Chapter 48 – Xu Xiuying's Threat
"I never expected that you were this cunning, son."
Xu Xiuying teased Xu Miao after she had seen and heard everything, including how he rewrote his yin cauldron's personality and memory.
At first, Xu Xiuying didn't expect much from her adopted son. But after Xu Miao successfully persuaded Xie Tian to work for the Xu Clan, she saw him in a new light.
Xu Miao shrugged, "I did everything to survive. Say, mother, can you do me a favor?"
"Yes, sure. What is it?"
"Kill that bastard for me."
Xu Xiuying burst into laughter, "Hahahaha! You're wicked. So, you've been planning to use me to kill your love rival from the beginning, right? Everything you've done is for drawing that guy closer to you, so you can backstab him? You're a sly little boy."
"You're wrong on the love rival part, but you're right. I want him dead ASAP."
Xu Xiuying grinned. Killing a weak 2nd stage cultivator was as easy as breathing for her. However, she found Xu Miao and Xie Tian's interaction amusing, so she didn't want to spoil the fun just yet.
"No."
Xu Miao turned to Xu Xiuying in anger and glared at her, "Why? Do you know that he'll become a threat to our sect and our family in the future!?"
"What threat? Do you think a weak 2nd stage blacksmith can destroy my sect and kill me? Pfft. Are you kidding? Besides, Xie Tian has potential, and he's now my clan's asset. In other words, he belongs to me, not you. You don't get to decide who lives or who dies."
Xu Miao almost yelled at Xu Xiuying out loud that she was making a big mistake for not killing the protagonist when he was still weak. She could easily kill him before he got stronger to the point that none of them could defeat him.
"Didn't you see his skills and his heart devils in the illusion test? His heart devils are Jiang Lan and me! He's a threat!"
"Ah, don't worry about it. He might be a threat to you, but he can't do anything now. Heck, if he wants you dead, he will have to go through me and my sect first. You can just live your life however you wish, and we will keep him off you."
"Ugh, you're the same as cliche villains."
"What? Who's cliche?"
"... Nothing."
Xu Miao counted 1 to 10, controlling his rage. He was angry at Xu Xiuying, and he blamed everything on Xie Tian's luck.
'Damn plot armor! This is definitely plot armor!'
In novels, many strong parents or guardians of villainous young masters never acted until their children were killed or harmed by the protagonists. By the time that they wanted to kill the MCs, it was already too late as these plot-armor-wearing protagonists already got too strong or were strong enough to escape their influence.
Xu Miao had never expected that Xu Xiuying would fall into a stupid villain category. Still, he didn't give up trying to manipulate elite clansmen to assassinate Xie Tian when he was still weak.
"Then, you don't mind if I kill him, right?"
"As I said, I will be VERY pissed if you kill him without my consent."
Xu Miao regretted inviting him into the clan. He should have only befriended Xie Tian and not invited him to the Xu Clan at all.
This was his mistake, but there was always a way to fix it.
"Okay, let's change the topic. What are you planning to do with him?" Xu Miao tested Xu Xiuying why she valued him so much.
"Let's say, I'm planning to raise him and make him a little stronger. I can sense intense Yang Qi and Yang Essence in Xie Tian's dantian, and he's stronger than you. I think I can make him a better pet-I mean, a nice Yang Cauldron. What do you think?"
"…"
For a moment, Xu Miao sensed a shiver running down his spine. Xu Xiuying's words confirmed that female dual cultivators could also turn their male partners into yang cauldrons.
Most importantly, if Xu Xiuying said that she could turn someone into a yang cauldron, it was possible that she also wanted to turn him into a mindless slave as well.
Xu Xiuying noticed the fear in Xu Miao's eyes. She hugged him and whispered to his ear.
"Don't worry. I will never harm or brainwash you as long as you obediently work for me. Keep fucking my disciples and make them stronger, and I'll protect you from worldly harm, okay? If you want spirit stones, I'll give it to you. If you want more women to dual-cultivate, I'll find gorgeous girls for you. Whatever you've ever dreamed, I'll get it for you. Oh, if you want to enjoy my body, I'll allow it once a month since you've recruited a new pet for me. I promise that I won't use my dual cultivation technique on you. How about that, hmm?"
Unlike the usual, Xu Miao wasn't aroused. Instead, he was afraid. Xu Miao realized now that he was in the same situation as Gretel and Hansel who got trapped in a witch's house.
Xu Xiuying was the witch, and she was capable of brainwashing him just like how he did to Jiang Lan and Zheng Liqin. It was only a matter of time before Xu Miao would be devoured or enslaved by his foster mother.
While shivering in fear, Xu Miao nodded without saying anything, but his mind went chaotic.
'Damn it! The entire world is against me! The system forces me to kill a protagonist, but I have to survive against the local villains, too! Am I supposed to fight the world by myself!?'
