Villainous Junior Chapter 8
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 8: Exam
The young man's voice was originally somewhat cold, like clean shattered snow in early winter. However, when he uttered words like "miss", it seemed to add a touch of tender affection, delicately weaving into one's heart.
Pei Yuze's chest warmed at the phrase "missing day and night", and he couldn't help but chuckle softly. He then took out an object from his bosom and handed it to Meng Chen.
It was a jade pendant, entirely green in color.
The jade pendant was in the shape of a half-moon, clear and translucent, with a lustrous glow swirling within. Holding it in one's palm was like cradling a bright moon of pure jade, indescribably beautiful.
"This jade can ward off evil spirits and miasma. Wearing it can also nourish one's Dao body," Pei Yuze said with a smile. "Moreover, the moment I saw it, I felt it suited you perfectly."
Meng Chen's gaze fell upon the jade pendant.
The other's introduction was simple, but he knew this was a piece of "Kunlun Glass Jade". The raw material came from the divine Kunlun Mountains, a supreme grade of jade that even a thousand gold pieces could rarely buy for ordinary cultivators. Not to mention, the pendant's craftsmanship was of the highest order, surely the work of a master. Upon closer inspection, one would find a tiny character "Chen" carved on the back of the pendant.
It was truly made with utmost care.
Pei Yuze looked at him with a smile: "Do you like it?"
"Senior Brother's gift is too precious," Meng Chen said. "I feel unworthy to accept it."
"Between us, why speak of such things?" Pei Yuze said. "Let me put it on for you."
Without waiting for Meng Chen's response, he leaned forward slightly and carefully tied the half-moon jade pendant around Meng Chen's waist. The green jade pendant complemented the sky-blue uniform perfectly, like a slowly rising bright moon cradled in the azure sky and emerald sea, a perfect match.
"With it accompanying you," Pei Yuze said softly, "I can be at ease."
****
The dim twilight gradually pressed down, the sky and earth merging into a single line, as the last ray of sunset quietly disappeared.
A pure white immortal crane leisurely flew into the Qixue Residence, circling in the air and calling out twice. Soon after, the door opened, and a young man walked out. The crane's eyes brightened, and it immediately flew down to land on the young man's shoulder.
Meng Chen raised his hand, his palm holding a crystal-clear red fruit. The white crane happily picked it up and swallowed it in one gulp, then affectionately rubbed its slender white neck against Meng Chen's face, showing none of the "aloof and unfriendly" demeanor others spoke of.
"You've gotten heavier again," Meng Chen said, feeling the weight on his shoulder. "Have you been going around showing off and tricking people for food again?"
This immortal crane, outwardly appearing aloof and proud, dignified and reserved, always disdained the offerings from Taixuan Sect disciples. Thus, everyone looked at it with a kind of sacred gaze, asserting that this was a true immortal crane that did not eat mundane food, only drinking sweet spring dew.
Only Meng Chen knew that this fellow was just good at pretending. Every time after the disciples left their food and departed, it would sneak out and pick its favorite things to eat with great enjoyment.
The white crane froze, looking somewhat guilty as it shrank its neck and tried to puff out its chest while sucking in its stomach, attempting to hide its bulging little belly under its wings.
Meng Chen's mood improved slightly because of this funny creature. He gently stroked its feathers. "Alright, go play now."
The white crane seemed very reluctant to leave, affectionately nuzzling Meng Chen's neck several more times before spreading its wings and flying away with a soft cry.
After the white crane left, Meng Chen also walked out of Qixue Residence.
Tianji Cliff was the highest point of Tianji Peak, and even the entire Taixuan Sect. Standing on the cliff, one could seemingly touch the sky and pluck the stars with a raised hand. At night, Tianji Cliff appeared even more serene, with stillness all around, only occasionally broken by the rustling of grass and trees in the night breeze.
Meng Chen stood at the edge of the cliff and removed the jade pendant from his waist.
In the night, the luster of the green jade appeared even more lustrous, like the bright moon from the sky fallen into one's palm, dreamlike and illusory.
