The Heavenly Dao was so furious at this that it stomped its feet in the clouds, making the entire Ninth Heavens tremble three times. It was a deeply aggravating affair—the world it had painstakingly nurtured was running smoothly, much like a thriving listed corporation. Everyone performed their respective duties, the workplace atmosphere in the cultivation world was harmonious and upward-looking, and it was just about to hit its annual KPI.
Suddenly, two nepotism hires were parachuted in one day!
"What kind of damned male and female leads are these?!" The Heavenly Dao kicked over a cloud-desk in a rage, "They're clearly plagiarized trash forcefully shoved in by some third-rate author!"
Who could swallow such an insult? It was like you, the proud daughter of the chairman, going incognito to work your way up from the bottom, finally on the verge of securing the year's key project. Suddenly, the board of directors drops two incompetent fools who not only copy your proposal entirely through nepotism, but also have you reassigned to clean the toilets!
What was most infuriating were their character settings—
The female lead slept with anyone she saw like an escaped disciple of the Hehuan Sect, while the male lead plagiarized someone else's Spiritual Root and still set himself up as a paragon of the righteous path. They stirred the Heavenly Dao's fine cultivation world into a complete mess, just like a single rat dropping ruining a whole pot of porridge.
"Borrowing inspiration? My foot!" The Heavenly Dao laughed out of extreme anger, waving its hand to strike down a bolt of purple lightning, "This is a color palette turned into a demon!"
Amidst the rolling thunder in the clouds, the original author could faintly be seen shivering in the mortal realm while hugging a keyboard. The Heavenly Dao narrowed its eyes and calculated: Since its darling daughter had transmigrated into the book, it was time to let this pair of plagiarizing dogs experience what the "reincarnation of Heavenly Dao justice" truly meant...
Meanwhile, Yan Luoluo, who was in the middle of cultivation, suddenly sneezed three times in a row.
Ye Wuchen frowned: "Catch a cold?"
"Not really..." Yan Luoluo rubbed her nose and muttered, "I just feel like someone is helping me curse someone..."
(Heavenly Dao: My precious daughter is so considerate!)
That day, the Lingxiao Sect's cranes circled above the Yan estate, their wings piercing the morning light and scattering a flurry of shattered gold.
Yan Luoluo wore small disciple robes, with a protective jade pendant personally crafted by Ye Wuchen hanging from her waist, standing before the estate gates.
"Luoluo..." Liu Qingcheng squatted down, pulling her into a tight embrace, her tears dampening the collar of Luoluo's robes. "Eat well, remember to add layers when it's cold, and rest when you're tired from cultivation..."
Yan Yixuan's eyes were red as he shoved a storage ring into her palm: "Inside are the spirit fruit pastries you love, and protective talismans your father made..."
The maids and servants of the estate all gathered around, some secretly wiping away tears while others forced smiles.
Yan Luoluo sniffled, tears falling plop, plop, plop: "Dad, Mom, I'll miss you..."
She suddenly broke free from Liu Qingcheng's embrace, turned, and ran "thud, thud, thud" over to Ye Wuchen, tugging at his sleeve and looking up:
"Master! Can I sneak back to visit them in the future?"
Ye Wuchen lowered his gaze to look at her tear-stained little face. After a moment of silence, he suddenly raised a hand to gently wipe away her tears:
"Mn."
Just that single word instantly turned the tears of everyone in the Yan estate into smiles.
An Immortal Venerable's promise carried more weight than the Heavenly Laws.
Above a sea of clouds, Ye Wuchen traveled on his flying sword with Yan Luoluo held securely in his arms.
She clung to the edge of the sword blade and looked down, seeing majestic mountains, swirling clouds and mist, graceful cranes dancing, and pavilions and terraces half-hidden in the haze.
"Is that the Lingxiao Sect?"
Ye Wuchen gave an "Mn" and suddenly asked, "Scared?"
Yan Luoluo shook her head and clenched her little fists: "Not scared! I'm going to become the most powerful cultivator, and then protect Mom and Dad, and protect Master!"
A trace of a smile flashed in the depths of Ye Wuchen's eyes as he rubbed the top of her head: "Good."
