Spoiler The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System

YQY is the root of all evil in the original book. this is fact. everything that led LBH to become the way he is in PDIW is because YQY chose his guilt over doing the right thing. He is the Sect Leader, it is his JOB AND DUTY to protect EVERYONE in CCS. But he chose to facilitate his guilt, treating Shen Jiu as - not even as his own person, because he doesn't see SJ as SJ anymore, only a ghost of him - as a blade to run himself through again and again. YQY at his core does not want to be happy, and makes Shen Jiu unhappy in cause. This leads LBH to become a victim of their relationship. He is a casualty of theirs, an afterthought. SJ should not be forgiven for his wrongs, but its good to understand that SJ's in the end was a victim of YQY and his unwillingness to let himself be forgiven. YQY wanted the guilt, wanted SJ's hatred. Again, he doesnt want to be happy. And he didnt care if that ruined Shen Jiu, too.

also shen jiu only ever physically abused etc LBH specially. he did hinder his other above average students' cultivation but he never beat them or etc like he did LBH. LBH alone is special, bc its LBH who is exceptionally talented (as the protagonist). LBH is the one whose circumstances remind Shen Jiu of HIMSELF, and that is why he abuses him. It's not even hatred, he never cared about LBH enough to hate him. He abuses and punishes LBH, but he only sees the old shadow of his past self in him, not LBH himself. The text never says he gave the same treatment to his other students that he did LBH (again he has to be the only one else it wouldnt be special), and i highly doubt he would have been able to get away with that much too lol

You said a person in authority should never act like that, and i agree, but who is the highest authority in the sect? who had the power to stop SJ? YQY holds the blame here, he did very wrong. he even admits it himself in the end, but what good does that do then? empty words only.

 

I think reading him as a “good” person if he “just didn’t do certain things” is to wipe out his personality completely and do a disservice to his character. He was born with a spiteful, scrappy personality. But he didn’t become this bitter until he thought that YQY, who he believed would come back for him, waiting for all those years, gave him up instead to be the head disciple of the top peak.

I’m not sure if you have read the entire extra or only translations, which has 2 more parts to go. But SJ said to YQY that it’s too late, it can’t be changed, what’s the point of saying all that *now*. Which... yeah. YQY could have stopped the abuse at any point (see: the opening chapters) but he didn’t.

It’s never said that he abused any of his disciples to the same extent as LBH in the novel. And honestly he had no reason to. If you think about it from a narrative sense, it wouldn’t make any sense if he went willy-nilly abusing everyone the same way, cos then what’s the point of the protagonist. (A protagonist has to be special.)

And now to what’s actually in-text canon: he saw LBH in himself, except that this kid had a mom who loved him, except this kid had such a strong foundation, started cultivating at the right time, not like him who was too late. He sabotaged him as a kind of petty revenge because he never had those things.

But he doesn’t care about LBH as much as people seem to think. The only person he has any true emotions for is YQY. He broke down when he saw the broken pieces of YQY’s sword. LBH was just collateral damage.

Anyway, I don’t like saintifying SJ any more than you do — he’s a trashfire made even worse by YQY’s hand, but to raise YQY as some kind of saint as some folks like to do, is to miss the point of the QiJiu chapter. Sometimes, the worst offenders are bystanders who don’t *do* anything. And it’s worse because he’s in a position of power.

 

Well. I won't really argue anymore but I just want to say that I agreed with most of claudine's post other than the one I pointed out. But it was clear to me that you guys are so intent on pushing the blame on YQY that it felt like your defending SQQ's actions. SQQ was an adult. YQY enabled him, yes, but in the end SQQ abused LBH by his own choice. Because he was a petty person who was angry at LQG and jealous at LBH's potential. That is. And by hindering his other disciples' developments, wasn't that an abuse too, especially that he was a teacher? Or is it that excusable because no physical beatings was involved?

Like what I just said, SQQ had the chance to become a decwnt person, especially when he became a peak lord and a respected one. But he still continued his petty ways. And he didn't need to abuse five or more disciples under him, just abusing one for years and enabling and encouraging Ming Fan and his other students to bully a small and weak child was enough to know that he was a horrible person. If LBH wasn't the protagonist of a Xianxia novel, he could very well be an abuser like SQQ.

 

I...what? When did we ever say that we excuse SQQ or forgive him? Divvani, Claudine and myself all said he's irredeemable. He's trashfire. He's scum. All of us acknowledge that. We are not excusing him whatsoever. Its just that, in your explanation, it sounded like your pushing all the blame on SQQ, saying that YQY's faults was exaggerated, for what happened to LBH and the events around them, when in-text, that is absolutely not true.

