I Failed to Reform the Protagonist [Transmigration] - Chapter 6

Pei Jing had been chased and beaten by Elder Lou last time, running through all one hundred and eight peaks of Yunxiao—it was practically a psychological trauma. He would have to be out of his mind to go back now. Was he looking for a “double kill”?

But he was, in the end, a kind-hearted person. Since Chen Xu had accompanied him, he couldn’t just leave him behind. After jumping from the window of the Heaven Pavilion, Pei Jing didn’t go far; he sat down in the Consular Hall in front of the Library. Using a spell to slightly alter his appearance, he sat in a corner and picked up a random book to read.

The Consular Hall was where sect disciples received missions in exchange for spirit stones.

Pei Jing had never been here. Having been taken as a disciple by the Sect Leader at birth, he lived on the remote Heavenly Chasm Peak. Most of his time was spent cultivating; aside from his time at the Jingtian Academy, the only people he saw were his Master and Chen Xu. His social life was pitifully barren.

Flipping through the missions, he saw that for Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment disciples, the requirements were simple: hunt spirit beasts or gather spirit herbs. One mission paid ten spirit stones. For a penniless new disciple just entering the immortal path, it was a fair deal.

As he was thinking, a few new disciples walked in together. He recognized them from yesterday’s selection.

The three wore Yunxiao robes—white with blue borders and flowing silver belts. They walked with a newfound sense of confidence. They stood at the end of the line, chatting while waiting for their missions.

The one in front was a round-eyed youth with a friendly smile. He turned his head and whispered, “I heard a bit of gossip. Someone said yesterday’s selection wasn’t simple. Several senior brothers and sisters from the Inner Peaks were watching, planning to pick ten of us to enter the Inner Peaks directly.”

The one behind him was stunned. “Really?”

“Absolutely. Didn’t you notice some people are missing? They went to the Inner Peaks. I’d say they’re incredibly lucky. Under the old system, entering the Inner Peaks was harder than reaching the heavens.”

The third person chuckled. “That’s an exaggeration, surely.”

The round-eyed youth shook his head with a sigh. “No exaggeration. Let me break it down for you: in the Outer Peaks, only ‘Upper Pavilion’ disciples have the chance to enter the Middle Peaks. To become an Upper Pavilion disciple, you must place in the top 100 during the Grand Competition held every five years. Even then, you have to pass the Inner Peak Elders’ assessment. If they like you, you’re in. If they don’t, even if you’re rank one, you stay out. Last time, not a single person made it.”

Hearing this, the other two gasped in shock. After a moment, one sighed, “This is just the Yunxiao Sect, and the competition is already this fierce. In the vast world of Canghua, when will people like us ever stand out?”

The round-eyed youth laughed freely. “If you want to stand out, there is one way.”

He pointed toward the south. Through the window of the Consular Hall, one could see a magnificent mountain piercing the clouds. It wasn’t part of Yunxiao, but it was taller and grander than any peak in the sect. It stood at the center of the Canghua continent, worshipped by millions of cultivators. It was called Wentian (Asking Heaven).

“That is Wentian Peak, the number one peak in the world. Every five hundred years, the Heavenly Trial is held. If you can leave your name on the Wentian Rankings, let alone the Yunxiao Sect, the entire cultivation world will know who you are.”

The other two gasped again, their eyes burning with fervor. Their voices weren’t particularly quiet; the new disciples queuing up and sitting nearby all leaned in to listen. Even some senior disciples who had entered earlier cast secret glances. It wasn’t that they didn’t know this, but hearing it spoken aloud was different. Many lowered their heads and smiled, laughing at the newcomers’ ignorance of how high the sky truly was.

However, the round-eyed youth continued with a smile: “But leaving a name on the Wentian Rankings is more than ten thousand times harder than entering the Inner Peaks. Do you know who is currently on the list?”

The two shook their heads. “Who?”

