Thinking of Jian Xingzhi’s identity, remembering the humiliation and pain of being trampled beneath his foot, and now seeing him bound to a soft rice man system with all his cultivation lost, Qin Wanwan nearly burst out laughing.

Heavenly retribution spares no one!

Let him, Jian Xingzhi, act tyrannically! Let him, Jian Xingzhi, look down on everyone! Now look—karma, sweet karma!

She struggled to control her emotions, but the shock of this news was too great. Her entire body couldn’t help trembling.

Jian Xingzhi glanced at her. Seeing her so agitated, he coughed lightly: “This master knows he’s quite famous in the immortal realm. Your emotional excitement is normal. Calm yourself first. Don’t get too excited and lose your composure.”

Excited—how could she not be excited!

If this were the immortal realm and she wanted revenge, she’d probably have to wait for her parents to return. But now in this small world—she was the female lead, he was the soft rice man. Taking revenge on him, though not exactly easy as flipping her hand, had much better odds.

Especially with his brain not working too well.

Qin Wanwan lowered her head, letting herself gradually calm down, speaking softly: “Yes.”

“Speaking of which,” seeing her calm, Jian Xingzhi’s expression turned kindly, “what’s your name?”

“I…” Qin Wanwan hesitated briefly, then raised her head with a serious expression. “Gu Beicheng.”

One day, I’ll make you say it yourself—Gu Beicheng, how ruthless you are.

Jian Xingzhi frowned: “Doesn’t sound like a female immortal’s name.”

“My parents favored sons over daughters. When I was born, they hoped I’d be a boy.” Qin Wanwan made it up on the spot.

Jian Xingzhi didn’t suspect anything and nodded: “Where are your parents now?”

“The immortal realm. Their cultivation isn’t high—they sell candied hawthorns at the immortal realm marketplace.”

Hearing this, Jian Xingzhi understood. With Qin Wanwan coming from a candied hawthorn vendor background in the immortal realm marketplace, her low cultivation was indeed understandable. What she’d said before about high status was probably lies.

Little girl had some vanity. He understood.

Jian Xingzhi decided not to expose the contradictions in her statements. He patted Qin Wanwan’s shoulder encouragingly: “Starting today, cultivate well. After you ascend in the future and follow me in the immortal realm, your parents won’t need to sell candied hawthorns anymore.”

“Yes, I’ll definitely listen to Master.”

Qin Wanwan smiled. Jian Xingzhi raised his hand to help her up: “Stand.”

As he helped her rise, Jian Xingzhi had completely entered his master role and began instructing her: “Rest well today. Starting tomorrow, we’ll train.”

“Alright.”

Qin Wanwan nodded and sat to the side. Jian Xingzhi took another cooked fish and beckoned her: “Eat fish.”

Qin Wanwan didn’t respond. She watched the dancing flames, numbly eating the fish Jian Xingzhi roasted while contemplating her revenge plan.

Ancestral wisdom told her: know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll never be defeated. Though Jian Xingzhi looked down and out now, he was still the immortal realm’s number one combat power. Who knew how much ability he retained? She needed to assess first and confirm exactly how much resistance capability Jian Xingzhi currently possessed. Once confirmed…

Qin Wanwan thought—everything he’d done to her, she would take back one by one!

She would fiercely beat him, pummel him, thoroughly destroy his self-esteem, trample him underfoot, make him collapse mentally, and have him say to her: I’m sorry.

Yes!

Having thought it through, Qin Wanwan realized the most important thing was this heartfelt apology.

Having found her goal, Qin Wanwan’s gaze at Jian Xingzhi became different.

Eating his fish, Jian Xingzhi felt a chill blow from the side. He turned to look at Qin Wanwan: “Why are you staring at me? Fish not good?”

“That,” Qin Wanwan considered, wanting to extract more information from Jian Xingzhi, “Master, how exactly did you become enemies with this Jishan Nujun?”

“This matter,” Jian Xingzhi frowned, “is actually simple. Our sect practices the Dao through battle, so I went around challenging people. Hearing she had profound cultivation and had been in seclusion for many years, I sent her a challenge letter.”

“And then?”

Qin Wanwan knew this part. The day the challenge letter arrived, she was immediately terrified and quickly declined.

