《Transmigrating into a Mob Character to Rehabilitate the Villain Plan》


 Volume 1 - CH 1

    Chapter 1:


    In <Laughing Proudly Under the Heavens in an Alternate World>, a neither obscure nor popular harem novel, the strongest character is the protagonist, and the second strongest is the villain.


    Every time the villain does anything outrageous, it¡¯s always the protagonist who stops him in time.


    Having the traits of a ¡®Perfect Husband¡¯ archetype, the villain would always persevere, fighting back time and time again. Using even his life for the sake of victory, he was forever locked in a love-hate, mutually destructive relationship with the protagonist in every sense of the phrase.


    Today was a very important day. As a die-hard fan of this novel, Ling Xia was prepared to pull an all-nighter sitting in front of his computer, refreshing the novel¡¯s page again and again, waiting for the latest update.


    The author said that he¡¯d release the final chapter on time tonight. In other words, after a year and three months of following this story, the battle between the villain and the protagonist has finally reached its thrilling conclusion!


    Only, after having reread the final chapter three whole times, eyes almost popping out in disbelief, he suddenly coughed up blood in indignation, spraying it across the computer screen¡ª


    The fuck, I¡¯ve been following this for so long, painstakingly voting every month, and turns out it was for this kind of almost-everyone-dies ending?!


    That¡¯s right, when writing the final confrontation where the villainous boss gets defeated by the protagonist, the author lost all of his marbles!


    In the five thousand words of the final chapter, the protagonist¡¯s immortally elegant and super powerful master died!


    The loved by all, incredibly cute and adorable magical beast, also died!


    The protagonist¡¯s entire group of bros, needless to say, was completely annihilated!


    And the worst part is, his favorite member of the protagonist¡¯s harem, a goddess excelling in both beauty and kindness, even the charming MuRong Xue died when protecting the protagonist with her body!


    To be more precise, aside from the protagonist and a few girls from his harem, the entire population of the world was pretty much destroyed by the villain¡¯s colossal puppet army!


    Because of the villain¡¯s ultimate destruction plan, the world¡¯s energy circuits were greatly disrupted, causing imbalance among all living things. Finally, because of the ultimate weapon, the entire world¡¯s continental shelves collapsed into pieces. It¡¯s basically a doomsday taken straight out of the apocalyptic predictions of 2012!


    It was only through the protagonist¡¯s extraordinary luck and power that he was barely able to desperately overcome this crisis and save a piece of holy land and part of his harem.


    Because of this, the protagonist was rendered powerless and unable to defend against the villain¡¯s next attack. This lead to the goddess of Ling Xia¡¯s heart, MuRong Xue, throwing herself in front of the protagonist without a second thought to block the villain¡¯s heaven-splitting strike. Her beautiful existence was extinguished just like that.


    ¡­The fuck, this kind of rage inducing scenario is absolute bullshit!!!


    Facing the endless desolation of the destroyed continent and the tragic view of corpses as far as the eye can see, the kindhearted protagonist finally hardened his heart and chose to thoroughly eliminate the villain. This is how the novel described it:


    Darkness gradually descended and a loud boom sounded across the sky as large drops of rain began to fall, but when Song XiaoHu (protagonist) lowered his head and vacantly stared at Yu ZhiJue (villain) lying in the mud at death¡¯s door, his expression held not even the slightest trace of joy.


    Yu ZhiJue slowly opened his dark, frozen eyes, and his lips tugged into a faint smile. ¡°Finally¡­ ¡­I¡¯m free¡­ ¡­This kind of repulsive world¡­ ¡­should be completely destroyed¡­ ¡­¡±


    Destroyed your frickin¡¯ sister!!!


    Ling Xia was close to flipping his table, wishing he could crawl through the monitor and spit a mouth full of blood on the author¡¯s face.


    Did the author write this as a way of lashing out against the world?


    Is this kind of ending suppose to imply that the protagonist will take his remaining harem members and repopulate the world, reverting back to a farming society?! Since his favorite goddess-like girl already died, for what reason is the protagonist even still alive? Why didn¡¯t they go die together?!


    The normally peaceful discussion board had already erupted in flames. One after another, the female fans who liked the villain and the male fans who liked MuRong Xue were all posting complaints about being unable to accept this ending.


    Ling Xia, also feeling bitter and indignant, grabbed his keyboard and started typing furiously all in one go. After following this novel for so long, what he wanted to read about was not the destruction of the world at the hands of some evil and arrogant villain with loose screws in his head! What he wanted to read about was the protagonist leading his beautiful harem and group of bros, and just as the title says, laugh proudly while adventuring across the world! With everyone dead, like hell there¡¯d be any laughter, much less pride! There¡¯s no way he¡¯d ever accept this kind of ending!


    The fuck! What the literal fuck!!


    This novel doesn¡¯t have many die-hard fans, and the author usually sticks to writing only, rarely interacting with the readers. However, this time Ling Xia¡¯s complaint immediately received a reply from the author:


    Yu ZhiJue is my most beloved antagonist and MuRong Xue is my favorite heroine, so therefore it¡¯s this kind of ending. ¡ú_¡ú In the first place, I¡¯m just writing for fun, no need to take it so seriously, hehe, *petpet*


    ¡­¡¯Hehe¡¯ your frickin¡¯ sister! To hell with that *petpet*!


    You might have been writing for fun, but I was passionately, earnestly following this story up until now!


    Fine, make the villain you love turn to the dark side and fall into ruin along with the world! Give me back my beautiful goddess first!


    It should be noted that all the villains up until now, whether big or small, have either been defeated by the protagonist or ended up getting reformed by the protagonist, later becoming his comrade!


    As expected of an author with loose screws in his head, to write this kind of bogus, shameless, shit ending!


    Ling Xia¡¯s entire face was red with anger. Compared to this kind of sham ending, he¡¯d rather a preposterous one where the villain falls for the protagonist, and hand in hand, they go off to discover a whole new world together! Even BL is better than tragedy!


    At this point, his emotions are no longer within the realm of being heartbroken, he¡¯s already reached the point of wanting to destroy all of society!


    The heart of a nerdy male isn¡¯t something to carelessly trample!


    Grinding his teeth, Ling Xia stared at this reply from the author for a few minutes, and quickly did a face-heel turn from a fan to a hater.


    Aching in his heart and soul, for the first time in his life he began to write a lengthy, hate review. Moreover, at the very end, he left his heartfelt wishes and blessings:


    To the author who¡¯s lost his mind, let all the instant noodles you eat come without a flavor packet!


    When going to the toilet, the only thing you have to wipe with is an instant noodle flavor packet!


    All the girls you pursue are sapphists! Ultimately you also end up as a confirmed bachelor!


    May your chrysanthemum[1] get pierced thousands and thousands of times!


    Transmigrate to another world as a mob! Become cannon fodder for the main character and die as soon as possible!


    The angry clack clack sounds of keys tapping continued without break for half an hour. After clicking [Reply], Ling Xia once again looked at the screen full of angry exclamation marks, poured a cup of iced beer, and finally felt like he¡¯d vented some of the grief and indignation in his heart. And like so, he went to bed.


    Of course, if he had known the destiny that awaited him, he would definitely have chosen to chop off that pair of wretched hands instead of inviting calamity by writing that review. At the very least, he¡¯d leave out the curses about transmigrating into a mob character and getting your chrysanthemum pierced.


    The next morning, after being awoken by a cacophony of voices, Ling Xia drowsily rubbed his eyes and thought he was still dreaming. He sluggishly propped himself up, only to discover that surprisingly, he was lying on a pile of straw in a corner while nearby, a dusty dog was in the middle of lifting his leg and peeing.


    Ling Xia looked down, only now realizing that his body was amiss. In front of his eyes were a pair of extremely dirty but distinctly thin and weak hands. These definitely aren¡¯t his hands!


    ¡°¡­ ¡­This dream is really too weird,¡± Ling Xia mumbled to himself while rubbing his temples, but after he violently pinched himself and almost jumped up from the pain¡ª The fuck, did I end up transmigrating?!


    As a nerdy male who preferred staying at home year-round, Ling Xia naturally knew plenty of famous transmigration stories, even if he did always look down upon those lame MCs who went to a different world and curb-stomped everything with their OP cheats. This is also the reason he liked <Laughing Proudly Under the Heavens in an Alternate World>, because the protagonist there wasn¡¯t someone who crossed over.


    It¡¯s completely absurd how the act of crossing over could somehow transform a loser into a winner in life! When Ling Xia read these kinds of plots before, he had laughed a few times, but now that he¡¯s also joined their ranks, he honestly couldn¡¯t bring himself to utter even a single ¡°haha¡±.


    Despite drowning in feelings of turmoil, Ling Xia still quickly got to his feet. He needed to confirm what kind of place he was currently in. When he saw the tattered, rag-like state of his clothes, his expression turned distraught¡ª Clearly, the status of the person he¡¯d become wasn¡¯t very good.


    It¡¯s still early right now, with very few pedestrians walking in the wide, empty streets. Ling Xia pushed the twisted lump of hair in front of his face to the back of his head, turned, and coincidentally saw a store not far away with a large sign bearing the words ¡°Long Fei Roasted Pancakes¡±.


    Ling Xia¡¯s heart seized, now completely certain of his hypothesis. The novel began with the protagonist leaving the desert mountains before wandering to a mundane, small town with a very concise and bold sounding name¡ªLong Fei[2], the place where the protagonist and the villain met.


    Now, should he choose to deviate from the plot or stick with it? It should be noted that staying beside the protagonist is to be constantly exposed to danger. He¡¯s basically a second Conan[3], incidents occurring anywhere and everywhere he goes, so unless one has the divine protection of an MC, it¡¯s better to stay far away. But, if he ignores the protagonist and disregards the story line, without a doubt, the end result would be getting destroyed by villain along with this entire continent¡­ ¡­


    Moreover, the most important, most crucial point is, how far has the plot advanced as of now?


    Shit! He¡¯s just a techie who preferred staying at home, reading novels in his free time and browsing for certain things online, the same as any other guy. It¡¯s not like he¡¯s ever committed any crimes or acts to offend the Heavens! Isn¡¯t it just a bit of criticism towards an untrustworthy and heartless author, oh great God of Transmigration, why go so far as to throw someone into this kind of dangerous and treacherous, high-strung tragic harem story?


    By now, his stomach was growling nonstop, starved for who knows how long and twisting into knots. Ling Xia listlessly rubbed his empty belly, briefly not knowing what he should do.


    ¡°ErDan, you¡¯re hungry right? Here¡¯s a roasted pancake.¡± A dirty hand suddenly reached towards him, gripping a sallow roasted pancake dusted with a few clear, black fingerprints.


    Ling Xia raised his head, stunned, abruptly catching sight of a brat that¡¯s around ten years old. Even though his face was black and dirty, obscuring his features, his dark as ink eyes shined exceptionally bright, and on his chubby cheeks, two dimples faintly revealed themselves. When Ling Xia saw the lightning-shaped pendant hanging from a red string around the boy¡¯s neck, he was immediately struck dumb¡ª Holy fuck, the protagonist!


    It should be noted that, while the protagonist started off as a beggar at the beginning of the story, later on in the novel, his status had reached astonishing and awe-inspiring levels of fame comparable to that of Luffy¡¯s! This pendant was the crucial proof in establishing his identity, and back when Ling Xia was following the novel, this reveal excited him to the point of chaos, driving him to slap the table and shout in exhilaration.


    The protagonist¡¯s appearance may fall a bit short compared to the villain¡¯s, but he has a pair of deep, profound eyes, capable of moving both holy maidens and demonic enchantresses with its heart-piercing gaze. When faced with these endlessly dark and jewel-like eyes, Ling Xia was rendered speechless.


    ¡°He¡¯s a retard, doesn¡¯t even know to eat when hungry. Giving him that¡¯s just a waste.¡± A very pompous and crisp young boy¡¯s voice sounded from behind, carrying traces of impatience.


    Ling Xia stiffly turned around, and as expected, there was another young boy currently side-eyeing him. Unlike the dirty and ragged appearance of the protagonist, although his clothes were also very old, they were exceptionally neat and tidy, and even his extremely fair and delicate face had been washed clean. When he saw the crimson mole beneath the corner of the boy¡¯s right eye, Ling Xia momentarily blanked out¡ª Holy fuck, the villain!


    The female fans who followed this sham story pretty much all agree that even if the villain was evil in all sorts of ways, he¡¯s delightfully cute in many other aspects. A clean freak, fanatical, vigorously passionate, gorgeous, and even well-versed in both literature and art. Add to that his exceptionally enchanting mole, he simply possessed all kinds of deadly charm points! (Ling Xia: How I deeply wish to comment on the ridiculousness of the name ¡®Yu ZhiJue¡¯![4])


    Looking at the cute, steamed bun-shaped protagonist and villain pair before his eyes, Ling Xia moodily brooded in silence¡ª To be involved in the plot so quickly, why this!!!


    Looks like the God of Destiny already made the choice for him, and as expected, the purpose of being transported into this novel was probably to witness the protagonist and villain love and kill each other¡­ ¡­


    [1]: slang for anus, it¡¯ll come up again in the future


    [2]: roughly means Dragon Flight, a pretty boss sounding name for a town in the middle of nowhere


    [3]: alluding to the MC of Case Closed/Detective Conan, a human magnet for trouble/murder mysteries


    [4]: Yu(Óù) means imperial, to resist, or to govern, Zhi(Ö®) is a possessive article, and Jue(½^) means to vanish/disappear, and is also half of the word for despair(½^Íû), so as the person who destroyed the world, please infer for yourself

 Volume 1 - CH 2

    Chapter 2:


    After shamelessly staring at the roasted pancake for a few seconds, Ling Xia glanced at Song XiaoHu, then boldly helped himself and silently started to eat. Earlier, when his thoughts were running wild, he finally recognized the strange name of ¡°ErDan¡±[1] and recalled this body¡¯s identity!


    The beginning of this sham novel described in great detail the deep friendship the protagonist and villain formed during their childhood, naturally for the purpose of building the foundation to their future love-hate, mutually destructive relationship. Included in that was also a few scenes containing a certain mob character.


    What caused the protagonist and villain to awaken to their respective powers was the shock from a pathetic mob character¡¯s death, and that dim-witted but strong-as-an-ox mob character¡¯s name was precisely ¡°ErDan¡±. Along with the protagonist, they were homeless children who begged in the streets and had spent a period of time weathering the joys and sorrows of life together. He was basically the protagonist¡¯s loyal hound! Moreover, this embarrassing and weird name of ¡°ErDan¡± was actually given by the protagonist¡­ ¡­


    It looks like his current identity was this pitiful and mentally challenged loyal hound.


    While recalling the plot, Ling Xia ravenously devoured his food to the extent of even swallowing the portions stained with dust. He silently comforted himself with the fact that, fundamentally speaking, this was a roasted pancake bearing the authentic fingerprints of an outstanding, powerful genius!


    Seeing Ling Xia eat with such relish, the one wearing the sacred halo of the indestructible protagonist, Song XiaoHu, happily exclaimed, ¡°ErDan, eat a bit slower, don¡¯t choke¡­ ¡­¡±


    Before he even finished speaking, Ling Xia clutched at his throat and started to cough in distress. That roasted pancake may have looked fine, but it was very hard and tough, clearly something left out overnight!


    Song XiaoHu quickly brought over the cracked bowl that was in the corner, urging, ¡°Drink some water.¡±


    It was very obvious that the boy was already accustomed to this body¡¯s clumsiness.


    On the other hand, Yu ZhiJue¡¯s face was full of contempt, stepping back a few meters in disdain and wrinkling his delicate eyebrows. ¡°Can this retard possibly get any dumber? Can¡¯t even eat food without choking!¡±


    Ling Xia gulped down a few mouthfuls of cold water, shivered from the chill, and thumped his stifled chest for a breath. He cursed in his heart; sure enough, compared to the born-in-a-good-family protagonist, the villain was already crooked even as a child! Not even an ounce of gentleness or consideration!


    He squinted his eyes, scrutinizing the hazy image reflected in the bowl¡¯s water. This face was dirty enough to compete with Song XiaoHu¡¯s, but it was clear his facial features were conventional and his eyes were animate, contrary to his imagined dim-witted, dunce-like person with crossed eyes and a crooked mouth. He looked to be about four or five years older than Song XiaoHu and Yu ZhiJue.


    Secretly letting out a sigh of relief, then continuing to stuff hard roasted pancakes into his mouth while drinking cold water, Ling Xia looked at the future final boss villain and silently mused over his backstory.


    As for Yu ZhiJue¡¯s childhood experiences, it wasn¡¯t something the good-for-nothing author spend a lot of words describing. After all, he isn¡¯t the protagonist, but it could be inferred that he definitely faced all kinds of tragic ordeals, neither cherished by his father nor loved by his mother.


    Yu ZhiJue¡¯s father was a practitioner of devilish cultivation methods, the infamous fiend Yu TianXing. His mother, YuN¨¹[2] Sect¡¯s previous Divine Priestess Yu LingLong, was forced by his father, which lead to Yu ZhiJue being ignored and abused in various ways ever since birth. Sometime later, that love-hate couple fought and ended up departing for heaven one after another. The young Yu ZhiJue, who witnessed this entire affair, escaped from the snowy peaks of the holy mountain they were on, and after wandering the world for a long time, arrived at a mundane, small town¡ªLong Fei, where he then met the protagonist.


    Even towards the pure-hearted and honest protagonist, Yu ZhiJue never truly opened his heart. Although under the protagonist¡¯s influence, he wasn¡¯t that gloomy and cold-blooded as a child, but after they turned thirteen and had gone through a few incidents together, his feelings of jealousy towards the protagonist rapidly began to grow.


    It¡¯s worthy to note that the book established Yu ZhiJue as a once-in-a-hundred-years prodigy in terms of aptitude, and in the early stages, he surpassed the protagonist by leaps and bounds. After all, he did inherit powerful genes. But in the later stages, he was easily surpassed by the always happy-go-lucky protagonist, so of course his heart and mind became more and more unstable.


    After that, following a series of ridiculous misunderstandings and due to interconnected fighting, they slowly drifted apart, until it led to their complete falling out. Eventually, Yu ZhiJue became more and more cruel and vicious, before finally destroying the world¡­ ¡­


    However, no matter what¡¯s said or done, looking at the steamed bun-faced boy clenching his fists and pretending to look cool nearby, Ling Xia was unable to associate him with the terrible villain in the novel, so much that he even thought in his heart: Aah, this is obviously just a cocky but endearing little brat!


    Yu ZhiJue quickly noticed Ling Xia¡¯s strange gaze. With a look full of disgust, he turned his head and coldly asked, ¡°What¡¯s a retard like you looking at?¡±


    ¡°¡­ ¡­¡± How he wanted to give those cheeks a good pinching.


    Ling Xia slowly got up from the ground, and was very pleased to discover that he was taller than the two brats by over half a head.


    He looked down at the pair in front of him, and in a very serious manner, extended his index finger and wagged it back and forth. ¡°Don¡¯t call me ErDan or ¡®retard¡¯ anymore, my name is Ling Xia!¡±


    No matter how amazing and overpowered, or fear-inducing and terrifying they would become in the future, at this moment, the two tender, steam bun-faced brats briefly shared the same expression of: ==


    Ling Xia¡¯s crestfallen feelings due to transmigrating out of the blue immediately changed for the better.


    That¡¯s right, even if he¡¯s thrown into this deceptive alternate world with its high mortality rate, looking on the bright side, at least there¡¯s a chance he could meet the goddess of his heart! Ling Xia endeavored to pull himself together.


    It was evidently very easy to fool the young, pure-hearted, and optimistic protagonist. Obediently sitting cross-legged across from Ling Xia on a pile of straw, he quickly accepted Ling Xia¡¯s explanations, blinking his eyes while listening very intently. Ling Xia pulled out a few clich¨¦d scenarios from dramas, like being kicked out by his step-mother, then hitting his head and temporarily losing his memories, etc.


    Full of sympathy, Song XiaoHu sighed, ¡°Looks like having a mother doesn¡¯t necessarily mean happiness¡­ ¡­But even so, I still want to find my family.¡±


    Ling Xia looked at the protagonist¡¯s dumb and cute, saint-like face that was covered in dirt and spotted like a calico cat¡¯s. Sure enough, in this world, saint-like qualities was the most stunning part of a person¡¯s character¡­ ¡­


    That¡¯s right, the protagonist¡¯s primary goal was to find his parents and train his martial arts to develop various forms of strength. Becoming apprenticed to a master, collecting harem members, defeating the villain, or finding sidekicks and comrades were all secondary objectives.


    Yu ZhiJue listened skeptically, clenched his fists, and gave Ling Xia a glance before asking, ¡°Then, shouldn¡¯t you remember where you were originally from? How did you come by to this place?¡±


    Almost imperceptibly, Ling Xia suddenly felt a faint yet uncomfortable feeling of oppression.


    He paused, and looked over Yu ZhiJue once more.


    In contrast to Song XiaoHu, Yu ZhiJue¡¯s star-like eyes were full of wariness and antagonism. The crimson mole under the corner of his eye made his skin seem even fairer than jade, his long and smooth, ebony hair was neatly tied behind his head, and perhaps due to being malnourished for a long time, he seemed a bit weaker and thinner than the hearty and robust Song XiaoHu.


    Ling Xia quickly came back to his senses; Yu ZhiJue was the villainous boss who would destroy the world in the future after all! Just a moment ago, he was unconsciously treating him as just a child¡­ ¡­The story he told earlier was so full of holes, only something capable of fooling the simple-minded Song XiaoHu at most!


    Moreover, after the protagonist is given some time to mature, he probably won¡¯t be so simple-minded and easy to fool either. It should be noted that although this sham novel was neither obscure nor popular, in the discussion boards, the female fans had gleefully fantasized about and written a lot of meta and fics featuring Yu ZhiJue and Song XiaoHu, mostly where the innocent-on-the-outside-but-brutal-on-the-inside Song XiaoHu topped, and the kind-acting-but-maliciously-dark-two-faced Yu ZhiJue bottomed (¡­ ¡­)


    Ling Xia promptly moderated his carefree sitting position, arranged his features as naturally as possible, and portrayed with all his might an expression of intensely wracking his brain. ¡°Even I don¡¯t really remember anymore, only that my dad¡¯s surname was ¡®Ling¡¯ and was called ¡®Ling ZhiYuan¡¯, and my hometown had ¡®Fire¡¯ in its name or something similar.¡±


    Hearing it spoken like this, Yu ZhiJue began to believe him about 70% to 80%. The previous ¡°ErDan¡± had wandered to this small town a few years ago, no one here knowing where he had come from, so if Ling Xia had made up a very detailed story, conversely, he would have been suspicious. Letting out a single, noncommittal grunt, he then turned his head away; in the end, there¡¯s no way he¡¯d be interested in some dirty retard.


    Besides, if it wasn¡¯t for Song XiaoHu taking care of the idiot, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have spared this kind street beggar even a single glance.


    Song XiaoHu didn¡¯t notice Yu ZhiJue¡¯s wariness at all, simply revealing his cute dimples and laughed, ¡°Then Er¡­ ¡­Ling Xia, why don¡¯t you treat me as your family from now on?¡±


    Ling Xia nodded his head and smiled, responding, ¡°Of course, then you¡¯ll have to call me big brother. I¡¯ve long since thought of XiaoHu as a younger sibling.¡±


    He was secretly pleased; this was the protagonist after all! The amazing and mighty protagonist! It¡¯s best to worm into his good graces now and secure a powerful backing hahaha!


    Song XiaoHu blinked, smiling so widely even his throat could be seen, and called out in a crisp, clear voice, ¡°Elder brother Ling!¡±


    Ling Xia felt so smug, his ego almost shot into the stratosphere. He couldn¡¯t help but reach out to pat the top of the protagonist¡¯s head, rubbing with gusto the short and spikey, hedgehog-like hair.


    On the other hand, Song XiaoHu started to feel a bit embarrassed. During his entire journey, from leaving the mountains to arriving here, finding someone who was polite or willing to give him a steamed roll was already considered quite fortunate. Most just scorned and avoided him for being dirty. When had anyone ever treated him so intimately like this? Even if his temperament was sanguine and carefree, he also dearly yearned to find a family, so right now, the corners of his eyes unconsciously started to sting a bit.


    Yu ZhiJue was already gaping, stupefied by this reverent and affectionate brotherly scene before his eyes. His friendship with Song XiaoHu was purely because he thought the other¡¯s potential was very high, and thus possible to get along with. That¡¯s it. Their interactions were also on the nonchalant side; when has he ever behaved this intimately before?


    Completely satisfied, Ling Xia withdrew his hand and shifted his gaze to Yu ZhiJue, looking at him with an expectant expression. Becoming the older brother figure to both the protagonist and the villain, this is what life was truly about! What¡¯s more, he¡¯s been wanting to poke the villain¡¯s cheeks for a long time now!


    Sure enough, the innocent-on-the-outside-but-brutal-on-the-inside Song XiaoHu immediately caught on to his thoughts and turned to Yu ZhiJue, urging, ¡°Ah¡®Jue[3], hurry up and greet big brother.¡±


    Ling Xia was already doubling over with laughter inside, watching Yu ZhiJue expectantly with stars in his eyes.


    As a result, the great sir villain¡¯s face that was full of wariness just a moment ago rapidly turned red in embarrassment.


    Yu ZhiJue angrily bit back, ¡°Call him ¡®elder brother¡¯ all you want, what does that have to do with me?¡±


    He glared ferociously at Song XiaoHu, then with a flap of his sleeves, left.


    [1]: roughly means Second Egg, it¡¯s a pretty dumb-sounding name imo


    [2]: roughly means Beautiful Fairy Maiden, so unsurprisingly, it¡¯s a female-only sect with a lot of beauties


    [3]: Ah¡® (°¢) a prefix usually added to the last part of a person¡¯s name to make an endearing or familiar nickname; for example, Ah¡®Jue would refer to Yu ZhiJue

 Volume 1 - CH 3

    Chapter 3:


    Looking at the snobby and endearingly tiny appearance of the future great sir villain, Ling Xia couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.


    No matter how twisted and vicious this villainous boss was in the novel, right now he was still a child, only a bit more on the sensitive and suspicious side.


    In other words, as long as there was someone to guide him correctly, there¡¯s a strong possibility for that tragic future to be averted¡­ ¡­


    Ling Xia¡¯s eyes immediately sparkled; could it be that the reason he transmigrated was for the purpose of rehabilitating the villain, thus saving this entire continent and world?


    Actually, before he started working, he wasn¡¯t such a stay-at-home person. In college, he had worked as a home tutor, came into contact with very difficult and hard to deal with brats, and even read a few education and psychology related books.


    Thinking positively like this, Ling Xia immediately felt pumped up, realizing abruptly that there was hope for him to return back home.


    In some ways, Ling Xia and Song XiaoHu really did share a few similarities.


    Song XiaoHu, feeling a bit unsatisfied with Yu ZhiJue¡¯s earlier response, called after him a few times, but the other continued to walk away without looking back. Feeling a bit nervous, he turned his large eyes towards Ling Xia and said, ¡°Elder brother Ling, please don¡¯t be angry.¡±


    Ling Xia rubbed the other¡¯s hedgehog-like hair, stood up once more, and laughingly replied, ¡°Of course I¡¯m not angry.¡±


    Yu ZhiJue was very particular and difficult, so if he had easily been able to accept a stranger as his older brother, now that would have been weird.


    Since he understood the situation more, Ling Xia could no longer ignore the filth that covered his body. In fact, even the simple action of standing up would cause strange smells to reach his nose. Pulling Song XiaoHu up as well, he asked, ¡°Where is there a river?¡±


    Currently, it was near the end of spring, so the water was still a bit chilly.


    Song XiaoHu brought Ling Xia to his and Yu ZhiJue¡¯s secret base, a place normally concealed from view. Without any hesitation, Ling Xia stripped off his dirty clothes, threw it to the ground, and while shivering, jumped into the river.


    Song XiaoHu¡¯s body contained fire elemental energy and thus resisted the cold, so even faster than Ling Xia, he had already dived in and started trying to catch fish.


    It took great difficulty to wash this body clean, and straightening out the tangled mass of hair alone cost Ling Xia almost an hour of hard work. He also washed both of their dirty clothes, before hanging them to air dry on tree branches near the shore.


    The river was very clear, and the distinct reflection of a teenager with bright eyes, a straight nose, and red lips could be seen. Ling Xia was a bit startled; to think that this mob character actually had the setting of a brainless pretty boy.


    Song XiaoHu also dazedly paused, then said with a smile, ¡°Elder brother Ling is really pretty.¡±


    Although Song XiaoHu was still a child that liked to play, living in the mountains since he was young gave rise to strong survival skills, so very quickly, he caught a foot-long fish with his bare hands. He wanted to immediately cook and eat it, but Ling Xia saw that his body was still dirty, so he had no choice but to push him back into the water to properly wash everything clean.


    Song XiaoHu was very ticklish, therefore every time Ling Xia touched him, he would burst into laughter, splashing Ling Xia with water again and again.


    Even so, the soaking wet protagonist was all the more charming and lovable, with his slightly dark skin, hearty and robust look, and dimples that emerged with every smile. He was definitely the type that¡¯s really popular with the elderly.


    As they were cooking their haul of fish, Yu ZhiJue also lurked on over from who knows where. Looking at their appearance, his face immediately flushed red with outrage, and sputtered, ¡°Song XiaoHu, that¡­ ¡­Ling Xia! Do you not even know how to put on clothes?¡±


    Song XiaoHu crossed his legs and with a mouth full of food, loudly proclaimed, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of the cold.¡±


    ¡°¡­ ¡­Who cares if you¡¯re cold or not!¡± Yu ZhiJue icily shot back. Nevertheless, he still sat down, grabbed a fish, and took a bite. With a straight back and fastidious movements, his etiquette when eating was actually quite refined.


    Ling Xia couldn¡¯t help but feel amused. These two who would butt heads in the future, although their personalities clashed like fire and ice, in actuality, they complemented each other quite well.


    Song XiaoHu was pretty skilled in cooking fish, and it was plain to see that Yu ZhiJue also ate with comparative satisfaction.


    From the start, Ling Xia stealthily observed Yu ZhiJue, and seeing him finish the fish, immediately handed another over. Seizing this opportunity to rub elbows, he offered, ¡°This one¡¯s done.¡±


    Only now did Yu ZhiJue spare a cautious glance to size Ling Xia up, and he too paused, just like Song XiaoHu had earlier. After all, the contrast between Ling Xia¡¯s current appearance and his previous messy and dirty, retarded beggar look was way too large. However, when his line of sight went lower, his feigned look of indifference abruptly broke down. ¡°What in the world is that? So disgusting!¡±


    While saying so, he unconsciously moved a few steps back. That offended look of loathing made Ling Xia feel a bit confused; it¡¯s as if he saw something vulgar¡­ ¡­


    He followed Yu ZhiJue¡¯s gaze and looked down, promptly catching sight of his lower half, and was temporarily rendered speechless.


    This body was already thirteen or fourteen years old, so naturally it¡¯s entered puberty.


    Ehem, well, the Yu ZhiJue in the novel, probably on account of being scarred by that father-mother pair, incredibly abhorred anything to do with the birds and the bees, and all the way up until he died, was suspected to be an inexperienced greenhorn. In the book, there were a few girls who liked him, especially one of his female subordinates who¡¯s infatuation came second to none. And the result? In the end, that cold-blooded villain went as far as to kill this cannon-fodder girl by using her as a human shield, the nerve of him!


    Countless male readers were full of jealousy and spite, and could only hate that they weren¡¯t able to simply slap the villain dead!


    Nevertheless, isn¡¯t this just some pubic hair? You little brat, after two or three more years, you¡¯ll grow it too¡­ ¡­


    Aye aye, not only did the villain¡¯s outlook on life need careful reeducation, his twisted outlook on romance also needed remedial teaching.


    Song XiaoHu was slower on the uptake, but also swept his gaze across Ling Xia¡¯s lower half, then immediately asked curiously, ¡°Elder brother Ling, why does yours look different from ours?¡±


    Under the two brats¡¯ gazes, one full of disgust and the other full of curiosity, Ling Xia¡¯s face twisted in distress and embarrassment, automatically moving his hand to cover up his private parts. (¡­ ¡­)


    Puberty education in these ancient times was too heavy responsibility to bear.


    Up until he put all his clothes back on, Yu ZhiJue continued to look at Ling Xia with a very uncanny gaze, and those clear-cut eyes might as well have been glaring daggers. He moved even farther away, leaving Ling Xia all the more speechless.


    For the sake of this great sir villain not to hate him even more from now on, Ling Xia could only sigh, then explained, ¡°This is something normal that all men will possess after reaching a certain age. Conversely, not having any would be strange.¡±


    Song XiaoHu¡¯s bout of curiosity had visibly passed, and with his attention quickly captured by a passing butterfly, didn¡¯t even respond after hearing Ling Xia¡¯s explanation.


    On the other hand, Yu ZhiJue listened intently, but his expression remained unnatural. With the revulsion in his eyes on the verge of bursting, he restated, ¡°It looks really disgusting.¡±


    Ling Xia carefully observed Yu ZhiJue¡¯s profile and marveled at how neat and delicate it looked, almost like a girl¡¯s. Suddenly, he thought of a frightening possibility.


    Once, a long time ago, there was a reader who wrote a long and lengthy post in the discussion boards titled, ¡°The Possibility of Yu ZhiJue Being Female¡±.


    The person who wrote this was, without a doubt, male. He persisted in believing that there was no way a guy could have such a temperament, and furthermore, to not even respond when beautiful women threw themselves into his arms, wasn¡¯t that just too strange? On top of that, the way the author described him as full of wiles and provocative in appearance was also suspicious. Therefore, he concluded it was very likely that Yu ZhiJue was a cross-dressing girl, which also explained his peculiar feelings towards the protagonist.


    Of course, after that, the female fans shot him down so hard he might as well have been riddled with holes.


    Thinking of that unfortunate guy¡¯s commentary now, Ling Xia trembled in anticipation.


    Fuck! It couldn¡¯t be that this was actually the truth?!


    Thinking of the possibility that Yu ZhiJue, destroyer of the world, could in fact be a girl, Ling Xia felt himself becoming really, really¡­ ¡­excited!


