VHSTS CH3

As the day wore on, the twenty-four new disciples took turns ascending the stage to spar. Since none of them had any foundation in spiritual power, these matches were completely uninteresting. Most of the formal disciples watched with sheer boredom; when Li Xiuchen stepped onto the stage, many didn’t even spare him a single glance.

Only Luo Jianqing’s gaze remained fixed steadily on this plain-looking youth.

In his past life, Luo Jianqing had never understood how a boy with such ordinary spiritual roots could overpower the crowd in the Inter-Peak Grand Competition and claim second place. Even though the other disciples also lacked spiritual power, quite a few of them came from prominent cultivation clans and had learned martial combat techniques since childhood, making their strength far superior to that of ordinary people.

Yet, out of everyone, only Li Xiuchen had somehow reached the Qi Refining stage within ten days!

Across the Thirty-Six Prefectures, human cultivators were divided into nine major realms: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Formation, Body Integration, Tribulation Transcendence, Mahayana, and Deity Transformation. Each major realm was further split into three minor stages—early, middle, and late—with the sole exception of Qi Refining, which was divided directly into nine tiers, from the first tier of Qi Refining to the ninth.

In his previous life, out of the twenty-three disciples present (excluding the deceased Liu Xiaoxiao), only Li Xiuchen, who possessed the worst aptitude, had reached the Qi Refining stage! Moreover, Li Xiuchen came from an impoverished background and lacked the privileged cultivation environment the clan disciples had grown up with. It was practically a fantasy tale.

Now, after reading Seeking Immortality, Luo Jianqing finally understood the reason.

How had the book described him earlier? Li Xiuchen was practically the child of destiny!

Look up to find immortal herbs, look down to encounter spirit beasts—that was written specifically for him.

Li Xiuchen and the other new disciples had been temporarily assigned to Taihua Mountain’s Outer Sect for ten days of cultivation. According to Seeking Immortality, due to the tragic death of his childhood sweetheart, Li Xiuchen resolved to work hard and cultivated diligently every day. However, his talent was simply too poor; eight days of his cultivation yielded worse results than a single day for others. Thus, on the night before the Inter-Peak Grand Competition was set to begin, he went to the back mountain to clear his head, and then… stepped right onto a medicinal pill!

A Spirit-Fusing Pill.

This was considered the most ordinary of pills, likely dropped accidentally by some alchemist on Taihua Mountain and stumbled upon by Li Xiuchen.

A Spirit-Fusing Pill was a dime-a-dozen first-grade pill; even if ten thousand of them were placed before Luo Jianqing, he wouldn’t spare them a second look. However, nothing could withstand that dazzling protagonist halo! It was a Spirit-Fusing Pill, alright, yet it happened to be a Heaven-grade Spirit-Fusing Pill! After consuming it, Li Xiuchen spent a mere single night cleansing his marrow and refining his essence, officially stepping into the first tier of Qi Refining!

When Luo Jianqing had read up to that part in the book: “…”

A Heaven-grade Spirit-Fusing Pill!

On all of Taihua Mountain, only Peak Master Xuanyuzi Zunzhe¹Zunzhe (尊者): Literally “Venerable One” or “Exalted One.” A prestigious title of respect reserved for peak masters, supreme elders, or cultivators of immense power and standing. of Qinglan Peak was capable of concocting such a thing. Yet, how could a grandmaster alchemist capable of refining Heaven-grade pills possibly go out of her way to refine a first-grade Spirit-Fusing Pill? And was the esteemed elder really so bored that she would take a stroll through the Outer Sect disciples’ back mountain and casually scatter Heaven-grade pills along the way?

Where was the logic?! Where was the reason?! It made no sense whatsoever!

Therefore, three days ago, Luo Jianqing had quietly left Yuxiao Peak and thoroughly searched the back mountain of the Outer Sect disciples.

