Chapter 58

Amid Teacher Yuan and the others’ shocked expressions, Song Yi seemed especially calm.

She felt she could only be considered an ordinary genius.

If any cultivator who had reached Tribulation Transcendence came back and cultivated all over again, their control over realms would not be too low. Those four hundred-plus years of hers had not been lived in vain.

In Song Yi’s eyes, the people who could think of researching Heavenly Tribulations and converting Heavenly Tribulation energy for use were the truly incredible geniuses. They had practically opened the door to an entirely new world for her.

The people of this cultivation world might not necessarily care that much about individual cultivation level, but their research into the principles behind all kinds of substances had never stopped.

In the words of the sages: We cultivators should exhaust the principles of the Heavenly Dao and all things. Cultivation is the pursuit of understanding.

When Song Yi first came into contact with these things, she felt that this cultivation world’s research was a little like abandoning the root for the branch. No matter how powerful external objects were, in the end, they could not compare to the importance of one’s own strength.

Now, Song Yi could not say she completely agreed with this world’s direction of development, but she had to admit that this direction had its merits.

Precisely because there were so many things that could transform external objects for one’s own use, cultivation level was no longer the only standard for measuring a person’s achievements. Ordinary people and people with low cultivation could likewise enjoy the convenience brought by external objects, and they could likewise make contributions.

These things that everyone here had long since grown accustomed to could enlighten Song Yi from time to time, giving her great inspiration.

No wonder she had been in this world for a while now, yet had never seen anyone undergo a tribulation.

Logically speaking, this world’s cultivator population was more concentrated. Even if many people did not cultivate seriously, there should still be some people breaking through.

She had originally thought it was because the isolation arrays here were more effective, so outsiders could not see it. It turned out that the Heavenly Tribulations were actually being dissolved, and there was no longer any of that old world-destroying scenery.

Painless advancement was just that convenient.

Faced with Song Yi’s “modesty,” the teacher very much wanted to hit someone. What did she mean, she was only an ordinary genius?

Without a doubt, the people who had made achievements in the utilization and transformation of Heavenly Tribulations were all very impressive seniors, but they had also poured countless time and energy into it. This was the joint achievement of countless people, and they could not even say they had completely researched it through.

In the end, this little brat had casually fleeced the Heavenly Dao, then compared herself to those seniors and said she was “not good enough.” Wasn’t that infuriating?

One careless moment, and it would make people feel as if they had lived all these years for nothing, all right?

Song Yi might be good at drawing aggro, but she was also generous. She divided the few bottles of wool she had fleeced, which was to say the lightning tribulation energy, among everyone and said grandly, “Take it and use it however you want.”

Heavenly Tribulation energy was not quite the same as ordinary spiritual power. It was rather precious, and in certain specific situations, it was more useful than ordinary spiritual power.

For example, when making lightning-drawing talismans, or adding lightning attributes to weapons, using lightning tribulation energy would produce much better results than ordinary spiritual power products.

But Heavenly Tribulation energy was limited. Even after Teacher Yuan reached Nascent Soul, he had almost no Heavenly Tribulation energy left.

His realm looked fairly high, but adding it all up, he had only gone through three Heavenly Tribulations.

The cultivation room would extract most of the energy from them. There was nothing to be done about that. Everyone enjoyed the benefits brought by these research achievements, but they also had to bear the corresponding obligations. If they did not even have raw materials, how was everyone supposed to carry out research?

Only the extra portion would be given to the person undergoing the tribulation. That small portion would be gone after a little casual use.

At first, Teacher Yuan was a little too embarrassed to accept it. Even if Song Yi had no use for it right now, keeping it as a collection would still be quite meaningful.

Unexpectedly, Song Yi asked, “Why would I collect so much of this?”

Thinking about it from her angle, there really was nothing wrong with that. Other people treasured it because it was rare, but Song Yi was not lacking this stuff.

