Zhao Liangchen looked at the small building in the distance, which still seemed to seep with strands of Yin Qi beneath the bright daylight. His expression was utterly indifferent, and he even sneered inwardly.
It was merely a strange tale from the countryside. What formidable evil thing could possibly be lurking there?
"Does a trivial matter like this deserve my intervention?"
—He had originally wanted to shout those words at Zhao Liangcai, but unfortunately, Zhao Liangcai was offering far too much.
Strictly speaking, the two should have been cousins, though Zhao Liangcai seemed to be several months older.
By family lineage, Zhao Liangchen had been born into a collateral branch of the Zhao Family that had been sent to Hangzhou to manage its businesses, while Zhao Liangcai was the eldest son of the main family.
No matter how one looked at it, Zhao Liangcai's status should have been higher than Zhao Liangchen's.
But that changed when Zhao Liangchen had his spiritual root tested at the age of six.
Those who possessed spiritual roots were one in ten thousand. In several decades, the entire Zhao Family had produced only this one cultivation seed, and he immediately became the focus of the entire clan's efforts.
The main branch had provided a great many resources and bought him an opportunity to participate in the Righteous Path Sect's Grand Selection.
The Righteous Path Sect was one of the Twelve Immortal Sects, a first-rate great sect beneath heaven. Once one entered its gates, there was naturally no need to speak of one's future prospects.
Yet that Elder in charge of the selection erased Zhao Liangchen's future with only two sentences.
The Elder gave him a disdainful glance, then reached out and felt him over with even greater disdain. Smacking his lips, he said, "This child's bone structure is ordinary, and his looks are far too ugly. Forget it."
At that tender age, Zhao Liangchen experienced for the first time what it meant to be struck by a bolt from the blue.
Fortunately, he had his family's support behind him. The Zhao Family pulled strings everywhere and sent him into Hangzhou's local Flying Crane Sect.
The Flying Crane Sect was also considered a famous great sect in Hangzhou Prefecture, with quite a bit of foundation. Among sects two tiers below the Twelve Immortal Sects, it could be called the leader...
From the day he entered the Flying Crane Sect, Zhao Liangchen secretly swore that he would make the people of the Righteous Path Sect regret their decision.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—don't bully the ugly youth!
Thus, he worked himself to the bone in the Flying Crane Sect. When others cultivated, he cultivated. When others ate, he cultivated. When others ran naked, he cultivated. When others slept, he cultivated. Day and night, without interruption for more than ten years.
With such an unyielding Dao Heart, he became the disciple of his generation with the fastest progress.
At the age of twenty, he had reached the Qi Sea Realm Peak. Even if he returned to the Righteous Path Sect, he would have been enough to look down upon the masses... or at least some of them.
But.
When the Flying Crane Sect selected its Chief Disciple, he had thought there would be no suspense at all. Yet he was told that cultivation was not the only criterion for choosing a Chief Disciple.
Several Elders shut themselves away to discuss the matter, and in the end, they chose the Junior Brother who was only at the Qi Sea Realm Early Stage.
Because the Junior Brother... was handsome.
Zhao Liangchen was dumbfounded.
His master advised him that the Chief Disciple was not merely the sect's finest disciple. He also had to be the face of the sect, a World Walker representing the sect. Zhao Liangchen truly was unsuitable...
His master had put it very tactfully.
But the meaning was exactly that: he was ugly.
The Junior Brother had already attracted much attention. After becoming the Chief Disciple, he underwent several carefully arranged "exorcisms" by the sect and quickly rose to prominence, gaining a great many Supporters and becoming the most talked-about Immortal Sect Newcomer in Hangzhou City.
Sure enough, the Flying Crane Sect's reputation rose along with him.
The more the Junior Brother basked in the limelight, the more indignant Zhao Liangchen became.
So what if he was ugly? So what if he was ugly?
Did being ugly eat your family's rice?
He could only fight against all this through even more desperate hard cultivation!
He believed that one day, he would make everyone who had looked down on him regret it through his strength. No matter what, they were Cultivators. The most important thing was to seek the Great Dao, to slay demons and exterminate evil.
Could those handsome people really exorcise evil with their faces?
Hmph.
"Cousin, Cousin?" Zhao Liangcai called out twice in a fawning tone.
Only then did Zhao Liangchen pull himself from his thoughts and look at this cousin of his.
Zhao Liangcai had a huge pancake face, a pair of mung-bean eyes, a garlic-clove nose, half his face covered in pockmarks and the other half in pimples. Every time Zhao Liangchen saw that face, rage rose in his chest.
The most infuriating part was—
He looked almost exactly like Zhao Liangchen...
Yes, although the two were cousins, they looked more like twins.
The difference was perhaps that Zhao Liangchen, after cultivating for so long, was brimming with vitality. His expression and bearing were also more aloof, giving him an overall feeling of cold ugliness.
Meanwhile, Zhao Liangcai spent all day amid wine and flowers, having long since hollowed out his body. He looked far more weak and bloated, giving him an overall feeling of hollow ugliness.
