chapter 8 - The Heroine Insists on Being My Master

After returning to Lingjian Peak, Wen Jiayin received the cultivation method and sword technique that Xinyun had selected for her. The sword technique didn't have a name because it was a unique set of sword moves that Xinyun had created based on her own knowledge and Wen Jiayin's physical condition. She hadn't had a chance to name it yet. The cultivation method was called "The Primordial Heavenly Flame Technique." Xinyun gave her two items in total: one was a pitiable scroll that looked ancient and had been torn in half, and the other was a peculiar tool for memory from the cultivation world—an jade slip. By channeling one's spiritual awareness into it, the content recorded inside could be deeply ingrained in one's memory, almost impossible to forget. If only such a magical tool existed back when I was in school, I wouldn't have had to burn the midnight oil until 2 AM trying to memorize my books, Wen Jiayin thought, wiping away non-existent tears. Yet, the name of this technique seemed somewhat familiar... Wen Jiayin stroked her chin, feeling she had encountered it somewhere before. Hmm... It must have been mentioned in the original novel. Still, since she couldn't recall it clearly, it probably wasn't of significant importance. After all, the technique given by the female protagonist surely wouldn't be subpar—just practicing it would suffice! That very day, Wen Jiayin began practicing the technique and soon discovered a rather awkward issue... she couldn't recognize all the characters on it! The script of this world resembled the ancient seal script from Wen Jiayin's previous life. She recognized some symbols but not others. Moreover, even when she managed to read whole sentences, recognizing each character, the content still seemed entirely nonsensical. The shock was akin to being struck by a thunderbolt on a clear day. After all, she had been a graduate student in her past life, and now she found herself practically illiterate... Wen Jiayin had taken the book back to her room with great enthusiasm, only to find herself knocking on Xinyun's door in dejection. Upon hearing Wen Jiayin’s predicament, Xinyun was clearly taken aback. She had never known that Wen Jiayin couldn’t recognize all the characters when she first joined. How, then, had she learned to read? "Well... I was raised by my grandfather through begging, and I never attended school. There was a liquor shop next to where we used to beg, and a scholar fond of drinking would occasionally teach me a couple of characters when he was in a good mood. So, I know a bit, but not everything..." Wen Jiayin stammered her way through the lie. Faced with Xinyun, she couldn’t keep her story straight, but she had no other way to explain why she recognized half of the characters. How could a child raised as a beggar know how to read? But if she spoke the truth, Wen Jiayin feared her master might find out she was some demonic arts practitioner with body-snatching tendencies and might kill her on the spot. "It’s okay, I’ll teach you," Xinyun said, simply patting Wen Jiayin’s head under her anxious gaze. How could she have not known? The answer was obvious because, in her previous life, she had never cared for Wen Jiayin during this period. With such a cold and rigid attitude, who would have been willing to get close? Xinyun buried the bitterness deeper within her heart. Once, she had resented her fate for its unfairness. Now, she only felt gratitude towards the heavens for granting her a chance to make amends. Through the open window, warm sunlight streamed into Xinyun's room. The master and disciple pair sat by the desk near the window, with Wen Jiayin holding the half-torn scroll and consulting Xinyun almost word by word. Xinyun had read this technique more than once and knew it by heart, so she could answer all of Wen Jiayin's questions in detail. The phrase "peaceful times" aptly described this exchange between the master and disciple duo. There were no battles, no mistrust, no life-and-death separations. Xinyun yearned for such tranquility, yet it was as unreachable as it was desirable. This fleeting beauty was as fragile as a bubble in the face of harsh reality. Internal strife and external threats could easily shatter this peace. All Xinyun wished for was a bit more time, just a little more, to at least see Jiayin’s path to immortality unfold without hindrance. "Dream on," sneered the heart demon, always choosing such moments to disrupt her peace. Even if it could only come out occasionally to utter a word or two, it wouldn't let Xinyun enjoy a moment of reprieve. Xinyun's expression remained unchanged, pretending as though the demon didn’t exist. Outside the wooden house, an invisible barrier rose