Date: 2024-06-24T14:54:35.611000+00:00

Information

Table of Contents URL: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/28601/arrogant-young-master-template-a-variation-4

Arrogant Young Master Template A Variation 4
by
LivingSpoon

Original HIATUS LitRPG
Ruling Class
Xianxia
Comedy
Male Lead
Adventure
Fantasy
Martial Arts
Slice of Life

What would a Xianxia MC do?

Seriously, what would they do? Asking for a friend.

1. Transmigration

*Screeching Sounds*
*Crash Effect*
*White Light!*

[...]

"Aah, I shouldn't have eaten that last burrito..."

[...]
[...]
[...]
[...]

[Integration Complete]
[System Online]
[Searching for a Host Body]

"Excuse me, what?"

[Possible host body found]
[Calculating rejection possibility]
[Possibility of rejection is at 0.005%]
[Host body confirmed]
[Soul migration starting]
[1%...5%....55%....99%....100%]
[Soul migration complete]
[Integrating remaining memories from the body into the soul]

"AAAAAHHHHH"

[Memory integration complete]
[Sync point confirmed and verified]
[Calibration started]

[Welcome]

"..."

A young man in his mid-20s slowly opened his eyes. He found himself sitting in the middle of a foreign courtyard, surrounded by exotic-looking trees and flowers. The only source of light seemed to be the unusually bright moonlight.

The young man took a deep breath and thought 'Why am I sitting in such a weird position?'

Wasn’t this the famous lotus position? He remembered trying it out once out of curiosity.

'Let's think back slowly. Am I dreaming? If not, where am I?

…I died, didn’t I? Then a creepy, menacing sounding voice said some stuff, now I'm sitting, wearing old fashioned clothes, in the middle of the mountains, apparently…’

While looking around, he glanced at the exotic tree. ‘…That tree is called Weathered Iron Bark and it’s sampling costs 200 thousand spirit stones! There are 15 fully grown ones here, very few sects could afford something like this.' Thought the young man with a strange sense of pride.

How did he know that?

*gasp*

'This is definitely transmigration, right? Think! Think! YES! MY NAME IS HHAAANNN!!! Wait that should be my family name, my full name should be Han De!'

Han De slowly stood up. The excitement was written all over his face. If anyone familiar with the previous owner of his body could see him right now, they would've been shocked.

Han De, before he became Han De, was just an average guy. In school his grades were average. In the workplace his performance was average. His favorite pastime and longtime obsession were Xianxia web novels. He would read them during his breakfast, commute, and lunch breaks, he would read while walking home after work with a burrito in his hands. He was so dedicated that he even started learning Chinese! Unfortunately, laziness was one of his defining characteristics, so he ended up dabbling in the dark arts of MTL, being content with losing his brain cells.

'Transmigration usually involves a cheat, doesn't it? I wonder if I have one, wait didn't I hear something like a system?'

[Welcome]

'...'

'W-why is your voice so creepy?! Shouldn't your voice be like a robotic lady instead of this robotic demon from hell? Is there a preset for this?'

Naturally, there was no response. Han De quietly checked his status.

[Name: Han De]
[Race: Human]
[Sex: Male]
[Age: 26]

[Cultivation: Core Formation - Mid-Stage (3741/500000)]
[Constitution: None]
[Bloodline: None]
[Roots: Pending Calibration]

[Fame: Cloudy Mountains: 500]
[Sect: Starfall Mountain Sect (21st Core Elder)]

[Cultivation Methods]
-------------------------------------
[Starfall Scripture (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Comprehension: Intermediate (24/32)]
[Stage: Core Formation (Mid-Stage)]

[Martial Arts Methods]
-------------------------------------
[Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword (Self-Made)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Comprehension: Intermediate (2/10)]
[Stage: Core Formation (Mid-Stage)]

[Skills]
[ - ]

[Fate]
[Pending Calibration]

[Experience Points: 0]
[Skill Points: 0]

[Evaluation: Pending Calibration]

'Alright, not bad, but… I am at Core Formation realm. Hmm? This doesn't seem right.'

Han De realized he, or rather his body, had some information related to the cultivation of this world.

Core Formation was the 3rd major stage in cultivation, following Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment. These people were considered to be the core pillars of a normal sect and were quite costly to raise. Even if a sect could afford to raise many of them, they would still have to find people with exceptional talents first.

Ordinary cultivators would usually get stuck in the Qi Condensation realm. Those with good talents with some luck could end up at the peak of Foundation Establishment. Only those with great talents could have any hope of forming a Core. Even then, sects of this world wouldn't nurture these people. They would usually end up staying in the Foundation realm and become low-level elders. Reaching the Core Formation realm would depend on their merit. The lucky ones would finally form a Core at the end of their lives and enjoy their extended lifespan as respected elders of a sect.

Most of this information was irrelevant, or should’ve been irrelevant in his case. Wouldn’t a transmigrator get a body that was supposed to be trash anyway? Wasn't he, as the newly minted protagonist, supposed to use the system to get a disgusting number of power-ups, and wipe out the ones that bullied and offended “him” to the 9th generation of their families?

Han De stopped pacing after realizing he had started nervously moving around within the courtyard. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. After combing through the merged, yet still fragmented memories, he realized the gist of the situation.

His father was the current sect leader, and his grandfather was one of the core reserves that were in secluded meditation with all the other old monsters. Vast amounts of resources of the family resources were dedicated to him, and a considerable amount of sect resources was dedicated to him since his childhood. Even an ordinary cultivator would advance pretty quickly with these resources, but Han De was also a true cultivation genius! 2 years ago, after reaching the Core Formation stage he became the youngest core elder in the sect history!

However, previous Han De was arrogant. He wouldn't even look at outer sect disciples, let alone ordinary cultivators! The Han family was known to be a domineering force. Few dared to offend them. The Starfall Mountain Sect had the respect that few sects could enjoy. Although it was considered to be a mid-size sect, its foundation was known to be extremely deep. Even though they had over a million cultivators they were still known as a sect that valued quality over quantity.

Han De had a high amount of pride in being the prodigy of the Han family and the Starfall Mountain Sect. People that offended him would get beaten half to death by his subordinates. Han De himself sometimes personally crippled people that dared to not give him face!

The courtyard Han De was currently at was inside the abode of the previous Han De. Although he called it an abode, it was more of a giant estate within the sect boundaries. From the expensive decorations, to the spirit spring right behind him, just this 'abode' alone was worth more than a small sect!

'… This doesn't look like an MC template. No matter how I look at it, I seem like an Arrogant Young Master A that offends the MC and dies a few dozen chapters in…'

Han De nervously chuckled. The shock of transmigration had not dissipated yet. Many revelations one after the other felt unreal.

‘Alright, let’s test this. Didn’t that guy used to sit right there?’

His eyes went to the spirit spring at the center. In his memories, the previous owner of the body would often sit in the lotus position, and silently cultivate there for days, without the slightest worry in the world. No one would dare disturb the cultivation of the next heir of the sect, after all.

Han De took a deep breath and replicated the same motions from his memories. Unexpectedly, entering the state of meditation was like second nature to him. All he needed to do was to recall the feeling of cultivation from his memories.

Breathing in and out, circulating the energy through his meridians, exhaling the filtered stale spiritual energy… Everything was really as easy as breathing! Finally, after 10 minutes, his first cultivation cycle was complete!

'Damn, this really is cultivation!'

Excited by the result, he continued.

1 cycle.

2 cycles.

3 cycles.

4 cycles.

5 cycles.

6 cycles.

7 cycles.

8 cycles.

9 cycles.

10 cycles.

11 cycles.

12 cycles.

13 cycles.

14 cycles.

15 cycles.

16 cycles.

17 cycles.

18 cycles.

19 cycles.

20 cycles.

21 cycles.

22 cycles.

23 cycles.

24 cycles.

25 cycles.

26 cycles.

27 cycles.

28 cycles.

29 cycles.

30 cycles.

31 cycles.

32 cycles.

33 cycles.

34 cycles.

35 cycles.

36 cycles.

"AAAH I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!! Why is this so boring?! How could this guy cultivate for a whole day like this?! I did 37 cycles, 1 cycle is about 10 minutes, which means I've been cultivating for more than 6 hours!” Han De couldn’t help but sigh. “At least that should've made some dent, right? Status!"

[Cultivation: Core Formation - Mid-Stage ((+26)3767/500000)]

"Only 26?! 1 cycle doesn't even give 1 XP!?!?" Feeling irritated, Han De quickly started doing some math using his fingers.

"If it is 1 XP per 15 minutes then it would take me about 125000 hours to get 500000xp, if I could cultivate 18 hours per day then it would take me close to… 20 years… to get to the Advanced Core Stage…

S#$%! Wasn't this guy supposed to be a genius?! How did he reach the Mid-Core stage at 26?! Even if I gobble down an entire bottle a day, it wouldn’t even double the cultivation speed!”

Only when he heard the faint echo of his own voice, did Han De realize he had started speaking out loud from sheer frustration. What if someone that knew the previous owner of the body saw this sight?

Han De quickly closed his mouth and continued thinking about his current cultivation dilemma.

‘… Even if the required XP for the Mid-Core stage is lesser than the Advanced Core stage, it still should've taken this guy about a decade to reach it. What? Was he born in the Foundation Establishment realm or something? That doesn't seem to be the case looking at his childhood memories- wait!'

Han De started laughing and shouting like a maniac after remembering one crucial point.

"HAHAHAHAHA!

That's right! I got the system! I have the Experience and Skill points on my status screen. If I'm right, all I need to do is to hunt some spiritual beasts and skip all the boring cultivation! HAHAHA

Man, although this MC template is kind of wrong, with my system, I can have a truly easy life here! I'll just get some subordinates to capture some beasts! All I need is to be the last hitter. No one else can gain benefit from the last hit itself anyway! Perfect! The System truly is the best!"

[Calibration Complete]

[Fate Type: Calamity Attractor]
[Roots: Light (42%)]
[Evaluation: Extremely weak, destruction of the soul is inevitable]
[Considering Options...]
[Considering Options...]
[Considering Options...]
[Considering Options...]
[Considering Options...]

[Could not find a suitable option]

[Unlocking Unrivaled Master System]
[Removing Experience Points]
[Removing Skill Points]
[Activating Profound Points]
[Activating Privileges]
[Privilege Level: 1]
[Privilege level met, issuing the welcome gift box]

[Issuing First Quest]

[Quest: First disciple]
[Difficulty Level: Rating Requirements Not Met]
[Status: Issued]
[Summary: You are an elder in an extremely minor sect with extremely limited resources. As you are fated to attract calamities, with your weak cultivation and abysmal talent, your only hope is to foster strong disciples. Work hard.]

[Requirements: A disciple with over 30 total potential points]
[Time Remaining: 5 days]
[Success: 50 Profound Points]
[Failure: Removal of the System. As the System is completely integrated into the host's soul, removal will result in said soul's dissipation]

Han De stood in a daze. It was a lot to take in for him. He couldn't help but shudder when he read the words 'soul dissipation.’

'What the hell is a Calamity Attractor? I just transmigrated and this is what I get? Where is my cheat?! Where is my lottery system full of bullshit cheat items and scriptures?! Unrivaled Master System?! Can that even be considered a cheat?! Why did you remove my experience points?!?"

As Han De was complaining about how unfair life was, the sun was rising. As a Core Formation cultivator, he was acutely aware of his surroundings and felt a weak presence enter his abode. Slowly but surely, the presence was approaching the courtyard.

This was his first interaction with the people of this world, therefore Han De immediately collected himself. When he was alone, outbursts would be fine (probably), but he would rather not make a fool of himself in front of others!

From his memories, the previous Han De was an arrogant piece o... Ehm. The previous Han De was a young master, who always presented himself as an aloof expert. In dealings within his sect, he would usually adopt a faint smile, nod, and walk away.

Acting like someone else, Han De never tried anything like this before. Thankfully, he had the memories of the previous Han De. But, as he tried to find the correct posture to greet this visitor, he stumbled on a problem.

Having someone's memories and acting like that person were two different things.

After all, the current Han De wasn't Han De himself. He just had the memories of his predecessor, nothing more. The way he acted was still that of an average office worker. In fact, the first thing Han De considered was how firm his handshake should be while meeting this visitor!

‘… S#$%, this won’t do. This won’t do at all!’

Previous Han De was doted on by his family, if he started to act differently all of a sudden, the result would almost certainly be disastrous! Clearly, he had to tread carefully!

As Han De kept panicking inside while trying to pump himself up, the presence had already arrived.

A young disciple with grey robes and clear brown eyes, slowly entered the courtyard. Han De could tell this disciple was acting with the utmost respect. His posture while walking, and the crispness of his movements as he bowed, all spelled a substantial difference in status.

"Pardon for the interruption Elder De. Elder Yan wanted to inform you that the disciple acceptance ceremony is about to start. This year there seem to be disciples from prominent families that show some promise..."

Han De adopted a carefree expression and faintly smiled.

Though he had the memories of the previous Han De, the existence of a ceremony, let alone a disciple acceptance ceremony, hadn’t crossed his mind.

‘Right… Elders select disciples from this ceremony. Isn’t that exactly what I need right now?’

Ever since becoming an elder, the previous Han De rejected accepting a disciple in favor of advancing his own cultivation. He was a prodigy, after all. Even the idea of attending the event, he rejected without a second thought! Why would he waste his time with some ordinary trash? Those were his usual thoughts.

However, the current Han De got the feeling that he was supposed to attend this time, but he couldn't figure out why. His memory was too fragmented as a result of the merge, and he needed time to figure things out.

While he was in deep thought, the disciple in front of him was getting more anxious every passing second!

'Heavens! Why is Elder De staring at me with that creepy smile?! Did I somehow offend him?’ The disciple thought long and hard about his behavior. Yet he was certain that he never met the legendary young master of the Starfall Mountain Sect before this day!

He couldn’t look directly, of course, but the disciple noticed something peculiar about the young master Han De. ‘… H-Has he even blinked once?’

At that moment, the disciple was sure that he somehow offended the one person he shouldn’t have offended! ‘…Mom, Dad, I'm so sorry, I don't think I will be able to make it...'

Just as the disciple's legs started to give out, Han De made his decision.

"Alright, lead me to the selection area and start telling me about which families are attending, and who is showing promise."

Since he couldn’t remember if there was something the previous Han De was supposed to do at this event, he could only take care of his own predicament! This disciple selection event was like a godsend gift for his new quest.

And keeping this disciple close to him has advantages too. First, by interacting with a disciple of lower status, he could get a sense of how to act as the real Han De. Second, he could use him as a shield to prevent others from interacting with him. At least for the time being.

If an esteemed elder was walking and listening to some random disciple, wouldn’t other people think that he was listening to some important report? Wouldn’t it be very rude to interrupt them?

Of course, being an office worker, Han De was still thinking as a paper salesman. Walking to work was a natural action for him. Would a normal Core Formation realm cultivator, and an elder of sect no less, walk to the venue?

Unfortunately, the thought of flying towards his destination didn’t even enter his mind!

After hearing Han De's words, the disciple with the grey robes felt a chill running up his spine.

2. Disciple Acceptance Ceremony

Every year, tens of thousands of disciples would compete to enter the Starfall Mountain Sect, yet only a fraction of them would succeed in the end.

As a sect known for choosing quality over quantity, Starfall Mountain Sect would increase or decrease recruitment depending on their future agenda. Over time though, the number they accepted steadily decreased.

This year, like in the past hundred or so years, the sect chose to accept only a thousand disciples.

The recent version of the ceremony itself was a rather simple affair. Selections themselves were already handled by the minor elders over the course of a month. All that was left was for the final thousand initiates to don the sect colors and line up, so that the Core elders could take them in as direct disciples if they desired.

The venue of the ceremony reflected the grandeur of the Starfall Mountain Sect. Audience seats were originally made to hold over a million guests, and they were all made of high-grade white jade. Due to disuse, the floating secondary arenas were sealed by the power of space. The final thousand disciples only occupied a small section of the main arena.

Many roads inside the sect connected to this structure to signify its importance. A sect couldn’t survive without new disciples, and Starfall Mountain Sect knew this lesson well.

And yet, the ceremony nowadays was mostly held out of tradition, rather than being a grand affair.

Inside, sitting in luxurious-looking chairs, looking at the venue from above, yellow-robed elders of the Starfall Mountain were watching over the children as they lined up.

"Quality of this year's disciple is even worse than last year. If it wasn't for the Meng and Lin family children, it would have been a disgrace…" An elder sighed with emotion.

"Elder Xiao speaks the truth. I fear the overall quality of the new generations has been getting worse over the past few decades."

Elders inside started nodding with grave faces. Who among them wouldn’t know the significance of new disciples?

"That little Lin brat, his talent is quite good, but his temperament needs some work. Any takers on him?" This smiling elder was Ju Yang. He was respected by disciples but was a bit of an oddball among elders. Every year he would take a few new disciples without exception. His teaching methods were considered a somewhat unorthodox, but due to their effectiveness, no one would dare to say anything. Even as a cultivator, this elder would consider himself a teacher first.

Hearing his words, an elder with a magnificent mustache smiled. "Elder Yang, are you aiming for his fire roots? I would've thought you would aim for that little guy with the decent contrasting roots instead."

"Contrasting roots are interesting Elder Yan as you said. However, this year I am more interested in special bloodlines. As you know I specifically didn't select any disciples with special bloodlines for the past 20 years as I have accumulated new ideas. Now I feel the time is ripe for some experiments!"

*Cough* *Cough* "Ehm, Elder Yang always has profound ideas, I'm sur-…"

Elder Xiao was trying to change the subject until he saw something unexpected outside. An elder of the sect had their own dignity; they would seldom display their emotions, or allow them to affect their actions. Him stopping mid-sentence naturally attracted other elders’ attention and compelled them to seek the cause of this interruption.

What they saw outside using their spiritual sense, was the youngest elder in their sect history, walking towards the ceremony venue. The son of the current sect master, Elder De, listening to a gray-robed disciple, while walking!

Though they would never say it out loud, the arrogance of Elder De was well known. Some would even say well deserved. Why would someone of his stature, would deign mingle with the lesser crop?

Although as dignified elders they wouldn't listen in on another Elder’s conversation, they could still hear surrounding outside disciples' whispers with their powerful spiritual senses.

"I-is that Elder De?"

"W-what is he doing with the gray robe? How could that guy offend him this much?"

"What an idiot, even if you want to seek death don't seek it from Elder De…"

"Young Mast... I mean Elder De seems to be heading somewhere?"

"The way they are headed towards is the disciple ceremony…? That can't be right?"

The disciples near the path of Elder De were trying to retreat as inconspicuously as possible while trying to keep a cautious eye on the two. Knowing Elder De’s temperament, no sane disciple would risk walking on the same path! What if they offended Elder De by their very existence?!

Meanwhile, Han De couldn't figure out the situation he was in. He wasn't using his spiritual sense, as he thought listening to a private conversion without consent would be a serious invasion of privacy. Even if the other party was a disciple!

This much was obvious to him, the office worker.

That didn't prevent him from noticing their gaze, however. Everywhere they went, he felt the eyes of the disciples were following him. Occasionally, he tried to slowly look in the direction of these disciples, only to see them -aggressively- go about their business!

This caused no small amount of frustration! Han De was trying to learn how to act like old Han De, and couldn’t make swift head movements in fear of breaking his character and image! And thus, he couldn’t even catch a glimpse of these disciples with their swift movements!

While listening to the gray-robed disciples voice that was getting faster each passing minute, Han De saw an absent-minded girl walking towards them. Finally, there was someone he could get feedback from!

Just as they were about to pass each other, the girl raised her head and made eye contact with Han De. Being in character, Han De faintly smiled and even more faintly nodded to her, then casually walked past while maintaining his normal posture!

Success! Or so he thought, until he caught the girl’s expression from the corner of his eye. Not only all blood had drained from her face, but she looked as if she had eaten a bug!

‘…’

What was the appropriate Xianxia reaction to greeting a random disciple? Han De thought there was something wrong with this picture!

He searched his memory for any sort of interaction with the girl, but unfortunately, he couldn’t find any. Then he suddenly realized something. He hadn't looked in a mirror ever since he had arrived in this world!

Cultivating for 6 hours straight? He had already done that! But it didn’t even occur to him once to inspect his own body! Perhaps because everything about his body felt so natural, Han De had overlooked this. But it still seemed somewhat strange to forget something fundamental like that.

Some memories of the original Han De looking into a mirror resurfaced at once. Though it seems he looked rather nice, Han De realized something else! His body was of Asian descent!

Back on Earth, he would visit Chinatown every so often since it was close to where he lived. Seeing so many Asian people didn’t feel strange. And now that he thought about it, being an Asian in a Xianxia made some sense!

Then, he made another discovery.

‘S#$%! I grew up in Pennsylvania as a white dude! Some of these disciples look like they are the same person!?’

Couple with the fact that this was a completely another world, and fantasy world on top of that, and a Xianxia world on top of that, could it be that his aesthetic senses were skewed?

‘… Please don’t tell me this Han De is actually a legendary ugly face! F#$%... Everyone dotes on this guy; can they even tell him that he looks F#$% ugly?! F###$%... At least give an average-looking face! Motherf#$%&#!... Why did I transmigrate into this guy, I swear to god…’

Truly, it was a good thing that he was trying to stay in the character of the original Han De. Because he looked absolutely peaceful while cursing at his luck with everything he got!

