Chapter 15: Stepping into the Pit Again

“The competition begins!”

At the sound of a gong, the disciples scattered in all directions. Lian Mu recalled what Guan shize had said yesterday and was well-prepared.

This time, the competition involved real combat. Each participant carried a sword, and protective armor covered vital areas. A strike to the armor meant elimination.

As expected, a group of people quickly surrounded Lian Mu, forming a tight encirclement.

One disciple swung his sword at her neck.

Lian Mu twisted her body to dodge, grabbed his wrist, and with a sharp “crack,” broke it. She then kneed him in the abdomen, used her sword to push off the ground, and kicked away someone attempting to ambush her from behind.

The disciple whose wrist she broke screamed in pain, his sword slipping from his grasp.

Lian Mu snatched it, spun around, and stabbed the chest of another disciple. His protective armor shattered, and he was immediately eliminated.

Guan shize suddenly appeared from behind. His short sword sliced through the air, creating a sharp gust of wind. Lian Mu’s eyes stung, so she simply shut one.

She blocked his initial strike, then feinted an attack at his chest.

Guan shize instinctively dodged.

But Lian Mu wasn’t actually aiming at him with her sword. Seizing the moment, she kicked him flying.

Then, she decisively stabbed the stolen sword into his throat.

The sensation was so realistic that Guan shize instinctively clutched his neck. Before he could react, Lian Mu pierced his abdomen too, eliminating him completely.

The medical team pulled him off the field. He was still in a daze.

“Snap out of it. It’s all fake—you’re not dead.” A technician removed his damaged protective armor and replaced it with a new one.

Guan Shize didn’t feel the warmth of fresh blood, and only then did he realize what had happened.

He wasn’t confused by pain but was instead thinking about how Lian Mu had just attacked.

Her movements were too precise and efficient. The match had only just begun, yet five or six disciples had already been eliminated by her.

She didn’t seem like someone handling a sword for the first time.

Even for him, no matter how much preparation he did, when it came to actually striking someone, there would always be a moment of hesitation. But Lian Mu showed almost none.

“She’s not bad.”

Under a tree nearby, Xin Wanbai watched the ghost-like figure in the sparring arena and commented, “At the very least, in terms of ruthlessness, she surpasses most of the new disciples.”

In contrast, those who usually trained the hardest were too hesitant when it came to real combat.

Murong Yi was also watching Lian Mu, who was cutting down opponents like slicing radishes. For once, there was a hint of approval in his expression. “The sword techniques I gave them—she hasn’t practiced them. She’s using her own moves. They’re a bit chaotic, but every strike lands where it should. Meanwhile, the others are bound by the sword techniques.”

After saying that, Murong Yi’s expression turned cold. “But that’s not an excuse for skipping class at will.”

He turned his gaze to the disciples who had been eliminated. “Have you changed into new armor? Get back in there.”

Murong Yi pointed at Lian Mu, who was still fighting fiercely in the center, signaling them to surround and attack her again.

Inside the arena, Lian Mu had just kicked away a disciple who tried to attack her, but in the blink of an eye, another group had arrived. She was getting numb from all the fighting. She hadn’t even eaten breakfast this morning before being dragged here by the elders to spar.

Her newly reforged spiritual root needed proper nourishment. She couldn’t afford to waste spirit stones, so she could only eat more at the dining hall.

She was starving. She just wanted to eat.

Lian Mu decided to end this quickly, speeding up her attacks.

The disciples in this group were all lower-ranked, their strength unimpressive. The only one worth noting was Guan Shize, who barely stood out. Fighting them gave her the feeling of playing a fruit-slicing game.

But as she continued fighting, something felt off.

She never remembered people’s faces, but if someone was good-looking, she’d take an extra glance.

And some of the good-looking disciples she had just eliminated seemed to have returned?

Lian Mu wasn’t entirely sure, so she ignored the others and specifically targeted the faces she remembered, eliminating them again one by one.

Sure enough, before long, those same faces appeared once more.

Lian Mu: “…”

So that’s why there were so many ,they were being recycled.

She glanced toward the two elders under the tree and found them watching her with amused expressions.

No wonder they hadn’t said a word when she skipped class last time. They were waiting for her here.

The two elders remained standing under the tree, showing no intention of leaving. She had a feeling they wouldn’t call for a stop until they saw her completely beaten down.

But she was really about to starve.

To her right, Guan Shize attacked again. This time, he had learned his lesson and kept a close eye on all of Lian Mu’s movements.

