Blame the Villain – Chapter 88

Villainous Master (10)

The newcomer was Zhao Wuyou, the daughter of the new head of Xun Sect, Zhao Lin.

Zhao Lin had been obsessed with cultivation and practiced in the deep mountains for many years. Ten years ago, she suddenly returned to the sect and completely changed her previously indifferent attitude towards fame and fortune, becoming the new head of the Xun Sect. Perhaps feeling that she had neglected her only daughter over the years, Zhao Lin has been extremely doting on Zhao Wuyou for the past decade, treating her like a treasure. Zhao Lin was so devoted that she used the rarest of heavenly materials and earthly treasures to transform Zhao Wuyou’s dual spiritual roots into a single spiritual root.

Under Zhao Lin’s indulgence, Zhao Wuyou’s temperament became extremely domineering. She was a notorious little tyrant in the cultivation world, feared by everyone.

Song Xuyi didn’t expect that this little tyrant would be so blunt and disrespectful. One must know that without Ning Jingyu, the Three Realms might have already fallen into chaos, and Zhao Wuyou wouldn’t have the chance to be so presumptuous here.

If Zhao Wuyou had insulted herself, Song Xuyi might have just laughed it off. However, at this moment, the ‘old immortal’ Zhao Wuyou insulted was Ning Jingyu, and Song Xuyi found it unbearable—

Frowning, Song Xuyi was about to step forward and argue with Zhao Wuyou when Ning Jingyu emerged from the formation.

The moment Zhao Wuyou saw Ning Jingyu, her eyes widened, and she suddenly quieted down. She stared at Ning Jingyu, her cheeks flushing slightly. She took two steps forward as if wanting to approach Ning Jingyu…

“Senior Ning, I am…”

Ning Jingyu pursed her lips and said “Noisy.” Before Zhao Wuyou could finish introducing herself, Ning Jingyu flicked her sleeve, and a gust of wind arose, sweeping Zhao Wuyou and her entourage out of the house!

The door slammed shut with a loud ‘bang.’

Ignoring the astonished gazes around her, Ning Jingyu returned to her room and swiftly wrote several bold, red characters on a piece of paper.

——“Trespassers will be killed!”

These words remained posted on the gate of Xuanshu Sect until the start of the Grand Immortal Sect Competition.

Needless to say, the deterrent effect of these words was strong. During this period, the number of people delivering invitations to Ning Jingyu noticeably decreased. Some sect members came back and mentioned that Zhao Wuyou had not given up and often lingered around the gate, but she never dared to cause trouble like before.

During this time, Song Xuyi practiced with Ning Jingyu daily and felt that her abilities had greatly improved.

Soon, the day of the Grand Immortal Sect Competition arrived.

The tournament was conducted in stages, from lower to higher levels.

Since disciples at the Foundation Establishment stage varied in their cultivation time, those at the early stage were at a disadvantage against those at the late stage. Therefore, the tournament included a spiritual power level measurement, dividing participants into several groups, with the strongest disciple from each group eligible to enter the secret realm to seek treasures.

Song Xuyi had only been in the Foundation Establishment stage for just over a year. Despite her talent, her spiritual power level was the lowest among the participants.

Moreover, Ning Jingyu didn’t seem to prioritize the accumulation of spiritual power. Unlike other cultivators who crazily consumed pills to boost their spiritual power, Ning Jingyu only provided Song Xuyi with natural spiritual fruits and never artificial pills.

Instead of focusing solely on increasing spiritual power, Ning Jingyu preferred Song Xuyi to train her body and reaction speed.

After overcoming the initial discomfort, Song Xuyi deeply agreed with Ning Jingyu’s teaching method: after all, the devastating defeat of the immortal realm later was greatly attributed to the cultivators’ sole focus on spiritual power without physical training. Spiritual power is always just an aid in combat; solid physical skills and the ability to use minimal spiritual power to exert maximum strength are the true essence of cultivation.

Because Ning Jingyu disliked crowded places, Song Xuyi went with the other sect members to the Grand Immortal Sect Competition venue to test her spiritual power.

The female cultivator in charge of testing was visibly shocked by Song Xuyi’s low spiritual power and whispered to her colleagues for a long time.

Song Xuyi didn’t care about others’ curious glances and, after testing, walked back with her fellow sect members, unexpectedly encountering Zhao Wuyou blocking her way.

