Xiao Che was locked in a fierce internal struggle within his meditation room.

After wrestling with himself for a long time, he let out a resigned sigh. *If it’s a blessing, it’s not a disaster; if it’s a disaster, it can’t be avoided.*

At the very least, they were in private. Being pressed for a debt here was better than being humiliated in front of a massive crowd.

He walked out of the cultivation room, deactivated the wards at the courtyard gate, and pulled the door open. He squeezed out a smile that looked more painful than crying.

“Senior Sister Bai, what… what brings you here?”

“What? Am I not welcome?” The corners of Bai Ling’s mouth curled up slightly, and the corners of her eyes flicked upward playfully.

Xiao Che gave an awkward laugh and waved his hands frantically. “How could that be? Senior Sister, please don’t say that.”

Bai Ling gave a soft huff and tilted her chin up. “Then aren’t you going to invite your Senior Sister in for a seat?”

“Please, please come in.” Xiao Che snapped to his senses and stepped aside with a swift movement. He didn’t forget to make an inviting gesture, his face full of fawning compliance.

Bai Ling walked into the courtyard with light, graceful steps, her lotus-like gait swaying gently. She reached back and softly closed the door. Then, she turned around and leaned her back lazily against the door, gazing at Xiao Che with a half-smile, a hint of mischief hidden in her eyes.

“Junior Brother Xiao Che, what’s wrong? You seem very nervous.”

Xiao Che scratched his head and gave two dry laughs. “How is that possible? Senior Sister must be joking. It’s just… well… please, have a seat.”

He led her to a stone stool in the courtyard and sat her down, while he remained standing awkwardly to the side. His heart was doing somersaults as he calculated how to ask for an extension on his debt.

Both of them spoke at the same time.

Bai Ling’s voice was gentle. “Xiao Che, about that matter…”

Xiao Che spoke at lightning speed, his face full of sincerity. “Senior Sister, could you give me a bit more time…”

They both froze simultaneously.

Bai Ling blinked, a flash of confusion crossing her face before she broke into a smile. “Junior Brother, you go first.”

Xiao Che was stunned for a moment, then he quickly took a breath to smooth over his words.

“No… I mean, Senior Sister, you definitely came here for something important, but on my end… things are a bit tight right now. I have a lot of things I can’t quite get started yet.”

He tried to be as subtle as possible about the fact that he had spent every last one of his contribution points.

Bai Ling listened and nodded thoughtfully.

*As expected, the pressure on Junior Brother is too great. He’s even using the excuse of lacking resources.*

Her tone softened, becoming even more gentle.

“I understand. Facing that kind of pressure so suddenly, it’s normal for your resources to be tied up and for you to have concerns.”

Xiao Che felt a wave of relief. It seemed Senior Sister was truly reasonable and understood his “penniless” predicament! He quickly followed her lead.

“Yes, yes! Senior Sister understands me! Things are just tied up. Especially the contribution points, they’ve all been allocated to critical areas, and I can’t pull them out right now.”

Bai Ling nodded slightly, feeling she completely understood his worries. She continued to offer warm encouragement.

“Mm. With a Foundation Establishment level one cultivation, having to challenge an opponent who is at least at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment… it’s only natural to feel that your resources are insufficient and to be afraid of trying lightly.”

Xiao Che, whose mind was filled with debt, froze when he heard this.

“Foundation Establishment level one… challenging level seven?”

His brain couldn’t quite process the turn in conversation. He stared blankly at Bai Ling.

“Senior Sister, what did you say? Challenge who?”

Bai Ling was also taken aback by his question and blinked.

“I said, it’s only human to feel pressure when asked to challenge the Prodigy List right now.”

“The… the Prodigy List?”

Xiao Che’s voice rose an octave, his eyes widening.

“That’s right. Grandfather saw your performance in the Trial Tower. Reaching the fiftieth floor with a level one Foundation Establishment cultivation… that result is top-tier even within the academy.”

“He asked me to find you because he hopes you’ll charge onto the Prodigy List as soon as possible to bring some glory to Tianshu Hall.”

She looked at Xiao Che’s completely dumbfounded expression and suddenly realized something. Her eyes widened slightly.

“Wait… what did you think I came here for?”

Xiao Che blurted out subconsciously, “Weren’t you… Weren’t you here to press me to pay back the contribution points?”

The two stared at each other, and the air went silent for a moment.

Bai Ling was stunned at first, then she suddenly burst out laughing. She laughed so hard her body trembled like a flower in the wind, her eyes shimmering with mirth.

“Contribution points? Debt? Haha… Junior Brother Xiao is… is that all you have in your head all day?”

She finally understood why this Junior Brother had been dodging and hiding like he’d seen a ghost every time he saw her.

Xiao Che’s face flushed red, then turned pale, his embarrassment reaching an extreme.

