Reborn as a succubus - Chapter 43

Xiaoyao Mountain had long been recruiting followers. After staying there for two days, Xi Che and Chu Yan finally learned how to apply to become disciples under the Golden bell Lord.

Apparently, every so often, the sect held a large-scale recruitment event — and this time, Xi Che and Chu Yan signed up.

Yes, there was even a formal registration process, and rumor had it there would be an examination.

Standing among a crowd of candidates dressed in identical black robes, Xi Che had never felt so speechless in his life. He and Chu Yan exchanged glances for a while before Xi Che twitched the corner of his mouth and muttered,

“All these people in black robes standing together… they look like a bunch of cultists.”

Chu Yan found this funny. This man — when people wore white, he thought they looked too flirtatious and untrustworthy; when people wore black, he said they looked like cultists. Asa was truly impossible to please.

Leaning close to Xi Che’s ear, Chu Yan whispered,

“Don’t say that out loud — if someone hears you, it’ll draw attention.”

Xi Che pouted and replied softly,

“I know.”

So the whole group of black-robed candidates marched forward in formation, Xi Che and Chu Yan blending into the crowd, not even knowing where they were being led. Still, Xi Che was eager to reach their destination — he wanted to find out whether this “gathering” was really organized by Jin Lingzi.

Eventually, the group reached a cave. Their guide announced that everyone would be evaluated inside — only those who passed could qualify as disciples of the Golden bell lord.
Reasonable enough: Jin Lingzi’s fame had spread far and wide, and many demons wanted to join him. If he accepted everyone, his sect would overflow — and if he took in a bunch of useless ones, he’d have to feed them for nothing.

Once inside, Xi Che noticed that the main cavern split into many smaller tunnels. Soon, more black-robed figures emerged, each leading pairs of candidates into separate caves.
Xi Che thought: So that’s why the demons I saw earlier were paired off — maybe tasks in this sect are done in twos.
That suited him fine — better to be with someone familiar than a stranger. Still, he couldn’t let Chu Yan know his real purpose: while Chu Yan was here to join Jin Lingzi, he was here to infiltrate him. If Chu Yan learned the truth, he might accidentally give him away.

The two were brought into one of the glowing tunnels. Their black-robed guide said,

“If you can walk out of this cave alive, you pass.”

Xi Che was startled. That’s it? The test seemed absurdly simple — it even reminded him of the trial missions for junior gods back in Jiuyou Heaven.

That made him thoughtful. Could it be that Jin Lingzi actually took my old advice?
Years ago, when Jin Lingzi had confided that he wanted to found his own sect and make a name for himself, Xi Che had given him some pointers:

“You need structured trials to test and hone disciples — like the godly trials of Jingyu.”
Had Jin Lingzi really built his sect according to that advice?

Feeling oddly comforted, Xi Che thought, If he’s doing this to cultivate talent, maybe this sect isn’t so bad after all.
Suddenly, even the black robes looked more pleasing to the eye.

Xi Che and Chu Yan stepped into the glowing tunnel together. A shimmering barrier sealed behind them, turning the entrance into solid stone. Ahead stretched a white, mist-filled path.

Xi Che glanced at Chu Yan and said,

“Looks like we just follow the road forward.”

The tunnel wasn’t winding — just a straight passage toward a glowing exit.
Of course, everyone knew it wouldn’t be that easy. There would surely be traps.

Xi Che glanced sideways at Chu Yan, who looked relaxed — perhaps overconfident. Was it arrogance from power, or just inexperience? Where does he get that confidence? Xi Che wondered.

As he walked on, he called mentally to Bai Hu:

“Stop pretending to sleep — time to work.”

The white tiger lazily lifted a paw, yawned, then lay back down.

“There’s no danger here. Can’t you handle it yourself?”

Xi Che frowned, thinking the tiger must still be weakened — but in truth, Bai Hu simply didn’t want to appear. It sensed the presence of the vermillion bird and refused to show up when that damned bird was around.

After all, it knew that the so-called “great demon” beside Xi Che wasn’t a demon at all, but Chu Yan himself.
Damn it, the tiger thought. Just when I found a good energy source to feed on — and it turns out to be Chu Yan again.

Still, as long as Chu Yan was there, there would be no danger. It could safely go back to sleep.

Once Bai Hu’s voice faded, the scenery began to shift — the stone ceiling dissolved into a black sky, the walls into shadow. When Xi Che turned, Chu Yan was gone.
So they were separated after all.
Heart demon trial, Xi Che realized.
Jin Lingzi even set up a heart demon illusion? Do demons even have heart demons?

He already guessed what his would be — probably the scene of Tao Hua’s death.

But the expected vision didn’t appear. Instead, from the mist ahead came a small figure.

Xi Che blinked — and almost laughed.
This wasn’t a heart demon at all, but the final graduation test he’d faced as a student of Fengzao Palace. Back then, every graduating class had to undergo a real-world trial inside a random small world — each world containing a genuine crisis that the candidate, as a prospective god, had to resolve.

Xi Che’s assigned world had been one torn by endless war and demonic invasion — perfect for a war god candidate. All he had to do was suppress the demons and restore peace.

The catch: he hadn’t known the world’s situation upon entry. Whether to kill or save was up to him to decide.

So he’d used a simple rule of thumb — demons bad, humans good. Slay the demons, save the humans — the higher gods could hardly fault that logic.

He had descended onto an ancient battlefield littered with corpses and ruins, the air thick with death and lingering spirits.
Then he spotted a small figure crouched in a corner — a child, emanating demonic and baleful energy.

