A momentous event was unfolding on Mount Wudang. It was the return of Zhang Cuishan, who had been absent from the Central Plains for 16 years (10 years in the original text), accompanied by his wife, Yin Susu.
In the main hall, Zhang Sanfeng and Zhang Cuishan were engaging in a tearful reunion, their hands clasped in a heartwarming embrace. In a corner, a young disciple, seventeen or eighteen years old, clad in a disciple's Taoist robe, his hair tied in a bun, his face as handsome as jade, with a hint of bewilderment in his refined features, was observing the unfolding drama before him.
If one were to ignore the perplexed expression on his face, he could be considered a handsome youth.
Gu Hanyu had never expected to wake up and find himself caught in a legendary time travel event. The scenes unfolding before him were all too familiar.
The elder seated at the head was tall and imposing, his hair and beard silvered, his face smooth and rosy, like a legendary figure with white hair and youthful complexion. This was none other than Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of the Wudang sect.
The five figures behind Zhang Sanfeng, each radiating a powerful aura and possessing an extraordinary presence, were presumably the five remaining members of the Seven Wudang Swordsmen, excluding Zhang Cuishan and Yu Daiyan.
The other protagonist in the scene, exuding a scholarly air, with a slender frame and a handsome countenance, was Zhang Cuishan. Compared to the other five swordsmen present, his appearance was simply incomparable. It was no wonder that Zhang Sanfeng cherished this fifth disciple the most.
Of course, the one who truly captivated Gu Hanyu's attention was the dazzling woman standing behind Zhang Cuishan. Her jade cheeks were slightly thin, her brows gracefully arched, and a faint dimple appeared on her left cheek whenever she smiled. Although she was already a married woman, there was no sign of age on her face, instead, she possessed a mature charm.
The woman was Yin Susu, Zhang Cuishan's wife. While her expression was slightly tense, it did not diminish her elegance. She surpassed even the most beautiful internet celebrities created by modern beauty filters, especially her natural beauty, like a lotus emerging from clear water. It was no wonder that Gu Hanyu was mesmerized.
Yin Susu seemed to sense Gu Hanyu's slightly impolite gaze. She furrowed her brows, turned her head to see that it was a handsome young Taoist, and her mood improved somewhat. Indeed, beauty standards reigned supreme everywhere.
However, being scrutinized for so long, while feeling a hint of pride in her enduring charm despite her age, Yin Susu was also filled with discontent. Unfortunately, this was not the time to express it. After years of being a wife and mother, her former fierceness and impulsiveness had softened. Just as Zhang Sanfeng began a conversation with her, she pretended to ignore Gu Hanyu's gaze.
Although Gu Hanyu was drawn to Yin Susu, he wasn't oblivious to the extent of his gaze. Upon closer inspection, one could see that his focus was not entirely on Yin Susu.
Just then, Gu Hanyu awakened his non-late-arriving cheat — the Villain System.
This system didn't issue various tasks or impose penalties like annihilation. It had a simple setting. Completing villainous actions would earn him evaluations. The higher the evaluation, the more villain points he would receive.
Villain points could be used to exchange for various existing martial arts, items, and directly improve his cultivation level. He could also use them to perform simulations to obtain things that met his needs. Simply put, as long as he had enough villain points, it was no different from wishing, and even cultivating immortality in a martial world was not a difficult task.
The system even provided a friendly reminder: Villains and protagonists are opposed to each other, and anything related to the protagonist is more likely to receive high evaluations.
After a moment of contemplation, Gu Hanyu realized the potential for manipulation. The protagonist's opportunities, love life, were all his prey, essentially like a crop of leeks. Given the protagonist's nature, they would undoubtedly grow back after being cut down.
Expanding his thinking, not only the protagonist, but also the supporting characters could be harvested as leeks. With proper planning, even the original villains could become his leeks.
Gu Hanyu's eyes darkened. He decided to replace all the villains and become the ultimate villain.
Looking at the couple, Zhang Cuishan and Yin Susu, his mind raced.
“Since the protagonist, Zhang Wuji, is not present, I'll use you two as my first experiment. As the protagonist's parents, you fit the villain's goals in both sentiment and reason.”
Zhang Cuishan was overwhelmed with joy at the reunion with his master and brothers, but he suddenly felt an inexplicable chill down his spine. Yin Susu, too, subconsciously rubbed her arms, causing Zhang Sanfeng and the others to assume they had caught a chill from the long journey.
Soon, the couple was led to rest, and the others dispersed. However, with Zhang Sanfeng's hundredth birthday approaching, everyone had their own tasks to attend to.
Gu Hanyu discovered that he had been brought to this world by the system long ago, but due to the mysteries of his prenatal period, he hadn't awakened his past life memories. While he was curious about how he had died in his previous life, collecting intelligence was now a higher priority.
Gu Hanyu discreetly questioned a few younger disciples, finally understanding the situation and discovering some unexpected things.
First, this world was not the "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" world he had expected. It was a comprehensive martial arts world that integrated multiple wuxia worlds, including Qiao Feng, who could strike down dragons with his palm, Guo Jing and Huang Rong, who guarded Xiangyang, and even Tie Dan Shen Hou and the four-eyebrowed Lu Xiaofeng, who held sway over the martial world.
Secondly, this world was much larger than the original world, with numerous kingdoms and chaotic place names. There were three Central Plains dynasties, Song, Ming, and Sui, as well as foreign dynasties like Jin, Qing, Mongols, and Xixia.
While Gu Hanyu was troubled by the chaotic situation, the good news was that the amount of leeks he could harvest had significantly increased.
Apart from this, there was information directly related to him. Gu Hanyu was a disciple Yu Daiyan, one of the Seven Wudang Swordsmen, had taken in after he became disabled. However, due to Yu Daiyan's disability, he was completely uninterested in teaching Gu Hanyu martial arts. Fortunately, as the acting leader, Song Yuanqiao had made an exception and allowed Gu Hanyu to view scriptures in the library, although he couldn't take them out.
In the martial world, having a master is vastly different from not having one. Simply relying on scriptures to master martial arts is an extremely rare occurrence. The most typical example is Mei Chaofeng, who transformed the Indestructible Claw into the Nine Yin White Bone Claw. It was no wonder that Gu Hanyu's original body had not cultivated internal energy.
Because he had no master to test him and rarely sparred with his fellow disciples, no one on Mount Wudang knew about Gu Hanyu's martial arts abilities. While Gu Hanyu was somewhat handsome, he was usually silent and wore a standard disciple's robe, making him practically invisible.
After obtaining enough intelligence, Gu Hanyu, when he had free time, first went to pay his respects to his adoptive master, Yu Daiyan. As expected, he was paralyzed in bed, his appearance emaciated. He didn't show much interest in Gu Hanyu's visit.
After a few insincere words of concern, Gu Hanyu noticed a dark glint in Yu Daiyan's eyes, indicating hidden worries. He had likely already met Zhang Cuishan and his wife and recognized Yin Susu as the one who had used poisoned needles to attack him. However, judging from the current peaceful atmosphere, he must have been hesitant to expose the matter out of brotherhood. But like a suppressed volcano, it would erupt sooner or later.