Chapter 141: The Judgment of Sword Goddess ( BONUS GT - )

Chapter 141: The Judgment of Sword Goddess ( BONUS GT Chapter )

Lin Xiaoxiao’s legs felt like heavy lead weights as she dragged herself back to her cramped cave dwelling in the far outer sect area.

The cheering of the disciples at the mission board still echoed in her mind, it felt like a mocking reminder of the dream that had just shattered. She had pushed her body to its absolute limits, barely getting any sleep, doing her best all for a hope that had ended in defeat.

As she reached the narrow stone path leading to her cave entrance, her heart sank. Three figures stood there, blocking the path. It was Sun Ling and her two cronies.

However, their usual smug expressions were gone, replaced by sour, dark grimaces. They, too, had spent the month submitting rushed, flashy designs, confident that their work could earn them an easy prize.

But their names were completely absent from the top ninety list.

When Sun Ling spotted the haggard, drooping figure of Xiaoxiao approaching, a cruel, twisted pleasure sparked in her eyes. The fact that this peasant had also failed instantly improved her foul mood.

"Well, well, well, look who’s back," Sun Ling sneered, stepping forward and crossing her arms. "The great master returns from her defeat. What’s the matter, farmer? Did the Honorary Disciple not appreciate your scribbles? It seems you wasted a whole month of our time for absolutely nothing."

"S-Sister Sun, please..." Xiaoxiao whispered, her voice cracking with pure exhaustion. She clutched her clothes with trembling hands. "I have to get back to the mission tomorrow. I am so tired..."

"Tired?" Sun Ling’s face twisted in rage. She stepped closer, her aura of 5th stage of Qi Condensation Realm pressing down on her. "Because you wasted your time on that useless trashy mission, you didn’t gather enough spiritual herbs for us this month. Your protection fee is due today, and because we are in a bad mood, the price has doubled. Hand over fifty low grade spiritual stones right now."

"Fifty?!" Xiaoxiao gasped, her eyes widening in despair. "I don’t have that much! Even if I sell everything I own, I only have five spiritual stones left... I need them to buy healing cream for my hands and to send back to my parents! Please, Sister Sun, let me keep them this once!"

"How dare you talk back to me!" Sun Ling’s temper flared violently. "If you won’t hand them over, we’ll just take them from your corpse! Search her!"

The two burly female disciples stepped forward with wide grins, reaching out to grab Xiaoxiao’s worn robes. Xiaoxiao closed her eyes, tears of bitter humiliation escaped her eye lashes as she prepared to submit to her cruel fate.

But before the bullies’ fingers could even graze her sleeve, the surrounding went dead silent.

The wind rustling through the valley stopped instantly. The air pressure in the narrow alleyway spiked to an unbearable, almost suffocating degree.

Except for Xiaoxiao, who felt absolutely nothing, the three bullies froze mid motion.

Their faces turned from malicious grin to pale with terror as an invisible mountain of weight slammed down on their shoulders.

After feeling nothing for a while, Xiaoxiao opened her eyes in confusion then she saw, a figure slowly descended from the sky like an immortal goddess stepping out of a painting.

The newcomer wore flowing, deep purple robes made of spirit silk, her long black hair tied back in a high ponytail. She was incredibly beautiful, but her face was a mask of absolute, icy detachment. The pure, terrifying pressure radiated from her was on another level, even she was not the target she could feel the might behind it.

She could feel it’s hundred times more powerful than the scouting elder who selected her.

Before the bullies could even scream, the pressure increased.

Crack!

The sound of knees slamming violently into the stone path echoed through the alley.

Sun Ling and her followers shrieked in agony as their kneecaps cracked against the ground and fresh blood instantly soaked through their robes. They were pinned flat to the ground, unable to even lift their heads.

The newcomer was, of course, Lin Xuehan.

Yu Liang decided to personally hand out the rewards to the top ten winners. Since the rank two to ten winners were all inner sect disciples, he had sent their rewards through the mission hall. But when he saw the name and location of the grand prize winner, he had instructed Lin Xuehan to accompany him to the outer sect to deliver the prize face to face but she denied it saying, she will bring her here so he doesn’t have to waste his time.

Before coming, Lin Xuehan had done a quick background check on Lin Xiaoxiao. As a Core Disciple, accessing the files of an outer sect disciple was trivial.

When she discovered that Xiaoxiao was a commoner who had clawed her way up from a farming family, Lin Xuehan who had walked the exact same path of struggle felt a rare spark of protectiveness. Seeing these pathetic vultures trying to rob the girl of her hard earned life’s work made her blood boil with fury.

Lin Xuehan stepped in front of the bullies. Her icy gaze swept over them, her voice carrying no emotion.

"You have three breaths to speak. Explain what you have been doing to this disciple, or you can kiss your miserable lives goodbye. The sect does not mind if a few pests disappear from the outer sect."

The increased pressure pressed down like a physical foot on Sun Ling’s neck. Terrified for her life, her pride completely shattered, Sun Ling began to babble hysterically.

"Forgive us, Senior! Forgive us!" Sun Ling screamed, her face pressed into the dirt. "We... we only took her spiritual stones! We also forced her to do missions in the toxic beast farm so she wouldn’t have time to draw her design! We’ve been taking eighty percent of her income for a year now but we won’t do it again! Please spare us!"

Hearing the sheer cruelty and abuse this girl had suffered while trying to create her masterpiece, Lin Xuehan’s eyes went completely cold.

"Trash," she whispered.

With a flick of her finger, a sharp wave of sword Qi erupted, tearing through the meridians of all three bullies. They screamed in agonizing pain as their cultivation bases were instantly crippled.

"Your meridians are shattered. I will have the Law Enforcement Hall throw you into the deep mining pits for the rest of your lives. You will spend your remaining days scraping toxic ore in the dark."

Only then did Xiaoxiao finally snapped out of her dazed state. She looked at the crippled, groveling bullies, and then at the majestic purple robe only a Core Disciple can wear, standing before her.

Tears she couldn’t control began to pour down as she bowed deeply. "Thank you, Senior... Thank you for saving me," she sobbed. "I... I don’t know how to repay you."

Seeing the tear stained face of the young girl, Lin Xuehan’s icy expression softened slightly. She reached out, gently lifting Xiaoxiao by her shoulders.

"You don’t need to thank me, and I did not come here by chance," Lin Xuehan said, a rare, soft smile appeared on her lips. "I am here on behalf of my Young Master. He posted the design mission, and he wanted to meet you in person."

Xiaoxiao blinked, her tears paused as her brain struggled to comprehend. "Y-Your Young Master? The mission?"

"Yes," Lin Xuehan nodded, her voice carrying a hint of pride. "Your design was not in the top ninety because you didn’t place in the lower ranks. Lin Xiaoxiao, your blueprint was selected as the undisputed Number One Grand Prize Winner."

Xiaoxiao’s eyes went wide, her heart skipping a beat as she stared at the sword goddess in front of her, completely baffled and unable to believe her own ears.

Hearing this Sun Ling and her followers, though in agonizing pain, froze shock. Their minds completely blanked out. ’This peasant... won the two hundred thousand mid grade spiritual stone grand prize?!’