Breaking the Day

An ant is a tiny insect, even a baby could squash one with a finger.

But ants could bite too, causing a stinging pain you’d feel deep in your flesh.

This was what Zhan Qisheng felt. Li Chengfeng was the ant!

Still trapped within the cage, Zhan Qisheng used his chin to squash a large ant walking up the vines and his body. He ate the ant, chewing it viciously and audibly. The ant left a sour and mildly corrosive liquid in his mouth, causing him so much pain he felt like he had just swallowed a fireball. His cheeks turned an unnatural red.

He was not hungry but had been maintaining his standing position for a long time, locked in position so his muscles felt like they were about to explode. Hatred and fury built up in his belly with nowhere for him to vent. He pretended that the ant was Li Chengfeng, as if he could swallow him whole.

The weird thing was that the angrier he was, the calmer his heart became.

The consecutive incidents had woke him up as he started to reflect upon his mistakes. He finally paid full attention to this Li Chengfeng who had beat him multiple times.

“It should hurt more, this isn’t enough…” Zhan Qisheng used his chin to squash another ant on the vine, then crushed it between his teeth. Its bodily fluids burned the insides of his mouth.

Zhan Qisheng did not look like the aristocratic Sir Zhan anymore, resembling a wild wolf who had fallen into a trap. His eyes were bloodshot, mixed with both calm and madness, two contradicting states.

“It must hurt more so I will remember this time!” Zhan Qisheng’s cheek muscles trembled and twitched as he crushed the ant in his mouth.

On a twenty-metre tall giant tree, two cultivations- one big and one small were watching him curiously.

“Sigh, h-h-how long h-h-has he been t-t-traped?” stuttered the small one, squatting on a branch as he chewed on a twig.

“Probably one whole day?” The larger cultivator huffed and yawned with a frowned. “Sigh, it’ll only unlock itself in six days. Won’t we have to squat here for six more days then?”

“Is t-t-this guy news? H-h-how dumb was he, t-t-to enter a f-f-forbidden area on his first day?” The small guy hugged his knees and put his head down, rocking back and forth but never falling off the thin tree.

The big guy chuckled. “He must have been tricked by one of the seniors! Sigh, every year a newcomer falls into this trap, this is getting annoying! Can’t they pull a new trick already?”

“W-w-what other w-w-worse tricks can you think of?”

The big guy grinned. “Should trick them into taking at least fifty steps instead.”

The small guy gasped. “Woah, you’re w-w-worse than me!”

The big guy laughed, about to reply when his expression changed and he disappeared into thin air. The small guy paused, then disappeared instantly.

Beneath the tree was a graceful lady with a hood, wearing regular cultivator robes.

“Stay where you are! This is a forbidden area, how dare you enter here!”

Both guys appeared in a flare in front of her, both looking anxious. They did not want anyone else to come, for they would be the ones getting into trouble in the end.

When the lady saw both of them, she put her hood down revealing fire-red hair and a cold expression.

Startled, both guys quickly lowered their heads respectfully, not daring to look at her. “Grand Senior Sister!”

There were many female cultivators in the Spiritual Mountain Sect, about three hundred of them. About a hundred were called Senior Sisters but there was only one person called Grand Senior Sister. Since she was the only one, this term could be used in place of her name.

The people across the lands often debated who was the most talented female cultivator among the younger generations. Some people said it was Daqi’s princess, Zhao Feiyue; others thought it was the Zhan Phoenix, Zhan Qiyun; some thought it was the Phoenix Hibiscus Court Master’s daughter Qu Youyang; and finally, many thought it was Spiritual Mountain Cangxiu Court’s Grand Senior Sister.

However, it was undeniable that her cultivation was already on the same level as the older, major cultivators.

Her expression was icy and arrogant as she looked at them. “What are you two doing here? Are you slacking off here instead of cultivating?”

WE should be asking YOU this too!

That was what the smaller guy thought but he did not dare utter a word. Grand Senior Sister was known for her temper and ruthless punishments.

The smaller guy spoke cautiously. “Y-y-yesterday, s-s-someone t-tresspassed the… f-f-forbidden area.. And is n-now trapped… We…we’re watching h-him.”

She looked at him with furrowed brows. It was tiring listening to this guy.

“Oh, isn’t that considered slacking off then?”

Both of their expressions fell. The larger guy asked carefully, “Grand Senior Sister, may I ask why you came here?”

She replied flatly, “You don’t have the right to know.” Then, she walked inside.

Both of them looked at each other, their eyes darting around. “Y-y-you go.”

“No, you go!”

“Y-y-you go… w-w-why won’t you!”

“I’m your senior, you go!”

“Ptui, w-w-we’re from the s-s-same year, what do you mean?!”

“What about we fight?”

The larger guy looked down at the smaller guy, who thought for a while and then swallowed his anger to step forward. He stopped in front of her, then said carefully, “G-g-grand S-senior s-sister, it’s not that I’m s-s-stopping you… b-b-ut… t-t-this is a f-f-forbidden area, t-there are rules and w-w-we’ve got our jobs to do…”

Grand Senior Sister cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

The small guy gulped hard as he stuttered even harder. “I-I-I m-mean… I-I-…”

Running out of patience, she pointed at the larger guy. “You speak!”

Stunned, he pointed at his own nose. “Me?” He glared at the small guy. Damn it, there’s a benefit to having a stutter? Is it too late for me to fake a stutter too?

After thinking for a bit, he gave up. “We would not dare stop you.”

“You can try stopping me. Don’t worry, you won’t die.”

Nonsense, that sounds even scarier!

Both of them stood stunned. Who would have the guts? She could defeat the both of them with one hand!

Panicking, the bigger guy said, “Grand Senior Sister, you don’t know how heavily bobby-trapped this area is! If you trespass, you’ll be slashed to pieces and your soul will be destroyed!”

She glared at him, then paused. “If you have any questions, you can go ask my master.”

Her master? Isn’t that the Cangxiu Court Master? Court Masters were rarely seen in public, how would they ever get to meet him?

“But, Grand Senior Sister…”

The smaller guy suddenly said, “Grand Senior Sister, then I’ll just go ask a Martial Uncle. Please wait a moment.” He then disappeared in a flash.

The Grand Senior Sister glared at the empty spot, then walked towards the forbidden area.

The larger guy was stuck, unsure of what to do. There was something odd about this but he could not place his finger on it.

Eh?

Wait, how dare YOU?! Aren’t you a stutter? Since when were you THIS smart with your words, running away just like that?!