From that day onward, Yin Xuanlin seemed almost possessed.
He began openly trailing behind Xie Chen wherever he went. When Xie Chen ate, he ate as well. When Xie Chen practiced cultivation, he practiced too. When Xie Chen descended into secret realms, Yin Xuanlin followed him into the secret realms as well. With single minded determination, he was intent on uncovering evidence that the other man was “cultivating forbidden techniques.”
Yet after only a few days of this pursuit, Xie Chen, silent as always, broke through another realm and advanced into the Red Crystal Secret Realm, a higher level than the Apricot Crystal Secret Realm.
Yin Xuanlin:
“If the bandits can go, then so can I!”
Gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, Yin Xuanlin hardened his resolve and forced himself to follow inside as well.
Although in the end he did manage to return from the Red Crystal Secret Realm alive.
But compared to Xie Chen, who emerged from the secret realm calm, composed and entirely unscathed, Yin Xuanlin was covered in blood and grime, a miserable sight, like someone who had rolled around in mud and filthy water for three days and three nights straight.
Even though the corners of his mouth still twitched stubbornly, trying to squeeze out a cold sneer that seemed to say “it’s nothing special,” anyone with eyes could tell he was merely putting on a brave front.
Junior Brother Xie’s current realm had already surpassed Senior Brother Yin by far.
Such a stark and miserable contrast was truly satisfying to witness.
However, before the crowd even had the chance to properly mock Yin Xuanlin, the next time they gathered at the entrance to the Red Crystal Secret Realm, they saw Xie Chen strike first.
“Senior Brother,” Xie Chen said, pressing Yin Xuanlin heavily down onto the ground with one hand. His voice remained as cool and even as ever, without the slightest ripple of emotion. “Why force yourself?”
As he spoke, his fingertip lightly pressed against Yin Xuanlin’s chest.
Immediately, Yin Xuanlin let out a sharp cry, “Ugh!” baring his teeth and wincing in agony.
“Your old injuries have not yet healed. Your spiritual meridians are sluggish and obstructed. Forcing yourself to enter the realm is no different from courting death,” Xie Chen stated calmly, as if merely reciting a fact.
Yet his hand pressed down with a little more force.
“None of your business, ahhh! Stop, stop! Damn, damn it, Xie Chen, let go! Aahhh!”
Yin Xuanlin was in such pain that tears nearly burst from his eyes yet he still refused to yield. Through clenched teeth he forced out a hoarse whisper.
“You… stay out of this… Are you… afraid?”
Xie Chen looked down at him coldly.
On that day, the junior brother who had always repaid grievances with kindness seemed to have finally exhausted the last trace of his patience.
He said nothing further.
Instead, he directly summoned a binding rope, tying the struggling Yin Xuanlin up firmly like a rice dumpling. Then he casually tossed out a magical artifact that obscured perception, bundled the man up and dumped him in some deserted corner.
Only after he returned safely from the secret realm that evening did he release him.
The next several times were the same.
Yin Xuanlin was driven nearly mad with anger, cursing incessantly day after day.
Yet times had changed. Xie Chen’s cultivation realm was advancing at an astonishing pace.
Yin Xuanlin, unwilling to accept defeat, challenged him several more times but the result was the same each time: he could barely exchange a few moves before being completely overwhelmed, eventually unable even to touch the corner of Xie Chen’s robe.
“Damn it all!!!”
Yin Xuanlin had once been one of heaven’s favored sons. To now suffer such crushing defeat in every aspect naturally drove him into furious frustration.
But to the others watching, it was simply slow and rather amusing.
After all, even the excuses Senior Brother Yin used to preserve his dignity had been steadily deteriorating.
At the beginning, he had angrily declared, “Just you wait! Next time I’ll definitely make you regret it!”
Later, it became the sour remark, “Hmph. You just got lucky!”
Eventually he abandoned even that, blaming the glaring sunlight for blinding his eyes, blaming the snow for being too cold and disrupting his spiritual energy, blaming his clothes for being too thick and hindering his movements.
