Chapter 52: Chapter 45: Don’t Tell Me They’re Going to Sacrifice Me to Heaven?

Dawn.

Lin Qingfeng sat in his cave abode, tracing a finger through the air to summon a screen of light.

[Sect Contribution (NPC): 765/500,000]

He sighed.

’Being a Senior Brother is so hard. Every day, I have to manage my junior sister’s mental state and keep her motivated.’

’If I weren’t here to guide her, my junior sister probably would have had a breakdown long ago.’

’Sigh... My junior sister is very diligent now, no doubt about that, but she has to stop at the drop of a hat, sit cross-legged with her palms facing the heavens, and recover her Spiritual Qi.’

He understood. She needed to recover her Spiritual Power to continue working effectively.

But watching the contribution points increase at a snail’s pace was giving him a headache.

The players were numerous and could grind AFK, so they weren’t worried about the high contribution requirement. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

But the game designers just had to set up two separate tracks. If the NPC track didn’t meet the target, the promotion quest wouldn’t unlock.

And she was the only "native" NPC in the sect who was actually alive and kicking.

’It’d be great if we could get a few more later on.’

’Once new NPCs arrive... my junior sister is so perceptive, and with my guidance, she can be quite eloquent and logical at times.’

’With her silver tongue, it’d be a waste of talent not to have her go swindle people.’

’Then I could just dump the task of welcoming new members on her and become a hands-off Shopkeeper. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?’

’It just goes to show what a good teacher I am.’

’Besides, welcoming new native disciples gives a lot of contribution points, which would make my life easier too.’

As the guild leader, he was swamped with countless tasks. How could he have time to manage these trivial matters every day?

Isn’t that a win-win?

’But before that, I need to have her learn the *Sword Refining Skill*.’

’When the time comes to welcome new native disciples, what will they think? They’ll see that a senior sister of our Guixi Sect is just a minor Cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining. How could our claim of being a "Supreme Immortal Sect, a prestigious and righteous clan, the leader of the orthodox path" possibly be convincing then?’

’After all, my junior sister did say to give her three to five days.’

’So I’ll wait a bit longer. No rush.’

’Anyway, a lot of the guys can try breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm after another ten days or so of grinding.’

’I wonder what the Heart Demon Tribulation will be like then?’

Lin Qingfeng stopped thinking about it. With a thought, the feeling of the Cold Jade Bed beneath him vanished, and the world before his eyes faded to black.

He logged out.

...

The sun was past its zenith, blazing like fire.

Lin Qingfeng got out of bed and stretched lazily.

"Time to go supervise my junior sister’s work."

He mounted his sword and took to the air. In a flash, he landed silently on a beam in the rafters of the Transmission Hall.

He planned to observe her for a while, as usual, before appearing at the right moment to offer some "loving encouragement."

Just then, he saw his junior sister’s figure dart out of the Transmission Hall and head straight for the medicine fields.

He froze for a moment, then looked at the sect panel before him.

[Sect Contribution (NPC): 872/500,000]

’My junior sister already started working?!’

He hurriedly leaped down and made his way to the Hundred Herbs Valley, finding the medicine field where his junior sister was working.

’Good, she really isn’t slacking off.’

’But... her footwork seems...’

Lin Qingfeng narrowed his eyes. He saw a faint starlight flash beneath Su Ling’er’s feet, her figure becoming erratic and elusive.

’She learned a new skill!’

’Not bad. And it’s a Body Technique, which will make her work more efficient.’

...

Su Ling’er felt her body become much lighter.

Spiritual Power flowed through her meridians along a specific path, eventually gathering at the soles of her feet.

This was the *Star Stepping Skill*.

This entry-level movement technique only required a sliver of Spiritual Power to activate, yet it was a hundred times more effective than the basic Body Technique she had learned at Qingxu Temple.

The teachings at Qingxu Temple would only say, "gather Spiritual Power in the soles of your feet." As for how to gather it and how to circulate it, the disciples were left to figure it out on their own.

After all, they were Outer Sect Disciples, so not much could be revealed to them.

But when the Transmission Hall Elder initiated her into the technique, a mental image had appeared in her mind, personally demonstrating every minute pathway of the *Star Stepping Skill*.

It pained her to use the one hundred Spirit Grass stalks she had farmed yesterday, but only then did that Transmission Hall Elder relent.

Although he maintained the same blank, wooden expression, to Su Ling’er, he had still done her the great favor of imparting knowledge.

She believed that as long as she kept grinding quests, she would definitely be able to exchange for even better things!

’When I finally escape, I’ll bring all of this back to Qingxu Temple. That way, the junior brothers and sisters who are struggling in the outer sect just like me can also practice this kind of movement technique with its detailed instructions.’

’It might not be some world-shaking divine art, but at the very least, it’ll offer an extra chance at survival, whether for traveling or escaping.’

’The Inner Sect Disciples might look down on this movement technique, but for Outer Sect Disciples like them, it was already excellent.’

At this thought, her movements quickened.

But after an inadvertent glance, the corner of her eye caught the familiar hem of a black robe on the rafters.

’Senior Brother!’

’He’s here!’

’When did he get here?!’

Su Ling’er’s hands didn’t stop moving, but her heart was pounding with terror.

’I knew it!’