The youth’s expression turned solemn. “Green flowers in the blood pool, blue butterflies from white bones. A Sarira Buddha-heart and Phoenix eyes; one sword freezes the frost of Wuwang Peak. You might not have heard this verse, but as someone from Canghua, I’ve heard it since I was a child. It contains the identities of the five people who won the last Heavenly Trial.”

The new disciples listened intently. The seniors shook their heads with knowing smiles.

“Tell us more…” the companions urged.

The youth explained slowly: “‘Green flowers in the blood pool’ refers to the fifth on the rankings, Fairy Fusang of Fenghua Island, Yu Qinglian. She is the daughter of the Island Lord. She reached the Golden Core stage at a hundred years old and hates evil with a passion. She once slaughtered every demonic cultivator on Fenghua with a single whip, turning the spirit canal into a blood pool—hence the name.”

“And ‘blue butterflies from white bones’ is the fourth person, the Young Master of the Ghost Realm, Ji Wuduan. Ghost cultivators refine corpses and control ghostly energy. I’ve heard that one finger from Ji Wuduan can kill a living person instantly or turn a dead one to ash. That ash flies into the air like lifelike blue butterflies. It’s hauntingly eerie.”

He gestured with his fingers like a flying butterfly. The hall had gradually fallen silent. The top five of the Wentian Rankings were so distant and mysterious; to these disciples, they were like legends at the top of the world.

The youth continued: “The third, ‘Sarira Buddha-heart,’ is the leader of the world’s Buddhist cultivators, Master Wu Sheng of the Empty Gate. He is a natural Buddha-son with a Sarira for a heart. With one staff, he leveled the Man-Eating Valley and ferried ten thousand lost souls. He became famous in a single battle.”

“‘Phoenix eyes’ is the second on the list, the new Emperor of the Demon Clan, Feng Jin. His true form is the ancient divine beast, the Phoenix. Currently in his hundredth nirvana, his eyes glow with crimson gold and hold the three thousand karmic fires. No one in the world dares to meet his gaze. When he was born, a hundred birds sang and ten thousand beasts bowed. He needed no achievements to be the center of the world’s attention.”

The round-eyed youth chuckled. “When the Phoenix Emperor was born, the Demon Clan boasted that they would definitely take first place in the Heavenly Trial five hundred years later. But no one expected that halfway through, a certain Senior Brother Pei would appear.”

The newcomers leaned in, hearts pounding as they waited for the number one name. Hearing the words “Senior Brother,” their brains stalled, then exploded with excitement. They looked at each other in shock: “The winner of the Heavenly Trial is a Yunxiao disciple?!”

Yunxiao was a holy land for sword cultivators, but the Heavenly Trial tested all the world’s heroes. The cultivation world was vast—Fenghua on the sea, the Ghost Realm in the underworld, the Buddhists, the Demons… none of them were simple. And the winner was from their sect! What glory! What pride!

The senior disciples sighed and turned their pages. Looking at these youths was like looking at their past selves. But indeed, Yunxiao’s Pei Yuzhi was an impression the world could never erase.

The round-eyed youth’s eyes shone with admiration. “Yes! First in the Heavenly Trial! ‘One sword freezes the frost of Wuwang Peak’ refers to the top disciple of our Inner Peaks, the personal disciple of the Sect Leader—Pei Yuzhi! Senior Brother Pei!”

The hall erupted in hushed exclamations.

This short verse of thirty-four characters summarized the lifelong pursuit of every cultivator in the world.

One of the companions joked, “Then can’t I call the world’s number one ‘Senior Brother’? That’s a huge boast!”

The round-eyed youth splashed cold water on him. “You’d have to actually see Senior Brother Pei first. We are Outer Peak disciples. It’s hard enough to see a regular Inner Peak disciple, let alone the Sect Leader’s personal successor!”

This instantly dampened their enthusiasm. They shook their heads. They were geniuses in the eyes of outsiders, but in Yunxiao, they were just bottom-tier disciples. Foundation Establishment was far off; how could they hope to meet a living legend?