And in the end he did not even bother pretending anymore, after delivering a few sarcastic, cutting remarks, he would simply slip away.
Yet despite having fallen to such a state, Yin Xuanlin did not collapse in despair.
And that was something many people had not expected.
Indeed, no one had expected it, there could actually be someone so utterly shameless and thick skinned. Even after losing completely in terms of cultivation techniques, he could still find another path and desperately try to make up for it elsewhere.
For example, through all sorts of strange pranks.
And… through competing over clothing and taste.
In truth, if one spoke purely of appearance, Yin Xuanlin was absolutely not as breathtakingly handsome as Xie Chen.
But he was willing to spend money.
Every day he dressed himself in luxurious silks, brocades and fine fabrics such as jiaoxiao silk, cloud brocade and flowing glow satin. It seemed he could hardly wait to change outfits three times a day. When he walked, the ornaments on his person clinked and chimed, spiritual light and precious treasures almost blinding to the eye. He was so extravagantly adorned that he resembled a peacock spreading its tail, every inch of him radiating the air of leisurely elegance and aristocratic wealth.
In contrast, Xie Chen was always as plain and clean as snow upon a mountain peak.
His ink black hair was tied only with a simple wooden hairpin or a plain ribbon. From head to toe there was not a single unnecessary ornament to be found. His appearance was so unadorned that even fellow disciples who saw him could only feel exasperated.
Such a handsome face and yet he refused to dress it up even a little.
What a waste.
Soon another year passed.
Xie Chen turned seventeen.
Because of his outstanding cultivation and steady temperament, he had already become a pillar among the younger generation of disciples in the Tangdi Immortal Sect.
Throughout this year, many matters both inside and outside the sect bore witness to his decisive and thunderous methods.
There had been an inner sect senior disciple who cruelly slaughtered spirit fish, secretly practiced forbidden arts and ultimately betrayed the sect. It was Xie Chen who personally led a pursuit spanning a thousand miles, intercepting the man within the Black Marsh where demonic cultivators gathered. On the spot he crippled the traitor’s cultivation and escorted him back to the sect for judgment.
When a thousand year old corpse king wreaked havoc in the ancient tomb of the Western Mountain, disturbing the common people, it was again Xie Chen who ventured alone deep into the tomb. In a single night he subdued the demonic miasma, returning to report his success while carrying the nearly dead corpse king’s severed head. The murderous aura surrounding him lingered for three full days before dissipating.
There was also a powerful family at the foot of the mountain that relied on its influence to bully others and forcibly seize a spiritual vein. Xie Chen went to their gates with nothing but a sword in hand. One man and one sword were enough to force the entire clan into obediently admitting their wrongdoing, compensating the victims and swearing never to offend again.
Though his methods could be considered somewhat ruthless and cold…
Looking across the younger generation of outstanding disciples among the various immortal sects, figures like that were hardly uncommon.
Besides, Xie Chen carried the hatred of a destroyed family upon his shoulders. That he developed such a cold and severe temperament seemed only natural.
But how should one put it…
Among the disciples of the “Xuan” generation in the Tangdi Immortal Sect, there was a certain individual named Zhou Xuanle.
His spiritual roots were mediocre and his cultivation was even more lackluster yet he had managed to carve out an unusual path for himself, achieving surprising success by publishing a gossip sheet titled The Tangdi Anecdote Gazette.
Some things, after all, only reveal their subtle strangeness when they are written down plainly in black and white and placed side by side for comparison.
For example, the first headline in the latest issue read:
“During the day, Junior Brother Xie pursued demonic cultivators within Black Wind Valley. His sword moved like a dragon, murderous energy filling the wilderness. Seven enemies were slain, their bodies leaving not even bones behind. In that moment he resembled an asura from the depths of hell, those who heard the tale trembled in fear.”