She had to spend money to use spiritual power, but getting her hands on Heavenly Tribulation energy had not cost her a single coin.

With complicated feelings, Teacher Yuan accepted a small bottle of energy. Song Yi had only advanced to Foundation Establishment, yet the Heavenly Tribulation energy she had gained was already more than what he, a Nascent Soul, had gotten.

Song Yi was not done yet. She set her sights on the Heavenly Dao.

Because she already knew that, in the current cultivation world, it was very difficult for an individual to possess a spiritual vein, but Heavenly Tribulation energy depended entirely on one’s own ability.

A person’s aura would be recognized by the rules after undergoing tribulations multiple times, but what if one changed the aura?

Song Yi muttered to herself: Could she learn from this world’s model and create corresponding equipment to imitate a person undergoing tribulation?

After they left the cultivation room, Teacher Yuan left first. As for Song Yi, she discovered that Li Wenwen and the others had all moved a little farther away from her.

“What’s with you guys?”

Li Wenwen and Lin Ze said with utterly serious expressions, “We’re afraid the Heavenly Dao will strike us together with you. This is safer. Don’t worry. If it really strikes you, we’ll call someone right away.”

If they were the Heavenly Dao, they absolutely would not let her off.

Hearing this, Song Yi gave a sinister laugh and lunged at them, grabbing one in each hand. “This is called sharing blessings and bearing hardships together.”

She even deliberately scared them by activating a lightning-drawing talisman. With a rumble, thunder exploded beside their ears.

Whether or not it scared the children was hard to say, but it did attract a teacher not far away. “Which class is messing around with lightning talismans outside? Don’t run!”

The three of them instantly scattered like startled birds and beasts.

More terrifying than punishment from the Heavenly Dao was punishment from school. Perhaps this was what people meant when they said the county magistrate was no match for the official in charge right in front of you.

When Song Yi returned to the classroom, she found that someone had touched her desk.

She was already used to this.

Children found it very hard to respect privacy rights. At the very least, desks had none.

If there really were things she did not want other people to see, she had to put them in her storage pouch.

Some people would put snacks into her desk. Some people would steal her snacks. There were even people who tried to stuff in prank toys.

The last kind was relatively rare. It was not because the others knew how terrifying Song Yi was, but because they knew how terrifying Li Wenwen and Lin Ze were.

When it came to pranks, in front of those two, all their classmates were little brothers. Song Yi was the little kid protected by those two. Generally speaking, no one would provoke her.

Actually, in the eyes of many classmates, Song Yi was a rather soft and cute little kid. She occasionally matched wits and courage with the teachers, but she never played pranks on classmates. The more brutal ones in the trio were Lin Ze and Li Wenwen.

In short, there were quite a lot of people who did not know the truth. In some mysterious way, Song Yi had a pretty good reputation.

If Song Yi wanted, she could also make it so no one else could touch her desk, but for such a small matter, it did not matter.

However, today, what she saw in her desk was a strange jade slip.

It was a love letter.

A love letter?!

Song Yi’s face went blank with shock.

The one who had sent her the love letter was the boy sitting in front of her.

She stared at the back of his head for a long time, yet still found it unbelievable.

Although Song Yi had been alone her whole life, she had experienced being pursued before.

She was a boring person, but as for Dao companions, as long as they had value to be used, that was enough. It was just that she had value to them, while they had none to her.

So, without exception, they had all been rejected.

As for men who wanted to try that whole “bitter pursuit” thing, which was really just relentless pestering, she had cut them down with one sword.

She had seen plenty of tricks, but being given a love letter by an eight-year-old child was a first for Song Yi.

No, did this world choose Dao companions this early?

They had not even settled on their Dao, yet they were already starting to consider Dao companions. Wasn’t that a little like putting the cart before the horse?

Did he know what a Dao companion even meant?

Song Yi’s face turned into a solemn steamed bun face.

