Chapter 10 | Transmigrated Into a Female-Oriented Novel, My Junior Sister Is the Villain

The spar between Murong Yue and Su Yi came to an unexpected halt, leaving a delicate atmosphere across the grounds.

In accordance with the schedule, the sparring demonstrations among the disciples of the four great sects proceeded next.

However, neither Shang Shuqing nor Ming Xi took the stage.

As for Divine Might Manor, only Su Yi and Gongsun Lin were present; to uphold their manor’s prestige, Gongsun Lin had no choice but to fight on Divine Might Manor’s behalf.

Fortunately, her mid Foundation Establishment cultivation was rock-solid, and her lightning arts were fierce and overpowering. Sparring against a disciple from the Return to Origin Sect skilled in formations and a swordsman from Ancient Sword Mountain, she secured easy victories against both.

With the four sects’ demonstrations concluded, the most crucial phase of the Ascendance Gathering arrived: the major sects selecting disciples of their choice.

Small and medium sects made their moves first, scrambling over candidates whose aptitudes were decent but had not caught the eye of the four great sects.

Disciples were chosen one after another, taking their places beneath their chosen sect’s banners with joyous expressions.

The four great sects remained relatively aloof, generally waiting until disciples assessed at Grade B-Upper or even Grade A-Lower and above appeared before stepping forward to recruit them.

For Divine Might Manor, this task naturally fell to Gongsun Lin.

“Aren’t you even going to look at the other disciples?” Gongsun Lin’s willow brows knit together. She had diligently noted down every disciple who performed well, yet Su Yi hadn’t spared any of them a glance.

“No need. After all, the champion is right here with us.” Su Yi glanced at Tantai Yunzhi. As the only person to defeat an opponent of a higher realm, the title of champion had fallen to her without a shadow of a doubt.

Hearing this, Tantai Yunzhi’s lips parted slightly, but she was at a loss for words.

She wanted to tell Su Yi that she was not nearly as remarkable as he thought, yet fear held her back; she simply could not bring herself to voluntarily lay bare her own flaws.

Seeing this, Gongsun Lin said nothing further, though a pout of displeasure lingered on her face.

“Junior Sister, wait.”

“What is it?”

“It’s all thanks to you this time. Once we’re back, I’ll make sure to put in a good word with Father.”

Su Yi knew Gongsun Lin was easy to appease. As long as she wasn’t ignored and didn’t feel her hard work had gone unappreciated, she wouldn’t hold a grudge.

Sure enough, upon hearing his words, the corners of Gongsun Lin’s mouth curled upward, though she quickly suppressed it.

“Once Master finds out what you’ve done, he might just take his anger out on me instead.”

She was naturally referring to Tantai Yunzhi, but with the person in question standing right there, she tactfully avoided naming names.

Watching Gongsun Lin walk off to recruit disciples, Tantai Yunzhi looked somewhat downcast, though the gloom quickly cleared.

‘It’s fine. Not being expected of anything is better than watching someone’s expectations crash down.’

More than anything, she did not want to let down the only person here who placed his trust in her.

...

“Fellow Daoists, I presume everyone has finished selecting their disciples?”

On the platform, the Return to Origin Sect Elder took his seat, clearly preparing to depart for home.

The others nodded slightly as well, boarding their respective flying boats.

“Now that our parting is at hand, it is truly a pity. Young Manor Lord Su, you and I hit it off from the start, so I look forward to meeting again next time,” Shang Shuqing said, cupping his fists toward Su Yi.

Su Yi returned the courtesy on the surface, but inwardly rolled his eyes.

Flanking them on either side, Ming Xi and Murong Yue did not speak, only casting meaningful glances toward Su Yi.

Whoosh...

With the flying boat tearing through the sky, Su Yi and Gongsun Lin departed in the direction of Divine Might Manor with their newly recruited disciples in tow.

Inside the cabin, the newly recruited disciples could hardly contain their excitement, speaking in hushed tones about their hopes for Divine Might Manor.

Gongsun Lin patiently answered their questions and kept order at the side, every bit the Eldest Senior Sister.

Su Yi was far more relaxed. Leaning against the porthole, his gaze swept over the sea of clouds rushing past outside, his mind drifting elsewhere.

Opening his UI interface, he saw that in the story quest section, the Ascendance Gathering quest had concluded.

Su Yi stored the rewarded experience points and medicinal pills into his inventory.

