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March 24 - March 27, 2023
Shen Qingqiu didn’t even need to think, and straightaway he bet five thousand spirit stones on Luo Binghe.
“Zhangmen-shixiong, you’ll be his guarantor?” Qi Qingqi butted in, getting right to the point. “I will,” said Yue Qingyuan. “If you lose, who pays?” Liu Qingge asked. “Me,” said Yue Qingyuan. “If I win, who keeps the payout?” asked Shen Qingqiu. “You,” said Yue Qingyuan.
The current Luo Binghe’s modus operandi was low-key and modest, and he was unwilling to claim credit. Every time he did a good deed or completed a task, he quietly took his leave. This prevented his reputation from growing, so his skills and talents had never shone.
My disciple is the most awesome in the world! If he weren’t so good, so kind, and so easy to take advantage of, none of you could even dream of defeating him! Shen Qingqiu never thought to reflect on what this agitated attitude of his meant.
Luo Binghe was beautiful, and he looked quite like his birth mother. The Old Palace Master had seen this face and, thinking the junior disciple’s similar appearance only coincidental, had become nostalgic about his own favorite. He could scarcely have imagined that Luo Binghe was the child of precisely that beloved lost pupil.
Only someone as…special as Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky could manage to occasionally write a stallion novel’s harem more in the flavor of The Legend of Zhen Huan.9 I’d rather read ten thousand words describing how ghost-head spiders mate than read about Sha Hualing tearing into Qin Wanyue! Thank you!
But there was nothing he could do about Qin Wanrong. After all, the beautiful sisters Qin Wanyue and Qin Wanrong were members of Luo Binghe’s harem. Therefore, according to universal convention, no matter how dedicatedly they dug their own graves, they wouldn’t die.
Shen Qingqiu’s heart filled with a strange annoyance. Luo Binghe, you… In the future, when you’re gathering your harem, can you put more thought into quality? Don’t welcome just any decent-looking girl into your arms. The inconsistency in your harem’s standards makes this master’s heart hurt for you!
Luo Binghe finally turned, a faint smile still on his face—peerlessly handsome, utterly faultless—and did not speak. But for some reason, Qin Wanyue inwardly shivered in fear. However, Qin Wanrong had cotton for brains and took his smile as acquiescence.
Shen Qingqiu shook his head. “How can a master hide and relax on a dais while his disciples are in danger? If I can’t even protect my own disciples, I don’t deserve to be the Peak Lord of Qing Jing Peak.” Also, he was a vital character who needed to trigger a crucial plot point. If he wasn’t on the scene, they couldn’t keep filming, you know? Ding-dong, System notification: 【 Making the villain more three-dimensional by crafting an honorable image, B-Points +30. 】 Shen Qingqiu internally rolled his eyes. Are you handing me a piece of candy before you stab me?
his interest in the demonic beasts of Proud Immortal Demon Way had far surpassed his interest in all those flavors of women. He might not have remembered where any given female protagonist liked to go stargazing with Luo Binghe after being slighted, and he sometimes was unable to match names to characters, but he definitely remembered every demonic beast’s attributes and weaknesses with exacting clarity!
Having eaten its fill of brains, that human-headed spider monster crawled up and down the corpse, letting out a mournful scream like an infant’s wail. Just then, an arrow of light made of pure spiritual energy flew through the night and pierced its still howling mouth, skewering a hole clean through it. Amidst the sudden silence and everyone’s dazed stares, Shen Qingqiu rubbed his sore ears, slowly shook out his sleeves, and with a snap of his fan, murmured, “Shut up.” This arrival of his was truly quite low-key.
Now that a powerful senior had appeared to rescue them, every one of the disciples acted like they’d seen their mother, stopping just short of clinging to Shen Qingqiu’s thighs and wailing.
Ever since Luo Binghe apprenticed under Meng Mo, Shen Qingqiu had been able to provide him with less and less guidance on martial and sword techniques. This rare chance to show off as a master before his disciple secretly left Shen Qingqiu feeling an immense sense of satisfaction. It was like he’d finally found his long-lost teacher’s halo.
Just as Shen Qingqiu started to worry about when that goddamned hack of a poison would next act up, he felt his spiritual power stagnate, and his next strike came up empty. Truly, speak of the devil!
Shen Qingqiu was horrified. That look… Luo Binghe couldn’t be…hoping to pick the mystical flower and cure him, right? Stop. Do not pass go. The girl you’re supposed to pick the flower for, Qin Wanyue, is right next to us, watching—and you want to deflower it in her presence, and for a big, strong man to boot? Leave your wife some dignity, all right?!
