Entering a Split Personality — Chapter 42

Thank you to Lulith, my biggest supporter! ❤️🧡💛

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Xiao He had no father or mother, and he had lived on Bluephoenix Peak for as long as he could remember. 

Bluephoenix Peak was the tallest mountain on the Forestfirst continent, and it had a position at the summit of this world.

This was because it belonged to the Grandcloud Sect, and the Grandcloud Sect had a Dao that reached heaven. 

This was a world where everyone pursued the great Dao, hoped for eternal life and longed for the heavenly path.

The weak were prey to the strong. Each tried to outwit the other, just for the sake of increasing their cultivation base, going through heavenly tribulation, becoming an immortal and rising in rank.

Xiao He was only fourteen years old, but he was a boy filled with ideas.

He wanted to cultivate, advance, and become strong and powerful, so that no one would look down on him or bully him. He hoped that one day, he could reach the person in his heart. 

That man who was aloof and remote, who everyone revered, and who was far out of his league.

He was the head of Grandcloud Sect, the man with the highest cultivation base under the heavens, the most respected of men, and the most beautiful person on the continent.

Xiao He had only seen him once.

It was when he was very young. He had been destitute and homeless, and the head had saved his life.

He had seemed like a god descending to earth, like an incandescent immortal banished from heaven. When he was little, Xiao He hadn’t understood much. He just felt that when he looked at him, he saw the whole world.

He didn’t think about it too much. He only held out hope from the bottom of his heart. If he could stay by this man’s side, that would be wonderful.

It was just a pity that after he’d saved Xiao He and brought him to Bluephoenix Peak, there had been no trace of him since then. 

Xiao He searched for him for a long time, and he’d only learned the truth afterwards.

It turned out he was the head of Grandcloud Sect, he was the world-famous Master Yun Qing, and he was...this unattainable.

Standing at his side, even if it was only for a day, wasn’t something that Xiao He could hope to achieve. 

But at the time, Xiao He had been too young, only seven years old. He’d held on to a core of stubbornness and rashly climbed up the high stairway to Bluephoenix Peak, risking his life to live on the mountain.

He was a disciple in name only. He was just a little servant, and he still couldn’t catch sight of him, but he was finally a step closer to that man.

With this thought, Xiao He was filled with enthusiasm. He wasn’t afraid of the hardship of cultivation or the drudgery of being a servant. Day and night, as the stars moved across the sky, he spent seven whole years living like this. 

He was fourteen years old this year. He’d been a nominal disciple for seven years, studying and training on his own, and he’d finally raised his cultivation base to the seventh level of the Qi Refining stage. He could finally proceed to challenge the White Gate!

If he could pass through the White Gate, he wouldn’t be a nominal disciple or a servant anymore. He’d be officially accepted as an outer disciple! 

Once his cultivation base rose again, he could challenge the Green Gate, and if he passed through it he would become an inner disciple. 

Afterwards came the Blue Gate, the Red Gate, the Yellow Gate and the Violet Gate.

Once he passed the Violet Gate, he’d be able to see him!

Seven years, two decades, or even several decades, verging on a century. If an ordinary person thought about those endless days, they might feel a chill in their heart. 

But Xiao He wasn’t afraid at all.

His path was here on Bluephoenix Peak, and his calling was here in Grandcloud Sect. What he wanted, longed for and constantly strove for was here. 

He couldn’t see it, but he could feel it.

Filled with an obsession like this, Xiao He’s blood surged hotly, and he was fearless!

Today was the day the White Gate opened, and quite a few disciples had come to challenge it. Xiao He had been on Bluephoenix Peak for so many years that he’d made quite a few friends.

He’d just come out of his ramshackle little room when a young boy greeted him. “Morning, Little He!”

Xiao He knew who it was as soon as he heard his voice.

They worked under the same supervisor, and they were both servants in the Spiritfield department. This boy’s name was Luo Fei. He had a cheerful and lively character, and he could be called a friend of Xiao He’s.

Two heads were better than one. Xiao He smiled and said, “Brother Luo Fei, morning.” 

Luo Fei crinkled his eyes and clapped him on the shoulder. “You rascal, you’re really capable. Just fourteen years old and you’re challenging the White Gate. You’re the first one to do so out of us nominal disciples.”

Xiao He smiled. “I’m just lucky. When you were fourteen, your cultivation base was no lower than mine, but you just happened to miss the White Gate’s opening.” 

