Su Zhan walked along the stone slab path.
She encountered a few unfamiliar disciples who greeted her along the way and simply nodded lightly before continuing onward.
After obtaining the information she wanted, Su Zhan had stayed at Xu Yanrou’s place for a long time.
Xu Yanrou had rambled on about how recent affairs were piling up more and more, complaining that she had not had a vacation in ages.
Later she started talking about the hot springs at Yunyou Mountain and how she wanted to take all her junior sisters there together.
As for what came after that, Su Zhan had stopped listening.
Because while Xu Yanrou was speaking, she had simply fallen asleep.
It seemed that with all the recent workload, she had been using tobacco to stay awake.
The moment she relaxed during their chat, the surging drowsiness had overwhelmed her.
Su Zhan had fetched a blanket and draped it over Xu Yanrou.
She left her senior sister’s room and gently closed the door behind her.
She did not choose to fly on her sword.
Su Zhan wandered aimlessly.
She had visited the main peak many times before, but this was the first time she had truly paid attention to the scenery around her.
The original novel described this mountain peak as shrouded in mist and clouds, with immortal cranes soaring together, lush vegetation thriving, and endless rays of sunset glow scattering at dusk.
Yet what Su Zhan saw before her was simply an ordinary mountain—bushes greener than she remembered, the occasional lost silly bird, and noisy calls.
She must have walked into the marketplace.
Originally this had been a branching side path.
Later, because few people used it, it had become a spot where sect disciples traded privately.
As more and more people gathered, the marketplace had grown larger and larger.
This was not from the original novel’s description.
It was something Lin Wan’er had mentioned in passing from time to time.
Although Su Zhan had never responded, she had remembered every word.
It gave her the real feeling of truly existing in this world.
Her master had recently forbidden her from cultivating, so she genuinely did not know how to pass the time anymore.
“Su Blockhead! What are you thinking about?”
What was she thinking about?
Ever since transmigrating into this world, she had either been cultivating or in seclusion.
Yet the old her had clearly only wished for a life where she could lie down and never sit, or sit and never stand.
What had turned her into this?
She had wanted to survive, but there were also more things she desired… what were they?
Ah… it was to… forget the loneliness of being in a foreign place, right?
“Hey!”
“Su Blockhead! I’m talking to you! Did you even hear me?”
“Don’t keep walking forward! I’m warning you! Ouch! Do you even watch where you’re going?!”
Su Zhan suddenly snapped back to her senses.
Only after hearing the miserable cry beside her ear did she slowly lower her gaze to the girl who had fallen on the ground.
Calling her a “girl” was not entirely accurate.
This girl with a face full of shame and anger, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes, looked no more than fourteen or fifteen years old.
She wore a short jacket over a long robe, and a pair of soft, translucent white stockings peeked from her cloth boots.
It was a bright and cute outfit.
But the fact that this person had come looking for her probably meant nothing good.
Su Zhan took half a step back to give her space to stand up.
The girl had landed hard on her backside.
When she saw that Su Zhan neither apologized nor offered to help her up—and even stepped back half a pace—she immediately flew into a rage.
“Su Blockhead! What do you mean by this?! You knocked someone down and you don’t even have a single word to say?!”
“If I am not mistaken, it should be that Junior Sister Ning blocked my path on your own and got knocked down. This counts as a scam.”
Su Zhan’s tone was indifferent.
“Damn Ruthless Dao blockhead. No wonder no one likes you. Serves you right to stay single forever. Go be with your broken sword!”
The girl grumbled and tsked.
She patted the mud off her clothes, then squatted on the ground to tidy her hair for a long while before finally standing up.
However, the girl was still a little shorter than Su Zhan.
This meant that if she wanted to put on an angry, puffed-up expression for Su Zhan to see, she had to tilt her head up.
This girl was named Ning Yao.
In terms of seniority, she was Su Zhan’s Fourth Junior Sister.
In the original novel’s setting, the two of them had joined Qingyun Sect at the same time.
Because their masters often used each other as motivation, over time Ning Yao and Su Zhan had become rivals who had to compete in everything.
In the original story, because Su Zhan had cultivated the Common People’s Dao, her strength had been inferior to Ning Yao’s.
This girl had provoked and caused trouble every day, as if she would only be happy once Su Zhan was miserable.
Now that Su Zhan cultivated the Ruthless Dao and her realm far surpassed Ning Yao’s, this little shorty was still scheming to provoke and cause trouble every day.
Only then did Su Zhan realize that this fellow did not cause trouble because she had the strength to back it up—she simply liked causing trouble for the sake of it.
“So, what does Junior Sister Ning want from me?”
If she were to rank them, the person Su Zhan least wanted to deal with was Ning Yao.
It was not that she disliked her, but this girl was simply too noisy and clingy—the exact type she could not handle.
“A duel! A duel! You just knocked me down, and you ignored my previous challenges, but this time I definitely want to duel you!”
“Junior Sister Ning, I am at Nascent Soul stage.”
Su Zhan politely declined.
Given Ning Yao’s age and talent, her cultivation at most reached Golden Core.
A Golden Core cultivator, even with equal resources, could never beat a Nascent Soul.
You think you’re Huang Shaotian or something? Knowing you can’t win but still demanding a duel. Then when you lose you’ll accuse me of bullying the weak.
“Nascent Soul? So what? Is Nascent Soul that amazing?! This lady is also a genius who reached Golden Core in one year, okay? Beating a fragile sword cultivator like you is as easy as grabbing something from my pocket!”
Ning Yao’s words sounded rather unreasonable and willful.
In reality she was quite sharp.
Although her realm was lower than Su Zhan’s, in a spar both sides would have to suppress their cultivation to the same level.
At that point, who would win or lose was still uncertain.
If she lost, she would naturally admit it—no shame in that since their strengths were not equal.
But if she won, she could show off in front of her master.
Master kept praising this Ruthless Dao blockhead for being diligent in cultivation, turning her into a lazy good-for-nothing who only knew how to enjoy herself.
Who could stand that?
Even if she could not win, as long as she managed to land one or two hits on Su Zhan during the duel and could brag about it in front of her master, she would be perfectly satisfied.
Therefore, even if it meant getting beaten, Ning Yao was determined to have this duel!
“Su Blockhead, do you dare to accept or not? I’m not even afraid as a Golden Core cultivator, yet you’re being all hesitant over there. Don’t tell me your Nascent Soul cultivation is watered down?”
Ning Yao continued provoking.
She hugged her little steamed buns with both arms.
As if thinking of something, she snorted lightly and added, “And don’t make excuses about having important matters. Ever since you arrived at the main peak, I’ve been secretly watching you from nearby for a long time. You’ve already finished all your business!”
After all, Su Zhan had used that exact excuse to dodge her the previous few times.
Su Zhan was already too tired to complain.
It seemed she had been targeted the moment she arrived.
She did not know whether she should praise Ning Yao for her persistence or say the girl was simply too bored.
“…Fine. Then I’ll listen to Junior Sister.”
She nodded lightly and agreed.
Since she had nothing to do right now, this was the perfect chance to test exactly how strong she was when she could not use her full power.