Villainous Junior Chapter 1
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 1: Rebirth
Early in the morning, as the plants and trees were just awakening, clouds emerged from the mountains. A milky white mist enveloped the vast green hills, creating an ethereal, fairy-like atmosphere.
On the stone steps shrouded in clouds and mist, two graceful young women's silhouettes faintly appeared. They wore identical sky-blue uniforms with delicate silver tasseled bells hanging from their waists. Hand in hand, they ran swiftly down the mountain. The slightly shorter one, seemingly not fully awake, covered her mouth to yawn and asked, "Senior sister, why are we up so early? What are we doing?"
"Have you forgotten what day it is?" Liu Xuanxuan's clean, pretty face was full of anticipation and excitement. "It's the annual day for selecting and admitting new disciples to the Taixuan Sect!"
Wan Qiu jolted awake, fully alert now.
As one of the renowned cultivation sects on the mainland of Shenzhou, countless aspiring cultivators were desperate to join the Taixuan Sect. However, the sect's standards for accepting disciples were exceptionally strict. They held a new disciple selection event once a year, putting candidates through rigorous tests. In the end, only ten outstanding individuals were chosen from thousands of participants to become fresh blood for the sect.
Wan Qiu was a disciple who had joined the Taixuan Sect last year. She had always been the most junior member in the sect, but now with new disciples coming, she could finally be promoted to senior sister!
Realizing this, Wan Qiu immediately perked up. The two young women simultaneously quickened their pace, eager to watch the excitement at the mountain gate. They ran with their heads down, too fast to notice a human silhouette faintly outlined in the thin mist ahead. By the time they realized, it was too late — they were about to crash right into the person!
Both young women cried out in unison, bracing themselves for a fall. Unexpectedly, the next second they felt their bodies lighten as a gentle force floated over from the front, helping them regain their balance.
Liu Xuanxuan quietly sighed in relief. But when she raised her eyes and clearly saw the figure before them, she sucked that breath right back in. "Se-Senior Brother Meng!"
Senior Brother Meng?
Hearing this, Wan Qiu also gasped, her eyes widening in surprise.
Was it that legendary Senior Brother Meng?
The young woman held her breath as she looked over.
The young man before them wore the same sky-blue uniform as they did, though his was much more exquisitely made. The fabric was smooth with a subtle sheen, and the collar and cuffs were embroidered with intricate patterns in silver thread, giving it a grander, more imposing appearance.
However magnificent and beautiful the clothes were, they couldn't compare to the person wearing them.
The young man appeared to be in his early twenties. His black hair was tied up high, and his features were clear and handsome. His long eyelashes, like crow feathers, formed a beautiful arc at the corners of his eyes. At a glance, one couldn't help but think of the pure white crane that perched at the highest point of Tianji Peak.
Wan Qiu stared blankly until Liu Xuanxuan secretly pinched her. She came to her senses and hurriedly saluted in greeting, her cheeks flushed. "G-Good morning, Senior Brother Meng!"
Meng Chen nodded slightly, his gaze passing over the two of them before he began ascending the mountain steps. His tall, graceful figure soon disappeared into the layers of mist.
Wan Qiu finally let out a heavy breath, excitedly grasping Liu Xuanxuan's arm. "Heavens, I've finally seen Senior Brother Meng in person! He's even more handsome than the legends say!!"
She had always heard people say that Senior Brother Meng had unparalleled beauty, an otherworldly aura, was refined and transcendent, untouched by mortal dust... She had been skeptical before, thinking it couldn't be that exaggerated. Now that she had seen him, she knew the rumors weren't false at all!
"Of course," Liu Xuanxuan giggled, whispering to her, "Privately, we all secretly call Senior Brother Meng 'Taixuan's First Beauty.'"
Wan Qiu nodded in complete agreement. Although many senior sisters on Cuixia Peak were also very beautiful, Senior Brother Meng had surpassed the level of "good-looking." He looked as if he had been carved from ice and snow. If one had to describe him, perhaps only the phrase "immortal bearing" would suffice.
"What kind of person is Senior Brother Meng?" Wan Qiu asked, increasingly fascinated. "Is he hard to approach since he's so amazing?"
"No," Liu Xuanxuan replied, looking back at the long-vanished figure, her voice gentle. "He's a very kind person."
Meng Chen was an undisputed genius. Though he had started cultivation late, he had broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage in his twenties, shocking not only the Taixuan Sect but the entire cultivation world. Combined with his otherworldly aura, almost all disciples in the Taixuan Sect both admired and feared him, feeling they were worlds apart and not daring to harbor thoughts of closeness.
