I Failed to Reform the Protagonist [Transmigration] - Chapter 4

The moment he stepped off the Broken Bridge, the wind and snow vanished. The gloomy, damp, and freezing aura dissipated completely. Sunlight broke through the clouds, casting a golden glow over a landscape of lush green mountains.

In the end, only Chu Junyu remained, standing before the green stone.

The blizzard on the wasteland just now felt like a dream. Yet, as if he had expected it, he didn’t even look back to search for the person who had disappeared.

His gaze was fixed only on what lay ahead.

The green stone, which had stood here for thousands of years, remained silent. The three sword marks upon it were bold and unrestrained, revealing the high spirits of the one who carved them.

Chu Junyu leaned down, his pale fingers resting on the stone, sliding down gently.

His black hair fell forward, veiling his expression.

His fingers traced the carved words as if brushing dust off a tombstone.

The Decision in the Hall

Back in the hall, Pei Jing withdrew his divine sense with a frustrated look.

Beside him, Chen Xu was on the verge of laughing out loud. It was rare to see Pei Jing suffer a setback, and Chen Xu said gloatingly, “I see he’s a fine talent. I’ve decided—he’s entering the Inner Peaks.”

Pei Jing countered, “And who exactly are you to decide?”

Chen Xu replied, “Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed and angry? You talked yourself up so much, you deserve to trip over your own feet.”

Pei Jing twitched his lips. “Heh.”

Chen Xu shook his head. “You wanted to take him as a disciple? The guy doesn’t even look up to you.”

Pei Jing glared at him. “Scram.”

Everyone in the hall was stifling their laughter, though no one except Chen Xu dared to be so bold with him. The female cultivator in charge stepped forward, handing over a register. She said softly, “Senior Brother Pei, we have selected the ten disciples to enter the Inner Peaks. Please review them.”

Pei Jing stopped bickering with Chen Xu and took the register. Holding the brush, he saw the name circled in red ink at the very top. His expression froze, and he fell into a deep silence.

Noticing his reaction, Chen Xu frowned. “He technically passed your assessment, didn’t he? Stop trying to stir up more trouble.”

Pei Jing’s tone was flat. “You make it sound like I’m intentionally making things difficult for him.”

Chen Xu: “Aren’t you?”

“If you say so.” Pei Jing accepted the false accusation, too lazy to explain.

He lifted the brush. He hesitated only for a split second before making a clean, decisive stroke, crossing out Chu Junyu’s name.

“You—!”

Amidst Chen Xu’s shocked and angry stare, Pei Jing spoke: “I still feel he isn’t suitable. But I also think it’s a waste to give up on him entirely. Let him stay in the Outer Peaks for now; we’ll see after a while.”

Chen Xu, who lived on the edge of a breakdown every day he spent with Pei Jing, ground his teeth in fury. “Aren’t you afraid the Sect Leader will skin you alive when he gets back?”

Pei Jing thought for a moment and smiled lazily. “He won’t.” He paused, then tilted his head toward Chen Xu. “I truly feel that I understand him better than any of you.”

He meant those words from the bottom of his heart. But Chen Xu treated it like nonsense and stomped away in a huff.

Pei Jing returned the register to the female cultivator. He had lost interest in the rest of the selection. He understood Chen Xu’s feelings; it probably felt like a prime talent was being ruined. A single-element spiritual root and Foundation Establishment at such a young age—by all accounts, he was someone destined to shake the world.

However, this youth named Chu Junyu was definitely not that simple.

Aside from everything else, the most obvious point in the plot of The Punishing Sword, there was no such genius character at all.

This alone was enough to make Pei Jing suspicious.

The Reality of “The Punishing Sword”

Pei Jing had been in this book’s world for several hundred years.

From the moment he was taken in as a disciple by the Yunxiao Sect Leader, everything had followed the trajectory of the book. Chu Junyu was the only anomaly. It was impossible for Pei Jing not to care.