While Li Xiuchen had simply stepped onto that Heaven-grade pill in passing, Luo Jianqing had to turn the entire back mountain upside down, searching for a whole night before finally finding that gleaming golden pill. Such was the difference in treatment—the Heavenly Dao’s heart was so biased you couldn’t even see its face straight!

Checking the Heaven-grade Spirit-Fusing Pill stored inside his storage ring with his spiritual sense, Luo Jianqing curved his thin lips slightly, blooming into a tranquil, otherworldly smile. His eyebrows, like distant ink-painted hills, relaxed gently, and his phoenix eyes curved slightly like crescent moons. Many female disciples below the stage felt their hearts flutter in infatuation, yet Luo Jianqing kept his gaze locked onto the martial arena without a moment’s distraction.

So tell me, without the Spirit-Fusing Pill, how will you—a mere mortal—defeat your opponents?

Luo Jianqing tapped his slender, jade-like fingers lightly on the dark iron desk, narrowing his eyes with a deep, meaningful smile.

Meanwhile, up on the arena stage, Li Xiuchen was so frustrated and restless that he almost wished he could transmigrate back just to read that damned Seeking Immortality all over again.

Seeking Immortality was a famously over-the-top stallion golden-finger novel. In his previous life, Li Xiuchen had read it ten times from start to finish, going over all the details so many times he had practically memorized them. He clearly remembered that on his ninth day at Taihua Mountain, he took a walk on the back mountain, stepped on a Heaven-grade Spirit-Fusing Pill, and broke through to Qi Refining in a single leap. Yet yesterday, he had paced the Outer Sect’s back mountain for an entire night, and forget about a Heaven-grade pill—he hadn’t even seen a single strand of hair!

How frustrating was that? How stifling was that?!

Without the Heaven-grade Spirit-Fusing Pill, what was he supposed to use to fight these disciples born into prominent clans?

He didn’t have any decent spiritual roots at all!

“Tenth match of the Taihua Mountain New Disciples’ Inter-Peak Grand Competition: Xu Hua of Chang Prefecture, fourth-grade spiritual roots; Li Xiuchen of Yu Prefecture, no spiritual roots.”

As the announcement fell, the shixiong acting as referee took a step back, leaving space for the newcomers to spar. Looking at the burly, imposing Xu Hua standing opposite him, Li Xiuchen’s face twitched. He wasn’t even as thick as the other guy’s arm! What was there to fight? He was just going to get beaten to a pulp!

Up on the high platform, observing the massive disparity between the two, the black-clad Xie Zizhuo chuckled softly and leaned close to Luo Jianqing’s ear, whispering, “Shixiong, not to state the obvious, but do you think he has any chance of winning? That Xu Hua has fourth-grade spiritual roots and is already on the verge of reaching the first tier of Qi Refining, whereas this Li Xiuchen straight-up has no spiritual roots and is short and scrawny. If he manages to win, wouldn’t the Heavenly Dao be way too unfair?”

Luo Jianqing turned his head to look at Xie Zizhuo. His handsome, refined eyes curved into a faint smile as he looked at this devil-may-care shidi with a half-smile. “You truly think he’s guaranteed to lose?”

Xie Zizhuo replied as a matter of course, “Naturally. If he can win even this, I’ll go to the Cliff of Repentance tomorrow to keep Wei-shijie company!”

Luo Jianqing raised an eyebrow in feigned surprise. “You’re really betting that big?”

Xie Zizhuo spoke mysteriously, “That’s the bet. However, Luo-shixiong, if you lose… I want the jade ox-horn comb you use every day.”

The corner of Luo Jianqing’s mouth twitched. “…”

Seeing his shixiong shoot him a look that practically screamed Are you some kind of pervert?, Xie Zizhuo immediately waved his hands to clear his name. “It’s not for me, it’s for our little shimei! Shixiong, you know how little shimei has been infatuated with you since childhood. I recently begged her to refine a very difficult third-grade pill for me, and she flat-out declared that unless you personally ask her for it, she absolutely won’t refine it. I figured that was completely impossible, so I bargained with her until she finally agreed to trade for your jade ox-horn comb.”