Meanwhile, just after Han De passed the unassuming girl, everyone at ground zero was holding their breath.

"B-brother.."

"Youn... Elder De doesn't look at just any passing disciple… Let alone smile…"

"Did Elder De just…"

"Brother, he did"

"Heavens!"

The girl with the pale face dazedly looked at the five boys making a ruckus. She quickly realized they were the infamous Tan family quintuples. They were a sticky bunch; she and her friends had suffered from their persistent behavior for a while.

The quintuplets flinched once they saw the girl looking at them!

"S-sister. N-no! E-elder Sister! How do you do!”

"Elder sister please forgive these idiots, they are not worth your attention, I will discipline them when we get back, you don't have to worry!"

"Yes, now that Elder De claimed you as his woman, you don't have to worry about being bullied or anything."

"Yes, fear not elder sister, for we have the tightest lips in the sect!"

"Of course, who would seek death by angering Elder De's woman!"

The Tan brothers agreed with each other with profound expressions and quickly left. Other disciples near ground zero knew that the news would soon be known far and wide. A while after everyone left, the girl finally caught up to the meaning of the Tan brothers' conversion. Her pale blood drained face was now a deep shade of crimson as she looked towards where Han De went.

Elders inside the venue all had dark faces after inadvertently witnessing the commotion made by the disciples.

"Maybe we should decrease the number of disciples we take."

"Perhaps 500 would be fine for this year?"

"No, we already made the decision for 1000, if we went back, we would just lose face."

"Then we can reduce it starting next year, we should bring the matter forward at the meeting."

"If it is next year then I think even 500 is too much, perhaps 250, maybe a 100…"

Elder Yan was silent, but his liver was in pain. He knew that Han De didn’t wish to take in a disciple, but nevertheless, Han De was the sect leader’s only son. What could Elder Yan do but give him some face and send an invite?

The gray robe servant that he sent collapsed after Han De entered the venue. Did this brat take offense to not getting personally invited by an elder, and decided to take it out on that poor servant? Was he planning to interfere with the ceremony as well? Elder Yan started considering whether to appease Han De.

Meanwhile, Han De slowly climbed the stairs. Although his confidence was a little shaken, he decided not to take one experience into his heart. In his memories, there were no instances of the original being treated as ugly. It was true that he did not have any lovers, concubines, or Dao companions, but this wasn’t a surprise. The original guy was a cultivation maniac in his mid-20s; there weren’t a lot of interactions with peers of his age.

Han De walked toward the lounge with a carefree attitude. Confidence was one of the key elements of the original’s character, along with an unhealthy amount of pride, of course. While he was busying himself with his performance, a yellow-robed middle-aged man with a wuxia mustache stood up to greet him.

"Elder De, I didn't think you would attend the ceremony this year. Are you thinking about getting a disciple after all? Your self-created Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword is legendary, I'm sure any of these initiates would jump at the chance of becoming the first disciple of such a dashing figure!"

Han De looked relaxed on the outside, but inside he was racking his brain!

'Who is this wuxia uncle?! Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword is legendary?! Didn't the System say it was trash?! Wait, dashing figure? Did this wuxia mustache S#$% just throw some shade at me? Wait, S#$%, I need to respond!’

In a panic, Han De couldn’t think of how the cultivation maniac Han De would respond, rather his mind went back to the Xianxia’s he read.

"Although this elder reached the mid-stage of the Core Formation realm, this elder still needs some time to grasp more of the great Dao. Still, it is never a bad idea to check what the next generation is doing as I'm sure Elder Yan would agree."

For just a tiny sliver of a moment, Elder Yan had a look of disdain, then switched to a benign smile after seemingly remembering something. "You don't need to be humble yourself Elder De, you are the youngest elder in our long history, and your Sword Dao is among the strongest! But please, let us take a seat! It would be my honor to sit beside a dashing young figure like yours! Haha!"

Han De was delighted at first. 'ALRIGHT! Haha! I knew reading so many Xianxia novels would come in handy someday! I can bulls#$% my way through with this! It works! All I have to do is to put a stupid faint smile on my face!

... But, what’s with the ‘dashing figure' again. What did I do to this uncle? Is this an insult to my face, or just some kind of cheap flattery?' The conflicting feedback only served to confuse Han De. A faint frown appeared on his face, to the surprise of no one.

Elder Yan too noticed it, but gave up with a sigh from inside. He gave Han De enough face according to his own standards; what was he getting offended by? Still, he took a note of this so he could try to make amends later.

Han De took the seat right beside Elder Yan, and the discussion between the elders started anew.

"That kid with the scar doesn't seem that bad, he seems to have a type of Giant bloodline…"

"Oooh, I might get that, never had a Giant bloodline before!"

"If you really want ancient bloodlines, you should look at that little girl with Fairy bloodline, her talent is pretty good too."

"Fairy bloodline interferes with sword-based cultivations, it wouldn't be good for Elder Yang as he favors sword Dao, her Fairy bloodline isn't thin either."

"Elder Xiao, are you looking for a disciple this year?"

"Perhaps if I could find the right one. I'm looking for a pure elemental root, but contrasting or compound ones might be acceptable, but their quality must be rather high!"

"Then it means you are eyeing the Meng family heir are you not?"

The random elder smiled profoundly "Perhaps, we shall see…"

Listening to the conversations, Han De was a little shaken. 'How are you people even telling who has what bloodline?! Do all of you have a supermarket brochure in front of you or something? Why do I not have one?!'

After giving it some thought, Han De thought it was clear that they were using their spiritual sense.

By now, he had only spent about eight hours in this world, six of them were spent in bitter cultivation. The feeling of being an alien in a strange land grew as he interacted with more people, and listened to their conversations. Using spiritual sense in such circumstances… seemed risky!

What could he do with his spiritual sense, what type of actions were acceptable, what would offend people, he had no idea. He decided to do some experiments after the ceremony, using the relevant memories.

Then, his thoughts went to the quest and its requirement of 30 potential points. Surely, the System would have a status check function, right?

He looked at the girl that supposedly had the Fairy bloodline.

[Name: Hung An]
[Race: Human (99.4%) / Spirit Butterfly (0.6%)]
[Gender: Female]
[Age: 11]

[Cultivation: Qi Condensation (2/13) (31.12%)]
[Constitution: None]
[Bloodline: Minor Wood Fairy (false) - Concentration (27.5%)]
[Roots: Wood (26.1%) / Wind (14.7%)]

[Potential Points (Total: 10)]
[Will: 3]
[Talent: 2]
[Comprehension: 3]
[Luck: 2]

[Fate]
[Cannon fodder]

[Notes]
[Cannot be accepted as a disciple.]

3. Calamity

'10 potential points in total? And I need 30 potential points in total? If this is one of the promising ones, how am I going to find a suitable disciple in 5 days!?'

Panic, immediately rushed at the floodgates. Fortunately, there wasn’t a risk of a failure event just yet. The System had given him a status function, so Han De -calmly- started checking every single disciple.

A thousand disciples were all lined up depending on their rank. The closest being the highest, and the furthest being the lowest.

'… 7, 10, 11, 8, 9, 8, oh my god…’ The results seemed to be getting worse by the second. And every disciple Han De had checked was in the front row. ‘Wait where is that Ming brat, isn't he supposed to be a hotshot?!'

[Name: Meng Wei]
[Race: Human]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 12]

[Cultivation: Qi Condensation (3/13) (1.84%)]
[Constitution: None]
[Bloodline: None]
[Roots: Fire (35%) / Ice (32%)]

[Potential Points (Total: 15)]
[Will: 4]
[Talent: 5]
[Comprehension: 3]
[Luck: 3]

[Fate]
[Cannon fodder]

[Notes]
[Cannot be accepted as a disciple. ]

'… Compared to other kids this one isn't bad, but he still isn't even close…'

Disciple Acceptance Ceremony. Han De had thought he found a solution to the quest without even looking. Now though, each status-checked disciple only served to increase desperation. After the first few rows were done, he found out the status check had a maximum range, and yet there was no one above 15 points in total!

The floodgates were now at full capacity!

Without even thinking about his act or image, Han De stormed down and walked towards the mass of disciples! He needed to get closer to check their statuses! The cost of failure of the was so high that he forgot about all pretenses!

Elder Xaio's eyes were opened wide once seeing this.

"Does he intend to get a disciple this time? Really?"

"Hmm, he seems to be going towards Meng family heir, oh well, that kid is clearly the best of the bunch, probably the best one we've had in the last few years, so it is understandable for him to choos-"

As Elder Yang was talking, Han De went past Meng Wei without even sparing a glance at him. All elders looked at him wide-eyed. Near the floor, Elder Yan's liver was in immense pain. 'Uhhh, I should've appeased him more, he really is making a scene, this damn brat.'

"Uhh, perhaps he is going for that Giant bloodline? Although he ranked in the middle, once his bloodline awakens his talent would incr-… He went past him?"

Han De was getting exceedingly efficient at looking at people's statuses. Opening 20 status windows at once was no problem at all! But. As he checked more, the panic in his heart increased, and hairline cracks started appearing on the dam.

By far the highest potential he saw was Meng Wei, who now had a confused look on his face. Han De was checking every single person, but a thought suddenly occurred to him, bringing him to a complete stop.

'Wait, in those Xianxia novels, wouldn’t MCs always be trash? They would either start trash, or become trash, get treated like trash, but somehow obtain a heaven-defying item, and/or a creepy grandpa/loli, and quickly bullshit their way into higher realms…

F#$%! I'm thinking about this all wrong! I need to find the least talented person with the most tragic backstory! Preferably their childhood friend captured/raped, or their parents dead/tortured/raped to death in front of their eyes, etc. etc.’

Han De had already status-checked more than half the disciples. If he was in the right mind, perhaps looking for a cliché in real life -Xianxia or not- would’ve seemed preposterous.

But under the threat of soul dissipation, the dam had already started crashing down!

As if suddenly jolted back to life, Han De started walking towards the last spot with purpose!

Han De, being just 8-hours-old in this world, didn't have any practice in controlling his aura. When he did cultivate, he did so consciously, with full aid of his memories. But now, he was a man on a mission. A desperate mission to find the MC!

As he frantically searched, his aura, started leaking. To be more precise, his mid-stage Core Formation realm aura, started leaking. In an arena full of Qi Condensation disciples!

If he was aware of the problem, perhaps he could quickly figure out a way to stop it using the remnant memories. But between staring at 20 status screens, and the ever-growing desperation inside, he had no concept of what was happening. A paper salesman would never need to use aura, after all!

Han De’s one and only martial art being Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword, the aura he subconsciously naturally belonged to this martial art. Once the elders watching from their comfortable seats understood what was going on, they immediately shifted uncomfortably in their seats!

Only Elder Yang rose from his seat. "What the hell is this brat doing?! Is he seriously testing them with that?"

Though they were shocked, they couldn’t do anything but watch. Han De, was not only the son of the sect master, but an unprecedented genius as well!

Han De’s tyrannical aura immediately knocked out the nearby disciples. Perhaps some of them would never be able to cultivate again due to the nature of the aura! Far away disciples were luckier, since they passed this hurdle only with their eyes rolling back and foam coming out of their mouths.

"Sigh, he only released a tiny bit of aura and so many collapsed in an instant… Such a drop in quality" Said Elder Xiao.

Elder Yang, being a teacher first and a cultivator second, wanted to rebuke, but he saw Han De kept moving towards the corner. The frown on his face became deeper.

On the side, Elder Yan, the organizer of the ceremony for the past five decades, and the one that invited Han De, became furious. Although this ceremony was just a tradition, prominent families also attended on occasion if they had promising candidates. This year in particular, Meng, Lin, and Tan families were present! They weren't highly regarded compared to the Starfall Mountain Sect, but was there a need to make them lose face for no reason?

'Just because I didn’t personally come to invite you, you are acting against me? You think I will stand for this?'

Elder Yan started moving towards Han De while gritting his teeth.

At the same time, though Han De was searching for the MC, he was still looking at whatever disciple came into his view. Unfortunately, right now his view was obfuscated by dozens of menus, and he couldn’t really see what he was status checking. Mercifully, the disciples were neatly ordered before passing out, so he could still status check them even through the obstruction of the System panels.

Finally, one particular status screen, made him freeze on the spot.

[Name: Ning Bi]
[Race: Human (100%)]
[Gender: Female]
[Age: 13]

[Cultivation: None]
[Constitution: None]
[Bloodline: None]
[Roots: Fire (100%)]

[Potential Points (Total: 35)]
[Will: 7]
[Talent: 10]
[Comprehension: 8]
[Luck: 10]

[Fate]
[Purifier of Planes]

[Skills]

[Grudge (Mythical) (Unique)]
[Never forgets a grudge. Never forgives a grudge. When fighting against a grudge spiritual power reserves become inexhaustible.]

[Notes]
[Extremely high potential. Would be a core pillar in any sect. Extremely compatible with Divine Phoenix bloodline. Recommend high-stage Divine Fire or Ice constitutions.]

'… What a crazy status. This is it. This is MC level! She has max luck and talent! What a cheat! Everything about this girl is a cheat!

That grudge skill though… Shiet, I am a calamity attractor, if I acted like the previous Han De and offended this girl, wouldn’t that be the end of me? With her luck, I'm sure no one here can kill her. She would just flee to a random forest and find some legendary pills then continue her bullshit power-up and no one would be able to stop her…

I'm lucky that I didn't cause an incident. If I had, I don't know what I could've done to salvage the situation...'

Han De closed all his status check windows to get a good look at this girl. He was 100% sure that he was going to choose her after a small conversation. But once he closed all the System UI, he immediately realized something was terribly, terribly wrong.

When did the disciples pass out? Why did some of them have blood coming out of their orifices? Some of the farther away ones were clearly having seizures. And even more concerningly, disciples with blood seemed to the ones who were close by!

Han De looked up at the MC and saw the little girl shivering all over, barely keeping herself straight and conscious. At the same time, she was unmistakably glaring at him!

All blood on Han De’s face drained in an instant, and he inadvertently suppressed his aura at the same time!

‘S#$%. S#$%. S#$%, now I've done it.'

Disregarding the girl herself, Han De realized some elders with dark faces were walking towards him, with the magnificent wuxia mustache uncle in front.

Suddenly, another scary possibility entered his mind.

'If they somehow find out I'm not Han De, I won't even have to wait for this girl to grow up and kill me. I'm sure the sect leader -Real Han De’s father- would deal with me long before that. They could kill me, or extract my soul and torture me, or turn me into a spiritual medicine, or trap me inside a spiritual artifact as punishment, or…’

One after the other, numerous Xianxia elements came to Han De’s mind. Whether they were possible in this world, he did not care at that moment. He wasn't used to environments with life and death pressure like this, so he couldn't help but think of irrelevant things as he further went down the rabbit hole of panic.

A powerful, almost growling voice came from behind. "Elder De… Would you kindly explain the meaning of your actions? Do you realize this is the disciple acceptance ceremony?"

Han De turned around and looked at the fuming wuxia mustache uncle.

‘S#$%, I can't even tell these guys the truth, can I? If I say I panicked, they'll ask the reason. Obviously I can't say anything about the system. Even if I convinced them somehow, I still can't explain why I didn't end up restraining my aura. What? I suddenly forgot? A peerless genius of this generation suddenly forgot how to restrain his aura? And kept walking because he couldn't see what was in front of him due to bad UI? What is a UI? What do you mean by System? He is a witch! Burn him!'

Going through the motions in his head, Han De finally made the call.

'I can't tell them the truth, so I have no choice but to bullshit my way through. I can do this. I can do this! I've read enough crappy Xianxia novels! If I can spew enough nonsensical bullshit while acting like an arrogant young master, I might be able to confuse them to buy enough time to re-strategize my approach!’

Elder Yan was finding it difficult to contain his emotions at the moment. He had organized 54 disciple acceptance ceremonies. And every single one of them was boring. And Elder Yan was proud of that!

Being boring meant consistency! Being boring highlighted the more talented disciples! Being boring made for a good opportunity to hook prominent families by making them look good! Even if Starfall Mountain Sect was unrivaled in the south-eastern part of the continent, giving face to influential families with such a small gesture had value.

With nearly all of the thousand disciples on the ground, that illusion was shattered completely! And worse of all, this was done on his watch.

Elder Yan and others saw Han De giving a casual glance at the disciples. "I felt a faint resonance in this year's disciples. It was like a whisper, like an echo."

Some elders couldn't help but look at each other. What resonance? What whisper? What echo?

"Is this the reason why Elder De didn't restrain his aura as he walked? Does Elder De not realize how his aura could damage or discourage the discipl-"

Han De casually waved his hand at Elder Yan.

"How could this little amount of aura damage the disciples? If they get discouraged it means their Dao hearts would never be strong enough in the first place. Talented ones can use this experience to drive themselves forward, untalented ones can use it to hold a steady ground knowing the sect has the power to support them."

Han De tied hands on his back and raised his chin. How would a master behave, how would they look, how would they talk. With all these in his mind, Han De walked toward the little girl with his best 'profound expert' impression.

Clearly, he had to get away from this place asap! And if he was to leave, by god, he was going to leave with a disciple under his arm!

"We cultivators, cultivate our hearts. Overcoming insurmountable odds, going against the will of the heavens and withstanding tribulations are common affairs for us. Better for us and for the disciples themselves if they failed here and now, rather than failing themselves and their brethren during distress.

Our sect has always put quality before quantity. If they cannot even hold the line during a war, what purpose would tens of thousands of soldiers serve? The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference. If we continue to fill our ranks for the sake of tradition, we'll need to prepare for the unforeseen consequences."

Han De stopped, looked at the elders, and faintly smiled.

"Not to mention, Elder Yan and others selected these disciples from the untold number of initiates. I trust, that they would not be so fragile...!"

A slight frown crept into Han De's face after a moment of pause. Was this not enough? Why weren’t they responding? He continued speaking, primarily out of panic.

"If a significant number of them develop a shadow of doubt in their hearts, that might indicate there is far subtler work of fate at hand, then we need to take active measures rather than depend on a tradition to endure it."

The elders fell silent. To them, it seemed Han De was alluding to something. Perhaps it was something he couldn’t outright tell. Most of them being Core elders, and Nascent Soul cultivators, some of his words resonated with them. They could not help but try to interpret their true meaning.

"I will be taking this girl as my disciple." Han De pointed towards the glaring girl.

What was the fastest way of getting away? The natural answer to that was flying. Sword flight, in Han De’s case, as he had ample amount of memories regarding that.

He released and jumped on his sword with one hand on his back. The other took the girl by her clothes as if she was a plastic grocery bag. Unfortunately, the girl had passed out almost immediately, but that was a hurdle for later, since getting away took precedent at that moment!

Elders watched as Han De take off with the full power of a mid-stage Core Formation expert.

* * *

Martial arts families watching on the sidelines were in a commotion.

"Who was that, so young, but so powerful!"

"What? You don't even know? That was Han De!"

"The young master of the sect!?"

"Shh, don't ever call him young master, he is an elder of the sect now, only call him Elder De"

"Hmph! Choosing that weak girl who took the last place over my Meng Wei, he must have no eyes!"

"She didn't even have cultivation, right? Why would he choose such trash?"

Meng and Lin family elders had dark faces. They couldn't help but take this matter as a personal attack.

"You'd choose this trash over our Lin family? This brat, if he wasn't doted on by… by that monster…”

"Shh, uncle don't raise your voice, this issue might not be simple."

Lin family representative, Uncle Lin Li had a doubtful look on his face while looking at this nephew. "Although we didn't listen in out of respect, we could still see their body language, how could we not? Elder De seems to have done this on purpose without telling the other elders, but he ended up pacifying the elders with just a few words! Isn’t this a slap on our face?”

“That doesn’t mean anything; besides, he still has the backing of that old monster, no one would dare offend his grandson for such a thing." Answered the nephew. He understood why his uncle would’ve thought this was a ploy to reduce the martial families’ influence. But he did not agree.

"The girl in the last place was the only one that could stay standing in front of Elder De's aura. She was the last place disciple, I have seen her during the eliminations, her clothes were all torn and she didn't even have shoes! There is no way for her to have a spiritual artifact that could withstand that tyrannical aura."

Lin family uncle was about to explode. "Are you saying that a girl with no cultivation withstood that aura just by sheer force of will?! What nonsense are you spouting, nephew don't keep disappointing me with this nonsense! Enough! We are leaving!..."

Lin family nephew wasn't the only one that noticed this. Naturally Starfall Mountain elders, Meng and Tan families also noticed it, but they couldn't assume foul play as easily as martial families.

* * *

"Elder De isn't someone that would do simple calculations like this. He isn't active in the sect as an elder in the first place, and his father wouldn't allow him to do such a stunt without any clear benefit.

That girl didn't have any treasures on her, which means she really withstood it by her own willpower, yet she doesn't have a cultivation base… Elder Yan, how did that girl end up as a disciple? With no cultivation base, she should've been eliminated in the first few rounds."

Elder Yan's liver, as usual, was in great pain right now.

That girl gave him and other minor elders quite a headache in the past month. Just as they thought she would finally get eliminated, a miracle would occur, and she would get back in the race! Often she ended up being included out of technicalities, even! Elder Yan being a righteous and meticulous person, wouldn't eliminate someone if they met the requirements, even if it was out of luck!

