The girl's hope of leaving the village

The young girl's thoughts were quietly undergoing a change.

She was struggling through the mountain forests and shrubs, focusing intently on everything around her.

"Just one more sword qi grass, if only there's one more..."

[Author's Note: I hope readers will remember our domain name, Taiwan Novel Website, very practical and easy to read.]

As long as she could find one more sword qi grass, she could exchange it with the Village Chief for Spirit Stones and leave this village.

Although she wasn't sure if life after leaving would be better or worse, she had had enough of everything in Lin Family Village.

She didn't want to stay in this place anymore... everyone regarded her as a Calamity Star, secretly cursing her to die quickly.

It was only because the Village Chief had been suppressing the villagers' dissatisfaction that she had been able to live in the village all this time.

Otherwise, these villagers would have tied her to a woodpile and burned her alive long ago.

And such things had indeed happened in the past.

After an unknown amount of time, she returned once again to the place where she had previously found the sword qi grass.

She looked around, and then her gaze locked onto a certain spot.

It was sword qi grass!

Another sword qi grass had actually grown in this place!

Lin Zhaodi quickly scanned her surroundings, then stepped forward briskly to pick the sword qi grass.

She opened the cloth pouch she carried with her, carefully placed the sword qi grass inside, and wrapped it round and round for fear it might disappear.

Looking at the tightly wrapped pouch, she showed genuine joy, then slung the pouch over her back.

She had obtained the hope of walking out of this village.

Next, she just needed to go back and exchange this sword qi grass for Spirit Stones.

Lin Zhaodi turned around impatiently, preparing to leave.

But she stopped just as she took her first step.

She could leave, that was true, but what about the other person?

What would happen to Su Ming, whom she had rescued?

He was physically weak and blind.

If she left him in the thatched hut like this, he would starve to death.

The Spirit Stones exchanged for one sword qi grass were clearly not enough for two people to leave Lin Family Village together.

Unless... she could find another sword qi grass... Lin Zhaodi gritted her teeth and turned back around.

Going further in would be deep into the mountain forest, a place where Yao Beasts roamed.

But it was also easier to find Spiritual Plants like sword qi grass in there.

As long as there was one more, she could take Su Ming with her.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Zhaodi walked toward the depths of the mountain forest.

Shen Ming, who was following in secret, couldn't quite understand.

He had already managed to get her a sword qi grass, so why was she turning back into the mountains?

He could feel the Yao Beasts entrenched in the depths of the forest.

To him, those were just small dishes that weren't even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth, but for the girl before him, they were fatal threats.

Since Su Ming had told him to protect her, Shen Ming naturally had to do the job properly.

Thus, before Lin Zhaodi, who was prepared to die, had even walked twenty meters, she discovered another sword qi grass.

The emotions she had been brewing were instantly dispelled by joy.

"Another sword qi grass!? Great, I can take Brother Su with me!"

With a cheer, she hurriedly unwrapped the layers of the pouch and stored this new sword qi grass safely.

Slinging the pouch back onto her back, she sprinted toward Lin Family Village.

The things constantly receding around her were no longer just mountain forests, but the scenery of her leaving this region.

Watching Lin Zhaodi return to the village, Shen Ming shifted his body and continued to follow her.

It wasn't until Lin Zhaodi stepped into the entrance of Lin Family Village that he returned to Su Ming's side.

"Master, it has been handled."

Returning to Su Ming's side, Shen Ming reported the situation as usual.

"Shen Ming, I just thought of a method that can help me recover as quickly as possible, but it requires your cooperation..."

Seeing Shen Ming return, Su Ming immediately spoke of the method he had thought of to alleviate his current predicament.

The fundamental reason he was in this state now was simply because too much Star Power had accumulated in his body.

Instead of refining it slowly himself, it was better to find a way to channel this power out.

Shen Ming was also in the Star Realm, just right for accommodating and absorbing the overflowing Star Power in his body.

After hearing Su Ming's words, Shen Ming immediately cooperated with Su Ming's actions, helping to transfer the Star Power from his body.

On the other side, Lin Zhaodi excitedly arrived at the wooden house where the Village Chief resided.