Luo Jianqing: “…Why on earth would little shimei want my jade ox-horn comb?”

Xie Zizhuo widened his eyes, saying incredulously, “How could she not?! If Yuxiao Peak didn’t have so many restrictive wards keeping her out, believe me, she’d climb up Yuxiao Peak in the middle of the night just to peek at you!”

Luo Jianqing: “…”

Xie Zizhuo kept rattling on. Even though he was talking about his own shamelessly obsessive little shimei, there wasn’t a trace of disdain in his tone; instead, he sighed with considerable pride, “Little shimei truly is a woman of passion. If I had even half her boldness, I would’ve been running over to Cangshuang Peak every single day by now.”

Hearing this, Luo Jianqing let out a silent laugh, though a bitter emotion slowly spread through his chest.

Little shimei had been close to him since they were children. At her coming-of-age ji ceremony²Ji Ceremony / Jiji Li (及笄禮): The traditional coming-of-age ceremony for young women in ancient China, held at age fifteen when a girl’s hair was bound up and secured with a hairpin (ji), signifying she had reached adulthood and marriageable age., she had even boldly declared that she would marry no one in this life except him. Yet in the end, little shimei married Li Xiuchen and became his first wife. Proud and willful as she was, she probably never imagined that her husband would go on to marry nine other women. He had heard that later on, little shimei magnanimously took care of Li Xiuchen alongside her fellow sister-wives, though Luo Jianqing simply couldn’t picture such a scene.

She was the girl who had stood beneath the blazing sun and blue sky, holding a Heaven-grade pill, proudly telling him, “Luo Jianqing, I am the direct eldest disciple of Qinglan Peak. If you stay with me, you’ll have an endless supply of pills for the rest of your life—don’t you dare regret it.” That girl in robes as fiery as flames had actually ended up falling for Li Xiuchen?

—Because of a hero-saving-the-beauty cliché! Because she was poisoned with an aphrodisiac!

How was the Heavenly Dao unfair? The Heavenly Dao’s fairness was reserved solely for Li Xiuchen!

A layer of sorrow slowly settled over Luo Jianqing’s fair, handsome face, only to vanish completely in the blink of an eye. He fixed a complicated gaze on Li Xiuchen, and somehow, he casually spoke, “Fine. If he loses, I’ll give you my jade ox-horn comb.”

Xie Zizhuo had been earnestly trying to persuade him, constantly bringing up Wei Qiongyin and saying things like “Going to keep Wei-shijie company is a terrifying fate, Luo-shixiong, trading your jade ox-horn comb for this is definitely a bargain for you.” When he heard Luo Jianqing actually agree, he was thrilled beyond words and looked excitedly toward the arena.

Only to see, in the very next second—

The tall, burly Xu Hua suddenly clutched his stomach. “Ah… it hurts so much! Referee Shi… Shixiong, could you wait a ke for me?!”

The referee: “…”

Li Xiuchen: “…”

A dumbfounded Xie Zizhuo: “…”

A thoroughly speechless Luo Jianqing: “…”

Even though he had long guessed that the Heavenly Dao’s heart was tilted all the way to the other end of the continent, couldn’t it tone down the favoritism just a little?!

Li Xiuchen’s first match ended with his opponent getting a stomachache—winning without even fighting!

In Li Xiuchen’s second match, his opponent had barely launched an attack when he suddenly sprained his lower back—winning without even fighting!

In Li Xiuchen’s third match, he was paired against Liu Xiaoxiao. The moment Liu Xiaoxiao struck Li Xiuchen’s arm, Li Xiuchen let out an agonizing howl, frightening Liu Xiaoxiao into immediately pulling back her attack and timidly asking, “Chen-gege, are you alright?”—only to be promptly subdued by Li Xiuchen’s counterattack.

