Sorry about this being a bit late, but I got sick last weekend (and spent it answering spoiler questions for The Founder of Diabolism in bed ahaha…) Still kind of sick, sadly.
I strongly recommend reading The Founder of Diabolism if you have the chance b/c it has an amazing plot and a really well developed cast of characters. I originally had a much longer rant about how great this novel is and why you should join me in dying over it, but… /stares at the t.i.tle of this post
Back on topic, this chapter of Villain Rehab Plan was kind of difficult to translate. There were a lot of phrases where I knew the meaning, but couldn’t figure out a good way to express that meaning in English. English can be so limiting at times, sigh.
Chapter 14:
There|wereiShaoYanglSect|disciplesldoing roll-call at the|exit,landiafterlinspecting the|Golden Star Gra.s.s and|energy stoneslLingiXia’s group collected,itheyirecorded down|the quant.i.tyiandiquality.iLing Xialcautiously skimmediwhat was writtenjon the|rest of|thatjpage; most peoplejbroughtiaround|the same amount aslthey did, but someihad broughtlin|a lot morejspiritualjherbsjand stones.jFor|example, the onejnamed|“XuiYan” thatlwas listed right|before them, not only didithatlpersonlfind energylstones and spiritual herbs,|but theylalsoicaughtja level-3 magical beast.|
When theyjwalked intoithe rest area,iabouti60 toj70lpeoplelwereialready inside,jincluding the|youngsterlwithia long swordion his back that had clashed withjYulZhiJue|before. Ling Xia heardlsomeone call himj“XulYan”, only now learningjhis name.l
Xu Yan|saw the threelof them|and sneeredjfrom the corner of his lips, “I didn’t expect you threelcould|walk|in here.jGuess|youriluck’slgood enoughland didn’t need to|escape halfwaylwith altransfer talisman.”
Faced with|such|a brainless,lhalf-pint youth with the tendency to turn|hawkish at the dropiofla|hat,lLingjXiajflat|out treated|him likelair,|walkinglrightlpast|him and|sitting downjatlan empty table in thejback.lEveryone who reached this placeiwasjbasically already guaranteedjto enter ShaoYang|Sect,lsolall|the|nearbyjsupervisingjdiscipleslwere treating|them withjailotimore courtesy,iand as|sooniasjthey|sat|down,lsomeone came|over tojdeliver tea and refreshments.i
The refreshments and utensils were both very refined, and there were spiritual herbs that had properties of invigoration and restoration so that after eating, the physical strength they had expended would slowly recover by a large amount. Ling Xia drank a cup of tea first, paused as he felt his energy greatly increase, then ate some refreshments.
Song|XiaoHu was closejto starving,jinevitably eating a bitlonithe crude andlfastiside. XuiYan|sawjthis andjmockediin a low|voice,i“Truly,|you can’t make a silk purse out|of aisow’slear! Some remote, countryside villager|actually wantsltoicultivate in a large sect, how hilarious!”
Ling Xia was quite apathetic towards these words, but gave the two kids next to him a worried glance. The oblivious Song XiaoHu was currently sitting there engrossed in eating, completely unaware that Xu Yan was talking about himself. Although Yu ZhiJue was also hungry, his posture was as graceful as always, and if one ignored the cheap clothes on his body, he really had the bearing of an heir from an influential family. But what Ling Xia was please the most about, was that even when hearing those provocative words, Yu ZhiJue’s complexion remained as composed as before. Looks like after coming outside and experiencing the world, this kid had really matured a lot compared to when they first met… …
When they reached the Dueling Hall, seven or eight disciples uniformly dressed in yellow martial arts apparel were already waiting outside. Everyone’s relaxed mindsets immediately became tense once more, and in groups of ten, followed these disciples inside one after another.
If this shows up outside of [email protected]/* */, the translator is going to cry.
Ling Xia carefully observed the hall, bigger than any of the gymnasiums he been to before, and wondered how it was built. The ground was covered in a carpet most likely made from the fur of a magical beast and patterned with varying sizes of ShaoYang Sect’s emblem, all embroidered using thin, gold and silver threads. Just looking at it practically made him dizzy.