Liu Xuanxuan was naturally the same. But one day during morning lessons, as she was rushing to the training grounds, passing Senior Brother Meng suddenly called out to her, then reached out and lightly brushed the back of her head.
Without exaggeration, Liu Xuanxuan felt at that moment as if her head had been enlightened, surrounded by immortal energy.
"Se-Senior Brother Meng!" Usually brash and energetic, she was now nervous and at a loss, her tongue almost tied as she asked incoherently, "I-I-I... is something wrong?"
"It's nothing," the young man lowered his hand, his snow-white fingertips disappearing into his wide sleeves. His voice was gentle. "Just a leaf."
But later she learned that there had actually been a caterpillar on her hair, placed there by a mischievous junior disciple as a prank. Senior Brother Meng, fearing it would frighten her if he told the truth, had only said it was a leaf.
From that moment on, Liu Xuanxuan realized that the legendary prodigy who seemed to stand among the clouds was actually a very kind and gentle person.
However, just now…
Liu Xuanxuan withdrew her gaze, her expression somewhat worried.
Something seemed off about Senior Brother Meng.
Those eyes, usually clear, pure, and gentle as water, were inexplicably cold. Just one glance made one…
Feel chilled to the bone.
****
With a Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, one could cover great distances in an instant. If he wished, he could reach the top of the thousands of steps in mere moments.
But Meng Chen didn't do that.
He walked slowly up the seemingly endless stairway, step by step, focusing on the solid feeling of his feet touching the ground.
In his past life, for over a month before his death, he hadn't experienced the sensation of walking independently. With his limbs crippled and meridians severed, the hands that once wielded swords skillfully shook so badly they couldn't even pick up a dry twig. His legs had become completely useless, reducing him to a total invalid.
During that month and more, Meng Chen pondered day and night how things had come to this.
His reputation was ruined, burdened with accusations of turning to evil ways and killing fellow disciples. The Disciplinary Hall elders, grief-stricken, threw him into the dungeon, claiming to cleanse the sect.
The junior disciple he had genuinely cared for planted a poison Gu in him, while the senior disciple as close as a brother personally destroyed his cultivation.
Even the master who had led him into cultivation and raised him refused to hear a word of explanation. With sword tip pressed against Meng Chen's throat and eyes cold, the master sought to take his life personally.
Meng Chen felt he had done no wrong to heaven or earth, nor to others. He had respected and admired his master, vowing to repay that kindness for life. He had treated his fellow disciples with utmost sincerity, willing to go through fire and water for them without complaint.
But why did those people treat him that way?
Why did they deceive him, humiliate him, destroy him so?!
In his past life, he had decisively ended his own life with a sword, refusing to fulfill those people's wishes even in death. Yet unexpectedly, when he opened his eyes again, he had returned to the time before any darkness had shown itself.
Meng Chen closed his eyes and opened them again, his gaze dark and inscrutable.
The morning sun had begun to rise, the white mist quietly dispersing, as sunlight spilled across the vast mountain ranges.
Now that everything was starting anew, whether it was heaven's favor or deliberate torment, he would absolutely not allow himself to repeat the ending of his previous life.
The sound of hurried footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Meng Chen glanced over dispassionately to see several more blue-robed disciples rushing down the long stairway. They had been laughing and playfully pushing each other, but upon encountering Meng Chen, they immediately stood at attention, hands obediently at their sides, and nervously called out loudly. "Greetings, Senior Brother Meng!!"
Remembering the two young women he had met earlier who were also hurrying down the mountain, Meng Chen asked, "What's happening down the mountain?"
One disciple, meeting Meng Chen's gaze, unconsciously swallowed before replying, "In response to Senior Brother, today is the day new disciples are admitted. Everyone is rushing to the mountain gate to watch the excitement!"
The day new disciples are admitted?
Isn't that…
****
"They're here, they're here!"
"This year's new disciples look quite good, each one seems full of spirit."
"Look at that brother on the far right, his eyes are bright and his bearing extraordinary. You can tell his foundation is solid. He must come to our Wuzhao Peak!"
"That's not necessarily true. Your Wuzhao Peak is full of rough fellows. I think that brother looks refined and clean-cut. Coming to our Yuhua Peak would suit him best!"
