8

By the time the two of them reached the dining hall, there was barely any food left. Technically, once a cultivator reached Foundation Establishment, they no longer needed to eat. But perhaps out of old habit, Chong Yue still came to the cafeteria fairly often.

Wang Xiaoxiao wasn't picky in the slightest—she ate whatever was available. Without hesitation, she grabbed five steamed buns and began wolfing them down, leaving Chong Yue frowning in disbelief.

Were all girls these days this... voracious?

Or was it just his junior sister?

After finishing their meal, the two of them headed toward the Scripture Pavilion together. The sky had already darkened slightly. Thanks to their combined efforts that afternoon, they'd managed to sweep through two entire floors.

Only two more to go. Once they were done, they could finally get some sleep.

The thought of sleep alone filled Wang Xiaoxiao with motivation. She picked up a broom and called out, "Come on, let's start with the third floor!"

Chong Yue lazily stooped to grab his broom.

The third floor was packed with all kinds of talisman manuscripts, arranged in perfect order. Rumor had it that the libraries of the five major sects contained the vast majority of cultivation texts in the realm. Wang Xiaoxiao casually flipped through one of them and asked, "Where do all these books come from?"

Chong Yue glanced at the book in her hands. "They've supposedly been passed down since the era of the grandmasters."

"Every single book in the Scripture Pavilion is a one-of-a-kind original."

"Only core disciples are allowed in here. Outer and inner disciples can't even sweep the place."

Wang Xiaoxiao raised a brow at his dramatic tone and pointed to a page in the book. "What's a Flame Talisman for?"

Chong Yue frowned, studied the symbols, and asked suspiciously, "Why would a sword cultivator be reading books about talismans?"

She didn't even blink. "I may be a sword cultivator, but I've always had a deep admiration for talisman arts—especially after I heard about how amazing our Second Senior Brother is. I've been dying to learn more ever since."

Her words clearly struck a chord. For the first time, Chong Yue's cold facade wavered.

After all, who didn't enjoy being admired—especially by their junior sister?

Clearing his throat, he said, "Alright then. Watch closely. I'll only show you once."

He grabbed a brush and started drawing on a pristine sheet of paper.

He wasn't exactly slow, but his talisman strokes were wild and unrestrained. Fortunately, Wang Xiaoxiao had an excellent memory. Otherwise, it would've been nearly impossible to make sense of the chaos on the page.

"This is a Flame Talisman," he announced, and with a flick of his finger, a soft blue fire flickered to life on the talisman. The temperature in the room instantly rose—it was like watching a magic trick.

Wang Xiaoxiao stared in awe. "That's incredible."

It was the first time she had ever seen a proper talisman practitioner at work.

"Of course it is." Chong Yue was clearly pleased with himself. The spiritual flame danced at his fingertips, and for a moment, he looked just like a child performing a trick, waiting eagerly for praise.

And praise she gave. "Wow, that's amazing!"

Chong Yue nearly floated with pride. "If you really want to learn, I can teach you."

Three sentences. That's all it took to coax a prodigy-level talisman cultivator into offering free lessons.

Don't ask how. Just know: she only needed three sentences to make a genius teach her talismans.

Wang Xiaoxiao replied sweetly, "Thanks, Senior Brother, but that won't be necessary."

She had already memorized it.

Picking up the brush, she copied his strokes just as he had shown her. A weak flame sputtered to life on the paper, trembling like it might flicker out at any second.

Chong Yue was stunned. "Wait—! Be careful, spiritual flames are unstable!"

Before Wang Xiaoxiao could celebrate her success, the tiny flame leapt from the talisman and shot straight ahead.

Chong Yue dodged just in time.

The bookshelf behind him, however, wasn't so lucky.

The fire roared to life like a wildfire. Soot blackened one side of Wang Xiaoxiao's face.

Acting fast, Chong Yue summoned a large sphere of water and hurled it at the flames, dousing them before they could spread further.

"Wang Xiaoxiao! Chong Yue!"

A furious bellow rang out behind them just as the flames died down.

They froze.

They were done for.

That was the only thought in both their minds.

The steward stormed over, veins bulging with fury. His beard practically curled from rage.

"Why in heaven's name are you two playing with fire in the Scripture Pavilion? Are you out of your minds?"

"Or do you have some sort of personal grudge against me?!"

He was on the verge of fainting from anger. One disciple he could've tolerated—but both of them? Were they conspiring against him?

Chong Yue tried to play innocent. "We didn't mean to…"

Wang Xiaoxiao muttered, "We wouldn't dare…"

"Oh, you wouldn't dare?" The steward laughed in disbelief. "Then why the hell did you set the pavilion on fire?!"

The blaze had spread in an instant. More than a dozen talisman books had already been half-burned. Others had been drenched and were now stuck together in a pulpy mess. All of them were ruined.

The steward's heart bled at the sight.

Wang Xiaoxiao quickly realized just how badly they'd messed up. Chong Yue had already told her—these were all irreplaceable copies. If she weren't a core disciple, the steward probably would've beaten her within an inch of her life.

She bit her lip, guilt gnawing at her. Then she hesitantly asked, "Elder, do you have any memory stones for these?"

Given their uniqueness, surely someone had recorded them just in case?

The steward clutched his waist and groaned. "And what good would that do?"

Memory stones could only be viewed once. After that, they disintegrated—and they were ridiculously expensive to boot. Who had the kind of memory to memorize an entire book in one go?

Wang Xiaoxiao knew this mess was her fault. It wouldn't be right to let anyone else take the fall. She cautiously held out her hand. "Then… if you're willing to trust me, could I borrow the memory stones for these books?"

She said solemnly, "I promise to copy every word down. Completely."

Chong Yue's expression twisted.

Was she… seriously this righteous?

Wait a second—

Copy all of them?

All eyes turned to Wang Xiaoxiao.

The steward, red in the face, actually paused, startled. "You mean it?"

She nodded. "Yes."

There was no trace of her usual cheeky, lazy demeanor—only earnest resolve. The steward's tone finally softened as he stroked his beard. "Alright then. You can try."

He rummaged around and pulled out a small pile of memory stones. His eyes narrowed. "You'll do it in the Forbidden Hall. And you're not leaving until you finish."

Wang Xiaoxiao immediately agreed and darted off.

"You too," the steward snapped at Chong Yue. "I know you had a hand in this. You're going with her. You can leave when she's done."

Chong Yue, who thought he'd escaped punishment: "…"

"Your little junior sister's done it again."

Gu Yuchuan sighed. "Wang Xiaoxiao?"

"What now?"

His friend waggled his brows. "She set the Scripture Pavilion on fire. With Chong Yue. Impressive, huh?"

Gu Yuchuan: "…"

In just one night, the news had spread through the entire sect.

She may not have been in the martial world, but her legend sure was.