CH 27.1

senior sister’s 27th lesson

◎ when doing problems, don’t rush, first understand the scoring points! ◎

[team 11111 selects to confront on the 1720th floor of the zhenchuan trial.]

[girl, tonight, will you follow me.]

as they stepped into the teleportation array at the resting level, ripples appeared.

lin shuang and the others were shocked.

“what’s on this level, girl? wasn’t it supposed to be a defense?” meng zi exclaimed.

huangfu yuan, while the teleportation array hadn’t fully activated, reached out his slender finger towards zhao keran.

“uh, senior brother fuyuan, do you still want to switch the alchemy master’s non-exploding furnace into a third-grade defensive treasure cauldron?”

emperor fuyuan: “hmm.”

in a hurry, zhao keran rubbed her left and right feet, changing her steps like a dragonfly skimming the water.

quickly taking over the alchemist’s blessing for the non-exploding furnace, she threw a third-grade treasure cauldron into the array.

“an extra 3,000 spirit stones from you!”

“deal. leave this place, and you can’t make exchanges again.”

zhao keran’s reminder was distorted by the teleportation array, gradually moving away.

“junior sister, hehe.”

emperor fuyuan chuckled in lin shuang’s ear.

“if the treasure cauldron is useless, you have to take responsibility for my alchemy furnace.”

“…”

as if he would refine pills.

lin shuang lowered her head to look at her embroidered shoes, counting how many stitches and feet were on them.

“hmm? what did senior brother huangfu say? senior brother, why would you be someone trying to take a shortcut by using external defenses like a treasure cauldron during the confrontation of the three people?”

“…”

“so, senior brother, how long can this treasure cauldron protect the three of us?”

“…”

the teleportation array swayed slowly.

lin shuang finally saw the manual for the treasure cauldron that emperor fuyuan displayed in front of her.

【can defend against attacks below the fifth stage of condensation core, three times.】

the number of times was a bit limited.

expensive and impractical!

meng zi stole a glance and felt a pang of heartache, “let’s make it clear. if we lose, no matter whose book is taken away, we’ll share the loss. is that okay?”

a moment of silence for the three.

it seems there is absolutely no trust in each other.

the teleportation array finally stopped.

before stepping out of the array, they heard a chorus of spiritual frogs outside the array, one after another.

lin shuang looked up and saw a vast plain with wisps of smoke rising from five thatched houses.

a burst of fragrance wafted through the air, pleasing to the senses.

in this level of zhenchuan, there unexpectedly lay a silent little village. no signs of the influences of the winds from any direction, and no human figures in sight.

“could they have entered this level before us? hiding in these thatched houses?”

meng zi vigilantly gripped his large knife.

they only stepped in when the teleportation array started, entering at the last moment of the final breath.

“huangfu senior brother, i told you, since they are all third grade, just buy the cheapest defense treasure bottle. you insisted on picking one with a bird on it,” meng zi complained.

huangfu yuan’s phoenix eyes flickered, “that’s a chicken.”

“…”

“a three-winged feathered chicken, with shiny feathers and delicious meat.” huangfu yuan explained.

emperor fuyuan was about to take out the cauldron to show him but was stopped by lin shuang.

“wait, don’t take it out. let me recalculate this arithmetic progression.”

“?”

lin shuang took out pen and paper, looking at the village in confusion.

what exactly is this question testing?

the little ai talisman immediately spewed out an excel table made of spiritual energy.

“i shouldn’t be wrong. don’t you guys find zhenchuan’s trials a bit familiar if you think about it?”

lin shuang quickly wrote on a draft paper.

——common nine-item cultivation competitions in the outer sect’s frequent spiritual spring battles:

——defense 1, spiritual power endurance 2, speed 3, alchemy 4 (assist), sword cultivation 5 (attack), sound cultivation 6 (main spiritual perception), comprehension 7, one-on-one combat 8, team battle 9.

“external disciples’ nine tests of spiritual springs?”

meng zi was stunned for a moment, “are you saying that all the assessments in zhenchuan are based on the nine tests of cultivation quotient?”

emperor fuyuan’s phoenix eyes glittered with interest, “zhenchuan’s annual assessments for mountain levels rotate, and no disciple knows the assessment content for each level in advance.”

