Chapter 21 - Part 1 - Transmigrated as a Fake Daughter in Cultivation Novel
Chapter 21 Since receiving the little rabbit-shaped hairpin from Song Wei Zhi that day, Song Zhi Xia had become even more serious in her daily cultivation. On the day of the outer disciple assessment, Song Zhi Xia had already achieved the stage of foundation establishment, with such extraordinary aptitude. Even Song Wei Zhi couldn't help but sigh, "She is truly the female protagonist!" At the same time, the mechanical voice of the system echoed in Song Wei Zhi's mind again, "The host successfully helped the female protagonist pass the outer disciple assessment and will be rewarded with 100 points. The current host has 650 points." Song Wei Zhi thought to herself that with Song Zhi Xia's current strength, passing the outer disciple assessment would be easy. She knew she had to accumulate more points quickly, as they still hadn't found all of the female protagonist's soul fragments. She must prepare in advance. The outer disciple assessment used a random matching system, and the top 20 disciples would enter the inner sect. Under Song Wei Zhi's training in recent days, Song Zhi Xia had come close to mastering nearly twenty moves. This was quite remarkable for someone who had recently reached the foundation establishment level, and in Song Wei Zhi's eyes, it was certain that her little niece would enter the inner sect. Two days before the assessment, the outer disciples went to the martial arts arena for the draw. They could check their names and their respective opponents' names on the stone stele next to the arena. Accompanied by Song Wei Zhi, Song Zhi Xia went to the martial arts arena. The names of the outer disciples appeared one by one on the stele. Song Zhi Xia drew number seventeen, and her opponent's name on the stele was Zhao Gui. Once all the results were displayed, the martial arts arena was filled with the disciples' discussions: "Who did you draw?" Liang Qin asked Xu Wen Yuan next to him. "Huang Xiao. He's already at the mid-level of Qi cultivation. I'm in trouble this time. It's annoying. Why didn't I draw Song Zhi Xia? She's just arrived and probably doesn't know anything yet. Besides, she has a useless spiritual beast. If I were to fight her, I could easily win." Xu Wen Yuan lamented. "True, who was lucky enough to draw Song Zhi Xia?" Liang Qin asked curiously. "I don't know. I didn't pay attention. Let's go check." Xu Wen Yuan pulled Liang Qin towards the stele. They found Song Zhi Xia's name at the bottom and, upon seeing her opponent's name, Xu Wen Yuan was stunned. "Oh my, Song Zhi Xia is actually going against Zhao Gui. She's done for this time. Zhao Gui is the strongest among the outer disciples. He's already at the perfection stage of Qi cultivation and only a step away from foundation establishment. I heard that his spiritual beast is quite formidable." "Indeed, and I heard that Zhao Gui has admired Li Fang Fang from the inner sect for quite some time. He puts in a lot of effort in cultivation every day just to enter the inner sect soon. But Li Fang Fang went to that weird place, the Sudden Wind Valley, because of Song Zhi Xia. I think Song Zhi Xia is in big trouble this time." Liang Qin said, his palms sweating. "Let's just focus on ourselves." With a cultivation at the perfect stage of Golden Core, Song Wei Zhi could easily filter information amid the noisy crowd. She had already heard the conversation between the two disciples. It seemed she needed to talk to her little niece. The match was scheduled for the next day. Back at their dwelling, Song Wei Zhi admonished Song Zhi Xia once more, "Xia Xia, your opponent, Zhao Gui, is at the perfection stage of Qi cultivation and has animosity towards you due to his admiration for Li Fang Fang. Tomorrow, don't hold back. You have to fight as you see fit. Holding back in the arena is equivalent to giving away half of your life." Seeing her little niece staring blankly at her, Song Wei Zhi was worried about her being at a disadvantage. She hastily continued, "But never stop when they say so. On the martial arts stage, life and death are at stake. If you injure the opponent severely or even kill him, it's his fault for not being skilled enough. I don't care about others, I just want my Xia Xia to be safe." Song Zhi Xia didn't expect Song Wei Zhi to say these things to her. Her senior sister didn't care about others, only about her own safety, which made Song Zhi Xia genuinely happy. "Senior sister, don’t worry. I will do my best at the assessment and won't embarrass you." Song Wei Zhi sighed and shook her head, "I don't mind the embarrassment, as long as you are safe and sound. Where else would I find such a beautiful girl like you?" Song Zhi Xia blushed at Song Wei Zhi's words and teased