Thankfully, There Were Normal People in Women's Fiction Too
"The time has come. Enter the minor secret realm at once." The person presiding over the first round of the martial competition was He Zong, the Pure Void Sect's second elder and a mighty cultivator at the early Body Integration stage.
The instant Second Elder He Zong finished speaking, all the disciples taking part in the first round of the inner sect martial competition headed for the entrance to the minor secret realm.
Qin Chuan and Jin Pang were in no hurry to enter. They stood not far from the entrance, silently observing.
After most of the people had entered the secret realm, the female lead, Gu Xiran, and her simp, Xie An, also appeared in Qin Chuan's field of vision.
It wasn't just Gu Xiran and Xie An. Gu Xiran's master, eldest senior brother, and third senior brother had all come too.
The male supporting characters in women's fiction were all good-looking. Each had either swordlike brows and starry eyes or a gentle bearing like polished jade. Some were androgynous and dressed in fluttering white robes. In any case, they were handsome enough to stand out in a crowd at a glance, brighter than giant light bulbs.
Qin Chuan remembered reading the long string of descriptions of the male lead's and supporting characters' appearances in the script. His eyes had widened as he marveled that, even after all his studying and exams, he hadn't known so many glowing compliments.
Then he looked at the female lead, Gu Xiran. She could be considered beautiful, but not so beautiful as to take one's breath away. She couldn't compare with his master, Shen Qingyuan. He couldn't help thinking that the female lead of a women's novel wasn't quite good-looking enough for her male lead and male supporting characters.
Before Qin Chuan could think any further, more people arrived. Hmm... at a time like this, the vicious villainess Gu Xi had naturally come too, along with her master and senior brother.
Qin Chuan wasn't far away, and cultivators' five senses were keen to begin with, so Gu Xiran's voice carried just far enough to reach his ears.
"Master, eldest senior brother, third senior brother, you can put a million worries to rest. I've already reached the mid Foundation Establishment stage, and with second senior brother protecting me, nothing will happen to me."
"Yes, yes, yes. Our little junior sister is the best." The speaker was Gu Xiran's eldest senior brother, Pei Xuan. He looked at her indulgently, then turned to Xie An and said sternly:
"Second junior brother, I'm leaving little junior sister in your hands. You must protect her well. If she suffers even the slightest injury, I'll hold you responsible."
"That's right, second senior brother. You must protect little junior sister well. If eldest senior brother weren't a Golden Core direct disciple going straight to the top hundred competition, and I weren't held up by other important business, it wouldn't have been your turn." Gu Xiran's third senior brother, Jiang Lin, also looked at her indulgently.
"Xie An, you must protect Xiran well, or I certainly won't let you off lightly," Gu Xiran's master, Yun Yao, said.
"Rest assured, Master. I'll protect little junior sister well. Even if I die, I won't let her suffer the slightest harm." Xie An made his solemn promise.
"Master, eldest senior brother, third senior brother, nothing will happen to me." Gu Xiran was moved beyond words.
The four master and disciples then began saying things so nauseating they made people want to vomit. Qin Chuan didn't want to listen anymore and stepped back. Jin Pang did the same.
He looked at Jin Pang, who was also feeling sick, and Jin Pang looked back at him. Each could see the disgust for those four master and disciples in the other's eyes. It was utterly nauseating.
Every disciple who went in carried a teleportation token. If they encountered danger, they could crush it and come out. As long as they didn't court death, what fucking danger was there?
Qin Chuan had only learned this when he signed up, but it wouldn't stop him from killing Xie An in the secret realm.
The token could teleport people out of the secret realm because it was actually a low-level teleportation array. He happened to be skilled in the art of arrays, so setting up a teleportation array that temporarily prevented low-level arrays from teleporting people was no problem.
"Senior Brother Jin, how about we go in first?" Qin Chuan suggested. He really didn't want to keep watching Gu Xiran and her simps fawn over one another. It was too nauseating.
"All right. Junior Brother Qin, make sure you keep your locator disc safe. We'll meet up right away, then carry out the next step of the plan." Jin Pang couldn't stand Gu Xiran's group either. They were making an inner sect martial competition look like a farewell between the living and the dead. They had holes in their heads.
