The yearning for power, in a hazy state, seemed to bring Jian Lin to the brink of enlightenment. She had been transmigrated for so long, and this feeling was entirely new. She turned, searching the crowd for the Demon Lord's figure. She desperately wanted to see him, to talk to him.
The sensation was too much like a stroke of genius, a fleeting inspiration. Jian Lin feared it would slip away if she didn't act quickly. She hurried to the Demon Lord, her breathing uneven.
The Demon Lord looked surprised and asked with concern, "What's wrong? Didn't you win?"
"No, I have something more important to say," Jian Lin took a deep breath, steadying her mind. Thinking as she spoke, she slowly said, "Lord Chongyuan, I think I'm truly about to achieve enlightenment and break through. How to describe it? It's like a hook snagging my dantian, pulling me upwards."
"What kind of description is that?" the Demon Lord asked, bewildered. "Your dantian is being pulled upwards? It sounds like you're about to fall into a demonic deviation."
Hearing this, Jian Lin became displeased. Her long-sought breakthrough could not be slandered as a demonic deviation.
"I'm not joking with you," Jian Lin stamped her foot, deciding to change her approach. "Then, Lord Chongyuan, please tell me, what does it feel like to achieve enlightenment and break through?"
"Everyone's cultivation is different, and the standards for enlightenment also vary. My experience might sound like gibberish to you," the Demon Lord asked seriously, "Do you really want to hear it?"
"Yes, don't be so stingy," Jian Lin said with anticipation. "Besides, I don't have a master, nor anyone to guide me. Who else can I rely on but you, Lord Chongyuan?"
Her words were pleasing. The Demon Lord curved his lips and shared everything he knew without reservation. "Achieving enlightenment and breaking through is a feeling of a desire waiting to be fulfilled. You know what you want, you know how to get it. It's effortless, you're confident, you can see the path ahead, and you have a certainty of foreseeing the future."
Huh? Is this the difference between a top student and a struggling one?
Jian Lin only registered the first part: desire. She wanted to become stronger, but she had no specific ideas on how to achieve it. Wasn't it all about fate and opportunity?
Jian Lin sighed in disappointment, "Then it seems I got excited for nothing. I thought I could do it."
"No, didn't I tell you?" the Demon Lord emphasized again. "Everyone's standard for enlightenment is different. Even jealousy, unwillingness, and resentment can trigger a cultivator's breakthrough. Don't think you can't do it; that's absolutely not how it works."
Jian Lin listened, feeling dazed. She pondered the meaning of the Demon Lord's words and looked up, falling into silence.
Seeing this, the Demon Lord flicked his finger against her forehead. Jian Lin jolted back to reality, covering her forehead and asking, "Why did you hit me?"
"To remind you not to overthink. Go back to your matches," the Demon Lord said profoundly. "Instead of worrying about ephemeral things, it's better to do well with what you can grasp."
So good at lecturing, Jian Lin scoffed and turned to dive back into the crowd to find opponents.
After the previous match, Jian Lin had become a target. She hadn't walked far before someone approached her for a match.
Jian Lin looked at the person carefully, recognizing him as one of the group who had been sticking together.
She asked warily, "Esteemed cultivator, how do you wish to fight? Let me be clear, I am not short of spirit stones."
"I am short of spirit stones," the cultivator stated directly. "You are currently ranked tenth. At any point before the end, you could be overtaken. Don't you want to climb higher and secure your position?"
Jian Lin was stunned. She hadn't expected such a proposal. She quickly turned to look at the female cultivator she had just fought, understanding the mockery in her words.
Jian Lin would absolutely not throw a match for spirit stones. Conversely, if someone approached her proactively, would she be willing to pay spirit stones for victory?
She wasn't short of spirit stones; she had plenty of points now, which could be exchanged for many spirit stones. But... could she compromise her principles?
For some reason, deep down, she felt that if she agreed to the request, she would drift further and further away from achieving enlightenment and breaking through.
"No, I refuse," Jian Lin dismissed all thoughts and said solemnly, "Esteemed cultivator, you are welcome to fight me fair and square. Nothing else is up for discussion."
"In that case, I won't force you." The cultivator nodded slightly and turned to leave.
At that time, Jian Lin did not realize the seriousness of the situation. She continued to honestly look for opponents. When she came to her senses, she suddenly realized that she, ranked tenth, had been replaced.
It turned out that the group who had been sticking together had not held internal competitions. Now, at the final stage, they had pre-selected one person. Everyone else lost to him, causing his points to surge, quickly propelling him to eighth place and pushing Jian Lin out.
This was unfair! Jian Lin was dumbfounded.
At the same time, she found that the number of people available to be her opponents was dwindling. She had initially wanted to challenge the person ranked first, but that person was a formidable figure. Having won enough matches, they decided to conserve their strength for the secret realm and refused to fight Jian Lin.
As the sun began to set, Jian Lin was in a frantic state. The Demon Lord, unable to watch any longer, walked up to her and said, "What are you doing? The deadline is approaching, and you haven't reached the top ten yet."
Jian Lin, filled with grievance, told the Demon Lord everything, pointing at the group who had been sticking together. "Those people are truly detestable. They planned it all, banding together at the last stage to push me out. Now I can't even find enough opponents. I just have to accept it."
