was a hint of something rare in his voice—something like defeat.
Si Nidie blinked at him, surprised. “He’s definitely faster than we were back then. At this pace, we’d still be struggling around the seven-hundredth step.”
Though the youth clearly had cultivation, it made no difference here. The Heavenly Ladder sealed all cultivation upon entry—pure endurance and willpower decided everything.
Lou Yuqing had never climbed it herself, but even she could tell—this speed was absurd.
With one final stride, the white-robed youth stepped over the last stair.
Light flared at the summit, swallowing him whole. In the next instant, he reappeared in the Wendao Sect’s plaza.
Every gaze turned toward him.
He smiled openly, at ease under the attention, as if stepping into a crowd of strangers was the most natural thing in the world.
The surrounding disciples returned polite smiles. Barring any mishaps, this person would soon be one of them.
The Wendao Sect really is just as Haozi described, he thought. Friendly, strong… capable of handling anything.
Then his gaze stilled.
“…?”
Something in the crowd caught his eye.
A rectangular wooden sign was being held high—and on it… was an owl.
Round head. Big eyes. Fluffy feathers.
Adorably drawn.
…But why?
Before he could make sense of it, a head suddenly popped out from behind the sign. A girl blinked up at him, eyes bright and expectant.
“Is it you?”
Lou Yuqing stared at him, recalling Hao Tianping’s exact instructions—find the most eye-catching one.
Well.
First place definitely counted.
Just to be safe, she had even written his name on the sign, in case he didn’t recognize himself.
The boy in white hesitated. He was just about to say she had the wrong person—when his eyes caught the small characters tucked into the corner of the sign.
“….”
…So the owl was supposed to be him?
He glanced back at the chubby, wide-eyed drawing, his expression turning faintly complicated, before answering with careful restraint, “Probably. Unless someone else shares my name.”
“Then it’s you.” Lou Yuqing’s face lit up. She pushed through the crowd and stuffed the sign into his hands, delighted. “That was fast.”
Ling Yunxiao stared blankly at the sign for a moment, then quietly stored it away. “Thank you.”
“No need.” Lou Yuqing waved it off, already slipping into a faintly bossy tone. “Senior Brother Hao asked me to take care of you. Just follow my lead from now on, alright?”
Ling Yunxiao nodded. “I know. Haozi—”
He paused, correcting himself immediately. “Hao Tianping… why didn’t he come?”
…Haozi?
Lou Yuqing’s expression twitched.
Great. From now on, she was never going to hear “Senior Brother Hao” the same way again.
Somewhere far away, Hao Tianping sneezed violently.
“Senior Brother Hao is currently… serving his sentence in the Enforcement Hall,” Lou Yuqing said. “He’ll be out in about a year. If you want to visit him, I can take you later—but not for long.”
Ling Yunxiao froze. “…Huh?”
A second later, realization dawned.
No wonder Haozi had been so vague in his letters.
Afraid of embarrassment, huh?
Too bad—it was just delayed, not avoided.
Suppressing a laugh, Ling Yunxiao nodded solemnly. “It’s been a while. I do miss him. I’ll trouble you, then.”
“Leave it to me.” Lou Yuqing grinned.
For some reason, just looking at her made his mood lighten.
Then—a clear voice echoed in his ears.
[Wow. So Ling Yunxiao’s nickname really is Owl. I guessed right.]
“…?”
A row of invisible question marks seemed to pop up above his head. He glanced sideways at Lou Yuqing—her lips hadn’t moved.
[Hao is a mouse, Ling Yunxiao is an owl… yeah, that checks out. Predator-prey relationship. Brutal.]
Ling Yunxiao: “…”
…The logic was disturbingly sound.
Around them, the disciples abruptly developed a keen interest in anything but the two of them—eyes drifting, expressions casual—ears, however, might as well have stretched three feet long.
Completely obvious. Shameless, even.
Lou Yuqing, oblivious, flipped open the system panel again.
[No wonder he ran so fast. Shadow Spirit Root—rare mutation. Using his shadow to offset the Heavenly Ladder’s suppression.]
Ling Yunxiao stiffened—then slowly relaxed.
Right. Haozi must’ve told her. That guy’s mouth really was a sieve.
Somewhere far away—
Hao Tianping: Achoo!
The surrounding disciples, meanwhile, had already moved on from curiosity to open envy.
A mutated spirit root—second only to Heavenly Spirit Roots in cultivation speed.
If nurtured properly, his future was limitless.
