Wo Yu Cheng Feng – Chapter 1: East Island’s Tianji

In the Main Hall of the Three Trials at East Island’s Tianji.

Today was the first day of the outer disciples’ examination for entry into the inner sect, known as the written test.

Inside and outside the Main Hall were three hundred and twenty-seven outer disciples. Each rosewood table held a small white jade incense burner, with wisps of fragrance rising to help clear the mind and focus thoughts.

Eighty-eight test papers were laid out on each desk.

Ling Luo stared blankly at the thirty-seventh page, the familiar Tianji wood fragrance in her nostrils failing to calm her mind. Instead, it made her temples throb.

She glanced somewhat bewilderedly at the brush in her hand, then raised her head to look around.

A sea of heads, all in uniform dark green sect robes, with both men and women having Tianji’s mountain entry talismans engraved on their belts.

The girl to her left looked up, the beautiful emerald teardrop earrings by her ears gleaming. When she met Ling Luo’s slightly confused gaze, she smiled gently and silently mouthed: “Good luck.”

Everything was just like it had been back then.

Ling Luo took a deep breath, looking back at the papers on the table with complex emotions.

When she had perished alongside the Heavenly Dao, she had no attachments left to this world.

She should have slumbered in eternal night, yet upon opening her eyes, she had returned to the year she was sixteen.

Now she was still an outer disciple of East Island’s Tianji.

But after she had fallen to demonic cultivation, she had slaughtered half of East Island’s Tianji.

She had been the personal disciple of the Third Sect Master of East Island’s Tianji, the pride of her sect, the most favored junior among the personal disciples, and the most admired senior sister of the Jade generation disciples—yet she was also the one who had forcibly entered the forbidden area, killed the Sect Master, betrayed the righteous path, and became a female demon pursued by thousands of disciples who swore not to rest until her death.

How truly unpredictable life could be.

Ling Luo sighed inwardly as she picked up her brush to answer the papers with a lazy posture.

What did it matter to live once more? Did the Heavenly Dao truly believe she would change her decisions?

Ling Luo wasn’t particularly surprised by her rebirth. She even found it somewhat boring. If this was a scheme of the Heavenly Dao, then she would surely disappoint it.

If she had to live again, she would simply walk the same path as before.

Those she wanted to save, she would save. Those she wanted to kill, she would kill.

East Island’s Tianji was one of the twelve great immortal sects in the mortal realm, leading all immortal sects in the East Island territory.

It was internally divided into three sects, each with three sect masters.

Ling Luo glanced at the man sitting at the highest position on the platform. He had a small mustache shaped like the character “eight” and a plump physique. When he smiled slightly, the flesh on both sides of his cheeks trembled.

He sat cross-legged on a white fleece mat, using his sword energy to suspend the mat above the ground.

Hall Master Fan of the Tianyun Sect was today’s proctor.

This man appeared to be smiling, with a kind face that seemed approachable, but he was a faithful adherent to Tianji’s sect rules, following them to the letter.

So when he discovered a disciple from his sect cheating below, Hall Master Fan flicked his finger resting on the table edge. The incense burner’s smoke billowed, and the cheating disciple at the table fainted onto his papers, then was carried away by the patrolling inner disciples.

Hall Master Fan said with a smile, “Handle according to the one hundred and sixty-third sect rule: strip away sect robes, erase the Heaven’s Net mark, and expel from the sect.”

In her previous life, Ling Luo had been completely focused on this moment, diligently answering questions to enter the inner sect.

Now she was somewhat indifferent, even sparing time to look back at the commotion.

Her position was in the last row of the inner hall, with thirty-two folded hall doors offering a clear view of the neatly arranged tables on the long steps outside.

The patrolling inner disciples wore white robes with gold belts, both the fabric and the pattern charms being more exquisite and beautiful than those of the outer disciples.

“Focus.”

A jade flute lightly tapped her table as the inner disciple who had walked to her side softly reminded her.

Ling Luo paused when she heard this voice.

She looked back at her table, observing the white-robed, gold-belted young man beside her from the corner of her eye.

His hair was bound with a jade crown, one hand behind his back, the other holding a jade-green flute that he twirled before resting it horizontally at his waist. The jade flute had falling points of fluorescent light, a rare high-grade weapon.

