Chapter 16

Ling Xia took a deep breath and walked onstage while feigning calm, but in actuality, his legs already felt a bit weak.

He was different from those mighty and tyrannical Qidian MCs who ruled over the world; he's just a guy who liked staying at home and didn't have any inclination towards those sorts of ambitions or desires to stand above others. From his childhood up until now, it was only in kindergarten that he had gotten into a fight, and even that ended with him being beaten to the point of tears by a tiny boy who was shorter…

Of course, under the gaze of so many people, he had to put on a brave front and force himself to plough through! Right now, Ling Xia deeply understands what it means to be in over one's head while in dire straits. Especially in seeing the long sword on Xu Yan's back and the storage bag on his waist that contained who knows what kinds of magical tools and weapons, the cowardly side of his mind was magnified even more.

Unlike the tremendously tough Song Xiaohu or the gifted and intelligent Yu Zhijue, what he could rely on was only brute force… Ling Xia silently cried bitter tears in his heart.

Xu Yan lazily glanced at Ling Xia as if looking at an insignificant maggot, disinclined to even pull out his sword as he drawled, "Whatever skills you have, go ahead and use them all!"

Ling Xia sucked in a large breath of air, recalling the tai chi he learnt during gym class in college, and solemnly drew a decent half-arc in front of his body. He endeavoured to appear composed and unperturbed, steadily gazing at his opponent and striving to overwhelm Xu Yan with an imposing aura.

In front of those two kids, as their older brother, he can't go down without a fight, no matter what! When those elders and experts took in disciples, aptitude was only a part of what they looked for, and there was also one's vigour, character, etc. In any case, he must conceal his timid and weak aspects!

The cultivators paying attention to him all quietly shook their heads; this posture was so full of errors and openings that this boy couldn't even be considered an inexperienced novice.

Xu Yan warmed up his hands and wrist, his joints making a few pop-pop sounds, and using all five of his fingers, he beckoned towards Ling Xia with a motion signifying 'come'. He primarily cultivated in the sword but also had a certain degree of basics in the other fields. Dealing with the fledgling in front of his eyes, was there even a need to draw his blade?

To be underestimated was precisely what Ling Xia wanted, because only in this way was there a chance for victory! He slightly bent his body, eyes locked on Xu Yan, and concentrating his power under his feet, suddenly bolted forward!

His body contained Herculean Strength, so this charge was extremely ferocious. Xu Yan was taken aback, but he did have experience, so he speedily turned to dodge and, in turn, shoved Ling Xia in passing to almost fall off the stage. 

Ling Xia clutched at the edge in a rush with his hand, only then barely steadying his form, and he hurriedly turned back around and stood firm again.

Perhaps taking advantage of this just now to fall off the stage and concede defeat would result in less suffering, but as an elder brother and as a man, come what may, he couldn't let himself lose this easily! Maybe every man, when a surge of boiling blood rushed to their head, had this kind of impulsive, reckless urge…

Ling Xia slightly widened his stance to let his body stand more stably, and placing both hands in front of his chest to protect his vitals, he said to Xu Yan with a smile, "Just now, I attacked first. This time, it's your turn."

Wouldn't you say he declared this in a particularly domineering and gallant manner?

Xu Yan's eyebrow twitched as he sneered, "You're courting death."

Fifteen minutes later, Ling Xia felt his temples buzzing and pounding repeatedly, no longer able to differentiate the figures blurring in front of his eyes. He powerlessly half-knelt on the ground, heavily gasping for breath non-stop, his throat filled with an acrid and ammonic taste. His chest was in extreme agony, his abdomen was also in pain, and with his ankle just kicked by Xu Yan, he couldn't even stand back up…

Naturally, his opponent wasn't having that easy of a time either. He finally landed a hit on Xu Yan when he managed to get close; that fist of his was able to split rock and stone, so when he went all-out in releasing that punch, he could practically hear the cracking sound of bones breaking. Ahh, the rush of satisfaction that went straight through his heart! Only, he couldn't even grin since drawing back the corners of his lips made his mouth hurt, and his face right now was probably unfit to be seen in public.

Xu Yan had basically never met someone this difficult to deal with before—someone who continuously latched his body to the floor and tenaciously clung to the cracks, not letting go despite getting punched and kicked repeatedly. His body cultivation was still in the novice stage, but to pull out his sword or use some other magical tool at this point in time, especially in front of everyone here, there was no way his pride would let that pass…

Already tired from the fighting, Xu Yan paused and lightly planted, looking somewhat overwhelmed, then snarled, "You're still not surrendering?"

Both of Ling Xia's eyelids were swelling as he hunched his back to guard his vital organs. Even he hadn't known that he actually had such a stubborn temperament, and the words that automatically flew out of his mouth were, "Surrender, your frickin' grandma!"

He was vaguely aware that in the audience below, someone was restlessly fixating his attention on him, but his vision was hazy, and he couldn't tell who it was.

A burst of pain ran through Xu Yan's fractured wrist, and fuming while gritting his teeth, he rushed forth and put the rest of his strength into a kick towards Ling Xia's back.

Ling Xia finally couldn't retain his hold, his fingers loosening, and in the wake of that strike, involuntarily flew out of bounds.

He closed his eyes in exhaustion. At this point, he shouldn't have lost too shamefully, right?

Fuck, damn this effing torment! He hadn't even been here for that many days, and he's already been assimilated by this world's terrifying and abnormal mindset!

In the moment before his body crashed down and made impact, an unknown person jerked on his back, neutralising more than half of the momentum, but was then dragged down with him, and they tumbled to the ground together. Ling Xia squinted his eyes for a while, cautiously trying to identify the other, and only through the colour of their clothes and the shape of their body did he ascertain that that person was Yu Zhijue.

