Bai Shuying was sprawled out on the ground, exhausted, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She was bruised and battered, if someone came close enough they could hear her muttering in a low voice, "Damn, It hurts."
Across from her stood a wooden figure in the shape of a human, standing emotionless as if on standby.
Bai Shuying wanted to put her fighting skills into practice, so she started to look for a sparring partner. She asked Xiao Yunxi, but she was rejected by her, and Xiao Yunxi quickly left.
When Xiao Yunxi heard Bai Shuying's request, she thought.
I took the alchemy class to avoid fighting, and now you want to fight me! No!
Bai Shuying was lost for a moment, feeling the weight of being a loner, until she remembered the Combat Hall had puppets. She quickly went and rented a puppet for use and took it to the training ground in her residence. The cost to rent was cheap, but the price to power the puppet consumed a large amount of spirit stones. Even if Bai Shuying had an abundance of spirit stones, she was distressed at using them on the puppet; she cried, but had no tears as she watched her dwindling pouch, which held her spirit stones.
After reading a user manual, Bai Shuying activated the puppet in passive combat mode. In this mode, the puppet does not take the offensive, but only dodges and deflects the user's attacks. Bai Shuying used boxing from her past life to test the puppet. She threw punches and jabs, the puppet dodged the punches and blocked the jabs towards its side.
Bai Shuying started to get more excited, "Wow! This is so fun. I wonder how active mode is?"
Bai Shuying switched the mode from passive to active. In active mode, the puppet will attack the user based on preprogrammed techniques. Bai Shuying punched in excitement, but soon that excitement turned into dread. The puppet dodged her fist and attacked with its own. Soon, punches and kicks rained down on Bai Shuying.
Bai Shuying was taking so much damage that she spoke with distress, "Oh no, how do I stop this again?!"
She became bruised and battered and started to yell, "...De-deactivate, deactivate!"
The combat puppet stopped attacking and stepped back as if on standby while Bai Shuying crumbled to the ground.
Bai Shuying closed her eyes and ran the blooming lotus art. The bruises on her body healed, and she was back to normal. She opened her eyes and jumped up, and glared at the combat puppet.
"Hmph, if I don't teach you a lesson today, my last name won't be Bai!"
The puppet stood there on standby. Bai Shuying exhaled a breath of air and closed her eyes, recalling all the martial arts knowledge she had from her past and current life.
"Since I have great comprehension, I should be able to recall all the fighting knowledge."
Bai Shuying shifted through her memories and spoke in a low voice, "No, not this one. I can't choose a martial art that relies on strength. I wish I were a hexagonal warrior, but my stats lean towards endurance and agility."
Bai Shuying's eyes snapped open. In one fluid motion, she pivoted toward the combat puppet and launched a straight punch—only for the machine to slip aside with unnatural grace. Soon, a metal fist came whipping toward her temple, the air screaming in its wake.
Reacting instantly, she swayed her torso to the side, letting the strike whistle past her ear. Before the puppet could retract its arm, she pivoted on her back foot and lashed out with a low spinning kick, aiming for its knee. The puppet hopped back, but Bai Shuying was already flowing into her next move—she sprang forward, feinting a straight palm strike before twisting her body into a whipping elbow aimed at its ribs.
The puppet blocked with its forearm, but she used the impact to rebound, flipping backward to create space. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she surged forward again, this time with a flurry of rapid punches—jabs, hooks, and uppercuts—each strike flowing seamlessly into the next. The puppet weaved and parried, but she pressed the assault, her movements liquid, her breath steady despite the exertion.
Seeing an opening, she ducked beneath a wide swing and shot her leg out in a sweeping kick, knocking the puppet off-balance. Before it could recover, she leapt into the air, twisting her body mid-flight to deliver a devastating axe kick straight down onto its shoulder. The puppet staggered but retaliated with a sudden spinning backfist.
