CH 7.1

◎ classroom seating, homework tips ◎

the spirit gathering symbol was sold for 1,200 spirit stones, with only an initial payment of 600 received.

before going to sleep, lin shuang sent a message to the generous fellow reminding him to inspect the goods.

“discussion on the fastest cultivation” miscellaneous tasks section: small matters are best completed at the earliest thought to avoid the additional time and loss caused by memory, forgetfulness, and repeated misses.

however, the message she sent seemed to vanish into thin air, receiving no reply.

“asleep?”

lin shuang frowned helplessly, and could only ask little ai to set a reminder alarm for tomorrow.

unaware, as she slid under her blanket, that a bloody battle was unfolding five hundred miles from clearwater sect’s mountain gate.

“haha, neither of you assassins made it into the top thousand ranks, right?”

“only at the third or fourth layer of qi refinement, and you dare to ambush me!”

a ferocious cultivator wielding twin hammers laughed heartily under the moonlight.

the two copper hammers, each weighing a thousand jin, infused with the qi of the sixth layer of qi refinement, were completely unmatched by the two small assassins before him.

with a single swing, he sent one of the shadow elimination pavilion assassins crashing into a ten-meter-deep pit!

the other one had already dropped his heavy sword.

“surrendering and disarming? hmph, you know what’s good for you!” the fierce cultivator laughed uproariously.

yet, the disheveled man who discarded his sword didn’t retreat. instead, he stepped forward.

“no,” his chest oozed blood, staining his rumpled clothes, “it’s not over yet.”

zhao ming struggled to climb out of the pit he had fallen into, propping himself up with a longsword.

“brother, i’m afraid we’re no match for him.”

“give up—”

where there’s life, there’s hope.

however, he heard the untidy-dressed man muttering something under his breath.

(note: the original text includes a lot of specialized terminology related to the story’s cultivation world, which might be challenging to translate directly. i’ve tried to provide explanations where possible to help convey the meaning in english. if you have any further questions about specific terms, feel free to ask.)

“if you give up, you’ll have thirty-six spirit stones for your journey—enough for three meat buns. but that’s a total loss.”

“if you kill the opponent, you’ll receive a reward of five thousand spirit stones. if you leave the opponent with just one arm, you’ll get two thousand spirit stones.”

“even in death, there’s no escape!”

“we can only try… that, uh, half-finished talisman purchased with a hefty sum…”

upon hearing this, zhao ming was momentarily taken aback.

looking up, he saw the man step over the spirit sword he had discarded, seeming unafraid of life or death.

what kind of talisman was so formidable?

as he pondered, he heard the man speak again.

“brother, would you like to use this third-level talisman with me? we can share the cost of the talisman afterward.”

clutching his broken ribcage, zhao ming nodded, enduring the pain.

otherwise, they’d have a tough time surviving.

if he returned tomorrow morning, he could still coax his junior apprentice, xiao qi, saying that he went down the mountain to the town to buy roasted chicken.

“great!” meng zi readily agreed.

facing the incoming whirlwind of a raised iron hammer, he reached into his mustard-seed bag.

he pulled out a remarkable, specially-crafted square pear wood table from the bag—

“???”

zhao ming opened his mouth in astonishment.

the ferocious cultivator’s hammer came to a halt.

“what’s this, hahaha!”

“get on it!”

meng zi, still with disheveled attire and mask, swiftly lifted zhao ming and jumped onto the table.

zhao ming clearly saw, beneath the two slightly misaligned masks on meng zi’s face, a hint of insecurity, uncertainty, and doubt in his captivating peach-blossom eyes.

zhao ming’s heart skipped a beat.

but soon, the surrounding spiritual energy rushed madly toward the table, flowing into his body through the soles of his feet.

zhao ming: “!”

‘brother, i saw it with my own eyes. her brushwork was forceful enough to penetrate the paper, and her cinnabar ink entered the table.’

