Players: All NPCs in the Sect Are Moles

'This task came at the perfect time!'

'It's like a stroke of divine genius, tailor-made for my "Great Practice of Love"!'

'Letting them personally nurture a new life, from egg to hatchling, and feel the joy and fragility of it breaking through its shell... surely that can awaken their conscience?'

'What kind of person with a heart of stone could remain unmoved before a life they hatched with their own hands?'

'This must be the heavens—no, it must be Mr. Lu, helping me from the shadows! He's using this method to tell me that my path is the correct one!'

'I'm amazing! And so is Mr. Lu! Our minds are always, so effortlessly, in perfect sync!'

However, the few undercover disciples below who hadn't yet accepted a task and happened to see the new one were thinking something else entirely.

'Hatch an egg? Are you kidding me? We're cultivators, not mother hens!'

'What did that phrase, "May undergo mutation," even mean? Was it saying you might hatch a father and have to deal with the consequences?'

'Also, it's repeatable. Doesn't that mean the reward value is low, which is why you can just do it over and over? Is there any point in taking this task, then?'

The men looked at each other, the beads of their mental abacuses clacking furiously.

Risk and reward bounced back and forth wildly in their minds.

Just as the remaining few were hesitating, Lu Ping, who had been watching silently all this time, suddenly moved.

He walked up to Mr. Qian and reached out, taking the jade slip that described the task of hatching a life.

For him, the reasoning was simple.

'First, I have to pass this test and get a ticket to Broken Sword Ridge.'

'Second, the task description says I just have to hold an egg and not move. It's basically "quiet rest," which perfectly suits my go-with-the-flow Daoist heart.'

'Third, compared to the other options, holding an egg—even if it's an ugly one—is without a doubt the more dignified and cleaner choice.'

'As for the "mutation"? He was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, but for the sake of Broken Sword Ridge and Qinghe Town, he had to take the risk.'

Lu Ping's action sent waves through the hearts of the remaining undercover disciples.

'He moved! Mr. Lu moved!'

'He chose the egg!'

'That's the badass who reached the eightieth step! Could his judgment be wrong?'

'Since he chose it, we'll choose it too!'

And so.

"Mr. Qian! I want this task too!"

"Me too! Give me one! I'm an egg-spert at this!"

Seeing that the badass of the eightieth step, Lu Ping, had placed his bet, the last few hesitant spies didn't dare dally any longer and swarmed forward.

Watching the last few men make their choice—and all of them choosing the task that best embodied the true meaning of "love and life"—Su Ling'er's last trace of worry vanished without a trace.

A smile that could only be described as benevolent blossomed on her lips.

'It worked!'

'My path of re-education is finally on the right track!'

She was already planning in her heart to have everyone experience the greatness of nurturing life once the first batch of tasks was complete. She would use the fragility and joy of a new life hatching to wash away the darkness in their souls.

'Yes, that's what I'll do!'

Deeply satisfied with her own cleverness, Su Ling'er watched as all the disciples, under the expressionless registration of Mr. Qian, scattered to begin their respective "cultivation."

...

「Spirit Beast Garden, Demon Ape Zone.」

Several demonic path undercover disciples walked in, swinging iron whips and swaggering.

Their goal was to trim the claws of a few scrawny Demon Apes.

The Demon Apes were huddled in a corner, their fur sparse and their eyes dim. They looked like they were ready to be slaughtered.

"Heh, this is it?"

One of the demonic disciples hefted the iron whip in his hand and let out a disdainful sneer.

'Miss Su's 'love' must mean using this whip to carve that love deep into their bones! To make them understand, through fear and despair, who their master truly is!'

'This is the true compassion of a superior, the ultimate principle of the demonic path!'

The existence of weak and easily bullied creatures gave them a better reason to wantonly indulge their true natures.

'This was clearly a practical lesson on "conquest" and "cruelty," personally guided by Miss Su!'

"Little ones, are you ready to feel the 'fatherly love' of the Guixi Sect? If you understand, then trim your own claws!"

The lead disciple sneered, raising his hand to lash out. The whip cut through the air, whistling as it flew toward the iron cage!

However, before the whip could even land...

The Demon Apes, which had looked on the verge of death, glanced at the men with a hint of confusion. 'Strange, why are the ones who came this time so... weak?'

Then, the dejection on their faces gradually twisted into savage grins, and the dim light in their eyes was suddenly replaced by a blood-red glow.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!"

Amidst a series of sharp cracks from their bones and sinews, their scrawny bodies began to swell at a visible rate!

Withered muscles bulged and knotted, sparse fur stood on end, and sharp fangs jutted from their mouths!

One moment they were sick monkeys; the next, they had transformed into Demon Apes!

"What?!"

The lead disciple's pupils shrank, and the whip in his hand froze mid-air.

Before he could even react, a massive fist had already planted itself solidly on his face!

"THUD!"

A dull thud echoed.

The immense force sent the disciple flying backward. He traced an arc through the air before slamming hard into a wall over ten meters away, then slid down, his condition unknown.

The remaining demonic disciples were completely dumbfounded.

