Chapter 44 - 37: Could This Be the End of My Suffering?

’If someone messed with it, couldn’t they at least leave a trace?’

’Let me see *some* evidence of what you’ve done!’

’This is terrifying!’

It was making her feel like she’d run into ghosts. It wasn’t a demonic sect—it was a ghost sect!

She thought about the other disciples she’d seen on the paths.

They were performing the same basic chores as her, but every single one of them was utterly expressionless.

Their eyes were vacant, their movements stiff, as they tirelessly repeated the task at hand.

Thinking back, even that senior in the Foundation Establishment Stage seemed to be the same way.

’Why is that?’

Just as Su Ling’er’s thoughts delved deeper, she looked up to see a gleam of sword light hovering in the distance.

The light faded, revealing the Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

He was positioned right over the courtyard she had just cleaned for the sixty-fourth time. He pointed a finger toward the mountain stream below.

SPLOOOOSH—!

Nine dragons of water roared as they soared into the air, tracing an arc before descending.

Since Su Ling’er was still cleaning this courtyard, she couldn’t see exactly where the water dragons landed, but she had a good idea.

They had to be the nine copper vats she had just filled by hand.

’He’s using an advanced Water Control Skill to repeat the work I just did. And that courtyard... it’s one of the ones I cleaned earlier.’

The entire process took no more than a few seconds.

Then, with a flick of his Sword Technique, the Foundation Establishment expert transformed into a streak of light and vanished from Su Ling’er’s sight.

’Even a Foundation Establishment expert has to do this chore, and they have to do it so much faster!’

Before she could even process what she’d seen, another streak of golden light, moving at an impossible speed, appeared in the sky.

It flickered in and out of existence as it shuttled back and forth through the air, its speed so great that it left only afterimages in its wake.

The afterimages traced countless straight, golden lines of light across the sky.

And the endpoints of those golden lines were none other than the very courtyards she had just painstakingly cleaned!

’Could it be... a Fake Core Realm expert?’

’Or maybe even a great power at the Core Formation Realm, like the Sect Leader?!’

’But... even experts of their caliber are trapped in this endless, mind-numbing manual labor?!’

After a moment’s thought, it all clicked into place!

’This must be the work of the sect’s true leadership, the ones hiding behind that puppet, Mr. Qian! They’re using this method to exert inhuman mental control over the disciples!’

’They’re deliberately messing up the courtyards the disciples clean and emptying all the water vats to test everyone’s obedience and endurance!’

’Then they grind down your willpower, shatter your spirit, and turn you into a "tool" fit to serve the sect.’

’Those disciples with numb, vacant eyes.’

’The disciple who sacrificed himself, leaping into a medicinal brew to become bloody water just to help forge a sword.’

’And that other senior brother who let First Senior Brother run him through with a sword, all to stage a performance meant to persuade me to cultivate the Sword Refining Skill...’

’It all... it all makes sense now!’

’So that’s how it is... That’s what’s really happening!’

’They were all cautionary tales!’

’The future that awaits every new disciple of the Guixi Sect!’

’No wonder they’d sacrifice themselves to become someone else’s magic weapon or pill!’

’No wonder one would willingly get stabbed through the chest just to help First Senior Brother complete his mission, even spouting those cringeworthy lines before dying.’

’Even disciples at the Foundation Establishment Stage, or those with Cultivation realms far surpassing her own, are still bound to menial chores like sweeping courtyards.’

’This... this is the sect’s method of "extraction"!’

’They aren’t training disciples at all! They’re using this high-intensity, meaningless labor to systematically drain every newcomer of their drive and worth!’

’Once your spirit is worn down to nothing and your path of cultivation stalls, you’ll resign yourself to your fate and willingly become "fodder" for the sect’s machinations!’

’By then, whether you’re jumping into a Pill Furnace or lying down on a forging table, you’ll see it as a reward and salvation from the sect!’

’This repetitive task is a meticulously designed assembly line.’

’It processes living, breathing Cultivators into "raw materials" for them to use whenever they please!’

’How horrifying!’

’This evil, demonic sect... everyone should have the right to strike them down!’

...

「The two hundred and seventy-fourth time.」

Sweat soaked through her robes, the sticky sensation clinging to her skin making Su Ling’er feel irritable and nauseous.

The Spiritual Power in her Dantian was more than half-depleted, but the mental exhaustion was far worse.

She repeated the tasks of fetching water and sweeping leaves over and over. Her mind was now filled with nothing but images of water vats and fallen leaves, water vats and fallen leaves, water vats and fallen leaves.

She felt like she couldn’t take it anymore...

’No wonder the eyes of the other disciples cleaning were so vacant.’

’They must have been mentally exhausted by this repetitive labor, too. The sect uses these tasks to gradually grind away their drive, turning them into thoughtless tools.’

’It all made sense.’

But she was also at her breaking point...

She leaned against an old tree, gasping for breath. Strands of her ink-black hair clung to her pale cheeks, and sweat dripped from her temples into the dust.

’I can’t... I really can’t do this anymore.’

’If this keeps up, I’m going to be wrung dry!’

’I won’t even need First Senior Brother to do anything; I’ll turn into a mindless work puppet all on my own!’

Just then, the sound of footsteps came from outside the courtyard.

She looked up and saw a familiar figure appear at the end of the path.

’First Senior Brother Lin Qingfeng?’

’Hasn’t he been watching me from the shadows this whole time?’

’I can’t believe I missed a chance to slack off!!!’

This time, however, First Senior Brother didn’t just pop up behind her.

But he wasn’t alone.

Following him were a dozen or so disciples, men and women, all of them exuding a calm and steady aura.

They formed two silent rows.

’What an entrance...’

’What are they planning to do?’

...

Lin Qingfeng looked at his junior sister’s pitiful state and couldn’t help but shake his head.

’Oh, Junior Sister, Junior Sister, where’s your willpower!’

’Slacking off already!!’

’So lazy!!!’

’I was only gone for a second, how could you have stopped working already!’

’We’ve barely even started! It’s just a little repetitive labor. Is that enough to crush you?’

’Sigh, looks like it’s up to me, your First Senior Brother, to save you.’

’It’s a shame I can’t give her pills or let her use a spirit servant. Using them means she won’t get any contribution points, which would mean all this work was for nothing, right?’

’I have no idea what these game developers were thinking. They don’t let you help, and you can’t even pay to win your way out of it.’’

’I may not be able to help her materially, but I can give her the greatest possible moral support!’

He turned his head and shot a look at the "hype squad" he’d hastily assembled behind him:

’Are you ready? Let’s begin!’

Su Ling’er’s heart clenched as she watched the group stop a short distance away.

She looked at her First Senior Brother. His gaze was as gentle as ever, and it even held a hint of encouragement.

’Could it be...’

’Has First Senior Brother finally grown a conscience and brought these senior brothers and sisters to help me?’

’Are my days of suffering finally over?!’

’Is it possible that someone in this den of demons still has a shred of conscience left?’

After hundreds of repetitions of the same manual labor, Su Ling’er looked at these Evil Cultivators and allowed herself a sliver of hope she knew she shouldn’t have...