He suddenly felt that raising a little disciple seemed not so bad after all.
When Ye Wuchen carried Yan Luoluo into the Lingxiao Sect's grand hall, an uproar broke out across the entire assembly!
"The Old Ancestor is actually holding her himself?!"
"Whose background is that child?!"
The elders looked at each other in dismay until Ye Wuchen cold-ly announced:
"Starting today, Yan Luoluo is my personal disciple. Seeing her is the same as seeing me."
This was equivalent to granting her a status second only to one person and above tens of thousands!
Yan Luoluo blinked, then suddenly hopped down from Ye Wuchen's arms, cupping her fists in a proper salute:
"Hello, Senior Brothers and Sisters~"
Utterly melting everyone present!
At night, Yan Luoluo lay in the exclusive little courtyard prepared for her by the Lingxiao Sect, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Suddenly, a familiar voice drifted from outside the window:
"Can't sleep?"
She sprang up in one motion and pushed open the window—
Under the moonlight, Ye Wuchen stood with his hands behind his back, his fingertips dangling a package of oil paper.
"Spirit fruit pastries."
He said indifferently, "Your father had a crane deliver them."
Yan Luoluo's eyes grew hot as she lunged forward to hug his waist:
"Master is the best!"
Ye Wuchen's body stiffened slightly before he finally let out a soft sigh and patted her back:
"The path of cultivation is long, but... your master is here."
That night, the starry river was brilliant and the breeze gentle.
Ever since that day of parting, Yan Luoluo poured all her longing into the momentum of her cultivation. Long before dawn broke, her figure could be seen meditating in the morning mist, and deep into the quiet night, the childish sound of her reciting cultivation mental formulas could still be heard. That hard-working appearance made everyone in the Lingxiao Sect feel both heartache and helplessness.
"Junior Uncle went to the back mountain to practice swordplay again." Granny Li from the dining hall sighed, stuffing two extra spirit fruits into the food box. "A child of only five or six, working harder than those inner sect disciples."
"Four Spiritual Roots..." The Chuan-gong Elder shook his head, his gaze complicated as he looked at that little figure practicing horse stances beneath a waterfall. The cultivation world had always been cruel; with such aptitude, reaching Foundation Establishment by the end of one's life would already be a stroke of supreme fortune.
Yet strangely, not a single person in the entire Lingxiao Sect showed any disdain toward Yan Luoluo.
On the day of the Spiritual Root testing, Yan Luoluo's palms were slick with nervous sweat. She stared fixedly at the four dim lights glowing on the testing stone, her ears already seeming to hear taunts—just like those described in the original book.
"Mm, Metal, Fire, Earth, and Wood, four Spiritual Roots." The elder in charge of the test stroked his beard, his tone as calm as if he were discussing today's weather. "Come to the Scripture Pavilion tomorrow at the hour of Chen, and I'll pick a few suitable techniques for you."
Yan Luoluo was stunned. She furtively raised her gaze and saw that among the curious expressions of the surrounding disciples, she couldn't find a single trace of contempt.
"Junior Uncle!" A round-faced female disciple suddenly bounded over, "The spirit cranes in the back mountain hatched an egg, want to go see?"
"C-can I go?" Yan Luoluo's voice trembled.
"Of course!" The female disciple smiled and pulled her hand, "I heard you finished memorizing the 《Fundamental Mental Formula》 yesterday? So amazing! It took me half a month when I first did it..."
Later on, Yan Luoluo understood that all this goodwill was no coincidence. On one hand, it was due to Ye Wuchen's absolute authority within the sect—no one dared disrespect the Ancestral Master's personal disciple; on the other hand, the very first rule in the Lingxiao Sect's codes stated: "Those who discriminate against fellow disciples shall have their cultivation crippled and be expelled from the mountain gates."
But most importantly, it was the change in herself that she hadn't even noticed. That little girl who always smiled with curved eyebrows had unknowingly won over everyone with her sincerity.
"Junior Uncle!" Several disciples waved at her from the martial arts training grounds, "Come try out the new sword techniques we learned?"