    This kind of killer plot twist is a real kicker, you know?


    A girl, a female, a lady¡­. ¡­an overbearing, domineering queen!


    Subconsciously mimicking Song XiaoHu¡¯s way of address, Ling Xia inquired, ¡°Ah¡®Jue, aren¡¯t you going to wash?¡±


    Yu ZhiJue glanced at him indifferently and let out a short hmph, but didn¡¯t move.


    Ling Xia clutched his hands in excitement, itching to immediately confirm his suspicions.


    ¡­Of course, many years later, after getting pushed down into bed by the villain over a thousand times, the unfortunate mob would lament with a face full of tears: How lovely and wonderful it would have been if the villain was really a girl ahhh!!!


    When he finished eating, Yu ZhiJue carefully washed his hands and face, then narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°XiaoHu, earlier in the market, I heard that ShaoYang[1] Sect will be recruiting disciples in YouMing soon.¡±


    Song XiaoHu¡¯s expression instantly sobered and became serious, and the child-like aura that surrounded him disappeared into thin air.


    Ling Xia paused; the two in front of him now, now this was the protagonist and villain who always strove to become stronger and achieved their ambitions through their own strengths!


    In the novel , the system of cultivation differed from the more traditional framework. Aside from cultivating the five elementals, the various sects in the world also practiced body cultivation, sword cultivation, energy cultivation, divergent-skill cultivation, and as well as what orthodox cultivators held in contempt, dark-arts cultivation.


    Body cultivation, sword cultivation, and energy cultivation were similar to their traditional counterparts, but divergent-skill cultivation and dark-arts cultivation methods were a lot more convoluted.


    Body cultivation mainly improves one¡¯s health and physique, sword cultivation polished one¡¯s sword techniques, and energy cultivators, above all else, focused on stimulating the power elementals in their bodies and strengthening their mental fortitude.


    Divergent-skill cultivation encompassed power elemental cultivation and dimensional cultivation, along with many others. For example, the protagonist had pure fire and lightning elemental energy and his dimensional cultivation also reached XuanHuang[2] tenth stage near the end of the story, while the villain possessed the comparatively colder, yin-based water element and a dimensional cultivation on par with the protagonist.


    The methods in dark-arts cultivation were even more complex and full of abnormalities. Later on, when Yu ZhiJue followed his father¡¯s footsteps and chose to cultivate the dark-arts, all kinds of bizarre skills got introduced one after another, like the Puppet Technique and the Terminal Modus Formation that were used to destroy the world. Their overwhelming levels of power and arrogance really reached the skies!


    The ShaoYang Sect Yu ZhiJue mentioned earlier was one of the more famous sects in this remote region, and their requirements for recruiting disciples was also relatively low. Of course, it couldn¡¯t even hold a candle next to any of the five largest sects in this world.


    However, in regards to the protagonist and villain who couldn¡¯t even be considered novices yet, this sect held an incredible amount of appeal.


    In the novel, while the protagonist and the villain did undergo a few trials during their time here, this sect could only be considered a small stepping stone of theirs.


    Song XiaoHu looked towards Ling Xia, a glimmer of expectation shining in his large eyes, and asked, ¡°Elder brother Ling, do you know about the ShaoYang Sect?¡±


    Ling Xia naturally does, and knows even more about how easily the villain wiped them out in the future.


    Their experiences in that place couldn¡¯t really be considered interesting, and the treatment they received was also very biased. However, when it came to these two brats, going there to learn first-hand was indeed a very good option. The protagonist would meet the first member of his harem there, too.


    But the most important fact, which Ling Xia suddenly realized, was that these two brats would go there regardless of whether or not he objected.


    Even though Song XiaoHu looked innocent and carefree on the outside, he was an extremely obstinate person on the inside, and Yu ZhiJue even more so. As long as they resolved to do something, no one could easily change their minds otherwise.


    Moreover, their desire to become more powerful was also backed by a conviction stronger than anyone else¡¯s.


    While recalling the plot, Ling Xia nodded his head and replied, ¡°Although I haven¡¯t heard of them before, but based on the name, it should be a pretty strong sect right?¡±


    Actually, Song XiaoHu doesn¡¯t know a single thing about this world¡¯s leading sects, having only heard some rumors about ShaoYang Sect during his stay in this small town, and so in his ignorance, naturally imagined a sect with unrivaled strength. However, Yu ZhiJue had witnessed a battle to the death between two of this world¡¯s most powerful, and therefore didn¡¯t much care for ShaoYang Sect at all.


    Because everyone in YuN¨¹ Sect considered his birth to be a disgraceful humiliation, his existence and escape were both meticulously hidden from the outside world. But secretly, they never gave up on hunting down and crushing this bane of a vile spawn, and it was because of this that Yu ZhiJue ran so far, hiding away in this ordinary small town that lacked spiritual power. He had secretly learned a few cultivation methods prior to escaping, but it was merely incomplete, superficial knowledge. In any case, he also knows that going to a large, well-known sect would be very dangerous.


    [1]: roughly means youthful sun, it¡¯s a pretty nice sounding name


    [2]: roughly means the color of the heavens and earth; I assume this is the name of one of the stages of cultivation, tbh I¡¯m not very knowledgeable in cultivation terms

 Volume 1 - CH 4

    Chapter 4:


    After listening to Ling Xia¡¯s remark, Yu ZhiJue only gave a snort but didn¡¯t say anything. On the other hand, Song XiaoHu was extremely happy and excited, responding in delight, ¡°Yeah, I heard the people in town say that too.¡±


    Ling Xia smiled back, ¡°Since it¡¯s like this, I¡¯ll come along with you guys.¡±


    According to the original plotline, when Song XiaoHu and Yu ZhiJue went to YouMing City, this idiotic, loyal hound also anxiously followed them. Due to the protagonist being a trouble magnet, no long after, he blocked a blow to the chest meant for the protagonist and died.


    However, as for the specifics on how that came to be, Ling Xia really couldn¡¯t remember that well. After all, he started reading this novel a long time ago, so he¡¯s forgotten many of the details.


    Even though Ling Xia really wanted to avoid death, even if he left the protagonist and continued to stay in this small town, a miracle where he magically gets sent home is highly unlikely to happen. All he can do right now is follow these two and take it one step at a time, not to mention in his mind, he¡¯s already listed out steps 1, 2, and 3 of his plan to change the villain.


    Albeit when reading, the chapters where the protagonist and the villain went all-out against each other in fierce, love-hate battles were his favorite, but now that he¡¯s in this world and looking at the steamed bun-faced brats in front of him, he hoped that those kind of scenarios would never happen.


    Hearing Ling Xia¡¯s words, Yu ZhiJue didn¡¯t actually voice any dissent, only slightly knitting his brows as his almond-shaped eyes flashed, but it was clear that he didn¡¯t really approve. When it comes to it, Ling Xia was a stranger to him, and the previously mute retard was something he had ignored.


    Usually, both Song XiaoHu and Yu ZhiJue treated wherever they went as their home and wherever they slept as their bed, neither having any belongings that needed packing, thus they planned to set off at once.


    Ling Xia, looking at these two kids who were immediately prepared to start their journey, felt his lips jerk, and very uncomfortably sounded out, ¡°We should at least pack some rations?¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, Song XiaoHu blinked and replied, ¡°Elder brother Ling, we don¡¯t have any money. What¡¯s more, I can hunt food for us to eat along the way.¡±


    Yu ZhiJue had glanced at him in disdain but didn¡¯t say anything, and Ling Xia instantly realized how dumb these words of his were.


    The two kids before his eyes have basically been living up till now by solely depending on themselves, and their survival skills were obviously a lot stronger than some modern adult who can¡¯t even differentiate between the different types of grains like him. Unintentionally, he looked at the two in front of him with pity and tenderness. When reading these kinds of descriptions in the novel, he hadn¡¯t felt any particular emotions, and all of his focus was spent on the cool and exciting scenes. Only now that he¡¯s experiencing this firsthand, does he understand such feelings.


    This alternate world is split into four large regions, and while YouMing City and LongFei Town are both on the southern continent, they¡¯re separated by over fifty kilometers. Purely depending on one¡¯s two legs to walk, it¡¯s a distance that¡¯s definitely impossible to cover within a short span of time.


    Fortunately, the people of this world¡¯s body and stamina were abnormally strong, and even after walking all day on rocky mountain paths, while Ling Xia felt a little tired, neither his feet nor legs were sore. On the road, Song XiaoHu kept chattering and laughing away, completely uninhibited, and Yu ZhiJue would also occasionally speak a few words. Furthermore, these two kids were extremely amusing in that neither was willing to take a break first, almost as if they were competing.


    Ling Xia watched them, almost to the point of tears; if the villain was a girl, being paired with the protagonist like this would be so heart-throbbingly cute!


    Right now, the pair of them were still considered normal children without cultivation, so after rushing for an entire day, they were both tired. As dusk approached, the three of them found a secluded cave and spread a thick layer of tree leaves on the ground. Song XiaoHu caught a low-level rabbit beast, and they picked some things like wild mushrooms and such for dinner.


    Ling Xia and Song XiaoHu both wolfed down their food, having long been hungry from using up too much of their strength. Yu ZhiJue started off eating in a refined manner, but after seeing the food gradually disappearing, also picked up his speed. Discovering this, Ling Xia couldn¡¯t resist secretly laughing.


    There was a small river near the cave, and when Ling Xia went to wash up, inadvertently seeing the swimming figure in the water, his delusion of Yu ZhiJue being a girl was instantly shattered.


    Yu ZhiJue glared at him after sensing his incomprehensible gaze, and like an angry baby leopard, growled, ¡°What are you looking at?!¡±


    Ling Xia took a look at the little jimmy on Yu ZhiJue¡¯s lower half, and dejectedly walked away.


    Back at the cave, the space within was limited, so the three of them had to cram together in order to all lie down.


    Song XiaoHu kicked off his straw sandals and jumped in, the stains around the corners of his mouth not even wiped clean, and full of excitement, he beamed, ¡°Ah¡®Jue, Elder brother Ling, I want to sleep in the middle.¡±


    ¡°¡­ ¡­¡± Truly, as expected of the future casanova protagonist who operates under the standard of having someone adorn both his left and his right!


    Ling Xia lied down and closed his eyes, prepared to sleep, but with a face full of contempt, Yu ZhiJue continued to stand outside. After a while, he finally stepped over to kick Song XiaoHu and said, ¡°Go wash yourself.¡±


    Perplexed, Song XiaoHu replied, ¡°But I¡¯m not dirty.¡±


    Yu ZhiJue wrinkled his eyebrows; he had never been physically close to anyone before, not to mention, Song XiaoHu snored, sleep talked, and like to move around, among other things. When they slept under the same roof in the past, even far away from each other, Song XiaoHu would still wake him up with noise. In spite of being kicked afterwards, Song XiaoHu would continue to slumber like a dead pig, not responding in the slightest!


    He wanted to persevere through the night by leaning against the wall, but Yu ZhiJue was also afraid of that affecting his condition for tomorrow¡¯s travels; he definitely wasn¡¯t willing to lag behind Song XiaoHu.


    As a result, he reluctantly and unwillingly said to Ling Xia, ¡°You sleep in the middle.¡± Ling Xia had washed himself, so at least it was unlikely he would have any gross and unpleasant smells.


    The tone was a bit standoffish and harsh, yet for no particular reason, Ling Xia heard traces of awkwardness and distress. He was currently trying his best to get on the great sir villain¡¯s good side, so without a second thought, he promptly picked up Song XiaoHu, moved him over, then patted his other side and invited with a smile, ¡°Come on over.¡±


    The setting where this ¡°ErDan¡± had herculean strength truly wasn¡¯t just for show; moving Song XiaoHu to the other side was practically as easy as picking up a small chick.


    Yu ZhiJue paused for a beat, but before Song XiaoHu could catch on and react, he quickly lied down, squeezing his body as close to the wall as possible to avoid touching Ling Xia. He coldly stared at Ling Xia and warned, ¡°If you turn over and kick me, I will throw you outside.¡±


    ¡°¡­ ¡­¡± Looking at the villain clad in a self-important, big-headed, and know-it-all aura, Ling Xia really couldn¡¯t help but find it hilarious. Yu ZhiJue, who was shrinking and compressing his already petite body, honestly didn¡¯t possess a shred of dignified air. Instead, he looked like a small kitten or puppy full of false bravado, harmless and a bit cute.


    Forcing down his urge to grin, Ling Xia closed his eyes and murmured, ¡°Understood.¡±


    Song XiaoHu protested a bit, but then pulled Ling Xia into aimlessly chatting about various topics he found entertaining. Yu ZhiJue was silently glad; in the past, whenever Song XiaoHu talked too much he¡¯d only end up yelling back in annoyance, but Ling Xia was actually responding and holding a proper conversation.


    In order not to ostracize Yu ZhiJue, Ling Xia was lying flat on his back, and using his peripheral vision, he peeked at the small, motionless body curled up in the corner, not knowing what the other was thinking about.


    Ling Xia cleared his throat and then thought of a question, so he asked, ¡°XiaoHu, what¡¯s your dream? Um, that is, what kind of person do you want to become in the future? Why do you want to enter ShaoYang Sect?¡±


    With sparkles in his eyes, Song XiaoHu excitedly replied, ¡°I want to become the strongest sword cultivator! I want a lot of people to know my name!¡±


    As expected of a hot-blooded, purebred protagonist! Ling Xia rubbed his hedgehog-like head and reassured, ¡°You¡¯ll definitely succeed.¡±


    It should be noted that in the future, aside from dark-arts cultivation, the protagonist had mastered all of the other types of cultivation! The radiance of his overwhelming power was basically admired, envied, and hated to no end!


    Ling Xia followed up by asking Yu ZhiJue, ¡°Ah¡®Jue, what about you?¡±


    Yu ZhiJue spared him a glance, and after a stretch of silence, gave his chilling response. ¡°I will make all those who have looked down upon me, or humiliated me, know the true meaning of regret!¡±


    His voice was crisp and pleasant to the ear, except, it also held a faint, entirely unchild-like, frigidly mature undertone.


    ¡°¡­ ¡­¡±


    Ling Xia¡¯s skull felt numb, unwittingly thinking back to the villain¡¯s maniacal, preposterous last words:


    This kind of repulsive world¡­ ¡­should be utterly destroyed¡­ ¡­


    And that¡¯s why a child¡¯s education is imperative and can¡¯t be delayed! If you can¡¯t set them straight when they¡¯re still young, the world will be doomed ahhh!


    After what seemed like ages and Ling Xia still had yet to respond, Yu ZhiJue couldn¡¯t resist sneering, ¡°Well?¡±


    Ling Xia swallowed and carefully replied in a light tone, ¡°Mmhn, that¡¯s a pretty good dream too, haha, Ah¡®Jue, you¡¯ll definitely be very impressive in the future!¡±


    He does want to guide Yu ZhiJue towards an honest life, but currently Yu ZhiJue still looked at him with all kinds of annoyed and disgusted expressions, so he couldn¡¯t really say much until they became more familiar first¡­ ¡­


    Song XiaoHu was a bit curious though, since Yu ZhiJue had never talked about himself before. Who were the people that humiliated him? Were they similar to the people that yelled at and called himself a beggar? At the same time, he was also a bright child and knew he shouldn¡¯t pry. Therefore, he restrained himself and didn¡¯t ask.


    Having exhausted too much of his strength during the day, Song XiaoHu quickly fell asleep and drool leaked out of his open mouth. After a while longer, the sound of soft, even breaths also came from Yu ZhiJue¡¯s side, but Ling Xia¡¯s eyes remained open, completely awake.


    Truthfully speaking, he still felt surreal, like this was all just a dream. It was slightly better during the day, but as the night descended, so did the intensity of his own helplessness, crashing over him like a rushing tide.


    Although he was lying on top of a thick layer of tree leaves, he could still feel the stiff, cold floor, and the pitch-black darkness of the cave made his heart softly quiver in apprehension. On top of being in a strange alternate world, from time to time, the howls of the unknown, wild beasts outside could be heard.


    He blindly groped about until he touched the hands on either side of him; Song XiaoHu¡¯s palm was coarse and hot, while Yu ZhiJue¡¯s body temperature was on the cooler side. Even though both hands were small, nevertheless, Ling Xia felt some degree of comfort in his heart.


    Since he¡¯s already transmigrated into this strange world, as a fully grown adult, he can¡¯t end up being more unreliable than these kids, right?


    Despite the fact that Yu ZhiJue¡¯s guard against all things unfamiliar during the day was as high as could be, he was exceptionally peaceful while asleep, subconsciously scooting closer to the source of warmth beside him, and even gently rubbing the top of his head against Ling Xia¡¯s chin a few times.


    Ling Xia unwittingly smiled at the slightly ticklish sensation. At this time of the night, a tender atmosphere like this was easy to slowly form and develop, and gradually, he also closed his eyes.


    Waking up the next morning, Yu ZhiJue¡¯s expression immediately turned dark, as he was currently huddled in Ling Xia¡¯s embrace with his entire back plastered against the other¡¯s body. Mindlessly, he stood up in a rush.


    Ling Xia took note of the boy¡¯s aversive and disgusted gaze, innocently waved his hands, and stated, ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything.¡±


    At first, Ling Xia wasn¡¯t able to fall asleep, but after he did, what awaited him was an entire night of torment. Song XiaoHu not only tossed and turned, but sleep talked unceasingly, and while Yu ZhiJue was silent in the noise department, he was relentlessly treated as a pillow and tightly clung to! Furthermore, Yu ZhiJue¡¯s body temperature was lower than his by quite a few degrees, and yet no matter how much time passed, it wasn¡¯t able to warm up.


    The fair skin at base of Yu ZhiJue¡¯s ears was clearly dusted with blush, but he feigned calm and left with a simple, ¡°I¡¯m going to wash up.¡±


    When he normally slept alone, he was extremely vigilant and even the slightest disturbance would wake him up. Yet last night, he actually entered such a deep and dreamless sleep, only vaguely relishing that his body was very warm, as if someone kept lovingly caressing his head.


    That kind of feeling was extremely comfortable, so much that unexpectedly, he didn¡¯t even want to open his eyes and wake up.

 Volume 1 - CH 5

    Chapter 5:


    After traveling continuously for three days straight, they were able to complete over half of their journey. Fortunately, this mountainous area was relatively flat and lacked spiritual power, so there weren¡¯t any dangerous large or medium magical beasts that would attack. Additionally, Song XiaoHu and Yu ZhiJue both had plenty of experience in traveling swiftly, and thus far, they¡¯ve progressed along quite smoothly. By the afternoon of the third day, they were close to reaching ChongMing[1] City.


    Ling Xia was grateful that these past few days, Yu ZhiJue¡¯s attitude towards him had gotten slightly better due to his composed and subtle efforts in currying the other¡¯s favor. Even though Yu ZhiJue still ignored him from time to time, at the very least, his expression wasn¡¯t full of rejection and scorn like before.


    The small town they were passing through was clearly more prosperous than LongFei Town, and there was a lot more variety in both food and entertainment. After eating roasted meat in the wild for a few days, when the scent of hot, deliciously cooked meals entered Ling Xia¡¯s nose, he subconsciously licked his lips. Song XiaoHu also couldn¡¯t resist staring, swallowing down a mouth full of saliva.


    There wasn¡¯t a form of government in any of the continents of this world. Each region was managed by the largest sect in the area, with the famous, large sects numbering over a dozen, and the smaller sects too numerous to count. As for the ShaoYang Sect that was in charge of the thousands of miles around ChongMing City, it was only considered below average.


    The currency here also wasn¡¯t made from traditional gold, silver, or copper ores, but from different levels of energy stones. The higher the level of energy stone used, the greater the coin¡¯s worth, and ones made from the low-level energy stones were the most common. Of course, you could also bring the energy stones you obtained to various money mints and exchange it for the common currency.


    Energy stones are usually found in places with a high concentration of spiritual energy. They are used in refining both magical tools and medicinal pills as well as in aiding cultivation, and the higher the level, the rarer the stone was. Ling Xia paid careful attention while they traveled, but didn¡¯t even spot a single piece of low-level energy stone.


    Ling Xia looked at the two kids beside him; Song XiaoHu¡¯s head seemed slightly large for his frame and appeared hearty and robust, but Yu ZhiJue was noticeably a bit thinner and weaker than other kids his age. They had both reached an important age in their bodies¡¯ development, and if they lived on Earth, they would still be elementary school students! But presently, these two were malnourished¡­ ¡­Eating nothing but the rabbits or fish or whatnot they¡¯ve caught was obviously far too lacking in providing sufficient nutrition.


    A simple, written announcement on a wall quickly caught Ling Xia¡¯s attention. It said there was a shop currently undertaking a construction job and was looking for temporary workers, offering a pay of 10 low-level energy coins per day, which was roughly the equivalent of £¤100[2] back on Earth.


    Ling Xia¡¯s eyes glinted; what his current body did not lack at all, was physical strength. He had already secretly tested it, easily lifting boulders over fifty kilograms, and the cause was very likely because he possessed Herculean Strength.


    Of course, this amount strength isn¡¯t even worth mentioning compared to what the protagonist and the villain would have in the future, but even so, it¡¯s a skill that¡¯s rarely seen. If one could cultivate it appropriately, there was quite the potential for growth.


    As for doing the job of a low-level physical laborer, Ling Xia doesn¡¯t hold any contempt in his heart towards such a thing. During college, he and his classmates often worked as salesmen promoting education related materials on weekends, and in any case, earning one¡¯s keep through one¡¯s own toils wasn¡¯t something shameful.


    Ling Xia swiftly called the other two over and told them his plans. In high spirits, Song XiaoHu cheerfully declared, ¡°Then I¡¯ll go with you, I¡¯m pretty strong too!¡±


    Yu ZhiJue hesitated for a beat, but also said, ¡°I¡¯m going as well.¡±


    Ling Xia immediately turned down their offers. How could he let elementary kids work at a construction site? Instead, he smiled and rubbed Song XiaHu¡¯s head, insisting, ¡°You guys don¡¯t need to go. Go over there and watch that play, and I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±


    At the end of the street, there was a stage set up where a play was taking place. Their performance style was similar to that of Beijing operas, except it was a lot more humorous and contained many more jokes.


    Song XiaoHu longingly looked towards the lively stage, but still stubbornly followed Ling Xia, and without a word, Yu ZhiJue also trailed behind without a word. Hence, Ling Xia had no choice but to take them along.


    There was no way he¡¯d let two minors step up to do manual labor, but letting them stay nearby and avoid getting into any trouble wasn¡¯t such a bad idea.


    That shop¡¯s construction site was bustling with a dozen or so workers, and a manager-like person was currently yelling instructions at everyone to carry slabs of stone. Ling Xia instructed the two kids to stand off to the side, and walked over alone.


    First, he greeted the man with a smile, and then in a neither deferential nor haughty manner, explained his reason for coming.


    The construction supervisor gave him a glance, saw his weak-looking body that was wrapped in shabby clothes, and impatiently snapped at once, ¡°Runts should go play elsewhere, how is this the kind of work you can do?¡±


    Ling Xia looked at his surroundings, rolled up his sleeves, and walked to stand in front of a slab of limestone. Gathering his strength, he suddenly lifted up the one meter long, half a meter thick piece of stone and moved it elsewhere, all the while making it look as easy and effortless as possible.


    He didn¡¯t find it very heavy, but since that slab of stone was slightly too large, holding it steady was a bit difficult.


    The other workers were all burly and beefy macho men, and at least two of them were needed to arduously complete such a task. Seeing a thin and frail youngster possess such power, they all started to applaud and cheer.


    The construction supervisor was very experienced and knowledgeable, and while this youngster looked unremarkable, being endowed with superhuman strength might lead to him becoming a famous sect¡¯s disciple one day, so his attitude immediately became a lot more polite. He smiled at Ling Xia and exclaimed, ¡°One really can¡¯t tell that a kid like you packs so much brute force. Alright, I¡¯ll pay you twenty a day.¡±


    In fact, this wasn¡¯t disadvantageous to him at all. Going at Ling Xia¡¯s pace, it was more than enough to complete two people¡¯s worth of work.


    Receiving a higher salary than what he expected, Ling Xia was also very happy, promptly joining the others and busying himself with work.


    Song XiaoHu and Yu ZhiJue also hurried over to help Ling Xia, but Ling Xia briskly waved his hands, signaling them to stay out of the way. Disgruntled, Song XiaoHu bent down to lift a slab, yet no matter how hard he tried, it didn¡¯t even budge, leading him to dejectedly stand off to the side. Yu ZhiJue watched that display, figured he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to move it either, and with a snort, also moved back.


    After steadily and sincerely working for an entire day, by the time they wrapped up, despite Ling Xia possessing colossal strength, his fingers were convulsing from fatigue. The construction supervisor looked at his dusty face and sweat-soaked clothes, and unexpectedly, gave him an extra two more energy coins.


    Likewise, Ling Xia did not decline and accepted it with gratitude; in this world, you could buy three or four bowls of noodles with two energy coins.


    After he lightly washed his hands and face, Song XiaoHu ran over and asked, ¡°Elder brother Ling, are you tired?¡±


    Ling Xia shook his head, then smiled back, ¡°Let¡¯s go, first we need to eat.¡±


    Yu ZhiJue¡¯s mouth was slightly open, silently staring at how Ling Xia¡¯s back was completely drenched in sweat. Ling Xia jingled the coins in his hands a few times, grinned delightfully, then asked him, ¡°What do you want to eat?¡±


    Yu ZhiJue masked his breathing in defiance, however, his tone held traces of awkward embarrassment as he answered, ¡°Rice.¡±


    Song XiaoHu was completely carnivorous in his tastes, asking for a large portion of lamb meat with bread and soup, while Yu ZhiJue merely ordered some rice. Ling Xia looked at the menu and picked a few not-too-expensive but nutritious vegetable dishes, and slowly but surely, Yu ZhiJue ate from each and every one of them.


    This meal cost them 8 low-level energy coins, and remembering all the hard work that it took to earn, Ling Xia really felt some pain in his heart. In any case, they weren¡¯t far from their destination, so he decided to stay and work for a few more days. The rest of the way to ChongMing City wasn¡¯t guaranteed to be smooth, and at the very least, he needed to earn enough money to buy new clothes for these two kids. There were five more days until ShaoYang Sect would conduct their recruitment, and from this small town, it would only take around a day¡¯s travel to reach the city, so they still had plenty of time to spare.


    Ling Xia also had his hands tied; before, he was only a nerdy male working in the tech department, spending his days dealing with computers and code. In this world, those kind of skills can¡¯t even be used to trade for a single apple.


    Although this was a world ruled by the strong, these two were still normal children right now, and wearing such tattered and old clothing would inevitably invite the ridicule and derision of others.


    Song XiaoHu probably wouldn¡¯t mind much, but as for Yu ZhiJue, that brat was unlikely not to take it to heart. Any factors that might push Yu ZhiJue to the dark side must be avoided at all costs!


    After three days of working hard during the day and sleeping outside during the night, he finally saved up approximately 45 low-level energy coins, enough to buy two sets of clothes made from ordinary cloth.


    Ling Xia specifically led the two kids to take a bath, and then brought them to a shop that sold children¡¯s clothing.


    The clothes in this world were rather fashionable, having styles that bared the chest or bared the back, along with all sorts of exotic varieties reminiscent of what¡¯s seen in online video games. Song XiaoHu quickly found a blue, gold trimmed short-sleeve shirt he liked, and putting it on accentuated his already hearty and robust look. Yu ZhiJue chose a very plain, ungarnished, ordinary cotton and hemp garment that covered his slender and fair neck, making his small face seem even more elegant and cute.


    After bartering, the total still came up to 36 energy coins, but Ling Xia was very satisfied.


    In a bewildered tone, Song XiaoHu inquired, ¡°Elder brother Ling, you¡¯re not going to buy one?¡±


    Yu ZhiJue also couldn¡¯t resist blurting out, ¡°If there¡¯s not enough money¡­ ¡­Then I don¡¯t want it.¡±


    Ling Xia was so moved; this was precisely a perfect opportunity for education! He immediately looked at Yu ZhiJue with the tender, kind eyes of an elder, and warmly returned, ¡°I don¡¯t need to buy anything. The clothes I have can still be worn.¡±


    He pondered a bit, then emphatically added, ¡°I¡¯m your older brother, so it¡¯s only natural that I look after the two of you.¡±


    Song XiaoHu¡¯s heart was simultaneously filled with both warmth and woe. He stared at Ling Xia with a pair of glistening eyes, larger and darker than the sweetest of grapes, as tears streamed down his face. No one has ever treated him this well before.


    On the other hand, Yu ZhiJue awkwardly turned his gaze to the side, and softly promised, ¡°In the future, I¡¯ll definitely pay you back over a thousand times.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I surely won¡¯t forget,¡± Ling Xia replied, looking extremely pleased, and reached out to pat Yu ZhiJue¡¯s shoulder. This time, the great sir villain surprisingly didn¡¯t dodge, so he couldn¡¯t help but feel ecstatic.


    Yep, he needed to become a benevolent, saint-like father figure who would properly guide and nurture the villain!


    [1]: what was previously known as ¡®YouMing City¡¯ switched to ¡®ChongMing City¡¯ starting this chapter; in case you¡¯re confused, it¡¯s the city that¡¯s their destination


    [2]: yuan, the currency used in China, and £¤100 is roughly around $15

 Volume 1 - CH 6

    Chapter 6:


    The three of them resumed their journey, and as they got closer to ChongMing City, the roads gradually became wider, and the number of other young travelers also increased. All of them were evidently headed towards ShaoYang Sect to register, and among those seen, there were plenty of noble children wearing gorgeous and expensive clothing.


    Quite a few simple tea houses were scattered on the side of the road, but the tea and refreshments they sold were at least three or four times more expensive than usual. As soon as Ling Xia saw the price, he was no longer willing to buy anything. Unfortunately, they couldn¡¯t find a creek or river nearby, so he still had to harden his heart and purchase a pot of tea for water, and in this way, the rest of his money was thoroughly spent by the end of the day.


    When they reached the outskirts of ChongMing City, Ling Xia was completely struck dumb. The few kilometers surrounding the city perimeter was actually a lake with rippling waves, and countless medium and small boats were anchored near the shore. After asking for the price of a ride, it turned out to cost a startling 10 level-one energy coins per person. If they hadn¡¯t bought any clothes, then there would have been just enough¡­


    Song XiaoHu also looked to be at his wits¡¯ end, involuntarily raising his head and looking towards Ling Xia.


    Ling Xia warily peeked in Yu ZhiJue¡¯s direction, fearing for the worst, but fortunately, the other boy only gazed at the water, and not a trace of anger emerged on his face.


    Pretending to be calm, Ling Xia suggested, ¡°Well, we can try asking some boatmen if we can help with the rowing.¡±


    Except, those boatmen were all strong and sturdy fellows who hoped to use this opportunity to make a quick buck, so why would they need the help of children?


    Ling Xia didn¡¯t even finish talking before one from a medium sized ship impatiently waved his hand and snarled, ¡°You¡¯re broke and still want a ride? Stop interfering with my business, shoo!¡± A few people appeared nearby, looking to rent a boat, and he hastily rushed over to welcome them with a smile.


    After asking seven or eight more boats in a row and receiving the same response, Ling Xia inevitably became crestfallen; even if he could find another place to work and earn the necessary money, they were short on time right now!


    Suddenly, a clear and melodious sound came from behind, and despite being filled with anxiety, Ling Xia reflexively turned around to take a look, immediately paralyzed by the sight. An enormous animal he¡¯d never seen before was currently trotting at a steady pace and headed in this general direction, carrying a little girl about seven or eight years old on its back. What he heard earlier was precisely the sound of the bell around its neck.


    This animal¡¯s head had four horns growing out on top, was as tall as a camel, and had the lips and nose of a hippopotamus. Its dusty brown coat looked smooth and shiny, but its overall appearance was terribly ugly.


    On the other hand, the girl was as pretty as a picture, and with a small stature clad from head to toe in pink, the contrast between the mount and its rider was all the more prominent.


    ¡°It¡¯s a sinistral-steed,¡± a few people murmured.


    As a die-hard fan, Ling Xia naturally knew about this magical beast, a level-five, considerably rare species that¡¯s very friendly towards humans, swift as a gale in water, and capable of defending against water-based attacks. To ride this kind of magical beast, it¡¯s clear that this petite girl¡¯s status wasn¡¯t common.


    Ling Xia couldn¡¯t help but start recalling the line-up to the protagonist¡¯s massive harem, positive that the first harem member was someone Song XiaoHu met only after he entered ShaoYang Sect¡­ ¡­As thoughts swirled in his mind, the sinistral-steed was already strutting their way.


    Ling Xia was certainly confused. They were standing at the end of a dock, but if that sinistral-steed was planning to carry the girl on his back across the lake, wouldn¡¯t it be better to go down from the shore? Surely it wasn¡¯t planning to jump into the water from over here?


    As he was baffled, that young girl jerked the reins, and surprisingly, stopped right next to where they stood.


    She pointed the horsewhip in her hand at Song XiaoHu, and asked in a somewhat haughty tone, ¡°Oi, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡­ ¡­Eh? What¡¯s this?


    Ling Xia had no words. Sure enough, even if the protagonist was only ten years old, the formidable pheromone-filled aura he emitted was definitely a deadly weapon that attracted the opposite sex! Even if this girl was truly a bit much too young¡­ ¡­


    Haah, the kids of the world really matured at such a tender age! As someone who¡¯s lived for twenty-four years and still hadn¡¯t even held a girl¡¯s hand yet, a certain man with the surname of Ling cried bitter tears in his heart.


    Song XiaoHu stared intently at the horsewhip that was barely a few feet away from his face, and although not very knowledgeable in the ways of the world, he still knew that the other¡¯s attitude was one that radiated extreme contempt towards himself. On top of that, at his current age, he honestly didn¡¯t have any concepts pertaining to the differences or etiquette in associating with the fairer sex. Instantly taking a step back, he retorted in annoyance, ¡°Why should I tell you? Who are you suppose to be?¡±


    Hearing this, a trace of fury flashed across the girl¡¯s face, but she vehemently suppressed it and said, ¡°My name is Cui Yu. Are you all headed to ShaoYang sect for registration?¡±


    She was facing Song XiaoHu, yet her eyes kept surreptitiously glancing at Yu ZhiJue.