But in the case of this girl, luck didn’t even begin to describe it! She was so untalented, even her roots were below the average of small sects! And yet she was able to enter the sect without any cultivation base! Before the ceremony today, he was already planning to rewrite entrance rules to eliminate edge cases like this in the future!

Elder Yan sighed, shook his head, then started giving orders to attend to the collapsed disciples. Other core elders could see the Elder Yan's, along with some minor elders' exasperated expressions, and unanimously decided not to pursue the issue.

4. Not a Dream, Sorry

There was only one thing in Han De's mind right now.

'FAST! TOO FAST OH GOD NO OH GOD!'

It took him about an hour walking to reach the ceremony venue from his abode, but now with the power of flight, it took less than 10 seconds to get back! If the previous Han De wasn't proficient at sword flight, the girl called Ning Bi would have already turned into a meat paste from the sudden acceleration to Mach 2 speed. Thankfully, she was completely safe!

After his first flight, not even minding the unconscious Ning Bi, Han De hugged the ground. After about a minute, he deeply regretted not trying out flying before, and made a mental note to try out all of his powers and abilities as soon as possible!

'Still, at least I have completed the quest, now I have a disciple, she is still 13 and naive, I'm sure I haven't met her before, so I can easily scam her into accepting me as her master. If I can solve some of her tragic MC background issues, even if I don't gain a support pillar, at least I can guarantee her not to develop a grudge on me.

Right, I should probably at least handle her with some care and let her rest, she needs clothes and food at minimum, I remember previous Han De had some servants…'

Being a cultivator, previous Han De contacted his servants through his spiritual sense. He was a cultivation maniac and a genius! Anything that caused a distraction for him would get punished or destroyed without exception. As such, servants lived in their own building, not daring to make a peep!

Thinking it was the right time, current Han De started searching through his memories for spiritual sense etiquette. If he just went to the servant building it would be too out of the norm for normal Han De. Even Han De the Office Worker could see that.

‘S#$%, this guy was just insufferable! He didn't have any etiquette at all, he just used his spiritual sense as he pleased without any limits! Consequences?! What are those? My father is the sect master…'

Thankfully Han De's memories still held some information about other people's behavior, so he was able to get a rough idea of what was and what wasn’t acceptable.

Surprisingly, it was pretty similar to how people behaved during phone conversations!

The way a person would talk on a phone would change depending on the status of the person they were talking to. Contents and manners would change whether they were talking to their coworker, or to their childhood friend. If a person’s spouse wasn’t answering their phone, calling them many times out of concern was acceptable. But calling one’s boss twenty times in half an hour was not.

Spiritual sense worked similarly. An extra addition was, of course, no peeping! Spiritual sense, after a certain threshold, could be used for seeing and inspecting entire areas. Although dense spiritual power and the presence of many powerful spiritual senses limited the range inside the sect, it was still possible to use it in unsavory ways. And if caught, would result in severe punishments!

The saving grace of previous Han De was that everyone knew he wouldn't bother peeping at others. He was a cultivation genius! Why would he waste his time with such ungentlemanly activities?! He could just easily choose any female disciple from the sect as he pleased anyway!

Han De quickly instructed his servants to bring clothes, and other necessary living supplies for Ning Bi to his abode, including Qi Condensation cultivation resources and a few sets of weapons of each type.

Han De didn't want to guide Ning Bi; she was already a genius in the truest sense of the word! He simply wanted to let her do as she pleased! Let her select her weapon! Han De was just there along for the ride!

'I haven't even used a sword yet, how could I determine what weapon she might find suitable? She is an MC, her bullshit powerup potential will manifest by itself!'

After listening to Han De's instructions though, his servants were puzzled.

<E-elder De, d-did you say to bring supplies to y-your abode?>

Not expecting a response, Han De was puzzled back! <Yes. What of it?>

<N-nothing elder, we will bring them as soon as possible!>

<… Fine, keep up the good work.>

The voice transmission line was closed, but the servants couldn’t believe what they just heard. They stared at each other in disbelief.

"..."

"..."

They have been working as a servant for Han De for the last 5 years, and they never had a conversation like this! Everyone in the servants’ quarters started sweating profusely. They looked at each other, but no one was able to find any comfort.

"H-he did ask to bring her things to his abode, right? Not the servants’ quarters, not to one of the side buildings… right?"

"Senior brother… 'Keep up the good work.' What did elder mean that?"

All servants flinched after hearing that phrase for the second time!

Hearing such a thing from any other elder would make their day, but as servants of Elder De, they knew better than anyone how he dealt with things. He wouldn't hesitate to kill a guy for blocking his way, he wouldn't hesitate to cripple someone and let them rot if they didn't give him enough respect!

Although no servant had suffered such a calamity so far, that was just so far! Everyone was adamant about not becoming the first example!

* * *

In less than half an hour everything was assembled. Ning Bi was assigned to a random room far away from his. If she wanted another one, she could move to that room herself, she was a disciple. Han De didn't care in the least; the house was just too huge. On earth an old-timey mansion would have 10 or so bedrooms, this guy's 'house' actually had more than 50.

'Why would anyone need this many rooms?! This goes past a mansion or even a castle at this point. There are even side houses and servant houses too. This guy cultivated all day, did he have huge harem ambitions or something? Hmm let me see his memories…

Zip. Nada. S#$%, just go be a hermit in a cave if you wanted to cultivate this much!

… Let's at least complete the quest and find out what profound points could be used for. Status!'

[Name: Han De]
[Race: Human (100%)]

[Gender: Male]
[Age: 26]

[Cultivation: Core Formation - Mid-Stage (3767/500000)]
[Constitution: None]
[Bloodline: None]
[Roots: Light (42%)]

[Fame: Cloudy Mountains: (+1)501]
[Sect: Starfall Mountain Sect (21st Core Elder)]

[Cultivation Methods]
-------------------------------------
[Starfall Scripture (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Comprehension: Intermediate (24/32)]
[Stage: Core Formation (Mid-Stage)]

[Martial Arts Methods]
-------------------------------------
[Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword (Self-Made)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Comprehension: Intermediate (2/10)]
[Stage: Core Formation (Mid-Stage)]

[Skills]
[None

[Fate]
[Calamity Attractor]

[Profound Points: 0]

[Evaluation: Extremely weak, destruction of the soul is inevitable]

[Privilege Level: 1]

[Inventory]
[Gift Box]

'Why do I still have 0 profound points? Quest Status!'

[Quest: First disciple]
[Difficulty Level: Rating Requirements Not Met]
[Status: In Progress]
[Summary: You are an elder in an extremely minor sect with extremely limited resources. As you are fated to attract calamities, with your weak cultivation and abysmal talent, your only hope is to foster strong disciples. Work hard.]

[Requirements: A disciple with over 30 potential points in total]
[Time Remaining: 4.8 days]
[Success: 50 Profound Points]
[Failure: Removal of the System. As the System is completely integrated into the host's soul, removal will result in said soul's dissipation]

'The sect should already consider her as my disciple, she also meets the requirements, so the only remaining explanation is that she doesn't consider me her master yet? Will the quest stay open if she just pays lip service and doesn't consider me her true master?...'

A long sigh escaped from Han De's lips.

'Last time I tried to bullshit them on the fly, but it wasn't as easy as I thought. I ended up quoting some old video game because my mind was drawing black on Xianxia quotes… I need to practice some lines and prepare them in advance! If I hadn't remembered that I could fly away, I definitely would've been busted, ugh...'

Remembering the 0 to Mach 2 flight of his, Han De's legs went soft. He needed to find a safe and out of sight place to practice flying… slowly… he needed to practice as slowly as possible!

'Right, there should be some empty mountains or valleys around here, this is a bona fide sect, there has to be like dozens of empty mountains! But first, the gift box.'

This wasn't a moment that Han De was looking forward to. So far, his luck was atrociously bad in this world. He was afraid the System might actually 'gift' him a bill for the goods and services that it provided so far! Making a decision, Han De kowtowed.

"Oh Almighty System, your humble servant humbly begs for you to open the gift box!"

[...]

[Opening Complimentary Gift Box]
[5]
[4]
[3]
[2]
[1]
[...]

[Congratulations!]

[You have received:]
[Spiritual Roots Upgrade Token] [x1]
[Martial Arts Method Upgrade Token [x2]
[Profound Points Token] [x5]
[Cultivation Method Fragment] [x200]
[Martial Arts Method Fragment] [x200]

[Spiritual Roots Upgrade Token]
[Upgrade host's spiritual roots to the next quality level. Host can extend 5 tokens to upgrade a disciple's roots.]

[Martial Arts Method Upgrade Token]
[Upgrades a martial arts to the next quality level. Can only upgrade martial arts known by the host. Can only upgrade methods that are completely comprehended by the host.]

[Profound Points Token]
[Bundle of 10 profound points.]

[Cultivation Method Fragments]
[Used for filling in the gaps in incomplete cultivation methods.]

[Martial Arts Method Fragments]
[Used for filling in the gaps in incomplete martial arts methods.]

'Oooookaaay. I get all of this stuff, but, there isn't anything that can directly increase my cultivation is there? Oh god I don't want to cultivate… I should've opened the gift box near Ning Bi, she has max luck, maybe being near her some luck would have rubbed off on me…'

Han De took a deep breath, stood up, and started to think about his options while pacing around his ridiculously large bedroom. He didn't know the size of an Olympic pool, but he was certain his bedroom could fit a few of them easily.

'Alright you gender swapped demonic GLaDOS. Activate all of the Profound Point Tokens!'

[Tokens Activated]
[Received 50 Profound Points]
[Threshold Reached]
[Profound Point Shop level 1 is now active]

'Show me the shop!'

[Spiritual Roots Upgrade Token] [500]
[Spiritual Roots Removal Token] [10000]
[Spiritual Roots Seed Token] [5000]
[Spiritual Roots Healing Token] [800]
[Bloodline Awakening Token] [100]
[Bloodline Purifying Token] [500]
[Bloodline Removal Token] [10000]
[Constitution Refinement Token] [500]
[Constitution Removal Token] [10000]
[Cultivation Method Upgrade Token] [200]
[Cultivation Method Fragment] [1]
[Martial Arts Method Upgrade Token] [200]
[Martial Arts Method Fragment] [1]

'Ugh, these... All look... Uuuh.. very nice. But isn't this all just supplementary?! Are there no cultivation methods for sale? No martial arts? No way to improve my cultivation?! What good are these Profound Points if this is all there is to it…’

[Profound Points]
[Primary purpose is for comprehension of cultivation and martial arts methods by spending points. Incomplete methods cannot be comprehended. Alternatively can be used in Profound Points Shop as a currency. Once activated, Profound Points Shop level is tied to the host's Privilege Level.]

After reading the detailed explanation, Han De just threw himself onto the bed and stubbornly closed his eyes, hoping he would wake up back on Earth and this was all just a bad dream!

* * *

Han De woke up the next day at noon. He didn't know how many hours he slept, but he knew he woke up at noon because of the System clock. He didn't want to think about cultivation methods, or life-threatening dangers, or calamities, none of that stuff. Right now, he just wanted to have some breakfast, so he headed for the nearest of the 6 kitchens!

'Huh, nice, a refrigerator in the form of a spiritual device. I was worried they would use storage bags to store all the food.'

While searching for the kitchen, Han De looked at memories related to kitchens and cooking. At first, he was surprised there were zero memories of these concepts, but then he figured out the reason.

'This guy never went inside a kitchen in his life. He didn't even cook while he was camping or something. Who the hell brings a chef to a spiritual beast hunt? This guy, that's who!'

While snickering at the incompetence of the cultivation idiot, he opened up the fridge to look at the ingredients. The inside of the fridge was the size of a room already. At that point, he realized this wasn't a spiritual device, but a room with a formation instead. The formation trapped the spiritual power of the different ingredients and prevented them from mixing with each other. Hundreds of different ingredients and their explanation popped up in his sight.

[Golden Spirit Rice]
[Spirit Rice imbued with earth element energy.]
[Safe for consumption.]

[Demonic Plains Horse Meat]
[Thighs of the Demonic Plains Horse. Monster Qi removed.]
[Safe for consumption.]

[251 Years Old Rainbow Spirit Wine]
[Contains 9 Colored Qi, made from 4 varieties of composite Spirit Rice.]
[Recommended dosage is less than 5ml per kg of body weight divided by cultivation level index.]
[Safe for consumption for late Foundation realm experts and up.]

[Sagacious Wood Salmon Fillet]
[Mutated spirit salmon that live on top of Soulsteel trees. Contains Wood Qi and Water Qi.]
[Minute amount of Metal Qi was lost during Monster Qi extraction process.]
[Safe for consumption.]

[...]

'I just wanted to make some pancakes, what's with the ridiculous Xianxia ingredients? Are there no normal ingredients? What's this?'

[Soy Sauce]
[Ordinary Soy Sauce. Produced by fermentation method.]
[Safe for consumption.]

'Not Spirit Soy Sauce? Are you saying soy sauce is good by itself and doesn't need improvements?'

Out of frustration, Han De started pinching his glabella.

'What do Chinese people eat for breakfast anyway? In Japanese animes, they always went crazy for miso soup. What's a miso? Is there a spirit miso? I can't make any baked food with rice. Wait, could there be gluten in spirit rice? Maybe that earth element energy can act sort of like gluten?'

He was an average white guy, so his breakfast was either a bowl of cereal or a baked product like a bagel, or maybe PB&J. If he went extravagant, he would get himself some pancakes. He had stopped eating bacon and eggs years ago to reduce his cholesterol intake.

'Core Formation cultivators can't get high cholesterol, right? Maybe that's what the cleansing pills do? Maybe they just remove the cholesterol along with all the other junk. Shame there is no spirit pig bacon or spirit chicken eggs in this fridge/pantry. I'm not going to touch those Virtuous White Spider Eggs, no way.'

Although he had ordered his servants to stash the kitchens full of food, he only realized now how deep the cultural gap was.

'This must be what dense Japanese MCs feel in those isekai novels. Now I get why they look for rice and soy sauce everywhere they go…'

Feeling frustrated, he searched his memories for what previous Han De ate regularly.

'F&$#!! This cultivation moron only ate pills! How could you not eat anything for years? Why is there 6 F&$#!&% kitchens in this house then?!?'

As he was lamenting previous Han De's life choices, his spiritual sense picked up movement from Ning Bi's door. His (soon to be) disciple finally had woken up!

5. Tragedy of the Heroine

During their previous encounter, Ning Bi had glared at Han De until she passed out. Han De was keenly aware of this issue! One wrong move, she would develop a grudge and kill him a few years later! Few wrong moves, she would only pay lip service and refuse to become his disciple, then Han De's soul would dissipate in less than 4 days!

He had read the report about her predicament during the disciple selection process. How her clothes were torn, how she didn't even have shoes to wear. No one knew where she came from because she wouldn't talk about it to anyone. She probably had immense pride that not even the heavens could bend. Han De could more or less construct a few tragic background archetypes from the available intelligence. Previous Han De's lackeys did good work on collecting information. He made a mental note to reward them later.

'I have to be on top of this. She is a 13-year-old girl. Perhaps she hasn't even heard the part about me making her my disciple. Everything was probably too hectic for her to follow back at the ceremony. It shouldn't be hard to chart out all of her possible replies and gently guide her into being my disciple...'

Yesterday, during his search for correct etiquette regarding the usage of spiritual sense, Han De found a particularly offensive method of spiritual sense usage.

Up until mid-levels, Qi Condensation cultivators could not sense spiritual imprints. At all. If one were to ignore the etiquette, and completely enveloped them in a powerful spiritual sense, they would be able to observe every minute change that the person goes through. Even fluctuations at the soul level could not be hidden.

Han De encountered some memories of the previous Han De using this technique. Just to make some poor loose cultivator confess his crime of 'purposefully not giving face' to the young master. No matter how hard he tried, the poor guy could not fool Han De and his spiritual sense! Afterward he was promptly beaten to death by his lackeys.

'I can't afford to let this technique stay on the sidelines. I do not want to use it, but the stakes are just too high at this point. She is still a mortal; she will have no idea that I'll be able to catch her every intent. Years later if she asks, I can easily deny it anyway…'

Han De has been racking his brain about this moment since yesterday, and by god, he was going to rack his brain until the last second. His margin of error was already nonexistent!

* * *

Ning Bi was a little girl that was born in a remote village. She was the only child of a farmer couple. Her father was a retired civil servant and her mother a seamstress. Neither of them had spiritual roots, both were born and raised as simple mortals. Her father being a retired civil servant however, knew a thing or two about cultivators. So on her 5th birthday, they went to the city to have her tested!

The family was amazed when they found out little Bi had impure fire roots! Although they knew it was just a low-level spiritual root, they were happy nonetheless, since even impure spiritual roots could change a person's destiny. A low-level cultivator still had a higher status than a high-ranking mortal civil servant.

Thus, her father started telling stories about cultivators and their deeds. And Ning Bi listened to those stories with sparkly eyes. Although she was happy with her life, like every other kid, she still wanted to be special. She still wanted to make her parents proud!

When her 12th birthday came, her entire life changed. With the blessing of her parents, she decided to leave the nest to find an immortal sect! To learn about cultivation and become a cultivator herself! That was her goal!

After an arduous journey through the mountains, she heard about the legendary Starfall Mountain Sect's disciple selection. Since she wasn't a cultivator yet, everyone laughed at her when she asked where the selection was being held. Dejected, she had no choice but to suffer through defeat silently.

Just as she lost all hope, an uncle found her. He had heard about her wish to join the sect and offered to teach her about cultivation, and the immortal sects in exchange for work. She happily agreed; she was raised on a farm by her parents, and she didn't fear manual work!

Over the course of seven months, she worked in rice fields and the uncle told her about basic Qi sensing. He told her everything he knew about the Starfall Mountain Sect. Warned her about the good and bad sides of cultivators.

He even properly taught her never to reveal any kind of information about her family, especially to 'young masters' as the uncle called them. When the selection time came near, she bid her farewell to him, his wife, and their newborn baby. The road was long, but she persevered thanks to preparing well. Unfortunately, she didn't expect to fall into a nest of devil chickens and lose most of her supplies, just a few days away from the sect.

Despite everything, Ning Bi still entered the competition. Endured being ridiculed and laughed at. Endured being targeted by other participants, and even their elders! But through it all, Ning Bi persevered...

As Ning Bi was telling her story, Han De was completely dumbfounded. An hour ago, he had found her in the courtyard and casually asked her place of birth to break the ice. But little did he expect that she would be so forthcoming. Not to mention the contents of her story as well!

'What. The. Hell?! What kind of backstory is this? Where is the tragedy?! This is downright wholesome! Where is your motive?! S#$%, if this was a proper Xianxia story, her parents would've died in front of her eyes, and she would've been forced to sell her body to scrape by! Instead, she even met a proper guiding uncle and his pregnant wife as emotional support in time of her need! F#$% what kind of luck is this? Is this the power of maximum luck?'

Han De was shocked, but he quickly came to his senses.

'Well of course, not leading a life of Xianxia misery is a good thing. Honestly, no one deserves that S#$%. Still, this feels like a completely wrong template. Rather than a Xianxia MC, she feels more like an… Otome game Heroine?!

...

...

... This sudden change in genres is messing with my mind. If she is an otome game heroine, does that mean there are capture targets? Here in this sect? Wait, could there even be a reverse harem route?

In her status screen her fate still shows up as Purifier of Planes and she still has that perverted Grudge skill. If she had such a wholesome life, why does she have such a calamity level status?'

Han De had completely enveloped her with his mid-stage Core Formation level spiritual sense as soon as he saw her. He knew, with absolute certainty, that what she said was the truth. Not technically the truth, but the whole truth, with the underlying intent completely out in the open.

'Could it be that this is her bad ending? In the bad ending she becomes the villainess and turns into the Purifier of Planes? I'm pretty sure the action of purifying in this context cannot mean purify through lots of love and sunshine, but rather means purify through flames of agony.'

While Han De was in his own world, Ning Bi finished her telling of her tournament arc. Han De being a Core Formation expert was able to follow her story along with his own thoughts.

Ning Bi got down to her knees.

"Elder, this is my story. My talent is mediocre I know that. But I will do everything I can, I will work harder than anybody else! Please! Accept me as your disciple!"

Han De swallowed a sigh along with his doubts.

'Never mind, let's just teach her (have her teach herself) cultivation. If she develops a reverse harem, the drama around it will keep her busy and I'll nicely and slowly fallout. Once she goes to a higher realm, I'll be safe from her as a calamity attractor. The only true risk is me somehow pissing her off; that means bye-bye me. There is also the danger of her getting a bad ending, but she'll probably spare me if I hadn't pissed her off at that point…

Damn, why did my first disciple had to be the Purifier of Planes? This is so tiring...'

Han De, being in Profound Expert Variation 2 mode from the outside, sagely looked down at Ning Bi.

"From this moment forth, you shall be my first disciple. Rise."

Han De felt a huge weight disappear from his shoulders.

* * *

It has been an hour since Han De got his first disciple. He sent Ning Bi to the servants’ quarters to get some food, and learn the basics of the sect rules. He originally had plans to cook some food for her himself, just in case if he had to act like a father figure to scam-*cough* to convince her to become his disciple. But he couldn't figure out what to do with the spiritual ingredients. And since she was already willing anyway, he sent her away.