This was the world of a book, but Pei Jing hadn’t come here voluntarily. After all, in this story, he wasn’t the protagonist—he was a hypocritical villain who literally courted his own death.

Thinking of the tragic ending of the original character in the book gave Pei Jing a headache.

In the original text of The Punishing Sword, Pei Yuzhi had a beautiful appearance and seemed like a refined immortal on the surface, but in private, he was an extremely selfish and cruel person. To break through his cultivation level, he committed countless atrocities. His most fatal mistake was setting his sights on the protagonist’s “Pure Yang Physique.” He took the protagonist as a disciple with ill intentions, planning to steal the protagonist’s Golden Core to use as a medicinal catalyst.

But how could a protagonist die? In the end, only Pei Yuzhi could die.

After the protagonist escaped Canghua, his bloodline awakened. He obtained various secret inheritances and quickly became the number one person in the cultivation world. The first thing he did upon returning was to cripple Pei Yuzhi’s cultivation, pull out his tendons, and strip his bones, making him lose all dignity in front of everyone. After being thrown into the Pit of Ten Thousand Ghosts, Pei Yuzhi wailed in agony for a night before his soul dissipated and his body shattered, dying with his eyes wide open in regret.

Now that he had become Pei Yuzhi, he didn’t want to repeat those mistakes and die like that again.

Over the years, he had tried to change certain things, but the “Heavenly Way” acted like a guardian of order, quietly restoring everything to its original state especially things related to the protagonist.

If it was a fortuitous encounter for the protagonist, Pei Jing wouldn’t be allowed to get it. If it was a girl for the protagonist, Pei Jing wouldn’t meet her.

Pei Jing deeply realized the irreversibility of the plot.

So, would he just wait for death?

Impossible.

His transmigration into this world was an anomaly outside the “Six Harmonies.”

If he couldn’t change the protagonist’s “cheat-like” life, he could at least change himself.

The tropes of “Qi Dian” web novels were clear: those who follow the protagonist prosper; those who oppose him perish. In the future, when he met the protagonist, as long as he didn’t pick fights or court death, but instead clung to the protagonist’s leg and didn’t force him to “blacken,” wouldn’t the problem be solved?

One must remember that the protagonist, Ji Wuyou, was a kind-hearted child when he was young—the type who would cry two tears at the sight of a dead rabbit.

The reason he grew up to be such a demonic and cold-blooded person was entirely because he was pushed by a group of cannon fodder led by Pei Yuzhi.

The cannon fodder spent all their energy insulting, trampling, and deceiving the protagonist, as if their entire purpose in life was to annoy him. In such an environment, it was hard for the protagonist to maintain his original heart. Unsurprisingly, he became a “smiling tiger” sociopath who tortured everyone who once looked down on him.

As one of the cannon fodder destined to be tortured, Pei Jing felt: Maybe I can still be saved.

The Sect Leader’s Guidance

After three years of seclusion, returning to the Heavenly Chasm of the Yunxiao Main Peak made him look upon every blade of grass with affection.

The mountain path before the main hall meandered through lush greenery. Pink oleanders swayed gracefully, clouds were white as snow, the wind was ethereal, and the sunlight poured down like a flood.

This peak, which only a few people in the world could step upon, was exceptionally full of life.

Pei Jing walked into the center of the palace. In the middle of the hall was a pool with a jade-carved hand holding a pearl. He set his Lingyun Sword aside and traced the outline of the pearl, drawing a simple talisman.

Soon, blue smoke swirled above the pearl, and white light illuminated the dark and solemn Heavenly Chasm Palace.

The face of the Yunxiao Sect Leader appeared on the water’s surface. Daoist Tianya wore cyan and black robes. His hair and eyebrows were entirely white. When he wasn’t angry or glaring, he looked like a kind and refined hermit master.

Pei Jing dropped his playful attitude, stood up straight, and bowed. “Master.”

Daoist Tianya was quite fond of his “good behavior” act. He nodded and asked, “What have you gained from this period of seclusion?”

