NEBM Chapter 23.2: An Alarming Transformation

Their bodies were suddenly very close. Yan Jin leaned forward slightly, narrowing the distance between them even more. Shen Zhixian was taken aback. He couldn’t help trying to move backward, only to realize that there was nowhere else on the bed he could go.

Shen Zhixian felt the young man’s hot breath on his cheek.

In that moment, he realized with a start that his little disciple had grown up.

The youth whose head had once only reached up to his shoulder and who was always bullied by his fellow disciples had suddenly, unknowingly, grown up.

He had grown into a dangerous man who could make Shen Zhixian feel threatened just by being near.
Shen Zhixian’s heart suddenly began to pound fiercely. But this feeling was completely different from a palpitating heart attack, which made him feel nothing but pain and suffering. This time, this feeling left him…

Shen Zhixian didn’t know how to describe this feeling. Even as a child, writing descriptive essays had always came easy to him, but now, he found that no words could describe how he felt.

He lifted his eyes and saw that Yan Jin was still looking intently at him. He immediately took out his usual known killer move. He knitted his brows slightly and coughed, as if he was out of breath.

Yan Jin really fell for it. The intensity of the moment passed. He looked in concerned at Shen Zhixian, saying, “Master? Are you okay?”

Shen Zhixian pushed him back and rubbed his eyebrows, saying tiredly, “Just somewhat tired…”

So, in this way, the topic was once again avoided. Yan Jin pressed his lips together but did not dare to press any further. He forced himself to endure the question in his heart and instead focused on trying to help Shen Zhixian into the house. “It’s getting late and the weather has turned a bit cold. Let me help Master return to the house.”

Shen Zhixian was reluctant. The house was stuffy and he liked the slightly cool wind outside. But, obviously he’d gone too far in the past few days. He acted so well that Yan Jin thought he was still very weak.

Shen Zhixian closed his eyes and pretended to fall asleep, assured that his disciple would leave him alone.

Yan Jin stood silently by the soft bed before suddenly bending down. One arm pushed under Shen Zhixian’s legs while the other wrapped around his shoulders. He lifted the whole person into his arms.

Shen Zhixian was captured so quickly that he subconsciously wrapped his arms around Yan Jin’s neck. His eyes snapped open and he stared in surprise at Yan Jin’s side profile as he swiftly carried him into the house.

So, the mystery of these days, when he would fall asleep outside and awakened to find himself inside, was solved.

It felt like within just a few steps and, in the blink of an eye, Shen Zhixian was already being placed on the soft bed. Probably because Yan Jin was afraid Shen Zhixian would blame him, he quickly placed him on the bed and immediately stepped back to bow respectfully to him.

After watching him leave, Shen Zhixian remained stunned for a long time. He didn’t know what to say; he could only pull the comforter over himself and laughed abruptly.

Then, still smiling, he helplessly sighed.

Not long after, the Sword Competition Assembly began.

The Sword Competition Assembly was held for two months, providing a good amount of time for Qingyun Sect to recruit new disciples. In addition to the small disciples already in the sect, there were many outsiders who registered to compete in hope of joining.

Shen Zhixian had no interest in this. He didn’t lack disciples, nor did he want to teach any more disciples. As a result, he simply used the excuse of going into seclusion to avoid making an appearance. He only showed up during the final three days of the competition, as a symbolic gesture of support for the sect. Even Song Ming had done the same.

On the last day, the top three winners would be decided.

The top three winners would not only have the chance to be accepted as a personal disciple to a Peak Elder or the Sect Leader, but they would also have the opportunity to enter Hidden Sword Pavilion and select a sword for their own.

Therefore, today could not be missed. Song Ming would be present. If Shen Zhixian made an excuse again, it could be considered as not giving Song Ming face. Not to mention, today…

Shen Zhixian sat on a platform above, his expression displaying a mixture of indifference and absentmindedness as he casually watched the fighting below.

Yan Jin sat just slightly behind him and also watched silently.

The battle below had been waging for a long time. The third place had already been settled, leaving the final two to fight it out on the stage.

In order to distinguish between sect disciples and outsiders, the sect disciples clothes were in a darker shade while the outsider’s clothes were lighter. Shen Zixian could easily distinguish their identities. As he watched, he slightly raised an eyebrow, feeling a little more intrigue.

The contender, who was gradually gaining the upper hand, wore light-colored robes.

There might actually be an unexpected winner.

The sect disciples were well trained, giving them an advantage during the trial. Therefore, in the past years, not many outsiders were able to occupy the top three spots. But this year, there came a fierce one?

The sect disciple gradually began to lose his momentum, while his opponent became more and more fierce and finally won the top spot without any surprises.