“Then she refused me. But think about it—if people refusing me meant I couldn’t fight, then I couldn’t fight many battles. So I attacked Jishan. She set up many formations at the entrance. I broke through all her formations.”

Hearing this, Qin Wanwan’s heart ached.

Her mountain protection formation—this bandit had destroyed it with one sword stroke. How many spirit stones, just gone like that.

“Then she sent many people down to gang up on me. I cut my way straight up!”

“Master,” Qin Wanwan gritted her teeth, “you’re amazing.”

That day, all the experts her parents had left her at Jishan were beaten down by Jian Xingzhi.

“Then I saw her,” Jian Xingzhi recalled his first sight of Qin Wanwan with some emotion. “When I saw her, I immediately used a move called ‘Bright Moon in the Sky.’ She flew backward with the force. I immediately followed, drove my knee upward, slammed the sword hilt into her chest, and smashed her straight into the ground. Then I stepped on her, trampling her underfoot.”

Listening, Qin Wanwan nearly cried. Jian Xingzhi mimicked the scene vividly: “I stepped on her face and warned her not to look down on me. If she still wouldn’t fight back, I would…”

“Flatten her mountain, demolish her palace, and leave her Jishan utterly destroyed—not even chickens or dogs would remain.”

“Exactly!” Jian Xingzhi was very gratified. “You’re already starting to understand me.”

She understood. Understood all too well.

“But since she already lost,” Qin Wanwan voiced her confusion, “why wouldn’t you let her go?”

“She’s ranked twenty-first on the immortal realm combat power rankings,” Jian Xingzhi reminded her. “How could she be so easily defeated? She must have been just paralyzing me, trying to make me lower my guard, or simply didn’t want to fight me and was humoring me.”

“Then…” Qin Wanwan clenched her fists. “Fighting aside, why did you have to step on her face?”

“Well…” Jian Xingzhi’s expression showed a trace of embarrassment. “She was too beautiful.”

“Too beautiful so you stepped on her face?!” This reason made Qin Wanwan raise her voice.

Jian Xingzhi looked at her strangely: “Why are you so agitated?”

“I…” Qin Wanwan controlled her emotions. “Just curious.”

“It’s like this,” Jian Xingzhi explained very seriously. “When fighting, it’s a matter of life and death. There can’t be the slightest mistake. She was too beautiful—my gaze kept wandering to her face. So I had to step on her face first to avoid affecting my performance.”

Qin Wanwan: “…”

At that moment, looking at this man, she actually felt a trace of admiration.

Was this a sword cultivator? This was a monk.

Even monks might not be this ascetic.

“Master,” a curiosity arose in Qin Wanwan, “will I have a master’s wife?”

“Depends on fate.” Jian Xingzhi thought about it. “Not currently.”

“Don’t worry,” Qin Wanwan spoke with certainty. “Probably never will be.”

Who would be blind enough to fancy this type of person?

“That’s not important,” Jian Xingzhi waved his hand and continued telling Qin Wanwan about that battle. “Let me continue—this will give you experience. Someone like Qin Wanwan is actually just cunning. The reason she let me hit her at first was to lure me to a fixed position. I suspect she’d set up some formation there. After I stepped on her and finished speaking, a shocking thunderbolt descended from the sky… Huh?”

Seeing Qin Wanwan stand up, Jian Xingzhi was somewhat puzzled: “Why are you leaving?”

“I’m tired.” Qin Wanwan lay back down on the nearby pile of grass. “Want to sleep.”

Couldn’t listen to these idiotic remarks anymore.

“Then I was struck by heavenly lightning into this small world…” Jian Xingzhi was somewhat unwilling and finished the last sentence anyway. “This must be some evil technique. Tell me, isn’t she wicked?”

Qin Wanwan didn’t respond. She turned her back to him, looking at the distant yellow sand.

In that instant, she wondered.

Why was Jian Xingzhi this kind of person?

How could Jian Xingzhi be this kind of person?!

Qin Wanwan faced away from Jian Xingzhi, thinking all night. In the middle of the night, she groggily fell asleep and felt someone cover her with a blanket.

Jian Xingzhi tucked in Qin Wanwan, saw points +1 appear in his mind, and revealed a pleased smile.

