I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

The Dying Man

As a top-tier sect, the Bu Hong Sect naturally invested a great deal of time and effort into preparing and arranging for this joint competition.

The venue for the competition was set in the Worry-Free Gorge near the Bu Hong Sect, featuring tens of thousands of seats arranged from high to low, surrounded by numerous towering peaks. Even if the seats were insufficient, spectators could still enjoy the competition from the mountainsides or summits; in short, no matter where one was, a good view could be had.

With two days left until the official start, the venue was heavily guarded, with four Transformation Elders stationed at the four corners to prevent any mischief from disrupting the event.

The sects participating in the competition were arranged to stay at the slightly more distant Wang Long Mountain Villa.

Young people should be with young people, while the higher-ups of each sect had other accommodations. Thus, the vast Wang Long Mountain Villa was filled with disciples from various sects across the Eastern Continent.

Ye Yong, as a prominent figure, became the center of attention wherever he went. Some sought to get close to him, while others quietly observed from a distance.

Overall, male and female cultivators could be divided into two categories: those who wanted to cling to the powerful and those who looked down on mingling.

Among the male cultivators, the latter group was more prevalent; even if their backgrounds were lacking, they were unwilling to lower their status to curry favor with a prodigy they did not recognize. As for the female cultivators, aside from a small number with cooler dispositions, most were eager to catch a glimpse of Ye Yong’s brilliance.

Thus, if one wanted to know where Ye Yong was in Wang Long Mountain Villa, it was simple: wherever there were the most women, that was where Ye Yong could be found.

This made Ye Yong miss his senior and junior sisters from the Yin Hua Hall. If they were present, they would form a protective wall around him. But here, there were only a few of them, and the two beautiful painters strictly belonged to the higher echelons of the Yin Hua Hall, currently staying within the painting; it was not appropriate for them to make an appearance in this setting.

After all, coming from different sects, everyone had no ill intentions; they simply wanted to see what Ye Yong looked like, and there was no reason to drive them away.

In a corner, Long Tian watched as Ye Yong was once again surrounded by women, feeling a twinge of envy. Of course, it wasn’t envy over Ye Yong’s charm with women, but rather his aura of popularity.

Long Tian didn’t particularly desire to be popular; he simply felt that he was often excluded by his peers, with very few friends to speak of. The old man from the Fallen Immortal had once said that in cultivation, mere strength was not enough; connections were a form of strength as well. After all, individual power is limited, and there will always be times when one needs to rely on friends.

“There are two days of free time before the competition starts…” Long Tian glanced again in Ye Yong’s direction, murmuring to himself, “Let it be; friends can’t be forced.”

Long Tian planned to wander around the villa to familiarize himself with the surroundings, but unexpectedly, as he turned a corner, he nearly collided with someone. Upon closer inspection, it was that wealthy young master, You Mao Bin, who had humiliated himself on the spaceship.

—

With a heart full of reluctance, he went to find Ye Yong, but as he turned the corner, a guy dressed in Tianluo Sect attire suddenly rushed out, nearly colliding with him. You Maobin’s irritation erupted instantly: “Are you blind? Can’t you watch where you’re going?”

The sycophant quickly chimed in, “If you bump into Young Master You, you won’t even know how you’ll die!”

Long Tian had no fondness for this pampered young master. He didn’t shy away from confrontation and coldly replied, “Anyone can walk on this road; I didn’t bump into you.”

“Oh? Who gave this kid the guts to talk to Young Master You like that?”

Long Tian didn’t want to engage with these bullies and chose to ignore them, walking straight away. However, the protagonist was entangled with the villains; it wasn’t so easy to leave.

You Maobin and his group immediately blocked Long Tian’s path, surrounding him.

On one side, Ye Yong was surrounded by adoring women, while on the other, Long Tian was encircled by troublemakers—an obvious contrast.

Long Tian couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. He realized that he was quite popular among those around him, but they only liked to cause him trouble: “So what do you want?”

“Kneel down and bow three times, and we’ll let this go.” The sycophant presumptuously stated the terms, and You Maobin clearly agreed, crossing his arms and waiting for Long Tian’s response.

“I’ll ask just one thing: what wrong have I done?” Long Tian patiently gazed at You Maobin.

“You almost bumped into me and didn’t apologize. Isn’t that a mistake?” With no one around, You Maobin fully displayed his spoiled, villainous nature.

Long Tian clenched his fist slightly. The highest cultivation level present was You Maobin, at the seventh layer of crystallization, while Long Tian had already broken through to the eighth layer. Even facing multiple opponents, he felt unafraid. However, just as the tension was about to explode, a spirited young man with a wolf pet happened to pass by.

“Young Master You, that’s Ye Yong’s cousin.” A sycophant quickly reminded You Maobin.