The spectating crowd: “…”

A sighing Luo Jianqing: “…”

A grief-stricken and indignant Xie Zizhuo: “This is unfair! This is pure luck! Every bit of this is just luck!”

Luo Jianqing shook his head lightly and smiled. “Shidi, for us cultivators, luck has always been a form of strength.”

Xie Zizhuo stared at the arena with gritted teeth, saying viciously, “There are only three people left now, and the other two are both scions of the Eight Great Clans. I refuse to believe that with first-grade and second-grade spiritual roots, they won’t measure up to a brat with no spiritual roots at all!”

For Li Xiuchen’s fourth match, he happened to draw a bye—naturally winning without even fighting.

A tear-streaked Xie Zizhuo: “…”

Below the arena, whispers and murmurs broke out everywhere, with quite a few people pointing fingers in Li Xiuchen’s direction. Little Liu Xiaoxiao kept rubbing her aching chest, no longer sitting pressed close to her Chen-gege. That palm strike from Li Xiuchen had hit her squarely. Even though she was young and only knew to rely on the familiar Li Xiuchen, she wasn’t entirely clueless.

Li Xiuchen’s palm strike hadn’t actually hurt that much, yet she felt terribly sad, her pretty little face written all over with hurt.

No different from the outcome in his past life, Li Xiuchen once again became the second-place winner of the Inter-Peak Grand Competition, destined to become an Inner Sect disciple. Upon receiving this result, Li Xiuchen beamed with joy, smugly muttering under his breath, “So this is the protagonist halo! Isn’t this a little too awesome? Hehehehe.”

Watching Li Xiuchen’s self-satisfied expression, Luo Jianqing felt a mix of emotions. After gazing at him for a long while, a smile slowly spread across his face. He lifted his head to look up at the vast azure heavens, as if seeing something eternal through the clear blue sky, his exquisite, handsome face wearing only a gentle smile.

This time, it was still second place, yet certain things were already different.

In his past life, after Li Xiuchen won second place, the disciples below the stage had offered nothing but unanimous praise. A new shidi with no spiritual roots shining brilliantly on the arena stage and even becoming the sole disciple to succeed in Qi Refining—such an inspiring feat naturally earned people’s admiration. Moreover, many knew this shidi had just lost his childhood sweetheart and felt deep sympathy for him.

Yet what about now?

“This kid’s luck is way too absurd.”

“Yeah, and he’s pretty ruthless too. He didn’t even hesitate to knock that little girl he knows right off the stage.”

“Second place gets into the Inner Sect. Who knows if he’ll still have this kind of dog-shit luck in the future.”

Luo Jianqing took in all these whispered remarks, smiling faintly without a word. Standing beside him, Xie Zizhuo had long slumped into his chair in depression, muttering listlessly, “The Heavenly Dao is unfair, the Heavenly Dao is truly too unfair. I, Xie Zizhuo, have never heard of such luck in my entire life. The Heavenly Dao is unfair!”

Luo Jianqing let out a soft chuckle, speaking calmly, “Shidi, the Heavenly Dao has never been fair.”

Xie Zizhuo had merely been venting casually, never expecting Luo Jianqing to actually respond. He raised his head to look at his shixiong, momentarily losing his wits at the sight of that face, before watching Luo Jianqing smile bitterly and say, “If the Heavenly Dao is unfair, then make it fair. Shidi, when we cultivate immortality, we cultivate ourselves, never the Heavenly Dao. Do you understand this?”

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Xie Zizhuo nodded respectfully, all traces of his earlier flippant, frivolous demeanor gone. “Yes.”

With that, the Inter-Peak Grand Competition came to an end.

The top six contestants directly became Inner Sect disciples, while the rest could only become Outer Sect disciples. Furthermore, the top three could choose which peak they wished to join, selecting in order starting from first place. The first-place disciple hailed from a prominent clan and possessed first-grade spiritual roots; he directly chose Cangshuang Peak, where the Sect Master of Taihua Mountain resided, and was led away by the direct disciple representing Cangshuang Peak.