Demonic Disciples: "???"

'You guys are this strong?! So you were just pretending before, weren't you?!'

Before they could organize any effective resistance, the Demon Apes had already pounced!

For a moment, screams and the sounds of blows rose and fell in succession.

「A moment later.」

Several demonic disciples were piled in a corner, bruised and swollen. But in the end, their Guixi Sect disciple robes saved them; the Demon Apes did not take their lives.

The most burly of the Demon Apes walked up to them and gestured with its eyes toward a nearby banana tree.

The disciples shuddered, struggled to their feet, and scrambled up the banana tree. They picked the bananas, peeled them with the greatest speed they had ever mustered in their lives, and respectfully offered them up.

The Demon Ape snatched them, devoured them in a few bites, and then looked at the disciples, seemingly lost in thought.

Perhaps it was because it had finally caught a weak disciple taking this kind of task, allowing it to finally enjoy the feeling of being the master. Or perhaps it felt such opportunities were rare and wanted to cherish the experience. And so...

CRACK!

The crisp sound of a slap echoed through the Spirit Beast Garden.

'The Demon Ape raised its hand and slapped one. It couldn't beat those other disciples (the players), after all. Those disciples felt no fear or pain, and weren't even afraid of dying. It had even seen a fellow ape actually kill one of them, and the consequences for that were absolutely worse than death!'

'But in this situation, as long as you didn't kill them, it was usually fine. It was just that the ones who came this time seemed exceptionally different.'

'Unlike those other disciples with their dull, wooden eyes, these ones seemed to feel fear and pain. And what's more, they were extremely weak! So it couldn't be blamed! After finally running into some pushovers, how could it not vent some of the frustration it had suffered in the past?'

And so, the demonic disciple was slapped so hard he spun like a top twice in place. His vision filled with stars, his head buzzed, and he couldn't tell north from south.

He swayed to a stop, a clear, red, five-fingered handprint rapidly appearing on his face.

The violent Demon Ape retracted its casserole-sized palm, bared its teeth in satisfaction, but didn't dare make things too difficult for them, lest it provoke those truly troublesome existences.

So, it simply extended its other hand, pointed to its long, sharp claws, and indicated that they could begin their task.

'This is...?'

'I understand!!!'

The demonic disciples, collapsed limply on the ground, immediately understood what Lord Ape meant.

They finally seemed to understand what the task "trim the claws" actually meant.

It meant they had to put on fake smiles and sincerely beg for the qualification to perform this lowly chore for his lordship.

Humiliation.

A sense of humiliation unlike any they had ever felt washed over every inch of their souls.

Their teeth ground together, but looking at the fist that could crush their skulls at any moment, all their indignation and rage could only melt into the most humble obedience.

With tears in their eyes, they used the same hands that had once performed vicious demonic techniques to file the claws of a mere beast.

...

「Half an hour later.」

On a gravel path leading to the Transmission Hall, several figures limped forward, looking utterly wretched.

Every one of them was bruised and swollen, looking like a pack of defeated dogs that had just barely escaped the Beast Fighting Arena with their lives.

Their spirits were crushed, their faces etched with a deep skepticism about life itself.

"Dammit, they call those things Demon Apes?" one of the disciples cursed, his voice muffled as he held his badly swollen cheek.

"Don't talk about it," another waved his hand weakly. "I feel like the crack in my Daoist heart is now big enough to fit a monkey's fist..."

'That Miss Su must have done this on purpose! What stupid test of 'love'? She just wanted us to get a solid beating!'

They roared wildly in their hearts, but dared not show a trace of resentment on their faces. After all, who knew if the person helping them walk wouldn't just turn around and report them, ensuring they'd never have a future.

This kind of thing wasn't uncommon in the demonic path. For all they knew, there could be a new undercover agent among them, sent by the higher-ups to monitor their activities!

There was no other choice. Even if they felt wronged, they had to force themselves to sing her praises.

"Miss Su's teachings are truly enlightening! We were foolish and only today have we realized that true strength comes from complete obedience and humility!"

"Indeed! If not for Miss Su's painstaking efforts to let us personally experience that insurmountable power gap, I fear we would still be wallowing in our own arrogance! I feel that after this baptism, my Daoist heart has become even more solid!"

"Well said, Daoist Brother! We too have benefited greatly!"

"It is all thanks to Miss Su's guidance!"

One after another, they hyped up the inhumane beating they had received, turning it into a supreme trial of profound enlightenment.

They placed Su Ling'er upon the divine altar of a painstakingly benevolent saint.

If anyone were to catch wind of their true feelings and report them to the capricious Miss Su, they had no doubt that their next destination would be either the Artifact Refining Pavilion as "new materials" or the Hundred Herbs Garden as "premium-grade fertilizer."

At the same time, they quickened their pace, wanting only to hurry back to the Transmission Hall and see if there were any less treacherous tasks left on the board.

But what they didn't know was that Miss Su had already prepared the next great educational drama for these incorrigible demonic whelps, one that would let them better appreciate the "weight of life"—"Help Hatch a New Life (Ovum)".