Chapter 21: Croc-Me Delivery

A short, sharp cry was followed by an eerie silence.

The players stood frozen in confusion, scanning their surroundings. "What was that? Who was it?"

"What happened? Which unlucky soul just got themselves sent to the respawn point?"

"I didn't see anything! It’s impossible to sink that fast!"

Flying Dragon in the Sky touched his back with a blank expression; his hand came away covered in warm, fresh blood. His close friend, "Moron Happy Every Day," who had been following right behind him, was gone. All that remained were the bloodstains on the ground.

"Something attacked him!"

The players frantically crowded the world channel to interrogate Moron Happy Every Day:

[Buddy, are you okay? Did you see clearly what attacked you?]

[Moron Happy Every Day: No, everything just went black. A sharp pain surged through my whole body, and then I was at the respawn point.]

The players: ???

That was creepy.

Su Qingyue moved with elegant, lotus-like steps and swept a glance over the area. She crouched down gracefully and plunged her hand into the nearby mud pit.

"??? Is she washing her hands in the mud? The swamp muck is filthy and disgusting—does our Sect Master have such a bizarre hobby?" Some players even wondered if there was some kind of beauty-enhancing mud. Should they hoard some to give as gifts to boost their favorability with the Sect Master?

With a loud *splash*, mud splattered everywhere. The players scrambled to dodge, and upon standing still and looking closely, they saw Su Qingyue hauling up a thrashing, ferocious crocodile. Fresh blood stained the creature’s massive lower jaw. It was clear this beast had swallowed Moron Happy Every Day in one gulp.

The players gulped, their scalps tingling. The thought that such things might have been lurking around this swamp, coveting their flesh, sent a chill down their spines.

Flying Dragon in the Sky couldn't help but laugh bitterly. "So he was swallowed by a crocodile!" Another new way to die unlocked today!

Seeing the players had finally figured it out, Su Qingyue delivered two swift, heavy blows to the struggling beast, instantly ending its life. She tossed it aside, and with a heavy thud, the crocodile hit the ground. She then walked away with effortless grace.

The players had unlocked a new way to die, and Su Qingyue had unlocked a new way to show off!

***

Congratulations, they all had a bright future ahead!

[World Channel:
Flying Dragon in the Sky: Moron, you’ve become crocodile takeout, hahahaha! Crocodile: Thanks for the gift of nature!
Moron Happy Every Day: ??? What? I was eaten by a crocodile?
Blue Feather: What else?
Moron Happy Every Day: I thought the game had a bug, the screen went black and I heard clapping! I was even preparing to write a complaint to the game company to blackmail them for tens of thousands of silver and massive amounts of experience!
Today Did You Eat: Keep dreaming!
Moron Happy Every Day: By the way, what happened to the crocodile?
Blue Feather: It says it's very full.
Moron Happy Every Day: Aaaargh! Damn it! I spent so much effort sculpting my face and adjusting my stats to create this hunky, eight-pack-ab physique! It actually benefited from it! I’m so mad!
Flying Dragon in the Sky: Hahaha, I won't tease you anymore. Our Sect Master came over, gave it two punches, and killed it for you. It’s right there where you died, come back and you can vent your anger on its corpse!
Moron Happy Every Day: Wait for me, my respawn point is very close, I'm coming back to desecrate the corpse right now!]

Neither the players nor Su Qingyue noticed three rays of light streaking across the sky. Three young men dressed in the robes of the Profound Heaven Sect were chatting casually:

"Do you really think that bitch Su Qingyue will return to the Su family ancestral grounds?"

"Where else would she go? A crippled orphan with nowhere left to turn?"

"We just need to block the exit of the Demon Beast Mountain Range not far from the Su family grounds; it's the only path."

"But didn't the Sect Master say not to cause her any trouble?"

Initially, the Sect Master of the Profound Heaven Sect had been furious, ordering his disciples to track her down and bring her back. But for some reason, he had suddenly rescinded the warrant and told them not to harm or harass her if they encountered her. Had he lost his mind? A traitor, a liar who had deceived the Sect Master—and yet, they weren't allowed to kill her? One might think Su Qingyue was the Sect Master's illegitimate daughter!

"It's the Demon Beast Mountain Range. Accidental deaths are perfectly normal. What does it have to do with us? Nobody will know!"

"Even if we don't know why, not killing her is worse than killing her! Who wouldn't want to taste the former number one beauty and talent of the Northern Lands, the young mistress of the Su family?"

"Pity, it's going to be us who get to her first, hahahaha!"

The men indulged in malicious fantasies. A mere trash with early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation—they certainly had high hopes. If they knew Su Qingyue’s Golden Core was about to be reshaped, they would likely be kneeling on the ground, begging for mercy.

Su Qingyue’s reputation had once been so great, layered with multiple halos. Even though she rarely went out and spent most of her time in seclusion, she had countless enemies. In the vast Northern Lands, among thousands of cultivators, she had been the strongest and most outstanding.

The other cultivators were geniuses in their own right, but having someone so far above them, pressing down on them, how could they not be resentful? It was like being a top student, only for someone else to transfer into the next class and consistently take the top rank. When your parents constantly compared you to that person, hatred was inevitable.

Moreover, typical geniuses were usually well-protected by their sects and families. They were rarely in a position to be bullied.

Su Qingyue seemed to sense something. When she squinted and looked up, the figures had already flown away on their swords, leaving no trace. Yet, she felt an unpleasant sensation of being watched and targeted.

"I suppose the Profound Heaven Sect has discovered by now that my life-bound jade tablet hasn't shattered, right?"

The system was startled. "Ah? You still have a jade tablet? Host, won't that be dangerous? What should we do?"

The system was spinning in circles, panicked.

Su Qingyue shrugged. "Of course I know. I don't have amnesia; how could I forget something so important?"

"Should we hide and wait for the heat to die down? If the Profound Heaven Sect comes for us, we're finished! The database shows the Profound Heaven Sect is the strongest sect in the Northern Lands and ranks among the top tier of the entire continent. Their elders are all at the Spirit Severing stage, and there are even a few old monsters at the Integration stage!"

At that level, it was clearly beyond what Su Qingyue and the players could handle.

She shook her head. "Rest assured, they won't send elders."

"Why?"

"It's simple. If they send elders, wouldn't the whole continent know that a group of Spirit Severing experts was easily tricked by a cripple who staged her own death? Such a prestigious sect cannot afford that kind of shame. Besides, Spirit Severing elders wouldn't stoop to personally dealing with a crippled junior. No one wants to come."

A cold light flashed in Su Qingyue's eyes. "Furthermore, they never intended to kill me in the first place. They intended to cripple me, have me serve my sentence, and then expel me to fend for myself."

If the original heroine hadn't meddled and caused her tragic death, the sect wouldn't have killed her. After all, her entire clan had died for the Profound Heaven Sect; it would be bad for their reputation to murder the only surviving orphan of that clan. The Sect Master might have been furious at first that she didn't die, but once he thought it through, he would likely feel relieved.

"So we're safe?" the system asked, pleasantly surprised.

"How could that be?"