Chapter 30
"RuanRuan and Xianxiu, since I have observed your training progress over the past ten days, and it has gone very smoothly, there is no longer a need for me to watch over your training. You are free to express your creativity in your exercises. Moreover, as both of you have grown strong enough to travel anywhere, I have decided that you are free to go wherever you wish to gain more experience."
After saying that, their master left the two disciples at the training ground. The beast and the weak one, who had been training, stopped upon hearing their master's words and bowed deeply with respect as they watched her depart. Long Linglu, who had been sitting nearby, watched as the two of them rose from their bow and resumed their training as usual. Seeing how accustomed they had become to their exercises made Long Linglu anxious at the rapid speed of their progress.
'This cannot go on! I’ve only been watching them train for ten days, but their progress is unbelievably fast! I can't let this happen! Otherwise, the revenge I seek will become nothing more than a pipe dream!'
"Haa, haa... Senior sister, let's take a short break, haa, haa... My head is starting to hurt, and my qi is nearly depleted. I need to rest for a bit to ease the headache and restore my qi."
"Haa, haa... No, we can't stop. You heard what the master said earlier, right? We are free to unleash our creativity. Haa, haa... I think it would be better if we trained past our limits until we're on the verge of fainting, then use the master's fruits to restore our vitality. That way, we’ll have more time by finishing our training faster, and we can explore the area to gain the experience the master mentioned."
"Great idea, senior sister! Maybe that way we can surprise the master when she sees us train again someday."
"That’s unlikely, as the master probably already knows we’d think of such a plan. If we want to surprise her, we’ll have to exceed her expectations, perhaps by doubling the amount of training she set for us. Forget it, let's just start pushing beyond our limits!"
"Of course! Let's work hard and go beyond our boundaries!"
'You two are insane! I'm sure the creativity the master mentioned wasn't about destroying your bodies like you're doing! Hiii... Ruan Xiaoyue, you're already vomiting blood! A-and this weak one... h-her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth are bleeding, yet she's still training!'
'At this rate, their strength will increase several times faster! As a descendant of the divine dragon, I can’t allow myself to be the weakest among them! At this point, my only option is to beg the master to give me a technique or special training!'
Feeling the crisis of falling behind, Long Linglu, alarmed by the rapid progress of the two maniacs training beside her, immediately ran home to beg her master for a technique or training regimen.
Upon arriving home, Long Linglu rushed inside, searching everywhere for her master until she found her crouching in a corner near the kitchen, holding her head. Because she was so anxious about falling behind, she ignored her master’s strange behavior and ran up to her, hugging her while pleading desperately for her request.
"Master~, can you help me?"
"...Linglu? Help you? What do you need help with?"
"Yes~, Linglu needs help. Can you give Linglu a technique or training for me to master? Please, Master?" Linglu asked, pleading with a pitiful expression.
"Give you a technique or training? ...I can't, you’re not my disciple, so I can't help you."
"Uwaaah! Master, please! I don’t want to be the weakest of your disciples! Otherwise, they’ll both become arrogant and start bothering me! I'm the only one allowed to bother them, not the other way around! Please help me, Master!"
"You want me to help you by giving you a technique or training so you can dominate my disciples? Are you even thinking straight?"
"Eh?"
"O-oh, what I meant to say is... if you want to defeat them, your bloodline at least needs to be awakened and purified. Otherwise... it will only remain a fantasy if you wish to defeat them."
"In that case, please give me a way to purify my bloodline quickly, Master!"
Hearing Long Linglu’s request, her master just stared at her for a long time, making her uncomfortable as if her entire being was being scrutinized. After a moment, the master smiled and reached out to pat Long Linglu’s head, speaking gently.
"...Linglu, forget about that for now. It would be better if you helped me plant the herbs that RuanRuan brought from the alternative realm in the backyard. They've been left unattended for a while because I forgot about them. Will you help me?"
"Planting herbs? What about my bloodline, Master?"
"We'll deal with that later. Let’s farm first. Aren’t you tired of eating the same fruits and vegetables all the time?"
"Uh, alright, Master..."
'It seems the master doesn’t want to help purify my bloodline, nor does she want to give me any techniques or training. What should I do? Should I try asking again after I help her?'