back, "Senior sister, you're bad. You only think of beautiful girls every day. If I'm not beautiful anymore, will you go find someone else?" Song Zhi Xia didn't realize that her tone resembled that of a jealous young wife. Smiling, Song Wei Zhi ruffled Song Zhi Xia's hair. "How could that be? Senior sister is only interested in one beautiful girl, and that's you, no matter what. Besides, I have no other friends or sisters besides you. I presume other close sisters must also be like us." Seeing that her teasing had its effect on the girl, Song Wei Zhi stopped before it got out of hand. She said earnestly, "I don't ask for anything else, just hoping my little sister will be happy and safe every day. Xia Xia, please take care of yourself, okay?" For the first time, Song Zhi Xia looked into Song Wei Zhi's eyes from start to finish and nodded, assuring her, "Senior sister, I will take care of myself." "Good. Senior sister looks forward to accompanying you to the Lin Lang Secret Realm." Early the next morning, several disciples had already gathered around the training grounds. Most of them were in the eastern training ground where Song Zhi Xia and Zhao Gui were. Each training ground had one referee and a few inner sect disciples to maintain order. Song Wei Zhi also came with Song Zhi Xia. The inner sect disciples quickly took out chairs from their storage bags and offered them to Song Wei Zhi, who graciously accepted. She then advised Song Zhi Xia, "Xia Xia, be careful." Returning a smile to Song Wei Zhi, Song Zhi Xia said, "Senior sister, don't worry, I'll be fine." With that, she walked to the center of the martial arts arena, while Song Wei Zhi sat on the chair, watching the two contestants. Because Song Wei Zhi was present, the discussions around them subsided. When Song Zhi Xia reached the center of the arena, Zhao Gui was already waiting for her. After exchanging greetings, Song Zhi Xia said, "Please enlighten me, senior brother." With a cold smirk, Zhao Gui, wielding his long sword, sneered, "Don't think I'll go easy on you. Fang Fang was such a good person, and you sent her to that eerie place, the Sudden Wind Valley. I will make sure you leave the same way you came in today." He glanced at Song Wei Zhi sitting on the sideline and added, "I want to see how she's going to protect you today." As Zhao Gui spoke, the referee outside the arena struck the gong, marking the start of the match. Pointing his long sword at Song Zhi Xia, Zhao Gui summoned his spiritual beast, a black dog, and the two of them rushed fiercely towards her. The discussion below erupted again: "Zhao Gui is ruthless. He knows that Song Zhi Xia's beast cannot fight, yet he attacks with his own spiritual beast. Looks like Song Zhi Xia is done for this time, I'm afraid she won't survive it." "No way, the senior sister is here! I refuse to believe that Zhao Gui dares to take Song Zhi Xia's life in front of the senior sister." "Let's see, look!" Zhao Gui controlled the sword energy, causing the fallen leaves around the arena to gather rapidly and encircle his sword. These leaves swirled around the blade and were then launched towards Song Zhi Xia. Simultaneously, his towering black dog lunged at her. Remaining composed, Song Zhi Xia initiated the "Flame Incineration" technique, setting her sword ablaze. With her left palm, she pushed back the attacking dog, while her right hand thrust towards Zhao Gui. The flames on the sides of the sword were propelled towards Zhao Gui, completely burning the leaves he had directed at her. Without pause, the progressing flames attacked Zhao Gui’s chest. Without giving Zhao Gui a chance to recover, Song Zhi Xia concentrated on a new round of attacks against the dog, trapping it in the flames. While preventing Zhao Gui from escaping the inferno, she aimed her sword at his throat. Zhao Gui, caught off guard, tried to defend against the first strike of Song Zhi Xia but couldn't fend off the onslaught that followed. His clothes were half-burnt. "You lose. Yield." With that, Song Zhi Xia sheathed her sword. "I can't believe it. Is this really Song Zhi Xia with poor spiritual roots? She seems to have won so effortlessly." "You're right. She fought both of them at once and seemed to hold the upper hand all the time. Zhao Gui, except for his initial attack, was always on the defensive. And he couldn't even defend effectively." "Zhao Gui has achieved the perfection stage of Qi cultivation. It took him several years to reach his current cultivation. Song Zhi Xia has only been here for a short time. This, this is impossible!" "Could she have used some forbidden technique? This is not allowed!" "Yeah, Zhao Gui is really pitiful." At this point, the referee on the ground struck the gong and loudly announced, "Song Zhi Xia wins this match." "Oh my, how