Chapter 10 The cries of pain echoed throughout the fields.

Zhuang Jinfu was stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily: "My good disciple."

The two left Zhujin Mountain and walked back. Ling Shu followed Zhuang Jinfu, glanced at the sword at her waist, hesitated for a long time, and when she asked her, her throat was a little choked, and she said the first word with difficulty: "Master, why don't you fly back on your sword?"

Zhuang Jinfu glanced at her sideways and said in a very natural and slow voice, "Because you don't know how to fly on a sword yet."

Ling Shu's heart skipped a beat. Just as she thought... Since it was their first time dealing with the Shangqing Mountain gate, she didn't use her sword. Instead, she led her up the ten thousand steps of the mountain gate one by one.

Ling Shu looked down and saw Zhuang Jinfu's white boots embroidered with white plum blossoms stepping on the bluestone steps. Her steps were very light and she walked without making a sound. Wherever Zhuang Jinfu went, she followed behind her. Zhuang Jinfu was taller, but the two of them walked in sync. Ling Shu could tell that she was deliberately slowing down so that Ling Shu could keep up.

Ling Shu kept her thoughts to herself, her heartbeat like the heavy patter of her footsteps, which, even when she tried to slow them down, could not be concealed in the silent mountains.

Thump—thump—bang—

Da-da-da-da

Chirp! The chirping birds flew away from the branches.

“I’ll learn as soon as possible,” Ling Shu said resolutely, but Zhuang Jinfu smiled. She said, “You don’t have a sword yet, so it’s too early to talk about learning sword flight.” Ling Shu’s eyes held hope: “Then…can I have a sword?”

"Yes, I will forge one for you." Zhuang Jinfu's smile was gentle, yet there was a sense of detachment, as if there was a natural barrier separating her from the world, a barrier used to guard against something. Behind this barrier, she guarded her true self, as if no one could break through this barrier.

Ling Shu noticed the barrier but didn't pay it much attention. Compared to Wang Lifu's real, direct attacks, Zhuang Jinfu's distant vigilance was nothing. Ling Shu grinned and showed a bright smile: "Okay! Thank you, Master!"

"good."

The next day, Ling Shu got up early and went to Mengxi Peak. Mengxi Peak is where newly recruited inner disciples take their classes. The courses are divided into two categories: literature and martial arts. The literature and martial arts courses are all basic knowledge of cultivation and are compulsory courses. Only after reaching the graduation standard can they return to their respective masters to continue their studies.

The literature courses include seven subjects such as language, history, mathematics, and pharmacy, while the martial arts courses include six subjects such as basic skills, swordsmanship, and fist techniques. The courses are held once a quarter, with an assessment at the end of the quarter. Once a course is more than half completed, newcomers cannot join midway. To avoid failing the end-of-quarter assessment, new cultivators usually join the courses at the beginning of the quarter. When Ling Shu arrived, a month had already passed since the course started.

As soon as Ling Shu entered the history classroom, the noise stopped. Groups of people stared at her. She calmly went to find a seat, and heard the whispers of the cultivators around her.

"Why is this monster here?"

"She doesn't even deserve to be in class?"

"Keep your voices down, they have powerful backers, hehe."

Ling Shu found a corner spot and was about to sit down when a book was slammed onto the table with a "thud." The people huddled together made way, and a woman in an orange dress walked over with her arms crossed, kicked the table, and said imperiously, "This is my seat!"

Those around her chuckled, watching the spectacle unfold. One person defended the woman, saying, "This is a real young lady. A bastard child abandoned by her own mother is still putting on an act."

Ling Shu glared at the man, while the person who spoke up for the woman in orange rolled their eyes, showing no regard for Ling Shu.

Ling Shu didn't want to get into a fight, so she stood up and sat down in an empty seat next to her. Before she could even settle in, the woman kicked her chair and said, "I like this seat too, ma'am."

Ling Shu forced herself to get up from her seat and simply walked to another corner to sit down. But as soon as she sat down, the woman came again: "Unfortunately, I also like to sit here."

Ling Shu, unable to bear it any longer, slammed her hand on the table and stood up: "I'll sit right here!"