    As soon as Ling Xia heard this name, his head swelled in turmoil! Why was this high and mighty missy showing up right now?


    That¡¯s right, Cui Yu was a member of the protagonist¡¯s harem, and putting aside just how prominent her background was, what made her unique among the harem members was that this crafty and unruly, bossy woman¡¯s first love was the villain!


    Moreover, she was the type where the more you discouraged her, the more motivated she became, and even though she ended up following the protagonist, Ling Xia felt that the one she loved most in her heart remained the villain. At the time, he was very dissatisfied and extremely annoyed at this turn of events, unable to find that headstrong, violent, and devious rich girl from the novel likable at all. And the way she fell for the protagonist wasn¡¯t the least bit natural all right?


    But it¡¯s not like he could do anything about that wretched author being a shit and simply pawning her off onto the protagonist, fuck!


    However, looking at the love triangle that¡¯s right about to unfold before his eyes, Ling Xia harbored an undefinable urge to laugh out loud. This was clearly just three elementary students playing some childish ¡®I like you, so play with me¡¯ type of game, you know?


    Yu ZhiJue impatiently snapped at Song XiaoHu, ¡°Hurry up and get over here, we still need to think of a way to get across.¡±


    He only felt loathing and disgust towards this arrogant and overbearing young girl, and after sensing her gaze, detested her even more. Therefore, he had immediately interrupted Song XiaoHu¡¯s conversation, then walked towards Ling Xia and stated, ¡°Let¡¯s ask around some more.¡±


    Cui Yu saw the way he completely ignored her, and her fair cheeks promptly turned red. In the past, no matter where she went, everyone always welcomed her with a smile while rushing to fawn over her needs. When and where had she ever received this kind of cold shoulder?


    She resentfully glared at Ling Xia and snapped the whip in her hands at him with a crack. ¡°Out of the way, you¡¯re blocking my path!¡±


    Ling Xia was stunned, and even though he quickly stepped back in response, nevertheless, the tail end of the whip still slapped across his face, inflicting a stinging, burning pain. That whip was made from the skin of a level-three magical snake, so in spite of being swung with a young girl¡¯s strength, it left a distinct, crimson lash mark in its wake.


    Fuck, who was the one that said all girls were cute? This spoiled rotten, little lass in front of him was obviously very horrid, don¡¯t you see? This was what you call randomly attacking innocent bystanders, you know?


    Song XiaoHu immediately leapt over and angrily roared, ¡°What are you doing? Why are you hitting people for no reason?¡±


    Yu ZhiJue¡¯s eyes turned cold, and a fierce, cruel tint flashed by.


    Cui Yu arrogantly looked down at them from high above, and sniffed, ¡°Who told you people to block my path?¡±


    Ling Xia certainly wasn¡¯t going to squabble with a kiddo on the same level as a second grader, and pulled Yu ZhiJue back with him as he started to move further away. Without giving the protagonist a chance to respond, he urged, ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s think of a way to get across the lake first.¡±


    Yep, he definitely had to properly instruct Song XiaoHu, after all, what the other lacked in the least was harem candidates! In order to keep relations peaceful in the future, it¡¯d be better not to recruit this one¡­ ¡­


    Song XiaoHu indignantly threw a glare at Cui Yu, and then walked towards Ling Xia all while biting his lips.


    Ling Xia rubbed the hedgehog-like head as if to soothe his ire, tugged on the corners of his and Yu ZhiJue¡¯s clothes, and prepared to leave.


    ¡°Hold it!¡± Cui Yu yelled while staring at Yu ZhiJue¡¯s back. ¡°I already told you my name, but you haven¡¯t answered my questions yet.¡±


    She was constantly doted upon by the elders she met, and her seniors and juniors also fell over each other to gain her favor, but none of them came even close to this young boy¡¯s beauty. Possessing such an enchanting face that bore a demeanor of pride and conceit, and despite the clothes on his body being very normal, he made her heart throb with an emotion she couldn¡¯t put into words. (Author¡¯s note: Usually, we call people like this, an M.)[1]


    Ling Xia¡¯s lips twitched; you really can¡¯t mess with kids who mature early! Looks like this little Miss-High-and-Mighty wasn¡¯t planning to let things go until they handed over their names.


    Song XiaoHu still thought Cui Yu was talking to himself, so he turned around at once, stood his ground, and shouted back, ¡°If you apologize to Elder brother Ling, I¡¯ll tell you my name.¡±


    ¡°¡­ ¡­¡± Ling Xia was rendered speechless; ahh, my oh so innocent and adorable protagonist, thou hast clearly mistaken the lady¡¯s intentions¡­ ¡­


    ¡°Apologize?¡± Cui Yu snorted, her whip flying out faster than the wind. Song XiaoHu reflexively dodged to the side, however, the whip changed directions midair and nimbly wrapped around his waist.


    Before either Yu ZhiJue or Ling Xia could react, Cui Yu suddenly dug her heels into the sinistral-steed¡¯s sides. Dragging Song XiaoHu along, it jumped off the dock and into the water, the force of its huge splash instantly overturning a small boat.


    By the time Ling Xia and Yu ZhiJue ran to the edge of the dock, Cui Yu and the sinistral-steed had shot off like an arrow before stopping a few dozen meters away. Song XiaoHu was choking on water, spitting and coughing nonstop as he struggled to keep afloat.


    Ling Xia was seriously enraged, and cried out, ¡°XiaoHu, are you okay? Miss Cui Yu, hurry up and bring him back!¡±


    Song XiaoHu¡¯s eyes and throat were both drowning in pain, and thus unable to respond at present. Only after what seemed like an eternity did he finally spit out a few mouthfuls of water, jerk his head above the waves, and hollered, ¡°Elder brother Ling, Ah¡®Jue, I¡¯m okay!¡±


    Looking pleased with herself, Cui Yu tugged on the whip and dragged him closer. She had been cultivating under her father¡¯s guidance since a very young age and was a lot stronger than the current Song XiaoHu. The intelligent sinistral-steed, quickly understanding her intentions, firmly wrapped its long tail around the boy¡¯s body.


    Smiling and waving towards the shore, Cui Yu smirked, ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting at ChongMing City¡¯s largest restaurant for you.¡±


    [1]: aka a masochist, and yes, this author¡¯s note was in the raws

 Volume 1 - CH 7

    Chapter 7:


    Watching the silhouettes on the water disappear into the distance, Ling Xia really couldn¡¯t keep a lid on his temper.


    Even if he knew Cui Yu was only somewhat unruly and willful, and Song Xiaohu was unlikely to encounter any life-threatening situations, but getting dragged into the water earlier was still very dangerous. If he had been a normal person, he could have very likely lost his life right then and there! What they needed to do at once was to quickly find a way into the city and rescue him from that reckless and bossy, stuck-up little missy.


    The other boatmen had already helped the unfortunate, overturned boat¡¯s captain back to shore. They had grown accustomed to seeing these tyrannical and lawless disciples of prestigious sects, and once that young girl was out of sight, inevitably started to curse lividly.


    This event seemed to have created an atmosphere of the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend, so another captain suddenly called out to Ling Xia, ¡°Oi, you lads still looking for a ride?¡±


    Ling Xia was overjoyed, and after thanking him, promptly grabbed Yu ZhiJue and jumped aboard.


    The scenery around this part of the lake was quite beautiful, the water reflecting the sky in a wash of rippling blues. Sitting on the stern as bursts of refreshing and wet winds stimulated his senses was an additional pleasure, thus the fretful knot in Ling Xia¡¯s heart gradually loosened as well.


    Besides the two of them, four or five other youngsters were also on the boat, probably all headed for ShaoYang Sect to register. Presently, they were chatting up a storm about the registration process, ShaoYang Sect¡¯s famous disciples, and other such topics.


    Ling Xia diligently listened, and because he had forgotten many of the details written in the novel, committed everything he deemed important to his memory.


    This boat moved via manpower, but the pair of oarsmen were strong, robust, and almost two meters tall, so their speed wasn¡¯t that slow. After rowing for about an hour, they had reached the center of the lake.


    At this precise moment, a large ship came up from behind, traveling at a speed significantly faster than theirs.


    Out of curiosity, Ling Xia observed them for quite a while. Standing at the bow of the ship were a few youngsters in embroidered clothing, the oldest looking around twenty years old and the youngest around twelve or thirteen. All of them wore identical, long white robes trimmed with gold, most likely members of the same sect. Ling Xia was partially blinded by the light reflecting off their clothes, and as a result, couldn¡¯t clearly see their faces.


    However, he never expected that the large ship would actually come rushing straight at them!


    The passengers on their boat couldn¡¯t hold in their panicked cries as that ship approached in violent waves. It was bigger than their small boat by at least five or six times, so if it crashed into them, wouldn¡¯t they end up drowning in the middle of this lake?


    Ling Xia couldn¡¯t hide his anxiety either, frantically looked left and right, then swiftly gathered Yu ZhiJue to his chest with one arm while the other wrapped around a wooden cask. He felt the small body in his embrace sharply tense up, so he lowered his head and reassuringly murmured, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I know how to swim¡­ ¡­¡±


    Watching that large ship come closer and closer, Ling Xia involuntarily closed his eyes in response, waiting for the moment of impact. However, the anticipated calamity never came to pass.


    Unable to endure further, he opened his eyes and saw a pair of flashing, black orbs glaring furiously at him from within his arms.


    Yu ZhiJue¡¯s voice was part rigid and part monotone as he gritted out, ¡°Still not letting go?!¡±


    Although he sounded fierce and hostile, his face was slowly turning red.


    Ling Xia quickly released him, and turning his head, saw that the large ship had unexpectedly stopped barely a few feet away!


    Wearing an expression of having escaped from death by the skin of their teeth, everyone on their boat slowly stood back up. The boatmen looked ready to let loose a barrage of insults, but seeing the clothing and ornaments of the people on the ship, they no longer dared and could only privately curse this rotten luck.


    ¡°You punks on the stern!¡± hollered a young boy about twelve or thirteen, sweeping his gaze across the others on the small boat before swiftly locking onto Ling Xia and Yu ZhiJue.


    Ling Xia couldn¡¯t help but find it strange; they¡¯re actually looking for himself? He carefully scrutinized the people on the large ship and confirmed that he had definitely never seen any of them before.


    Faced with a complete lack of reaction, that young boy seemed to get angry and roared, ¡°Oi, I¡¯m talking to you two!¡±


    Ling Xia inwardly grimaced, pulling along Yu ZhiJue to walk closer as he politely inquired, ¡°Fellow traveler, may I ask for what reason you called out to us?¡±


    That young boy deliberately looked at them from head to toe, then turned up his nose and loudly sniffed in their direction, making Ling Xia even more perplexed.


    When did he offend this arrogant young master?


    On the contrary, the twenty-year-old young man who seemed to be the group¡¯s leader asked more courteously, ¡°Have the two of you seen our youngest junior sister? We heard those on the shore say that she left with one your friends. Could you tell us what exactly transpired?¡±


    Even though his tone was genteel, it was as clear as day that he did not have the slightest inclination of introducing himself, nor did he hold the two of them in any regard. Moreover, it was obviously Cui Yu who kidnapped Song XiaoHu away by force, but coming from his mouth, how did it become the two of them leaving together?


    Ling Xia felt resentful in his heart, but at least he finally identified that these people ought to be Cui Yu¡¯s fellow seniors. Recruiting disciples was a complex affair for any sect, and every time it happened, they would invite people from neighboring sects as additional support. These people from YunXiao City were probably the ones invited this time.


    And Cui Yu¡¯s father was precisely the master of YunXiao City. YunXiao City was one of the most famous cities on this continent, rising to fame from its refinement of magical tools, their prestige far above that of ShaoYang Sect¡¯s. In other words, Cui Yu¡¯s position was at least equivalent to that of a provincial-level Party Committee Secretary¡®s daughter.


    In the novel, the plot revolving around YunXiao City was essentially cannon-fodder central headquarters, and there was even a senior mob character that liked Miss-High-and-Mighty Cui Yu. Who knows if he¡¯s one of the people here or not¡­ ¡­


    In any case, fighting with the protagonist over girls is an exercise in futility!


    The young man who spoke more politely was YunXiao City¡¯s second disciple, Mo Dai. This youngest junior sister of his was dainty and willful, but due to her youth, her cultivation was still in the earliest stages. The entire way here, she kept running ahead on her sinistral-steed while constantly stirring up trouble, making this senior brother who was leading the group to ShaoYang Sect wind up enduring a lot of hardships.


    If the darling apple of his master¡¯s eyes so much as bruised herself while walking, it¡¯d result in him suffering the punishment when they returned! He had already made discreet inquiries about what happened at the lakeside and knows that it was his youngest junior sister who provoked others first; honestly, he doesn¡¯t understand what that pampered and spoiled miss was even thinking. Although these two youngsters had very good looks, their clothes were extremely ordinary, especially the older one who was basically wearing the same thing as a beggar! Presumably, they both hailed from the common masses, possessing nothing special or worthy of notice.


    As Ling Xia was about to respond, Yu ZhiJue beat him to the punch and coldly replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t see anyone leave with my friend. However, I did see a vicious woman snatch my friend away by force.¡±


    ¡°¡­ ¡­¡± Ling Xia experienced a momentarily lapse in strength. Pretending he didn¡¯t hear Yu ZhiJue¡¯s words, he smiled and answered differently, ¡°Yes, we have. She said she was going to ChongMing City¡¯s largest restaurant. I assumed she¡¯s already reached there by now, so if the rest of you could¡ª¡±


    However, that twelve or thirteen-year-old boy¡¯s complexion had already turned ugly, interrupting Ling Xia¡¯s words as he snarled at Yu ZhiJue, ¡°What did you just say?¡±


    Yu ZhiJue gave him a glance but didn¡¯t speak again, simply turning around before calmly and languidly walking away.


    ¡°Hold it!¡± that youngster furiously demanded at once. He twisted his neck and declared to Mo Dai, ¡°Senior brother, that brat¡¯s words were clearly slandering Youngest junior sister. I¡¯m going to teach him a lesson!¡±


    Mo Dai knew that this junior brother habitually and immensely spoiled their youngest junior sister. He did not want to bear the accusation of leading the strong to bully the weak, not to mention, it was truly youngest junior sister who was at fault. Therefore, he appeased, ¡°Shang Yan, forget it. What we should do right now is find Youngest junior sister as soon as possible.¡±


    The large ship began bypassing the smaller boat, but that young boy never stopped glowering at Yu ZhiJue with indignation and resentment.


    Hearing Mo Dai say this somewhat familiar sounding name, the stress lines on Ling Xia¡¯s forehead was not limited to just three or four anymore. That¡¯s why he was asking, just how early did the troublesome fledglings of this world start maturing?! Wasn¡¯t this literally one of the small-fry mob characters who would fight against the protagonist as a love rival in the future?


    After the two vessels completely passed by each other, Shang Yan suddenly took out a magical tool, and in a flash, a streak of lightning struck down on the small boat¡¯s hull.


    This magical tool was a lightning attribute device personally made by the master of YunXiao City and had immeasurable power. Shang Yan¡¯s cultivation was still shallow, capable of bringing out less than one tenth of its might, but that was more than sufficient enough to pierce a washbasin-sized hole through the bottom of the boat.


    Mo Dai¡¯s brows instantly scrunched up, but seeing that no one was struck, proceeded to slap the top of Shang Yan¡¯s head as he warned, ¡°You rapscallion, be careful of Master finding out and punishing you!¡±


    Shang Yan hastily lowered his head and put away the magical tool, beaming, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble Senior brother to take responsibility on my behalf!¡±


    Mo Dai helplessly chuckled, and did not look back again.


    Watching the large ship gradually sail away, Ling Xia really, really wanted to let loose and curse him till his ears bled. No wonder you¡¯re just cannon-fodder trash! Better watch yourself and not get annihilated by my li¡¯l bro, the protagonist!


    The oarsmen promptly tried to plug up the hole, but there wasn¡¯t anything suitable to use on the boat, and after a short while, the water level had risen to cover one¡¯s feet.


    This incident more or less originated because of himself, so Ling Xia nimbly lied down to use his own body as a plug as he somewhat sheepishly apologized, ¡°We¡¯re truly very sorry, please quickly set sail. Ah¡®Jue, go help with bailing out water.¡±


    The captain started screaming and yelling at Ling Xia, cursing that large ship one moment then Ling Xia the next. The other passengers all stared at the two of them with varying shades of resentment, but currently, they were still far from the shore, so it was obvious that the most important matter was how to safely dock on land.


    Without a hint of fearing for his own life, Ling Xia pressed his body downwards while saying to the boatmen, ¡°My apologies. Although we don¡¯t have money at the moment, but after we enter ShaoYang Sect in the future, we¡¯ll definitely repay the full amount of this boat, so please don¡¯t worry.¡±


    One of the other passengers immediately sneered, ¡°You sure talk big! How do you know for certain that ShaoYang Sect will accept you? What¡¯s more, when the boat sinks later, it¡¯s not even guaranteed if we¡¯ll live or die!¡±


    However, cursing was just cursing and complaints were only complaints, and in the end, no one on board ever stopped moving their hands to scoop out water.


    Unfortunately, this hole was really too big. By the time they could faintly see the coastline, the water in the ship¡¯s hold had reached one¡¯s knees, and finally, Ling Xia could continue his efforts no more. One after another, everyone else had already jumped into the water, swimming with all their might towards the shore. Left with no other choice, he also got up, grabbed Yu ZhiJue, and jumped off as well.


    Even though Ling Xia currently possessed colossal strength, he only knew an elementary-level dog paddle. After a short while, he ended up dizzy and disoriented from choking on too much water, and his four limbs subsequently began to lose their strength. He looked at how Yu ZhiJue was swimming ahead, the other¡¯s movements as smooth and lively as if performing an effortless exercise.


    He opened his mouth intending to sigh, but with a glug glug, ended up swallowing a few mouthfuls of water instead. His nose and mouth fell below the surface, immediately cutting off his air supply. After enduring for another interval, he felt his body grow heavy beyond recognition, as if he was constrained with metal weights that dragged him deeper and deeper¡­ ¡­


    A hand abruptly braced itself under his armpit and tugged upwards. Ling Xia opened his eyes and struggled, wanting to use that force of momentum to float back to the surface. Unfortunately, the other¡¯s strength was really too weak, and the two of them conversely got tangled up, sinking even lower.


    Looking at the Yu ZhiJue that was within arm¡¯s reach, the warmth and shock of being blessed by a higher authority practically overwhelmed Ling Xia; to think that the great sir villain actually came to save him? Be that as it may, he had completely run out of oxygen, and his brain was suffocating on the verge of exploding with pain!


    Could it be that he transmigrated over just to die at the bottom of a lake, entirely before the plot even started to pick up?


    Urged by an intense desire to live, inspiration struck Ling Xia like a crash of lightning as he suddenly remembered a certain fact: Yu ZhiJue¡¯s body contained water elemental energy!


    In other words, Yu ZhiJue was capable of breathing freely under water!


    Without the slightest bit of hesitation, he used the last of his strength to pull Yu ZhiJue towards himself, and pressed his lips forth¡­


    Big bro isn¡¯t doing it on purpose, big bro just doesn¡¯t want to die! Please forgive this big bro ahhhhhh!

 Volume 1 - CH 8

    Chapter 8:


    As soon as he raised his head, Yu Zhi Jue saw a pair of large, puckered up, morning glory-shaped lips headed towards himself. Albeit he didn¡¯t know what Ling Xia was planning to do, a shudder of dread ran up his back, and his fist started moving before his thoughts could catch up.


    A thin, slender right arm swung out at full strength, its sudden and explosive might astonishingly powerful. Yu ZhiJue¡¯s fist smashed directly into Ling Xia¡¯s right cheek, immediately sending the other flying many feet away despite the water resistance.


    By the time Yu ZhiJue came back to his senses, Ling Xia had already become a motionless, floating corpse, completely knocked out cold.


    ¡°¡­ ¡­¡± After a moment of silence, Yu ZhiJue rapidly swam over, gripped Ling Xia¡¯s collar, and started kicking his legs to return to the surface.


    When he received that shock just a moment ago, the strength within his body that had nearly been depleted was miraculously replenished, as if the water contained countless minute and invisible energy particles that steadily flowed into his body.


    In spite of that, Yu ZhiJue was panting for breath by the time they broke through the surface, and treading water while forcefully slapping Ling Xia¡¯s face, he growled, ¡°Oi, wake up! So useless!¡±


    In a daze, Ling Xia slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he felt was the burning pain in his cheeks, almost as if they were on fire. He was somewhat puzzled, but quickly remembered his present situation. Without another moment of delay, he followed Yu ZhiJue and started to swim with all his might towards the shore.


    From time to time, Yu ZhiJue would give him a supportive tug, and Ling Xia gritted his teeth and paddled forward as if his life depended on it, until at long last, they finally reached dry land. The two of them were exhausted beyond all means, sprawling listlessly on the shore without even an ounce of strength left.


    Ling Xia touched his face, positive that it must have swollen up to the size of a swine¡¯s head! He thoroughly recalled the incident in the water earlier, and then immediately rejoiced to no end.


    At that time, he had lost his mind to anxiety, but it was really fortuitous that he didn¡¯t end up smacking on a big one! If he actually had, then just having his head turn into a swollen swine¡¯s probably wouldn¡¯t have been enough to settle that kind of disaster!


    He carefully and cautiously sneaked Yu ZhiJue a glimpse. The great sir villain¡¯s hair that was normally tied up neatly had come apart in the water, and the wet and smooth, long, ink black hair fell upon his shoulders in a slightly disheveled manner, plastering against jade-like skin and alluringly pursed lips alike. His almond-shaped, upturned eyes bore a touch of grandeur paired with the crimson as blood mole below the corner of his eye, and even though he was still very young, he already faintly possessed the ambiance of one destined to rule.


    Yu ZhiJue peered back at him, and feeling slightly guilty, Ling Xia lowered his gaze.


    The others who were shipwrecked with them had long since climbed ashore and were also resting in the vicinity, each and every one of them cursing up a storm.


    One of the boatmen ran over, pointed to Ling Xia, and shouted angrily, ¡°You dirty little brat! I¡¯ve remembered you! Give me back my boat!¡±


    Ling Xia threw up a few mouthfuls of water, then in a coaxing manner, piled on a bucket-load of kind and flattering sweet-talk while fishing out the remaining few energy coins he had. Even like so, that boatman still relentlessly and invasively searched through his clothes, and only after confirming that he really didn¡¯t have any more money, did the matter finally get dropped.


    The other boatman headed towards Yu ZhiJue, intending to search the younger boy next. Yu ZhiJue frigidly lifted his head, fists tightly clenching in response as a thread of malice flashed through his eyes. This scene struck a chill into both the boatmen¡¯s hearts and they hesitated, somehow not daring to continue forward.


    Ling Xia, also frightened by how Yu ZhiJue¡¯s glare was fiercer and more vicious than even a savage wolf¡¯s, quickly pulled the boy behind his back. He knew without a shred of doubt that if these boatmen advanced, Yu ZhiJue would definitely retaliate on the spot!


    This was also his first time encountering such an awkward situation, so he could only apologize and make promises again and again, continuing his appeal until his throat became dry and parched. In the end, he had to write an IOU signed with his name, and only then did the boat¡¯s captain let them leave.


    In any case, they¡¯d have to ride a boat in order to leave the city, and furthermore, if they really do get accepted as ShaoYang Sect¡¯s disciples, the captain wouldn¡¯t have to worry about them being unable to pay him back. Thus, he couldn¡¯t force and push these kids too ferociously for the time being.


    When they finally made their official entrance into ChongMing City, both Ling Xia¡¯s body and mind were extremely worn out, and he felt not even the slightest trace of excitement or energy.


    Worried about Song XiaoHu, he hastily asked where the best restaurant in ChongMing City was, then urgently rushed towards its location with Yu ZhiJue in tow.


    Quite a few people on the roads turned around to stare at Ling Xia in shock, but the person in question didn¡¯t notice it at all. While his current skin couldn¡¯t compare with Yu ZhiJue¡¯s white as snow and delicate as porcelain complexion, it was still fairer than the average person¡¯s, and therefore, the swollen fingerprints blossoming on his cheeks were particularly eye-catching.


    Yu ZhiJue brooded for a while before finally opening his mouth, his tone containing traces of inquiry and suspicion as he asked, ¡°Earlier, under the water, what were you trying to do?¡±


    Ling Xia¡¯s hurried footsteps abruptly slowed, his startled heart slamming against his rib cage as it began to thump faster and louder.


    What should he say? That in order to save his own life, he almost took a bite out of the great sir villain¡¯s precious and noble lips? Would he still be able to see the sunrise tomorrow after that? ¡­ ¡­


    Such an unsuitable topic for children, of course he can¡¯t disclose it to this wee little villain! Besides, how would he explain his knowledge of Yu ZhiJue having water elemental energy inside his body?


    Hence, he solemnly lied, ¡°A fish swam into my mouth, and I wanted to spit it out.¡±


    ¡°¡­ ¡­¡± Yu ZhiJue imagined that for a bit, scrunched up his brows in disgust, and then immediately pulled away to increase the distance between Ling Xia and himself.


    ChongMing City was very big, and its most famous restaurant was called Cloud Gazing Pavilion. When Ling Xia saw how it was constructed to look like it floated high in the clouds while wrapped in mist, he was inevitably struck dumb for an instant. Something like this was indeed deserving of its phenomenal reputation! Only, the people going in and out of the restaurant were all either children of aristocratic and prestigious families or outstanding and refined members of famous sects, so before Ling Xia and Yu ZhiJue could even enter the door, someone came forth and blocked their path, keeping them outside.


    Ling Xia promptly revealed a standard, friendly smile and inquired, ¡°Sir, may I ask if there is a young lady with a sinistral-steed currently within this establishment?¡±


    The waiters of Cloud Gazing Pavilion had all cultivated to some extent, and with one look at Ling Xia and Yu ZhiJue¡¯s apparel, he knew that they were children from poor families here for ShaoYang Sect¡¯s registration. Noting the fingerprints adorned across Ling Xia¡¯s face, his inner contempt grew as he replied lazily, ¡°Indeed, there was a young lady riding a sinistral-steed who came here, but she already left an hour ago.¡±


    Ling Xia blinked, then thanked him courteously as the waiter walked back into the building without sparring them another glance. If Ling Xia¡¯s hypothesis was correct, the people from YunXiao City must have already come. No matter how unruly and willful Cui Yu was, she feared her father¡¯s punishment, so it was highly likely that she was forced to leave with her seniors. Since they came here for the purpose of supporting ShaoYang Sect, he could only go to ShaoYang Sect to continue the search.


    Just as he was contemplating, Yu ZhiJue suddenly spoke up, and a voice evidently laced with criticism questioned, ¡°When they treat you like this, how can you still smile back like that?¡±


    Without thinking any deeper, Ling Xia asked in return, ¡°Who¡¯s they?¡±


    ¡°The previous two boatmen,¡± Yu ZhiJue answered while diligently observing his reactions, ¡°plus the waiter just now.¡±


    In addition to that, he had slapped Ling Xia¡¯s face so many times earlier, so how could the other not be the least bit angry?


    Looking at the great sir villain¡¯s slightly narrowed eyes that shined with utmost seriousness, Ling Xia quickly focused his mind in concentration, then slowly replied, ¡°That boat sinking was also partly due to our circumstances. It was those boatmen¡¯s means to make a living, so how could they not be mad? That they allowed us to leave is already something to be thankful for. Likewise, did that waiter not inform us of what we asked? They also have the shop¡¯s regulations to consider¡­ ¡­¡±


    Noticing how the great sir villain still looked at him with doubts, he quickly smiled warmly and continued, ¡°Even if other people don¡¯t treat you well, you still have to give a them smile. Persevering in this way, one day there will eventually be someone who will return your smile! Although a lot of unfair things exist in this world, most people and matters are nevertheless very wonderful¡­ ¡­¡±


    Ling Xia carefully recalled the YiLin[1] life philosophy books he¡¯d read before, and since this body¡¯s vocal timbre was pretty good, decided to use an even softer and gentler tone to pleasantly persist in his guidance.


    ¡­Ahh, my dear, small and cheeky villain, just follow the protagonist and frolic under the sun together! That¡¯s the true path in life you know!!!


    The more Ling Xia preached, the more passionate he became, nearly to the point of shedding tears from his own eyes.


    However, even though he talked until his mouth was dry and throat was parched, as soon as he earnestly and expectantly focused his gaze back onto the great sir villain, his expression crumbled.


    Yu ZhiJue¡¯s entire face was full of disdain and contempt, looking at him as if he was witnessing something unbelievably moronic as he scorned, ¡°You really can¡¯t tell, huh. Even though you may be older, but your brain is filled with even stupider and more useless things than Song XiaoHu¡¯s!¡±


    He continued, ¡°If other people don¡¯t treat me well, all I have to do is treat them tens of thousands of times worse. ¡­As for whether other people smile at me or not, are nice to me or not, as if I should care?¡±


    ¡°¡­ ¡­¡± Ling Xia involuntarily rubbed the fiery, stinging fingerprints on his face as that unforgettable line once again flashed before his eyes:


    This kind of repulsive world¡­ ¡­should be utterly destroyed¡­


    Why. Must. You. Be. Like. This!

 Volume 1 - CH 9

    Chapter 9:


    In any case, an occupation in education means bearing heavy responsibilities while walking a long road of struggles, so from now on, he had better not lecture about these kinds of broad, general principles that can sound nonsensical. Even when Ling Xia was imparting those words, his brain kept bringing up an image of Missus Ni Ping¡®s mechanical look of being bored stiff¡­


    He still had a lot of confidence in his ability to rehabilitate the villain though. While Yu ZhiJue might say these kind of words, the boy didn¡¯t abandon him back at the lake and was also concerned about Song XiaoHu¡¯s safety. This proves that he definitely wasn¡¯t as heartless and indifferent as he claims to be, and at the very least, has a sense of companionship.


    The location of ShaoYang Sect¡¯s registration event wasn¡¯t hard to find because all one had to do was head to where it was most crowded. Ling Xia asked around a bit and learned that all the specially invited guests were staying in ShaoYang Sect¡¯s inner VIP rooms. Right now, there was no way they¡¯d be allowed to go inside to search for someone.


    Ling Xia could only register first, receiving three talismans labeled with a handwritten registration number that fortunately didn¡¯t come with a fee.


    On a different note, the fact that people were bustling around everywhere proved to be quite an inconvenience. Without a cent to their name and failing to find even a single pile of straw, ultimately, the two of them had to huddle in a corner and make do with sleeping through the night in discomfort.


    In the middle of the night, Ling Xia noticed how tiny and pitiful Yu ZhiJue¡¯s sleeping body looked curled up against the wall, so he gently moved the boy to his lap and contributed his thigh as a pillow. When he woke up at dawn, he was greeted with a pair of eyes being rolled at him, and responded to this juvenile and ungratefully rude brat with a tolerant, forgiving smile, all while heavily massaging his completely numbed thigh.


    The morning of their second day began with grabbing their registration talismans and going straight to the examination site on empty stomachs. Ling Xia mentally stabilized his spirit and mind, then pulled Yu ZhiJue along in following the large crowd as it spilled into the venue, constantly glancing in every direction in hopes of spotting Song XiaoHu¡¯s figure.


    There were over a thousand people who registered and Yu ZhiJue was considered one of the youngest. The majority were between fifteen and twenty years old, and a few over thirty had come as well.


    The setting of this world was one where the strong ruled over the weak, and also, the stronger you were, the longer you could live. For example, by the time Yu ZhiJue¡¯s parents died, his old man was around two hundred while his mother was a little over sixty; if that wasn¡¯t robbing the cradle, then he didn¡¯t know what was. Normal people who haven¡¯t cultivated can at most live to their seventies or eighties, and usually, whether or not a person was suitable for cultivation was determined before they turned thirty. This time, ShaoYang Sect¡¯s age restriction was thirty-five and below.


    There wasn¡¯t any sort of opening ceremony, and everyone was simply divided into groups and led away by the many supervising disciples. The two of them were split into different ones, but Ling Xia wasn¡¯t worried since he knew the first round was just a test of one¡¯s fundamental essence and potential, such as if your body contained power elementals or how capable you were physically, similar to a health checkup. But despite having this sense of security, Ling Xia still couldn¡¯t resist fussing over Yu ZhiJue and saying a few words, and albeit the other wore an expression of impatience, his efforts were not rebuffed.


    Every group had fifty people, and ShaoYang Sect disciples led each of them to a different small testing station. This world¡¯s cultivation process wasn¡¯t limited to just the five elementals, so as long as there was a single area you excelled in, you¡¯d be able to pass this test.


    Because Ling Xia possessed Herculean Strength, he quickly passed through the first round. In addition to that, when he touched the testing tool that amplified one¡¯s energy a hundredfold, the power elementals residing in his body had reacted, and a small seed appeared within the cup like magic before slowly sprouting two tender leaves.


    He was ecstatic, never having thought that this body would also contain wood elemental energy.


    Although wood elemental energy wasn¡¯t as formidable in attack power as lightning, fire, or water elementals, nevertheless, it was representative of life and a rarely seen attribute. High-level wood elemental divergent-skill cultivators could not only shorten the growth period of spiritual plants, but could also raise its survival and recovery rates. In other words, every high-level wood elemental cultivator could rely on selling spiritual plants to become a bona fide, filthy rich tycoon!


    In this world, although taking medicinal drugs wasn¡¯t as effective as in other cultivation novels, it still had many benefits that could help with one¡¯s advancement.


    Of course, receiving a positive feedback for an elemental energy doesn¡¯t necessarily guarantee you¡¯d have the strength to leave your mark in this realm, but in his selective optimism, Ling Xia overlooked this point.


    In every batch of fifty that were tested, about ten would pass, and after Ling Xia reported his name and registration number, he immediately went to the rest area to meet up with Yu ZhiJue. Later on, someone will come inform them of the details for the next round of exams.


    When Ling Xia spotted Yu ZhiJue from far away, his scalp promptly started prickling. Yu ZhiJue was currently in a mutual glaring contest with a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy who wore extravagant clothing and carried a long sword on his back, surrounded by a crowd of curious, busybody onlookers.


