I Ruined the Long Ao Tian Script-Chapter 80

Bullying Men and Oppressing Women 121

In the Small Secret Realm.

This well-known "safe spot" naturally attracted the covetous eyes of others.

One day, a man and a woman stood on a distant hillside, gazing at the small building.

"There are probably fewer than a hundred people left in this small secret realm now. Giving up at this point is truly unbearable," the male cultivator said, looking down at his injured arm. "If we can seize this place, we might be able to hold out until the end."

The female cultivator nodded in agreement. "I’ve heard privately that there are actually rewards for the top rank this time. Given the generosity of the Xuan Cang Academy, the prize must be extraordinary."

The male cultivator sized up Xu Shulou, who was lounging in a rocking chair by the door. "She doesn’t look like a particularly fierce opponent."

The female cultivator shot him a glance. "A cultivator’s strength can’t be judged by appearance alone."

"You’re right, junior sister," the male cultivator nodded. "For safety’s sake, let’s start with the drum."

The female cultivator nodded and tossed out a drum. The drumhead expanded midair, growing to the height of a person by the time it landed in front of the small building. The female cultivator then leaped gracefully onto the drum’s surface.

Xu Shulou observed this inexplicable spectacle with mild amusement, leisurely pouring herself a cup of wine.

The female cultivator on the drum flicked her sleeves and began to dance, her toes tapping rhythmically against the drumhead, producing a steady beat.

From the hillside, the male cultivator raised a flute to his lips, and a haunting melody intertwined with the drumbeats.

This was their signature skill—the combination of drum and flute could disrupt an enemy’s focus. However, it wasn’t particularly useful in actual combat since there was rarely an opportunity to perform such a dance mid-battle. But to gain the upper hand, they decided to strike first while Xu Shulou was still unprepared.

Seeing that Xu Shulou made no move to interrupt and instead rested her chin on her hand, watching with apparent enjoyment, the two exchanged hopeful glances.

When the dance ended, the female cultivator fixed her expectant gaze on Xu Shulou.

Xu Shulou clapped politely. "Bravo!"

"……"

Noticing the female cultivator still staring intently, Xu Shulou, assuming she was waiting for further praise, enthusiastically added, "Your flowing skirts and graceful sleeves moved like an immortal’s. Truly a magnificent performance."

"……"

Still not satisfied? Xu Shulou sighed inwardly and was about to rack her brains for even more exaggerated compliments when the female cultivator’s expression shifted from anticipation to confusion. "Y-you’re unaffected?"

"Why would I be affected?" Xu Shulou smiled and asked with practiced ease, "Are you two here for a meal or lodging?"

"M-meal." The two exchanged glances, deciding to observe for a while longer before making their next move.

Xu Shulou gestured to the small tables on the first floor. "Take a seat."

Though they had claimed to be there for a meal, the pair only ordered wine, skipping the food. They huddled together, whispering, "Our sonic attack can’t even be blocked by soundproof barriers. How is she completely unaffected?"

The male cultivator pondered. "Unless her cultivation level is far above ours…"

"How much higher?"

"Hard to say."

The ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‍female cultivator rolled her eyes. "I’ll test her."

Noticing the blooming lotus flowers in a vat by the door, she struck up a conversation. "Miss, your flowers are thriving. How do you care for them?"

Xu Shulou smiled. "I didn’t grow them. I captured a flower spirit."

"…Where did you catch it?"

"West of here, by a very beautiful lake."

The female cultivator suddenly realized something and drew her blade, pointing at the lotus. "That’s the flower spirit that devoured contestant number two hundred!"

Xu Shulou blinked and turned to the lotus. "You eat people?"

The lotus trembled violently, as if protesting its innocence.

When Xu Shulou turned back, she found the female cultivator staring at her with wide, fearful eyes, trembling just like the lotus.

Xu Shulou silently took a step back. Over time, the fellow cultivators stopping by her small building seemed to be getting stranger and stranger. First, these two had performed out of nowhere, and now they were shaking after a simple conversation…

After a moment of mutual scrutiny, both sides concluded that the other was decidedly odd.

With a trembling voice, the female cultivator politely requested to leave. Xu Shulou, feeling mentally exhausted, saw them off, watching as they practically fled. She settled back into her rocking chair, enjoying a few hours of peace before a disheveled, bloodied man burst in.

"Miss, my junior brother is in trouble! Please help us!"

Xu Shulou stowed her book into her Qiankun Bracelet and stood. "Where is he? Lead the way."

Taken aback by her immediate agreement, the man hesitated, his eyes flickering. "Ah, right."

After they left, seven or eight figures emerged, driving out the two diners enjoying noodles on the first floor and taking over the small building.

The leader, a male cultivator, smugly surveyed the interior before propping his feet up on a table. "Hurry and set the traps. We’ll wait for that woman to return."

A nearby cultivator gave a thumbs-up. "Boss, you’re brilliant."

The man smirked, tugging at the gauzy curtains. "She certainly knows how to live comfortably. While we’ve been fighting monsters tooth and nail outside, how dare she monopolize the only safe spot like this?"

