WBICDPH Chapter 11 Part 1

Chapter 11: The Azure Jade Cloud Platform

Lin Jin had no memory at all of what had happened before. His recollection stopped at the instant he’d been struck by a powerful force and sent flying into the cliff wall.

He had no idea how long he’d been unconscious. When he finally opened his eyes, his entire body hurt as if it had been torn apart and reassembled poorly.

The little dog beside him was still nuzzling into the hollow of his neck, acting spoiled—but spoiled was one thing. Why was this thing baring its teeth?

After grabbing the puppy’s snout and scolding it, Lin Jin finally noticed that the dog’s condition looked… far too miserable.

The chubby pup’s fluffy fur had been matted together in clumps by something unknown. There were burn marks all over its body. Lin Jin gently ran a hand over it, only to find his palm smeared with blood.

He lifted his head to look around. The cave looked like a postwar ruin: the rock walls were scorched black, and the piles of demon cores on the ground had all been shattered into powder, drifting through the air.

Lin Jin raised his hand to wave away the choking dust. As the powder dispersed with the airflow, his vision gradually cleared—but in the next instant, his gaze froze, and he instinctively scooted backward in alarm.

He saw that, once the dust cleared, there seemed to be something lying on the ground on the other side of the cave.

A… person?

Lin Jin raised his eyebrows, uncertain of that conclusion.

Compared to a “person,” that shadow looked far too thin. If he let his imagination run darker, it looked more like an empty human skin that had been hollowed out from the inside.

The thought sent a chill through his entire body. Just as he was summoning the courage to go take a closer look, a sudden pain shot through his wrist.

He looked down to see that Qiuqiu had bitten him.

The puppy seemed to be truly badly injured—listless and weak, barely able to muster any strength even to bite.

Lin Jin looked at the dog, then at the “person” over there, and guessed from its behavior:

“You don’t want me to go over there? Is it dangerous?”

“You’re right.”

Before Lin Jin’s final syllable faded, a man’s voice picked up his words.

The voice seemed to come from beyond the heavens, carrying a natural echo. Along with it came a stream of pure, clear spiritual energy.

Startled by the sudden arrival, Lin Jin instinctively scooped the puppy into his arms to protect it before looking up.

That spiritual energy wasn’t aimed at him. A streak of blue-green light shot like a falling star into the cave and formed a barrier, sealing off the “person” lying on the ground completely.

A few breaths later, a mature man in white robes descended into the cave. His features were upright and proper, his aura calm and steady. Simply standing there with his hands behind his back, he exuded an unquestionable authority.

“I am San Zongyu, sect master of the Nanqian Division of Yan Yu Mountain. I cultivate the martial path. If you don’t mind, you may address me as Sect Master.”

San Zongyu cupped his hands and bowed to Lin Jin.

“The intrusion of a demonic cultivator into the trial realm was our failure. I apologize for frightening you, young friend.”

His cultivation and presence were extraordinary at a glance—clearly a big figure. Lin Jin had just been wondering who this might be, and it turned out to be San Zongyu himself.

San Zongyu was the male lead’s future master, one of the Sword Lords of the current era, and the second-in-command of Yan Yu Mountain. He was upright and principled, a renowned figure throughout the entire cultivation world.

Because Yan Yu Mountain’s current sect leader was infamous—never managing internal affairs, spending his days wandering about, drinking himself into oblivion, and holding the title in name only—nearly all matters large and small within the sect were handled by San Zongyu. Whenever something important happened, he was the one who stepped forward. In practice, he was more like the sect leader than the actual sect leader.

Lin Jin would need this man’s protection in the future. There was no way he could accept this bow. He hurriedly scrambled up from the ground and bent at the waist even lower than San Zongyu.

“No, no—Sect Master, please don’t. I really don’t deserve this.”

San Zongyu smiled faintly and raised a hand to help him straighten up.

Lin Jin’s heart pounded in his chest. He glanced at San Zongyu, then at the spiritual barrier nearby, and suddenly remembered what he’d just heard.

“Sect Master, you said earlier… that a demonic cultivator infiltrated this realm?”

“Yes.” San Zongyu’s expression grew more solemn.
“Earlier, members of the demon race used demonic sigil restraints to completely sever the trial realm’s connection with the outside world, which posed a danger to the disciples inside. We had no choice but to forcibly terminate the trial and break the realm to rescue everyone. You faced that demonic cultivator directly—were you injured?”

“A demonic cultivator? I didn’t see any demonic cultivator. What I encountered was—”

Lin Jin stopped mid-sentence because he suddenly recognized the familiar coarse clothing on the figure inside the barrier.

