Not long after the voice faded, the man, who stood behind her grasping the hilt of the sword, resolutely pulled the sword out. The sword grazed her flesh and blood, creating a big hole in her body. When it was fully drawn out from her body, Qin Wan eventually reacted.
The overwhelming pain came before she could comprehend. Grasping the hole that was created by the sword, her body fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
Jun Shu didn’t lie. The wound created by the sword wasn’t what was the most painful. The most painful thing was the curse on that sword.
Those spells were like tens of millions of locusts swarming and gnawing at the cultivation base on her body. She could plainly perceive the pain of muscles and veins being gnawed by tens of millions of insects and ants. The severe pain blanched her face white. She arduously angled her head to glare at the mentally retarded person who was insane enough to stab her!
What entered her vision was the back of a figure in a white robe, plum blossoms were embroidered on the clothes. A layer of gauze enveloped him. The bloody hand firmly clasped the sword as crimson bloomed on his stomach like a flower. It looked like a gorgeous peony was sprouting on the white clothes.
Qin Wanwan’s mind blanked for a second before she unconsciously blurted, “Jian Zhiyan?”
The other party did not reply. He turned his back to her and gripped the sword tightly, tenaciously fixing his gaze on the distance.
No one could perceive his peculiarity. Only he himself knew what kind of torment he was enduring at this very hour and moment.
Jian Zhiyan, or rather, Jian Xingzhi.
He was originally an Immortal in the Immortal Realm who had just ascended for less than 50 years. His Daoist* name was Sui Heng. He had been cultivating his Dao in a remote mountain since he was young. At the age of 18, he left the mountain. Using his sword like the best of friends, he stirred troubles for hundreds of Sects. His Dao was proved resolutely through fighting, and in less than a hundred years, he reached the state of ‘Three flowers condensing onto the Head’* and ascended to the Immortal Realm. After his ascension, to hone his sword, he began stirring up trouble in the Immortal Realm this time. However, there wasn’t a single person who could defeat him. Ultimately, he encountered the most mysterious and legendary Lady of Jishan, Qin Wanwan.
[T/N: 道号 – dào hào. Daoist monastic name.
三花聚顶 – sān huā jù dǐng. In Ancient “Flower” = “Splendor”. So three flowers are the unification of Jing (Mind/Essence), Qi(Aura/Vital Breath), and Shen(Spirit).]
Qin Wanwan lured the Heavenly Thunder to sneak an attack on him. And Heavenly Thunder ultimately sent him to this world. While he invaded this body called ‘Jian Zhiyan’, a System called ‘666’* invaded his Divine Sense*.
[T/N: 666 – liù liù liù. Homonym for 牛牛牛 – niúniúniú and 溜溜溜 – liùliùliù. Smooth/Slick. Amazing. Impressive. Awesome.
神识 – shén shí. Spiritual Knowledge/Consciousness/Sense. Divine Knowledge/Consciousness/Sense. Cultivator Magical Power.]
The System explained to him that he was in the novel named ‘Supporting Female Rebirth Counterattack’. And his current body was the male pet of the said supporting female, Qin Wan.
The only way for him to return to the Immortal Realm was to assist this supporting female to ascend.
For the sake of going back to the Immortal Realm to seek Qin Wanwan for revenge, he decisively agreed to cooperate with the System to assist Qin Wan to ascend.
He had inspected this body with his divine sense. Although this body had almost no cultivation base, his Spiritual Roots were still there. Fortunately, the Divine Sense in this body was his own Divine Sense. The Divine Sense he honed after ten years of Tribulation, there should be no problem for him to send this woman to ascend with the treasure of Heaven and Earth.
Unexpectedly, the System not only asked him to help the woman ascend but also required that he must carry it out as ‘Jian Zhiyan’, which meant he could not go beyond the role of the original ‘Jian Zhiyan’.
And Jian Zhiyan’s role was only to be a tool. All he had to do was,
Stir troubles for Qin Wan, and have her resolve them. Let her gain all kinds of opportunities and knowledge.
Provoke the men around Qin Wan, and made her aware of them. Let her become the figure of admirations for all the men.
Wait for the last critical moment, and block the sword for Qin Wan. Let her succeed in ascending.
As for the rest, it had nothing to do with him. For instance, in this scene, he merely needs to lie flat and wait for the woman to save him.
