CHAPTER 81.2: WHEN I GROW UP, I’LL BE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WORLD

In Flowing Wind World...

The forest blazed with autumn color. The wind sighed through the pines, and moss crept over ancient blue stones.

A girl sat there, her long black hair covering half her face. Curved in a sweet smile, her eyes were dark as ink. Her black dress clung tightly to her thin frame. She was malnourished and fragile. The skin on her exposed hands was so pale, it was almost translucent, veins faintly visible beneath. Sickly, yet beautiful like a porcelain doll.

Though young, she was already striking, the promise of great beauty to come. The only flaw was the scar running across her face, carved with a strange character that lent her a tragic, broken charm. She looked into the reflection in the water, smiling softly.

"When I grow up," she said, "I'll be the most beautiful girl in the world."

As her words fell, she thrust the dagger in her hand into the neck of the man lying beside her. Blood spattered across her black dress and splashed upon her pale face.

Around her stood six men in black. They were grim-faced, weapons drawn.

A swordsman growled. "You wicked little thing. So young, yet already so ruthless. What will you become when you grow up?"

An axeman beside him, with a missing tooth, sneered, "That mark on your face is proof of a demon girl! Hideous and cursed!"

"Demon girls deserve death," another spat. "Ugly as sin! Even the purest Saintess under heaven would never call you beautiful. Who would dare think so?"

One of them licked his lips. "Been a while since I've tasted a woman. Cut off her head first, then maybe... hehe..."

Ning Tao suddenly stilled. She thought of her mother, who was once a Saintess herself. Her mother had always told her, "When you grow up, Ning Tao, you'll be the most beautiful girl in the world."

The little girl tightened her grip on the dagger, her eyes narrowing as the six men crept closer. She was badly wounded, unable to fight her way out.

Then, without warning, thunder rolled across the heavens.

A deep, resonant voice—vast and ethereal—echoed through the air. "Little Ning Tao, I believe you."

The sound was immense, like a great bell tolling in their chests. But to Ning Tao, it felt like a warm breeze brushing her cheek.

The six men trembled, their faces pale.

"Who was that?"

"Who's there?"

"What mighty expert speaks? We are here to slay a demon girl! Please, do not interfere!"

"Demon girls must die!"

The voice's power was overwhelming, it sounded divine, almost celestial. If the owner of that voice acted against them, they knew they wouldn't stand a chance.

At that moment, Ning Tao moved. Her figure flickered like a black mandala blossom. In the next moment, her dagger plunged into the chest of one of the men.

Blood sprayed through the air, staining her black dress, painting her ghostly pale hands a vivid red.

"Damn it!"

"Be careful, she's a demon girl!"

Only now did the men react. But that thunderous, awe-inspiring voice still rang in their ears, making their heads buzz and their movements slow. Fear dulled their instincts.

By the time they regained focus, it was already too late.

Ning Tao's sudden strike brought devastating damage to her enemies.

"No!!!"

"Argh!"

Their screams echoed through the forest as Ning Tao weaved through the crowd like a black wraith, slaughtering them one by one.

Within fifteen minutes, all six men lay lifeless on the ground. Ning Tao stood among the corpses, bathed in blood. It streamed down her pale arms, dripping onto the mossy stone beneath her feet.

She herself was badly injured. Bending over, still clutching her dagger, she moved from corpse to corpse. Even though they were already dead, she stabbed each of them again, severing their heads just to be sure.

When the last head fell, Ning Tao slowly walked back toward the nearby pond.

The pond water was clear, yet devoid of fish or any trace of life. As she stepped into it, the cold water reached her knees.

Tilting her head up slightly, she said in a soft, childish voice, "Uncle, are you still there?"

No one answered.

She stood quietly, waiting. "Uncle, if you're still here, please say something. I'm... I'm about to take a bath."

Still, silence. The forest was eerily quiet. There was no response, no insects, only the mingled scent of flowers and blood.

"Uncle, Ning Tao is going to bathe now, so don't peek, okay? If you peek, you'll have to marry me when I grow up. And if you don't..."

Her black dress slowly slipped off her small frame. She slipped into the water, leaving only her little head above the surface. Her expression was one of innocent sweetness, though her eyes still carried traces of wariness.

Time passed. Eventually, Ning Tao climbed out of the pond. Looking up at the sky, her pitch-black pupils were devoid of any emotion, but her tone was deliberately soft and childish. "Uncle... I'll remember you."

Toward that mysterious voice from the heavens, she felt only fear. Everything she said earlier, was merely to survive. After all, her mother had once told her, "If you tell a man you'll marry him, he'll always hesitate, even just for a moment."

***

"Achoo!" Qi Yuan sneezed.

The frigid wind slipped through the gaps in his old thatched hut, cutting to the bone.

He stood up, setting down the cultivation manual in his hands. "I'm a Heavenly Dao class cultivator now, a supreme among Foundation Establishment realm cultivators. Yet I'm still living in a straw hut? This is embarrassing. I'll switch to a wooden house tomorrow."

