Chapter 6: Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep

As Yu Jiaxue’s voice fell, the entire hall fell into dead silence. For a time, no one spoke.

It was not only the Chief Elder; even Ye Jingtian and Wen Jingdeng were shocked.

Hearing this, the remaining disciples experienced even greater shock.

Crippling her own cultivation?! Who in the Wushang Sword Sect did not know that this Yu Xue was a waste at cultivation? It was only with great difficulty that she obtained a genuine pill to draw qi into her body…

And right now, she just crippled it on a whim?!

Many disciples were startled at first, and then instinctively sent out a thread of spiritual energy to test the waters—

One of the disciples took a deep breath, “It’s gone! Her spiritual energy is truly gone!”

One must know how difficult it is for a cultivator to pursue immortality, to say nothing of crippling one’s foundation to start anew!

Yu Xue was cutting off her own path to success!

Many disciples looked at Yu Jiaxue as if she were a fool. Facing everyone’s gazes, Yu Jiaxue felt no fear whatsoever.

Just joking.

Which of Yu Jiaxue’s previous presentations was not stared down intensely by demanding clients? Right now, she was merely regaining that past feeling of debating a crowd of adversaries while being the center of attention.

Yu Jiaxue said in a deep voice, “This cultivation of mine may be said to come from your Wushang Sword Sect, but in truth, I willingly acted as an outer disciple to be ordered around by others. It was through such labor that I earned a single genuine pill. Speaking of which, it has nothing to do with your Sword Sect.”

“Now, without distinguishing right from wrong, you wish to splash this stigma and dirty water onto me. You even want to use your cultivation to suppress me, relying on your age and strength to bully the young and weak. Your actions are treacherous and despicable!”

After launching a barrage of descriptive words in one breath, Yu Jiaxue rested for a few seconds. Looking at the blank, stunned expressions of the crowd, she became even more resolute in her heart.

She was absolutely going to finish flexing today!

No one could stop her steps!

“This cultivation was earned through my own hard work. Crippling it today is not out of guilt, but solely out of my commitment to my dao heart.”

Suppressing her inner emotions, Yu Jiaxue showed nothing on her face and declared with righteous intensity, “Even the thought of the cultivation techniques learned from your Wushang Sword Sect makes me feel sick every night, unable to eat or sleep peacefully. If this continues, I fear it will be difficult to attain the Great Dao. Therefore, I crippled my cultivation so I no longer have any connection with your Wushang Sword Sect!”

“Living in this world, I, Yu Jiaxue, have always been honorable and unyielding, preferring to break rather than bend!”

What an honorable stance! What an unyielding spirit!

This declaration landed with resounding force. The sharp and fierce aura embedded within it shook several disciples who had previously thought Yu Jiaxue was cutting off her own future.

What followed immediately was immense shame.

These disciples could not help but ask themselves, if it were them, could they have been so ruthless to themselves?

The answer was naturally no.

They had a thousand reasons to comfort themselves, such as claiming that refraining from doing so was being calm, calculated, and waiting for a better opportunity—

However, as fellow righteous cultivators, when seeing such a pure dao heart, how could they not feel awe in their hearts?

Under the severe impact of shock and shame, they did not even notice the self-address of “Yu Jiaxue” at the first moment.

A round-faced female disciple said in a soft voice, “Does she truly lack talent in practicing the sword?”

The senior sister she was gazing at was also puzzled.

She formed a hand seal to conceal her voice, her thoughts spinning rapidly as she lowered her head and whispered to her junior sister, “The rumors say so.”

The round-faced junior sister understood instantly. She looked at Yu Wan’er, then looked at Ye Jingtian, who mistook a fish eye for a pearl, and could only shake her head and sigh.

It was not her place to say, but with such an imposing aura all around her, remaining completely unfazed and unshakeable even under the pressure of the Sect Leader, was she not practically a second Sword Head Xie?

She had been delayed for years by these messy affairs for nothing.

If Senior Sister Yu Xue were a man, that would be wonderful.

Recalling her own experiences, the round-faced junior sister felt a bit melancholy.

This world is always more forgiving toward men.

At this point, even Ye Jingtian was moved.

He spoke up instinctively, “You do not have to…”

Realizing that he seemed to be speaking up for Yu Jiaxue, Ye Jingtian quickly closed his mouth, prompting the people beside him to glance at him extra times.

Oh, the junior disciple smacked his lips. Senior Brother Ye’s current appearance was practically a live action of “loving without realizing it” as described in storybooks.

Yu Jiaxue had no time to watch his performance. She was busy comforting the retired old system wailing loudly in her mind.

[Wah, Host… Wuu wuu wuu, I didn’t expect you to have such an unyielding and fiery temper, Host.]

The electronic voice let out a loud sob, [I misunderstood you earlier. I thought that with your temper, you wouldn’t give up your cultivation even until the end…]

“No, you didn’t misunderstand,” Yu Jiaxue said calmly.

“If such a day truly comes, I indeed won’t give up my cultivation.”