    A large section of Yu ZhiJue¡¯s lapel was ripped off, and the person himself seemed on the verge of lashing out¡­ ¡­


    Ling Xia hurried on over, squeezing his way through the crowd and positioned himself in front of Yu ZhiJue. He politely cupped his hands in salute and asked, ¡°Fellow compeer, this is my family¡¯s younger brother. Has something happen?¡±


    That youngster sized up Ling Xia¡¯s appearance and attire in disdain, surmised that he was from a poor family with no backing, and instantly sneered, ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask that cute little brother of yours? Clothes like that, it¡¯s worth what, at most a few level-one energy coins? If this much isn¡¯t enough, then I don¡¯t mind giving you a few more.¡±


    As soon as he finished talking, he threw a handful of level-two energy coins at Ling Xia¡¯s feet without a care. Ling Xia looked down, and sure enough, seven or eight genuine coins were littered on the ground.


    A level-two energy coin was equivalent to ten level-one energy coins; that guy sure was generous with his money.


    Although he wasn¡¯t sure what exactly happened, but from the looks of it, it shouldn¡¯t have been Yu ZhiJue¡¯s fault. Even for Ling Xia, the other¡¯s insulting tone and actions irritated and angered him to no end, so when it came to Yu ZhiJue, whose arrogance and pride could rival that of phoenixes, how could it be different?


    Having this kind of asinine attitude, that guy was definitely even more of a mob than the already very mob character ¡°ErDan¡±¡­ ¡­


    Thinking of it like this, Ling Xia¡¯s anger rapidly dissipated, and he smiled in response, ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. My younger brother¡¯s shirt is only worth a few level-one energy coins, and your money would be better off safely stored in your own pockets. Besides, we¡¯ll be part of the same sect from now on, so by no means would we dare accept these coins.¡±


    Finished speaking, Ling Xia tugged on Yu ZhiJue, planning to squeeze back out and leave this crowded place.


    During the first round of exams, Yu ZhiJue was directly ahead of that youngster in line. He had a very high, rarely found even in a hundred years aptitude, and achieved top evaluations in pretty much all the tests. That youngster was called Xu Yan, and came to ShaoYang Sect on a recommendation from a smaller school. His participation in this qualifying exam was only for show; in fact, it had already been decided behind the scenes that he would become a disciple to one of ShaoYang Sect¡¯s famous sword cultivators.


    Xu Yan had always been conceited and was used to looking down on people from high above, so seeing how the boy in front him was much younger but had talents far above his own, feelings of jealousy inevitably exploded. Thus, during one of the tests, he damaged Yu ZhiJue¡¯s clothes on purpose.


    Even though Yu ZhiJue didn¡¯t realize it was done intentionally, but thinking back to the scene of an exhausted Ling Xia laboring tirelessly in order to earn money to buy himself and Song XiaoHu clothes, he inadvertently became furious.


    Anxious above all else that the other wouldn¡¯t react, Xu Yan deliberately followed up with even more provocative actions in hopes of luring Yu ZhiJue into fighting back. As long as Yu ZhiJue threw the first punch, the ShaoYang Sect supervisors in charge of maintaining peace and order would definitely expel him from the examination grounds. As for himself, he already had a back-door pass that ensured his future.


    He watched Ling Xia pull Yu ZhiJue away, but right now, even he didn¡¯t have the guts to go too overboard; after all, so many pairs of eyes were observing their every move. Recalling Yu ZhiJue¡¯s fierce and viciously ruthless expression earlier, his heart shuddered lightly in fear. He¡¯d already offended the other party, so if they both remained at ShaoYang Sect, then in the future¡­ ¡­


    Finding somewhere quiet and peaceful came with great difficulty, but once they did, Ling Xia immediately started to examine Yu ZhiJue¡¯s body and asked with worry, ¡°Aside from your clothes, are you hurt elsewhere?¡±


    Unaccustomed to the attention, Yu ZhiJue took a few steps back in avoidance, clenched his fists, and coldly retorted, ¡°As if! Hmph, if it wasn¡¯t for you showing up¡­ ¡­¡±


    Ling Xia was also vexed into distress, spontaneously rapping the other¡¯s head as he scolded, ¡°Stupid! If I hadn¡¯t shown up, were you planning on fighting with him? He¡¯s almost a whole head taller than you, and with one look at the sword on his back, you can tell that he¡¯s a sword cultivator, all right? You want to have your qualifications stripped and be expelled from the examination grounds?¡±


    He let out a helpless sigh, rubbed his temples, then sighed again, ¡°Resorting to physical violence, especially brute force, is the stupidest method out of them all! Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t know that?¡±


    Standing there as if he didn¡¯t know what to do, Yu ZhiJue touched the part of his forehead that was struck and stared at Ling Xia with a touch of disbelief. ¡°You, you actually dared¡­ ¡­¡±


    Seeing this resentfully indignant and somewhat chagrined look on Yu ZhiJue, Ling Xia really found it quite funny.


    The great sir villain was honestly so childishly cute right now!


    This tiny, steam bun-faced brat was currently just a dumb little thing who only knew how to use brute force, that¡¯s all. Compared to the ruthless, viciously greedy, demonic, and madly violent tyrant in the novel, their differences were like night and day¡­ ¡­


    Yu ZhiJue grew up in YuN¨¹ Sect, a place with strict and old-fashioned rules, and where that mother-only-in-name of his and other disciples treated him worse than dirt. If they weren¡¯t hitting him, then they were yelling at him, and even after he escaped, he had wandered around alone for the most part. In other words, Yu ZhiJue really hadn¡¯t encountered that many opportunities to experience and learn how to normally interact with people.


    Becoming aware of this fact, Ling Xia felt a tinge of regret and drew back his hand, letting out a single cough. ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is, you still have a lot to learn. Even if a person is extremely detestable, if you display your emotions so freely on your face, wouldn¡¯t that be the same as giving them a chance to guard against you?¡±


    ¡­Shit! That didn¡¯t sound like something you¡¯re suppose to teach good little children!


    Yu ZhiJue lowered his arm, looking thoughtful. ¡°I see, so that¡¯s why. Even if you usually smile a lot, not all of those smiles were real. If you let other people know your mood, conversely, it becomes disadvantageous to yourself. The best course of action would be to hide your intentions, seek out the most suitable opportunity, and then think of a way to achieve your goal, right?¡±


    Faced with this great sir villain who took two lines of advice and inferred four others in between, Ling Xia momentarily didn¡¯t know how to respond.


    As expected, someone like him who only knew theories from books wasn¡¯t qualified enough to shoulder the majestically noble and gloriously honorable position of educating the villain!


    Fuck this! ©Ð©Ð©n©Ð©Ð


    After some time, he stiffly nodded his head and replied, ¡°Not entirely correct¡­but in essence, if people don¡¯t offend you, you shouldn¡¯t offend them. If someone tries to take advantage of you, you should neither be blindly soft-hearted nor indiscriminately heartless. You must keep in mind that there are times when a direct approach may not be as strong or effective as an indirect one, and returning force head-on with force is the most foolish course of action. Moreover, even if you come to stand above others, you must remember that everyone makes mistakes and allow forgiveness when viable. This would also serve in helping yourself gain additional back-up options¡­ ¡­¡±


    Yu ZhiJue pensively lowered his eyes, and a short while later, raised his head to faintly smile at Ling Xia, and said, ¡°I understand.¡±


    Seeing this rare smile from Yu ZhiJue, Ling Xia finally relaxed and exhaled a sigh of relief at long last. He patted Yu ZhiJue¡¯s shoulder and grinned back, ¡°Then that¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°Elder brother Ling, Ah¡®Jue!¡±


    Hearing this familiar voice, Ling Xia turned around like a shot. Sure enough, Song XiaoHu¡¯s conspicuous hedgehog-like hair was currently making his way towards them through the crowd in excitement, the two dimples on his cheeks flickering with every smile. What surprised him though was the presence of a charming and cute eleven or twelve-year-old girl that followed behind Song XiaoHu, someone entirely different from that devious and unruly Miss-High-and-Mighty Cui Yu from before.


    Dayum, as expected of the protagonist who attracted girls faster than honey attracted bees!

 Volume 1 - CH 10

    Sorry, recently my desire to post translations online has pretty much been nonexistent. After a hectic 2 weeks, I decided to relax by catching up on my reading list, only to find out that quite a few of the series I follow had their translations reposted and have started anti-theft measures. Over a month of no updates later, here we are today.


    Unfortunately, Villain Rehab Plan has also been reposted elsewhere. Honestly, I wasn¡¯t expecting this to be an issue so quickly. Please, please, please respect this only wish of mine and don¡¯t repost my translations on other sites.


    But in the end, if people are determined to be that much of an asshole, no matter how much you ask and beg, outside of just not posting at all, it probably won¡¯t be enough to make them stop. Life lessons learned from previous traumas in dealing with reposters, sadly.


    Anyways, I¡¯m going to need to think about if I want to continue sharing online in the future. You have all been very supportive and kind, so at the very least, I want to give you guys an early heads-up. For the time being, I¡¯ll turn a blind eye and post until the end of volume 1. It¡¯s probably not the best stopping point from a reader perspective because [ ], but it is the end of the first major arc. After that, I¡¯ll do another search and depending on the results, well, we¡¯ll cross that bridge when we get to it.


    Starting this chapter, I will be trying some of the preventative methods I¡¯ve seen other translators use. A lot of people say it¡¯s all useless, but might as well give it a shot so I can at least say that I tried. The implementation  took some time, and it¡¯s another reason why this update is out so late. If you have other suggestions, please leave a comment.


    Sorry if this news comes as a disappointment, but losing control over where my translations get posted makes me really, really uncomfortable. Fan translations occupy a very grey area as it is, and since this was originally just a personal project I started without the intention of sharing online, I didn¡¯t ask the original author for explicit permission. That is my mistake, but at this point, I¡¯d rather keep the translation to myself than end up in trouble later because it¡¯s posted on aggregate sites that are for-profit.


    To all my wonderful readers, thank you very much for your support so far! I really appreciate those who have left me your encouragement and thoughts. We still have a while to go (not even halfway done with volume 1 yet) so I hope you¡¯ll continue to stick with me until then. Maybe reposts will stop and we¡¯ll be able to reach the very end of this wonderful novel. Fingers crossed xoxo


    Chapter 10:


    Dragging along the noisy and uncooperative Song XiaoHu really irritated Miss-High-and-Mighty Cui Yu, so without much thought, she tied him up and threw him into one of ShaoYang Sect¡¯s firewood storehouses. Song XiaoHu struggled free from the ropes by himself, but he couldn¡¯t break down the locked, metal door. As he continuously shouted for help, by a stroke of luck, that young girl heard him while passing by. After she clearly understood his circumstances and why he was there, she immediately brought him to the examination grounds.


    Listening to Song XiaoHu¡¯s simple explanation, Ling Xia carefully observed the young girl who wore emerald green clothes. With curved eyebrows and very white skin, and you could tell with one look that she would be a beauty in the future. Moreover, being able to boldly and openly bring Song XiaoHu into this restricted area, her identity definitely wasn¡¯t ordinary.


    The young girl, contrary to what one might expect, naturally and unreservedly introduced herself, saying that her name was Feng Luo.


    Ling Xia instantly recognized her; she was the first member of the protagonist¡¯s future harem! The most beloved treasure of the leader of ShaoYang Sect, the daughter of the governor of ChongMing City. He couldn¡¯t resist inwardly retorting, why did all the sect leaders have to have an eligible and unwed daughter?


    Song XiaoHu looked at the surroundings a bit dejectedly and lamented, ¡°Is the first round already over? I still came too late.¡±


    Feng Luo grinned, ¡°That¡¯s not a problem, I can bring you over to take the test right now. I¡¯ll explain things to my senior brother, no worries.¡±


    Song XiaoHu¡¯s mouth promptly split into a wide smile as he exclaimed, ¡°Thank you so much!¡±


    Standing to the side, Ling Xiao was full of interest as he regarded this lad-and-lass pair¡¯s sincere conversation, sighing in his heart: Sure enough, this is what youth is¡­ ¡­


    Looking at Feng Luo leading Song XiaoHu away, Ling Xia said to Yu ZhiJue with a smile, ¡°Yep, this Feng Luo is pretty nice, perhaps you can all become good friends.¡±


    The great sir villain¡¯s warped views on love originated from his love-hate, mutually destructive parents, but if he interacted and came into more contact with enthusiastic, cheerful girls like Feng Luo, it¡¯s possible that those views could be corrected after a short period of time.


    However, Yu ZhiJue¡¯s reaction was only to frown and wrinkle his brows, directly turning away his head. His entire body language could be summed up in two words: No way.


    ¡°¡­ ¡­¡±


    Song XiaoHu finally came back before the start of the second round, naturally having passed the first round of tests. In addition to that, he said that Feng Luo had promised him that he¡¯d definitely be able to join ShaoYang Sect.


    Ling Xia silently sighed in his heart: Ahh, the protagonist really was impressive, to win over a girl this quickly!


    The second round of exams tested an applicant¡¯s comprehensive abilities, requiring all of them to pass through ShaoYang Sect¡¯s treasured Thousands Beasts Forest within 20 hours and either capture a level-3 or above magical beast, find a level-2 or above energy stone, or gather a level-3 or above spiritual plant.


    As its name implies, Thousands Beasts Forest has all sorts of dangerous creatures, as well as containing countless rare and precious energy stones and spiritual plants. In consideration to the levels of the applicants, the seniors of ShaoYang Sect set up a boundary barrier within Thousands Beasts Forest so the examination grounds covered only zones without high-level magical beasts.


    Despite these safety measures, to pass through almost 30 kilometers of Thousands Beasts Forest wasn¡¯t without its many dangers.


    Ling Xia was worried about the assigned tasks the most because he did not have a clue on how to recognize any of those so-called spiritual plants or magical beasts, alright? Having grown up in spiritually barren and normal mountainous woods, Song XiaoHu wouldn¡¯t know either¡­ ¡­


    As if noticing what he was worrying about, Yu ZhiJue calmly said, ¡°I know what they look like.¡±


    He never forgot anything he saw, and even though the women of YuN¨¹ Sect guarded against him in all sorts of ways during his time there, he still saw the spiritual plants they cultivated in the medicine fields and had secretly read some books about energy stones and magical beasts. Of course, he had only the most basic of knowledge since there was no way he could come in contact with any of precious or ancient books collected on Holy Maiden Peak, but it should still be enough to help.


    ¡°¡­ ¡­¡± Ling Xia really didn¡¯t expect that the almighty protagonist and the great sir villain would unexpectedly share the exact same mindset when it came to this matter. Looks like the people of this world¡¯s world views had quite the large discrepancy compared to the people from Earth¡¯s¡­ ¡­


    Under Yu ZhiJue¡¯s gaze of disdain and scorn, Ling Xia still hurriedly picked up the transfer talisman the other threw away, gently and diligently putting it away. If they really do end up in mortal danger, their lives were obviously more important, so this was a critical, life-saving talisman!


    As they were setting off, Yu ZhiJue¡¯s movements suddenly jerked to a stop. Confused, Ling Xia asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Yu ZhiJue slowly shook his head, before replying, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    His extremely keen senses had detected someone looking at him from behind, but when he started to pay more attention, that feeling of being spied on had already disappeared.


    Three hundred people entered the forest from various small paths. At the beginning, there were still groups of people clustered together on the roads, but gradually, the numbers grew less and less. After all, the more people there were, the harder it was to accomplish the tasks they were assigned.


    As for their position in the group, Ling Xia estimated that they were part of the latter half that was closer towards the end. However, they still had a long way to go, and to start off running fast at the very beginning wasn¡¯t necessarily a good course of action.


    After two hours, besides the three of them, their surroundings only contained the cries of insects and the whistling of leaves.


    With swift arms and legs, Song XiaoHu quickly climbed a large tree that was a dozen some meters high and looked around in all directions into the distance. Yu ZhiJue meticulously recalled the information written in the books about where they could most likely find what they were looking for, and commanded Song XiaoHu from below to search for a nearby stream.


    The novel also wrote about ShaoYang Sect¡¯s Thousands Beasts Forest. Although it fell short in terms of abundance in natural resources compared to the world¡¯s five largest sect¡¯s spiritual grounds, it had its own distinguishing characteristics and was famous for having a wealth of the healing panacea Golden Star Grass in addition to bodies of water that produced water attribute energy stones. Therefore, searching along a stream was currently the easiest way to complete their objective.


    Growing up alone in the wilderness of mountains, Song XiaoHu¡¯s eyesight and keen senses were on a cheat-like level, and very quickly, he discovered a speck of shimmering, golden light reflected about two kilometers away. Without further delay, the three of them headed towards that direction.


    The river they found was so clear that you could see its bottom, filled to the brim with spiritual energy that the fish in its waters were also a lot larger than those found in other mountain streams. Seeing this, Song XiaoHu¡¯s stomach growled a few times, though Ling Xia and Yu ZhiJue¡¯s conditions weren¡¯t much better. They had come to this exam without eating a thing, and after this much time had passed, they¡¯ve all long been starving.


    Abiding by the saying of sharpening one¡¯s axe before chopping down a tree, Ling Xia suggested at once, ¡°Let¡¯s catch some fish to eat first. Only on a full stomach will we have energy and strength.¡± Yu ZhiJue and Song XiaoHu did not protest, thus the three of them immediately moved to catch their meal.


    Only, right when they had lit the fire, sudden gales of wind blew by, so strong that one almost couldn¡¯t even stay standing without wobbling. The sky started turning as dark as the night, and countless thunderclaps boomed near and far, splitting through the thick layers of clouds and making one¡¯s heart tremble in fear.


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯ll rain soon! We should find a place to take shelter from the rain!¡± Ling Xia called out to the other two. He could barely open his eyes in these fierce winds; after all, he¡¯s used to living in a city built with reinforced concrete. Even if he wandered in the wild with these two kids for a few days, he had yet to experience this kind of terrifying mountain weather.


    Neither Song XiaoHu nor Yu ZhiJue expressed any sort of fear or worry. Despite this kind of nasty weather descending without prior warning, they had long gotten used to seeing this kind of change. In no time at all, they found a cavern that could shelter them from the rain, and by the time they gathered some enormous plant leaves to block off the entrance, the downpour outside had already begun to fall.


    Ling Xia wiped off the water droplets on his face, carefully taking a look at this narrow cavern. The inside was an expanse of murky black so he couldn¡¯t see things clearly, but unexpectedly, it seemed to be very deep. His thoughts turned to bears, snakes, and other such animals, and suddenly felt somewhat scared in his heart. The claps of thunder outside still continued one after another, and the torrent of rain did not lessen either.


    There were some withered plants inside the cave, so the three of them groped around and found a few pieces of dry tinder, promptly using the flint they carried to light it up. After seeing the light, Ling Xia finally let out of a sigh of relief, gradually feeling more at ease. Despite the confusion moments prior, they were still holding on to the fish they had strung together, so the three of them surrounded the fire and continued their cooking.


    The leaves blocking the entrance suddenly shifted with a noise. Yu ZhiJue vigilantly stood up and snarled, ¡°Who¡®s there?¡±


    ¡°Oh, is someone there? I¡¯m also here to take shelter from the rain.¡± A dark silhouette slowly walked inside, not that tall in height, and by the light from the fire, a very normal-looking twelve or thirteen year old boy that didn¡¯t seem to be carrying any weapons appeared.


    Ling Xia exhaled the breath he held; turns out it¡¯s just a kid¡­ He nudged over a bit to yield some room and nodded with a smile, ¡°Please have a seat.¡±


    That young boy wasn¡¯t polite in the least, immediately withdrawing to a corner and sitting down near the shadows, no longer saying another word.


    Song XiaoHu couldn¡¯t resist and asked, ¡°Are you taking this exam by yourself?¡±


    That young boy grunted indifferently and gave Song XiaoHu a glance as if he couldn¡¯t care less. He slowly looked around, yet when he saw Yu ZhiJue, it was as if his gaze lingered for a beat. Ling Xia only thought this youngster appeared to be one of those rare but oddly eccentric types and didn¡¯t pay it much mind. When all was said and done, they were currently rival competitors at present.


    The fragrance of roasted fish was already wafting out, and Ling Xia¡¯s stomach gave a hungry growl. After handing over fish for both Song XiaoHu and Yu ZhiJue, he asked the other young boy as a passing courtesy, ¡°Do you want to eat one?¡± Who would have thought that that youngster would actually extend out his hand in expectation, hence Ling Xia could only hand over the fish he held with some traces of regret.


    Except, before that young boy¡¯s hand had yet to reach his, Yu ZhiJue abruptly stretched out his leg and heavily kicked a burning cinder at the boy, rapidly grabbing and pulling back Ling Xia¡¯s hand at the same time.


    Ling Xia was a bit dazed, but Song XiaoHu was already on guard as well. He questioned, ¡°What are you holding in your hand?¡± Ever since he was small, he had been able to detect the changes in a person¡¯s ambience, so when this person¡¯s murderous aura leaked out, he was able to sense it in a heartbeat.


    That young boy laughed sinisterly, ¡°To think that your perception¡¯s not half bad.¡± He flipped his wrist and a gleam of cold light flashed, faintly revealing the shape of a dagger.


    Ling Xia gave a start, instantly feeling his back tremble with chills, and with great effort, forced himself to appear calm and collected as he demanded, ¡°What are you planning to do?¡±


    Fuck, is the protagonist¡¯s Conan aura finally manifesting itself?

 Volume 1 - CH 11

    Chapter 11:


    Seizing|thelopportunity, Ling Xia|pulledjYulZhiJue and Song XiaoHu along and started to run outside.iShit, evenlthoughithese twolalso went through someidangersjduring ShaoYanglSect¡¯s registration in the novel, thereicertainly wasn¡¯tjan assassination scenario!


    That young boy swiftly sprung up, throwing the fire attribute dagger in his hand at the three of them. However, it missed its mark and firmly penetrated into the wall, causing the nearby dead trees to catch on fire.


    Ling Xia saw this out of the corner of his eye, jolted in fright, and without any hesitation, used the full extent of his strength to throw a few pieces of basin-sized rocks at the young boy to obstruct his actions. It was still heavily raining outside, the downpour of water making it difficult to keep one¡¯s eyes open.


    ¡°Run, don¡¯t just stand there!¡± Ling Xia bellowed, looking at the two he dragged out here that seemed to be frozen from fright, tugging on them in preparation to keep running.


    This is a free fan translation hosted on [email protected]


    Yu ZhiJue suddenly shook off his hand, frigidly snapping back, ¡°Idiot, what are you running for?¡±


    Ling Xia paused, only now becoming aware that Yu ZhiJue didn¡¯t have an ounce of fear on his face, and while Song XiaoHu seemed slightly nervous, he didn¡¯t show a trace of fear either. At this moment, he remembered what kind of world this was.


    Fuck, what¡¯s with all these belligerent people!


    The young boy, already standing at the entrance of the cave, sneered, ¡°Not running anymore? Finally realized you can¡¯t escape?¡±


    Yu ZhiJue gave Ling Xia a look of disdain, then turned to that youngster and asked, ¡°Who are you really? Unless I¡¯m wrong, the fire attribute dagger in your hand should be made from the rarely seen anti-cloud stone. As someone who can afford this kind of dagger, what need is there to attack people from poor families like us?¡±


    That young boy exposed a mildly astonished expression, and putting the exquisite dagger away with a twirl, coldly replied, ¡°Your eyesight is quite good. And since you¡¯ll be dead in a while, there¡¯s no harm in letting you know who I am.¡±


    Finished talking, he slowly placed a medicinal pill into his mouth, and as the effects of the Appearance Changing Pill gradually faded, a very familiar face revealed itself.


    Yu ZhiJuelgave|an icy laugh,j¡°Thelone|to die|has yet to|beidecided!¡±|


    Ling Xia¡¯s lips twitched, having thoroughly been rendered speechless! During the previous sudden turn of events, he had pondered over of a lot of possibilities, such as an enemy of Yu ZhiJue¡¯s who came knocking on their door, someone seeing through the protagonist and the final boss villain¡¯s extraordinary physical constitution and becoming jealous, etc. What he never expected in a million years was that this youngster was actually that senior brother of Miss-High-and-Mighty Cui Yu, the sonny boy who almost caused them to drown before, Shang Yan!


    That girl was still only ten years old! Not to mention, Yu ZhiJue has absolutely zero interest in her!! Just because of a dumbass reason like this, you¡¯d go to such extremes as coming all this way after disguising yourself to kill a person?!


    Cui Yu had waited at Cloud Gazing Pavilion for a long time, but it was her seniors who arrived first. Filled to the brim with unwillingness, she went back with Mo Dai and the others, grumbling and complaining the entire way while spouting a bunch of demands along the lines of stopping Yu ZhiJue from applying to ShaoYang Sect and making him follow her back to YunXiao City to become her father¡¯s disciple.


    Listening to that made Shang Yan feel endless hate and jealousy, so when he saw someone help and let out Song XiaoHu, he immediately ate an Appearance Changing Pill and secretly followed, even knocking out a boy who registered to track them all the way here. Due to the boundary barrier set up by the masters of ShaoYang Sect, using magic tools or techniques that were too powerful would easily result in being discovered, thus up until now, he had hidden himself and only covertly shadowed behind the three of them.


    He was the direct disciple of the governor of YunXiao City, and even if he hadn¡¯t been cultivating for very long, his strength was already quite exceptional, therefore able to conceal himself with none of them noticing him trailing behind. Taking advantage of the abrupt change in weather, he had decisively revealed himself and attacked.


    ¡°Hey!¡± No longer possessing the energy to retort against this situation, Ling Xia asked directly, ¡°It can¡¯t be because of your youngest junior sister that you¡¯re here, right?¡±


    As soon as Cui Yu was mentioned, Shang Yan immediately took out his lightning attribute magic tool from within his storage bag, and making use of a boom of thunder from the sky, hurled a streak of lightning at the three of them. He¡¯s fully aware of his youngest junior sister¡¯s temperament; if he fails to kill these three and she finds out, she¡¯d definitely ignore and never talk to him again in the future!


    As soon as Ling Xia saw himlreveal that magic tool,ihe recalled whatihad|happened back|at the lake and|instantlylyelled,j¡°Dodge!¡±iAccompanying this warning,jhejpicked|up a huge rock and|threwiit atiShang Yan.jCoincidentally,iit crashediintojthellightning¡¯slpath, scattering onto thelground as itlexploded into countless smalleripieces.


    Both YuiZhiJueiand SonglXiaoHu¡¯s jumpingjpoweriwaslexceptionallyjgood,iand theyileaptjfarjaway in alflash, resultingjin the three of them being separated.jShang Yan|briefly halted, thenlwieldingihis magic|tool,irapidly charged at Ling|Xia, judging that thislguy|wholwas|theloldest was alsoithe|strongest. Whenithejotherlhadjattacked him|earlieriatjtheicave,lhe was sentlflying andjheavily crashediinto aiwall, and evenjnow, his|inner|circulation wasjstilllblocked.i


    Ling Xia dodged in a hurry, but was soon forced into an utterly miserable state. With just a tiny misstep, he was hit on one side and promptly crashed into the ground, his entire body paralyzed and unable to move.


    Suddenly, Shang Yan nailed Yu ZhiJue¡¯s hand to a stone wall and taunted, ¡°Weren¡¯t you acting all tough a moment ago? Why so silent now?¡± As he spoke, little by little, he pushed the dagger even deeper, observing Yu ZhiJue¡¯s expression of pain as the other bit his lips to endure, and then with a smug look, sharply pulled the dagger out.


    ¡°Hurts, huh? Insignificant tramp, you dare fancy my youngest junior sister?¡± Pressing the dagger to Yu ZhiJue¡¯s neck, Shang Yan sneered, ¡°You said earlier that it hadn¡¯t been decided who would die. In that case, who would you say is going to die now?¡±


    Right at this moment, Shang Yan felt a chill in his abdomen, followed by a sharp pain. Stunned, he lowered his head to discover a knife sticking out of his stomach and a pair of unblinking eyes that glared ferociously at him.


    Countless thoughtslflashedithrough his mind.|Exactly how did|thejother move just then? Why did hejnot notice?¡­ ¡­But before heicould think ofjan answer, thelhalf-foot long blade insidelhis bodyiwaslruthlessly twistedjaround several|times as indescribable agony and pain robbed him ofithe ability to evenibreathe.j


    Then,|Yu ZhiJue abruptly pulled back, andjShang Yan let outja coarse,jblood-curdling scream.jA trickle ofiblood|leaked outjofjthe cornerlof his mouth,jand holding his stomach, and|he raggedlyjcrumpled down, fallen.i


    Ling Xia slumped to the ground, staring in disbelief at the scene before his eyes.


    A bolt of lightning split the sky, and in the instant its light flashed by, he clearly saw Yu ZhiJue¡¯s expression, collapsed against the stone wall and repeatedly gasping for breath. When their eyes met, that still very young and tender face held neither brutal violence nor ferociousness, but was rather brimming with the hesitation and trepidation of a lost child.


    A few more claps of thunder sounded, and as if suddenly jerking awake, Yu ZhiJue looked down at the knife in his hand, at the raindrops washing away the bloodstains, flowing down the weapon¡¯s body and towards his wrist. He immediately released his hold, bowed his head as a hand grabbed the stone wall in support, and started vomiting as if trying to throw up every last drop of the bile in his body.


    He had poured all of his long accumulated resentment and indignation from the discriminatory treatment he received into that stab just then, but now, all that remained was unending and abominable nausea.


    Even though he was completely terrified, Ling Xia still quickly stood up, and while shaking and stumbling, carried the passed out Song XiaoHu back into the cavern. Relieved after confirming the other¡¯s heartbeat and breathing, and despite his body¡¯s uncontrollable trembling, he walked outside without another pause.


    From his birth up until now, he had only encountered the deaths of three people, the first being when his grandfather passed away. He was still a child, and seeing the old man on the bed stop breathing, he could only ignorantly ask his mother who was crying nonstop, ¡°What happened to Grandpa?¡±


    The second was on the road when he saw first-hand a mutilated body being rescued from a car crash by traffic officers, his heart filled with pity and sympathy.


    The last was when the girl he was secretly in love with had drowned. He was only sixteen at the time, and when he saw her corpse at the memorial service, he had cried to the point of almost fainting. It was only with the support of two of his classmates that he didn¡¯t break down and collapse to the floor.


    By no means will he ever allow this child to fall into the darkness, to the point of no return!

 Volume 1 - CH 12

    Chapter 12:


    YuiZhiJuelwaslcrouchingicompletelylmotionlesslylin|a corner,|bothlhands tightly clenched, his long|hair disheveledlfrom|theifightiearlier,jdripping wet and|plasterediall acrossjhis face.lIn|thejmomentihe|sawlLingjXia, he|wasilikelaistartled, tinyjwolf cub,lhis smallibody curling|up|into a ball.jBehind hisimessyihair,|alpair|of eyes filled with vigilancelandjsuspicionjpeeredjpast,landlwith|eachlofjhis|breathslbeing extremely short yet|heavy,jheiwas|evidently still inla statejof|immenselnervousness andjhigh-strung tension.j


    YuiZhiJue slowlyjand hesitantlyiextendedlhis hand, and when|LingiXia|carefully|held itjinlhis palms,|hejimmediatelyidetectedihowiice-coldiYujZhiJue¡¯s shivering|body|was.i


    The translator is begging you, please don¡¯t repost this translation elsewhere.


    Due tolYulZhiJue¡¯s constitution, thejbleeding from hisjpalmihadlgraduallyilessened,|but thelwound|still appeared|terriblyimalefic.|Ling Xia|couldn¡¯t bearjtoieven lookiatlit,jhis heart stinging|asjhe sharply suckediinja|breath.i


    Yu ZhiJue had never been so intimate with anyone like this before. With his face pressed against Ling Xia¡¯s chest, he could almost hear the other¡¯s robust yet somewhat chaotic heartbeat. He felt a flicker of doubt; why was Ling Xia¡¯s heart racing so fast, and how could the inflection of his words be so gentle, yet have the power to make others want to believe in him?


    He tightly grasped Ling Xia¡¯s shoulder with his uninjured left hand, wanting to tell the other to put him down, that there was no way he¡¯d be unnerved just from killing an enemy. But in the end, he didn¡¯t say a thing, only gazing numbly at Ling Xia¡¯s ear, so lost in thought that even when Ling Xia put him down, it took him a moment before he realized.


    Ling Xia looked at the cavern that had returned to its former state of darkness, preparing to pick up some dry kindling and remake the fire straightaway. Except, just as he turned around to move, the edge of his shirt was grabbed, and Yu ZhiJue¡¯s dry rasp sounded, ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°Your clothes are wet, and it needs to be dried as fast as possible. Also, I¡¯m going to try and find some medicine¡­¡± Ling Xia was quite startled by the other¡¯s actions, and using as soft and kind of a tone as possible, promised, ¡°I¡¯ll be back very soon.¡±


    Yu ZhiJueihesitated|for ajbeat,lbut littlejby little,jloosenedihisigrip. LingiXiajreleased ajbreathiof air, then bentjoverjand strokedjhis moistlhair.i¡°Good boy.¡±l


    Naturally, the three of them didn¡¯t have anything that could wrap a wound, but since that Shang Yan had a storage bag, there should definitely be medicine inside!


    Ling|Xia quicklylwalked over,iforcinglhimselfitolempty his mind,lto|notlthink about|anything.lRestraininglhisiterror and panic, hejflippediover ShangjYan¡¯sicorpse andjtuggedjofflthe storagejbag at thejwaist.jDuring thatlprocess,lwhenlhe touchedithe other¡®s|deathly pale,jicylcold skin that|hadlbeeniscoured|byjrain water, hejhad inadvertently shuddered.l


    After obtaining what he came to get, he took a deep breath and swiftly walked away. As fast as he could, he reignited the fire and sat back down next to Yu ZhiJue, finally warming up his freezing body by a few degrees.


    Ling Xia carefully and delicately applied the salve for Yu ZhiJue, then using a clean cotton cloth, bandaged up the wound. With a faintly aching heart, he lowered his head and saw Yu ZhiJue¡¯s long, wet eyelashes lightly tremble, and due to blood loss, both his cheeks and lips appeared somewhat ashen and frail.