This really isn’t the time! Why must you be so filial at this critical juncture?! I can’t tell you that the only way to completely cure the poison is to take a trip to pound town with you, okay?!
His expression became cold. “Has this master indulged you such that you think you can willfully fool around even at a time like this?” To tell the truth, over these past few years, due to Shen Qingqiu’s strange desire to preemptively atone—along with certain other sentiments—he’d never spoken to his disciple with even the slightest bit of harshness. So, once he did, Luo Binghe first startled. Then, as expected, he obediently shut his mouth.
The person in front of him was the main culprit behind this catastrophe! Shang Qinghua, a character that Shen Qingqiu had mentally roasted before with “He goes to Qinghua University, well I even took Beijing University’s exam,”11 was the Peak Lord of An Ding Peak. At the same time, he had another important identity: he was a spy, a pawn planted many years ago by the demons, and he had orchestrated the disaster at the Immortal Alliance Conference.
Now Shang Qinghua said he hadn’t even seen it. Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help being on his guard. Without this key plot device, surely the System couldn’t ask him to suddenly strike Luo Binghe without any justification?
There was no mistaking the sensation of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake. The Endless Abyss had finally been opened. The so-called Endless Abyss was on the boundary between the Human and Demon Realms. A liminal space, it was full of peril and the unknown. Twisting, tearing vortices through space, raging flames, and burning magma were everywhere to be found.
However, this maverick was destined to get beaten up by a Luo Binghe who had suddenly activated his overpowered abilities. Thereafter, he would mysteriously capitulate to the protagonist, to the point of letting himself be ordered about. From then on, Luo Binghe would have an exceptionally badass-looking errand boy and loyal sidekick.
A white figure flashed past him. Without saying a word, Luo Binghe had moved to stand in front of his teacher. They’d just argued, and they now faced a powerful enemy, yet he still played the role of a human shield without hesitation. It would have been a lie to say Shen Qingqiu was entirely unmoved.
Mobei-Jun scoffed. “You’d do battle with me?” The following “such foolish arrogance” was left politely unspoken. Good thing you didn’t say it out loud, thought Shen Qingqiu. In three years, Luo Binghe will be able to single-handedly beat you until you can’t get up—and won’t you still become his diligent henchman? You’d really be slapping your own face.
With his left hand, he tossed forth Xiu Ya to hold off Mobei-Jun for a bit, even if it would be largely ineffective. At the same time, with his right hand, he lifted Luo Binghe like an eagle would a chick and hurled him away. Once he’d sent Luo Binghe outside the range of Mobei-Jun’s demonic qi, he turned and met palms with Mobei-Jun.
According to Shen Qingqiu’s experience from ten-plus years of reading all sorts of wuxia and xianxia novels, temperamental chuunis14 had a modicum of respect for hardheaded types who fought bloody battles to the end and refused to admit defeat. But they definitely didn’t show any mercy to cowards and weaklings!
Mobei-Jun held off both of Shen Qingqiu’s hands with just one of his own, his power overwhelmingly superior. Bored, he blasted Shen Qingqiu away. “Unusually inferior talent,” he said. “Foundation and techniques inflexible. Leave.” Shen Qingqiu said nothing. He wasn’t some unmatched genius in the Human Realm, but his talent was still at least one in a thousand. And Cang Qiong Mountain’s foundation and techniques weren’t inflexible, they were orthodox! Mobei-Jun still described them as he would a pile of garbage.
Meanwhile, Mobei-Jun had pretty much finished testing Luo Binghe, and he prepared to wrap things up, sending out one last blow. With a flick of his finger, he fired a stream of scarlet light at the center of Luo Binghe’s forehead. Once that stream of light touched Luo Binghe’s brow, it seeped into his skin, turning into a fiery red mark.
Mobei-Jun’s sudden appearance was indeed a substitute for the Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python. But compared to the original, Mobei-Jun had done a far more thorough job. He…he…he…he’d actually directly removed the seal suppressing Luo Binghe’s demonic blood! And after completing his task, he turned right around and left.
After a pause, “If you’re awake, let’s have a thorough discussion. Luo Binghe, tell me honestly, exactly how long have you been practicing demonic cultivation?” As soon as he said this, it was as if Luo Binghe had been plunged from the stifling upper heavens into a bone-chilling pool.
He stared at Shen Qingqiu’s wintry face, and his heart sank straight down. In the past, Shen Qingqiu had always called him Binghe—he had never been addressed by his full name.