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= 8 AM, the Third Day =
Unlike the previous day, the setup for the third exam took an entire night. Jia Shan, Jian Meng, and Mountain Goose elders spent all night setting up more arrays. This time, they prepared three thousand sets of formation, so all exam takers could participate at the same time.
When the arrays were ready, disciples of the mountain sect hit the drums, signaling the start of the third round.
Jian Meng announced the rules as usual.
"The third test will begin now. This exam will test candidates' survival skills, decision-making skills, combat skills, intelligence, and wit. All candidates will enter the test simultaneously, and they shall be sent to an alternate space with their fleshy body. All candidates have to survive in that space for 3 days without supplies, weaponry, or your precious spatial rings."
The test was more difficult than the last year since it only took 2 days previously. Also, these arrays would teleport the test takers' real bodies. Therefore, the exam could be more dangerous than the last one.
"Be warned! This test can be dangerous since all candidates have to enter the space and risk their lives. If you don't want to risk your life, do not take this test! There is no shame forfeiting this year's exam to save your life!"
When many noble clansmen heard that test-takers might die in this test, they hesitated if they should allow their children to participate in something cruel.
Many families, who visited the city for the first time, stopped their children from walking up the stage. They gave up their chances as they have no clue what the test was all about.
On the contrary, many prominent families came here prepared. All their children resolved themselves that their lives would be at risk. The young test-takers queued to ascend the stage without hesitation, showing their dignity as brave elites.
Jian Meng looked at the brave candidates and nodded in approval. His sect didn't need cowards. All cultivators would eventually face life-and-death situations at least once in their lifetime. Therefore, if they cowered because of this simple threat, they didn't deserve to join his sect.
The elder continued explaining the rules, "The alternate plane that we will send all candidates to is a monster realm. They will find themselves in a forest with millions of monsters, but their transfer point will be a safe zone…"
In this test, all candidates would be sent to a prepared place. As long as the test takers stayed in the safe zone, no monster could harm them.
However, they had to stay in that realm for 3 days. The food and water shortage would become an issue. The only way to survive was to exit the safe zone to search for food and water.
But the kick of this test was the individual score. When a test taker managed to kill a monster, their evaluation score increased, and their current progress would be visible to other candidates. Moreover, the score of the previous rounds would be included in this exam.
"This test doesn't have a score requirement. As long as candidates manage to survive 3 days, they will pass this round."
Everything sounded simple. All candidates had to do was to live there for 3 days, hunting monsters for food and searching for water.
Yet, the real test was the candidates' wits and combat skills. Although monsters could be dangerous, the real danger came from fellow test-takers. They might not be able to harm each other in the safe zone, but they couldn't say the same whenever they journeyed outside of the safe area.
Every candidate understood this. Their hands sweated while they glanced at each other, being wary of their rivals.
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On the Silver Phoenix's VIP stand, Xu Miao and Xie Tian sat next to each other, listening to the announcement.
The protagonist looked perplexed when he heard that the candidates' lives were at risk. He didn't understand why both sects allowed this test.
"Brother Xu, is this test even necessary? Isn't it a demerit? Why do they want to sabotage their own human resources? Isn't it better to have as many disciples as possible, so the sects can thrive?"
Xu Miao's face was solemn. His mind hadn't recovered from the shock and fear of Xu Xiuying, but his mind was strong enough to snap out of it temporarily.
"Ah, that? Our sects are quite famous in this province, so they want quality over quantity."
While answering Xie Tian's question, Xu Miao's brain didn't stop working. He weighted the threat between Xie Tian and Xu Xiuying, measuring which one should be dealt with first.
"But don't they care about people's lives?"
Xu Miao exhaled and looked at Xie Tian with a bright smile, "Forget about the politic, we have to survive the next exam. Say, brother Xie. Let's work together. We need to band together, or the others can take advantage of us!"
Xie Tian hesitated, but he agreed nonetheless, "Sure! Two is better than one."
Xu Miao and Xie Tian formed an alliance. For now, they would focus on clearing the test. As for Xu Xiuying's threat, Xu Miao ignored it for now since he couldn't do anything against her.
The priority right now was to kill Xie Tian. Xu Xiuying's issues could be solved later since the system didn't give him a quest or a deadline.
Or…
'How do I make both of them fight each other? I need a reason for Xu Xiuying to move against Xie Tian. Oh, hey. Wei Feng is supposed to be a villain. What if I make Xie Tian fight against Wei Clan? If I remember correctly, that geezer I met was the first elder of the Mountain Goose Sect. What if I set up a stage, so Xie Tian can kill Wei Feng? That Jia Shan is also interesting. What should I do to make Xie Tian offend that grandmaster?'
Xu Miao giggled. Even if the protagonist had plot armor advantage, Xu Miao didn't believe that he could survive in a fight against many boss characters at once. He began drafting an outline plan in his mind.