Chapter 5: The Big Villain’s little brother?

Just like that, more than ten days passed. He had already saved up over a hundred high-grade spirit stones, with even more left over. Lin Xi’s storage pouch was no longer shriveled—any casual grab brought out a handful of money.

They even set up a back kitchen.

Some cooked, some searched for ingredients, some covered up the operation, and the wages were split evenly.

In this way, Lin Xi and his “roommates” successfully replaced the canteen, becoming the new generation’s “conscientious cafeteria”.

Thus, Lin Xi’s life became far more colorful. Mainly, it consisted of sleeping, cultivating, cooking, earning money, and cramming cultural lessons.

The so-called cultural lessons were naturally about Bi’An Sect.

Because Cold Moon Burial of Souls was originally a novel centered around suspense and intrigue, with cultivation only taking up a very small part, Hua Xiaojiu hadn’t clearly explained the cultivation system of this world.

But after arriving here, Lin Xi realized that cultivation was actually very important!

Still, after asking his fellow disciples, he obtained a result that satisfied him.

The worldview and settings here belonged to the standard framework of cultivation novels. Basically, it began from Qi Refining up to Tribulation Crossing.

For the first time in his life, he also learned that he was currently at the ninth level of Qi Refining, and the Qi Refining stage had a total of twelve levels…

So basically, he and his fellow disciples were all trash.

Among the Silver Moon Sect’s many outer disciples, not a single one had reached Foundation Establishment, let alone Core Formation.

He finally understood why everyone flattered certain higher-ups to such a degree—because those people’s cultivation was genuinely high!

Xue Mufeng was at late-stage Core Formation, but because his cultivation had been sealed by the big villain, he could only exert the strength of early-stage Core Formation.

Still, his mutated Ice Spiritual Root, derived from the Water Spiritual Root, was definitely eye-catching.

Yue Chuyin, Lan Xing, and Ye Mei were all at early Nascent Soul stage, which was already considered extremely outstanding.

As for Yun Dai’s sect master and Kou Yan, he wasn’t sure of their exact strength, but it probably wasn’t far off either.

And the big villain—twenty-two years old, late-stage Nascent Soul…

Kind Reminder: Cherish life, stay away from grind-obsessed monsters.

The reason the big villain could suppress a whole group of Nascent Soul experts was all thanks to the Bi’An Spirit Emperor.

Having read the original novel, Lin Xi knew that the Spirit Emperor’s original name was Shu Ling, worthy of being called a master of her generation.

Roughly… the same generation as the protagonist’s grandmaster.

In the original work, she certainly wasn’t unbeatable.

Those stronger than her included the protagonist’s grandmaster, the protagonist himself, the heroine, the second male lead, the big villain, and so on.

Also some terrifying leaders of the demon race, monster race, etc.

But for now, they were all either still growing, already dead, or simply not of the same species.

So, in conclusion—the Spirit Emperor right now was unbeatable!

The Bi’An Sect truly deserved to be the number one sect in this world!

Lin Xi sighed silently.

He now felt even more deeply his own weakness and helplessness.

When the protagonist and villain fought, the first to die would definitely be them, the disciples!

Because of this, even making money no longer brought him the same joy as before.

That day, he was running his “little cafeteria” inside the cave dwelling as usual.

He was so focused that he didn’t even notice the distant crowd dispersing.

It wasn’t until he heard the same shrill squeal like the one that announced Xue Mufeng’s appearance, that he and his “roommates” realized something had happened again.

Who had come this time?

It didn’t matter. As long as it wasn’t Yue Chuyin or Xuan Hou, anyone was fine.

When a clear and lively young voice came in, almost all of the fellow disciples jumped up, standing solemnly to the side.

“What smells so good?” A black-haired, black-eyed boy emerged from the crowd.

He was dressed luxuriously, looking very young, about the same age as Lin Xi.

He was very good-looking, giving off a feeling that made people want to get close to him.

When he saw that big pot of strip-shaped food, he expressed in surprise, “This is…”

What is this?!

“Stir-fried rice cakes,” Lin Xi said to the boy that was slightly shorter than himself. “Want a portion?”

Gui Huan was stunned for a moment.

An unfamiliar face. Was this a new disciple?

There were many new disciples in the sect who, for some reason, liked to avoid him. But this person seemed different. He looked so warm and approachable oh~!

“How many spirit stones?” Gui Huan never took without paying.

That was just how kind he was.

“Well, um, which sect are you a guest from? Don’t worry about spirit stones, as long as you don’t let Sect Master Yue or Lord Xuan Hou know, I’d be endlessly grateful.” Lin Xi replied a bit awkwardly.

After all, running a little food stall like this was unheard of in the Bi’An Sect.

Not to mention, the other person was clearly some kind of guest disciple. If he happened to be on good terms with Yue Chuyin, they would be doomed.

Looking at the disciples nearby, their expressions all looked off.

Lin Xi was startled.

Did he say something wrong? Or was this person actually close to Yue Chuyin? Or maybe his temper wasn’t good?

Lin Xi’s thoughts ran wild. Meanwhile, Gui Huan smiled innocently, and the fellow disciples all held their breath.

At that moment, Lin Xi looked up and saw Gui Huan’s pure, guileless smile, and suddenly froze.

Could this be… the great villain? But the age didn’t seem right. This smile—why did it look like the kind of smile one gives right before killing someone?

So, when a fellow disciple patted him on the shoulder from behind, Lin Xi let out a completely spineless cry.

The disciple kindly reminded him: “That’s Young Master Gui Huan.”

Lin Xi only felt the breath he’d been holding suddenly release.

Thank goodness. Thank goodness it was him.

Gui Huan, the younger brother of the big villain in the original story.