The system’s pills were entirely different from ordinary pills. The Breath-Regulating Pill and Rejuvenation Pill directly restored spiritual power and HP by fixed percentages upon ingestion, taking effect instantly without requiring spiritual power to refine their medicinal potency, nor did they carry the side effects of accumulating pill toxins.

As for experience points, they were used to level up skills. Having been in this world for so long, this was the very first time Su Yi had received a quest reward.

‘Pills can be bought with spirit stones in the store, so I’ll save the experience points. A good thing that can directly level up cultivation techniques and martial skills should be used prudently. But now that the female lead has entered the stage, all sorts of world side quests are bound to pop up.’

‘Now that my golden finger is officially active, the path ahead should be a lot smoother.’

...

Several hours later, the flying boat slowly touched down at the mountain gate of Divine Might Manor’s outer sect.

The ground, paved with lightning motifs, emanated a subtle aura of authority, while the surrounding stone pillars were carved with thunder runes.

Having received word in advance, several law enforcement disciples dressed in silver-trimmed black robes hurried forward to begin the preliminary identity verification and registration.

When one law enforcement disciple’s eyes brushed past Tantai Yunzhi, his routine expression abruptly froze. His gaze locked tightly onto a token worn around the young woman’s slender wrist—neither gold nor jade, yet faintly radiating five-colored prismatic light.

“Th-This is... the Ascendance Gathering’s Champion Token?!” the law enforcement disciple blurted out, his voice thick with disbelief.

The champion of the Ascendance Gathering was a peerless prodigy chosen out of ten thousand—or even a hundred thousand! In the past, such talents were almost always swept up by the Return to Origin Sect or Ancient Sword Mountain, sects with far deeper foundations. Divine Might Manor was the least influential of the four great sects and lacked their historical weight; never before had a champion joined their ranks.

“Junior Sister, since you hold the Champion Token, according to manor rules you may enter the manor treasury to select one Earth-rank cultivation technique and one rare treasure! This is the privileged treatment our manor bestows upon peerless geniuses. Congratulations, Junior Sister!”

“Yes, thank you, Senior Brother.” Tantai Yunzhi felt a wave of shame. The greater the fanfare now, the bigger the uproar would be once news of her flawed physique broke.

Right at that moment, Su Yi walked over. He gave Tantai Yunzhi a reassuring glance first, then casually draped an arm over the law enforcement disciple’s shoulder and steered him aside, lowering his voice: “Good work, Senior Brother. But regarding Junior Sister Tantai being the champion, I hope you won’t make a big fuss about it for now.”

The law enforcement disciple blinked in confusion. “Young Manor Lord, why is that? It’s been years since a champion came to our manor. This is a momentous occasion—we ought to proclaim it far and wide to broadcast Divine Might Manor’s prestige!”

Su Yi shook his head. “The tree that stands out in the forest is bound to catch the wind. Junior Sister Tantai has just arrived and hasn’t established a foothold yet. Drawing too much attention—or worse, unnecessary envy and challenges—might not be a good thing for her.”

“Besides, when Divine Might Manor recruits talent, we value substance over empty fanfare. Once she attains success in her cultivation later on, renown will follow naturally. Why rush things now? Keeping a low profile is better both for her and for the stability of our manor.”

Hearing this, the excitement faded from the law enforcement disciple’s face, replaced by a thoughtful expression. He looked toward Tantai Yunzhi’s aloof, solitary figure, then thought of the tangled factions within the manor and the envy that would inevitably brew. In an instant, Su Yi’s reasoning struck home.

“Young Manor Lord’s foresight is profound! This subordinate was shortsighted.” The law enforcement disciple nodded repeatedly, his tone growing considerably more respectful. “This subordinate understands. I will handle this matter discreetly and only report it through standard procedure without making a public display.”

“Mm, thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother.” Su Yi patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction.

Not far off, though Tantai Yunzhi could not hear the specifics of their conversation, she noticed that after Su Yi spoke with the law enforcement disciple, the latter’s overly eager excitement visibly receded, replaced by a much more measured demeanor. Her heart stirred, a faint prickle stinging her nose.

She knew that as someone of exalted status, Su Yi stood to gain nothing from her, yet he repeatedly went out of his way to spare her feelings.

Watching from the side, Gongsun Lin’s thoughts couldn’t help drifting back to the past. She had been an orphan, thin-skinned and overly concerned with saving face when she first arrived, yet Su Yi had been just as thoughtful back then. He could always sense another person’s subtle emotions; though he was usually far from serious, being around him was genuinely comforting.