The next morning, Qin Wanwan felt a cold wind blow past. Not quite awake, she opened her eyes to see Jian Xingzhi crouching before her: “Awake? Let’s train, my disciple!”

“Train…” Qin Wanwan’s mind was foggy. “Training?”

“Get up!”

Jian Xingzhi pulled her from the blanket like grabbing a cat. She was scooped up, and he attended to her like a child—putting on her outer garment, feeding her water, tying her hair, wiping her face…

Watching him bustle about, Qin Wanwan gradually woke up and raised her hand to stop him: “I can do it myself.”

Jian Xingzhi glanced at the points above and confirmed he’d obtained most of today’s basic points, then stepped back: “Fine, I’ll wait for you over there. Come find me when you’re ready.”

With that, Jian Xingzhi picked up two wooden swords he’d somehow already carved, swinging them as he walked onto the yellow sand.

After quickly washing up, Qin Wanwan walked to where Jian Xingzhi stood. Just as she steadied herself, she saw Jian Xingzhi toss a wooden sword over: “Catch.”

Qin Wanwan caught the wooden sword and immediately staggered.

“The sword has thousand-pound talismans. Couldn’t find dark iron, so make do for now.” Jian Xingzhi spun the sword in his hand. “Starting today, we’ll practice swords for two hours every morning, then head toward Ghost City. This desert is about three thousand li from Ghost City. We’ll run a hundred li daily—one month to arrive.”

“A hundred li?!”

Qin Wanwan was frightened pale. Jian Xingzhi rested the sword on his shoulder and nodded: “That’s right. Carrying a hundred pounds, running during the day, meditating at night, combined with my sect’s body tempering technique—by the time we reach Ghost City, your little frame should have some substance.”

“Master,” Qin Wanwan considered carefully, “shouldn’t we proceed gradually…”

“This is gradual.” Jian Xingzhi spoke matter-of-factly. “Don’t worry, the good days are still ahead.”

Qin Wanwan was speechless. Looking at Jian Xingzhi, all she could think was: if she fought him now, what were her odds?

“Come,” Jian Xingzhi pointed his sword at her. “Let’s practice swords first.”

Qin Wanwan looked at his sword. She took a deep breath: “Master, I was thinking—everything needs a beginning. If the opponent I face right from the start is too powerful, I’ll easily lose confidence. You’re the number one person in the immortal realm. With you as my sparring partner, I fear I’ll never want to learn swordsmanship again.”

Hearing this, Jian Xingzhi thought and nodded: “Makes sense. I’m too strong. What should we do?”

“Master,” Qin Wanwan probed, “how about you go easy on me?”

“Fine.”

Jian Xingzhi nodded: “How easy?”

“You can’t use your hands.” Hearing Jian Xingzhi agree, Qin Wanwan smiled. “I believe that with your skill, even with your hands tied, you could beat ten of me.”

“Acceptable.”

Jian Xingzhi nodded and put his hands behind his back: “Come.”

Hearing this, Qin Wanwan quickly pulled rope from her storage pouch and rushed forward to tie up Jian Xingzhi. Watching her bind him, Jian Xingzhi was somewhat helpless: “I said I won’t use hands, so I won’t. What don’t you trust?”

“I’m afraid you can’t control yourself. I’m very weak—what if you accidentally kill me?”

Knowing she was cowardly, Jian Xingzhi patiently let her bind him. After tying him up, Qin Wanwan felt reassured. Looking at the bound Jian Xingzhi, she revealed a victorious smile: “Master, pardon my offense.”

“Come.”

With that, Qin Wanwan raised the wooden sword toward Jian Xingzhi and viciously slashed down. Before even reaching him, Jian Xingzhi suddenly kicked up and sent her flying!

Qin Wanwan immediately fell into the yellow sand. Jian Xingzhi ran to her: “Are you alright?”

Qin Wanwan clenched her fists, fury filling her heart. She abruptly raised her head, staring at Jian Xingzhi: “Master, I think you using legs won’t work either. I really can’t beat you.”

“Your meaning?”

“Legs must be tied too.”

“Fine.”

