An Extra Villain in Cultivation World-Chapter 80: Fallen Genius

After parting ways with Yanmei, Xuanyan walked toward the washing area of the alchemy hall. The faint smell of burnt materials still clung to his robes, and dark stains marked the sleeves from the long refinement.

He washed himself with cold water. The chill spread across his skin, slowly clearing the heaviness in his mind, while the lingering heat from the earlier backlash gradually faded.

After changing into a clean set of robes, Xuanyan sat down for a while instead of leaving immediately. His mind still felt strained. Controlling the spiritual flame with such precision for nearly an hour had drained more than he expected.

He leaned back slightly and exhaled. "Alchemy really isn’t something meant for humans..."

After resting for a while, Xuanyan finally stood up and returned to meet Mei Lingyao.

When Xuanyan returned, Mei Lingyao was already waiting inside the chamber. She did not speak immediately. Her gaze slowly moved over him from head to toe, as if evaluating something beyond the outcome of the duel.

"You took your time," she said calmly, a faint hint of amusement hidden in her tone.

Xuanyan cupped his fists slightly. "Disciple needed a moment to recover."

"Mm." Mei Lingyao stepped a little closer, her eyes lingering on him. "That much is obvious. Your refinement may have failed, but your control over the flame did not falter until the very last moment. That level of control is not something a beginner should have."

Xuanyan remained composed. "Disciple was simply fortunate."

"Fortunate?" Mei Lingyao’s lips curved slightly. "If that was fortune, then most alchemists in this sect have been quite unlucky their entire lives."

With a light wave of her hand, a small storage pouch appeared in her palm. "Regardless, you performed well enough. This is your reward—two thousand low-grade spirit stones."

Xuanyan stepped forward and accepted it with both hands. "Thank you, Master."

Mei Lingyao released the pouch, her fingers brushing his for a brief moment before withdrawing. "From today onward, you are officially my personal disciple," she said, her gaze lingering on him for a heartbeat longer. "Try not to embarrass me from now on."

The conversation did not end there. Mei Lingyao’s gaze remained on him as she spoke again, her tone calm but deliberate. "Tell me, Xuanyan... when did you first meet Lingling?"

Xuanyan was not surprised by the question. He already knew she would ask. "I had seen senior sister before in the sect," he replied. "But we never interacted. We only became acquainted recently, after a small incident in the outer sect."

"Recently..." Mei Lingyao repeated softly, her eyes narrowing slightly as if recalling something. "So before that, you were just another unnoticed disciple?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Xuanyan did not deny it. "That would be accurate, Master."

Mei Lingyao studied him for a moment a faint, unreadable smile touching her lips. "Yet in such a short time, my daughter not only noticed you... but grew quite close to you."

"Senior sister Lingling is kind by nature. She treats people well."

"Kind?" Mei Lingyao let out a soft breath. My daughter may be gentle, but she is not so easily attached.

She did not continue that topic. ’Tell me about Tang Lishen instead.’

When speaking about Tang Lishen, Xuanyan exaggerated the story as much as possible. He described Tang Lishen as an extremely degenerate and shameless person, adding a few extra details here and there to make everything sound even worse.

"Master, you don’t understand. That guy is a disaster. If there is trouble within ten miles, Tang Lishen will somehow be standing right in the middle of it."

Mei Lingyao raised an eyebrow. "A disaster?"

Xuanyan nodded seriously. "Yes. If misfortune had a human form, it would probably look like Tang Lishen. Just standing near him is enough to make everyone’s life worse."

"After that, that bastard even tried to assassinate me," Xuanyan added with a faint shake of his head. "I was actually impressed. Most people at least wait a few days before trying something like that."

"And the worst part was his character. Like I said, he was degenerate. The way he looked at Lingling... like she was something to take for his own pleasure. If I wasn’t there, I don’t know what would have happened to my sweet senior sister."

Xuanyan paused briefly, letting the words settle. "So that’s what I understood about him from our first meeting."

"Hmm." Mei Lingyao nodded slightly. "I see. I asked my daughter about this as well, but she is a bit clumsy and did not explain his character very clearly. In any case, you do not need to worry about him for now."

For the first time, Xuanyan’s attention sharpened. Just this morning, the system had sent him a message—Tang Lishen’s luck had increased again. Even after combining his own luck with Ye Qingfeng’s, Tang Lishen’s fortune was still greater than both of them.

Right now, Tang Lishen was the most dangerous variable.

"Why?" Xuanyan asked immediately. "Did something happen... or did you do something, Master?"

Mei Lingyao nodded. "I sent a message about this incident to the Sect Leader. I made it clear that Tang Lishen, the personal disciple of Inner Sect Alchemy Elder Han Meiyu, tried to assault my daughter in front of other disciples. When he failed, he didn’t back off. Instead, he vented his anger on someone else... and eventually tried to assassinate my newly accepted personal disciple."

"I see... so that’s what happened." Xuanyan kept his expression calm, but his thoughts moved quickly. Then why did his luck increase? Don’t tell me a new heroine appeared and protected him... causing his luck to spike even higher than ours. A main heroine, maybe.

He looked at Mei Lingyao before finally asking, "What punishment did he receive from the Sect Leader for such a crime?"

"The Sect Leader might not have even opened my message yet," Mei Lingyao said with a faint sigh. "When I heard what Tang Lishen did—especially the assassination attempt—I was furious. I wrote the letter immediately and sent it to the Sect Leader."

"You might not know this, but Han Meiyu is a Golden Core cultivator. If I want her to properly punish Tang Lishen, I have to pressure her through the Sect Leader. Normally, the Sect Leader would not interfere in a conflict between disciples."

"But after that message, Han Meiyu returned to the sect yesterday. Whether the Sect Leader intervened or not, I cannot say. In any case, she personally dealt with Tang Lishen. The punishment was harsher than I expected—I only received confirmation a few hours ago."

"What did she do?" Xuanyan asked impatiently.

"Han Meiyu crippled Tang Lishen without hesitation and threw him into the outer sect courtyard," Mei Lingyao replied. "She removed his status as her personal disciple on the spot. Even I was shocked for a moment."

Xuanyan kept his face calm after listening to Mei Lingyao, but his mind raced. In every story he had ever read, this was how it started. Cripple the genius, throw him to the outer sect, let him suffer among the weak. That was never the end. That was the prologue.

"Congratulations," he thought dryly. "You have unlocked the "Fallen Genius" background. Hidden inheritance and mysterious master sold separately.

Tang Lishen’s luck had risen for a reason. Somewhere in the outer sect, an opportunity was already waiting for him. Xuanyan was sure of it.