Diligence System: From Servant to Martial King

The crowd asked in unison: "Miss Zhao, what decision will you make?" Seeing Zhao Ranran standing elegantly, her veil enchanting, her demeanor like that of a fairy, everyone envied the "Golden Boy," born with ties to gold and jade.

Zhao Ranran didn’t care about the life or death of these people. She felt annoyed, arrogantly looking down on the Nine Heavens, even though moments of insight struck her, her innate arrogance couldn’t change completely. She had to forcibly endure the disgust and think of a comprehensive plan, saying, "Ordinary disciples, first strip them of their power, then send them off to the government. Whether to kill or keep them, whether to punish or penalize, let the government decide."

"Disciples marked with flowers and elders, whose sins are deep but whose skills are profound, cannot be easily dealt with. They’re to be heavily bound, brought back to the temple for further discussion on how to handle them."

Nangong Xuanming obeyed orders, immediately hiring a swordsmith to strip the Flower Thieves of their dignity, then handed them over to the government. There were lamentations and screams throughout the night, pleas, remorse, curses, and hatred. After dealing with the ordinary disciples, ninety percent of the Flower Thieves were gone.

A dozen elders and over thirty marked disciples were heavily bound, stripped of clothing, without a stitch on their bodies or hair on their heads. They were dragged and controlled, utterly despairing and humiliated. However, their sins were indeed deep; having once enjoyed pleasure, they now must pay for a lifetime’s worth of sins.

Within a few days, everything was arranged.

On this day, with all matters settled, Nangong Wuyang rented a merchant ship to imprison the marked disciples and elders in the ship’s hold. Inside were dozens of dark iron cages, allowing only standing, with no room to squat or lie down.

Nangong Wuyang brought the elders over, shouting, "Be sensible and get inside yourselves."

Ye Cheng, Han Zisha, Meng Han, Di Yidao... upon seeing these prison cages, knew they were torture devices. They heard rumors that the voyage would last over a month, and bound as they were, blocked of their Inner Qi, standing for months would be torturous beyond imagination.

Meng Han said, "Heroes of the Nangong Family, I truly repent and will never revolt. Could you grant me... a slightly larger cage? At least allow me to stretch my legs, to lie down a bit."

Nangong Wuyang sneered, "These cages are already forged and hard to change. Quickly get inside." Di Yidao discontentedly said, "When capturing women, we never humiliated them like this. Now that you’ve captured us, are we even less than animals?!"

Nangong Wuyang said, "If you had a bit of bloodlust in you, you’d be better than beasts. But most of you, like Li Xian, are already dead!"

Driven into the cages, narrow and cramped, standing upright at all times. Nangong Wuyang shut the cabin door, hearing the prolonged sighs and endless regrets of the elders within. Who knows if they regretted being Flower Thieves or regretted not fighting to the end.

...

...

Several days passed at sea. Since Zhao Ranran announced the slaying of Li Xian to the public, Bian Qiaoqiao’s face dramatically changed, feeling a pang of heartache and unexpectedly mourning Li Xian. She recalled meeting him under the moon, where he claimed he had a method to resolve the matter.

Little did she expect this kind of resolution. She was innocent and romantic, candid and direct, thinking that even if Li Xian was truly unforgivable, doing so much for his beloved woman was truly rare. Such deep feelings left her unable to be angry.

She felt Zhao Ranran was unempathetic, a hidden fear in her heart, gradually leading to estrangement. Bian Qiaoqiao originally admired Zhao Ranran greatly, but aside from admiration, her nature agreed more with Nangong Liuli.

She found an opportune moment to tell Nangong Liuli about the fake marriage and Li Xian’s death. At the time, Nangong Liuli trembled all over, her pretty face turned pale, drained of color, her eyes lost their luster, and she invited Bian Qiaoqiao out of the room.

In her misery, she felt the world unjust, in extreme anger, wishing to kill Nangong Xuanming and Nangong Wuyang swiftly. Yet she refused to believe Li Xian was truly dead.

She, being insightful, took a strand of hair from her brocade bag, planted it on the ground, and upon seeing the hair take root, she knew Li Xian was not dead. Aware of the magical uses of Li Xian’s hair, she had secretly plucked a few strands during playful times. Confirming he was alive, she eliminated the hair, fearing possession of a strand might disturb Li Xian’s actions.

She regained calmness and called Bian Qiaoqiao back into the room. After a brief conversation, she used the excuse of fatigue, suggesting Bian Qiaoqiao to rest. Despite worrying, Bian Qiaoqiao saw Nangong Liuli, though sad, not prone to seeking death, and returned to her room.