How could he endure this?!
Wasn’t this the same as him being a good-for-nothing?!
He, Jian Xingzhi, even if he had no cultivation base, wouldn’t be a soft rice man who could only rely on women!!!
Moreover, look at that Qin Wan, shaking like a leaf just by pointing the sword at herself. If he let her ascend by herself, when would this task be done? In the year of the monkey? The time she ascended by herself would never come.
[T/N: 猴年马月 – hóunián mǎyuè. Things that are far away and impossible to happen. Homophonic for 何年嘛月 – hé nián ma yuè; What year, what month?]
Therefore, Jian Xingzhi made a decision and told 666 coldly, “I can complete the task by myself. You don’t need to tell me what method I should use.”
Then, he jumped to his feet and helped Qin Wan to stab herself.
He helped her with the lines she didn’t dare to say.
He also assisted her with the plot she didn’t get to start.
His goal was to fast forward the task and make her ascend in ten years. After returning back to the Immortal Realm, he would hunt down the Lady of Jishan and crush her to pieces! Let her know that he, Jian Xingzhi, was not someone to trifle with!
Nevertheless, someone who broke the rules set by the System must be punished accordingly.
Thus, not only he had to endure the pain of a hole in his stomach, but also had to endure the ‘electric shock’ delivered by the System to punish him. While he was suffering, the system chirped in his mind,
“Big boss*, just stop it. Your role is to be a mere green tea soft rice man. You aren’t meant to interrupt the plot! The more you violate the character’s role, the greater the pain of this electric shock becomes. She has to follow the plot of getting stabbed by herself! Just lay down and let Qin Wan carry you down the mountain!”
[T/N: 大佬 – dàlǎo; Big Shot. Big Boss.]
System 666’s tone was sincere, but Jian Xingzhi was not touched a bit.
After cultivating for so many years, what was a mere electric shock to him?
Jian Xingzhi endured the pain caused by the electric shock and grinned mockingly in his Sea of Consciousness*.
[T/N: 识海 – shíhǎi. Sea of Knowledge/Consciousness. Vague concept of a place where a person stores their memories, knowledge, and consciousness of their spirit.]
“You dare threaten, I, This Venerable One* with your electric shock and stop me? Shut up and watch. I will be the one carrying Qin Wan down the mountain!”
[T/N: 本君 – běn jūn. This Lord; This Monarch; This Ruler. A variation of 本座 – běn zuò. This Venerable One; This Noble One. A self-proclaimed status. Quite arrogant. Jun refers to their position (In JXZ’s case, his position as a Daojun). Ben is used to refer to theirself.]
666, “……”
Returning to the Immortal Realm to take his revenge against Qin Wanwan lingered on his mind and became his belief. Jian Xingzhi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Clenching the sword tightly in his hand, he raised his eyes to glare at Jun Shu who stood in front of him. In a cold and detached manner, he called to Qin Wanwan, “Qin Wan, stand up.”
As he spoke, he painted an array in his sleeve with one hand and used the array to gather Qi into his body.
The perimeter darkened. The Spiritual Aura formed a vortex and came swarming towards him. Everyone’s complexion changed. Jun Shu narrowed his eyes at Jian Zhiyan and the grip on his flute tightened involuntarily.
Qin Wanwan also noticed that the surrounding Aura had turned strange. She gained her ground and looked up at the sky which was darkening at the speed visible to naked eyes. Her gaze landed back on Jian Zhiyan’s back.
He was dressed in a long embroidered robe with a butterfly hairpin behind his ears. His wide sleeves fluttered up in the wind as the butterfly hairpin wobbled. The grip on the sword was steady. With a sword pointing forward, his whole person was like a mountain,
The voice that emerged through her mouth was mild. But a bit of arrogance that was remarkably familiar to Qin Wanwan could also be felt.
“Stand up. I will take you away from here.”
“Pull me…”
Qin Wanwan struggled to stand up. The sentence ‘Pull me up’ was still between her lips when a sneer broke in from the side, “What do you say you want to do?”
Everyone’s gaze directed to the source of the voice and saw Jun Shu blocking the exit.
He spun the Jade Flute in his hand and smiled condescendingly at ‘Jian Zhiyan.’
