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I am the Main Character? No Thanks!: Chapter 20 (Volume 2)
🕑 Added 2025-01-20 07:43:57 +0000 UTCYan Xinyan and Yan Liehuo sat nervously in front of Da Ling, as the girl gave them cold looks that did not suit her face, which was something no one had ever seen, as she continued stroking her Dao Familiar, Yang, the Scorching Stallion on his snout while the beast glared at the two cultivators.
“Well? If you have nothing to speak about, you two can continue kneeling at the village-“
“No, no. We do have something to say to Lady Da Ling.”
Yan Xinyan immediately bowed with her brother as she spoke those words, her wounds that she sustained from Da Ling after she called her Yan Ling still stinging on her back.
The two siblings felt a sinking feeling ever since Da Ling had broken through to the Nascent Soul realm and finally allowed them to speak with her.
As Cultivators in the Advanced Stages of the Soul Transformation realm, they knew that people who broke through Nascent Soul realm always came out different from before. It was a phenomenon that a Scholar once wrote about like this: ‘Those who reach Nascent Soul, either find themselves or lose themselves’.
However, the changes in Da Ling were too extreme for them to feel comfortable with.
The girl who once held her emotions on her sleeves in the short time they had observed her had now suddenly started to wear a cold expression that they were familiar with seeing on their fellow members of the Holy Lands, and they did not like this change one bit.
And yet, it was their duty and responsibility to bring this girl back to the Holy Land so that their mistress could finally reunite with her last person from her immediate family while also securing the future of the holy land through such a powerful heir.
Yan Xinyan continued speaking without stopping, hoping to convince the girl to come back with them.
“As we previously said, We were sent by your aunt, Yan Huo’er. However, what we were not able to tell you was that we belong to one of the four Holy Lands of the continent. Specifically, we are from the Crimson Realm Holy Land and your aunt is the Mistress of the holy land.”
With the name of the holy land, Yan Xinyan hoped to entice the young girl to take at least some interest in her real home. And yet, even after waiting for a few seconds, she did not get any response aside from one sentence that once again made the woman feel hopeless.
“And? Am I supposed to be awed by that title of your homeland?”
Thinking deeply about the girl’s words, the siblings looked at each other and nodded before Yan Liehuo started speaking.
Given the way that Da Ling had spoken, she either did not care about the Holy Lands or did not know much about them, likely because her current master was a loose cultivator with little experience.
“Lady Da Ling might not know, but the four Holy Lands are the top forces of the continent. Our might is unrivaled and so is our wealth. If you follow us back to the holy land, your aunt will spare no expense and pour every resource we have on you to advance your cultivation. The holy land will also guarantee your safety since no one would dare to harm one of our own-”
“Let me ask you a question.”
Yan Liehuo instantly shut his mouth at the interruption and sat up straight along with his sister, waiting for Da Ling to speak.
“You say that the Crimson Realm Holy Land is able to keep me safe and is capable of giving me any resource that I could possibly want. Then, I will ask you a few questions that you must answer truthfully while swearing on the heavens. If your answers satisfy me, I will follow you back to the holy land.”
The siblings felt so thrilled at those words that they did not even think twice before taking an oath to the heavens, causing distant thunderbooms to echo.
Satisfied with their swift actions, Da Ling started to ask her questions that doomed the two siblings into a hopeless abyss.
“You say that your holy land is one of the top forces of the continent, yet it is not the strongest, is it?”
The two looked at each other before Yan Xinyan spoke up.
“….You are correct, Lady Da Ling. While the four holy lands stand at the top of the continent, the holy lands themselves have ranks. The Crimson Realm holy land is ranked third among the four.”
“What are the rankings?”
“The first place and the definite strongest Holy Land is the Hidden Heavens Holy Land, followed by Obsidian Valley Holy Land. Then, the Crimson Realm Holy Land, and in the last place is the Autumn Fang Holy Land.”
Da Ling gave the siblings a cold smile as she spoke words that stabbed their hearts.
“And yet, despite being ranked lower than two other forces, you claim that there exists no one out there who would dare harm me should I join you?”
Yan Xinyan panicked as she tried to defend her brother’s words but Da Ling stopped her by raising a hand.
“You say that the holy land will spare no expenses and is willing to pour all of its resources on me for cultivation, then, tell me this, does your holy land have a Bodhi Fruit?”
At the mentioning of that name, unpleasant memories resurfaced in their minds but they suppressed them forcefully since this was not the time to indulge in what-ifs.
“Unfortunately no. Lady Da Ling must know that a Bodhi Fruit is a Heavenly Treasure and by nature, they are extremely hard to find and heavily sought after by every cultivator in existence.”
“That is fine. Does the holy land have any other Heavenly Treasures within it?”
Yan Xinyan felt pride surge at that question and started speaking more confidently.
