A Sect Leader's Daily Life - Chapter 4

Who knew life could be this delightful when you weren’t cultivating desperately all the time?

Since I’d always been in seclusion, sect affairs had been managed in my stead by Wen Xin, my second senior brother’s eldest disciple. My own two disciples, Meng Xun and Shaoyin, helped him.

Now that I was out, I still knew nothing about managing a sect. Nor did I intend to learn.

Running a sect this large would mean a thousand things to do every day. How was I supposed to enjoy retirement then?

So I said, “Wen Xin, your martial aunt suffered all sorts of lasting ailments in her youth. My health hasn’t been good lately, so you should continue handling the sect’s affairs. Ahem, ahem… Ah, I’m getting old. The future belongs to you young people now.”

Wen Xin looked terribly worried and felt the weight of his responsibilities. Not daring to linger a moment longer, he hurried back to the documents piled high on his desk.

Shaoyin stood beside me, speechless. But she was a good disciple. She waited until Wen Xin was well out of earshot before looking at me with contempt.

I hastily explained, “Come on. Our sect is a team. Everyone does what they’re good at and fulfills their role. That’s how Xuanxiao thrives, isn’t it? Wen Xin has a talent for operations. He’s better at this than I am. I’ll give him another raise later.”

“Tch,” said Shaoyin.

My eldest disciple, Meng Xun, was an aloof immortal who couldn’t be bothered to look people in the eye. My second disciple was an icy beauty who preferred to look down her nose at them.

Put them on either side of me, and it was like switching on the air conditioning. Set to eighteen degrees Celsius, at that.

It was strange. In the original novel, Shaoyin was a proper supporting heroine. Unlike a disposable character such as me, who never even made a formal appearance, she was the second female lead and shared many scenes with the male lead.

But from what I could see, there wasn’t the slightest spark between them. Two icebergs, neither willing to give the other a proper look. How could they possibly develop feelings?

Perhaps my change in fate had erased the opportunity that would have made Shaoyin fall for Meng Xun. Now they were even showing signs of mutual disdain.

Still, that was a good thing. What good ever came of competing with the heroine for a man?

My Shaoyin was beautiful, wealthy, and talented. Apart from her fondness for sniping at me for no reason, she was practically perfect. I didn’t want her bewitched by love and ending up with nothing.

I meant that for her—and for myself.

“The sect’s triennial tournament for new disciples is today. Are you going to watch?” Shaoyin asked.

“Once every three years? Sounds rather important. Wouldn’t it be terribly inconsiderate for the sect leader to miss it?”

“You’ve always been in seclusion in previous years. A tournament without you is the normal kind.”

“Well, since you put it that way, I… should still go and have a look. Perhaps there’s a promising youngster among the outer disciples. I can nurture them properly so they can take over from you one day.”

And so I went to enjoy the show.

There were lots of outer disciples. I sat there watching for ages, mostly considering which ones were better-looking.

Looking at beautiful things helped you live longer. So my eyes instinctively drifted toward Meng Xun beside me.

All of us senior members sat in a row facing the arena. I occupied the broadest seat in the center, on a slightly raised platform. With handsome men and beautiful women on either side, I looked every inch a petty emperor.

Meng Xun sat a little below me to my left. Today he wore the sect uniform: a white outer robe embroidered with blooming lotus flowers in gold thread. An exquisitely crafted gold crown held part of his black hair. He looked dignified and solemn. Even the downward curve of his eyelids suggested a god gazing down upon all living beings.

Between us, he was the one who looked like a sect leader.

I’d barely stolen a couple of glances when Meng Xun calmly turned his head a fraction and met my eyes.

How was this bastard so alert?

I hurriedly returned my attention to the arena. From the corner of my eye, I saw him look forward too, sitting upright as he sipped his tea.

Perhaps the tea I’d confiscated from my second senior brother for sect use really was good. After tasting it, the corners of his mouth even rose a little.

Just then, it was Qin Wan’s turn to enter the arena.

Although Xuanxiao was one of the immortal realm’s great sects, we didn’t have many inner disciples.

In my generation, there was only my late eldest senior brother, my second senior brother who was forever wandering abroad, and me, the sect’s top boss.

My eldest senior brother had taken only one disciple, Shengyue. She’d developed a lingering ailment in her younger years and had a gentle, quiet disposition to begin with, so she seldom appeared in public. She devoted herself entirely to raising children—ah, to teaching her disciples. Those two disciples, Nan Yu and Wen Fu, were the only other inner disciples of Qin Wan’s generation.

My second senior brother, Qingyun, cared only about having fun. He had little interest in taking disciples and had accepted just one good boy, Wen Xin, to clean up after him. Of course, I was deeply grateful for his foresight.

Now Wen Xin not only had to sort out his master’s messes, but also had to work for his idle sect-leader martial aunt. Me, in other words. He was run off his feet every day. Where would he find time to take a disciple?

I wondered whether disciples could be transferred between masters. If so, I could find one, train them properly, and hand them over to him.

Of my own two disciples, only Meng Xun had recently taken one: Qin Wan.

Come to think of it, everyone in our sect liked finding a disciple with a completely different personality from their own.

Anyway, we had very few inner disciples.

My eldest senior brother had believed in keeping the core group small, so everyone could become one harmonious family. It was better for the sect’s long-term development.

That was what he’d thought, and what he’d done. My second senior brother and I were simply lazy.

And look: our harmonious family was now fighting in the arena.

A scene of domestic violence.

Naturally, Qin Wan faced Wen Fu, who belonged to her generation. Nan Yu had been cultivating for far too long to be an appropriate opponent.

“You bitch! I’ll ruin that face of yours! Let’s see how you seduce my senior brother then!”

Wen Fu swung her little leather whip with agile movements. Qin Wan had joined later, but she’d begun with the Heavenly Treasury Scripture, so their strength should have been roughly equal. Unfortunately, Wen Fu attacked viciously, and Qin Wan gradually fell behind.

Sweat covered Qin Wan’s bright, pretty face. Her eyes remained full of defiance. She was a sight to stir anyone’s sympathy.

Outside the arena, Nan Yu couldn’t sit still. He wished he could go in and fight in her place.

Look at that. A textbook vicious supporting girl bullying the innocent heroine.

Another hopeless love triangle.

The melodrama had started because Shengyue was an attentive teacher. Meng Xun, being an aloof master, couldn’t possibly handle every little thing himself, so he sent Qin Wan to Shengyue for her theoretical lessons.

The heroine’s very nature guaranteed admirers. Unfortunately, Nan Yu was one of them.

The senior brother who’d always been gentle with Wen Fu now saved all his warmth for the newcomer Qin Wan. That activated Wen Fu’s supporting-villainess instincts.