Xiao Fensi looked at Jiang Ying in distress, her little face scrunched up.
"I don't even know what kind of illness I have. Some say I was born weak, some say I’m missing the five elements, some call it dwarfism, and others just say I’m not eating enough! Big sister, who is actually right?"
"Who are these people?"
"Some are doctors in the Ghost Market, others are wandering healers..."
Jiang Ying shook her head.
"None of them are right. You aren't sick."
In her past life, even Zhenren Wugao had believed that Xiao Fensi—who lacked the five elements yet retained a childlike appearance—was suffering from a rare disease.
Because of that, they had initially used Xiao Fensi as a human test subject, feeding her countless bizarre medicinal pills. Zhenren Wugao had even written a thesis titled "The Use of Medicinal Pills to Cure Deficiency of Five-Element Elements."
The data in that thesis was fabricated, utter nonsense, and riddled with plagiarized filler. It was a complete joke from start to finish.
Jiang Ying secretly resolved that in this lifetime, she would never let Xiao Fensi fall into the hands of those animals!
When Xiao Fensi heard Jiang Ying say she wasn't sick, her eyes lit up immediately.
"Big sister, is that true? I’m not sick? But I’m already twelve, and I just can't seem to grow..."
"You just have a special constitution..."
Just as the Ghost Clan's lifespan is often much longer than humans, those with a Ghost Spiritual Root grow much slower than the average person. That was why, at twelve years old, Xiao Fensi looked like a child of six or seven.
As Jiang Ying was speaking, an expressive, rhythmic voice suddenly echoed from nearby.
"Why does our Master pose such soul-searching questions so frequently? Why do I feel like needles are pricking my back and a bone is stuck in my throat, unable to sit still? Welcome to the show—'The Heart-Palpitating Group Meeting'."
Jiang Ying froze. What on earth was this?
Xiao Fensi's attention was instantly captured. It was as if she had seen something incredibly interesting; her eyes shone with excitement as she let out a cheer.
"Big sister, look! There's something fun over there!"
She called out, tugging at Jiang Ying and scurrying forward with her short legs.
Jiang Ying strode to catch up, smiling as she patted Xiao Fensi’s head.
"What is it that’s so fun it makes you this happy?"
Xiao Fensi pointed at a middle-aged man surrounded by a crowd not far away.
"It’s him!"
The man was wearing a tawny leather cloak with an iron-eater mask tilted across his face, energetically greeting customers.
"Step right up, don't miss out! 'The Overbearing Senior Brother Loves Me' and 'The Foolish Cute Junior Brother Strategy Guide' are now complete! Jump in with confidence! With one jade slip in hand, you can listen, watch, and keep up with the latest updates!"
"You want 'The Aloof Junior Brother, Please Be Gentle'? We have it, of course! Let me find it for you! This story has been selling exceptionally well lately; our stock of these jade slips is getting quite low!"
A small cart followed him as he moved, holding a large basket filled with jade slips. A jade screen was propped up on the basket, playing a video.
Jiang Ying looked on with keen interest.
A sect elder in the video was speaking.
"The group meeting begins now. Everyone has one quarter of an hour to report on their recent cultivation insights."
"Is this your alchemy result? How many times must I say it? A tiny error leads to a massive failure. Your proportions must be absolutely precise, or what is the difference between what you've concocted and actual excrement?"
"Sleeping during a group meeting? You haven't published a single paper, yet you have the nerve to sleep? You’ll be reporting for an extra quarter of an hour next time!"
"Your cultivation notes are truly well-written—they are unprecedented! No wonder your cultivation hasn't progressed an inch this month, it's actually regressed!"
"Just keep cultivating like this. Yes, one day you will surely succeed—succeed at Foundation Establishment? What kind of pipe dream are you having! You’ll succeed at dropping dead!"
Jiang Ying could no longer smile.
Those trembling, pale-faced disciples who dared not voice their anger were living portraits of Jiang Ying’s own past life!
Once upon a time, she had been one of those poor, overworked souls.
As for the masters in the video, Jiang Ying didn't recognize them. They were likely Golden Core cultivators from minor sects.
By participating in a program like this, they were likely trying to promote their own sects to recruit disciples. Minor sects weren't like the big ones; although they often attached themselves to larger sects, they lacked the qualifications to recruit top-tier disciples at the Ascension Conference. If they couldn't fill their quotas or meet the cultivation contribution metrics set by the Alliance, they risked losing their status and being merged into other sects.
Still, the masters in the video were all Golden Core cultivators, and their pressure was palpable. Even if their tongues were sharp, many disciples who couldn't get into the big sects would likely still seek them out as mentors after seeing this.
Of course, compared to a certain damn old bastard, these sharp-tongued Golden Core cultivators were nothing!
Before she died in her past life, she had been dragged out by a Nascent Soul monster and smashed to within an inch of her life. Zhenren Wuya hadn't cared one bit about her injuries; his first words were, "Have you finished the presentation slides I need for the forum tomorrow?"
And the group meetings were even worse—one slip of attention and he would peel a layer of skin off you. When Jiang Ying had once proposed a hypothesis on researching Fivefold Spiritual Roots cultivation during a meeting, he had snapped back directly:
"How is the research on Dual Spiritual Roots progressing? Since you’re so free, report on a new paper in addition to your experimental results next time."
That had scared Jiang Ying so much she broke into a cold sweat and never dared to think about researching Fivefold Spiritual Roots again.
When her Senior Brother, Zhang Yang, tried to skip a meeting by claiming he was away on a trial and couldn't make it back in time, he had said, "Shall I fly over personally to retrieve you?"
That very night, her senior brother had rolled back with lightning speed. He had arrived with his sword sparking so fiercely from the sheer velocity that many Guanghua Sect disciples had seen the streak of fire in the sky, closed their eyes, and made wishes, thinking it was a meteor.
When her Junior Brother, Yu Chun, was late to a meeting without a presentation, he had pulled a three-foot-thick copy of the *Guanghua Sect Disciples’ Code (Revised Edition)* and a supplementary *Guide to Academic Writing in Cultivation Law* off the shelf and thrown them at Yu Chun’s face.
"Hand-copy this ten times."
...
The heart-palpitating group meeting!
It wasn't just heart-palpitating; just thinking about those scenes from her past life made Jiang Ying feel like she was having a stress reaction!
No sect disciple could walk away from this video feeling happy!
Jiang Ying took a deep breath to steady her emotions.
The vendor in the leather cloak finished helping his customer, saw Jiang Ying and Xiao Fensi, and waved at them warmly.
"What would you two like to buy?"
Xiao Fensi clutched her little bag, tilted her head, and blinked her eyes.
"Uncle, I want to buy a jade slip of 'The Aloof Junior Brother, Please Be Gentle'."
The boss glanced at Xiao Fensi and stroked his neatly trimmed goatee.
"Little sister, this story isn't suitable for you. But don't worry, Uncle has children's books, too."
With that, he pulled off his cloak with a flourish and a dashing "Whoosh!"