Chapter 2

Yu Tao, happily carrying her fish home, had no idea what the fish vendor had been thinking. On the way, she pondered how she would prepare the fish.

As a proud sword cultivator, her home was truly empty—nothing but her sword, with walls bare and possessions scarce. She’d even have to use her treasured sword to cut the fish.

But then a problem came up: she had no pot, and not even a bowl.

Even if she knew how to cook, there was only so much she could do without the essentials. Her culinary skills had nowhere to shine.

With a sigh, Yu Tao turned around and headed to the Wuchang Sect’s dining hall.

The dining hall staff could help prepare ingredients, but it would cost five sect points.

In Wuchang Sect, everything ran on points: meals, access to the Sword Pavilion, the library—all required points, which could also be exchanged for spirit stones.

Points were earned through sect tasks, like attending missions, exorcising demons, and so on.

For now, Yu Tao earned points simply by attending morning classes daily—one point per day, just enough to cover basic meals for new disciples.

But Yu Tao had been saving her points, picking wild fruits in the forest every day instead.

After a month and six days, she had saved up 36 points.

The kitchen staff swiftly prepared the fish and asked, “Braised in oil or soy sauce?”

Yu Tao answered without hesitation, “Steamed!”

After all, the little cat couldn’t handle anything too greasy.

Visiting the library required 50 points, and preparing a single meal for the little kitty cost Yu Tao a tenth of that. She watched the cook package up the fish, then reluctantly transferred the points.

She patted herself for comfort. Just 5 points—she’d get them back after five more days of morning classes.

It was fine, in twenty days, she’d finally have enough to visit the library!

Rumor had it, though, that the library required cultivators to reach at least the fifth level of Qi Refinement, and she was still a bit short.

With the food box in hand, Yu Tao turned to leave the dining hall. Just as she reached the door, a clear, mocking voice sounded behind her, “Is that what you’re eating tonight?”

Turning around, Yu Tao saw a female disciple in a blue dress. She looked at the girl’s face, trying to remember, but drew a blank.

She blinked. “…And you are?”

Zhu Mingyu’s expression froze, not expecting that question.

She stared at Yu Tao’s face, searching for signs of play-acting, but all she saw was genuine confusion. If it was an act, her performance was astonishing.

This meant Yu Tao truly didn’t remember.

Zhu Mingyu’s face darkened, and through gritted teeth, she said, “I’m Zhu Mingyu. I’m the one who gave you a hard time on the day we entered the sect.”

Yu Tao’s gaze landed on the girl’s elaborately adorned, icy blue sword box inlaid with crystal stones, sparking her memory.

Ah, yes—on the day they’d joined the sect, Yu Tao had been the one left unchosen by the elders until Xuan Yuzi accepted her as a disciple via a last-minute message. This girl before her had been the first one selected.

She had a vivid memory of that sword box, admiring it from behind for quite a while and vowing to earn enough to make her beloved sword one of her own.

But the girl had noticed her staring, whipped around with a face flushed red, and spat angrily, “Don’t get cocky! Just because you’re under Xuan Yuzi’s wing doesn’t mean you’ll last long here!”

Yu Tao scratched her head, recalling the incident. “Sorry, I forgot it was you…”

At the time, her mind had been completely occupied with the sword box.

“But don’t worry, thanks to your reminder, I’ve been diligently cultivating recently, no slacking off!”

Zhu Mingyu:?

She was making a threat, a serious threat! Didn’t she understand?

Zhu Mingyu was certain: She must be doing this on purpose!

Pretending to act carefree and unconcerned, when in fact, she was definitely furious inside and only pretending not to care by saying it like that.

Zhu Mingyu curled her lips into a smile. “I didn’t expect that you’d be under Xuan Yuzi’s wing and still come to eat the lowest-grade Five Spirit Fish.”

In fact, the Five Spirit Fish wasn’t low-level at all. For Qi Refining disciples, it was an excellent ingredient for replenishing spiritual energy, and it was priced at 20 spirit stones per fish, which was already considered an unattainable price for new disciples.