“If my memory serves me right, aren’t you just a slave bought by Wan’er? Brazenly attacking me,” Jun Shu’s expression turned icy as he raised his voice, “Who gives you the nerve!”
Qin Wanwan paused. She mulled over for a moment and decided to lay back on the ground.
The outcome was still far from sight. She didn’t have to stand up in such a hurry.
Even in case Jian Zhiyan lost the fight, there was nothing wrong with her laying still.
“You want to stop me?”
Jian Xingzhi heeded no care to Qin Wanwan’s action. His gaze at Jun Shu could be seen as ‘You want to suffer losses?’
Taunting in a devil-may-care voice he said, “Will you stop me by yourself, or will you bring others to stop me?”
The temperature sank. The wind roared, mingled with leaves. Qin Wanwan lay on the ground and curled up a little more, making herself humbler.
Jun Shu smiled with ire in his eyes, “This Young Monarch* doesn’t kill mortals.”
[T/N: 本少主 – běn shǎo zhǔ. This (Young/Lesser) Lord; This (Young) Master; This (Young) Monarch. To differentiate it from This Lord (běn jūn). I will use the This Young Monarch,” / “This Young Monarch.”]
“You said that as if you have the ability to kill me.”
Jun Shu: “……”
“Draw your sword,” Jian Xingzhi spoke leisurely. His words were casual but it was downright insulting, as if he was a peerless master dismissing his opponent.
“Otherwise, I’m afraid that you won’t be able to make a single move if I move first.”
All the people around gasped. Qin Wanwan and the System held their breath.
All in all, Jun Shu was the Young Lord of Lecheng, he was high above thousands of people. Meanwhile, Jian Zhiyan……
As doubt rose in her heart, Qin Wanwan couldn’t help but double-check, “Isn’t he merely a male pet without a cultivation base?”
“Yes…?”
The System hesitated, “Probably…?”
After all, the current Jian Zhiyan didn’t seem like an ordinary person at all!
Something’s wrong.
It wasn’t just the System, everyone else could sense that something was wrong with this Jian Zhiyan.
Though, no matter what was wrong with Jian Zhiyang right now, for Jun Shu, to dare say such words to him was the same as humiliating him.
Jun Shu nodded his head, “Fine.”
In the end, he was thoroughly angered by him. The Jade Flute circled in his hand as he exclaimed,
“You wish for death. Then, This Young Lord will fulfill your wish!”
Jun Shu shot towards Jian Xingzhi with his flute. On the other hand, Jian Xingzhi held the sword and pierced it towards Jun Shu.
The sword carried the intent of thunder, bringing a furious storm on its path.
“Fuck.”
Qin Wanwan saw that Jian Xingzhi had the high ground. She sat up straight with hope shining in her eyes.
At this level, they could go down the mountain without a hitch today!
Qin Wanwan gawked at Jian Xingzhi with admiration. However, at the moment when Jian Xingzhi was about to pierce Jun Shu, his body suddenly trembled as if he was hit by 100,000 volts of electric current.
His grasp on the sword loosened as his body began convulsing. He, who was ready to meet Jun Shu’s Jade Flute head-on, was hit by the Jade Flute and knocked back without hesitation. A loud ‘boom’ resonated as his whole person crashed into the middle of the Judgment Stage, half-buried into the platform.
Then Jun Shu, like the devil, dragged him from the pit and kicked him up high into the sky!
‘Jian Zhiyan’ sprayed a mouthful of blood on the ground, and Qin Wanwan trembled at the scene. She witnessed Jian Zhiyan being kicked around by Jun Shu like a ball, flying around in the air until he finally hit the ground with a deafening ‘bang!’ and remained motionless.
The dust blew, and 38 basted him in her mind, “I thought he was awesome! What a waste of time! Men are indeed only reliable when pigs can climb trees*! Host, stand up! Just continue the plot! Song Xinian and Shen Zhiming still have some affection left for you. Take advantage of this situation! Hasten up to sell miserable acts and bring him down the mountain!”
[T/N: 男人靠得住，母猪会上树 – nán rén kào dé zhù, mǔ zhū huì shàng shù. Pigs can’t climb trees. That’s not happening. Men aren’t reliable. Trusting a man’s words was the same as trusting a pig can climb a tree. Can’t be trusted.]
