Stepping in for the Heroine to Crush the Protagonist Group [Transmigration] - Chapter 6

The Floating Life Pagoda Trial officially began on the third day after the tokens were distributed.

On this day, disciples from the Nine Peaks and Nine Valleys gathered in the plaza on the back mountain. Their robes crisscrossed, clearly delineating eighteen different camps. Hu Li hid in a nearby, inconspicuous bush, peering out with just her eyes to observe her surroundings.

The Elder responsible for opening the Pagoda hadn’t arrived yet, and the disciples were crammed together, continuously buzzing with noise. She scanned the crowd, her gaze finally settling on one person.

Gu Sheng stood on the edge of the plaza, her black dress merging with the shadows at her feet. Only the dark gold auspicious cloud patterns fluttering on her skirt occasionally refracted faint slivers of light in the sun, making her barely noticeable. The space beside her was empty; the rooster had not accompanied her to the trial.

Perhaps Hu Li’s gaze was too direct, for Gu Sheng suddenly looked in her direction and their eyes met across the distance.

I’m done for! Did she see me?! Hu Li quickly retreated into the bush, her heart pounding like a frantic rabbit.

[A loud boom in the sky! Shampoo makes a dazzling entrance!]

[Save me, the romance plot is finally here. I’ve been watching the fox spirit and the battle chicken fight for several chapters. I almost thought they switched the male and female leads.]

[Woohoo, the Animal Planet segment is over. Next up is the 8 o’clock emotional drama.]

[Sheng Sheng is so beautiful, hiss.]

[Sister, give us a chance! (for a lesbian relationship)]

[Am I the only one shipping the fox spirit and Sheng Sheng? (Whispering)]

[Sister, count me in.]

[Are we going to be this crazy? Fine, I ship the fox spirit and the battle chicken. I’ve even thought up a CP name: Loincloth (Lǐ jǐ, sounds like “Li Chicken”).

Hu Li: …..

Politeness: Are you serious?

She silently peeled her eyes away from the book reviews and poked her head back out of the bush.

Outside, Xie Qingyang had indeed appeared, but He Shiqing was with him. The two stood on either side of Gu Sheng, likely discussing forming a team to hunt monsters. But if Hu Li had a say, all three of them were close-combat players; the optimal combination would be to partner with Shang Miaoyun, the long-range spellcaster.

Around the hour of Si (9-11 AM), the sound of bells rang overhead. Immediately, seventeen beams of white light descended from all directions and landed in front of the Floating Life Pagoda. They were the Elders who would activate the Pagoda.

Hu Li quickly composed herself and hung the flower-shaped jade token from the Ten Thousand Treasure Pavilion on her head.

“There are two differences in the rules for this Floating Life Pagoda Trial compared to previous years. Please listen closely.”

“First, the assessment duration will no longer be the previous half-month, but unlimited.”

“Second, the format adopted this time is a checkpoint system. All disciples will be dispersed and teleported to the Seventh Floor of the Floating Life Pagoda. From top to bottom, the difficulty of each floor will increase sequentially.”

“Furthermore, the Immortal Sect has granted our Tianyan Sect three spots for this year’s Grand Competition. Therefore, only the first three disciples to reach the First Floor can participate in the Grand Immortal Sect Competition.”

“Finally, I must remind you all that the Floating Life Pagoda is full of danger. Everyone must proceed according to their abilities. If you encounter a life-threatening demon or monster, crush the jade token at your waist to leave the Floating Life Pagoda.”

The Peak Master of Fu Bai Peak, responsible for the announcement, finished his final words. Beams of golden light then emitted from the jade tokens at the disciples’ waists. Subsequently, accompanied by a declaration of “The Trial begins!,” the golden light instantly enveloped everyone, instantly sending them to the top of the Floating Life Pagoda.

*******

Bang!

Hu Li descended from the sky, crashing heavily onto the jade-brick floor, creating a long crack in the ground.

It took a while for her to recover. She slowly climbed up from the ground, straightened her back, and removed the bracelet on her hand that concealed her demonic aura. The Floating Life Pagoda was never short of demons and wicked cultivators, so in this place, Hu Li no longer needed to hide her identity.