The White Gate only opened once every three years. Luo Fei had been able to challenge it two years ago, but unfortunately it wasn’t the right time, and once he missed it he could only wait until the next time.

Luo Fei had a frank character. He said to Xiao He, “Luck is an ability as well!”

Just when Xiao He was about to speak, he heard some chilly words from nearby. “Tsk, here are two poor servants boasting and flattering each other, and they don’t even feel it’s irritating.” 

Xiao He frowned. He didn’t need to turn around to know who this was.

He was called Su Yichen, and he was a year younger than Luo Fei and a year older than Xiao He. He was a nominal disciple as well, but their statuses were as different as heaven and earth.

Xiao He was an orphan, and Luo Fei’s parents were ordinary people, but Su Yichen came from a noble family. It wasn’t a top-tier family, but it wasn’t lacking in wealth or power, and Su Yichen had grown up like a prince. 

As for why he was a nominal disciple, this had to do with Grandcloud Sect’s rules.

No matter their family background, wealth, influence, or even their aptitude, everyone who entered their doors had to start from the beginning.

Whether they were an ordinary person or a beggar’s son, from an influential family or a noble clan, they all had to start as a nominal disciple. Only by passing through layers of evaluations or catching all kinds of opportunities could they keep advancing in position.

Su Yichen didn’t have a high aptitude, and his parents spoiled him, so he’d only been in the sect for two years. He hadn’t studied enough and he didn’t have enough self-discipline. He had plenty of pills to support him, but his cultivation base was only at the fifth level of the Qi Refining stage. 

He was lower in level than Luo Fei and Xiao He, so he saw them as thorns in his side, and just had to needle them from time to time.

Xiao He hadn’t made a sound yet when Luo Fei retorted: “What’s wrong with being poor? It's better than being a pill-popper!”

Su Yichen was in fine health, but Luo Fei called him a pill-popper. He was totally mocking him for relying entirely on spending money and taking drugs to raise his cultivation base.

How could Su Yichen endure this? He flushed with anger at once, and wanted to come to blows with Luo Fei.

Xiao He didn’t want a fight to start. He pulled on Luo Fei. “Brother Luo Fei, don’t waste time, we’ll be late soon.”

His words had good intentions behind them. They weren’t only good for Luo Fei, but also gave Su Yichen a warning, for fear that the two of them would miss the White Gate examination that came only once every three years. 

Luo Fei was reasonable, but Su Yichen was someone who made trouble without reason.

“You’re telling me that talking to me is wasting time? Xiao He, you parentless pauper, you dare to look down on me?! Who gave you such confidence? You really think you’re somebody? Getting self-important just because the sect leader brought you back? Bullshit! I advise you not to have such wishful thinking. Trash like you is easy to pick up and easier to throw away. You’d better not get any unrealistic ideas, you…”

There was a smack.

Su Yichen suddenly shut his mouth, holding his slapped face with a look of disbelief.

Xiao He had elegant features, and he was usually gentle and friendly, but at this moment his face was overcast, and the depths of his eyes were full of dark clouds. “He brought me back, but I’m not trash!”

“You...you penniless brat, you actually dare to hit me, you actually dare…”

Su Yichen hadn’t finished his sentence when Xiao He raised his hand and slapped him again.

“You insulted me, and I can’t even hit you?” The tone of his words was very low, adding a layer of murderous intent to the boy’s clear voice.

Disciples in the Qi Refining stage had all seen their fair share of blood and death. Luo Fei didn’t know Xiao He that well, but he’d seen his skill in hunting demonic beasts. He absolutely wasn’t as gentle and delicate as he seemed on the surface.

This time it was Luo Fei who was afraid that something would happen. He hurriedly stopped Xiao He and urged, “Don’t get angry with a scumbag like this, it’s not worth it.” 

But Xiao He didn’t back down at all. He suddenly unsheathed his sword, and pressed the coldly gleaming blade against Su Yichen’s neck. “Apologize.” 

Su Yichen’s cultivation base was two levels lower than Xiao He’s, and since he’d been pampered at home, he’d never gone to the Forest of Secrets alone, let alone seen the sight of blood. When Xiao He pressed his sword against him at this moment, he was so scared he started trembling. “I...I…”

He stammered, extremely afraid, but still unwilling to apologize to Xiao He.

Xiao He smiled coldly. He pushed his longsword forward a little, and immediately saw blood.

