After Transmigrating into a Book, I Became Partners with My Mortal Enemy - Chapter 10

Ding Xiandi accepted no challenges.

Her meager cultivation was public knowledge. Even a child outside the island who didn’t practice cultivation could probably knock her flat. There was absolutely no need to accept challenges from You Fuling’s admirers just for the sake of face.

Compared to her open attitude about being “trash,” her fellow sword cultivator and victim, Juan Yuanjia, wasn’t so lucky.

People from cultivation clans usually carried a heavy burden of reputation. There were constant rivalries between the three major clans. Being a candidate for successor didn’t mean Juan Yuanjia’s position was set in stone; prestige was a significant factor.

The Tianji Command had been issued throughout the Nine Provinces for years. The Tianji Academy functioned like a standalone app; academy disciples could post, and cultivators outside the island could watch the drama online, though they lacked the right to reply.

This one-way observation was why the academy disciples’ mailboxes were flooded with complaints. Many felt that parents, masters, love rivals, and competitors could all watch them, creating an unhealthy atmosphere where “the enemy is in the dark while I am in the light.”

While no major disasters had occurred yet, for Juan Yuanjia, her position as successor was in jeopardy.

Several elders in her clan had come to ask if she had a new marriage contract. Her parents sent messages warning her not to let anything go wrong with her wedding prospects. Her ten-year-old sister even urged her to marry Ming Jing soon, as the girl wanted a treasure from the Ming family’s trade guild.

If it were just that, Juan Yuanjia could have managed. The trouble was that the Tianji Academy held great status in the Nine Provinces. If she didn’t fight back, it would reflect poorly on the Juan family’s spirit, even if she didn’t want to embrace the “fact” that she admired Ming Jing.

Within a few days, the academy’s trial grounds were packed. Many gathered to watch Juan Yuanjia battle hundreds of people for the sake of love. Sleek, silver-boned Law Enforcement Cranes stood on the perimeter, ready to snatch away anyone who lost.

The screens flashing in the background displayed real-time battle records; Juan Yuanjia’s name was glowing red, ranking first.

Ding Xiandi had been busy adapting to the cultivation life of this new world and hadn’t found time to visit the sparring grounds. In class, she ignored Juan Yuanjia’s resentful stares. With Mei Chi’s help, she crammed knowledge of the Sword Department, though she remained pathetically weak in daily practice. Her recently healed skin was once again mottled with nicks from stray sword energy.

It turned out that when sword energy sliced through freckles, they just grew back as freckles. Now, many people secretly called her “Pockmarked Swordswoman,” a nickname she strongly suspected was spread by the Heaven-Refining Sect.

Rumors were flying through the academy. Aside from the ambiguity between her and You Fuling, the relationship between Juan Yuanjia and Ming Jing had become “stronger than gold” through these successive trials.

The rumors had evolved from “Juan Yuanjia has loved Ming Jing since childhood, but the Ming lady was heartbroken and had a secret affair with a mine owner” to “Ming Jing was robbed of her right to marry by her relatives and joined the Moon-Falling Sect only to seize the position of Sect Leader and fly away with her lover.” By the time Ding Xiandi and Mei Chi arrived at the trial grounds that evening, the rumors had entered Version 3.0.

“Did you know? Juan Yuanjia originally wasn’t qualified to be a successor. If it weren’t for Senior Sister Ming Jing…”

“So they wanted to reach the top as heads of their houses to meet at the peak? That’s so moving!”

“Triangle dramas are terrifying. They say Ming Jing’s cousin saw Juan Yuanjia and Ming Jing meeting in secret and gave up completely, which is why she accepted the proposal from Young Master Shen of the mining guild. That guy is hideous, truly hard to swallow. What a waste of the second Ming lady’s beauty.”

“Is that the truth?! Since Ming Jing and Juan Yuanjia have been of one mind all along, why didn’t they just get engaged? Why drag the innocent second Ming lady into it?”

“Juan Yuanjia is a young master born with a silver spoon, her mother is said to be a descendant of Taoist Yushan’s sister. Her status is illustrious. Ming Jing’s mother was just the daughter of a merchant selling silk on the roadside. They’re worlds apart.”

The trial grounds were brightly lit at night. Ding Xiandi still had fresh cuts on her face. Smothered in cheap medicine, she looked like she had been severely beaten; anyone passing by thought she looked pitiful.

Indifferent, Ding Xiandi followed Mei Chi to a seat and naturally took the most expensive piece of cake her junior sister produced. “These people really know a lot,” she remarked.

