She Jumped Off the Cliff

"Since the host doesn't plan to follow the path of truth, goodness, and beauty, we'll need to change the mission plan." The System made up its mind and quickly cheered up.

As a system on its first mission, it possessed a youthful spirit. Even if the host, Bai Lan, encountered minor setbacks, it could quickly adjust its state.

Bai Lan nodded slightly, "That's right, you finally understand me. In my opinion, since the Child of Destiny wants to destroy the world, let's get rid of the Child of Destiny first."

"... Going that big?!" The System choked, and after a long pause, it stammered, "Forget it, as long as the host is happy."

"Of course, if we can't defeat him, then we'll give up, cultivate diligently to the Nascent Soul stage, ascend quickly, and break through the void to leave this world." After boasting, Bai Lan quickly set up a backup plan.

Fight if you can win, run if you can't! That's the only truth!

The System remained silent for a while, "The latter half of your statement is your true intention, isn't it! Hmph, you never intended to complete the mission; you just wanted to come to the cultivation world and use its spiritual energy to cultivate."

Bai Lan didn't refute, "You've become smarter, little System."

The System snorted, "In any case, you snatched Long Aotian's first opportunity, which indirectly eliminated one of his future harems. Congratulations! So, next..."

"Next?"

The System tidied its sleeves, opened the plot script, operated with a serious expression, and spoke earnestly.

"According to the plot progression of the Child of Destiny, upon entering the cultivation world, Bai Ling encounters True Person Qing Xuan, the Peak Master of Jade Purity Peak, by chance. From then on, they form a bond, which also lays the groundwork for True Person Qing Xuan to later take the female lead as his disciple!" The System's tone gradually became excited, "As long as the host gets ahead of the female lead and meets True Person Qing Xuan..."

"I'm not going," Bai Lan refused decisively.

The System froze, "Ah? Why?"

"What would I go there for? To win True Person Qing Xuan's favor and have him take me as a disciple?" Bai Lan retorted.

The young man scratched his head in confusion and weakly asked, "Isn't... isn't that how it works...?"

"The fundamental reason Qing Xuan took Bai Ling as a disciple was because Bai Ling had excellent aptitude, being a Single Spiritual Root rarely seen in a century. Only then did they hit it off. So... even if I gained Qing Xuan's favor, he would at most take me as a registered disciple."

Bai Lan chuckled, "After all, in the common understanding of this world, a Five Spirit Root is considered trash."

"Ah, is that so... Alas." The System sighed and fell into thought again.

Moreover, she already had a master. Even though her master had passed away many years ago, Bai Lan didn't want to acknowledge another master behind his back, especially as a registered disciple. If the old man knew, he'd probably be furious.

"In short, this suggestion is invalid. What I want are the Child of Destiny's cheat opportunities and heavenly treasures! Not their romantic entanglements. All such plotlines are to be skipped from now on," Bai Lan waved her hand, "Men! Women! They only slow down my draw speed!"

"... Then, then in the short term, there don't seem to be any plot points that require the host's attention." The System scratched its head, "Later, Long Aotian will meet two harem members, and Bai Ling will meet a male romantic interest. According to the mission objectives, the host should obstruct their meeting..."

"Tsk, what a waste of time. I don't care what they do. Time is tight and the mission is important. I need to cultivate properly and strive to break through to Qi Refining level one before entering the sect!" Bai Lan's expression was firm.

Her opponent was Long Aotian in three months. This battle could only succeed.

She really loved cultivation.

The System could only follow Bai Lan's pace helplessly.

After taking a long detour from the bottom of the cliff, Bai Lan trekked for more than half a day before returning to the Minister's Estate in the capital along the mountain path from the cliff's base.

She had enjoyed the cliff jump earlier, but climbing back up the mountain path almost made Bai Lan collapse.

However, having stolen Long Aotian's opportunity, the trip was worth it.

A mortal's body was ultimately fragile. After just half a day of walking, Bai Lan was already panting from exhaustion.

