Supreme Emptiness

Chapter 2090: Chapter 2134: Never Bully a Poor Youth

His toes kept scrubbing the ground, his old face flushed red. He stammered again and again, but just couldn’t bring himself to shout the lines.

Until he remembered the Great Wine Sacrifice was hanging by a thread and couldn’t be delayed.

Only then did he grit his teeth, force on a look of shame and anger, point at Qin Ling’er and roar furiously:

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west! Don’t bully the young and poor!"

"The humiliation of today, I, Lu Yun, will pay back double in the future!"

Qin Ling’er stood above, looking down at him coldly: "I will go into seclusion for three years!"

"When I emerge in three years, I’ll give you one chance to challenge me!"

With that, Qin Ling’er drifted away.

Laughter and mockery from the young boys and girls rose behind her.

"A piece of trash whose soul is only at the third rank, and he dares dream of challenging the number one Proud Daughter of White Cloud Sect."

"Forget three years, even thirty years wouldn’t be enough!"

The middle-aged man swept a contemptuous gaze over Jiang Fan and said indifferently, "Next, we begin the final trial: perseverance."

"According to sect rules, anyone who fails two consecutive assessments will be eliminated!"

"Some of you, get ready mentally!"

"Assessment begins!"

Time and space froze once more.

Jiang Fan’s face burned, ears reddening. He scrubbed his face hard and shouted those lines again, his shame exploding off the charts.

Thankfully there were no acquaintances here, or he’d be scratching his feet in embarrassment once he got back to the real world.

He looked at the script again, and very deftly pushed the story forward according to the lines.

He clenched his fists, his face filled with humiliation, muttering to himself, "Qin Ling’er! I will avenge this!"

"But... Qin Ling’er entered the sect three years earlier than me. How am I supposed to catch up to her?"

At that moment, his body heated up. He went blank for a heartbeat, then looked at his palms in surprise and delight:

"I... I’ve awakened the Supreme Dragon Bone!"

"This Dragon Bone can draw in Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power and continuously strengthen itself. Once cultivated to Great Success, it can transform into a half-dragon body and shatter the void with sheer force. I actually have a chance to defeat Qin Ling’er! Hahaha!"

The space around them started flowing again.

The middle-aged man shouted for the start, and all the young boys and girls stepped onto the staircase.

"As expected of Giant Sun City’s prodigy Chen Fengyu, he’s already stepped onto the tenth stair!"

"Flying Dragon City’s prodigy Lu Jiutian has stepped onto the ninth!"

"Tsk tsk, they’re both from Flying Dragon City’s the Lu family, but this former second prodigy Lu Jiutian has left Jiang Fan far behind!"

Before time could freeze again, Jiang Fan was already familiar with the story script.

He fixed a resolute gaze on the end of the staircase, fists tightened: "In ancient times, there was a great bird—if it doesn’t fly, it’s fine; once it flies, it soars to the heavens. If it doesn’t cry, it’s fine; once it cries, it startles the world!"

"White Cloud Sect! Qin Ling’er, here I come!"

He leapt forward, the Dragon Bone within him letting out a long roar, and he raced up the stairs.

He overtook Lu Jiutian along the way, then caught up to Chen Fengyu, sprinting toward the end.

Gasps of shock erupted behind him.

"What? That’s the waste, Lu Yun?"

"He actually surpassed Chen Fengyu!"

"That fallen genius... he’s back!"

...

Following the story, Jiang Fan was the first to reach the top of the staircase.

Eight elders floated out of the misty clouds, slowly flying over.

"This boy has terrifying perseverance. Throughout the history of our White Cloud Sect, almost no one has ever fully reached the summit. Lu Yun, are you willing to take me as your master?"

"Sect Leader senior brother, let me have him!"

"No, I should be the one to guide him."

...

At first Jiang Fan wanted to laugh, but then a hint of desolation rose in his heart.

Back when he entered Green Cloud Sect, not a single Sect Master or elder was willing to take him in.

Yet now, in White Cloud Sect, everyone was fighting over him.

"Let me be the one to take him."

A cool, aloof voice sounded.

Eh?

This voice... sounded a bit familiar.

Jiang Fan slowly raised his head, meeting a pair of eyes filled with anger.

He was so scared he fell straight on his butt and blurted out in shock, "Jian Sankuang?"

The moment a line outside the story’s script came out of his mouth, the entire world was instantly frozen in time.