The trial grounds had a dozen rows of stands. The sword cultivators’ trials were held outdoors, looking much like a stadium with specialized lighting. Ding Xiandi tried to visualize her life in the original world, but whether it was the academy airships flying overhead or the giant alchemical furnaces on the distant peaks, nothing resembled a modern city—even if the neon glow from the mining gas flickered at night and the airships had robotic voices announcing stops.

Ding Xiandi was penniless, and Mei Chi was no different. Seeing her junior sister constantly eating plain buns was pathetic, so lately, Ding Xiandi had been spending her time doing missions with her to grind experience.

However, their cultivation was too low. Missions within their rank were scarce. It was either cleaning the Sword Tomb, digitizing ancient texts in the library, scrubbing alchemical furnaces, or hauling logs for the Music Department masters.

Ding Xiandi couldn’t even manage that last one. Her junior sister, with her Herculean strength and thick skin, was perfectly suited for it. Even though cultivation was in decline in the Liuguang Continent, once you entered a sect, cultivation level was still everything. The things Ding Xiandi had been proud of in her original world were useless here; without strength, everything was a struggle.

At most, she could rely on her quick hands to earn the highest pay for digitizing books, but that was only ten spirit stones per volume. The job wasn’t just mechanical scanning; she had to find errors in the texts—essentially editor, proofreader, and post-production all in one—and it didn’t include meals. Scanning ten books a day was the record for that part-time job.

Even if they worked without eating or drinking, they couldn’t earn enough for the single piece of cake in Ding Xiandi’s hand. That had been a gift from Zu Jinxi to Mei Chi.

The junior sister loved to eat but wasn’t selfish. Perhaps remembering her Master’s instructions to be the “security guard” for her Second Senior Sister, she continued to eat while providing commentary. “Exactly. They don’t study properly, just watch the drama.”

You’re one to talk, Ding Xiandi thought, all you do is eat. Still, she felt her own “pig” was cuter than the ones outside. Having a sister like this wasn’t bad. She broke the cake in half and gave it to Mei Chi. “Senior Aunt Zu gave this to you. You should eat it.”

Since meeting Zu Jinxi at the Heaven-grade apartment, Ding Xiandi noticed they ran into her quite often. According to Mei Chi, because alchemists were obsessed with their profession, their energy consumption was higher than other cultivators even if they had reached the fasting stage of the Soul Transformation (Yuan Ying) realm. Zu Jinxi hadn’t reached that level yet, so she spent even more on food. All these cakes were bought by Zu Jinxi, and Mei Chi mentioned that the digital spirit stones on the woman’s Tianji Command were too many to count.

Ding Xiandi finally realized it wasn’t that the academy dining hall lacked good food; it was just that she and her sister were too poor to reach the required spending threshold. This pattern was all too familiar to Ding Xiandi from her life as a wealthy socialite. She never thought she’d live such a hard life again, but having someone to endure it with made it interesting.

“No need to give it to me,” Mei Chi said. “Senior Aunt Zu said if I want something, I just have to ask and she’ll buy it for me. While you were held back after class, I already went and had a meal.”

Ding Xiandi frowned. Though she was only seventeen, she felt a pang of protectiveness, like her “little pig” was about to be snatched away. “Since when are you two so close? Did you know her before?”

Mei Chi shook her head. Her twin buns were adorned with decorations Ding Xiandi hadn’t seen before—they looked like little fish, made of some cute material. Given Mei Chi’s empty wallet, these were likely also gifts from the alchemist. “I didn’t know her. While you were busy admiring Senior Sister Ming, I went to the late-night dining hall alone and saw her a few times.”

“I do not admire Ming Jing,” Ding Xiandi corrected.

The junior sister didn’t understand romance; she was more concerned with the sweetness of the cake. “Then what about the person you admire now?”

You Fuling wasn’t a sword cultivator. The peaks of the Law Department and the Sword Department were far apart. Perhaps because of the stir Ding Xiandi had caused in class that day, or because the rumors of the three sects’ alliance were spreading, You Fuling hadn’t left her room for classes.

Ding Xiandi realized that having a high cultivation level really did allow one to do as they pleased. For someone like You Fuling, classes were just a way to kill time. She had already reached the Soul Transformation stage and practiced fasting. Her status, looks, and cultivation were at their peak from the start, unlike Ding Xiandi, who started at the bottom of the cliff and slipped every time she tried to climb.