    ¡°I¡¯m|goinglto take a look at|how|XiaoHulis,¡±lLing Xiajmurmuredlasjheirubbed thejtop ofiYuiZhiJue¡¯s|head again.l


    Actually,|hejwasn¡¯t that worried about Song XiaoHu;lthere|was absolutely no wayiSong XiaoHu¡¯sjcheat-likelphysique wouldjlose out against|a singlejlightning|attack. Inlcontrast, helwaslmuch|moreiworriediabout YuiZhiJue,ibecauselmental damagejwasla lotjmore detrimentaljandiserious|thanlphysicallinjury.j


    Right now,lYuiZhiJueiwasn¡¯t cladjin his usual|air of obstinance,jand thejdependence andltrustjin hisjclear, blackleyes was|in plain|sightlas he|staredjfixedly at|Ling|Xia, notlblinking evenjonce.l


    Iniseeingjthis,iLing|Xiaifeltihislheartithud,jandjheicouldn¡¯t helplbut|comfortioncejmore in|reassurance, ¡°I¡¯ll beiback|veryiquickly.¡±i


    Even so, he did not open his eyes, only tightly biting his bottom lip as his heartbeat instantaneously became wild and erratic.


    He heard Ling Xia¡¯s deliberately slowed footsteps walk outside, surprisingly stopping a short distance past the mouth of the cave, and after that, came the sound of digging¡­ He suddenly understood.


    LinglXia hadjleft becausejhejthoughtjYu ZhiJue had|already fallen asleep.jHelhadito summon everyiounce|of hisjcourageifor this,ibecause|whenialljwas|said andjdone, somethingllikelhelpingitojhide|the|bodyiofisomeoneiyour family¡¯s|child|killed really wasn¡¯t anylsort of happylor pleasantjundertaking!l


    However,ihe|understoodleven morejwhat Shang|Yan beingjthe directidisciple|of|the governorloflYunXiao City meant. If people found out heldied by Yu ZhiJue¡¯sjhands, then|the|threelof them|can simply wait their turn to go play|chess withlthe Kingjof Hell!


    Contrary|to the storm before, the rain wasinow graduallylsubsiding. Ling Xia founditwo pieces of sharp|rocks, andlholdingione|in each hand, started to vigorously digiinto thejground.jDue to thejrain, it wasn¡¯tiajdifficultitask sincejthe waterland earth hadimixed together, but|his body was soonjcovered in mud,jfilthy beyond belief. Heiwas afraid of|startlingiYu ZhiJueiifihe made toolloud of ajnoise, therefore, his speed wasn¡¯tivery|fast.


    After he dug out a hole large enough to bury a single person, he gathered all of his nerves and walked back towards Shang Yan, dragging the body over and dumping it inside. Including the dagger, the storage bag, and as well as Yu ZhiJue¡¯s knife, everything was thrown into the hole.


    Bitinglhis lips,jhejmechanically|shoved and piledlbackithejearth,|and until the corpse disappeared underithe|mudiandjwater and theisurroundingiarea became flat, didjhe finallylstop.i


    Helclutched his head,lpanting heavily|as he quietlyjhunchediover,jdroppingltoithe ground and silently|shedding tears. A tsunami-like|wave of nausea washed|over him,jbutlin the|end, hejwasn¡¯tjable|toithrow|upiajsingle|thing.j


    Please don¡¯t repost. It¡¯s free to read on wintertranslates.wordpress.com.


    Fuckingihell! Whatiwas|withithis guilt-of-a-murdererlkind|oflfeeling?|


    He staunchlyiwipediawaylhisltears,landiusing ajnearby|puddle oflwater, washed off thelmud onihisihandsland body,iwalking backiinto theicavernlonlylafterlhe madeisure he|was clean.j


    The extras are super fun so don¡¯t repost so we can get to the end.


    Yu|ZhiJuelandiSong XiaoHu werelbothjquietlyllying on the ground,ithe firelclose tolburning|out.|Listening|to theiribreathing,|the|twolof|them seemed|to beisleeping very peacefully, andjLinglXiaifelt relievedjationce.iHurriedly,lhe|added morelwood toithe fire,isittingjin|frontjofjthelflames and shivering asihelwaitedifor his clothes|toidry.i


    They had a 10[1] hour deadline¡­ ¡­Andino|matter how you looked at it, almost 4 of those hours have passed byinow.


    He let out aldeeplsigh; ahh, fuck!i

 Volume 1 - CH 13

    Chapter 13:


    Inithatjcase,jShanglYan wouldn¡¯tihave died bylYu|ZhiJue¡¯s hands! Evenjnow,isimply thinkinglabout how|itlfeltjtojtouchithaticorpse causedlhis entire bodyjbreakiout inlshiversjof|cold... ...i


    ¡°Even if you had remembered, at that time, we wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to activate it. Moreover, neither XiaoHu nor I would have used it to leave!¡±


    Ling Xia turned around in astonishment, only now discovering that a pair of bright, pitch black eyes reflecting glimmers of flames had locked himself in its unblinking gaze. He didn¡¯t know when Yu ZhiJue had woken and sat up.


    Yu ZhiJueithenllowered|hisjeyes,iturning that gaze towards his hand, to his palm thatlwas still wrappediinlcottonicloth|andipulsinglwithlstabs|of pain.l


    Helsoftly murmured, ¡°Thislwasn¡¯t your mistake. Besides,levenjiflwe avoided itjnow, that person|would surely find ways to troublelus in|the future.¡±


    Whatihe|didn¡¯tjsay outjloud was,ithislwas alljhislfault for|beingitoojweak!i


    Although thejsensation of killing someone wasidisgustinglyjnauseating, nevertheless¡­ ¡­Ajfreezing flash ofjlight|flickered|across his|eyes.|


    While Yu ZhiJue¡¯s facejwas stilllsomewhat ashen andlpale, his|voice hadiresumed its usual composure,|but becauseiofihow his head was lowered andlhis bangs covered most oflhisjface, LingiXia couldn¡¯tjclearly seelhis expression. Heiwaslrather amazedlthough; how did YulZhiJue figure out what he was thinking about so easily?


    However, due to those words, the hefty stone weighing in Ling Xia¡¯s heart lightened quite a lot. That¡¯s right, now really wasn¡¯t the time to scrutinize who should have done what; the kind of rules this world operated under was as such¡­ ¡­


    This world|that was completelyldifferent from the Middle Kingdom¡­i¡­i


    Ling Xia took deep breathsjto calm himself, put|the clothes that had dried back on, and walking over, gently asked,i¡°Does|your handlstill|hurt?¡±j


    Yu ZhiJuejcontinued to lowerlhis head aslhe replied,l¡°Itidoesn¡¯tjhurtjanymore¡­|¡­I¡¯m|just really cold.¡± As he said so, he seemed tolshiver,|and with his thin, weak body|surrounded in shadows, he looked like a small, injured animal.


    Could this be due to excessive blood loss? Ling Xia reached out and touched Yu ZhiJue¡¯s forehead. Luckily, he didn¡¯t have a fever, but the other¡¯s body temperature was distinctly lower than his own by a great deal. Ling Xia hesitated slightly, then as if testing the waters, pulled the boy to his chest, carefully taking note of any adverse reactions. Discovering that Yu ZhiJue didn¡¯t show any signs of resistance, he drew the boy even closer and held him a bit more firmly.


    Yu ZhiJue huddled motionlessly in hisiembrace, and after alwhile,|unexpectedlylmumbled, ¡°Your body isireally warm.¡±


    Ling Xia chuckled and used his hand to somewhat clumsily try and straighten out Yu ZhiJue¡¯s long, disheveled hair. He had been sitting and drying his clothes in front of the fire for a quite a while now, so naturally his body had been heated up.


    Yu|ZhiJueihalf closed|hisjeyes,|restingjas still as|a statue, hisjlong eyelashes|castinglsoft shadows|onlhislfacejas hislexpressionicontaineditracesjoflpleasureland relaxation.|


    All of a sudden, Ling Xia recalled the two kittens his grandmother had raised when he was a child. One was the type that was particularly lively and cute, pouncing over as soon as it saw him and acting spoiled while rolling about. In contrast, the other ignored him no matter what he did, just lying on top of things and giving him the cold shoulder. Once, after it had injured him with its claws, that kitten hid on top of the wardrobe in fright, refusing to come down; it¡¯s just, when he was off doing other things, it would secretly sneak glances at him with an almost pitiful and victimized expression. When it finally came back down, it had plopped into his lap and staunchly latched onto his clothes, refusing to let go¡­ ¡­


    In his heart, LingjXia|liked|thatlaloofjand detached|kittenlmore.|


    Thejimpression Yu ZhiJue gave himjwasjsimilar to that kitten¡¯s; even|though they usually always acted in a super arrogantjmanner,joccasionally, they¡¯d alsoibecomejthisldocile, meekly curlingjup in hisllap|and|obediently letting him straighten their hair¡­jAlso, their appearancejafterjbeinglfrightened|really tugged on hisltender heartstrings¡­ ¡­l


    The more this translation gets reposted, the less motivation I have to translate.


    Song XiaoHu absentmindedly shook|hisihead. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    Ling|Xialvaguelylandlroughly|told SonglXiaoHu about|what had|previously transpired,lthenlspecifically|emphasized thatjheimustjnever, everitell|anyone elseiabout|this,|otherwisejall three of theirllives would|belin|danger. Sometimes,iSong XiaoHuiwould|blurtlout whateverlcameitoihis mindjwithoutlany filters,jwhich easily ledlto stirringlupitrouble.l


    Song XiaoHu blinked, but quickly nodded his head and solemnlylaffirmed,i¡°I|understand!¡±


    Ling Xia was finally able to put down one of his burdens. Fortunately, Song XiaoHu¡¯s character setting wasn¡¯t the rigidly intolerant, moralistically fanatic type, and if someone messed with him to his face, while he wouldn¡¯t blindly back off, he was also pragmatic and aware of how to adapt in different situations.


    The|thunderstormihadlarrived likela shot and|left equally asifast.lItjhad already stoppediraining|outside,|butlthelmuddiedltrailsjmade|it much|harder to travellon, andlcoupled|with|all thejcountlessjvines,jrocks,iandlweeds, a single momentlof carelessness|couldiresultlinlslippingiand falling.|


    The three oflthem|continued to follow the riverlupstream,lthe|onlyidifferencelbeing|that theyjwere a|lotimore|cautious andjattentivejthan|before. SongjXiaoHu¡®slcheat-like constitution|finally|showedlitsjworth,|and in|no|timelat all,iheldiscoveredla clump with sixistalks|of GoldenlStar Grass. A|little whilejlater,iYuiZhiJue also found two|pieceslof level-3 water attributeienergy stonesiinlthe flowinglcreek,land with this,|they couldjbe consideredlto|havelgathered above andlbeyond the necessary|quota.l


    Ling Xia|sighedjinlrelief,icarefully|splittinglup|andjhidingjthe spiritual herbs andjenergy|stones between the three|of themlin inconspicuous locations. Withlaifewlhundredlcompetitors,jnotjnecessarily everyone|wouldlbe aslfortuitous aslthe protagonist and the villain,jandlit was|extremelyllikelyithat|thereiwould be people who wanted to|reapiwhat|theyjdidn¡®t sow,jlyinglinjwait nearithe exitifor anjopportunityltoipilferjfromiothers!|


    Although|this kindiof method soundsidespicable, but in this world¡¯s|sect competitions, itjwas definitely permitted, andlwhether orinotlone can|pass theiexam was entirely|dependent|on one¡¯s skills.


    Following theirlcompletionjofithis|round¡¯slassignment|wasla|periodlof continuous walking asitheyjsimultaneously and cautiously took note of possible threats fromimagical beasts andjotherjexaminees. Both Yu ZhiJue|andjSong XiaoHu¡¯s ability toidetect danger waslexceptionally strong, and along the way, the three of|themisaw magical beasts precariously attacking participants|as well asigroupslof people in the middle of killing one another. After manyldaunting brushesjwith|danger thatjthankfully didn¡¯tlendjin confrontation,iat long last,itheyireached thejperipheryiof|Thousands BeastsjForest,|and with two hours to spare.


    Way up on top of a tree, Song XiaoHu spotted the rest area built next to the exit in the distance, and instantly rejoiced happily. They had been surrounded by heart-pounding uncertainty the entire route here and merely picked a few non-toxic fruits along the way, so by now, his stomach had already caved in from starvation.


    ¡°We mustjnot letiour guard down, especially here!¡± LingiXia|warnediinjailowjtone.|He remembered thatlinjthelnovel,ltheseitwojwouldiencounterlsome difficultiesjnear theiexit.j


    SongjXiaoHulnimbly slidldownifrom|theltree,jyetjwhilelhejwasjstilllin midair,|ajstrong gustjofjwindlrushedltowards himlfromjbehind!j


    ¡°XiaoHu!¡±iLinglXia criediout in alarm asialroughly|ten|footilong iron chain swiftly swung tolwrapjaroundiSongjXiaoHu¡¯slwaist. Althoughlthisjironjchain¡¯slmomentumiwas fierce, itsjtechnique wasiaifar crylfrom thatlof|Cui Yu¡®s.|


    Song XiaoHu¡¯s reflexeslwere|agile and he evaded itjquickly,lbut aipart of his|back was still hit. Afterlrolling once|on thejground, he rapidly stood up and assumedlajdefensive position.|


    Ling Xia was entirely preoccupied with looking in Song XiaoHu direction when suddenly, he heard the sound of wind stirring from behind, and a huge alarm instantly blared inside his head. There were more people in the back!


    Yu ZhiJuejhadlalready grabbed his elbow andlleapt|a distancejaway|asianother iron chainjsmashediinto|the spot where theyipreviouslyistood, the impacticausingjbroken rocksito fly about|inieveryidirection.i


    ¡°Who¡¯s there? Are sneak attacks the only thing you¡¯re capable of?¡± Yu ZhiJue growled with a grimace. In his agitation just then, he had put too much strength into his right hand and thus, the injured palm had started bleeding again, scorching and burning with pain.


    Jeeringilaughter came from behindlthe trees, and two similarlyidressed,lrobust, macho men appeared, onejin|front and the other behind, trapping them in the middle.i


    These two people both had tough and stocky builds, an appearance that resembled one another, and tanned skin with a beard across their faces. Their arms were bare, protruding with rock-like muscles and thicker than Ling Xia¡¯s thighs by a whole size.


    In a low, muffled voice, one of the macho men demanded, ¡°Hey, you brats. Unless you want to suffer, you¡¯d better take out everything you found!¡±


    Song XiaoHujangrily retorted,|¡°We worked painstakinglyjhardlto|find thosejthings, whyishouldiwelgive itjto|you?¡±|


    ¡°¡­ ¡­¡± Isn¡¯t thisioutright admitting|thatjyouifound energyjstonesjor|spiritual herbs? LingjXiaialso noticedjthe blood soaking throughiYu|ZhiJue¡¯s bandages,jandjhisjeyes darkened.i


    In the novel,|these two rascalslnaturally turnedjthe tables andlaverted disaster, butlat|present,lYu ZhiJue was wounded. Adding toithatjthe presence|oflhisicannon-fodder self, heldidn¡¯t knowjwhat other kind oflunforeseen mishaps might end upihappening,iso the|bestlcourse of action wasitojavoid conflict whenever they could.l


    Without a moment¡¯s delay, Ling Xia took out two stalks of Golden Star Grass from his shirt pocket and slowly placed them on the ground. He pulled Yu ZhiJue along and stepped back a few paces, staring vigilantly at the two men as he said, ¡°These two stalks are enough to let you pass. You can take them, but if you push us too far, then even if I have to risk losing life and limb, I will destroy them so we can all fail together!¡±


    One oflthe men howledlwithjlaughter,jcackling, ¡°You really can¡¯t tell that this brat|isjquite an interesting one. Fine, I¡¯lllspare you guys, leave.¡±


    However, all things considered, they had just gone through such an earth-shattering ordeal recently, so perhaps Yu ZhiJue had yet to recover emotionally¡­ ¡­

 Volume 1 - CH 14

    Chapter 14:


    There|wereiShaoYanglSect|disciplesldoing roll-call at the|exit,landiafterlinspecting the|Golden Star Grass and|energy stoneslLingiXia¡¯s group collected,itheyirecorded down|the quantityiandiquality.iLing Xialcautiously skimmediwhat was writtenjon the|rest of|thatjpage; most peoplejbroughtiaround|the same amount aslthey did, but someihad broughtlin|a lot morejspiritualjherbsjand stones.jFor|example, the onejnamed|¡°XuiYan¡± thatlwas listed right|before them, not only didithatlpersonlfind energylstones and spiritual herbs,|but theylalsoicaughtja level-3 magical beast.|


    When theyjwalked intoithe rest area,iabouti60 toj70lpeoplelwereialready inside,jincluding the|youngsterlwithia long swordion his back that had clashed withjYulZhiJue|before. Ling Xia heardlsomeone call himj¡°XulYan¡±, only now learningjhis name.l


    Xu Yan|saw the threelof them|and sneeredjfrom the corner of his lips, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you threelcould|walk|in here.jGuess|youriluck¡¯slgood enoughland didn¡¯t need to|escape halfwaylwith altransfer talisman.¡±


    Faced with|such|a brainless,lhalf-pint youth with the tendency to turn|hawkish at the dropiofla|hat,lLingjXiajflat|out treated|him likelair,|walkinglrightlpast|him and|sitting downjatlan empty table in thejback.lEveryone who reached this placeiwasjbasically already guaranteedjto enter ShaoYang|Sect,lsolall|the|nearbyjsupervisingjdiscipleslwere treating|them withjailotimore courtesy,iand as|sooniasjthey|sat|down,lsomeone came|over tojdeliver tea and refreshments.i


    The refreshments and utensils were both very refined, and there were spiritual herbs that had properties of invigoration and restoration so that after eating, the physical strength they had expended would slowly recover by a large amount. Ling Xia drank a cup of tea first, paused as he felt his energy greatly increase, then ate some refreshments.


    Song|XiaoHu was closejto starving,jinevitably eating a bitlonithe crude andlfastiside. XuiYan|sawjthis andjmockediin a low|voice,i¡°Truly,|you can¡¯t make a silk purse out|of aisow¡¯slear! Some remote, countryside villager|actually wantsltoicultivate in a large sect, how hilarious!¡±


    Ling Xia was quite apathetic towards these words, but gave the two kids next to him a worried glance. The oblivious Song XiaoHu was currently sitting there engrossed in eating, completely unaware that Xu Yan was talking about himself. Although Yu ZhiJue was also hungry, his posture was as graceful as always, and if one ignored the cheap clothes on his body, he really had the bearing of an heir from an influential family. But what Ling Xia was please the most about, was that even when hearing those provocative words, Yu ZhiJue¡¯s complexion remained as composed as before. Looks like after coming outside and experiencing the world, this kid had really matured a lot compared to when they first met¡­ ¡­


    She castjher gaze towardsjMo Dai|andiwhinedjin a softjvoice, ¡°Secondlsenioribrother, that¡¯s who|Ilwas talking|about,|so tell Uncle FengllaterithatjI want to bringihim|backltolbe myjlittle junioribrother!¡°l


    Mo Dai¡¯s headache|swelledijust from listening;jhow wasjthis|somethingiheicould finalizeijustjby|sayingia few words?iThis young boyihad come to register|under ShaoYang|Sect, and moreover, heihadipassedjboth|roundsjof exams.lHow|couldjoutsiders like them|ask tojtake someonejlikeithisiaway at|present? Besides,ithatijuniorjbrother ShanglYaniofihislclearlyldoesn¡¯tlget along withlthislyoung boy.lSpeaking|of which, that junior brother|hadldisappeared many hoursiago, and|who knew wherelhe ranjoffito¡­l... Both this oneland|that one, acting up|and causingjhim trouble! As their second seniorlbrother, whatja wonderful, burdensome, andlthanklessjassignment he had brought onto|himself!|


    He casually illuded, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll go inform Martial uncle Feng, so be good and don¡¯t make a ruckus.¡±


    Cui Yulwas overjoyed,lpromptly sittingjup all|straightjand|proper, her clever eyes glittering|with light,|waiting|tojseeiYu ZhiJue¡¯slupcoming performance.l


    One of the guiding disciples gave a deferential and respectful bow towards those above, and stated in a luminous voice, ¡°All ninety-two junior brothers and sisters have been brought here. I humbly request Master to decree the next mandate.¡±


    This is a free fan translation hosted on [email protected]


    FengjShuMing nodded,iindicated for|him to stepiback,jand|sweptjout his wideisleeves gracefullylas|he composedly intoned toithose below, ¡°Today, as thou|hast all stepped withinlour|gates, thou must|cultivate and persevere assiduously,jbehave with modesty andlprudence¡­j¡­¡±j


    His way of speech was didactic and erudite, and in every ten sentences there were seven or eight that Ling Xia couldn¡¯t understand. One could see that Feng ShuMing had a reserved and serious disposition, which explained how he was able to raise a neither arrogant nor hot-tempered Feng Luo, a daughter who was different from the typical mold of a wealthy family¡¯s young miss.


    Bylthejtime Feng ShuMing finishedihis speech, thejplatform in thejcenter ofithejhall was veryiquickly adjusted and preparedlso thatlaitotal of four matchesjcouldisimultaneously take place. ThelShaoYang Sect elders inichargelof assigning groupsjcomprehensively factored in each disciple¡¯slbasic constitution, age,iaptitude, andjother|such components, and based|on|that, split|themlinto|pairs. Howjanlindividual would perform in combat on the stage willidetermined wherejtheylget|assigned.


    Of course, it didn¡¯t mean that the ones who were currently stronger would be guaranteed a better placement, as the habits and preferences of the elders in ShaoYang Sect were all different. They would most likely take many aspects into account, so it wasn¡¯t necessarily true that they¡¯d favor and think more highly of a person who won. But naturally, other than Ling Xia, the other participants did not know this point.


    Take Yu ZhiJue as an example. Even though he¡¯s young and weak all around, his results in the first round¡¯s fundamental exam had already attracted the attention of many of ShaoYang Sect¡¯s elders. What¡¯s more, he hadn¡¯t gone through or received guidance from any professional institutions, so just like a piece of unpolished jade, as long as he spends enough time putting his heart and soul into cultivating, his extraordinary talents would definitely shine through, becoming a dazzling piece of priceless jade.


    Since he already knew the results from the novel, Ling Xia wasn¡¯t that worried. In the text, the Yu ZhiJue who possessed endless potential and aptitude was chosen by Feng ShuMing and accepted as his direct disciple, while the currently still very mediocre Song XiaoHu only followed an average body cultivator as his master.


    Ling Xia|attentively observed|the fights between the peoplejonstage|and realized that thoselabove fifteenjyearslof|age had all generally|cultivated to|a|certain degree. Thereiwere some|who usedja sword,|somejwho used|body cultivation, and alsolsome whoiusedlarrays andlformations. They werejallowed toiuseia varietyiof techniques, butjso|longiasjone|fell|off thejstage,ithey lost.l


    Out of the three of them, Song XiaoHu was the first to go up. His opponent was a body cultivator youngster who was seventeen or eighteen years old, possessing quick and nimble attacks and arms as hard as rocks, evidently having undergone some body cultivation training. On the other hand, Song XiaoHu had naturally swift reflexes and a strong yet supple body, but due to his lack in combat experiences, under the opponent¡¯s sharp and severe onslaught, he suffered rapid and repeated losses.


    Ling Xia knew that Song XiaoHu wouldn¡¯t win, and his heart ached for that stubborn kid whose nose was bleeding a river from the beatings he received, so much that he started praying in his mind for Song XiaoHu to immediately leave the stage. As in the novel, it¡¯d be fine for Song XiaoHu to enter ShaoYang Sect as an ordinary disciple.


    The protagonist, well, his invinciblelaura|needs tojbe|developedistep byistep,lsoiit was verylnormal to have setbacks inltheibeginning.|


    That youngster pressed forward with a burst of strength, and Song XiaoHu nearly flew off the stage. He gritted his teeth and bent his waist, his hands and feet clawing the ground as he slid a few meters backwards, only then finally dispelling the power in his opponent¡¯s strike. Having overused his strength, all ten of his fingers were chafed with blood, but at least he didn¡¯t fall off.


    The youngster facing him reflexively adjusted back into an attacking stance as he declared, ¡°You¡¯re not worthy to be my opponent. Hurry up and get off the stage.¡±


    Song XiaoHu forcefullylwipedihis nosebleed and raised his head,jretorting,|¡°I¡¯llineverlsurrender!¡±i


    That youngster grindedihis|teethjand yelled,j¡°Then I won¡¯tjhold|back any|longer!¡±


    By the time he started his attack once more, Ling Xia was practically unable to resist closing his eyes, but then suddenly, the situation onstage underwent a complete reversal!


    SonglXiaoHu|let outia tremendous roar,jandiin the moment hisiopponentipushedjhim down,|a fierceiand violent electricicurrent burst outjfromjhislbody,ldirectlyjstriking that|youngsterland sendingihim flyinglout ofibounds!|


    Ling Xia¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Fuck, sure enough, the protagonist¡¯s impressively awe-inspiring cheat powers had activated ahead of time!


    Rest in pieces, the original plotline¡­ ¡­


    Even SongjXiaoHuihimself waslveryjperplexed,lblankly staringjdown at hislhands, visibly confusediaboutlthe|situation. Itjwasn¡¯tiuntilihejwaslreminded byithe disciple|recording the|resultsjthatjhejfinally camelto ajrealization, jumped|off, and left the arena,|laughing as he wavedjtolLinglXiajandlYu|ZhiJue. Justlseeing|that look of his,jso proud|even while sporting a bloodyjnose|and swollenlface,jmade Ling Xiaigrin and chucklejhelplessly.i


    Not|longlafter,iitlwas|Yu ZhiJue¡¯s turn to golup,iand Ling Xia refocusedihis mindjtoiwatch meticulously. Whilejwalkinglonlstage,iYu|ZhiJue verylnoticeably|turned aroundito look|atihim, andjwithoutjmissing albeat,iLinglXialreturned hisilooklwith an encouraginglsmile.j


    Yu ZhiJue inhaled a deep breath as he turned back around and clenched his fists, impassively observing his opponent. He appeared calm on the outside, but in fact, Song XiaoHu¡¯s performance earlier had more or less given him a certain amount of pressure. And unexpectedly, his opponent was one of the two macho men they had met near the exit not long ago, the ones who wanted to steal their spiritual herbs and energy stones by force! Yu ZhiJue narrowed his eyes, scrupulously taking in the enemy¡¯s each and every move.


    Originally posted on wintertranslates.wordpress.com, please don¡¯t repost.


    That machojman wasjclearly also somewhat surprised in seeingjYuiZhiJue,jbutjhis stiff|andistrainedinervesjquicklylrelaxed.jHisiopponent was a littlejbrat who|hadimeekly yieldedlto|him justjrecently,jsojwhat|was therelto|be afraidiof?iWith a shake|of hislhand, anjiron chain beganitolreveal itself linkjby|link.j


    Hejgrinnediat Yu ZhiJue and warned with a laugh,|¡°Little|punk,jif you¡¯relsmart, then obedientlyjgetiofflthejstage.jUncle¡¯sjwhipjdoesn¡¯t|have eyes, and it¡¯d beiterriblelifjyour soft anditenderlflesh got injured!¡±|

 Volume 1 - CH 17

    Because I¡¯ve been asked concerning this translation showing up on a non-aggregate site, this bears saying:


    This site is the only place where I post translations. If you see my translation of Villain Rehab Plan posted anywhere else, that¡¯s 100% not me.


    Honestly, I¡¯m¡­really tired. Of thinking about this, worrying about this, and losing motivation to do even other things because of this. I really wanted to cry and immediately delete this site when I did another search and found my translation reposted in even more places?? Some sites just blatantly grab everything, which really makes me despair, especially when reading the comments where people thank the aggregators for their hard work¡­


    I¡¯m not masochistic enough to continue when this is the level of disrespect I have to deal with so. I¡¯m just. Done.


    During these two months, I¡¯ve spent a lot of  time mulling over whether I should continue translating this novel, aside from the reposting issue. Tbh, the fact that VRP¡¯s original author has locked this story on their official page has always bothered me, and it¡¯s not like I have permission to be sharing a translation of this publicly.


    Would you be happy if some random person started translating a story you took down? It¡¯s a question I¡¯ve been asking myself, and the answer is probably a no. The author was last active in 2014(?) and I have no idea how to contact them to ask, so¡­


    With both these issues piling on stress that I really don¡¯t need, the best solution I can currently think of is to switch to posting detailed summaries instead of direct translations. Summaries won¡¯t infringe on an author¡¯s IP, and since it¡¯s not a translation, even if aggregators continue to steal it, at least it¡¯ll never legally become an issue. Besides, I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯ll stop at that point b/c how extra do you have to be to steal summaries.


    For now, I¡¯m going to try and plow through the rest of vol. 1 as fast as I can, and then, well. I¡¯ll do a poll next post to gauge public opinion, since if people aren¡¯t interested in things other than direct translations, then there¡¯s no need for me to do the extra work.


    Sorry for being absent for so long and then dropping this disappointing news, but now you guys have a heads-up. I hope you¡¯ll enjoy the (relatively) faster releases, and thanks for the support thus far <3


    Since it¡¯s been so long, here¡¯s a short recap of what happened last chapter:


    Ling Xia fought in the final examination round, got beat up really badly, and wakes up inside the sect. He found out he was assigned to Immortal Welcoming Pavilion (where Song XiaoHu originally went and suffered in the novel), while Song XiaoHu and Yu ZhiJue were both taken in as direct disciples under the sect master.


    Chapter 17:


    Thejsmalliroom LingjXia|was!currentlylstaying in!was aitemporaryiresidence usedlto helpjsettle inithe!sectjmaster¡¯s new!disciples, and theiothers had, onejafter another, alreadylgonejto!where theyiwerelassigned. In|otheriwords, being ablejto wholly!recuperate here|was him|basking in the reflected!glory ofiSongiXiaoHujandlYulZhiJue.!


    Ling Xia was still concerned about the people from YunXiao City, but not wanting to stir up Yu ZhiJue¡¯s bleak memories, he surreptitiously asked Song XiaoHu instead. Song XiaoHu immediately replied, ¡°I heard from Feng Luo that those people didn¡¯t leave, saying that¡­their youngest junior brother disappeared nearby, and they¡¯ll stay until they find him.¡±


    The more this translation gets reposted, the less motivation I have to translate.


    Of course, Ling Xia didn¡¯t know that Cui Yu also had a hand in this decision. After the exam ended, Mo Dai had to coax her for quite a while, explaining that right now, Yu ZhiJue had just entered ShaoYang Sect so requesting Feng ShuMing to hand him over wasn¡¯t appropriate, etc. At long last, Cui Yu compromised and asserted that they¡¯ll talk again after she goes back and pleads with her daddy. Even though she was unruly, Cui Yu wasn¡¯t stupid and also knew that this matter wasn¡¯t so simple. She couldn¡¯t have hoped more for Shang Yan¡¯s timely disappearance, as it just so happened to give them a reason to stay.


    Ling Xia felt a violent shiver. Perhaps it would have been better if he had hardened his heart to completely destroy the body and all other traces at that time, but it was too late for regrets now. What¡¯s more, even if he was given another chance, he still wouldn¡¯t have be able to do so¡­ ¡­He can only pray that Shang Yan¡¯s corpse won¡¯t be discovered. Then, he carefully warned Song XiaoHu again, stressing that he must not ever let anything slip and such, and the other boy expressed his compliance.


    Feng Luo and Song XiaoHu had already become very familiar, and in seeing Ling Xia, she also politely nodded in greeting, albeit faintly maintaining a sense of distance. Ling Xia knew that this world¡¯s ranking of seniority wasn¡¯t based on age, but rather on one¡¯s strength and when one joined a sect, not to mention, the status of being the sect master¡¯s direct disciple was even more distinguishing. According to the rules here, it seems that he actually needed to deferentially call Feng Luo as ¡®Senior sister¡¯, and Yu ZhiJue and Song XiaoHu as ¡®Senior brother¡¯¡­ ¡­


    LinglXia felt!hislballsiache!with grief.j


    Moreover, during his rest here, it was clear to see that one can accurately determine another¡¯s rank solely by looking at their apparel, truly the epitome in ¡®judging people by their appearance¡¯. Within this batch of disciples of the Pin generation, the sect master¡¯s disciples wore black with a gold trim, the personal disciples of the other ShaoYang Sect elders wore black with a silver trim, the slightly inferior third rank disciples wore long, grey robes, and finally, the outer disciples like Ling Xia could only wear dark blue servant-like clothes.


    Although he didn¡¯t have many expectations for this world, Ling Xia was still shaken by this kind of status-separated feudalistic system. Recuperating in this place, no matter how one looked at it, wasn¡¯t very appropriate. Furthermore, his wounds were no longer much of a hindrance, so he decided then and there to report earlier to Immortal Welcoming Pavilion.


    There were many triflingimatters toisettleiwhen onejfirstjentered a sect, like the!allocation oflrooms,llearningjtheifundamentalirules, etc.jThe thingsithatlneeded to|bejdone!were|trulylno|lessithan what¡¯s requirediofia!young employeejwholjust got hired, so Ling Xiaididn¡¯tiletjthe two kids accompany him.iHowever,iafterjwalkingiquitelajdistance,ihe!turned around andldiscoveredlthatithoseitwo|kidslwere still lookingiin hisjdirection,|and suddenly|felt a gushloflwarmth injhisjheart.j


    Despite being part|of!the same sect,lthe distance between!Stonewood Mountain, wherejthose direct disciples of thelsect master|cultivated,!and Immortal Welcoming Pavilion generally tookjtwo fulljhoursltojtravel. The!other fourldisciples who were assigned alonglwithjLing Xia tojImmortal Welcoming!Pavilion hadjalready followedithe administrative disciple!and departed after theiexam ended. Ling Xia|asked for directionsithe entire waylthere while hurryingjonwards, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.i


    His foot waslinjured byjXu Yan in their match, so walking slowlyjwas fine, but moving!more briskly!wouldidisturb the wound!and bring about unbearable!pain. Therefore,iit wasjfour hours later before he reached Immortal Welcoming Pavilion,iand the skyiwas already dark.


