Become the Strongest Master With a Genius Student

"Here is your lunch, you may eat it now."

"Thank you, master, but why are there only plates for RuanRuan and Long Linglu? Where's your plate? C-could it be that the plates ran out? I-if that's the case, master can share a plate with RuanRuan, RuanRuan wouldn't mind sharing with master!"

"Huh? Yeah… actually, I already had lunch before you two came home, so it's just you two who are eating. I'll sit here and watch you both eat."

"That's too bad..."

‘Why do you look so sad, RuanRuan? Do you really want to share a plate with me that much? Of course, I wouldn’t mind—I mean, as your master, I have to maintain my dignity, so it's impossible for me to lower myself to share a plate with my student, maybe?’

"Nyam, nyam, Master, why is my food the same as Ruan Xiaoyue’s? Nyam, nyam, where’s the special food as a reward for awakening my bloodline?"

"Uh… Linglu, y-your food was made to look like RuanRuan’s on purpose. But, if you're observant, you should be able to feel that your food has a secret only you can sense."

"Really? Hmm... Nyam, nyam... W-whoa! Turns out what you said is true, master! At first, Linglu just felt the usual benefits from this food, but when you mentioned there was a secret to it, Linglu tried to focus more deeply on it, and indeed, there's a new benefit Linglu just discovered! Thank you, master, for making this food just for Linglu!"

"O-of course."

‘Is there something wrong with this little dragon girl’s brain? It's obvious that the food she’s eating is exactly the same as RuanRuan’s. How could she be fooled by such a ridiculous excuse? A new benefit? Haha, I even tasted it earlier before giving it to these two little girls, and there's nothing special about it, except that it’s a bit salty. Besides being noisy and arrogant, Linglu is easy to trick. I like her innocence, makes it easier for me to deceive her.’

"Long Linglu, let me have a bit of your food, I want to experience the benefits Master talked about. Nom, nom..."

"Hey! Who said you could take from mine! Didn't you hear what Master said? Only I can experience its benefits!"

"Nom, nom, I only took a little. Why are you so stingy? Didn't Master give you a lot of food?"

"Still, you can't just take what's mine! You even grabbed it without asking for my permission! Give me back my food!"

"Let me go! Don’t embarrass me in front of Master!"

"I won't let go until you give back my food!"

"You're being unreasonable! How am I supposed to return it? Besides, it’s already in my stomach! Just let me go, don’t cause trouble!"

"No! You must give back my food! I won't stop until it’s returned!"

‘Ugh, these two little girls are always arguing over trivial matters. Even though it’s noisy, I quite enjoy the chaos they bring. It makes my home feel lively.’

"Excuse me."

As Vheena sat with a smile, watching RuanRuan and Linglu bicker, she heard someone ask for permission to enter the dining room. Turning to look, she saw the voice belonged to the beautiful woman recently saved by RuanRuan. Xue Lanting, the beautiful woman, also looked toward the three people at the dining table. As her gaze shifted from RuanRuan and Linglu to Vheena, Vheena noticed her expression of shock upon seeing her face.

Ruan Xiaoyue, who also heard Xue’s voice, stopped her argument with Long Linglu and approached her to ask about her condition.

"Sister Xue, you're awake. Is your body still hurting?"

Upon hearing Ruan Xiaoyue’s concern, Xue Lanting quickly suppressed her surprise and shifted her gaze from Vheena to Ruan Xiaoyue, who had come closer.

"...Little Ruan, was it you who saved me from the alternative realm cultivator who captured me?"

"Yes, it was me and Long Linglu, but we were only successful thanks to Master's help."

Upon hearing Ruan Xiaoyue’s answer, Xue Lanting immediately bowed deeply toward all three of them in gratitude for saving her life.

"Thank you, Little Ruan and Miss Long Linglu, for going through the trouble of saving me even though we’ve only just met. And I also owe you a deep debt of gratitude, Miss immortal, for saving me."

"It’s alright, Sister Xue, especially since you’ve saved me before. Of course, I would save you when you're in trouble."

