I’m Definitely Taking This Power-Fantasy Protagonist Role! Chapter 58

As the first rays of sunlight broke through, Jiang Baiyu and Lin Zhaoren practiced swordplay together, igniting their youth.

Habits are quite magical. Even though Jiang Baiyu loved to sleep in, once he got used to the routine of waking up early to practice swordplay, he would naturally wake up at the right time. Then, Lin Zhaoren would pull him up, and they would head outside to practice together.

The third-tier disciples were laying the foundation, the second-tier disciples needed to have some insights, and the first-tier disciples had their own understanding. By the time they reached the elite disciple stage, managing their time became much freer.

Since continuing to repeat the monotonous sword practice no longer had much effect, they needed to break through to advance further. Morning sword practice was a result of habit, but it also served to solidify their foundation each day.

Cultivation was like rowing upstream; if you didn’t advance, you would fall back. After practicing for a while, the two stopped.

The mountain where the Zangfeng Zunzhang resided was empty and desolate. So far, there were only three people there, and visitors rarely came. However, today, an unexpected guest arrived out of the blue.

Jiang Baiyu was enjoying a bowl of crystal ginseng soup, having made it for his master to nourish his body. Lin Zhaoren’s cooking skills were getting better and better. Not wanting to waste such delicious food, he made sure to finish every last drop, and to maintain his figure, he practiced hard every day.

Hearing someone approach, he looked up to see a stranger, a senior brother he didn’t recognize. The other person was smiling broadly, clearly intrigued by the aroma, “Looks like I came at the right time! Crystal ginseng soup? How rare!”

Lin Zhaoren didn’t usually eat the spiritual food he made, but today he had naturally made a little extra to avoid waste. Without hesitation, he replied, “Don’t get your hopes up. This is for my master; you don’t get any.”

The other raised an eyebrow, “What’s the little junior brother eating then?”

Lin Zhaoren maintained his composure, “Naturally, it’s because I made a little extra.”

The other burst into laughter, teasing, “Did you make a little extra, or did you make two portions on purpose?”

Lin Zhaoren’s expression immediately soured as he scrutinized the other, coldly saying, “Did you come here just to beg for food?”

“Of course not,” the other replied leisurely, unfazed by Lin Zhaoren’s cold demeanor, “I heard from Zhuang Wan that you seem to have changed your ways recently, being particularly gentle and caring towards the new junior brother. Such big news, I had to come see for myself to find out if she was just talking nonsense.”

He smiled, his eyes crescent-shaped, “Hearing is not as good as seeing.”

Lin Zhaoren’s face visibly darkened, veins popping on his forehead, forcing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “Since you’ve seen it, please hurry up and leave.”

The other was completely unbothered, smiling at Jiang Baiyu, “I’m Yan Beilou, a true disciple of Bihua Peak. This is your first time meeting me, right? We’ll be seeing each other often, so let’s get familiar with each other’s faces.”

He had ulterior motives, hinting, “Your senior brother is known for having the worst temper among us true disciples, famously unfriendly. When we heard that Master Zangfeng took on a new disciple, we were all sweating for you, not knowing what kind of torment you’d face under Lin Zhaoren.”

“Who would have thought that Lin Zhaoren, who looks so fierce, actually has a knack for taking care of people, willing to lower himself to personally make soup.”

“If this gets out, it’ll drop a lot of jaws.”

Lin Zhaoren retorted sharply, “If your jaw is itching, I can lower myself to help you loosen it.”

Yan Beilou clicked his tongue, “Aren’t you afraid of scaring the little junior brother with such fierceness in front of him?”

Lin Zhaoren paused, instinctively glancing at Jiang Baiyu.

The junior brother, holding the crystal ginseng soup, looked curious, his eyes sparkling with interest, clearly enjoying the conversation, as if he were part of the audience.

Lin Zhaoren’s fingers were already cracking from tension, hesitating for a moment.

“Hahaha!” Yan Beilou laughed heartily, “Looks like you have a cute side too, Lin Zhaoren! It’s almost unrecognizable!”

Lin Zhaoren pointed his sword at his throat, ominously saying, “Yan senior brother, did you come here today just to get beaten?”

Yan Beilou cautiously extended a finger, touching the sharp edge, “Be gentle in front of the little junior brother; don’t let any blood spill.”

Lin Zhaoren looked at him expressionlessly, his eyes and brows radiating impatience, urging him to leave quickly.

To come and annoy him so early in the morning, truly lacking in awareness!

However, today was destined to be noisy. Just as Yan Beilou arrived, another unexpected guest showed up.

“Hey, is that the smell of crystal ginseng?”

Lin Zhaoren’s forehead immediately twitched with anger.

“Wow! What a lively scene!”

Lin Zhaoren’s face darkened.

“Hehehe!”

In no time, three more people rushed over, surrounding Jiang Baiyu and Lin Zhaoren, especially excited to see Jiang Baiyu, as if they had discovered a rare creature.

“Is the little junior brother getting used to it? Has Lin senior brother been mean to you?”

“Little junior brother, if Lin senior brother bullies you, just tell me!”

“Little junior brother, we grew up with Lin senior brother. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!”

“Little junior brother…”

Chattering away, the noise was relentless.

Lin Zhaoren’s anger surged, and he finally couldn’t hold back, swinging his sword at them, “Get lost!”

“Tsk tsk, I thought Lin senior brother really became gentle; it was all an illusion. If I hadn’t dodged quickly, that sword would have shaved my head bald!”

“Looks like Zhuang Wan senior sister exaggerated.”