    Immortal Welcoming Pavilion was located at the foot of a small mountain within the ChongMing Mountain Range. Even if the name sounded nice, its actual position in ShaoYang Sect wasn¡¯t high, and it was mostly in charge of the sect¡¯s medicinal fields, firewood, rice paddies, and other such secondary matters. The disciples here do the heaviest labor, but can only receive the most basic cultivation pointers. Compared to being called a disciple of ShaoYang Sect, they¡¯re closer to part-time workers in charge of the miscellaneous tasks at ShaoYang Sect, and their monthly pay was the lowest as well.


    In the past, Ling Xia had basically skipped and skimmed over this part of the story when he read it. After all, this was supposed to be a feel-good novel, and he had zero interest in the descriptions of the protagonist repeatedly being oppressed. Right now, Ling Xia regretted that a lot, because the misfortunes of the protagonist had turned into what he would have to face.


    Without further delay,iLing Xia gavela salute and limped away following|alongjthe flightiof stairs,jand going from the front gatelto the topjof the small mountain took him another hour.


    Insidelthe hall,jasjexpected, the!otherjnew disciples had naturallyialreadylgone toitheir assigned rooms toitidyiup. The ¡®Martialjuncle|Guang XuZi¡¯ the twojdisciples at the gatelspoke!of was!this ImmortallWelcoming Pavilion¡¯s overseeing manager. He looked aboutithirty years old,!andiwith|a slim|build, gloomyjeyes, and!a slight hook nose, he gave off an impressionjof someone that¡¯s hard!tojget!along with.


    In seeing Ling Xia bow in greeting, he did not immediately tell Ling Xia to get up and instead, lazily lifted his teacup and took two sips, drinking leisurely while he regarded the other from top to bottom. Ling Xia lowered his head and cursed silently; it couldn¡¯t be that he met a douchebag this quickly?


    After a long time, only until Guang XuZi had finished his cup of tea, did he tell Ling Xia to get up while absentmindedly asking, ¡°Since you¡¯ve entered my ShaoYang Sect, you must have some ability, yes?¡±


    Ling Xia promptlyiand cautiously!replied withirespect, ¡°This disciple¡¯s!body contains Herculean Strength.¡±i


    Guang XuZi suddenly let out a chuckle. ¡°Not bad, not bad, they finally sent a useful one. For the time being, you¡¯ll follow Yuan Hui to water that patch of Evening Mist Herbs. Yuan Hui, take your Junior brother Ling to go rest.¡±


    Ling Xia didn¡¯t know what kind of herb this was or the size of a ¡®patch¡¯, but he could only withdraw for now. He was also afraid of being taken advantage of by Guang XuZi, so he purposefully exaggerated his leg injury. Plus, he was genuinely in pain from exhaustion, so the way he staggered and hobbled was reminiscent of Iron Crutch Li, though he wasn¡¯t sure if Guang XuZi saw or not.


    Yuan Hui was a young man who looked honest and considerate, and Ling Xia¡¯s impression towards him was actually a bit favorable. While the other led the way, he took the opportunity and asked, ¡°Senior brother Yuan, where is everyone¡¯s sleeping quarters located?¡±


    Yuan Hui glanced atjhim, thenlanswered very slowly, ¡°Therejaren¡¯t anylmore empty rooms, soiwe can onlyifirst imposeiupon Juniorlbrother Lingito temporarily livelin the firewood shed.jThelhousing in Immortal Welcoming Pavilionlhas always|been inishort supply,jandjafterjthese busyidayslhave passed, Martial uncle will find people toibuild another residence.¡±


    Ling Xia blinked, having no choice but to resign himself to his terrible luck, not suspecting these words in the least. In his panic to arrive here, he had ignored his hunger, so he continued to ask, ¡°Senior brother Yuan, sorry for the inconvenience, but where are evening meals usually served?¡±


    Yuan Hui turned around, pointed to a building not far away, and replied, ¡°In there. Every day, three meals are announced by the sound of a bell. The time for today¡¯s evening meal has already passed¡­ ¡­Hmm, I¡¯ll go ask around in the sleeping quarters and see if any junior brothers still have a steamed bun left.¡±


    ¡°...j...Nojneedlto trouble Seniorlbrother,jI¡¯m not reallyjthat hungry.¡± Nojmatterlhow densejLingiXia!was,lat thisimoment,|even|heibecame!awarejof Yuan|Hui¡®sjhalf-heartediandjvaguejattitude towards himself.iHejwas|honestly heavilyjwornjout by these past fewldays,jyetlonlyihadla bit of medicine bestowedibyiFengiLuojon him. In any case, he¡¯s!already!fully|experienced!such feelingsllikeistarvation!by now,landiactually,loncejyouiendure!pastia certain|point,lthe|hunger!ceases to be albother.l


    Sureienough,iafterjLing Xia¡¯siresponse,!Yuan Hui alsolno longer|payedjthis anyjmind.i


    Ling Xia followed the other to the warehouse and received a simple, flimsy mattress. As a cultivator, this kind of thing doesn¡¯t really matter, and together with those two kids, he¡¯d already passed many days sleeping on tree leaves and coarse straw.


    ImmortaljWelcoming Pavilion¡¯s firewood shed was|considered|quite spacious andlhad plenty ofiopen|space. LingjXia placed the mattress down andithankedjYuanlHui. Yuan Hui carelessly gaveihimia|look, andiwithout sayinglanother!word,|turned around and left. Ling Xia sighed; thankfully,ltheifirewood shed alsojhad an oil lamp.


    Ling Xia shook out the mattress and spread it out, then after applying a layer of medicine to the wounds on his body and face, blew out the lamp and lethargically lied down.


    Even though this place was pitch black and quite chilly, at least it was safe and devoid of both dangerous magical beasts and violent combat¡­ ¡­That said, how were those two kids doing right now? ¡­ ¡­He tossed and turned for a long time before falling asleep, and yet for all that, he was jerked awake twice in the middle of the night by bug bites.


    Don¡¯t repost this translation. This has been a PSA from [email protected]/* */


    The next day, the bell|outside wokelLing Xia up very early, andlwithout botheringjto wash up, he hastilylrushed outsideias the the firstirays of sunlightlbarely!stretchediacross the|sky.iHe!wasn¡¯tifamiliar with|the way, so by the timejhe|found|the!right place, he was!late again, and the otherldisciples|wereialready standing neatly in rows.


    Guang XuZi gave him an extremely harsh glare and yelled, ¡°Ling Xia! Come here!¡±


    LingiXia didn¡¯t knowiexactly!how largeja ¡®patch¡¯!really!was,ibutlonce he was!led thereibyjanotherldisciple,jhe|almostifainted from anger.|Whatjbullshit|is this!iHe originallyithought thatla patchlwouldibe,latimost,jaslbig as albasketball!court, but the!reality wasjthatjit¡¯s asilarge asla|soccer field,|youiknow? Looks!like this GuangiXuZi was enacting a show ofipower inlfront|oflthe newldisciples,jand|helhappened|tojbe the!haplessiwhippingiboy¡­i¡­i


    Whenjhelsaw the!twoibuckets!hanging from a|polelthat!he haditoiuseifor hauling water,lhelnearly!started to|hoplup and down|in rage. Fuck!jScrew you!jHow manyltrips|would hejhave tojmake to finish wateringjalllthis?l


    [1]: in ancient Chinese culture, different generations are assigned certain a word as their generation name

 Volume 1 - CH 19

    If you haven¡¯t , it¡¯d be appreciated if you could take a few seconds to do so.


    I¡¯ve also heard that another group is planning to pick this up from vol. 2, so maybe there might not be a need for me to make summaries? I really didn¡¯t realize so many people were interested in this novel, though it makes me really happy that it¡¯s apparently(?) more popular than I thought.


    I can¡¯t guarantee how long I can keep up this release speed, but I¡¯ll try my best. Next chapter might take a bit longer though, so don¡¯t expect it too soon.


    Chapter 19:


    Ling Xia immediately drownedjin embarrassment. It didn¡¯t matter if this sorryjfigurelof his was seen by|other people, butibeingidiscoverediby Yu ZhiJue or Song XiaoHu was appalling onia!whole other level. He was their big brother,iand this madeihimjappear way too useless¡­ With greatjdifficulty, he hurriedlylpulled over the thiniquilt to cover himself,lhis cheeksjslightly burninglwith shame as|helmuttered,i¡°It¡¯s|because I broke a sect rule¡­ These wounds only look scary,|it doesn¡¯t hurt at all.¡±


    Everlsincejhejwas injured, he!hadicontinuouslyilied onlhis stomachjthese days, andlhislvoice wasistilljdrylandlrough.|Right!now, hisineck wasialso sore from having tolraisejhis|headlfor|an extended!periodiof|time,jand heicouldn¡¯tihelp but let it drop backjdown.!


    Hearing Ling Xia say such words, Yu ZhiJue felt his heart clench, becoming even angrier yet not knowing how to vent this surge of enmity that threatened to overflow. He took in a deep breath and obstinately pulled off that thin quilt, setting it to the side.


    Ling Xia¡¯s legs were long and thin, and Yu ZhiJue uncomfortably shifted his gaze upwards. His buttocks and a small portion of his thighs were still immensely swollen, the purple bruises even more sinister and frightening when contrasted with the fair and smooth skin below. There were still residue bloodstains, and one could imagine just how tragic it used to be.


    ¡°It¡¯s already been five days. I was wondering why you didn¡¯t come visit me, and then this ends up being the first thing I see when I arrive.¡± Yu ZhiJue¡¯s tried to maintain his calm as much as possible, but he couldn¡¯t hold back the wrath in his voice as he demanded, ¡°Who exactly did this? I¡¯ll go interrogate the one managing this place!¡±


    YuiZhiJue|was alsoisomewhatiflustered.jExcept,lwhenihe sawlLing Xia moving!with terribleidifficulty,|heicould no longer resistipressing the!other¡¯s!arm asideland taking over theitask.!Hisjmovementsiwerelveryllightjand focused,land!with!some embarrassment, LinglXia bit hisjlipsiand didn¡¯t|makelalsound.jThat ointment|wasivery refreshing,land thejplaces it touched felt!extremely good.j


    Fuck! How|shameful!lBesidesjhis!old man|andihis!mom,iit¡¯sjbeen ten some!years sincejanyone hadiseen hisibutt.!Great,|now it¡¯sibeen displayedjinjfront ofjso|many people¡­l...l


    When YuiZhiJuejfinishedlapplying thejointment, for the sake of getting rid of thelawkward atmosphere, Ling Xia searched for alconversationiasifast as hejcouldiand asked, ¡°Whatjabout XiaoHu?jYou must both be very busy, right?¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯tjhave free time,¡± Yu ZhiJue answered, not wanting to!reveal that he had stealthily sneaked out. New disciples like!himiwere incredibly busy these days, aslFeng ShuMing was exceedingly strict, requesting them toimemorize threelfundamental cultivation books within tenldays. Inladdition to that, they had toiwrite ajreflection!essay withitheir thoughts. SonglXiaoHu didn¡¯t now how tojread a singlelword, but luckily forjhim, that|Feng Luo was helping him with memorizing. Andjdue!to an oddifeeling, Yu ZhiJuejdidn¡¯t wantitojcome here with Song XiaoHu, nor did he expect to see|Ling Xia in suchia tragic state¡­!


    LingiXialcoughed, thenicontinued,|¡°Howlhaveiyou|been theseldays? Noione bullied you,jright? Those peopleifromiYunXiao City¡­did!theyjleave?¡±|


    YulZhiJuejgave himjaiglance;!thisipersonlwasjalready injuredjto thislextent, whylwaslhelstill!sojchattyland inquisitive?lHe nodded!his headjandlreplied, ¡°Iididn¡¯tlsee thatjcrazy woman these|fewldays,jso theyishouldihave left.|And I¡¯m notllikelyou, I wouldn¡¯t beibulliedisoleasily by others!¡±|


    The more this translation gets reposted, the less motivation I have to translate.


    That last declaration finally contained a bit of his usual arrogant manner, and Ling Xia abruptly smiled. After not seeing this kid for a few days, Ling Xia originally thought that he had matured quite a lot, but after a few words, it¡¯s obvious that he still hasn¡¯t grown up.


    Theltwo of them chatted for some time, and asithe medicine gradually tookleffect, Ling Xia became woozy!and soon fell asleep again.iYu ZhiJueihelpedjcover him up, andlin a flash, thelexpression onihis face changed as helwalked withoutjthe slightest hesitationjtowardsjImmortal Welcoming Pavilion¡¯slmain hall.


    Guang XuZi had already heard from the gatekeeping disciples that a direct disciple of the sect master came over. Furthermore, it was actually to find Ling Xia, which instantly led to him frantically pace around in circles. Who knew that that poor-looking lad had this kind of backer? A backer whose position was above Xu Yan¡¯s!


    For the love of god, please don¡¯t read this on an novel aggregate site.


    His!Immortal Welcoming Pavilionlhad thejlowest status inlShaoYangjSect, so he couldn¡¯tlafford!toioffend any!of theselbigwigs! He silently cried injustice in his heart. Ifihe had knowniearlier, he definitely!wouldn¡¯t have been so heavy handed, butinow, helcan onlyjthinkjof a waylto push the responsibility elsewhere¡­l¡­


    At thislmoment, a soundlcame!from the!direction!of theidoor,|andja youngster wearingialliblacklambledlinsidelatja|unhurriedjpace,llooking asiif he was surveyingltheldecorations injthe!hall.lSeeinglYu ZhiJue¡¯siage,iGuang XuZi wasjfaintlylputjatjease, thinking thatlthisjignorant child!wouldlbeieasy toideceive. Heiswiftly plasteredionja hugejsmile,jwalkedlforward,|and!greeted,i¡°I¡®vellong|heard thatjthejsect masteritook!in a|fewiyoung|talents withioutstanding aptitudes,|andlonly|inlseeingiSenior brother Yu today,jhaveiI comeito!realize that!thelrumorsjare|indeedltrue!jAs expected!ofialpromising genius! ... ¡­¡±j


    All!of YuiZhiJue¡¯sigoosebumps poppediuplfromihearinglthejother¡¯s flattery,!and he coldly|interrupted,!¡°Today,iI!came!tolfindlManager Guang because I haveia matteriIjwish!tolinquirejabout.!My elderibrother LingjXia wasifortunate tojbelassignedjunderjyourjnoblelcare, andjnotjknowingjwhere helresides,!I was!wondering if youicould!permit usjto|meet?¡±|


    ¡°This¡­¡±!Guang XuZilknew thatiYu ZhiJue!had just come from visiting LinglXia, and deducing that the!boy wasjbeing contrary onjpurpose, immediately stammered, ¡°Aifewjdays ago, your|elder brother was¡­reported bylthe other disciples to have violated thejsect|rules, requiring a punishment of thirty strokes¡­ Ah, but this humblelone tooklinto consideration that it was his first offense, and|therefore!reduced it by half.¡±


    Suddenly, YuiZhiJue smiled,laipair ofjink black eyesistaring|directly at GuanglXuZijas|he followedjup andjinquired, ¡°Ildon¡¯t knowiwhichjsect rule ourlelderlbrotheriviolated? Iflpossible, couldjManager Guang please enlightenjme? Moreover,jhe¡¯sjactually sleeping inithe firewood shed,!which is!quiteistrange. After I go back|andjreportjto Master,iI¡¯lliaskiif ImmortaljWelcomingjPavilioniis trulyjdestitute!to thejpoint!ofjhavinglnolemptyjrooms.¡±i


    That patch of Evening Mist Herbs only required watering twice a month, but every time, it needed ten people to work together, plus, the rear court still had four or five empty rooms, and the punishment for secretly stealing food was merely a three day ban on meals¡­ So at present, being stared down viciously by Yu ZhiJue, Guang XuZi turned into a stuttering and mumbling mess, unable defend himself in the slightest as cold sweat fervently rolling down his head and back.


    Yu ZhiJue had already guessed that|Ling Xia wasibeingjbullied here. He had grown upjon Holy Maiden Peak fromia young age, and had already seenlplenty!of the types of shadylbusinesses|donejin these orthodox sects. Right|theniand there, a triangular icicle gradually started to form in his hand, and in a voice that contained traces of malice,!he stated,l¡°Yesterday,jMasterltaught meihow to change thelwaterjelementals in myjbodyjinto ice.lTake a look|Manager Guang,jam I doingiit correctly?|Here, youlare my elder, while I amja|newcomer freshjoffithe boat, and still requirelmuch guidance.¡±


    That icicle was extremely sharp, and under the sunlight, it reflected beautiful, fragmented rays of color, making Yu ZhiJue¡¯s hand seem all the more petite and attractive, his fingernails gleaming like jade.


    Even so,iGuanglXuZi feltlhisjbloodjrun!coldjforianlunknownjreason,land!involuntarily retreating twojsteps, helbabbled,j¡°SeniorlbrotherlYu,iyou,jyou¡¯re|doingiit|verylwell¡­ ¡­Yes,|yourjelder brotheriis currently heavily wounded and weak, this,|thisihumble onejwillllet!the!otheridisciplesjproperly|look afterjhim withoutifail.|There is actually|alquiet|room in the rear court, sojI¡¯ll get peoplejthoroughlylclean it|upjstraightaway andllet yourielder brother!move in!¡±|


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble Manager Guang,¡± Yu ZhiJue remarked, curving his eyes as he carelessly twirled the icicle around and waved it under the sun, the very picture of childlike innocence. The mole at the corner of his eye shimmered, scarlet as blood.


    Guang XuZi held his breath and gave a salute, then hurried out the door to deal with this matter, panicked to the point of staggering and almost falling down. Based on his intuition, he knew that even though Yu ZhiJue was young, he was much, much more terrifying than that Xu Yan¡­ ¡­


    Therefore, when Ling Xia woke uplagain,!he thought he was still dreaming. The room he was in wasineat and clean, contained all the necessary furniture, and with the earlylmorning sunlshining!through the curtains, it appeared peaceful and warm. Yu ZhiJuelwasjcurrently curled upiandjsleeping next to him. The twoiof themlwere|very close, and hejcould almost feel thelyoung boy¡¯s soft breaths brushing across his face.


    Ling Xiaicrawled up to a half kneelinglposition andishook out!his!limbs, onlyinow discovering|that his!body¡¯s condition had gotten a lotibetter. Those|wounds!ofjhis also no longer hurt.


    If you¡¯re not reading this on [email protected]/* */, please go there.


    He couldn¡¯t helpibut stare at YuiZhiJue, becoming lost inlthought. Yu ZhiJue¡¯s eyes wereltightly|closed, and the bags under themlseemed a bit dark¡­ Was this kid havingja hard time cultivating? ¡­


    After Ling Xia was completely healed, Guang XuZi¡¯s attitude towards him basically did to a complete 180 reversal, only assigning him the most frivolous of tasks and even asking after his well being now and then. Not only was Ling Xia unaccustomed to this treatment, the way the other disciples looked at him also carried varying degrees of envy.


    LinglXiajdidn¡¯t|know what!to!say.|Only ajfewlmanager-levelldisciples withlrelatively highlstatusesjandjseniorityjwere|qualifiedjtoihave theirlown!privatelroom,jso|him, as|a!brand newjdisciple, stayinglin a singleiroomiinevitablylseemed bizarre.lButithe thingslhe neededjto!doifromjnow onjwould|be inconvenientjifihe stayed with someone else,ithus Ling|Xiajhad nojalternative butitojshoulder those|peculiar|gazes andicontinue living there.!


    Initheidaysjwhile!he!recuperated,ihe!had thoroughly!thoughtithings!through. He must become strong! There¡¯slno|wayithat|he could keepirelying|on two younger kids,!youjknow?iOtherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have the!facejtoicontinuejbeing theirlolder brother!i


    One should know,|the firstjstep of the protagonist¡¯s growth started here!i


    Ling Xia inwardly cried tears of joy. Being arranged here by fate, could this all be for the sake of getting him to patch up the plot?

 Volume 1 - CH 22

    Idk if ¡®artifact refiner¡¯ is the best translation for people who make tools/weapons/objects out of transmuting rocks in a cauldron/furnace with magic powers, but I am open to better suggestions.


    Anyways, in this chapter, our dear MC once again (briefly) laments over the reality that our adorable villain is, in fact, not a girl.


    Chapter 22:


    LingXia took in adeepbreath, and with the focused concentration of crammingfor the NCEE,started to speedily flipthroughthe pages, reading ten lines at a timein search forkeywords. Fuck! This bookdidn¡¯thavea table of contents!


    Ling Xia surveyedhis surroundings,then without any reservation, openedarandom door and started to search around. VoidJade Herb had ¡®jade¡¯ in its nameanddepended onthe gemto grow, so for starters,a jade artifact was absolutelynecessary.


    The masked man was silent for a beat, coughed once, and said, ¡°Mmhn, you can find what you¡¯re looking for in my storage area, but remember, you¡¯re not allowed to touch the first door on the right.¡±


    midst of his busy rummaging, he let his mind wander and wildly fantasized a bit.


    The wng the seed. He had original, so right now, he used 120% of his love in taking care of, leting this task.


    Except, Void Jade Herbs growing in the wild needed 10 years to germinate, another 10 years to flower, and matured only after a century. In that case, how could he make this seed sprout in just a few short hours?


    A petite, snowwhite figure suddenly appearedin frontofLing Xia. Needless to say, itwas Ah¡®Li,and after walkingaround him inacircle,it bit onto his pants and tugged. Ling Xia thought that it wanted to playwith him like before, carefully protectedthe jade bottlein ahurry, and reprimanded, ¡°Ah¡®Li don¡¯tmess around.I¡¯ll play with you later.¡±


    Ah¡®Li squinted its eyes in discontent, gnashed and pulled even harder, and Ling Xia came to a belated realization. Was this Ah¡®Li¡¯s way of trying to bring him somewhere?


    The masked man laughed, ¡°Youdouble-dipping, unfaithful little thing!¡±


    HistsouedlikestacitlypermittinAh¡®Lsactisthouso ngXia reassuringlwaedfoallowinhimselfto be led alongilstopped infront ofrroom.


    This room did notappear to bevery large from the outside, butonce LingXia openedthedoor,he discovered that the interior wasabundantlyspacious. Onboth sidesofthe room were aboutseven or eight tables, all filledwith various kindsofodd and strange household utensils made ofdifferent materials placed at even intervals. In the centerwas a furnace astall as a grown man, seemingly forthepurpose of refiningpills.


    rst exam that detected what elementals his body contained. It was able to magnify the power elementals a person had by a hundredfold, so perhaps there was a similar tool here? If it¡¯s like that, wouldn¡¯t he be able to make use of the wood elementals inside his body for stimulating the seed


    Ah¡®Lwatched himbustleawhile curledpin a cornecuscanb


    AfterpositioneverythngiitplaceingXatoka deepbreath, pedhdonfthe bottle lig the exam,aimaginedthat thepecular heatwithin body wwlybeingpouredinside. Only afrlong tim,d heopehis eys.


    Rihtt thistime, the maedmanappearedinsidte romanhilening, thoughtfully lookedat thartotophetablendproclaimd,¡°Time¡¯s upyou din¡¯tmakeit.¡±


    Ling Xia nodded somewhat dejectedly and agreed, ¡°No, the seed didn¡¯t sprout.¡±


    The masked man observedhisdisheartened manner with a facefullof smiles, touched his chin, and mused, ¡°Sothe words you saidbefore about notgiving up, looks like thatwasall to deceiveme.Allthathappened wasthatit didn¡¯t grow, so is itnecessary to be this dismayed?Back whenIcultivated a VoidJade Herb, it took an entireyear beforeIgot it to germinate. You¡¯re justa kid who fiddled around for 6 hours, and you expectedit tosprout? If it did, wouldn¡¯t that be akiller joke?¡±


    Themasked man giggled,leaned back,anda seatmanifestedto catch him just in time as heconfirmed, ¡°Naturally.¡±


    ¡°¡­ ¡­Haha, Senior is really funny.¡±


    ¡°However,¡± themasked man continued, crossingoneleg over the otherand swinging ittwice,¡°when I enteredthis sect allthose years ago,I was alow-level disciple who wasscreened as lackingin power elementals too. Spent3 years lingeringon a smallhillsideand sweeping floors,but now, aren¡¯t Ialsobeing referred to as¡®Senior¡¯ byyou?I feel like you have just a tinysmidgen of aptitude inrefining artifacts and growing plants, and if earnestly tutored andcultivated, in afew dozenmore years, perhaps you can achieve aminor accomplishment ortwo.¡±


    ¡­¡­Mh thanksenior¡¯srouspraiseL Xia gritted out,to refrafrom gringhtthahitone tooaturnforte worsew infuriang!Hhaedbeingpledthis thest!Asexpumornjoyao playotherpeople instead.


    A,clearly a long-timevic tothisindfsufbeduagaiLshinnsympat.


    LingXia criedtears in his heart.Sure enough,the life of amob character wasto walk the path of support.What the protagonist received from here was guidanceon bodycultivation,swordcultivation, andenergycultivation youknow!


    destined by fate.¡±


    No wonder that handwriting was so ugly! Ling Xia felt that this book¡¯s credibility needed to be lowered by 50% at the very least. He had spent 6 hours staying in the masked man¡¯s space, but when he came out, the sky had only just turned dark. He waited until he stealthily slipped back to his residence and pushed open the door before sighing in relief at last¡­ No matter what, it could be said that he successfully completed his first objective.


    ¡°Where didyou go?¡±


    Ling Xia had placed the book in his hands on the table, and right as he was striking the flint to light the lantern, that familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind. Startled, his hand shook, resulting in him nearly burning himself.


    Yu ZhiJue was currently leaning against the head of the bed, and hearing this, slanted him a glare and angrily growled, ¡°You haven¡¯t told me just where exactly you went yet?¡±


    Yu ZhiJueimpatiently countered, ¡°Even so, was therea need tocome back thislate? I waited here foryou for ages!¡± As soon as thesewords left his mouth, he felt abit chagrined, and even his cheeksheated up a notch. Luckilyfor him, that wasn¡¯t visiblein thisdim lighting.


    Throwngbagottable,hhenexpained,ereceiv our monthlypay, and Xitolmtbringthis toyou.


    Ahh, how the children have grown¡­ Ling Xia was emotional to the point of tears, the very picture of a father who received a present from his kid for the very first time, and excitedly opened the bag. It¡¯s just, when he saw the contents, he didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. Around ten energy coins clanked against each other inside, a mix of both level-2 and level-1 types.


    Aye, Song XiaoHu was indeeda straightforward child¡­ ¡­He should probably save these for the boy to usein the future for finding a wife.


    em.


    cafullyputtbaawayndwithabimischief,teased, ¡°Ahedid¡®t think ofgivg meanything?¡±


    His young, smiling face was pure and open, and in the lantern¡¯s light, radiated the kindness and gentleness of a saint. Along with a pair of dark pupils that twinkled with the candle¡¯s embers, he was an exceptionally moving sight.

 Volume 1 - CH 24

    We¡¯re getting pretty close to the end of vol. 1, so I figured I¡¯d ask now. I¡¯m planning on posting vol. 2¡¯s summary relatively soon after the end of vol. 1, so my question is:


    Would you prefer I dump the entire thing into one post and post it the same day as the last chapter of vol. 1, or would you prefer I split it into parts and post it over a span of a few days?


    Just a warning: I¡¯m about halfway through and it¡¯s currently over 10k in word count, so the final version will be very long if it¡¯s all on one post. I don¡¯t know if a ~30k in one go would be overwhelming, but if you guys prefer to get it all at once, that¡¯s fine by me as well.


    For simplicity, here¡¯s a poll:


    Also, next update might take a while, though I do plan on finishing this up before August ends. Since we¡¯re in the final stretch, I want to stock up and release the remaining chapters on a daily countdown kind of way. Please look forward to it o/


    Chapter 24:


    In this world, not everyone had power elementals, but psychical energy was something every person was capable of obtaining by cultivating, though it¡¯s also affected by one¡¯s aptitude, character, degree of effort, etc.


    Generallyjspeaking,ipeoplejwithlstronger|willslimproved|moreleasily when cultivatingipsychicallenergy.jWhen!one¡¯sjpsychicallenergy reaches!ajcertain level,!not onlylcould it assistlin!refininglartifacts,lcreating!pills,jor boostinglall otherltypes!of cultivation,ibut itlcanjevenlbe used as!anioffensivelweapon.j


    The masked man nodded and agreed, ¡°That does make sense. It¡¯s custom for ShaoYang Sect¡¯s people to discriminate against low-level disciples, but I didn¡¯t expect them to not even teach the most basic of basics¡­ In that case, let¡¯s first conduct psychical energy practice.¡±


    Thejpeople of this world¡¯s psychical energyjwas, for the most part, either inborn or acquired.jThe naturally talented, when reaching twelve orjthirteen years of age, werelcapable of activating psychical energyjby themselves. Those withlso-so aptitudes needed an expertlto help them kick-start the psychical particles within their body,jand afterwards, it was fine to diligently work hard and cultivate on!their own.


    By the time|Ling Xiaiopened his eyes, he was full of vitality and spirit, and his mindiwas also remarkably clear and sharp.iHe didn¡¯t know when, but the masked man had already retracted hislhand and was once more reclining in a bamboo chair.


    ¡°Senior, I¡¯ll go give it another shot,¡± Ling Xia said, eager to try refining again as he grabbed two energy stones.


    While rocking his chair, the masked man chuckled, ¡°How could it be that easy? Right now, the sun¡¯s already up, so you better return first. Come back in the evening.¡±


    Thelsun¡¯slup?jLinglXia!waslshocked;jhowjmuchltime!had already!passed? Itjshould belnotedlthatithe time-flowiinjtheimaskediman¡®slspace!was|set atlai10:1jratioitolthe real world¡¯s!iInithatjcase,jhe¡¯s!already beenjinjherejfor multipleidays?|Alerted ofithis fact,ihisistomachjgrowlediin hungerjrightltheniandlthere.j


    Embarrassed,lLinglXiajlookedjatitheimasked maniandlnoddedlin agreement, ¡°Yes, Ijshouldigoibackjfirst.¡±l


    Cultivation of psychical energy was different from other forms of cultivation in that one could practice it anywhere. As Ling Xia worked, he condensed his psychicallenergy around theispiritualiherbs, andlperhaps it was due to his own misconception,lbut the!ones that had psychical energy poured inside themjlooked a bit more vigorous than the others.


    He didn¡¯t knowithatjbecauseioflhis!inabilityltojcontrol andlseparate psychical energylfromjpowerjelementals,iplusjhis!innate woodjattribute, resulted|inlhis psychicallenergy containingibitsiandjpieceslof elementalienergylas well.iAnd woodlelementals were!exactlyjwhat plantsiloved!the|most.j


    By cultivating and workingiatlthe samejtime, Ling Xiajbecame exhausted very quickly. He massaged hisjpounding temples; looks like it might be better to first start with cultivating psychical energy inside his sea of consciousnesses.


    Of course, just having psychical energy didn¡¯t mean that all of a sudden, he¡¯d be able to succeed in refining. Ling Xia had to spend a few days in a row at the masked man¡¯s place training in artifact refinement, and after losing track of the number of energy stones he¡¯d wasted, he finally succeeded in refining a water attribute artifact. However, the artifact¡¯s surface had some muddy impurities, and its degree of transparency and fusion synthesis was far from that of the one made by the masked man.


    The translator is begging you, please don¡¯t repost this translation elsewhere.


    Despitelthat,|Ling|Xialwaslstill extremelyihappy.|Even iflit¡¯s likelthis, this|magical artifact|could!sellifor 100 level-1!energyicoinsionjthe market and|wasjmost suitedjforlbeginner divergent-skill cultivatorslto boost toitheiricultivation!strength.i


    The masked!man slightly nodded his head, an approval to the fruits of Ling Xia¡¯s labor.iAlthough Ling!Xia knew that the!otherlhated etiquette customs, but at this moment,lhe couldn¡¯t help but give a deep,|deepibow.


    Every teacher was one¡¯s benefactor in life. How could a mere, meager bow be enough to reciprocate all of the masked man¡¯s completely selfless teachings and assistance?


    By cultivating psychical energy while learning how to refine artifacts, two weeks flew past, and Ling Xia had already refined five finished products. Two had water attributes, two had fire attributes, and the last had metal attributes.


    Among these, four|were!appraised as level-1 magical artifacts, and the metal attributed oneiwas anjauthentic|level-2iartifact.iFor a novice who hadn¡¯tjeven learned for two monthslyet, this was already alsubstantially outstanding achievement.


    After all,igenerallylspeaking, a|level-1 artifactjneededllevel-2ienergylstones|to make, level-2iartifacts|requiredjlevel-3lenergyistones,jandjsojon.jUsingilevel-2ienergy stonesjtoirefinejsomethinglthat¡®sjalsojlevel-2,!this!resultjcould belsaidltojonlylhavelaj5% probabilitylofisuccess.jNevertheless,ihejwasn¡¯t satisfiediwithiusingltheseiasipresents for!those twolkids,jsojhe!decided tolsellithemjfirst!andjwait untillhelmadelsomething betterito gift.j


    When hisldayjoff arrived,jforlthelsakeiof!staying inconspicuous,lLing!Xia specifically changedloutjofiShaoYanglSect¡¯sllow-leveljdisciple uniform!andlworejnormal|clothes madelfrom a commonjmaterial.|


    ChongMing City had a very large cultivator trade market, selling all kinds of energy stones, spiritual herbs, magical artifacts, talismans,land other such items inside, attracting many ShaoYang Sectldisciples and rogue cultivators to make transactions here.


    Ling Xia wasn¡¯t in rushjtoisell these magical artifacts. Instead, he first wandered the marketplace!and surveyed the place.jSome of the things being sold weren¡¯t even as intricate and pure!as what he refined, yet the price was|markedjhigher than what he expected.lHe looked at these prices and memorized them one by one,jfound the supervisor in charge, and paid 5 energy coins for a vendor¡¯s booth. He took out his!five artifacts, laid them out nicely, and not long after, a cultivator came up to ask how much they cost.


