She Dominates the Immortal Realm with Her HP Bar

Yan Luoyue hadn’t finished the punishment assignment Mr. Jiang had given her for skipping class by the time school ended.

That evening, she returned home with her lips pressed tightly together.

Her backpack still held the entire copy of *The Tranquil Induction Heart Sutra* she had to transcribe, and the red marks from gripping the pen hadn’t yet faded from her fingers.

Since Yan Gan and Sang Ji had recently been punished with the same copying task by Mr. Jiang, they sympathized deeply with Yan Luoyue’s plight.

The two brothers unanimously offered to each take on a third of her assignment if she really couldn’t manage it.

—After all, having copied hundreds of pages themselves, they’d become quite experienced at it.

Yan Luoyue covered half her face with her hand and groaned in agony. “No, Mr. Jiang would notice.”

Yan Gan and Sang Ji exchanged a glance, and the former came up with another idea. “Then how about you craft a magical tool to copy for you?”

If Yan Luoyue actually invented such a thing, they could even sell it at school—it would definitely be a hit.

“Maybe another day,” Yan Luoyue replied, too distracted to entertain the thought. “Even if I used a tool, Mr. Jiang would still know…”

The reason she was so certain was that before school ended, Jiang Tingbai had gently pressed down on her pen and spent a good ten minutes lecturing her on handwriting analysis.

Though he hadn’t said it outright, the underlying message was clear: don’t even think about getting any human, non-human, or mechanical help to copy for her.

Yan Luoyue: “……”

She had truly learned something new.

But she couldn’t help asking, “Sir, how do you know so much about this?”

Jiang Tingbai took a leisurely sip of tea, a faint hint of amusement in his voice.

“Haven’t we all been students once?”

Yan Luoyue: *Ah, I see. So the one who understands you best isn’t your enemy—it’s your former ally.*

This was an inside job. The deal was off!

With all possible escape routes blocked, Yan Gan and Sang Ji were at a loss.

They could only console her: “At least tomorrow’s a holiday. You’ll have a whole day to copy. Don’t worry, we’ll keep you company.”

Hearing this, Yan Luoyue gave her ridiculous brothers a long, deep look and retorted, “Will you, really?”

……

As it turned out, Yan Gan and Sang Ji proved with ironclad evidence—no, they wouldn’t. Expecting two teenage boys to patiently sit with her? *Dream on.*

At first, they each held a book, posing as diligent overseers while Yan Luoyue scribbled furiously across from them.

Before the time it took to finish a cup of tea, their feet were already playfully kicking at each other under the table.

By the time an incense stick had burned, the books were propped up like a screen between them and Yan Luoyue—while the two of them had drawn a makeshift grid and were playing tic-tac-toe with circles and crosses.

Standing on her stool at that moment, Yan Luoyue finally understood the frustration countless teachers must have felt before her.

“Enough! Do you think I’m blind? From up here, I can see every little move you make!”

A short while later, Yan Gan and Sang Ji were kicked out of the study, their clothes dotted with ink splashes.

Squatting outside Yan Yu’s front gate, they shielded their eyes from the sun and exchanged helpless glances.

Realizing they weren’t much help, they sighed—then promptly ran off to play, perfectly cheerful.

Honestly, once those two distractions were gone, Yan Luoyue no longer had to split her focus, and her copying speed even improved by one and a half times.

By mid-morning, she was nearly done.

Just as she exhaled in relief and prepared to set down her brush, the door burst open, and her two brothers barged in, jostling for space.

They proudly presented her with a tiny, fluffy creature.

“Look, little sis!”

Cradled in Sang Ji’s hands was a plump little bird.

Its back was a soft gray-blue, while its chest bore faint orange down that rose and fell with each breath, reminding Yan Luoyue of a plump orange cake.

On its round, dumpling-like head, the black-and-white markings resembled a neatly wrapped scarf draped over its neck—a simple yet striking pattern that made her fingers itch to pet it.

Yan Luoyue blinked in surprise. “What’s this? Did you bring back some bird tribe’s kid?”

