Personality Charm

Chu Zeming could not bear to watch any longer. With a dark face, he left the Scripture Pavilion again.

On his first day after transmigrating into another world, not a single good thing had happened. Chu Zeming felt as if he had swallowed ten thousand dead children, and the oppressive aura around him was terrifyingly low.

On the road back to his residence, no disciple dared greet Chu Zeming. They only turned to whisper among themselves whenever he passed by.

"Eldest Senior Brother is in a bad mood..."

"Recently, the Sect Master took in a new disciple and even held a special initiation ceremony for him. Eldest Senior Brother might be unhappy about it, which is why his face is so dark."

"No way, no way? Eldest Senior Brother's tolerance can't really be this small, can it?"

"Today, when I was at the training ground to watch Little Junior Brother enter the sect, I saw Eldest Senior Brother standing in the crowd and glaring at Little Junior Brother as though he wanted to kill him... Then he flung his sleeve and stormed off."

"Tsk."

Chu Zeming glanced over.

The two disciples whispering immediately shut their mouths. They raised their heads, whistled at the sky, and pretended they had not been gossiping behind his back.

Chu Zeming turned away coldly.

After returning to his residence, Chu Zeming waved his sleeve and once more cut himself off from this miserable Jīwen World.

At the same time, rumors began circulating among the disciples of the Nine-Clear Haoran Sect that Senior Brother Chu had fallen out of favor, was deeply depressed, and shut himself up in his residence all day. The rumors spread far and wide, detailed and convincing.

However, Chu Zeming, who heard nothing of the outside world and single-mindedly lived like a cave-dwelling hermit, did not hear any of it.

After shutting himself away for two days, Chu Zeming, once a model student and the standard-bearer of academia, finally accepted the fact that he had become illiterate. In order to familiarize himself with this body as quickly as possible, he began rising early to train in the bamboo forest behind the mountain.

His natal artifact was a longsword. Its blade was crystalline and translucent, carrying a faint red hue as light flowed brilliantly across it. It was extremely beautiful. Unlike the silver-painted wax spearheads he had seen in acrobatic troupes before, this sword was a genuine weapon for killing. It had been stained with blood.

Cold light gleamed from the blade. Sword in hand, Chu Zeming exuded an extraordinary presence. Suddenly, a fluctuation of spiritual aura came from the air not far away.

Chu Zeming's thoughts stirred at once. His gaze sharpened as he looked to the side and struck out with his sword—

The air around them nearly froze solid.

The next second, a cry of alarm rang out. In the direction Chu Zeming had pointed, two figures revealed themselves.

"Eldest Senior Brother, don't—"

Ning Weiyu spread his arms in front of Yue Lian. His eyes were tightly shut, and his face had gone pale.

Seeing this, Chu Zeming rapidly withdrew his sword. The stern, razor-sharp Sword Qi instantly dissipated at the very moment it touched Ning Weiyu's face.

"What are you doing here?" Chu Zeming's tone was not pleasant, though he had already tried his best to sound kinder.

His gaze swept over the two of them, and Chu Zeming froze.

Then, his eyes involuntarily settled on Yue Lian standing behind Ning Weiyu—

The young man in white was devastatingly handsome, beautiful without being gaudy. His eyes were clear to their depths, like the purest sacred lake in the world. He stood there quietly, seemingly startled by what had just happened, his rosy, tender lips parted slightly, making one unable to resist wanting to pluck them... Merely standing there, the young man radiated an impossible-to-ignore charm.

Chu Zeming stared at Yue Lian, his heartbeat growing faster and faster.

His reason screamed, Wake up! This man is as tall as you, has an Adam's apple, and the thing in his pants might even be bigger than yours. What the hell are you thinking?!

But his feelings erupted like a volcano, utterly beyond control. Every cell in Chu Zeming's body screamed. He was so excited he was on the verge of fainting on the spot.

Yue Lian stood quietly behind Ning Weiyu, returning Chu Zeming's gaze with deep affection in his eyes.