“so, this rotation follows a pattern, is not arbitrary?”

lin shuang nodded, “that’s my guess.”

huangfu yuan and meng zi simultaneously looked down at the ‘excel’ table recorded by little love, which was very clear.

“level 307—zodiac sign” (suspected main defense, belongs to the turtle)—the level number, a multiple of 9 plus 1.

“□□ one level – if you’re a cultivator, reach a hundred,” speculated as endurance—the level number, a multiple of 9 plus 2.

“841 level, oh, i’m dead” – healing teammates—alchemy—the level number, a multiple of 9 plus 4.

“976 level, you poke me to see if i’m dreaming” – suspected sword (attack)—the level number, a multiple of 9 plus 5.

“1222 level, ten thousand books house” – comprehension—the level number, a multiple of 9 plus 7.

huangfu yuan’s phoenix eyes flickered, “is this the arithmetic progression you mentioned? we are currently on level 1720, which is a multiple of 9 plus 1, so it corresponds to defense.”

lin shuang nodded, rechecking all the recorded calculations.

little ai didn’t make a mistake.

she reassured, “yeah.”

\[what does that mean?\]

\[they seem quite sure that the phrase ‘girl, tonight, will you follow me’ on this level is testing defense.\]

\[how did they figure it out? does anyone know?\]

\[uh, i only heard junior brother fuyuan saying, ‘this is the arithmetic progression you mentioned. the level we are currently on, 1720th, which is the dot-dot-dot of dot-dot-dot and dot-dot-dot, hence corresponding to defense.’\]

\[… so what does dot-dot-dot mean?\]

\[gah, this damn zhenchuan, the ear-blocking prohibition has been triggered again!\]

\[! i feel this sentence is crucial, it involves the secrets of zhenchuan’s stone levels! it’s also very advantageous for us higher-level disciples to pass!\]

\[so, they triggered the prohibition again. i’ve entered zhenchuan five times, a total of fifty years, and i’ve never heard so much ear-blocking buzz, wailing, dripping, crackling in the projection of any junior sister or brother who was breaking through before. what’s going on with these three? from the book house to this level, zhenchuan has been nervous about us knowing something.\]

\[is the housing manager here? @housing manager senior, can you inform us?\]

amid the idyllic countryside where lin shuang and the others stood, the projection screen continuously flashed with disciples’ messages conveyed through divine thoughts.

– 345 people are watching, 3121 words have been sent.

– currently accumulated 2207 spirit stones, to be settled for the winning side.

in the resting cave, zhao keran, who was practicing with hands and feet moving independently, looked at the projection, deeply moved.

“senior auntie, do you know what ‘dripping’ means?”

the pink-robed senior auntie’s eyebrows jumped, “i don’t know!”

zhao keran immediately puffed up his cheeks.

not knowing is not knowing. senior auntie was getting angry for no reason.

senior sister is amazing!

but in the next moment, the projection screen changed.

lin shuang and the others were about to explore the idyllic countryside and a few thatched houses.

suddenly, in the innermost house, a thatched courtyard twice as large as the others, with a creak, the courtyard door opened.

an old man with white hair and a grey robe, holding three large red silk-wrapped bundles in his hands, rushed out anxiously from inside.

with a runny nose and teary eyes, he came quickly toward the stunned lin shuang and the others.

“immortals, please save me!”

“save my little daughter!”

“the wang family next door wants to take my daughter away; they won’t let her live!”

lin shuang’s eyebrows twitched, never expecting this.

meng zi, carrying a big knife, was pounced on by the old man, and his face turned green, “you, you speak from a distance.”

he was already at the fourth layer of condensation, but he couldn’t even avoid the old man rushing at him.

huangfu yuan’s expression was subtle, “it turns out that above the 1500th level, there will be a test with puppetry.”

“puppetry?” lin shuang heard about it for the first time.

zhenchuan opens to internal disciples once every ten years, and even xu rui, the manager of the outer sect, doesn’t know much about zhenchuan.

she had very little information.

