After Becoming a Cannon-Fodder Lackey, I Swore to Protect the Young Lady to the Death - Chapter 30

On the other side of the world, the Li Xi who had entered the Cultivation Academy was being forced into the role of a “Male-Frequency Power Fantasy Protagonist.”

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On the first day of talent testing, Li Xi was officially labeled a “trash-tier” student. Consequently, she was banished to the outer sect to scrub toilets next to a general store.

“Is it too late to drop out? This is an insult to humanity!” Li Xi yelled, huffing as she tossed her broom aside and kicked over a bucket of water. “What kind of school is this anyway? I can excuse it being in the mountains, but how is there no air conditioning? Honestly, this bathroom is smaller than the walk-in closet in my old penthouse…”

Tough cultivation hadn’t broken her spirit, but the harsh living conditions certainly had. Her dorm room was so miserable that her pocket dimension felt like a five-star hotel by comparison.

Isakana, the system, glanced at the 1% progress bar and tried to soothe her: Sigh, you’ll get used to it. This is just how it is here. We’ll leave as soon as the semester is over. Though, considering you used to live in a place where even the bathroom had AC, I suppose this is a bit…

“It’s not about the bathroom having AC! There isn’t even electricity here!!” Li Xi was losing her mind.

In the blistering 100-degree heat, the teachers spent all day telling students to recite “Heart-Cleansing Incantations.” Li Xi didn’t know if anyone was actually learning them, but she had already seen several students pass out from heatstroke.

“Is this a scam school?” Li Xi looked at the endless mountains behind her, sinking deep into suspicion.

“Nothing we can do. You were tested as trash-tier; they’re doing you a favor just letting you stay to clean toilets,” Isakana said, feeling foolish for her own high expectations on testing day. “Mhm. I heard the inner sect disciples have great living conditions, but obviously, that’s not for you!”

“…”

Ugh, life is so unfair!!

“Oho, isn’t this our little resident loser?”

Li Xi: This idiot again.

The first time she had ever experienced school bullying was in this dump, and it was at the hands of such a bottom-tier jerk.

When a smug inner sect disciple deliberately stepped on the floor she had just mopped for the thirty-first time, Li Xi’s patience finally snapped. She turned and walked into the bathroom.

“Hahaha! Look at that loser, she’s so spineless!”

“Hey, it’s not our fault. She shouldn’t have ‘accidentally’ tripped the boss last time.”

Last time, Li Xi had just finished mopping when they came to use the facilities. They slipped on the wet floor, and ever since, they were convinced she had done it on purpose or they just wanted a scapegoat to vent the frustration they got from their teachers.

Just as the group was about to leave, Li Xi emerged holding a trash can in each hand. With a violent swing, she dumped the contents all over them.

“Adhesion.”

This was a “cheat” she had bought from the System Mall using her only point. She’d snagged it during a summer clearance sale. Since the cheat was practically useless, she’d gotten it for the ultra-low price of one point.

The group had clearly never seen an attack like this. They scrambled to brush the filth off, only to find it was stuck fast. Enraged, they moved to attack her.

But when they looked up, Li Xi was already gone.

“Phew, thank god for the pocket dimension…” Li Xi washed her hands, asking as she scrubbed, “How long does the stickiness last?”

“Half an hour,” Isakana replied, a hint of genuine admiration in her eyes. Most people wouldn’t think of such a petty, effective trick. She really was the top-tier lackey of a villainess in her previous life!

“They started it…”

Still fuming, Li Xi flopped onto her ten-square-meter bed in the dimension and pulled the covers over her head to sleep. Life was too hard; it was better in her dreams.

The group tried to harass her several more times after that, but Li Xi just stayed in her dimension like an “ostrich” every time, leaving them with no way to retaliate.

As it turned out, while the living conditions were abysmal, the spiritual energy in this place was abundant. Li Xi eventually managed to “crawl” her way to the third level of the Qi Refining stage, giving her a tiny bit of actual offensive power.

But stable days are always short-lived.

One day, Li Xi was lounging in her dimension as usual. When she finally stepped out to head to the cafeteria, she found the sky turning dark. The earth shook, a hidden realm was reopening, and the elders of the cultivation world were all rushing to the scene.

“Disciples! Is there anyone brave enough to draw their sword and venture forth?”

One elder, dressed in hemp robes with white hair flowing in the wind, stood at the center. His eyes looked like they held a thousand years of wisdom, deep enough to pierce through any secret.

The disciples below immediately scattered. Some were in such a hurry to run away that they lost their shoes, sprinting barefoot into the distance.

“Run! Run! Entering a Great Sect’s hidden realm is a death sentence! If you get sucked in, you’re finished…”

Whoosh—

Before the warning could even finish, everyone had retreated to a safe distance, leaving Li Xi standing there like a wooden post.

Isakana: RUN!!

Li Xi: You think I don’t want to run? His spiritual pressure is too strong! I can’t move!! Ugh, my legs are locked…

“Elder Zhang, I don’t want to go…” Li Xi said, straining her body just to keep from being crushed onto her knees.

“What? You can’t wait to go?” The elder in hemp robes stroked his beard, his eyes full of admiration.

“NO!! I said I don’t have the ability—!” Panicking, Li Xi tried to explain, cold sweat breaking out on her forehead.

“Ah, you say you have absolute confidence in your strength. Young people shouldn’t be so arrogant. Since you insist, then safe travels!”

With a casual wave of the elder’s hand, Li Xi was hurled toward the gate of the hidden realm. Seeing this, the other terrified disciples retreated another three steps.

The other elders and disciples stood in speechless silence, thinking: The Great Elder’s hearing is going to be the death of us all!

“Why is that old man just ‘reading’ and ‘replying’ whatever he wants?!!”

Feeling an invisible force dragging her into the realm, Li Xi let out a final, panicked scream before vanishing from sight.

The onlookers: Good luck, kid.

*****

“Ow… that hurts…”

Li Xi hit the ground hard. She looked down to see scrapes on her palms and knees.

Isakana: Don’t panic. I’ll open a map of this sub-world for you. Just follow the navigation and you’ll find a way out.

【Ding! Male-Frequency Cultivation Plot activated.】

【Identity verification… Confirmed: No parents, no family, no friends. Verification successful.】

【Milestones achieved: Joined Academy, Bullied by peers, Entered Hidden Realm. Please keep up the good work!】

Hearing this, Isakana was filled with shock and confusion. That’s not right. I didn’t bind that quest to you. How is the Main System forcing tasks on us?

Li Xi: “Meeting you was the greatest misfortune of my life…”

The hidden realm was a desolate place filled with haze. The occasional roar of a beast echoed through the forest, the sky was a faint, bruised red, and even the soil beneath her feet was a sickly blackish-purple.

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