The woman in orange also slammed her hand on the table, determined to outshone her: "I want to sit here too!" After slamming her hand on the table, she gritted her teeth and put on an imposing manner that was no less than Ling Shu's.

Ling Shu stared intently at her, releasing the inherent pressure emanating from the thousand-year-old demon core.

The air in the hall was almost frozen. The pressure of the thousand-year-old fox demon was comparable to that of a Mahayana cultivator. As soon as this pressure was released, those who had just mocked her shut their mouths. However, those who were disdainful remained disdainful. The woman in orange endured the pressure of kneeling down and supported herself on the table, saying, "You are only relying on your mother's demon core. If it weren't for this demon core, you wouldn't even be worth a finger of ours."

Seeing that she couldn't hold on any longer, Ling Shu raised an eyebrow and said, "So what?"

“Ling Shu.” A serious, slightly aged female voice came from the podium, “We are all cultivators of the same sect. Fellow disciples should treat each other kindly and avoid causing trouble.”

Ling Shu withdrew her oppressive aura and retorted quickly, "She was the one who started the trouble first!"

"I know, Li Chang, Ling Shu, copy the Tao Te Ching three times after class and hand it in the day after tomorrow. Okay, let's go to class now."

Li Chang glanced at Ling Shu, still seething with anger. Ling Shu rolled his eyes at her in return, which made Li Chang even angrier. She had no choice but to reply, "Yes, Master Bai."

As luck would have it, the lesson was about the great war between humans and demons four hundred years ago. As the only half-demon Ling Shu, she felt extremely uncomfortable throughout the lesson. However, she finally understood why cultivators were so wary of or even disgusted by the existence of demons.

Four hundred years ago, before the war between humans and demons, the Shangqing Realm was a world ruled by demons. Humans had a low status, and demons were physically stronger than humans from birth. Demons made slow progress in cultivation later on, but humans were still just humans. Demons could use their physical advantage to compete for cultivation resources, drive humans to deep mountains and forests, and some demons even raised humans. Demons cultivated from large birds of prey would eat people.

Humanity once lived in fear until the people of the Upper Clarity Realm evolved spiritual roots. As if the excessive reproduction of demons had affected the balance of nature, humanity began to evolve. Some scholars have also suggested that the offspring produced by the union of humans and demons contain a mixture of human and demon bloodlines. In any case, since humans developed spiritual roots, their cultivation has progressed by leaps and bounds.

Initially, people with mixed spiritual roots appeared. Humans began to discover that they, like demons, could cultivate using the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. This led to the first clash between humans and demons, the Battle of the Crimson Forest, in which humans were at a significant disadvantage and were defeated. However, humans persevered in their pursuit of survival, constantly refining their cultivation. When ordinary spiritual roots appeared, humanity's absolute disadvantage began to reverse.

Human farms were destroyed one by one, and humanity gained initial freedom.

Humanity's enterprising spirit shines like the ever-burning sun.

Humanity continued to explore the wonders of spiritual roots. Just as the demon race launched its first full-scale attack on humanity, dual spiritual roots emerged. The first group of people with dual spiritual roots broke through their cultivation barriers during the war, sacrificing demon blood to carve out a bloody path that allowed them to both protect their race and cultivate. The most outstanding generals at that time were all people with mutually reinforcing or mutually restraining dual spiritual roots. Generals with neither mutually reinforcing nor mutually restraining dual spiritual roots also made outstanding contributions in the war. This war was humanity's first victory. From this, humanity learned that mutually reinforcing or mutually restraining dual spiritual roots were the best among dual spiritual roots.

Because their spiritual roots are born in battle, people with dual spiritual roots are better at peace, although a few people with dual spiritual roots, which are mutually destructive, are better at war.

Humans overwhelmingly defeated the demon race because of the emergence of single-elemental spirit roots. Warriors with single-elemental spirit roots were virtually invincible, and humanity began to possess high-quality elite armies, which served as the last line of defense to protect the human race.

It was at this moment that humans discovered the demons' weakness.

The two races have been fighting for thousands of years and are well aware of each other's weaknesses, but it is difficult to grasp those weaknesses and attack them with all one's might.

