After the Demon Lord was Reborn, She Switched to a Master-Disciple Romance Script - Chapter 18

After agreeing to meet up again with Ji Nianyan and Xia Lianjiao, Zhu Jiyun waited for them to leave before starting to pack her things.

As she finished, her hand paused. She suddenly remembered what Xia Lianjiao had said earlier.

“Only two people have ever reached the top of Heart-Questioning Cliff! Zhu Jiyun, you’re amazing! You were the first one to do it!”

Two people had successfully climbed all eight hundred and ten steps. If she was one of them, the other must be Ji Chengyu, the Heavenly Dao’s favored child, blessed with immense Fortune.

The moment she thought this, Xia Lianjiao turned to Ji Nianyan and whispered, confirming her suspicion.

Xia Lianjiao spoke with a hint of worry, “Ji Chengyu was already awake when I arrived. I need to pack quickly and go check on him.”

Knowing Zhu Jiyun and Ji Chengyu didn’t get along, Xia Lianjiao rarely mentioned him in her presence.

Zhu Jiyun paid no attention to their hushed conversation.

But her hand froze mid-motion. Now alone in the empty room, she set down her belongings and sat down, finally allowing herself to ponder everything that had just happened.

Zhu Jiyun never doubted her ability to smoothly pass all three stages of the Grand Competition.

She even wondered if her current strength might surpass Ji Chengyu’s. The only question was whether she could actually defeat him in a real match or competition.

After all, their previous private sparring sessions weren’t part of the main storyline, so her victories over the Male Lead were hardly surprising.

The Outer Sect Disciple Grand Competition, however, was the perfect stage for the Male Lead to showcase his power, dazzle the crowd, and steal the spotlight.

As his first true test of strength and talent upon entering the Cultivation World, this competition marked the starting point of his cultivation journey. It was crucial to his smooth and successful path.

Remember, Ji Chengyu’s outstanding performance had earned him the Sect Leader’s personal mentorship, catapulting him to become the Sect Leader’s most favored disciple.

But now, everything had changed.

Ever since Zhu Jiyun defeated Ji Chengyu in the second stage of the Outer Sect Grand Competition, the trajectory of fate had diverged from her previous life.

The third stage, the Heart-Questioning Cliff’s trial, was even more drastically different from her past life.

In her past life, she had stopped at the 750th step of the Heart-Knocking Ladder, while another person had halted at the 755th step. Only Ji Chengyu had successfully reached the summit.

But in this life, both she and Ji Chengyu had reached the top, and she had even taken the lead by one step.

By that calculation, she was the one who had claimed first place in this year’s Outer Sect Disciple Grand Competition.

In her previous life, Immortal Venerable Qingwu had never accepted a disciple. Yet now, she was the one who had become Immortal Venerable Qingwu’s disciple.

The trajectory of fate had already deviated.

Realizing this, Zhu Jiyun unconsciously clenched her fingers, her breathing quickening and her heart racing.

Could this mean…?

Opening her eyes and slowing her breathing, Zhu Jiyun forced herself to calm down. Once her emotions had returned to normal, she called out to the System in her mind: “System, come out and calculate my rewards.”

The System popped up: “Host, what rewards?”

How could it not know?

Zhu Jiyun leaned back, adopting a relaxed posture. “You told me to defeat the Female Lead and become Immortal Venerable’s disciple, and I did it. Now that the mission is complete, where are my rewards? Hurry up and give them to me.”

As she spoke, she spread her hands, palms up, in a demanding gesture.

System: …?

Seeing the System’s continued silence, Zhu Jiyun frowned. “Seriously? What kind of broken system are you? Other systems give all sorts of rewards after completing tasks. You’re not going to be stingy, are you?”

Her expression shifted, becoming fiercely intimidating. “If you don’t have task rewards, why do you keep pushing me to do them? Don’t you know my time is precious? Get lost!”

After scolding the System, she muttered to herself, “I was even thinking that if there were rewards, I might consider doing the next task.”

Hearing this, the System panicked.

If I really say there’s nothing, won’t it crush the Host’s motivation?

It had been on the verge of despair, watching the Host’s halfhearted and passive attitude toward the tasks. A thousand times it regretted not researching the tasks beforehand. I deserve to die!

But now, if it further dampened the Host’s enthusiasm for completing tasks because of its own shortcomings, it would truly deserve to die!

Yet the System couldn’t conjure up any rewards. The programming simply hadn’t included such a feature.

For someone desperate to survive, seizing a chance to change their fate and achieve success would normally be their ultimate goal. If completing missions could alter everything, then there would be no need for reward-based enhancements or guidance. The very act of changing their destiny would be enough to make them obedient.

But Zhu Jiyun’s behavior was strikingly different.

In her previous life, she had refused to submit to fate or the Male Lead, fighting fiercely, yearning to grow stronger, to survive, to live with dignity.

Logically, someone like that should have been easy for the System to manipulate.

Yet Zhu Jiyun’s behavior in this life was the complete opposite of her previous one. She had become utterly apathetic, completely giving up. The System, being a newly appointed novice, found itself utterly helpless to control her.

But now, things were about to change.

The System resolved to conquer this reward issue, no matter what!

Zhu Jiyun then heard it say, “Host, due to your first successful mission completion, there will be a delay in reward distribution. It will be credited to your inventory shortly.”

“I have an inventory?” Zhu Jiyun asked, surprised. “How come I’ve never seen it before?”

The System cleared its throat. “Ahem, your Cosmic Pouch.”

So that’s how it is.

The System can still connect to the real world.

In other words, the System, or rather the energy behind it, can touch reality and influence it.

This was the first time Zhu Jiyun had realized this since the System first claimed it had helped her reincarnate.

After all, the last time she had half-heartedly completed a task, even kicking the Male Lead’s wooden bowl, the System hadn’t punished her at all.

Zhu Jiyun lowered her gaze and asked casually, “What’s the reward? Why won’t you show me? Even if there’s a delay, I should at least get a sneak peek. Don’t tell me it’s some kind of blind box?”

The System paused, then replied, trying to sound calm, “It’s definitely something you’ll need.”

Zhu Jiyun scoffed. “Ha, mysterious nonsense.”

Still, she didn’t press further. Her real goal wasn’t the reward itself; she just wanted to see if she could get something extra out of the System.

And it seemed she could.

“You’d better give me something good, or I won’t do your tasks.”

“Okay, okay,” the System replied.

What would Zhu Jiyun be interested in? it wondered.

After waiting a while longer, Zhu Jiyun called out to the System twice, but there was no response.

Her eyebrows twitched slightly as she realized the System had gone to consult the energy behind it.

As for its claim of needing to hibernate for self-updating, Zhu Jiyun didn’t believe a word of it.

Why hadn’t it ever needed to hibernate before? Why only now, when she was demanding an unprecedented reward?

Something fishy was going on.

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