You Mao had heard of You Maobin; they were of the same age, both at the seventh layer of crystallization, and he could be considered a genius. Unfortunately, his brilliance was completely overshadowed by Ye Yong.

As for why You Mao was here, as a young master of the Ye family, others couldn’t get close to Ye Yong, so they came to him instead. You Mao had no intention of being a substitute, so he chose to wander around, not expecting to stumble upon this scene.

Long Tian seemed to always attract trouble; no wonder Ye Yong had repeatedly warned him to avoid contact.

You Mao thought silently, just as he was about to turn and leave without being seen, You Maobin moved first. The reason was simple: he feared You Mao would tip off Ye Yong, telling him that he bullied a disciple of the Tianluo Sect. If that happened, Ye Yong would mercilessly reject his thanks, leaving him with even greater embarrassment.

“Phew…” After You Maobin and his group left, Long Tian let out a slight sigh of relief. He wasn’t afraid of trouble, but as a direct disciple of an elder, he didn’t want to cause his master any hassle or make him clean up after him.

You Mao and Long Tian had had some friction before; they weren’t enemies, but their relationship was far from good. The two awkwardly locked eyes for a moment before Long Tian spoke first: “Thank you for the rescue.”

“I didn’t do much.” You Mao quickly took his leave with his wolf pet, and Long Tian had no intention of delving deeper into conversation. They parted ways at the fork in the road, each going their own way.

On the other side, You Maobin reluctantly arrived at the gathering place of the young disciples, only to find Ye Yong surrounded by women, unable to squeeze in. His resentment towards Long Tian deepened; he felt that it was all Long Tian’s fault for wasting his time.

“Find out who that Tianluo Sect disciple was just now!” You Maobin sat down in a vacant pavilion.

Soon after, a lackey brought back information, along with a disciple from the Tianluo Sect.

You Maobin gazed at the handsome young man before him, noticing his extraordinary demeanor, his age and cultivation level surpassing his own. He slightly cupped his hands: “I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you.”

“Long time no see, You Shao. I am Bai Song,” the young man replied directly.

“So it’s Young Master Bai from the Bai family!” The Bai family held considerable power in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and You Maobin had certainly heard of them.

“Are you inquiring about Long Tian?” Bai Song wasted no time, getting straight to the point.

“If we are talking about the same person, it must be him without a doubt.” You Maobin looked at Bai Song suspiciously: “Are you planning to protect him?”

“How could that be?” Bai Song didn’t bother to ask You Maobin why he was targeting Long Tian, snorting coldly: “To be honest, Long Tian is a cold-blooded and cruel killer. He murdered my cousin and his attendants…”

You Maobin’s eyelids twitched: “How could your Tianluo Sect tolerate such a villain within your ranks?”

“He is too cunning and treacherous. He dismembered my cousin and several fellow disciples, framing it on spirit beasts. Without solid evidence, we can’t pin the crime on him…” Bai Song painted Long Tian as a ruthless and scheming scoundrel.

You Maobin felt a surge of anger; he should have disregarded Ye Mao earlier and just given that despicable guy a good beating.

Seeing the righteous indignation in his opponent, Bai Song revealed a barely perceptible smile in his eyes. Although he had already broken through to the Golden Core stage and could crush Long Tian like an ant at any moment, Long Tian had now taken Liu Xuan as his master, making it difficult for him to act. But if it were You Maobin, that would be different; his great-grandfather was a Void Refinement expert—what was Liu Xuan to him?

Bai Song had already devised a plan to use You Maobin to eliminate Long Tian. If Long Tian were crippled and unable to cultivate, he would naturally be expelled from the Tianluo Sect. At that point, a background-less cripple could be toyed with at will.

“Finally able to catch my breath.” A short distance away, Ye Yong, having used a spiritual artifact to break free from the throng of female cultivators, was preparing to turn back and show the female lead around the estate, away from the crowd, when he suddenly noticed the figures in a certain pavilion.

You Maobin and Bai Song.

“Look at how they’re conspiring; they must be paving the way for their own demise, afraid of missing even the slightest detail…” Ye Yong’s gaze held a hint of pity: “What a shame for a young master to seek death instead of enjoying life; truly a waste, Bai Song.”

Ye Yong had no intention of advising them against opposing the protagonist. Just the spirited Ye Mao alone had been warned more than once, yet he still nearly got serious in the sect competition. Clearly, encountering a dimming aura, it was impossible for a self-destructive villain to maintain rationality. As for non-Ye family members, Ye Yong was unwilling to take risks and intervene.

Seeing them finalize their scheme, laughing heartily, confident of victory, Ye Yong shook his head and turned his attention away from a group of people destined to meet their end.