The reality was, most disciples who had only been in the sect for a year or two still found it difficult to justify spending that much to buy Five Spirit Fish.

Just like Zhu Mingyu, she too had to complete half a month’s worth of sect tasks before she could barely afford one.

Just now, she had finished her own Five Spirit Fish and, in the next moment, had seen Yu Tao.

Yu Tao shook her head. “I plan to feed it to the cat tomorrow morning.”

Zhu Mingyu:?

Feed… feed it to a cat?!

Zhu Mingyu raised her tone. “Your spiritual pet?”

Yu Tao replied, “No, it’s a wild cat.”

After thinking for a moment, she blushed and added, “A very soft one.”

Zhu Mingyu: ???

What kind of extravagant life was this, casually feeding a wild cat a Five Spirit Fish??

Zhu Mingyu scanned Yu Tao from head to toe, only to discover that, in just a month, she had already reached the fourth level of Qi Refining.

It must be from eating all sorts of spiritual food and immortal brews that she had improved her cultivation. Zhu Mingyu snorted coldly. “Such a waste is disgraceful.”

“Yes!”

Yu Tao replied, feeling somewhat touched. She had grown up not having enough food, and seeing others waste food had always saddened her.

She didn’t expect that Zhu Mingyu shared the same view. She had even reminded her earlier to stay humble and not be arrogant. Plus, she was the first disciple since entering the sect to actively speak to her.

Looking at it this way… they might have a chance to become friends.

And since she had already been so proactive, Yu Tao took a deep breath and, shyly and nervously, said, “My name is Yu Tao, Yu from ‘^[1]“Yushui” (俞水) literally means “Yu’s water” or “the water of Yu.” It is likely a poetic or symbolic name referencing calmness, fluidity, or adaptability, … Continue readingYushui,’ Tao from ^[2]“Taozi” (桃子) means “peach” in Chinese. “Taozi” conveys a sense of sweetness, cuteness, or charm, similar to how someone might be called “Peach” in … Continue reading’Taozi’.”

Zhu Mingyu slowly formed a question mark above her head: ?

“I obviously know your name is Yu Tao,” she replied. ‘I also know you’re Xuan Yuzi’s disciple, the one I’ve been dreaming of joining.’

Because they had been standing at the entrance of the cafeteria for so long, a crowd of disciples had gathered around, whispering among themselves.

“Isn’t that Zhu Mingyu, the talented newcomer who scored full marks in the sect’s trial?”

“The person opposite her… um, isn’t that Yu Tao, the new disciple that Xuan Yuzi just took in?”

“Looking at her like this, she’s really quite average, with mediocre talent. Why did Xuan Yuzi take her in? Zhu Mingyu looks far stronger.”

“It’s because she…”

Zhu Mingyu had always had sharp hearing since she was young, and their low whispers reached her ears.

Hearing them mention Xuan Yuzi, she couldn’t help but clench her fists.

“Seems like the atmosphere is tense. Are they arguing? Could they be about to fight?”

“Yay, fight! Fight! I love watching pretty girls fight!”

“The sect doesn’t allow fighting amongst disciples…”

“You, you…”

Yu Tao stammered for a long time, then suddenly closed and opened her eyes, clenched her fists tightly, and asked in a stiff tone, “Are you free in twenty days to go to Qingdeng Peak?”

The crowd of onlookers burst into chatter. Could this be the legendary duel invitation?!

Is Yu Tao really that bold? Going straight to challenge the top newcomer?!

But why twenty days?

The crowd of onlookers was confused. Isn’t a duel usually arranged with a challenge letter, set for three days later?

Zhu Mingyu was also stunned. She furrowed her brows and said, “You’ve only reached the fourth level of Qi Refining.”

She was already at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment, and the difference in their abilities was clear. She didn’t want to bully anyone.

Yu Tao froze for a moment, then clenched her fists and said firmly, “I’ll work hard! Don’t worry.”

