Chapter 8: This person doesn’t adhere to logic

Kui Zhuo was idly twirling his brush, restless and distracted.

As an honored guest elder of the Bi’An Sect with a prestigious status, there naturally wasn’t much real work for him to do.

It had already been several days since he had managed to write a decent poem.

He didn’t know what madness Gui Ying was up to, but in any case, it didn’t really have much to do with him.

Yesterday, when he went to subdue a water-dwelling beast, Gui Ying had soaked his robe through. The outer robe he was wearing now was one he had borrowed while passing by.

And yet today, Gui Ying suddenly said he wanted to borrow it for a long time, and even told him not to wander around too much for the time being.

What was that supposed to mean?

Could it be that Gui Ying wanted to take over his life? To make him vanish from this world?

Well, if he vanished, then so be it—whatever happened, happened.

His desire to live really wasn’t that strong.

After this long string of bad luck, he had completely given up.

Sword cultivation was too exhausting. He really didn’t want to continue. Fine then, let’s not break through anymore.

Still… why had Gui Ying been so cheerful these past few days? It was as if something particularly amusing had occured.

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At the same time, Yue Chuyin stood at the side of the black-clothed young man, his expression despairing as he pleaded for more allocation of funds for Silver Moon Sect.

“For the sake of our brotherhood…”

He made one last struggle.

“No means no.” The black-clothed youth smiled as he spoke. His tone was mild, but his refusal was absolutely firm. “Isn’t the Silver Moon Sect always flush with resources?”

People often said sword cultivators were poor, but Silver Moon Sect had never been too badly off before.

Yue Chuyin struggled for a moment more before finally confessing the real reason.

After all, although this junior brother had entered the sect later than him, his cultivation was higher, his status was greater, and now their master had even elevated him to Sect Leader. Yue Chuyin simply couldn’t compare.

“So,” Gui Ying gently closed the lid of his teacup and said, “I suppose the Foundation Establishment disciple you’re talking about is called Lin Xi, correct?”

Yue Chuyin froze.

It took him a long moment to react. “You know him?”

“I wouldn’t quite say that.” Gui Ying propped his chin with one hand.

“I met him in the small grove behind Silver Moon Sect while using Kui Zhuo’s identity. He seemed rather reserved at the time. Didn’t expect he’d turn out to be so lively.”

Yue Chuyin: Do you perhaps have some misunderstanding about the word ‘lively’…

All the while, Shu Ling had been sitting nearby with her eyes half-closed, dozing lazily as she listened to her two disciples chatter. Inwardly, she sighed: Ah, it’s great to be young.

Look at the disciples of the sect—so free, so spirited. Not like this blockheaded disciple Yue Chuyin, who lacked both emotional and practical intelligence.

And also not like Gui Ying, this outwardly affable but inwardly calculating schemer.

When she heard that this Lin Xi had shot up from the ninth level of Qi Refining all the way to Foundation Establishment in just a few months and was even able to pin others to the ground and beat them right after, she felt something was off.

“For someone whose cultivation had been slow for years to suddenly surge like this—did he rely on pills?”

Yue Chuyin froze again.

Why was even their master getting involved in this conversation? Hadn’t she always been aloof, never asking about such worldly affairs?

“This… I’m not sure.”

He really didn’t know at all. After all, he had never paid much attention to that disciple before.

But three small realms and one major realm in a matter of months, even if it was only in the Qi Refining stage, that was still defying the heavens.

Now he regretted spending too much time on romance instead of paying attention to talent.

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll find out soon enough.” Gui Ying said with a smile.

“I gifted him a copy of Drunken Wind.”

Yue Chuyin, Shu Ling: “…”

If he remembered correctly, while that cultivation method was indeed effective, if someone had relied heavily on pills to advance, practicing it could easily lead to… unpleasant consequences.

It wouldn’t kill them, but it’ll at least shatter their cultivation and drop them several realms.

For someone at Foundation Establishment, it might as well reduce them straight back to being a mortal.

Yue Chuyin quietly inched farther away from his junior brother.

Inwardly, he thought: You really aren’t human, are you?!

And here I thought you favored that disciple.

Gui Ying’s smile remained unchanged: “I do favor him. Does giving him this technique conflict with that?”

Yue Chuyin: …Fine, I admit you saw through what I was thinking.

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Lin Xi stared at that book Drunken Wind, and his head hurt like crazy.

(TN: It’s more like “one head, two explosions.”)

No, seriously, was this thing really meant for people to practice???

What was the meaning of this mess?!

Just looking at it was exhausting. It was even scarier than the math problems from his previous life.

He decided to just give up.

Studying and cultivating this sort of thing should be left to the grind-obsessed dogs.

He was just a normal human being; he couldn’t handle the inhuman stuff that only protagonists and big villains could do.

So, when he sluggishly read a single page, and finally managed to barely run his spiritual energy through one full cycle as written in the manual, it was already nine days later.

He looked at that thin-paged but absurdly thick booklet and honestly felt that in this lifetime, he might never finish it.

Thus, he simply flopped down inside his cave-dwelling.

Having not slept in days, he felt like he was about to die.

Unfortunately, Yue Chuyin, that iron rooster (stingy bastard), was becoming more and more tight-fisted. In winter, with shabby, drafty walls letting the cold air in, their cave wasn’t much different from what a primitive caveman might live in on some mountaintop. And for some reason, their cave’s condition was especially terrible, almost like they were being targeted.

