The woman in black bore an identical face to Gu Junshi.
"Whichever disciple you fancy, go ahead and pick," Wei Li waved a hand, appearing too lazy to participate.
The mountain lords had already received the profiles of these new disciples and knew precisely who they wanted.
"Mo Xixi, where are you?"
"This disciple is here."
A pretty, youthful woman stepped forward with joy. She possessed a wood spirit root and was the first disciple to be chosen by a mountain lord.
One by one, disciples with single spirit roots, then double spirit roots, and so on, with the best to average aptitudes, were picked. Fewer and fewer disciples remained in the center of the Guangjian Hall until only one was left standing alone.
A five-element spirit root, over twenty years of age, still in the Qi Refining stage. With such cultivation aptitude, no mountain lord would want to take her as a disciple.
Thus, she remained solitary.
Some even murmured, wondering how she had even made it into the selection echelon in the first place.
If no mountain lord was willing to take her, and the Sect Leader did not intend to accept her as an inner disciple, her inner disciple quota would be put on hold, and she would first be sent to cultivate in the outer sect to gain experience and improve her cultivation.
"Why is there still one person here? Has no one claimed her?"
Wei Li brushed back a strand of smooth hair, propped his chin, and looked teasingly at the woman in the hall, whose expression was calm and detached, as if she were not involved.
Hearing him speak, no one made a sound.
"Since that's the case..."
"I will," Liu Jiang Fusheng suddenly said.
Everyone turned to look at him. Daoist Zhiyang exclaimed, "Fusheng, what are you talking about?"
Wei Li paused, a ripple of emotion in his eyes. Seeing that Liu Jiang Fusheng had interrupted him, a flash of irritation and displeasure crossed his face.
However, considering his exceptional talent, he could generously make an exception for him. "You want to take her as your disciple?"
Liu Jiang Fusheng immediately shook his head. "No."
Daoist Zhiyang and the disciples of Wumei Mountain breathed a sigh of relief at his direct denial.
Wei Li raised an eyebrow, his eyes alluring and naturally charming. "Then what do you want?"
His tone grew increasingly dangerous, clearly considering Liu Jiang Fusheng's interruption as disruptive.
Liu Jiang Fusheng hesitated for a moment, not looking at the woman in the hall, and replied, "She can stay at Wumei Mountain for now."
"Hey, hey, hey, did you ask me, your master, before making your own decisions?" Daoist Zhiyang was so angry he jumped up and down.
His disciple was becoming more capable and assertive, daring to make decisions on his own.
Liu Jiang Fusheng turned his head, his eyes like two pools of clear water, as if some mysterious power could draw people in. "Master, you will keep her, won't you?"
Daoist Zhiyang couldn't withstand his gaze, and coupled with his usual favoritism towards him, seeing his persistence, he grumbled after a bout of scolding, "...Fine."
Since Daoist Zhiyang had spoken, a small matter was essentially settled.
However, others could not understand why the most anticipated peerless genius of the Great Yan Sect would ask his master to keep this woman with the five-element spirit root.
Was there anything special about her?
In terms of appearance, she was indeed naturally majestic and possessed superior beauty. But in the cultivation world, beautiful female cultivators were not rare; from this aspect, she held no advantage.
Her aptitude was exceptionally ordinary.
No one knew what made Uncle-Master Liu Jiang regard her so highly as to personally intervene and keep her.
The female disciples, attracted by Liu Jiang Fusheng's aloof beauty, all looked at the woman with jealousy and sharp sarcasm.
Although the woman stood there, her divine sense had long since traversed time and space to handle urgent matters in her true timeline, leaving only a wisp of divine thought within her body to maintain normal behavior.
When her divine sense returned, she discovered that she had successfully entered the Great Yan Sect and remained at Wumei Mountain.
And all of this... was thanks to Liu Jiang Fusheng.
To Gu Junshi, this was not surprising; in fact, it was within her plan.
Now that he was embarking on his cheat-mode protagonist life, she appeared with the same face as his disliked ex-wife. He would surely harbor resentment towards her. If she acted up further, it would be suicidal.
Thus, the second kill would be achieved, resentment would diminish, and the most ideal outcome should be this...
---
Gu Junshi was thus kept at Wumei Mountain by Liu Jiang Fusheng, but what happened later did not unfold as she had envisioned.
He seemed to intentionally avoid her. They rarely met. Even when their paths converged, he would alter his schedule to avoid interacting with her.
Gu Junshi began to doubt, "Has his resentment lessened over the years?"
The Heavenly Dao replied irritably, "Not at all."
"Then how are his relationships with his numerous admirers progressing?"
"No progress... Why are you asking these questions? Don't you already know? Although we haven't appeared all these years, we've always been keeping an eye on Liu Jiang Fusheng's movements."
"Fame, beauty, enemies – all within reach. If I play the villain and help him complete all the tasks you've set for him in one go, and he ascends, will the resentment in his heart finally disappear?"
She was starting to doubt.
"You destroyed the Demon God's true form, and his soul is being tormented in hell. He cannot come out to harm the mortal world. Do you plan to replace the Demon God to help him achieve complete merit?"