Being fellow transmigrators, the contrast made Ding Xiandi particularly miserable. The situation was the same as before they transmigrated. The former You Fuling rarely went to school, and now it was perfectly natural for her to stay in her cave for seclusion. Only Ji Ting, whom she occasionally saw in the public sword classes, would glare at her. If Ding Xiandi’s cultivation weren’t so pathologically low, the Eldest Senior Sister of the Heaven-Refining Sect would likely have challenged her too.

Mei Chi tried to comfort her. “I told you You Fuling is too arrogant. Everyone says we’re punching above our weight. You could just pick someone else to like. I even asked Master about it, but he still won’t check his Tianji Command.”

Ding Xiandi made a joke. “Since our sect is so poor, we can only improve our conditions by living off someone else. Why don’t you find someone?”

Mei Chi nodded. “I already found one. Senior Aunt Zu is very good.”

Ding Xiandi covered her face, not taking Mei Chi’s words to heart. Her junior sister seemed to be missing a bit of her soul; she likely cared more about tomorrow’s menu than liking a person.

On the trial stage, blades and swords clashed. The light effects of the Law cultivators’ formations and the Sword cultivators’ arrays were more exaggerated than KTV lights. Juan Yuanjia had dealt with many of Ming Jing’s admirers, but now many of the challengers were just battle-hungry maniacs who wanted a fight regardless of their interest in Ming Jing.

Before Ding Xiandi could even sit down, Juan Yuanjia spotted her. The culprit actually had the nerve to eat snacks, drink tea, and laugh with her sister, showing zero guilt for the rumors she had started!

Ding Xiandi’s cultivation was so low she couldn’t even feel the so-called killing intent or sword aura. That was why she had been kept after class. In You Fuling’s eyes, she was a brilliant successor from the original world, and she was also skilled at managing stress. She wasn’t at all depressed by her low cultivation and was even asking the master about the requirements for changing departments.

Unfortunately, every department had spiritual energy requirements. Even the Divination branch of the Law Department required the diviner to have rich spiritual energy. The original owner had abnormal meridians; even though Ding Xiandi had found the “knack” for it, the gathered energy vanished easily. It was like taking a deep breath and having nothing come out when you exhale; it disgusted her.

Usually, teachers loathed students at the bottom of the class, but strangely, the masters of the Sword Department treated her quite well. She guessed it was because of her sect. When she was free, Ding Xiandi liked to review the original plot, fearing that even if she avoided the unrequited love line with Ming Jing, she would still fall into the trap of destiny. I won’t go crazy for love, so I shouldn’t join the villain’s side and die a tragic death, right?

In her palm was the cake her sister had pushed back. Mei Chi, whose cultivation was barely a level higher than hers, sensed a flying sword aura. However, while she had a powerful body, her reflexes weren’t very sharp.

Just as the words “Second Senior Sister” left her lips, the eyes of everyone around fell upon a handkerchief that suddenly appeared and shattered in front of Ding Xiandi.

That flimsy handkerchief had blocked the sword aura that Juan Yuanjia hadn’t had time to pull back. Juan Yuanjia had intended to scare Ding Xiandi, but it had turned into an attempt to seriously injure a fellow disciple. The silver Law Enforcement Crane standing on the railing took flight, lunging toward Juan Yuanjia.

Ming Jing, who was watching the battle, started to move to stop it, but the female cultivator sitting with her held her back. The woman smiled and asked, “It seems you and Juan Yuanjia really do have something? That’s not good, is it? If my Gongyu family has no one to marry into the alliance, wouldn’t we be at a disadvantage?”

Ming Jing’s strength was top-tier among her peers, yet she was held motionless by this girl in the Law Department robes.

There were many seats around the trial stage, and the balconies upstairs offered better views but required advanced booking via the Tianji Command. Wealthy young masters and sect disciples scrambled for them to record the matches for later viewing.

Ming Jing struggled silently against her companion. She looked out the window. Juan Yuanjia was being pinned to the stage by the Law Enforcement Crane; the thousand-pound mechanical bird was equipped with Spirit-Quelling Talismans, enough to suppress a disciple’s innate spiritual energy.

A hush fell over the crowd. At the other end of the sword aura, a Law cultivator appeared. Her veil matched the material of the shattered handkerchief, embroidered with the black “Fuling” seal. Only someone with such an “unlucky” name would dare use such ominous talismans.

The crowd erupted in a clamor. Mei Chi choked on her cake, coughing for a long time.

The protected Ding Xiandi lay weakly in her junior sister’s arms, looking through the fluttering fragments of the handkerchief at the person she hadn’t seen in over a month.

“Have you decided when you’re going to marry me?”

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