Chapter 2: Does She Think She’s a Fragile Maid?

The next day.

The ten disciples selected by the Ten Great Families all boarded the flying boat heading towards the Eastern Continent Sea.

Although the Penglai Sect is the top sect, unlike other sects that compete to recruit disciples every year, they only open their doors for new disciples once every five years.

Moreover, the number of disciples they admit each time is very small. The Ten Great Families are only allotted ten spots for each recruitment.

This time, the ten of them were traveling together so they could look out for each other once they entered the sect.

…

The Penglai Sect is located in the Eastern Continent Sea, with vast azure waters as far as the eye can see, resembling a celestial paradise.

After two days of travel, the flying boat landed at the dock. The Penglai Sect is surrounded by the sea, with a boundary of spiritual barriers preventing the boat from flying over the sect’s territory. Therefore, the only way to enter the sect is through the teleportation array to the island.

A few Penglai Sect disciples came to receive them. They were all dressed in fine robes, carrying long swords, and appeared extraordinarily poised and remarkable.

Ye Qingning raised her eyes and saw the leading man wearing a pale blue robe embroidered with gold patterns and dark stripes. He wore a jade crown on his head, a long sword hanging at his waist, and had delicate and handsome features. His aura was cold and sharp, and his gaze was distant and indifferent, giving off an impression of aloofness and being unapproachable.

The system screeched: “Ah—Ning Ning, look! It’s the male lead! The child of fortune in the story has arrived!”

“The female lead, although she was from the same sect as the male lead in the past, never managed to win him over. I feel so relieved just thinking about it!”

“If that scheming flower had gotten the male lead, at least she’d have someone to protect her when she was being hunted. But it seems like the female lead had the self-awareness to leave for the Fallen Cloud Sect after being reborn.”

Ye Qingning’s eyes widened slightly. Was that really the case? Was she sure the system wasn’t making things up?

In her past life, she wasn’t in the same sect as Ye Han Yue, so she never knew whether Ye Han Yue had fallen for Shen Xuan Li and failed to win his heart, which led her to fall for the second male lead, Xie Ji Bai.

In her past life, she had met Shen Xuan Li a few times, but it was nothing significant. After all, her target for攻略 (the main character she was meant to pursue) was Xie Ji Bai, the second male lead.

If she had to give her evaluation of Shen Xuan Li, she would only use four words—”stiff and dull.”

The only thing remarkable about him was his appearance.

She guessed that compared to Shen Xuan Li’s aloof indifference, Xie Ji Bai’s affectionate eyes were more likely to attract women, which was probably why Ye Han Yue had fallen for the second male lead.

However, when it came to cultivation, Shen Xuan Li, being the male lead, was naturally far stronger and more exceptional. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been the male lead, and he certainly wouldn’t have been a thorn in Xie Ji Bai’s side.

It was fortunate that the system hadn’t forced her to pursue anyone after her rebirth. She feared the system might force her to try to win over Shen Xuan Li again.

For someone as distant as Shen Xuan Li, she had always kept her distance.

And more importantly, if she failed to win over the second male lead, why would she even try to pursue the male lead? It was practically impossible, even if she drank a few bottles of fake wine and ate a handful of peanuts.

Back to the point, the reason Penglai Sect had sent their chief disciple to receive them was to show respect to the noble families.

However, as respectful as that might be, once they entered Penglai Sect, everything would come down to strength.

Even though the disciples of the noble families were highly regarded, as far as Ye Qingning knew, the disciples of Penglai Sect were unlike those of ordinary sects. They were all exceptionally capable and often held multiple roles.

Whether sword cultivators, pill masters, or weapon forgers, almost all of them were proficient in several crafts and could even draw talismans. They were true all-rounders.

With such competition, it would be far from easy to stand out among Penglai disciples.

Some of the disciples from noble families would spend decades in the outer sect before even making it to the inner sect.

Ye Qingning snapped back to her thoughts and, while walking down from the flying boat, suddenly coughed.