Besides, he couldn't trust himself to handle those spiritual ingredients, let alone a 13-year-old!

She was gone, but soon, the weight that was lifted from his shoulders came back and turned into an insurmountable mountain!

[Quest: First disciple]
[Difficulty Level: Rating Requirements Not Met]
[Status: In Progress]
[Summary: You are an elder in an extremely minor sect with extremely limited resources. As you are fated to attract calamities, with your weak cultivation and abysmal talent, your only hope is to foster strong disciples. Work hard.]

[Requirements: A disciple with over 30 total potential points]
[Time Remaining: 3.6 days]
[Success: 50 Profound Points]
[Failure: Removal of the System. As the System is completely integrated into the host's soul, removal will result in said soul's dissipation]

'Why is this still in progress?!? Hey System! She accepted me as her master! What do you want?! What do I have to do?! Just tell me!!'

The system was completely silent. No matter what he said, no matter how much he begged, there was no answer. Han De started to worry about the quest bugging out and being impossible to complete.

Hours went by and Ning Bi returned. Han De was still sitting in the same courtyard. Ning Bi hurriedly bowed with her sparkly eyes and greeted her master. Ever since her father started telling stories about cultivators, she always wanted to do this.

"Master."

"Mmm, sit."

Han De was still at a loss. Why was the quest still in progress?

'I am 100% percent sure she isn't paying lip service and she genuinely wanted to become my disciple. After accepting her I thought I sensed something cold that nearly made my spine chill for a brief moment, but there wasn't an ounce of ill intent towards me. In fact, it wasn't even directed at me, I just caught it because she was enveloped in my spiritual sense. This angle is dead-end.'

He desperately looked at his memories but couldn't find anything that would make things more official. There is no such thing as master-disciple registration at the sect affairs office that required him to fill the form MD-402 that indicated this was her direct disciple within 3 days of the acceptance. Everything was pretty straightforward in this world. Just saying “you are now my disciple” was enough! Boom, it was a done deal. Ritual complete! All said and done!

'Among the Xianxia tropes, there is only the master-disciple ceremony. But I'm sure it doesn't exist in this world, for whatever reason. Well, I don't have anything to lose…'

"Although I have accepted you as my disciple, I can't teach you cultivation yet. There is a small, traditional ceremony that we both have to go through. It is called a master-disciple acceptance ceremony."

Han De had chosen a relaxed expression for this. He explained whatever he remembered from the web novels in simple terms. Ning Bi had a slightly weird, slightly enthusiastic expression but quickly ran and started making preparations.

* * *

Ning Bi sat in seiza after respectfully presenting Han De with a cup of tea. Then she kowtowed three times. Han De slowly and purposefully drank the tea. Once finished, he spoke in a solemn mood.

"With this, you are now my first disciple."

[Quest Complete!]
[Congratulations!]
[Quest Reward: 50 Profound Points]
[Notes: You have completed your quest in the allocated time, found a promising disciple and became her master. You have become the master of a potential calamity attracted through your fate. Bonus reward is being issued.]

[Bonus Reward: Derive Cultivation Method Token x 5]

[Derive Cultivation Method Token]
[Select up to 5 different cultivation methods to create a new incomplete method. Resulting method's quality will depend on the input methods. Can only derive from cultivation methods that the host mastered.]

Han De thought that System sounded so angelic as he heard the quest notification. He broke into a genuine smile and shouted at the sky.

"Finally!"

Ning Bi was surprised at the sudden change, but she was a person that could read the mood, so she stayed silent.

Once calmed down, Han De re-entered the Profound Expert Variation 2 mode.

"Now that the ceremony is complete, tomorrow we will go to the sect archives and find you suitable cultivation, and martial arts methods. I will not be teaching you sword arts just because I am using a sword. You have your own fate, as your master, I can only assist you, it is you who will have to tread the path.”

Ning Bi gave a respectful bow. "Yes, master"

* * *

Now that the damn quest was over, Han De was pacing in his absurdly oversized bedroom.

'Although this cultivation idiot was a genius, he only had one cultivation and martial arts method each. Even if I use Profound Points and perfectly comprehend both of them, I have no idea if they are suitable for Ning Bi. I'm not sure if I can even recognize a suitable method for myself let alone her, and I can't just randomly master different arts either, I don't have enough Profound Points for that…

Wait… She is an MC. Even if her template is a bit messed up with otome game heroine genre elements, this is still primarily a Xianxia world. Wouldn't MCs usually find an obscure art from a dusty corner that perfectly fits them, or perfectly fits a future legacy that they find or something?'

Han De poured some high-quality spiritual water gathered from a faraway spiritual spring, into a glass made from pure, single-piece spiritual jade.

'Real problem isn't her, she can get power-ups from a random rock in a quarry. I, on the other hand, have to spend frickin' 10+ years and god knows how many resources just to reach the advanced Core Formation stage. And that is if I can cultivate 18 hours a day! No way. No way I can cultivate that much in a day, even a week is doubtful…'

While drinking his spiritual glass of spiritual water 'Aaahh delicious!' Han De opened up his inventory.

[Inventory]
-------------------------------------
[Spiritual Roots Upgrade Token] [x1]
[Martial Arts Method Upgrade Token] [x2]
[Cultivation Method Fragment] [x200]
[Martial Arts Method Fragment] [x200]
[Derive Cultivation Method Token] [x5]

Immediately, his mind went to a certain web novel. The MC there had the ability to compile a new method from hundreds of different cultivation methods, with super-fast cultivation speed and no flaws.

*sigh*

'Unfortunately, my System is unexpectedly stingy, it even removed XP and SP after calibration!!'

Feeling a sharp, imaginary pain in his liver, Han De threw himself onto his bed. Core Formation cultivators didn't need to sleep, they could just cultivate all night, but Han De had no mood for it.

6. Archives Must Be Incomplete

3rd day of Han De’s transmigration. In the morning.

Upon waking up, Han De realized he still hadn't eaten anything. Yesterday he tried to fill himself up with the spiritual water, even. Although the spring water was delicious, it was still just liquid.

Obviously, a Core Formation expert didn't need to eat, drink, or sleep. The cultivation maniac lived that way, but such a life was unacceptable for Han De!

Thankfully, he now had a disciple. Considering the memories of the cultivation idiot, this was a good excuse to add some variations to his routines. Small changes like that won't be suspicious at first glance. Probably.

'You know, I drank an entire pitcher of spiritual water last night. I should at least… uhh… feel some need to go… right?'

Han De suspiciously looked downwards.

As he was questioning his understanding of the laws of physics and cultivator biology, he heard Ning Bi approach the courtyard. She entered respectfully while holding a big tray.

"Master, my father always told me a disciple should serve their master well. I only know how to make peasant dishes. I don't know if it is any good but… I…"

Her voice kept getting smaller and smaller as she spoke. Han De immediately understood what was going on. He switched to a benign smile.

"Alright, thank you. Serve me well in the future as well."

Ning Bi stood up and hurriedly left after bowing.

In truth, with Han De's senses, he had already caught the smell of the tray as she entered the courtyard. He also could feel the heat and hear the sloshing sounds emanating from the tray. Perhaps due to lack of cultivation yesterday, he started to feel a little hungry on the spot.

'Dumplings huh? Yes, that should be a Chinese classic. Wait, dumplings mean flour, flour means wheat. I searched every inch of that kitchen yesterday. Where did you find the flour?! Which kitchen was it in?!'

Feeling indignant, Han De cursed at his predecessor.

'That cultivation psycho truly knew nothing but cultivation. I nearly thought wheat didn't exist in this world. How rich must you be to not even know about the existence of dumplings or noodles…'

Han De didn’t question the lack of memories concerning dumplings, buns, bread, or any other wheat-based dishes. This seemed like a convenient excuse, but Han De didn’t have the time, nor the drive to investigate every single inconsistency.

* * *

After eating his first meal in this world, Han De and Ning Bi started walking toward sect archives. It was unfortunate that he didn't have enough time -and privacy- to practice his sword flight yet. Though, even if he did, Han De the Office Worker might have chosen to take a walk anyway.

On the way, he couldn’t help but think about little things that would barely get discussed in Xianxia novels.

'If you are a cultivator, does walking after a meal still help with digestion?’

‘I can't believe there is a toilet paper made out of spirit bamboo. Feels good to be rich. But the existence of toilet paper means, what goes in, must come out…’

'What do poor villages use though? Do they have S$#%-sticks like ancient people? Or do they just make do with regular bamboo paper? On Earth, toilet paper was invented in China, after all, it should be quite widespread in a Xianxia world, right?'

From a story perspective, these daily necessities made little sense to mention. But ever since Han De had transmigrated, they became glaring issues!

Hygiene was important!

Thanks to that cultivation freak’s extremely rich parents, at least Han De didn’t need to be concerned about many things. In fact, at that very moment, he made a solemn vow! If he ever needed to travel, or stay abroad for some time, he had to be in extreme luxury! The thought of using a stick or learning the Virtuous Bottom Cleansing Scripture was enough to make him shudder.

Han De wasn't acting at this moment, as he had completely forgotten about the Silent Profound Teacher A look that he made up on the spot. He was simply in deep thought about Xianxia logistics.

Walking near her master, Ning Bi couldn't help but steal a few glances at him. 'Why does master look so serious? What could he be thinking?'

On his first day, Han De walked to the Disciple Acceptance Ceremony. He had no idea of the symbolic meanings of the walking as an elder, nor about the commotion he had caused yesterday. Judging by the random disciples’ strange looks however, he could tell that they were a topic of discussion.

Ning Bi still being a mortal, was also oblivious to the intense gazes surrounding them. Even if they were at the Qi Condensation stage, a cultivator was still a cultivator; it wasn't hard for other disciples to avoid Ning Bi’s notice.

*gasp* "Is that the rumored Elder De's woman? She is so young!"

"So rumors were true?"

"So Elder De was a lolicon after all!"

"Hey, she doesn't have a cultivation base, that's the disciple, not his woman!"

"Whoa, Youn-*cough* Elder De really took in a disciple?"

"Poor girl…"

* * *

Ning Bi finally noticed the intense stares just as they arrived at the sect archives. Though she was a village girl and wasn’t used to being the center of attention like this, the feeling wasn’t unfamiliar. She had gotten similar looks in the city while asking for the Starfall Mountain Sect!

Han De ignored both Ning Bi, and the disciples’ stares. He knew that simply visiting the archives would’ve caused a commotion, because he had looked into the cultivation idiot’s memories!

Just as he thought, a yellow-robed elder with abnormally long, and shiny hair, was already waiting for him at the entrance. Clearly wary of Han De making yet another scene in the archives.

"Elder De! How very nice to see you. It has been a long time!"

Han De had already seen him in his memories, but seeing was believing. This walking shampoo commercial of a man, was Elder Fu. Using his fake faint smile, Han De gave a casual response.

"Elder Fu. It certainly has. This is my first disciple, Ning Bi, she has a bit of a unique temperament; I came to the archives to find a suitable cultivation method for her. I hope you do not mind."

Elder Fu started beaming. "Of course not. Of course not. As a direct disciple, she can choose one method she wants from the first floor. As a core elder, Elder De can also give her any number of suitable methods."

Han De silently nodded to Elder Fu, then took Ning Bi to a quiet corner on the first floor. Cultivation methods suitable for the Qi Condensation realm were all here, but he did not plan on browsing any of them!

"Although you are not a cultivator still, you are nearly there.” He slowed down his voice to appear more profound. “Choosing a cultivation method cannot be done by an inflexible set of rules. Fate, plays a role, bigger than you can imagine. The first floor holds many methods, but none of them should require you to use spiritual energy. The more compatible you are, the more you'll be drawn to them.”

This was basic Xianxia. MCs would always be inexplicably drawn to some obscure martial arts!

“Some of the scrolls might have illusory formations in them, don't panic and just let things proceed on their own. Go, take a look at different methods. You'll know when you find something good. I'll be on different floors and pick you up after."

Thinking of Xianxia tropes, and feeling a little bit uncertain of himself, Han De couldn't help but add before leaving.

"Look for dusty corners especially, that's where the good stuff is."

A stiff-faced Ning Bi could only answer "Yes, master."

* * *

Now that he got rid of the girl, he could finally do what he came here to do.

'With such a thick MC aura surrounding her, I'm sure she'll find some obscure method that would make her soar through the stages quickly. Only a fool would worry about the MC's cultivation progress!'

Han De went directly to the 3rd floor, where Core Formation realm methods were stored.

His cultivation method, Starfall Scripture, came from the Han family. Although the sect had some parts of it as well, the archives version was a simplified variant. Starfall Scripture had many different compatible and complementary cultivation methods, from Qi Condensation up to Nascent Soul. His father even once hinted that there might be methods for higher cultivation stages as well.

The Starfall Scripture though, was excruciatingly slow for Han De! He wanted to buy a Cultivation Method Upgrade Token desperately, but he was still a hundred points short! On top of that, he had no idea how rare the Profound Points were! What if the earning speed was incredibly slow and he wasted a hundred points on upgrading a useless cultivation method?!

'If only the System was a bit more talkative...'

Experimentation. That was his only option. One couldn’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs. Han De was prepared to sacrifice some points today!

Right now he had five Derive Cultivation Method Tokens from the bonus reward. These tokens weren’t even available in the shop, he had no idea how expensive they were. But, they seemed to represent the best option to get a better and faster cultivation method!

'… I don't need a complete scripture either. If I can make a new cultivation method with a few tokens, I can use the remaining for the Nascent Soul realm when the time comes. Here and now is more important than what may happen in 10 years!’

Somewhat disappointingly, the sect archive wasn’t a fantasy-like structure. No floating floors, no illusory corridors, just a simple, to the point, multi-floor library. Quite similar to the ones you could find on Earth, with the only difference being its size, and the content within.

There were no books in the archive; it was only scrolls and jade slips! There were no tables either! Only rows and rows of shelves! The sect seemed to have no regard for the disciples that wanted to comprehend the methods or spells!

Want to learn? Want to practice? Do it somewhere else!

The 3rd floor was smaller than the first two, but there were still an absurd number of cultivation techniques in it! Han De randomly inspected a few with the System’s status check.

[Golden Arc]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Stage: Up to Core Formation]
[Roots: Metal, any combination]
[Notes: Benefits from pure metal element constitutions. Requires 1 Profound Point(s) to learn.]

[Luminous Jade Note]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Stage: Up to Core Formation]
[Roots: Light/Water composite]
[Notes: Requires 2 Profound Point(s) to learn.]

[Ethereal Dream]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Stage: Up to Core Formation]
[Required Roots: Any]
[Notes: Requires 1 Profound Point(s) to learn.]

'System, I get that you don't like any of these methods, but could you at least adjust your power curve so that I can understand the power difference between them? Who are you helping by saying Extremely Weak to everything?!'

Everything was Extremely Weak according to the System. There were no exceptions! No matter how shiny the slip was, how dusty it was, how hidden it was, everything was Extremely Weak!

Han De's increasingly frustrating browsing experience suddenly came to a halt. The sound of scrolls hitting the floor, along with a muffled scream, came from the first floor. Han De moved towards a nearby balcony to check the situation.

Archives should normally be quiet places, but now, there was an MC inside! Even if Ning Bi wasn’t his disciple, Han De’s curiosity would’ve commanded him to check!

He saw Ning Bi on the floor, surrounded by a bunch of scrolls scattered around. Next to her was a thin-looking youth, staring at her in a daze!

'… Doesn’t look like a young master… Hmm… This is the first time she visited anywhere in the sect. If she really has otome game elements, her encounter rate must be off the charts with her maximum luck. Is that guy a capture target, I wonder? His looks are OK, and he seems to be at 5th stage Qi Condensation.’

Han De labeled the kid as the legendary forever rebound guy.

Since there was no danger, he simply rolled his eyes at the Otome Game Heroine and her prey.

Cultivation methods weren’t going to status check themselves, after all.

* * *

A few hours later.

Among the endless number of cultivation methods, Han De’s search was finally over.

After understanding the structure of the archives, he figured out where the pure light element cultivation methods were. Surprisingly, and perhaps a bit concerningly, there were only a few dozen of them on the 3rd floor.

Most of them were incomprehensible to an untrained eye, but Han De managed to choose five of them. Primarily by comparing their names.

Now he needed a quiet space to test them with Profound Points, and finally, derive a new (and hopefully) improved method from them!

He went back to the first floor and immediately spotted Ning Bi, gloomily looking at random scrolls. In the last few hours, he had kept an eye on her, of course. The little girl didn’t have any encounters with other people, but she did scour nearly the entirety of the first floor!

Feeling the gaze of her master, Ning Bi looked up, then timidly walked towards Han De.

"Master, I looked and looked, but… Couldn’t find anything that really spoke to me."

Now, this was rather unexpected. 'Really? You couldn't find anything? Not even a dangerous incomplete art? Are you an MC or what?' Han De suppressed the sudden urge to pinch his glabella.

In his memories, the cultivation pervert visited archives only once. His cultivation method, the Starfall Scripture, came from the Han family. There was no need to search for a cultivation method. But he did lack a suitable martial arts method! So what did the cultivation pervert do?

With only one look at the methods inside the archives, he started loudly complaining! After saying how trash and useless they were, he left, and never came back! From that moment, he even scoffed whenever someone mentioned the archives!

The situation would’ve been fine if it ended with that. But this idiot actually went and created his own sword art! He even became famous with it! The idiot was a true genius when it came to creating sword arts!

Elder Fu, the ridiculously haired archives elder, looked amiable on the outside. But Han De was certain that a character like that wouldn't hesitate to calculate against him. According to his memories, he belonged to a different internal faction after all. But seeing Ning Bi’s low-spirited looks, he decided to bite the bullet.

He had no idea what made a cultivation method good, and he was already sick of looking at jade slips! Since he was already planning to comprehend Ning Bi’s cultivation method through the System, he thought the risk wasn’t that big.

He found Elder Fu on the second floor, reading the contents of a brand-new scroll, all by himself. He raised his head and greeted Han De with a nod.

"Elder Fu.” Han De approached him with relaxed steps. “I need a cultivation method for my disciple.” Han De paused for a moment. If he asked for a method, this guy certainly would give him one, but obviously it would be a weaker method!

“Could you tell me which cultivation art is the most dangerous here?” Han De spat out his thoughts. This was an instant regret moment, but somehow it made sense to ask something like that! “I don't care if it is an incomplete one, I just want the most dangerous one.” He continued. “Preferably one that caused multiple people to die, or go crazy, or go crazy and die. I'm not picky!"

Elder Fu couldn't believe what he had heard! For a long moment, he stood there with a blank look on his face. 'So he didn't die, but went crazy? Interesting. A bit disappointing, but still workable…' He thought.

Han De was about to make some excuse about academic research, or even talk about making his disciple aware of dangers, but Elder Fu interrupted him.

"I remember… A fire element cultivation method, named Blazing Fury. Over the years there have been a number of disciples that tried to cultivate it, but all of them failed."

Feeling intrigued, Han De couldn't help but ask. "What happened to those disciples?"

"Nearly all of them burned to death, dreadfully too, I’m afraid. Those with special constitutions were luckier and they were just crippled. This scripture requires precise control of fire elemental energy, and it is incomplete at the Qi Condensation stage. Elder Yang, being the ever-teaching enthusiast, tried to reconstruct its matrix some years ago, but regrettably failed. As such we put it on the 7th floor for the safety of the disciples."

Han De was now certain. This was it. With 100% pure fire roots Ning Bi could perfectly control fire elemental energy. Probably.

"Thank you, Elder Fu, I will take a cautionary look at it. From an academic perspective, of course!"

Han De gave a faint nod, quickly took away the Blazing Sun scripture from the 7th floor, and left with Ning Bi!

Elder Fu called it Blazing Fury, but the System called it the Blazing Sun Scripture. This inconsistency gave even more confidence to Han De! A method whose true name wasn’t even known by the sect? He could smell the heavy stench of an MC scripture from a mile away!

* * *

[Blazing Sun Scripture (incomplete)]
[Power: Very Weak]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (71%), Foundation Establishment (43%)]
[Roots: At least 75% Fire roots]
[Notes: - ]

'Very Weak? Very Weak?! Weak my A$%!’

Inside the courtyard, Han De emotionally sighed.

‘Damn, the stuff meant for an MC truly is something else…’

At the same time though, he felt content. This way, Ning Bi wasn’t losing out because she got scammed into becoming his disciple!

'System, how many tokens are needed to complete the Qi Condensation stage of this method?'

[Blazing Sun Scripture (incomplete) needs to be comprehended before it can be completed]

'Can an incomplete scripture even be comprehended? What?'

[Use 6 Profound Points to comprehend this method?]

'Fine whatever, it's not like I have any other choice, it should be fine as long as I don't cultivate it, right?'

[Blazing Sun Scripture (incomplete) comprehension successful]

Han De instinctively braced himself for a lot of pain and suffering. He was very familiar with how Xianxia systems worked! Good things would be followed by pain. Always!

But… He was pleasantly surprised!

'This… feeling of understanding, is similar to what happened when I got Han De's memories. But this is more complete, somehow more thorough. Like the difference between rote memorization and actually learning something. As if the knowledge was always there.'

This was quite convenient! Han De’s reservations about comprehending Xianxia knowledge were thoroughly put to bed. The System really worked!

Feeling happy with his first experiment, Han De looked at the cultivation methods section of his status.

