Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 487 - 296: On the Verge of Breaking Out

Chapter 487: Chapter 296: On the Verge of Breaking Out

"Young Master, Young Master!"

The sound coming from outside the door was somewhat urgent.

The man inside the house, focused on regulating his breath, moved somewhat sluggishly.

The aura swirling in the guest room was slowly dissipating. Generally, cultivators detest being disturbed during cultivation, especially beginners who might easily make mistakes in such situations, leading to a cultivation deviation.

The spiritual energy was dim, resembling the diluted color of ink in water, but it soon dissipated. At their realm, it was difficult to make mistakes in cultivation, but being disturbed still brought a touch of annoyance.

"What’s so urgent that it’s come to this?"

Hearing the voice inside the room, one of the attendants symbolically knocked on the door, ignoring the Young Master’s slightly displeased expression, and kneeled on one knee, speaking rapidly.

"Young Master, we heard a rumor in the city saying that remnants of the Swordmaster Peak are heading towards Fish City..."

"Since when do you start believing in rumors?"

He sneered coldly. This servant was truly clueless. According to his previous temperament, he would’ve slapped him already, and even if he didn’t kill him, he’d make sure the servant couldn’t get out of bed for days.

But now he could only suppress his inner impatience.

The more one is part of a prominent family or sect, the stronger the sense of crisis becomes. When he was soaring to success, sect disciples treated him one way; now it’s another.

Though many wouldn’t say it, outwardly appearing respectful, he naturally noticed that the sect bastards no longer took him seriously.

If it was in the past, if he wanted to go to the southern part of Country Liang to hunt down remnants of the Swordmaster Peak, who among them would dare oppose?

Even if the battle was ongoing, as long as he wanted to leave, no one dared to stop him!

But now, not only Xuan Tuer, but even his lackeys dared to advise him to think carefully before staying. It’s ridiculous, yet he had to suppress his anger and stay.

In the end, both sides had to take a step back. After subduing the people from the Purple Cloud Palace once more, to ensure that the many disciples of the Xuanyin Sect had enough space to withdraw, only then could he leave.

Thinking of this, Xuan Yinzi couldn’t help but feel a bit sullen. Back then, although Xuan Tuer had high cultivation and was arrogant, he would nod and bow at him, calling him brother appreciatively.

Now...

"Young Master, it’s not a rumor. We immediately contacted spies near Dongliang City, sent them to investigate, and found out that Jiang Feng had long disappeared without a trace!"

"A bunch of useless fools, couldn’t even keep an eye on a person. You told me two hours ago he was still in his residence cultivating and hadn’t left!"

Gripping his palm tightly, Xuan Yinzi almost couldn’t resist slapping him.

Yet in the end, he held back.

Right now, there weren’t many willing to follow him, and given the current attitude of Xuan Tuer and other sect disciples towards him, he really didn’t want to half-beat these useless fools to death.

He took a deep breath and then coldly spat out two words: "Continue."

"We... we also don’t know what happened. Our people saw him in the city with their own eyes, and after he entered a house, he never came out..."

"I asked you to tell me where that little bastard Jiang Feng is now! Can’t you understand? Huh?"

"Obey... obey the order!"

Their speech was illogical and off-topic, no wonder Xuan Yinzi was so furious.

Actually, Xuan Yinzi once had two servants with higher cultivation realms, more capable and clever, whose cultivation was even slightly higher than his.

Back then, he faced no obstacles on his path of cultivation, soaring upwards, and as the youngest child, he was cared for in every possible way, wherever he went, he faced green lights.

Until three years ago, he failed to condense the Nascent Soul.

Condensing the Nascent Soul was not as simple as imagined. At that time, Xuan Yinzi was brimming with youthful vigor, only twenty-eight years old. In any place, such a cultivation realm was considered outstanding among the young talents.

Compared to the Southern Border Saintess or the Hehuan’s three sisters, he might have fallen short, but his talent was quite good. However, he failed.

Failing the first time was normal. The current Sect Leader never blamed his grandson, instead, he carefully attended to him, often encouraging his grandson not to worry.

He knew his grandson was a bit too hasty in cultivation. While his talent wasn’t the very best, he wanted to catch up to the top prodigies, relying on a lot of external support, so a failure on the first attempt was normal.

From then on, though there were some rumors about him in the sect, his overall status dropped slightly, but the treatment did not change much, at most dropped a little, still allowing him everywhere he went to face green lights.

But... the second time was different.

The previous year, Xuan Yinzi planned to make another attempt at the Nascent Soul, partly because his body had recovered, and partly due to his age.

The year before, he was twenty-nine. If he could successfully reach the Nascent Soul before thirty, that would truly be extraordinary talent, vastly altering his external standing, and bringing honor to his father.

Furthermore, his elder brothers were also talented; he felt the pressure of competition because his grandfather hadn’t declared a primary heir, clearly leaving room for competition among the brothers.

However.

Disastrous failure.

These four words described it most aptly.

After failing the second attempt at the Nascent Soul, his status in the Xuanyin Sect plummeted, not only facing spiritual backlash, but dealing with the sect’s gossip, and sneers.

Even his grandfather and father’s faces were filled with disappointment. A horse may stumble, this they could understand, but failing twice only indicated an unstable foundation. Even if he broke through to the Nascent Soul in the future, he probably wouldn’t go far.