Pei Jing, listening from the side, had no heart left for his book. He was used to such praise, but he was moved by the “morning sun” vitality of these three. In the vast world of cultivation, many start with this pure heart, but few keep it through the hardships. Every time new blood entered Yunxiao, he heard similar dreams.

Seeing them so dejected, Pei Jing tapped the table and spoke up: “If you want to see Pei Yuzhi, then get into the Inner Peaks.”

His voice was as clear as water and as warm as a breeze. The three turned to look. They saw a cultivator in snowy white. His appearance was ordinary, but his smile felt different. They instinctively stood straighter, sensing he was an Inner Peak senior.

Pei Jing scanned them. “The three of you don’t even add up to sixty years in age. What are you afraid of?”

At this, he thought of Chu Junyu—that cold, lonely genius from the bridge. When asked what he thought of Pei Yuzhi, a simple “Not much” had silenced Pei Jing. At the time, Pei Jing had cursed the brat in his head, but thinking back, he actually admired him.

Pei Jing said to the three, “If you work hard, perhaps you will be the ones to surpass Pei Yuzhi in the future.”

It was a sincere encouragement. But the three shook their heads in terror. “Thank you for the guidance, Senior, but surpassing Senior Brother Pei is impossible in this lifetime.”

Meanwhile, some older disciples couldn’t take it anymore. One mocked, “Surpassing Senior Brother Pei? You say it so easily. Why don’t you try it yourself?”

Pei Jing replied nonchalantly, “How do you know I haven’t surpassed him?”

The man laughed as if he’d heard a joke. “Fine, I’ll wait for your name to appear on the Wentian Rankings.”

Pei Jing gave a half-smile. “Alright. See you at rank one.”

“…” Everyone was stunned by his arrogance. They were now certain: this guy was a lunatic.

The round-eyed youth, seeing a fight brewing, quickly changed the subject: “Wait, we haven’t finished! We haven’t explained the origin of ‘One sword freezes the frost of Wuwang Peak’!”

The others chimed in, “Right, right! We want to know!”

The hall went silent as the youth began with a look of reverence: “This happened four hundred years ago…”

Four hundred years ago, the Kingdom of Li was plagued by a pestilence. Corpses littered the land. At the time, Pei Yuzhi was traveling and was drawn by the miasma. Shocked by the tragedy, he investigated and found that the culprit was Wuwang Peak.

The “Fourteen Provinces in the Clouds” on Wuwang Peak was a world-famous sect back then. However, their top Nascent Soul ancestor had been consumed by a heart demon during his tribulation and became a man-eating monster. A peak Nascent Soul cultivator was more than the sect could handle; after a fierce battle, the entire Wuwang Peak was possessed and became demonic cultivators, helping the ancestor pillage the land.

The people of the city at the foot of Wuwang Peak remembered that day.

Into the dark, blood-soaked provinces, a youth in white appeared, his righteous aura dispelling the gloom. When the demonic cultivators demanded to know who he was, he held a blue ice sword and smiled. “Oh, I’m just here to kill people.”

He killed them all. Alone with one sword, he slaughtered every demonic cultivator. Blood flowed like a river that day. Amidst the carnage, the youth sheathed his sword and walked down the steps.

Suddenly, it began to snow. The white flakes covered the black blood and sin of the Fourteen Provinces.

The survivors at the foot of the mountain watched the blood-stained youth approach through the blizzard. His hair was black, his clothes white—he looked like a celestial being. A snowflake landed on his brow and didn’t melt.

The people wept and knelt in gratitude.

One sword destroyed a world; heaven and earth turned vast and white.

That was how the name “One sword freezes the frost of Wuwang Peak” spread.

Pei Jing listened to his own legend. He had forgotten some details, but the world remembered and had even beautified him into a god. If Chen Xu heard this, he’d probably die of anger.