High above, Sect Leader Qingxuzi and the others were equally pleased, already discussing arrangements.
But Lou Yuqing’s next thought froze the atmosphere solid.
[Logically speaking… which sect would willingly let someone like Ling Yunxiao go?]
[Are they insane?]
The disciples blinked.
…Wait.
Yeah.
Why would they?
Ling Yunxiao’s heart tightened.
Please don’t let Haozi have told her everything…
Then—
[Oh. Found it.]
[Holy—where did this walking calamity come from?!]
[Is our sect about to go bankrupt too?!]
The entire plaza fell into dead silence.
[Ten sects wiped out in five years. Average: two per year.]
[None lasted more than six months after taking him in. Either high-level battles drained them dry… or beast tides finished the job.]
[Six-month survival challenge… Wendao Sect edition?]
Everyone: !!!
Even Sect Leader Qingxuzi went still.
Fragments of memory surfaced—fallen sects, vanished forces, unexplained collapses…
A cold weight settled in his chest.
“...Sect Leader,” Elder Wei Tu asked carefully, “are we… still recruiting?”
“…”
For the first time in years, Qingxuzi felt his scalp tingle.
Down below, Ling Yunxiao stood rigid, his face faintly pale.
He finally believed it.
Haozi hadn’t betrayed him.
Because this girl—didn’t need anyone to tell her anything.
She just… knew.
[Huh? Why did it suddenly get so quiet?]
Lou Yuqing glanced around, puzzled.
Around her, strained smiles appeared one after another—
We’re calculating how long we have left to live.
…Completely normal. Totally fine.
Not panicking at all.
Shrugging it off, Lou Yuqing closed the panel again.
The system quietly updated:
Bored, she casually clicked on the next target—and immediately burst out laughing.
[What an absolutely catastrophic social death… while he was in the outhouse, it collapsed—and just like that, his pale, bare butt was revealed to the world.]
[From that day on… everyone started calling him “Perky Butt Guy.”]
The victim froze, a question mark practically hanging over his head.
The surrounding disciples held it in—for exactly one second.
Then—
“Pfft—”
Someone lost the battle.
And just like that, the laughter started.
One by one, gazes began to drift—some openly, some trying (and failing) to be subtle—toward the victim.
Or more precisely… toward his butt.
Was it really that perky?
It took less than a second to confirm.
Yes. It really was.
The victim’s entire body stiffened, his face burning as what little dignity he had left crumbled under those gazes.
…Are you all sick in the head?!
Lou Yuqing, however, had already shifted her attention to the loudest laugh in the crowd.
[What are you laughing at? You’re not exactly lacking in material either. You ran off into the mountains and somehow ended up under a wild boar spirit—and while its drool was practically dripping onto your face, you were still standing there smiling and chatting like nothing was wrong.]
[Tell me—what’s it like being reserve food?]
Everyone: Holy crap!
Victim Number Two’s smile vanished instantly.
Then—
[Luckily, he managed to kill that wild boar spirit in the end… even turned it into a snack to go with drinks. Slurp~ it looks pretty good.]
Lou Yuqing swallowed.
…That actually looked pretty good.
Victim Number Two stiffened under the sudden silence, then, after a brief hesitation, leaned slightly toward the people nearest to him and muttered under his breath, “…It’s actually pretty good.”
The surrounding disciples: “…”
A few of them slowly raised their thumbs.
…Respect.
Watching this unfold, Gu Buqi fell briefly into thought.
Looks like I’ll need to prepare more demon beast meat tomorrow…
Not worried she won’t eat—just worried there won’t be enough.
As laughter and gossip spiraled across the plaza, the looming “ten-sect destroyer” crisis was quietly shoved aside—replaced by far more immediate entertainment.
Ling Yunxiao let out a slow breath, tension easing from his shoulders.
Good.
Time to disappear.
He shifted subtly, edging toward the outer crowd—and stopped.
A light tug stopped him.
He turned.
Lou Yuqing stood there, smiling at him, bright and unguarded.
“Don’t wander off,” she said casually. “Stay here. I need to be able to find you later.”
Ling Yunxiao paused for a moment, then nodded.
“…Alright.”
Satisfied, she released his sleeve.
Honestly, she wasn’t too concerned. A so-called “sect-destroying buff”? It sounded dramatic—more like a string of unfortunate coincidences than anything real.
…Probably.
What she didn’t know—beyond the system’s reach, in a future still unwritten—was that the Wendao Sect would follow the same path as those that had fallen before it.