She castjher gaze towardsjMo Dai|andiwhinedjin a softjvoice, “Secondlsenioribrother, that’s who|Ilwas talking|about,|so tell Uncle FengllaterithatjI want to bringihim|backltolbe myjlittle junioribrother!“l
Mo Dai’s headache|swelledijust from listening;jhow wasjthis|somethingiheicould finalizeijustjby|sayingia few words?iThis young boyihad come to register|under ShaoYang|Sect, and moreover, heihadipa.s.sedjboth|roundsjof exams.lHow|couldjoutsiders like them|ask tojtake someonejlikeithisiaway at|present? Besides,ithatijuniorjbrother ShanglYaniofihislclearlyldoesn’tlget along withlthislyoung boy.lSpeaking|of which, that junior brother|hadldisappeared many hoursiago, and|who knew wherelhe ranjoffito…l... Both this oneland|that one, acting up|and causingjhim trouble! As their second seniorlbrother, whatja wonderful, burdensome, andlthanklessja.s.signment he had brought onto|himself!|
He casually illuded, “Ok, I’ll go inform Martial uncle Feng, so be good and don’t make a ruckus.”
Cui Yulwas overjoyed,lpromptly sittingjup all|straightjand|proper, her clever eyes glittering|with light,|waiting|tojseeiYu ZhiJue’slupcoming performance.l
One of the guiding disciples gave a deferential and respectful bow towards those above, and stated in a luminous voice, “All ninety-two junior brothers and sisters have been brought here. I humbly request Master to decree the next mandate.”
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FengjShuMing nodded,iindicated for|him to stepiback,jand|sweptjout his wideisleeves gracefullylas|he composedly intoned toithose below, “Today, as thou|hast all stepped withinlour|gates, thou must|cultivate and persevere a.s.siduously,jbehave with modesty andlprudence…j…”j
His way of speech was didactic and erudite, and in every ten sentences there were seven or eight that Ling Xia couldn’t understand. One could see that Feng ShuMing had a reserved and serious disposition, which explained how he was able to raise a neither arrogant nor hot-tempered Feng Luo, a daughter who was different from the typical mold of a wealthy family’s young miss.
Bylthejtime Feng ShuMing finishedihis speech, thejplatform in thejcenter ofithejhall was veryiquickly adjusted and preparedlso thatlaitotal of four matchesjcouldisimultaneously take place. ThelShaoYang Sect elders inichargelof a.s.signing groupsjcomprehensively factored in each disciple’slbasic const.i.tution, age,iapt.i.tude, andjother|such components, and based|on|that, split|themlinto|pairs. Howjanlindividual would perform in combat on the stage willidetermined wherejtheylget|a.s.signed.
Of course, it didn’t mean that the ones who were currently stronger would be guaranteed a better placement, as the habits and preferences of the elders in ShaoYang Sect were all different. They would most likely take many aspects into account, so it wasn’t necessarily true that they’d favor and think more highly of a person who won. But naturally, other than Ling Xia, the other partic.i.p.ants did not know this point.
Take Yu ZhiJue as an example. Even though he’s young and weak all around, his results in the first round’s fundamental exam had already attracted the attention of many of ShaoYang Sect’s elders. What’s more, he hadn’t gone through or received guidance from any professional inst.i.tutions, so just like a piece of unpolished jade, as long as he spends enough time putting his heart and soul into cultivating, his extraordinary talents would definitely s.h.i.+ne through, becoming a dazzling piece of priceless jade.
Since he already knew the results from the novel, Ling Xia wasn’t that worried. In the text, the Yu ZhiJue who possessed endless potential and apt.i.tude was chosen by Feng ShuMing and accepted as his direct disciple, while the currently still very mediocre Song XiaoHu only followed an average body cultivator as his master.
Ling Xia|attentively observed|the fights between the peoplejonstage|and realized that thoselabove fifteenjyearslof|age had all generally|cultivated to|a|certain degree. Thereiwere some|who usedja sword,|somejwho used|body cultivation, and alsolsome whoiusedlarrays andlformations. They werejallowed toiuseia varietyiof techniques, butjso|longiasjone|fell|off thejstage,ithey lost.l
Out of the three of them, Song XiaoHu was the first to go up. His opponent was a body cultivator youngster who was seventeen or eighteen years old, possessing quick and nimble attacks and arms as hard as rocks, evidently having undergone some body cultivation training. On the other hand, Song XiaoHu had naturally swift reflexes and a strong yet supple body, but due to his lack in combat experiences, under the opponent’s sharp and severe onslaught, he suffered rapid and repeated losses.