"Hmph, it's nothing, human named Xue. I saved you to repay my debt for convincing Ruan Xiaoyue not to kill me. Because of you, I’m still alive and even became the pet of a magnificent master."

"...No problem."

‘What help did I even give her? Why is RuanRuan exaggerating my role in all of this? I was just lazing around at home.’

"...Truly, I’m very grateful for the help of the Miss immortal, Little Ruan, and Miss Long Linglu for saving me."

Seeing Xue Lanting bow even deeper in gratitude, placing her palm over her fist, made Vheena feel a bit embarrassed. She walked over and placed a hand on Xue Lanting’s shoulder, inviting her to join them for lunch.

"That’s enough; you're being too formal. Come sit here. You haven’t had lunch yet, have you? Let me, as the host, serve you some food."

"Oh, no, Miss immortal, I don’t want to trouble you any further."

"It’s no trouble at all. Just sit down, you're a friend of my beloved student."

"Hehe, I’m Master’s favorite student~"

Ignoring RuanRuan’s strange comment, Vheena went to the kitchen to get some leftover food to serve to Xue Lanting. While she was preparing the meal, RuanRuan, who had returned to normal, started speaking to Xue Lanting, asking why she had been targeted by the Great Thunder Sect.

"Sister Xue, why was the Great Thunder Sect after you? Was it because we killed that scumbag in the alternative realm? And where are your junior disciples? Are they being targeted too?"

"Actually—"

Xue Lanting stopped herself from answering when she saw Vheena return with the food. She walked over to help take the plate from her.

"Miss immortal, let me carry that."

"Alright. And RuanRuan, Linglu, you two finish your meals first before you continue talking."

"Yes, Master." "Alright, Master!" 

After the three of them finished eating, Vheena, who was gathering the plates to wash them, was stopped by RuanRuan and Xue Lanting, who insisted on doing it, leaving her to sit alone as Linglu was also forced to help with the dishes. A few moments later, the three of them returned to the dining room and sat back at the dining table, listening to Xue Lanting's story.

“Actually, it’s purely my fault for trusting one of my juniors too much. I didn’t expect that after eating the divine fruit and feeling how amazing its effects were, one of my juniors who saw the effects didn’t eat it but instead made an excuse to eat it the next day. It turns out she took the divine fruit to the Great Thunder sect and exchanged it to become an inner disciple of the sect.”

“Because of my junior’s betrayal, the Great Thunder sect sent many of its elders to the White Lotus sect to threaten our sect master to hand me and three of my junior sisters over to them, claiming we had stolen their divine fruit. My sect master, fearing their threats without thinking further, sold the three of us to the Great Thunder sect. Seeing our sect master not helping but instead trying to capture us and even insulting us as thieves in front of the elders and many disciples without anyone defending us made the four of us heartbroken by the betrayal.”

“When the sect master tried to capture us in front of the disciples, one of my junior sisters, also heartbroken by the betrayal from our own sect, chose to self-detonate her early Golden Core to give us time to escape. Thanks to that opportunity, the three of us managed to flee.”

‘I may be just an ordinary person, so I don’t really know what a cultivator's life is like, but hearing this woman being betrayed by her junior, her sect master, and all the disciples just for a divine fruit—it’s truly ridiculous. Even though I’ve seen clichéd stories like this in cultivation novels, it’s still funny to see it in real life. All because of a fruit? Pfft, I can’t even take her sad story seriously.’

“Since the ones chasing us were elders from the Great Thunder sect, most of whom had Nascent Soul cultivation, my two junior sisters chose to sacrifice themselves so I could escape. Although I managed to flee thanks to their sacrifice, I was left with many severe injuries. Fortunately, I chose an alternative realm as my destination, so the Great Thunder sect’s Nascent Soul-level elders couldn’t pursue me. Even so, I was still unlucky as I was captured by the cultivator who owned the alternative realm, interested in my Pure Yin Physique that had just awakened—something I didn’t even know I had.”

