Am I Going to Be Sacrificed to the Heavens?! (Seeking Monthly Tickets! Seeking Follow-up Reads! Seeking Book Recommendations!)

Dawn.

Lin Qingfeng sat in his cave dwelling, his fingertips drawing a light screen in the air.

[Sect Contribution (NPC): 765/500000]

He sighed.

Being the Senior Disciple Brother was too difficult, having to constantly monitor his junior disciple sister's mental state and encourage her every day.

If he hadn't been there to guide her, his junior disciple sister would have probably collapsed long ago.

Alas, although his junior disciple sister was diligent now, there was no doubt about that, she had to stop frequently, sit cross-legged with her five senses facing the heavens, and recover her Spiritual Power.

He understood, she needed to recover her Spiritual Power to better continue her labor.

But looking at the snail's pace of contribution growth, he was also worried.

The players had more people and could grind offline, so they weren't afraid of low contribution.

But the game designers had set up two separate paths. If the NPC path didn't meet the standard, the promotion quest couldn't be activated.

And she was the only native NPC in the sect who could truly breathe.

It would be great if more could come in the future.

Once new NPCs arrived, his junior disciple sister, with her keen intellect and inspired words, could articulate things clearly.

With her silver tongue, she could talk her way out of anything; it would be a waste of talent if she didn't use it to trick people.

Then, the task of greeting and guiding new disciples could be entirely handed over to her, and he could be a hands-off manager. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Indeed, it was his excellent education as Senior Disciple Brother that made it so.

Moreover, receiving new native disciples would yield more contribution, and he could also relax.

As the Guild Leader, he was swamped with work every day; how could he possibly manage these trivial matters daily?

Wouldn't this be a win-win situation?

But before that, he had to make sure she practiced the Sword Refining Art.

When greeting new native disciples in the future, if they saw that the senior sister of their Gui Xi Sect was merely a Qi Refining Great Perfection cultivator, how could their Gui Xi Sect, which boasted of being an "Supreme Immortal Sect, a renowned righteous sect, and the leader of the righteous Dao," have any credibility?

After all, his junior disciple sister had said herself that she only needed three to five days.

Then he would wait a little longer; no rush.

Anyway, many of them would be able to attempt breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage in another ten-odd days.

What would the Inner Demon Tribulation be like then?

Lin Qingfeng no longer pondered further. With a thought, the sensation of the cold jade bed beneath him disappeared, and the world before his eyes turned into darkness.

Logging off.

The sun passed noon, blazing like fire.

Lin Qingfeng got up from the bed and stretched.

"Time to go urge my junior disciple sister to work."

He rode his sword into the air, his figure flashing, and silently landed on the roof beam of the Transmission Hall.

He planned to observe first, as usual, and then appear at the opportune moment to offer "loving encouragement."

At this moment, he saw his junior disciple sister dart out of the Transmission Hall and head straight for the medicinal fields.

He was stunned for a moment, then saw the sect panel before him.

[Sect Contribution (NPC): 872/500000]

His junior disciple sister had already started working?!

He quickly leaped down and arrived at the Hundred Herbs Valley, finding the medicinal field where his junior disciple sister was working.

Good, she really wasn't slacking off.

But... her footsteps seemed...

Lin Qingfeng narrowed his eyes. He saw faint starlight flashing beneath Su Ling'er's feet, her figure flickering unpredictably.

She had learned a new skill!

Not bad, it was even a movement technique skill that would be more beneficial for labor.

Su Ling'er felt her body become much lighter.

Spiritual Power flowed through her meridians in specific directions, finally converging at the soles of her feet.

This was the Star Treading Steps.

This entry-level footwork only required a faint amount of Spiritual Power to activate, but its effect was hundreds of times better than the basic movement techniques she had learned at Qing Xu Temple.

The teachings at Qing Xu Temple only mentioned "Spiritual Power converging at the soles of the feet," leaving it entirely up to the disciples to figure out how to gather and circulate it.

After all, they were outer disciples, so there wasn't much they could reveal.

And when the Elder of Bestowal demonstrated the techniques by channeling energy into her, the phantom image in her mind personally demonstrated every subtle path of the Star Treading Steps.

She painfully used the hundred stalks of Spiritual Grass she had acquired yesterday, and only then did the Elder of Bestowal relent.

Even though he still maintained that expressionless, wooden demeanor, to Su Ling'er, he still held the grace of teaching and imparting knowledge.

She believed that as long as she kept completing quests, she would definitely be able to exchange them for better items!

When the day came that she escaped, she wanted to bring all of this back to Qing Xu Temple, so that her junior disciples, who were struggling in the outer sect just like her, could also practice this footwork with detailed annotations.

It might not make them gods, but at least it would give them an extra chance at survival, whether traveling or fleeing.

The inner disciples might look down on this footwork, but for outer disciples like them, it was already excellent.

Thinking of this, her movements quickened.

But after an unintentional glance, her peripheral vision caught sight of the familiar dark robes on the roof beam.

Senior Disciple Brother!

He was here!

When did he arrive?!

