The Grandmaster 01

Fang Zhiyi opened his eyes and grew excited after just one breath: "Spiritual energy? A cultivation world? I know this well!"

Little Hei was still digesting what he had consumed from the previous world and didn’t respond, merely sending the plot details into Fang Zhiyi’s mind.

The male protagonist, Ling Feng, had been frail since childhood. His parents were murdered, and he was raised by his grandfather. When his grandfather passed away from illness, he left Ling Feng a token and instructed him to seek a cultivator named Ling Xuzi in the Qionghua Sect. Thus, Ling Feng embarked on his journey to find immortality, marking the beginning of his life as the protagonist.

It was the story of a poor boy who climbed his way up through sheer luck. By the mid-story, he gained yet another advantage—he discovered his biological parents were actually high-ranking figures in the Immortal Alliance. The tale of a nobody’s rise to power thus became a story about the importance of bloodline.

Fang Zhiyi studied the details for a long time before finally asking, "What about me?"

Little Hei glanced at him, then smacked his own head with a tentacle. "Wrong one!"

The scene reshuffled.

Shen Xiaoxiao was the daughter of the Shen Family’s patriarch and a maidservant. Since childhood, she had endured scorn—even the servants looked down on her. On the day the Shen Family’s true young mistress, Shen Wanwan, came of age, the family’s ancestor produced a token and instructed her to seek apprenticeship in the Xuantian Sect. This was a favor owed to an ancestor of the Shen Family by the sect many years ago.

Shen Wanwan naturally needed a servant to accompany her. As she pondered her choice, Shen Xiaoxiao’s mother begged her for the opportunity. Shen Wanwan agreed casually—mostly because she thought tormenting Shen Xiaoxiao would be amusing.

And so, Shen Xiaoxiao became her maid.

The two entered the Xuantian Sect together. During the spiritual root test, Shen Wanwan was revealed to possess a high-grade water spiritual root, and the sect leader immediately took her as his personal disciple. Shen Xiaoxiao, however, had a five-element spiritual root—a so-called "waste root"—and no one wanted her.

But since she had already entered the sect, she had to be assigned somewhere. After brief consideration, the sect leader placed her under Master Qingxu. Shen Xiaoxiao was hopeful at first, but upon arriving at his peak, she found it desolate. The disciples there were listless—some even napping in the sun.

She soon learned that while Master Qingxu held the title of elder, he had no real authority. Years ago, he had suffered foundational injuries in a battle against the demonic path and had been in seclusion ever since. Though his peak had ample spiritual energy, his disciples were unlucky—Master Qingxu rarely appeared, took no interest in sect politics or power struggles, and didn’t even know how many disciples he had. Thus, disciples unwanted by other peaks were dumped here.

Everyone jokingly called it the "Scrap Collection Depot."

Shen Xiaoxiao was disheartened for a moment but quickly rallied. No matter what, this place couldn’t be worse than the Shen Family.

Though nominally Master Qingxu’s disciple, all outer sect disciples were required to perform daily labor. With no master to rely on, they were the lowest in the sect’s hierarchy.

And among them, Shen Xiaoxiao was even lower—she had joined later than the rest.

They were forbidden from going anywhere except the outer sect and Master Qingxu’s peak. Every day, they worked in the outer sect before returning to sleep.

The Xuantian Sect was rife with factions—the sect leader’s faction, the elders’ faction—all tangled in complex rivalries. Without any backing, Shen Xiaoxiao was insignificant. Even the sect’s basic resource allotments were withheld from her. She was assigned all the menial tasks other outer disciples refused, and one person in particular took every chance to flaunt superiority or order her around—Shen Wanwan.

Now the sect leader’s disciple, Shen Wanwan was someone others dared not offend. Seeing how she treated Shen Xiaoxiao, they understood their own limits.

So Shen Xiaoxiao toiled endlessly—even more than she had in the Shen Family. Every undesirable task was pushed onto her. Once, when she failed to dry Shen Wanwan’s medicinal herbs in time, Shen Wanwan flew into a rage. The incident was witnessed by a passing elder from the Discipline Hall, who, as part of the sect leader’s faction, naturally sided with his disciple. Shen Xiaoxiao was severely punished.

From that day on, other disciples harassed her frequently. Her so-called senior brothers and sisters, afraid of trouble, pretended not to see.

Shen Xiaoxiao smiled less and less. She missed home—at least there, her mother would comfort her.

Then Ling Feng appeared.

He had been searching for the Qionghua Sect but stumbled into the Xuantian Sect instead. While evading the gatekeepers, he hid in Shen Xiaoxiao’s room—their first meeting.

Ling Feng was witty, if a bit rough around the edges. But he knew how to charm, and in him, Shen Xiaoxiao found warmth she hadn’t felt in a long time. Gradually, she developed an indescribable affection for him.

Though Ling Feng left, he occasionally sneaked back to see her. Shen Xiaoxiao’s heart was no longer in cultivation—it was filled with thoughts of him.

But Ling Feng soon ran into trouble. He claimed a friend had been poisoned by Forgetfulness Grass and needed an herb from the Xuantian Sect as an antidote. The sect refused to give it, so he planned to steal one.

Moved by his honesty, Shen Xiaoxiao admired him even more. When Ling Feng was nearly caught during the theft, she intervened just in time. The disciple guarding the herb field, annoyed by the usual scapegoat, snapped at her to leave—letting Ling Feng escape.

Grateful, Ling Feng showered her with thanks. Shen Xiaoxiao confessed her feelings, and Ling Feng, deeply moved, vowed to return and take her away.

Then he left.

And Shen Xiaoxiao’s troubles began.

Every herb was accounted for. When one went missing, an investigation followed—and Shen Xiaoxiao was soon dragged before the Discipline Hall. She gritted her teeth and bore the blame alone.

The Xuantian Sect’s rules were strict, even for lowly disciples like her. The sect leader denounced her as a "parasite" and "ungrateful," accusing her of betraying Master Qingxu’s expectations and the sect’s nurturing.

Shen Xiaoxiao nearly wept. When had the sect ever nurtured her? She had never even met Master Qingxu!

But protests were useless. As a warning to others, she was publicly punished—a hundred days of lashings, along with soul-scourging torture, all administered by the Discipline Hall.

Shen Xiaoxiao learned what it meant to wish for death.

Yet even then, neither her master nor her fellow disciples came to see her. Her last hope for the sect shattered. The only thing keeping her going was her memories of Ling Feng.

Then one day, Shen Wanwan—who had come to watch her torment for amusement—casually mentioned a name in conversation with her senior brother.

A name Shen Xiaoxiao knew all too well.

The name she dreamed of every night.