Bai Shuying arched backward, her spine bending like a willow in the wind, narrowly avoiding the blow. As she straightened, she trapped the puppet's wrist, yanking it forward while driving her knee upward into its midsection. The puppet twisted free, but she didn't relent—her hands shot out in a blur, fingers lashing like vipers as she targeted pressure points along its arms and torso.
The fight became a dance of evasion and precision, neither fighter yielding. Sweat glistened on Bai Shuying's brow, but her movements remained fluid, her endurance unshaken. She was a storm in human form—relentless, agile, and unstoppable.
Bai Shuying's mind had slipped into a rare state of clarity, a fleeting glimpse into the Dao that few cultivators ever experienced. The world around her seemed to slow, her senses sharpening beyond mortal limits. Every movement, every breath, resonated with an instinctive understanding of the sparring.
This was not mere combat, it was a dance with the puppet.
The puppet's attacks, once a blur of calculated violence, now unfolded before her like an open scroll. She could see the flow of energy guiding its limbs, the gaps in its defenses, the rhythm of its artificial instincts. With each step, her feet carried her along an invisible path, one that balanced aggression and restraint, force and grace.
For the first time, she wasn't just fighting.
She was walking.
And the Dao answered.
A miraculous sight started to appear, and an illusory scene started to form around them. In a white space, a being made of pure white in the form of Bai Shuying started to appear and perform martial arts. If any high-level cultivator saw this scene, they would be shocked.
Bai Shuying was connecting to a dao path and now started to walk down it. After a moment, Bai Shuying started to show exhaustion. As a cultivator in the qi condensation realm, to achieve such a feat was nearly impossible. Bai Shuying did not have the necessary strength to support herself in walking the dao. Soon, the white figure started to fade, and the illusory scene ended. Bai Shuying's movement slowed down, and her breathing became rougher. It reached a point where her body stopped moving, and the fist of the wooden puppet punched her in the abdomen, sending her sprawling to the ground. The combat puppet, which uses spirit stone, has stopped, the formation shown on its chest dimmed and turned off, showing it has run out of energy.
Bai Shuying closed her eyes and took a nap on the ground, thinking.
Hmm, the cool ground feels so good, let me close my eyes for a while.
…
In the sect master's office, Hua Xiran finished a pile of paperwork and stretched her arms as she did her assets jiggled and her slim waist was in view, making anyone gulp at such a display.
"Finally done, took a while to finish."
Due to the opening of the secret realm, Hua Xiran's workload increased. She exhaled a breath, and her face showed a hint of exhaustion. "Now we need to have a sect meeting about the tokens for the secret realm."
She rolled her shoulders and stood up from her seat, and vanished. Soon, she appeared on the training ground at Su Meilin's residence and was stunned at what she saw. A combat puppet on standby and a peacefully sleeping Bai Shuying on the ground.
Hua Xiran spoke softly, "Sigh, why are you sleeping on the ground like this?"
Hua Xiran placed her right arm under Bai Shuying's knees, and her left hand held her shoulder. She lifted her and rested Bai Shuying's head on her chest. Hua Xiran performed a princess carry on Bai Shuying. If Bai Shuying were awake, her face would have turned red like a tomato.
While carrying her, Hua Xiran looked at Bai Shuying for a moment and noticed a fragrance emanating from Bai Shuying's body.
Wasn't this scent what I smelled before? Was it not perfume?
Hua Xiran brought her nose close to Bai Shuying's body and sniffed. Smelling Bai Shuying's natural scent, an intoxicated look appeared on Hua Xiran's face. Realizing her behavior was obscene, she quickly shook her head and thought.
What am I doing? Why is it that when it comes to this girl, I turn into a pervert?
Hua Xiran walked into the residence she noticed the sweat and dirt on Bai Shuying's clothes and body. This made Hua Xiran think for a moment, and soon a smile appeared on her face. She changed directions and headed towards the bath.
Hua Xiran laid Bai Shuying's body on the bathroom floor and took out two baskets, placing them in front of her.
Hua Xiran unwrapped the sash around her waist, the sleeves of her robes slid from her arms to her hands, revealing her upper body, while the robes on her lower body parted, revealing the beautiful scenery that lay behind them. If Bai Shuying saw this scene, she would be stunned and yell.