Lin Zhaoren showed no mercy, driving them away with a flurry of words, “What do you think my junior brother is, a wild monkey from the mountains? If you want to see monkeys, go find them in the old forest; don’t be an eyesore here!”

“Wow, run faster!”

“Wait for me!”

“Lin junior brother, stop! Don’t stab my butt!”

“Ahhh! My hair! How vicious, Lin junior brother!”

The four of them quickly retreated, disappearing from the sight of the two.

Lin Zhaoren performed a beautiful sword flourish, sheathing his sword, and returned to the table, saying to Jiang Baiyu, “Don’t mind those strange guys; they’re just bored every day!”

Jiang Baiyu replied, “Senior brother seems quite popular?”

They rushed over as soon as they heard the news; it seemed like they couldn’t possibly dislike him that much.

Though he appeared to be disdainful, he might not actually hate them that much.

Lin Zhaoren didn’t comment, glancing at Jiang Baiyu’s bowl, urging, “Hurry up and eat. After you finish, we’ll take the spiritual food to master.”

Jiang Baiyu quickly continued eating. The bowl was filled with slices of crystal ginseng, stewed with some unknown bird, the flavor rich and aromatic, truly delightful.

Not long after it quieted down, more unexpected guests arrived—this time, it was seven senior sisters.

Zhuang Wan was among them.

“Senior sister, look, this is the new little junior brother!” Zhuang Wan’s tone was somewhat peculiar, “Lin senior brother treats him so well. The little junior brother squatted down to sniff the Yuxin Jiao flower, and Lin senior brother immediately sealed it and picked it for him to play with.”

Her expression was wistful, “I still remember the first time I met Lin senior brother; I was amazed by his beauty, thinking I’d have a celestial-like senior brother from then on. Who would have thought that when I practiced sword flight, I crashed into a mountain wall, crying my eyes out and refusing to practice again. Lin senior brother chased after me with his sword, and he really made me learn sword flight at the fastest speed, both quick and steady!”

“What you experienced is nothing. I heard Lin senior brother’s swordsmanship is exceptional. I invited him to spar with me, and I ended up searching for my teeth all over the ground, it was a tragic sight! Thankfully, it was just a practice wooden sword from the sect, the blade dull and thick, so it didn’t cause any serious harm. Even so, I still ended up with red marks all over! After that, I was so motivated that I vowed one day to challenge Lin senior brother and make him search for his teeth again!”

“Haha! I encountered danger in the secret realm and almost got eaten by a long worm. Lin senior brother descended from the sky and fought that long worm for three hundred rounds, blood everywhere. After he finished, I stepped forward to thank him for saving my life, but to my surprise, he looked puzzled, as if surprised that there was still another person! Then he pulled out the long worm’s inner core and left!”

“Cough cough cough!” A tall female cultivator coughed a few times, “Lin junior brother has finally learned to be gentle and graceful; it’s truly heartwarming. He might just become the most popular true disciple among the junior sisters in the future, after all, Lin junior brother excels in every aspect, except… well, the junior sisters have been resentful for a long time.”

The seven girls chattered away.

Jiang Baiyu wisely chose not to get involved, focusing on his soup with a serious demeanor.

The senior sisters had long-standing grievances, launching a tirade against Lin Zhaoren’s various inappropriate behaviors.

Jiang Baiyu wasn’t surprised; after all, the first one he encountered was the dark version of the Slap Master.

Lin Zhaoren remained expressionless, glancing at Jiang Baiyu, then coldly addressing the tall female cultivator, “Did Senior Sister Zhu come here with the junior sisters just to say these things? My junior brother is timid and shy; I hope Senior Sister can understand.”

Senior Sister Zhu remained unfazed, “Lin junior brother is right; there will be plenty of opportunities to build relationships in the future, no need to rush. I heard that Master Zangfeng is feeling unwell, and the two junior brothers are busy serving him, so we apologize for intruding.”

She decisively led the junior sisters away.

Jiang Baiyu silently counted; all the visitors looking for Lin Zhaoren were senior brothers, and not a single junior brother dared to show up in front of him.

Even the senior brothers were driven away mercilessly with a sword.

The junior sisters also vented their grievances and retreated quickly.

Even without the dark version, the Slap Master’s combat power was still extraordinary; he was never the type of charming little fairy that people liked.

Jiang Baiyu couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

“Can’t eat anymore?” Lin Zhaoren’s voice came from beside him.

He frowned, taking the bowl from Jiang Baiyu’s hands, “The medicinal properties of crystal ginseng are long-lasting; if you can’t eat anymore, don’t force it.”

He took a few bites of the crystal ginseng slices and then drank the soup in one go.

“Let’s go; we need to deliver the spiritual food to master.”

On the way to the Youke Platform, Jiang Baiyu curiously asked, “Senior brother, is what the senior sisters said true?”

Lin Zhaoren’s tone was indifferent, “I don’t remember; maybe.”

“Cultivation is filled with obstacles and difficulties, requiring immense willpower to push forward. A little setback should be faced head-on.”

“If you encounter something you don’t understand in your cultivation, don’t ponder aimlessly; come ask me first. If I don’t know either, you can ask master.”

Jiang Baiyu replied, “I don’t quite understand the new chapter of the heart method.”

“What don’t you understand?”

“…I don’t understand anything; it’s all foggy. In the past, when I learned the new chapter, a senior brother would explain it and guide me in my cultivation.”

Lin Zhaoren pondered, “I overlooked that. Later, we’ll cultivate together, and I’ll guide you in circulating your energy to integrate the new chapter.”

“You’re so nice, senior brother!”