Can a Scholar Be Called a Villain

Chapter 9: Oiran selection

“Ding! Master has found a protagonist!”

Name: Sheng Yi

Protagonist value: 400

Age: 16

Cultivation: Peak of the Crystalline realm

Innate talent: Little protagonist halo, knowledge of the future (!!!)

Anti, what’s with the exclamation marks?” Murong Lin curiously asked.

He wasn’t shocked that Sheng Yi was already at the peak of the Crystalline realm, after all, as a protagonist it was normal to have a relatively higher cultivation base. He wasn’t surprised by the “knowledge of the future” talent either, since he was already sure that he was a time traveller-type protagonist. But, what on earth did the three exclamation marks mean?

“Ding! The exclamation marks are a cautionary warning, and the warning is as follows:

Sheng Yi is from a time period where master did not exist, which was 30 years in the future, and his cultivation had reached the Majestic realm at that point in time.”

“Majestic realm?” Murong Lin asked, his expression bewildered.

“The Majestic realm is the third realm of Abhij?ā Enigma realm. After the four realms of both the Fetal Enigma realm and the Nature Enigma realm, there is the Abhij?ā Enigma realm which is divided into the Abhij?ā realm, the Virtuality realm, the Majestic realm, and lastly the Tribulation realm. Each realm is then divided into nine layers, the first two correspondingly can utilise resources of the Barren level, and the last two can use the Vast level resources.”

“The sky is dark cyan, the earth is grey-yellow, and the universe was in a state of boundless chaos at the beginning of its formation? Is there another Enigma realm after that?” Murong Lin thought of something, and asked Anti.

“That is correct. There is the Supreme Enigma realm afterwards, divided into the Immortal Emperor realm, the Saint realm, the Godly Emperor realm, and the Supreme realm. The first three realms are divided into nine layers, and can use the resources of Cosmic level and the Universal level. Please note! The supreme realm is just a name, and it cannot be divided according to nine layers. At the same time, there can only be one Supreme realm in existence at any point in time. For another Supreme realm being to exist, the other must die first.”

“Oh? How would someone who is already at the Supreme realm die? How could an existence considered to be the strongest, die?”

“Killed by enemies outside of the heavens, or by the universe themselves.”

Murong Lin decided to stop asking, it was still too early for him to be discussing all this. Currently, he had no means to understand the answers given by the system nor could he truly imagine the power of Supreme realm beings.

The few people in the private room watched as Sheng Yi and his company walked into a different room, whispering among themselves.

Ma Jian Chou mocked, “Why is this bookworm at the Apricot Flower establishment today? He even brought along a group of trash.”

“Hah, they’re just some dogs from trashy families, only someone like Sheng Yi would curry favour with people like them.” Li Ming spoke as he took a yellow gourd from his bag, placing his pet cricket within it before throwing it at the side.

The people following Sheng Yi were trash that even Murong Lin was unwilling to recruit, they were either losers that were ostracised by certain clans, or members of isolated and fallen noble families. They were weak, had no influence or cultivation resources, and were considered to be the type of people that the second generation of the capital wouldn’t even bother to think about.

But, it was exactly these people who were the greatest of threats in Murong Lin’s eyes.

There was plenty of trash that was able to evolve into phoenixes and dragons, as long as they were next to the protagonist.

The trashy people who were recruited by Sheng Yi, a time traveller, would at least become heroes eventually, surpassing Ma Jian Chou and the rest of the second generation youngsters around them.

“What a pity, what a pity.” Murong Lin sat on his seat as he memorised the appearances of those three people, before turning his attention away from Sheng Yi’s private room. His true purpose in coming here today was to ensure that there weren’t any other protagonists here.

The 33 private rooms were filled with noblemen, and aside from the second generation, there were also a few people of the Hundred Flower sect that was backing the Apricot Flower establishment mixed in, as well as people from other countries and places aside from Yan here to join in on the fun.

The owner of the Apricot Flower establishment, a woman with a slim figure, walked out to stand at the central podium. Murong Lin could feel the strength of the peak Origin realm from her, but looking at her, he could tell that she was at least 60 years old, despite appearing no more than thirty.

The proprietress spoke a few words, adjusting the mood of the crowd and then swiftly left.

Afterwards, the four ladies came up to show their talents.

Yu Xiu’er had a solo stringed instrument performance, Ke Ren’er danced, Zhi Tian’er dipped her dainty feet in paint to draw, and Ru Meng’er performed a play.

Each of them was extremely skilled in their craft, inciting the cheers of all the men who were watching.

