Cannon Fodder

“But, Junior Sister...” The young man in green robes before her stammered, hesitating.

Eldest Senior Sister was waiting for them. If they failed to bring the resources back on time, they would definitely be punished.

Thinking back on his experiences during the journey, he finally understood the conflicted, hesitant expressions of his senior brothers when his little junior sister had insisted on traveling with him.

He had actually thought she liked him, which had kept him thrilled all night.

Now, he felt nothing but regret. In the future, he would rather she just played around back at the sect. He felt this particular training expedition was a hundred times more difficult than usual.

But because she was highly talented yet physically weak, they couldn't bring themselves to be too harsh on her.

He had heard before that his little junior sister opposed their Eldest Senior Sister at every turn. He had initially assumed it was Eldest Senior Sister's fault for refusing to tolerate her existence.

Looking at it now, the fact that his little junior sister hadn't been punished by Eldest Senior Sister after being in the sect for so long meant Eldest Senior Sister had already been extremely kind to her. One had to know that even their Master was often left completely speechless by Eldest Senior Sister.

“Let's go, Third Senior Brother. I just want to take a look. Besides, we are very strong, and we even have a Nascent Soul Elder with us. There won't be any danger.”

The Nascent Soul Elder: “...”

The Sect Master's judgment is truly getting worse and worse. I must complain to the Supreme Elder!

“Third Senior Brother, look at this.”

As he hesitated, a disciple beside him handed over a spiritual slip containing a request for aid from Chi Yan, the Lord of Xijiang City.

Xijiang City lay within the territory of the Liuyun Sect. Upon receiving such a plea for help, they were obligated to investigate.

Could there be some sort of issue behind this demon beast riot?

“In that case, let's head over.”

The moment he finished speaking, he met his little junior sister's sparkling eyes. The corners of his mouth twitched into a stiff smile, and he quickly turned away, pressing a hand to his forehead with a sigh.

If only this talent belonged to a motivated disciple with a healthy body. Having it on Little Junior Sister is truly a waste.

Liu Qingqing didn't notice Third Senior Brother's hand on his forehead or the helplessness in his eyes. She only caught the smile on his face before he turned around, feeling secretly pleased.

So what if she didn't focus on cultivating? Wouldn't her senior brothers still protect her and stand by her side?

So what if Fu Yao was the Sect Leader's eldest disciple? The eyes of her senior brothers and their Master still lingered on her.

She was a transmigrator, after all, blessed with a Heaven-grade water spiritual root. By a stroke of luck, she had entered one of the Three Great Sects and become a direct disciple.

Wasn't this the standard setup for a beloved little junior sister in web novels?

She didn't need to do a single thing.

As long as she wanted it, resources would be delivered right to her. She had already tested this theory before and found that everything happened exactly as she imagined, which was why she kept pushing everyone's boundaries step by step.

She just didn't understand why Fu Yao always found her annoying. Thus, Fu Yao had to be the wicked female supporting character.

Hmph. Wicked female supporting characters are always powerful but brainless, destined to be slapped in the face by the female lead and male supporting characters. Although, I don't know why things haven't gone according to the script yet.

But she quickly rationalized it: the male lead simply hadn't appeared yet. Once the male lead arrived and the main plot officially kicked off, that was when Eldest Senior Sister would be utterly ruined. Then, her own strength would advance by leaps and bounds, leaving everyone else far behind.

In truth, she felt a bit bad about it, but who could blame her? This wasn't a real world, just a world of fictional characters.

Therefore, she didn't feel any guilt. She was merely following the plot. Eldest Senior Sister could only blame her own bad luck.

As she thought of this, a silly grin crept onto her face.

Seeing this, the others pressed their hands to their foreheads in exasperation.

If they had known the last disciple their Sect Master took in was such an empty-headed fool who only possessed talent, they would have stopped him.

Keeping her in the sect as a mascot would have been far better than letting her out to make a fool of herself.

“You've finally arrived, honored immortals!”

Chi Yan felt a surge of joy upon seeing the spiritual boat slowly approaching in the distance and immediately went to greet them.

The emblem on the spiritual boat belonged to the Liuyun Sect. The disciples of the Liuyun Sect were immensely powerful; with them here, everything would surely be fine.

Seeing the newcomer, Xi Siyu stepped forward. “Are you the Lord of Xijiang City?”

Chi Yan nodded. “Indeed, I am.”

“Tell us about the situation.”

Xi Siyu was pressed for time. He only wanted to resolve the matter quickly and turn in his mission.

He didn't want to be punished by Eldest Senior Sister and sent to the Library again. He couldn't learn anything there, and he couldn't understand what he read. It was just that no one currently understood the melancholy in his eyes.

Chi Yan explained the situation to everyone. They exchanged glances, a trace of worry flickering in their eyes.

They possessed a natural sensitivity to such anomalies, and from Chi Yan's brief description, they could tell there was something wrong with these demon beasts.

This was definitely not ordinary frenzy; it was highly likely they were being influenced by some external factor.

“When will the second wave of the demon beast tide arrive?”

He asked with a solemn expression.

“Replying to the honored immortal, the cultivators at the first line of defense heard the roars of the demon beasts last night. I'm afraid they will arrive today.”

Today?

Xi Siyu muttered to himself, then ordered the disciples to dock the spiritual boat outside the city. With an elder present, no one would dare steal the resources inside.

For this training expedition, with the exception of their little junior sister, everyone else was an inner sect disciple, with the weakest among them at least at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

They were more than capable of dealing with these demon beasts.

However, because of the sheer number of demon beasts, they naturally still needed the assistance of the local cultivators. With a wave of his hand, he dispatched the disciples to their positions.

Hearing that reinforcements had arrived, everyone's hearts instantly settled. Upon hearing that they were disciples of the Liuyun Sect, Jiang Lu couldn't help but recall the gossip she had heard that day. As fate would have it, Liu Qingqing and a few other disciples happened to join her group.

Seeing this, the cultivators in the group wanted to step forward to curry favor, but given the imminent danger, they were immediately ordered to stop.

A flash of displeasure crossed Liu Qingqing's eyes. She was used to being pampered and fawned over by everyone, so being interrupted naturally made her uncomfortable.

Jiang Lu happened to catch this flash of displeasure. Looking at the warm, innocent, and slightly curious face on the girl, she couldn't help but shudder.

No matter the time or place, she detested this kind of person the most—someone who acted one way to your face and another behind your back.

This little junior sister was trouble. Jiang Lu decided she must never provoke her and would just slack off at the back. After all, the standard traits of a beloved little junior sister were immense good luck and the unfortunate demise of the cannon fodder around her. Clearly, their current group was the cannon fodder.

As roars and waves of pressure echoed from the distance, everyone immediately braced themselves for battle.

Jiang Lu secretly withdrew Cang Chen and Chi Li into her space. The two of them were adorable; if Liu Qingqing took a liking to them, she wasn't confident she could keep them.

Furthermore, she had a faint premonition that she must not let Liu Qingqing discover their existence.

The moment Jiang Lu sent them into her space, Liu Qingqing's gaze suddenly snapped toward Jiang Lu's direction. There was nothing there.

Only Jiang Lu stood there, possessing a mere fourth layer of Qi Condensation cultivation, with nothing on her but an ordinary storage bag.

She looked away. Just an ordinary cultivator, not worth wasting my thoughts on. Yet, she felt as though she had missed out on something. Perhaps she was just overthinking.

Her biggest headache was her utterly unreliable sixth sense. Every time she felt she was about to gain or lose something, it always ended up being a joke.

Over time, she stopped believing in it.