Next was Li Xiuchen.

Luo Jianqing stood at the center of the high platform, his handsome face serene and composed, speaking in an indifferent tone, “Over the past ten days, disciples of the sect should have explained the basic layout of our Taihua Mountain to you. Now that you have placed second in the Inter-Peak Grand Competition, the six peaks of Taihua Mountain are yours to choose from. Which one do you select?”

Unlike with the first-place disciple, once Luo Jianqing finished speaking, not a single person in the entire venue uttered a sound.

The shixiong and shijie dispatched by the six peaks to receive new disciples all went dead silent, staring at Li Xiuchen on the stage with bizarre expressions. None of them particularly wanted this shidi who had zero actual ability. Who didn’t want to bolster the strength of their own peak? What would taking this kid back even accomplish? To see if he could keep riding today’s absurd streak of luck?

This situation was the complete opposite of his previous life. Back then, everyone had fought and argued over who would get Li Xiuchen, whereas now, no one wanted anything to do with him. Luo Jianqing looked at Li Xiuchen without a change in expression, showing neither sorrow nor joy, like a deity high above the frosty heavens, exuding an unworldly, oppressive aura.

However, identically to his past life, Li Xiuchen cupped his hands slightly and said solemnly, “Shixiong, I heard that Taihua Mountain has seven peaks in total. Why did you tell me to choose one from among six peaks?”

The moment these words left his mouth, an uproar broke out across the entire venue.

Luo Jianqing’s heart had long turned ice-cold, yet he smiled gently and replied, “Yuxiao Peak, where I reside, never takes in disciples; there is only myself. Therefore, you should choose from the other six peaks.”

Hearing this, a flash of delight crossed Li Xiuchen’s eyes. Feigning composure, he continued, “Shixiong, I wish to enter Yuxiao Peak. Xuanlingzi Zunzhe stands unmatched under heaven, holding back the demon cultivators single-handedly—a true role model for our generation of cultivators. To be honest with Shixiong, I deeply admire Zunzhe. I came to Taihua Mountain specifically to become a disciple under Xuanlingzi Zunzhe. Even if I am only a handyman disciple, I would willingly accept it.”

At this exact moment in his past life, Luo Jianqing had been so infuriated that the spiritual power in his body went berserk, and a single sweep of his sleeve had nearly slammed this kid to death.

Throughout his life, Luo Jianqing had possessed impeccable self-restraint and immense patience; his sole reverse scale was that person. Li Xiuchen had touched right upon his reverse scale, causing him to lose control and injure Li Xiuchen. Then, that person who never left his mountain peak had actually stepped out of Yuxiao Peak personally, brought Li Xiuchen back to heal him, and told him in an indifferent voice, “Jianqing, from this day forward, he is your shidi.”

In his past life, he had been framed by Li Xiuchen countless times, yet there was only one thing Li Xiuchen hadn’t been wrong about.

—He hated Li Xiuchen. He hated that Li Xiuchen had also become that person’s disciple, dividing the status that had belonged solely to him.

Past memories flashed before his eyes like drifting clouds. Luo Jianqing lowered his gaze to look at Li Xiuchen, seeing the boy looking back at him with a hint of fear, yet with faint anticipation hidden in his eyes, as if waiting for something. However, this time, Luo Jianqing let out a heavy sigh, digging his fingernails hidden beneath his wide sleeves tightly into his palms as he smiled gently, “Yuxiao Peak never accepts any disciples. Shidi, choose another one.”

Li Xiuchen froze on the spot.

He had been waiting for Luo Jianqing to strike him, after which Xuanlingzi would step out to smooth things over for Luo Jianqing while simultaneously taking him back to Yuxiao Peak as a disciple. Why hadn’t Luo Jianqing made a move on him this time? Had his transmigration into the book really changed this many things?

After waiting a moment, Li Xiuchen remained uncertain, hesitating to speak.