Jian Xingzhi agreed immediately. Qin Wanwan quickly took out rope and bound Jian Xingzhi’s legs. Trussed up tightly like a dumpling standing on the yellow sand, Jian Xingzhi looked at Qin Wanwan with bright eyes: “Come!”

Qin Wanwan took a deep breath, raising her sword with magic and charging toward Jian Xingzhi. Just as she reached him, he suddenly dodged and raised his forehead, slamming it toward Qin Wanwan’s forehead!

In that moment, like a great bell tolling, Qin Wanwan’s mind went blank. Then she felt Jian Xingzhi’s forehead slamming into her from all directions. His entire body hung horizontal in the air like a giant wooden stake, spinning and violently ramming into Qin Wanwan, directly smashing her into the yellow sand.

Qin Wanwan lay face-down in the sand, motionless.

Jian Xingzhi landed calmly, quite pleased: “First time trying those Bright Palace monks’ iron head technique—indeed has merit.”

“Master.”

Qin Wanwan gritted her teeth. All rationality dissolved in that moment. She struggled to control her muscles, like a vengeful spirit, propping herself up section by section from the sand.

“You used magic. That’s bullying.”

“Then I won’t use it?”

Jian Xingzhi spoke hesitantly: “You chase me?”

Qin Wanwan stood up. She gripped her sword, staring at Jian Xingzhi.

In that moment, she felt her entire body filled with power. For the first time, she had such an impulse to beat someone to death.

“Fine.”

She spoke: “Master, don’t fight back. I’ll chase you.”

“Come!”

Jian Xingzhi was very excited about this chase request Qin Wanwan proposed: “Considering you just started training, this master will go easy on you! Come chase me.”

As the words fell, Qin Wanwan raised her sword and slashed toward Jian Xingzhi!

This time she held nothing back, immediately applying Jishan techniques to her sword. The moment sword light fell, it exploded across the yellow sand in succession—boom boom boom!

Jian Xingzhi agilely hopped through the yellow sand. With hands and feet bound, his entire form resembled a nimble zombie. Qin Wanwan chased behind, slashing away. He bounced and hopped ahead.

While hopping, he instructed Qin Wanwan: “Watch my steps—Nine Palace Wave Step.”

“Look at my form…”

Qin Wanwan seriously listened to his words while analyzing.

She would catch him. She definitely would catch up to him. She would grab his head and viciously press it into the yellow sand, punch after punch, beating his dog head to pulp!

“Faster, faster!”

“Imagine your enemy before you. The sword needs killing intent. You must learn to carry murderous aura!!”

While dodging Qin Wanwan’s attacks, Jian Xingzhi encouraged her: “Yes, exactly! Imagine—you’re Qin Wanwan, I’m stepping on you, threatening you…”

As the words fell, Qin Wanwan’s spiritual power surged violently. She suddenly appeared before Jian Xingzhi, using the sword like a baseball bat and viciously smashing toward him!

Jian Xingzhi was sent flying, directly slamming into the yellow sand.

Qin Wanwan gripped her sword, panting heavily, staring fixedly at where Jian Xingzhi had landed. Wind swept sand across her body. Her sweat had cooled, and the broken skin on her hands mixed with sand stung painfully.

Jian Xingzhi still hadn’t appeared. She stared into the distance, finally feeling somewhat satisfied.

Jian Xingzhi, does it hurt? Do you regret it? Do you know what being hit feels like? Do you understand the feeling of being humiliated as the weak?

Jian Xingzhi, you’re angry now, right?

Yes, this is my feeling. I must make you know—you understand what you did wrong…

Before Qin Wanwan finished thinking, she saw Jian Xingzhi suddenly emerge from the yellow sand. Only his head was visible—his entire body buried in sand. Yet this couldn’t hide the light in his eyes.

With sand atop his head, eyes full of admiration as he looked at her, he raised a hand from the earth, giving her a thumbs up in praise: “Worthy of being my, Jian Xingzhi’s, disciple. Beautifully done!”

Hearing this, Qin Wanwan stumbled and fell to the ground.

A pervert…

She’d definitely encountered a pervert!

How could anyone be so happy after getting beaten?

Heavens, what would it take to make this pervert apologize to her and realize his mistakes?!

—

Author’s Note: Heaven: Probably only through love.