[Cultivation Methods]
-------------------------------------
[Starfall Scripture (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Comprehension: Intermediate (24/32)]
[Stage: Core Formation (Mid-Stage)]

[Blazing Sun Scripture (incomplete)]
[Power: Very Weak]
[Comprehension: Beginner (0/32)]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)]

'Alright, now can you finally repair this scripture? Please and thank you.'

[Blazing Sun Scripture requires 196 Cultivation Method Fragments to fully complete it. Partial completion not possible]

'…’

Han De had no frame of reference to know whether 196 fragment tokens were cheap or expensive. But considering the method itself was Very Weak, he assumed that this wasn’t a normal price point.

'Complete it!'

[Blazing Sun Scripture (Mortal)]
[Power: Very Weak]
[Comprehension: Beginner (0/32)]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)]

7. Prepared

'Man, this Blazing Sun Scripture is pretty weird.’

The completed scripture instantly clicked in Han De’s mind. But with knowledge, came some worry as well!

‘No wonder people burnt themselves to death. Slight mistakes in cultivation causes minute but cumulative blockage in meridians, causing Qi deviation after some time. The damage is long-term and not easy to spot or reverse…'

Could Ning Bi cultivate this?

With 100% roots, if she couldn’t, no one could!

Besides, Ning Bi had a huge advantage compared to the disciples that died. She was going to cultivate the complete version!

'I can easily write this down and give it to Ning Bi. But… I won’t be able to answer any questions, since I can't cultivate it. S-Should be fine though, right?'

After giving it some thought, Han De was unconvinced. He needed more!

'How many Profound Points does it take to get this to intermediate-level comprehension?'

[Blazing Sun Scripture requires 12 Profound Points to advance to intermediate level]

He nodded after hearing the cost. 12 was nothing compared to 196! 'Alright, advance it to intermediate level.'

[Blazing Sun Scripture (Mortal)]
[Power: Very Weak]
[Comprehension: Intermediate (0/48)]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)]

Han De could feel his understanding of the scripture transform to a whole new level, along with his appreciation!

'Truly an MC level scripture. Only perverted level people could cultivate this. I'm glad I don't have fire roots.'

The best way of transferring his knowledge was to record it on a scroll. Therefore, Han De immediately entered one of his study rooms and grabbed a brush. He had no memories of a pencil or Xianxia equivalent of a pen, so had to make do with the brush!

A good minute of writing later, he realized his mistake! The scroll was filled with the Latin alphabet, using the English language, no less!

'Looks like I can read seamlessly, but writing requires muscle memory and habit. Even with a brush, I'm way more used to writing in English…’

This wasn’t something he had given any thought to before. The unexpected feeling of being suddenly aware caught him off guard.

‘I… think I’m thinking in this continent’s language when talking to other people… Or when reading scriptures. A side effect of getting another person’s memory, perhaps?’

Soon he shook his head and grabbed another scroll. This time, he deliberately mulled over every character. A script that looked similar to Chinese started filling the scroll in no time.

'Thankfully previous Han De's mother was strict in teaching him calligraphy. It is slow, but I can recall his muscle memory in writing each character.'

Back on Earth, Han De had tried to learn Chinese but gave up after a few days. It was quite convenient to have the previous Han De’s memories!

While waiting for the ink to dry, his thoughts switched toward his own cultivation. Making the ink dry faster was possible of course, by using basic Qi level techniques. But Han De didn’t want to risk blowing up the scroll after painstakingly filling it! The memory of his 0 to Mach 2 in 0.01 seconds flight was still fresh in his mind.

'I got five Light Element cultivation techniques. Derived Method token only produces an incomplete method. I have 82 Profound Points and 4 Cultivation Method Fragments. It's nowhere near enough!'

Comprehending the Blazing Sun Scripture was worth the cost. Han De didn’t regret spending those points. But with so many unknowns, he quickly decided not to use the System to comprehend those methods. Saving points through manual learning made sense!

Han De grabbed the now dry scroll and headed for Ning Bi’s quarters. But found her in a nearby courtyard instead. It looked like she was trying to sense Qi strands in the lotus position. And she was close! As far as Han De could tell, she just needed a tiny bit more time!

'Her progress is impressive when you think about it. Her initial exposure to the world of cultivation was through an exiled mortal civil servant, which was her father. That guiding uncle was most likely a 1st stage Qi Condensation disciple, and will probably stay that way throughout his entire life.’

[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Ning Bi successfully reached Qi Condensation Level 1]
[Issuing 5 Profound Points as a reward.]

‘Just those two was enough huh…’

Han De broke into a genuine smile and patiently waited for Ning Bi to exit her meditation. She had just learned how to manipulate Qi strands, some bit of experimentation due to curiosity was inevitable.

Ning Bi opened her eyes a few minutes later, and the first thing she saw was Han De, who had equipped the Patient Teacher B look.

As her master, Han De didn’t waste any time teaching her the basics of cultivation. How to circulate Qi, meridians, dantian, Qi deviation, pills, elixirs, formations, cultivation stages, alchemy, and more. What he taught was simply the common sense that every cultivator knew, but it still took some time. Afterward, he patiently answered every question, just to make sure Ning Bi understood everything.

'Comprehension 8 is not a joke. She’s like a sponge! Thankfully, original Han De had good teachers, all I had to do was to retell their explanations from memory.'

Han De continued after putting a scroll in Ning Bi’s hands.

"This is the Blazing Sun Scripture. It was an incomplete technique stored in the archives, but I rewrote it. Because this technique is highly compatible with you, it will be your main cultivation method for the Qi Condensation realm. This scroll contains both the scripture itself and some insights I thought you might find useful."

Han De explained the scripture in detail. He guided her while she cultivated her first few cycles, and pointed out her mistakes. Once he was sure that the girl understood the important points, he added a few encouraging words, then left.

While the knowledge that came from the System assist comprehension was extensive, it still had its limits, as Han De realized while teaching Ning Bi!

It was better to leave when one was ahead!

* * *

The day after solving the short-term issue of his disciple, Han De started working on his own cultivation.

Originally, he was a lazy and average office worker on Earth. One would think that a transmigrated person would work hard and cultivate nonstop to achieve immortality. But that wasn’t the case in reality, at least, not in Han De’s case!

He wasn’t giving his all to cultivate, rather, he was giving his all to find a shortcut!

'This “Light Through a Single Thought” cultivation method is just too nonsensical. Half of what it says is just empty words. One sentence seems like it is describing light, but the next sentence is literally gibberish! Through Heaven and Earth's transformation Yang becomes Yin? OK?! How is that even relevant??!'

Han De put down the jade slate to collect his thoughts.

'I thought I could save some Profound Points, but this thing is incomprehensible. You know what, whatever! It's just 3 points, I'll just learn it through that.'

After admitting defeat, and gritting his teeth for the first time in his life, Han De finally used the System to learn the cultivation method.

[Light Through a Single Thought]
[Power: Extremely Weak]

[Comprehension: Beginner (0/6)]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)]

Han De picked up the jade slip once again with an involuntary sigh.

'This S#$% still feels mostly nonsensical! Fine! Upgrade comprehension of this to Master level!!'

[Light Through a Single Thought Cultivation Method requires 32 Profound Points to master it]

'Sure, sure, just spend it already!'

The change came instantly once again. Without warning, without any signs, the knowledge appeared inside his head. As if it was always there.

This time though, this extensive knowledge of the scripture managed to both surprise and annoy Han De at the same time.

'I didn't expect cultivators to understand properties of light, but I guess geniuses are geniuses regardless of the world they live in…

So that nonsensical sentence, -Through Heaven and Earth's transformation Yang becomes Yin- actually meant to describe photons' behavior as a particle and a wave? Hello?!? How the hell could anyone infer such a thing through a sentence like that?!'

[Light Through a Single Thought]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Comprehension: Master]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)]

Though he wanted to learn these methods manually to save on Profound Points, in hindsight, his goal seemed naïve, if not impossible.

‘Is it because I’m from a different world? Their way of describing phenomena is just too cryptic.

… It’s as if these guys sharing their knowledge, but they are doing it begrudgingly!’

Wasn’t sharing knowledge the basis for advancing civilizations? From Han De’s perspective, the authors of these techniques weren’t doing any favors to anyone!

‘… Could this be the reason why the technological level is so low here? There are formations, and flying boats, sure. But there are also people that live tens of thousands of years! Even the mortals should’ve developed warp drives if the world had advanced at the same rate as Earth!’

After shifting his point of view towards Xianxia however, Han De somewhat understood the problem.

‘If Newton was a sect leader, neither his laws of motion nor his theory of gravity would’ve been published. Those “Natural Laws” would’ve been locked away in the sect vaults, where only the highest elders would have the right to see them. Maybe they would allow promising disciples a few minutes of time if they felt somewhat generous.

Or, if Newton was a loose cultivator, his laws would be hidden in his legacy, and left to rot until someone “worthy” enough stumbled on it…

If Einstein was from the Starfall Mountain sect, E=MC^2 would be treated as a profound and forbidden scripture. No one would even know of its existence. Well, maybe I would… Probably…’

If there was a silver lining to his transmigration, having a rich and influential family was it!

Han De shook his head and went back to solving his cultivation problem.

[Profound Points: 52]

'No way that’s enough for 5 methods. Increasing Starfall Scripture’s comprehension makes more sense at this point.'

[Starfall Scripture requires 52 Profound Points to master]

Han De felt some regret towards mastering another scripture rather than his original one, but what was done was done.

'I should get more points when Ning Bi advances to the 2nd stage of the Qi Condensation realm. Realistically, I need more disciples. But where could I even begin to look for another MC?'

Han De looked at the cultivation idiot's memories. Being a genius, the idiot’s speed was unprecedented. The Starfall Scripture was highly compatible with him as well. After sensing his first strand of Qi, it took him only a month to reach the 2nd stage of the Qi Condensation realm. A true genius.

'… A month isn't bad. Ning Bi being an MC, she probably could do it in 2 weeks. The Blazing Sun is also highly compatible with her, so let's say… a week or two?'

[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Ning Bi successfully reached Qi Condensation Level 2]
[Issuing 15 Profound Points as a reward.]

“…”

‘F#$&, that wasn't even 24 hours.' Han De took a deep breath.

He was reminded of the fact that his first disciple’s fate, was being a Purifier of Planes. Planes! Plural, not singular!

Without even knowing it, Han De started randomly walking within the house. He didn’t have a direction or purpose. The subconscious desire to run away from this high-stress, high-risk environment, had manifested itself as randomly pacing around. But being in a different and foreign world, the places he could “walk away” was limited.

Soon he found himself in one of the armories within his abode. Coincidentally, it was the one that stored the weapons he had ordered for Ning Bi.

He didn’t realize he had ordered so many, but the amount made sense, since he had no idea which type of weapon Ning Bi may have a talent for.

In fact, if Ning Bi were to choose a weapon other than the sword, Han De would only be ecstatic. Truthfully, he had no experience with the sword. The memories of the cultivation idiot did exist, but they were like instructional videos. Not at all suitable for answering sword relation questions from an enthusiastic disciple!

Among the large number of weapons inside, Han De spotted a pair of double-edged, curved warglaives. There were main pairs, but the ones that caught his attention were excessively ornate!

“…”

'These don't look like Xianxia weapons at all…! They are way too weird for this world. I know I had asked for a few sets of each weapon type, but did you have to include these things as well? Does my disciple look like a buff, blind, Night Elf dude to you?'

While grumbling inside, Han De, of course, immediately equipped the flashiest looking pair of warglaives. He could cringe at the name of Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword art, but he couldn't resist the temptation of swinging around uselessly big pair of blades! This was a man's romance!

Time lost its meaning as Han De swung around the huge blades while giggling uncontrollably. He tried a variety of cool offensive and defensive stances. This was an entirely new world for him. He couldn't help but to give a contemplative boss pose, then spoke in a relaxed, but mildly disappointed tone.

"You are not prepared…"

"..."

Han De was truly inside his own world. There was no chance to relax while being under the threat of soul dissipation, or getting refined into a spiritual pill by the sect master, or forming an irreversible grudge with the future Purifier of Planes…

He was under constant pressure ever since he transmigrated!

Seeing a real set of gorgeous demon-hunter warglaives, acted as a pressure valve. He was so focused on his little relaxation activity, he hadn’t even noticed Ning Bi’s arrival!

"I-I am sorry, Master! Please forgive me!"

“…”

How long was she standing at the armory door?! Han De’s body immediately became stiff. Simply holding on to the warglaives required tremendous willpower! The more he thought of the situation, the more embarrassed he became.

This scene, was definitely going to be a part of his dark history in the future!

Not only that, but his profound expert impression was completely shattered to bits!

He immediately used his spiritual sense to observe Ning Bi, without turning his back. He didn’t need to use a mirror, or spiritual sense to tell how deep the shade of red was on his face.

Han De the Transmigrator didn’t dare face his disciple at this moment!

"I wanted to report to you that I reached Qi Condensation level 2 a few hours ago…" Ning Bi's voice became smaller as she spoke. She was still bowing, perhaps not daring to look up.

At that moment, Han De decided to use his ultimate technique.

He was going to act as if nothing ever happened!

"I know, you have done well.” He said while trying to keep his voice straight. ”However, you should not be complacent. Your cultivation speed can be considered fast, but you have started quite late. You are catching up, not trailing a new path.

Once you reach the 5th stage of the Qi Condensation realm, you may start training with weapons and choose a suitable type to focus on. You are not to practice with them until the 5th stage, understood?"

Ning Bi gave a sharp nod in response.

"Mm, you may leave. Continue to work hard in the future."

"Yes, Master."

Han De watched Ning Bi with his spiritual sense. The little girl gave a sparkling look at the warglaives before her respectful retreat. The current Han De couldn’t figure out what the little girl was thinking and wished he could dig a hole and enter it!

Meanwhile, Ning Bi couldn’t contain her excitement! 'So cool. Master is so cool! He was even cooler than before! I must reach the 5th stage quickly!' Thought the little girl. She had to wield those amazing weapons as soon as possible!

Finally alone, Han De breathed a sigh of relief.

His requirement for the 5th stage of the Qi Condensation realm was a panic move. There was no such requirement for anyone else! According to the cultivation idiot’s memories, that is.

Normally, most, if not all disciples would train with weapons, even before reaching the Qi Condensation realm! Apart from a few sects that focus primarily on spiritual mantras, most sects and families would teach martial arts from a young age! Because they were helpful in sensing and controlling Qi.

Ning Bi, enamored by her father's cultivator stories, and her master's amazing display at the ceremony, and the profound warglaive art she saw a moment ago, didn't question his teachings. She just wanted to reach the 5th stage with all her being!

Han De did not, and could not notice this fire burning within her.

‘… Let’s master the Starfall Scripture instead. Yeah. Nothing happened. Let’s just cultivate! Woo…’
He “enthusiastically” moved to the closest courtyard with a spiritual spring. It was time to cultivate.

* * *

1 cycle.

2 cycles.

3 cycles.

4 cycles.

5 cycles.

6 cycles.

7 cycles.

8 cycles.

9 cycles.

10 cycles.

[Cultivation: Core Formation - Mid Stage ((+15) 3782/500000)]

[Starfall Scripture (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Comprehension: Master]
[Stage: Core Formation (Mid-Stage)]

To test the effects of increased comprehension, Han De deliberately chose a nice and even number of cycles for testing.

‘Mastering the Starfall Scripture reduced the cycle time to 6 minutes and increased the XP per cycle. Not bad, considering the scripture is still the same!

Let’s see… Right now, If I could cultivate 10 hours a day like this, I could reach the advanced stage in… a little more than 9 years. If I take pills on the side, it might be 7-ish years?’

Han De thought of his previous cultivation experience and tried to compare them.

‘… Looks like the main benefit of the master level comprehension was spiritual energy recharge speed, not cultivation speed. It should take me about a week to reach peak condition again if I exhaust my reserves. Before it would’ve been… a month?'

The Starfall Scripture wasn’t his only cultivation method anymore. Han De decided to test the other one he learned as well.

1 cycle.

2 cycles.

3 cycles.

4 cycles.

5 cycles.

6 cycles.

7 cycles.

8 cycles.

9 cycles.

10 cycles.

[Cultivation: Core Formation - Mid Stage ((+3) 3785/500000)]

[Light Through a Single Thought]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Comprehension: Master]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (7/13)]

‘…Yeah… Guessed it as much…’

A true comparison required him to grind the new cultivation method to the Core Formation stage, but the result was obvious even with a cursory look. The Starfall Scripture was faster!

Han De quietly went back to his bedroom. Nearly 3 hours of cultivation was enough to completely exhaust him!

Thankfully, today was a peaceful day that was totally ordinary. There wasn't anything worth remembering at all. He was sure he would never remember this totally uneventful day in the future.

8. Gather for the Feast

Four days after his transmigration, Han De reviewed what had happened so far.

The quest was over. Ning Bi had a cultivation scripture. Even his comprehension of his own cultivation method was improved!

‘So far so good!’ He thought, while lazily laying on his bed. After nonstop action for the past four days, Han De believed he deserved a much-needed break!

Therefore, he spent the next week cooped up in his abode!

In the beginning, he was worried that this sudden change might look suspicious, since the cultivation idiot was both an arrogant young master, and an elder of the sect.

Upon discovering this issue, Han De seriously thought about going out and bullying random people! But when he took an in-depth look at the cultivation freak’s memories, he became instantly relaxed.

That guy could stay in closed-door seclusion for a year! Why would anyone suspect Han De for not going out for a month?

The first few days, he divided his time between experimenting with Qi control, and trying to learn one of the techniques he got from the archives.

Surprisingly, the creators of these cultivation methods had unique insights regarding natural phenomena. But their secretive, and almost jealous nature, became their Achilles’ heel. His family’s Starfall Scripture, and the two light element scriptures he learned, described the same natural reaction in three different ways. Three different, nonsensically flowery ways!

The duplication of effort between these scriptures was simply astounding!

But Han De found out one silver lining to this! Learning similar cultivation methods seemed to substantially reduce the Profound Point cost! Luminous Clouds, one of the methods he got from the archives, was extremely cheap compared to the Light Through a Single Thought, despite how similar both methods were.

'This is a blessing, but not exactly a good thing in my case. If the methods I choose for the Derive Cultivation Method Token are similar, wouldn’t the new cultivation method be similar to them as well?

I need cultivation methods with little to no overlap! But I can’t figure out if they overlap without using the system because all of them are obnoxiously cryptic! Using so many Profound Points with no obvious gain is just a waste…’

In the end, Han De decided not to waste his points any further. He was already down to 3!

The results of his Qi training though, were well worth the time spent!

Rather than repeating another sword flight incident, Han De treated his training seriously, and took the necessary precautions first!

For the location, he selected one of the far-away lakes inside his estate. Then, he strictly instructed his servants not to disturb him. Finally, he took a few defensive treasures from one of the armories. Not extra strong ones of course, because that would certainly arouse some suspicion. All thanks to the cultivation idiot’s tendencies.

These precautions turned out to be very appropriate! Because although Han De learned how to summon a small fire, cool down a cup of water, and cause a small breeze out of nowhere (mainly for posing), the collateral damage was rather disproportionate.

An entire lake was frozen, a grove was nearly all burnt down, and another grove was completely uprooted by hurricane-like winds!

At the Core Formation level, even basic spells could be dangerous!

And these basic spells didn’t even use elemental Qi! And Han De’s roots were of the Light element!

To a small degree, all cultivators could manipulate all elements. Their roots only determined how effective they were. Han De couldn’t use Fire element cultivation methods to cultivate Fire Qi, nor could he cast spells that required Wood Qi. But, given enough practice, he could summon a small fire for alchemy, or cause a seed to grow and bloom into a flower. He just couldn’t use that flower seed to strangle dozens of people in an instant!

Though his Qi practice was successful, Han De decided not to practice the Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword. He didn’t want to add yet another chapter to his dark history so soon!

If he were to practice that method, it had to be done far, far away from the sect!

‘Looks like a Core Formation cultivator really has a tremendous amount of Qi. The cause of violent reactions during simple spells should be because I ended up using far more power than necessary! With no expertise in Qi control, if I tried that sword art now, it would definitely cause a commotion.’

* * *

[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Ning Bi successfully reached Qi Condensation Level 3]
[Issuing 25 Profound Points as a reward.]

…

…

[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Ning Bi successfully reached Qi Condensation Level 4]
[Issuing 35 Profound Points as a reward.]

2 days later, Ning Bi reached the 3rd stage. 4 days after that, she reached the 4th.

Han De thought the girl would make a report, just like before. But Ning Bi kept cultivating nonstop! She didn’t leave her room for a second, and chose to consume pills like a bottomless pit!

By that world’s standards, reaching the 4th stage in 7 days was unheard of. In fact, among the disciples accepted this year, she already had the highest cultivation!

Han De was baffled by her speed, but still felt happy, since he got a decent amount of points out of it!

Ning Bi cultivating nonstop also meant that Han De wouldn’t have to worry about getting caught in the open! Han De decided this was an excellent opportunity to scout for Xianxia flour, and other spiritual ingredients he could use!

Aside from Ning Bi’s dumplings, he hadn’t eaten anything since his arrival! And that was simply unacceptable!

Unfortunately, he did not know that Ning Bi explicitly chose to use normal ingredients when she made those dumplings. Thanks to her father’s stories, she knew not to use spiritual ingredients!

