I used my own divine sense to ease the strain on the kid’s body and mind. His complexion slowly returned.

“Calm down! My master is a senior from the sect... I just haven’t worshiped him as an official master yet.” The pressure eased.

Dealing with the Junior Sect Leader in a straightforward and (mostly) honest manner was actually my strategy. Because, not only was it a bad idea to spout lies to the leadership of the sect, but this was also a test for him.

If he didn't react, then I would know that something was wrong with him. If he cared at all for the Sect Leader, he shouldn't be completely calm in a situation like this. While I would still save him, I would know to keep an eye out for him in the future.

If he tried to kill us without attempting to learn anything else, I would have used the talisman I won in the tournament to protect us, then proceed to make our escape. In the worst case, I would hide behind something and move us into the space.

Of course, if he did take that route, then I would have left him to his untimely fate.

But instead, on reflex, he put pressure on us.

That meant he was beyond stressed. Reasonable for someone trying to save his mentor and father figure.

“My sister and I heard from our master that, at our cultivation, we wouldn’t be able to enter the sect without a back door of some kind. And he currently won’t get us one. So, allow us to work for you to collect those spiritual herbs, but in exchange, please help us meet with the Sect Leader.” Little Spring stood up and bowed very politely.

“Our talents are too good,” I explained. “We’ve already cultivated to the 8th and 12th layers of Qi Condensation.”

The Junior Sect Leader Unyielding Firestorm sighed and rubbed his temples. He gestured for Little Spring to relax and he sat back down. “Who is this master of yours? I don’t like the fact that he sent children here, instead of coming himself.”

Heh. “That’s a secret. Let’s just say, he’s a senior of the retired Sect Leader.” I grinned. “Someday you might have to call me, Little Great Aunt.”

He chuckled. “Little Great Aunt, huh?”

I nodded with a huge grin on my face, liking the sound of that.

“Because you were so straightforward with me I’ll tell you what I’m thinking. I’m suspicious of you.”

I nodded. Considering his mission, he would be regardless of how I approached him. But with a straightforward method, we could resolve his suspicions all at once.

It also helped that we were kids and could get away with a lot.

“As soon as we arrived here, you two were spying on me and my team.”

Little Spring started putting food in my bowl. “We were looking for the cultivators from the Indomitable Will Sect so we could help them,” He explained. “We wanted to make sure we had the right group.”

“Sure, but you have to admit that it looks suspicious. Our sect is in a precarious situation right now, and I don’t know you two. Even now, you could be lying.”

Little Spring then started to fill up his own bowl.

“But, if you really need to see the Sect Leader when he gets better, I will gladly help you see him. I’d like it if you two stayed here. Where you’ll be safe. I don't like the idea of taking two children into that dangerous forest.”

That was not acceptable.

I sighed. “What if I could prove to you that I am loyal to the sect? Would you allow us to help you then?”

“That is a problem but your age is also a problem... Why are you so desperate to help, anyway?” He narrowed his eyes.

I raised an eyebrow. “Have you seen your formation master? You honestly expect that incompetent amateur to help you find the correct entrance into a natural slaughter formation?”

He chuckled. “And you aren’t an amateur?”

I pulled out my Formation Master’s badge that showed my high rank for my low cultivation level. Frankly, if I had a higher cultivation then I’d be able to show off more, but whatever. After I passed my tribulation I’d just need time, spirit stones, and a safe place to cultivate. That would solve that problem. Muahahaha.

“As you can see, I’m not an amateur.” I sent him a proud adorable smile.

He touched his chin in thought. Hah! He was considering it. Good.

Next, I pulled out a paper, brush, and some pre-ground ink. Then I proceeded to swiftly write down the three-page intro to the sect manual that I’d been forced to memorize when I first reached the sect. But instead of only writing it word for word, I also wrote down the details of each section on the margins. Things that only members of the sect would understand and actually give a shit about.

“The Indomitable Will Sect only accepts those with a strong will. If one is to reach immortality, more than any other trait, a resolute mind is an absolute necessity,” I quoted as I handed him the pages I had quickly written.

I grinned at Little Spring. He was glaring at me.

What?

He sighed, took out a cloth, poured some of his spring water on it, and began wiping my ink-stained hands.

Oh. Hehe. Then he handed me my chopsticks and pointed at my food with a glare.