"That was the original plan, but now I realize perhaps we should first figure out his true thoughts. Doesn't he have a trace of your divine soul within him? Take that wisp of divine soul in his place, listen to his innermost thoughts, and then tell me."
"And what about you?"
"I'll make some arrangements."
---
Following Gu Junshi's instructions, the Heavenly Dao proceeded smoothly, without arousing Liu Jiang Fusheng's suspicion. However, when it tried to listen to Liu Jiang Fusheng's innermost thoughts, it found that he had very strong self-control and rarely revealed any secrets.
But one day, it stumbled upon a great secret.
Liu Jiang Fusheng accidentally encountered Gu Junshi. His spiritual sense could easily detect Gu Junshi approaching them from a distance. Her aura was like ice and fire, always making him feel both cold and hot.
At that moment, his mind was not yet entirely clear, but his body had already moved to hide, avoiding an encounter with her.
The Heavenly Dao heard his heart pounding. Finally, it found a crack to eavesdrop.
"I wish she would come to find me actively..."
His inner thoughts were expressed simply and directly, making it impossible for the Heavenly Dao to doubt its misunderstanding.
Huh?
His posture of avoidance did not match his clamoring thoughts. Which one should it believe?
In the end, it decided to take a risk.
Such a simple wish... Very well, it would be granted!
The Heavenly Dao quickly slipped away to find Gu Junshi. "Quick, he wants to see you. Go find him now."
He wanted to see her?
Gu Junshi's thoughts were not much different from the Heavenly Dao's.
Every time he saw her, he either hid or avoided her. Did someone who wanted to see someone act like this?
But the Heavenly Dao would not tell such a pointless lie, so Gu Junshi, half-believing, went to find Liu Jiang Fusheng.
Her divine sense could cover the entire twenty-eight heavens. Finding someone was as easy as flipping a hand.
However, when she found Liu Jiang Fusheng under the Hehuan tree, his expression, upon seeing her, was not one of joy. Instead, his brow was tightly furrowed, and he looked at her with annoyance and displeasure, remaining silent.
At this moment, Gu Junshi also felt hesitant. Would her sudden appearance be a wrong decision? What if it provoked him further and intensified his resentment?
The Heavenly Dao also began to doubt itself, so it sneakily eavesdropped again.
"Why isn't she speaking, and why does she look displeased? Does she not want to see me?"
Upon hearing this, the Heavenly Dao immediately called out to Gu Junshi, "You're keeping a straight face and not speaking. He thinks you're angry. Hurry, he wants to hear you speak to him."
Gu Junshi was speechless upon hearing this.
She bowed to him. "Greetings, Uncle-Master Liu Jiang."
As expected, only after she spoke did Liu Jiang Fusheng break his silence. "What is your name?"
Previously, Liu Jiang Fusheng had been evading her. Since avoidance was no longer possible, and she had actively come to see him, ignoring her further would be unreasonable.
Gu Junshi casually chose a common name: "Wuming."
This name was obviously fake, too perfunctory and casual.
Liu Jiang Fusheng felt displeased.
"Why did you come to find me?" His tone was slightly harsh. Even without looking at his expression, one could tell that his mood was not good.
The Heavenly Dao reminded her, "He's unhappy. You can say something to appease him."
Appease? Gu Junshi, following instructions and his wishes, said, "Because I wanted to get to know Uncle-Master. Regarding what happened in the hall earlier, I haven't formally thanked Uncle-Master yet. If not for Uncle-Master's shelter, Wuming would likely not have entered the inner sect, let alone remained at Wumei Mountain as a disciple."
Upon hearing this, Liu Jiang Fusheng's brow subtly relaxed. "Is there anything else you wish to say to me?"
Actually, she had nothing else to say, but his question clearly indicated he wanted to hear more.
But what exactly did he want to hear?
So, the Heavenly Dao, acting as a "listening device," played its part again.
"He wants to hear you say that you... admire him?" The Heavenly Dao asked incredulously.
Gu Junshi was also stunned for a moment, then tentatively said, "I've heard that Uncle-Master is a Celestial Spirit Root born once in a hundred generations, and his sword dao is accomplished. Wuming greatly admires you. I wonder if I might have the good fortune to often see Uncle-Master and receive his guidance on my cultivation."
She had never been one for shy and reserved maidenly affection. These bold and direct words stunned Liu Jiang Fusheng.
After regaining his memories, the cold face, which had long shed its youthful immaturity, finally cracked for the first time. A fiery warmth spread to his ears, making them burn.
"You are impertinent!"
His face showed anger.
But the Heavenly Dao, as if in a dream, told Gu Junshi, "His, his resentment value has decreased significantly."
Gu Junshi was curious.
"How much did it decrease?"
"More than when he killed you, at least double."
Gu Junshi: "..."
The hearts of men are like needles in the sea. She had never expected his personality to be so awkward and tsundere.
If she kept relying on the Heavenly Dao to cheat and fulfill his innermost desires, would his resentment value be completely eliminated as desired?
At first, they were both quite optimistic about the current development, but they soon discovered that this idea was far too optimistic.
Because after the resentment value was reduced to fifty percent, it stopped moving. This indicated that a part of his heart remained untouched, firmly occupied by the resentment value. If she couldn't figure out what that was, she might never be able to awaken him.