‘Pfft, m-must hold my expression, th-this is so weird if I imagine Nascent Soul cultivators running around chasing a woman just for some fruit she got. Hahaha, m-must hold it in. I-I heard this woman has a Pure Yin Physique? No wonder her face is so beautiful and her body is so perfect, she even got captured by a powerful cultivator to be forced into a sex. H-her life is so miserable, going through one calamity after another. I really shouldn’t be laughing at her story.’

“I’m truly sorry, Sister Xue. I didn’t expect that giving you the divine fruit in the alternative realm would lead to such calamity for you,” said Ruan Xiaoyue apologetically after hearing Xue Lanting’s story.

‘Ruan Xiaoyue! It turns out all this woman’s problems were caused by you! I was even laughing at Xue Lanting’s tragic story, and the cause was you! Since you are my disciple, I’m sure I’ll also suffer the karma from this! Guh, don’t tell me the entire Great Thunder sect will come here to capture RuanRuan and me, her master? P-please let my deceiving face scare them when that happens.’

“I told you, Little Ruan, that this was entirely my fault. You even warned me to eat it right away, but I underestimated it, and that’s why this happened.”

‘Even though it may have been your own carelessness for not listening to RuanRuan, I’m also pretty sure RuanRuan is partly to blame since she’s probably an MC. I’m saying this from my experience reading novels and manga where everyone close to the MC always suffers. That’s probably why you’ve had such calamity, maybe?’

“In that case, let me help you get revenge, Sister Xue! I also have a grudge against the Great Thunder sect since they almost killed me in the alternative realm. We also need to go to your sect to demand justice for their betrayal. And your junior sister who betrayed you can’t be left alive. I can’t stand knowing a traitor like her is living comfortably!”

“Ruan Xiaoyue is right, Xue Lanting! I also hold a grudge against them, so I will definitely help you get your revenge! We can’t let your sect off the hook! You must demand justice from your sect master for selling you out like that!”

“…Actually, my junior sister who betrayed me is already dead, killed by one of the elders of the Great Thunder sect because she was no longer of use to them. She was truly foolish to think the Great Thunder sect would keep their promise after giving them the divine fruit. The Great Thunder sect has long been known for pillaging and destroying small sects they don’t like, yet my junior sister foolishly chose them just because they are the number one sect on the continent. As for my sect master and all the disciples of my sect, they were all massacred, and my sect can now be considered destroyed from the information I got after killing one of the Great Thunder sect disciples who was chasing me in the alternative realm,” replied Xue Lanting in an empty voice, without expression on her face.

“Those Great Thunder sect bastards are truly cruel! They acted too high-handed, destroying your sect! Let’s go, Sister Xue, to their sect—I’ll help you destroy them! People as evil as they are shouldn’t exist in this world!”

“I’ll come too! I’ll destroy and kill them all, for the evil they’ve done! Let’s go, Xue Lanting, we’ll kill them all!”

‘Uwah, RuanRuan and Linglu are too ruthless, wanting to take revenge by destroying the Great Thunder sect. Is this really how all cultivators are when they get strong, that they easily choose to slaughter and annihilate entire sects?’

“Master, please allow RuanRuan and Long Linglu to help Sister Xue destroy their sect. We can’t let them—”

“There’s no need, Little Ruan, I won’t destroy their sect. Besides, I’m already satisfied avenging my junior sister by killing many of their inner disciples who chased me. As for my sect, I won’t avenge them after the sect master and elders tried to capture us, and the disciples only insulted and mocked us when we were about to be captured.”

‘Eh? This woman doesn’t want revenge? Even though RuanRuan and Linglu are ready to help her get her revenge. Is she scared?’

“But Sister Xue, we can’t just let them go. We must destroy their sect! A life for a life—they must die!”

"That's right! Xue Lanting, don't be a coward looking for excuses; you've already killed plenty of their disciples! I won't accept such a cowardly excuse! We also need to destroy their sect!"

