He lifted his head and glanced around, but among the disciples serving at the side, he didn’t see anyone matching Charles Clark’s appearance. He feigned nonchalance and said, “Where is Charles Clark?”

Thomas Baker paused for a moment, looking at him with a strange expression.

John Sullivan remained calm on the surface, but was secretly puzzled. Could it be that the timing is off, and the protagonist hasn’t yet become a disciple of the Little Heaven Palace?

Thomas Baker said, “Junior brother, don’t be angry.”

A sense of foreboding welled up in John Sullivan’s heart.

“I know you don’t like him. But that child was born with poor aptitude and has already worked hard enough. Can’t you stop punishing him?”

John Sullivan’s lips went dry as he listened, and he licked them. “…Just tell me, where is he?”

Thomas Baker was silent for a moment, then said, “After you finished beating him and hanging him up, didn’t you always lock him in the woodshed?”

John Sullivan’s vision went black.

Author’s note:

☆, The Abused Protagonist (Bug Catching)

David Sullivan never understood what exactly someone as utterly scummy and self-destructive as John Sullivan was after.

In his previous life, John Sullivan came from a well-off family, more or less a minor rich second generation. He had two older brothers above him, who would surely inherit the family business in the future, and a younger sister below, who was doted on. Their relationships were all quite good.

He had long known that even if he spent his whole life idling away, he’d never lack for food. Maybe because he grew up in a relaxed and comfortable environment, lacking competitive pressure, he always felt that as long as the total number of competitors was greater than ten, being in the top ten was a good result.

Therefore, he never had anything in common with people who liked to fight for supremacy.

The original John Sullivan had skills, seniority, and even a cultivated air of pretension. He lacked nothing in status or reputation, was supported by the greatest sect in the world and never had to worry about money. So why did he have to make life difficult for the protagonist, a mere nobody, always scheming about beating and scolding the protagonist, or ordering others to do so?

Even if Charles Clark was exceptionally talented and gifted, a total cheat… was there really any need to be this jealous?

But you couldn’t really blame this villain for being so tasteless. In the book, villains like him were as common as carp crossing the river, but he was especially lacking in class.

What could you do? The biggest boss in this book was the protagonist himself. How could a firefly dare to compete with the sun and moon?

He was revered in the cultivation world as the “Cultivated Sword,” so naturally his looks and bearing weren’t bad.

For example, right now, John Sullivan looked left and right, and even facing that brass mirror so blurry it looked like porridge, he was more or less satisfied.

This person had proper features, dark brows and eyes, a straight nose and thin lips, exuding a scholarly air. Plus, with a tall and well-proportioned figure, he could be considered a handsome man. Although his real age was unknown, this was a cultivation novel, and John Sullivan had mid-stage Golden Core cultivation, so he perfectly maintained a youthful appearance. He looked far better than he’d imagined when reading the book.

Though, of course, he couldn’t compare to Charles Clark.

The moment he thought of Charles Clark, John Sullivan’s head started to ache terribly.

He wanted to go see Charles Clark, who was currently locked in the woodshed, but as soon as he took a step, that harsh warning tone sounded in his mind.

[Warning! OOC Warning! ‘John Sullivan’ would never take the initiative to visit Charles Clark.]

John Sullivan said sullenly, “Fine. Then I can at least send someone to call him here, right?”

He thought for a moment, then called out, “James Reed!”

Immediately, a boy of about sixteen, tall and thin, came in from outside and answered, “Disciple is here. What are your orders, Master?”

John Sullivan couldn’t help but look him over a couple more times. He found the boy’s appearance decent enough, though a bit sharp-featured and monkey-like, and sighed inwardly: truly the face of cannon fodder.

This was the original John Sullivan’s eldest disciple, Charles Clark’s senior brother, James Reed.

This was the legendary lowest-level cannon fodder!

Needless to say, things like locking Charles Clark outside the dorm at night or deliberately giving him the wrong entry-level manuals—he was always involved in planning and carrying out these acts. Whenever John Sullivan got the urge to torment Charles Clark, his most reliable assistant and most enthusiastic supporter was always this guy.

Given this character’s fate in the original, John Sullivan couldn’t help but look at the boy with a bit of shared misery: “Go bring Binghe here.”

James Reed was full of doubts: whenever Master called Charles Clark before, it was always “that little beast,” “wretch,” “brat,” “boy”—he’d hardly ever used his real name, so why was he suddenly calling him so intimately?

But his master’s orders were not to be questioned, so he immediately jogged to the woodshed and kicked the door twice: “Come out! Master wants to see you!”

John Sullivan paced in the room, while in his mind he was fervently studying the system.

The system dutifully answered his questions.

[B-level, that is, the style of pretending to be cool. The higher the B-level, the more high-end, grand, and classy you are.]

So, how could he raise his B-level?

[1. Change idiotic plotlines, raise the intelligence of villains and supporting characters; 2. Avoid landmines; 3. Ensure the protagonist’s satisfaction; 4. Fill in plot holes that haven’t been revealed.]

John Sullivan analyzed each point carefully.

In other words, not only did he have to clean up the mess left by the original John Sullivan, who had made enemies everywhere, he also had to save other characters from making more messes;