Chapter Thirty-Three: Senior Ning Is Truly Jealous

Xuanyuan Tunhan paid him no heed and told him to get lost.

Yi Tianling knew he wasn't much of a talker and didn't take it to heart. He simply wandered around in search of Ning Xianyu.

But as soon as he emerged, he became the perfect target.

The villagers, seeing yet another fresh, living person they could immediately sink their teeth into, pounced at once.

Yi Tianling fought left and right, struggling to keep them at bay.

Ning Xianyu was hardly faring any better.

Her protective barrier had shattered.

[The great villain is so unreliable—the barrier he gave me is terrible quality.]

The system gloated, [That barrier was meant to trap you, not protect you. Of course it couldn't withstand anything.]

After stepping out, Ning Xianyu didn’t run around wildly. She found a spot by the wall and stayed put.

Yi Tianling, unwilling to harm the villagers, had to drive them off one by one. It wasn’t physically exhausting, but his nerves were fraying. No matter what he did, he couldn’t contain them—he could only beat them back over and over. Seeing Xuanyuan Tunhan working on some kind of array, he felt he just needed to hold out a little longer.

But after a while, a villager managed to latch onto him.

The villager bit down, sinking his teeth into Yi Tianling’s shoulder.

Ordinarily, a mortal’s bite would be nothing. But the demonic aura on the villager seeped into him through the wound.

“Ah!”

Yi Tianling cried out, suddenly finding his spiritual energy sluggish. His legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.

He’d only been away for a month—how had the villagers’ demonic aura grown so strong?

And this demonic energy was different from the usual kind, almost mutated.

Seated on the ground, he caught sight of Ning Xianyu.

Instinctively, he reached out, pleading, “Senior Xuanyuan…”

His voice trembled, filled with raw fragility.

As the protagonist, he was naturally handsome, his eyes bright as stars. Usually, his air of masculinity overshadowed any hint of softness, but now, sitting there so vulnerable, face pale as snow, he looked as delicate and luminous as a lily after the rain.

Slurp!

[Wow, he really is beautiful—truly worthy of being the main character!]

Xuanyuan Tunhan, in the midst of arranging the formation, heard this and glanced over coldly.

Still concerned with appearances at a time like this, and over someone so ordinary? This woman really had something wrong in her head.

And Yi Tianling was no better—a so-called protagonist who couldn’t handle the smallest setback.

How could someone so timid and inept ever hope to stand at the pinnacle of the six realms of Yunhuang?

And he was seeking help from the wrong person—how could that coward Ning Xianyu possibly help him?

Xuanyuan Tunhan was about to look away and return to his formation when the timid Ning Xianyu suddenly sprang into action.

She had been pressed against the wall, carefully avoiding the villagers. But at Yi Tianling’s cry for help, she gritted her teeth, shouted something fiercely, and rushed forward.

She had clearly never trained properly or fought before, relying on the simplest method: enveloping herself in spiritual energy and charging straight ahead.

Villagers were knocked aside, tumbling to the ground and struggling to get up.

Ning Xianyu, saturated with spiritual power, dashed to Yi Tianling’s side, grabbed him, and shielded him.

The abundance of spiritual energy instantly made Yi Tianling feel much better. He looked up, gratitude shining in his eyes.

“Thank you, Senior.”

People said Senior Xuanyuan was ruthless, but now it was clear that the rumors were unfounded.

He was truly a good person.

Ning Xianyu, for her part, nearly burst into tears. She had no desire to help, but she was determined not to break character as the great villain. Even if she didn’t want to act, the villain wasn’t supposed to be a coward—she couldn't let her true nature show.

Just as she was deciding what to do next, Xuanyuan Tunhan suddenly appeared, flicked his sleeve, and sent them both flying.

“Out of the way.”

Utterly in the way.

Weaklings always seemed to gather together, even standing shoulder to shoulder—an eyesore.

Ning Xianyu, all too accustomed to being tossed about, didn’t mind at all.

Fine by her—she wanted to keep her distance anyway.

Yi Tianling, on the other hand, looked embarrassed and whispered, “Senior, I’m sorry.”

Huh?

Ning Xianyu looked at him in confusion. “What are you sorry for?”

This kid’s got something wrong with his head.

Yi Tianling replied, “Senior Ning is angry. I’m sorry.”

Senior Ning was truly jealous—even over a man.

He felt terribly guilty for having upset the relationship between these two seniors.

Ning Xianyu was baffled.

Of course Xuanyuan Tunhan was angry—they were in his way.

The great villain was perpetually irritated; what was there to apologize for?

They exchanged glances, each thinking the other understood, each suspecting the other was a fool. The way they looked at one another was almost harmonious.

Xuanyuan Tunhan, growing even more irate, tossed the villagers one by one into the formation, his blows heavier than before.

Yi Tianling watched in awe, feeling doomed.

Yet somehow, Xuanyuan Tunhan managed to activate a vast formation, trapping all the villagers within it.

This time, the array was self-replenishing—no matter how corrosive the villagers’ demonic energy, the formation could repair itself, preventing any escape.

At last, peace was restored. Xuanyuan Tunhan flicked his sleeves and strode into the courtyard.

Ning Xianyu and Yi Tianling exchanged another glance and followed him inside.

Ning Xianyu asked the system, [What kind of array did the great villain just use? It’s incredible!]

The system replied, [I don’t know.]

[You don’t know?] Ning Xianyu was skeptical. [You’re the system—you know every detail of the plot. How can you not know?]

The system sighed, [Listen, I know everything that appears in the book and every formation the author describes. If the author didn’t explain it, background characters have to fill in the blanks themselves.]

[Xuanyuan Tunhan is just a background character. He doesn’t get the detailed treatment the protagonist does. His backstory isn’t even mentioned—only that he’s ruthless and the like.]

In the book’s encyclopedia, every weapon and technique the protagonist uses is meticulously catalogued. The system could recite them all without effort.

But for someone like Xuanyuan Tunhan—a stepping stone for the protagonist—details were sparse.

For cannon fodder side characters, the author only needed to show enough for them to die as required.

Watching Xuanyuan Tunhan’s resolute back, Ning Xianyu suddenly felt this was deeply unfair to the great villain.

[To the reader, Yi Tianling is the protagonist and everything revolves around him. But for Xuanyuan Tunhan, he is the lead in his own story.]

For most people, everyone else is just a passerby—only oneself can be the protagonist of one’s own life.

The system, for once, was impressed. [Host, those are words of real wisdom. I see you in a new light. Wait, have you been possessed?]

[Stuff it. I’ve always had such depth.]

Stupid system, trying to call her shallow in a roundabout way—as if she couldn’t tell.

Just then, a soft sound came from up ahead, where the great villain was hurrying along.

Huh?

Did the great villain just laugh?

What was so funny?