In his previous life, after wearing the jade pendant for a while, he was astonished to discover that its originally emerald color had slowly turned blood-red, with occasional flashes of golden light, dazzlingly beautiful and stunning. When he curiously asked Pei Yuze about it, the other smiled and told him that this was the nature of Kunlun Glass Jade - it could automatically absorb the essence and spiritual energy of heaven and earth, greatly benefiting the wearer's cultivation.
But in fact, sealed within this jade was a tiny "Six-Eyed Gu".
The Six-Eyed Gu was one of the proudest creations of the Ten Thousand Gu Sect. Minuscule in size and adept at concealment, even many powerful cultivators found it hard to detect. Once activated with a secret technique, it could be used for surveillance and tracking. By placing one on the target, the Gu user could instantly determine their location, even if they fled to the ends of the earth. If the user wished, they could even control every move and word of the target through the Gu's eyes.
Meng Chen still remembered the shudder, horror, and nausea that surged through his chest the moment he learned the truth in his past life. Pei Yuze had used this method to monitor him for nearly half a year, and even replayed some of the stored footage for him to see with a smile.
Meng Chen closed his eyes briefly, forcibly suppressing the disgust welling up in his heart. He turned around and, with an expressionless face, raised his hand and threw the pendant.
A streak of green light flashed through the dark night, silently falling into the bottomless depths of Tianji Cliff.
****
The Library Pavilion was located in Jingxin Square, shaped like a pagoda with eight floors. At this moment, the Library Pavilion was brightly lit, with numerous disciples on each floor either poring over books or writing furiously, occasionally holding their breath to discuss in whispers with their companions.
Without disturbing others, Meng Chen went alone to the eighth floor of the Library Pavilion. Unlike the other seven floors, this floor was dark, with only a lamp lit at the entrance. Beside it sat a disciple in blue robes, intently reading an ancient scroll.
Seeing someone approach, the disciple looked up, surprised to see Meng Chen. He quickly stood up and said, "Senior Brother Meng? What brings you here?"
Meng Chen replied, "I've been very interested in medicine refining and pill concoction methods lately. I've hit a bottleneck in my studies and came to find a book."
The guard was Zhao Jingchen, the senior disciple of Yuhua Peak. He usually admired and respected Meng Chen greatly, but now hearing his words, he became somewhat troubled and hesitated, "Senior Brother Meng, as you know, the eighth floor is only open to elders and above."
The eighth floor of the Library Pavilion mostly housed forbidden books, dealing with profound and mysterious techniques and spells. Many were morally ambiguous or violated common principles - ancient scrolls, poison manuals, forbidden arts. Ordinary disciples with low cultivation and unstable mental states could easily be bewitched and fall into deviation if they rashly encountered these books. Thus, the Taixuan Sect Leader had established a rule making the eighth floor a restricted area, forbidding all disciples from entering under threat of severe punishment by the Disciplinary Hall.
Though disciples were naturally curious, they all avoided the Disciplinary Hall.
Moreover, the eighth floor was guarded in rotation by senior disciples from each peak and had a secret password, making it impossible to enter.
"I know," Meng Chen took a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Zhao Jingchen. "This is a message my master gave me yesterday. I had asked him about pill refining in a letter, and he told me to come to the Library Pavilion to borrow 'Seven Star Poison Notes'. I searched all seven floors but couldn't find it, so I had to come to the eighth floor."
Zhao Jingchen took the letter and read it carefully. It was indeed as Meng Chen said– Immortal Lord Zhongli had asked him to come.
"But..." he returned the letter, still hesitating, "we've never had a situation like this before..."
Meng Chen thought for a moment and said, "How about I ask my master to send you a voice message?"
Zhao Jingchen was suddenly startled.
Have Immortal Lord Zhongli personally send him a voice message??
Let's not go that far!!!
Moreover, this was Meng Chen standing before him. He certainly wouldn't lie, and his cultivation had already reached the Nascent Soul Stage, on par with many elders in the sect. It shouldn't be a problem for him to read these books.
Having thought it through, Zhao Jingchen no longer hesitated and said with a smile, "There's no need to trouble your master. Senior Brother, please go in and find your book—but you can only read inside the library, you can't take it out."