Only Jiang Fan and Jian Sankuang could move freely.

Jian Sankuang lunged at him, killing intent boiling.

In the story, Jian Sankuang was at Core Formation Realm, while Jiang Fan was only in Qi Cultivation Realm—how could he possibly escape?

In one move, she pinned his shoulder.

Jian Sankuang raged, shouting, "You bastard, where the hell did you drag me to? I’ll cleave you in half!"

Clearly, Jian Sankuang had already taken a few hits herself.

She raised her palm, ready to slap Jiang Fan to death.

But an invisible force bound her, making it impossible for that palm to fall no matter what.

Jiang Fan let out a tiny breath. It was the book’s power restraining her.

Since the other party couldn’t lay a hand on him, he had nothing to fear.

Jiang Fan shook off Jian Sankuang’s hand and snorted, "Old woman, if you don’t want to be trapped here forever, then behave and play the story out properly."

"We’ll settle our accounts once we’re outside."

Jian Sankuang’s chest heaved with fury. This bastard!

She couldn’t hit him, couldn’t kill him, and yet had to cooperate with him to act out some master-disciple farce!

She was suffocating with frustration!

But the story’s direction was what it was.

No matter how annoyed she was, she could only grit her teeth and endure.

She glared viciously at Jiang Fan, then returned to her original position, putting on a high-cold posture and watching Jiang Fan calmly.

Following the story’s description, Jiang Fan bowed and said, "Disciple Lu Yun is willing to become elder Yu Qiong’s disciple."

Time began flowing again.

The elders all let out sighs of regret.

The aged Sect Master looked on enviously: "Yu Qiong, train him well. Three years from now, our White Cloud Sect will be in great need of manpower."

Jian Sankuang responded respectfully, "Yes, Sect Leader senior brother."

Then Jian Sankuang flicked her sleeve with icy grace, sweeping Jiang Fan away to her training ground.

Jian Sankuang took out a few Jade Scrolls, clothes, and Spirit Pills, her face expressionless as she said, "If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me."

Jiang Fan was speechless.

He’d never run into a cold, aloof female master in reality, yet here he had one in the story.

"If it’s just a master-disciple relationship, that’s fine."

Jiang Fan smiled faintly.

In the days that followed, Jiang Fan and Jian Sankuang cooperated perfectly, playing their roles according to the story and rapidly pushing the plot forward.

Of course, sometimes they’d get stuck.

"Jiang Fan, are you serious? You’re the disciple, and you barge in on your master while she’s bathing? One day as a master, a lifetime as a father—are you trying to go incest?"

"Hey! Watch your mouth, okay? You think I want to look at you? This is someone else’s story; what’s it got to do with me?"

...

"Jian Sankuang, can you have a little shame? A master acting cute to her disciple—are you sick?"

"It’s just a bit of acting cute. No matter how cold a woman is, she’ll get moved when a hero saves the beauty. You don’t understand women at all!"

...

Amid the bickering, the two grew more and more proficient at their role-play.

In the blink of an eye, three years passed.

Master and disciple had cultivated in the sect, experienced journeys down the mountain, and gone through life-and-death together.

Their relationship as master and disciple had become the complete opposite of what it was when he first bowed to her.

And today was the three-year promise.

Time froze, and Jian Sankuang let out a long breath: "We finally made it to the end of the story."

"Soon I won’t have to stomach the nausea of watching you act cool and pretend to be handsome like some childish idiot all the way."

Jiang Fan chuckled dryly: "Same here. I won’t have to force myself to call a woman who’s cold on the surface and a closet perv inside ’Master’ anymore."

Jian Sankuang’s brows stood on end: "You bastard, who are you calling a closet perv?"

Jiang Fan raised a hand: "Stop! Don’t get too deep into the role. I’m talking about the character, not you."

Only then did Jian Sankuang sober up a bit. She pinched her fingers, calculating, and said, "In the outside world, only about a day should have passed."

"But in the story, we’ve actually lived through three full years."

She let out a soft sigh.

Even if it was all fake, the experiences of the past three years were etched into her memory for real.

So much so that her killing intent toward Jiang Fan had already somewhat faded.

Time... really is a terrifying thing.

The next day.

Everyone in White Cloud Sect appeared in the plaza.

Jiang Fan stood alone, sword in hand, his aura steady, his gaze sharp and powerful: "Qin Ling’er!"

"Our three-year promise is due!"