Zhao Wuyou insisted on talking to Song Xuyi. Song Xuyi exchanged glances with her fellow sect members, who wisely went back to report, while Song Xuyi followed Zhao Wuyou aside.

Still maintaining her queen-like demeanor, Zhao Wuyou surrounded Song Xuyi with a few people, scrutinized her with disdain, and motioned for a cultivator to hand Song Xuyi a storage bag.

“I heard you come from the human realm with an unremarkable family background.”

“This storage bag contains several million spirit stones and some small pills, enough for you to start a small sect back in your homeland!”

“But this is just a down payment,” Zhao Wuyou raised her head, slightly arrogantly glancing at Song Xuyi: “After the task is completed, the other half will be delivered to your residence…”

Indeed, Zhao Wuyou was as rich as rumored, making such a generous offer right away!

Song Xuyi blinked.

She had to admit, she was momentarily tempted. Just as Zhao Wuyou said, this amount of money was enough for her to establish a small sect.

With her own sect, she could always protect her family and complete her mission to avoid the tragic end of the main characters.

However, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Zhao Wuyou wouldn’t offer such a generous reward without expecting something significant in return.

What did Zhao Wuyou want her to do?

“I advise you not to covet things that don’t belong to you,” seeing Song Xuyi silent, Zhao Wuyou, lacking patience, showed obvious disdain in her eyes: “As Senior Ning’s disciple, I thought you’d be more formidable, but it turns out your spiritual power is so low! It shows that even a single water spiritual root doesn’t necessarily make one outstanding. Having a disciple like you is simply a disgrace to Senior Ning’s name—”

“If I were you, I’d be too ashamed to stay under Senior Ning’s tutelage and would have left long ago out of shame…”

At this moment, a cultivator chimed in: “My lady’s spiritual power is almost twice yours…”

This was a blatant insult.

Song Xuyi immediately understood Zhao Wuyou’s intention: she wanted to become Ning Jingyu’s disciple and was trying to force her out.

Had it been the early days of her harsh training, Song Xuyi might have given way to Zhao Wuyou, but now, after all this time, she couldn’t give up either from personal feelings or for her own development.

However, Zhao Wuyou was, after all, the beloved daughter of the Xun Sect Leader, so Song Xuyi couldn’t be too direct. She was about to politely refuse Zhao Wuyou’s unreasonable request when a familiar cold voice interrupted: “My disciple has low spiritual power?”

Ning Jingyu emerged from the side. It was unclear how long she had been listening. Even though her tone was calm, Song Xuyi felt that Ning Jingyu was in a bad mood.

Ning Jingyu didn’t look at Song Xuyi. She coldly eyed Zhao Wuyou, disregarding her pale face, grabbed Song Xuyi, and turned to leave—

“I will show you what a true waste is!”

Ning Jingyu dragged Song Xuyi back to the small courtyard of the Xuanshu Sect.

Only then did Song Xuyi realize that Ning Jingyu was really angry. Ning Jingyu set up a formation for Song Xuyi to practice swordsmanship and sat beside it with a complicated look in her eyes.

During their sparring, Ning Jingyu no longer held back, defeating Song Xuyi within three moves using just a branch.

“For the next three days, you will practice swordsmanship in this formation and are not allowed to go anywhere else!”

Ning Jingyu commanded coldly, sitting down to meditate. Except for a brief absence, she stayed in the formation to supervise Song Xuyi’s training.

It felt like those early painful days at the Xuanshu Sect. Initially, Song Xuyi pondered what had upset Ning Jingyu, but soon she was too immersed in training to think of anything else.

Repeatedly falling and getting up, Ning Jingyu didn’t restrict Song Xuyi from using spiritual power. Despite her best efforts, Song Xuyi couldn’t defeat Ning Jingyu, who used no spiritual power and only a branch.

Song Xuyi understood Ning Jingyu’s intention—spiritual power is always auxiliary; the most powerful weapon is one’s own reflexes and physical strength.

Even though she couldn’t defeat Ning Jingyu, Song Xuyi kept training, continuously improving her swordsmanship speed.

In the formation, with no sense of day and night, three days passed. Exhausted, Song Xuyi lay on the ground, staring at the immaculate Ning Jingyu, who looked like a celestial being.

Ning Jingyu offered her hand to help Song Xuyi up, her lips forming a straight line: “I can teach you much more!”