“yeah, for disciples who pass the higher levels, this isn’t considered a secret.”

huangfu yuan held a purple-bronze sheep-headed silver-thread furnace in both hands, “the reason why zhenchuan gets more difficult as you go up is that the high-level trials are no longer as simple as the usual transmission hall. it doesn’t just judge based on the depth of understanding of the techniques and the disciple’s cultivation level, evaluating whether it passes or not.”

\[the assessment in the higher levels of zhenchuan is very complex, such as combining the puppets made by the alchemists. these puppets, according to the different assessment topics on each level, are set with specific behaviors and responses.\]

\[each level must fulfill the requests or wishes of the puppets to pass.\]

\[that’s right, low-level disciples shouldn’t think they’re impressive just because they got a hundred-level level master.\]

\[i’ve been stuck at the five-thousandth level for a whole decade.\]

\[ah, too much talk is just tears, forget it.\]

the projection text flickered.

however, lin shuang felt a sense of novelty, looking at the old man in front of her with concern and curiosity. he looked lifelike, indistinguishable from a real person, yet he was just a puppet.

this assessment seemed like an immersive rpg game.

unable to resist triggering the follow-up plot, she spoke, “grandpa, you just said the neighboring village wants to take your daughter. what happened?”

the old man nodded, tears welling up.

“three immortals, the tyrant son of the wang family next door wants to forcefully marry my little daughter. but this tyrant plays with birds and chickens all day, has a big abscess on his head, and emits a continuous foul smell, even the stray dogs on the roadside avoid him. how can i agree!”

“as a result, the wang family couldn’t marry her, so they want to forcibly take her. i’m at my wit’s end and can only ask immortals for help.”

【indeed, testing defense!】

【protecting the puppet’s mission is relatively simple.】

【three people guarding one person, you can fight or escape, and hiding is also possible.】

but just as the words of the disciples floated across the screen, a thunderous roar echoed through the sky!

“old man li, you must not talk nonsense!”

“you accepted the marriage proposal from my wang family long ago, but three days before the wedding banquet, you backed out, where does that leave the face of my wang family!”

“i give you three days, hand over the bride to let my son marry happily! otherwise, my wang family will come to your li family village, burn down your li family ancestral hall, and snatch back the bride!”

old man li was originally crying, but now he was both shocked and angry.

“heavens, listen, there’s no justice! it’s your wang family’s deceitful engagement…”

“three immortals, i have nowhere else to turn. i’m willing to offer my entire life; please help my li family village, help my little daughter fang fang avoid this disaster!”

he held three red silk bundles in his hands, making a clinking sound of spirit stones.

in a breath, he cried and kowtowed to lin shuang and the others.

while speaking, a ripple appeared, and the majestic voice of zhenchuan rang out.

[1720th-level trial: girl, tonight, will you come with me?]

[petition from li’s village:

1. protect li fang from being taken by the wang family.

2. protect the li family ancestral hall from destruction by the wang family.]

lin shuang greatly admired the creativity of the elders behind zhenchuan.

it was a tragic story of a tyrant trying to snatch a girl, yet they chose such an artistic name for the trial layer.

in the realm of green river, this was undoubtedly a title scam.

fortunately, her arithmetic sequence was correct.

at this level, it was indeed testing defense!

meng zi’s face didn’t look too good, “this level unexpectedly has two separate tasks. senior brother huangfu’s defensive bird cauldron can only be used three times.”

huang fuyuan’s expression was subtle. “it’s a chicken.”

\[this level is more challenging than i thought. protecting a woman allows for fighting and evasion, but protecting the ancestral hall requires direct confrontation!\]

\[so, disciples at the condensation stage, who have historically reached the two-thousandth level, are very few. most of them linger around the one-thousandth level.\]

\[the difficulty is high, and the rewards are abundant. i’m afraid these three red packages from the old man are quite heavy with spirit stones.\]

\[i’m also a bit curious, hoping that the three of them can pass, so i can know the rewards.\]

\[i know, i’ve seen disciples pass this level, and a single red packet contains five hundred spirit stones.\]

\[naive!\]

\[childish!\]

\[is this junior brother someone who just reached two thousand layers this year? how can he utter such laughable words?\]

\[???\]

\[whenever it comes to the puppet section, after the disciple completes the goal, different rewards will be given based on the favor and admiration gained from the puppet.\]

\[???\]

\[look at these three red packages from old li. why aren’t there three trays with spirit stones? when the task is completed, the red packets may contain three spirit stones, or it could be three thousand spirit stones, fluctuating up and down but not exceeding the highest reward for this level. understand?\]

\[really!\]

the text on the projection was like a galloping horse.

