Shen Qingqiu was an easygoing person.
Since his residential address had already changed to Proud Immortal Demon Way, and since he’d already kicked the bucket in his original world, he figured he might as well try making it work here.
He’d arrived in a cultivation setting, received a body with decent martial ability and swordsmanship for free, and was also part of a famous righteous sect. If he wanted to stand out, he could stand out, and if he wanted to lie low, he could hole up on Cang Qiong Mountain Sect’s Qing Jing Peak and be a recluse. What was there to complain about?
The only slightly difficult thing would be finding a girlfriend. In this sort of male power fantasy stallion novel, any woman inevitably belonged to the male lead, as long as she wasn’t ugly. Everyone knew this.
Still, Shen Qingqiu was a man of few needs; he would have been satisfied just idling away to a ripe old age. In that way, it wouldn’t be that different from how his previous life had been going.
However, while Luo Binghe was a factor, making a name for himself was right out. If Shen Qingqiu remained anywhere near the original work’s setting, even if he found some non-existent paradise to seclude himself in, once Luo Binghe took power, he’d still be able to carve Shen Qingqiu into a human stick.
“It’s not that I don’t want to cling to the male lead’s thighs, but who made him so damn black-hearted? He’s the type who seeks thousandfold retribution!”
After his daily cursing at “Great Master” Airplane, Shen Qingqiu quickly set some goals: in short, familiarize himself with his environment, work with the System as much as possible, diligently pursue more accomplishments, earn B-Points, and unfreeze the OOC function as soon as possible. If the situation started looking grim, he’d have to seek out an alternative strategy.
Cang Qiong’s twelve peaks were like twelve giant swords forged by nature, steep and magnificent, piercing the skies.
Shen Qingqiu’s Qing Jing Peak wasn’t the tallest, but it was the most tranquil, heavily forested with tall bamboo. On top of that, as basically all of Shen Qingqiu’s disciples needed to learn the four scholarly arts of guqin playing, Go, calligraphy, and painting, from time to time the clear sounds of reading and the murmur of the guqin would drift on the breeze. It was an excellent destination for scholarly youths, steeped in ancient arts and literature, and perfectly aligned with the needs of the original Shen Qingqiu—that poser.
As Shen Qingqiu passed a group of disciples, they respectfully asked after his health; he schooled his countenance to match the original’s cold, aloof look, nodding slightly while walking with his hands clasped behind his back. He managed to get by with this, troubled only over how he was supposed to match the book’s names to these wavering faces.
This wasn’t Shen Qingqiu’s most pressing concern, however. That was self-defense, and for that, he needed to figure out how to employ the original flavor’s martial ability and swordsmanship.
If he remembered correctly, before Luo Binghe darkened, Cang Qiong Mountain Sect suffered a succession of significant incidents, things like demonic incursions and the Immortal Alliance Conference. Shen Qingqiu would have to deal with all of them. If all he had to work with was a shell with no cultivation ability, forget following the plot, the male lead wouldn’t have to lift a finger before an insignificant no-name monster got him killed!
Shen Qingqiu walked deep into the forest, alone. Only after confirming no one was in sight did he remove the sword at his waist. He held the scabbard in his left hand and the hilt in his right, and he slowly pulled it out.
Xiu Ya had been with Shen Qingqiu since he was young and newly known, and it could have been considered prestigious unto itself. The flash of its blade was snow white, luminous but not blinding, definitely a top-class armament. When one channeled spiritual energy into the weapon, the blade glowed faintly. As Shen Qingqiu pondered exactly how to “channel spiritual energy,” the sword in his hand began to shimmer white.
It seemed like he’d inherited the original’s cultivation and martial abilities as well. His mind had filled in the gaps without him needing to consciously remember.
Wanting to see Xiu Ya’s power, Shen Qingqiu casually slashed once.
Who knew a single slash would be so terrifying? The sword’s arc dazzled like a flash of lightning released from his palm, so bright that even UV 400 sunglasses wouldn’t have saved him if he hadn’t closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he beheld a deep ditch that had been carved into the ground, as if it had been split by lightning.
“Holy shit!”
Shen Qingqiu remained expressionless, but his heart surged with exhilaration.
So damn awesome! Power worthy of a character who was a peak’s sole master. With this level of cultivation, if he diligently trained for the next twenty years, then maybe in the future—as a last resort, if he absolutely had to face that overpowered Luo Binghe—he might just be able to flee in disgrace!
Yes. All he wanted was to be able to flee in disgrace.
He wanted to practice more, but he heard the sound of subtle footsteps snapping dry twigs.
In truth, that sound was still a long way off, but his five senses were highly sensitive, and it would have been difficult not to notice. Shen Qingqiu studied that deep ditch in the ground, then sheathed his sword with a clink before hiding himself within the greenery.
The footsteps came closer and closer; there was more than one person. As expected, a moment later, the first face to appear was Luo Binghe’s, seeming to shine with its own light. The first sound, however, was the crisp, delicate voice of a young maiden.
“A-Luo, A-Luo, look, there’s a huge ditch in the ground here!”
Upon hearing this nickname, Shen Qingqiu almost staggered from his hiding place.
【 Shen Qingqiu’s youngest female disciple, Ning Yingying, 】 the System said concisely.
“What use was that introduction?” Shen Qingqiu hissed. “Everyone knows that only one person addresses Luo Binghe that way!”
The pretty girl following Luo Binghe came into view as well. She looked slightly younger than Luo Binghe, lovely and adorable, her braided hair bound with orange ribbons as she ran and skipped, brimming with naivety. Every proper cultivation novel had to have a charming young shimei-type.
This young shimei inspired some complicated feelings in Shen Qingqiu. This was because he had designs on Ning Yingying—ah, no, more like the original Shen Qingqiu had designs on Ning Yingying.
Shen Qingqiu’s character settings were stuck on “shady hypocrite.” Since on the surface he looked pure-hearted, free of desire, and immune to wicked temptations, then beneath that surface he had to be immoral, shameless, scummy, and despicable. He was a teacher, but he harbored filthy intentions toward his obedient and cheerful disciple. He tried to carry them out several times in the story, and he very nearly succeeded.
One can, however, imagine the result of daring to try to get a taste of the male lead’s woman!