Su Ling'er's hands didn't stop, but her heart pounded with fear.

As expected!

She was indeed being monitored at all times!

Seeing that her mind wasn't on her work, did he appear again to warn her?

Or was she overthinking it?

He was a Senior Disciple Brother with profound cultivation; what was the point of him constantly watching a minor cultivator at Qi Refining Great Perfection?

It was true that with his current cultivation, he would still find her useful even if he refined her!

Otherwise, how could he explain constantly monitoring her?!

She dared not think further and focused all her attention on the task at hand.

Lin Qingfeng saw that his junior sister was so diligent and did not go down to disturb her.

He shifted into a more comfortable position, half-lying on the roof beam, and opened the player forum.

[Hot Topic]: Golden Autumn Harvest Festival Event Prediction! Sect Contribution Doubled!

[Hot Topic]: Brothers, how do I join the Joyful Union Sect? Anyone looking for a team?

[Hot Topic]: Hahaha, I saw someone today using a position on the prison wall to poke people in the prison. I was laughing and scratching my head. They still don't know who did it, hahahaha!

Lin Qingfeng scrolled through the posts, the corners of his mouth gradually turning up.

The tiles beside him made a light rustling sound, and another figure climbed up; it was Ji.

He imitated Lin Qingfeng's posture, lying down as well, a blade of grass in his mouth.

"Guild Leader, what are you looking at? So happy."

Lin Qingfeng pointed to his holographic screen, which displayed the game event announcement.

"In two days, it'll be the 'Golden Autumn Harvest Festival.' Have you guys seen it?"

Ji spat out the grass from his mouth with a "Pfft":

"Seen it, seen it. Sect contribution will be doubled then. I heard there will be all sorts of interesting events too. I've even requested leave. I'll have plenty of time to go online and grind then!"

"Player contribution will definitely be maxed out."

"Mhm,"

Lin Qingfeng nodded, "It's not much of an issue on the player side, but for junior sister here... She can't even get a thousand points a day. Even with double the event bonus, if she grinds non-stop day and night, she'll barely reach three thousand points? Maybe there will be an event that gives high contribution, but if junior sister gets the first kill on the final event boss, she might get tens of thousands. Unfortunately, that's still a far cry from the five hundred thousand contribution needed for the sect's promotion."

Ji followed his gaze and also looked troubled:

"Indeed, an NPC can't do it all alone. Plus, this is a dual-line quest, and we're not allowed to help each other. Otherwise, why would it be so difficult? We could just go to Wang Xian and have him send a group of spirit beasts to help, and sister would only need to stay in the Cultivation Hall and wait for the contribution to increase."

"But the event boss this time should be at the Core Formation stage. Wouldn't junior sister's Qi Refining body be instantly killed by one palm?"

"Don't worry, I've asked the Artifact Refining Pavilion to prepare some good things for junior sister. Besides, aren't I still here?"

"I wonder when the next NPC will take the bait. Surely one should show up after the Golden Autumn Harvest Festival!

It would be best to forcefully refine my junior sister using the Sword Refining Art to Foundation Establishment first. Otherwise, how can Qi Refining Great Perfection intimidate newly initiated disciples?"

Lin Qingfeng gazed at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle again, his expression profound.

"Alas, great mansions rise from the ground. The sect's foundation, ultimately, relies on her day-to-day... labor to be laid."

Ji looked speechlessly at the Guild Leader. "Senior Disciple Brother, it's fine if we're just tricking Junior Sister, but why are you getting so into character?"

"You don't understand. No one understands cultivation better than I do!"

Lin Qingfeng's gaze fell upon Su Ling'er. That red figure tirelessly repeated the same actions in the medicinal field, tending to it over and over again.

Her speed had become much more efficient due to the newly acquired footwork.

However, despite being sugar-coated with Spiritual Grass, the inherent tediousness remained unchanged.

Afterward, he slowly sat up from the roof beam, his robes fluttering, like an immortal. He decided to give his junior sister a reminder.

First, he activated a "Celestial Bearing" visual effect and a "Sound of the Great Dao" atmospheric effect for himself. Then, looking at the red figure shuttling through the medicinal field, he slowly spoke.

"Junior Sister, Junior Sister, you must remember, remember, remember, for everything gained, there must be something lost, lost, lost."

"The sect will welcome the 'Golden Autumn Harvest Festival.' For you, perhaps, it is a great opportunity.

Whether you can seize it depends not on comfort in ordinary times, but on the resolve to 'sacrifice' when in hardship, hardship, hardship."

"I hope, hope, hope, you can understand, understand, understand."

After speaking, he said no more, his figure flashed, and he disappeared from the roof beam.

Only Su Ling'er was left, standing dumbfounded in the medicinal field.

Wait, can't you just speak properly?

Why does your speech come with an echo?

Are you showing off your sound wave cultivation technique to me???

And "for everything gained, there must be something lost"?

The resolve to "sacrifice"?

What is Senior Disciple Brother hinting at?

What is he pointing out to me?

Could it be... that so-called "Golden Autumn Harvest Festival" is going to directly use me for... a sacrifice to the heavens?!