‘thus, forming the second level of the third-level talisman!’

into… the table…

table…

zhao ming: “…”

it’s true!

in an instant, the two assassins, rich in spiritual energy, collided with the malevolent cultivator who was losing spiritual energy.

the situation reversed!

“brother, aim for the hand wearing the mustard-seed bag ring.”

“got it. are you a disciple of clearwater sect?”

“?! how did you… don’t talk nonsense, i’m from mountain-sea sect!”

“…”

zhao ming looked at the third-level talisman wooden table under his feet and fell into silence.

he forcefully swallowed his questions about whether he had seen his junior apprentice xiao qi and whether he was the person who could simultaneously draw multiple talismans.

(note: in this section, there are terms related to the story’s cultivation world. i’ve tried to provide explanations where possible to help convey the meaning in english. if you have any further questions about specific terms, feel free to ask.)

clearwater sect, outer sect transmission hall.

master of transmission, li daowei, was currently reviewing the talisman assignments submitted by the disciples.

each disciple sat cross-legged on a cushion; with a first-tier transmission talisman they had drawn laid out in front of them.

li daowei, dressed in a robe of myriad colors, held a whisk in his hand. he formed hand seals and floated swiftly from the first row to the last.

“zhao keran, grade a.”

“zhou xuanwu, grade a.”

…

“lin shuang, grade b.”

…

“lu bing, grade c.”

lin shuang sat cross-legged in the last row of the quiet room, in the position closest to the entrance threshold—quick entry and exit, a time-saving spot.

upon hearing the results, she quickly counted on her fingers, revealing a satisfied smile.

c class, just right, squeezing into the last position of the bottom 49% of the class.

“chen xu, lu bing… are you practicing ghostly talismans? stay after class and copy the introductory essence of talisman inscriptions ten times!”

lin shuang looked up and heard master li daowei’s dissatisfaction with the c-level disciples.

“junior sister zhao, brother zhou, can i take a look at your grade-a talismans?”

“could you please enlighten me on how to create a grade-a talisman, junior sister zhao?”

looking ahead, she saw zhao keran, the head of the a-level assessment disciples, surrounded by other disciples, making it impossible for her to leave for even a short while.

there was no chance of leaving before the incense burned out.

lin shuang was immediately filled with a slight sense of relief.

in the middle ranks.

it was neither too bad to be reprimanded by the master nor too exceptional to be blocked by fellow disciples.

perfect.

lin shuang smoothly rose from her cushion, silently leaving the quiet room of the training hall.

as she turned and stepped over the threshold, she caught a glimpse of the gratified look and the faint nod of approval from master li daowei’s aged eyes as they landed on her.

lin shuang quickly turned back and responded with a respectful and humble smile.

thanks to her precise actions, she had moved up one spot in the ranking for this round of talisman drawing.

every little improvement counted.

in the teacher’s eyes, that made her a good disciple.

[today’s diary:

1. classroom results: passed the sound transmission talisman exam.

2. personal achievement: improved talisman ranking by one position for the third consecutive time.

3. interpersonal relations: earned the favor of master chen.]

killing three birds with one stone.

she truly deserved the accolade!

with the least effort, she achieved success from all angles.

lin shuang left contentedly.

…

departing from the transmission hall and heading southwest, after a brisk three hundred steps, one would arrive at the outer sect management office. further west was where the disciples’ dwelling houses were located.

as lin shuang headed back to her room after class, she happened to encounter senior brother xu rui, who was currently on duty at the administrative office.

“senior brother, i would like to go on an outing to the outskirts for a two-day and one-night excursion.”

senior brother xu rui’s eight trigrams sword on his back matched his demeanor, meticulous in every way, but there was a twitch on his forehead at that moment.

“junior sister, speak in human language.”

lin shuang closed her eyes and pointed to the outer sect disciple tasks board posted at the entrance of the management office.

xu rui: “…”