Chapter 95 | I Transmigrated as a Nobody and Hoarded Every Fated Encounter

Xue Mingzhao looked at the familiar scene before her eyes, her gaze gradually returning to calm.

The moment Su Mingyuan opened his mouth, she knew this was still an illusion.

Yet, she was still extremely angry.

Because she knew that if such a thing really happened, Su Mingyuan would absolutely shove the opportunity for ascension onto her and turn around to meet his death.

Just thinking about this made her chest tighten with frustration.

If she, Xue Mingzhao, was going to cultivate, she would absolutely never climb up by stepping on the bones of her friends and family.

An opportunity for ascension obtained by sacrificing others—even if she reached the Upper Realm, what would be the point?

Was she supposed to make new friends and take a new master up there, only to keep climbing by stepping on the bones of others?

If that was what being an immortal meant, she would rather not become one!

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. It was bad enough that this idiot inner demon didn't follow the rules, but it had to go out of its way to create such a disgusting scenario just to annoy her.

The Chaos Spiritual Root huddled in a corner of her dantian, carefully pointing out the direction of the inner demon for her.

Without a second thought, Xue Mingzhao channeled all her strength and slashed her sword forward—

She had originally just wanted to vent her anger and hadn't expected to actually kill the inner demon with a single strike. After all, she had slashed at "Huang Siqi" before, and it hadn't done a single thing.

Yet, with a sharp crack, this lousy illusion shattered instantly.

What was the last half-sentence that brainless inner demon had said? “You are actually—”

Actually what?

Could they have known each other in the past?

Xue Mingzhao shook her head. Whatever. The illusion had collapsed, and that thing was gone anyway, so why bother dwelling on it?

She looked up at the endless steps stretching above her. The spirit stone card from the treasury in the illusion was fake, but the one in reality was real. She had to claim it.

She turned her head to look at Su Ye, whose face was as pale as paper. “Senior Brother, there are less than five hundred steps left. Keep going!”

Su Ye's voice was weak as a thread. “K-Keep... going...”

Xue Mingzhao could no longer drag him, so she could only pretend to be exhausted to death as well, cheering him on as she climbed.

When there were only a hundred steps left, Su Ye fell to his knees on the stone steps with a thud, unable to move even a single step further if his life depended on it.

“Junior Sister... I really can't go on... I think I see my dad waving at me from up there...”

Without a word, Xue Mingzhao raised her hand and threw a punch.

Su Ye: ???

Clutching his face, he was instantly dazed.

Wait, why did it feel like his junior sister's punch had bypassed the suppression of the Heaven-Inquiring Ladder's restrictions? It landed on his face but struck straight at his soul, carrying a very real mental shockwave.

Before he could figure it out, a second punch arrived.

Su Ye trembled all over as he clutched his face, unable to even speak properly. It certainly woke him up, but it hurt way too much!

He hurriedly scrambled upward on all fours, terrified of taking another punch.

Xue Mingzhao followed his lead, slowly climbing up on all fours.

Finally, the view ahead gradually cleared.

A crowd of elders looked at the two of them with delight, each of them rubbing their hands in anticipation.

There were also many disciples nearby who had been teleported out, all watching them.

Not far away, a familiar white figure caught her eye.

Xue Mingzhao took a closer look. Well, well, wasn't that Shen Chaoyue?

Why wasn't she going up? What kind of scenery was she looking at over there?

Up ahead, several female cultivators grew excited upon seeing Su Ye approach and began shouting:

“Wow! That's Senior Brother Lin Yi! A supreme-grade fire spiritual root!”

“Keep going, Senior Brother Lin! You're almost at the top!”

“In the path of cultivation, no tree blocks the sun; Senior Brother Lin is second to none!”

Hearing the last line, Xue Mingzhao almost lost it, barely holding back her laughter.

Perhaps the support from his female fans actually worked, because Su Ye actually forced himself to stand up and walk upward at a leisurely pace.

His speed was slower than a snail's.

His face was paler than a wall.

Yet, he somehow managed to maintain an incredibly elegant posture, even sporting a smile, as if he weren't climbing a trial ladder but walking a red carpet.

Only after Su Ye slowly and painstakingly finished the final step did Xue Mingzhao leisurely follow him up.

Huang Siqi cleared his throat, and the surrounding disciples instantly dispersed with a whoosh.

Several elders swarmed forward and surrounded Su Ye, squeezing Xue Mingzhao right into a corner. She was left completely ignored and in the cold.