The second headline read:
“Tonight after evening lessons, Senior Brother Yin made reckless remarks at the entrance to the training grounds. Junior Brother Xie subdued him with his bare hands and hung him from the southeast branch of the phoenix tree. Many gathered to watch.”
Both were indisputable facts.
And the two incidents had occurred less than two hours apart.
Yet when they were placed together like this… it gave people an odd feeling.
Earlier that day, someone had been a hellish asura outside the sect yet after returning, he merely hung someone up in a tree.
So none of that murderous intent had been brought back with him at all?
Not to mention that some attentive readers had recently pointed out that the robe Xie Chen wore during the New Year ceremony, an ink colored brocade robe with dark cloud patterns and a collar embroidered with golden plum blossoms, looked strangely familiar.
Curious, Zhou Xuanle went to investigate.
Sure enough, he discovered a mention of it in an issue of the gazette from two years earlier.
And the moment he saw it, he nearly slapped the table in astonishment.
That brocade robe had actually been a gift from Yin Xuanlin back when the two of them were still on reasonably good terms?
And Xie Chen had really worn it?
…Well.
Perhaps both of them had simply forgotten about that little detail.
After writing the Tangdi Anecdote Gazette for so long, Zhou Xuanle had developed one particular grievance. Whenever he described Yin Xuanlin, he often intended to write something like “a twisted smile appeared on his vicious face.” Yet when he actually put brush to paper, it would somehow always come out as “a wickedly charming smile appeared on his handsome but malicious face.”
If nothing else can be said about Senior Brother Yin, at least his looks are impossible to criticize.
Before long, today’s edition of the gazette was finished. As usual, Zhou Xuanle reviewed it carefully.
Today’s anecdote was rather amusing,
Senior Brother Yin had used the “Demonic Manifestation Spell” he had just learned to provoke Junior Brother Xie. The result was that the spell rebounded on him, causing him to grow furry ears and a tail.
It made Senior Brother Yin so furious that his eyes turned red. Tears almost spilled over yet stubbornly refused to fall. In the end, he ran off in humiliation while everyone around burst into laughter.
The anecdote ended there.
The final small paragraph that had been crossed out described Xie Chen’s reaction.
The reason it was removed… was that if it were written truthfully, Junior Brother Xie’s reaction would seem far too strange in this context.
Zhou Xuanle bit the end of his brush and pondered.
Thinking about it again, it seemed that it had always been this way.
Every time after disciplining Senior Brother Yin, when everyone else burst into laughter, Senior Brother Xie never joined in.
But he never walked away either.
Instead, he would simply stand there and watch.
Silent, unmoving, his gaze fixed firmly on Yin Xuanlin. His dark eyes were deep and shadowed, impossible for others to read, leaving no one able to guess what emotion might be hidden within them.
Recently, the Tangdi Anecdote Gazette had been selling better and better even in the towns at the foot of the mountain.
According to the feedback from bookstore owners, the best selling stories were not the glorious achievements of Xie Chen that shook the cultivation world.
Instead, it was the petty and ridiculous quarrels between him and Yin Xuanlin.
Apparently, compared to the grand tales of immortal sect brilliance, ordinary readers below the mountain preferred to watch Senior Brother Yin jump about wildly, causing trouble everywhere, acting mischievously, flying into rages and cursing endlessly.
Zhou Xuanle truly could not understand such peculiar tastes.
But sales figures were the ultimate truth and so he had no choice but to work even harder to gather material about the two of them.
Recently, Yin Xuanlin and Xie Chen had gone to participate in the most renowned trial in the cultivation world: the “Heavenly Rampart Trial.”
According to legend, the Heavenly Rampart Trial was an inheritance left behind by the ancient Immortal Tianyuan. It consisted of a series of perilous secret realms linked together in succession.
The trial was divided into two stages.
The first stage was the “Realm of Solitude,” which tested individual strength and had an extremely high elimination rate.
The second stage was the even more dangerous “Realm of Unity,” which required at least two cultivators to enter together as partners.