Qin Wanwan couldn’t speak. She stared blankly at Jian Zhiyan, who was covered with blood and twitching all over. She gulped, weighing for the options before her some time and calmly laid back on the ground. She also didn’t forget to gather her clothes to obscure herself thoroughly.
“Host?! What are you doing? Stand up! If you let them take you away, they will dig your Dragon Core! Are you not afraid?! Are you not scared?!”
Footsteps came from the side. The System spun around in her mind, panicked.
Qin Wanwan curled up on the ground, shaking like a fawn. She shivered and pleaded to the System, “Don’t… Don’t talk… Let me think…”
She had to think of a way to hide the Dragon Core.
What could be done?
Among all the spells she knew, which spell could hide the Dragon Core in her body from even the cultivators in Tribulation Crossing Realm?
Qin Wanwan frantically worked her brain to her utmost to recall all the spells she had learned in the Immortal Realm.
After all, the Immortal Realm is the Upper Realm of this world. Any spell from the Immortal Realm could be considered Heavenly-level Spell on this world.
As long as she could remember the right one, she could muddle through!
Which one was it?! Which spell was suitable for this occasion?!
The sound of footsteps was getting closer and closer. Qin Wanwan prayed desperately to the Heaven and ups above.
At the same time, Jian Xingzhi was holding a frenzied quarrel with his own system, 666.
“I had told you! The more you violate the character’s role, the greater the pain of this electric shock! You violated the rules, how could I just let you be?”
“You call this ‘electric shock’?!”
Jian Xingzhi yelled furiously, “Are you a Heavenly Tribulation or a System?! Even the Thunder I received when I ascended wasn’t this bad!”
“None of this matters now. You just worsened the situation. What will the female lead do now?”
666 was fuming, “This must be the butterfly effect! The female lead can’t stand up because of you! If the people discover the Dragon Core in her body and rip it out, the female lead will lose her chance to ascend!”
“Isn’t it just a Dragon Core? I have a countermeasure.”
The moment the words were out of Jian Xingzhi’s mouth, he evidently felt the pain of the electric shock lessen. He inhaled slowly, but lay down on the ground. Staining his fingers with blood from the wound when he stabbed himself earlier, he began to draw symbols on the palm of his hand.
Qin Wanwan was still immersed in her own thinking when she abruptly felt a small stone hit her.
She opened her eyes and caught the sight of a hand raised with difficulty in the deep pit.
The palm of that hand had symbols painted in blood on it, like a flag and a beacon, illuminating the way for Qin Wanwan!
The instant she saw the symbols, an inexplicable Spiritual Power flowed into her body from the center of the eyebrow. Qin Wanwan immediately realized what it was.
It’s ‘Returning to Dust’!
One of the most commonly used hiding spells in the Immortal Realm. As its name, ‘Returning to Dust’, this spell would turn everything into ordinary things, like dust, hiding it in plain sight.
This kind of spell didn’t require much Spiritual Power, it focused more on proficiency. In the Lower Realm, hiding the Dragon Core in her body using Returning to Dust was the best solution!
She’s saved!
Qin Wanwan was ecstatic. The spell slowly disappeared from Jian Xingzhi’s palm and represented themselves to Qin Wanwan who received the power of the spell.
However, only halfway through the disappearance, a shoe embroidered with silver dragon patterns appeared in front of her. It gracefully and forcefully stepped on the hand that represented her hope, making a crisp sound of broken joints.
Qin Wanwan: “……”
Jian Xingzhi: “……”
Qin Wanwan’s gaze trailed all the way from those shoes to the owner’s face. She saw Jun Shu holding the Jade Flute in his hand with a smile as he gently asked her,
“Wan’er, have you figured out how to save Yueli?”
Qin Wanwan couldn’t make a sound. She only covered her wound, eyes glazing as she nervously used her Divine Sense to channel the ‘Returning to Dust’ spell shrouding her Dragon Core.
Jun Shu didn’t notice her abnormality. To frighten her, his foot on the head of ‘Jian Zhiyan’ twisted, and Jian Zhiyan was buried deeper into the soil. Jun Shu’s eyes turned chilly as he warned, “If you don’t figure it out by today, your favorite male pet will be buried here.”