She was becoming more and more practiced at holding the identity of a child, but when it came to other children, she still could not help but regard herself as an elder. At this moment, she inevitably felt a bit heartbroken and indignant. How could someone so young not study properly, not cultivate properly, and spend all day thinking about finding a Dao companion?

If everyone was like this, the future of the cultivation world was worrying!

As this old ancestor, she still bore the responsibility of guiding him.

Song Yi began thinking about how to handle it.

Children were the future of the cultivation world, and this cultivation world was comparatively tolerant toward children.

Song Yi was a beneficiary of that, so naturally she could not use an overly harsh attitude to treat these children.

Compared with the tender, lingering lines of poetry Song Yi had seen before, the love letter written by the boy in front of her was extremely plain: “I am willing to share all my snacks and toys with you.”

Although it was childish, it did seem to contain a bit of sincerity. Perhaps feelings not mixed with interests would be purer?

Cutting him down with one sword was definitely out of the question. But if she rejected him directly and lectured him, would that be too rigid? Would it hurt the child’s feelings?

Song Yi was not good at handling this kind of thing.

Her deskmate Lin Ze saw her staring blankly at the front row and could not help asking, “Little Yi, what are you looking at?”

Song Yi hesitated, then finally said, “Nothing.”

This did not feel like something she could discuss with Lin Ze, and she was also a little embarrassed.

After going through an intense ideological struggle, Song Yi took a deep breath and prepared quite a lot of words. Only then did she walk forward and pat the boy in front of her on the shoulder. “I want to talk to you about that matter.”

The boy in front of her was eating something. When he saw Song Yi, he immediately guiltily hid his snacks. “Ah, perfect. I also have something I want to say to you.”

“I’m very sorry, but let’s break up.” With one sentence from the boy in front of her, the gazes of Lin Ze, Li Wenwen, and the others were all drawn over.

“Huh?” Song Yi’s brain stopped turning.

Wait, what did he mean, let’s break up? Were we ever together?

“Since you’ve already seen it, I won’t hide it from you anymore. I thought about it, and as expected, snacks are still a little more important to me. I can’t fully share them with you.”

The boy patted her shoulder and handed her a nice-girl card. “You’re very good, but there is already something more important in my world. There’s no room for these little feelings and affections.”

The boy tried to use his immature voice to speak in a tone full of worldly vicissitudes.

Song Yi, whose prepared lines now had no place to be used at all, felt her mentality collapse a little. “What you mean is, a whole living person like me can’t compare to a bag of snacks?”

Her focus was accidentally dragged off track too.

Lin Ze and Li Wenwen, the two friends-and-family members, had already gathered around. They stared darkly at the boy in front of Song Yi and clenched their fists. “Are you trying to toy with Little Yi’s feelings?”

“Let me see. Are you trying to be a scumbag?”

The boy wilted and decisively changed his tune. “Student Song Yi, if you don’t mind that I can’t fulfill my promise to you, then we can still continue being Dao companions.”

Song Yi: …

No, this was not the direction she wanted this to develop in at all!

Song Yi’s head hurt a little. She could handle the rules of the Heavenly Dao with ease, yet she had still lost to these children.

Song Yi understood now. First-graders’ feelings were indeed quite pure, so pure they could not withstand the test of a bag of snacks. After all, they “dared to love and dared to hate.” They would not act for you. If they said you could not compare, then you could not compare.

Her earlier solemnity now seemed a bit unnecessary.

Let her sort this out first. What had she wanted to say earlier again?

“You two let him go first. I’m not Dao companions with him! Don’t ruin my reputation!” Song Yi seized the main point.

People who did not know might think something had happened between her and a child. Even if no one knew she was an old cucumber painted green, a fake child pretending to be young, she would still have the feeling that she was some kind of pervert. Too terrifying.

“It’s good that you can think it through. But I feel that snacks and the like are not the most important things either. Playing is secondary. Studies should still come first,” Song Yi said as tactfully as possible.