Taixuan Sect had four peaks: Tianji Peak, Cuixia Peak, Wuzhao Peak, and Yuhua Peak. Cuixia Peak was entirely female disciples. Wuzhao Peak disciples loved wielding swords and sabers, all full of energy, treating fighting like their daily bread. Yuhua Peak disciples excelled in researching talismans, hidden weapons, formations, and poisons. They all appeared gentle and amiable, but were actually not to be trifled with. In the words of Wuzhao Peak disciples, they were "white on the outside, black on the inside; sanctimonious, honey-mouthed but dagger-hearted, hiding knives behind smiles."
As for Tianji Peak, it was the most special.
Taixuan Sect was full of talent, with many powerful cultivators. The sect leader and the three peak masters were all at the Refining Void Realm, notable figures even across the mainland of Shenzhou. However, Zhongli Jing, the master of Tianji Peak, had reached the Mahayana realm, one of the few peak-level masters in the entire cultivation world. Everyone, including the Taixuan Sect leader, respectfully called him "Immortal Lord Zhongli."
Zhongli Jing cultivated the Ruthless Way, with a distant and cold personality, indifferent to power and worldly affairs, focused solely on cultivation. Thus, he only had three disciples, but each was an astounding genius. The eldest disciple Pei Yuze and second disciple Meng Chen had both broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage at a young age, while the third disciple Yin Chi was already at the peak of the Golden Core realm, with breakthrough to Nascent Soul Stage imminent.
Every year, there wasn't a single new disciple who hadn't heard of Immortal Lord Zhongli's name, and they all took the three senior brothers of Tianji Peak as role models and idols. However, none ever thought of joining Tianji Peak, as the gap was simply too great. Even though they had stood out among thousands, they were still only at the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment stages. Tianji Peak was such a holy place that they didn't dare even dream of it.
According to Taixuan Sect's rules, new disciples had the right to choose their own masters after admission. The peak masters would also observe each disciple's potential, character, and talent. If satisfied, they could accept them as disciples. If they felt the disciple wasn't suitable to learn from them, they would suggest the disciple join another peak.
The ten new disciples who had passed through layers of selection and stood out among thousands of cultivators lined up. The male disciple at the front stepped forward first, respectfully bowing to the elders, and said with respect and excitement. "Disciple Tai Hongxuan hopes to join Yuhua Peak and learn from Elder Yu. I will be diligent and down-to-earth. I hope Elder Yu will accept me as a disciple!"
Elder Yu of Yuhua Peak clearly favored Tai Hongxuan as well, nodding with pleasure. Tai Hongxuan immediately knelt down excitedly and kowtowed three times, officially joining Yuhua Peak.
The disciples behind him also joined their respective peaks one by one, until the last new disciple. All the elders turned their gazes towards him, and their spirits were suddenly roused.
The young man appeared to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. He was tall but not thin, his body upright and well-proportioned beneath his black clothes, subtly hiding a sense of strength. His face was beyond reproach, with clear brows and bright eyes, deep-set features like a freshly unsheathed blade, carrying a sharpness unique to youth.
"This is a promising seedling!" Yu Nian's eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "Barely of age, yet he's already close to forming his Golden Core. This talent is almost on par with that Yin lad from Tianji Peak, isn't it?"
Bai Bi, the elder from Cuixia Peak, nodded in agreement. If Cuixia Peak didn't only accept female disciples, she would have been tempted to take him.
Bu Yunjian, the elder from Wuzhao Peak, offered a concise evaluation. "Exceptional bone structure, powerful lower body, suitable for practicing saber techniques."
Hearing this, Yu Nian immediately became alert. "What are you planning? I saw him first!"
Bu Yunjian's face remained expressionless. "You don't get to decide."
The two exchanged a glance, tacitly agreeing to take action simultaneously, preparing to extend an olive branch to the disciple they favored. However, at that moment, the spectating disciples suddenly became restless, with faint excited cries from the Cuixia Peak junior sisters mixed in.
The elders turned back puzzled, only to see the crowd of disciples parting like flowing water, making way for a newcomer while excitedly calling out. "Senior Brother Meng!"
Meng Chen politely nodded to his fellow disciples. When his gaze fell upon the line of new disciples, something caught his eye, causing a slight ripple in his expression and the corners of his lips to lift slightly.
The young man was already strikingly handsome and otherworldly. Now, as he smiled faintly, it was as if sunlight was reflecting off snow, or the bright moon was just rising, capturing all the world's mountains, rivers, and scenery within his brow and eyes. The disciples present couldn't help but hold their breath, staring dumbfounded, momentarily entranced.
—
TN: Ruthless Way=Heartless Dao/Way