While Jun Shu was speaking, the spell and the Dragon Core were wholly intertwined in her body. Her spiritual power was absorbed by the spell in a wink, and the Dragon Core inside her lit up for a second before dimming completely. Qin Wanwan’s spiritual power was drained up at the process. Not being able to support herself anymore, her eyes rolled over and her breath vanished.
The second she lost consciousness, the whole audience perceived it. Shen Zhiming was the first to react. He appeared on the Judgment Stage right away and picked up Qin Wanwan.
“Xinian, you deal with the aftermath. I’ll take her to the Medical Hall.”
Quickly instructing others, Shen Zhiming disappeared with Qin Wanwan in arms.
Song Xiniang reacted a bit later and glared at Jun Shu, “Jun-shaozhu, you said you wouldn’t hurt Martial Sister!”
“I didn’t hurt her.”
Jun Shu retracted his foot from Jian Xingzhi’s head. The servant girl hurriedly stepped forward and wiped Jun Shu’s feet from the dirt of Jian Xingzhi’s head.
“That’s it for today, Brother Song.”
Jun Shu dusted his clothes and smiled at Song Xinian. “I’ll go to check on Yueli first. If Wan’er wakes up, please notify me right away.”
With that, Jun Shu curtsied to Song Xinian and left.
Song Xinian clenched his fist. His gaze glued on Jun Shu’s back. He stared for a long time until he heard the disciple standing behind him ask, “Senior Martial Brother, that slave has been dug out of the ground. What should we do next?”
Song Xiniang glanced back and saw that ‘Jian Zhiyan’ was put on a stretcher by two disciples. The disciples carefully covered him with white cloth, as if he was already dead.
“Throw him out!”
Song Xinian’s mood turned irritated when he saw this male pet. He was not in the mood to take care of the life and death of this insignificant mortal.
Then he couldn’t resist adding further, “Throw him far away!”
“Understood, Senior Martial Brother.”
The disciple bowed respectfully and rushed out with the stretcher.
Jian Xingzhi, who was being carried by the others, listened to their conversation. He trembled and pointed his finger at them regardless of the sharp pain caused by the electric shock.
This finger represents the unyielding will of Daoist Master, Sui Heng.
Wen Xin Sect…
You just wait.
Sooner or later, I will level your mountains, smash your sect, demolish your Wen Xin Sect thoroughly, not even leaving chickens or dogs left!
And this bastard System who electrocuted him, sooner or later……
Jian Xingzhi swore a poisonous oath in his heart. Before he finished, he heard the voices of two disciples in his ears, “One, two, three, go!”
With the ‘go’, the two people swung the stretcher hard and threw Jian Xingzhi out.
Jian Xingzhi was hurled to the ground and rolled down the hillside.
As he rolled away, he swore. These two disciples, sooner or later……
Bang!
His head crashed into a stone before he had the time to swear. Jian Xingzhi’s eyes turned black, and he lost consciousness instantly.
System 666 in his head breathed a sigh of relief.
This Arrogant Uncle* was finally quiet.
[T/N: 大爷 – dà yé. Arrogant idler / self-centered show-off. Can also mean Older Uncle. But, in this context, it’s the former.]
For those who are confused with the names:
Qin Wanwan (秦婉婉 – Qín Wǎnwǎn): The Female Lead, an Immortal. The Lady of Jishan in the Immortal Realm. Currently residing in Qin Wan’s body because of reasons.
Qin Wan (秦晚 – Qín Wǎn): The Supporting Female in the “Strongest Mary Sue”. The current body of Qin Wanwan. Qin Wanwan needs to fulfill her wishes.
Jian Xingzhi (简行之 – Jiǎn Xíngzhī): The Male Lead(?). His Daoist name is Sui Heng. A young Immortal in his 100th. Currently residing in Jian Zhiyan’s body because of reasons.
Jian Zhiyan (简之衍 – Jiǎn zhīyǎn): The Male Pet that is bought by Qin Wan. Have some affection for Qin Wan. He relied on Qin Wan. The current body of Jian Xingzhi. Jian Xingzhi needs to assist Qin Wan to ascend using this body.
T/N: This chapter was posted by Elysian Pit. I DO NOT own the translation and all credit goes to the original translator. I’ve picked up this novel to continue from where the previous translator left.
Thank you ❤️❤️