The young man’s posture was composed, his face fair with fine eyebrows. His beautiful phoenix eyes did not appear aloof, but rather modestly gentle.

One of the beloved disciples of the Third Sect Master.

Yu Xiu.

Her once-respected Second Senior Brother.

Meeting an old acquaintance again, the reality of her rebirth strengthened by several degrees.

Ling Luo imitated Yu Xiu, twirling the brush in her hand, then ink droplets spattered onto the paper.

Yu Xiu: “…”

Ling Luo suppressed the smile at the corner of her lips, pretending to maintain a proper posture as she continued answering the questions.

Yu Xiu couldn’t help but lower his eyes to glance at her. This outer sect junior sister’s handwriting was neat, and her answers were all correct so far. It was just that her attitude of watching the commotion and her playful demeanor moments ago seemed somewhat mischievous.

In her previous life, Ling Luo had scored perfectly on the written test. This time, however, she found herself lost in thought over several questions.

Originally, she had been extremely hardworking and progressive. As an outer disciple, she had dedicated her time to studying and practicing. After all, she had come to East Island’s Tianji to escape pursuit. Before entering the inner sect, she had minimal contact with others, spoke little, and maintained a low profile.

It wasn’t until the annual outer sect entrance examination that she achieved top marks in both written and martial tests, entered the inner sect, and was accepted as a personal disciple by the Third Sect Master, finally drawing attention.

The memories were too distant, and Ling Luo spent some time before recalling them.

From noon until dusk, the wood fragrance burned out.

Hall Master Fan said, “Stop writing. Today’s Three Trials are over. You may leave.”

Ling Luo stood up and left with the crowd.

Outside the hall, away from Hall Master Fan’s sight, everyone relaxed and began to talk.

“I hate that I couldn’t write even half a word on the last paper before it ended!”

“Too difficult, too difficult, Mother, this year’s questions were too difficult, waaah—”

“Who was taken away earlier? Such boldness to cheat right under Hall Master Fan’s nose?”

“Senior Brother! Senior Brother, what did you choose for the last question on the thirty-sixth paper, Senior Brother?!”

“What the f*ck did I choose? I didn’t even do it!”

“…”

“Ling Luo—” The girl who had caught up from behind had emerald teardrops swaying by her ears, looking dazzling in the twilight. Qin Yuan came to Ling Luo’s side, smiling and inviting, “Shall we go to the evening refectory for dinner together?”

Ling Luo had always been solitary, with minimal contact with others and an extremely low profile. Only Qin Yuan, who had entered the sect with her, would speak to her.

Such invitations had been made dozens of times, all rejected by Ling Luo.

She would even return to her small courtyard to cook for herself rather than eat with others.

Being hunted, even the outer sect posed some risk to her, and she was unwilling to go to crowded places.

She recalled that in a month, people from the Xiaoyao Sect would come to East Island’s Tianji looking for her, the “murderer.” She had struggled desperately to enter the inner sect before then to escape disaster.

“Ling Luo?” Seeing the young woman before her lost in thought, apparently not having heard her words, Qin Yuan couldn’t help but wave her hand in front of her eyes, “Not going again?”

Ling Luo finally came back to her senses, tilting her head to look at Qin Yuan, smiling brightly: “Let’s go.”

Qin Yuan was stunned by this smile.

She had always thought Ling Luo was quiet and docile, but occasionally she seemed somewhat gloomy, making her irresistibly curious about the reason why.

This was the first time she had seen Ling Luo smile.

She looked so beautiful when she smiled.

Why didn’t she smile more often?

“Come on.” Qin Yuan took her hand, saying happily, “You’ve rarely gone there, you probably can’t even find the way, can you?”

“Hmm, I really don’t remember,” Ling Luo raised her eyes to look ahead, “I’ve never properly looked at the scenery of the outer sect, I’ve almost forgotten which is which.”

Qin Yuan laughed with a pfft, gesturing around with her other hand: “You just stay in your room all day reading and reading. Forget about the outer sect, you probably don’t even recognize many of your fellow disciples. If I didn’t come to play with you every day, would you even remember what my name is?”

Ling Luo smiled charmingly.