At this rate, she should be able to reach the fifth level of Qi Refining in twenty days, right?

Zhu Mingyu said, “…It’s not just about effort. Twenty days isn’t enough.”

How confident was she? Did she think she could surpass her in twenty days?

“Ah…”

Yu Tao’s tail drooped, and she looked down, feeling a bit dejected. She let her hands fall and asked, “So you won’t be free, right?”

Zhu Mingyu: “…”

Hey, why didn’t she agree? Now it seemed like Yu Tao was bullying her!

“Why isn’t Zhu Mingyu agreeing?”

“Could it be that she’s scared?”

Hearing the murmurs and discussions from the crowd, Zhu Mingyu could only curse her sharp hearing. She closed her eyes in frustration and finally relented. “Fine, no problem. Twenty days later, it’ll be twenty days.”

“Alright, you said it. The location is definitely Qingdeng Peak?”

Yu Tao’s eyes instantly lit up: “Yes!”

“Yu Tao really issued a challenge letter. Twenty days later, such a long delay—there must be some trick behind it, right?”

“I think so too. Otherwise, how could she, at the fourth level of Qi Refining, dare to challenge someone at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment?”

Zhu Mingyu hadn’t thought about it like that at first, but after hearing the crowd’s comments, she looked down again at the excitement in Yu Tao’s eyes.

…Could she be planning some scheme?

Was she trying to humiliate her in front of everyone?

And when she thought about it, Qingdeng Peak was where the Sect’s library was located, and it was a peak with a high flow of people every day.

Zhu Mingyu became more cautious and gave her a long, deep look: “Understood, we’ll meet at Qingdeng Peak in twenty days.”

Yu Tao smiled, her eyes squinting with happiness: “Mm, we’ll see each other that day!”

Watching Yu Tao happily leave the entrance of the cafeteria, Zhu Mingyu’s expression grew increasingly serious.

She had just finished eating and was planning to go home for a nap, but without hesitation, she turned around and headed to the sword training ground for the night.

‘Hmph, I’ve already seen through your little scheme!’

Zhu Mingyu sneered, tightening her grip on the sword handle and unleashing a series of fierce sword strikes. However, in the face of absolute strength, ^[3]“all schemes are just paper tigers” means that no matter how elaborate or threatening a plan or scheme seems, it is ultimately weak and harmless, just like a paper tiger. A paper tiger … Continue readingall schemes are just paper tigers!

—

The cold, empty room, with a long sword hung beside the window on the wall.

Yu Tao placed the food box on the table, propping her chin with both hands as she gazed at the moon outside the window, softly humming a tuneless song.

The food box was insulated to keep it fresh, so there was no need to worry about it going bad. She could take it out tomorrow and it would be just as fresh as when it was made.

The cat would definitely like it!

And then there was Zhu Mingyu…

She swung her feet and looked forward to the trip to the library on Qingdeng Peak in twenty days.

Wait a minute, Yu Tao suddenly realized something.

In twenty days, she would only have enough points for 50 points. What if Zhu Mingyu didn’t have 50 points? Then they wouldn’t be able to go together, would they?

And when it came to invitations like this, since it was her invitation, she should be the one paying for the points, right?

Thinking of this, Yu Tao suddenly became anxious.

So, she needed to earn a hundred points in these twenty days.

Yu Tao quickly took out her Liuli mirror to check the sect’s tasks, as this was now the only way to earn points.

She quickly skimmed through the pages. There weren’t many tasks available for Qi Refining disciples, most of them were delivery tasks or herb gathering missions, offering one or two points per task.

She had previously thought these tasks were too time-consuming and would affect her cultivation, so she hadn’t taken any.

As time passed, after calculating how she would allocate her time for tasks tomorrow, Yu Tao finally closed the sect’s task window with a sigh of relief.

Just as she was about to exit, her eyes caught a popular post on the sect’s forum. She stopped for a moment.

【March 28th, Dual Battle Locked at Qingdeng Peak (Hot) (800+ views)】

Yu Tao: …Huh?