This trial had always been famous for its danger and the available places were extraordinarily precious.
After careful selection, the Tangdi Immortal Sect ultimately sent only five participants. As expected, after the brutal eliminations of the first stage, the Realm of Solitude, only Yin Xuanlin and Xie Chen remained to advance.
For the next stage, nearly every cultivator present eagerly hoped to partner with the formidable Xie Chen.
But fate often defied human expectation.
No one had imagined that during his personal trial within the secret realm, Xie Chen would accidentally trigger an ancient demonic marsh and become afflicted with the “Spirit Eroding Poison.”
The Spirit Eroding Poison was not fatal and it would heal naturally after about half a month.
However, the troublesome aspect of this poison was that it spread very easily. Moreover, during the period of infection, a cultivator’s defenses might weaken and their cultivation temporarily decline.
In a trial so crucial, one that concerned both the honor of their sect and the opportunities of their own cultivation, who would be willing to take such a risk?
For a time, everyone avoided him as though fleeing a plague.
Only yesterday, Xie Chen had been surrounded by admiration and eager invitations.
In the blink of an eye, he had become the “plague god” everyone avoided.
Yin Xuanlin could not have been more delighted.
Watching Xie Chen stand there alone and ignored, the corners of Yin Xuanlin’s mouth almost curled all the way to his ears.
That very night, he rented out the most expensive restaurant nearby and hosted a lavish banquet for guests. Of course, “for everyone’s safety,” certain people were naturally excluded from the guest list.
The following day, the time came for the team selection.
Yin Xuanlin’s hair was combed meticulously without a single strand out of place. Clad in splendid brocade robes, he looked every bit the elegant young master, graceful as a jade tree in the wind, brimming with youthful confidence.
He arrogantly rejected several olive branches extended by capable disciples from other sects. Only after doing so did he finally stride over to Xie Chen, raising his chin with an air of reluctant superiority.
“Hey. Let’s go.”
“What are you staring at? Do you think I want to bring along dead weight like you?”
“It’s only for the sake of our sect’s reputation. So are you coming or not?”
The team trial consisted of ten secret realms, each linked to the next. Together they tested every aspect of the participants’ strength, skill and cooperation.
That day, the two of them managed to pass the first secret realm fairly smoothly but they also witnessed firsthand the dangers lurking within and neither dared to grow careless.
Looking at the other teams,
Some withdrew after suffering serious injuries.
Some even lost members entirely.
The Heavenly Rampart Trial truly lived up to its reputation. The dangers were far from exaggerated.
So that evening, Yin Xuanlin knocked on Xie Chen’s door with an expression of irritation.
“Get up!”
“We’re training more!”
Yin Xuanlin had always believed firmly that diligence could make up for shortcomings.
Even if it was sharpening one’s spear at the last moment before battle, training was still necessary!
Although the Tangdi Immortal Sect had only sent five disciples to compete in this trial, there were more than a hundred fellow disciples who had come along simply to observe.
And all those hundred pairs of eyes were watching their every move.
So Yin Xuanlin seized the opportunity immediately. Planting his hands on his hips, he assumed the authoritative posture of a senior disciple and began instructing Xie Chen as if commanding an army.
“The opening move of ‘Blazing Prairie Hundred Slashes’ was half a beat too slow. Again!”
“When coordinating with my ‘Flame Prison,’ you need to strike exactly when my spiritual power reaches its peak. Do you understand?”
“And where is your defensive barrier? Even if it’s weak, you still need to activate it! What, are you waiting for me to block every attack for you?”
The watching disciples couldn’t help whispering among themselves.
“Isn’t that the synchronized combat technique usually used by cultivation partners? But those two aren’t cultivation partners…”
After all, both of them possessed violent fire type spiritual roots. Wouldn’t it be simpler to just charge forward and blast everything apart?
Yet Yin Xuanlin refused to let it go.
If Xie Chen made even the slightest mistake or failed to keep up with his rhythm, Yin Xuanlin’s mouth would immediately become as poisonous as if smeared with venom.
