CH 22.3

three figures swiftly appeared, blocking her only path.

“are you lin shuang?”

the leader released a sword strike.

“chen sheng, wu xing, qian wanjun, challenging the level owner of floor 349!”

“if we win, you will go to the resting hall and change the name of the level owner!”

meng zhi’s expression changed.

huang fuyuan raised an eyebrow.

lin shuang looked up and saw that the leader was slightly chubby and had an indignant expression.

it seemed like she had taken something precious from him.

“chen sheng, don’t go too far. it’s just the 300th floor of zhenchuan. do you really need to challenge us?” meng zhi was displeased and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“what’s wrong with challenging you? one of you relies on stacking pills, and the other—”

chen sheng, the leader, was about to explode, especially when he looked back at huang fuyuan and lin shuang.

“the guy inblue, and the qi condensation stage!”

“an outer sect disciple at the third level of qi condensation came to zhenchuan for a trial. breaking through the first level of qi condensation naturally took less time than my breakthrough to the first level of foundation establishment!”

“using tricks and sly tactics, you broke my trial record. chen sheng won’t stand for it and has come to challenge you! what’s wrong with that?”

she had caused him to lose the price difference for buying a house!

chen sheng, the slightly chubby one, erupted with the aura of the second level of foundation establishment.

meng zhi was furious and about to step forward.

however, he was stopped by another disciple who formed hand seals with both hands. “meng junior brother, your opponent is me. formation, activate!”

in an instant, meng zhi disappeared on the spot.

the sound of meng zhi cursing loudly echoed from the distant clouds.

“damn it, you bastard! lin shuang, take out the teleportation table i gave you and run!”

“huang fuyuan, i’ll come to rescue you after dealing with this guy. take a pill first…”

lin shuang and huang fuyuan simultaneously looked up, revealing a deeply grateful expression.

“huang fuyuan, please go ahead,” said the third disciple in white, who had a furnace. “let’s have an alchemy competition.”

huang fuyuan smiled and nodded.

the two of them then moved back to the rest cave.

alchemy competitions were indeed civilized and safe.

amid her contemplation, lin shuang’s hair in front of her forehead was nearly cut off by a sword that suddenly appeared.

“outer sect female disciple, if you surrender now and agree to change the name of the level owner to mine, i’ll let you go.”

chubby chen sheng spoke in a low voice.

“i have no grievances or enmities with you. i didn’t intend to take advantage of the weak, but you’ve violated the rules, and i must correct it!”

“violated the rules?”

lin shuang raised her eyebrows.

“oh.”

she saw that the tall-eyed chen sheng was about to speak again and quickly extended her hand to stop him.

“you don’t need to explain anymore. explaining is a waste of time.”

who needed an explanation?

“isn’t it you who needs to explain the violation of the rules?”

chen sheng was furious.

lin shuang extended her hand towards him, raised her index finger, and gestured, “come on.”

chen sheng was taken aback and chuckled, “alright, alright. i’m at the peak of the second level of foundation establishment. please enlighten me!”

lin shuang didn’t say anything, and at that moment, there was a faint sound in her ear.

[ding, little ai reminds you that the next tomato clock is for entertainment book reading.]

lin shuang nodded slightly and retrieved the latest volume of her book from her bag. she flipped to the page with the bookmark made of dried spirit leaves.

then, she leaned her slender and fair neck down to read.

but halfway through, there was a click, and a sensation emanated from her shoulder and neck.

lin shuang frowned.

in the meditation cave where she had been sitting cross-legged and later lying down, her posture had been too monotonous.

some muscles had become tense.

“lin shuang! are you provoking me?”

“you better go and read your book outside the sect!”

chen sheng was unable to contain his anger and swung his sword again.

lin shuang looked at the sword’s energy in front of her and took three steps back.

“xiao ai, adjust the schedule. my right shoulder is sore.”

chen sheng: “?”

[xiao ai is here to assist you. the entertainment book has been adjusted to enjoy a shoulder and back massage for the duration of an incense stick.]

lin shuang made a sound of agreement and faced the fierce sword energy in front of her.

she lightly stepped forward.

towards the astonished chen sheng, she smiled faintly.

“senior brother, i’ll trouble you with this.”