Sang Ji snorted. “Of course not. It’s just a spirit beast.”

Yan Gan eagerly explained, “It’s a toothpick bird!”

“Did you know, little sis? In the Black-Snouted Crocodile tribe, every crocodile gets one of these when they grow up!”

Sang Ji nodded. “Yep. This is my toothpick bird. His name is Huhu.”

The answer was so unexpected that Yan Luoyue blinked several times in rapid succession.

Ah, she *had* heard before that crocodile tribes distributed toothpick birds to each member when they came of age.

But wasn’t that just an urban legend, like “every young wizard gets an owl at age eleven” or “every child in Sichuan is given a panda when they start school”?

She’d always assumed it was just an exaggerated rumor.

Turns out, some tall tales are actually true?

Cautiously, Yan Luoyue held out her hands—and to her surprise, the round little bird hopped right onto her palms without hesitation.

Perched on her soft palms, it tilted its head and stared at her with beady black eyes, tiny claws tickling her skin.

Birds usually ran warm, and Yan Luoyue felt like she was holding a fuzzy little furnace.

The toothpick bird chirped a few times, then even stretched its neck to nuzzle her cheek!

“It’s so cute!” Yan Luoyue gasped softly.

“*You’re* so cute!” Yan Gan clutched his chest, inhaling sharply as if struck by the sheer adorableness of the two tiny creatures snuggling.

As for Sang Ji, though he said nothing, the exaggerated rise and fall of his chest suggested he was quietly hyperventilating.

Yan Luoyue stroked the fluffy ball in her hands, then suddenly remembered something.

Considering how the bird got its name… *uhhh…*

She eyed Sang Ji warily and couldn’t help asking, “Ji-ge, when your tribe gives everyone a toothpick bird… it’s not actually for *picking teeth*, is it?”

If so, this seemingly heartwarming gift was basically the equivalent of handing every child an ear pick?

Sang Ji: “……”

Yan Gan: “……”

Even the toothpick bird, Huhu, puffed up all its feathers in horror at the suggestion!

Under the siblings’ joint *“That’s just wrong!”* stares, Sang Ji could only sigh at the absurd injustice of it all.

He protested in shock, "No way, no one would do that. After transforming into human form, the gaps between teeth are so narrow—how could a toothpick bird possibly squeeze in?!"

Yan Luoyue frowned suspiciously. "Brother Ji, your explanation... the more I listen, the more it sounds like you actually have criminal intent."

Yan Gan chimed in, "To be honest, I think so too..."

Sang Ji: ?

Sang Ji loudly defended himself, "Toothpick birds are usually used for delivering messages or tracking people! No crocodile clan would ever use them to pick their teeth!"

Regardless, this tiny bird, chirping and hopping cheerfully in the palm of their hands, quickly won the affection of all three.

After stroking the bird a few times, Yan Gan’s envy finally overflowed. He dashed out to find Yan Yu.

Yan Yu was sunning books when she saw her younger brother approach. Pleased, she smiled and waved him over.

"Gan."

"Sister Yu!" Yan Gan’s eyes sparkled as he leaned in eagerly. His first words were: "In our turtle clan, is there a rule where we get issued something once we reach a certain age?"

Yan Yu stared at him blankly, not understanding his meaning.

"What?"

But given Yan Gan’s long-standing reputation for high energy and low brainpower, an ominous feeling slowly crept up Yan Yu’s spine.

"You know, like how the Black-Snouted Crocodile Clan gets toothpick birds!"

Yan Gan gestured wildly, using exaggerated movements to compensate for the lack of a physical example.

"So, what about our turtle clan? Shouldn’t we get something too?"

Yan Yu thought for a moment, then untied the pouch of snacks from her waist and handed it to Yan Gan, patting his head affectionately.

"Here, have some snowflake worm powder. It’s good for the brain."

Yan Gan took the powder, looking slightly conflicted as he walked away.

A short while later, Yan Yu went to inspect the fishing traps near the clan territory.