Lian Mu parried his sword, then twisted her wrist, creating a gust of wind. She had no interest in dragging this out, so she thrust straight toward Guan Shize’s chest.

Guan Shize dodged to the side and saw her raising her leg. He immediately sensed an opportunity. Twisting his sword, he aimed the blade at her protective armor, ready to block when she kicked.

But instead of kicking him, Lian Mu kicked the person next to him flying. Then she walked straight past him, tossed her sword aside, jumped out of the arena, and collapsed onto the ground.

“Elder, I lost.”

The disciples in the arena: “…”

The alchemists and artifact refiners standing by for emergency treatment: “…”

Murong Yi, who had been smiling, suddenly froze: “…”

He had just been analyzing Lian Mu’s next move in his mind, thinking that with her irritated expression, she was about to explode.

He never expected her to just withdraw from the match voluntarily, lying on the ground in protest.

Do kids these days not care about their dignity at all?

Xin Wanbai wasn’t pleased either. “As a sword cultivator, abandoning your sword is unacceptable behavior.”

An alchemist rushed over to check Lian Mu’s injuries. Her protective armor was intact, but the areas not covered by it had various wounds, some deep, some shallow.

“Take some pills. You’ll be healed within an hour.” The alchemist handed her a small porcelain bottle.

Without hesitation, Lian Mu downed it in one gulp, chewing with relish. She could feel the faint spiritual energy within the pill.

The alchemist: “…”

He looked at the bottle to confirm he hadn’t grabbed the wrong one, then pursed his lips in silent admiration.

That was an extremely bitter pill, yet she swallowed it without batting an eye.

Meanwhile, the other sword cultivators taking their medicine were grimacing and contorting their faces in agony.

“…”

As expected from someone who had “wiped” twelve rounds of opponents alone.

Murong Yi sneered and kicked her. “Get up.”

“Elder, I can’t get up,” Lian Mu said, even as she subtly shifted to avoid his kick.

She had no doubt that one solid kick from him could cripple her, making her fail the entrance re-exam entirely.

Murong Yi looked down at the disciple stubbornly refusing to get up, feeling a headache coming on.

Based on her earlier performance, she was definitely stronger than she let on.

She could have done better but had chosen to give up halfway.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Xin Wanbai questioned.

Lian Mu answered without hesitation, “Yes.”

“…”

And she had the audacity to say it so shamelessly, making it even more frustrating.

How could there be such a… disciple?

Murong Yi had never encountered anyone like her before. He couldn’t even find the words to describe her.

He asked, “Why did you join Gui Xian Sect? If you don’t take these matches seriously, do you expect to just let others step over you in the re-exam?”

Lian Mu looked puzzled. “Wasn’t I taking it seriously? I won twelve times.”

Murong Yi: “…”

That might be true, but he had the distinct impression that Lian Mu hadn’t shown her real strength. It felt like she was just doing the bare minimum to pass this class.

“Go back and practice. Next time, don’t just rush through it carelessly.” Murong Yi felt like if he stayed any longer, he’d pass out from frustration. He left after leaving that remark.

Lian Mu: “…”

As expected of an elder—he immediately saw through her urgency to go eat.

“Those moves you used earlier were impressive.” Guan Shize walked over and offered her a hand. “Where did you learn them?”

Lian Mu took his hand and pulled herself up. “I was just swinging randomly, not using any proper sword techniques.”

She meant it sincerely. In her past life, she had too many relatives teaching her swordsmanship. She couldn’t even remember which move belonged to which technique. She simply reacted instinctively to her opponents.

Besides, back in her previous life, in a highly civilized society, getting into fights landed you in jail. There was nowhere to use her sword skills, and she had forgotten many things. Now, she relied only on instinct.

“Do you have time to spar? I need a training partner. Practicing alone makes it hard to improve.”

Guan Shize had been observing Lian Mu’s skills since earlier. She was undoubtedly the strongest among them, even better than many highly ranked disciples he had met.

He wasn’t sure how she did it, but he knew he could learn something from fighting her.

“Some other time,” Lian Mu said vaguely. “I’ll find you when I’m free.”

After class, Lian Mu went straight to the dining hall. She was starving. After reforging her spiritual root, her body seemed to burn through energy faster.

Compared to before, she felt much lighter—especially during combat. She was faster than she expected. But as Ji Mingyue had warned, reforging her spiritual root had inevitably damaged her dantian, causing her spiritual energy to constantly drain away.