[White Wheat Flour]
[White flour made by only refining the wheat endosperm. Refining processed removed all of the spiritual Qi inside it.]
[Safe for consumption.]

'Wow, even a Xianxia world is biased toward whole-wheat bread huh…'

After assembling the flour, Fire-Chicken eggs, and some questionable milk, Han De wanted to make some pancakes. But lacking baking powder or baking soda, ended up settling on French crepes instead.

Together with some strawberry-looking fruits that totally weren't strawberries according to the system, and some expensive-sounding spirit honey, he was finally able to have a relaxing and familiar meal!

* * *

"What is that smell?"

"What sme- WHAT?! How could a demon infiltrate our sect?!"

"Elder brother? What demon?!"

"Hey, stop exagge- !!!!"

The four servants on duty were waiting on Elder De's instructions as per usual. The peculiar smell produced a variety of reactions! The older pair had a stern look on their faces, while the younger ones only displayed curiosity and disgust.

"Heavens, I can't take this anymore, I need to get away."

"Hey, it isn't that bad, it kinda reminds me of the tofu that old man Chen used to make."

"Shut it! The two of you have no idea, but I have been on many excursions before. This ever-changing but foul scent is a telltale of the plague-devouring demon."

The younger ones looked at each other. Was there such a thing?

"Listen to your elder brother.” The oldest spoke with a low voice. ”Before anything, we need to make sure. We especially need to make sure that Elder De's cultivation isn't interrupted, otherwise we'll be the ones to pay!"

Nodding to each other, the four servants alerted the sect guards. This was beyond their pay grade, their elder brother had decided. The Core Formation stage guards quickly arrived; with only a whiff they could tell the gravity of the situation. They quickly patrolled the area with stiff faces, and it didn’t take long to discover the smell’s origin.

The demon, was inside the mansion!

"So it is the young master, I see."

The guard captain was a prudent man. When he first heard of the situation, he had scoffed inside. 'Do you expect me to believe a nether demon with a formed core could slip into the sect unnoticed?' He thought. After seeing that reporting servants belonged to the young master, however, he decided to take the safe approach and investigate personally!

"Nothing to worry about.” The guard captain spoke confidently. “Your master is probably experimenting. If he was in trouble, the sect would've known. Carry on with your work."

As he left, the guard captain decided to report the issue to a Han faction elder, just in case. There was no room for error when it came to the Han family's young master!

The four servants were left alone.

"Uuhh, should- should we contact Elder De?"

"Contact who, you want a beating? You heard the captain, Elder De is just experimenting..."

"With a plague devouring demon?" The young boy asked unsurely.

The elder brother of the servants, the one that participated in many demon hunts was silent for a while.

"I might not look like it now, but years ago, before I got crippled and became a servant, I went to a few demon hunts with Elder Yu, and heard him explain many things.

Although the scent is foul to the extreme, it doesn't contain demonic Qi. The captain probably noticed immediately it. Removing demonic Qi from a Core Formation demon is extremely difficult. And removing Nether Qi from the nether core, even more so! This noxious smell rapidly disappears quickly if the core was damaged in any way. In case of a plague-devouring demon, which melts as you cut it, the difficulty is even worse!

Stench without the Nether Qi is the sign of a perfect removal.

So keep your mouths shut if you know what's good for you. And make sure not to become the source of a rumor!"

* * *

Since it was just some crepes, Han De wasn't concerned about other people finding out. Crepes were crepes after all, they were an easy affair to hide. However, he didn't realize the difference between normal ingredients that a mortal would use, and spiritual ingredients that a cultivator would use.

All spiritual ingredients had spiritual energy inside them. An immortal chef wasn't someone that just removed monster Qi and cooked a meal from random ingredients. They would use their impressive Qi control to contain, harmonize, and combine Qi from different forms of Qi. It was not unlike Alchemy in a sense.

Through meticulous efforts, they would create dishes that had a divine taste and fragrance. Dishes made by proficient chefs would retain their taste and stay at the optimum temperature for a long time. If the chef didn't have enough experience though, the stability of the fragrance, and the taste, would soon collapse.

Han De didn't know any of this. He didn't have precise measurements, in fact, he didn't have any measurements at all. 'Eeeh this feels right, but maybe a little more flour to make it thicker' was his approach. As he cooked and ate, everything was alright, he was the eye of the storm so to speak.

Just as he was finishing the cleanup operation, he finally noticed the stench. Along with the realization of how crepes after taste seemed to keep changing. A mild panic came at first, but Han De realized the changed flavor was quite familiar. He used to go to Chinatown every so often and had already developed a taste for fried stinky tofu.

Still, he find it odd that the aftertaste was still evolving.

In any case, he didn’t want the kitchen to stink, so he used his small breeze spell to ventilate the area. Truly, his time to master these Xianxia life skills was well spent!

Spiritual ingredients were extremely fragrant by nature. The scent, the stench, permeated through the entire valley as Han De ventilated the kitchen.

Soon, Han De’s servants and lackeys got the whiff of the ever-changing stench.

"Where is this foul stench coming from?!"

"Who dares to release such stench? If I don't beat you to death after finding you, I'll be your mother!"

Meanwhile, Ning Bi exited her first closed-door seclusion. After not eating anything but pills for a week, she was oddly hungry.

* * *

"A Plague-Devouring Demon?"

The man that listed to the report frowned. He deliberately pronounced every single word.

Although the person that was giving the report was a Nascent Soul cultivation elder, standing in front of this man, he was still susceptible to changes in the man’s mood.

"Yes, Sect Master."

Sect master, who was now thinking with a blank face, looked rather similar to Han De. Or rather, Han De looked rather similar to him, being his son.

'What is this rascal doing with a plague-devouring demon? Any other demon is fine but to contain a plague-devouring demon is just an exercise in frustration, even for the experts. Did he find some fortuitous encounter and only now thought of displaying it?'

"How is it that there was no breach in containment?"

It would be impossible to hide a breach, especially of this size.

"After I received the report, I went there myself with a few trusted Core Formation elders. Nether Qi was expertly removed. I suspect the demon itself was kept alive for about an hour after core extraction. There were also some peculiarities within its trace. I cannot be sure, but it might have been a mutant or a variant."

Han Wei, the sect master, creased his brows.

"That brat was always focused on his sword. He didn't have any side interests, not in spells, not in formations, and certainly not in alchemy. Why."

"As my duty, I have to remind the sect master that he reached mid-stage Core Formation rather quickly as well"

Han Wei didn't want to hear this old argument, normally he would rebuke him, but today he didn't feel like it.

"What of his disciple?"

"No one has seen the girl since they visited the archives. I had the archive records looked at again. Although the girl didn't take a cultivation method, I found that Elder De had taken five Light element methods and one Fire element scripture. The scripture itself was stored on the 7th floor, and it is called Blazing Fury."

Hearing the scripture's name, the sect master frowned again. Being a cultivator, he remembered the reason this scripture was shelved on the 7th floor, and how dangerous it was.

"Why haven't I heard of this before?"

"The person that had taken the scripture was Elder De himself. At first, we thought he didn't allow the girl to take a cultivation method due to her still being in the Qi sensing stage. And Elder De's thoughts about the archive are well known. Only after we heard a rumor about Elder De taking out techniques, did we checked his records"

"What do you make of this?"

Elder Yu thought for a while before answering.

"Someone is influencing him, and the matter with Blazing Fury is serious. However, the disciple is still someone at the Qi sensing stage, so no action is necessary until she condenses the first Qi strand. Which might take a while considering her low talent."

Han Wei first faintly nodded, but then shook his head. "The girl's background is too clean. She shouldn't have made it into the sect, even as the last place. She shouldn't have been able to withstand Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword's aura, she shouldn't have been selected by little De. Too many coincidences.

De himself shouldn't have gone to the archives in the first place. Five Light element methods seem like a smokescreen for Blazing Sun, but the scripture itself seems to be a smokescreen for something else."

Elder Yu thought the sect master spoke the wrong name, but on second thought, perhaps it was him that didn’t know the technique’s true name in the first place.

"And now the plague-devouring demon…" Han Wei felt uncomfortable. Han De was their only child. The entire family doted on him endlessly. This made the boy a bit presumptuous, but Han Wei didn’t think that was a flaw in his character. Although Han De liked to attract attention to himself once in a while, he was always consistent.

"Invite him and his disciple to the reception tomorrow, keep it under wraps, and handle it well. Go."

Elder Yu didn’t show the surprise on his face and immediately started carrying out the sect master’s orders.

Sect Master Han Wei always had a 'don't interfere' policy when it came to his son. He wanted him to concentrate and increase his cultivation. And that was exactly what Han De was doing. In fact, perhaps he was doing it a bit much, but that was fine too. On the occasions that he didn't cultivate, he would stir up trouble, but even then, Han Wei wouldn't interfere with him.

Han Wei never, not once, called his son to an official sect event. If he wanted to come by himself, that was fine, if not, that was also fine.

Elder Yu knew Han Wei was a doting parent. He wasn't surprised when Han Wei put importance on the events surrounding his son. But he was surprised to see Han Wei becoming so concerned enough to actually changed his plans.

'His approach was bound to change when his son became an elder, I guess.'

9. Wolves' Hunger

Elder Yu arrived at Han De's abode for the second time today. Although he disliked Han De's 'antics' as a young master, he was supportive of him as a Han faction elder. He shook his head as he walked towards Han De's location.

'If only he was a bit less like his mother and more like his paternal grandfather…'

Elder Yu would never dare to speak such thoughts out loud. Even if he knew he was completely alone in a hidden world, he would never speak of it. As a Nascent Soul cultivator and a Han faction elder, he knew better.

'Hmm, is there a Qi Condensation level 4 disciple here? Is Han De doing something to that disciple?'

Although he didn't want to interfere since he was just here to relay an invite, this guy's Fire Qi was rather pure for his level. He decided to give him a hand if the circumstances were favorable.

'Strange, I can't sense Han De's direct disciple, why is she not here?'

Putting questions back on his mind, Elder Yu entered a small spiritual garden and saw Han De approach him with a faint smile.

"Greetings Elder Yu. It is rare for you to visit, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Hearing his greeting, Elder Yu grew concerned and secretly started scrutinizing Han De.

"This elder is just here to extend an invitation from Grand Elder. He wishes for you and your disciple to attend the gathering tomorrow at noon."

Nascent Soul was a stage where sensitivity to spiritual energy reached a whole new level. A Nascent Soul cultivator didn't need to use their spiritual sense actively to detect life forms. Even at the heart of the Starfall Mountain sect where dense spiritual energy limited the effective range, they could still passively sense things that lower realm cultivators could not.

Elder Yu wasn't an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator either. He frequently participated in demon hunts in his youth. Eventually led dozens of excursions to Red Stone Basin. His sensitivity to spiritual energies, especially to that of demonic in nature was well known to be exceptional.

'Not a trace of demonic Qi anywhere. It is as if it didn't exist in the first place. Hmm? What is this? What a pure Fire Qi! He is cult-... No, she, is cultivating rather profound scripture.'

Han De's normal behavior frequently resulted in many rumors. Some were true, some were baseless. As long as it wasn't something that could impact Han De's credibility in the future as a successor candidate for the Sect Leader, rumors would be left alone. Han faction wasn't born yesterday, they knew their actions could give legitimacy to a false rumor if they did not play their hand perfectly.

Elder Yu was reminded of a recent rumor that was spread by the Tan family descendants. It wasn't the first time such a rumor had appeared. Sometimes families would even start false rumors in hopes of getting the young master of the Han's interested in their daughters.

'That girl should be following the Silent Wind mantra as a disciple of their mountain. I don't remember any female disciples with such pure Fire Qi. The only person that comes to mind is…'

'Did he actually kidnap that lass?! Why didn't her family cause a ruckus already? Do they not know about it yet? Wasn't he chasing that Chu family girl? Where did this one come from?'

Elder Yu felt a headache coming. It wouldn't be a problem if the family had no objections, but if they did object...

'She would definitely make an example out of them.'

Elder Yu was in his own world busy with drafting many contingency plans.

Han De had gone through several panic attacks during this ordeal. First when he felt a Nascent Soul cultivator coming to his abode. He had another when he saw it was Elder Yu. And another one when he heard the invite from his father.

'F#$%!!! Did they discover something? Did I act too suspiciously?!'

'I knew should've bullied some random people! F#$%!'

'I need to make this guy go away right now otherwise I'm gonna start freaking the F#$% out'

The faint smile on his face had disappeared involuntarily. It was replaced with a faint frown. The fact that he didn't have an ounce of panic on his face, was a testament to Han De's dedication to acting like a Profound Expert. He didn't realize it at this point, but practicing in front of a mirror for several hours every day had already paid off.

"Since my father decided to invite us, we will be there. Thank you Elder Yu."

Elder Yu nodded, then unceremoniously left. He had a lot more work to do now, thanks to Han De. Sometime later when he reported his suspicions, Han Wei started to break into a sweat as well.

Meanwhile, Han De was already aimlessly walking inside his house.

'That cultivation moron and his father had a tacit agreement about not interfering with each other before Han De reached Nascent Soul. Why did he break it now?'

Han De scoured his memories but couldn't find anything. The only changed variable was him.

'This is a dead end. I have no way of knowing the reason, I can only focus on how to respond.'

'Ning Bi's father was an exiled civil servant, considering he was able to pull strings to check his daughter's spiritual roots even when in exile, he wasn't an ordinary civil servant. Ning Bi's behavior suggests she was taught etiquette, so she will be fine.'

'Cultivation freak did attend some events both as a host and as a visitor in the past.'

Looking at his memories, Han De was at a loss on what to do. Previous Han De was the genius of the Starfall Mountain Sect. During social gatherings, it was natural for the new generation to exchange pointers. However, his overwhelming pride and arrogance caused Han De to gain quite a few enemies and a reputation that went along with it.

He crippled the genius of the Celestial River Sect during a duel and even had the audacity to scoff at him afterward. He insulted the Wang family heir, then beat him up in front of his fiance. He taunted the prime disciples of the Yellow City, faced a dozen of them at the same time and severely injured every single one. He tortured a disciple of the Phantom Sword sect by breaking a bone for every time he missed a strike, all because he didn't give him a respectful enough look. Poor guy had at least 40 of his bones broken until elders ended the duel.

'It's fine, I'm an Elder now. In a friendly social gathering, no elders would participate in duels. Even the guys that have a grudge against me can't challenge me. Challenges are only valid amongst new generations of disciples.'

Realizing something, Han De stopped. The new generation of disciples, naturally, included his own disciple, Ning Bi. She was already in Qi Condensation Level 4.

'Shiet. She doesn't know any martial arts techniques, and never trained with a weapon either. The stick that she used to chase away the devil-chickens during her travels was the closest she came to using a weapon.'

Suddenly his worried expression changed, Han De laughed out loud.

"What am I getting worried about. She is an MC. Even if she gets defeated, that means the ones that defeated her will become her stepping stones later!"

'...'

'Wait, what if she starts to resent me for not teaching her martial arts?! What if she blames me for losing?! Damn, that is a grudge waiting to be formed right there.'

Han De wiped the cold sweat off his forehead.

'I definitely cannot let her fight.'

Continuing his aimless walk, Han De started to form a plan.

'This guy was just a menace in his arrogant young master years. So I need to act accordingly. I just need to act arrogant enough without attracting too much attention.'

Arriving in front of his mirror, Han De started his desperate attempt at improving his Arrogant Young Master act.

* * *

Starfall Mountain Sect held a Disciple Acceptance Ceremony every year. As the dominant sect in the south-east corner of the continent, and being a sect known for accepting few disciples, this affair was followed closely by all entities that surpassed a certain size. Sects, families, cities, countries, empires, however boring it was they still paid attention to it.

Currently, in Starfall Mountain Sect there were many important members of the south-eastern side of the continent. They weren't here for the disciple ceremony, they were here for the conference that all major powers participated every 50 years. It was just a coincidence that this time's conference was held in Starfall Mountain, just a little over a week after the acceptance ceremony.

Before the conference started, all major powers were invited to a small reception, to socialize and let younger generations mingle with each other. This was a rare opportunity, so everyone was keen on seizing it, especially considering the contents of this time's conference.

Although younger generations weren't privy to the contents of the conference, being members of the ruling class, they were kept up to date on recent news by their retainers.

"I didn't expect both the trip and the Starfall Mountain itself to be this boring. Their biggest event recently was their young master accepting a disciple. How is that even an event?"

The young boy that just spoke had a look of genuine disdain, from his face to his toes, every part of his being was filled with disdain. If Han De was here to see him, he would start taking notes and lament at not being able to video record it. This was prime arrogant young master stuff!

"Oh? You don't find it interesting that the prodigy young master of Han's took in a nearly crippled disciple?"

Ming Niu looked at his smirking friend. Although Ming Niu himself was a prince and had access to intelligence about major powers, he was trained in the art of ruling, not sifting through intelligence, as he would say so himself. He found such an activity beneath him. That wasn't the case for the boy in front of him, however. Whenever this guy smirked like this, there would be something interesting to play with.

"What have you found?"

Zhang Cheng, as the son of General Zhang, was trained in information gathering and processing. Not only he was exceptionally good at it, but he also liked it. He liked collecting compromising information about important people. As the retainer of Ming Niu, they made a good team. Zhang Cheng would collect intelligence, and Ming Niu would use it.

As the two 14-year-old boys kept talking in low voices, everyone had arrived and were already talking about a wide variety of subjects.

Elder Yu had a calm appearance outside, but inside he was filled with regret. He had worked all night and morning to get on top of anything that might be caused by Han De's kidnappi- *cough* alleged kidnapping of the Lei Chen.

He had prepared gifts, given instructions to crush any and all rumors, and given fake rumors to certain Han family members to buy enough time to settle things. He even prepared a list of targets to be coerced, extorted, blackmailed, and assassinated, just in case if negotiations fail.

Everything was ready to proceed after the conference. Preparations had gone smoothly. The only thing that was worrying him was Han De and his disciple being nowhere to be found.

<It has already been half an hour, where is Han De?>

The person that received the voice transmission flinched. He was the one that was in charge of Han De and his disciple. Elder Yu knew that Han De's disciple didn't have any ceremonial dress. Han De himself didn't have any information about the visitors. While he was busy with handling potential Lei family fallout, he had instructed some of his subordinates to handle everything on Han De's end.

<Elder De and his disciple are walking towards the pavilion, Elder Yu>

Being an important gathering, no one was allowed to fly above or near the pavilion grounds. Cultivators of Core Formation and up, normally would fly to their destination as close as possible, and walk the rest of the way if flying was prohibited. Hearing Yan De was walking, Elder Yu relaxed.

<They finally arrived? Good. Good.>

Anticipating this conclusion, the poor man explained. He was thankful he wasn't in front of Elder Yu right now.

<N-no, Elder De started walking from his abode, two hours ago>

After a few seconds of silence, Elder Yu talked again.

<Are you saying they are walking all the way towards the pavilion?>

<Y-yes, Elder Yu>

Several silent minutes later, Elder Yu finally spotted two walking towards the pavilion. It had been a little more than half an hour since guests started socializing. The gathering was already past its midpoint. Seeing two figures that clearly dressed for the occasion, guests' interest was naturally aroused.

The man in the front had a natural arrogance about him. It wasn't an arrogance that came from family connections or cultivation power. It was an arrogance that came from surviving tribulations, from going against the heavens, from walking one's own path. His ceremonial yellow robes were lazily fluttering around as he walked. He exuded an aura of naturalness as if he wore these robes every day. Every step of his was calm, collected. The demeanor of a true expert!

The girl that followed the man wasn't any less eye-catching. With her white skin, pitch-black hair, and matching grey ceremonial robes, she walked behind him with a respectful distance. Although her eyes were looking down as a sign of respect, when she momentarily gazed towards them everyone could see her bright red eyes, with a faint light twinkling within. Her movements also had an aura of familiarity, as if she followed the man all her life. She completed the picture. A disciple and her master!

"What is this? I didn't notice anyone missing, what are they doing arriving at this hour? Could they be delegates from south-west?"

"They wouldn't dare to make a scene like this, not today."

"They wouldn't wear Starfall Mountain ceremonial clothes either"

Hearing the last person, everyone realized those robes were indeed Starfall Mountain robes. They were too focused on the people and neglected what was right in front of them.

Elder Yu had recognized Han De immediately, also recognized the girl from her Qi Condensation 4 aura as well. However, she definitely wasn't Lei Chen. She also clearly wasn't Ning Bi either, even ignoring the cultivation difference, Ning Bi's eyes were brown, not bright red like this!

'Oh no, a third party? But why is she acting like she is his disciple?'

True experts at the conference were able to things see many could not.

"Interesting, such a pure Fire Qi, abundant too, considering her cultivation."

"Could she be the Lei family princess? She is called fire prodigy is she not?"

"This one's mantra is extreme. Although Lei family princess is talented in fire cultivation methods, it shouldn't be to this degree."

"Yes, if she were to practice this same technique, her side effects wouldn't stop at changing eye color."

"Her roots seem to be impure, but she cultivated a mantra to this degree, how interesting."

"Brother Han Wei, it seems you have been hiding an interesting disciple, haha"

Han Wei was puzzled, sensing her fire Qi he also thought she was Lei Chen, but quickly threw that idea away. Looking at the purity, density, and the marks on the spiritual waves, he quickly recognized the method she was using, it was very similar to Blazing Sun but substantially different at the same time. He didn't show it on the outside, but he was vexed.