abruptly from the ground. Even the slightest chance couldn’t be afforded. Xinyun would never allow the existence of this technique to spread outside. A heavenly-level technique alone could doom a small sect, while this one surpassed heavenly rank, having been acquired from the tomb of a fallen deity. It would tempt countless people to risk being hunted by her, a tribulation-stage cultivator, to seize it. She couldn’t guarantee being able to protect Jiayin’s safety forever, so this technique must be hidden away. "Jiayin, if anyone asks about your cultivation technique in the future, tell them you practice 'The Long Fire Star Technique.' You absolutely must not mention the name of this technique. Understood?" The Long Fire Star Technique was a heavenly-level manual in the hands of the sect leader, and it was also the technique Wen Jiayin practiced in her previous life. By stating this name, Xinyun believed her senior brother would handle the aftermath. "Why?" Wen Jiayin still didn’t understand how much chaos the technique she held could incite. "Possessing a jade could incur guilt," Xinyun replied softly. "Understood." Wen Jiayin covered her mouth. "I won’t say a word about it!" "Good." Once she finished learning the first volume from Xinyun, Wen Jiayin began practicing according to the technique. She sat cross-legged on her bed, laying the half-torn scroll beside her, and closed her eyes to absorb the surrounding fire spiritual energy, following the method described. At that moment, Wen Jiayin failed to notice that as she began cultivating, the scroll beside her started to emit a faint glow. Entirely focused on her cultivation, Wen Jiayin was diligently attempting to capture the lively fire spiritual energy around her. But suddenly, she gave a little gasp and found herself falling onto an enormous leaf. “What the—!” Wen Jiayin looked around at the grey mist surrounding her. Since when did cultivation come with a 5D immersive experience? Suddenly, the leaf she was sitting on began to shake violently, no, the entire ground was shaking! In the distance, amidst the haze, it seemed as if a colossal figure was rising. "Ho!" A deep male voice resonated throughout the space, causing Wen Jiayin's heart to tremble in its wake. “Crack!” A silver flash shot through, as if something had been cleaved apart, nearly deafening Wen Jiayin with the sound. By the dim light, she thought she saw a giant wielding what seemed to be an axe, and it split something, sparking dark flames. Those scattered sparks didn’t disperse; instead, magical forces drew them together into a cluster, and then…it flew her way! Before Wen Jiayin could react, a fair, slender hand reached out and caught the flame. “Ah!!!” Somehow, a tall woman had appeared silently by Wen Jiayin’s side in this horror-like atmosphere, which was quite startling, especially since her face was shrouded like a cloud, impossible to discern! “Miss, are you human or ghost? Let me start by saying I've done nothing wrong, any grudge must surely have nothing to do with me!” That person hadn’t expected Wen Jiayin’s first words upon seeing her to be these. After a long pause, she finally spoke, “If I were a ghost, so are you.” Wen Jiayin: “…” She’d never encountered someone who’d hurt themselves for the sake of an argument and was so composed about it. “This is the primordial fire born at the beginning of heaven and earth, containing the power of the great god Pangu and chaos. It can burn the heavens, incinerate the earth, and scorch everything.” With the hand holding the flame, the woman slapped it onto Wen Jiayin’s head, meeting her shocked and struggling gaze. “It’s yours now.” Miss, that’s fire! Wen Jiayin jolted awake and hastily touched her head. Fortunately, it was intact. That ball of fire hitting someone’s head wouldn’t cause disfigurement?! How strange, why did she dream such an outlandish dream? Wen Jiayin took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Outside, it was still dark, diligent little Wen needed to continue cultivating. However, this time when she immersed herself into her spiritual sea, a flame, seemingly mixed with many dark substances, was trying hard to announce its presence in the center of her spiritual domain. Oh, so it wasn’t a dream... “Master!!!!” Some weird lady slapped fire into my head! Author’s Note: Thanks to all the little angels who voted for my overlord ticket or watered me with nutritional fluids between 2022-01-26 16:08:56 and 2022-01-27 23:21:24~ Thank the little angels who threw landmines: 1 by passerby Bing; Thank the little angels who nourished me with nutritional fluids: ~ 20 bottles; 10 bottles by Qi Qi Qi Qi Qi; 5 bottles by Phoebe; Thank you all for your support, I will continue to work hard! This site has no pop-up ads.