In the main hall of Zixiao Pavilion, the award ceremony was about to begin.
Looking at the smug Zhao An before him, Gu Baiqing clenched his back teeth.
Leaving this hidden danger not only gave him the chance to deal a heavy blow to Mo Xuanli, but also disrupted the proper storyline. He didn’t know whether it would affect Mo Xuanli’s future state of mind when forming his foundation. He had to consider how to get rid of this fellow once and for all.
“Fourth junior brother, in this matter… senior brother truly is powerless.” Fu Zhiyi looked at the dark-faced Gu Baiqing, shaking his fan awkwardly. In truth, even he didn’t know which side’s story to believe—both sides seemed reasonable enough.
“That’s because you’re useless. I can tell they clearly have guilty consciences.” Luo Nianyi had always had sharp instincts, and even without evidence she* believed Tang Yu was telling the truth. “Hey, fourth junior brother, why don’t you use your cultivation to scare them a bit—maybe…”
* the author switches pronouns, so Im not sure if its a girl or guy yet… lol
“Even if Mo Xuanli had his spiritual power drained, a loss is still a loss. If his skills are inferior, there’s nothing to be said. What, should we demand that in the future, whenever we face difficulty, the other side must match our spiritual power before a life-and-death duel? The reason the sect’s grand competition restricts the use of pills is precisely to deal with situations like this.” Gu Baiqing’s expression didn’t change as he spoke.
“You… that’s your own disciple! How can you be so cold-blooded toward him?” Luo Nianyi was once again enraged.
Gu Baiqing was wrongfully accused. Inside, his emotions were surging to the point of life and death, but he had to play the role of the strict master—stern in public and in private—and instinctively avoided the typical master-protecting plot. He couldn’t follow that route.
Gu Baiqing was deeply frustrated. He truly hated that he had transmigrated into a pure male-male romance world—if it were an ordinary world, he wouldn’t have so many scruples.
“Senior brother isn’t wrong, though,” muttered Chu Fei. For someone of his strength, he had never cared whether a match was fair. If it wasn’t, he would crush the opponent with power to make it fair. But Mo Xuanli hadn’t reached that level yet, so he could only suffer the grievance.
“I… I’ve got nothing more to say to you lot.” Luo Nianyi tossed aside his gourd, leapt into the air, and flew off, not bothering to watch the awards.
Fu Zhiyi said to Gu Baiqing, “If you’re feeling displeased, why not go see Mo Xuanli first?”
Guarding his disciple until he woke, then tearfully offering moving words of comfort and encouragement? That scene was too familiar—better to wait until he woke up.
Besides, he hadn’t yet exacted revenge on that brat. If it wasn’t convenient to act in public, he could at least collect some interest later.
Sure enough, Zhao An soon presented the opportunity himself.
As arrogant as ever, after receiving the top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, he said to Gu Baiqing, “Elder Luofeng, the facts have proven I’m more outstanding. Would you consider taking me as your disciple? I’m entirely sincere in my request.”
A flicker of disgust crossed Gu Baiqing’s cold face. Fighting was out—so he’d use ridicule instead.
Gu Baiqing slowly stood, acting as though he hadn’t heard, and prepared to walk out. Sure enough, Zhao An felt he had been publicly slapped in the face, and shouted angrily, “Elder Luofeng, you’re being far too unfair!” Even Elder Zhao couldn’t help speaking up for him.
Gu Baiqing stopped in his tracks, turned back, and gave Zhao An an icy glance.
“It’s not that I’m unwilling to take another disciple, but I have standards.”
Zhao An immediately protested, “Please tell me, Elder Luofeng, which standard I fail to meet—surely in every way I’m better than Mo Xuanli?”
Gu Baiqing suddenly let out a short laugh, turned, and fixed his gaze squarely on Zhao An. “Is that so? To be my disciple, when you win, you must win openly and honorably. When you lose, you must lose with conviction. Which of those can you do?”
“You… you’re slandering me!” Zhao An’s breath caught. Then he quickly tried to argue, “Mo Xuanli was just unlucky—how can you blame me for that?”
Gu Baiqing thought that this guy would at least feel a little guilty when facing him, but unexpectedly, even when called out to his face, he still refused to repent—stubborn and incorrigible.
His personality appeared straightforward, fiery, and seemingly simple, but lying came as naturally to him as eating. People like that were, in a certain sense, hard to expose.
Just like now—originally neutral elders, upon seeing this, couldn’t help but feel Zhao An was being wronged. No wonder, in the original story, he managed to deceive the original body.