I rolled my eyes but started eating. Ah! Was this spiritual food?! It wasn’t of high quality but it was edible. I quickly started devouring the beautiful bites of red meat and the nearly glowing vegetables. By the time I’d finished, the Junior Sect Leader had as well. He looked up at me, the surprise clear on his face.

That was right, motherfucker. I was a genius and I was a goddamn member of the sect. You will not keep me from my home!

“What does it mean to be part of the Indomitable Will sect?” He asked.

“That depends on one's position within the sect.” I crossed my legs beneath the table and relaxed. “For outer sect members, it’s serving the sect and improving their abilities so they can one day become part of the inner sect.

“For those in the inner sect, it’s about empowering themselves so they can be the backbone and strength of the sect. It is their responsibility to protect the sect during times of war.

“For the leadership of the sect, it is to handle the day-to-day affairs and ensure that every disciple is being taught to the best of the sect’s ability.

“And lastly, for those closed-door elders in Immortal Ascension Stage, it is their responsibility to protect the juniors of the sect from threats of the same level.

“But regardless of one's position in the sect, we all agree to put the sect first. Because it is our home.” I grinned at him.

He stealthily bit his bottom lip as if to stop himself from smiling. “Very concise, Little Lin.”

“What about you, senior Unyielding Firestorm? What do you think it means?”

He obviously wasn’t expecting me to turn it around and slid his finger along the side of his teacup to stall for time. “It’s interesting that you call the sect home so vehemently when you’ve never been there. But, home is how I see the sect as well. My master took me in when I had just been orphaned and left for dead on the street. Without him, and without the sect, I wouldn’t be here.”

Since he answered so well, I decided to give him a little bit of the truth, “My master teaches me through my dreams. All this time, he’s shown me scenes from the sect. From those visions, I could see that, aside from a few outliers, people treat each other with genuine warmth there. And I look forward to seeing that warmth with my own eyes.”

Unyeilding’s eyes seemed to glitter with understanding. He cleared his throat a bit before continuing, “Then what cultivation technique does the sect teach?”

“Trick question. The sect teaches the best available techniques for each disciple, within reason.”

“Which technique has your master taught you?” He seemed genuinely curious.

Shit. I grimaced. “I have a special constitution so my master developed a personalized cultivation method.”

“You trust your master that much?”

I tilted my head. “With his realm, wouldn’t you?”

“What was your master’s realm again?”

Ah, he was trying to get me to admit specifics so he could catch me in a lie. I grinned.

“I told you that he teaches me through my dreams and that he was a senior to the previous sect master. What is the previous sect master’s current realm?”

His eyes widened a bit when he realized my meaning, after all, the previous sect master retired and ascended to immortality around one hundred years ago.

“Ah, that explains... quite a lot. But if that’s the case, then what is your master’s name? There aren’t that many esteemed seniors who’ve ascended in recent years.”

Fuck. I wanted to avoid using him again since it was possible that by lying like this, I could offend him if he found out. Lying to the Alchemists’ guild was one thing but to my actual sect? The sect that had ways to contact the person? But there was a reason why it was ‘hard to dismount after riding a tiger.’

I sent him a telepathic message, ::Immortal Zhenren Sword Within the Light of Virtue.::

His eyes narrowed. “He never took any disciples. I heard from my master that he loathed the idea. You’re lying.”

“So sure I’m lying?” I tsked. Well, he actually wasn’t wrong about him. It was a well-known fact. But I’d done more research on Immortal Zhenren than anyone else I knew. “The reason why he despised the idea of taking a disciple was because he never met a person brilliant enough to take in. He also believed that taking a disciple would hinder his progress to immortality. So, don’t you think his previous attitude might have changed with a change in his situation?”

I could tell that he immediately connected the dots.

“The only issue is that we have yet to officially join the sect and take him as our master.”

“Then why hasn’t he informed my master about you two yet?”

I rolled my eyes as if I were really a little girl and the answer was obvious. “He wants us to see how far we can get on our own. I shouldn’t have even told you his name, but you were too pushy! We’re really only supposed to use his name if we get into a tight situation. But I think it should be okay if it’s you since he sent us over here to help.”

He hid his smile behind his cup of tea then took a sip. “Alright. Let’s say I believe you. But how could I possibly risk-taking the disciples of such an esteemed master into the forest? You need to stay safe. Once my team comes back we’ll head to the sect together.”