Why punish herself for other people’s mistakes?

She would never slice open her own stomach just to prove how many bowls of jelly she ate.

[???]

The system hesitated, [Then earlier you…?]

“As you saw,” Yu Jiaxue said leisurely.

“The one who drew qi into her body was Yu Xue. What does that have to do with me, Yu Jiaxue?”

That was why she could state she was giving up her cultivation so candidly and deliver such a resounding declaration.

What “cultivation”? What “drawing qi into the body”?

From start to finish, she did not have that stuff at all!

System 999 froze, even its emotional sobbing sounds solidifying.

Holy crap, so the host’s solemn, proud, and resounding declaration earlier…

Was completely a scam to get something out of nothing?!

“Not entirely,” Yu Jiaxue said calmly in her heart.

“There are some other reasons.”

For example, taking this chance to show off a bit.

It had to be said that the feeling of showing off was truly great, especially when paired with the ashamed, shocked, guilty, admiring, and disbelieving expressions on those people’s faces…

It made Yu Jiaxue feel thoroughly refreshed all over.

“Even now, you still show no repentance.”

The Sect Leader sitting in the middle of all the elders finally stood up. He raised his hand to stop Yu Lin’an, who was about to speak, and walked to the front of everyone.

“You say we mistreated you, but search your own heart. With your talent, if our Wushang Sword Sect had not taken you in, where else could you have gone?”

The Sect Leader let out a sigh, carrying a bit of a benevolent and kind appearance.

“If not out of respect for the Yu family, the Wushang Sword Sect would not have taken you in at all.”

These words were spoken persuasively, sounding exceedingly logical.

Yu Jiaxue tilted her head.

This person stood high up, looking down arrogantly at everyone.

“Yu Xue, out of respect for the century-long friendship between the Yu family and my Wushang Sword Sect, I will ask you one more time. Right now, do you realize your mistake? Do you repent?”

Hearing these words, Yu Jiaxue felt somewhat annoyed again.

From beginning to end, they remained so high and mighty, not making a single mention of what they gained from the Yu family and Yu Xue.

Spouting righteousness and dao methods with every breath—why not take a mirror and look at themselves to see if they still look human!

Yu Jiaxue was not intimidated by the Sect Leader’s imposing aura in the slightest. Perhaps because she was a soul from beyond this world, those so-called “pressures” seemed to have no effect before her.

Yu Jiaxue suddenly let out a laugh, “Realize my mistake? Repent?”

“I was never wrong to begin with, so how can there be repentance? How should I repent?”

The maiden’s cool and quiet voice echoed in the grand hall. Amid the shifting light and shadow, she stood proudly, a slight smile curling up at the corner of her lips.

The bright sunlight plated her with a golden edge, and she merged with the light as if she were the illumination itself.

The disciple who wanted to speak first twitched the corner of his mouth.

Just as he was about to say something, he remembered his senior brother’s advice.

Amid his hesitation, he heard the Chief Elder beside him murmur, “Shen…”

The junior disciple looked at his master with some confusion.

Shen? Shen what?

The Chief Elder said no more. He merely opened his eyes and stared intently at Yu Jiaxue.

Yu Jiaxue did not care about other matters. She raised her head, meeting the Sect Leader’s hawk-like sharp eyes. The intent to kill and heavy arrogance contained within did not make her timid; instead, a strange excitement welled up within her.

A thought suddenly popped into her head.

He will step down from those stairs.

Yu Jiaxue slowly turned her head, her gaze sweeping past those people one by one.

Not just him.

One day, everyone who stands here looking down on her from above will flee frantically from their high perches and have to step down to crawl at her feet—

System: ?

[…Wait wait wait wait a minute!]

Having finally calmed down from the host’s showoff performance of getting something out of nothing, System 999 suddenly realized things were taking a turn for the worse!

“All of you…”

Yu Jiaxue’s gaze slowly swept past Ye Jingtian, Yu Wan’er, and the others. Raising one side of her lips, she revealed a cold, proud, and domineering smile.

“Everyone who insults me, wrongs me, and frames me today because of my low cultivation, mark my words.”

[Ahhhhhhh Host, stop! What are you doing!]

“I am naturally kind, but I am by no means someone to be slaughtered at will…”

[You are the female lead of an angst novel! You don’t need to say so many words, just cry a few times!]

“One day, I will make all of you pay it back double!”

[Wait wait wait wait wait a minute—]

“Thirty years East of the river, thirty years West of the river! Do not look down on a youth just because they are poor!”

[—Your identity is the female lead of an angst novel, don’t bring in a Long Aotian mindset on your own initiative!]

As the last word fell, the system let out a final desperate cry, looking very much like a Jinjiang server exploding from overload.

At that exact same moment, a brilliant light flashed at the edge of the distant Ghost Realm. The eerie cries and wails of ghosts ceased for a split second. For a moment, a beam of light seemed to flash across that barren place where no grass grew, and at the edge of Jiuyou, which resisted demonic energy and showed faint signs of corruption…

A small white flower bloomed.