Was this not precisely what people meant by: when longing is never forgotten, there will surely be an echo?

Ning Weiyu had only just escaped danger, and fine beads of sweat still dotted his forehead. He was about to speak when he looked up and saw Eldest Senior Brother staring fixedly behind him—

Ning Weiyu suddenly regretted giving in to Junior Brother Yue Lian's pleas and bringing him here to secretly watch Eldest Senior Brother practice his swordsmanship. If he had not stepped forward just now, Little Junior Brother might have met with disaster today.

Thinking of this, Ning Weiyu felt a wave of lingering fear. He stepped forward, blocking Chu Zeming's line of sight, and explained word by word, "Eldest Senior Brother, Little Junior Brother admires you and begged me to bring him here to see you. If we disturbed your sword practice, Weiyu will take Little Junior Brother away at once."

Chu Zeming's expression was ugly.

He held his sword in one hand and covered his chest with the other. Raising his head, he gave Ning Weiyu a sidelong look and said coldly, "Take him and get lost. Don't appear within my field of vision."

Ning Weiyu's heart trembled.

Eldest Senior Brother was extraordinarily gifted, proud and arrogant, and not especially kind to others. Yet ever since Little Junior Brother had entered the sect, his temper had worsened by the day. Looking at his senior brother's face, black as the bottom of a pot, Ning Weiyu's heart quivered. He grabbed the little junior brother beside him by the hand and prepared to leave.

Yue Lian lowered his head and looked at where Ning Weiyu was holding him. His beautiful brows furrowed, and he pulled his hand free. Then—a clear, heavenly voice, as crisp as jade spring water in a mountain ravine, rang through the bamboo forest. "Second Senior Brother, there should be distinctions between men. Do not touch Lian'er so casually. It is against propriety."

Ning Weiyu was momentarily dazed.

Little Junior Brother's voice was so pleasant.

Chu Zeming covered his wildly pounding heart, his face black as charcoal.

—This damn troublesome universal-heartthrob halo.

Ning Weiyu shivered from the icy low pressure around them. Seeing Eldest Senior Brother's face plainly saying, "If you don't get lost, I'll hit someone," Ning Weiyu hurriedly coaxed in a low voice, "Little Junior Brother, Eldest Senior Brother doesn't like you. He just told me to take you and get lost. It's not as if you didn't hear him."

Yue Lian froze.

Eldest Senior Brother did not like him?

Was that so?

Yue Lian lowered his eyes and began to ponder.

After musing for a moment, Yue Lian raised his head. His eyes rested lightly on Chu Zeming as he slowly spoke. "Second Senior Brother, you are wildly mistaken. Eldest Senior Brother likes me. He fell in love with me at first sight. I can feel that he desires my body."

His voice was forceful and sonorous, each word striking the ground like iron.

Chu Zeming nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood.

—You dead gay bastard, hand over your life!

The Luminous Glaze Sword sensed its master's abruptly changing emotions, and even its blade began to tremble. Chu Zeming slowly raised his hand, closed his eyes, and pointed the Luminous Glaze Sword's edge directly at Yue Lian.

The surrounding aura abruptly dropped several degrees, and killing intent surged in every direction.

The next second, the Luminous Glaze Sword would fly straight into that flat-chested, narcissistic gay bastard's forehead!

Ning Weiyu was greatly alarmed. Ignoring Yue Lian's narrowed beautiful eyes, he forcibly dragged him away from the bamboo forest.

Only after the two figures had completely disappeared did Chu Zeming drag his longsword over to a nearby rock, sit down, and meditate to regulate his breathing.

—He had been so angered just now that his blood and qi had flowed backward, his meridians had become blocked, and his heart would not stop racing. He felt rather awful now.

He meditated and regulated his breathing for a long while.

At last, he felt somewhat better.

Chu Zeming put away his sword, rose, and walked out of the bamboo forest.

The Nine-Clear Haoran Sect had disciples as numerous as clouds, a mixed bag of good and bad. Thus, some disciples progressed quickly in their cultivation and could comprehend things on their own, while others could not rely on themselves and needed guidance.

