The original host was afflicted with a forbidden curse carried from the womb the Six-Desires Soul-Breaking Curse.

When it flared up, he would often suffer agonizing pain as if his entire body were being gnawed by rats and beetles, causing him to lose his lucidity and emotional stability for the greater part of the time. Yet, to vent his agony, he had brutally tortured his good disciple for a full five years. Emmm… it was certainly a complicated situation to judge.

Moreover, the subsequent character persona could not be violated (OOC). The abuse still had to be inflicted where appropriate, but with Sui Yu’s hatred burning like fire, continuing to act that way would be no different from seeking death!

While Yun Mu was silently retreating into his own thoughts, Sui Yu’s consciousness gradually drifted away, and his eyes, brimming with hatred, finally closed with lingering reluctance. The moment before he passed out, all he felt was an annoying, incessant buzzing in his ears, driving him to distraction.

As Yun Mu roughly reviewed the entire plot, he simultaneously absorbed the prior memories of the original host and gained a shallow understanding of the world’s framework. Snapping back to his senses, he discovered that a new task assignment had popped up.

Side Mission 1: Treat Sui Yu while maintaining character integrity.

[I’ve really got it rough. The routine path for this mission definitely won’t work, so I’ll just have to carve out a new trail. An OOC violation results in three warnings; I’ll treat this as testing the waters so I can properly gauge the limits for future missions.]

Yun Mu still bore the lingering symptoms of the curse’s flare-up. Even the slightest movement caused him to grimace in pain.

Sighing and gritting his teeth, he laboriously shuffled over to Sui Yu’s side and viciously slapped the youth’s face.

He roughly shoved a top-grade Rejuvenation Pill—retrieved from his storage ring—down Sui Yu’s throat. “What kind of useless little weakling are you, unable to handle even a few strikes? Were all these years of careful care fed to the dogs?!”

While cursing up a storm, he unceremoniously unlocked the chains. Using the original host’s memories, his hands formed hand seals, conjuring a healing spell that surged violently toward Sui Yu. To finish it off, he gave the youth’s stomach a symbolic kick for good measure before leisurely shifting his steps toward the doorway.

Sui Yu was startled awake by this, still feeling somewhat dazed as he realized that the injuries on his body seemed to have healed by more than half.

[…Eight, nine, ten. No warning issued! It looks like this approach is viable. Now I’ve got a handle on things.]

Side Mission 1: Completed — Point Reward +50, Energy +50.

Listening to the mission completion prompt, Yun Mu cheerfully pushed open the aged wooden door. The sunlight outside was dazzling, and he instinctively pulled back to avoid it, accidentally meeting a pair of suspicious and uncertain eyes.

[Wow, this boy’s brows and eyes are truly striking—he really has the makings of a male lead. If violating character integrity didn’t mean getting purged, I’d drop down low, cling tightly to his thighs, and just snuggle right up to him!]

Sui Yu’s pupils constricted: ?!!

Just then, the Master didn’t seem to have opened his mouth to speak, so why did it feel like he had heard something? Could it be that his own injuries had become severe enough to cause auditory hallucinations?

[Ah, sins of the world, sins of the world. I hope he doesn’t hate me too much; I had no other choice. Although the Child of Destiny is destined to endure every kind of hardship before achieving rebirth through trials, this is simply too miserable. Oh well, if I keep looking, I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep myself from breaking character.]

Sui Yu’s brow furrowed slightly, a look of doubt crossing his face.

He heard it again. It wasn’t an auditory hallucination, nor was it spiritual voice transmission. Could it be… the Master’s inner voice?

What kind of game is this vicious fellow actually playing? Could it be that he has secretly practiced some forbidden spell or unorthodox art to satisfy some unspeakable, perverted desires of his?

“Return to your quarters and recover on your own. You’ve done nothing but eat for free all these years; once your injuries heal, get your ass rolling to the back mountain for cultivation immediately,” Yun Mu dropped flatly without a single expression and walked away.

Sui Yu let out a low, scoffing laugh. He had long known this person to be as tyrannical in temperament and selfishly ruthless as rumor claimed. In his past life, he had simply been far too naive, failing to see through the facade of warmth and actually believing that any benevolent souls existed in this world.

To hell with his inner voice, and damn his so-called lack of choice! The man put on an air of high-minded detachment, but when it came to striking down others, he hadn’t held back even the slightest bit of mercy.

Living this life all over again, he would never be as naive as he was in his previous existence.