SQQ could have become a decent person, yes absolutely, but in his circumstances, with his backstory and personality, that will not happen. Not while all the power goes to YQY. Not when SQQ is basically playing in a sandbox YQY made for him. Has it never occurred to you, that everything SQQ did, it was because YQY allows it? In YQY's quest to absolve his guilt, he gave SQQ free reign to an innocent child. He had no right to do that. Both are terrible people. SQQ and YQY both.

I have no doubt that fanfic writers tend to turn SJ into a martyr, as what you've said. People love sob stories. But see, by thinking that SQQ could have become a rational person would take away their entire chatacterization, as explained in the QiJiu extra.

SJ and LBH are both too emotional, they fail at thinking rationally. YQY and SY, on the other hand have high sympathy, but low empathy. They see, but they don't understand. The QiJiu extra are set as foils to BingQiu. One ended in tragedy, another a happy ending.

We were never meant to excuse any of their actions. SJ is a terrible person, YQY is a terrible person, LBH and SY are slightly better because they actually communicate after massive misunderstandings. So many things could happen, if only they could talk to each other and listen. SJ is not a rational adult, the only person he would ever talk and listen to is YQY. Anything YQY says, no matter how asinine, he would do. And by saying that he could have become a good person after becoming peak lord, is shallow, because you're ignoring the very reason he went to CQ sect in the first place. SQQ doesn't care about other people, he only has eyes for YQY.

If he acted rationally, he would not have gone to CQ, would not have ended a bitter man, would not have died so tragically waiting for one person who only comes when he doesn't want him to come, and leave when he wants him to stay.

SQQ is an interesting character, but a good person he is not. Don't wave away what the author had painstakingly build up to, and then say things like, "If only he was etc". But ahhh, different strokes for different people I guess. Perhaps, since you like to point out that things would have been better if he acted rationally, you should write a redemption fic for SJ. Since you're ignoring why he is what he is.

 

Nah, all I'm saying that while YQY enabled him, it was SQQ's choice to abuse LBH. It seems that we're misunderstanding each other's words. Both are to blame for what happened but the one who chose to ruin and abuse LBH and tried to kill him by pushing him to the Abyss was SQQ.

I just don't like how some fanfic writers are making SQQ looked like an misunderstood person and some were even pushing all the blame on YQY and sometimes LBH(!) when Airplane bro was very clear that in the end, despite his past, deep down SQQ was a horrible person and a scumbag.

 

From what I understand.. some of the bad things SQQ did in the original story is
1) he abused lbh horribly because he was jealous?! *or was there another reason?*
2) he killed his adoptive family..*but in self defense*
3) he killed LQG but again..in self defense?!
Also in the novel it was mentioned that he tried to molest NYY **is this true as well?**
And just out of curiosity did he ever do anything good??

 

Who were the two strays LBH brought with him into the mausoleum?

 

Qiu Haitang and Old Palace Master O__O unless I’m highly mistaken

 

This is true.

Also true.

Nope. In fact, in the Airplane extras, the author saw Shen Jui/originalShen Qingqiu save Liu Qingge's life (or at least save him from being injured). Also, the author warned him: "If one day you meet someone who went into qi deviation, don't panic, and don't rush over to help." Since Airplane is the author, he knows that, in fact, SJ did not murder LQG. SJ tried to HELP but LQG still died!

IIRC, there was no mention of molestation, just that he was LBH's love rival for NYY. Do you remember which part said he molested NYY?

He did a lot for the sect and his disciples (except for LBH). He actually did save LQG at least once. The author, who knows everything about Shen Jui since he was the one who created the plot, seemed to think that Shen Jui was worth trying to save and warned him about Qi Deviation.

When he was imprisoned, he tried to save YQY by trying to break off their friendship but it didn't work.

 

so he actually did try to save LQG o.o

Oh and yeah I dont remember what chapter but Shen Yuan mentioned that SQQ tried to force himself on her and almost succeeded..and that's why he wanted to have sqq um uh castrated

 

I think it was in general:

 

Whenever i read cultivation story, whether it's BL or no, I never understand where do those sects get their money. Do the fund come from donation, protection fee or selling something? Some story have peak that focus on medicine and they sell it to public, what what else?

And the cultivation world also doesn't mix with mortal world, but with the large scale destruction/war/battle like in FoD, surely the government/emperor minimal will check or something

 

Buckle up, this is going to be a long post.

Alright, I'm going to butt in here for a second. Shen Jiu was *technically* a misunderstood character by the standards of the knowledge known by the reader without reading the extras. He is presented as a shallow cannon-fodder material cultivator who eventually served as a stepping stone for BingGe in Proud Immortal Demon's way. He is not, however, as his past is gradually revealed and we learn of his original thoughts and motivations.

Shen Jiu saved and tried to save Liu QingGe twice! The first instance was in the Airplane extras:

"Shang Qinghua was laying on the ground with his eyes locked on the two. He saw the whole thing clearly. By Liu Qingge's side was a faint white shadow, Shen Qingqiu crossed Liu Qingge's shoulder and shattered the shadow.

