When he was dragged away, Yang Yun cast a meaningful glance at Yun Jin.
Today, he had fallen into this miserable state.
But that didn't mean he would stay down forever. This Yun Jin, truly more detestable in person than in rumor, reminded him too much of Ji Wusi—insufferable to the extreme.
Once he restored his cultivation, he would make sure Yun Jin died without a grave.
Yun Jin didn't flinch or avoid his gaze. She met it head-on with a smile.
In her previous life...
She had died to Yang Yun's scheming. Many of the Tianxing Sect's disciples hadn't perished honorably on the battlefield but fell instead to infighting instigated by the Demon race.
But in this life...
Everything had already changed.
Zhao Wuji was now a mere figurehead in the sect. Ye Danxia was no longer anyone's cherished favorite. Without their protection, how could Yang Yun possibly restore his cultivation so quickly?
He wanted to recover? Yun Jin would never allow it.
He had some so-called Nirvana secret technique, didn't he?
His cultivation was supposed to soar again soon, right?
Not with her around. Not a chance.
Yun Jin checked her system panel. This time...
Yang Yun's protagonist luck had finally started to decline.
Though, frustratingly, it hadn't dropped much. It now hovered at 90.
Ye Danxia's luck, however, had fallen further, dropping to 60.
Still, with Yang Yun's fortune now at 90, Yun Jin could finally claim her first system reward. She held off for now, intending to study it more carefully once she returned to her room.
Compared to ordinary people, these two still had fate on their side. But compared to what they started with, their blessings had already shrunk significantly.
She would need to keep plotting, step by step, until their luck drained completely. Only then could she truly kill them. Only then could she completely rewrite the plot of this story.
Yun Jin wasn't in a rush.
Getting revenge on these two was only a small part of her reason for living again.
More importantly...
She wanted to walk her own path, live her own life.
On the radiant road she was destined to take, these two were nothing more than minor interruptions.
Her eyes were always fixed on something higher, something farther.
So yes, Yun Jin paid attention to these so-called Children of Heavenly Dao but she didn't treat them as the center of her world. She had far more pressing matters.
The most important one?
Getting stronger.
Only by growing more powerful could she remain undefeated.
At the great hall's entrance, many disciples were watching the commotion. Seeing Ye Danxia and a child being dragged out surprised them all. Earlier, they had seen Yun Jin barge in with this child, looking fierce and determined. That alone had raised some eyebrows.
Now, seeing this outcome... could the child have committed some unspeakable crime?
If this had happened when Yun Jin first joined the sect, under the influence of their fate, her actions would have immediately drawn criticism and suspicion.
But now, people instinctively assumed Yun Jin had her reasons.
That child must have done something.
This was the power of luck.
As Ye Danxia and Yang Yun's luck declined, Yun Jin's rose. And someone with high luck naturally gained more trust and support. That, too, was an unspoken law of the cultivation world.
Most people remained neutral, but Si Wanning's expression shifted slightly when she saw Yang Yun.
This was her first time laying eyes on him.
But that child...
She recognized him.
He was the very same demon from her dreams.
This Demon race child had already joined forces with Ye Danxia?
Si Wanning recalled the nightmare and began to tremble, horror twisting in her gut.
Sensing something, Yang Yun lifted his eyes and glanced her way, his face utterly blank.
The tremors in Si Wanning's body only intensified.
It was him. There was no mistake.
In her dream...
He always appeared so innocent and harmless. Ye Danxia protected him. Zhao Wuji favored him. The entire sect doted on him like he was heaven's gift.
But it was also this very child...
After she uncovered his identity, he and Ye Danxia had tormented her endlessly. Back then, the one who looked so pure and sweet was nothing but a devil in disguise. Though it had only been a dream, it felt too real. The agony of being tortured—Si Wanning could still feel it in her bones. Her eyes glinted with a trace of fear.
Yang Yun frowned.
Who was this woman?
Why was her reaction so strange?
"Senior Sister." Yun Jin walked over and took Si Wanning's hand.
Si Wanning steadied herself and tried to calm her nerves.
"It was just a dream. Right now, Ye Danxia and Yang Yun weren't anyone's favorites. They were nothing but prisoners."
The disciples from the Law Enforcement Hall wasted no time. They led Yang Yun and Ye Danxia away.
Tianxing Sect was divided into inner and outer disciples.
Inner disciples lived among the ten peaks of Tianxing and enjoyed access to cultivation resources and techniques.
However...
There was also an outer sect.
Outer disciples typically had mediocre talent and struggled to advance. The sect assigned them various tasks to earn their keep.
For example...
Mining.
Or...
Tilling spiritual fields.
These outer disciples, though tired, earned modest rewards and lived under the sect's protection. For many, it was far better than living precariously as loose cultivators, scraping by day to day.
So, most outer disciples cherished the chance to remain in Tianxing Sect.
But laborers...
Their fate was even worse.
These were usually people who had committed serious offenses. They were forced to perform the harshest, most exhausting tasks without pay, with barely any time to rest from dawn till dusk.
Tianxing Sect didn't have many laborers. Most were criminals caught outside the sect, brought in and suppressed. The sect sealed their spiritual power, leaving them no chance to resist, and worked them to the bone. Being sentenced to labor in Tianxing Sect was practically a death sentence.
Yang Yun and Ye Danxia received this same treatment. Their spiritual energy, already weak, was forcibly reduced to the third layer of the Qi Refining stage. Then, they were thrown into a thatched hut.
In front of the hut lay a wide expanse of barren land.
Their task, under the watchful eyes of Law Enforcement disciples, was to transform the wasteland into a spiritual field.
It was no small job. To make barren land fertile, they would have to till it thousands upon thousands of times, and then use their meager spiritual power to nourish it day and night. Even with nonstop effort, it would take three or four years to yield a small patch of usable land.
Then they would need to plant spiritual herbs and, once harvested, use those to slowly repay their debt.
To fully clear that debt... would likely take centuries.
Yang Yun and Ye Danxia stood before the barren field, their expressions dark.
The disciple in charge of labor had already ordered them to begin.
At first, the two resisted.
After taking a few lashes, they finally stopped protesting.
While the pair toiled in misery...
Han Xiaoyu, face clouded with fury, walked straight toward Yun Jin.