ISWTDB Ch1 [Arc 1]

Chapter 1: The Disfigured and Blind Sect Leader (1)

Pain! His whole body hurts! It feels as if not only his body but even his soul have been shattered, and then forcibly reassembled.

Although Ying Zhao remembered Bai Rui once warning him that the initial few times of time travel would feel uncomfortable due to insufficient energy, he hadn’t expected it to hurt this much.

Ying Zhao couldn’t help but groan, and then he heard a knock on the door from outside.

“Yunping, are you alright? I’m coming in.”

“I’m fine, don’t come in yet!”

Ying Zhao responded hurriedly, trying to keep the person outside at bay. He looked down at his body, soaking in the bath barrel, and shook his head hard, trying to quickly absorb the original owner’s memories.

Just as he got out of the bath barrel, he heard the anxious pacing outside the door. Sure enough, the next second, the door was opened.

Seeing this, Ying Zhao hurriedly grabbed the robe hanging nearby and quickly draped it over himself. As soon as he had it on, he saw that a tall, handsome man had already entered the room.

At this moment, Ying Zhao was only wearing a thin robe. His collar was open, water droplets from his hair trickling over his delicate collarbone and disappearing into the front of his robe. His phoenix eyes and cherry-red lips exuded charm.

Seeing Ying Zhao like this, a flash of lust passed through the man’s eyes, but he immediately pretended to be concerned and said:

“Yunping, I heard noises from the room just now, and I was afraid something happened to you, so I barged in. You won’t blame me, will you?”

Although the lust in the man’s eyes was fleeting, Ying Zhao, being particularly sensitive to people’s good and evil intentions, instantly caught his emotion. He just shook his head nonchalantly.

“It’s fine, just wait a moment, I’ll change my clothes.”

With that, Ying Zhao turned around and walked behind the screen, quickly changing his clothes. Through the light filtering through the screen, he saw the man outside, still pacing anxiously. Frowning deeply, he heard the system Xiao Bai in his mind shouting:

“Host, that man outside is the protagonist of this world, Xiao Lie. There’s no time to explain the plot now, but I can sense that the fragment of the split soul is next door. Moreover, he has already extended his divine sense and can fully know what you and the protagonist are discussing here. Host, you must handle this carefully!”

As soon as Xiao Bai finished speaking, Xiao Lie outside the screen immediately said to Ying Zhao:

“Yunping, I know you don’t want to marry Wen Renming, that disfigured and blind waste. But there’s no other way. Master has also told you the plan. Although the Qingliu Sect is small, there have always been rumors that it possesses a secret manual for ascending to the heavenly realm. Only by marrying Wen Renming can you hope to obtain the manual. If you truly gain this opportunity, our Piaomiao Pavilion could dominate the entire cultivation world. Besides, he’s just a waste. Yunping, you just need to deceive him, and once you get the manual, you can come back. By then, your senior brother will help you rise and crush Qingliu Sect.”

Hearing Xiao Lie’s words, Ying Zhao was stunned for a moment, then recalled what Ju Mang had told him before entering the spiritual device. Zhu Que’s divine soul was shattered and unwilling to seek life, so it couldn’t be reunited. It could only be nurtured separately in different worlds, and the fragmented, ununited soul could only exist in a broken, incomplete body.

Thinking of this, Ying Zhao felt a pain in his heart. It seemed that the so-called disfigured and blind waste Wen Renming mentioned by Xiao Lie must be Zhu Que’s shattered divine soul existing in this world.

Just the thought that Wen Renming could completely observe the situation in this room made Ying Zhao’s heart race. However, from what the protagonist just said and combining it with his own memories, it seemed the entire sect of the original owner was plotting against Wen Renming.

Thinking of this, a surge of anger rose in Ying Zhao’s heart. With a cold expression, he lifted the screen. But before he could vent his anger, Xiao Lie smiled and continued:

“Alright Yunping, don’t be angry. Senior brother knows your feelings towards me. Once you get the manual and we destroy Qingliu Sect together, I promise we’ll hold a grand Daoist couple ceremony. How about that?”

Hearing Xiao Lie’s words, Ying Zhao almost laughed out of anger. He couldn’t believe the audacity of the protagonist in this world. He sneered at him without any politeness:

“Xiao Lie, you must be underestimating me, Ying Yunping. All this talk about a fake marriage and deceiving the manual has always been your own wishful thinking. My Ying family and the Wenren family have long had a marriage agreement. Wen Renming is my future husband. How could I help outsiders like you plot against my husband? It’s ridiculous that you came here with such self-delusions.”