I shook my head. “Safety is often arbitrary. We could meet with a mishap here just as easily as in the forest.”

“But an incident is much less likely to occur here,” he pointed out.

“The difference is that you’d be able to protect us if we’re by your side. Besides, you’ll need me.”

His jaw tightened. This guy still didn’t want to agree. He was stubborn, like any good member of the sect. But he was doing it out of kindness and his responsibility. And that made a big difference.

I patted his shoulder with a grin. “Trust me. Once your master is better and I officially join the sect, I’ll become your martial great aunt. We’ll basically be family.”

His expression froze. Then he nodded. “You keep insisting that you can help—“

“—Because I can.”

“—But we have plans to leave in the early morning. We have to find the spiritual plants and immediately bring them back to the sect. If you can’t make it or keep up with us, then you’ll need to stay here.”

Ah! I saw what he was doing.

I grinned brightly, showing my sharp teeth. “We can keep up. And even if we lose your team, I’ll be able to find you.”

”If you can keep up then do so.” He stood, getting ready to leave.

Little Spring also stood. He stared into the Junior Sect Leader’s eyes. ”Senior, my sister is a bit too eye-catching. I’d appreciate it if you’d help us keep her abilities hidden for now... even from the other members of your team.”

Aww. Was this kid still worried about me? And he probably had a intuition about these new strangers.

Unyielding paused then nodded. ”I won’t say anything. But your sister will have to do her part as well.”

Hey! It was hard being low-key when I was this awesome!

But seriously, even though I found hiding my strength in this instance to be idiotic, I would still follow along. There were a variety of reasons for this. First, I had promised Little Spring that I would keep us safe. I would do that to the best of my ability. Second, the universe fucking loved this little guy. I could even say that it was created for him. So, if he had a bad feeling — a truly bad feeling — then I would listen.

Lastly, I would follow Rule 4 of Transmigrated into a Novel Club: Always stay on the main character’s side, even if the odds seem bad.

***

In the middle of the night, just as I suspected he would, the Junior Sect Leader gathered everyone and escaped. This stubborn guy was trying to leave our asses behind to protect us.

Good thing I’d used my divine sense to watch his door or we would have missed him.

Of course, if I had been in his position where a couple of kids were asking to tag along to a dangerous mystical forest I’d probably do the same thing. So it wasn’t like I blamed him.

In fact, I was happy. This was an opportunity to show him what I could do. Hehehe.

That young man probably didn’t think a Qi Condensation cultivator would be able to go after his team. But he’d learn.

After letting them get a bit of a head start, I woke Little Spring up, took out my flying sword spiritual tool, and left via our room’s large window. Fortunately, this town didn’t have a flying ban like the previous city, though it was still considered to be impolite. But fuck it. Nobody had time for that shit.

I spread my divine sense out and tracked their progress. They were about thirty li into the forest already and moving fast.

Then they reached a clearing and stopped. They started setting up a small camp. Since their realms were all in the Foundation Establishment, they still needed some sleep every now and then. They’d probably already exhausted themselves to get to this place so fast so they couldn’t afford to not rest more at this point. But that just made things easier.

Muahahaha. It was time to show them that they couldn’t escape from my clutches.

I landed right outside their campsite. Little Spring clutched the back of my robes and yawned. The kid looked too cute so I patted his head. He was doing well, enduring this. Children needed more sleep than adults. Even those who cultivated.

While walking toward their camp, I collected our flying sword into my ring. I huffed. This flimsy isolation barrier array Fairy Third Peach Sapling had erected had too many flaws. I stopped right in front of one.

Ugh. This camp had a terrible setup. The tents were only in an okay location, and this array was not a good one to use to defend an open campsite like this. It was like they were asking to be attacked.

I sighed. Just what the fuck were they teaching these kids back... now?

I grimaced, covered my foot in spiritual energy then kicked a spot low on the ground, knocking a once invisible flag over. The isolation array vanished and the sword cultivator rushed over to us before I could even say a word. He pointed the blade tip at my face and glared at me.

Man, this guy looked cool. He was probably very popular with the girls who liked that mensao-type. I grinned up at him.

“Greetings, senior. I’m Lin. The Junior Sect Leader may have mentioned me.”