The extraordinary performance, even excited the guests in the 33 private rooms.

Ma Jian Chou leaned on the windows of the room, gawking at the performers on stage without blinking once, his drool on the verge of flowing out of his mouth. Li Ming was no exception, with his eyes fixated on the stage. Bai Xiao Xiao stayed seated, indifferent, while Zhou Miao also moved over to the window, with the cigarette in his mouth as he covered himself in smoke. Murong Lin’s legs were placed on the table, his back against the chair as he leisurely watched.

These women were incapable of arousing his interest anymore.

What he wanted, more than anything, was to be the strongest.

Neither the four esteemed courtesans nor the four beauties of the capital, all of whom he had seen before, could stir his heart.

Only Xue Lin Na, could affect him, and that too only due to the hatred and grudge inside his heart left by the original owner of this body.

“I’ll add another three thousand taels of gold!” A rough voice snapped Murong Lin back into reality, causing him to turn his head to the source.

As the currency of this world, silver and gold was used for trading by those in the Fetal Enigma realm, while those in the Nature Enigma realm circulated spiritual stones, which could also be absorbed by the cultivators.

Spiritual stones were one of the most valuable resources in this world, hidden deep in the earth in spiritual veins like minerals, they were hard to find, possessing a spiritual seal capable of avoiding the divine senses of the Origin realm. Spiritual veins or spiritual stones were capable of increasing one’s cultivation, and as long as they were absorbed during cultivation, the spiritual power increase was the equivalent of 10 days of cultivation. Also, a lower level spiritual stone was a day of cultivating in the Origin realm, and a higher level spiritual stone was a day of cultivation in the Sky Reaching realm.

As such, while three thousand taels of gold weren’t considered to be expensive to Murong Lin, who was a cultivator in the Origin realm, it was a lot of money to most of the people here. And the fact that this money was simply used to vote for a courtesan, which didn’t bring in any real value, was akin to throwing away money.

“Fuck, this idiot is really showing off his money! Did he go crazy for Zhi Tian’er?” Ma Jian Chou spoke incredulously, staring at a tall burly man from the opened window of his private room.

Li Ming shook his head, “You should know, that guy, Li Kai has a foot fetish. It’s already good enough that he didn’t become a dog in front of Zhi Tian’er’s feet, hahaha!” The two of them laughed obscenely.

Murong Lin looked into that room, there was an arrogant-looking man inside with a similar appearance to Murong Lin.

That was Murong Lin’s brother, the fifth prince, Murong Jue.

Murong Jue had an unruly personality that had no regard for anyone, and compared to the seventh prince, who had the same mother as him, he was much more violent and uncontrollable, and was seen as a lunatic. Like others, he too had a few rich disciples around him.

Murong Jue and Murong Lin were the same age, at 19 years old, and he had just entered the Origin realm with average talent. Li Kai was his head lackey, with the cultivation of the first layer of the Origin realm at 20 years old, and a father that was the third highest rank official at the department of state affairs.

Zhou Miao looked at the surroundings as he smoked, causing the surroundings to become hazy. Suddenly, his expression changed substantially and he hastily spoke, “It’s strange! The first prince is in the second private room, so who was the person in the first?”

All of them were shocked, and they quickly turned their heads to look. They had just noticed that the first prince and the sixth princess, along with the noblemen disciples, were the ones in the second private room, despite always being in the first.

Li Ming spoke dumbfoundedly, “That’s right, who is it?”

Bai Xiao Xiao stood up, looking into the private rooms in the surrounding area as his expression hardened, “It’s strange, there are too many people here today, all kinds of people are here.”

Hearing that, Murong Lin carefully surveyed his surroundings.

The royal family, the four great clans, the three great sects, and most of the noteworthy second generations were all here, even including some seniors.

And the first private room, the room that was regarded as the most prestigious, was actually not the place of the Murong family.

Who was it?

Murong Lin looked at the room, whose windows were closed, before turning his head to look at the first prince in curiosity. Obviously, they weren’t the only people who had noticed this strange situation. Most people were already aware and whispering among themselves, forgetting entirely about the oiran selection.

The owner of the Apricot Flower establishment had an expression of helplessness as she peeked at the first private room, before signalling for the last esteemed courtesan to enter the stage.

The previous three candidates, Yu Xiu’er had received 59,200 taels of gold, Ke Ren’er had received 61,000 taels of gold, and Zhi Tian’er got 63,000 taels of gold. Ru Meng’er would be the last to receive her votes.