    Ling Xia¡¯s prices were all reasonable, but seeing that hejwas a childlwhoialso wore unremarkable clothing,jsome|cultivatorsjpurposely nitpicked at flaws tojtryland lower!the price. Ling Xia had experience in selling things in college, hence speaking in a level and undisturbed tone, he fended off their haggling. By noon, he had unexpectedly sold three of!thelartifacts and earned 320 level-1 energy coins.|


    This many!energy coins put together was too eye-catching an amount, not tolmention its weight, so LingiXiajtook advantage of thejlunch lull to buy ajstorage bag of the lowestlgrade. It|had a!capacity of about one cubic meter, yet cost 150 energy coins, making his heart sting as he grimaced.


    Storage bags were refined, and its price was determined according to how much it could hold. The larger the space, the more valuable the materials needed in its creation, but the success rate of its refinement also dropped many-fold. Therefore, it followed that the price would increase exponentially as well. He had bought the lowest grade storage bag, and its manufacturing cost was estimated to be, at most, only 20 energy coins.


    LingjXiaiwasiresolved!thatlin the!future,|heimustjrefine alstorage bag|withian unimaginablylmassivelcapacity!lIn|thelend,lthose who couldjmanipulateitheir ownlspacellikejthe|masked man,!YuiZhiJue, andjSong XiaoHu werelthelminority withinithe!minority.iYou¡¯dlbe!luckyltolfind!oneiwithinjthousands, and|the vastlmajority|oflcultivatorslallineeded|storagelbags.jIflhelcould!refine!ajbag withia|hundredlcubic meterjstoragejspace,lwouldn¡¯tjhejmake morelmoneylthan helcouldispendlin ailifetime?l


    Just as he was gleefully fantasizing, a slender, good-looking hand suddenly picked up|the the level-2 magical artifactjin front of him. Ling Xia knew that a customer hadicome and!instantly exposed a welcoming smile. As he raised his head, helwas suddenly taken aback; the person who picked|up the artifact was a!fifteen or sixteen year old young man with an elegant!appearance,land following at hisjside was a seven or eight year oldjcute,ismalljgirl with skin as fair as snow.


    Theiyoung!man pointedjthatiartifactjat|the|sunjand inspected!it,jthen brought itjtolhislear,!listening|attentivelyjtojtheiminutelsoundsithejwindimadejblowingiacrossiitslform.jLing Xiaisaw|hisiactions|and couldn¡¯t|helpibutjfeeljsomewhat nervous. This young!man!wasia professional!j


    Presently, he still needed specialized tools to appraise artifacts, butlartificers withioveriten yearslof experience were!able to useltheir earsjand eyes to evaluate anlartifact¡¯s subtle details.


    The young man tilted his head, gave him a look, and muttered, ¡°Hmm, this used the level-2 Void Spirit Stone, added Moxa Rock for adhesion purposes, and the fusion with psychical energy is quite good. But, it¡¯s also evident that the refiner is still a novice¡­ It can¡¯t be that these artifacts were all made by you, right?¡± He skeptically sized up Ling Xia. The other didn¡¯t appear to be a member of a rich or influential family judging from his manner of dress.


    Ifjthatlwas!true,!thenlsolely|basedion|thisjyoungster¡¯s|age,jhejwould beiconsidered alverylhard|to!comeibyltalent!i


    Ling Xia paused. Right now, he had decided to hide his strength, and on top of that, he also didn¡¯t know this young man¡¯s identity. Thus, he shook his head and replied, ¡°No, these were refined by my senior brother who¡¯s currently cultivating at ShaoYang Sect.¡±


    Theilittlelgirl at the young man¡¯s side heard this and curledjher lips. ¡°What a!waste! In refining!magical artifacts, how could ShaoYang Sect measure up to our ShuYuanlDale?¡±


    ShuYuaniDale?lHearing thislname,|LingjXiajpromptlyifroze.|


    That¡¯s right, this was in the plot. ShuYuanjDale¡¯s reputation in refinement was brilliant and famous throughout this entire world.|One girl from the protagonist¡¯s harem was from ShuYuan Dale, andjshe was also a high-level artificer.


    Hearing the little girl¡¯s words, the young man reprimanded softly, ¡°Shui Ling, don¡¯t speak nonsense!¡±


    When all was said and done, this was ChongMing City and ShaoYang Sect¡¯s territory, so if someone with certain intentions heard, it might even lead to causing unnecessary disputes. Every sect was trying to rope in those who were gifted, and their ShuYuan Dale naturally wasn¡¯t an exception. He gave the youngster selling artifacts a look, and only now discovered that the other was spacing out.


    Yep, Ling Xia was spacing out.


    He simply didn¡¯t understand. Why were the protagonist¡¯s harem members popping up one after another in lolita form¡­ It¡¯s shattering his fantasies!


    Yep, that harem member artificer, was called Shui Ling.


    And that gorgeous and charming lady in the novel was currently even younger than those little lassies Feng Luo and Cui Yu¡­ ¡­


    The moment Ling Xialsensed that young man¡¯s gaze upon himself, he snappedlout of his daze. Standingjup, he smiled, ¡°I am!callediLing Xia. Fellowlcompeer, how may I address you?¡±

 Volume 1 - CH 25

    Chapter 25:


    ShuilYue|politelylcuppedjhisjhandsjandibid farewell;jLing Xiajstood and!sent thisibrother andisisteriduojoffjwithihis!eyes,iinwardlylquiteihappyjthatlhis workiwas certified byiaiprofessional.iIn|theiafternoon,!thejlast|twoimagical artifactsiwere finallyjsold,iwith thejlevel-2!one netting anlexcellent|price ofi300|energy coins.|Subtracting whatlhe spent,lhis storagejbaglactually had!almost!600jlevel-1ienergy!coinsjnow.j


    It should be noted that the salary the sect gave him for an entire month¡¯s worth of labor and hard work, was only 8 energy coins, or £¤800 in China¡­ Ling Xia patted his storage bag, sighing ruefully in his heart.


    The masked man had said that the wine he liked cost 3000 energy coins a jar, but Ling Xia knew that he spoke in jest. In this strange world, the best kind of wine used celestial herbs or spiritual fruits to brew, and they were essentially priceless commodities.


    He asked around for the location of the best winery in town, and taking advantage of the daylight hours left, quickly hurried on over. The shop attendant introduced their wide selection very enthusiastically, and Ling Xia spent a long time prudently contemplating his options. In the end, he chose a small jar of the clear, raw, and sweet White Pear Flower, spending 500 energy coins.


    Please thank your local aggregator site for me dropping this novel.


    Although it wasn¡¯t considered the best of wines, this was a token of his gratitude towards his respected teacher. When he passed by a roasted chicken store, he bought two lotus wrapped chickens for the Snow Flamma as well.


    It|was becomingjlate,jso whileihalflrunningjandlhalfjwalking,!helrushed backiand managedjtojreach ImmortaljWelcoming Pavilionjbeforelthe skyicompletely darkened.l


    The disciples guarding the gate distantly noticed his arrival and called out, ¡°Junior brother Ling, everyone was summoned to an emergency assembly this afternoon and told that in the next few days, important guests will arrive. We¡¯re in charge of tidying up and arranging where they will all stay. As for your assignment, you should hurry and find Martial uncle Guang to ask for the details.¡±


    Separately, Yu ZhiJue and Song XiaoHu had come looking for Ling Xia twice by now. Those gatekeepers recognized that they were both the sect master¡¯s direct disciples, so on the surface, they treated Ling Xia extremely courteously. The other disciples who used to look down on Ling Xia were a bit apprehensive, but after seeing how Ling Xia treat everyone politely and amicably without any arrogance or spite, they all gradually felt relieved. Throughout Immortal Welcoming Pavilion, no matter what one¡¯s private thoughts were, their current relationship with Ling Xia wasn¡¯t bad on a superficial level.


    LinglXia!smiledlatlthat!discipleiandireplied,!¡°Understood,jmanyithankslfor Senior brother¡¯sireminder.lI¡¯lligo rightlaway.¡±j


    Guang XuZi didn¡¯t reproach Ling Xia for returning late or anything like that, and instead, greeted him with an genial expression before sighing, ¡°Ling Xia, it¡¯ll be tough on you this time. You and Yuan Hui both have Herculean Strength, and our time is short. If this errand was assigned to anyone else, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll delay our other preparations. Rest assured, we will give you and Yuan Hui an extra bonus this month.¡±


    Slightly pulling|backjthe|cornerlof!hisilips,iLingjXia!responded,j¡°Martialjuncle, there¡®sinolneeditojbejso|courteous.lPlease!doinoihesitate tojdelegatethejtasksjthat need!to|beldone.¡±l


    Evenlthoughjhelloathed|Guang XuZi¡¯s!shamelesslandlabrupt|temperament changes,|he wasipresentlyjworking underjtheiother,!and|noimatter!what, heihadlto|give thosejin charge|the properlamount!ofjrespect.j


    Guang XuZi informed him of his duty, and turns out, it was to put the large meeting hall that¡¯ll receive the guests in order. After all, VIPs would be arriving, so they needed to display and show off some of Immortal Welcoming Pavilion¡¯s spiritual herbs and rare plants. There was one spiritual tree that was right in its flowering season, but handling the density and rigor of its wood was a huge hurdle. Currently, there was a lack in helping hands, hence the disciples with plenty of physical power were sent to work with those tall trees.


    Ling Xia nodded, ¡°Yes, I will go with Senior brother Yuan tomorrow.¡±


    Hearing!this,jGuangiXuZi letioutla sighjof relief.!Last|time,jhe wasjscarediout ofihisiwits byjYulZhiJue,landiwheneverlhe|sawlLinglXia,jajlump!of!constant uneaseiwould stifleihislheartlasihejremembered that sharpiand!terrifying iceiblade.iGuang|XuZi thenioffered!some!words|ofiencouragement like,l¡°Whenirecommendingldisciples!to Elder|X¡®s place,jwelwilljcertainly considerjyou|as!a priority¡±,l¡°You haveiallot of potential,!if youiwork hardjyou¡®ll|definitelyiclimbiup!toibecomejalhigh-level disciple¡°,iandlother!such emptyipromises.l


    LingjXiajchuckled, ¡°Senior, then I¡¯ll go and continue|to refine artifacts.¡±


    In alhalf!reclinediposition,ithelmaskedjmanlhugged the wineiandlwavedjhis handlwithoutimuchlcare.lRandom!humsiescaped|fromjhisjmouth, resembling that|ofja|shortltune.i


    LinglXia¡¯slgoaljtonightjwasjto!refineja|betterlmagical artifact!than|the|bestlhe¡¯d madeiso far. Notlonly!theifunctions,|butjthe appearance mustlalsolbejpleasing!|


    He skillfully placed variousldifferent types of materials intojthe furnace, added a bit of supplementary spiritual wood to thelfire, andiwhen theiitems inside began to half dissolve, started to uselhis psychical energy to breakjthem down.


    From the jade hairpin that Yu ZhiJue gave him, he could tell that theiboyjliked elegant and exquisite things.lThinking of that!stunning and deviously charming!final!boss villain from the latter half of the novel, Ling Xia felt his lips twitch a few times. Justjhow much did!the author love the villain anyways;ievery time he appeared, the author would use over half a page of descriptions to immortalize how gorgeous his features were, howjgorgeous hisiattire was, andjhow gorgeous his troops looked standing in formation¡­j¡­


    Before he started refining, Ling Xia had already decided to craft this artifact into a type that could be hung on one¡¯s body, something convenient to wear.


    Inside|the furnace, the various materials had startedlto coalesce,jand Ling Xia concentrated on using his divine sense to control the development. He patiently removed theiimpurities little by little and the pendant¡¯s outline gradually solidified, slowly condensing and taking shape.


    By the time he finally stopped, Ling Xia!was already dripping with sweat,!and due to over-drafting too muchipsychical energy, his temples!incessantly throbbed with pain. But he couldn¡¯t bother with wiping away his sweat, and removed the pendant!from the furnace first.


    Thelartifact wasltruly incredibly!beautiful,litsidimensionsjhalf!the sizejoflone¡®s palm, andlexhibited|allovely!huelthatlwas similar|tojjadeite.jThisjworldjdidn¡¯thaveithe concept|ofjChinesejzodiacs,|so LinglXia!styled theidesignjin referenceltola dragon¡®s!form.!Asiaiwhole,litiwas simple and imposing,jbut itsifinerldetailslwere handledjwithjmeticulous care.i


    He took out another tool to appraise its functions, and the result was also very satisfying. This actually turned out as an high-end level-2 artifact! Moreover, aside from having support-based properties, it had defensive capabilities as well, able to block 20% of all elemental energy attacks.


    Thelmasked man!hadlfinishedltakingihisinap, and seeinglLingiXia¡¯slashen face,lwarned with a frown,j¡°Youjmust|alwaysiworkiwithin!yourllimits.iIflyou excessively overexert yourself,iit willidamagelyourlcultivation instead.¡±l


    Ling!Xia let out anlembarrassed!laugh,jthenlheldiupjthe!pendantland!offered, ¡°Senior,ihaveia look.¡±j


    The masked man took the ornamental artifact and turned it around in his hands. ¡°The energy stones¡¯ degree of fusion is quite high, and its support abilities are also not bad¡­ Hmm, it can¡¯t be that you spent this much effort because you wanted to gift this to a cute girl, right?¡±


    Thatilast partjwasisaid|inia|somewhatlteasingjmanner.!


    ¡°¡­j¡­It¡®slforjmyilittlelbrother.¡°jLingjXiaiwaslajbitlspeechless.!


    Due tojthe|overuse!ofjhislpsychical energy, Ling Xia waslordered by the masked man toirest for a day before refining again, and hejcomplied.|The day after that, he successfully refinedja thin, fire attribute chain with defensive properties for Song XiaoHu, perfect for hanging that lighting shaped pendant of his. While not as amazing as Yu ZhiJue¡¯s dragon ornament, the final product was!stilliquite good.


    At the|same time, he was busyjwith the task of arranging and tidying up the large hall and the gardens. Ling Xia wasn¡¯t interested in who the important guests were; he was justlhappy that the halllwas close to Deadwood Mountain, making it a lot easier for him to go visit thoseitwo kids.


    Taking advantage of his lunch break, Ling Xia went to find them, and sure enough, Yu ZhiJue was at the training arena again. Song XiaoHu wasn¡¯t there because he went out on a mission with Feng Luo.


    Ling!Xia didn¡¯tjgo inside and askedisomeone toicall Yu ZhiJue outside instead. Yu ZhiJue stepped out with sweat on|his forehead, and while the expression on his face mayihave been|aloof and reserved, it was clear that he!was very happy Ling Xia dropped by to see him.


    LingjXiallooked atjthejchild!beforelhimiwithia broadigrin.iPossessing|red lips,lwhite teeth,jandjink|blackjhair,jthisikidjreallyidid|haveicharmingllooks, soimuch that itimade!one!wantjtojkidnap!him|away.|Flusteredjfromisuch aigaze,jYujZhiJue angrilyjdemanded,j¡°Whyiare you so|strange|today?lWhat|are youjstaring!at!mejfor?¡°j


    Yu ZhiJue¡¯s expression suddenly turned gloomy. Since Ling Xia was able to make such a delicate and immaculateiartifact,ihe must have studied!for more than just three or five days, andiyet kept it secretly to himself this entire time¡­


    Ling Xia knew from one look what this child was thinking, so he quickly explained, ¡°I met that senior in an unexpected way. He lives in seclusion on the reverse side of the mountain and doesn¡¯t like people disturbing him. You also know that I¡¯m dumb, and even cultivating under his guidance, might not achieve any progress. So I thought it¡¯d be better to surprise you after I had succeeded.¡±


    In the novel, Yu ZhiJue¡¯s sensitivity and paranoia was one of the major reasons he became a villain, and consequently, Ling Xia had to prevent any misunderstandings from forming between them.


    As expected, Yu ZhiJue¡¯s complexion cleared up slightly after hearing this. He also recalled that he had seen Ling Xia reading books related to artifact refinement the last two times he went to visit. He lifted his head and stole a brisk look at Ling Xia, and was then shocked to discover that the other seemed thinner than what he remembered¡­


    Yu ZhiJue couldn¡¯t help but knit|hislbrows|and question, ¡°Is thereia need to exhaust yourself every day like!this? I¡¯ve seen whatlother peoplejin ShaoYang Sect!have refined, and the|artifacts created by those withione or two years of experience can¡¯t even compare toiyours. In fact, it¡¯djbe better if you moved in|withjme. Thejequipment and books here areiboth superior to what Immortal Welcoming Pavilion has,jand I can helpiyou find|energy stones and materials.|There are some very proficient senior artificers in the sect, andjI canlhelp you askjabout them asjwell.¡±


    Heiblurtedialllthisjoutjwithoutjreallyjthinking toojdeeply,jandlasjsoon aslheifinished, hislfacelpromptly|burnedjwith!heat.lHe hadlneverlgotten usedjtolinteracting withjpeople,ibut ifiitlwas!withjLing|Xia,lhelprobably wouldn¡¯tdislike|talking!more...l


    Ling Xia flapped his hands and refused with a smile, ¡°There¡¯s no need for all this, that senior is quite great. Didn¡¯t you also say that those other people were less competent than I am in spite of having studied longer?¡±


    Seeing that|Yu ZhiJue¡¯sjwrinkled brows persisted, he thought for a bit,land then compromised, ¡°Givejme another month.lI¡¯ll move in a month later,lokay?¡± According to the plot,!the masked man¡¯s temporary stay|hereishould last for!around one more month.


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    Hearing Ling Xia¡¯s words, Yu ZhiJue exposed one of his rare smiles. ¡°Ok, deal.¡±


    Ling Xia couldn¡¯t resist reaching out and petting the other¡¯s head. Stroking this child¡¯s hair felt likelcaressing silk, its slightly cool and sleek texture truly comfortable to touch¡­ ¡­


    Afterlhe bid farewell to!Yu ZhiJue, Ling Xia continued to|the gardens, and with the otherldisciples, began to spruce up the flowers andltrees. But when he caught the pieces ofia conversation between two|disciples that passed by, his complexion!instantly became deathly pale.

 Volume 1 - CH 26

    Chapter 26:


    Ling Xia¡¯s first thought was to take|those twojkids, pack up, and hit the road, but how viable was that? Right now, Song XiaoHu was carrying out aniassignment elsewhere, and besides,jrunning away!was more likely to arouse other people¡¯s suspicions.


    Thisjlittle!brat effortlesslyjmastered|thejsword|techniquesitheyicouldn¡¯tllearn andjeasilyjsurpassed the!cultivation levelslthey spentlagesito!reach.jEven!their eternallyjstrict|and taciturn|masterlwould makelnolsecretlof|heapingipraiseslon this newlylacceptedldisciplejfrom|timeitojtime.!


    In addition, Yu ZhiJue had a high and!mighty attitude, only occasionally addressing others with a half-hearted ¡®senior brother¡¯, and virtually looked down his arrogant nose at the world! He didn¡¯t understand the firstithing about respecting one¡¯s elders!


    Somehowloriother, Yu!ZhiJueihadlmade!enemiesieverywhere iniShaoYangjSect. Itjwasn¡¯tlthatjheididn¡¯tjnotice,|but|rather,!hejdidn¡¯ticarelin the slightest howithose peopleiviewed him.j


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    Beingjopenly and covertlyiostracized, YulZhiJue¡¯slsourceslofiinformationjwere almost!nonexistent,!thoughlhe|himselfjpaid!itino heed.lTherefore, while completelyiinithejdark,!heiabsent-mindedlyjfollowedibehind a groupjofifellow disciplesjtolgreetlthose importantiguests.i


    As a result, when Yu ZhiJue spied the seemingly familiar Sinistral Steed beast and those too bright, pink colored clothes, his first reaction was to crease his brows. He wasn¡¯t as fragile as Ling Xia imagined, and seeing these people from YunXiao City again, especially Cui Yu, didn¡¯t cause any guilt or fear in his heart. He only felt disdain.


    Cui Yuihad not seen Yu ZhiJue for allong time, though she had repeated his name who knows how many times|inlheriheart. Whenjshe spotted him fromla distance, her eyes brightened and her small face started to heat up.


    Duejto!living a rare,lpeaceful|everydayilife thesejpastifewimonths,|YujZhiJuejhad grownlajbitjtaller,|andihis|facialjfeatures alsojbecame!morelrefined.iAlthough he|wasistill quite young,lbut|among|that!groupjofjdisciples,iheiwasiexceptionallyjeye-catching.i


    Cui Yu trotted over on the Sinistral Steed, nimbly hopped off, and left it in the care of a low-level disciple. First, she crisply called out an ¡°Uncle Feng¡± towards Feng ShuMing, then eagerly walked over to Yu ZhiJue, staring at him as if entranced, and asked, ¡°ZhiJue, do you still remember me?¡±


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    YulZhiJuejapathetically shifted hisjlinelof sightlelsewherelwithoutleven lookingjat her.!


    Feng ShuMing watched his own disciple blatantly disregard Cui TianCheng¡¯s precious daughter and secretly felt pleased, finding Yu ZhiJue more and more to his liking.


    In the past many generations, his ChongMing City¡¯s strength was weaker than that of YunXiao City¡¯s. Even though they were considered close allies, privately, they acted at odds, and his side was the one yielding more often than not. Last time when YunXiao City¡¯s delegation attended his ChongMing City¡¯s major disciple recruitment event, they had dared to only dispatch their second best disciple! They were truly mocking and ridiculing his ChongMing City and ShaoYang Sect. Not to mention, under his extended efforts, ChongMing City had already become incomparable to its former days¡­


    Beingjignoredjinlfront|ofieveryonelhere,jCuilYu couldn¡¯tlhelpibut!turn indignant.|If itlwasianyoneielse,lwithltheiexception oflher senioribrothers, she|definitelyjwould have!immediatelylswunglheriwhip in!retaliation. But|whilejshelwasiangrylat Yu|ZhiJue,jshejwasjalsoifull of bliss,jand justjseeing himjmadeiher heartjjump with!joy.jSojsheimerelyistaredjat!himiwith a pout,lthe|very!pictureioflone whoifeltjwronged.l


    The others from YunXiao City showed up soon after, and although the city¡¯s governor was leading this trip, they didn¡¯t come with great fanfare, but a simple retinue instead. The Shang family¡¯s head steward and Shang Yan¡¯s father, Shang Kai, was also present.


    Feng|ShuMing|cuppedihisjhandslwithout delayjand gavelhislgreetings.!Cui TianCheng, an extremelyitalllandjsturdy|middle-agedlman,!simply noddediinireturniwithja slightjaurajofioppression,|makinglFeng|ShuMing feelleverjmoreiresentfullinlhisiheart.l


    He quietly raised his guard; CuijTianCheng very rarely visited to ChongMing City personally, andjin his letter,ithe other only casually wrote a few lines, vaguely hinting that it was still about last time¡¯s matteriof the disciple|who disappeared.


    FengiShuMinglrefuseditojbelievelthatiCui!TianCheng¡®slpurposejinicominglwaspurelyifor!thisialone.jEven thoughiYunXiaoiCitylwasjpowerful,|they neededjto purchase|largeiquantitiesloflspiritualjherbsjandiwaterjattribute|energyjstoneslfromihim...i¡­Heidoubted thatithelotherjwouldispend this!muchjtimeiand effortlfor alsingle,lminor disciple.j


    Everyone chatted away considerably amicably, and when they reached the large hall, Feng ShuMing immediately ordered his disciples to bring out all kinds of meticulously flavored vegetarian and meat dishes to welcome their visitors.


    Those acting as hosts were Feng ShuMing,ia few of his seniorjdisciples with an abundance of experience in attending to guests,jand aicoupleiof the sect¡¯s elders. New disciples likelYu ZhiJue only needed to show their faces as a courtesy before retiring.


    Seeing Yu ZhiJue leave, Cui Yui glanced around and whispered, ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m goingloutside for a bit.¡±


    Cui TianCheng had long heard from his second disciple Mo Dai about how this dearjdaughter|of his was infatuated with some unknown boy from the outback mountains. Heisaw how Cui Yui¡¯s eyesiwere glued to Yu ZhiJue from start to|finish, and he too had secretly taken note and observed this boy. Seeing that Yu ZhiJue!indeed possessed an extraordinary aptitude that was difficult to come by, he promptly decided not to put a stop to Cui Yu¡¯s behavior.


    As!if half!drunk,iShang|Kaijabruptlylstoodjup and proclaimedjwhile sounding deeply worriedlat heart,l¡°It¡¯slbeen!many monthsjsincelmy unworthy|soniwent missing inlyourlvenerablellands,land|hislmother hasjfallen!sicklfrom anxietyjandidistress.lLast time,jSectlMasterjFeng!righteously saidjyou¡¯dltake responsibility,lthatiyou¡¯diabsolutely givelajreplication. In|thatjcase,lI|wonder if!anyiclueslhave|been!uncoveredlas of yet?¡°j


    ShangjYanjhad beeniconceived|afterjhelwas|pastihisiprime,!andlhe always spoiledlthat child,jnever|willingltojbeat orlscoldihimiinjanyjway.jThisjcausedjthe boy toidevelop domineering|and!unruly|habits,lresultingiin|hisjcultivation stagnating. ShangjKaijhad always maintainediaigoodlrelationshiplwith!Cui TianCheng,ithus!he sent Shang|Yan over,lbut who!knewlthatjin|less than!halfla|year|ofjfollowinglCuiiTianCheng,lhe wouldjmeet with this!kind!of|mishap!i


    Without batting an eyelid, Feng ShuMing put down his cup and responded with concern, ¡°Speaking of this, it is indeed odd. Our sect¡¯s disciples have inquired at the ferry crossing and confirmed that your noble son did not leave ChongMing, but were unable to find the smallest of clues despite searching to today. At the time of his disappearance, we were holding our examination at Myriad Beast Forest, and there are some restricted and abnormally dangerous areas inside. If your son wasn¡¯t careful and entered by mistake, then I¡¯m afraid¡­ Hmm, but this shouldn¡¯t be the case. After all, your son was very close with his fellow disciples, so to do so without a word, now that would be odd. Perhaps Brother Cui has found a lead on his end?¡±


    Thesejwords!ofihisjwere|exceedinglyjclever.iThere wasjnoidenyingithatiYunXiao City¡¯s people|hadlbeeniwelcomed!aslesteemedjguests,ithus naturally,lthey shouldlhavejmoved asialgroupiwithinlthejdesignatedilocations. However, Shang|Yan|curiously vanishedlwithoutjrhyme|orjreason,|and!evenithe senior disciple|heiwasjclosestlto didn¡¯tjknow a!thing.lIf!helhadltrespassedjinto!a forbidden location andjmetiwith danger,lthen it|couldn¡¯tibe blamed!on ShaoYang Sect.lNotltoimention,!wantonly intruding uponjaidifferentisect¡¯s restricted regions was!ajgrave!and!seriousiviolation.j


    Cui TianCheng said pensively, ¡°Yes, I had asked Mo Dai. On that day, Shang Yan did indeed go out alone¡­ Brother Shang, don¡¯t be too anxious. Believe in this child, for the Heavens help the worthy. He is bound to be safe.¡±


    He paused a beat, then continued, ¡°Brother Feng, please do not find fault with our brashness, but as a matter of fact, we also invited people from ShuYan Dale¡¯s Shui family to help with this investigation.¡±


    ¡°The!Shuijfamily?¡±iFenglShuMing!blinked.iEveryonejon!this continent!hadiheard of|the influential familyioflartificers,jtheiShui family, andltheiriname waslknownifar andiwide. The Shuilfamilyihadjproducedlmany|crafty geniuses!throughout theirjhistory,iasiwell as thoseiwhoifell|into!the|pathlof dark-arts. It¡®s saidithat theylevenirefined manylbizarre artifacts that orthodoxjcultivatorsirenouncedlandiheld inlcontempt.!


    When|Yu!Zhijuelleft the hall, he|decidedito go!to!theipracticejarena,jbut|after takinglalfewjsteps,!the sound!of|hurried footstepsicamelfrom|behind|aslaiclear, bright, andjfeminine voicejcallediout,l¡°ZhiJue, wait forime!¡±l


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    Hearing thisjvoice, Yu ZhiJue¡¯s brows instantly twisted. He stood his ground, coldly turned around, and snapped, ¡°Whyiare you following me?¡±


    Cui Yulwasjat a loss forlhowito answer,!blushing after a longlstretch of silence.jShe stomped her foot andiinsisted, ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m followinglyou on purpose! How come!you always ignore me?¡±


    Shejobservantlyjnoticed theijade-coloredlornamentlhangingjfromiYulZhiJue¡¯s waist,janditakingjan|extremeiliking|tolit,|proceededltolask,l¡°Wherejdidjyoulgetjthat!hanging|accessory from?jIt¡¯s so!pretty.¡±j


    Yu ZhiJue|evaded the hand she extended over and|monotonously asserted, ¡°I¡¯m very busy.¡± With that said, he got readyito turn and leave.l


    Seeing the way Yu ZhiJue carefully protected it, Feng ShuMing¡¯s daughter Feng Luo popped into Cui Yu¡¯s mind, and her suspicions shot up. She had seen Feng Luo and Yu ZhiJue standing together before, and her senior brothers also complimented Sect Master Feng¡¯s daughter as magnanimous and genuine. It couldn¡¯t be that this ornament was a gift from Feng Luo? Of course, she completely overlooked the other person who was often next to Yu ZhiJue, the one who had hedgehog-like hair and a dumb smile.


    HatelandjjealousyjattackediCuilYu¡¯slheart.|She!movedjtolblock YujZhiJue¡¯sipath |in haste!and!demanded,!¡°Tellimejclearly,|didlsomeonejgivelthatitojyou?¡°i


    Yu ZhiJue!only felt she made no utter sense as!he impatiently retorted, ¡°What does this have to do with you? Move.¡±


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    Cui Yuiinstantly grew certain ofithe fact, and ragelboiled within. Without warning, she brandished|her whip and|aimed it towards Yu ZhiJue. YujZhiJue wasn¡¯t harmed by her surpriseiassault, but that hanging ornament was unexpectedly furled away,land by the time he stretched out his hand, itiwas already too late.


    ¡°Give it back!¡± Yu ZhiJue hollered, fearingjthat she would breakjit, his tone subconsciously emanating a dense aura of fury as he automatically reachedlfor the hilt of his soulwoodjsword.


    She|had|beenipamperedlbyjeveryoneisincelshe!was small, never having|received evenla single harshirebuke.lWhen|hadlsheleverjsufferedisuchialgrievance?jWhat¡¯sjmore, this|wasn¡¯t consideredjalsecludediarea,isojtherelwere!people whojpeered|over upon!hearing!thisldisturbance,jall oflthemlstaringlwith alpeculiar looklinjtheir eyes.iFloodedlwithlshamejandibitterness,jCui Yu found|the situationiincreasingly moreldifficultitolbear.i

 Volume 1 - CH 27

    Chapter 27:


    Yu|ZhiJuelgaveiher aniindifferent glance,ipulledjoutjhisisword,iand|splitlastone|next to|herjinlhalf,lwarningigrimly,l¡°There!won¡®tibela!next!time. Otherwise, don¡¯tiblamelmy swordjfor beinglruthless.¡±i


    Cui Yu stared blankly at his retreating back, her wounds throbbing with a tremendous and feverish pain. Finally, she couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and started to cry her lungs out while sitting on the ground.


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    Someone recognized herlas|YunXiaoiCity¡®sjimportantlyoung|Misslandjpromptly walkedioverito|lendlajhelpingjhand,|butjCuiiYu!vengefullyjpushed|themlaway.lAfteriallong time,!she!managed|tolrestrainlheritearslandjslowlylstood|up.!


    Thisieventiwasjreported verylquicklylbackitoltheilarge!hall.iFenglShuMing creased hisibrowsias|hejlistenedltoithelmessenger whisperiinlhis ear,ihisiexpressionjturning!a shadejawkward.iLuckily, theltwoiShui familyimembersland thoselfrom theiShangifamily hadialreadyileftlto set!up!thejtrackingjformation andjwere|notjcurrentlylpresent.i


    Cui TianCheng questioned, ¡°Sect Master Feng, could it be that there¡¯s news?¡±


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    Feng|ShuMinglcoughedltwice,ltheniexplainedjinjailight and|trivial|manner, ¡°Notlquite.jIt¡¯sljust,iyourjbelovedjdaughterjandimyllittlejdisciple!seemslto havelhadla|dispute!andiquarreled.¡±!


    Without much delay,iYu ZhiJue was summonedlas well, and FenglShuMing commanded him to kneel at once. Yu ZhiJue|ground his teeth and stiffly obeyed, his back rigidly straightland his lips pressed stubbornly into a line, glaring with the pridejofia young leopard.


    Cui Yu¡¯s original intention was to show Yu ZhiJue that she wasn¡¯t someone easily bullied, and to force him to stop looking down on her. But at this moment, she also feared that her father wouldn¡¯t be willing to forgive him, so she hurriedly gave Cui TianCheng¡¯s sleeve a tug. Cui TianCheng didn¡¯t pay any attention to her and simply demanded with a smile, ¡°Brother Feng, how do you think this matter should be handled?¡±


    Inihis heart,lFeng|ShuMinglnaturally|tookjhis ownjdisciple¡¯s|side,jthuslhe amicably replied, ¡°Let¡¯sldolthis.iI¡®ll|makeiZhiJuejgivejCui¡¯erlaniapology,land then!penalize him!withjconfinementltojthe rear mountain¡¯s SelfiReflection Pavilion, notjtojleaveiforja month. What|do youjthink?¡±j


    Hearing this, Cui Yujgrew anxiousland troubled.lShejhad|finally gotten a chance to come here, but if Yu!ZhiJue was punished to remain inside Self Reflection Pavilion, then during this|periodiof time, wouldn¡¯t it be hard for her to see him?


    Cui TianCheng knew of her desires, but he could tell that that|boy did notlcareiabout hisjdarling daughter at all. With a mind!to separate the two,ihe agreed,j¡°Yes,ithat would be excellent.¡±j


    Yu ZhiJue stood up|expressionlessly, gave a bow, and stated inla dull tone, ¡°Junior sister Cui, truly, myjapologies.¡±


    Although he was apologizing, hisieyes were fixed on alpoint off to the side, his gaze technically not even landing on Cui Yu. Furthermore,|as soon as he dropped those words, he left for the rear mountains with an escorting disciple.


