Within two days, news spread that Xian Yuzhu had been punished by Huo Yan and that the two had officially had a falling out.
The Summit of Misty Mountain
At the summit of Misty Mountain, Xian Yuzhu sat leisurely on a swing, listening with bored indifference as several cultivators debated how to “vent his frustrations” for him.
“Even if Junior Brother was in the wrong, it was only because that disciple was blind enough to bump into him first,” one noted.
The palm-striking was a necessary performance since Han Yang was present, but the subsequent wall-gazing meditation was unmonitored. Why take it so seriously? To strike his palms and then force him to kneel was far too harsh. If this had happened in any other sect, it would have been glossed over. Furthermore, Yuzhu was the Young Sect Master of the top sect in the cultivation world; his status was incredibly noble.
“If I were the Eldest Senior Brother, I certainly would not be so rigorous. We are all close brothers of the inner sect. Could he not just turn a blind eye?”
The noble Young Sect Master’s skin was far too tender. The scattered bruises on his knees had not faded after a day and a night; instead, they had turned into terrifying, purplish-black welts. This broke the hearts of the cultivators who knew the situation.
Zhou Xu squinted, feeling dismissive in his heart. He let out a contemptuous sneer and said, “That fellow is a slave to dead rules. Scheming against him is simple, is it not?”
One cultivator felt they should not underestimate the enemy. “But Senior Brother Zhou, Eldest Senior Brother’s cultivation is profound. While he is not cunning, he is no fool. What exactly should we do?”
“The Demon Realm has been restless lately, and many sects have ferreted out demon spies. Why don’t we”
Thud!
Before he could finish, a peach blossom branch struck the cultivator squarely in the face.
Xian Yuzhu glared at him. “Stupid! If you frame him as a demon spy, are you trying to make the Yuxian Sect and my father lose face?”
Huo Yan was the personal disciple of the Yuxian Sect Master. Doing such a thing would not only plunge the sect into a public relations crisis but would also cause Yuzhu’s father to be branded as someone with “poor judgment.”
Realizing his words were inappropriate, the cultivator lowered his head in embarrassment.
Agitated and annoyed, Xian Yuzhu viciously plucked a handful of pink peach petals. The pink juice flowed along his snowy-white, slender fingertips as he gritted his teeth. “Furthermore, the Secret Realm Trial is next month.”
He swept a glance over the cultivators led by Zhou Xu and said fretfully, “Which of you has the talent or cultivation to perfectly replace him as the team leader?”
A Fool with a Limit
Although Xian Yuzhu was not bright, he was not entirely brainless. Huo Yan was important. At the very least, until his father came out of secluded meditation, nothing truly bad could happen to Huo Yan.
“I asked you here just to teach him a little lesson. You are not allowed to do anything excessive!”
Xian Yuzhu was naive and foolish, but his loves and hates were clearly defined. He hated Huo Yan simply because of the man’s icy attitude even when seeing him cry, and the fact that he had been forced to kneel for half a day.
Yuzhu had been raised too smoothly since childhood. He was like a child who could never grow up, always trying to attract everyone’s attention. Even his utmost efforts were merely the result of a competitive streak; he wanted to tame Huo Yan and turn him into his dog.
Xian Yuzhu dreamed of the day he could step on Huo Yan’s face, or better yet, ride majestically on Huo Yan’s back. He wanted to prove to the cultivation world that this man, who seemed as cold as frost to outsiders, was just an ordinary man. He wanted to show he was no different from the other “licking dogs” around him, not destroy him.
Zhou Xu watched the youth’s beautiful face, which was slightly flushed with anger on Huo Yan’s behalf, and hid the jealousy and resentment in his eyes.
Others might not know, but Zhou Xu, who had practically grown up with Yuzhu, understood that while his Junior Brother spoke of hate and loathing, he cared deeply about Huo Yan. That Eldest Senior Brother, who was always calm and always wore a “dead man’s face,” was a constant distraction. The moment he appeared, no matter what Zhou Xu had just done to make Yuzhu happy, Yuzhu’s entire attention would be stolen away by Huo Yan’s cold reaction. As long as Huo Yan was there, Yuzhu would never see him.