Murong Lin held the fan in his head and lowered his head in thought, before raising the voting sign in his hand, shouting, “Ten thousand taels of gold.”

“Anti, what’s with the exclamation marks?” Murong Lin curiously asked.

He wasn’t shocked that Sheng Yi was already at the peak of the Crystalline realm, after all, as a protagonist it was normal to have a relatively higher cultivation base. He wasn’t surprised by the “knowledge of the future” talent either, since he was already sure that he was a time traveller-type protagonist. But, what on earth did the three exclamation marks mean?

“Ding! The exclamation marks are a cautionary warning, and the warning is as follows:

Sheng Yi is from a time period where master did not exist, which was 30 years in the future, and his cultivation had reached the Majestic realm at that point in time.”

“Majestic realm?” Murong Lin asked, his expression bewildered.

“The Majestic realm is the third realm of Abhij?ā Enigma realm. After the four realms of both the Fetal Enigma realm and the Nature Enigma realm, there is the Abhij?ā Enigma realm which is divided into the Abhij?ā realm, the Virtuality realm, the Majestic realm, and lastly the Tribulation realm. Each realm is then divided into nine layers, the first two correspondingly can utilise resources of the Barren level, and the last two can use the Vast level resources.”

“The sky is dark cyan, the earth is grey-yellow, and the universe was in a state of boundless chaos at the beginning of its formation? Is there another Enigma realm after that?” Murong Lin thought of something, and asked Anti.

“That is correct. There is the Supreme realm afterwards, divided into the Immortal Emperor realm, the Saint realm, the Godly Emperor realm, and the Supreme realm. The first three realms are divided into nine layers, and can use the resources of Cosmic level and the Universal level. Please note! The supreme realm is just a name, and it cannot be divided according to nine layers. At the same time, there can only be one Supreme realm in existence at any point in time. For another Supreme realm being to exist, the other must die first.”

“Oh? How would someone who is already at the Supreme realm die? How could an existence considered to be the strongest, die?”

“Killed by enemies outside of the heavens, or by the universe themselves.”

Murong Lin decided to stop asking, it was still too early for him to be discussing all this. Currently, he had no means to understand the answers given by the system nor could he truly imagine the power of Supreme realm beings.

The few people in the private room watched as Sheng Yi and his company walked into a different room, whispering among themselves.

Ma Jian Chou mocked, “Why is this bookworm at the Apricot Flower establishment today? He even brought along a group of trash.”

“Hah, they’re just some dogs from trashy families, only someone like Sheng Yi would curry favour with people like them.” Li Ming spoke as he took a yellow gourd from his bag, placing his pet cricket within it before throwing it at the side.

The people following Sheng Yi were trash that even Murong Lin was unwilling to recruit, they were either losers that were ostracised by certain clans, or members of isolated and fallen noble families. They were weak, had no influence or cultivation resources, and were considered to be the type of people that the second generation of the capital wouldn’t even bother to think about.

But, it was exactly these people who were the greatest of threats in Murong Lin’s eyes.

There was plenty of trash that was able to evolve into phoenixes and dragons, as long as they were next to the protagonist.

The trashy people who were recruited by Sheng Yi, a time traveller, would at least become heroes eventually, surpassing Ma Jian Chou and the rest of the second generation youngsters around them.

“What a pity, what a pity.” Murong Lin sat on his seat as he memorised the appearances of those three people, before turning his attention away from Sheng Yi’s private room. His true purpose in coming here today was to ensure that there weren’t any other protagonists here.

The 33 private rooms were filled with noblemen, and aside from the second generation, there were also a few people of the Hundred Flower sect that was backing the Apricot Flower establishment mixed in, as well as people from other countries and places aside from Yan here to join in on the fun.

The owner of the Apricot Flower establishment, a woman with a slim figure, walked out to stand at the central podium. Murong Lin could feel the strength of the peak Origin realm from her, but looking at her, he could tell that she was at least 60 years old, despite appearing no more than thirty.

The proprietress spoke a few words, adjusting the mood of the crowd and then swiftly left.

Afterwards, the four ladies came up to show their talents.

Yu Xiu’er had a solo stringed instrument performance, Ke Ren’er danced, Zhi Tian’er dipped her dainty feet in paint to draw, and Ru Meng’er performed a play.

Each of them was extremely skilled in their craft, inciting the cheers of all the men who were watching.

The extraordinary performance, even excited the guests in the 33 private rooms.