Following her master to the backyard with a slightly disappointed expression, Long Linglu saw that the master stopped and spoke to her when they reached the garden.
"...Linglu, when you first arrived here, didn't you have a storage ring?"
"No, Master. My storage ring was lost when I fought your disciple in the alternative realm."
"O-okay, in that case, take this cheap ring that RuanRuan gave me. You’ll probably need it."
"Thank you for the gift, Master!"
'This ring is of low quality, I feel embarrassed wearing it. But since it’s a gift from my master, I’ll wear it. But why would the master give me this ring? When I glanced inside by channeling qi into it, there wasn’t anything interesting except for a few rare plants.'
"It’s fine... also, could you take out the plants inside the ring? I forgot to remove them before giving the ring to you."
"Oh, of course, Master. I'll take them out now."
"Is this all the plants?"
"Yes, Master."
'Why did the master ask that? Could it be she hasn't checked all the plants inside the ring?'
"Well then, let’s get started. Linglu, you dig the soil and plant them, while I’ll go fetch some water."
"Yes, Master..."
Long Linglu quickly dug the ground and planted all the herbs, waiting for her master to return. After a while, the master came back carrying a bucket of water and handed it to her.
"Linglu, you're very fast at completing your tasks. Here, take this bucket of water and water the plants you’ve just planted."
"Uh, yes, Master..."
'Why am I doing all the farming tasks? Is the master doing this to make me forget about the bloodline conversation? Could it be the master doesn’t know how to help me purify my bloodline and is distracting me with all this work?'
Suspicious of her master's motives, Long Linglu buried her doubts and continued to follow her instructions, such as gathering leaves, placing them in a designated area, spreading chicken manure around the plants, pruning tree branches, and other menial tasks.
Doing all these minor chores made Long Linglu feel a bit insulted, as if her master was belittling her dragon heritage by making her do such tasks. But she soon regretted having such thoughts after feeling something remarkable happening within her body.
'E-eh, w-why do I feel my bloodline gradually being purified? W-what is causing this? C-could it be because I was farming? B-but how could performing menial tasks help purify my bloodline? I can’t deny it... the master himself suddenly asked me to farm! She must have done something when she asked me to farm!'
Reaching this conclusion, Long Linglu immediately ran toward her master, hugging her while apologizing.
"Master, I’m sorry for thinking that you were mocking me. I didn’t expect that doing these menial tasks would be so beneficial!"
"O-oh, o-of course farming is beneficial... do you enjoy it?"
"Yes, Master! If possible, let me be the one to take care of this garden, Master! I love it!"
"S-sure, you can take care of it... I’d appreciate it if you could look after all the plants in the garden every day, would that be alright?"
"Of course, Master! Just leave it to me!"
“…then the master will leave you alone to farm here, that’s alright, isn’t it?”
“No problem at all, Master!”
After her master left her, with a confused yet happy expression that she did not fully understand, Long Linglu resumed her duties of tending, cleaning, and caring for all the plants in the garden wholeheartedly. Every day, she performed these tasks without any laziness after experiencing the profound benefits they brought her.
After a month of caring for the garden, her efforts finally bore fruit. She could feel that her bloodline had been purified and was on the verge of awakening. This realization made Long Linglu incredibly happy.
‘Finally! A month of tending to the master’s plants has purified my bloodline! Even though I didn’t ask the master the reason behind it, at least what I desired is about to be achieved! All I have to do is wait for my purified bloodline to awaken, and then I’ll finally be able to transform into a true divine dragon! Hahaha! Just you wait, Ruan Xiaoyue, once my bloodline awakens, my revenge against you will be fulfilled! Hahaha—‘
“Demon, you must come with me!”
“W-what, R-Ruan Xiaoyue? W-why are you here?”
“Hurry up, I don’t have time! You need to come with me!”
“N-no! I’m sure you just want to drag me into a duel! At least wait until my bloodline awakens, then we can duel!”
“You fool! I’m not asking you for a duel! This is urgent! I’m taking you to the alternate realm!”
“To the alternate realm? Why are you taking me there?”
“Just come with me! I need your help to find Sister Xue, who’s being chased by the Great Thunder Sect all the way into the alternate realm!”