Rubbing Shoulders with Heavenly Tribulation, Fleecing the Sheep

Tang Yueling raised her chin, striking a leisurely pose, slightly towering over Tianning.

That familiar vibe of watching drama unfold without caring about the consequences gave Su Qing a faint headache.

“…Thanks,” Tianning forced out, her voice strained.

She turned her head away, clearly reluctant.

Tang Yueling raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t hear that.”

“…Thank you.”

“Is my hearing bad?”

“Thank you.”

“Your throat’s not injured, right?”

“Thank you—! That enough for you?” Tianning shouted, her pale face flushing with angry red, dark eyes shimmering with unshed tears. This rare display of emotion made her come alive, no longer a lifeless doll-like beauty.

Her tone was less gratitude and more like facing an enemy.

Still, she was stunning.

Tang Yueling froze for a second, then turned away. “Hmph, that’s more like it.”

Tianning curled up in the water, submerging her body and head to cool off, only her dark eyes visible above the surface.

Xuejin Sword trembled beside her, playfully threatening Tang Yueling to stop teasing its master. Of course, its antics were far from a real threat.

Tang Yueling wasn’t scared, her expression defiant.

Su Qing, stirring the pot, asked Tianning, “Really? Would Red Rust Sword like me too?”

Tang Yueling glared. “What’s that got to do with Red Rust Sword?”

Ignoring her, Su Qing said, “Your sword bond’s fading, and the Sword Tomb’s closed. Red Rust can’t go back, right? It’s the 198th-ranked divine sword. I don’t mind taking it over halfway—not ‘don’t mind,’ that’s an insult. I’d be thrilled.”

Sincerely, she added, “If it’s willing to come to me. If it wants east, I’ll go east; west, I’ll go west. If it wants me to chase chickens, I won’t chase dogs. Over time, we’d bond.”

Tang Yueling stared, jaw trembling. “You’re saying this to my face? I’m not dead yet!”

Su Qing, earnest, said, “We’re roommates—you’d find out eventually. I’m just giving you a heads-up. I’m not joining your drama—I’m here to break it up.”

“…” Her blatant sincerity silenced Tang Yueling for two seconds. Grinding her teeth, she said, “I don’t fall for provocations.”

Su Qing smiled. “You’ll see if it’s provocation. Seriously, if Red Rust Sword shows interest in me, I’ll fight for it. I won’t back off just because you’ve helped me.”

Tang Yueling instinctively denied, “Impossible. It’s my natal sword.”

Red Rust Sword would never leave her.

Yet, a flicker of doubt crept in. She wasn’t so sure.

She knew Red Rust Sword truly favored Tang Shitao. It was determined to force her to choose a side.

But for Tang Yueling, one side was her natal sword, the other her childhood clan sister. How could she choose? Why did she have to pick one?

She was Tang Yueling—she was born to have it all.

Why couldn’t she keep both?

If Red Rust Sword truly cared for her, why wouldn’t it consider her dilemma?

Like master, like sword—Tang Yueling’s thoughts mirrored Red Rust’s.

The sword bond in her palm visibly faded daily, stirring unavoidable panic. She could no longer dismiss it as “just an ugly sword.” She was hesitating, second-guessing, unlike herself.

Xuejin Sword returned to Tianning’s hand, obedient to a fault. A trace of envy crept into Tang Yueling’s eyes. She muttered, “If only Red Rust were as sensible as Xuejin Sword, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Because I’m not like you,” Tianning said, surfacing. “I fully trust my sword.”

What kind of talk was that? Did she not trust Red Rust Sword?

Tang Yueling wanted to argue but found herself speechless. Too many choices had become a burden.

Su Qing blinked. “Anyway, I’m ready to take over.”

Tang Yueling snapped, “Stop saying that!”

Su Qing grinned. “I’ll say it.”

Tianning, serious, added, “I think you’ve got a shot. Red Rust doesn’t dislike you.”

Tang Yueling fumed. “I’m still here!”

Su Qing pondered. “Even if I don’t say it, I’ll think it.”

Tang Yueling lost it. “Don’t even think it!”

The three bickered, mostly Tang Yueling arguing. Tianning’s blunt words sparked her ire, while Su Qing fanned the flames or doused them with cold water, somehow keeping things oddly harmonious.

Mid-bicker, Tianning’s voice faded. Exhausted, she slumped onto Xuejin Sword, falling asleep in the lake, brow furrowed.

Su Qing, forgetting sleep, recited the *Clear Mind Technique* again.

She wasn’t slacking.

—

After inducing qi, hunger hit.

A ravenous hunger, craving something to fill her stomach—no, her dantian.

Her shriveled spiritual root, tasting its first sip of spiritual energy, demanded more, insatiable.

Su Qing’s love for the cafeteria deepened.

Post-qi induction, she realized the cafeteria’s food was spiritual. Though the energy was minimal, it delighted her tongue, stomach, and dantian.

Her hunger tripled.

She itched to try being a big eater.

She knew her body didn’t need that much energy yet—it was mistaking spiritual craving for appetite. But her mouth felt empty. She wanted to eat.

