The Rootless Girl

"Damn, am I seeing things? They even dared to beat a disciple of the Lingxiao Sect?"

"There's a show to watch now. How long do you think it'll take before the Lingxiao Sect takes revenge and wipes out the Heavenly Dao Sect?"

"I'd say three days at most. If several Lingxiao Sect stewards in Cloudwater City hadn't all gone out on business, they'd probably already be here!"

"Three days? If the Heavenly Dao Sect can last one day, that'll already be impressive!"

The square buzzed with discussion. Many people shook their heads, as if they had already foreseen the Heavenly Dao Sect's miserable fate.

Over the past several centuries, it was not as though no sect had challenged the Lingxiao Sect's position, but every ending had been the same.

They were all annihilated, reduced to dust in the annals of history!

How could an ordinary sect possibly look up to a colossal force ranked among the Immortal Alliance Top Five Hundred?

In the entire Great Zhao Empire, only Cloud Heaven Sect, likewise among the Immortal Alliance Top Five Hundred, was qualified to speak with the Lingxiao Sect on equal terms!

As for the rest, not even the Imperial House possessed such qualifications!

"Master, sorry. Because of the fuss I caused, even fewer people will dare to join the sect now."

Zhuge Feng lowered his head somewhat guiltily. At this moment, no one in the square dared approach the Heavenly Dao Sect's signboard, afraid they would be caught up in the Lingxiao Sect's retaliation.

Today's disciple recruitment would likely end empty-handed.

Su Bai smiled faintly. "This is good news. You've already made the name of our Heavenly Dao Sect known."

"Not only is there no harm in it, there are nothing but benefits."

"When the Lingxiao Sect finds it can do nothing to our Heavenly Dao Sect, everyone will turn their eyes toward us. By then, people will naturally line up to join."

"However, what you just did was not good enough."

"Huh?" Zhuge Feng froze, unable to understand what his master meant.

He had already struck so heavily, yet his master still thought it was not enough?

"When dealing with people like that, you should beat them half to death."

"Remember this: only a hard fist is reason."

"The weaker you are, the more others will bully you. The tougher you are, the more others will only fear and respect you!"

"If you show weakness and cowardice, others will climb onto your neck to shit and piss, treating you as less than human!"

"Remember, this world has always been this way. The strong are always king."

Su Bai spoke indifferently.

"I... this disciple understands." Zhuge Feng's gaze grew much firmer, as though he had realized something.

"Never mind who the other party is. As long as you are not in the wrong, your master will handle everything." Su Bai continued.

At those words, Zhuge Feng's heart surged.

If only he possessed strength like his master's!

Thinking this, he clenched his fists!

He did not like an ordinary life! He craved battle, craved greater strength, wanted to become a top expert so that no one could ever bully him again!

"So cool!"

Xiao Lingxi clapped excitedly, her bright eyes fixed on Su Bai.

She also recalled how Su Bai had previously struck and killed the Lingxiao Sect steward.

Decisive!

Swift!

Not the slightest hesitation!

Simple and brutal, clean and efficient.

And handsome, too!

At the entrance to the Hundred Sects Assembly, a strange young girl appeared.

She looked around fourteen years old, dressed in tattered old clothes like a beggar's. Her figure was slender and gaunt, and her skin was pale.

She limped along, as though her legs and feet were impaired, and as though she had gone hungry for a long time. Her complexion was exceedingly weak.

Only her brows were filled with stubbornness, like a tenacious little sapling, giving her an air of resilience.

The moment she entered, she knelt on the ground and raised a broken wooden sign in her hands, upon which a crooked line of words had been written.

"Seeking Immortal Arts that allow cultivation. Willing to serve as a slave or maid."

As soon as she knelt down, some people in the surrounding crowd walked away in disgust, some revealed sympathy, and some remained expressionless.

At the same time, voices of discussion rose.

"Ah, poor child. She's been kneeling here for five straight days. At this rate, her legs will be ruined!"

"These sects are places that eat people without spitting out their bones. How can anyone get in without money?"

"I've seen this girl before. It seemed she had an older sister. Why is she alone now?"

"Three days ago, a chivalrous immortal saw how pitiful she was and wanted to take her as a disciple, only to discover that she had no Spirit Root and no aptitude for cultivating immortality at all."

"What a pity. This girl has such a bitter fate. She was an abandoned infant when she was young and depended on her sister to survive. Now, no one knows what happened to her sister either."

"Where in this world is there such a thing as a free lunch? Without money or influence, how could there be an immortal opportunity?"

The crowd sighed endlessly.

Hearing the surrounding voices, the girl's clouded eyes stirred slightly, yet she continued kneeling resolutely without moving an inch.

Little did she know that aside from winning some sympathy from ordinary people, this approach would receive no response at all!

At the signboards of several sects recruiting disciples, a few sect disciples watched the spectacle.

"Tsk, tsk. Even a random passerby has at least some Spirit Root. Someone completely rootless is just a Mortal Body, doomed to be an ordinary person for life."

"It's not that the rootless cannot cultivate. It's just that with that kind of cultivation speed, she'll probably remain below Third-Level Qi Refinement for her entire life."

"If she had silver, it might still be possible. Maybe pouring vast resources into her would give her some hope of reaching Late Qi Refining. The problem is, she has no money!"

"What sect would take in such a money-losing burden? They'd go bankrupt sooner or later!"

"If her figure were a little better, she could still be sold to a brothel for some silver. But she's so yellow-faced and emaciated—which brothel would take her?"

They discussed it without restraint, not considering in the slightest whether the girl could hear them.

After all, they were "immortals." Why would they care about the gaze of mortals?

Naturally, Su Bai and the others saw this scene as well.

"This little girl is so pitiful. Master, let's take her into the sect, okay? I can take care of her," Xiao Lingxi could not help saying softly.

Yet when she turned to look at Su Bai, she found that he had already vanished.

When she turned back, Su Bai had already appeared before the girl.

Su Bai looked at the girl kneeling on the ground before him and asked, "What is your name?"

The girl raised her head. Her face was covered in grime, filthy and utterly unremarkable. Only a faint glimmer showed within her exhausted eyes.

She answered blankly, "Ye Qingyao."

Ye Qingyao Joins the Heavenly Dao Sect

"Ye Qingyao. That's quite a nice name. Are you willing to join my sect?" Su Bai asked gently.

"Me?"

Ye Qingyao froze, seeming to suspect that she was hearing things.

Someone was still willing to take her in?

"But... the immortal said... I have no Spirit Root... only a Mortal Body, unworthy of joining an Immortal Gate..."

Ye Qingyao bit her lip and struggled to force out the words.

Last time, an immortal had pitied her as well. Yet after testing her and finding that she had no Spirit Root, he had shaken his head and left.

That immortal had even stated with certainty that she was fated to have no connection with the immortal path in this life, and that she should give up such thoughts.

But if she truly had no connection with the immortal path, where was she supposed to go to find her sister?