The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

Lu Sangjiu recalled how she had met Yan Lingzhi as she walked, and soon arrived at the waterfall in the back mountains.

Scanning her surroundings, she finally spotted Yan Lingzhi sitting in a tree.

At the absolute most, it had only been a year since they last met, and Yan Lingzhi still looked like the same arrogant youth from her memories.

He heard her and looked over, his eyes filled with the usual disdain. ”Took you long enough... What kept you?”

Lu Sangjiu deliberately put on an innocent face and said, ”You’re the one who’s too early. There are still two years left on our three-year bet. Why are you here now?”

Yan Lingzhi: ”...”

At that moment, he felt a sharp pang in his heart.

’Why am I here now? Why else? I heard she used Starry Sky at the Sword Seizing Conference and made a name for herself in a single battle!’

In truth, Yan Lingzhi had known from the very beginning that Lu Sangjiu’s aptitude was quite good. Otherwise, he never would have given her Starry Sky just because of her clever little bet.

The first time she saw him, he had actually been observing her in secret for several days.

The young woman had clearly just started Cultivating Immortality and was not yet proficient in using Spiritual Power during combat.

But she had a remarkable dedication to her craft, willing to practice the most basic techniques and spells over and over again.

Disciples with good aptitude were common, but young people’s ambitions were often higher than the heavens. Someone as down-to-earth and diligent as her was a rare sight indeed.

Out of this admiration, he had deliberately taunted her to get her attention.

In his mind, she was supposed to swallow her pride and ask for his guidance, and then he could take the opportunity to give her a few pointers.

He never expected... her reaction to be far more interesting than he had imagined.

So, after careful consideration, he finally decided to give her Starry Sky. What if she could actually learn it?

At this thought, Yan Lingzhi’s gaze toward Lu Sangjiu became incredibly complex.

He had considered that she might learn it, but... he’d be damned if he thought she could learn it this fast!

It took him a full three years to learn it, but she... she learned it in one year???

And normally, during the Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment stages, one could at most strive to comprehend the technique. To truly use Starry Sky, you’d need to be at the Golden Core Stage at the very least.

After all, not only did it consume a massive amount of Spiritual Energy, but the level of control required was also beyond what a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator could manage.

But Lu Sangjiu was still clearly in the Foundation Establishment Stage. Just how did she do it?

Seeing her smug look as she asked a question she already knew the answer to, Yan Lingzhi said irritably, ”Alright, alright, stop pretending. That bet... you won.”

A look of surprise, accompanied by a brilliant smile, instantly appeared on Lu Sangjiu’s face. ”Oh my, have I won already? How embarrassing.”

”But since that’s the case... shouldn’t you fulfill your end of the bet?”

Yan Lingzhi: ”...”

’I really don’t see how you’re embarrassed at all.’

He shot Lu Sangjiu a sidelong glance. ’This damn girl must have known my identity for a while now. To think she still dares to clamor for an apology... She’s got some nerve.’

’But... a pure heart like that is rare.’

Yan Lingzhi leaped from the tree, landing right in front of Lu Sangjiu.

Lu Sangjiu jumped in fright, quickly covering her head and backing away. ”Let’s talk this out! Please don’t attack!”

’A Body Integration Realm master! I can’t possibly beat him!’

Yan Lingzhi: ”...”

He was speechless. He then stood there, and with a rare look of solemnity, said, ”I apologize to you.”

”I shouldn’t have called you stupid that day. Now... I admit you’re smarter than me.”

Lu Sangjiu: ...?

She froze for a moment, thinking in astonishment, ’He... he actually apologized?’

Her surprised expression must have been too obvious, because Yan Lingzhi couldn’t help but roll his eyes again. ”What’s with that look on your face?”

”You have to admit it when you lose. Do I look like someone who doesn’t keep their promises?”

Lu Sangjiu: ’...’ ’You actually do, a little.’

But she definitely didn’t dare say that out loud, so she just put on a placating smile. ”Of course not! One look at you, and anyone can tell you’re a great person who keeps their promises!”

Yan Lingzhi rolled his eyes, clearly not buying her smooth talk.

”Alright, enough about the bet... Hurry up and show me your Starry Sky!”

Hearing about it was one thing, but he had to see it with his own eyes. After all, he was very curious to know how a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator could possibly pull it off.

Having gotten her way, Lu Sangjiu naturally had to be obliging.

So, she obediently channeled her Spiritual Power and, aiming at a large boulder at the base of the waterfall, unleashed a picture-perfect Starry Sky.

Yan Lingzhi watched with rapt attention, his face finally showing a mix of dawning realization and surprise. ”So that’s how it is...”

He hadn’t expected Lu Sangjiu to be such a prodigy, to have reached such an astonishing level of comprehension of Starry Sky in just one short year.

When she used the technique, her control over her Spiritual Power was so precise that not a single shred of excess energy was wasted. She had even found a way to slightly reduce Starry Sky’s power to a level that a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator could handle.

Of course, besides that, the Spiritual Energy within her body also seemed more abundant than that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

All these factors combined were what ultimately allowed her to use it at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

It wasn’t an incredibly ingenious trick; he probably could have figured it out too if he had studied it carefully.

It was just that he was already at the Golden Core Stage when he learned it, so he could use it directly and never bothered to think about such little tricks.

Feeling impressed, Yan Lingzhi saw Lu Sangjiu standing there like a good little girl waiting for praise. For once, he wasn’t stingy with his compliments and nodded. ”Very good.”

Although Lu Sangjiu only had Dual Spiritual Roots, with such comprehension and diligence, her future was limitless.

After a moment of silence, Yan Lingzhi spoke. ”I heard about what happened between you and Bai Heng’s group.”

Just hearing the name Bai Heng was enough to annoy Lu Sangjiu now. Her brow furrowed slightly as she grunted sullenly, ”...So?”

She asked tentatively, ”Senior, you’re not going to take his side, are you?”

Yan Lingzhi shot her a sidelong glance and snorted. ”So now you know to call me Senior?”

Lu Sangjiu rubbed her nose in slight embarrassment. ”I was just afraid that calling you ’Senior’ would make you sound old. If you like it, I can just call you that from now on, is that okay, Senior?”

”Smooth-talker.”

Despite his words, Yan Lingzhi was clearly pleased, a hint of a smile touching his eyes.

”Don’t worry. I’ve never gotten along with that old fool Xuanming, and I think even less of his disciple.”

”What I’m trying to say is, they have an Old Ancestor backing them. Publicly, you have to give the Old Ancestor face, so even the Sect Leader can’t punish them too severely.”

”But if it’s not out in the open...”

A cold sneer played on Yan Lingzhi’s lips. ”Next time they dare to mess with you, you can beat them half to death on the spot. As long as you leave them breathing and don’t actually kill them, I’ll have your back.”

”This is the confidence I promise you as the successor of Starry Sky.”

Lu Sangjiu’s eyes lit up at this. She nodded vigorously like a chicken pecking at rice. ”Alright, Senior! Then it’s a deal. Don’t you go back on your word!”