That outfit belonged to Shen Bing.

A trace of confusion crept over Lin Jin’s face, and when he spoke again, his voice was quieter.

“The one I met was a boy who entered the sect with me a few days ago. He… shouldn’t be a demonic cultivator, right?”

“Oh?” San Zongyu seemed slightly surprised.
“Did he attack you? What exactly happened just now?”

Lin Jin scratched his head.

“I’m not sure. I only remember being knocked unconscious by a sudden force. When I woke up, he was already lying over there. And my dog… my contracted beast was badly injured. I think it was protecting me.”

“I see.”

San Zongyu nodded thoughtfully. He then told Lin Jin to stay where he was while he went over to investigate. After a moment, he let out a regretful sigh.

“There’s no doubt he was indeed a disciple participating in this trial. However, what he encountered was a type of demon known as a ‘Heart-Painting Fiend.’ This kind of demonic being has no fixed appearance. It spends its entire existence parasitizing the bodies of others. It devours the host’s mind and flesh until it completely replaces them. When it leaves or dies, the host’s flesh is entirely consumed, leaving only a partial skeleton and intact skin. The person you met earlier was very likely no longer…”

San Zongyu paused and did not continue. He simply raised a hand and stored Shen Bing’s body in his storage ring.

“We don’t yet know whether that demonic being is already dead or still at large. If it still exists, I will personally avenge this boy. Once matters are settled, I will restore his body through magic and return him whole to his family. You… don’t need to grieve too deeply.”

“Mm.”

Lin Jin nodded and said nothing more.

If he were honest, he didn’t really feel grief—just a sense of melancholy.

He knew very well that all of this was a world inside a book. He hadn’t been close to Shen Bing, and he didn’t even know whether this character in a novel could be considered truly alive. Lin Jin viewed everything as an outsider, but still—someone he’d spoken to only days ago now lay before him as nothing more than an empty shell. It was hard not to feel unsettled.

Perhaps this was the fate of NPCs: never even worthy of a proper name in the main story, merely one of the faceless masses, destined to die quietly in the gaps between lines of text.

And that was his fate too.

Lin Jin grew slightly dazed. San Zongyu, mistaking this for sorrow, said nothing. He only raised a hand and gently patted the back of Lin Jin’s head in comfort.

“Come. Someone outside is waiting for you.”

Lin Jin froze at that.

Waiting for him? Who would be waiting for him?

He found out soon enough.

Following San Zongyu out of the trial realm, Lin Jin hadn’t even fully regained his footing before the lingering spiritual light faded. Before his feet touched solid ground, a shrill female voice pierced his ears like thunder splitting the sky:

“Ah! Senior brother! Where’s my disciple?! Is my precious apprentice alright?! Are all his limbs still intact?!”

Immediately after came an elderly man’s furious roar:

“Nonsense! Stop trying to steal him from me! He’s a beast tamer!!”

The commotion startled Lin Jin into instinctively stepping back half a pace. San Zongyu, beside him, let out a helpless chuckle.

“My apologies. By protocol, you should have been sent back to rest today, with the formal selection of a master happening tomorrow. But they were simply too eager to see you. I’ll have to trouble you to endure a bit of a spectacle.”

“?”

Eager to see who?

Me?

Who do I think I am?

Lin Jin had a very bad feeling.

That feeling was confirmed the moment the light before his eyes fully dispersed.

Standing on the Azure Jade Platform, Lin Jin stared in disbelief at the ranking array. At the very top, next to his own name, was a score exceeding a thousand.

His vision went dark.

He remembered the demon beasts that Qiuqiu had incinerated with a single burst of fire.

Don’t tell me… all those points were counted under his name?! But he hadn’t done anything at all?!

He’d wanted to sneak into Yan Yu Mountain and become an inner disciple—not in this way! What kind of ranking was this, stepping on the male lead and punching past the female lead?! Please, he did not want this kind of terrifying spotlight!!!

Lin Jin screamed internally, nearly fainting on the spot.

The Azure Jade Platform was an imposing array platform, surrounded by drifting clouds that gave it an elegant yet grand air. The railings around it were all made of azure jade, hence the name.

At this moment, aside from San Zongyu and Lin Jin, several other immortals of remarkable bearing and cultivation stood on the platform. Two of them were particularly eye-catching: one was a scruffy old man who looked like the head of a beggars’ sect, and the other was a flamboyantly dressed young woman lazily fanning herself with a round fan.

Their gazes were like starving wolves eyeing meat—and Lin Jin was that unfortunate chunk of fatty flesh.

“You’re all here. What about the other trial disciples? Have they been settled properly?”

San Zongyu frowned slightly.