Strength brought status and the living conditions should match. Staying in a thatched hut was far too humble for someone of his newfound standing.

"Even if I upgrade to a wooden house." He sighed. "I still can't escape a life of toil."

Before, though his days were filled with tough cultivation and reading, at least he had his game to unwind with at night. It was just like those office workers back on Blue Planet, slogging through long workdays and still finding comfort in video games and short videos after hours. All for that little hit of dopamine.

Now, the game was gone, his digital joy was gone. Every day was just relentless study. Truly a miserable life.

Maybe I should just quit being the chief disciple and become a wealthy landlord in the mortal zone and live like a tyrant for once? The thought lit up his eyes but only for a moment. He then quickly pushed it aside.

"Without the Divine Radiance Sect shielding me, if that Black Rooster Demon finds out I wiped out his Black Mountain Sect, he'd hunt me to the ends of the earth. And if I really became some mortal tycoon, I'd have to marry a dozen concubines, raise a whole brood of little gold-eaters and spend my days cleaning up after their messes. If any of them offended a cultivator, I'd be doomed. That's not a landlord. That's a full-time babysitter!"[1]

He shook his head. "Mortals have their own hardships. Better to keep cultivating."

Pushing away his passing thoughts, Qi Yuan sat down again and began reading his manuals strenuously. He had three major goals.

First, to complete the next part of the Qi Yuan Scripture. The current version only went up to Foundation Establishment, the method for reaching Core Formation had yet to be written. Secondly, he wanted to strengthen his divine soul. Only with a stronger soul could he re-enter the game world and escape this monotonous cultivation grind.

Third, to obtain higher-grade techniques. Ordinary manuals were too slow. Even ten thousand of them couldn't compare to a single top-tier art. But high-grade techniques were rare and hard to come by.

He thought wistfully of Zhu Lianhua's Profound-tier technique. "Haa... I miss Zhu Lianhua. My white moonlight[ref"White moonlight" is a Chinese internet slang term for an ideal, perfect, or pure person who is unattainable and can never be had.[/ref]..."

Night deepened. Outside the hut, the world lay blanketed in white.

"My gamer's itch is acting up again.”

Qi Yuan pulled out the gaming jade but still couldn't access the new game icon. He listened carefully. No sound came from it this time either.

He sighed helplessly, "I really want to play again. I want to fight, to kill..."

Then his hand brushed against another jade slip.

"Ah, the one Dong Xian gave me... the Ice-Cold Sword Fairy game. She must be strong. I wonder how many moves she can take from me?"

With that thought, Qi Yuan projected his consciousness into the jade slip. At once, a phantom of a proud, frosty female sword immortal appeared before him.

She said coldly, "Defeat me."

Qi Yuan waved his hand. A sword flash split the air and the woman's sword shattered instantly.

"So weak. Boring."

He was about to leave a one-star review in frustration when...

"I've lost to you," the Sword Fairy said bitterly, tears rolling down her flawless face. "You may do as you wish with me. Even if you claim my body, you'll never have my heart, for it belongs to my senior brother."

Her robes slipped from her shoulders as she crawled toward him in shame, like a broken thing.

Qi Yuan was taken aback. "Hey... what the hell? No honor? Resorting to seduction?"

With a flick of his sword, Qi Yuan cut her down in one stroke, cursing as he exited the game.

"Still... my own game was way better. If only this world had an online game marketplace, I'd sell this trash game there. I wonder if anyone would buy it," he muttered.

***

At dawn, the first rays of sunlight crept over the clouds, melting away the snow. The Seven-Colored Peak grew even colder under the morning chill.

After a day of renovation, Qi Yuan’s old straw hut had become a crude wooden cabin.

Outside his new wooden hut, Dong Xian, dressed in black, stood respectfully. "Senior Brother Qi Yuan! Dong Xian requests an audience!"

A short while later, Qi Yuan emerged, full of pride. "Junior Brother, what do you think of my new home? Isn't it grand? Has the aura of a true master, doesn't it?"

Dong Xian stared at it, the corners of his smile stiff. This broken shack...

Still, he mustered praise. "Senior Brother's abode is indeed divine. It is a sanctuary among mortals."

Qi Yuan nodded, very satisfied with himself. The feeling was like showing off a new bike on social media and getting flooded with compliments.

"So, Junior Brother," Qi Yuan said, "I heard from Junior Sister you've been looking for me. What's the matter?"

Ever since that chest wrap incident, his junior sister hadn't spoken to him for days, though she'd eventually mentioned that Dong Xian had been trying to find him.

Dong Xian asked solemnly, "Senior Brother, have you heard of the Dragon-Seizing Contest?"

"A bit."

His junior sister had mentioned it before, and even Zhu Lianhua of the Bright Palace had joined the struggle for the Great Shang throne. The palace's ambitions were vast.

"Senior Brother Qi Yuan," Dong Xian continued with a deep bow, "there is something I must confess."

He raised his head, his tone grave. "I am the Seventeenth Prince of Great Shang."

1. *E/N: overthinking final boss ☜