could this be?" "This is so unbelievable. How could a waste like Song Zhi Xia become so strong in such a short time?" "This is way out of line. Even I wouldn't accept it!" At this moment, Zhao Gui on the field was incredulous. He was known as the strongest man among the outer disciples and to lose to a waste like this. Song Zhi Xia had already sheathed her sword and was preparing to leave, but Zhao Gui suddenly launched a sneak attack from behind. By the time Song Zhi Xia realized it, it was too late to avoid it, and she felt herself being lifted. In the next moment, she saw Song Wei Zhi lifting her. Shortly after, Song Wei Zhi placed Song Zhi Xia under the training ground and stood in front of Zhao Gui. With a furious yell, Zhao Gui shouted, "This is the arena, and as a senior sister, you actually sided with her! I won't accept this. I won't accept it. You caused Fang Fang to go to the Sudden Wind Valley, and now you want to harm me. Is there any fairness left in this competition?" "You, a grown man, have the nerve to say such things? The gong has been struck, and the victory has been announced. Yet, you despicably resorted to a sneaky attack from behind. Your despicable behavior is disgraceful. A vile person like you is just a heap of trash, and you are nothing but a disgusting clown." With disdain visible in her eyes, Song Wei Zhi's imposing presence enraged Zhao Gui even more. "This is unfair! I do not accept this. You, Song Zhi Xia, a waste, cannot become so strong in such a short time. You must have used forbidden techniques, and it is you who should be punished, not me." "Fancy words." With that, Song Wei Zhi's palm struck Zhao Gui, sending him flying over ten meters until he crashed into a pillar at the edge of the training ground. The thick pillar snapped and, along with the sound of its breakage, Zhao Gui's wails echoed. When Song Wei Zhi looked at him again, Zhao Gui was lying on the ground, coughing up blood, and had no strength left to stand. "You..." Zhao Gui tried to say something else, but he passed out. The force of Song Wei Zhi's blow not only inflicted severe external injuries on Zhao Gui, but the force of the wind also shattered the spiritual roots within his body. As a result, Zhao Gui's cultivation path came to a definitive end. The actions of Song Wei Zhi and the news of Song Zhi Xia and Zhao Gui had already reached the main hall. "This Song Wei Zhi is becoming more and more outrageous. I know that child Zhao Gui. He is the top talent among the outer disciples and is on the verge of achieving foundation establishment. To think that Song Wei Zhi wrecked his spiritual roots for the sake of a waste like Song Zhi Xia. Song Wei Zhi really regards no one with any consideration.” The Third Elder appeared to have had enough of Song Wei Zhi's behavior, and his beard trembled as he spoke. "Yeah, such a talented seedling. But in the end, it's all Song Zhi Xia's fault. Ever since she arrived, Song Wei Zhi has changed completely. She used to listen to the elders, but now she just does whatever she likes. Ru Hai, you need to address this." The Elder continued, visibly disapproving of Song Wei Zhi, especially since the last time she caused trouble by demanding to annul her marriage. "Besides, Tian Ming just said that Song Zhi Xia surpassed Zhao Gui and won the battle. This is ridiculous! She must have used some forbidden technique, as how else could she surpass Zhao Gui, who has practiced for several years, in such a short time? This Song Zhi Xia is worthless and, most importantly, she is malicious. Ru Hai, it shows that the decision you and your wife made back then was the right one." The Second Elder also stoked the flames of dissatisfaction. This time, Song Ru Hai was also angry. Song Wei Zhi had repeatedly embarrassed him and showed blatant disrespect for him, as evidenced by her unauthorized destruction of the disciple's spiritual roots. Moreover, Song Zhi Xia's sudden surge in strength undoubtedly raised significant concerns. In a solemn tone, he instructed the disciple beside him, "Tian Ming, go fetch your senior sister. Also, bring Song Zhi Xia, and I want to see what justification Song Wei Zhi has for injuring a fellow disciple. Song Zhi Xia, what trickery is she up to?" As Tian Ming approached Song Wei Zhi, he was intercepted by Wei Zhao, who was meditating in the courtyard. "Halt. Who are you?" Wei Zhao swiftly stood in front of Tian Ming. "This junior sister seems unfamiliar with the eyes. When did you arrive at the Song family?" Although Tian Ming had not clashed with Wei Zhao, he felt that the other party's strength was far superior and therefore was especially courteous as he spoke. "I am not your junior sister, nor am I a member of the Song family. Who are you, and what brings you here?" Wei Zhao asked coldly.