Seeing the battle between the two creating a deadly atmosphere, Shang Qinghua could no longer pretend to have fainted. He sat up and weakly called out: "Brother Liu, you've misunderstood. He was--"

Shen Qingqiu flicked his hand, and the wall next to Shang Qinghua's head instantly cracked, ashes being kicked in the air."

And the second instance, of course, we all remember was Liu QingGe's qi deviation. The succubus extras shows that Shen Jiu's original soulmate was Qiu Haitang, the only woman he had ever loved, and whom he spared during the massacre of the Qiu family.

As per headcannon of a friend of mine, Shen Jiu was more comfortable with the girls of his sect because they reminded him of Qiu Haitang - while only speculation, makes sense for Shen Jiu - seeing as he saved and attempted to save a man who he would otherwise despise.

Another point being, Shen Jiu was abused as a child. While this has all been said before, I'm not sure you understand the extent to what child abuse can do to someone. You can see it in BingGe, who went on to kill many, many, people + turning Shen Jiu into a human stick - you can see it in several documentaries on TV of school shooters or mass murderers.

Having an already fragile mindset, being left behind by Yue QingYuan tore his whole world apart. He developed an insecure, selfish, and paranoid attitude which can be attributed to many different types of mental disorders: Schizoid, borderline, take your pick. And there was no psychiatrists or even anyone at the time for him to confide in this about. Mental disorders are extremely serious, and not to be taken lightly. Especially ones that persist for a long time - like in Shen Jiu's case.

Take Andrea Yates. Back in 2001, she confessed to the drowning of five of her children while her husband was at his job. It was a horrible and sickening thing for her to do. As quoted from Wikipedia,

"She graduated from Milby High School in 1982. She was the class valedictorian, captain of the swim team, and an officer in the National Honor Society."

Long story short, she was an extraordinary woman. She became a well-established doctor and knew many people. Yet, what drove her to this? Killing all her children? At age seventeen, Andrea Yates suffered from depression which both gradually and abruptly worsened through the years with the birth of her children and the refusal to receive medication.

She was further influenced by a cult her husband, and later her, religiously followed. This cult constantly sent her mild to serious degrading letters - which repeatedly said, essentially, she a terrible, terrible, person. The only way to redemption is to commit suicide. This cult also rejected the use of medications, which Andrea so direly needed to stabilize her mental state.

So this cult, along with her refusal to take medication for years, finally came to a breaking point in 2001, the incident where she killed all five of her children on a Friday morning. (For more information on this, go to )

Was Andrea Yates a inherently evil person? The answer to that is no, she wasn't.

And to think, the Qius were so horrible that it drove Shen Jiu to the point of berserking and massacring the entire household? He couldn't have been older then eighteen, let alone have even the raw power to actually kill them all? My point being, something ran him so entirely up the wall that him, a minor, most likely without any strong cultivation power, was able to murder multiple people without batting an eye.

So was Shen Jiu a inherently evil person? The answer to that is no, he isn't. No one is born inheritantly evil. Do you understand why "he had the choice to become a decent person" is easier said then done? BingGe was a kid put at the wrong place at the wrong time, and Shen Jiu couldn't overcome his convoluted mindset.

SJ made the mistake of becoming his abusers in BingGe's case.

Both of them misunderstood each other, which led to the bloody mess which is Proud Immortal Demon's Way.

I apologize in advance for grammar or spelling errors, thanks for coming to my TED talk.

Afterthought:

I personally love Yue QingYuan(as well as all SCV characters), so I really didn't appreciate all the blaming going on here. YQ is a great guy who made bad decisions. I do believe things would be solved a lot quicker if YQ wasn't so much of a sitting duck explaining himself to SJ, but "root of all evil" is stretching it a little.

Everyone is a little at fault in this situation, but fucking hell why is nobody blaming the goddamned Qius. They fucked everyone over okay

 

Speaking of Shen Jiu

 

It's not really discussed in the story. I think they don't need a lot of money since they avoid "worldly matters." The way this works in other stories I have read is that the sect has a territory that they govern directly and get taxes from that.

They also grow their own food in their own farms and make most of what they need. Like, in one of the extras, the bamboo house got damaged and Ming Fan said they were going to call An Ding Peak to fix it. An Ding Peak disciples take care of logistics i.e. making sure everyone is properly clothed, fed, and housed. I believe they are mostly self-sufficient.

 

An Ding Peak is actually the most important peak. /willdieonthishill

 

I notice you keep using Shen Jui, but his actual name is Shen Jiu, Jiu as in number nine

 

That's nothing. I often call Qingqiu, Qingqui. You know who I mean though, right?

 

Lmao so it's not just me xD

 

Mm, just checking if you knew or not, since your typos can be consistent throughout a post