"Alright, thank you for your trouble," Meng Chen nodded in gratitude. After Zhao Jingchen opened the door with the password, he stepped inside.
Taking a lamp from the entrance, Meng Chen walked between the hundreds of bookshelves, quickly scanning the titles on the spines. Finally, his gaze paused, he stopped, and reached out to pull out an ancient scroll with a black cover.
However, it wasn't the "Seven Star Poison Notes" mentioned in Zhongli Jing's letter, but one called "Heaven Covering Earth Bearing Record".
It was a book on formations.
He turned to a certain part of the book according to the table of contents, memorizing the dense text word by word, repeating it mentally several times. After ensuring it was accurate, he put the book back in its original place and left the eighth floor.
****
Nearly an hour had passed, and the night had grown deeper, but the number of disciples in the Library Pavilion hadn't decreased—in fact, it seemed to be increasing. Meng Chen then remembered that the bimonthly stage exam was approaching.
Unlike some sects with lax rules, Taixuan Sect was particularly strict in cultivating its disciples. Not only did they have morning and evening classes daily, but every two months there was also a large-scale stage assessment test to check the disciples' learning and cultivation results over the past two months. Disciples who failed to meet the standards not only had to increase their study time but also had to undertake some manual labor, such as weeding and fertilizing the herb gardens, grooming spirit beasts, sweeping steps, cleaning the back mountain, and so on.
So, this group of disciples was probably cramming at the last minute.
Meng Chen understood this in his heart and was about to leave when his peripheral vision caught a figure by the window desk, stopping him in his tracks.
Amidst the tense, battle-ready study state of most disciples, that figure appeared particularly leisurely—he sat askew at the desk, his left hand propping up his head, his right hand holding a scroll, reading it casually, his gaze occasionally drifting off, lost in thought.
The surrounding disciples were clearly envious of his state, occasionally lifting their heads to look at him, their expressions a mix of admiration and jealousy.
Meng Chen watched him for a while, then quietly walked over and sat down opposite him.
Xue Lang was still lost in thought, completely unaware that someone had sat across from him. When he finally snapped back to reality and glanced up, his whole body jolted violently, nearly scaring himself under the table.
"You..." he realized his voice had shot up and quickly tried to lower it, "When did you get here!?"
"Just now," Meng Chen mimicked his lowered voice, answering softly. He then reached out to pull over the book Xue Lang was reading, raising an eyebrow slightly, "'Thirteen Swords of Startling Wind'? Have you finished the 'Taixuan Sword Manual' I gave you earlier?"
"Finished it ages ago," Xue Lang rolled his eyes, showing a disdainful expression. "How long does it take to read such a simple book? Besides, those notes you made were completely useless."
His attitude was arrogant, but his left hand resting on the table secretly curled up, fingers anxiously scratching at the surface.
"Hmm, that was my oversight," Meng Chen discreetly noticed his small movements and said, "But now, don't you have a more important book to read?"
Xue Lang frowned, "What?"
"'Introductory Rules for Taixuan Disciples'," Meng Chen said. "New disciples who have just completed the trial formation test don't need to take this stage exam, but they do need to write out the 'Introductory Rules' from memory along with this exam." He looked at Xue Lang's shocked expression, paused for a moment, and asked tactfully, "I remember the elders gave a speech about this when you were inducted. You didn't know?"
Xue Lang: "..."
Judging by the young man's expression, he really didn't know.
Meng Chen suddenly recalled that in his previous life, Xue Lang's entry into Taixuan Sect had been quite complicated. After kneeling at the sect gate for half a month, the stage exam had just ended, so he didn't take that rules test and never touched that brick-thick book again.
But this time, it seemed he wouldn't be so lucky.
"That….whatever rules," Xue Lang swallowed hard, forcing himself to ask, "How many are there?"
Meng Chen got up, made a round through the bookshelves, and brought back a rather substantial book, placing it in front of Xue Lang.
"Actually, it's not that thick, just one thousand three hundred and twenty-eight pages in total," Meng Chen, the exemplary Taixuan disciple, said instinctively. "If you don't sleep or rest, you could probably memorize it in about twenty-four hours."
Xue Lang: "......"