Seeing the oh-so-mighty male lead reduced to this state, Shen Qingqiu couldn’t stand to watch anymore. He burst out to cut him off. “Silence!”
He seemed to have scared Luo Binghe. The boy stared at him blankly with pitch-black eyes, like a child who’d been slapped, muddled and confused, and indeed he obediently went silent.
In truth, these words he spoke were purely an expression of the regrets within his heart. As the male lead, Luo Binghe was indeed blessed with spectacular talent. If Shen Qingqiu had to describe what he was feeling with absolute honesty, it was admiration, with the tiniest bit of envy. But to Luo Binghe’s ears, his meaning was completely different. He instantly fell to his knees before Shen Qingqiu.
“That mark on your forehead is a mark of sin—the mark of the demons who fell from the heavens. These demons have murdered countless humans, and moreover, their temperaments are impossible to contain. From ancient times, they’ve been the cause of calamity upon calamity. Under no circumstances can they be spoken of in the same breath as other demons. I cannot wait and hope my earlier words were true while you develop a taste for slaughter and lose all control.”
His voice quivered. “But you said…” I’ve said a lot of things, okay? I even once made several hundred posts in bright red font about wanting to castrate Shen Qingqiu—
He relentlessly told himself to the point of auto-brainwashing: the suffering and torment Luo Binghe endured now was all necessary in order for him to stand above the masses in the future.
“Shizun, do you really want to kill me?” Luo Binghe couldn’t believe it. “I don’t want to kill you.” Unable to look at his expression, Shen Qingqiu’s gaze went right through him. Luo Binghe searched his memory, but he’d never seen Shen Qingqiu so cold and emotionless, not toward him. Even back when he’d just entered Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, when Shizun had disliked him, his eyes had never been this empty—like he was looking at nothing.
“It’s only, what that man said wasn’t wrong,” said Shen Qingqiu. “The Human Realm is no longer a place for you. You ought to return to the place you belong.”
In this kind of scenario, characters who chose to jump from cliffs were always caught on something—then Shen Qingqiu could go on believing his own lies that this scene would have a happy end. Better that than this moment being carved into Shen Qingqiu’s memory from here on out, forcing him to remember night and day that he had shoved Luo Binghe down with his own two hands. But Luo Binghe refused to give up hope.
In the original work, Luo Binghe was only kicked into the abyss—now there was this extra stab to add to his grudge!
Then Shen Qingqiu unleashed a final strike, which extinguished the last trace of light within Luo Binghe’s eyes. He knew he would never forget Luo Binghe’s expression from the moment of his fall.
Though Ming Fan hated Luo Binghe and was always cursing at him to go die, he’d never really wanted him dead. Moreover, when he thought about how much Shizun had adored him, and how this shitty brat had died without even leaving a corpse—Shizun had to be terribly sad, and Ming Fan couldn’t be happy about that either.
Liu Qingge wasn’t good with words. He patted Shen Qingqiu’s shoulder. “Your disciple is gone, but you can still accept more.” Though he knew Liu Qingge was trying to comfort him, Shen Qingqiu still wanted to feebly roll his eyes at him. People who hadn’t kicked their favorite disciple—who was also the male lead—into the Endless Abyss were all just commentating from the sidelines!
Most heartbreaking of all was the first-ranked name, high at the top of the list—a member of Cang Qiong Mountain’s Qing Jing Peak and Shen Qingqiu’s beloved disciple, Luo Binghe, deceased, his sword broken.
Sure enough, Luo Binghe had made a good showing, and in the final hour, he had shot past the first- and second-ranked Gongyi Xiao and Liu Mingyan to perch at the head of the rankings, thereby earning his master double his initial investment.
“Shizun!” Ning Yingying stamped her foot. “Even if A-Luo is gone, you…you still have the rest of your disciples. You’re so…out of your mind with grief, we disciples—we disciples are worried to death!” Shen Qingqiu would never have expected someone to use the words “out of your mind” to describe him.
Clearly Shen Qingqiu was the one who’d raised that little lamb of a protagonist, so why did it seem like the protagonist had been the one looking after him? He was scaring his disciples, putting on the act of a grieving widow whose husband had just died. Hadn’t it been only a couple of days since he’d last seen that child?
Only Shen Qingqiu knew that the one he was mourning was in truth within that sword mound, buried underneath and never to return: that youth as warm as the sun.
【 Congratulations! You have successfully completed the key quest, “The Legend Begins: Luo Binghe’s Fall and Rebirth.” Reward: Protagonist satisfaction points +10,000. 】
