Volume 1, Chapter 11 – Upheaval

The shopkeeper of Cloudrise Pavilion wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and hurried up with a smile. “Young Master Shi, leaving already?”

Shi Lan glanced around but didn’t see any sign of Xu Yuanbai.

“Young Master Xu has already been taken away by the Xu family,” the shopkeeper explained tactfully.

Shi Lan nodded carelessly and walked out of Cloudrise Pavilion. She still had a mission to finish.

……

Not long after Shi Lan and her group left, Zique stumbled into Cloudrise Pavilion, panting and drenched in sweat.

That damn guard had come up and, without a word, forcibly taken her parasol. With the blazing sun hanging so high in the sky, following along behind them all the way had almost dried her out completely.

After hearing from the shopkeeper what had just happened, Zique felt as if the sun had baked her brain a bit stupid.

The Young Master had ordered someone to beat up Xu Yuanbai?

And cripple him?

Wasn’t that pure nonsense?

Xu Yuanbai could be counted as one of the very few people Shi Lan called a friend. There were even plenty of rumors about the two of them circulating outside.

How could something like this have happened…?

No matter how she turned it over in her head, Zique couldn’t make sense of it. Remembering Su Lanyue’s instructions, she asked for a pot of cooled tea to moisten her throat, then took a parasol from the shopkeeper and hurried off.

……

One and a half shichen later, Shi Lan finally finished walking all of Tenglong City. By the time she returned once more to the gates of the Shi Residence, the All-Heavens Samsara System’s mission panel was already displaying the words “Completed.”

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“Mission complete. System reward issuing.”

Shi Lan felt a warm current pour in from the top of her head, flooding into her limbs and bones. Her physical body began to strengthen by leaps and bounds.

【Congratulations to the host for stepping into the first stage of the Body Tempering Realm.】

【Newbie mission complete. Mission reward issuing.】

【Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Jade Tempering Art.】

Listening to the system prompts, Shi Lan clenched her fists, feeling the strength in her body multiplied several times over. The corners of her lips curled up; her mood soared. With these two systems complementing each other, she finally had enough confidence to plant her feet firmly in this boundless Lingyang Realm.

Before she could enjoy her happiness for long, the voice of the Empress-raising System rang out in her mind again.

【Abnormality detected. Host’s foundation unstable. Hidden-danger removal program initiating.】

Shi Lan’s expression shifted slightly as a powerful suction suddenly erupted from the center of her brow, and her strength began to drain away at high speed.

“What is this…”

In just a few breaths, Shi Lan felt as if her entire body had been hollowed out. The power she had just gained vanished like a mirage, leaving no trace behind.

“Dammit!”

The shadow deep in Shi Lan’s consciousness cursed under his breath. He had only wanted to spare this girl some unnecessary pain and had used his own precious energy to forcibly raise her cultivation by one stage.

Yet this system—whatever hidden corner it was lurking in—actually managed to do something as outrageous as sucking away his energy, and even left behind not the slightest trace.

This was a bit beyond his understanding.

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【Hidden danger removal complete.】

【Re-evaluating newbie mission…】

【Evaluation complete. Mission rewards will still be issued. System will extract the host’s first-stage Body Tempering Realm cultivation and return one basic lottery draw in exchange.】

【Kind reminder: Forcing growth is no different from destroying your own foundation. The system hopes the host will choose carefully.】

A string of prompts sounded in succession.

Shi Lan stood there in a daze for a long time before she managed to sort out her thoughts.

The All-Heavens Samsara System’s mission reward had become a “hidden danger” in the eyes of the Empress-raising System.

Forcing growth, destroying the foundation…

The system’s warning gave Shi Lan a vague sense of understanding. Power that appeared out of thin air couldn’t be trusted—and the two systems bound to her might not be reliable either.

“Young Master, what’s wrong?”

Seeing Shi Lan standing motionless at the gate, Shi Feng couldn’t help asking.

Shi Lan came back to herself, shook her head, and stepped into the Shi Residence.

Once inside the residence, the group following behind her dispersed.

By the time Shi Lan returned to her own quarters, dusk was drawing near.

After a brief hesitation, she stood in the courtyard once more and took up the opening stance of the Vajra Divine Fist.

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After finishing half a set of the Vajra Divine Fist, Shi Lan was surprised to find that the physical fatigue had lessened quite a bit. Even after half a set, she still had a good amount of strength to spare.

Shi Lan stopped after half a set, knowing when to quit while she was ahead. If she kept going, she would start overdrawing her strength again.

……

After hearing Shi Feng’s account of Shi Lan’s actions that afternoon, Shi Tianlu paced back and forth in the study in disbelief.

“What kind of shock did Aran take? How did she suddenly change her temperament like this?”

Shi Feng was silent. He was even more at a loss than Shi Tianlu. He had only been away for a bit over half a month, yet it felt like everything was different now.

Today was the closest contact he’d had with Shi Lan in a long time, even including face-to-face conversation—yet Shi Feng felt as if there was a vast distance between them, even more so than back when Shi Lan hadn’t known of his existence at all.

Shi Lan’s change was too drastic, too hard to accept.

Shi Tianlu sighed softly and waved his hand. “Same as before—have people spread the news that Aran crippled Xu Yuanbai today. The bigger the stir, the better.”

“Family Head, this subordinate doesn’t understand. In the past, when that brat Xu Yuanbai secretly smeared the Young Miss’s name, it was one thing for you to sit back and ignore it—but why add fuel to the fire?”

This question had weighed on Shi Feng’s mind for a long time; he’d just never voiced it.

“There are reasons for this that I can’t explain to you. You’ll understand in a couple of days. For now, just go.”

Shi Feng could only bow helplessly and turn to leave.

“Wait.”

Shi Tianlu stopped him, picked up a wooden box from the desk, and handed it over.

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“Since Aran has started practicing the martial path, she has to replenish her vital qi and blood. This is a hundred-year blood ginseng. Take it to her for me, and remember to tell her that she mustn’t take more than half a qian at a time. Her constitution is weak; if she takes too much, her body won’t be able to handle the tonic. And don’t tell her it came from me.”

“Yes.”

Taking the wooden box, Shi Feng answered and departed.

……

After bathing, Shi Lan felt refreshed. She had just finished getting dressed when a knock sounded at the door.

It was Zique, the same person who had brought the medicinal meal at noon, still carrying a food box in her hands.

Zique set the food box on the desk, tidied away the one from noon, then turned and walked toward the door without saying a word.

Shi Lan could see that Zique seemed a bit unhappy, but she didn’t pay it much mind. She only thought to herself that Zique seemed noticeably darker after not seeing her for just half a day.

After thinking about it for a moment, Shi Lan chalked it up to the lighting.

When Zique reached the courtyard gate, she happened to run into Shi Feng, who was carrying the wooden box.

Shi Feng didn’t even look at Zique, striding straight past her.

“Stop! Where’s my parasol?!” Seeing how he ignored her, and thinking of how she’d baked under the scorching sun for so long, Zique’s anger flared up at once.

“It’s at the gatehouse. Go get it yourself,” Shi Feng replied coolly without slowing his steps in the slightest.

Zique muttered a few curses under her breath, lifted the food box, and left in a huff.