Before she could finish her task, a set of lively footsteps came barreling toward her from behind.

Turning around, she saw Yan Gan—again.

"Sister Yu," Yan Gan handed back the now-empty pouch. "I’ve been thinking—does our turtle clan really not issue anything when we come of age? I don’t mean snacks, I mean something alive!"

Yan Yu: "..."

Kids these days—so hard to please.

After a brief pause, Yan Yu bent down, untangled a wriggling silver fish from the nets by the shore, and tossed it to Yan Gan.

"Here, take this. It’s alive. And fish is good for the brain too."

"...Oh."

Yan Gan looked at Yan Yu, then at the little fish in his hand. His expression twisted slightly, but he obediently trudged off.

Behind him, Yan Yu exhaled almost imperceptibly.

But to her surprise, it wasn’t long before Yan Gan came back—again!

Yan Yu: "..."

Rubbing her temples, she sighed. "Gan, what is it this time?"

Yan Gan scratched his head, aware that his repeated interruptions were a bit much. But he pressed on anyway.

"Sister Yu, um… our turtle clan really doesn’t issue anything? I mean, not just alive, but also… really cute?"

Yan Yu: "..."

Yan Yu felt she had finally seen through Yan Gan’s sinister true motives.

—This brat wasn’t here to ask about clan benefits. He was just mooching food!

Her expression turned stern. "We do issue something. But that’s an adult turtle topic. Not for kids."

…Adult turtle topic?!

Now that got Yan Gan’s attention.

Anything thrilling, taboo, or bordering on scandalous was catnip to a teenager. His eyes widened, fixed unblinkingly on Yan Yu.

His cheeks flushed slightly. "Wh-what adult turtle topic?"

Yan Yu smirked dryly. "We issue baby turtles. Go grow up first, then come claim yours."

Yan Gan: "..."

Struck by this fatal blow from his sister, Yan Gan rubbed his nose and silently tiptoed away.

The moment he stepped into his room, he saw Sang Ji sitting with Yan Luoyue on his lap, the toothpick bird perched on his hand. Noticing Yan Gan’s return, Sang Ji deliberately teased him.

"So? What does the turtle clan issue?"

Yan Gan: "..."

His gaze darted around before finally landing on Yan Luoyue.

In the next second, Yan Gan moved like lightning, snatching back his little sister and lifting her high in a dramatic, Simba-esque pose.

With absolute conviction, he declared: "Our turtle clan issues little sisters!"

Beat that, toothpick bird!

Yan Luoyue: "...Huh?"

Sang Ji: "...Damn. You win. I can’t top that."

Once she finished the last of her copying, Yan Luoyue threw herself into her assembly line project.

She had already discussed it with Yan Yu—the entire backyard would be hers to set up whatever she needed.

So the night before, Yan Yu, Yan Gan, and Yan Luoyue had spent hours shuffling between the front and back yards.

They relocated all the items stored in the backyard—sweet sauce jars, salted duck egg crocks, brooms, shovels—into the front yard storage shed.

Hah! Now the backyard belonged to Yan Luoyue alone.

Methodically, she pulled out spirit flames, refining furnaces, and other equipment from her storage pouch, arranging them systematically.

To craft a storage pouch, there were three main steps.

In other words, a proper assembly line required at least three processing points.

The refining process also required preliminary material preparation, and afterward, standardized quality checks…

Factoring all this in, Yan Luoyue revised her blueprint, dividing the full assembly line into five sections.

Each section needed a refining furnace and a spirit flame.

Here, her foresight paid off.

She had already secured over a dozen furnaces from Zhaoxin Residence—more than enough.

While one assembly line only required five furnaces, this wasn’t her skimming extras—no, because—

Who said she’d only build one production line?

She planned to set up three or four simultaneously, all operating at once, achieving a full-scale automation upgrade for the cultivation world.

While effortlessly raking in money, Yan Yu could also use Zhaoxin Residence’s sponsored equipment to fulfill the Yijian Sect’s order!

Since both orders were meant to undermine the Lu Family, they served the same purpose.