The sect disciple who won second place was not discouraged when he lost. He smiled and congratulated the other person, then stepped down, leaving him alone on the stage to accept the applause from all sides.

Next, Song Ming or an Elder would speak a few words and then the disciple selection process that everyone had been waiting for would begin. But, unexpectedly, the young man who had just won first place opened his mouth, his tone not the least bit humble.

“This junior would be so bold as to ask to worship Elder Shen as a teacher.”

The noise all around suddenly died and, in front of many pairs of eyes, the burly young man turned his head and fixed his gaze on Shen Zhixian.

Shen Zhixian was in the middle of drinking tea. His eyes slightly shifted.

Since the burly young man suddenly spoke like this, all kinds of gazes instantly flew at Shen Zhixian from all directions. He calmly put down the cup in his hand. The slight click was extremely clear in the silence.

“Everyone in Qingyun know that I am a waste,” he said calmly and frankly, completely disregarding the shocked eyes of the people around him. “It’s fine. You don’t need to waste time under my peak.”

Shen Zhixian had a lot of heart problems, and indeed everyone knew about it and thought it was extremely pitiful. But, this was the first time he’d spoken about it in front of such a large audience.

For a while, everyone in the audience had conflicted thoughts.

The burly young man frowned, apparently reluctant to give up. “This junior has long admired Elder Shen and would like to worship Elder Shen as a teacher.”

As soon as his words fell, Shen Zhixian clearly sensed that the energy around Yan Jin had changed. The normally calm and restrained person suddenly began to emit a cold, sharp deadliness.

He hesitated for a moment. He didn’t know what had happened to Yan Jin but, at this moment, he couldn’t ask. He could only refuse the other person once again.

Usually, since the request was made twice and was twice rejected, a sensible person would give up. After all, the more trouble he made, the less likely the other elders would take him on as a disciple.

But the burly young man did not spare himself, as if he really, truly wanted to worship Shen Zhixian as a teacher.

Seeing that he was holding the sword in his hand and kneeling down, Shen Zhixian frowned and did not speak. The scene became extremely awkward.

A young junior standing near the young man saw that the situation was getting bad and whispered, “Elder Shen hasn’t accepted anyone for a long time. You might as well…”

This young junior had lived with him for a long time and thought that he knew him well. Seeing that Sect Leader Song and the other elders were starting to frown, the junior was a little worried so he quietly tried to persuade him.

He shouldn’t have spoken. As soon as he spoke, the burly young man suddenly exploded into action. With a raised of his hand, the sword flew out of its sheath and flew ruthlessly at the young junior.

The little junior was unprepared. At the same time, he was standing close enough that there wasn’t time to react at all. With a sharp sound, the sword directly penetrated his chest. His words abruptly stopped. The little junior’s eyes widened, and without another sound, he crashed into death with his eyes still open.

The sword move was so powerful that it passed through the little junior and flew toward the others behind him.

The group of young disciples were frightened and immediately panicked, shoving each other as they tried to get away. The little junior in front of them had died so miserably. No one thought of pulling out their sword to block it. Until an ashened face elder waved his sleeves, sending out a wave of energy to block the sword’s momentum. The sword finally stopped and dropped to the ground.

The elder who shot down the sword motioned for the disciples around him to capture the person.

The burly young man was not afraid of being restrained. He sneered, his temperament suddenly becoming gloomy and treacherous, hissing like a viper. His eyes looked coldly around him, and he shouted, “Why can’t I?! Yan Jin can practice demonic cultivation. It is also very good. It allowed me to get first place, so why can’t I?!”

The moment the words “demonic cultivation” came out, everyone went into an uproar.

Suspicious, disbelieving, dazed…All kinds of eyes gathered on Yan Jin. Even Song Ming and the four other elders looked over.

Third and Fourth Elders looked at each other with hints of worry in their eyes. Third elder gave a slight cough and took the lead to ask, “What’s going on—?”

He hadn’t finished speaking when chaos descended once more. A disciple suddenly stumbled in and kneeled in Shen Zhixian’s direction, shouting in an exhausted voice, “Master, save me! Disciple Yan Shan! Demanded to sue Yan Jin!”

He looked a sorry sight, dressed in clothes that were ragged and torn, as if he’d just returned from a fight…Or, perhaps he’d lost a fight. Blood coated his exposed skin, making him look extremely miserable.

Yan Shen panted and continued with the charge, yelling, “Yan Jin had long ago became a devil. He even have private ties with demonic cultivators and had requested that these demonic cultivators enter the sect to disrupt the Sword Competition Assembly.”