The Female Side Character in a Cultivation Novel Only Wants to Practice Swordsmanship

[Cool, aloof, and clueless about romance sword cultivator × flirty, tea-scented, sweet-on-the-outside, dark-on-the-inside nine-tailed fox demon]

Mu Linyi, the leading figure of the Sword Sect, accidentally learns in a dream that she is a supporting female character in a story. According to the plot, she will fall in love with her disciple without ever winning his heart, then succumb to cultivation deviation.

When Mu Linyi wakes, she can only think how absurd the plot is.

A supporting female character? A lovesick fool? No way! All she wants is to practice her swordsmanship!

Out of a sense of responsibility, she still follows the plot and takes in the protagonist, who is said to be able to "save the world," accepting him as her disciple.

She takes him out to vanquish demons, not for any reason but to hone his character and prepare him to shoulder the burden of protecting the people someday, then completely wipe out the ominous nine-tailed fox demon.

Mu Linyi teaches him wholeheartedly, treating him only as a junior and never harboring any improper thoughts.

But as she continues teaching him, Mu Linyi realizes he doesn't seem quite like the person described in the story.

Righteous and passionate? Sunny and cheerful?

This sensitive, pitiful little white flower has nothing in common with those words.

Mu Linyi can't figure out what went wrong. She doesn't notice the blatant temptation in her disciple's eyes, and only thinks he's fragile and innocent, in need of her careful protection as his master.

It isn't until her real disciple comes looking for her that Mu Linyi realizes she may have mistaken someone else for him.

The fake disciple who has been by her side all along is actually the story's greatest villain, You Fengxue, Lord of Ten Thousand Demons.

According to the story, after Mu Linyi succumbs to cultivation deviation, You Fengxue takes advantage of the situation and attacks the sect. He is ultimately defeated by the protagonist, Meng Ligui, and his body and spirit are destroyed.

Mu Linyi points her sword at You Fengxue and demands to know why he deliberately approached her.

You Fengxue points to his heart and says, "Don't you remember? In your previous life, your treacherous disciple nearly killed you. You severed your ties to love and entered the Heartless Dao, then stabbed me through the heart and sealed my demonic power..."

Wait, how is this nothing like the script we agreed on?

It turns out that all along, she was the real protagonist of this story.

*

The nine-tailed fox is considered an ill omen. It is good at bewitching hearts and loves to stir up chaos.

You Fengxue is the only nine-tailed fox alive today. He has been despised by both humans and demons since birth, with nowhere to belong in the Three Realms.

After enduring humiliation for years, You Fengxue used ruthless methods to eliminate all opposition in the demon realm, ascending to the highest throne and ruling over the ten thousand demons.

Then Mu Linyi, the Sword Sect's greatest prodigy, appeared. She severed her ties to love and entered the Heartless Dao. With its supreme sword art, she pierced his heart with a single strike, sealing his cultivation and leaving him with no hope of a comeback.

He never imagined there was still hope. When You Fengxue opened his eyes, he had returned to ten years earlier, when Mu Linyi had yet to understand love or comprehend the Heartless Dao.

He assumes another identity and becomes Mu Linyi's disciple, hoping to stir her heart and break the seal from his past life. He never expected that after playing his role for so long, he would be the first to take it seriously.

A nine-tailed fox's bewitching arts can make anyone fall deeply in love with them. You Fengxue once despised those who used such arts, including his own father.

He never imagined that one day he would be tormented by unrequited love, using his bewitching arts on the person he loved just to hear her say, "I love you."

Ongoing novel: My Junior Sister, the Little White Flower, Is the Immortal Sects' Public Enemy

Blurb:

Ji Ningshuang, the daughter of the Lingxiao Sect leader, died at the age of three, only to come back to life eighteen years later.

Pei Chiyu is ordered to hunt down a demon woman of the Rin Clan. By chance, he rescues Ji Ningshuang from her and brings her back to the Lingxiao Sect.

Ji Ningshuang's arrival stirs up trouble in the once-peaceful Lingxiao Sect. Rumors spread that the real Ji Ningshuang died long ago, and the one who returned is a demon woman in disguise.

The sect members all look at the frail, innocent Ji Ningshuang and shake their heads in disbelief. The demon woman is cruel by nature, so how could she possibly be this helpless little white flower?

Ji Ningshuang smiles faintly. "Sorry to disappoint you after you trusted me."

The most dangerous place is the safest place.

Hunted for years because of her demon heritage, Ji Ningshuang has had enough of hiding and running. She decides to claim the identity of the Lingxiao Sect's young lady and enjoy life among the immortal sects, never imagining that life in the Lingxiao Sect would be just as precarious.

After her secret identity is exposed, Ji Ningshuang returns to her own territory. Having injured the Lingxiao Sect leader, she once again becomes everyone's target and is accused of murder. Everything returns to square one.

The only difference is...

She looks at Pei Chiyu, who has chased after her. Now she has one more nuisance she can't get rid of.

-

Killing the demon woman of the Rin Clan earns Pei Chiyu great merit. No one knows that from that day on, he is plagued by nightmares and can find no peace.

The demon woman's curse makes him suffer night after night until his spirit is exhausted and he dies.

His nightmares take shape from the fears in his heart. Everyone he feels guilty toward appears in his dreams, threatening him with violence and tormenting him in every way. He accepts it all without complaint.

Ji Ningshuang appears in his nightmares, too.

She smiles as she approaches and gently strokes Pei Chiyu's face.

"If you hadn't killed me, why would I come to take your life? Everything you're suffering today, my dear, is the result of your own actions."

The threads wrapped around his body tighten and tighten. The pain in the dream feels so real that red welts appear and blood seeps from them.

Pei Chiyu's body trembles slightly. He doesn't know if it's fear or desire as he whispers, "Junior Sister Ningshuang, if you want my life, take it."

-

The Rin Clan are born powerful. Though their divine power has been diminished, they are still immortal.

They have only one weakness:

They must not fall in love or shed tears, or else they lose all their divine power and become no different from ordinary mortals.

Ji Ningshuang has no reason to worry about this, because she has always been the one who makes others cry.

But she discovers that playing with people's feelings can backfire.

Reader's Guide:

1. Cool, reliable, devoted senior disciple × demon woman pretending to be a little white flower

2. Plot-to-romance ratio is about 6:4

3. One-on-one romance with a happy ending

Theme: All things have a spirit. Be self-reliant and keep striving.