Since he didn’t speak, Luo Jianqing didn’t speak either, waiting with ample patience. Beside him, however, Xie Zizhuo grew impatient. “If you can’t make up your mind, step aside. Little girl in third place, I see your spiritual roots are pretty good—do you want to come with Shixiong to Haoming Peak? Our Haoming Peak has the most gorgeous scenery on all of Taihua Mountain, most suited for a cute little girl like you…”

All the way until the other five disciples in the top six had chosen the peaks they wanted to join, Li Xiuchen remained standing motionless in place. When Liu Xiaoxiao was accepted into Qinglan Peak, she even hesitated for a moment and said to Li Xiuchen, “Chen-gege, Qinglan Peak is really nice. Do you want to come to Qinglan Peak with me?”

Answering her were Li Xiuchen’s resolute, unyielding words: “I wish to become a disciple under Xuanlingzi Zunzhe.”

Hearing this, the smile at the corners of Luo Jianqing’s lips deepened, though he made no reply.

Finally, all twenty-three other disciples had chosen their respective peaks, leaving only Li Xiuchen still refusing to make a decision. He looked up at Luo Jianqing, and Luo Jianqing looked down at him. One stood high above, dressed in white robes with a dignified, graceful bearing, handsome enough to hold all the pure radiance of the world; the other stood below, dressed in coarse linen garments with ordinary features, his eyes gleaming entirely with shrewd calculation.

After a long silence, Luo Jianqing smiled faintly. “Shidi, go to Haoming Peak. The cultivation methods there are much better suited for you.”

Li Xiuchen still shook his head firmly. “No! Shixiong, I came to Taihua Mountain specifically to enter Yuxiao Peak and become a disciple under Xuanlingzi Zunzhe!”

Every repetition of “Xuanlingzi Zunzhe” made Luo Jianqing’s eyes curve slowly into a smile. His palms had long since been pinched bloody by his own fingernails, yet he never betrayed a shred of it. Finally, Luo Jianqing curled the corners of his mouth upward, paying no further attention to Li Xiuchen as he turned his head to look at the awkward Xie Zizhuo beside him, saying, “Shidi, take him away.”

Xie Zizhuo had wanted to say something more, but seeing the bloodshot veins in Luo Jianqing’s eyes, he somehow nodded blankly. Yet just as Xie Zizhuo ordered someone to escort Li Xiuchen away, Li Xiuchen continued shouting loudly, “No! I want to go to Yuxiao Peak, I want to go to Yuxiao Peak! I want to see Xuanlingzi Zunzhe, I want to see Xuanlingzi Zunzhe!”

The azure sky was crystal clear, and silence hung over the area beside Taihua Mountain’s Outer Sect arena. The elegant, otherworldly eldest shixiong of Taihua Mountain stood indifferently on high, watching that shidi being dragged away while screaming and shouting.

Who would have thought that at this very moment, azure clouds would billow on the horizon as a streak of golden sword light tore through the void, piercing space at blinding speed!

A vast, overwhelming sword aura suppressed the entire Outer Sect of Taihua Mountain. The air froze solid, and flowing water came to a standstill. The golden sword gleam filling the entire sky caused the personal swords of everyone present to tremble violently, as if wishing to kneel in submission. Fear gripped the disciples’ hearts, and some with unstable Dao hearts nearly dropped to their knees.

A long, deep voice traveled across boundless distances, sounding as though it came from ancient times, laced with a faint, elusive sigh as it echoed softly through the sky: “Jianqing.”

Footnotes:

• 1
  Zunzhe (尊者): Literally “Venerable One” or “Exalted One.” A prestigious title of respect reserved for peak masters, supreme elders, or cultivators of immense power and standing. ↩︎
• 2
  Ji Ceremony / Jiji Li (及笄禮): The traditional coming-of-age ceremony for young women in ancient China, held at age fifteen when a girl’s hair was bound up and secured with a hairpin (ji), signifying she had reached adulthood and marriageable age. ↩︎