unfortunately, lin shuang couldn’t see it.

they reached the 1,700th level, and according to the rules of zhenchuan, they could only watch projections below the 700th level.

a thousand levels apart were restrictions zhenchuan imposed to prevent disciples from copying, cheating, or taking advantage of others’ trials.

thirteen years ago, meng zi entered the inner sect and only reached the 1,100th level that year.

moreover, fuyuan, with his frail health, joined the clearwater sect. for rules above the higher levels, he merely used the words ‘i heard’ to lightly gloss over them, smiling without saying much.

as a result, lin shuang’s understanding of this level’s trial still lacked analytical data.

but lin shuang had gone through the modern college entrance examination, a fierce battlefield.

big exams, small exams, midterms, finals, simulations, spring exams, joint exams…

in the tactical sea of questions, lin shuang had her own set of efficient problem-solving methods.

“analyze.”

she spoke with her hands behind her back, facing the old man.

meng zi: “?”

huang fuyuan raised an eyebrow.

the old man looked at her, tears in his eyes, with a bewildered expression.

lin shuang cleared her throat, realizing that the elders who set questions in zhenchuan were not modern people.

without feeling embarrassed, she continued, “grandpa, i want to know which one, protecting the ancestral hall or protecting your daughter fang fang, has more points?”

“?”

“???”

old man li was stunned, his hands holding the three red silk bundles paused.

lin shuang narrowed her eyes, experienced in countless ‘battles.’

efficiency in examinations section — when solving problems, first understand the score distribution among different questions, and allocate time accordingly!

in case of time constraints, tackle the questions with more points first.

although, under normal circumstances, saving a life would be the top priority.

but now, this is the world of cultivation, where the old man and his granddaughter are controlled puppets of the questioners and not real entities.

lin shuang, coming to zhenchuan for the first time, wanted to verify the true train of thought of the elders who set the questions in zhenchuan.

cultivators must break away from the mortal realm before they can ascend. the so-called bonds and emotions with family and loved ones, in the hearts of these senior experts who transcend tribulations and ascend, might be like fleeting clouds.

she had to understand if the emotions related to protecting family and loved ones mattered to these seniors, as this knowledge would bring her closer to the standard answer.

“what i mean is, in case we can’t defeat them, which one is more important? the three of us will focus on protecting that aspect.”

\[what’s the point of this question? if i go to this level, i’ll take fang fang to the ancestral hall and protect them together.\]

this statement flew past old li’s face in an instant.

but when old li heard it, his wrinkled face, full of hesitation, surprised the onlookers.

what shocked the observers even more was that he was actually seriously contemplating this question as if he were a living, breathing person.

“ah, my li family moved here three hundred years ago.”

“the ancestral hall holds the tablets of ancestors… if it is severed because of my family, how can i, after closing my eyes, have the face to meet my ancestors?”

lin shuang frowned slightly.

old li, holding three red silk bundles, turned decisively in place and then revealed a hint of determination.

looking at lin shuang, he said, “immortal, the ancestral hall is, of course, the most important!”

huangfu yuan, who had been observing, raised an eyebrow, and a faint trace of mockery appeared on his lips.

“so, i beg you to protect my little girl first!”

old li suddenly knelt down.

huang fuyuan was taken aback.

\[this twist—\]

\[this big turning point…\]

\[the elder who set the questions is full of surprises!\]

fortunately.

lin shuang breathed a sigh of relief.

so, she said, her investigation of the major sects in donghua territory years ago, and eventually choosing clearwater sect, was not wrong.

the highest virtue is like water; she liked the school culture here.

this also confirmed her speculation during the ‘ah, i’m dead’ level: the central theme is saving companions.

love.

——clearwater sect, putting people first!

in this way, her schedule for the next hundred years, studying, and working, could all be done in qing shui sect.

no need to waste time transferring or changing jobs; how delightful.

lin shuang secretly rejoiced, immediately helping up the tearful old man. “grandpa, i understand. you can rest assured; we will do our best to help you.”