Chapter 17: Xiao Hong: “Did I transmigrate again?”
Xiao Hong sighed inwardly as she strolled over to Chen Yu. Even if she was starting to like the attention, so much of it felt really annoying. ‘Should I just wear a veil or something?’ She thought back to the webnovels she’d read - where the devastating beauty wore a veil because cities could spontaneously implode if someone saw her face.
She wondered if she should try that.
Interestingly, dozens of millennia ago, this world had customs in which women wore veils. But that tradition had disappeared from this World. Though, Xiao Hong didn't really know why - she wasn't a historian.
Xiao Hong gave it a few moments of thought before her narcissism stopped her, ‘Eh, it would be a shame for the world.
‘Besides, it's not as if wearing a veil is gonna stop them from ogling my chest.’ The number of stares she received was growing as she did. Double D really meant double the leers! ‘The most straightforward way to make them stop is to become the strongest! Or at least stronger than them.’
“Senior Brother Chen, have you been well?” A genuine smile appeared on her face. Chen Yu had quickly become a great friend to her. He was honest, sincere and kind - three of the rarest traits in the World of Immortal Cultivation. And he tried his best to not make her uncomfortable in any way. Moreover, his warm personality made him very comfortable to be around.
This fellow was also quite talented in Alchemy as well as Cultivation, so Xiao Hong felt he would make a great friend as a Grade 2 Alchemist and a Metal Disaster Cultivator. A friend with high cultivation was always great to have - especially ones like Chen Yu. While she could casually thrash cultivators of this level, others didn’t know that; and she also wanted to keep her battle power a secret as long as possible. On top of that, he had a great Master in Elder Ji, who was known to be rather protective of his disciples.
“Haha, Junior Sister, even if I had not, your presence alone would have rejuvenated me!” Chen Yu laughed happily. After all, who wouldn’t like it when the No.1 Beauty came to you first among the hundreds, probably thousands of other guys who wanted to talk to her?
“Senior Brother, please don’t joke.” Xiao Hong rolled her eyes.
Then she turned to the three other people including 2 men and a young girl that looked very similar to Chen Yu.
“Junior Sister Xiao Hong greets Senior Sister and Senior Brothers.” she greeted the others politely with cupped fists - they all had cultivations higher than her, so ‘Senior’ it was.
“Ah, Greetings, Junior Sister Xiao, it’s great to finally meet the genius Junior Sister Brother Yu keeps talking about!” A dashing young man with wild, untamed hair smiled so brightly and so widely, that Xiao Hong almost saw the illusion of a Shounen Protagonist in him. “I’m He Peng, by the way.”
“H-Hello, nice to meet you. M-my name is Yan Bao” An honest to Heaven Shouta meekly stuttered out. She really felt this fellow was in danger of being gobbled up by a passerby onee-san at any moment!
‘Also, Yan Bao? I don’t see even the slightest ‘Bao’ (leopard) in him!’
“And-and, I’m Chen Qiuyue!” The young girl's hand shot up, and she introduced herself with boundless energy, reminiscent of a tomboy. “This idiot’s little sister!” Chen Qiuyue pointed to Chen Yu, who immediately erupted.
“Who’re you calling an idiot, you damned jade slip?!”
“Obviously, it is you! Who else fits the definition of ‘idiot’? Also, I’m still growing!”
In an instant, the two of them were in a catfight, trying to claw each other's face off.
Meeting this group, Xiao Hong couldn’t help but wonder if she’d transmigrated again. This time in the Animeverse! A Shounen Protagonist, a Shouta and a tomboy who looked like she jumped straight out of anime with her energetic tone and wild gestures.
“Don’t mind them. They’re always like this; it’s their way of showing their love for each other.” He Peng took the initiative to explain, whispering to her, “It makes me slightly jealous, to be honest.”
““Love, my ass!!”” Both of them exclaimed before continuing their scuffle.
Xiao Hong nodded in agreement. She could see that the girl was holding back much of her strength, otherwise, Chen Yu would be a pile of cookie dough with crunchy Choco-Chips.
‘This girl… she is a fucking Yin Disaster expert!’ Xiao Hong’s eyes twitched violently. ‘She is at most 14 years old, yet she is already a Yin Disaster?! Is this the world of geniuses?! Fuck!’
This girl was around three years younger than her but she somehow had greater cultivation than her! And she wasn’t even from an Immortal Cultivation Family! And with what she knew about Xianxia, there were bound to be even more talented disciples around. This bullshit level of talent made Xiao Hong despise her own talent even more.
'Thankfully, I have a System!' She consoled herself.
After the pair of siblings had settled their scuffle, the five of them chatted casually. Since Chen Qiuyue was there, all of them avoided talking about Alchemy. Because she would feel left out. Alchemists could get really passionate when talking about their craft and would often argue for days on end. But to the ordinary non-Alchemist, it would be incredibly boring.
So, all of them consciously avoided talking about Alchemy as a sort of respect for Chen Qiuyue’s higher cultivation. If Chen Qiuyue had lower cultivation, they would probably not give a shit and go into their long debates.
When reading the Xianxia novels of her previous life, she did not realise it, but these cultivators paid a lot of attention to their Cultivation Base. The higher your Cultivation Base is, the more your happiness matters, the more your opinion matters, and the greater leeway you have with things in general.
It was as if you had a greater ‘weight’.
It was from these little things that Xiao Hong understood how much having a higher cultivation mattered.
***
The crowd in the Sky Reigning Valley grew larger and larger until one could see almost a thousand disciples. It was only in the afternoon that the crowd stopped growing.
