NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13
As soon as SSR character Xiao Qi returned to Erbai Peak, Shen Shi immediately immersed himself in a tense… no, a nurturing project.
“Xiao Qi, although the talent you demonstrated today is not considered good, I believe that one day, you will prove your strength,” Shen Shi earnestly said to the bewildered Xiao Qi.
Dongyue Li, standing nearby, watched Shen Shi talking to the newly initiated junior brother with a teasing smile on her face. Shen Shi’s image as a good mentor always felt somewhat incongruous, given that he usually acted like a complete layabout.
“Yes, Xiao Qi will certainly not disappoint Master!”
Xiao Qi had already been thoroughly impressed by Shen Shi during the previous Xianmiao Conference, and now he naturally took Shen Shi’s words to heart.
Shen Shi nodded in satisfaction. Xiao Qi’s character was defined by his cunning and strong mental defenses, but once someone entered his heart, they could gain his absolute trust. From his performance just now, it was clear that Xiao Qi had already been won over by him.
The next step is to roll in bed… no, to feed him experience pills.
Shen Shi directly took out a small jade bottle and handed it to Xiao Qi, smiling kindly: “This is a Gathering Qi Pill. With your current quality, dilute one pill in water and divide it into ten portions. Take one portion each time you practice, it will help you in your cultivation.”
Xiao Qi, not understanding the value of the Gathering Qi Pill, took it immediately: “Thank you, Master.”
Seeing Xiao Qi accept the pill, Dongyue Li frowned slightly: “Master, you’re being too reckless! The junior brother has just started, how can he take pills? It’s like trying to help shoots grow by pulling them up!”
Although her words were somewhat presumptuous, Dongyue Li was often punished because of her straightforward and upright character, frequently clashing with the eccentric Shen Shi.
And now, Dongyue Li’s problem had resurfaced.
As soon as Dongyue Li spoke, Xiao Qi also looked at Shen Shi, puzzled.
Shen Shi smiled slightly. The entire world view was his creation; he knew better than anyone whether this was overreaching.
“For others, this might be overreaching, but for Xiao Qi, it’s not,” Shen Shi said with a mysterious smile.
Dongyue Li then remembered that her junior brother had another incredible talent – full affinity for spiritual energy, and such a nearly pure body had an excellent advantage in absorbing spiritual energy.
Although the Gathering Qi Pill was a high-level pill, diluting it and spreading out its potency would only benefit Xiao Qi, who had full spiritual affinity.
Realizing her mistake, Dongyue Li immediately knelt and apologized: “Master, it was my rashness. Please punish me.”
“It’s okay, go arrange a living place for Xiao Qi. After all, he’s a boy and should be separated from his sisters.”
“Yes, Master.”
Not being punished, Dongyue Li seemed slightly disappointed, but she didn’t understand why: What’s wrong with me? Why am I longing for Master’s punishment?
Just after Shen Shi’s instruction, Xiao Qi bit his lip corner lightly, hesitated for a moment, and then seemed to have made a decision, calling out: “Master!”
“Hmm? What’s up? Xiao Qi, do you have something to say?”
Xiao Qi clenched his fist, then looked up at Shen Shi. Under his long eyelashes, his bright eyes stared at Shen Shi’s face as if to imprint his features in his heart.
Watching the junior brother’s expression, Dongyue Li couldn’t help but smile. Master’s face really could be said to cause the downfall of nations.
Although cultivators have various methods to change their appearance, one’s natural appearance is the closest to the natural Tao. No one would delay their cultivation just to change their appearance, so Shen Shi’s stunningly beautiful face was quite rare in the cultivation world.
Dongyue Li initially thought that the junior brother was mesmerized by Shen Shi, but the next words from the junior brother left her completely stiff.
“Master! I… I am actually a girl, my real name is Xiao Qi’er.”
Xiao Qi’er said, untying her hair bun, letting her waterfall-like black hair flow down smoothly without any tangles.
With lips red and teeth white, and eyes bright as stars, the originally stubborn little face suddenly gained a few more touches of lightness and softness. Given time to grow and mature, she would surely be a devastating beauty.
Dongyue Li covered her mouth in surprise. No one had thought to investigate the gender of these disciples, and who would have thought that such a young child would be disguised as a boy.
Shen Shi still looked at Xiao Qi calmly, his handsome face showing no surprise.
But internally, he was anything but calm.
“???”
“What the heck? What
‘s going on? Isn’t the protagonist supposed to be male? What happened? Why am I still a bit confused? Could it be that I’ve recognized the wrong person? No, the name matches!”
His thoughts in disarray, Shen Shi almost lost the ability to think. His protagonist had become female!
Is my invincible hero gone?
Is my ‘don’t bully the young and poor’ gone?
Now is it Mary Sue? Or the White Moonlight? Or the Green Tea Bitch?
???
“Master, I did not intend to deceive, but my family has fallen, and there were many bandits on the way to becoming a disciple, so I had to hide my identity to avoid danger,” Xiao Qi’er quickly knelt and apologized to Shen Shi.
“Hmm, thoughtful and good. Just focus on your cultivation from now on,” Shen Shi said with a comforting smile.
“Indeed, it seems Master had seen through it all along.” Xiao Qi’er looked at the calm Shen Shi, feeling fortunate for her decision not to hide it deliberately.
“Since you are a girl, you can live with your sisters. Go now, your eldest sister will arrange everything for you.”
“Yes, Master, I take my leave.”
After the two left, Shen Shi jumped up, grabbing his hair and leaning back.
“Laziness, what’s going on? Everything was normal, but why did the protagonist become a girl?”
“What about the original protagonist’s harem? How will the plot progress? Surely I can’t collect it!”
“Wait, did I just say something outrageous?”
“Ah, I’m starting to talk nonsense. I’m going crazy. I hope the plot doesn’t change.”
“What should I do?”
“What should I do?”
Unable to think of a solution, Shen Shi collapsed in his armchair, looking utterly defeated. In the end, he chose the most layabout way.
“Forget it, I won’t think about it. The protagonist doesn’t need a harem in the early stages. Let’s take it one step at a time.”
After all, compared to raising a son, raising a daughter seems a bit more thrilling.
Sorting out his thoughts, Shen Shi still focused on how to quickly improve Xiao Qi’er’s strength.
———-
Humans are born with spirits, divided into the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The five elements give birth to each other, and spiritual energy passes through the body, transforming and then dissipating into the world.
Cultivators are born with deficiencies, the five elements incomplete, spiritual energy enters the body; breaking the cycle, storing spiritual energy within, accumulating little by little, transcending the mundane.
Spiritual energy entering the body is Qi training;
Nurturing Qi and tempering the body is Foundation Establishment;
Turning Qi into a pill is forming the Golden Core;
Condensing Qi and refining the spirit is the Nascent Soul;
One spirit becoming three is the Spirit Transformation;
Three spirits uniting is the Union Stage;
Using the spirit to carry the Tao is the Mahayana;
Transforming into a feather and ascending to immortality.
Having incomplete five elements is necessary to break the cycle of the five elements. Therefore, when Xiao Qi’er was confirmed to have the five-element spiritual root, it caused despair for everyone.
But nothing is absolute. Shen Shi wants Xiao Qi’er to embark on the path of immortality, and there’s one thing that’s absolutely necessary.
That’s also Xiao Qi’er’s biggest golden finger in the early stage, which she originally had to obtain by herself. But now, Shen Shi can do it for her.