"What is it?" Zhao Liangchen asked coldly.
"I was thinking, we're not just here to deal with the evil spirit in the Ghost Building. When that kid from the Wang Family gets here, Cousin, do you have any divine abilities that could help me teach him a lesson? I mean, if there aren't any ghosts in that building, we still need to scare him away." Zhao Liangcai grinned slyly.
"Mm." Zhao Liangchen nodded. "I happened to catch a few Little Ghosts some time ago. They are more than enough to deal with Mortals, but..."
Then his tone shifted. "Since you say that man also comes from a wealthy family, he should be able to hire a cultivator as well. If he has a cultivator protecting him, these little tricks may not be easy to use."
"Hehe, don't worry. How could the Wang Family have connections like ours?" Zhao Liangcai leaned closer. "I figure he can only hire some nearby Daoist priest or monk, perhaps even a jianghu charlatan. Even if he does manage to find a cultivator, could that person possibly be stronger than you, Cousin?"
Zhao Liangcai knew that this cousin of his liked flattery. Within three sentences, he had to lick Zhao Liangchen's boots at least once.
But what he said was also true. Zhao Liangchen was indeed considered an expert within Hangzhou Prefecture. To be stronger than him, one would have to be at the Spirit Fusion Realm.
Experts of that level were not people one could invite at will.
Zhao Liangchen nodded lightly to show his agreement.
Seeing this, Zhao Liangcai seemed encouraged and immediately let his tongue fly.
"If you ask me, our Zhao Family must have had blue smoke rising from our ancestral grave to produce a figure like you, Cousin. In all of Hangzhou Prefecture, I've never seen a cultivator more talented than you. I reckon there aren't many in the entire He Luo Dynasty either. Hehe, the people taking next year's Immortal Sect Examination alongside you are truly miserable. I'm already worried for them..."
Zhao Liangchen wanted to preserve his cold and stern image, but the corners of his mouth could not help twitching upward wildly.
He had not heard this sort of flattery in a long time.
In the Flying Crane Sect, he had never gotten along particularly well with his fellow disciples. But when his cultivation had once surged ahead like a single rider leaving the dust behind, he had still had two bootlickers trailing after him.
Who would have thought that after he failed to become Chief Disciple, those people not only held their tongues, but often turned around and mocked him both to his face and behind his back.
Because of this, he had kept a low profile for a year. He had originally planned to fiercely slap their faces after breaking through, but he had remained stuck at the bottleneck without any progress.
This time, aside from accepting a large sum from Zhao Liangcai, he had also come out to clear his mind.
Now it seemed Zhao Liangcai could still make him happy.
Just as Zhao Liangcai was licking his boots with fiery enthusiasm, two figures appeared from the slope over there.
One wore black brocade robes and had thick brows and large eyes. The other wore an Azure Daoist Robe and seemed transcendent and otherworldly.
His expression immediately changed, and he sneered. "Wang Longqi, you actually dared to come!"
The two who had arrived were Wang Longqi and Li Chu. Hearing his provocation, Wang Longqi naturally refused to be outdone. "Since someone thinks his life is too long, of course this young master had to come see how he dies!"
"Fine, then let's go in and see who dies."
"Whoever chickens out is a grandson!"
After the two traded barbs for a round, Wang Longqi and Li Chu arrived before them as well.
To preserve his cold and stern image, Zhao Liangchen had deliberately stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance.
Only now did he slowly turn his head, his indifferent gaze sweeping over Wang Longqi and Li Chu's faces...
His pupils abruptly contracted. His gaze seemed to sink into a swamp, and his features froze at the same time.
Stunned.
Zhao Liangcai, standing beside him, noticed something was wrong. He hurriedly nudged him with his elbow and whispered, "Cousin?"
Zhao Liangchen recovered slightly, but he continued staring at Li Chu, his lower lip trembling uncontrollably.
Li Chu wore a calm, undisturbed expression. His gaze was as indifferent as Zhao Liangchen's, his bearing equally cold and stern, and his overall feeling was one of handsome coldness.
As for why Zhao Liangchen was staring at him, Li Chu did not care. Every time he went out, there were at least eighty or a hundred people staring at him. He could not possibly walk up to every one of them and ask, "What are you looking at?"
"Hmph!"
Only after a long while did Zhao Liangchen let out a heavy snort. As though he had suffered some immense grievance, he flicked his sleeve and turned to walk elsewhere.
Zhao Liangcai hurriedly followed him. "Cousin, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Zhao Liangchen shook his head.
He forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart, yet a voice still roared madly in his mind. What it roared was probably... why?
Yes, why?
At that moment, Zhao Liangchen felt—
All the perils in the world were gathered on this one face.
Thanks to Feng Weimian for the thousand reward.
And thanks to every friend who collected, recommended, and commented.
Thank you for your support.
Every day, I want to post before eight o'clock. I heard there are more people then, making it easier to gain collections, but every time I check the time, it's almost ten... So annoying.
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