Chapter 104 This Life and Past Life (Part 1)
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“I bet my next hundred years to become the number one on the Wentian Rankings.”
The young voice carried a slight sense of amusement, but his expression was aloof.
Under the peach blossoms, he saw him for the first time, dressed in pristine white like freshly fallen snow.
The arrogant remarks infuriated the Sword Sovereign, yet he refrained from retorting. With aged hands, he brushed aside the scattered leaves on the table, intending to continue with a stern expression and deliver a reprimand. However, he couldn’t suppress the smile of amusement and pride on his lips.
He cleared his throat and grumbled, “Alright, I accept your wager. If you lose, you’ll have to work on your temperament at Tianqian Peak! If you win, I won’t meddle in your affairs anymore, and perhaps, I’ll even grant you something else.”
“Really?”
The Sword Sovereign snorted. “I never speak falsely.”
The young man in the snow-white attire turned his head slightly, appearing to have let out a brief laugh.
The wind gently swept the strands of hair across his eyes, as peach blossoms swirled, casting a hint of carefree recklessness in his gaze.
The young man’s lips curved with a moderate arc.
“Then, let’s agree on it like that.”
Yunxiao’s Chief Disciple became a world-renowned prodigy that shook the cultivation realm from the moment he was born.
Every movement and word seemed to exude an unapproachable aura, akin to a lofty and radiant moon hanging in the sky, beyond reach.
Pei Jing stared intently into the person’s eyes, his gaze clouded with confusion, feeling an unexplainable sense of suffocation.
This was him, the version of him from his youth.
However, this world belonged solely to Chu Junyu’s memories.
The thought of such a bizarre notion overwhelmed his senses, yet inexplicably brought forth a wave of melancholy.
“How could you be me?” Pei Jing murmured softly, his words blending into the wind.
But everything felt undeniably real, like a parallel world, like the intersection of past and present lives.
In a state of ethereal existence, he trailed behind him closely.
Looking at Tianqian Peak, the accumulated snow melted and regathered, with the seasons seamlessly transitioning.
He witnessed the young boy’s black hair growing longer, his figure gradually becoming upright, and his features turning colder and sharper.
Having reached the Golden Core stage at the age of one hundred, he emerged from seclusion, his sword prowess renowned throughout the land.
He sat in front of Wuya Pavilion, his slender hand placing the pen down. A frozen little yellow bird fluttered in through the window, shaking off a piece of paper.
The young man picked up the paper, quickly scanning its contents, and softly said, “Go to the Institute of Celestial Ascension. I knew it wasn’t good news the moment I saw you coming. I should have closed the window.”
The little yellow bird was annoyed but too frozen to pay any attention, instead crawling and scrambling to the warmth of the stove.
Outside Tianqian Peak, snow fell incessantly, blanketing the surroundings in a vast expanse of white, accentuating the profound silence of the world.
The young man laughed as he held the paper.
In the midst of the fluctuating temperatures of early spring, the Institute of Celestial Ascension welcomed a new burst of vitality. The future top five geniuses, who would astonish the cultivation world, were once just a group of playful and cheerful young individuals. Their initial chaotic encounters laid the foundation for a series of sharp-witted clashes in their academy life. Pei Jing, as an outsider, observed their banter and mischief, feeling a sense of emptiness within, while Chu Junyu… What was Chu Junyu’s sentiment as he watched Pei Jing interact with the other four?
No… Where exactly did things go wrong? Pei Jing forced himself to calm down, recalling the words spoken to him by the Heavenly Dao. Amidst an almost suffocating silence, he awaited the culmination of cause and effect.
The familiar memories abruptly came to a halt, finally revealing a divergence.
After his first failed attempt to break through the Nascent Soul stage, he emerged from seclusion. In the same suspended bridge trial, however, Chu Junyu was absent. The young man who had made him sense danger at first glance was nowhere to be found, and as a result, everything became different.
Pei Yuzhi did not go to the Outer Peaks. After selecting a few names with a vermilion brush, he returned to Tianqian Peak. Learning from his master that the path to returning to basics was the same, he chose to directly enter the mortal realm and experienced life incognito.
Immersed in the mortal world, he gained nothing.