Stepping back from the immediate situation, Song Xuyi suddenly understood why Ning Jingyu was angry.

“I never thought of leaving you, Master.”

Perhaps her silence when facing Zhao Wuyou gave Ning Jingyu the wrong impression that she was persuaded. That’s why Ning Jingyu had been so angry.

“Master,” Song Xuyi straightened her aching body, looked earnestly at Ning Jingyu, and sighed slightly: “I just thought that Zhao Wuyou, being the daughter of the Xun Sect’s leader, should not be refused too bluntly, so I hesitated for a moment.”

“Disciple is very grateful for Master’s teachings. Even if Master didn’t say, I know Master’s abilities are extraordinary and peerless.” Song Xuyi secretly glanced at Ning Jingyu’s expression. Ning Jingyu still wore a cold and indifferent look, but Song Xuyi felt that her mood seemed to have improved a bit. Song Xuyi then reversed her grip on Ning Jingyu’s hand and continued: “But Master, in the future, if you are upset, could you please let me know?”

“I’m not afraid of not learning skills; I’m just afraid that Master will be angry because of me.”

“Master has already endured so much suffering in past years,” Song Xuyi looked sincerely at Ning Jingyu, “In my view, heroes have the right to the best things in the world. No matter what others think, Master is the great hero who guards the Three Realms in my heart. I only hope that Master can live happily and comfortably every day, and not worry because of me…”

Song Xuyi believed that these words would surely dispel Ning Jingyu’s displeasure. However, she didn’t expect that after Ning Jingyu glanced at her, she would abruptly withdraw her hand, turn around, and look away.

A wave of inexplicable panic surged in Ning Jingyu’s heart. She had never thought that Song Xuyi could see through her thoughts. At this moment, Ning Jingyu suddenly realized that she cared about this disciple more than she had thought.

By the time Ning Jingyu snapped out of her chaotic thoughts, Song Xuyi had already left the formation.

Song Xuyi felt she needed to give Ning Jingyu some space, so she considerately left her alone and exited the formation herself.

The Grand Imoortal Sect Competition was to be held the next morning. After leaving the formation, Song Xuyi greeted the surrounding disciples and noticed that their gazes seemed a bit strange. She didn’t pay much attention to it, went to wash up, and then entered her room to rest. Having not slept for three days, she fell into a deep sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She was unaware that someone silently sneaked into her room in the middle of the night. The intruder’s hands, as flawless as jade, clenched and unclenched in the darkness. They looked at Song Xuyi with eyes full of struggle, but in the end, they did not clasp her neck—

—Even though knowing that Song Xuyi had become her weakness, she still couldn’t bear to strangle her.

The next morning, the Immortal Sect Festival proceeded as scheduled.

The martial arts stage was vast and boundless. The leaders of various factions sat on a high platform to watch. Ning Jingyu sat in the central position, her stunningly beautiful face like it was carved from ice and snow, taking one’s breath away at first glance.

Since Ning Jingyu appeared, the martial arts field had noticeably quieted down. It wasn’t until the competition officially began that the venue regained its bustle.

Throughout the journey, Song Xuyi felt that the surrounding people’s gazes at her were somewhat odd, but since she was walking behind Ning Jingyu, it wasn’t convenient to ask.

For some reason, even though Song Xuyi felt she had cleared up the misunderstanding with Ning Jingyu, Ning Jingyu still maintained that cold and indifferent demeanor.

Stepping onto the martial arts stage, the strange feeling in Song Xuyi’s heart reached its peak.

—Her opponent’s spiritual power level seemed much higher than hers, at least having been at the Foundation Establishment stage for twenty years.

Was there a mistake in the opponent selection?

Song Xuyi frowned and hadn’t had time to ask before she heard her opponent laugh: “I heard that Peak Master Ning specifically requested a change in groups, saying her disciple has the ability to overcome the strong with the weak, and deliberately moved you to the strongest group. Today, I will test you!”

Song Xuyi widened her eyes and glanced at Ning Jingyu on the high platform. Before she could react, her opponent had already attacked—

The author has something to say:

It wasn’t that I didn’t update last night because the bed was too warm.

It’s because of Li Jiaqi and Viya…

Well…

facepalm, everyone understands.

While my hands are still here, and before I have to make final payments.

Let’s endure this bowl of “heartbreaking Single’s Day sadness” together!!!

LP: Re-translated on May 28, 2024