Her mindset after rebirth was completely different from before.

Previously, she had only focused on practicing, improving, and becoming someone superior.

From a righteous immortal master who eliminated demons and protected the Way, to one of the Twenty-Six Demons who slaughtered indiscriminately, then to an enemy of the Heavenly Dao, ultimately perishing together.

“Past the Three Fragrance Hall, towards the Direction of the Discipline Compound, you can see the Cloud Garden of the inner sect, then past West Water Lake, and we’ll reach the evening refectory,” Qin Yuan pointed out directions as they walked.

Ling Luo listened with a serious expression.

But inwardly, she was laughing scornfully.

Before her, mist curled around elegant buildings. Even a simple stone path was embraced by flowers, adorned as a road leading to the realm of immortals.

In ten years, this paradise in the mortal world would be leveled to the ground by her.

During that battle at East Island’s Tianji, she had been unstoppable. The Sect Master had died at her hands in that battle, along with several hall masters—at that time, she had wanted to destroy the entire Tianji, but unfortunately, when she was halfway through the destruction, an impertinent sword cultivator appeared.

The world’s foremost sword cultivator.

Even her sword path was inferior to his.

Thinking of this person, Ling Luo couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, looking towards West Water Lake.

The lake water was clear, with emerald lotus leaves and small lotus flowers reflecting each other, red koi swimming leisurely in the water.

Back then, he had been on this lake, facing the raging sword wind, not retreating a single step as he blocked her sword strike.

Though he looked human enough, he was as stiff as a block of wood.

In his youth, he had stolen her title as the number one in the sword path. After she became one of the Twenty-Six Demons, he became even more at odds with her. The people she wanted to kill were always sheltered behind him, yet if she wanted to compete with him in swordsmanship, she was genuinely a bit inferior.

Until her death, she remained just that little bit behind.

But—later, this wooden sword cultivator had delivered himself to her doorstep, and he hadn’t fared well in her hands for those few days.

Thinking of this, Ling Luo felt better, and her eyes and brow corners were tinged with a hint of a smile.

The evening refectory wasn’t empty, with some inner disciples present as well. They were mostly responsible for outer sect affairs, so they simply ate at the outer sect’s refectory.

Not far from Ling Luo, at a table of inner disciples, an outer disciple was also seated, and they all appeared to be close.

Qin Yuan said softly, “Senior Brother Xiu Man has inner sect senior brothers looking after and guiding him, he’ll enter the inner sect this year.”

Ling Luo was picking out the shredded carrots from her bowl, and upon hearing this, she merely responded with an “Mmm.”

Qin Yuan bit her chopsticks and continued, “Senior Brother Xiu Man doesn’t practice diligently, but he has plenty of silver. He teams up with the inner sect senior brothers to bully others, and many people resent this but can do nothing about it.”

“Ling Luo, if you enter the inner sect, you must never associate with these senior brothers,” Qin Yuan said with a wrinkled face, “They have bad characters.”

Ling Luo: “Alright.”

Why was she so obedient today?

Qin Yuan looked at her curiously, only to see Ling Luo seriously picking out the carrots from her bowl, not tolerating even a strand.

She found this girl’s stubborn attitude somehow adorable.

Sighing inwardly, Qin Yuan went to get her a new serving of food.

“Here, eat this one. This portion has no carrots.”

Ling Luo looked up in surprise.

Qin Yuan took the bowl with carrots from beside her hand, “I’ll eat this one for you.”

Ling Luo poked around in the bowl with her chopsticks.

Her interactions with Qin Yuan had been minimal.

During her time in the outer sect, it had been Qin Yuan taking the initiative while she ignored her. After entering the inner sect, they had gone to different sects and rarely saw each other again.

Ling Luo thought absent-mindedly, wondering if, during that battle at Tianji years ago, she had accidentally killed this kind-hearted girl.

East Island’s Tianji was divided into three sects:

Tianyun Sect, Tianzhou Sect, and Sanji Sect.

Ling Luo had entered the outer sect of Tianyun Sect, which held inner sect entrance examinations once a year, lasting ten days.

Outer disciples lived in dormitories at the foot of the mountain, divided into multi-person residences and single-person small courtyards.