’I’m being watched at all times!’

’Did he appear again to warn me because he saw my mind wasn’t on my work?’

’Or am I overthinking it?’

’He’s a Senior Brother with profound Cultivation. What’s the point of him staring at a minor Cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining every day?’

’It must be that with his current Cultivation, I’d still be useful to him even if he refined me!’

’How else can he explain constantly monitoring me?!’

She didn’t dare to think about it any further and focused all her attention on the task at hand.

Seeing his junior sister being so self-motivated, Lin Qingfeng didn’t go down to disturb her.

He shifted into a more comfortable position, half-lying on the beam, and opened the player forums.

[Hot Post]: "Golden Autumn Harvest Festival Event Predictions! Double Sect Contribution Points!"

[Hot Post]: "Bros, how do I join the Joyful Union Sect? Anyone wanna team up?"

[Hot Post]: "LMAO, today I saw someone glitching their position above the jail to poke the acupoints of the people inside. They were laughing and scratching themselves, and they had no idea who was doing it, hahaha!"

Lin Qingfeng scrolled through the posts, the corners of his mouth gradually turning up.

A nearby roof tile shifted, and another figure climbed up. It was Ji.

He copied Lin Qingfeng, lying down as well with a blade of grass dangling from his mouth.

"Guild Leader, what are you looking at? You seem happy."

Lin Qingfeng pointed to his light-screen panel, which displayed a game event announcement.

"The Golden Autumn Harvest Festival is in two days. Have you guys seen the announcement?"

Ji spat out the grass in his mouth.

"Yeah, I saw. Sect contribution points will be doubled, and I heard there’ll be all sorts of interesting activities.

"I even requested time off work. I’ll have plenty of time to get online and grind!"

"The players’ contribution side will be maxed out for sure."

"Mhm,"

Lin Qingfeng nodded,

"The player side is fine, but it’s my junior sister’s side...

"She can’t even grind a thousand points in a single day."

"Even if the event gives double points, if she grinds nonstop without sleep, she’ll get three thousand points at most, right?"

"Maybe there will be some high-contribution activities, but letting my junior sister get the first kill on the final event boss should give tens of thousands."

"Unfortunately, that’s still a long way off from the five hundred thousand contribution points needed for the sect promotion."

Ji followed his gaze downward and also looked troubled.

"True, a single NPC can’t get it all done on her own."

"And it’s a two-track quest that doesn’t let us help each other. Otherwise, why would it be so much trouble?"

"We could just go to Wang Xian and have him send a pack of spirit beasts to help with the work. Then your junior sister could just wait in the Cultivation Hall for the contribution points to go up."

"But the event boss this time is probably at the Core Formation Stage. Wouldn’t your junior sister’s little Qi Refining body get slapped to death in one hit?"

"Don’t worry. I had the Artifact Refining Pavilion prepare some nice things for her. Besides, I’ll be there, won’t I?"

"Who knows when the next NPC will take the bait. No matter what, one should show up after the Golden Autumn Harvest Festival, right?

"It would be best if we could use the *Sword Refining Skill* to forcibly raise her to Foundation Establishment before they arrive. Otherwise, how can someone at the peak of Qi Refining intimidate new disciples?"

Lin Qingfeng once again looked up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, his expression profound.

"Alas, a ten-thousand-foot tower rises from flat ground. The foundation of our sect, in the end, must be laid by her... day after day of labor."

Ji gave his guild leader a speechless look. "Senior Brother, it’s one thing to trick your junior sister, but how did you get so into character?"

"You don’t understand. Nobody understands Cultivation better than me!"

Lin Qingfeng’s gaze fell upon Su Ling’er. The red figure in the medicine field tirelessly repeated the same motions, tending to the plants over and over again.

Her speed moving back and forth had become much more efficient thanks to the new movement technique she had acquired.

But despite the sugar-coating of Spirit Grass rewards, the monotonous nature of the work remained completely unchanged.

Then, he slowly sat up on the beam, his robes fluttering as if he were an Immortal, and decided to go give his junior sister a little reminder.

He first maxed out his "immortal-like bearing" light effect and "Voice of the Great Dao" atmospheric effect, then looked at the red figure zipping through the medicine field and began to speak slowly.

"Junior Sister-ster-ster-ster, you must remember-ber-ber-ber, for every gain-ain-ain-ain, there must be a loss-oss-oss-oss."

"The sect will soon welcome the Golden Autumn Harvest Festival. For you, it may be a great opportunity.

"Whether you can seize it depends not on comfort in ordinary times, but on the determination-tion-tion-tion to ’sacrifice’ when faced with hardship."

"I hope-ope-ope-ope, that you can understand-and-and-and."

After speaking, he said no more. His figure flickered and vanished from the rafters.

Leaving Su Ling’er standing stunned in the middle of the medicine field.

’Hey, can’t you just talk normally?’

’Why does your voice come with a built-in echo?’

’Are you trying to show off your Sound Wave Skill to me or something???’

’And what was that about "for every gain, there must be a loss"?’

’The determination to ’sacrifice’?’

’What is Senior Brother trying to imply?’

’What is he hinting at?’

’Could it be... that for this so-called "Golden Autumn Harvest Festival," they’re going to use me as... a sacrifice to the heavens?!’