Elder Yang also recognized the signs of Blazing Sun, he was the one that attempted, and failed, to stabilize the technique. He was also there when Han De chose his disciple, and recognized the girl in one look.

"Ning Bi…?"

Although Elder Yang had said her name in a soft voice, as this was a gathering of powerful cultivators, everyone heard him clearly. They were powerful, and they were well informed, Han De had chosen his disciple quite publicly.

<Cheng, you said something about a plague-devouring demon, didn't you? Could it be?>

Zhang Cheng looked at his friend, the second prince of the Ming dynasty, Ming Niu. Meeting his gaze, Ming Niu was surprised, this was the first time he saw his friend making such a bewildered expression.

Plague-devouring demon had already become news while ago. While waiting for the conference guests couldn't do anything but wait, and powerful people had a habit of compulsively gathering information about their surroundings. Knowledge was power.

All the experts had the same thoughts as the Cheng and Niu pair. Unlike their confused expressions, however, experts' gaze was like hungry wolves.

10. Low Profile

Han De had planned to keep a low profile, only interact with a few guests, and silently fade away. He had practiced his Arrogant Young Master act till dawn. He just needed to give off few looks of disdain, few well-timed and well-calibrated scoffs so that while he would look arrogant, he wouldn't end up offending the recipient too much.

'Ning Bi being at Qi Condensation 4 will catch attention, but that should be limited to internal sect members. Her eyes might arouse some interest, but this is a Xianxia world, after all, different colored eyes shouldn't be that uncommon, right?'

Han De was trying to comfort himself. He was shocked after seeing his disciple's eyes last night. He hadn't seen her in a week, so when he visited her to give a heads up about the gathering, his Profound Teacher look nearly slipped.

*siiigh* 'An MC really is an MC. At least her hair didn't go green, or pink or something. Her skin definitely seems more white though. How typical of Xianxia...'

* * *

Looking at the situation, Han De was full of regret.

'If I had known she would be this eye-catching I would've left her and made some excuse to that guy's dad, wait, I should think of him as my dad, otherwise I'm definitely going to slip up'

Han De didn't want to deceive anyone, but this was a matter of survival. Even if he ran away, his family could use many techniques to easily locate him. He didn't have a choice, it was either act like the cultivation moron or be refined into a husk.

After locating 'his' father, Han De ignored everyone and beelined towards him. He respectfully clasped his hands.

"Grand Elder, greetings."

Behind him, Ning Bi had also joined him.

"Disciple Ning Bi greets honored Grand Elder"

Her words caused a commotion among the new generation. Many couldn't help themselves but talk in whispers. Han De was a Core Formation cultivator, at this moment his entire being was also focused at this event, so it was easy for him to hear what everyone was saying.

"She said her name is Ning Bi!"

"Isn't that the name of the Han De's disciple? She can't be her, can she?"

"I heard Ning Bi was just a village girl, where could a girl like that learn to carry herself like this?"

"Wasn't Ning Bi just a cripple?"

"Yes, I heard she was a cripple, Han De took her in as pleasure girl"

Hearing every single word, Han De himself was furious.

'Are you out of your mind?! THE MC, a cripple?! Pleasure girl?! Do you want me to die that badly?! F#$%, what if she hears you, even if she doesn't believe it just a shadow of a doubt is enough to lead towards a grudge. F#$%!!!'

‘If this was that cultivation weirdo he definitely wouldn’t stand for any of this. These guys probably would’ve been well on their way to being crippled. Younger generation or not.’

According to Han De's Arrogant Young Master Contingency Plan, the best way to solve this issue was to release his aura. There were many different targets, he couldn't try to make eye contact with them all of them (which was the first option), although eye contact unlocked other skills such as giving a slight smile, staring blankly, faintly furrowing brows, squinting eyes, faintly smiling while squinting eyes and so on, but applying them to this number of individuals would make him look like a clown, surely.

'My aura is strong enough for little kids, but these are prodigies. Even Ning Bi was able to withstand it with no cultivation. System, upgrade Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword art to maximum comprehension, quick!'

[Completely comprehending Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword Martial Arts requires 55 Profound Points]
[Initiating Upgrade]
[Upgrade Complete! Congratulations! You have fully mastered a self-created Martial Arts]
[Issuing Bonus 15 Profound Points]

Upgrade was complete, but Han De heard one particular voice, it was just a tiny bit above from others'.

"Perhaps I might take her as my concubine, playing with her could be fun."

'...'

'You piece of trash, I don't mind if she develops a grudge on you, but don't you F#$%#$% involve me in this!'

Han De felt he had to make a scene, otherwise he felt he would eventually be targeted by a certain someone's grudge. Ning Bi didn't even have one martial art yet, it would be disastrous if she 'exchanged pointers' at this time.

During his previous experimentations, Han De had mastered the usage of his aura. Releasing an intimidating aura was Arrogant Young Master 101. He also didn't want to repeat his mistake at the acceptance ceremony. So over the last week, he put a lot of work into it. Scoured all of Han De's memories for reference.

However, all of this preparation was made when his martial arts technique was at the intermediate level, not the advanced level, and certainly not the master level.

* * *

Listening to their next generation's increasingly foolish words, most of the guests were a little embarrassed. Starfall Mountain Sect was unrivaled in their region, and this was their own territory. How could they let the host lose face with such chatter? Normally they would give voice transmission commands to keep their disciples and heirs in line. However, they were also curious about Ning Bi herself.

This girl was practicing profound and extreme mantras, coupled with her background being squeaky clean, the gears in their mind started rotating. What if this girl was from a hidden family? What if she had found a legacy? Is she really Han De's disciple? No one could reach the 4th level from Qi sensing in a week. Her roots look impure, but her cultivation clearly says otherwise. Is there a connection with the plague-devouring demon core? Why was she hidden so deeply?

Exchanging pointers were a common occurrence in social gatherings like this. As such, they didn't reign in their youngsters.

Han Wei being an old sect master and knew what others were thinking. Although he furrowed his brows, he was curious himself. Besides, he usually didn't interfere with Han De so that he wouldn't get caught in tedious inter-faction politics before he was ready. Even though he invited him here today, he still didn't want to interfere in his own affairs, this was his disciple after all.

As everyone was making their own plans in their minds, a powerful aura suddenly shook everyone. It wasn't a normal aura either. This aura carried a concept. Only the most profound techniques could produce such a phenomenon. This wasn't the sword intent that was a mere extension of the practitioner's will.

The concept itself? Tyranny. Absolute tyranny with an absolute disregard for anything and everything. It was as if the aura itself would strike anything that didn't submit. Not even the heavens themselves would be spared.

'Such domineering aura. He is so young too. Even though he is at initial steps of middle stage Core Formation, his aura is nearly at half-step into Nascent Soul.'

Emperor Ming felt a tinge of regret. His intuition as a cultivator was warning him. He felt that it somehow didn't come from Han De, but still came from Han De's direction. It was faint but it was there. Emperor Ming had lived more than a thousand years, he knew better than to ignore this feeling.

'That son of mine just couldn't stop himself from playing his games.'

Han De's aura caused nearly all of the Foundation Establishment and below cultivators to kneel. Not only they couldn't withstand the pressure, but they were also afraid of the consequences if they didn't bend their knees. Concept inside the aura created an unprecedented fear inside them. Despite the distance and the defensive spiritual artifacts on them, no one could resist it.

Core Formation experts were also in a predicament. The concept caused them to be alert. All of them subconsciously entered defensive stances. Many of them had unsightly expressions. Getting forced into a stance due to someone's aura pressure was akin to admitting they were inferior.

While Han De's aura didn't cause much pressure to Nascent Souls and was downright cute for those of even higher realms, what made them furrow their brows was the potential. Everyone knew of the Han De's name, his character, his self created martial arts. But no one expected to see him advance it to such a degree. This was a major slip up of their information networks. They had to reevaluate some of their approaches.

Han De retracted his aura. He had released it for 10 seconds. He appeared to be calm, but his eyes were truly livid. This was his masterpiece, the calm looking storm. It took him many days to master this look.

* * *

Han De tried to practice fighting during last week. However, he quickly found out that although he had the cultivation pervert's memories of all his fights and practice sessions, AND his muscle memory for different moves, to him they weren't particularly useful.

For one, memories of his fights felt more like watching movies. In a fight every situation was different. Trying to learn to fight through those memories alone felt like watching DIY youtube videos to build a modern house.

Muscle memory was good, but even a layman could tell they were too rigid. Unless he was facing those that were an entire realm lower it wouldn't be useful.

Han De lacked the fighting intuition that was forged from lifelong experiences. It wasn't something that could be filled by watching someone's memories or copying their moves. In fighting games' terms, he knew how to execute moves, but had no idea how to combo. Worse, his opponents are pro-players, and the consolation prize is death.

He thought about learning this by practicing with Ning Bi. He could fake it by acting like he was deliberately lowering his fighting intuition to her level, but the troubling thing was, Ning Bi was an MC. Her fighting intuition was most likely already off the charts considering how she defended herself against devil-chickens with nothing but a stick. Practicing with her was just asking to tear down his Profound Teacher facade. It was only a matter of when.

Therefore, Han De decided to focus on the power of bullshit. If he couldn't fight, he had to play to his strengths. He had the backing of both the biggest sect and the most domineering family in the area. He also had a reputation for being an arrogant young master.

'You look at me in a funny way? Have fun living a crippled life! You don't want to give me face? Good luck with your next life! I don't like your looks, leave the women then scram, don't let me see your face again!'

Han De entirely focused on bluffing. Used cultivation maniac's memories to construct behavior patterns. When to bluff, when to back off, when to call father, when to fight as a last resort, when to call mother for the nuclear option and so on.

* * *

A calm voice swept through the pavilion.

"I didn't expect some of our guests to be so bold. Courting death so unrestrained, so freely."

Han De didn't look at the youngsters that were talking not a minute ago, but looked directly at their seniors. Han De especially made eye contact with Emperor Ming. He didn't know who that guy was, he was just the closest one to his line of sight. One of the most important aspects of his Arrogant Young Master act was to limit horizontal head movement. Any horizontal movement had to be compensated with a vertical one.

"Elder Han De, do you not think that you are going a bit too far with this? Let younger generations solve their problems on their own. We as the older generation should not meddle."

The person who spoke was the leader of Heavenly Gate Sect. Its power couldn't rival that of Starfall Mountain Sect, but it had many backers within other regions. They were being used as a buffer against the south-east region, but because they were getting advantages, they didn't go against this flow.

Han De realized this guy was on a bad angle, so he had to do a sweeping horizontal motion if he wanted to meet his eyes. Deciding against this, Han De kept his eyes on the emperor and talked.

"Don't walk near the riverside if you are afraid of drowning."

The meaning of this was clear. She is my disciple. If you use tools to mess with me, be ready to lose your tools. Masters all around frowned. The situation was getting out of their hand and was proving to be unpredictable. They just wanted to do some probing, why this sudden escalation?!

Actually, Han De didn't really mean anything by this. He had (badly) remembered a Chinese idiom that (vaguely) fit the situation (he thought). Han De raised his head while still keeping eye contact with the emperor. After getting enough vertical clearance, he finally made the diagonal motion with his head gave a half-contemplative-boss look to Heavenly Gate Sect leader.

"This once. I will give you face. I will ignore this situation for the conference."

Satisfied with his no-look look, Han De added with a faint smile.

"Pardon the interruption, let us continue the gathering."

* * *

Ming Niu's face was unsightly. He was the one that made the last comment. He understood what his father and other masters were trying by staying silent. Through Zhang Cheng deductions, he was already interested in the situation. He decided to play a little game, but the board was flipped before he barely completed his first move.

All around him were the young masters gritting their teeth. Once Han De had retracted his aura, all the young masters were finally able to look up. Everyone under Core Formation was either on their knees, or if they didn't have spiritual artifacts to support them, on their fours. No one was spared, even Starfall Mountain Sect disciples were on the ground. All except Ning Bi.

Seeing Ning Bi not even spare a look to anyone infuriated Ming Niu even further. Not only he was a prince, but he was also nearly at Foundation Establishment himself. He had never suffered such humiliation. He signaled to Zhang Cheng.

* * *

Seeing Han De appear nonchalant so soon after his display made other masters feel vexed. This guy was just too unpredictable and too overprotective of his disciple. Although some of the comments were vile, it was still just the rashness of the younger generation. Him being this cautious made others suspect even more that he was hiding something.

Han Wei knew, the major powers would not stand for collectively losing face like this. Although they were gathering for their common interest, Han De's act this time was clearly out of line. However, Han Wei's invite for his son had also paid off in a sense. He was particularly interested in the Zhao faction elder's reaction. Foreign powers seemed oblivious, except for Forsaken Sword Sect's leader.

Great Elder of the Chu family was invited to the conference. He had heard about Han De chasing his granddaughter. Although Han De himself was talented he thought his character wasn't worthy of little Chen. Still, seeing Han De walk towards him and his precious little Chen, Great Elder Chu Bohai had to give face.

Standing near him, Chu Chen was displeased. She wasn't fond of Han De, to say the least. She still remembered Han De's declaration to her when they first met. After that, every time Han De saw her he made a mess to catch her attention. When she secretly visited the disciple acceptance ceremony, he had somehow heard of it and made a scene to impress her. Even today wasn't any different. She was tired of it.

"Greetings Elder Chu. Sister Chu."

Han De made a standard greeting and engaged in some small talk. When he first saw Chu Chen he was taken aback.

'So that's what a 'jade-like skin' looks like! Her skin really does... look like… Wow, it looks like someone abused the crap out of the airbrush filter in photoshop… It looks a bit creepy now that it is in front of me in real life.'

Chu Chen's disdain for Han De once again broke past its limits. She always felt uncomfortable whenever he ogled her with his eyes, but today was something else. Chu Bohai seeing Han De openly check out his granddaughter was fuming inside.

Exchanging pleasantries, Han De decided to leave without scoffing after detecting their hostility. He was sure that the cultivation idiot never met them, or had any interactions with the Chu family before. Thinking that it must be due to his aura display from before, he departed quickly. Besides, he kept finding himself involuntarily looking at the girl's freaky skin. She was a walking talking uncanny valley in real life. It was hard for him to ignore such a sight.

11. Heroine Goes to Work

Han De's open display of hostility cast a shadow over the gathering.

The younger generations were gritting their teeth. They were all geniuses under the heavens. Their sects, families, doted on them. They had the power and the lineage to be arrogant. Han De suppressing them so openly, many felt indignant. They didn't have the power to oppose Han De (yet, many thought in their minds), but they could mess with his disciple, Ning Bi.

Ning Bi herself was aware of this. She was at the 4th stage of Qi Condensation. Although her senses were quite dull compared to Han De's, it was still sharp enough to hear most of it.

Ning Bi was a driven person. Once she realized what she wanted, she would pursue it to the end, no matter what. She went crazy for her father's stories, so she went and found herself a master. She thought warglaives looked cool, so now she was desperately trying to reach the 5th level so she could do cool mov*cough* train with them.

Truthfully, Ning Bi was also a tad obsessive as well. How else could a 12-year-old girl leave her village to find a sect by herself? Not even her family could stop her. Why did they not stop her?

She was also a person that knew how to repay gratitude. She was placed last in the selection, but Han De still took her in. She couldn't find a cultivation method, yet Han De rewrote a method specifically for her.

Even before getting into the sect, she knew how hard it was to find a suitable cultivation method. How could she not know this, it was the reason why she was stuck in Qi sensing stage.

Her cultivation method, Blazing Sun, wasn't just compatible with her, it felt like it was made for her. Insights in the scroll that Han De gave to her were almost prophetic in nature. Often times she would have goosebumps just by reading it.

Hearing the horrible things that were said about her, Ning Bi felt indignant. She knew she wasn't strong enough, she knew she had bad talent, so all she could do was to stay silent. However, she was a tad bit obsessed as well. So while staying still, she silently committed these people into her memory.

When Han De forcefully made these people submit, Ning Bi felt another wave of gratitude for her teacher. She was a smart girl. As Han De would say, 'Comprehension 8 is not a joke'. She knew Han De was making enemies because of her. So all she could do was to take note of every single person that showed disrespect towards her master and commit them to memory.

While looking at the Han De's back as he left, Chu Chen felt a weird chill in her spine. It went away as quickly as it came.

* * *

Han De himself was aiming to keep a low profile. He was searching for targets to sneer, show disdain, and scoff at. He wasn't happy with turning Ning Bi into a target, but at least he had a way of refusing immediate challenges now. He patted himself on the back.

'Thankfully, I only used one-third of the aura. Juuust enough to make people feel some pressure and stumble.'

'With me appearing overprotective, no one would bat an eye if I say she needs time due to her cultivation method. They would just think I am a helicopter parent. No one would further question it.'

Turning back, Han De saw a group of people heading towards him. From the report that he got from Elder Yu, they were from Plum Seed Sect. None of them looked like the sect leader, which was the only description he had heard from the report. Thinking they were a good target for showing disdain, Han De stood still on the spot and gave them a relaxed look first.

"Hmph, so the young master of Starfall Mountain still doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth."

The one that talked appeared to be the leader. He had a look of satisfaction with him. He was clearly enjoying the feeling of schadenfreude. Four that showed him support by sneering at Han De were clearly his posse.

'Alright, this is workable. He is older than me, but his cultivation is similar to mine. If I acknowledge him he'll gain satisfaction. I can't ignore him either.'

'The best approach is to act like I don't know them, smile and then leave. They will not get triggered from that, and I'll still appear arrogant. I'll just score this way and move on. Well, it's not even an act, I really do not know them.'

Han De kept his relaxed look. He did not answer him but slowly looked at their ceremonial robes. There was an ever so slight movement on his eyebrows that suggested he couldn't recognize their sect.

Sensing Han De's confusion and lack of recognition on his face, Cao Hai's face went dark.

Han De wasn't expecting such a serious reaction, but he was already committed, so he started walking away.

In a growling voice, Cao Hai spoke again.

"You dare to act like that after what you have done to my nephew?"

Han De suddenly stopped. He was bewildered. He knew for a fact he didn't have anything to do with Plum Seed Sect. He wouldn't even believe there was a sect with that name if it wasn't in the report.

'Maybe the report was wrong about the robe colors and patterns?'

Han De, still in his Arrogant Young Master look, turned and asked.

"Are you perhaps, what was it... Celestial River Sect members?"

Of all the things that the cultivation freak had done, the one that left the biggest impression on Han De was the crippling of Celestial River Sect genius.

He was an orphan that was picked up by a small martial arts family. He was bullied and ridiculed constantly. The only one that treated him fairly was the youngest daughter. Once he learned that she was entering the Celestial River Sect, he secretly ran away and entered the proving grounds. Showing some promise, he was able to join the same sect.

His cultivation was low, and he had a falling out with his adopted family. His life in the sect was hard, but over the years his cultivation soared. He gained the support of an elusive elder and suppressed his adopted family. Then he took his rightful place as the genius of the sect.

Until he met Han De. Upon hearing this story, Han De tricked the genius into a duel over the step-sister that he was in love with. Han De ridiculed and crippled the genius in front of her, then declared that she wasn't even worth playing around with, let alone taking her in as his concubine.

'Shit, wait, hold up. Why does this sound like an MC backstory all of a sudden? Why didn't I noticed this before?! He even found/faked an old grandpa supporting him from the shadows!'

Han De made a mental note to follow up on this. This flag had to be crushed with full force as soon as possible.

Of course, Plum Seed Sect members knew about the story of the Celestial River Sect genius all too well. As they say, misery loves company.

"You! Good! Very Good!"

Seeing Han De's unbridled arrogance, Cao Hai realized his vision was darkening. He couldn't let out a coherent sentence out of anger.

"Young Master Han De. It has been a while."

Plum Seed Sect Master had arrived. Han De easily recognized him thanks to the report. Beady eyes, receding hairline, horsetail whisk with a plum-colored handle on his side, yes, this man was definitely him.

'It has been a while? Why is it that the cultivation idiot doesn't have any memories of the Plum Seed Sect?'

Feeling that ignoring or acting too familiar might cause unforeseen issues down the line, Han De chose a neutral greeting.

"Sect Master Li Honghui, greetings"

"It seems you have a rather promising disciple. My congratulations to you, Young Master Han De."

Li Honghui had a neutral look. He didn't seem to be concerned with whatever Cao Hai was bothered about. A sect master naturally wouldn't be a simple person. Looking towards the Ning Bi in the distance, Li Honghui continued.

"Cao Hai, didn't you bring Su Jing with us? Why not ask Young Master Han De to have your disciples exchange pointers?"

Han De didn't miss how Cao Hai regained his composure with the arrival of their sect master. Knowing where things were going, Han De interrupted Cao Hai.

"Unfortunately, Ning Bi is practicing a mantra that requires her to refrain from practicing martial arts. Only after reaching the 5th level of Qi Condensation she can overcome this restriction."

Han De gave a half-smile.

"You are more than welcome to exchange pointers after this crucial step is over. It shouldn't take long, say two weeks?"

Han De was famous as a sword cultivator. He couldn't be teaching her spiritual mantras right? Quite a few brows were raised from his comments.