By the time Chen Xu found him, the hall was nearly empty. Chen Xu wasn’t bruised; he just looked annoyed. Pei Jing teased him, “Elder Lou is definitely biased against me. Last time he beat me so hard I couldn’t see people for days, but you look fine.”

Chen Xu almost punched him. “Why would he pick on me? You did the deed, and he knows it. Just you wait.”

“So, why did you take so long? Reading?”

Chen Xu snarled, “To cover for you, Elder Lou made me copy an entire book of sect rules! If I follow your nonsense again, I’ll kill myself first.”

Pei Jing laughed but quickly covered his mouth. He nudged Chen Xu out. “Stop shouting. There are few people here, but you’ll lose face if someone recognizes you.”

Outside, the moon was bright. Pei Jing realized he had sat there all afternoon. He had been thinking about his Master’s words—”Return to your basics.” These three youths had given him an idea.

On the way back to Heavenly Chasm Peak, Pei Jing stopped suddenly, startling Chen Xu.

“I have a brilliant idea for ‘Entering the World,'” Pei Jing said. “My Master wants me to open my ‘Seven Emotions and Six Desires.’ As the elder in the Heaven Pavilion said, where there are people, there is the mortal world. What if I start over?”

“What do you mean ‘start over’?”

“I’ll re-enter the cultivation world. Hide my cultivation and become an Outer Peak disciple. By casting aside my status as a genius, maybe I can understand things I ignored before.”

Chen Xu realized he was serious. After a silence, he said, “You can try. Just keep your temper in check.”

“Of course. I’m technically half a Sect Leader now.”

Pei Jing joined the Outer Peaks for two reasons. First: the protagonist. According to the plot, within a year, the protagonist Ji Wuyou would accidentally enter Yunxiao. The bullying he faced there was a major trigger for his “blackening.” Pei Jing wanted to protect him and nip the villainy in the bud.

Second: Chu Junyu. He didn’t know where Chu Junyu’s dark, soul-deep blood-lust came from. He wanted to monitor him personally.

Pei Jing changed his bone structure into a teenage form. He wore a simple brown tunic and black shoes, tying his short hair into a small bundle. He looked heroic and bright. Chen Xu reluctantly dropped him off at Yinghui Peak (the outermost peak) via a spirit crane.

“Outer Peaks aren’t the Jingtian Academy,” Chen Xu warned. “Don’t stir up trouble. I feel like I’m worrying about a son.”

“Please, you called me Ancestor yesterday,” Pei Jing joked as he hopped off.

At Yinghui Peak, the Peak Master Daoist Huangfu was assigning rooms. Rooms were ranked Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow. Pei Jing, confident in his luck, drew a slip. It was a “Yellow” rank, the worst but it had the sect’s basic mental cultivation method scribbled on the back in messy handwriting.

Daoist Huangfu then revealed that the “Yellow” slip with the handwriting was actually the best room, a “surprise” gift with spiritual energy rivaling Inner Peaks. But Pei Jing had already torn his slip into tiny pieces out of frustration with the “bad” handwriting.

As a result, he was sent to the actual worst room—the “Yellow of the Yellows”—to “temper his character.”

Pei Jing moved into a small, remote courtyard. He realized he had forgotten to check where Chu Junyu was. He suppressed his cultivation to the early Qi Refinement stage and went looking, but got lost.

As the sun set, he stumbled upon four new disciples carrying sacks and clubs. They were planning to ambush Chu Junyu to avenge a friend who had fallen off the bridge.

“They’re going to ambush a Foundation Establishment cultivator as Qi Refinement newbies?” Pei Jing thought. “Are they tired of living?”

To save them from Chu Junyu’s wrath, Pei Jing used a simple spell to create a “ghost” illusion in the woods. The four bullies were terrified and fled in a panic.

Pei Jing hopped down from a tree, dusting his hands. “So cowardly, yet you want revenge?”

He walked forward to find Chu Junyu.