A flash of shock crossed Xiao Lie’s face at Ying Zhao’s words, but he still couldn’t believe that the gentle and considerate junior brother he knew would truly think this way.

Assuming Ying Zhao was still angry, he continued:

“Yunping, don’t joke like this. Don’t you know what Wen Renming looks like? Are you really going to marry such a monster? Yunping, with your appearance, no one in the entire cultivation world can compare. Marrying such an unknown, low-level, ugly freak, are you really content with that? If you truly wanted to marry him, why have you been avoiding him? Come on, stop making a fuss!”

Ying Zhao, of course, knew that everything Xiao Lie said was the original owner’s true thoughts in the past, but now this person had already been replaced by himself. He wished he could hold Wen Renming in his palm and protect him, so how could he possibly disdain him?

Turning his head to look steadily at Xiao Lie, Ying Zhao spoke each word clearly.

“Since I became sensible, I’ve been told that I have a marriage agreement with Wen Renming. Since childhood, I’ve regarded him as my husband, respecting and loving him. So what if he is blind or has low cultivation? Didn’t he still support the Qingliu sect? The sect has always won people over with virtue, and although the Qingliu Sect is not large, it has a certain reputation. This shows Wen Renming’s strengths. Judging a person is not just about their appearance. Senior brother, you are so superficial. Even if you shower me with sweet words today, I fear that if I lose my looks, you will discard me like an old shoe. Compared to Wen Renming, you are like rubble to jade. Why would I abandon jade for rubble?”

Xiao Lie had always been treated as a genius in Piaomiao Pavilion, living a life where he was the center of attention. He had never heard such cold and harsh words.

Hearing himself being compared to a disfigured blind man and being called rubble made him furious. But then he realized he couldn’t let Ying Zhao ruin his and his master’s plans, so he said coldly:

“Junior brother, it seems you’ve firmly decided not to work for Piaomiao Pavilion. If that’s the case, you’d better come with me to the punishment chamber and see what the master has to say.”

With that, he stepped forward, grabbing Ying Zhao’s wrist, intending to drag him away. Ying Zhao turned and evaded Xiao Lie. Seeing Ying Zhao’s refusal, Xiao Lie struck directly at his chest.

Ying Zhao did not expect Xiao Lie to suddenly make a move, and he couldn’t dodge in time. His power was limited by the small world, and if he took Xiao Lie’s blow head-on, he would definitely be injured.

However, before the attack could touch him, it dissipated completely. Xiao Lie let out a scream, fell to the ground, and passed out.

At this moment, Wen Renming, who was meditating in the next room, opened his eyes. His pupils were milky white and devoid of any light. Half of his face was covered by a black leather mask, and the exposed skin had a sickly pallor.

Just now, he had sensed a very strange fluctuation of spiritual energy nearby. When he extended his divine sense to investigate, he found that the fluctuation seemed to be coming from the adjacent room, which belonged to his supposed fiancée, Ying Yunping.

Wen Renming had never met Ying Yunping. Even though he was reputed to be the most handsome man in the cultivation world, Wen Renming had no interest in him.

He had come here because he felt a mysterious pull, as if he would regret it if he didn’t come.

Usually, Wen Renming wouldn’t be curious about the commotion next door, but today, he felt unusually restless.

Moreover, the energy fluctuation just now gave him a feeling of excitement, as if something he had been waiting for had finally appeared.

Unconsciously, Wen Renming extended his divine sense to the opposite room and saw Ying Yunping, who had just bathed, with his senior brother, Xiao Lie.

Initially, upon hearing Xiao Lie’s words, Wen Renming wasn’t surprised. But then Ying Yunping said he genuinely wanted to marry him.

Not only did Ying Yunping not mind his appearance and blindness, but he also didn’t care about the rumors of his low cultivation. Following this, the two began arguing next door, seemingly over him.

However, whether this was a real argument or a performance meant for him was unclear.

Thinking this, a mocking smile appeared on Wen Renming’s lips.

He had intended just to watch the drama unfold, but when he sensed Xiao Lie attacking Ying Yunping, he couldn’t help but solidify his divine sense and strike back at Xiao Lie.

Although he had struck hard, Wen Renming didn’t care. However, this feeling of losing control of his emotions made him frown deeply, a hint of gloom crossing his face.