East Island’s Tianji was so vast that even with several thousand disciples in both outer and inner sects combined, there was no shortage of living space.

Ling Luo returned to her small courtyard in the dormitory. She stood at the doorway, contemplating the familiar yet strange furnishings inside for a moment. After a while, she entered, closed the door, lay on the bed, and closed her eyes to rest.

Perhaps when she opened her eyes, she would return.

But things didn’t go as she wished.

The next day, she was awakened by Qin Yuan’s voice: “Ling Luo! Ling Luo! Wake up quickly, it’s time for morning lessons!”

Ah.

I, one of the mighty Twenty-Six Demons, actually still have to attend morning lessons.

Ling Luo yawned, rising with a listless expression.

She took the dark green sect robes placed beside her and put them on, casually tying up her loose long hair, and opened the door. The dazzling sunlight made her squint involuntarily.

Today’s entrance examination was in the afternoon, with two hours of morning lessons beforehand.

These morning lessons were divided by sect, with disciples from all three sects returning to their respective teaching halls. Those responsible for teaching in the outer sect were called Venerable Masters, sometimes outstanding disciples from the inner sect, sometimes certain hall masters or sect masters.

The latter situation was extremely rare.

On the platform, the Venerable Master spoke eloquently, while below, Ling Luo was drowsy.

The morning breeze was somewhat cool, blowing in from the window and brushing her face, making her slightly more alert.

When Ling Luo looked up, she saw a group of people walking past the pink and white begonia flowers by the pool and lake outside the window.

The young man walking at the end wore dark green sect robes but had tightly bound the loose sleeves and trouser legs, losing some elegance in favor of practicality.

He carried three wine jars in his arms, walking with his head down.

Suddenly, an inner disciple walking ahead turned back and kicked him. The young man bent over, his body lowering for an instant, then straightened his back.

It seemed this kick was quite forceful.

Ling Luo blinked, and the group quickly disappeared under the begonia flowers, vanishing from her sight.

Why did this person seem somewhat familiar?

She tried hard to recall.

The one who kicked was the inner disciple Qin Yuan had mentioned yesterday with the bad character. As for the one who was kicked, she didn’t think she had seen him before, yet felt his silhouette and outline were very familiar.

Could it be another acquaintance she had forgotten?

Ling Luo thought carefully, but couldn’t remember who it was even until the morning lesson ended.

In the afternoon, she returned to the Three Trials Hall for the written test again.

Having taken a nap, she arrived somewhat late.

When she was heading to the Main Hall, she passed by the tables at the foot of the steps, which were almost fully occupied.

Qin Yuan at the entrance of the inner hall was waving to her, indicating that she should hurry up.

Ling Luo walked unhurriedly. As she approached the steps, she saw a chestnut roll from someone’s table onto the path. The owner of the chestnut immediately bent down to pick it up.

She couldn’t help but glance over, seeing three characters written on the wooden nameplate on the table: Yue Liang Ze.

Ling Luo’s eyes widened slightly, and she instinctively stopped, her mind blank for a moment.

She lowered her gaze to look at the young man sitting at the table. The fleeting glimpse through the teaching hall window under the begonia flowers in the morning had made her ponder for a long time. Now, seeing his face directly, she finally remembered.

Even as a youth, his somewhat handsome eyebrows and eyes were enough for her to recognize him.

Yue Liang Ze.

The number one sword cultivator of the immortal sects who had saved half of East Island’s Tianji from her hands.

The wooden man who always opposed her.

“Ling Luo, Ling Luo!” Qin Yuan called anxiously from the hall entrance.

But Ling Luo stared fixedly at the person before her, not moving.

Perhaps sensing the unusual presence beside him, the young man slowly raised his head to look at the young woman standing next to his table.

His long black eyelashes trembled slightly, the young woman’s image reflected in his eyes, bright and serene.

“Be seated.” Hall Master Fan’s clear voice came from behind, “Today’s Three Trials will begin shortly, distribute the papers.”

“Hurry!” Qin Yuan came down to take Ling Luo’s hand, leading her towards the Main Hall.

Ling Luo looked back to see inner disciples starting to distribute papers from back to front. The young man in dark green sect robes had already lowered his head to look back at the table before him.