This move? A classic two birds, one stone.

…………

The envisioned future was bright, but the road to get there was undoubtedly busy.

During the assembly line’s construction, every critical component had to be handcrafted by Yan Luoyue. Each machine segment also required fine-tuning based on the spirit flame’s unique traits.

Just as Yan Luoyue focused intently, adjusting a part according to the flame’s purity…

A presence suddenly approached from behind.

“Who’s there? Oh… Sis Yu.”

Yan Luoyue relaxed her shoulders and obediently flashed Yan Yu a sweet smile. “What’s up, Sis Yu? Do you need something?”

As she spoke, she set down the components she was holding into the semi-finished assembly line, dusted off her hands and pants, and rose to her feet.

“Did we run out of soy sauce? Do you need me to buy some? Or have you finished frying the fish and need me to plate them? No problem, I’ve got time now.”

“No, no, don’t worry about it.” Yan Yu casually pressed a hand on Yan Luoyue’s shoulder, pushing the halfway-standing girl back down with a soft *plop*.

Yan Yu stared blankly at the colossal contraption Yan Luoyue had assembled—a machine modified from five alchemy furnaces, connected by a conveyor belt—her expression dazed.

Her lips parted and closed, before she finally swallowed hard and asked incredulously, “Luoyue… you made this?”

Yan Yu had always taken meticulous care of Yan Luoyue’s daily needs, leaving no detail overlooked.

But like in many families, while the bond between an elder and a child was strong, growing children inevitably kept more secrets with their peers.

Yan Yu knew Yan Luoyue dabbled in artifact forging, but she never imagined her little sister could create something so… so…

Gazing at the massive, intricate production line assembled from multiple alchemy components, even with her limited knowledge of forging, Yan Yu felt a worldview-shattering awe.

She looked down at Yan Luoyue, who was cupping her chin in her hands, grinning like a smug little fox, her expression practically screaming: *Finally, Sis, you noticed!*

Under that gaze, Yan Yu finally recalled something.

“Wait… you mentioned before that you’d refurbish my Algae-Weaving Net…”

At the time, Yan Yu had assumed it was just childish play-pretend.

So she patted Yan Luoyue’s head, tied her hair into a cute new braid, and dismissed the idea with a laugh.

“Yeah, I wasn’t joking.”

Yan Luoyue nodded eagerly. “I’ve already upgraded Brother Gan and Brother Ji’s artifacts! And for yours, Sis Yu, I’ve prepped all the materials.”

Yan Yu massaged her temples, feeling slightly lightheaded.

“Then… those hair accessories you’ve been wearing lately…”

As her little turtle’s guardian, the observant Yan Yu had long noticed that the sister who once clung stubbornly to a single wooden hairpin had recently swapped it out, often adorning her hair with other adorable little trinkets.

Yan Luoyue nodded vigorously. “Yep, yep, I forged them all myself!”

—Those accessories were actually equipment she had crafted back in the game *Convergence of Myriad Realms*.

Ever since gaining cultivation, Yan Luoyue was no longer restricted by the level-zero bug.

She had dug out several HP-boosting accessories from her inventory, perfect for her current Qi Refinement mid-stage.

In comparison, Xiao Ming’s Water Storage—which provided a smaller HP bonus—had now been demoted to backup status.

“You… keep at it. I’ll go cook.”

Still slightly dazed, Yan Yu instinctively ruffled Yan Luoyue’s hair.

Only today did she realize that the little girl she’d raised had transformed from a fragile child who’d pale at the slightest strain into… an incredibly capable young lady.

With absolute confidence, Yan Yu thought: *As expected, my little sister Luoyue is a once-in-a-generation genius, a true jewel of the turtle clan!*

After fine-tuning the assembly line, the prodigious Yan Luoyue still felt restless.

It had been so long since she’d forged to her heart’s content—her fingers itched for more. While the sun hadn’t set yet, she could surely squeeze in another project.

Pulling out her *List of Whimsical Ideas*, she skimmed through it and quickly settled on her next invention.