Drinking wine, folding flowers, and presenting them to a beautiful woman, he returned to Yunxiao once again, donning a bamboo hat and wearing snowy white robes.
This time, everything was turned upside down.
In the season of late spring showers, during the grand competition at Yinghui Peak, a cloud crane inadvertently brought a boy into the fray.
The dirty beggar-like boy, with innocent and ignorant eyes, naturally became the target of ridicule and mockery for everyone. This time, he didn’t even qualify to step onto the arena.
Several disciples with poor performance treated him as a punching bag, mercilessly teaching him a lesson before throwing him out of Yinghui Peak.
His uninvited presence was already a violation of Yunxiao’s rules. Therefore, no one sympathized with him.
Moreover, the injuries inflicted were merely superficial, considered a small punishment by cultivators. But for a young man who was hungry and exhausted, traveling thousands of miles, the pain went deep into his bones.
Although the feeling of hunger never subsided, he still grew plump, unnaturally so.
The entire person huddled in the muddy ground, the cold spring rain pierced like sharp threads, cutting into his body. Ji Wuyou remembered the person who had deceived him to come here, sniffled with a reddened nose, and tears streamed down in large drops.
He was so hungry, feeling so uncomfortable, and he didn’t want to be at Yunxiao anymore. He wanted to go back home. But his aunt didn’t want him anymore, and his master had disappeared. He had no home.
Thinking about this, the chubby boy cried even harder, and big teardrops seeped into his bruised and battered flesh, causing a painful and itchy sensation. His fingernails were torn off, mingled with the mud. His stomach made loud noises, spasms of pain coursing through his abdomen. He was too hungry, and he had to temporarily ignore the pain in his body, propping himself up from the ground. Unexpectedly, his hand slipped, and he fell heavily back into the muddy water. It was like the last straw that broke the chubby boy’s back. He ate a mouthful of mud, his eyes filled with confusion, unable to cry anymore.
Then, he stared blankly ahead. In the gloomy sky of Yinghui Peak, a figure in snow-white robes came into view. The shoes were embroidered with silver edges, exquisite and noble.
It seemed as if the rain beating down on him had ceased. There was a cool, distant wind, carrying a faint fragrance.
Within that person’s presence, it seemed as if a jade-white radiance emanated, with an aura similar to being above the clouds.
Ji Wuyou stiffly raised his head.
His eyes met the smiling gaze of the young man looking down at him.
“Ji Wuyou?”
In an instant, the chubby boy’s eyes widened.
The young man in the snow-white attire laughed lightly. “It seems my memory is quite good. I bumped into you as soon as I returned. Fortunately, I came early.”
Ji Wuyou was still a naive child, his assessment of people limited to a few simple notions of beauty and ugliness, good and bad.
He was humble as dust in the filthy mud, gazing up at the person in front of him. The damp, salty, and cold rainwater entered his eyes, but he paid no attention.
There was only one inexplicable sentiment in his heart that he couldn’t put into words.
He looks really handsome, really good.
…….I also want to become someone like him.
Pei Yuzhi reached out his hand towards him, his fingers white as jade, and said, “Are you very hungry? Let me take you to eat something first.”
Ji Wuyou stopped crying and didn’t dare to touch his hand. He timidly crawled up.
The flowers by the mountain path were bent by the wind and rain.
Pei Yuzhi tilted his head and laughed. Seeing him like this, he softly said words that Ji Wuyou couldn’t hear or understand.
“Truly living up to the protagonist who treads the path of corruption, your current state is quite pitiful.”
The people of Yinghui Peak would soon regret it to the core!
After all, no one had expected that the unexpected intruder who barged into Yunxiao out of nowhere would end up being taken in as a disciple by Senior Brother Pei!
That person was none other than Pei Yuzhi, the dream lover of countless female disciples of Yunxiao, the lifelong enemy of countless male disciples of Yunxiao. A person whose mere encounter could be boasted about for half a year!
The crowd lamented, wondering how that dirty, cowardly, and incompetent chubby boy managed to catch the attention of Senior Brother Pei. They felt as if they had burned incense to their ancestors, wishing that it had been themselves lying beaten in the mud that day.
Ji Wuyou’s name gained great renown in Yunxiao.
Initially, everyone was amazed by his luck and curious about his future.