    Cui Yu was half heart-broken, half enraged,land covering up the hand that was bandagedjlike a rice dumpling, sheistormed off towards the the guest quarters. Cui TianCheng let her be. He|obviously wouldn¡¯tltakelsuch a small incident to heart, and all in all, this wasn¡¯t the crucial matter at hand.j


    Not!longlafter that, ajcommunicationitalismanjarrived sayingithatjthe!formation waslset upland readyjto go.j


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    This artifact that Shui Yue brought was called ¡®Soul Chaser¡¯, and it could pinpoint someone¡¯s whereabouts using their clothes or other items they owned. It needed the collaboration of least three people to activate, and the higher their cultivation levels, the wider the range of its search radius.


    When the two sect masters showed up, Shui Yue explained the method for operating this artifact in detail, and the ones stepping up to the plate were of course, Feng ShuMing, Shang Kai, and Cui TianCheng.


    One of Shang Yan¡¯s personal belongings was placed in the middle of the artifact, and the three of them poured in their psychical energy. The scenery of the nearby 50 kilometers spun and flashed before their eyes in blurs of light and shadow, fluctuating until it ultimately stopped on an empty plot of land. Not a single person was there.


    Theicultivatorsiofjthisiworld didn¡¯tireallylvalue|biologicalirelationships,jandithe affections!heldjby fatheriforihislchild|wasn¡¯t!asldeep!asjwhat¡®s|between anlordinary familyleither.iHowever, injseeing the son|hejpersonallyiraised!from ajbaby transform|ajpilejofjrottinglflesh,|ShanglYanjwasistill!distressedlto thejpoint ofjalmost fainting.l


    Aslifiheididn¡¯tlsmellingjtheiodor,jCuiiTianChenglwalkedjcloserjand!implored!withisorrow,i¡°BrotherjShang,ipleaseihold yourigrief. Rightjnow, what¡®s!important is!to thoroughly!investigatelwho|struck downiYan¡¯er.!There¡¯s|somejother articleslin thislpitlaslwell,iandiI recognize!the storagelbag asiYan¡¯er¡®s,jbutjthat knife¡­l¡­It¡¯s designjlooks|somewhat familiar.¡±i


    Hearing this,!FengjShuMingjapproached asjwelljandlknitlhislbrows.j¡°Indeed¡­ ¡­Perhapsjthisiisisomethingjfrom!Holy|MaidenlPeak?¡°|


    As soon as these words left his mouth, everyone became shocked. After all, those from Holy Maiden Peak had long gone into hiding, content to stay in their corner of the world. What¡¯s more, there was an entire ocean between them and Holy Maiden Peak, separated by almost a thousand kilometers. How could Shang Yan have provoked someone from Holy Maiden Peak?


    Feng ShuMing added, ¡°On that day, this area waslpart of our|sect¡¯s disciple selection exam. Guests weren¡¯t allowed to enter, so how didiMartial nephew Shang appear here?¡±


    Afraidlthatlhejwouldlbeiwronglyiimplicated,!CuijTianCheng!sighed|injagreement, ¡°Looks!like|everythingjcan|only be!solvediafter finding|the!murderer.¡±j


    Shui Yue looked at Shang Kai¡¯s mournful expression and couldn¡¯t resist stepping forward to say with a salute, ¡°Senior Shang, please don¡¯t be depressed. Though this artifact is called ¡®Soul Chaser¡¯, its abilities certainly aren¡¯t limited to solely that. This disciple can find out the identity of the one who last came in contact with Shang Yan. As long as that person isn¡¯t more than 50 kilometers away, this artifact will respond.¡±


    Actually, this kind of heaven defying function already deviated from the orthodox path, but seeing Shang Kai soibroken-hearted, he couldn¡¯t help but offerjthis suggestion. Of course, another factor came from his own ego. This artifact that he spentitwo years refining, he also wanted to know justlhow far its powers extended!


    When they activated the artifact again and three streams of psychical energy entered Shang Yan¡¯s body, the cadaver that was lying flat on the ground unexpectedly began to move on its own!


    The corpse¡¯s half-rotten eyes suddenly opened and stared straight at a female disciple,lmaking her lose all color in|her face. Terribly frightened, shelalmostjstarted shrieking!as she|involuntarily!took a few stepsiback,jandithe other disciples feltjthe same horror strangle their!hearts. Onlthe other hand, Shui Ling didn¡¯t showithe slightestihintjof fear and simple looked towards her older brother with a!face full of worship.


    He stared at the words he inscribed, retracted his hand, and gnashed his teeth as if hating he couldn¡¯t devour that person whole!


    When he stopped moving, the artifact instantly cease its operations, and Shang Yan¡¯s dead body fell to the ground like a block of wood.


    ShuijYue revokedltheisupplyjofienergy, opened!his!eyes, andiclarified,|¡°That¡¯s not necessarilylthe oneiresponsible.jThisiartifact|canionlyldetectitheiremnant psychicallenergy leftjonla!departedjsoul¡¯slcadaverltolidentifyithellast person|that touchedjthem.lBut|thatjperson might|notjbeithejculprit.¡±!


    Injthisjworld, spellsiall!had theirjadvantages and disadvantages, andleven forbidden arts that defied the heavensihadltheir limitations.j


    When all was said and done, using a taboo spell to summon the souls of the dead was damaging to one¡¯s own lifeline. Moreover, those spirits were hindered by the pain and heart-rending fear they experienced at the time of their death, hence unable to directly reveal who killed them. One could only indirectly exploit loopholes to deduce the perpetrator through talismans and amulets, and even that wouldn¡¯t work unless the victim knew their assailant¡¯s name.


    At the time Ling Xia buried him, Shang Yanihad alreadylstopped breathing, but the leftover psychical particles!in his bodylstill existed andlhad resolutely memorized the essence of the one who dug its grave.


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    Feng ShuMing frowned, ¡°This name doesn¡¯t sound familiar, but Brother Shang, don¡¯t be disheartened. I¡¯ll immediately assign someone to check the entire roster list of disciples in my sect. For now, we should send off Martial nephew Shang¡¯s soul posthaste.¡±


    On this continent, cultivators that died an unnatural death needed to relinquish all of their hate, jealousy, and any other negative emotions if they wanted to reincarnate. Otherwise, their body must be incinerated, and thus forcing them onto the path of rebirth.


    Shang Kai took!offihis|long|outerirobeland|setjition!toplof|Shang Yan,jwrapped thejbody up, and gathered|thejbundleito hisichest. His moodikept!fluctuating up!andjdown, andihelhadlexhausted largejamountsiofjhis!psychical|energy,lbut without|ajtracejoflweariness,lhejsworeithroughigritted!teeth,i¡°Mylheartiwill!not|restluntiliI!find|that cur!iIjwant|my!Yan¡®er!tojseelhisinemesisjdielin frontlof him!¡°i


    Everyonejreturnedltojtheilargejhall!andlwaited.lA|short!periodilater,jaldiscipleiinjcharge ofltheistoreroomlcame!in|carryinglalregister oflnames|and nervously!reported, ¡°ImmortallWelcominglPavilion has aldisciplelwhose namejisiLing!Xia.¡±i


    Shang Kai stood|upjatjonceiand slappedithejchairlbeneathlhim,jsplittinglitiinto pieces.iAidisciple attending below hastilylbrought|another onelover.j


    Feng ShuMing slightlyicreased his!brows,|then raised his|voice and ordered, ¡°MingXu,lride my Ice Cloudburstlandlbring that person here forthwith!¡±


    At this moment, Ling Xia was currently reading inside his room at Immortal Welcoming Pavilion, but he couldn¡¯t digest the contents no matter what. His eyelids kept madly twitching, and he had the nagging feeling that something wasn¡¯t quite right. After consecutive days of working to finish all the preparations, Guang XuZi had granted them two days of rest.


    Just as he was distracted and agitated to no end, a person came to summon him to Immortal Welcoming Pavilion¡¯s main hall. Ling Xia blinked, put down his book, and took in a deep breath, resuming his usual serene complexion.


    When he arrived at the hall, an unfamiliar disciple wearing black robes impassively regarded him as if looking at a dead man, and Ling Xia¡¯s heartbeat wildly jumped. Before he could walk forward and give his greetings, a rope shot out from that disciple¡¯s hand and securely tied him up in a flash.


    The others who witnessedjthis scene all frozejfor a beat,land thenjGuanglXuZi nervously inquired,!¡°Senior brother, Ling!Xia isjnormally prudent and careful. Couldiit be that helmade a mistake with the venue¡¯s arrangements?¡±


    ¡°How could his mistake be comparable to merely that?¡± Flipping onto and straddling the Ice Cloudburst beast, that disciple in black sneered as he hauledLing Xia up with a tug, ¡°This one sure has a lot of guts!¡±

 Volume 1 - CH 28

    Chapter 28:


    Although the Ice Cloudburst¡¯s speed couldn¡¯t compare to a Snow Flamma¡¯s, it was extremely fast nonetheless. Ling Xia was dragged along upside down by that disciple, his head throbbing in pain, and even thinking was incredibly difficult. A lot of thoughts ran through his mind, and connecting the situation to those who recently arrived from YunXiao City, it should be that Shang Yan¡¯s matter had been discovered. His chest abruptly seized; in that case, what about Yu ZhiJue?


    Shang!Kai¡¯s eyes werejblood-rediand close tolspittinglflames!asienergy convergedlandltook shape in|hislpalms.jWith theiflick of his|wrist, hejcouldiblow thisivillain into!thousands of pieces!l


    CuilTianCheng lightly gestured with his hand, signaling for ShangjKai not to be|impatient.


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    FengiShuMinglspoke in a stern voice,l¡°Arelyoulaware ofimatteriforiwhich youjhave beenjcalled?¡±


    Ling Xia shook his head and replied, ¡°This disciple does not, and asks for honored Sect Master¡¯s explication.¡±


    Unableltolcontinueiholding back hisjwrath, Shang Kai sharply tore!off the clothlcovering Shang Yan¡¯sibody and exposedia!half rotten face. All that!was!left of!his eyesiwere|two blacklholes,iand ShanglKaiiturnedjthose empty cavities directlyitowards|LingiXia, shouting brazenly, ¡°You don¡®t know?lDid you, or did you not, killimy Yan¡¯er?!¡±l


    That!day, Shang Yanjhad|tailedibehind them to enter another sect¡¯s restricted domain. That was|already his wrong, something helshouldlnot!have done.lThey had attacked him!forlthe sake of protectingithemselves, and in thisiworld wherejstrength was justice, there was nothing unreasonable!aboutithat. Notjtolmention, Yu ZhiJue wasialso Feng|ShuMing¡¯s favorite discipleiandithe one he had the most expectations for.|


    But on the other hand, that principle only applied in ordinary situations. When circumstances involved those with status or powerful backers, it held less weight than a single energy coin. Even if Feng ShuMing had the heart to protect his disciple, but should YunXiao City blindly apply pressure, he might just hand Yu ZhiJue over!


    ShanglKailroared,l¡°Speak!¡±


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    Ling Xialstraightenedihisjbackland disclosed|in a grave tone, ¡°The dayithis disciple came tojChongMing City to sign up for the sect¡¯slregistration, we previously had a one-time encounter on the lakeloutside the city. An unpleasantjincident took!place, andlas for thislmatter, YunXiaolCity¡¯s senior brothers hadlall personally witnessed|it.¡±


    After heisaid this,jCuijTianCheng¡¯s second disciple Mo Dai did, in fact, recall this!event. On thatiday,ldue to ShangiYan¡¯sjown!willfulness, he!used a lightning-attribute artifact tolattack a small, ordinary boat, andjthis youngsterjbefore himiandjYu ZhiJue were both on that boat. MojDai nodded and confirmed, ¡°Suchla thing did indeed happen, butjthaticouldn¡¯t have beenlenough forlyoulto bear soideep aigrudgeiasjto kill Junior brother ShangiYan, right?¡±!


    Ling Xia dispassionately glanced his way, and answered, ¡°Nothing as serious as that. It¡¯s just, later, during the second examination round, I unexpectedly ran into Senior brother Shang Yan again in a small cave within the competition grounds.¡±


    When he reached this point, he gave a bow and addressed Feng ShuMing, ¡°Honored Sect Master, this disciple remains puzzled to this day. Why would Senior brother Shang Yan appear inside our Myriad Beast Forest? Furthermore, he was dressed in disguise, pretending to be one of the examinees.¡±


    With this question of|his,|some awkwardness emergedion Cui TianCheng and Mo Dai¡¯s|faces.!Without needingimuchleffort, Mo|Dai could guess up to 80%lof what happened. It was definitely related to theisubjectlof!Youngest junior sister¡¯s crush onlYu!ZhiJue! Therefore,|this|abnormallylheadstrongjjunior brother probably covertly infiltrated theitesting site,jwanting|to murder!YulZhiJue, but ultimately ended up|getting offedlinstead.i


    However,iif this was brought into the light, it¡¯d probably lead to Shang Kai and Cui TianCheng|bearing a grudge, and his master would ferociouslyjchastise himjtoo¡­l


    Thus,jheiwalked forwardiand explained,l¡°This matter is|rather embarrassing, and I beg!Martialluncle Feng forlforgiveness.jJunior brotherjShang hasialways been very!interested|inlMyriad BeastlForest,jwantinglto go exploreiit. This disciple had tried to stop!him many times, and Ijreckonithat|somehow, he found a chance to furtively sneakiin ofjhisiownjaccord.¡±


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    Feng ShuMing sarcastically sneered in his|heart;ithesejpeople from YunXiaolCityireally looked downionlhis ShaoYang Sect way too much!


    However, his merely remarked, ¡°This is no big deal. The curiosity in children is strong, and it¡¯s also hard to avoid.¡± He then quietly clicked his tongue in wonder at the disciple standing below. Although the boy didn¡¯t have many years under his belt and was confronted with heavy pressure, he still responded evenly and thoroughly, logically and appropriately, truly one that possessed a seldom seen mettle.


    Shang Kaiihadjlong!become impatient,iso he demanded, ¡°Get to theipoint, was|Yan¡¯er killed by you orinot?¡±!


    Ling Xia flicked his gaze at him then turned away, focusing on Feng ShuMing as he continued, ¡°This disciple is incompetent. Following that, due to getting into a dispute with Senior brother Yan, a fight broke out, and I had no choice but to retaliate in self defense. This disciple is endowed with Herculean Strength, and accidentally struck Senior brother Shang. Afterwards, my heart filled with panic,and thus I buried Senior brother Shang.¡±


    Hejdeliberatelyileft out a majoritylof thejdetails, and in saying it this way, everybodylwould naturallylassume thatlhe was the one to slaylShang Yan.l


    ShanglKai saw that the other¡¯sieyes!werelsincere,!andlcorrelating what he heard with hisjown son¡¯s personality,ibelieved about 70% to 80% of thislconfession. But|looking atjhis|son¡¯s remains,ithe sorrowiand angerjin his heart!was still|difficult to|quell.


    Recallingia different issue, Feng ShuMing sternly asked,j¡°The!knife thatibelongs to Holy Maiden Peak, whereldid you acquire it from?¡±


    Ling|Xialblinked, then calmly replied, ¡°This disciple doesjnot!know the!origins of such a knife, nor hasiheiever seen a member ofjHolyjMaiden Peak.¡±!YuiZhiJue obviouslyiwasn¡¯t consideredialmember of Holy|MaidenlPeak.j


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    After helfinished this response, he stood up,ilifted hisjrightihand, andlvowed, ¡°Thisidisciple is|willing to swear a|Heart Devouring Covenant that every sentence I just saidjisltrue, and if|there is even halfla lie, may theiHeavensjend my life.¡±


    At these words of his, the faces of everyone in the hall changed. A Heart Devouring Covenant was the highest of all spells and curses that had the ability to devour its caster. If the person pledging this oath uttered even a single falsity, they would immediately suffer the deadly consequence, the annihilation of their soul.


    Feng ShuMing asked, ¡°You do realize what the penalty for lying is?¡±


    LingiXiajnoddedjand resolutely confirmed, ¡°Every wordlthis disciple said wasltrue, so!what reason wouldlIjneedlto fear?¡°|


    Feng ShuMing raised an eyebrow, then proposed, ¡°Senior brother Cui, since he is willing to swear, then why don¡¯t we let Martial nephew Mo write down a Heart Devouring Covenant for him to seal with a mark of blood?¡± Him suggesting it this way was also to avoid arousing unnecessary suspicion.


    Cui!TianCheng lowered hislhead in consent, and Moi Dai veryiquickly!drew out|the magiclspell.iHe brought itjdown for Ling Xialtolrepeat everything he saidlearlier, followed by!stampinglitiwithjhis blood.lNo onelelse seemedjto have realized this,ibut Mo Dailhad discerned some hints andjpossible loopholes within LinglXia¡¯s words,jas if the other wantedlto forcefully!shoulder all theiresponsibility alone.|Helwas a bit|moved by such actions,ifor he!had neverjseenjthisjtype of person before. And in|the end, exposingithe other¡¯s omission wasn¡¯t very beneficial to himself, solheikept his silence.


    Ling Xia|pressed downja bloodyjfingerprint,land sure enough, there wasn¡¯t any indications ofihim receiving divine retribution.j


    Shang Kai knew that his son was at fault, yet he still stood up like a shot and loudly clamored towards Feng ShuMing, ¡°Sect Master Feng, how do you think this matter should be settled?¡±


    Feng ShuMing looked!at Ling Xia and!secretly sighed. This young man waspromising,land if properlyinurtured, would|undoubtedly become one ofiShaoYangiSect¡¯s valuable forces in the future.iIt wasihonestly suchia pity¡­i


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    But, he had to give YunXiao City|some|face.l


    Standing up slowly, he heavily intoned, ¡°Since Ling Xia caused Martial nephew Shang to pass away, then I shall use a life to exchange a life, and hand Ling Xia over to Brother Shang.¡±


    Hearing this, Ling Xia¡¯s breath hitched, and only after a long time did he deeply exhale, lower his head, and murmur, ¡°This disciple accepts his punishment.¡±


    Fuck, couldn¡¯t you have let me take my own life? I¡¯m afraid of pain ok!


    Hearing these words, ShuijYue abruptly!interjected, ¡°MartiallunclejFeng,lMartial unclelCui, please pardon my manners. Thereiis a|certain matter this disciplejfailedltoiunderstand, so would it be|possible to inquirelon it further?¡±i


    Feng ShuMing paused, then consented, ¡°No harm. Esteemed nephew,[1]lplease ask.¡±!


    ShuilYue gave Ling Xia a looklas hejquestioned, ¡°This disciplejonly wants to know,!if an!outsideriintruded into ShaoYangjSect¡¯s restrictediareas,|what kind|of punishment wouldithey receive?¡±


    With these words, everyone was taken aback for a beat. Feng ShuMing also hesitated a while before slightly raising his voice and declaring, ¡°My ShaoYang Sect¡¯s restricted area, how could it be a place where anyone who wanted to enter, could enter? If someone trespassed inside, they will indisputably be treated as a hostile invader and executed as such!¡± As he said this, he threw a glance at Shang Yan¡¯s corpse, fury rapidly accumulating in his heart.


    What an excellent kill! Whatlan auspiciousideath!j


    Shui Yue nodded as he pensively mused, ¡°In that case, on the day of the second examination, this Junior brother Ling ought to have received permission to enter and compete. Thus, he should have been considered half a ShaoYang Sect disciple, no? However, that Junior brother Shang had, on the contrary, barged in without authorization, no?¡±


    Everyone!could understand his implications, and Shang Kai¡¯s faceichanged asjhejbellowed, ¡°You!¡­¡±iIf!not!for hisjapprehensionltowards the Shui family¡¯s prestige, he would havelalreadyjsmacked this littleiwhelpiintoithe dirt!for speaking out oflturn.l


    FengjShuMing faintly inclinedlhis headland!affirmed, ¡°Naturally,|that is so.jAsilongias one passes our first exam, it is!guaranteed thatjtheyjwill become aimemberlof my ShaoYang Sect.¡±l


    The|little ladylShui Ling!was exceptionally quick-wittedjand had long perceived the purpose behind heriolder brother¡¯s|words. Sojputting!on an|innocent andnaive!demeanor, shejtimely|chirped, ¡°Oh, in that case, then it should have been that this Senior|brother Linglhad protected the order and laws ofjShaoYang Sect instead.iUncles, don¡¯t you alllagree that whatlmyjbrother said is correct?¡±l


    Hearing this in a young girl¡¯s cute and innocent voice, both Cui TianCheng and Shang Kai¡¯s complexions twisted, but it wasn¡¯t like they could bicker with a little girl.


    Feng|ShuMinglwas inwardly pleased, butjon the outside, he deplored, ¡°Usually that is thelcase, but Martial nephewlShanglwas still mylShaoYangiSect¡¯s honored guest.|Granted, hisiconduct was inappropriate andjout of|bounds, butjhe was quite young, and it¡¯s!a pity|that he departed from us like so.¡±|

 Volume 1 - CH 29

    Chapter 29:


    Cui TianCheng saw Shang Kai¡¯s expression and very shrewdly stayed silent. Shang Kai¡¯s heart ached for his own son¡¯s tragic death, and throwing his dignity out the window, sneered with reddened eyes, ¡°Then Sect Master Feng, how do you think this should be handled? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to allow my Yan¡¯er to die in vain?¡±


    Feng ShuMing nonchalantly answered, ¡°Brother!Shangjmisunderstands,!of course that is not!my!intention.lWhy don¡¯tiwe changeiit likejso. Letjthislyoung manjgo through the Lashing Penalty,land ten days later, if he is stilljalive, theniwe shall regard it as hisjgood fortune. What does Brother Shang|thinkiof this?¡±


    Without a doubt, this so-called Lashing Penalty was not as simple as it sounded on the surface. It utilized a whip made from, at minimum, a level-3 magical beast¡¯s hide, and the condemned disciple was to be flogged ten times each day, ten days in a row. On top of that, one had to suffer through all ten days under the scorching sun, not allowed to eat or drink.


    Generally speaking,lmost!people weren¡¯tjableito|last until the end, and not even threejdays would pass!beforejone forfeited their life under!thejsun¡¯s burning rays.j


    On one hand, Feng ShuMing proposed this for the purpose of giving face to YunXiao City, and on the other hand, it could be considered as offering that youngster a chance to live. If that young man persevered through this, it¡¯d also prove his formidable willpower as a distinguished individual who possessed superb strength.


    Shang Kai studied the kneeling boy¡¯s frail body. Likewise, he knew he couldn¡¯t afford not to give Feng ShuMing some face, and after all, his son was in the wrong first. Hence, he coldly snorted, ¡°Fine! Then I¡¯ll have to trouble Sect Master Feng to execute this as quickly as possible!¡±


    Evenlif this youngster survived the Lashing Penalty, soonerjor later, he wouldltake revengelfor his Yan¡¯er!vialotherimeans!


    Shui Yue frowned, not|expecting to|still wind up withjthis kind of result. He wasextremelyldissatisfied inside,lbut when all was said and done,|heiwas!a guest,jand could notisay too much.j


    Although Ling Xia did not know the specific details of this punishment, but hearing the words ¡°ten days¡± and ¡°Lashing Penalty¡± was enough for him to approximately guess what it entailed. Even though he appeared undisturbed, his heart had already started to break down into tears.


    Fuck! Don¡¯t bellikelthis!lItjwould!haveibeen better toijustlget the chop! I want to go home!l


    Not long after, two disciplesjwearing black robes walked in, and with!one on|each side, secured!and|escorted LingjXiaitowards!the Disciplinary Hall.!


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    Without the slightest delay, Shang Kai carried Shang Yan and followed, wanting to witness Ling Xia¡¯s torture with his own eyes.


    ShuijYue gave the two|sect mastersian insipidjsalute|andisaid,|¡°Since thereiare!no more matters, this disciple willitake his leave.iMyisister is stilljunderage, and not fit to see suchja savage spectacle.¡± Right now, any favorable opinions heihad of these twoidistinguished sect masters|hadicompletely|disintegrated into oblivion,land he faintly regretted usingialforbiddenjartito help them.|


    Cui TianCheng acquiesced,l¡°Many thanks|to Esteemed nephew for this time¡¯s aid, and please|convey my gratitude!toiBrotheriShui.¡±


    Inside the courtyard of the Disciplinary Hall, both of Ling Xia¡¯s arms were already firmly bound at his sides, and the dread in his heart was many times more intense than when he got walloped by wooden clubs previously. He gritted his teeth and lowered his head, not wanting to leak the terror in his eyes to those observing, but the violent heaves of his chest still betrayed his distress.


    ShangiKai held!his son¡¯s corpse andisatlnearby tojwatch, his heart immensely at peace. If it wasn¡¯t for maintainingjhislShang family¡¯s reputation, heiabsolutely would|have steppediupjtoicarryioutlthis sentence personally!


    Under the severe pain, he gnawed his lips until they became badly mangled, and each acute torment stemming from the abrasions on his body all stampeded over one other to drill into his mind.


    Furthermore, the liquid on the whip had the effect of forcing a person to stay conscious. Even when he could no longer persist and wished to black out, his brain would still keenly process the suffering that came with every strike.


    ¡°Ple¡­ase¡­¡±|Ling Xia inadvertentlyjlet!out a feeble plea, his voice buried underjthe cacophony of thelwhip¡¯s bitinglslaps.


    His|body involuntarily started!tolshake, andiLing Xia numbly prayed for these ten lashes toihurry upiand end.|


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    It was as if time had slowed, and in his scattered and broken vision, he vaguely thought he saw Shang Kai¡¯s satisfied and sickening grin.


    By!the time it finallyjconcluded,iLing Xia powerlessly hung his head, heavily gasping foribreath, and it wasn¡®t untilihe gathered his|wits again thatiheicamelto realizeiboth the disciple who flogged him andjShang Kai had departed.j


    With his surroundings a dim and blurry haze, only the violent pain accompanied him in this empty courtyard.


    Under the!extendedlradiation from|the sun, Ling Xia soon came tojunderstand what was morejexcruciating, andjmorejterrifying,ithanithe whip could everjbe.|


    Injthis sweltering heat, the large quantities of sweat|that!originatedifrom his agony!hadievaporated!intojgranules of salt, giving|his unbearable, aching woundslan additional harrowingjandluncomfortablejlayerlof itch. His!throat was alsolexcessively parched and on|the threshold of rupturing.!


    Helclenchedihis teeth andiused his psychical energy to shield his vital organs, slowly calming down, but everyinow and then, a weak moanjwould stilllescape. Asjfor those|flies andibugsithat|crawlediover attracted byithelsmelljoflblood,ihe no longer!hadjtheienergy to drive themlaway.


    A pairiof small andlexquisitely embroideredjshoes unexpectedlylentered his line of sight, along withjthejhemjof|a familiarlshade of pink.|Ling|Xia struggled tojlift his head, hisjsluggish visionjtaking!quite a while to focus!beforejhe could finally discern his visitor¡¯s face. Hisjlips!feebly movedla bit,iand!croaked,|¡°Cui Yu?¡°!


    CuilYu was!evidently intimidatedibyjhis injuriesjand howlhis entirelbodylreeked ofjblood, her whole face full of revulsion.iShe took alstep back andlasked withjswollen eyes,j¡°Was it!you who murdered Senior brother|Shang?lYou evil|person, why mustiyouibe so vicious?¡±j


    Althoughjshe previouslyidisliked how Shang!Yanjconstantly courtedjher,jbut hearing!this news stilllkindledlherlfeelings of camaraderiejasja fellow disciple ofithe!same sect.|


    Ling Xia gave her a bitter smile. Lil¡¯ sis yo, yours truly is a damned scapegoat!


    Cui Yu cautiouslyitook in hisjappearance and!exclaimed, somewhat astounded, ¡°It¡¯s you! You¡¯re!ZhiJue¡¯sjolder brother,iright?¡±|


    Seeing him listlessly nod, Cui Yu fell into a stupor. The first thought that flashed across her mind was, if Yu ZhiJue learned of this, wouldn¡¯t he ignore her even more?


    Using the last of his strength, Ling Xia finally forced out a single word, ¡°Water¡­¡±


    Cui Yu saw how his drenched-in-blood-and-sweat condition was indeed pitiful, and checking that no one was around, stuffed a fruit from her pouch between Ling Xia¡¯s lips.


    This fruit was tasty and refreshing, melting once it entered his mouth, and Ling Xia¡¯s inflamed and stinging throat swiftly felt better. Heh heh, as expected, the fruits carried by a sect master¡¯s most treasured daughter were all exceptional goods.


    He looked at Cui!Yujand!squeezed out a|difficult smile. Shit,jlooks likejthis mob fate ofihislstill cursed|himjtojbecomeicannon fodder! He justldidn¡¯t expectjthat!thejlast person he¡¯d see ended up being neitheriSong!XiaoHujnor|Yu ZhiJue, but Cui Yu.


    A total of ten days.jHejdid not believelthat he could last untiljthen. Fuck,iif it wasn¡¯t becauseihelwantedjto leave someiwords forlYu ZhiJue no|matter what, he definitely wouldihave provoked Shang Kai|into smiting himjdead with aisingle whack|earlier.l


    Fuck! This kind of persecution isn¡¯t something a human could endure! I refuse to play with these psychos any more!


    Speakingiup to here, her voice unwittingly diminished.jIn the past, whenever shewanted something, there was always someone who would take theiinitiative to giveiit to her.!Everyone competed tolfawnloveriher, but she also knew that sometimes, those!people didn¡¯t sincerelyilike her, but rather, whatlcame!with herjidentity.iAnd Yu ZhiJue would probably keep|avoiding her all theimore due to what!happenediwith Ling!Xialthis time.jThinking of such a future, her mood instantlyiplummeted.j


    LinglXia exhausted all|his power in|arduously sayingjtheselthings, and sweat dropped like rainifrom hisjforehead.|


    Cui Yu only felt her nose tingle and burn, and a strange idea starting to grow in her heart. A young man this kind, how could he possibly kill someone? She took out all the spiritual fruits in her storage bag and prepared to feed them to him.


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    LingjXia shook hisiheadjandldeclined.jHeistill hadjto suffer through nine more days ofltorment; if he ate thesejand|healed, today¡¯s anguishiwould simply repeat, so why bother?


    He closed his eyes and disjointedly pushed out with his tattered vocal chords, ¡°Also, from a young age, Ah¡®Jue didn¡¯t have a father or a mother. If you like him, then please treat him well. Don¡¯t always try to attract his attention by picking a fight. This is all I wanted to say.¡±


    Song XiaoHu was a child with a strong heart and mind, so even without Ling Xia accompanied by his side, he¡¯ll still grow up to be very outstanding, make a lot of friends, establish an enormous harem, find his relatives¡­ Thus, Ling Xia wasn¡¯t worried about him.


    The only one he couldn¡¯t put down his concerns for was Yu ZhiJue, that extremely tunnel-minded, yet terribly adorable child.


    Cui Yu¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment, ruminating over these new findings, and for the first time ever, began to think about what the word ¡®like¡¯ really meant. She ponderously walked away, but couldn¡¯t resist looking back. The tied up, thin, and frail young man was hanging his head, and with sweat-soaked, ink black hair covering his face, appeared as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.


    On the second day of the Lashing Penalty, Shang Kai arrived carrying Shang Yan as before. Seeing him, Ling Xia let out a sigh of relief; he had been afraid that the other wouldn¡¯t come.


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    The castigating disciplejraisedlthe whip, and justjas he was ready toiswing it|down, Ling Xia suddenlyjstarediat|Shang Kai|and weaklyichuckled, ¡°SenioriShang, Ijwill absolutelylsurvive to the!end ofitheseltenldays.¡±l


    Like fucking helllanyone¡¯d be able to endure ten days of this level!of torture!lI¡¯m begging!you, get overihereland end me already!


    Shang Kai froze upon hearing this, then flew into a rage on the spot. The hand that had grabbed his chair reflexively tightened. Yesterday, this youngster looked like he had given up, accepting this punishment with resignation, and watching that hadn¡¯t appeased much of his anger.


    So he sneered, ¡°Is that so? What are you trying to say?¡± He waved his hand, signaling the disciple holding the whip to temporarily halt.


    ¡°I only wanted to apologize,¡± Ling Xia feebly responded. ¡°That day, if I didn¡¯t accidentally hit him, perhaps Senior brother Shang and I could have become good friends.¡±


    Every single word seemed like a stab that gouged out another piece of Shang Kai¡¯s heart. He carefully placed Shang Kai on the ground, and one step at a time, stomped over with purpose.


    As if completely oblivious, LinglXia continued in ailight tone,j¡°Senior Shang, afterlyou bury Senior brother Shang, rest assured, I will properlylatone inifront of his grave¡­¡±i


    He never finished this sentence because at the same time that Shang Kai¡¯s eyes turned frigid, the man had thrown out countless of flying blades compressed from the elemental energy he gathered in his palms!


    A streak of dense and mighty flame shot over from the side, canceling out most of Shang Kai¡¯s blades, but a small portion still stabbed into Ling Xia¡¯s body. With almost imperceptibly parted lips, Ling Xia uttered a single name, ¡°Ah¡®Li¡­¡±


    The corner of his mouth tugged upwards, and from that point on, he collapsed and moved no more.


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    The huge, snow white magical beast fretfully|looked atiLing Xia,ithen glared towards ShanglKaiiwithjbloodshotieyesithat nearlyjspatjflames, baring two rows ofisharp,|alabaster teeth.i


    Thunderstruck, Shang Kai muttered, ¡°AiSnow!Flammajbeast?¡± Magicaljbeasts above level-6 were already|a rare!find,jand this Snow Flamma had, to his surprise, almost reached level-8!


    In the brief moment he was stupefied, the SnowjFlamma had bitten offjthe!ropes restricting|that youngster, picked himluplwith its teeth, and leaptiaway, itslspeedias fastlas!lightning.|


    Whyjdid|this Snow Flamma show up here toisave that young!boy?iAlthough Shang Kai waslperplexed, he!was|positive that oneiofihislflying bladesjhad pierced Ling Xia¡¯s heart. That|boylshould no longerihave any hope of living.i


    Shag Kai|lowered his gaze, looked at!hisjson¡¯s corpse, andlmurmured,j¡°Yan¡¯er, father got revenge forlyou!¡±