She had to consume large amounts of spiritual plants daily just to barely compensate.

She needed to find a better way to earn more spirit stones. Her old job was no longer suitable.

Just as she was thinking about this, someone patted her on the back.

“What are you thinking about? Your food’s getting cold.” Xu Xianxing sat down across from her.

Lian Mu looked up and saw a face with dark circles deeper than ink. She squinted. “Did you steal cattle last night?”

Xu Xianxing said, “Ah, there’s no choice. We artifact refiners are like this—we can’t sleep until the work is done.”

“But being able to repair Senior Brother Ye’s sword makes it worth losing sleep.” He spoke with pride.

Lian Mu caught a key phrase, “Repair who’s sword?”

Xu Xianxing replied, “You don’t know yet? Senior Brother Ye is the senior brother of your Hanlai Peak. Last time, during the extermination of demonic beasts in the Ten Directions Netherland, his sword was bitten and broken by a demonic beast. Originally, my master was supposed to repair it, but he’s not in the sect at the moment, so the task fell to me.”

Lian Mu didn’t know about the Ten Directions Netherland, but at the mention of “senior brother,” her mind automatically recalled the person who had wielded his sword to slay demonic beasts five years ago.

Lian Mu asked, “You can repair swords—can you forge them too?”

Xu Xianxing suddenly fell silent. He leaned in and whispered, “I’m only telling you this—don’t tell anyone else.”

Lian Mu solemnly nodded. “What kind of swords can you forge?”

“Anything below the first grade,” Xu Xianxing said. “Swords are also a type of spiritual artifact. First-grade and higher spiritual artifacts are all forged by masters, but recently, I’ve been getting close to grasping the method.”

Lian Mu asked, “Is that very impressive?”

Xu Xianxing: “…”

Why did he feel like Lian Mu, a sword cultivator, knew nothing about swords?

“I, Xu Xianxing,” he pointed at himself, “am a genius among artifact refiners. Of course, I’m impressive.”

Lian Mu thought for a moment. “I will need a first-grade sword in the future.”

It sounded prestigious.

Xu Xianxing asked, “Are you a Heavenly Spiritual Root? Only those with Heavenly Spiritual Roots or single-attribute spiritual roots can use swords above third grade.”

“I have three spiritual roots,” Lian Mu said. “Metal, wood, and fire. It should be okay.”

Xu Xianxing’s eyes lit up. “That’s a strong combination.”

Most sword cultivators with three spiritual roots typically had fire, fire-wind, or fire-thunder attributes. A sword cultivator with metal, wood, and fire attributes—there probably wasn’t a second one in all four major sects.

Cultivators with a metal spiritual root usually became artifact refiners. Those with a wood spiritual root often became alchemists. Fire was the favorite of sword cultivators. But putting these three together… what could one even do with them?

Xu Xianxing couldn’t figure it out, but he trusted that Lian Mu had her own reasons.

At that moment, a sword cultivator from Hanlai Peak sitting at another table, facing away from them, nearly choked: “…”

What did he just hear?

A sword cultivator with metal, wood, and fire spiritual roots? With that combination, even a body cultivator would find it excessive.

He really couldn’t imagine what use such a spiritual root combination could have.

Unaware that she had, in others’ eyes, landed herself in a “heavenly pit,” Lian Mu continued chatting with Xu Xianxing about swords. Their conversation meandered, and somehow, they ended up talking about other Heavenly Spiritual Root disciples.

“You have no idea how difficult my life has been recently,” Xu Xianxing lamented. “Not only do I refine spiritual artifacts to the point of insomnia every day, but I’m also forced to interact with those two sour-faced people and develop a connection with them. It’s exhausting.”

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, even forgetting to eat.

Lian Mu, meanwhile, continued stuffing food into her mouth while listening to his complaints, though her mind was occupied with other thoughts.

“Xu Xianxing.” Someone called from the entrance of the dining hall. “The elders need us.”

Xu Xianxing immediately stopped complaining. He calmly stood up, bid farewell to Lian Mu, and walked toward the voice.

Lian Mu responded lightly and only realized something was off after a while. She looked up, but all she could see was Xu Xianxing and another person walking away.

She stared at the tall, straight-backed figure of the other person, feeling a little dazed: “…”

She had a feeling she had seen him somewhere before.

—

—”Did you steal cattle last night?” (你昨晚偷牛了吗？) is a humorous way of commenting on someone’s dark circles or tired appearance, implying that they must have been up all night doing something exhausting, like stealing cattle.