Demons have a fatal weakness: the Heavenly Tribulation. Whether a demon can reach adulthood depends on whether it can overcome this tribulation. Secondly, there is the nature of demons. Demons tend to pursue their own desires and dislike restraining their emotions. However, demons are also loyal in love, and will only fall in love with one person or demon in their lifetime.

Humans' cunning was on full display when it came to attacking demons. They approached them with love, killed the cubs during the Heavenly Tribulation, and dug out the demon cores of adult demons to forge magical artifacts. From then on, the demon race became fewer and fewer until four hundred years ago when the human race launched a war. The demon race was defeated by an absolute disadvantage. For the next three hundred years, humans exterminated the demons. In the Shangqing Realm, only Wen Ji, the daughter of the former Demon King, and her half-demon daughter Ling Shu remained.

Ling Shu opened her textbook, a tear falling onto the two characters "Wen Ji." The black and white words clearly recorded the past, a long history of blood and tears, condensed into a few dozen words. Hidden beneath these black words were her annihilated kin. No, she still had human blood in her veins. For a moment, she didn't know how to settle her embarrassment in her heart.

When the bell rang, Ling Shu left the school. The remaining two classes were language and calligraphy. Ling Shu went to listen with a heavy heart. In language class, she listened to the gray-haired teacher talking in classical Chinese, explaining prose and poetry. Ling Shu felt dizzy and simply fell asleep. In the end, she was forced to copy the text. In calligraphy class, Ling Shu's hand ached from practicing. Fortunately, the teacher was kind-hearted. He looked at Ling Shu's messy handwriting, laughed a few times, and let her off the hook.

After having lunch at Mengxi Peak, I climbed up a tree for a nap while waiting for my afternoon martial arts class.

The first lesson was basic training, which we practiced diligently. The second lesson was swordsmanship. The teacher gave us a brief instruction and then let the cultivators practice on their own, which was essentially like free-range training. This is because not all novice cultivators will eventually pursue sword cultivation. The Shangqing Sect is famous for its Shangqing swordsmanship, but its sub-sectors such as medicine, medical skills, talisman skills, and alchemy are also very popular. Based on the principle that the sect's unique characteristics must be present, a swordsmanship course was specially established. The class and assessment were much more flexible than other courses.

Upon hearing that he was free to move around, Ling Shu thought to himself, "Great! This is the perfect time to go home and sleep."

No sooner had she left than a few busybodies grabbed her, not giving her a chance to speak, and the two of them flew on their swords, carrying Ling Shu to the nearby Demon Transformation Valley.

Ling Shu was thrown to the ground, and a fat, pig-like beast with three horns on its head charged at him with a ferocious look in its eyes. Without hesitation, Ling Shu took off running all over the place, while the three cultivators flying in the sky pointed at Ling Shu's disheveled appearance and laughed.

With a "whoosh," followed by a scream and a dull thud as something heavy fell to the ground.

Soon, two heavy thuds were heard in succession.

The cries of pain echoed across the fields.

The three cultivators were writhing on the ground in pain, while Ling Shu stood on a tree, pointing at their miserable state and laughing heartily.

“Damn monster! How dare you hit me with a rock! Ouch, ouch, ouch—it hurts so much…” A cultivator wearing a silk flower in his hair rubbed his buttocks, complaining incessantly. Another cultivator with a green pouch at his waist examined the wound on her leg and lamented, “I told you we shouldn’t have bothered her, but you wouldn’t listen!” A cultivator next to him, whose forehead was bleeding, said unhappily, “We did it together, and now you’re pretending to be so clever after the fact, tch.”

The fat pig smelled the scent of the people on the ground and charged toward the three of them with great interest.

"Aaaaaah!!!" The three of them covered their heads and ran away.

At this moment, an orange-clad figure arrived on a sword, followed by seven cultivators. After rescuing the three people together, they flew over and surrounded Ling Shu, looking like they wanted to settle accounts.

Ling Shu shrugged and said, "They started causing me trouble, not me."

Li Chang drew her sword and pointed it at Ling Shu: "I saw you injure your fellow disciple with my own eyes!"

Ling Shu observed the eleven cultivators surrounding her. She had no chance of winning against eleven, but she was determined to win.