The Omnipresent Madam

The two listened to Li Wei's words, their expressions varied, and they fell silent for a moment.

Clearly, no one took her words seriously, nor did anyone care about her secret to getting stronger.

The brief silence was suffocating. The beautiful older sister suddenly asked, "Yuchuan, what's Jiang Xue's Vitality now?"

Liang Yuchuan immediately replied, "79."

"Trying to reach Minor Perfection?" the beautiful older sister asked with slight surprise.

"Yeah, probably wants to give it another shot," Liang Yuchuan guessed.

The beautiful older sister nodded thoughtfully, "In that case, our luck isn't too bad. Her looks are about sixty percent similar, and her Vitality is about the same."

She spoke as if evaluating an item, "Originally, I was worried about how to help her improve her Vitality."

"Indeed," Liang Yuchuan agreed.

After that, the two fell silent again.

Li Wei stood by the side, feeling like a transparent decoration.

These two, what exactly are they playing at? Speaking in riddles?

After a while, the beautiful older sister turned her head and said to Liang Yuchuan, "Yuchuan, you can leave first."

Liang Yuchuan immediately got up, bowed slightly, and strode out without the slightest hesitation.

Li Wei was even more confused.

Didn't they say she was going to meet Chairman Liang?

Cheng Dongsheng had been repeatedly reminding her in the car about Chairman Liang's temper, his habits of speech, and what to avoid.

It turned out the person she was actually supposed to meet was this beautiful older sister?

Thinking about Liang Yuchuan's cautious attitude just now, and that word "cousin," her curiosity was about to explode.

"Sit."

The beautiful older sister raised her hand and gestured towards Liang Yuchuan's original seat.

"Oh." Li Wei didn't stand on ceremony, plopped down, and even shifted her waist, rubbing against the soft cushion. Mmm, it was quite comfortable.

The beautiful older sister's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, but her face still held a peaceful smile. "Student Li Wei, I'll confirm with you one more time."

"Please, go ahead," Li Wei immediately sat up straight, thinking, the real show is about to begin!

"No need to be so nervous," the beautiful older sister gently pressed her forehead, her tone calm but with an undeniable power. "If you need to use your own life to exchange for a chance for your brother to live, are you willing?"

Li Wei's body trembled almost imperceptibly. Her mind flashed with many web novel, movie, and TV drama plots – blood sacrifices, life-exchanging rituals, and the like, all very brutal.

Could this person be involved in some unorthodox practice?

Seeing her expression, the beautiful older sister knew she had misunderstood and quickly explained in a gentle voice:

"What I mean is, are you willing to help me do something very dangerous? After it's done, I will ask a Master to treat your brother's illness."

Oh~ So that's the kind of exchange it is.

Li Wei asked subconsciously, purely out of curiosity, "How dangerous is it?"

"Substitute service for my son in the Western Frontier Defense Army!" the beautiful older sister said calmly, her phoenix eyes fixed on Li Wei, not missing any change on her face.

Then, she couldn't quite understand.

The young girl, upon hearing this, didn't show much fear on her face.

Instead, there was more astonishment and surprise.

Then, that surprise turned into... elation? As if she had gained a huge advantage.

After that, elation turned into longing. Wait, were her lips glistening a little?

Li Wei was, of course, drooling. She imagined the overwhelming hordes of Abyssal Monsters, the scenes of them being mowed down by artillery fire.

If she went there, and just found a trench or a bunker to squat in, wouldn't that be like idling and grinding for Experience?

Slurp~ If all those endless monsters turned into her Abyss Essence, how exhilarating would that be?

Wouldn't she become a Master in a year, a Martial Immortal in two years, and save the world in three years?

Most importantly, the beautiful older sister was sending her to the much-desired Western Frontier Death Line, and also asking a Master to treat Li Cheng.

This was simply a win-win!

Of course, "win-win" meant Li Wei winning twice by herself.

As for the danger?

As an orphan in her previous life, she had done all sorts of high-altitude and underground work just to earn money. What hadn't she done?

Now that she had a golden finger, what reason did she have not to take a gamble?

Besides, was staying put guaranteed to be safe?

Based on her years of web novel experience, in a High Martial world like this, with enemies from other dimensions, if the protagonist didn't step up to turn the tide, relying solely on the natives would lead to certain doom!

Who is the protagonist, you ask?

Of course, it's her, Li Wei!

A transmigrator, with a system, who can increase Vitality!

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Aside from a slight hiccup with her gender, who would dare say she isn't the protagonist?

[Besides, while we don't have a chubby girl with a round face, we have a sickly younger brother! This setup is perfect!]