Xue Mingzhao wasn't annoyed either, standing quietly to the side to observe.

Seeing her standing alone, Mei Ziqing approached to chat, worried she might feel left out.

Nan Mingzi: “Lin Yi! Come to my Chiyang Peak! You have a fire spiritual root; no one else can teach you!”

The elders scrambled to offer their terms, their clamoring voices rising one after another.

Zhao Huai'an: “Come to my place! You'll have an endless supply of pills! You can eat them like candy!”

Bai Buzheng shouted the loudest: “Take me as your master, and I'll directly give you a high-grade magic treasure!”

Nan Mingzi instantly grew anxious. This old man Bai, relying on his high proficiency in artifact refinement and piles of spiritual weapons, was trying to win over the disciple with bribes right off the bat!

His name was "Buzheng" but in Nan Mingzi's eyes, he wanted to contend for absolutely everything!

He said anxiously, “Come to my place! You can eat high-grade pills as your meals!”

Seeing this, the other elders immediately followed suit, each offering terms more shocking than the last.

Ning He, the elder of Wangyue Peak, shouted, “Lin Yi! Come to my Wangyue Peak! The peak is filled entirely with female disciples! No one will fight you for resources!”

Xuanweizi of Tianxuan Peak stood to the side watching the show. His peak was poor, and they couldn't compete anyway, so he might as well just enjoy the spectacle.

Huang Siqi hurriedly stopped the bickering crowd. “Quiet down! Let Lin Yi choose his own master!”

He turned to look at Su Ye, his tone exceptionally warm. “Don't mind them. You can go wherever you wish. Speaking of which, the resources under my lineage are also quite excellent. If you wish to join, I have plenty of things to give you as well.”

Hearing this, several elders rolled their eyes in unison: How shameless!

Su Ye's head was spinning from being surrounded. Which one should he choose? His junior sister hadn't said anything!

He desperately winked at Xue Mingzhao, but she was deeply engrossed in her conversation with Mei Ziqing and didn't notice at all.

Su Ye instantly felt like crying but had no tears.

Nan Mingzi stared at Su Ye's expression for a long while. The usually stubborn old man suddenly had an epiphany today.

He lunged in front of Xue Mingzhao in two quick steps and said righteously, “You people! You pounce the moment you see a supreme-grade spiritual root! Are disciples with ordinary talent not worthy of being taught with care?”

Bai Buzheng and Zhao Huai'an exchanged a glance: Did he take the wrong medicine? If he doesn't nurture good prospects, is he seriously going to specifically choose someone with average talent to teach?

Nan Mingzi completely ignored the thoughts of others, turning to Xue Mingzhao with a smile that bloomed like a flower. “You're Lin Yue, right? I think very highly of you! Would you like to become my inner... oh no, personal disciple?”

Xue Mingzhao: “...” I'm not really willing.

But she had been up here for a while, and not a single elder had paid her any attention. After some thought, she silently nodded.

Nan Mingzi danced with joy. “Good! Good! From now on, you are my, Nan Mingzi's, personal disciple!”

He then trotted back to Su Ye. “Your sister has already taken me as her master. Would you like to join as well?”

Su Ye was just worrying about who to choose. Seeing his junior sister take this old man as her master, he immediately nodded.

I'll go wherever Junior Sister goes.

Nan Mingzi smiled like an old fox. “Good, good, good! From now on, both of you siblings are my personal disciples!”

Only then did Bai Buzheng snap out of it, pointing at him and shouting, “You old geezer—”

Before he could finish, Nan Mingzi cut him off. “Cut the crap! Taking disciples is all about mutual consent; those with destiny shall obtain it. The siblings, Lin Yue and Lin Yi, are destined to be with me. This is the will of heaven!”

Huang Siqi watched from the side, marveling inwardly. The usually stubborn Nan Mingzi had actually played a roundabout trick today, which was truly unexpected.

He had originally thought that if he couldn't accept Lin Yi, accepting Lin Yue as an inner sect disciple would be a decent alternative.

Who would have thought Nan Mingzi would beat everyone to the punch and sweep both siblings up in one go?

But on second thought, it didn't matter. No matter how powerful a high-grade triple spiritual root was, the absolute limit they could reach in this lifetime was the Golden Core realm.

The disciple recruitment assembly thus came to an end, and the various elders departed one after another with their new disciples.

Nan Mingzi was the most impatient, grabbing his two new disciples and hurrying toward Chiyang Peak, deeply afraid that if he delayed even a moment, someone would come to snatch them away.