Wait, Is Being Number One Really This Easy?

That year's Dongshan Spirit Cultivation Assembly produced many prodigies, but one young girl was especially gifted.

When Su Nian began learning spirit-refining arts under her "three-nothing" master as a child, she resolved to become the greatest practitioner in the art.

So she trained hard for ten years. Ignoring her master's objections, she resolutely left the mountain to attend the Spirit Cultivation Assembly, held once every four years. The spirit cultivators there were all exceptional talents from across the land. The top-ranked contestant would naturally be acknowledged as the best after a year of study.

Master: "A-Nian, when you leave the mountain for Dongshan, if they ask who your master is, don't you dare name me! Even if you tell them, no one will believe you, and I won't admit it either."

Su Nian: "..."

Dongshan, the Spirit Cultivation Assembly.

The Lord of Dongshan asked the crowd, "Why do you practice spirit-refining arts?"

Su Nian raised her sword and shouted, "I want to be number one in the world!"

Everyone: "Tch..."

No one had ever said it so bluntly.

The Lord of Dongshan: "Quite the boast. Tell me, who is your master?"

Su Nian: "No one, nowhere."

The Lord of Dongshan: "Ha! Some no-name wanderer dares to make such a wild claim..."

Boom!

In an instant, Su Nian's spiritual energy burst forth, forming a pillar that shot straight into the sky. Dongshan Palace was nearly destroyed, and places all across the land were affected.

Everyone: "!!!" [Dumbfounded]

Wait, is becoming the world's greatest practitioner really that easy?

Right after coming down from the mountain, Su Nian rescued a man named Gu Chen. After he left without a word, they met again at the Dongshan Spirit Cultivation Assembly.

Believing that meeting someone meant they were fated to become friends, Su Nian wanted to befriend him. But Gu Chen was cold and aloof, avoiding her whenever he could.

After thinking it over, Su Nian figured he must be embarrassed about getting hurt and needing to be rescued.

So she pretended not to know him either. But then Gu Chen started behaving in ways that left her baffled.

He not only beat up people behind her back for speaking ill of her, but also secretly brought flowers and pastries to her room, and even mended her torn clothes. He was practically considerate in every way.

But he did it all in secret. Whenever Su Nian caught him and demanded an explanation, Gu Chen would run off without saying a word, his face as red as an apple despite his cool demeanor.

So this was the good person her master had told her about, the kind who repaid even the smallest kindness a hundredfold and did good deeds without taking credit.

Even later, when she learned that Gu Chen was on the most-wanted list for heinous criminals, and everyone condemned and despised him, Su Nian still believed he was a good person.

He must have had his reasons.

The young set out into the world, fearing no danger, and draw their swords to stand up for justice.

Literary title: The Years of Spirit Refining

The heroine uses the cutest personality to fight the fiercest battles, while the hero wears the coldest, most arrogant face and blushes the reddest.

A few notes:

1. This is an everyday ensemble story, very, very slice-of-life. If it's not your thing, please don't slap me in the face. [Defensive]

2. Everything is my own headcanon.

Upcoming novel: This Isn't the Kind of Nurturing an Unfeeling Cultivation Path Calls For

When Xuan Yu opened her eyes, she couldn't remember anything. The only person beside her was a bewitchingly handsome man staring at her.

Xuan Yu eyed him warily. "What do you do?"

The man smiled captivatingly, his voice seductive. "I'm your husband."

Xuan Yu smiled and threw a punch. "Drop dead."

Though she had lost her memory, she knew perfectly well that her heart held only ascension. How could she possibly be in love?

Clearly, this guy was up to no good. But when she punched him, nothing happened. It was like punching a pillow.

She was horrified to discover that she had not only lost her memory, but her cultivation as well. Then she discovered that whenever she touched the man, she could draw cultivation from him.

"What's going on?!"

The man took her hand, channeling a steady stream of cultivation into her body, and smiled. "Because I'm your husband."

Pah! But...

A fool turns down a free advantage, and free cultivation is still free cultivation.

*

Later, she gradually began to believe the man's nonsense.

Aside from having the face she liked, he could tell what she was about to steal as soon as she blinked, where she was going to stab someone as soon as she raised her hand, and what she was going to say before she even opened her mouth...

Most importantly, holding his hand or hugging him made her cultivation shoot up. It couldn't be easier.

If she were to choose a husband, this really was the kind of man she'd pick.

*

One night, she curled up in the man's arms. The cultivation he'd transferred to her warmed her from head to toe. She kept staring at his ravishing face, and a wicked idea gradually took hold:

If even simple contact boosts my cultivation, wouldn't a few more rounds of dual cultivation let me ascend straight away?

Besides, he said he was her husband.

Though the man was shy, his body told the truth. They went at it again and again, and after a sleepless night, her cultivation had indeed reached the peak. Even her memories slowly began to return.

But in her memories, she had no husband. She had only the child she had raised from infancy for the sake of ascension: Wushuang.

She looked back at the familiar face beside her, and her heart sank. She really had made a terrible mess of things...

[Bonus scene]

Xuan Yu glanced at the person beside her, who was still asleep, then carefully tried to wriggle out of his arms. She had just picked up her tattered outer robe from beside the bed when she felt a tight grip around her ankle, and was dragged back.

"What? Trying to leave me again?"

Held tightly enough that she couldn't move, Xuan Yu looked up at the figure looming over her.

That kid really was just as he used to be: harmless on the outside, black-hearted within.

Xuan Yu gave a dry laugh. "Even if I wanted to leave you this time, I couldn't."

Theme: With a sword in hand, the heart fears nothing.