The surroundings were pitch black without a single trace of light. Hu Li relied on the residual memories of the original host to chant an incantation, conjuring clusters of eerie flames to illuminate this gloomy place.

It was a circular hall, empty and bare, without any furnishings or even a single column. Logically, the Seventh Floor should have the most small demons and monsters, but apart from her, a fox demon, there wasn’t a single soul in sight.

Something’s wrong. Very wrong.

Hu Li pulled the red jade hairpin from her hair, transformed it into a long sword, held it in front of her, and began to investigate. After circling the area, she discovered nothing, except that her legs were a bit tired.

This is insane. She leaned against the stone wall, intending to take a short break, but the moment her back touched the wall, a shriveled, yellowish hand forcefully grabbed her shoulder and pulled her right into the wall.

The inside of the wall appeared to be a tea room. The person who grabbed Hu Li sat across from her, calmly brewing tea. Hu Li regained her wits, looking at the immortal-like elder with the white hair, youthful complexion, and dignified manner. She immediately grew suspicious: Is this person a demon? Why does he look so righteous?

“Little girl, have some tea.” After the elder finished brewing, he poured a cup for Hu Li and slid it over to her.

Hu Li eyed the tea warily, afraid to drink it. The elder clearly noticed this but didn’t address it directly. Instead, he said, “Since you’ve come, just sit here with this old man for a while. Little girls shouldn’t spend all their days thinking about fighting and killing.”

With that, he poured a cup for himself and began to drink, completely ignoring Hu Li who was watching him nearby.

The atmosphere grew silent. Hu Li stared at the elder for a long time, eventually settling her mind. She cautiously asked, “Elder, which Demon Lord or Fiend Lord are you from the Seventh Floor? And why are none of your subordinates here?”

“The Seventh Floor?” The elder put down his teacup and smiled. “This old man lives on the Sixth Floor. I have no subordinates; I live here alone.”

The Sixth Floor? Hu Li sucked in a cold breath. How did I get to the Sixth Floor?

Just as she was confused, the elder across from her seemed to read her mind and explained, “When you slipped into the Pagoda with those children earlier, this old man thought you were just an ordinary red-furred dog and wanted to grab you for company. I never expected you to be a little fox demon. What a pity.” He stroked his beard, shook his head regretfully, and returned to drinking his tea.

Hu Li looked at him, speechless.

So, he wanted to catch a pet but accidentally grabbed the wrong one.

“Elder, when will you let me go?” Hu Li remembered her mission and didn’t dare to waste time drinking tea here.

“Let you go?” The elder looked up at Hu Li. “This old man doesn’t plan to let you go. Unless you pass this old man’s test?”

Hu Li clenched her fists slightly. “What test?”

The elder said unhurriedly, “Before entering the Floating Life Pagoda, this old man was the Demon Clan’s number one chess player. It has been a great regret never to have met an opponent capable of defeating me. Thus, after coming to the Pagoda, I often catch demons or trial disciples who enter from outside to play Go. Yet, I still haven’t suffered a single defeat.”

Hu Li finally understood. He was a chess fanatic.

The elder continued, “So, if you can win one game against this old man, I will let you go.”

Win one game? Hu Li gave a wry smile. She only knew how to play tic-tac-toe and had never even won that. What were her chances?

However, she remembered that Elder Qi had given her a copy of the Floating Life Pagoda Records. She figured it should contain a solution. She quickly pulled the book out of her storage pouch and flipped to the pages describing the Sixth Floor.

The chicken footprints staring back at her shattered her illusion.

That cursed chicken spirit! Hu Li gritted her teeth, put the book back into her storage pouch, and began to think about chili-pickled chicken feet.

At the same time, the system, seeing the Host preparing to slack off, quickly went online: 

“Host, Heavenly Lightning, think about the heavenly lightning! If you can’t pass this trial, you’ll become a dish faster than that rooster!”

Become a dish faster than the chicken spirit. Hu Li’s breathing hitched as an image flashed in her mind.

No, I have to find a way to pass.