“It’s… is it not debt collection? Then why did you look for me so many times, and say things like ‘official business’ and ‘waiting for me’…”

“It is official business.” Bai Ling finally managed to stop laughing and wiped the corner of her eye. “It’s about the Prodigy List. I thought you were hiding from me because the gap in cultivation was too large and the pressure was too much.”

Xiao Che opened his mouth, a sense of absurdity washing over him.

It wasn’t debt collection!

Then all that “urgent business in the latrine” and “stomach ache” earlier…

It was so awkward that his toes could have bored a hole through the floor.

“So, Senior Sister, you really only came for the Prodigy List?”

He confirmed once more, very cautiously.

“What else?” Bai Ling’s eyes flicked up, her expression half-smiling. “Can you sit down peacefully now and listen to your Senior Sister talk about official business?”

Xiao Che let out a long breath. He felt as if the clouds had parted to reveal the moon; the whole world suddenly looked beautiful.

As long as it wasn’t debt collection, anything was fine!

“I can! I definitely can! Senior Sister, please speak. The Prodigy List, right? Let me see, I’ll take a look right now!”

He leaned in closer, his attitude doing a complete one-eighty-degree turn.

Seeing him like this, Bai Ling felt both amused and helpless. She shook her head.

“Fine. Take a look first, so you have an idea of what to expect.”

As she spoke, she took out her True Inheritance Token. With a tap of her slender finger, a light screen expanded, displaying the rankings from ninety-one to one hundred on the Prodigy List.

Xiao Che relaxed completely and leaned in with great interest.

Bai Ling’s lily-white finger pointed at several names, her tone returning to a calm state.

“Rank ninety-eight, Zhao Gang from the Combat Academy. Foundation Establishment level seven. Nickname ‘Iron Wall.’ His defense is extremely strong, and he excels at attrition.”

“Rank ninety-five, Zhou Tong from the Sword Academy. Foundation Establishment level seven. Nickname ‘Fast Sword.’ His style is rapid and unpredictable, and his strikes are cunning.”

“Rank ninety-third, Sun Ying from the Dao Academy. Foundation Establishment level seven. His movement techniques are outstanding, and when paired with his short-piercer artifacts, he excels at hit-and-run tactics.”

She watched Xiao Che’s reaction as she spoke.

“These three are currently the most suitable candidates. Which one do you want to challenge?”

Xiao Che’s gaze swept over the three names as he quickly weighed them in his mind.

Zhao Gang’s defense was too high. With the spiritual power of a level one Foundation Establishment, breaking his defense would be exhausting. Sun Ying’s movement was unpredictable, and since Xiao Che hadn’t mastered his new movement technique yet, he would likely be at a disadvantage.

Zhou Tong… fast sword. His own sword manual also emphasized precision and instantaneous bursts.

“Rank ninety-five, ‘Fast Sword’ Zhou Tong,” Xiao Che made his decision.

Bai Ling looked at him with some surprise.

“Zhou Tong? His sword is very fast. Many cultivators at the same level can’t keep up. Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” Xiao Che nodded, his expression calm. “Sword against sword. It’s perfect.”

Seeing that his mind was made up, Bai Ling didn’t try to persuade him further.

“Fine. Once you’re ready and have set a time, initiate the challenge directly through the Lingshu.”

As she spoke, she casually closed the light screen for the Prodigy List.

The interface for the “Lingshu Profound Mirror” discussion area automatically popped up.

A post highlighted in bold red with a “Viral” tag was firmly occupying the top spot.

The title font was eye-searing:

“[Casual Talk Garden] Breaking News! It’s stone-cold proof! The second-ranked beauty on the Beauty List, Fairy Bai Ling, failed to corner Xiao Che twice, so she actually broke directly into his private residence, ‘Tingzhu Pavilion’! There are pictures and facts! (Multiple clear angles included, updates ongoing!).”

Poster: Xuan Buyan.

***

NOTES

Session Glossary Updates (Memorized):

– 聽竹軒 = Tingzhu Pavilion

– 天驕榜 = Prodigy List

– 美人榜 = Beauty List

– 靈樞玄鑒 = Lingshu Profound Mirror

– 玄不言 = Xuan Buyan

Footnotes:

TN1: “Toes could have bored a hole through the floor” (腳趾都能摳出三室一廳): A translation of a popular Chinese internet slang for extreme embarrassment/cringe, literally meaning one’s toes are curling so hard they could excavate a three-bedroom apartment.

Translator’s Note: Frenadro Steph, here. The misunderstanding is finally cleared up, but in true webnovel fashion, a new one has already been broadcast to the entire academy thanks to the “Spiritual Network” paparazzi. Xiao Che’s attempts to stay low-profile are officially dead and buried.

Ink Hub, Frenadro Steph, your translator. Enjoy, and drop feedback; it sharpens the blade.