Luan Ling hadn’t yet figured out what was going on when the young man snapped his fingers. The headless figure vanished instantly, and a split second later, a scream came from the grass hut.

 

“That was your senior brother,” the young man explained to them. “He’s got nothing better to do than read strange tales—ghost stories, supernatural stuff, you name it.” His expression grew complicated. “The troublesome part is that after reading them, he dreams about them. And sometimes, those dreams bleed into reality.”

 

“But he’s a good person,” the young man added, shaking his head. “Just can’t control that hobby.”

 

He then noticed Si Zhuo on Luan Ling’s shoulder and looked intrigued.
“So that’s the junior disciple with the surname Luan? Your entrance was… certainly memorable.”

 

Only then did Luan Ling realize what he meant. She quickly set herself down, but Si Zhuo didn’t manage to steady himself and collapsed straight onto the ground.

 

“Oh—he fainted.”

 

The young man frowned. “Looks like the junior disciple isn’t in very good health.”

 

Nonsense!
She used to be first place in the Heavenly Realm Youth Marathon!

 

Luan Ling felt deeply humiliated—and so did the unconscious Si Zhuo.

 

He was a divine dragon who once dominated both realms, wielding rare natural power, protecting countless gods and mortals alike. With a single divine thought, millions of shrimp soldiers and crab generals would rush to surround an enemy’s home, blowing bubbles in protest.

 

And yet now, this once-invincible being had fainted simply because he couldn’t handle being carried and jostled around on someone’s shoulder.

 

Fainted.
Actually fainted.

 

When he finally regained consciousness, he wished he never had.

 

“You’re awake?”

 

Luan Ling sat beside him, helping him up before bringing over a bowl of pitch-black medicine. She looked at him with concern.

 

“Your face is so pale, and your lips have no color at all. If this keeps up, I’ll become ugly!”

 

She fed him the medicine enthusiastically. After all, she was the one being saved—the bitterness wasn’t hers to endure.

 

“I’ll do it myself,” Si Zhuo said, reaching for the bowl.

 

She dodged immediately. “No. I have to feed you. Otherwise, you might pour it out.”

 

This was her body, after all! No one cared more about it than she did.

 

“Do you think I want to stay like this?” Si Zhuo lifted his eyes to her, then glanced at the medicine, sneering. “I’m waiting until I recover so I can burn your mother’s hair.”

 

“Well, um… she isn’t—”

 

“Even if she isn’t, that sentence still works,” he said calmly, taking the bowl.

 

So this is the beauty of the Chinese language, Luan Ling realized instantly.

 

“What elegant phrasing.”

 

“I won’t interfere with your revenge,” she said cautiously. “But could you at least wait until we switch bodies back before setting fires?”

 

Si Zhuo drained the bowl in one go, then raised an eyebrow at her.
“Didn’t expect you to be even more ruthless than me. My fire is dragon flame—once it burns, only the Water God can extinguish it.”

 

“That’s not what I meant!” Luan Ling hurriedly explained. “The Heavenly Empress is still the Heavenly Empress. If you use my body to do something like that, I’ll be doomed once we switch back.”

 

She was terrified of that woman.

 

Si Zhuo didn’t know much about the Heavenly Emperor’s family, but one thing was certain—the Empress’s hair was getting burned.

 

“When the time comes, I’ll act.”

 

He placed the bowl on the cabinet, completely unconcerned about her worries.

 

In his view, avoidance was never a solution.

 

“How do you feel now? Better after taking the medicine?”

 

A young man’s voice came from outside. Luan Ling explained, “The sir is here.”

 

Si Zhuo followed the sound, but before he saw anyone, a miserable figure tripped at the doorway and face-planted onto the ground.

 

“Ow!”

 

You never know whether tomorrow or disaster will arrive first.

 

As he climbed back up, Dugu silently wiped away tears in his heart.
Other instructors made grand entrances, radiating immortal grace. Why was his fate so cruel? Could recharging his luck stat save him?

 

“I figured you’d be awake by now. You can get up, right?” Dugu said briskly. “Si Zhuo, help your junior sister up. We’ll meet in the classroom.”

 

“Classroom…?”

 

After he left, Luan Ling recalled what she’d seen earlier.
“Where’s the classroom? There are only two buildings in this forest—and one of them is this place.”

 

“You call this a building?” Si Zhuo flicked away a piece of grass stuck to his hand. “Even hermit crabs in the Eastern Sea live better than this.”

 

Despite being disliked by the Heavenly Empress, Luan Ling had never lacked food or shelter. This level of structural danger was a first for her.

 

“Maybe it’s an illusion!” she said seriously, raising a finger.
“A strategic deception! To lull competitors into a false sense of security!”

 

She pounded the bed in realization.
“Good thing I’m smart—almost got fooled. The sir truly is far-sighted.”