It wasn’t intentional. She had been walking quickly and had gotten out of breath, and a sudden cough followed.

This cough caught the attention of the Penglai Sect disciples.

One male disciple noticed Ye Qingning and frowned slightly.

She was pretty, but she looked so frail, how could she be a maid?

He didn’t hesitate to remind her: “Penglai Sect has rules. All new disciples are not allowed to bring attendants. Anyone who does not follow the rules will not be allowed to enter.”

“Ha!”

A female disciple from a noble family, named Su Ruoxi, sneered and looked at Ye Qingning with disdain.

Her tone was arrogant as she mocked: “Ye sister, your Ye family is one of the Ten Great Families. How come you didn’t bring a storage bag with you? And you’re dressed like a servant. It’s no wonder the senior brothers mistook us for bringing attendants.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. You’re the fake daughter who took the real one’s place. Your identity is gone, so naturally, your treatment is different.”

Su Ruoxi’s eyes were full of contempt. According to her mother, Ye Madam had given birth prematurely and had to rush to a nearby Buddhist temple for help.

In the Buddhist temple, another woman had also given birth to a girl that night, and the two girls had been switched. Ye Madam fell asleep after giving birth and didn’t notice anything strange. She continued to live as if nothing had happened.

Later, the real daughter left with her birth mother, but she passed away not long after. The real daughter had no known father and was abandoned in the outside world.

A fake daughter who had lost her real mother and had an unknown father was no match for them!

Ye Qingning raised her eyes slightly, meeting Su Ruoxi’s disdainful gaze.

In her previous life, although she and Su Ruoxi weren’t in the same sect, she remembered her well.

To be exact, Su Ruoxi left quite an impression.

The reason was simple—Su Ruoxi was another supporting character in the story, just like her.

As the legitimate daughter of the top family, Su Ruoxi had been spoiled since childhood. She was haughty and arrogant, and after entering Penglai Sect, she became infatuated with the male lead, targeting the real daughter of the novel.

In the end, she suffered the consequences and died tragically in a secret realm.

For a supporting character who didn’t even last fifty chapters, why would she bother getting into a quarrel with her? Ye Qingning couldn’t be bothered.

At the same time, the male disciple who spoke earlier was a bit taken aback.

He hadn’t expected the frail-looking woman before him to be a disciple selected by the Ye family.

A fake daughter?

But since she had been chosen by the Ye family, she must have been recognized by them, so why did she not have a storage bag?

And with her sickly appearance, did Ye family really choose the right person?

Ye Qingning noticed the male disciple’s awkwardness and wasn’t upset that he mistook her for a maid.

After all, her simple attire made it hard to compare with the others who were dressed in fine clothes.

She wasn’t poor to the extent of not having a storage bag, though.

Casually, she took out a delicate jade token from her sleeve, engraved with the Penglai Sect’s emblem. This was the token given to the new disciples from the noble families this year.

When the male disciple saw the jade token, he lingered for a moment on Ye Qingning’s pale hand. After an awkward smile, he apologized: “Sorry, I misunderstood. This is our Penglai Sect’s chief disciple, Shen Xuan Li. You should present the jade token to him for verification before entering the sect.”

Ye Qingning nodded, and though she wanted to explain that there was no need to apologize, she was interrupted by another cough. She didn’t speak, instead handing the jade token to Shen Xuan Li.

Upon seeing Shen Xuan Li frown slightly, Ye Qingning wondered if she had coughed in his direction.

When he gave a slight nod and subconsciously leaned back, Ye Qingning immediately put the jade token back in her sleeve and stepped back a little.

Seems like disciples from big sects really are picky!

Su Ruoxi, on the other hand, was livid.

She, the legitimate daughter of the first family, was completely overshadowed by a sickly beggar-like girl! How dare this sickly girl beat her to handing over the jade token to Shen Xuan Li?

Her spotlight was stolen by a weakling!

It was maddening!

And then this frail girl had the audacity to cough at Shen Xuan Li! Su Ruoxi was about ready to strangle her!