Chapter 1

I’d become the leader of the Concord Sect.

At this point in the novel, all its future powerhouses were still weak.

Every last one of them wanted my guidance.

When the male lead knocked on the door of my practice room, I hesitated.

He was thin and pale, though his eyes were bright. His knuckles stood out against the doorframe; he seemed to be gripping it quite hard.

“Sect Leader,” he said softly, looking at me.

I almost nodded him in.

Then I remembered the wretched end awaiting this character in the book.

My hand stopped in midair and immediately withdrew.

Getting involved was a bad idea. A very bad idea.

I looked Xuanqing, the male lead, squarely in the face. “Cultivation takes steady work. You can’t always go looking for shortcuts!”

Xuanqing paused. After a while, he said, “Sect Leader, we belong to the Concord Sect.”

“Working together within a cultivation array is precisely what our sect teaches.”

He had an excellent point.

I couldn’t think of an excuse to turn him away.

All I’d be doing was giving the male lead a little guidance. Surely that wouldn’t cause any trouble.

I steeled myself, pointed to a cushion, and told him to sit.

He was stiff all over, but he did as he was told.

The door was about to close when someone else pushed it open.

“Sect Leader, you promised me,” the newcomer said, sounding hurt.

“Today was supposed to be my turn.”

I glanced at the male lead, who had just sat down, then at the second male lead in the doorway.

He wore a pale green robe and held a cultivation manual in his arms, his expression mild.

“Well… how about coming back tomorrow?” I ventured.

He frowned slightly. “If that is your wish, Sect Leader, what choice does Lianyu have?”

“It’s my own fault for learning so slowly. I’m not worth the trouble.”

The way he put it, I sounded like a bully.

“Why don’t you squeeze in and listen together?” I suggested.

Xuanqing’s expression froze. He edged over, looking grim.

Lianyu brightened at once and sat down with his manual.

I was just about to speak when the door opened again.

Fuqu, the villain, stood outside, staring at the other two.

He had sharp features and a small mole at the bridge of his nose. Even with his cultivation as low as it was, he already possessed an unmistakable edge. He was still young, with all a boy’s brash confidence.

The final boss, all right.

Even turning up for a lesson, he looked as if he’d come to issue a challenge.

He took in the room, paused, then said without a change of expression, “Move over. Make room for me.”

Lianyu stopped smiling too.

I heard Xuanqing let out the faintest sigh. “There’s no room.”

He repeated himself. “There really isn’t.”

All three looked at me.

I considered the cushions, then the doorway.

One student or three—I might as well make it a class.

“I think we can squeeze in one more,” I said.