Zhu Que, The Rags to Riches Protagonist

The female Child of the Plane was a humble village girl named Zhu Que.

She was born in a small fishing village on the most southern tip of the Southern Continent in the year of 961, making her a year older than Xue Bai but a year younger than Huo Long.

Usually, the ocean in the Baishen Plane was the most terrifying place, as not only were the waters deeper than how higher the skies were, but also how many demonic beasts lurked within.

This also made the fisherman occupation almost completely extinct, as to be able to catch the ferocious demonic beats within the oceans, one had to have the matching strength. Because, unlike forests where with enough rearing, one could control the population and strengths of the demonic beasts within, the ocean was too big and mysterious to be controlled.

Making it a place uncontrolled and untouched by humanity.

It was a complete deathtrap, as not only would one have to constantly use their Spiritual Qi to supplement the lack of oxygen, but also have to use it to defend themselves from countless demonic beasts attacking them. And should one go deep enough, they would also have to protect themselves from the crushing pressure of the deep ocean.

Overall the ocean was a deathtrap that every cultivator avoided, except for Zhu Que village members.

There, since there was almost no Spiritual Qi in the air or even water, the ocean wasn't filled with demonic beasts capable of sundering mountains, but instead normal fish. The fish there were, of course, stronger than the ones on Earth, but at the end of the day, they were still fish without any cultivation.

So for the village members in Zhu Que's village, the stronger, vitality-filled fish were their source of not only food but also their cultivation resources. Since without any Spiritual Qi in the air to absorb, the mortals living in Zhu Que's region had to resort to other ways to cultivate.

And the nutritious and vitality-enriched fish they hunted daily was the best tonic for their bodies.

In the village, Zhu Que was equivalent to the class belle, who was adored by everyone and had the greatest background since her father was the Village Chief. She would also live an extremely carefree life, eating the best fish and having the most luxurious accessories for a village, that is.

However, that serenity only lasted until her 15th birthday, when she awakened her Marital Veins.

Unlike where Xue Bai lived, usually in the Barren Lands, one could only awaken their Marital Veins much later. And in the region where Zhu Que lived, it was most common for children to awaken them at the late age of 15.

Usually, when one awakened their Martial Veins, there would be an accompanying natural phenomenon. This happened with 'Xue Bai's' awakening when he unleashed a pulse of Spiritual Qi that was just as strong as someone in the late stages of the Blood Exchange Realm.

But no one in Zhu Que's village was even in the Blood Exchange Realm, let alone in the late stages of it. So for Zhu Que, who awakened a Peak Earth-grade set of Martial Veins, her awakening was more than something to worry about.

A Peak Earth-grade set of Marital Veins was equivalent to an attack from someone at the 9th stage of the Muscle Nourishing Realm.

However, since all of the villagers living in her village are ignorant of Zhu Que's hidden potential, they all choose to hold a small ceremony to celebrate it instead of running far away from her.

While technically the Young Village Chief, Zhu Que didn't have any arrogance and instead loved being doted on by the villagers, so when her father announced her ceremony, no one was absent.

And without surprise, once Zhu Que awakened, her Marital Veins, calamity struck. Her Martial Veins were of the ice element, so as soon as her natural phenomenon swept through her village, everything within 30 meters was turned to ice, including the villagers.

Both horrified and confused about what happened, Zhu Que didn't know what to do, but after a quick check, she quickly figured out that everyone was dead.

She would then spend the next few days breaking down in a mess of emotions from the fact she had destroyed everything she ever knew. And eventually, with more guilt than her young shoulders could carry, she grievously buried everything before leaving her village where she should start her rise to prominence.

Knowing her heart-wrenching beginning, Xue Bai wanted to stop it, but sadly, even with his father's many capable subordinates, he was never able to find her village. Moreover, even though Xue Bai did explore the entire mortal world during his playthrough of "Children of the Plane," when he did, almost 200 years of in-game time had passed. And 200 years was more than enough to cover the remnants of a deserted mortal village.historical

Even now, Xue Bai had only found the city where Zhu Que's first arc was, and not the protagonist herself. This was the reason why Xue Bai wanted to appear during her first arc, as while he didn't know where she was before it, he could 100% guarantee her appearance in the city then.

And while this rough manner of searching wasn't something befitting of his identity, there wasn't much Xue Bai could do about it. Zhu Que's start was too far, and she lived a nomadic life capable of leaving even the gypsies on Earth in awe.

Before entering the Hundred Flowers Sect, Zhu Que didn't even have a home but instead spent her nights either camping out in forests or in random motels.

Thankfully her first arc made her location known, giving Xue Bai the opportunity to find her.

So with a slight smile on his face, Xue Bai fell into a mediation state.