There was truly no other way. The organizers and supervisors were all from the Guanlan Sect. Jian Lin would never believe that they would uphold justice and disqualify the group who had ganged up.
When the Demon Lord heard this, he thought, this is not a problem. It's just spirit stones, and he had plenty.
Since the other party was willing to sell, he could buy it back for Jian Lin.
With this thought, the Demon Lord took a step forward, but Jian Lin stopped him, saying forcefully, "I don't need that kind of victory. I want to be an upright person. Uprightness is my path. If I buy it, I believe I will never achieve a breakthrough in my life."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" the Demon Lord said patiently. "Achieving enlightenment and breaking through is not that simple. There is no single criterion for judgment. Besides, I am buying it for you. If anyone is not upright, it is me, not you."
"Of course, it concerns me. I am the beneficiary. I would be ashamed to win a chance to enter the secret realm through some underhanded means." Jian Lin was both angry and wronged, on the verge of tears.
Suddenly, the Demon Lord wrapped his arm around her. Jian Lin was stunned and immediately fell silent, ceasing her accusations.
After a while, he released Jian Lin and asked in a low, gentle voice, "I'll ask you just one question: do you believe me?"
Jian Lin looked directly into the Demon Lord's eyes and nodded heavily, "I believe you."
In this world, the only person she could trust was the Demon Lord.
"Then listen to me. It's fine. I'll pay spirit stones to buy it for you, and it won't affect your breakthrough," the Demon Lord said earnestly, looking into her eyes, word by word.
Jian Lin pursed her lips, a burning emotion spreading through her heart. Her chest felt warm, and she experienced an unprecedented warmth.
Finally, the Demon Lord stepped forward and negotiated a deal with the group who had been sticking together, buying Jian Lin a chance at victory.
She stood on the arena, engaging in a staged fight with that group for a long time. The onlookers could tell. Those who had applauded and cheered for her earlier were now yawning, looking bored, as if urging her to hurry up and stop pretending.
Jian Lin, having lived two lives, had never experienced such an embarrassing moment.
She truly wanted to look up and curse, "What kind of world is this? Is there any justice left?"
This rotten place, Guanlan Sect, should have been razed long ago. Why hadn't the male and female protagonists appeared yet? If they didn't come soon, Jian Lin felt like acting on their behalf.
The three-day积分赛 concluded amidst chaotic struggles.
An elder from Canglan Peak appeared to present the tokens for entering the secret realm to the top ten participants of the积分赛.
Jian Lin stood on the arena and, upon seeing the elder, her heart skipped a beat, and she held her breath.
This elder was the very person who had pronounced her execution on the day she transmigrated.
As she took the token, Jian Lin looked directly into his eyes, trying to see something in them.
Did this elder know the truth? Did he know she was framed? If she stood up now and exposed everything, would he feel guilt and regret?
Of course, it was just a fleeting thought. Jian Lin gave a sarcastic smile. In reality, she knew that the truth was that they all knew. They were complicit and didn't care about the unjust death of a mere disciple.
Jian Lin lowered her gaze, accepted the token, and followed the crowd away.
Regardless of the method, for a rogue cultivator to enter the secret realm was a tremendous opportunity.
The rogue cultivators present felt honored and congratulated those who had received tokens, wishing them an early breakthrough.
Jian Lin's mood was complex. Holding the token, she returned to the Demon Lord's side, her smile more like a grimace than a laugh.
"Stop smiling," the Demon Lord said helplessly, unable to bear looking at her. "It's a happy occasion after all. Let me treat you to a meal, do something else to cheer you up."
Do something else to cheer her up? Jian Lin's eyes flickered. She suddenly thought of something. She looked up at the Demon Lord and asked, "Lord Chongyuan, do you really want to make me happy?"
"What's there to be fake about? Of course, I want you to be happy."
"Very good. I'll tell you how to make me happy," Jian Lin grabbed the Demon Lord's arm, gesturing for him to bend down. She whispered into his ear, "Blow up that monument at the entrance of the main hall. I'll be happy for three days and three nights."
The Demon Lord frowned and asked in confusion, "What's wrong with that monument?"
"You don't know? Didn't you look closely at what's written on it?"
The Demon Lord hadn't looked closely. He had no interest in the pretentious pronouncements of so-called righteous sects.
Upon hearing this, Jian Lin excitedly pulled him to the monument and pointed at the words "Jian Mu Sheng," saying, "Look, tell me if it should be blown up!"
The Demon Lord glanced at it briefly. What nonsensical words! He sneered and said, "Blow it up! We'll blow it up tonight!"
This was actually a very risky undertaking, but neither of them cared. In the dead of night, risking forbidden spells, they used explosives to shatter the stone monument.
The commotion was so great that it shook Canglan Peak. The entire peak thought they were under attack, and all disciples rushed out, ready for battle.
Jian Lin and the Demon Lord narrowly escaped pursuit, their lives hanging by a thread.
When they fled back to Cangnan Town, on the deserted streets in the middle of the night, Jian Lin couldn't help but tilt her head back and laugh heartily.
The Demon Lord walked beside her, a smile also filling his lips. It was fine. As long as she was happy, nothing else mattered.
Two days later, Guanlan Sect sent word that the secret realm would open at noon the next day. Rogue cultivator Lin Jian was requested to bring her token to the designated location and accompany the immortal sect members to the secret realm for cultivation.