To ensure fairness and prevent disciples who knew one another from joining forces, the Pure Void Sect had made it so that people were randomly teleported away the instant they entered the passage to the secret realm. The locator discs were for finding one another.
"See you in the secret realm, then." Qin Chuan stepped toward the secret realm first. As he passed Gu Xiran's group, Gu Xiran had already started bickering with Gu Xiwan.
It was the sort of long, stinking war of words where one person took a jab and the other had to jab back, both arguing their case.
This was the cultivation world. What was the point of all this bickering and palace intrigue? Qin Chuan thought that if anyone dared provoke him without cause, he'd cut them down with a single stroke. In the cultivation world, the bigger fist was what counted.
The female lead's and villainess's masters stood to the side, putting on airs. Qin Chuan thought they were really dull. Couldn't they just stab each other a couple of times? That would take care of two male supporting characters, and he could clap and cheer, then do a good deed by scattering both their ashes.
Gu Xiran and Gu Xiwan's bickering grew louder and louder. Qin Chuan quickened his pace toward the secret realm, and just before stepping into the passage, he turned back for a look as if possessed.
He saw that Elder He Zong, who was presiding over the first round of the martial competition, also wore an indescribable expression, as did the sect's deacons and elders. A thought occurred to him: There are normal people like me in this women's-fiction cultivation world after all. Only the male lead, female lead, male supporting characters, and villainess have holes in their heads.
That's good. At least not everyone's intelligence has been lowered. Otherwise, I'd be chopping people down until my arms gave out.
After that one glance back, Qin Chuan looked no more. He strode into the passage and was teleported into the secret realm. Jin Pang couldn't stand the crazy men and women either, so he followed Qin Chuan into the secret realm.
Meanwhile, Gu Xiran and Gu Xiwan were still trading barbs. Gu Xiwan had perfected her green tea tactics, prompting the female lead's former master, Xuanyang, to shout at her, "Gu Xiran, your behavior is such a disappointment. Hurry up and apologize to Xiwan."
How could Gu Xiran's current master, Yun Yao, stand for that? Yun Yao immediately snapped back at Xuanyang, "Elder Xuanyang, Xiran is my disciple now. It's not your place to lecture her."
"Sect Master, this isn't about whose disciple she is. Gu Xiran did something wrong, so she should apologize," Xuanyang retorted at once.
Xuanyang was both an elder of the Pure Void Sect and an elder of a peak. For the sake of a most beloved youngest disciple, and believing himself to be in the right, Xuanyang directly confronted Yun Yao, the sect master.
"I didn't do anything wrong. It's all Gu Xiwan's fault. I won't apologize." Gu Xiran also stuck out her neck, her attitude unyielding as she refused to apologize.
"Master, if Sister Xiran doesn't want to apologize, I don't mind. It's all my fault..." The green tea white lotus Gu Xiwan opened her mouth.
The sight of Gu Xiwan made Gu Xiran angry. She immediately cursed, "Gu Xiwan, keep your fake kindness to yourself. You make me sick."
"Gu Xiran, you...!" Xuanyang and the three disciples prepared to attack Gu Xiran. Yun Yao and the three disciples naturally wouldn't stand for it and immediately shielded Gu Xiran behind them. Swords were drawn and bows bent; a fight could break out at any moment.
At that moment, He Zong, sickened by the scene, had no choice but to step in and smooth things over. "Sect Master, Elder Xuanyang, why go this far? Your beloved disciples' competition is more important. The secret realm is about to close, so let them go in first. Whatever the matter is, you can settle it amicably later."
He Zong only wanted to brush the matter aside. As long as they didn't start fighting now, that was enough.
In the end, after bickering for a while longer, the two sides called a truce, and Gu Xiran and Gu Xiwan both entered the secret realm.
If Qin Chuan had been there, he would have cursed them out. These people really had holes in their heads. After all that bickering, all they did was trade words, raising the matter high only to set it down gently, as if they had nothing better to do after eating their fill all day.
But he didn't have time to curse them now, because his luck had run out: he had been randomly teleported into a pack of demonic beasts.