The merchant ship sailed calmly on the river.

Deep into the night, the full moon hung high, its silver glow shattered, pouring on the river’s surface. Nangong Liuli suddenly said outwardly, "Even a dignified Jade Girl has the habit of peeking at others, no?"

Zhao Ranran revealed herself, standing outside the door, her silhouette printed on the window’s screen, "I indeed erred in the matter of the false marriage; if you hold it against me, I have nothing to say."

She felt deeply embarrassed but found it difficult to speak words of apology. Having harbored it in her heart for a long time, she noticed the conversation between Bian Qiaoqiao and Nangong Liuli and followed them.

Nangong Liuli said: "I don’t blame you." Zhao Ranran was taken aback. Nangong Liuli said: "Helping is a favor, not helping is one’s duty. Even though I’ve seen you a few times, I dare not climb to the heights of Daoxuan Mountain’s Zhao Family Jade Girl. It’s Nangong Xuanming and Nangong Wuyang who intends to harm me. You standing by is just a lack of friendship, insufficient to aid me. What is there to blame."

Zhao Ranran furrowed her brows slightly, seriously said: "You are still blaming me, it’s normal. I indeed have partiality in this matter; as a Jade Girl, I should help the world. I saw through Nangong Xuanming’s sinister schemes but did not stop them, not differing from them. You are angry at my devious methods..."

Nangong Liuli said blandly: "Miss Zhao, though you are a Jade Girl, do you assume the entire world is as you think, as you predict. You think I, Nangong Liuli, am a narrow-minded, infatuated woman, therefore must I be?"

Zhao Ranran fell silent yet felt increasingly stifled; though she sincerely apologized, hesitating for long, she was repeatedly mocked, her pride involuntarily igniting. Nangong Liuli gazed distantly at the moonlight, said: "With your ability, you couldn’t capture him."

Zhao Ranran said: "He may not deserve to die, but once the sword has been drawn, it’s hard to retract."

Nangong Liuli said: "I meant in terms of cleverness and intellect, you’re not his match."

Zhao Ranran’s delicate fist tightened; though she felt guilty, wanting to confess to ease her remorse, her long-standing superiority, difficult to dispel, heard those words and couldn’t help but be furious, feigned disdain, and retorted indignantly: "It’s merely cunning, not the right path. The man is already dead; what’s the point of such words? Among the Flower Thieves, he had some charisma. Yet he was merely a Flower Thief. Perhaps my slaying was biased, but binding him and making him pay for his crimes were certainly not wrong."

Zhao Ranran proudly said: "And if truly judged by talent, martial arts, abilities, wit, he simply fell short of Nangong Xuanming; there are many who surpass him." Implying he’s undeserving of being considered alongside her.

Nangong Liuli sneered, saying:

"Starting as a Hunter, everything he gained came through the toil of his fists. His martial arts are scattered and lack system yet reach the Peak of mastery. He borrowed wealth from everywhere to build his cauldron, struggling step by step to achieve his cultivation of today, a truly unimaginable feat. If born into a poor family, how far could you go? Without the favorable circumstances, family support... raised on Essence Soup, consuming Essence Treasure, trained deeply in Martial Arts from the outset. Taught personally by elders. You might not be his match. Though possessing numerous advantages, you couldn’t best him immediately, ultimately, he sought you out voluntarily."

Zhao Ranran coldly replied: "There are no ifs; I was born with these things, why discard them? He was born without them, how did he acquire them? Your multitude of hypotheticals are meaningless. Should the day come when he can defeat me and say these words personally, perhaps I’ll listen. But that day will never come; he already perished at my sword." Not finding common ground, she turned and left.

Nangong Liuli’s voice echoed back, hauntingly: "You cannot kill him; he will return, and this day may yet occur." Her calmness irritated Zhao Ranran, who said: "Such delusion you entertain; he is already dead."

Zhao Ranran suddenly halted, her arrogance stimulated, even more overbearing than before, she thought even if I had biases, they weren’t unforgivable or profoundly wrong; she left without looking back and arrogantly said: "Should there be such an unlikely event, if he truly isn’t dead, he must be lurking beneath the swamp. Should he dare seek me out, I won’t kill him again, but to defeat him within three swords will be no difficulty." Her figure vanished.

Nangong Liuli confidently murmured: "Martial Arts are endless; bogged down by the mire. You cannot kill him, unaware of being manipulated, wait for him to soar; even as a Jade Girl, then what can you do."