Just as she was about to sneak into the courtyard through the back door, Bai Lan was pulled into an embrace by a beautiful woman before she could react.

"Lan'er! Lan'er! You're finally back. Where have you been? Mother was so worried about you."

Bai Lan was pulled into the embrace, and her entire body instantly froze. She was stunned by the sudden concern and hug for a full minute.

The woman stroked Bai Lan's head, her voice choked with emotion, "After the Spirit Sensing Assembly, I heard from the maids in the estate that after you returned, you were muttering to yourself for a long time, and then you went out of the city alone. Mother worried you might do something foolish, so she sent people to look for you. They searched everywhere you usually go, but they couldn't find you. Where exactly did you go?"

The System coughed lightly.

Of course, they couldn't find her. Who would look for someone at the edge of a cliff?

How thrilling, your precious daughter jumped off a cliff, and even three or four times.

It nearly scared a system to death.

Bai Lan sighed softly.

The original Bai Lan had already died. The person standing here now was merely another soul.

She couldn't withstand the wrath and malice of the two Children of Destiny. Although she had done nothing, she ended up with her family destroyed and her parents dead.

After death, she chose to sell her soul as the price for liberation.

"Mother, don't worry. I just went out to clear my head," Bai Lan shook her head slightly.

The beautiful woman had also calmed down a bit, wiping away her tears with a handkerchief, "I heard Cui Zhu say that today... Long Aotian publicly challenged you. He is... no longer the same as before. Lan'er, don't do anything foolish and go against him."

"Don't worry, Mother, I know what I'm doing," Bai Lan nodded.

The System twitched its mouth.

Oh yes, yes, yes, you know what you're doing, and then you publicly provoked Long Aotian.

"You mere withered bone in the grave, dare you fight me?"

Provoking the enraged Long Aotian, that scene almost scared a system to death.

"I didn't expect our Minister's Estate to produce two people with spiritual roots. I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse..." the beautiful woman sighed, "Although Mother didn't favor that daughter from the outer room before, she never treated her harshly. But I fear she's someone who holds grudges and forgets kindness. If she resents you for the past differential treatment, I hope you won't have any disputes after entering the cultivation world."

Bai Lan remained silent.

Her mother was right. Bai Ling not only resented her but also saw her as her greatest enemy, doing everything in her power to kill Bai Lan.

"Alright, look at you covered in mud. Go wash up and get some good rest," the beautiful woman smiled and pushed Bai Lan away, hiding the tears in her eyes. "Mother will pack your luggage. In a few more days, you'll be going to the cultivation world. Once you leave home, you must take care of yourself."

Bai Lan nodded and watched the beautiful woman leave before following a servant to her courtyard.

This genuine care was somewhat nostalgic.

However, what Bai Lan was more concerned about was the woman's earlier words. The beautiful woman's worries were not unfounded.

Bai Ling, the destined heroine, was the child left behind by Minister Bai after a one-night stand.

Bai Ling's birth mother was a dancer who died in childbirth. After that, Bai Ling lived in the Minister's Estate as a daughter from an outer room.

Because her birth mother's status was low and Bai Ling's identity was sensitive, she lived a life of being looked down upon and scorned, an invisible person. It was precisely because of this that she grew to hate her father, who never paid her any attention.

Perhaps it was hating the person associated with the hated, which led her to hate the Minister's wife, Bai Lan, and even the entire family of the Minister's Estate.

As daughters of the Minister's Estate, the better Bai Lan lived, the more Bai Ling hated her.

"Perhaps this emotion should be called jealousy?" Bai Lan soaked in the bathtub, chatting with the system through a screen.

The system asked, confused, "Aren't you an orphan? As someone without parents, I thought you'd empathize with her."

She was indeed an orphan.

The kind of orphan whose background was tragically miserable, like nine out of ten protagonists.

But compared to those protagonists with incredibly tragic backgrounds in novels, Bai Lan's childhood could be considered very happy.