He struggled to lift his cracked lips and squeezed out with an ugly smile, "It's still you two rascals that are stronger. I lost!"

Hearing this, Yu Zhijue didn't say anything, merely clenching his fists silently. He didn't know how to comfort someone and could only tightly grip a corner of Ling Xia's clothes with his fingers.

"No, Elder Brother Ling is already really strong! In the future, you can definitely defeat him!" Song Xiaohu had also rushed on over, and when hearing those words, he was stirred up to the point of pounding a fist on Ling Xia's chest.

"…That hurts," Ling Xia weakly moaned as his vision turned black, shamefully fainting on the spot.

The hell, my noble protagonist, do you have a grudge against me?

By the time Ling Xia woke up again, he discovered that he was lying inside a small, clean, and tidy room. The surroundings were exceedingly quiet—not a single person in sight—and the smell of medicinal herbs wafted through the air.

Ling Xia propped himself up, realising just now that the injuries on his body were already bandaged, and his eyes that were originally swollen shut could now see with clarity as well. His throat was extremely parched, so spotting the tea placed on the nearby table, he promptly and without the slightest hesitation picked it up.

An appalling figure in a tragic state was clearly and distinctly reflected in the water. The eyes were slanted, the mouth was crooked, and the eyelids were bloated up like a frog's.

What a sorry and wretched condition he was in; just how miserable of a beating did he receive? At that time, to think that he even pretended to be cool and threw out a smile, that must have been a much more gruesome sight than it is now, right? He was worse off than a worn-out cleaning rag!

The door soon opened, and a hedgehog-like head bounced inside. As expected of the protagonist with the vitality of a cockroach, it looks like his wounds from before had already healed for the most part!

Seeing that Ling Xia was awake, Song Xiaohu was extraordinarily delighted, dashing over in a burst of pitter-patter steps. "Big Brother Ling, you're finally awake! You've already slept for an entire day! The healing salves Feng Luo sent over, she said they're really effective—"

"Where's Ah Jue?" Ling Xia rubbed the other's hair and peered behind him. "How are his injuries?"

As soon as he asked, he saw Yu Zhijue push the door open and walk in. The expression on his face was very calm, not a trace of friendliness or warmth present like it is on Song Xiaohu's, but it appeared as if he was troubled over something.

Yu Zhijue's voice seemed to carry a trace of awkwardness as he replied, "My injuries are already mostly halfway healed. More importantly, the placement results have already come out."

That kind of recovery and constitution was seriously much too impressive! Ling Xia was so envious and jealous; the wounds Yu Zhijue had received were even heavier than his own!

He only now realised that Yu Zhijue and Song Xiaohu both wore the same black uniform trimmed with gold, the symbol of being the sect master's direct disciple. Song Xiaohu's robust and hearty air actually gave the prim and proper clothes a somewhat lively touch, but on Yu Zhijue, his posture appeared even more upright, and with skin as white as snow, that petite look of his was unusually charming.

Sure enough, after his outstanding display, the Song Xiaohu that showed off the protagonist's superior bearing didn't end up starting from the bottom in obscurity like in the novel, but was rather taken in by Feng Shuming together with Yu Zhijue! For those two kids to remain intimate and in close vicinity was also good, as it could prevent hostility from growing between them…

Ling Xia instantly smiled and praised, "I knew the two of you were the best!"

Dimples emerged on Song Xiaohu's face, his smile containing pride, but Yu Zhijue's reaction was rather lukewarm.

Ling Xia was quite surprised and enquired, "Ah Jue, what's wrong?"

Yu Zhijue raised his head and gave him a look, then shifted his gaze elsewhere while saying in a rush, "I'm fine; it's just… you're assigned to the Immortal Welcoming Pavilion."

Ling Xia blinked, now understanding the situation.

He had actually thought of this already. This body's aptitude was ordinary, and his performance was also ordinary, so obviously he wouldn't be deeply valued like these two. He had reckoned that he would simply find a low-class Shaoyang Sect disciple to be his master, as he knew that it was impossible to become a direct disciple of the sect master.

In that case, was Yu Zhijue worried about him being sad over the huge difference between their treatment and status?

Ling Xia immediately felt touched, patting Yu Zhijue's shoulder and reassuring him with a smile, "This is nothing. It's the same wherever I go, since regardless, we're all still in Shaoyang Sect and can surely meet at any time."

Song Xiaohu nodded his head and exposed a row of pearly white teeth, innocently and happily exclaiming, "That's right, Elder Brother Ling's clothes were also delivered and placed over there, and from now on, we don't need to worry about going hungry any more!"

Ling Xia firmly pinched his cheeks; this tiny, prepubescent version of the protagonist was much too cute! With that said, Song Xiaohu revealing his remarkable talents ahead of schedule also had its benefits. The villain and the protagonist mutually encouraging each other and improving together, joining their hands as partners, and laughing proudly across this alternate world—what a wonderful and beautiful outcome to behold!

He reached over to grab and shake out the dark blue uniform placed beside him. Both the style and material couldn't match up to the exquisite quality and design of Yu Zhijue and Song Xiaohu's clothes, and in comparison, it practically looked like servant attire…

Ling Xia's mouth twitched, and he unexpectedly felt that the three words, "Immortal Welcoming Pavilion," sounded very familiar.

That's right, the protagonist's first stop in Shaoyang Sect should have been the Immortal Welcoming Pavilion, a place with a ton of annoyances and where he received a ton of humiliation. That was precisely the time when the protagonist endured to temper and improve himself—a period of blood and tears… you know, blood and tears…

Fuck! It can't be that it's now his turn!