As she was happily contemplating this, she suddenly felt a gentle touch on the corner of her mouth.

Li Wei snapped back to reality, meeting a pair of smiling phoenix eyes.

The beautiful elder sister was holding a tissue, elegantly wiping away the crystal clear liquid from the corner of her mouth.

"Uh..." Her face instantly turned bright red.

[Damn, I've embarrassed myself completely.]

She abruptly straightened her back, attempting to mask her embarrassment with her demeanor, and spoke with utmost seriousness:

"As long as you can save my younger brother, I'll do anything you ask!"

The beautiful elder sister's strength far surpassed Li Wei's, so she could naturally discern the truthfulness of Li Wei's words.

Upon hearing this, she smiled with satisfaction, then said seriously, "Good, since that's the case, the transaction is complete."

She extended her hand, "My name is Liang Qiushi, you can call me Aunt Liang."

[Did I... pass the interview?]

Li Wei, realizing this belatedly, quickly shook her hand, "My name is Li Wei, you can just call me Little Li..."

Liang Qiushi chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand, her demeanor elegant, "I'll just call you Li Wei then. Oh, no, perhaps, from now on, I should call you Jiang Xue."

[Jiang Xue again? Who exactly is this person? What's her connection to all this?]

Before she could ask, Liang Qiushi dropped a bombshell.

"Jiang Xue is the eldest daughter of the Fang City Jiang Family. She grew up with my son, Gu Jinzhi, and is also his fiancée."

"I need you to impersonate Jiang Xue and marry Jinzhi."

"Huh?" Li Wei felt like her ears were malfunctioning, her eyeballs threatening to pop out.

[Marry... marry someone? (Sharp explosion)]

[What kind of crazy development is this? A wealthy family's substitute marriage? Is this really a High Martial world, or some melodramatic urban drama?]

"Didn't you say..." Li Wei tentatively asked, "that I would be going to the battlefield?"

"Of course, you will be going to the battlefield, to substitute for Jinzhi," Liang Qiushi replied nonchalantly, as if discussing a mundane matter. "But, if you aren't his 'wife,' what status would you have to go in his stead?"

"Oh~ Substitute Service..."

Now Li Wei understood, and at the same time, a segment of audio inexplicably popped into her mind.

["There is a certain, incredibly powerful noble lady."]

["Amazing, truly amazing."]

[...]

Quickly shaking off these chaotic thoughts, she had new doubts.

She understood the implications of "Substitute Service" very well.

Thirty years ago, Xifeng Pass - the Abyss Rift - fell, and humanity lost its advantageous terrain at the rift passage, forced to fight Abyssal Monsters in open battle relying on fortress systems.

Especially after high-tier combatants achieved deterrence and balance, the skirmishes among lower-tier combatants became increasingly brutal.

To supplement combat power, the China Martial Arts Alliance enacted the "Wartime Mobilization Act," one clause of which stipulated that Martial Arts University graduates must serve in the Western Frontier Defense Army for at least one year.

Concurrently, to refute societal "rumors" about the wealthy and influential shirking or avoiding battle.

The Martial Arts Alliance's conscription of noble family descendants was extremely strict.

Unless a direct family member, a Master or higher-level expert, was currently guarding the Abyss, no one, regardless of their status, could evade military service.

Otherwise, both the individual and their family would face severe penalties!

Against this backdrop, the black market of "Substitute Service" was born.

Simply put, this was a practice where children of the wealthy and influential would "fake a marriage" upon reaching the age, and then have their "spouse" fight on the battlefield for them after their own graduation.

The Martial Arts Alliance and the military had cracked down on this chaos for a period.

However, after investigating, they discovered that both parties were mostly willing participants.

Later, the authorities simply implemented a "Heart Questioning" process upon enlistment. As long as it was confirmed that the substitute husband/wife was enlisting voluntarily, they were allowed to proceed.

But did Liang Qiushi's son need to go to the battlefield? Couldn't her family have a Master?

Based on Liang Yuchuan's attitude towards her, it felt impossible even to think about it.

Li Wei's thoughts were practically written all over her face; with Liang Qiushi's experience, how could she not see it?

Her smile remained gentle, but a complex and unreadable emotion flashed in her eyes. "You're wondering why I'm looking for you?"

"Uh..." Li Wei felt a bit embarrassed but still nodded honestly.

"This matter... it has to start from over thirty years ago." She sighed softly, her gaze distant, as if piercing through time.

[A long, long time ago...]

A narration automatically sounded in Li Wei's mind.

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