Zhou Xu had tried to emulate Huo Yan. He wondered if being a bit colder to Yuzhu would result in special treatment. But the moment he endured the heartache of refusing Yuzhu’s request, countless men would shove him aside, obsessively surrounding Yuzhu to curry favor.
Xian Yuzhu never showed that he cared about Zhou Xu’s distance. He would immediately hand the task to someone else and leave indifferently without a single glance back, leaving Zhou Xu alone and heartbroken. It seemed he could not compare to Huo Yan in anything, not even in cultivation talent.
To this day, Zhou Xu was only at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. Granted, a thirty-year-old Nascent Soul cultivator would be a leader in any other sect, but in the eyes of the gifted Young Sect Master of the Yuxian Sect, who was surrounded by geniuses, he did not rank at all.
Huo Yan formed his Core at fifteen, broke through to Nascent Soul at twenty, and now, at twenty-eight, he was already at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage. Such a cultivation speed could only be described as terrifying. In the path of cultivation, ninety percent is talent. No matter how hard Zhou Xu worked, he could not catch up to Huo Yan.
Suppressing the bitterness in his heart, Zhou Xu forced a smile and looked at Xian Yuzhu, coaxing him softly, “Don’t worry, Yuzhu. We know our limits. If you don’t trust them, don’t you trust me?”
Having said that, he shot a chilling look at the male cultivator who had spoken out of turn. The man quickly explained, “Don’t worry, Junior Brother! I was just speaking off the top of my head.”
The Perfect Scheme
Xian Yuzhu ignored him. His eyes darted around, and a plan suddenly formed in his mind. If he were not afraid of implicating his father and the sect, he would not care about Huo Yan’s reputation at all. Since framing him for conspiring with demons was out, there had to be other ways.
In the past few days, Yuzhu had read many storybooks about schemes and power struggles. He believed that through his “study,” his cunning had become quite profound. As expected, a brilliant mind like his was as naturally gifted at being a villain as it was at cultivating!
The plan in his head was seamless. He could already envision Huo Yan suffering a setback. Xian Yuzhu curled his lips and let out a few “jie-jie” and “haha” laughs, imitating the villains from his books. Then, he mysteriously beckoned Zhou Xu over.
After a bout of whispered murmuring, Xian Yuzhu looked up and sneered. “Do exactly as I said, understood?”
Zhou Xu straightened up, hesitating. On one hand, he was happy Yuzhu had entrusted him with a task; on the other, seeing Yuzhu’s smug expression, he did not have the heart to speak the truth. It was just that he wondered if that level of childish prank could even be called “revenge.”
But since Xian Yuzhu had spoken, he could not say much, so he nodded in agreement. “Alright.”
Xian Yuzhu remained mysterious. After he left, the other cultivators swarmed around Zhou Xu, wanting to know what Yuzhu had said. Facing his fellow disciples’ inquiries, Zhou Xu refused to reveal anything, saying indifferently, “Yuzhu said I cannot tell anyone until it is done. You will know once the plan succeeds.”
Thinking of the plan, Zhou Xu sighed again in his heart. If he had known, he would not have asked for instructions beforehand. Could such a petty revenge really make Huo Yan lose face?
The cultivators were itching with curiosity, both jealous and inquisitive. In the end, they had no choice but to tell Zhou Xu, “If you need help, just ask. We will do anything for Junior Brother.”
Zhou Xu smiled and agreed to each of them on the surface. After the crowd dispersed, his expression darkened. Standing alone, a cold sneer escaped his lips. He was joking; he would not ask anyone for help. This kind of credit was something he would take all for himself.
Meanwhile, Huo Yan, unaware that “disaster” was about to strike from Yuzhu’s side, was sitting on a stone platform meditating as usual.
The raspy, jarring voice of an old man echoed in his mind: “Little friend Huo, that wet-behind-the-ears brat was disrespectful to you during the day and even slapped you. Why did you stop this old man from taking action on your behalf?”
As an awakened protagonist, Huo Yan had naturally obtained his “golden finger” several years ahead of schedule. Hearing this, his eyelids twitched slightly. After a moment, he slowly opened a pair of icy eyes and warned coldly:
“Without my order, do not touch him.”