“?”

with her hand, she pointed to her right shoulder and drew her fingers from the trapezius muscle to the right side of her back.

“it’s sore all over here.”

“!”

“…”

the four outer sect disciples flying on their swords to zhenchuan stared blankly at lin shuang’s image on the projection, not knowing what she was talking about.

what was lin shuang saying?

“senior sister, what is lin junior sister doing?” chen sixin, the third-ranked disciple of the outer sect, was puzzled. “is she provoking the senior brothers of the inner sect?”

she had also been assigned by their master to go to zhenchuan and help out.

it wasn’t until she was on her way that she learned about lin shuang’s famous deeds.

xu rui held his forehead and wanted to stop her from asking questions, but he was a step too late.

upon hearing this, zhao keran, who admired lin shuang and was looking at her image in the projection, couldn’t wait to speak up.

“i know, i know! it’s the fastest way to learn leisure reading!”

“resting is for better performance. peak performance includes but is not limited to having a good mood and good physical condition. therefore, methods such as massage, foot therapy, aromatherapy, and sauna are all excellent means of rest that can promote both mood and physical condition.”

“sister, it seems that you’ve been reading for too long, and your neck is sore. you need a massage.”

“!!”

“…”

the three figures riding their swords were silent.

xu rui pressed his temples and looked at the image of the inner sect disciple chen sheng on the projection. he didn’t know whether to be worried or relieved.

but in the projection, the battle between them triggered a moment of intense action and dramatic changes, with leaves falling like rain.

“lin shuang, are you mocking me?”

chen sheng was furious, and his foundation establishment-level sword energy directly pierced her.

the sword energy stabbed her right shoulder, enough to shatter her shoulder bones!

but what was seen was lin shuang, ten steps away, with a faint smile on her face. she didn’t evade the sword’s energy at all. instead, she took out earplugs from her bag.

casually placing them in both ears, in an instant, a light and brisk tune played.

“oh, i’m sorry, the sound accidentally played outside. let me adjust it.”

chen sheng: “…?”

with a click, while she was talking, the sword energy penetrated her shoulder.

she shivered.

chen sheng raised an eyebrow, took half a step forward, and then stopped.

he didn’t want to seriously harm his fellow sect members.

coming at her right shoulder, it shouldn’t threaten her life or her fundamental cultivation, right?

but he didn’t hear any cries of pain. did she faint right away?

he furrowed his brow but heard a sigh coming from the faint mist created by the sword’s energy.

“senior brother, can you move a bit to the left?”

“???”

the sword’s energy dissipated, and lin shuang turned her head and stood there, looking at her right shoulder.

she took a piece of yellow paper from her bag and stuck it three inches to the right of the trapezius muscle on her neck.

her eyes were full of anticipation as she looked at chen sheng.

“it’s right here. senior brother, please don’t miss it.”

“otherwise… it would be quite inconvenient for me.”

how… how could this be?

chen sheng stared in disbelief, pinched his fingers, and sent six consecutive full-force sword energies.

six consecutive sword lights instantly enveloped her in her green robe.

the sword shadows and spiritual energy swirled and slowly dissipated. chen sheng’s eyebrows twitched as he looked at the spot where lin shuang was standing.

soon, his face was filled with astonishment and fear!

lin shuang had walked step by step from the mist that gradually condensed in the valley to stand in front of him.

she lowered her head, her expression satisfied and relaxed.

“senior brother, yes, just like this. please continue.”

chen sheng kept retreating.

how… how could this be?

her entire body was filled with qi condensation stage-level strength…

chen sheng couldn’t believe it, but his gaze suddenly froze.

her entire body was filled with qi condensation stage-level strength, but at this moment, her right shoulder was emanating the aura of the third level of foundation establishment!

“you… you… you’re not at the qi cultivation stage!”

[xiao ai reminded that the dantian in the body has concentrated in the right shoulder – right back.]

[two-thirds of an incense stick remains.]

lin shuang immediately looked at chen sheng, who was bewildered.

“shh.”

“there’s not much time left for senior brother to perform the therapy for me. please hurry.”

“???”

silence.

a deathly silence.

on the 2751st floor of zhenchuan, the three-member team of baiyu, staring at the current projection stone, was stunned.

