He Transmigrated Into The Body Of A Useless Little Disciple, Whose Innermost Thoughts Were Overheard By Demonic Master! - Chapter 8

Xie Rong happened to meet Xuan Yue’s gaze when he looked up. He quickly straightened his back, though he kept muttering to himself: Why is Master looking at me again? I have been practicing very hard lately, and I have been staying by Senior Brother’s side, so I have not embarrassed Master at all. Does Master have the gift of prophecy? Does he already know I will embarrass him in the upcoming spar and is giving me a warning look? A Great Ascension cultivator is indeed mysterious and unfathomable. But there should be no need for prophecy to know I will lose; it is obvious to anyone with eyes.

Xuan Yue withdrew his gaze, but because of that glance, many people in the hall turned their attention toward Xie Rong. Everyone knew that Immortal Venerable Xuan Yue’s youngest true disciple was still only at the late Foundation Establishment stage. Rumors circulated within the Xuan Tian Sect that Xuan Yue had not taken Xie Rong as a disciple out of genuine intent but merely to appease the Sect Master. If Xuan Yue cared even a little, Xie Rong would not still be at the Foundation Establishment stage. Breaking through from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core does not even require overcoming a heart demon; one can forcefully break the bottleneck by accumulating massive amounts of spiritual energy. If Xuan Yue wanted Xie Rong to reach Golden Core, he could simply provide a suitable medicinal pill, and it would not even harm the disciple’s foundation. Xie Rong lacked both talent and family background; becoming Xuan Yue’s true disciple was purely a matter of overwhelming luck. They had been indifferent to Xie Rong, but since Xuan Yue had specifically glanced at him, they grew curious. Throughout the celebration, this was the first time Xuan Yue had looked at any of his disciples. It was not his eldest disciple, Lin Mingsi, nor the talented and lucky Gu Xingchen, but the mediocre Xie Rong.

Lei Ze glanced at Xie Rong and then smiled at Xuan Yue. “Is this your youngest disciple? Back then, I had to force you to accept a disciple for the two of you to have this master-disciple fate.”

Xuan Yue’s expression remained unchanged, but he heard Xie Rong’s strange inner voice: The Sect Master said that, and Master is definitely cursing him inwardly, thinking, “If you want this master-disciple fate so much, why do you not take him?” Venerable Xuan Yue glared at the Sect Master and threw the useless disciple Xie Rong at him.

Xuan Yue felt somewhat baffled. In Xie Rong’s mind, he was apparently the type of person who cursed people inwardly. Lei Ze was used to Xuan Yue’s coldness, but this silent acceptance surprised him. He realized he should perhaps elevate Xie Rong’s status; whether the boy was useless or not did not matter. What mattered was Xuan Yue’s attitude toward him.

After the major sects finished presenting their gifts, someone suggested a sparring match among the juniors. This was a common event at such celebrations, usually between cultivators of the same realm. Since it was a competition, there would be winners and losers. As a newly ascended Great Ascension cultivator, if his disciple lost too miserably, Xuan Yue would lose face. High-ranking guests took their seats, while the juniors stood. The first to step forward was Lei Ze’s eldest disciple, Bai Xun, who challenged Lin Mingsi.

As Lin Mingsi walked to the center of the hall, Xie Rong felt anxious. Senior Brother has just broken through to the Nascent Soul realm, while Brother Bai is in the mid-Nascent Soul stage. Will he get beaten up? If Senior Brother loses, will Master punish him? No, Master is so handsome; he surely would not be unreasonable.

Xuan Yue could not help but look at Xie Rong again. Am I that handsome? And punishing Lin Mingsi would be unreasonable? It had been years since anyone had called him unreasonable, and it felt strangely refreshing.

Xie Rong could not follow the spar between Lin Mingsi and Bai Xun; he could only catch glimpses of figures flickering in the air. After the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, Lin Mingsi lost by half a move after being struck in the chest. Just as he landed and steadied himself, he saw Xie Rong looking anxious and preparing to rush over, so he quickly used his eyes to stop him. Receiving the signal, Xie Rong clenched his fists, suppressing his urge to intervene.

Lin Mingsi bowed gracefully. “Brother Bai has profound cultivation; I am no match for you.”

Bai Xun showed a wry smile and sighed. “You have only just entered the Nascent Soul realm, yet I had to use all my strength to win by only half a move. In truth, I have lost this spar.”

Watching Bai Xun’s disappointed expression, Xie Rong muttered to himself, Why be unhappy when you won?

When Lin Mingsi returned to his seat, Xie Rong leaned over, tugged his sleeve, and mouthed, Are you okay? Lin Mingsi smiled and shook his head slightly, signaling he was fine. Losing to Bai Xun by half a move in a lower realm was not an embarrassment to his Master.

Xie Rong paid little attention to the subsequent matches as he did not recognize the participants nor understand their moves. His gaze swept across the hall until it landed on the spiritual fruits placed beside Xuan Yue. He could not help but lick his lips. It was not that he was greedy, but those fruits were genuinely delicious. Senior Brother had been rewarded with three of these by the sect for his breakthrough and had given one to him.

Why is Master not eating the fruit? Does he not like sweet things? I have never seen Master eat anything; is it his nature to dislike food? Master is too handsome; among all the cultivators in the hall, he is definitely ranked first. Master really likes shades of blue; he is even wearing a blue spiritual jade headband today. He looks so good. I heard others say that several young masters of major sects are in love with Master. I wonder if it is true. Does he prefer boys or girls? Will Master ever find a Daoist partner? He is so cold; could anyone ever tolerate him?