But Gu Baiqing knew the original plot—there was no way the male lead would lose.
Facing Zhao An’s fury, Gu Baiqing said directly, “I decide what’s fair or not. I’ll say it one last time—those of low character are unworthy of entering my tutelage. You. Are. Not. Worthy.”
If Gu Baiqing had just walked away coldly, Zhao An wouldn’t have been so enraged. But now, Gu Baiqing had outright denied him in front of everyone. Did Zhao An not care about his own face? Even if he didn’t become Gu Baiqing’s disciple in the future, he might still want to apprentice under someone else. But after today, what would others think? Would they want someone that Gu Baiqing had publicly rejected as trash? Given Gu Baiqing’s reputation here, this was basically trying to ruin him.
Zhao An, shamed and furious, grabbed the wooden sword at his waist and pointed it straight at Gu Baiqing.
“If you don’t believe me, then have Elder Luofeng personally test my strength and see if I’d really lose to your disciple.”
Only Fu Zhiyi and Chu Fei knew Gu Baiqing couldn’t block that strike. Chu Fei was about to intervene.
But this time, before anyone could help, Gu Baiqing directly reached out and caught the tip of the wooden sword.
In others’ eyes, this looked like Gu Baiqing was about to make a move.
The crowd rushed to stop him.
“Elder Luofeng, don’t act—he’s just a child being impulsive…”
“Elder Luofeng, if I may, you’re in the wrong here. Even if you want to protect your disciple, you can’t hand down judgment without evidence.”
“That’s right. If Zhao An wasn’t so wronged, he wouldn’t have acted rudely. Forget it, forget it, let’s just deescalate this.”
“Elder Luofeng, are you just afraid of losing? If your disciple lost, then he lost—you can’t take it out on my clan’s grandson.”
Gu Baiqing was so irritated by the voices around him that he gave a cold snort.
【Points -1, Spiritual Power +1】
With a loud bang, a shockwave shook the entire hall.
…
“Why hasn’t Elder Luofeng come yet?” Tang Yu said anxiously. “Won’t he stand up for Xuanli? Everything I said was true—why won’t anyone believe me?”
“Alright, Tang Yu.” Yun Yue quickly tried to stop him, and turned to Luo Nianyi: “Master, Junior Brother Tang Yu didn’t mean to be rude, he just…”
“It’s fine, I’m angry too.” Luo Nianyi, upon entering the infirmary, reached out to check on Mo Xuanli, only to see him slowly waking up.
“You’re awake? How are you feeling?” Luo Nianyi asked.
Tang Yu and Yun Yue immediately crowded closer.
Mo Xuanli’s gaze drifted for a moment before he turned his head. “Master?”
Luo Nianyi clicked his tongue. “Your master stayed behind to attend the award ceremony.”
Mo Xuanli’s eyes instantly dimmed. In a hoarse voice, he said, “I… let Master down. I… I’m sorry, Master. I shouldn’t have lost—why did I lose?”
Mo Xuanli rarely had such a strong desire to win. Even when Zhao An injured him the first time, it was only a brief flash of anger. But now, he felt as if his heart had been torn apart. Just thinking of his master’s cold, disappointed gaze made even breathing feel painful. It had been so hard to finally have something Master hoped he could achieve, so hard to get a little closer to him… Now, would Master regret taking him as a disciple?
Mo Xuanli’s tone and expression were steeped in a heavy, dark sorrow that almost made others feel his heartbreak firsthand.
Tang Yu immediately said, “Xuanli, don’t say that—it was that brat Zhao An who stole your first place.”
“That’s right, Xuanli, you did really well,” Yun Yue comforted. “Just focus on recovering. Reaching second place in only a month is already unprecedented—everyone says you’re amazing.”
Although Luo Nianyi often scolded Gu Baiqing, in front of Mo Xuanli they still spoke up for him. “Don’t worry, your master won’t blame you—he knows what’s what.”
“No… even if Master doesn’t blame me, it’s still my fault. I’m not strong enough. I let Master down. Master has done so much for me…” Mo Xuanli’s voice grew more and more choked, his eyes misting over. He was deeply self-reproachful, feeling like he’d wasted the path Master had paved for him, and had shamed him.
Tang Yu, unable to stand seeing his friend like this, grew angry. “Did he ever do so much for you? He doesn’t even defend you—didn’t step in to help when you were nearly beaten to death. I… Xuanli, you should just join our Chunyang Pavilion instead. In the end, it was still our master who saved you.”