By all logic, he should have killed the boy on sight.
But he couldn’t. His human softness won over his divine duty.
Even though reason told him the child was evil, he couldn’t strike.

He raised his saber, lowered it, raised it again — and sighed.

“Little one, what are you doing here? Where are your parents?”

The child looked up — pale, lovely, and cherubic, like a snow dumpling… except for his eyes: solid crimson from edge to edge, black veins crawling up his neck.
He let out a beastly snarl, warning Xi Che away.

Xi Che only felt pity.

So this was my test, huh?

He remembered how, back in school, his instructors had called him a terrible student. Clever but irreverent. Not like model pupil Chu Yan. Once, he’d even angered his exam proctor into sarcasm — the old god called him crude and barbaric. Xi Che had only replied coolly:

“I wouldn’t stew a crane — roasting tastes better. Boiling makes the meat tough.”

That nearly killed the teacher with rage.

The teacher had accused him of lacking compassion, of being blinded by the world’s ugliness. Xi Che shot back:

“You’re the one blinded by beauty. You spare the elegant crane but eat the ugly chicken. Is ugliness a sin, then? Who’s truly deluded, teacher?”

The teacher, humiliated, had sworn Xi Che would never graduate.

Now Xi Che suspected that the same teacher had designed this trial — making a beautiful, pitiful child the obstacle, to test whether he’d fall for appearances.

And he had. He couldn’t kill the boy.

“Forget it,” he muttered. “If they don’t want me to be a god, I won’t. You can live.”

He went to pick up the boy — who promptly bit his arm.

“Ow! You little beast! Let go before you chip your teeth!”

After prying him off, Xi Che carried him deeper into the battlefield. Along the way, he killed only those demons who attacked, sparing the rest. If he was going to fail anyway, no need to slaughter needlessly.

Days passed. The boy stopped biting him, his hostility fading. The demonic energy around him slowly thinned — revealing that he wasn’t even a demon at all, but human.

And actually… kind of cute.

“Whose kid are you? You look like you belong to some rich family.”

Xi Che pinched the boy’s soft cheek. The child turned away, hiding his face in Xi Che’s chest. Despite the shyness, the gesture was full of innocent trust.

Xi Che chuckled.

“All right, all right. I’ll take you around to every noble house in the mortal realm and see who’s missing a son. Once I cleanse you of all demonic energy, I’ll send you home.”

But the boy frowned and whispered,

“You’re going to abandon me?”

Xi Che froze. Something in that voice — lonely, wounded — pierced his heart.
He tapped the boy’s forehead lightly.

“No. I’m sending you home.”

“You’re giving me away,” the boy insisted. “That’s still abandoning me. You’ll throw me away like they did.”

Xi Che sighed. The child’s aura was growing darker again, so he relented.

“Fine, fine. We won’t go. I’ll probably fail this test anyway… Let’s just find a place to live quietly, okay? I won’t leave you.”

The boy’s eyes brightened. He hugged Xi Che’s neck and nodded.

“Then tell me your name,” Xi Che said. “You must have one.”

“My name’s Xia,” the boy said.

“Xia? Like the hero ‘xia’?” Xi Che asked.

“No. The ‘xia’ from ‘flaw.’ The flaw in jade.”

Xi Che winced. What kind of parent names their child “Flaw”?

After a moment, he smiled.

“That won’t do. Let me rename you. How about Pu — meaning unpolished jade? You’re not flawed; you’re just not yet carved. Someday you’ll shine.”

The boy blinked his long lashes, then nodded.

“Okay.”

The moment he said it, the sky above cleared — the black clouds and miasma dissolving into sunlight. The corrupted world purified itself before Xi Che’s eyes.

Before he could react, the boy leaned in and kissed his cheek.

“I’ll find you again,” he said and vanished.

Xi Che’s graduation trial ended then and there.
His instructor greeted him outside the realm, smiling.

“I misjudged you,” he said. “You do have the makings of a true god.”

“What just happened?” Xi Che asked. “Who was that child?”

“What happens inside the trials, I can’t see,” the teacher said. “But if you emerged alive, you’ve passed.”

Xi Che later realized that the boy Pu had probably been the true source of corruption in that world — a child abandoned, filled with resentment, tainted by the battlefield’s demonic energy. Violence couldn’t have saved him — only compassion could.

Still, Xi Che often laughed at himself afterward. Why take a child’s words so seriously? He’d said he would find him again, but of course he never had.

And yet — now, seeing the boy again here — Xi Che felt a rush of joy.

“Pu! What are you doing here?”

The boy turned, his eyes red once more — but then, recognizing Xi Che, the red faded. He reached out his arms. Xi Che lifted him, smiling.

“Strange… Why are you my heart demon? I didn’t even do you wrong.”

But before Pu could answer, Xi Che heard a noise from the left — he turned to see Chu Yan standing stiffly, sword in hand, facing a writhing black mass lunging toward him. Chu Yan didn’t move, frozen in place.

Xi Che could tell that the shadow was a low-level illusion spell — dangerous only to the mind but painful enough if hit. Without thinking, he shouted:

“Break!”

The black mass shattered instantly. Chu Yan blinked, drenched in sweat. The child in Xi Che’s arms vanished.

Of course, Xi Che thought. All illusions — once the spell’s broken, they disappear.

He stepped toward Chu Yan, frowning.

“What happened? That illusion was weak — how did you get caught by it?”

Wasn’t this guy supposed to be powerful?

Chu Yan lowered his eyes, pressing his lips together.

“It’s nothing. I’m fine now.”

Xi Che frowned harder.
Fine? He doesn’t look fine at all.