 

Half an incense stick later, Luan Ling looked at the swallows circling above and asked the senior brother ahead of them, Li Xiao:

 

“Senior brother… we’re really studying here?”

 

An open-air classroom. One wooden table. Five meditation mats.
Anyone unfamiliar would think they’d wandered into some kind of cult summoning ritual.

 

“Yes,” Li Xiao replied. “Is something wrong?”

 

“Our Qilin Hall was only established recently,” he explained, glancing at her oddly.
“It was officially formed on the day you burned down the classroom. That was also when the sir officially joined.”

 

I burned it…

 

Luan Ling immediately looked at Si Zhuo, who sat quietly in contemplation, and forced an awkward smile.
“Well… how unfortunate.”

 

“Ow! My back!”

 

A familiar scream rang out beside them.

 

“Li Xiao, help me carry these books! Oww—my waist!”

 

All three turned around as Li Xiao rushed to take the books from Dugu.

 

Dugu bent over and sat down with difficulty on the front mat.
“Sit, sit. There are only five of us here—no need to be formal.”

 

Five people?

 

Luan Ling glanced at the empty mat, then back at him.

 

“Your second senior sister is still cultivating. I didn’t want to interrupt her, but she’ll definitely come later.”

 

Supporting his waist, Dugu said, “Since it’s your first day, I’ll briefly introduce myself.”

 

“My name is Dugu. I’m a descendant of the Qilin clan—but my bloodline’s mixed. All my luck points got reversed, so I often run into things like what you just saw.”

 

What?!

 

Not only were Luan Ling’s expectations shattered—an ominous feeling arose.

 

“But don’t worry,” he added. “My bad luck only affects myself. You should be fine.”

 

The next second, Si Zhuo watched a swallow dive straight down from the sky—directly into Dugu’s head.

 

“AHHH! You stupid bird—let go! LET GO!” Dugu screamed, raising his hand to cast a spell. “I’ll stew you alive!”

 

“Sir! Absolutely not! Wild game isn’t safe to eat!” Li Xiao rushed forward, pulling the bird away.

 

As soon as he touched it, the swallow seemed to fall asleep, dropping limply to the ground.

 

“What’s that?” Luan Ling asked curiously.

 

“Li Xiao was born with the ability to control day and night. This sleep technique is derived from that power,” Dugu explained while trying to fix his hair.

 

Luan Ling recalled the headless man earlier and shuddered at how terrifying such abilities could be.

 

“Well, you two—introduce yourselves.”

 

After fixing his hair for ages with no success, Dugu still refused to give up. He’d spent so long styling it—how could a single bird ruin everything?

 

“My name is Luan—”
Before she could finish, a stone hit her painfully. She immediately realized her mistake.

 

“Junior Sister Luan first,” she said smoothly, imitating Si Zhuo’s arrogant tone. “I don’t feel like talking right now.”

 

Si Zhuo shot her a look questioning her mental well-being, then turned to Dugu.

 

“Luan Ling.”

 

After he spoke, Luan Ling cautiously observed Dugu and Li Xiao’s reactions. To her surprise, they showed no strange expressions.

 

Then Dugu spoke—and she perked up immediately.

 

“That’s it?”

 

He gestured. “Don’t you want to say what you’re good at? What you like? Whether you’ve descended to the mortal realm?”

 

Si Zhuo stared at him silently, seemingly thinking.

 

After a long pause, under everyone’s expectant gazes, he smiled innocently and said:

 

“Nothing. I’m useless.”

 

Luan Ling almost spat blood.

 

All the blood was filled with curses she couldn’t say out loud.

 

She clenched her trembling hands and watched as Dugu actually fell into serious thought—clearly considering whether to beat Si Zhuo up later using his physical advantage.

 

Definitely not the face, she decided.

 

“I actually graduated from the Celestial Academy myself,” Dugu finally said.
“Many students complain about their lack of ability—but someone as honest as you? First time I’ve seen that.”

 

He’s not useless!
Luan Ling screamed internally.

 

Outwardly, she smiled calmly.
“Sir, my junior sister is just being modest. If she’s useless, then wouldn’t I be a pile of trash?”

 

The choice of measure word alone revealed her rage.

 

She glared at Si Zhuo, who only smiled and shrugged indifferently.

 

He wasn’t afraid of being scolded. He’d done plenty of things worth cursing since arriving in the Heavenly Realm.

 

For the first time, Luan Ling understood how painful it was to argue with someone shameless—like punching cotton. Every strike missed.

 

Sensing the tension between the two new disciples, Dugu had no idea how to ease the atmosphere. He was the type to bury his head in work, utterly terrible at social interactions.

 

Fortunately, at that moment, the soft sound of a flute drifted through the air—breaking the tense standoff.