“You’re not weak, are you?”
“I can’t even control my flying sword properly while carrying you, how are you this useless?”
“You learned nothing but attack skills, didn’t you? You really can’t use defense at all, can you? No wonder you got poisoned in that demonic swamp. If you’re that fragile, you should at least have some awareness of being fragile! Don’t expect me to risk my life to save you later!”
His scolding was practically endless.
Yet the results were surprisingly impressive.
With Xie Chen’s extraordinary talent for comprehension, in just three days the two of them managed to master an extremely complicated combination technique. Their offense and defense flowed seamlessly into each other, spiritual energy linking together as if they were one body. Their coordination was so natural it looked as though they had fought side by side as cultivation partners for thirty years.
Yin Xuanlin was immensely proud of this.
His ego nearly soared into the heavens.
The moment their special training ended, he impatiently dragged Xie Chen along to “show off their might,” marching straight up to the most outstanding disciples from other sects and confronting them face to face.
“Just wait and see! This time, all ten Heavenly Rampart Crystal Cores will belong to our Tangdi Immortal Sect! None of you will get even a single one!”
Even the disciples of the Tangdi Immortal Sect themselves could hardly bear to watch.
Good heavens, ancestor above! Did he really have to show off so blatantly?
Wasn’t this practically announcing to everyone that they should unite and guard against the two of them?
Yet even on the way back, Yin Xuanlin still refused to quiet down.
He began criticizing Xie Chen’s weapon again, complaining about how shabby and poor it looked.
That night, Yin Xuanlin walked out of the Treasure Pavilion with a pained expression on his face.
A longbow was tossed toward Xie Chen. Its form was ancient and simple yet it radiated an immensely powerful fire spiritual energy. Faint streams of light shimmered along the bow’s body, making it obvious at a glance that the item was priceless.
“Here. I’ll… temporarily lend it to you for a few days! I’m not giving it to you!”
“Anyway… you’d better take good care of it! If you dare scratch it or damage it, I’ll skin you alive!”
The next day, he suddenly felt that he ought to treat himself a little better as well, so he returned to the Treasure Pavilion and obtained a Nine Luminary Flowing Light Fan.
That fan was even more remarkable. The ribs were carved from ten thousand year old immortal jade. When opened, it shimmered with brilliant flowing light and could draw upon the fire spirits of the surrounding heavens.
First he waved the fan three times in front of Xie Chen, swaying it back and forth with obvious satisfaction. Then he wandered among his fellow disciples, showing it off for quite a while.
Finally, he deliberately made a detour to the courtyard where their rival sect’s disciples were staying, flaunting the fan there as well, afraid that others might somehow fail to notice that he had acquired a new treasure.
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Coffee is technically a form of emotional support.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Once a chosen one of heavenChapter 2 · Why didn’t you crawl in the shadows?!Chapter 3 · They would rather fight each otherChapter 4 · I’ll do a handstand and run naked three times!Chapter 5 · So what if I’m showing off!Chapter 6 · If you look again, I’ll gouge your eyes out!Chapter 7 · The young couple is fighting again.Chapter 8 · I’m back at the Jinchan SectChapter 9 · Sour, sourChapter 10 · To seize credit for someone’s workChapter 11 · The Golden Toad Sect has come to our aid to annihilate the Demon LordChapter 12 · Sect Leader’s HusbandChapter 13 · The stone, fox, tree, and scarecrow are named XuanlinChapter 14 · My junior and I have had sweet moments in private!Chapter 15 · The truth behind their first falling out back thenChapter 16 · Hate lasts longer than loveChapter 17 · Xie Chen was actually the Demon LordChapter 18 · Slaying the Demon LordChapter 19 · From resistance to enjoymentChapter 20 · Xiao Xie’s perspective begins!Chapter 21 · Only because it was Yin XuanlinChapter 22 · Xie Chen was not a foolChapter 23 · The End