Ma Jian Chou leaned on the windows of the room, gawking at the performers on stage without blinking once, his drool on the verge of flowing out of his mouth. Li Ming was no exception, with his eyes fixated on the stage. Bai Xiao Xiao stayed seated, indifferent, while Zhou Miao also moved over to the window, with the cigarette in his mouth as he covered himself in smoke. Murong Lin’s legs were placed on the table, his back against the chair as he leisurely watched.

These women were incapable of arousing his interest anymore.

What he wanted, more than anything, was to be the strongest.

Neither the four esteemed courtesans nor the four beauties of the capital, all of whom he had seen before, could stir his heart.

Only Xue Lin Na, could affect him, and that too only due to the hatred and grudge inside his heart left by the original owner of this body.

“I’ll add another three thousand taels of gold!” A rough voice snapped Murong Lin back into reality, causing him to turn his head to the source.

As the currency of this world, silver and gold was used for trading by those in the Fetal Enigma realm, while those in the Nature Enigma realm circulated spiritual stones, which could also be absorbed by the cultivators.

Spiritual stones were one of the most valuable resources in this world, hidden deep in the earth in spiritual veins like minerals, they were hard to find, possessing a spiritual seal capable of avoiding the divine senses of the Origin realm. Spiritual veins or spiritual stones were capable of increasing one’s cultivation, and as long as they were absorbed during cultivation, the spiritual power increase was the equivalent of 10 days of cultivation. Also, a lower level spiritual stone was a day of cultivating in the Origin realm, and a higher level spiritual stone was a day of cultivation in the Sky Reaching realm.

As such, while three thousand taels of gold weren’t considered to be expensive to Murong Lin, who was a cultivator in the Origin realm, it was a lot of money to most of the people here. And the fact that this money was simply used to vote for a courtesan, which didn’t bring in any real value, was akin to throwing away money.

“Fuck, this idiot is really showing off his money! Did he go crazy for Zhi Tian’er?” Ma Jian Chou spoke incredulously, staring at a tall burly man from the opened window of his private room.

Li Ming shook his head, “You should know, that guy, Li Kai has a foot fetish. It’s already good enough that he didn’t become a dog in front of Zhi Tian’er’s feet, hahaha!” The two of them laughed obscenely.

Murong Lin looked into that room, there was an arrogant-looking man inside with a similar appearance to Murong Lin.

That was Murong Lin’s brother, the fifth prince, Murong Jue.

Murong Jue had an unruly personality that had no regard for anyone, and compared to the seventh prince, who had the same mother as him, he was much more violent and uncontrollable, and was seen as a lunatic. Like others, he too had a few rich disciples around him.

Murong Jue and Murong Lin were the same age, at 19 years old, and he had just entered the Origin realm with average talent. Li Kai was his head lackey, with the cultivation of the first layer of the Origin realm at 20 years old, and a father that was the third highest rank official at the department of state affairs.

Zhou Miao looked at the surroundings as he smoked, causing the surroundings to become hazy. Suddenly, his expression changed substantially and he hastily spoke, “It’s strange! The first prince is in the second private room, so who was the person in the first?”

All of them were shocked, and they quickly turned their heads to look. They had just noticed that the first prince and the sixth princess, along with the noblemen disciples, were the ones in the second private room, despite always being in the first.

Li Ming spoke dumbfoundedly, “That’s right, who is it?”

Bai Xiao Xiao stood up, looking into the private rooms in the surrounding area as his expression hardened, “It’s strange, there are too many people here today, all kinds of people are here.”

Hearing that, Murong Lin carefully surveyed his surroundings.

The royal family, the four great clans, the three great sects, and most of the noteworthy second generations were all here, even including some seniors.

And the first private room, the room that was regarded as the most prestigious, was actually not the place of the Murong family.

Who was it?

Murong Lin looked at the room, whose windows were closed, before turning his head to look at the first prince in curiosity. Obviously, they weren’t the only people who had noticed this strange situation. Most people were already aware and whispering among themselves, forgetting entirely about the oiran selection.

The owner of the Apricot Flower establishment had an expression of helplessness as she peeked at the first private room, before signalling for the last esteemed courtesan to enter the stage.

The previous three candidates, Yu Xiu’er had received 59,200 taels of gold, Ke Ren’er had received 61,000 taels of gold, and Zhi Tian’er got 63,000 taels of gold. Ru Meng’er would be the last to receive her votes.

Murong Lin held the fan in his head and lowered his head in thought, before raising the voting sign in his hand, shouting, “Ten thousand taels of gold.”

Translator’s note

TL: Puttty

Proofreader: Nyx