Days would pass in this manner, with Little Wang driving as fast as the carriage would allow him, Big Wang intimidating any ignorant demonic beast or fearless bandit away, and Xue Bai cultivating in the carriage.

Xue Bai also slept in the carriage, as the interior had a bedroom with a bed. And while it wasn't as comfortable as the one in his courtyard at the sect, it was much better than he had in his previous carriage. And since the carriage also suppressed any of the rockings, Xue Bai was able to sleep peacefully inside the carriage.

But since he couldn't cultivate for the entire trip, he did get bored.

However, the group was in the middle of nowhere, giving Xue Bai no outlet for entertainment. So to fill his bored mind, he started to think about his near future and how he wanted to live the next few years.

Besides training his swordsmanship, cultivating diligently, and further comprehending his Sword Law, Xue Bai wanted to start truly tapping into his full potential. Xue Bai had a big disadvantage compared to every other 'Child of the Plane,' which was his lack of a strong motivation.

Zhu Que wanted to revive her parents, Huo Long wanted to protect his home, and Xiao Mo wanted to right every wrong he had faced in his previous life, but Xue Bai? He just cultivated since he knew Xiao Mo would try and come after him one day.

However, even then, the stimulus that gave Xue Bai was nowhere near what the other 'Children of the Plane' have. And while Xue Bai didn't plan on throwing himself into hell to stimulate his potential, he knew that encountering a few hardships was necessary to become a true powerhouse.

For the six years Xue Bai lived in this world, instead of the cruel world for what it was, he had taken this life as another playthrough of "Children of the Plane."

So when he first returned to the sect, Xue Bai planned to accept a few bounty missions from the sect. This way, he could finally have a true fight to the death and start to temper his mindset.

All of the fights to the death Xue Bai had been a part of could barely be called a fight. With Wang Mo, Xue Bai relied on the Thunderhawk, and with the many fights during the demonic beast hunt, he relied on his Gravity Field Formation.

Through these fights, Xue Bai wanted to reach his full potential. Recently Xue Bai had been lax in his comparisons, narrowing his mindset.

Whenever he thought of a genius, his mind would start trailing to Wang Yu, but for him, who knew of the future of the Baishen Plane, this was the definition of stupidity. Wang Yu was a pawn, groomed by the Demonic Sect, nothing more.

And while he was a villain in "Children of the Plane," that's all he was, a minor character fated to die as a stepping stone to a 'Child of the Plane.'

How could Xue Bai compare himself to someone that wasn't even fated to reach the Xiantian Great Realm?

So after returning to the sect, Xue Bai planned to ask Yue Zifeng to create a high-intensity and efficient cultivation regiment.

Through this, he hoped that he could finally tap into the full potential of someone with a Low Heaven-grade Martial Vein, as currently, he was bringing shame to whoever that eye belonged to.

Beyond that, Xue Bai planned to try and start purging the Southern Continent of the Demonic Sect.

The Demonic Sect weren't dumb and knew not to put all of their eggs in one basket. So besides the Wang Clan in the Great Xuan Empire, they had also corrupted other families in preparation for their invasion. The Wang Clan was just their largest and most important chess piece.

So the Demonic Sect had planted various spies into important positions of the Great Xuan Empire and Three Great Sects. And of the four powers on the Southern Continent, the Soaring Sword Sect had the most traitors.

Sword Cultivators were known for their extreme power and almost suicidal fighting style. So to prevent as many needless deaths for their forces, the Demonic Sect placed more than a few dozen spies into the Soaring Sword Sect.

And while most of their positions weren't very high, their sheer number was more than worthy of concern.

Knowing this, Xue Bai wanted to kill most of them before the next Righteous vs. Demonic war broke out.

Xue Bai knew the future, after all, so why would he not take advantage of it?

Of course, the spies would eventually figure out that someone was hunting them. But, by then, the damage would already be done.

Other than that, Xue Bai started to list down the many opportunities that would appear soon.

The plot had finally started already, and with two 'Children of the Plane' on his continent, there were going to be more chances than Xue Bai would even be able to steal.

Because of this, Xue Bai planned to compromise and only take the most important and grand ones. Therefore, anything lower than the Black-grade was instantly scratched off and ignored as Xue Bai disdained anything of the Yellow-grade. This way, the 'Children of the Plane' would have some natural treasures to speed up their cultivation speed.

'I'm such a nice man.' Xue Bai thought.

Planning his future during the day and cultivating during the night, Xue Bai steadily lost track of their location, but soon enough, they arrived.

"Young Master, we have arrived, but something is wrong." Little Wang's voice came from outside, but instead of carrying the usual strictness and seriousness, there was a hint of.. laughter?

Confused, Xue Bai went out, where he found what made Little Wang laugh, and soon couldn't control himself either.

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