"Exactly," another chimed in. "Besides, she’s had it for days. It’s our turn now."

"Don’t forget to set a trap on the door," the lounging leader added. "If she knows what’s good for her when she returns, fine. If not, she’ll regret it."

Xu Shulou’s errand took longer than expected. The group quickly finished setting their traps, and to pass the time, someone picked up pebbles to throw at the timid giant birds outside the window. "These things are huge, but they’re such cowards."

The birds merely lifted their heads sluggishly when hit, prompting the group to compete over who could land a pebble on their heads.

The birds’ eyes scanned behind them, and after confirming Xu Shulou was nowhere in sight, they suddenly spread their wings and lunged.

No longer docile, their wings whipped up fierce gusts as razor-sharp talons flashed.

---

Xu Shulou soon noticed something amiss with the man. Once outside the inn, he fell silent, flying straight toward a fixed direction without a word.

"You flew all this way just to find me for help?" she asked. "Didn’t you run into any other cultivators along the way?"

"They refused to help."

"Did they?" Xu Shulou replied mildly, seemingly unconcerned.

The man had just relaxed when he suddenly found himself unable to fly. He realized Xu Shulou had somehow slipped behind him, gripping his collar. A few swift sword flashes later, he was left in nothing but his underwear—his collar still intact only because Xu Shulou needed it to hold him.

Xu Shulou examined him frankly. "No wounds. Where did the blood on your clothes come from?"

"……" The man struggled desperately, feeling like he was being strangled by his own collar.

"You'd better really have a junior brother in trouble," Xu Shulou threatened. "If not, I'll make sure you're the one in trouble."

The man fumbled a pill-shaped magical artifact from his Qiankun Ring and hurled it to the ground. Seizing the moment as dust filled the air, he tore off his collar and attempted to flee. Not daring to look back, he flew half-naked for several miles before stopping to catch his breath. "Damn it, made me waste another artifact."

"What a waste indeed," a woman's amused voice chimed in behind him. "Look, you used up the artifact, but you still didn’t get away."

"!"

Moments later, outside the small secret realm, a teacher stared in bewilderment at the half-naked male cultivator who had just been tossed out. "I don’t recall any monsters in this realm that have a habit of stripping people’s clothes?"

The cultivator hugged his chest and curled into a ball, refusing to speak. The one who threw him out was nothing short of a monster.

Back inside the secret realm, after sending him off, Xu Shulou prepared to head back. Along the way, she encountered adorable deer-like creatures with big, round eyes that shot beams of light at her. As punishment, she stopped to pet each one.

By the lake, she struck a deal with a waterweed spirit, asking it to gather some fresh, non-sentient lotus roots to feed the giant birds. She wasn’t entirely sure about their diet, but since they ate white radishes, lotus roots—which looked similar—might suffice. freewebnσvel.cøm

She suspected some kind of scheme awaited her return, but she didn’t expect to find the small plains now reduced to rubble, the little cottage completely flattened.

Seeing her return, the giant birds circling above quietly retreated.

"...You really know how to make a mess," Xu Shulou sighed, stepping onto the wreckage. Suddenly, a crisp crack sounded beneath her foot, followed by a pained scream.

She quickly crouched and dug out a man from the debris. Upon closer inspection, his left leg was bent at an unnatural angle. "Your leg got crushed?"

The man weakly corrected her, "You... just stepped on it!"

"..."

Following faint breaths, Xu Shulou unearthed seven or eight fellow students from the ruins. Noting their waistplate numbers were sequential with the half-naked cultivator’s, she guessed they had signed up together. "Here to rob me?"

"Why... don’t those birds attack you?"

Xu Shulou smiled, dragging an intact lounge chair from the wreckage. "Let’s discuss compensation."

"We didn’t destroy your cottage."

"I know," Xu Shulou said reasonably. "But I can’t exactly demand repayment from the giant birds, can I?"

"What do you want?"

"How about this? I heard Nightless City recently released a portable Qiankun Estate—a miniaturized courtyard you can carry around. It’d make a fine replacement for my cottage," she proposed. "It costs three thousand top-grade spirit stones. Gather that much, and I’ll let you go. Magical artifacts can be used as collateral."

"And if we can’t?" The cultivators exchanged glances, their expressions darkening.

Xu Shulou raised her sword with one hand. "If you can’t..."

When the next traveler arrived, they were shocked to find the cottage reduced to ruins. The rumored gentle and kind innkeeper, Xu Shulou, lounged in a chair while a female cultivator massaged her shoulders. A male cultivator with a limp stood dutifully by her side, pouring wine. Others were clearing debris, some bruised and battered as they cooked under her sharp commands—scolded if the food wasn’t up to par. One poor soul was being pummeled by a sentient lotus flower, wailing, "How am I supposed to repot this thing?!"

Xu Shulou considered herself quite fair, allowing them to work off their debt after surrendering all their spirit stones. Unbeknownst to her, she soon earned a nickname among certain students: "The Tyrant of One-Two-One."