At this question, Pei Jing hesitated slightly. His seclusion this time could only be described as a mixed blessing. He had reached the Great Circle of the Golden Core stage, but he couldn’t break through the barrier to the Nascent Soul stage. Every time he tried to transform his core into a soul, a chill would rise from his marrow, obstructing the flow of spiritual energy.

Seeing his hesitation, Daoist Tianya frowned. “Have you encountered a heart demon?”

Pei Jing shook his head. “No heart demon. I’m just stuck at the Great Circle of Golden Core and can’t find the point of breakthrough.” He told his Master everything about the problem. He was somewhat confused: “I don’t know where that chill comes from, but I feel that if I don’t expel it from my body, it will be difficult for me to form a Nascent Soul.”

Daoist Tianya’s frown deepened. He took on a serious expression and said in a low voice, “The matter of forming a Nascent Soul must not be rushed.”

Pei Jing nodded obediently. “Yes.”

Only after receiving his guarantee did Daoist Tianya speak slowly: “I haven’t heard of what you’ve encountered before. I’ll ask the people at the Jingtian Academy later. What you need to do now is stabilize your temperament and not be impatient. Understand?”

Pei Jing: “Yes.”

Daoist Tianya nodded with satisfaction and asked, “Have you seen the disciples who entered the sect this time?”

“I have.”

“How are they?”

Pei Jing answered honestly, “Quite good. Their talents are excellent. There is a youth about ten-plus years old who can already condense energy into objects. His cultivation is likely close to Foundation Establishment. I heard he has a Single-Element Root.”

Daoist Tianya nodded. “Oh? That is indeed a good prospect.”

Pei Jing: “However, I placed him in the Outer Peaks.”

Daoist Tianya was stunned. “…Why?”

Pei Jing: “His murderous aura is too heavy. I didn’t dare to rashly bring him into the Inner Sect. After all, Yunxiao practices the ‘Path of the Sentient Sword.’ Staying here might not be a good thing for either side.” At this, Pei Jing pursed his lips. “But afterward, I set an extra trial for him, and he performed very normally. I couldn’t be sure for a moment, so I put him in the Outer Peaks to keep an eye on him.”

Daoist Tianya was noncommittal about the decision. At his current status, he had long since become indifferent to mere talent. He said, “Mm. I have granted you the position of Acting Sect Leader; you may handle these matters yourself.”

Reminded of this, Pei Jing belatedly realized the whole “Acting Sect Leader” thing was still happening. He could no longer maintain his image as a well-behaved disciple and tried to struggle: “Please, no, Master. I think many people in Yunxiao are more qualified than me. Junior Brother Chen Xu, for example—he looks refined and capable; he’d be quite good.”

Daoist Tianya glared at him. “What are you afraid of? Sooner or later, you will be the Sect Leader of Yunxiao!”

Pei Jing really didn’t want the seat right now. “That’s something for a long time in the future.”

Daoist Tianya ignored his excuses. “How busy can a Sect Leader make you? It’s just a title.”

Pei Jing: “…Fine.”

Before cutting the divine sense connection, Daoist Tianya seemed to remember something and asked Pei Jing: “If I remember correctly, since you started drawing Qi into your body, you have never encountered a heart demon?”

“It seems so.”

Pei Jing was also puzzled as to why his Master would bring this up.

Daoist Tianya’s expression became very serious. “Initially, I thought this was a good thing. But now it seems that might not be the case. Never encountering a heart demon means your ‘Seven Emotions and Six Desires’ have never been opened. One of the stages of the Yunxiao Sword Technique is ‘Common People’ (Cang Sheng); this might be a hurdle for you.”

Pei Jing was stunned. “Then what should I do?”

Daoist Tianya left him with only four words: “Return to your basics.” (Fan Pu Gui Zhen)

With that, his figure dissipated in the pool.

Pei Jing wanted to stop him, leaning so far over the edge that he almost fell into the water. He felt like crying.

“Master, at least explain clearly! What does ‘returning to basics’ mean?!”

But Daoist Tianya would no longer answer him.