“chen sheng is just one step away from reaching the third level of foundation establishment.”

but in the projection, he was attacking outer sect disciple lin shuang like a madman.

he attacked, but lin shuang remained unyielding.

he attacked again, and lin shuang still stood firm.

…

with another strike, chen sheng fell.

after depleting all his foundation establishment spiritual energy in half an incense stick’s time due to his extreme frustration, he fell to the ground, and his sword slipped from his hand, dropping to the ground.

“chen sheng… this is so embarrassing!”

“who is she anyway?”

“she must be at least at the third level of foundation establishment!”

“is she deliberately wearing the attire of an outer sect disciple? is she an inner sect disciple?”

two fellow senior brothers stared at the projection stone, their voices filled with shock and countless speculations.

bai yu, who was furthest from the projection stone and sitting alone on the edge of a cliff on the 501st floor, bit his lip, his eyes flickering.

lin shuang.

finally, someone was as shocked as he was.

finally, someone was going to be constantly shocked like him in the future and then feel inferior.

baiyu looked at the projection of chen sheng with clear sympathy but also a hint of relief.

“he should be glad he’s only at the second level of foundation establishment.”

“what?” his fellow senior brother turned around, puzzled.

bai yu didn’t answer and just shook his head.

he could see at a glance that chen sheng’s full-force attacks couldn’t hit the sore spots and muscle knots that had built up in her body. not to mention, helping her relax tense muscles.

long-term therapy would definitely not choose someone like chen sheng, who was only at the second level of foundation establishment.

just this one incense stick’s time.

“hold on a little longer. it will be over soon.”

“…”

bai yu crossed his legs and said, “senior brother, i’m going to cultivate.”

the fear of being chased and never able to catch up with her had wrapped around him again.

***

chen sheng, who had fled in disgrace, and his escaping junior disciple met on the 501st-floor cliff.

when they saw each other’s sorry states, they both shuddered.

“you lost?”

“you lost too?”

“?! how is that possible? you went up against the severely ill huangfu yuan for so many years?”

“?! how is that possible? you went up against an outer sect qi condensation stage female disciple?”

“!”

“…”

the two blurted out, then turned pale.

this senior brother, although his cultivation was not weak, his sword technique was simply not suitable for therapy.

it didn’t have any effect on the blockages in her muscles and bones.

lin shuang patted her gray robe that had been shaken by the sword’s energy.

coming face to face with huangfu yuan, who was coming out of the resting cave, gracefully wiping his long fingers, lin shuang and huangfu yuan both froze.

huangfu yuan, who had been chronically ill for many years, had no combat power and was no match for an outer sect qi condensation stage disciple.

lin shuang, touching her right shoulder, was momentarily stunned.

“huangfu senior brother, you won?”

“lin junior sister, did you win?”

they spoke in unison.

both of them let their eyes wander over the neat and undamaged clothes of the other person before raising their heads.

at the same time, they showed a complex expression as if they had discovered a secret.

“cough, lin junior sister… i was able to win by comparing alchemy with my opponent.”

lin shuang squinted her eyes.

there was not a trace of an alchemical fire aura on him.

“senior brother, isn’t it quite a coincidence? i also…”

huangfu yuan coughed and fell silent.

“lin junior sister, you also know alchemy.”

“no, quite a coincidence, i also won by chance. senior brother chen sheng had something urgent and left before the incense stick was finished.”

“…”

huangfu yuan’s phoenix eyes flashed with a trace of light, and he swept over the scene where the foundation establishment sword energy had swept through after lin shuang, then walked past her.

heh heh.

low-level foundation establishment disciple lin shuang and the powerless huangfu yuan exchanged glances and then separated with an unspoken understanding.

they both lowered their heads, revealing a subtle expression of mutual understanding.

“lin shuang! huangfu senior brother!”

meng zi shouted and rushed out of the illusion formation in a fiery hurry.

“i’m coming!”

the low-level qi condensation stage disciple lin shuang’s eyelashes trembled.

the powerless huangfu yuan’s body shuddered.

author’s note:

lin shuang: i didn’t believe him from the sixth sense.

huangfu yuan: i didn’t even believe her with my five senses.

[zhao sect leader’s note 22]: …poor meng senior brother.

—zhou xuanwu’s comment: you’re on the same level as me, little junior sister. forget about second brother.

—zhao keran: …