Thus, Yan Gan soon witnessed his little sister trotting toward the guest courtyard at the clan grounds.

*Huh? That area’s usually for visitors. What’s she doing there?*

A short while later, Yan Luoyue returned, pushing a large wheeled cage—filled with…

—*Aaaah!*

Yan Gan nearly jumped out of his shell.

“Little sis, why did you buy so many *weasels*?!”

Didn’t she know that ever since *that incident* a year ago, the mere sight of weasels made his shell crawl?

As one of the original parties involved, Yan Luoyue blinked innocently.

“I need them for forging. Look, our business is booming now—I want to prepare some self-defense gadgets for everyone.”

Here, she curved her eyes, her petal-like lips quirking into a sly, sinister smile.

“Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. And based on *personal experience*, I can guarantee weasel-based effects will be *very*, *very* potent.”

The consequence of forging late into the night? Drowsiness during class.

Unfortunately, the first morning lecture wasn’t on cultivation techniques or insights—it was a morality lesson, the equivalent of modern political education.

Yan Luoyue’s head grew heavier by the minute, until, after a losing battle against sleep, she finally succumbed, face buried in her arms.

The instructor cast her a glance but, considering her usual attentiveness and young age, let it slide.

However…

His sharp eyes swept the classroom before landing on one particularly distracted brother of Yan Luoyue’s.

Yan Gan was promptly yanked to his feet and grilled: “Where did I leave off?”

Yan Gan: “……”

*So unlucky. Half the class is zoning out—why me?!*

……

By the time Yan Luoyue woke, the first period had already ended.

Her head still nestled in her arms, but her ears perked up instantly.

A keyword in her classmates’ chatter caught her attention, and their gossip drifted into her consciousness.

The topic? None other than the Lu Family of Ruyi City.

Given that Ruyi City was one of the nearest settlements to the Yunning Great Marsh, news from there spread quickly.

“You know why the Lu Family made such a huge fuss ten days ago?”

Hearing the timeframe, Yan Luoyue mentally calculated.

Ten days prior… that rogue cultivator hadn’t even cornered her at the city gates yet. The Lu Family’s mobilization must’ve been for something else.

Soon, another classmate chimed in: “I heard the area they cordoned off was later inspected… *tsk*, not a single blade of grass left. Completely barren.”

“Really?” a third voice pressed. “I only knew they sent a bunch of lackeys out. Rumor has it they captured *something* on their way back.”

After exchanging a few more words, the two classmates naturally drifted onto other topics.

Only Yan Luoyue remained sprawled over the desk, lost in thought.

What exactly had the Lu Family gained by mobilizing their people?

Given their relentless determination back when they were searching for that little green snake, had they somehow discovered and taken Snakey?

Yan Luoyue also recalled how she’d once stumbled upon the Lu Family’s subordinates purchasing various poisonous creatures at the Moonlit Market.

So, could the withered vegetation mentioned by those two classmates be the result of toxins?

Just as Yan Luoyue was deep in contemplation, Sang Ji suddenly dragged a stool over and plopped down in front of her.

With a wave, he beckoned Yan Gan to join them, wearing a knowing grin and speaking in a deliberately mysterious tone.

“Hey, bro, little sis, guess what I figured out about what you turtle folks develop when you grow up?”

“Huh?” Yan Luoyue took a second to process before realizing Sang Ji was referring to the toothpick bird incident.

Yan Gan, however, caught on immediately and pressed eagerly, “What? Spill it!”

Even Yan Yu, their own clansfolk, had never heard of this—how did Sang Ji know?

“Hold your horses, I’ll *distribute* it to you both right now.”

Sang Ji chuckled mischievously, then opened his palm and presented...

...Wait, what?

He placed two green beans each in front of Yan Gan and Yan Luoyue.

“Well?” Sang Ji asked with mock sincerity. “Do they catch your eye?”

Yan Gan: “…”

Yan Luoyue: “…”

Their fists clenched. Hard. Simultaneously.

—That day, Sang Ji returned to the clan grounds swollen.