Little Junior Sister, We Can’t Handle This Grind Anymore - Chapter 3

Feng Qingran reached out and took the token. On its front was carved a swastika symbol (卍), surrounded by intricate runes.

When she flipped it over, she found a vivid depiction of a red spider lily—its petals so lifelike they seemed to pulse with eerie allure. An inexplicable sense of familiarity washed over her.

She didn’t dwell on why the token felt so strangely comforting. Instead, a more pressing question arose: Was this the same token Su Yanran later obtained in the novel?

The book had described a golden token in Su Yanran’s possession, engraved with the flower of the underworld and imbued with a mysterious power. With it, Su Yanran had tamed the divine beast Tengshe, and with the serpent’s help, she refined the token’s energy, reaching the Nascent Soul stage by age twenty-five.

To put that into perspective—even the legendary Immortal Venerable Wuji, the most formidable cultivator in history, hadn’t achieved Nascent Soul until he was two hundred years old.

If this token’s power could propel Su Yanran to Nascent Soul so effortlessly… just how terrifying was it?

The novel never explained the token’s origins. But if it truly belonged to Lingyun Sect, and Su Yanran—with her habit of erasing all traces—had acquired it, then the sect’s fate was obvious: annihilation.

Feng Qingran’s gaze darkened. Every character in the book seemed to exist solely as a stepping stone for Su Yanran’s ascension.

Is this the privilege of being Heaven’s Chosen?

“Little disciple, our sect is really quite excellent—”

“Master, please accept this disciple’s bow.” Feng Qingran dropped into a flawless ceremonial kowtow.

The enemy of my enemy is my ally. Lingyun Sect might just be the perfect place.

Ye Wentian’s words died in his throat. Did the token just outshine me?!

“Ah, good, good! Rise, rise! From now on, you’re Lingyun Sect’s Ninth Disciple—my personal apprentice!” Ye Wentian beamed, his earlier immortal demeanor crumbling into sheer delight. “Now, a drop of blood on the token to bind it. After that, you’ll be able to come and go from the sect freely.”

Feng Qingran bit her fingertip and let a drop of blood fall onto the token before handing it back.

Neither noticed as a wisp of energy seeped from the token, silently merging into her body.

The moment it entered her meridians, the energy behaved like a mischievous child—darting wildly through her pathways. Instantly, her face paled as excruciating pressure built within her.

Ye Wentian, having just taken back the token, suddenly noticed the surrounding spiritual energy surging violently toward Feng Qingran. Distracted, he failed to spot the subtle change in the token’s glow.

Why would she choose to draw in qi here of all places?!

Feng Qingran had no time to explain. The foreign force inside her was forcibly expanding her meridians—an agonizing process. She dropped into a meditative stance, attempting to guide the invading energy toward her spirit roots for refinement.

But the moment the energy touched her roots, it vanished without a trace.

Without stable spirit roots to anchor the energy, it rampaged unchecked through her body, intensifying her torment. Gritting her teeth, she fought to stabilize the chaos.

Unlike single-spirit-root cultivators—who only needed to refine energy and awaken their dantian to reach Qi Refining—her five-element spirit root demanded far more:

She had to simultaneously extract, refine, and channel five distinct elemental energies into their respective roots, then awaken her dantian.

Feng Qingran focused with every fiber of her being, but no matter how hard she concentrated, her mental strength fell just short of coordinating all five elements at once.

The pain in her meridians and spirit roots was unbearable. Yet she refused to yield—this path was hers to walk, no matter the cost.

…..

Meanwhile, back in the square…

The sect leaders, who had been fiercely debating over Su Yanran’s placement, abruptly fell silent as they felt the spiritual energy around them being violently siphoned away.

“Who dares cultivate here?!”

“At this scale… is someone breaking through to Golden Core?!”

“What fool attempts a Golden Core breakthrough in public? Are they not afraid of interruption?”

The Xuanling Sect leader stroked his beard. “The skies are clear—no tribulation clouds. This isn’t a Golden Core breakthrough.”

The others remembered: only Golden Core ascension attracted lightning tribulation. Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment had no such signs.

But those early stages were too delicate for public attempts. Who would be reckless enough to try here?

“The energy absorption rate is nothing like Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment,” someone muttered suspiciously.

Every cultivator knew the stages:

• • Qi Refining

• • Foundation Establishment

• • Golden Core

• • Nascent Soul

• • Spirit Severing

• • Void Spirit

• • Unity

• • Mahayana

• • Tribulation Crossing

Energy requirements escalated with each realm, but not even Void Spirit cultivators could cause disturbances on this scale—and experts of that level would never cultivate so carelessly in the open.

“Old Xiao, this isn’t right,” the Beast Taming Sect leader said grimly to Xiao Hongyu of the Heavenly Sword Sect. “It’s like the very air is being drained. Could a true powerhouse be meditating out there?”

Xiao Hongyu’s expression darkened as he sensed the phenomenon. The spiritual energy of the entire Qingyun Province seemed to be converging toward one point. If this continued, the region’s cultivation environment might collapse.

“All sect leaders, with me. Elders, remain here.” He strode toward the disturbance, the other leaders following.

After a few steps, Xiao Hongyu glanced back at Su Yanran and motioned for her to join them.