Chapter 27

The youth’s voice was clear and melodious, like the sound of snow falling from a winter pine. As soon as he spoke, the bustling crowd around them suddenly fell eerily silent.

The young man was stunned for a moment, his gaze shifting awkwardly from Yan Qing to Lin Du, and then he took a step back in disbelief, scanning the four of them repeatedly.

“So you’re the one called Lin Du?”

Lin Du nodded, “That’s right.”

The young man felt something was off. He stared fixedly at the person in front of him, as if trying to see through Lin Du’s very bones. Anyone being looked at like that would feel a bit irritated.

But the young man spoke again, his tone lazy.

“Are you done looking? If you want to look more, it’ll cost twenty spirit stones per person.”

Some in the crowd found this comment a bit familiar.

“Little Master Uncle, why have you raised the price?”

Lin Du smiled slightly, “Oh, because I’m the top talent, so it’s double the fee.”

Once she made it onto the Chong Xiao, she would charge a hundred per person.

Lin Du knew how to set prices.

The young man was stunned. He looked at the skinny boy in front of him, whose pale face was surrounded by white fox fur. It seemed like a single punch could make him bleed, and the slightest noise might be too much for him. For a moment, he was at a loss for words.

He scratched his head, his thick black eyebrows furrowing together, “How can you be Lin Du?”

“How can Lin Du be like this?”

Lin Du laughed, “What do you think Lin Du should look like?”

Not just the sword cultivator, but everyone looked at Lin Du with complicated expressions. How could the top talent on the Qingyun Ranking be such a frail youth?

Even if the face was handsome, it looked like someone with a fragile destiny.

How could such a person have the best talent in the world?

The eyes on Lin Du were suddenly full of mixed emotions—some were sympathetic, some were skeptical, and some were disdainful.

“So the top talent is actually a frail invalid,” someone sneered.

“Could it be that the Heaven made a mistake?”

“The Heaven can’t make mistakes.”

If there was a mistake, it could only be with Lin Du.

“What a waste.”

“So disappointing.”

The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. People had imagined that the top talent would be an extraordinary figure, but instead, they found a clearly sickly and frail person, whose faint medicinal scent hinted at long-term medication.

Ni Jinxuan furrowed her brows and shouted, “Who do you think you’re looking down on? Our Little Master Uncle has been cultivating for just two months, can you do that?”

Lin Du laughed and, before anyone could retort, raised her hand to cover Ni Jinxuan’s ears. “Don’t listen.”

She had long anticipated that whenever someone held the top position, there would always be dissent.

Especially when discovering that this “top” position was not so extraordinary after all.

From childhood until now, especially after starting her own media presence, she had heard many unkind comments. These only made her want to laugh a little, but Ni Jinxuan, with her pure heart, was not suited to hear such things.

Lin Du felt it was better for Ni Jinxuan not to hear certain things.

Ni Jinxuan felt her ears suddenly enveloped in a cold jade-like sensation. The hands covering her ears were cold and somewhat stiff, yet for some reason, her mood lifted.

The sword cultivator looked at Lin Du, “Can you fight?”

Lin Du didn’t even lift her eyelids to look at him. “Do you think I can?”

Alright, the eager hearts of those who had been waiting to challenge the so-called top talent were suddenly dampened.

Bullying a sickly person wasn’t something worth bragging about, even if this sickly person was the top talent.

Lin Du watched as the impending conflict quietly dissipated, and she withdrew her hand from covering Ni Jinxuan’s ears. Her hands fell back beneath the heavy fox fur robe, where no one could see. Her thumb subtly rubbed against the knuckle of her middle finger, and a trace of hostility flashed in her half-lowered eyes.

She was, after all, someone sent by the system to cut through false pretenses—a cannon fodder, to be precise.

To be accurate, Lin Du’s current role could be seen as a malicious villain.

Lin Du was never a paragon of virtue.

She was thoroughly annoyed.

The more irritated Lin Du was, the more genuine her smile became.

So when Ni Jinxuan saw that smile, her anger dissipated. She said, “Little Master Uncle, just you wait. When we come out of the secret realm, the spiritual items we collect will definitely be first place.”

It seemed to be in the nature of people from the Zhong Zhou to rank things. Secret realms discovered and regularly opened by predecessors, especially those marked by sects for disciples to practice in, were also ranked based on the harvests. This helped determine how many more years the secret realm needed to rest before opening again.

Lin Du responded, “Of course.”

The Supreme Sect had brought them, and they were accompanied by Master Ju Yuan, who was invited to the main hall.

The hall was already filled with people, but as soon as he entered, everyone stood up.

Ju Yuan courteously returned the gesture and then took his seat in the middle.

Nearby, a Real Person from the Jishi Sect casually asked, “Is that Lin Du from your sect here this time?”

Ju Yuan nodded, “Yes, she is.”

The mention of Lin Du made people prick up their ears in private.

“Oh, how’s her health?” Master Jun Qian had heard that Lin Du was inherently weak and frail. He wondered if the Supreme Sect, which had been scouring resources desperately, could take good care of her.

“She’s doing very well. She eats three large bowls of rice and two buns per meal. Is there something wrong?” Ju Yuan had cooked quite a bit himself, as his own two disciples were always hungry, so he was quite familiar with Lin Du’s appetite.

Master Jun Qian was stunned, “Ah?”

Then he laughed, “You’re really joking.”

Ju Yuan lifted his eyelids, “Do you think I’m joking?”

Jun Qian’s laughter suddenly stopped, as if his neck had been squeezed. He looked at Ju Yuan’s expression, which didn’t seem like a joke, and then looked again.

But that frail little bamboo stick really didn’t look like someone who could eat three large bowls of rice.

“Oh, the secret realm has opened.”

With this announcement, a golden light suddenly flashed in the previously empty space before the table.

This year, people didn’t have to wait like isolated old people outside the secret realm for their young disciples to come out because Master Ju Yuan from the Supreme Sect had brought a magical artifact.

This artifact wasn’t particularly precious, but its power lay in its ability to merge with the small world’s heavens, allowing the old folks to see what the young ones were up to.

With this artifact, it was like having a celestial eye—though not entirely clear, such as when blocked by trees or caves, it could still provide a clear view as long as it was on the ground.

Ju Yuan looked at the water mirror, remembering his Little Master Uncle’s instructions to pay more attention to Lin Du. He found it somewhat strange.

Yan Ye’s formations were renowned as the best in the world. Many people longed to have him inscribe formations for them, but since his ascension, he had not taken any more commissions. Yet for Lin Du, he had personally drawn up the celestial eye’s formation diagram and sent it to He Gui, who forged the celestial eye.

It turned out that even the most capable and casual person would become like a concerned old father when they became a teacher.

Ju Yuan had no doubt that if Lin Du encountered any trouble in the secret realm, Yan Ye would tear open the realm himself to rescue her.