Su Yichen felt the pain in his neck, and his face paled with fright. He couldn’t keep it up anymore. “I was wrong, I was wrong, don’t kill me, Xiao He, I was wrong!” 

“Where were you wrong?” Xiao He’s voice was as cold as ice.

“I...I shouldn’t have insulted you, I shouldn’t have called you a penniless brat.”

Xiao He’s eyes were as black as night. Not only did he not let go, he even pushed the blade a hair deeper.

Su Yichen was so scared he started bawling, and bucketfuls of apologies poured from his mouth.

Luo Fei looked on disdainfully, but he found that Xiao He didn’t have the slightest intent of letting go, and for fear that the matter would blow up for real, he hurried to urge, “Little He, he’s already apologized. Cool off a little, and don’t bother about him.”

“He hasn’t apologized.”

Su Yichen was really afraid, afraid of this boy who seemed gentle but was actually vicious, afraid of this sword that gleamed coldly and gave off a breath of ice, and even more afraid of the pain that came on the verge of death. He opened his mouth tremblingly: “I apologize, I apologize, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Xiao He held the sword in place and looked at him intently. “Say I was picked up.”

Su Yichen stared at him blankly and said, “I...I was picked up.”

Xiao He’s eyes sank, darkening by a shade, and Su Yichen changed his words in a rush. “You...you were picked up.”

Xiao He’s lips curved and he smiled. He considered the boy's words correct, but Su Yichen, looking at him, felt he was terrifying, and simply couldn’t figure out what he meant by this.

“Continue.”

Su Yichen’s voice trembled. “You...were picked up.” 

“But I wasn’t thrown away.”

Su Yichen suddenly understood, and he promptly said loudly, “You were picked up, but no one would throw you away, no one would throw you away! The sect leader definitely wouldn’t throw you away!” 

Once he shouted out these words, Xiao He withdrew his sword and said in a low voice, “Get lost!”

Su Yichen fell to the ground, climbed to his feet and quickly ran away.

Xiao He sheathed his sword. His movements were smooth and fluid, and with his clean, beautiful features, he slightly moved the heart of anyone watching.

Startled, Luo Fei didn’t come back to himself until a long while after.

Xiao He had already lost his icy expression. He returned to the way he was before, smiled gently at Luo Fei and said softly, “Let’s go, it’s getting late.”

Luo Fei lost himself again in this smile.

Xiao He called out to him. “Brother Luo Fei?”

Luo Fei’s heart suddenly jumped, and he inexplicably wished that Xiao He could call his name a few more times. His voice was really pleasant...come to think of it, why hadn’t he noticed it before?

He...he must not have paid attention. After all, Xiao He was always very quiet before.

Luo Fei soon collected himself. Once he caught up to Xiao He, he regained his spirits and chatted with him. “Little He, do you really admire the sect leader?”

Xiao He smiled slightly. “I very much admire him. I work hard cultivating just for the hope that I can see him one day.”

When he heard him say this, Luo Fei couldn’t help but feel disappointed at heart for a moment, but he soon cheered up again. He said genuinely, “You work so hard, you’ll definitely be able to achieve your dream.” 

Xiao He said with a smile, “I hope so.” 

The two of them went to the White Gate talking and laughing. They came early, were sufficiently prepared and had enough cultivation, so the examination was simple for them and they passed easily.

At this time, the senior disciple evaluating them said, “You’re pretty lucky, it just so happens that the outer school is holding an aptitude assessment. You should hurry and give it a try, if you get excellent results, you might be accepted as personal disciples.” 

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The author has something to say:

I wasn’t careful and caught a cold. I feel dizzy and lightheaded and my legs ache (hey), I’m updating a little less often, please forgive me, muah. 

To give a little explanation, Xiao He’s lost his memory. I’ll say in advance that in this world, not everyone will love Xiao He. As for why a scumbag like Su Yichen would appear, I’ll explain that later, muah! 

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4 hours and 49 minutes for 2,581 words, or 11.2 minutes for every 100 words. An increase in rate by 3.2 minutes...one hell of a jump...this is as slow as I was as a newbie. I have the greatest admiration for translators of cultivation novels now. 

Luo Fei's name is 洛飞 (Luò Fēi). 洛 is the name of a river in Shanxi province, while 飞 means "flight." Incidentally, 飞 has been one of my favorite characters since I was a kid...I always thought it looked like a dragonfly. 

Su Yichen's name is 苏义辰 (Sū Yìchén). 苏 means "Chinese basil," while 义辰 means "righteous morning." 

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