“Of course! The four holy lands have been in existence since the 2nd Era and have accumulated a large wealth in terms of resources, including Heavenly Treasures. If you come back with us, the Mistress will let you choose at least one and at most two treasures from our vaults!”
“Only two? Did you not say that the holy land will ‘pour all of its resources’ on me?”
The siblings caught the strange smile on Da Ling’s face and felt their hearts sink at that question, realizing that Da Ling was not simply asking them questions, but was making them give up on trying to bring her back in a roundabout way.
Unfortunately, they had already taken an oath to the heavens and they could not lie to her, so they had no choice but to speak truthfully and plainly, without omitting any details.
“If it were normal resources, even rare treasures, then yes, the holy land would give you anything you wanted. However, Heavenly Treasures are something that even the ancestors of the holy land would covet. As such, their distribution is something that the Mistress can’t do without the consent of the Elders from the holy land.”
“So, that was a blatant lie on your part.”
“No! we did not lie-“
“Next question.”
Once again, Yan Xinyan and Yan Liehuo could do nothing but follow her words as she forced them to stop talking.
“Are you confident that the Crimson Realm Holy Land will protect me from any threat towards my life? Will they be willing to pay any price to save me should I be in danger?”
Once again the siblings felt their confidence rising.
“Of course! The Holy Land will protect you from anything that would dare to attack you, both because you would be the heir to the holy land and because your aunt is the Mistress of the realm.”
Once again, they spotted Da Ling’s face twisting with a mysterious smile that sent chills down their spine.
“Even if the enemy is the Phoenix Clan of the Barbarian Clans?”
The siblings broke out in cold sweat as they failed to answer the girl’s question.
Because they knew that the answer would paint all of their words as pure lies.
The Phoenix Clan is one of the top clans of the Barbarians, right alongside the Celestial Tiger Clan.
As a powerful Barbarian Clan, they have the authority to mobilize the demonic beasts under their command and combine forces with other Barbarian clans that rank lower than themselves.
This meant that the Crimson Realm Holy Land would have to be cautious when provoking someone from that clan and would hesitate a lot to go against them for the sake of a single member of the holy land, even if it was Da Ling.
Especially the elders of the holy land who had been making strange movements in the shadows for some time now and would not hesitate to throw her away if it meant that the holy land would not be caught in the crossfire.
“Your silence speaks volumes. So, let’s recap what you said before and what you truly meant.”
“You said that the Crimson Realm Holy Land is the strongest force on the continent, yet, by your own words, there exist two other forces above you. You said that the holy land can keep me safe from any threat, yet, you also admit that they cannot keep me safe from my enemies. You say that the holy land will pour all of its resources on me to cultivate, yet you also admit that they would not be willing to part with truly precious materials for me.”
The girl leaned forward a little bit as her ruby-red eyes glowed with power and rage.
“Tell me, if everything you have said so far is a lie, and your holy land can’t really do anything that they promise to do, why should I bother going there?”
Her Dao Familiar sensed the anger of his master and started to get up from his sleeping posture, His Yang Qi filling the room and making the siblings start sweating from the sheer heat of the beast.
Despite spending his time as a lazy beast in the village, the Scorching Stallion had not stopped cultivating instinctually and had broken through into the Nascent Soul realm some time ago.
While the two siblings were in the Soul Transformation realm late stages, the Scorching Stallion is a demonic beast, as such, he is usually much stronger than humans in the same realm and is capable of fighting beyond his realm should he really need to.
This meant that despite not having the capacity to win against the Yan siblings, Yang could still affect them to some degree with his Qi and fighting prowess.
“B-Because your aunt-“
“Let me stop you right there. I do not want to talk about familial relationships that never showed up when I needed them the most.”
Da Ling leaned back into her seat as a her face gained a neutral look.
“Putting that aside, let me inform you of what advantages I enjoy here. I can cultivate in peace, away from any distractions. I am protected my most threats out there, including my enemies, thanks to my Father’s and Junior Brother’s barriers which you have already experienced firsthand. They also shower me with treasures that you can never hope to obtain not because they want me to advance in cultivation, but because they truly care about me.”
He face slowly gained a tiny smile as her eyes looked beyond the siblings, far into the distance.
“I can live a life that I once thought lost in this place, with people that I can call genuine friends, and a father that cares about me so much that, sometimes, I even forget my birth parents. Tell me, how can your so-called Holy Land compare to any of that?”
Once again, the silence she received in response was quite telling.
With a sigh, Da Ling got up from her seat and climbed on Yang’s back, the Scorching Stallion somehow managing to give a sneering look at the two downtrodden cultivators.
“Go back to your holy land and tell my ‘Aunt’ that this Da Ling has already found her Holy Land and is unwilling to leave them behind.”
With those words, Da Ling left the room, leaving behind the two distressed siblings.
Comments
Caleb Reusser
Beautifully said.