"Village Chief! Village Chief!" she shouted outside the door.

The wooden door slowly opened. When the Village Chief saw it was Lin Zhaodi, his face didn't show the disgust the other villagers did, but he didn't have much of an expression either.

"It's Zhaodi, what is it?"

Lin Zhaodi looked around, and after making sure no one else was nearby, she walked directly into the Village Chief's wooden house, then untied and unfolded the pouch on her back.

When those two sword qi grasses were revealed before the Village Chief, a flicker of change finally appeared in the latter's expression.

The Reincarnation Sword Realm was filled with Sword Cultivators, and in terms of status, Sword Cultivators firmly held a higher position than ordinary Cultivators.

And the things that best represented a Sword Cultivator were Sword Qi and Sword Intent.

One could only be called a Sword Cultivator if they possessed one of the two.

Those with talent could Cultivate Sword Qi and Sword Intent on their own.

Cultivators without talent had to find ways to rely on external forces, and this sword qi grass was a Spiritual Plant that could assist in Cultivating Sword Qi.

However, Sword Qi Cultivated this way was extremely unstable and required the Cultivator's own subsequent continuous polishing and refinement.

But it ultimately gave normal Cultivators the possibility of stepping onto the threshold of a Sword Cultivator.

Especially in a small place like Lin Family Village, sword qi grass was a rare and precious treasure.

"Did you pick both of these sword qi grasses from the mountains?" The Village Chief silently closed the door, his eyes filled with desire for the sword qi grass.

Among the Cultivators of the Reincarnation Sword Realm, no one didn't want to become a Sword Cultivator.

"Village Chief, I want to exchange these two sword qi grasses with you for Spirit Stones..." Lin Zhaodi stated her request.

However, this only drew the Village Chief's dissatisfaction.

He needed Spirit Stones himself.

Besides, what would an orphan from an ordinary family with no Cultivation ability do with Spirit Stones? Truly ridiculous.

"Zhaodi, Spirit Stones are useless to you. How about this: for these two sword qi grasses, the Village Chief will give you four months' worth of grain in exchange. If you don't want grain, the Village Chief can give you meat instead."

"No, I want Spirit Stones! You said that sword qi grass could be exchanged for Spirit Stones with you!" Lin Zhaodi took two steps back, firmly clutching the sword qi grass in her pouch.

The Village Chief's face immediately darkened several shades.

When he said sword qi grass could be exchanged for Spirit Stones, he was just saying it.

Over the years, the sword qi grass occasionally picked by the villagers had all been exchanged by him for grain.

After all, in such a small place, Spirit Stones had no great use for ordinary people and were far less practical than grain.

"Zhaodi, don't be ungrateful... If it weren't for me, you would have been burned alive long ago. I'm the one who let you live until now. It's one thing if you don't know how to be grateful, but you even dare to state conditions to me?!"

What right did an ordinary person have to negotiate with a Cultivator?

Hearing the Village Chief's words, Lin Zhaodi immediately showed a fearful expression.

She wanted to flee, but it was already too late.

The Village Chief grabbed her in one move, then pocketed the two sword qi grasses.

"On which mountain and in what place did you pick the sword qi grass? Tell me, and I'll spare your little life!"

"Liar! I won't tell you!" Caught, Lin Zhaodi twisted her body, trying to break free, and even bit the Village Chief's hand as a counterattack.

But this only made the Village Chief even angrier.

"Heh, do you think I'll have no way if you don't speak?"

The Village Chief carried Lin Zhaodi directly to the village entrance and rang the alarm bell.

As the villagers gradually gathered and saw Lin Zhaodi in the Village Chief's hands, they couldn't help but begin to gossip.

Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, the Village Chief then held up Lin Zhaodi, whose mouth had been sealed.

"This little Calamity Star sneaked into my house today and stole two of my sword qi grasses. To think I protected her before; such an ungrateful wolf doesn't deserve to live in Lin Family Village at all."

"Pile up the wood! Burn her to death!"

After hearing the Village Chief's words, the villagers immediately shouted excitedly.

"Burn her to death!"

"Burn her to death!"

"Burn her to death!"

Watching this scene, Lin Zhaodi's tears fell silently.