Yan Luoluo wiped the sweat from her forehead and cheerfully gave an affirmative response. Under the sunlight, the jade pendant at her waist faintly gleamed—it was the one Ye Wuchen had tied on her himself, said to conceal the aura of the Hùndùn Spiritual Root.
(And somewhere in the clouds, the Heavenly Dao watched this scene with satisfaction, casually striking the original author with another bolt of lightning.)
Three years passed, and Yan Luoluo once again initiated her "flirt and run" mode.
"Senior Sister~ The rouge you're wearing today smells like jasmine, right?" Eight-year-old Yan Luoluo flung herself like a little butterfly into the arms of the Danxia Peak elder, her nose twitching, "It matches Senior Sister's temperament so well!"
Chu Ningxi, who was in the middle of concocting pills, gave a start, and the Clarity Pill in her cauldron almost turned into the Hehuan Powder. Blushing, she hoisted the little ball of dough clinging to her: "H-how did you smell it?"
"Because Senior Sister smells even sweeter than jasmine flowers!" The little ball of dough blinked her big eyes and suddenly leaned close to her ear, "But I saw the Senior Brother from the Medicine King Valley give Senior Sister a box yesterday..."
"YAN! LUO! LUO!"
Meanwhile, the scene unfolding on the sword training grounds left passing disciples dumbfounded.
"Senior Brother's 'Rainbow Piercing the Sun' move just now was simply overwhelmingly handsome!" The little girl cupped her round face, her eyes shining like stars, "Especially the angle of your wrist twist; it's even three degrees more standard than the illustration in the 《Sword Canon》!"
Gu Qinghan stumbled mid-sword practice, and his Frost Sword—renowned throughout the cultivation world—almost slipped from his hand. This famously ice-cold chief sword cultivator had the tips of his ears turning red as he stiffly fished out a bag of pine nut candies.
The most outrageous of all occurred on the day the Sect Leader lectured on the scriptures...
"Sect Leader Senior Brother's modification to this Spirit-Gathering Formation is simply ingenious!" A milky-soft exclamation echoed through the grand hall, "Shifting the Kan position formation eye half an inch to the left improves efficiency by at least twenty percent!"
Xuanxiaozi, who was demonstrating the formation, gave a start, and his spiritual power lines almost turned into a turtle. He glared at the little bean-sprout standing below—not even reaching his waist—wondering how on earth this lass managed to figure out his uniquely created modified formation.
From top to bottom in the entire Lingxiao Sect—from the menial servants sweeping the floors to the elders in seclusion—not a single person escaped Yan Luoluo's "sweet-talking" attacks. Yet this little scoundrel would always run away right after flirting, leaving all the men and boys of the entire sect blushing furiously.
Until one day...
"Master~" A soft, sweet voice sounded outside the quiet room, "What are you..."
"Go practice body techniques." Ye Wuchen tossed out a cultivation manual without lifting his head, "The first three forms of the 《Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art》, finish them before sunset."
The little ball of dough outside the door instantly wilted. But within a quarter of an hour, gasps of astonishment erupted from the martial arts training grounds.
There she was—that little lass not even as tall as a sword—practicing Tai Chi with fluid, effortless motions. As her fair, tender little hands pushed and gathered, she actually tossed around a hundred-jin stone lock as if it were a embroidered ball. Even more frightening was when she suddenly shifted forms into Xingyi Quan, the fierce wind whipped up by her tiger-pouncing strikes flattening the robes of the surrounding spectators.
As for the other sect disciples and elders who missed the spectacle, they began gossiping about Ye Wuchen behind his back.
"The Ancestral Master is too cruel!"
"Junior Uncle is only eight years old!"
"Beast!"
Listening to the whispered chatter of the disciples in the distance, Ye Wuchen expressionlessly crushed his teacup. Of course he knew this little scoundrel had learned martial arts in the modern era—she had even blurted out the mnemonic chants for the "Twenty-Four Form Tai Chi" while talking in her sleep the night before!
(The Heavenly Dao up in the clouds rolled around laughing: "My daughter's flirting skills definitely inherited them from me!")