Both he and his elder brother loved to smile sweetly, but the difference was: his brother Gui Ying’s smile hid knives, while Gui Huan’s smile had no knives. In simple terms—three words: silly, pure, sweet.

As for talent, the original story said it wasn’t very high. Compared to the protagonist or the villains, he wasn’t remotely in the same league.

So when Lin Xi first read the novel, he didn’t pay much attention to this character.

It wasn’t until Gui Huan’s dying moment, when he said: “I only wish for rebirth, not to be trapped in a chaotic world,” that he had the faintest bit of a shining moment.

That was why, when he saw that smile just now, Lin Xi never once thought of Gui Huan.

He quickly scooped up a large bowl, “So it’s Young Master Gui Huan! I’ve long admired your name.”

Gui Huan blinked his pure, innocent eyes, “Really? Hahahaha…”

As he spoke, he shoved a piece of high-grade spirit stone into Lin Xi’s hand. “This should be enough, right?”

Lin Xi sighed, “That’s too much. Rather than that, what I really want is to hear some information from you, Young Master.”

Gui Huan blinked, accepted the bowl of stir-fried rice cakes, and said, “Here?”

Lin Xi: “Let’s change places. Too many people here.”

Once they stepped outside the cave dwelling, the noise inside immediately rose again—

Like a scene of “hungry tigers fighting over food”.

Lin Xi coughed twice, watching Gui Huan wolfing down the rice cakes, and couldn’t help but wonder. Was this world really so deprived of food?

Even such a simple snack was considered rare and novel?

But he hadn’t considered that in the cultivation world, once one’s cultivation grew, they could live without eating at all. That meant few people actually needed food, fewer cooks existed, and since everyone was busy cultivating, no one had the time to refine culinary skills. In truth, these modern-day snacks were centuries—if not a millennia—ahead.

Halfway through, Gui Huan burped, still chewing as he said, “This is so delicious. Such an eye-opener! Is this a specialty from your hometown? Do you eat this every day?”

Lin Xi thought his word weren’t exactly incorrect, so he replied, “Yes. Every day.”

Gui Huan maintained his sunny, silly-sweet smile. “Then I’ll just come to your cave and freeload every day from now on. The Silver Moon Sect cafeteria—pei pei pei, that stuff there is inedible.”

Hearing this, Lin Xi suddenly recalled the original story said that Gui Ying was often busy with affairs and had little time to look after his underage brother, so Gui Huan stayed long-term at Silver Moon Sect under his brother’s arrangements.

The result of “staying long-term” wasn’t that he could strut around like he owned the place, but that he wandered everywhere, making friends with anyone who had spent a long time in the sect.

As for the cafeteria—while Yue Chuyin didn’t dare accept Gui Huan’s spirit stones, that didn’t mean the food tasted any better.

After another few bites, Gui Huan finally remembered what Lin Xi had said about wanting some information.

“What do you want to know?”

“About our sect leaders’ cultivation and spirit roots. The more detailed, the better. I just got here, and I don’t know anything yet.”

Gui Huan didn’t show the slightest suspicion and simply spilled everything.

That made Lin Xi feel he had truly asked the right person.

Only someone as silly, pure, and sweet as Gui Huan would patiently answer such stupid questions.

“Well, this is right up my alley,” Gui Huan said with clear pride. “The Sect Master is my older brother. He has a wood spiritual root, and not just any, but a top-grade spiritual root. He cultivates in both sword and talismans, my idol.”

Sure enough, Gui Huan’s character hadn’t deviated from the novel. His admiration for his brother was boundless.

Fair enough. After all, who wouldn’t be proud to have a brother who was a dual cultivator, with a top-grade spiritual root, and also the crown prince of a nation?

“As for the other sect masters like Yue Chuyin, they all have high-grade spiritual roots. Specifically, I only know that Yue Chuyin has a metal spirit root and is a sword cultivator. I don’t know about the others.”

That Yue Chuyin was a sword cultivator didn’t surprise Lin Xi. In the original story, Yue Chuyin had always wielded a sword, and his strikes were uncannily precise.

Unfortunately, he had been cursed with a Gu and turned into a love-brained fool, so apart from fighting, he wasn’t good for much else.

Lin Xi then remembered there was still one more powerful figure in Bi’An Sect—Shu Ling. He asked, “I’ve heard… our sect has a Supreme Master, the Spirit Emperor. Forgive my boldness, but what’s her cultivation level?”

“Oh, Her Excellency the Spirit Emperor,” Gui Huan said with a smile. “She’s actually really nice. Last time I saw her, she even bought me some dates to eat.”

Lin Xi’s mind immediately exploded with doubt.

Nice person? Your so-called ‘nice person’ kills tens of thousands every time she makes a move!

“The Spirit Emperor is my brother’s master,” Gui Huan cleared his throat.

“She’s the only cultivator in the world right now who’s reached the Mahayana stage!”

Mahayana stage?!

What the hell?!

You have to understand, even though the Mahayana stage was just one level above the Nascent Soul stage, a single Mahayana cultivator could take on over a dozen peak Nascent Souls with ease.

In other words, Shu Ling alone could fight over a dozen of the male lead’s fathers?

Suddenly, Lin Xi felt that the protagonist’s background didn’t seem that noble after all.

Gui Huan’s next words delivered a fatal blow: “Unfortunately, I only have a mid-grade spirit root. Even now I’m only at the late-stage Foundation Establishment. Young Master Jin is only a little older than me, and he’s already at late-stage Core Formation.”

Just at late-stage Foundation Establishment.
Just at late-stage Foundation Establishment~
Just at late-stage Foundation Establishment~~~

What the hell—Lin Xi suddenly felt like he had suffered an enormous blow.