Luo Nianyi coughed lightly, just about to explain on Gu Baiqing’s behalf.
But then Mo Xuanli quickly said, “It’s not like that—Master didn’t act… because it wasn’t convenient for him.”
Luo Nianyi paused, surprised that this child still remembered his master’s physical condition at a time like this. Still… this child was too pure.
Although she had just been thinking of defending her junior brother’s image, in her view, “not convenient” and “not doing anything at all” were two very different things—it was a matter of intent. Sigh, and here she’d thought…
But then she suddenly noticed the flicker of unease in Mo Xuanli’s eyes. Luo Nianyi instantly understood—pure he might be, but he was also smart. If she could see the problem, how could he not?
Perhaps he was also lying to himself, unwilling to read too much into the details—unwilling to admit that Gu Baiqing might not care as much for him as a disciple as he thought.
“Xuanli, you really are… an idiot!” Tang Yu was furious.
Suddenly, a voice came from the doorway. “What’s all this noise?!”
Everyone turned their heads to see Chu Fei standing there. Mo Xuanli instinctively craned his neck, but when he didn’t see another familiar figure beside Chu Fei, he couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.
“Master…” Tang Yu shrank back a little when he saw Chu Fei. After all, just like Yun Yue, he was only an ordinary disciple, not a personal disciple. Although they called him “Master,” they didn’t dare get too close.
But when Tang Yu looked at Mo Xuanli lying on the bed, he still couldn’t keep quiet and couldn’t help speaking up for him.
Chu Fei frowned as soon as he heard this and said, “So what? I didn’t realize it at the time either. It was Senior Brother who snatched my bottle to throw at someone. When I chased after him, I finally saw that Zhao An harbored malicious intent.”
Mo Xuanli’s pupils trembled; he suddenly turned to look at Chu Fei, his heartbeat speeding up.
“Ah? Is that so? So that means Fourth Senior Brother was the first to notice there was danger?” Luo Nianyi said in surprise.
Chu Fei nodded.
That breath stuck in Mo Xuanli’s throat seemed to be released all at once, and he even felt like laughing. The feeling actually overshadowed the disappointment of losing the match.
I knew it… Master cares about me.
Tang Yu and Yun Yue exchanged surprised looks. Although they still didn’t understand why Gu Baiqing didn’t act personally, they could now see that their master did care about his disciples.
“Oh right, since you’re here, that means things over there are over. Why didn’t he come?” Luo Nianyi asked.
Mo Xuanli instantly widened his eyes and looked over.
“Oh, something happened over there. I didn’t want the hassle, so I left first. He and Second Senior Brother stayed behind to handle it.”
“What happened?”
Chu Fei gave a short laugh and said to Mo Xuanli, “Congratulations. You’ve legitimately taken back first place.”
Everyone stared at Chu Fei in shock.
…
What the h*ll is going on?!
Gu Baiqing, in a fit of anger and urged on by an impulsive, devilish urge, had exchanged for a bit of spiritual power. Just as he was feeling the sting of the cost, the power in his hand went out of control. The spiritual energy surged, blasting Zhao An away and shattering the wooden sword in his hand to pieces.
But what followed were cries of surprise.
Because what fell to the ground wasn’t just fragments of a wooden sword—it also contained shards of a top-grade spiritual sword. The fragments glimmered faintly, as if it were the sword’s final struggle, before they faded into nothing.
Everyone stood there dumbfounded for a long moment before realizing that Zhao An’s wooden sword had been hiding a spiritual weapon. This meant that part of the spiritual energy he used in the fight came from borrowing the sword’s power, not his own. Compared to forming cliques to cheat, this was outright against the rules—and there was irrefutable evidence.
No wonder Mo Xuanli’s final strike didn’t succeed and instead had his wooden sword split in two—so that was the reason.
Now the crowd was truly furious. The sect’s grand tournament was a serious matter—how could such underhanded tactics be tolerated? The sword’s secret had been hidden by an enchantment so that no one could see it—such a method could only have been arranged by someone with high cultivation, almost certainly Elder Zhao himself.
Fu Zhiyi’s expression turned cold. “Elder Zhao, Zhao An, please explain what is going on here.”
When the steward stopped smiling, it was the most terrifying thing. Gu Baiqing hadn’t expected that in his anger, just wanting to teach someone a lesson, he would accidentally expose the truth.