If she weren’t so broke, unlike Senior Sister Zhuxu, she’d try eating a hundred chicken legs just to feel it.

To repay Zhuxu for Mirror Lake, Su Qing packed fifty chicken legs to deliver.

The Body Sect’s second-year students were training in a cave recently. Delivering chicken legs let her drop off meals for Xu Jiuxing and others.

But today was different.

Zhuxu and Xu Jiuxing said they weren’t in the cave. For a week, they’d been stationed at Dan Peak. Elder Danxia, sensing a breakthrough, was nearing the Spirit Transformation realm.

Cultivation realms were: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation, Void Refining, Unity, Tribulation, and Ascension.

At just over 500 years, Elder Danxia’s Spirit Transformation breakthrough was lightning-fast.

Why were Body Sect folks guarding Dan Peak? Not out of camaraderie with the Dan Sect, nor to pay respects.

The real reason: *“Pill succeeds, sniff the fragrance; pill fails, catch the tribulation—either way, we win. Junior Sister, hurry!”*

Pill fragrance was the essence released when a pill was completed. A Spirit Transformation elder’s pill wasn’t ordinary—inhaling it from 800 meters away was a gain.

Heavenly tribulation was also valuable.

A Spirit Transformation breakthrough triggered celestial phenomena, including thunder. Heavenly lightning thrilled refiners and body cultivators.

Collecting even a bit was a jackpot.

The Dan Sect, filthy rich, was the Sword Sect’s wealthiest branch. Unlike rickety bridges or flying swords, free cloud boats shuttled between the main peak and Dan Peak.

These boats, seating eight to ten, were elegant. Ring a bell at the main peak, and a boat glided over the cloud sea.

Su Qing loved that they were free.

But with too many people flocking, boats meant for eight to ten were crammed like Indian motorcycles, stuffed with fifteen or sixteen.

The ethereal boats, overloaded, wobbled like giant white dumplings toward Dan Peak. Su Qing worried for her life—she was a bit afraid of heights.

Why crowd into boats when cultivators had countless ways to fly?

Unbeknownst to her, a weak water barrier between the main peak and Dan Peak meant non-exceptional cultivators needed boats or risked falling.

At Dan Peak, Su Qing, like escaping a Spring Festival bus, yanked her legs, arms, and food box from the crowd. Jumping off, she found Dan Peak—a once-elegant place—chaotic as a marketplace. People sat, set up stalls, or told fortunes. One step could squash two cultivators.

Before, Dan Peak was refined, with thirty-six pill pavilions and twelve pill towers symbolizing the zodiac, plus a ninth-tier earth fire burning below.

Each was noteworthy.

Its beauty was superficial; its wealth was real.

In contrast, the Body Sect was barren—gales left no grass, just a lonely peak with a single bridge. Disciples lived like savages in tattered clothes.

Now, Dan Peak’s leisure was gone. Crowds from every sect swarmed, even Dan Sect disciples nervously clutching mini pill furnaces, hoping to glimpse Elder Danxia’s prowess. Artifact Sect folks came too, hugging refining furnaces, praying for lightning to strike them.

Small stalls lined the edges, selling pills, lightning-storage artifacts, and Elder Danxia’s biographies: *Hand-in-Hand Analysis of Elder Danxia’s Breakthrough Reasons* and *Elder Danxia’s Tribulation Breakthrough and the Path of Pill Cultivation*.

All dirt-cheap—one spirit stone.

Su Qing recalled climbing Mount Tai for a sunrise, with hikers, sightseers, clothing rentals, photographers, and vendors selling sausages and instant noodles—a mix of chaos and order.

Sword Sect students loved setting up stalls anywhere people gathered. The cultivation world was tough to survive in. @Infinite Good Reads, Only at Jinjiang Literature City

Worse, a sneaky betting pool opened, wagering on Elder Danxia’s breakthrough success. Options were fair—bet yes or no.

But those betting “no” got whacked by the pool’s runners, who cursed, “You dare think that?!”

Yes, the Dan Sect ran the pool—classic bait-and-switch. A Body Sect sister told Su Qing the Dan Sect was petty, often using pills to strong-arm others.

Pushing through the crowd, Su Qing spotted familiar faces. Senior Sister Qin Zhen, with her variant lightning root, was a must at any thunder event, accompanied by a baby-faced male cultivator, likely Junior Brother Yangxi.

Chen Xinha was there, not noticing Su Qing, talking to a white spirit snake instead of Yuanbao.

Mostly second-year students filled the scene; third- and fourth-years were rarely on campus, often in seclusion.

Su Qing found the Body Sect’s spot—a small hilltop closest to the tribulation, prime for getting zapped first.

Seeing food arrive, Body Sect disciples’ eyes lit up.

“Food’s here!”

“Fifty chicken legs!”

Xu Jiuxing pointed at Zhuxu. “Zhuxu, where’d you get money for chicken legs? I’ve covered your meals for three days!”

Zhuxu grinned, pulling Su Qing close. “I didn’t buy them—Junior Sister’s repaying me.”