Why aren't you wearing any underwear?!
Hua Xiran placed her clothes in the basket. Now fully undressed, she looked at Bai Shuying. She licked her lips, and a smile appeared on her face. "Now then…"
She undid Bai Shuying's sash, and her robes became loose. Hua Xiran undressed Bai Shuying and placed her clothes in the second basket, but what came into view dissatisfied her.
Hua Xiran frowned and muttered, "Why do you wear that?"
In the Martial Heaven continent, humans had different priorities compared to Bai Shuying's previous world. Some industries are underdeveloped. One industry is entertainment, mortals focus on work, while cultivators focus on cultivation. In this world under wear for women did not develop at all. Finding her situation difficult with the gender change as well as her body changing as her cultivation increases, Bai Shuying did not want to go commando, so she uses bandages to wrap her chest and lower body.
Hua Xiran undid the bandages on Bai Shuying's body and threw them in the basket. Then she looked at Bai Shuying's body and nodded her head while puffing her chest, which jiggled with pride, satisfied with the work she did. "Now this is better."
Looking at Bai Shuying's white jade-like body, she spotted the anklet on her ankle. Hua Xiran tapped her cheek with her index finger. "Should I remove it as well?"
The image of the fox version of Bai Shuying appeared in her mind, and Hua Xiran made her decision. Nodding her head with determination, "Yes, I need to do it."
She took off the anklet and watched with amazement as fox ears and tail sprouted from Bai Shuying's body. Hua Xiran stared for a moment as if engraving the image into her mind. She then picked up Bai Shuying and took her into the bath.
As a cultivator at the soul transformation realm, taking a bath is unnecessary for Hua Xiran, but for someone of Bai Shuying's realm, she would still need to take baths. Hua Xiran wanted to take this moment to get closer to Bai Shuying.
Hua Xiran took a clean cloth and lathered body wash on it, then she started to scrub Bai Shuying's body. After finishing, she took shampoo and spread it on her hands, cleaning Bai Shuying's hair and tail. Hua Xiran giggled at the sight of Bai Shuying covered with white foam. She grabbed a wooden bucket filled with water and rinsed Bai Shuying.
Unknown to Hua Xiran, Bai Shuying was not completely unconscious, but semi-conscious.
…
Bai Shuying opened her eyes and found herself in complete darkness. She felt as if she was traveling in the void. When she took a step forward, she felt as if she was stepping on the ground. Confused, "Hmm, where am I? Why is it that I found myself in either complete white or black spaces?"
With no idea what to do, she continued to walk forward in the darkness. Bai Shuying did not feel tired or know how far she had walked.
Feeling bored, Bai Shuying started to hum a tune, "Ru, ru ru ru…"
Soon, Bai Shuying started to frown. "Why do I feel weird sensations all over my body?"
Bai Shuying felt as if someone was touching her body all over. She shook her head and ignored the feeling, believing, "There's no way it's probably me losing it from being in the void for too long."
She continued to walk, "Yeah, it was my imagination; the sensations are not happening now."
What Bai Shuying did not know was that Hua Xiran had finished cleaning her and was not soaking in the bath with Bai Shuying on her lap, resting her head on Hua Xiran's chest. If Bai Shuying saw this scene, she would have passed out.
As Bai Shuying looked forward, she saw a faint light. Thinking she was seeing things, she rubbed her eyes and looked again. "No way there is a small light."
She began to run towards the light and soon arrived in front of it. "What is this? A seed?"
There was a seed floating in the void, radiating a faint light. Bai Shuying raised her hand and grasped the seed. The light on the seed began to become brighter and brighter, but Bai Shuying's attention was not on the light in her hand. In the void, multiple light figures resembling her were performing martial arts. "No way, what are these?"
Some threw fists, others kicked, and another swung a sword. The seed in her hand burst with light, making to void recede. Bai Shuying closed her eyes due to the intensity of the light.