“I don’t want to! I’m afraid of suffering again! I’m tired of all this! I’ve never liked fighting! How long do you expect me to keep fighting just for revenge? We don’t even know if the Great Thunder sect has someone strong backing them or if they have many connections. I don’t want revenge to cost all of us our lives! I don’t want to experience any more loss! Besides, I also have a Pure Yin Physique—if the Great Thunder sect finds out, they’ll surely capture me and use me as a cultivation furnace!”

'Her attitude... could it be that this woman was born into the wrong world? How can a cultivator be traumatized? Aren't cultivators usually known for their arrogance and pride? How could she be so cowardly?' Vheena thought, confused as she watched Xue Lanting trembling in response to RuanRuan and Linglu's words.

Unable to bear Xue Lanting’s cowardice, Long Linglu forcefully dragged Xue Lanting to the backyard to take her to the Great Thunder sect after transforming into a dragon.

“Let me go! I don’t want to go! You don’t know what it’s like to be betrayed by your master, elders, and sect members, especially when you watch your junior sister sacrifice herself to help you escape! Let me go! I don’t want to be chased again just because of someone’s greed! Please, let me go! I just want to live peacefully!”

“Ruan Xiaoyue, hold her! Don’t let her escape! I’ll transform into a dragon, and then we’ll force her to come with us and destroy the Great Thunder sect!”

Ruan Xiaoyue, who also went to the backyard confused by Long Linglu’s actions of forcibly dragging Sister Xue, immediately restrained Xue Lanting tightly so she couldn’t escape after Long Linglu instructed her to hold Sister Xue.

"Forgive me, Sister Xue, but I will force you to come along. Don't worry, we won't get hurt. We'll show you the completely destroyed Great Thunder Sect for messing with us. If something unexpected does happen, don't worry, Sister Xue, because I'm wearing our master's robe, which has incredible powers!"

'Huh? Did RuanRuan say my robe has incredible powers? Is she talking about that old worn-out robe she got from me? How is that possible? I mean, it was just a hand-me-down from a villager in Stone Village, who was definitely just an ordinary person. But how could it have powers? I've been wearing that robe for two years and never knew it had any abilities. Could it be because RuanRuan is the MC, and that's why the robe has powers now? But where could the powers of this worn-out robe come from? C-could it be that there was a powerful cultivator in Stone Village secretly giving me this robe to curry favor with me? O-or maybe some immortal hiding in disguise was fooled by my looks and gave me this powerful robe to befriend me?'

"...Master... master... master... master!"

"Huh? What is it, RuanRuan?"

"Are you okay, master? I saw you spacing out just now. If you're thinking about something important, I apologize for disturbing you."

"It's fine. Why were you calling me?"

'I should be more careful when I zone out. I didn't expect RuanRuan to snap me out of it. As a (fake) expert, I can't let weaknesses like that show.'

"RuanRuan was calling you because I wanted to ask for your permission for the three of us to go and destroy the Great Thunder Sect."

"...Are you sure you can defeat them all?"

"Of course, master! Now that Linglu has awakened the bloodline of the divine dragon, there's no one on this continent who can defeat Linglu! Rest assured, master, Linglu will protect both Ruan Xiaoyue and Xue Lanting!"

"Why do you think you're stronger than me? Remember, you lost once, and even now, you're still my subordinate, Long Linglu!"

"That won't be for long! After we destroy the Great Thunder Sect, I'll challenge you again, Ruan Xiaoyue! I'll show you my true strength!"

"That's enough, stop arguing. If you're confident, then go. Just be careful in battle, and don't kill any innocents. Let them go if the cultivators surrender."

"Understood, master." "Got it, master!"

'Since RuanRuan and Linglu seem confident, it should be fine to let them take revenge, right? Seeing how big Linglu's dragon form is and how strong RuanRuan's punches are, I trust they'll succeed. Well, let's hope they do.'

Watching Linglu's dragon body, carrying the anxious-looking RuanRuan and Xue Lanting, disappear from view, Vheena returned to the house and resumed her usual activities, though a slight worry about their safety lingered in her mind.