They held a mysterious admiration for Pei Yuzhi, thinking that anyone who caught the eye of Senior Brother Pei must have extraordinary qualities.
The disciples who had bullied Ji Wuyou on that day felt embarrassed and touched their noses, weakly hoping that it was just a few beatings and that the chubby boy wouldn’t hold a grudge.
In Ji Wuyou’s first year, second year, and third year at Tianqian Peak, countless eyes secretly watched him, expecting him to bring a new surprise to Yunxiao. However, as the years passed—the tenth year, the twentieth year, the hundredth year—that surprise never materialized.
In fact… as a disciple of Yunxiao and Pei Yuzhi, he hadn’t even reached Foundation Establishment after a hundred years.
The crowd furrowed their brows, and conversations during tea and meals became increasingly filled with doubts. Some even sneered in disbelief. “With such talent, how dare he remain at Tianqian Peak? In such a blessed land, just take any cultivator there, and they would all achieve Foundation Establishment. Senior Brother Pei achieved it at the age of ten and Golden Core at a hundred. Ji Wuyou is truly a stain on his life.”
Rumors and gossip were like daggers in his back. During one seclusion, Ji Wuyou almost succumbed to his inner demons, feeling the agony of living death. You are his disgrace… The person he recognized at first sight, swore allegiance to, and admired……
Ji Wuyou coughed up blood, and in the end, he was revived by someone channeling true qi into him.
The room was filled with radiant light as the Master sat by the bedside, wearing a snow-white robe with a touch of blue gauze, his face displaying a calmness that awed the world.
“Why are you in such a hurry? Haven’t I been stuck at the peak of Golden Core for a hundred years? The next Trial of Challenging the Heavens is approaching. I heard that Feng Jing, that Little Brother… ahem, Phoenix Emperor is on the verge of reaching Nascent Soul, but I don’t see any rush. Cultivation is a gradual process, so just go with the flow.”
Ji Wuyou now increasingly struggled with how to interact with him, feeling both humiliated and wronged, full of shame. He lowered his head and whispered, “Yes.”
Pei Yuzhi stood up, his demeanor cool and distant. “Rest well and stay at Tianqian Peak. Pay no heed to idle gossip.”
Ji Wuyou clenched his fists, his eyes reddened, his gaze becoming dim.
But as soon as he left that door…
Pei Yuzhi went to Wenqing Peak.
Pulling Chen Xu along, they headed towards the Celestial Pavilion.
Chen Xu asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
The lofty and aloof Master, shedding his indifference, vanished into thin air.
Pei Yuzhi tugged at the corner of his lips, coolly remarking, “If I haven’t reached Nascent Soul yet and lose to Feng Jin in the Trial of Challenging the Heavens, then I might as well not exist.”
Chen Xu laughed out loud. “Indeed, with Feng Jin’s vengeful temperament, he’ll mock you for five hundred years. I heard your disciple went berserk when he was breaking through Foundation Establishment and nearly met with disaster?”
Pei Yuzhi glanced at him with indifference.
Chen Xu’s laughter subsided. “Back when you wanted to take Ji Wuyou as your disciple, the one hundred Elders of the Inner Peaks and Outer Peaks wished to kneel at Tianqian Peak day and night, tears streaming down their faces, begging you to retract the order. But with your disdainful and detestable temperament, they resigned themselves, their hearts filled with despair, waiting for a miracle. And now, after a hundred years of waiting, they haven’t seen a miracle, only a joke. Pei Yuzhi, are you sure Ji Wuyou is the right choice?”
Chen Xu’s words seemed to strike a chord within him.
Pei Yuzhi lowered his gaze and calmly replied, “I would prefer him to remain like this for his entire life.”
Chen Xu was taken aback. He often didn’t understand his friend’s thoughts, but he refrained from interfering. “So, are you really going to entrust Yunxiao to him?”
Pei Yuzhi said, “No, I won’t.”
Chen Xu grew even more puzzled but changed the subject, “I heard his inner demons were caused by listening to all the ridicule and mockery from the outside?”
Pei Yuzhi pursed his lips, smiled casually, and said, “He’s too easily influenced by others. Look at how the outside world has distorted my relationship with Feng Jin. Did I say anything about it?”
Chen Xu: “……”
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