My dearest Master, you had better wait properly for this disciple to grow up. When that time comes, I will surely present a “generous gift” to repay my teacher.

Cloaked in the morning glow, Yun Mu returned to the main hall of Qianyun Peak. Qianyun Peak was the mountain with the most abundant spiritual energy within the Luoxuan Sect, and its palaces were constructed with exquisite detail. As an elder of the Luoxuan Sect and the beloved younger junior brother of the Sect Master, his treatment was naturally beyond reproach.

If Sect Master Jiang Xiaohua didn’t already have a cultivation partner and they hadn’t raised a child together with deeply devoted affection, everyone would have thought the Sect Master senior brother harbored other intentions toward him.

Looking into the mirror, the person reflecting back possessed a stunning and radiant visage, bright as a jade tree facing the wind. A cascade of ink-black hair fell like satin, presenting a peerlessly rare beauty. Yet, his white robes stained with blood, his indifferent expression, and the lingering aura of fierce malevolence ruthlessly shattered that aesthetic, stirring fear in anyone who looked upon him.

“$text{=(}primetext{o}acute{o}text{textbf{)}))}$ Ah~ When will this ever end?!”*

After Yun Mu finished soaking in the medicinal spring bath within the side hall and stepped out, he spotted two people waiting by the entrance. The moment they caught sight of him, they fell to their knees in sheer panic to offer greetings, terrified of provoking his wrath.

“What are you two doing here?” Ah, it turned out to be his eldest disciple, Shi Menglan, and second disciple, Ling Guang.

“Junior Brother he”

Before Ling Guang could finish opening his mouth, he was cut off by Shi Menglan: “Reporting to Master, the Liyang Mountain Secret Realm will open shortly. The disciple wishes to go and explore it, and hopes Master will grant permission.”

“The Liyang Mountain Secret Realm…”

In the original text, the male lead encounters quite a few fortuitous encounters in this secret realm. Not only does he elevate his realm and successfully enter the late Foundation Establishment stage, but he also acquires a short blade forged from the skeletal remains of a divine beast the Ze Feng Blade.

That was an opportunity that absolutely could not be missed.

“This secret realm opens once every ten years, and cultivators at the Golden Core stage and below are permitted to go. It would be good for you two to go and broaden your horizons as well. By the way, take Sui Yu along with you.”

“Yes, Master.”

The two of them offered trembling farewells, only managing to release a breath of relief once they stepped out of the main hall.

“Senior Sister, why did you interrupt me just now?” Ling Guang asked, looking puzzled.

“If you value your life, go ahead and ask Master about the little junior brother,” Shi Menglan shot him a sideways glance. “It’s not like it’s your first day in the sect; have you forgotten Master’s methods?”

Reminded thusly, those dormant memories suddenly came rushing back, causing Ling Guang to shiver violently.

Ling Guang stammered, “I… I thought the little junior brother was an exception. Master actually treated him quite well before; his food, clothing, housing, and cultivation methods were never neglected. I never expected…”

Shi Menglan folded her arms across her chest, noncommittal. “A leopard cannot change its spots. Haven’t you noticed that ever since the little junior brother entered the sect, he has never been treated kindly by any of the other peers? Even you used to kick him while he was down. How could a life like that ever be considered good? It’s plain as day that he was just using a different game to torment the little junior brother!”

Ling Guang rubbed his arms in fright. “I heard that Master looked exceptionally terrifying last night. Can the little junior brother possibly survive that?”

“Let’s go check on him first. The Liyang Mountain Secret Realm is about to open, and since Master explicitly named him to go, we certainly can’t let him head there in a battered and crippled state.”

No sooner had the two of them left than Sect Master Jiang Xiaohua arrived.

Yun Mu invited him into the hall, and before he could even sit down, his wrist was grabbed so Jiang Xiaohua could carefully check his pulse.

“Junior Brother Yun, this flare-up seems somewhat different from previous ones. We cannot rule out the reason of your realm dropping. Right now, your pulse is exceptionally chaotic; if you aren’t careful, it could trigger a reversal of your meridians and lead to a violent internal explosion!” Jiang Xiaohua wore a deeply troubled expression. “You shouldn’t channel spiritual energy for the next few years. Listen to your Senior Brother’s advice seal your spiritual sea first and properly recuperate for a period of time.”

“No.”

Sealing the spiritual sea was practically equivalent to cutting off one’s own arm to survive. To say nothing of the future, if that fierce wolf Sui Yu found out, wouldn’t he seize the opportunity to slaughter him? No, that definitely wouldn’t do.