The Nine-Clear Haoran Sect's morning lessons were arranged for the latter. Inner disciples with higher cultivation levels explained Daoist arts to their junior brothers and sisters and answered their questions.

When the sun had risen three poles high, it was time for the day's morning lesson to end. A black-haired young man wearing a hair crown and steeped in scholarly elegance was lowering his head as he meticulously put away the teaching scrolls on his desk.

Suddenly, a cool, slightly husky voice sounded from outside the hall.

"Xuan Mo."

Xuan Mo lifted his head and looked toward the sound. A handsome, flamboyant man dressed in white was leaning against the doorway.

Xuan Mo stopped what he was doing. "E-Eldest Senior Brother?"

Avoiding the stream of disciples leaving the hall, Chu Zeming entered. With a smack, he planted both hands on the lectern, lowered his head, and stared down at his learned and honest Sixth Junior Brother. In an exceedingly amiable tone, he asked, "Are you free? Accompany Senior Brother to the Scripture Pavilion?"

Xuan Mo paused.

Why had his senior brother, who had always gone everywhere alone and looked down on everyone, come to ask him to visit the Scripture Pavilion together? He wanted to refuse, but faced with that stern aura, Xuan Mo's heart trembled and he did not dare say it aloud.

"Yes, Eldest Senior Brother."

After Xuan Mo packed his things into his book box, he quietly followed behind Chu Zeming. He hardly dared breathe and was exceedingly humble and respectful.

Chu Zeming flicked his sleeve, feeling extremely satisfied.

This was the treatment an Eldest Senior Brother ought to receive.

What had been wrong with those strange junior brothers and sisters from before?

Xuan Mo was proper by nature and never spoke out of turn. Since Chu Zeming wanted to read but could not recognize characters, Xuan Mo was the first person he thought of.

After entering the Scripture Pavilion, Chu Zeming took out the book he had not finished reading last time.

"Xuan Mo, you've read this book, right? Tell me what it says. It's too thick. Your senior brother doesn't want to read it."

Xuan Mo accepted the ancient text tremblingly and asked with curiosity, "A Chronological History of the Blackfeather Continent... Eldest Senior Brother, why have you suddenly become interested in history lately?"

Chu Zeming merely smiled without answering.

His brows and eyes were sharp and striking, but... somewhat frightening—as though he were warning Xuan Mo not to ask what he should not ask.

"I... I'll explain it to Eldest Senior Brother right away." Xuan Mo drew a deep breath, set down the little book box on his back, sat properly in front of Chu Zeming, opened the book, and began explaining with trepidation.

"Since written records first appeared, the Blackfeather Continent has already had a history of forty-five billion years..."

Chu Zeming listened with exceptional focus, and his perpetually sour face finally eased somewhat.

As Xuan Mo explained, Chu Zeming's understanding of this world gradually deepened. Yet this was still far from enough. Over the following days, Chu Zeming piled book after book before Xuan Mo.

They covered all sorts of miscellaneous subjects.

However, most of them were books on cultivation.

Even though Xuan Mo loved reading, after several days of such high-intensity input, the mere sight of a book now made him want to vomit.

Chu Zeming selected one and tossed it to Xuan Mo. Concise as ever, he said, "This one. Read it."

Xuan Mo covered his mouth as he fought back nausea, on the verge of tears. "Eldest Senior Brother, could you p-perhaps read it y-yourself... This is the m-most basic cultivation manual..."

Chu Zeming raised a brow and looked at Xuan Mo.

The beauty of his features immediately became razor-sharp.

Xuan Mo sucked in a breath and hurriedly said, "Senior Brother, I'll read it!"

Seeing Xuan Mo obey his every word, walking on thin ice, Chu Zeming revealed a satisfied smile.

—On the fourth day since arriving in this miserable gay-novel world, the male protagonist of a Point-genre transmigration upgrade novel had finally, through the sheer force of his personality, successfully brought his first underling into the fold.