The boy hesitated for a long time, then suddenly said, “Are you jealous?”

Song Yi smiled and drew her sword.

“This is what you get for not studying properly and thinking about finding a Dao companion all day! Thinking about eating snacks all day! Thinking about playing games all day! The atmosphere of the cultivation world has all been ruined by you lot!”

The old ancestor’s patience was limited.

As expected, she was not really suited to the route of reforming people through emotion. She still preferred convincing people with the sword.

The boy yelped and ran wildly around the classroom. “Don’t think I won’t fight back just because you’re a girl.”

But his meager skills were really not quite enough in front of the old ancestor. Very quickly, he changed his tune. “Wuwuwu, I was wrong! I won’t dare do it again! I’m going to study properly right away!”

Li Wenwen and Lin Ze instead became the people intercepting Song Yi.

However, they were on Song Yi’s side, so they only halfheartedly blocked her for show. They even used the pretense of intercepting her to block the boy’s path.

The boy in front of her shed tears of regret. All mistakes had begun with that love letter...

Song Yi sheathed her sword and felt extremely refreshed.

Sure enough, for a sword cultivator, she should unwaveringly walk the path of physical persuasion. Moral reform simply was not her style.

If she had known earlier, she would not have pretended. From the very start, she should have pointed her sword at him and told him to study properly. Then where would there have been so much trouble?

Song Yi sat back in her seat feeling thoroughly invigorated, not noticing that the atmosphere in the classroom had become somewhat strange.

Or rather, this bit of strangeness was not within the scope of her considerations. Her classmates had all returned to their seats to study, just like the boy in front of her. The future of the cultivation world was worth looking forward to again. This was a good thing.

She did not know that, in the eyes of the whole class, her image had already transformed from soft, cute little darling into that of a great demon king. Her danger rating was one level higher than Li Wenwen and Lin Ze’s. She was the ruthless type who did not waste words.

Her sword was sharp enough to sever the hazy feelings in the children’s hearts. Look at that certain someone, Song Yi’s front-desk neighbor. Miserable enough, wasn’t he? So emotional debts absolutely could not be touched!

Liking Song Yi was no good. Liking anyone else required the same vigilance too. Before this, nobody had expected Song Yi to flare up, right?

A long time later, the proportion of puppy love among Song Yi’s classmates was extremely low, while the proportion of single dogs was extremely high. After some bored person compiled the statistics, they discovered this baffling phenomenon. That was a story for later, so for now, let us not mention it.

The homeroom teacher, however, discovered something abnormal. Class had not started yet, but when he entered the classroom, what he saw was not a noisy, chaotic scene. Today, the children seemed especially well-behaved, making him briefly suspect he had walked into the wrong classroom.

Very soon, he found out the key role Song Yi had played in it.

He suddenly thought of a brilliant idea.

Not long after, Student Song Yi, the newly appointed disciplinary committee member of Class One, Year One, formally took office.

This made Li Wenwen and Lin Ze seriously suspect that Song Yi had bribed the homeroom teacher. They had agreed to be problem students together, yet in the blink of an eye, she had even managed to sneak herself an official position. This was a serious act of betraying the organization!

Song Yi blinked and did not understand why she had suddenly been appointed.

She did not like managing those trivial matters, and originally wanted to refuse this appointment.

But then Song Yi thought about it from another angle. These children were the future of the cultivation world. If she properly managed these children, wouldn’t she be able to prevent the future of the cultivation world from going crooked?

She could even use public office for private gain and promote the importance of sword Dao. In other words, the future of the cultivation world belonged to sword Dao.

Thus, Song Yi solemnly promised the teacher, “Teacher, don’t worry. The future of the cultivation world will be guarded by me.”

She held her sword in hand, murderous aura surging, looking as if she intended to “strangle all unhealthy tendencies in the cultivation world in the cradle.”

Homeroom teacher: …Now that you say that, I really am a little worried.

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