At this time, a vast pressure swept over like the Might of Heaven, instantly silencing hundreds of disciples. It was a pressure so powerful the disciples felt like they were nothing more than ants - a mere thought from the owner of this pressure was enough to end them! To obliterate them!
A figure casually walked through the void like he was strolling, every step bringing him closer to the valley at a nonsensical speed. In just a few steps, he had crossed miles!
The figure stood in the air, with no support and no discernible aura around him. It was as though he trod upon the very Void itself!
‘Fusion Realm!’ This thought crossed the minds of all the disciples present.
This was Xiao Hong’s and many other disciples’ first time seeing a Fusion Realm expert. Xiao Hong had seen a few Celestial Bridge Experts, even peak-stage Celestial Bridge Experts like Deacon Ji, but this was the first time she saw a Fusion-level being.
This was a being that could casually destroy cities on a whim! And it was the Xianxia Cities that were all upscaled to at least 5x of Earth!
The man seemed to be in his early 30s, with a calm and steady temperament. His jet-black eyes seemed to contain infinite stars in them - like they were a galaxy on their own. His handsomely chiselled face set on his broad shoulders made for a masculine disposition. His long white hair fluttered behind him like a majestic cape, contrasting against his midnight blue robes.
Dangling from his waist was a token crafted from Black Spirit Jade, adorned with exquisite purple engravings of a mountain. It was the token exclusively for Inner Disciples.
The man looked at the disciples below expressionlessly, surveying them. His gaze made the disciples feel like something was weighing them down as if his gaze - despite being intangible - brought immense pressure on them.
After a few moments, he said, “I’m Bai Heng, an Inner Disciple and I will take you to the Secret Realm Trial.”
He floated over to a clearing in the valley and casually swept out his arm. The moment he did so, a Spatial Ring on his finger glowed and a large wormhole appeared. The space beneath it seemed to twist before a massive form appeared out of thin air.
A humongous Immortal Ship appeared in front of the disciples causing them to involuntarily exclaim in excitement and awe. The Immortal Ship was similar to an Airship but had a more elongated, teardrop-like shape. If Xiao Hong were asked to give a comparison of its tremendous size, she would estimate it to be larger than several hundreds of the biggest aircraft on Earth put together.
“Scan the token you were given at the entrance of the Immortal Ship, then go to your allocated rooms and scan it again. We’ll leave in the evening.” Saying so, he disappeared from their sight as if he did not want to waste his time any longer.
‘This fellow sure is arrogant…’ Xiao Hong thought.
‘Well, it's not like we’re gonna interact anytime soon.’ She shrugged and tossed the matter to the back of her mind.
She walked up to the line that had spontaneously formed.
Xiao Hong took a while to feast her eyes on the Immortal Ship. The elongated teardrop-shaped chassis occasionally flashed with runic patterns that went around its length in circles, flashing with a multi-coloured light. It was a beautiful and majestic sight, Xiao Hong felt.
‘I’m really using ‘majestic’ to describe everything nowadays…’ she thought idly as she lined up, ‘It seems the Xianxia World’s disease is finally catching up to me.’ She was slightly amused.
‘I wonder, how’s stuff back on Earth? Those coworkers of mine are probably happy I’m gone, aren’t they? After all, who would want a boss like me?
‘Ah, perhaps, one day, if - no, when - when I become strong enough, I’ll find a way back to Earth and maybe give them a good scare?’ She thought wistfully. Even though she knew that perhaps humanity would have destroyed itself by the time that happened. Even if that didn’t happen, she was sure that anyone she knew would be long dead.
Lost in her thoughts, Xiao Hong didn’t notice the large number of stares she was receiving. Her current slightly poignant mood was wholly displayed in her expression and body language, causing an uncountable number of simps to also feel sad.
They really wanted to go and comfort this Junior Sister!
Unfortunately for them, they could only watch as Chen Yu walked up to her and asked in concern, “Are you alright, Junior Sister Hong? You don’t look very well?”
Xiao Hong was startled out of her reminiscence, “Ah, it's nothing, Senior Brother Yu, it’s just that I realised we’ll be away from the Sect for a while. So I was a little sad.
“You don’t have to worry, I'm perfectly fine!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Senior Brother,” Looking at Chen Yu’s face scrunched up in concern, she felt a little helpless. She wasn’t oblivious to Chen Yu’s feelings for her, but she really couldn’t reciprocate. It was impossible! She liked girls, after all!
‘Maybe Lu Xinyu… No, no, no, no, no, no, no! NO!! That’s a trap, Xiao Hong! That’s a trap!’ She violently crushed that thought. If she could, she would use her Dark Flame Serpent on it! Then slash it several thousand times, refine the pieces into a pill and feed it to the dogs - or maybe Qiao Xuan.
While on the other side, the male cultivators nearly experienced Qi Deviation!
“Fuck!! They’re calling each other by their given names!”
“Damned bastard! How dare he?!”'
"Let's kill him! I don't care who his master is!"
Curses poured out of the male cultivator’s mouths.
On the other side, Chen Qiuyue looked at them in surprise, “... I never expected that my brother would be able to get a girlfriend, let alone such a hottie too…”
“They aren’t in a relationship, though…?” He Ping spoke slowly.
“You think I don't know that? I’m just wishing my brother well.” Chen Qiuyue rolled her eyes. “Maybe the Heavens will listen to my well wishes and grant him a sliver of a chance?”
He Ping: “...”
‘I suddenly don’t feel so jealous of their sibling relationship anymore…’