Hu Li forced herself to calm down and began to quietly contemplate a way to clear the stage. The elder watched her, unhurriedly sipping his tea and waiting for Hu Li to make a decision.

After a moment, Hu Li’s eyes suddenly darted. She had an idea.

“Elder, you must keep your word. If I win, you must let me go,” she stated.

The elder looked at Hu Li’s confident expression and found it amusing. “This old man always honors his promises.”

Hu Li secretly laughed. While the elder was conjuring a chessboard, she silently pulled up a Go game interface in her Sea of Consciousness and opened the man-versus-machine mode.

“Elder, please begin first.” Hu Li smiled with narrowed eyes.

The elder hadn’t yet realized the seriousness of the situation, only saying, “You are the junior. I will let you have the first move.”

Hu Li nodded thoughtfully, switched the game mode in her Sea of Consciousness, and then steadily placed a stone on the board. The elder’s gaze fell on the stone. He couldn’t help but scoff softly, then followed up with a stone of his own.

Hu Li calmly matched him, and the elder was equally unwilling to fall behind. The two went back and forth, and the board gradually filled with pieces. However, as the game continued, Hu Li’s speed remained unchanged, but the elder’s speed became slower and slower.

How is this possible?! How could she play here? This is bizarre, too bizarre, but why is it fine?

The elder looked bewildered. A century’s worth of confidence gradually collapsed at this moment.

“Little girl, may I ask who your master is?” he asked with difficulty.

Hu Li’s hand, which was about to place a piece, paused. She said faintly, “AlphaGo.”

“AlphaGo?” The elder had clearly never heard the name of this chess player, nor did he know what kind of dog this was that possessed such ability. But despite his shock, he couldn’t show weakness and allow himself to be underestimated.

So, he merely nodded and said, “This old man has played against your master before. He is indeed a capable individual.”

Hu Li’s lips twitched slightly, feeling guilty, and she didn’t respond, only placing a piece with a slight tremor in her hand.

The elder didn’t notice anything amiss; he was wholly focused on studying Hu Li’s moves. Eventually, he realized that Hu Li’s style was too wild, and he couldn’t see through it at all.

As a result, he eventually put an end to the game and said sincerely, “Little girl, this old man concedes this round. But before you leave, would you be willing to lend me your master’s chess records so I can study them?”

“This—” Hu Li looked troubled; she couldn’t agree. But seeing the elder’s obsession with the game, she couldn’t bear to refuse. She poked the system and asked, “System, do you have a way to materialize this Go game?”

The system, being called upon, replied, “Host, if you promise not to download any games in your Sea of Consciousness behind my back in the future, I will help you.”

Hu Li fell silent, looked at the game library in her Sea of Consciousness, and painfully agreed.

After receiving a chess-playing AlphaGo, the elder was delighted and sent Hu Li off the Sixth Floor. To show his gratitude upon parting, he specifically retrieved a Peony Hairpin from a hidden compartment in his tea room and pressed it into Hu Li’s hand.

He said, “This single hairpin is not a pair; it would be a pity to keep it here. Little girl, I’ll entrust you with the task of helping it find its mate.” With that, he didn’t give Hu Li a chance to ask any more questions, directly teleporting her onto a narrow staircase.

On the empty staircase, the book reviews floated out again:

[Why is the fox spirit back online?]

[Can someone tell me who the female lead is?!]

[Who is the author trying to kill? Why does the fox spirit have scenes everywhere?]

[Why does the second female lead follow the male lead everywhere? Isn’t this annoying?]

[Mommy’s good boy, don’t be fooled by this fox spirit.]

[Author, the utility knife has been mailed.]

…

Hu Li glanced at the book reviews and looked up the stairs, finding that Xie Qingyang was indeed standing alone on the final step. Neither Gu Sheng nor He Shiqing was beside him. This truly was an excellent time to make a move.

Hu Li smiled, put away the Peony Hairpin, and then, using the Illusionary Face Art that her fox clan specialized in, transformed into the appearance of He Shiqing, intending to send Xie Qingyang out of the game and complete her mission.

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