Cultivation Begins with Daily Intelligence Reports

167: I didn’t beg you to save me.”Qin Yue!”

The female cultivator in red, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly bristled. The fake smile on her face completely vanished, replaced by exasperation mixed with shame and anger:

”I’ve told you a million times! My name is Li Yuexi! Li! Yue! Xi! Not some rustic Li Duoduo!”

”If you dare call me that again, I’ll tear your mouth apart!”

Her chest heaved violently with anger, her jewels jingled, her carefully drawn willow-like eyebrows shot up, and a crack appeared in her mask-like exquisite face.

Clearly, the name ”Li Duoduo” was her absolute sore spot.

”Oh?” Qin Yue’s eyebrow arched slightly, and the corner of her lips curved into an extremely cold, almost scathing arc. She slowly and clearly enunciated the last three words:

”Got — it, Li Duoduo.”

”You!!!” Li Duoduo nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood, her finger pointing at Qin Yue trembling, her bright red nails looking as if they would drip blood.

Her face flushed, almost unable to maintain her carefully adorned noblewoman’s demeanor, she wished she could pounce and scratch Qin Yue’s face immediately.

However, Qin Yue’s light yet absolutely lethal three words, ”Li Duoduo,” were like precise acupuncture points, instantly deflating her forced arrogance.

Her chest heaved several times, her face alternating between red and white. She was clearly infuriated to the extreme but unable to gain an advantage in a war of words.

Her eyes darted, then suddenly fell upon the uneasy young female cultivator Liu Lili behind her, as if she had found a new point of attack.

She yanked Liu Lili out from behind her with such force that Liu Lili stumbled, her face growing even paler.

”Hmph! Qin Yue, all you have left is your stubborn mouth!” Li Duoduo straightened her back, pushing Liu Lili forward as if displaying a trophy.

The boastful smugness returned to her face, and her voice rose several octaves, filled with a sense of superiority:

”Look! Look at our Lili! So young, only twenty-three years old! And she’s already a proper, official Alchemist!

Her future is limitless! What’s this called? This is called extraordinary talent! This is called formidable youth!”

Her tone shifted, and she aimed her criticism directly at Qin Yue and Miaoling Pavilion, her words extremely harsh:

”Look at your Miaoling Pavilion! Tsk tsk, it’s truly disheartening! Such a good talent, yet in your place, she can’t even get a decent Earth Fire, or a suitable Pill Furnace!”

”Spending all day with a broken Medicine Cauldron, what good things can she refine? It’s simply casting pearls before swine, a waste of heavenly treasures!”

The more Li Duoduo spoke, the more pleased she became, her bright red nails almost poking Qin Yue’s face:

”Look at our Daling Pavilion! This is truly a place that cherishes and loves talent!”

”Today, I specially brought Lili to Tianfa Pavilion to invite the best Formation Masters, in collaboration with the Artifact Refining Great Masters of Tianqi Pavilion, to custom-make a top-tier Pill Furnace for our Lili!”

”This is called valuing! This is called nurturing!”

She held her head high, like a victorious rooster, looking down her nose at Qin Yue: ”First Manager Qin, your Miaoling Pavilion... what do you have to compare? Hmm? Does a broken boat still have three pounds of nails? Hahaha...”

This harsh laughter and cutting words pierced Yun Momo’s heart like steel needles.

Yun Momo, who had been curiously observing the Formation stars, suddenly turned her head, her clear, large eyes staring incredulously at Liu Lili beside Li Duoduo.

Her eyes instantly reddened, and her small face was filled with the shock and grievance of betrayal.

”Lili?!”

Yun Momo’s voice trembled with a hint of a sob. She rushed to Liu Lili’s front, trying to grab her hand, but Liu Lili nervously dodged.

”It’s really you? Liu Lili! How could you... how could you do this?”

Yun Momo’s voice was filled with sorrow and incomprehension:

”When you were abducted by an evil cultivator, who risked their life to save you? It was Sister Xixi! When you were homeless, who took you in, taught you Alchemy, gave you resources, and treated you like a younger sister? It was Sister Yue! It was our Miaoling Pavilion!”

The more she spoke, the more agitated she became, her small body trembling slightly with anger and sadness. ”How did Miaoling Pavilion ever mistreat you? How could you... how could you switch to Daling Pavilion? And then follow her to humiliate us?”

Facing Yun Momo’s tearful accusations, Liu Lili’s head hung even lower, almost buried in her chest.

She dared not look into Yun Momo’s red eyes, nor Qin Yue’s icy gaze. Her face burned, and her heart was in turmoil, filled with shame and struggle.

But in the end, thinking of the abundant resources and bright prospects promised by Daling Pavilion, that trace of shame was suppressed, replaced by a desperate resolve.

She suddenly looked up, avoiding Yun Momo’s gaze, her voice trembling slightly, yet with a deliberately feigned coldness and toughness:

”Enough! Yun Momo! Miaoling Pavilion saved and raised me only because they saw my Alchemy talent! They just wanted me to be their money-making tool! I didn’t even ask you to save me! Besides...”

Her voice suddenly rose, as if she were defending herself, or perhaps trying to convince herself:

”In these past few years at Miaoling Pavilion, haven’t I been refining Medicinal Pills day and night to repay my debt? Didn’t the Medicinal Pills I refined bring you profit?”

”We’ve long since settled our accounts! No one should morally blackmail anyone! People strive for higher places, what’s wrong with me choosing a better place?”

These ungrateful, truth-distorting words were like cold knives, completely severing the last shred of affection.

Yun Momo was utterly stunned by her self-righteous shamelessness, her small mouth slightly agape, for a moment too angry to speak, only staring fixedly at Liu Lili.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and her small chest heaved violently.

”You... you’re too much!” Yun Momo finally found her voice, thick with tears and unbelievable anger, her tone completely changed.

”Hmph!” Li Duoduo, seeing Liu Lili hold her ground, became even more smug, letting out a triumphant snort.

She cast a disdainful glance at the trembling Yun Momo and the ashen-faced Qin Yue, then, as if shooing flies,

She impatiently waved her hand at Lin Jingyu, who was blocking the counter, her tone filled with extreme contempt and dismissal:

”Get out of the way! You pauper! Don’t block the path! You’re an eyesore!”

Lin Jingyu had been observing the farce with cold eyes, feeling a wave of disgust at Liu Lili’s ingratitude.

Now, directly targeted by Li Duoduo’s actions and words, which were like shooing away a beggar, a nameless fire instantly flared up within him.

He was not someone with a good temper, especially when someone actively offered their face for a slap.

Instead of anger, an extremely calm, even playful smile appeared on his face. He looked Li Duoduo up and down, at her attire that seemed to have every valuable item she owned hanging on it.

Then, as if speaking to himself, or stating a simple fact, he softly and clearly uttered two words:

”Brain dead.”

These two words were clearly pronounced, carrying a modern sense of conciseness and precise striking power.