Elder Zhao quickly dropped to his knees. Zhao An collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the shattered spiritual sword, his face pale.
Fu Zhiyi waved his hand and stepped onto the high platform outside to question them again, with the crowd watching.
In the end, even the disciples and child attendants previously reported by Tang Yu were all summoned.
At that point, they realized Zhao An and Elder Zhao were finished, so they lost their nerve, kneeling one after another to beg for mercy.
…
“They were crying and wailing, and I didn’t want the hassle, so I left,” Chu Fei said.
Luo Nianyi, absorbed in the story, was so annoyed she wanted to grab Chu Fei by the neck. “You couldn’t let me see the ending?”
“What’s there to see? You know Second Senior Brother’s methods—he won’t tolerate this kind of thing. That bunch definitely won’t be able to stay in the Zixiao Sect, Elder Zhao included.”
“Ahhh, that’s great! The truth is finally out!” Tang Yu jumped for joy on the spot, turning to Mo Xuanli. “Xuanli, you’re first place now, it’s—”
Mo Xuanli had been joyfully stunned, never expecting such a reversal. But the next moment, he suddenly said in surprise, “Master… Master shattered the spiritual sword?”
With Tang Yu and Yun Yue present, he couldn’t say too much, but Luo Nianyi quickly caught on. “That guy—Chu Fei, why didn’t you bring him here?”
Chu Fei frowned. “He said he’s fine. Second Senior Brother and I checked—he really is fine.”
Tang Yu and Yun Yue didn’t understand what they were talking about, but Yun Yue was smart enough to realize it was something they shouldn’t hear, so she quickly pulled Tang Yu away.
Tang Yu, still wanting to see the excitement, told Mo Xuanli to rest and went to see for himself.
By the time Tang Yu arrived, the matter had mostly wrapped up—just as Chu Fei had described. Seeing Zhao An being jeered and cursed by everyone in his wretched state, Tang Yu was overjoyed and rushed forward to spit on him.
Still feeling unsatisfied, Tang Yu wanted to cause more trouble for them on their way down the mountain to avenge both himself and his brother.
But halfway there, he happened to see Gu Baiqing pass by.
At the sight of him, Zhao An, like a desperate, cornered dog, suddenly lunged forward. Tang Yu was thrilled, hoping Gu Baiqing would personally beat Zhao An up.
But Elder Zhao was there to hold back the suicidal Zhao An.
Zhao An screamed hysterically, “Gu Baiqing, you dare ruin me! Mark my words—one day, I’ll defeat Mo Xuanli, and I’ll defeat you too! You’ll regret not choosing me!”
Zhao An had probably never lost before, let alone to someone he completely looked down on, and then been exposed in public. Humiliated, his eyes were red as he spat his threats, ignoring the fact that Gu Baiqing could crush him with a flick of his finger.
But Gu Baiqing couldn’t be bothered to deal with him now. Elder Zhao, seeing this disdain, couldn’t help but speak up: “Our Zhao family was sincere from the beginning. Why does Elder Luofeng look down on us so much? Mo Xuanli… is nothing but a wild boy with no background and no talent. Winning a few times by luck, using a mix of skills and quick thinking to catch others off guard—if it came down to real strength and cultivation, he could never win. Why do you think so highly of him?”
Gu Baiqing finally stopped walking. After thinking for a moment, he felt arguing was pointless, so he gave a cold snort.
“Fine, I’ll tell you the reason. There’s one thing in which he absolutely cannot outshine Mo Xuanli.”
“What is it?” Zhao An’s eyes immediately went wide.
Gu Baiqing rarely showed a roguish smile, but now he smirked and teased: “Haven’t you noticed? He’s better-looking than you. Anyone who isn’t blind can see that.”
Zhao An was stunned. Elder Zhao froze. Even Tang Yu, who was secretly watching, was dumbfounded.
That… that’s the reason?
But then they looked at Zhao An’s face—which could at best be called passable—and thought of Mo Xuanli’s…
Alright. Defeat. Total defeat.
“That’s… that’s your reason?” Zhao An was completely crushed.
“His build is better than yours?”
“His voice sounds nicer than yours?”
“His temperament is better than yours?”
“Take your pick.” Gu Baiqing gave a derisive snort, then turned and walked away.
He had no idea that the words he had tossed out just to get under Zhao An’s skin would cause him a great deal of trouble in the future.
Walking off casually, he waved a hand and said, “It’s a long road down the mountain—stay safe.” As if hinting at something.