So he could only twitch and roll his eyes to vent his grievances.

But just his luck, someone without eyes came running straight into him.

According to his fellow disciples, ever since that day Xu Ke got beaten up, he went crazy cultivating like a madman. Incredibly, he had managed to break through to mid-stage Foundation Establishment in just nine days.

The very first thing he did after his breakthrough was to come find Lin Xi to wash away his shame.

Lin Xi, with dark circles under his eyes and looking listless, stared at the youth standing in front of him.

“Lin Xi. I admit you’re strong,” Xu Ke gritted his teeth, “but I’ve already broken through to mid-stage Foundation Establishment. This time, I definitely won’t lose! I’ll prove to everyone that I’m not inferior to you!”

Lin Xi gave him a long, meaningful look, without saying a word.

Then, he simply raised his fist and slammed it straight into Xu Ke’s face.

Xu Ke: ?

Who am I, where am I, what just hit me?

He was completely dumbfounded.

Before he could even react, Lin Xi had already started pounding him.

If last time hadn’t counted as overly violent, then this time was purely and simply beating the crap out of him.

Damn it, can’t I even get a good sleep?! You got too much free time? Then go cultivate all you want, what does that have to do with me?! Laozi already stayed up till I got panda eyes, and I still can’t get peace!

You’ve got a cozy, draft-free place to sleep, plenty of heavenly treasures delivered to you every day, and everyone constantly shouting “Sect Master Yue is forever number one!”

Of course you’re not worse than me—you’re better off in every way!!! What the hell are you still trying to prove?!

Just like that, Xu Ke once again had the honor of being beaten into the ground.

Before he could even react, his face was beaten black and blue again. Most importantly, he landed face-first into the ground this time, burning with pain.

All he felt was boundless rage, mixed with a strange sense of imbalance.

Why was an early Foundation stage able to beat him, a mid-Foundation stage, with no power to fight back?

His cultivation was obviously higher!

This didn’t make any sense!!

With a miserable cry, Xu Ke lashed out with a burst of spiritual energy, finally managing to crawl back to his feet. He yanked out his mystic sword and hacked furiously at Lin Xi.

But cultivators at Foundation Establishment and above could fly on swords!

So once again, the scene from last time repeated itself: Lin Xi running away leisurely, and Xu Ke chasing furiously.

In the distance, Gui Ying leaned lazily against a stone wall.

“Yue Chuyin, your little follower is being toyed with so tragically.”

Yue Chuyin was speechless, forcibly changing the subject: “Master, did you notice anything different about the way his spiritual energy flows?”

Shu Ling’s closed eyes opened slightly, revealing a pair of scarlet pupils.

“He broke through to Foundation Establishment while sparring with this mid-Foundation disciple?”

“Yes.” Yue Chuyin replied, “I don’t know why, but in the middle of the fight he suddenly broke through. He didn’t even use a Foundation Establishment Pill.”

Shu Ling smiled, “Of course it’s different. His spiritual power flows in reverse.”

As though reminded of something from the past, her voice grew faintly wistful: “Just like my late elder sister.”

Yue Chuyin’s expression flickered. He hadn’t even known his Master had an elder sister.

But Gui Ying’s face subtly changed.

The title of Spirit Sovereign, one that granted a half-immortal body, meant one could fight far beyond those of the same realm.

It was glorious, but only one kind of cultivator could hold it: a Ghost Cultivator.

Shu Ling was originally a sword cultivator, and the only reason she could assume the title of Spirit Sovereign was her blood connection to her elder sister.

Back then, Shu Yan had died protecting her younger sister. That blood bond then fell upon Shu Ling.

From then on, with a supreme wood spiritual root and a half-immortal body, she became an untouchable powerhouse, one no one dared to offend.

These past events were known only to Gui Ying, her most valued disciple.

Even Yue Chuyin and Shangguan Shilin from back then had never heard of it.

“These years, I haven’t taken any disciples.” Shu Ling’s words dropped like thunder. Yue Chuyin froze in shock for a moment before erupting into sharp protest.

“Master, he’s only an early Foundation stage cultivator. How could he possibly be fit to be your personal disciple?”

The more important part was—even if he died, he didn’t want Lin Xi as his junior brother!

“No.” Shu Ling, for once, was utterly firm. Her eyes softened into a gentle kindness.

“When I look at this child, I seem to see the shadow of my elder sister back then. So if he cannot grow to be as outstanding as she was, I fear I won’t be able to stop myself from killing him.”

Yue Chuyin looked at his kindly smiling Master: …

On second thought, maybe it was better not to question her decision.

Gui Ying, however, didn’t look surprised at all.

“Very well. Not only has it been years since you’ve accepted a disciple, Master, but I, too, have been wanting a lively and adorable junior brother.”

Yue Chuyin’s head nearly staggered right off, almost fainting on the spot.

He looked at Xu Ke, who was once again suppressed like a punching bag, while Lin Xi’s fists came like a storm—

No, seriously. Do you and the word adorable have some kind of personal feud?

Gui Ying watched Lin Xi’s state carefully.

It seemed that Drunken Wind suited him very well.

His smile grew even brighter, as if he really was this pure and harmless.

The future of Bi’An Sect should be very interesting indeed.

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