Xuan Yue, who had been listening to Xie Rong mutter about the fruit, found the inner monologue growing increasingly outrageous. He dared to gossip about him! Xuan Yue was furious but had nowhere to vent, as Xie Rong did not know his thoughts were being overheard. Listening to the praise for his looks, followed by curiosity about his preferences, and finally, gossip about his personal life, Xuan Yue could bear it no longer. He pushed a plate of fruits toward Xie Rong. He feared that if he did not interrupt Xie Rong’s train of thought, he would soon hear something truly scandalous.

The plate of fruit interrupted Xie Rong’s wild thoughts, and he looked at Xuan Yue, bewildered. Xuan Yue looked at him blandly and said coldly, “Do you not want to eat?”

It seems scaring him works; at least it is quiet now, Xuan Yue thought.

Xie Rong took the plate, feeling embarrassed, and bowed respectfully. “Thank you for the reward, Master.”

Master must have seen me staring at the fruit. It is one thing to be a glutton, but I should not have embarrassed myself in front of Master. Still, Master does not seem angry; he even gave me fruit. Right, Master is over six thousand years old; to him, I must just be a nursing infant. Wow, Master is over six thousand years old and has never had a partner. Is he still a virgin?

Xuan Yue, who had been taking a sip of tea, choked upon hearing this. Did Xie Rong have no respect for his Master? How could he dare to tease him in his mind? Such rebellious thoughts were lawless!

Xuan Yue’s strange behavior left many in the hall puzzled, and some began to secretly speculate. Gu Xingchen had lost his spar; perhaps Xuan Yue was dissatisfied, as two of his seven true disciples had already lost. If they lost three out of seven matches, the situation would look quite ugly.

Xie Rong stood there, baffled, never expecting the pressure to fall on him so suddenly. A cold, handsome youth in black walked confidently into the hall and locked his gaze onto Xie Rong. Xie Rong knew his opponent had arrived.

“I am Xiao Xifeng, late-stage Foundation Establishment, and I wish to spar with Daoist Xie.”

Lin Mingsi had not intended to use a voice transmission, but seeing the anxiety in Xie Rong’s eyes, he whispered, Little Junior Brother, do not be afraid. He is a Talisman Cultivator; his close-combat skills might not be better than yours. If you cannot win, concede, but be careful.

Xie Rong had been about to concede immediately, but after hearing Lin Mingsi, he swallowed the words. If I concede before we even start, it will be too embarrassing for Master. Forget it, I will go all out. Since Senior Brother and Master are both here, surely they will not let me be beaten to death. If I do get beaten to death by accident, it is my fate. I wonder if there is reincarnation in the cultivation world; I have never done any evil, so I should be able to be reborn as a human in the next life.

Several cultivators in the hall had heard Lin Mingsi’s transmission and looked at Xie Rong with curiosity, wondering just how incompetent he was to be thinking of conceding before the spar had even begun. If Xie Rong were truly useless, why had Xuan Yue looked at him so many times?

Xuan Yue, hearing Xie Rong’s internal monologue, once again felt he truly did not understand the boy. How could anyone be willing to die? Even a fool would seize every chance to survive.

Xie Rong’s sword was a gift from Lin Mingsi, a high-level magical artifact that Lin Mingsi had used in the past. After exchanging bows, Xie Rong put distance between himself and Xiao Xifeng. This maneuver puzzled everyone; knowing the opponent was a Talisman Cultivator, why retreat and play into Xiao Xifeng’s strategy? Was he looking down on him?

Xiao Xifeng felt insulted and surged with rage. He decided not to test him further and brought out his strongest talisman. His lineage and talent were hundreds of times greater than Xie Rong’s; his grandfather was a God-Connecting cultivator who had tried to offer Xuan Yue countless gifts to accept him as a disciple, only for them to be returned. Lei Ze had personally told his grandfather that Xuan Yue did not intend to accept disciples, yet less than a year later, he had accepted Xie Rong, leaving Xiao Xifeng the target of mockery in his family. How could he not be jealous? Xie Rong was a three-grade root failure, yet he was Xuan Yue’s true disciple, while he had fire-type heavenly roots and a talent for talismans. Where was he inferior?

Xuan Yue was the first to sense that something was wrong with Xiao Xifeng. Having lived with demonic energy his entire life, he was more familiar with it than anyone. Xiao Xifeng was forcefully suppressing his cultivation level, refusing to break through to Golden Core, and it was clear his mental state had collapsed, giving birth to demonic energy. If he conquered his heart demon, he could pass the tribulation, but if he failed, he would suffer a backlash and the demonic energy would consume him. Demonic energy was as tenacious as marrow-eating maggots; even high-level cultivators found it excruciating to purge, let alone a Foundation Establishment youth like Xiao Xifeng.

When Xiao Xifeng threw a golden talisman at him, Xie Rong reflexively raised his sword to block. As he locked eyes with Xiao Xifeng, he was filled with confusion. Why is he looking at me like that? Does he want to kill me? Xie Rong did not know what killing intent was, but he genuinely felt he was about to die.

Lin Mingsi’s face turned pale when the talisman was activated. He did not hesitate to step forward to block the explosive power of the talisman. It was an Earth-grade talisman, powerful enough to kill a Golden Core cultivator; Xie Rong would never survive it.