Ling Xia knew that Song XiaoHu wouldn’t win, and his heart ached for that stubborn kid whose nose was bleeding a river from the beatings he received, so much that he started praying in his mind for Song XiaoHu to immediately leave the stage. As in the novel, it’d be fine for Song XiaoHu to enter ShaoYang Sect as an ordinary disciple.
The protagonist, well, his invinciblelaura|needs tojbe|developedistep byistep,lsoiit was verylnormal to have setbacks inltheibeginning.|
That youngster pressed forward with a burst of strength, and Song XiaoHu nearly flew off the stage. He gritted his teeth and bent his waist, his hands and feet clawing the ground as he slid a few meters backwards, only then finally dispelling the power in his opponent’s strike. Having overused his strength, all ten of his fingers were chafed with blood, but at least he didn’t fall off.
The youngster facing him reflexively adjusted back into an attacking stance as he declared, “You’re not worthy to be my opponent. Hurry up and get off the stage.”
Song XiaoHu forcefullylwipedihis nosebleed and raised his head,jretorting,|“I’llineverlsurrender!”i
That youngster grindedihis|teethjand yelled,j“Then I won’tjhold|back any|longer!”
By the time he started his attack once more, Ling Xia was practically unable to resist closing his eyes, but then suddenly, the situation onstage underwent a complete reversal!
SonglXiaoHu|let outia tremendous roar,jandiin the moment hisiopponentipushedjhim down,|a fierceiand violent electricicurrent burst outjfromjhislbody,ldirectlyjstriking that|youngsterland sendingihim flyinglout ofibounds!|
Ling Xia’s eyes widened in shock. f.u.c.k, sure enough, the protagonist’s impressively awe-inspiring cheat powers had activated ahead of time!
Rest in pieces, the original plotline… …
Even SongjXiaoHuihimself waslveryjperplexed,lblankly staringjdown at hislhands, visibly confusediaboutlthe|situation. Itjwasn’tiuntilihejwaslreminded byithe disciple|recording the|resultsjthatjhejfinally camelto ajrealization, jumped|off, and left the arena,|laughing as he wavedjtolLinglXiajandlYu|ZhiJue. Justlseeing|that look of his,jso proud|even while sporting a b.l.o.o.d.yjnose|and swollenlface,jmade Ling Xiaigrin and chucklejhelplessly.i
Not|longlafter,iitlwas|Yu ZhiJue’s turn to golup,iand Ling Xia refocusedihis mindjtoiwatch meticulously. Whilejwalkinglonlstage,iYu|ZhiJue verylnoticeably|turned aroundito look|atihim, andjwithoutjmissing albeat,iLinglXialreturned hisilooklwith an encouraginglsmile.j
Yu ZhiJue inhaled a deep breath as he turned back around and clenched his fists, impa.s.sively observing his opponent. He appeared calm on the outside, but in fact, Song XiaoHu’s performance earlier had more or less given him a certain amount of pressure. And unexpectedly, his opponent was one of the two macho men they had met near the exit not long ago, the ones who wanted to steal their spiritual herbs and energy stones by force! Yu ZhiJue narrowed his eyes, scrupulously taking in the enemy’s each and every move.
That machojman wasjclearly also somewhat surprised in seeingjYuiZhiJue,jbutjhis stiff|andistrainedinervesjquicklylrelaxed.jHisiopponent was a littlejbrat who|hadimeekly yieldedlto|him justjrecently,jsojwhat|was therelto|be afraidiof?iWith a shake|of hislhand, anjiron chain beganitolreveal itself linkjby|link.j
Hejgrinnediat Yu ZhiJue and warned with a laugh,|“Little|punk,jif you’relsmart, then obedientlyjgetiofflthejstage.jUncle’sjwhipjdoesn’t|have eyes, and it’d beiterriblelifjyour soft anditenderlflesh got injured!”|