I Failed to Reform the Protagonist [Transmigration] - Chapter 10

To make “farming” easier, Pei Jing assigned himself the three spiritual roots of Water, Wood, and Wind. The utility of spiritual roots is primarily felt before the Nascent Soul stage; as a “half-step Nascent Soul,” Pei Jing had already achieved a level of resonance with heaven and earth. Even without being born with Wood and Wind roots, he could manifest those elements at will.

After the morning lesson, the teacher called several disciples to collect their uniforms. The attire for the outer peak disciples of Yunxiao was simple: white brocade robes covered by a layer of light blue gauze. Yet, once worn, it seemed to transform a person’s entire aura.

On the way back, they passed through lush mountain forests. The senior sister leading him said softly, “Don’t hold a grudge against the Peak Master. You tore up the heart method he wrote by hand that day, embarrassing him in front of everyone. If he didn’t punish you, he wouldn’t be able to maintain his authority. Sending you to the spirit gardens is to temper your character. Just focus on watering the plants; the Peak Master will forgive you eventually.”

Pei Jing nodded. “Thank you, Senior Sister.”

She added, “There will be a selection in a year to determine your future placement. Even if the environment is poor, you must cultivate diligently and not slack off. Understand?”

“Yes.”

The spirit garden was located on the mountainside behind Yinghui Peak, divided into various plots of grass planted with spiritual herbs used for alchemy. Pei Jing couldn’t even see the end of it. He could imagine that if he were truly a standard Qi Refining disciple, he wouldn’t be able to finish watering this place in a day and a night.

The person originally in charge was a servant disciple—low in ability but high in ego. Seeing Pei Jing take over, his face twisted with a jealousy so sharp it was almost physical. He began with cold mockery: “So what if you made it into the outer peak? In the end, you’ve fallen to this state. I see the Peak Master has given up on you. You might as well change clothes and settle in to watch these gardens forever.”

Pei Jing gave him a half-smile and replied earnestly, “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. I can’t let my three spiritual roots go to waste. After all, this is a talent many people beg for but never receive.”

The servant disciple nearly coughed up blood from the irony. With a grimace, he handed Pei Jing a bucket. “There’s a well in the back. Carry water to water the garden twice a day. Fertilize every half-month—use this same bucket. There’s a latrine a few miles ahead. I hope the ‘Great Immortal’ isn’t too squeamish about the smell.”

Pei Jing took the bucket easily. “Fine by me.” He certainly wasn’t squeamish; after all, this chore wouldn’t actually end up being his.

The Cafeteria Boasts

At sunset, the disciples returned from their monster-hunting practice, high-spirited and boisterous. In the cafeteria, they talked loudly about how terrifying the beasts were exaggerating every roar into an earthquake and every leap into a landslide.

Pei Jing felt out of place. He sat in a corner, poking at a piece of oily pork belly with his chopsticks, bored out of his mind listening to the bragging.

“The beast was about to bite me! Its teeth were inches from my face!” one disciple shouted. “Suddenly, my hand moved on its own. I closed my eyes, drew my sword, and stabbed straight through its throat! Squelch! Foul blood sprayed everywhere, and it crashed down. That’s when I realized I had killed it!”

The others cheered. Pei Jing suppressed a laugh. The hunting grounds for new disciples were populated by beasts that were essentially pets; they could eat and run, but they had zero aggression. These guys are probably dreaming up mountain-sized monsters, he thought.

Suddenly, someone called him out. “Zhang Yiming, everyone has spoken. You say a few words.”

Pei Jing looked up. In a split second, he decided to have some fun. He looked around with a feigned look of guilt and whispered, “It’s nothing… I just carried water all day. It’s bitter and exhausting.”

The crowd was satisfied with his “misery” and offered fake sympathy. “Well, you have to understand these herbs are priceless treasures.”

Pei Jing murmured slowly, “Priceless treasures? No wonder…”

“What was that? Speak up!” they barked.

Pei Jing turned pale and shook his head frantically. “Nothing, nothing at all!” He then bolted from the room as if his tail were on fire. “I’m full! Going to practice now!”

The disciples looked at his untouched bowl of rice and whispered, “That kid is definitely hiding something.”

The Bait

In the Meditation Room, spiritual energy was dense. Pei Jing sat next to Chu Junyu, who looked like an “unattainable flower on a high peak”—or, given his personality, an “unattainable man-eating flower.”

Pei Jing pulled a glowing emerald bracelet from his sleeve. He leaned in and whispered to Chu Junyu—loud enough for the eavesdroppers to hear: “Look what I found! This bracelet gathers spiritual energy. I found it while I was weeding the spirit gardens. I think the Peak Master buried treasures in the dirt to nourish the plants! If we sneak a few, he’ll never notice.”

Chu Junyu looked at the group of “meditating” disciples whose ears were practically twitching. He closed his book and played along coldly: “That impressive?”

“Absolutely! I’m taking you to the spot tonight. You’re my only friend here, I wouldn’t lie to you.”

The Trap Springs

Pei Jing led Chu Junyu to the garden at night. Once he confirmed the “shadows” were following, he pretended to hide the bracelet and left. Soon, the greedy disciples emerged from the darkness.

“I knew it!” their leader hissed. “Let’s dig everything up and blame it on Zhang Yiming!”

They began frantically digging with sticks, ruining the herbs in their greed. Pei Jing watched from a tree branch, munching on fruit, as they trashed the place. He then jumped down and screamed, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

The disciples froze. Pei Jing ran straight to the Peak Master’s main hall, yelling that he was going to report them.

Daoist Huangfu arrived, furious. The disciples tried to frame Pei Jing, claiming he had seduced them with a “stolen” bracelet found in the dirt.

Pei Jing handed the bracelet to the Peak Master. When Huangfu looked at it, he turned pale. Carved on the inside was the name: Pei Yuzhi.

Pei Yuzhi—the legendary genius and future Sect Leader.

“Where did you get this?” Huangfu stammered.

Pei Jing lied innocently: “A senior in white robes helped me when I was lost on the first day. He said I had ‘excellent bones’ and gave it to me.”

Huangfu’s hands shook. Pei Yuzhi actually visited this kid?! He immediately punished the greedy disciples by making them work the gardens indefinitely and “restored” Pei Jing’s status, moving him to the luxury “Heaven-Middle” grotto.

The Roommate

The next day, Pei Jing was moved into a room right next to Chu Junyu. As they flew out for more training, Pei Jing sat on the edge of a crane’s wing, waving at the sweating disciples digging in the dirt below.

“Hey, Brother Li! You look hot! Are you hungry? Watch me eat this fruit!”

“GET LOST!” the disciple roared from below.

Pei Jing laughed. Later, a thin disciple whispered to him, “You know, everyone hates you because they think you got in through the back door without the selection. And then you tore the heart method and got ‘punished’—but now you’re back in the best room. It looks like the Peak Master is totally biased toward you.”

Pei Jing went silent. So his “backing” had been exposed?

He sighed. Everyone thought he had a powerful supporter. And they were right—it just happened that the “powerful supporter” was himself.