Following his words, Han De saw a youth with Plum Seed Sect robes walk near Ning Bi. He guessed this was the Su Jing, he didn't know why but this boy in his mid-teens looked vaguely familiar to Han De.

"Hmph, so what kind of low-level cultivation method would force someone to forgo martial arts. How disappointing, great Young Master Han De cannot even find a suitable cultivation method for his disciple?"

Su Jing was waiting for this moment since he arrived at Starfall Mountain Sect. He had made a vow to collect a debt three years ago. Today seeing a chance, he decided to go for the interest.

Ning Bi appeared collected. She calmly responded.

"My master rewrote the incomplete Blazing Sun Scripture from the ground up and modified it for me. I will not allow a person of your caliber to sully his great work."

[Issuing a Quest]

[Quest: Distillation]
[Difficulty Level: G]
[Status: Issued]

[Summary: Your extremely talented disciple has formed many grudges so far, but this is the first time she forged such a deep grudge! Although her future is bright, she is still young and inexperienced. As her master, you must carefully nurture her! Help Ning Bi with settling her deep grudge!]

[Requirements: Assist Ning Bi with resolving her deep grudge]
[Time Remaining: 16 Days]
[Success: 250 Profound Points]
[Failure: Ning Bi will no longer be host's disciple]

[Notes: With current Privilege Level (1), the host has to maintain a minimum of (1) disciple(s) (50% of the maximum disciples limit). Failure to do so will result in the removal of the System. As the System is completely integrated into the host's soul, removal will result in said soul's dissipation]

Ning Bi saw her master's gaze, she clasped her hands and gave a determined expression. Her eyes had a strange glow.

'Damn, her eyes are really glowing, literally...'

Han De felt a sharp pain in his liver.

* * *

Elder Yang was furrowing his brows. He had heard every word of Ning Bi spoke. He was adept at modifying cultivation methods for different disciples. This was one of the reasons why he chose to accept many disciples year after year.

<You worked on Blazing Sun Scripture that year. What she says, is it possible?>

Elder Yang heard the voice transmission and subconsciously looked at the sect master in the distance. He saw Han Wei meet his gaze. Elder Yang hesitated.

<No. I have to answer no. But her very existence is proof that I am wrong. I have never seen anyone that cultivated it past level 2. It is a vicious, unforgiving mantra.>

Han Wei stood in deep thought.

Of course, as this was happening, other masters were speculating as well.

<Blazing Sun Scripture? Wu Fu, what do you make of this?>

<It should be the same scripture that Starfall Mountain discovered during the Breach. They had paid a heavy price for it that year to get it out of the blizzard. I heard quite a number of disciples had perished trying to cultivate it before Han Wei finally gave up and shelved it.>

Wu Fu, a Core Formation cultivator with grey-white hair and magnificent mustache, was nearing the end of his lifespan. He had failed at forming a Nascent Soul centuries ago. Since then, he had tried to take care of what he had, instead of lamenting at what he could have had.

Nowadays, he was known for being one of the most influential advisors of the Sun Empire. He was famous for his seemingly unending knowledge. Even now, nearing the end of his lifespan, he collected and analyzed vast amounts of intelligence to serve the Sun dynasty.

Under the pavilion, few remembered or knew about these events. One of them was Emperor Ming, he was there personally during the Breach.

'It seems old Wei unexpectedly never gave up on Blazing Sun. Perhaps the catalyst was the girl?'

He knew it was his son Ming Nui that orchestrated this behind the scenes. He didn't interfere, but he was still vaguely disappointed.

'Too eager to clear himself of humiliation.'

Emperor Ming sighed inside. He needed someone to succeed him so he could enter closed-door seclusion. He might have to stay away hundreds of years this time to breakthrough, but none of his sons were able to gain his approval. Producing even more heirs meant nothing because he was running out of time.

* * *

With the standoff between Han De and Plum Seed Sect over, everyone kept speculating. The gathering was nearing a close. The conference was finally about to start. It would last for the next two weeks. At the end of the conference, a small three-day long friendly battleground was going to be held.

'I really didn't expect a tournament arc coming so soon. Still, this isn't a tournament, it is just random people choosing each other as opponents'

Thinking about how he made Ning Bi a target Han De had many regrets.

'In two weeks she needs to reach 5th level and learn to use a weapon and a martial art technique at a minimum. It's alright, she is an MC! She can do it! She CAN do it!'

Han De was trying to pump himself up. His mind was too chaotic right now. The matter with potentially missing memories was extremely serious. Plum Seed Sect clearly had a grudge against him, but he had no idea why. He had no memories of them.

'I have been relying on the cultivation freak's memories, if some of them are missing I will be at a severe disadvantage. I need to determine the degree, but how?'

<Come to the pond, the conference is about to start, but we need to talk first.>

Han De steeled his nerves, then started walking. He knew this was going to happen after he received the invitations yesterday.

"Fairy Ning! I will teach this Su Jing a lesson, do not worry, he won't be able to stand on his two legs during the bout."

"You should stay out of other people's affairs Xu Fan. Fairy Ning challenged Su Jing herself. She desires to settle this herself. If not, and if she needs help, that duty would naturally not be trusted to you."

Han De saw two youths in their mid-teens arguing near Ning Bi. He recognized one of them as the boy that collided with her in the Archives. Han De could also see a girl looking at Ning Bi with contempt. Ning Bi herself seems to be confused about the situation.

'I really can't deal with the dense otome game heroine shenanigans right now.'

12. Like Father, Like Son

Han De saw 'his' father standing near the pond with clasped his hands on his back. He couldn't help but comment in his heart.

'A natural expert's pose.'

His father Han Wei's cultivation was much higher than his own. A week ago Had De had used his spiritual sense completely envelop Ning Bi. He was able to sense any and all fluctuations in her mood, physical body, and the waves of her soul.

Han Wei could do the same to him. The only difference was, he didn't need to use his spiritual sense he could just do it passively, Han De being none the wiser. If he wanted to avoid suspicions, Han De had to rely on the truth.

"You have grown stronger, well done."

"Thank you, father."

Han Wei looked at the pond.

"You've changed, haven't you?"

"You mean me taking in a disciple?"

"That too, but in other ways as well."

Han Wei turned to look at his son. He looked at him, how he carried himself, how he stood. Han De knew there wasn't any point in delaying or hiding things now.

"I went to the acceptance ceremony to get a disciple, provided that the disciple was talented enough. Nearly all of the newcomers there were disappointing, to say the least. That girl was the only exception. She is extremely talented. In fact, her talent is better than mine by a large margin."

Han Wei kept staring at his son. He knew Han De was a genius among geniuses, reaching Core Formation before his mid-20s. He also knew how arrogant he was. He never acknowledged anyone's talent, until now. Han Wei squinted his eyes as he asked.

"Are you mistaken? Her roots are-" Han De interrupted him.

"Her roots are of extremely high purity. Spiritual waves caused by her roots are weak, not because she has poor roots but because her roots gave her unparalleled control over spiritual energy. It seems like she has poor roots but in reality, her roots are of an even higher purity than ours. No one noticed it because no one looked closely enough."

Han Wei thought about it for a while. He had a deep accumulation, this conjecture was foreign to him, but he could see that it somewhat made sense. However, if this was true, it would make Ning Bi rarer than a phoenix's feather.

"When I realized this, of course I had to take her in as a disciple. If her talent wasn't satisfactory, why would I even bother?"

"What of the Blazing Sun?"

"Technique itself is insidious. Only someone like Ning Bi could cultivate it."

Han Wei conjured a chair out of thin air for both himself and Han De. He asked as he sat down.

"What I mean is, how was it completed?"

Han De wasn't sure how to answer this. If he leaked something about the System, it would be all over. He shrugged and spoke.

"I completed it. After I comprehended it a little I wrote down some tips for her and gave her some instructions about it."

Father Han was speechless. Han De's claims about higher purity roots were 'out there' already. But this? What do you mean you completed it, what do you mean you comprehended it a little?

They sat in silence for a while. Han De sat along with his dad, watching the pond.

"You just completed it?"

He couldn't help but ask. He was beginning to doubt what he had heard a moment ago but then saw Han De nod with an expression that meant 'that's what I said, why are you asking again'.

Taking a deep breath, Han Wei asked another question.

"Who was the person that dissected that plague-devouring demon of yours?"

It was Han De's turn to be speechless. What? What demon? Plague-devouring? What would even I do with those disgusting perverted things? Han De wasn't bothering to act like an arrogant young master right now. If he did, it would be seen through and raise more suspicions. So when he was bewildered he showed it on his face.

Han Wei looked at him in a daze. He thought that this son of his was getting better and better at feigning ignorance. If he hadn't known about it beforehand he would've believed him right now. A smirk crept upon his face.

"Cut the crap, I know there was a plague-devouring demon that was perfectly dissected and it was even kept alive for a while. Few hours before Elder Yu visited you. Ring any bells now?"

Sudden tone change from his father caught him off guard. What was he doing before Elder Yu? He was just making and eating crepes. Lots and lots of crepes. He was practically stress eating.

Han Wei caught a small embarrassment on his son. Thinking 'got you' he pressed on.

"You don't have to feign ignorance. We had studied Blazing Sun a long time ago. In those years we had similar ideas about using demon cores as catalysts, but we could never make it work."

Thinking that things were getting out of hand, Han De decided to answer as truthfully as possible.

"I was alone experimenting with new techniques. Ning Bi was in closed-door cultivation in her room. No one but Elder Yu came to my abode since the disciple acceptance ceremony."

Han Wei furrowed his brows.

"You mean it was you wh-"

"I have no idea about this plague-devouring demon you are talking about. I will say that apart from basic Qi condensation pills, Ning Bi didn't take anything else. She doesn't need a catalyst, certainly not one from a disgusting demon like that."

Han Wei thought for a while and decided to drop this for now. He didn't mind letting Han De keep his secrets, today wasn't an exception.

"Is that why you won't be teaching her martial arts until the 5th level?"

Remembering his dark past, Han De's face went dark. He involuntarily facepalmed while trying to think about how to answer this question. He had to keep his dark history hidden, no matter the cost.

Father Han watched different expressions appear and disappear on his son's face. He thought about how strict Han De was with himself in the past. He found this sudden change strange, but a relief at the same time.

"Ning Bi really reached 4th level in 8 days. I know people were talking about keeping her cultivation hidden, but she really was just a Qi sensing disciple, and she really is now at the 4th level."

"She is compatible with Blazing Sun. Her cultivation is the fastest I've ever seen. Certainly much faster than mine. It doesn't make sense for her to stop and play around with weapons when she could make good progress right now."

"And no, her foundation is stable, but you've probably seen it yourself already."

He knew about this, but only when Han De put it in front of him he was able to connect the dots. With his immense knowledge, Han Wei made a conjecture.

"She started cultivating late and stayed at Qi sensing for a while. With her high compatibility, it makes sense for her to have a fast start. When some special constitutions and bloodlines are cultivated with a matching method, they too soar through ranks quickly. However, this is only temporary, she will start slowing down soon enough."

Han Wei tried to act like an expert in front of his son, but inside he was shocked! 4th level in 8 days? What kind of speed is that? Are you even human?! Are you trying to reach Nascent Soul under a year?!

Han De nodded. He was quite bummed to hear such news. Without quests, his only income of Profound Points was Ning Bi advancing her cultivation…

'This brat really changed hasn't he, he really seems to care about this girl'. Thinking this was a good thing, Han Wei smiled and nodded.

"Father, do you know what happened between me and Plum Seed Sect?"

Seeing his serious look, Han Wei was confused, but still answered.

"I do, you crippled a genius of theirs, that Cao's nephew, did you not?"

Han De nodded while saying 'I see' with a faint voice. This was the confirmation. He really did lose some memories, or rather didn't receive them in the first place. It was risky, but he had to bring this in now before it can inevitably cause headaches down the line. At this point, he was banking on the System's ability to completely hide itself.

Sensing uneasiness of his son, Han Wei patiently waited for him to gather his thoughts.

"It seems I am missing some of my memories. I'm not sure how much. Morning of the acceptance ceremony my memory became fragmented, I have not realized that I might be missing memories until that Li Honghui greeted me."

Han Wei lost any expression on his face. He thought for a while, then sent his spiritual sense to him. Han De didn't resist, not that he could do anything even if he did. He waited as his dad scanned him with his spiritual sense.

'His memory is damaged but it isn't extensive. It seems to be focused towards a certain timeframe, or certain people. Although there is damage, there are no signs of alterations. No abnormalities in his soul. Strange, such an attack should've left some minor soul wounds at least.'

Using his powerful cultivation base and deep knowledge, Han Wei was able to pinpoint the problem areas with impressive accuracy. He wasn't a sect master for nothing. One could not rise to this position with just raw power or scheming. Pondering for a moment, father Han explained what he found and added.

"You don't have to worry, recovery of the memories is possible. The affected area is small, but the damage itself is thorough. We can concoct a Seven Luminaries Reminiscence pill, its ingredients aren't that rare, we'll be able to gather them soon. That should take care of the most, if not all of the damage, be at ease!"

"I'll send Elder Yu to you, review your actions of the past few years. Find out what is missing, that can also help you remember and repair some of the memories yourself"

"I don't need to remind you to focus on your, and your disciple's cultivation. Do not reveal you are missing memories to anyone. We will find out who is responsible and teach them their place, do not worry."

Father Han had talked rapidly. He stood up, the conference was about to start. Recalling something, he spoke.

"Don't tell your mother about this, not until we solve it, at least."

Han De immediately understood what his father was saying.

"Yes, thank you, father. Do not worry."

Father and son looked at each other, they shared the same expression as they came to a tacit understanding.

As he watched his son leave, Han Wei's face got darker and darker.

'When I find you, the last thing you'll learn in this world will be how cruel I can be.'

* * *

Han De felt a weight coming off his shoulders. Since he came to this world, matters with his family was a constant source of anxiety for him. Now that he came clean about his missing memories, some peculiarities in his behavior can be blamed on just that.

'Sigh. Being crazy rich is truly amazing. Seven Luminaries Reminiscence pill ingredients are not that rare? Are you kidding? If a normal sect gets their hands on just one of its ingredients, they'll place it in their treasuries and include it in their sect inheritance for generations."

Han De felt immense gratitude towards his father just for saying that. Even for Starfall Mountain Sect, it was a big matter. And yet, his father just waved his hand and told him not to worry about it. Han De headed for Ning Bi be with a smile on his face.

"..tay away from Xiao Bai. Don't even think that you are worthy of being in his presence."

"Who is Xiao Bai?"

Han De heard a furious female voice and his disciple answering her in a baffled tone. Thinking about it, Han De thought this name was familiar. 'Could it be that kid from the Archives? He is Xiao Bai?'

"You! You dare to act innocent in front of me? Don't think that I didn't see how you flaunted your body in front of him!"

"You are just a village girl, know your place! Xiao Bai only talked to you out of pity! You are nothing but a toad chasing after a swan!"

"..."

Seeing Ning Bi's confused look, Han De decided not to speed up the process by telling her who Xiao Bai was.

'Perhaps this bullying might increase her MC powers. This poor villainess is rather bad at it though. Being a Xianxia world I would've expected a more ruthless approach. Like threatening her family or something. Could this little villainess be just a side character? Is she a member of the true villainess' entourage I wonder?'

Saying her piece, the little villainess left with a self-satisfied look.

Han De didn't want Ning Bi's powers to increase quickly. First, her stats were already a cheat, even the System was impressed by her. Second, she had that dreadful grudge skill, it was a cheat that rivaled her stats. It even generated a quest! Third, Han De had just learned that he had a disciple quota from the System. If Ning Bi grows fast and leaves, where could he find another disciple with 30 potential points? MCs do not grow on trees!

'But a short term bullying might be able to help with the duel in 16 days? Maybe?'

He wasn't worried about her cultivation or her power reserves. He was worried about her fighting experience, which was none.

'Inexhaustible spiritual power against a grudge doesn't mean anything if her opponent can knock her out in a few moves.'

'I need some cannon fodder, basically. Some stepping stones that could polish her fighting skills fast.'

16 days time frame was a difficult nut to crack. He could think of many methods that would force Ning Bi to fight with her life on the line, but none of them fit the 16 days limit. Not to mention she wasn't even at the 5th level yet.

'If I had time, I could've sent her to the mountains alone for training, and leak her destination to that little villainess and her friends. Or I could've sent her to the Zhao faction for training, using faction relationship growth as an excuse, and let them beat her up every day. Or...'

As long as Han De could not be implicated by it, and he could suddenly appear as her lifeline when things got out of line, he was OK with most methods. Only a fool would worry about the MC during her power-up arc.

Not knowing what her master was thinking, Ning Bi silently followed him back to his abode.

13. Anti-MC Thug Force

[Blazing Sun Scripture requires 23 Profound Points to reach the Advanced level]

‘Sigh… Confirm’

[Blazing Sun Scripture (Mortal)]
Power: Very Weak
Comprehension: Advanced (0/72)
Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)

[Profound Points: 0]

* * *

After coming back from the gathering, Han De decided to go all in. He needed to take advantage of every single resource in his possession. Starting from the most obvious.

‘It seems increasing comprehension to advanced is more helpful to higher realm cultivators. Still, there are some tips I can write down for Ning Bi to increase her cultivation speed. It would be fine if a day or two can be shaved off with this.’

Slowly but surely Han De recorded these new insights into a scroll. This time he wasn't going to wait until it dried off naturally. Han De expertly executed his magnificent basic Qi spell and instantly dried the ink off. However, he thought something was missing.

'Maybe I should add a 'flick of a sleeve' movement to my repertoire. These sleeves are pretty long, they could be flicked, right?'

Immediately trying out a few moves, Han De was reminded of some Xianxia TV series he saw. He couldn't watch them for long as he didn't understand Chinese, but he did remember some fighting scenes with ridiculously long sleeves.

'There is some potential, it can be used for emphasis in the right circumstances. I could use it to bluff or intimidate others.'

Han De filed this move under 'work in progress' and headed for the Ning Bi's room. Seeing her in cultivation, Han De didn't disturb her.

'I'll just leave this scroll in her line of sight without her knowing. When she takes a break from cultivation and finds the scroll, my Profound Teacher impression will definitely go up a notch.'

Deciding against entering her room physically, Han De used a Qi control technique to put the scroll in place, then left.

* * *

Han De was about to do an inventory check to see which tokens could be useful but he remembered the thing he made a mental note about.

From a small age, Han De always had lackeys around him. They were the servants that were assigned to him by the Han family. Although they were also Starfall Mountain Sect members, their loyalty was first to their young master and the Han family.

Cultivation idiot simply used them as thugs. Granted, these people really enjoyed beating others up. A lot. But they were also real experts. Handing anything from beating people (by far their favorite), to information gathering, or even assassinations of lesser targets were possible for them.

If their numbers weren't enough, or if they lacked a certain type of expertise, they would just get more people from the Han family. Han De was the most important member of the Han family and had priority on any family resources as their young master. He could mobilize tens of thousands if he wanted, no questions asked. This permission came directly from the family head. No one in the Han family was crazy enough to risk angering her, especially over Han De.

Han De had many memories of the cultivation freak's lackeys. This was the first time he was going to use and order them since coming to this world.

<Peng.>

<Yes, Elder De.>

<Find out the whereabouts of the Celestial River Sect genius, the one that I crippled that year.>

<As you order, we will take care of him.>

Han De felt something wasn't right, he clarified.

<Just find his whereabouts, don't touch him.>

<.. Isn't he just a cripple? Elder De doesn't need to dirty his hands with a washed-up genius like him!!>

A frown starting to appear in his face, Han De asked.

<Are you planning to send the guys with the lowest cultivation levels? In groups of 2 or 3?>

<Y-yes, Elder De. I was about to send the young Li brothers. They are a bit inexperienced but they are eager.>

Eager for beating people up. Han De could see where this was going.

<Are you out of your mind?! You are going to send free XP his way? Do you want to level up the MC that much?>

Han De realized his slip up. However, he was also very concerned about sending free XP towards that genius. When Had De left, he had hit rock bottom, it should be about time for him to climb over his past obstacles. Sending thugs after him now would only serve to reignite his fire.

Peng was stunned. He didn't dare ask what was an XP or an MC.

<I didn't say beat him up did I? Just find out information. Don't touch him. I just need to know his whereabouts and his current condition. Find some info about the girl as well, his step-sister or something.>

<Also, from now on, you will send people in groups of 10. Everyone in a group of 10 will attack at the same time, no exceptions! If I find out they attacked one by one I'll cripple them myself. If those 10 can't beat the target, you will quintuple the numbers and increase their cultivation base. I don't care if you have to attack an initial Foundation Establishment nobody with a Core Formation expert, just do it. If something happens to those 50, you'll send 250 next and kill everyone involved. You'll quintuple it every time! Got it?>

<Y-yes! Elder De!>

<Good>

Old Peng broke into a cold sweat. 'Someone must have pissed off our young master big time.' he thought. He had served Han De for the past 20 years, this was the first time he had received such a tyrannical order.

<One more thing, you'll always send an entire group for each person. If the target is a group of 5 people, send 5 groups.>

Old Peng felt compelled to light a candle to whoever pissed off the young master.

Han De was still worried, but he thought this was fine for now. In the first place, he didn't want to send thugs after people, or kill them. This was just a contingency. What he wanted most was intelligence about potential MCs that the cultivation moron had already pissed off.

'Peng and his guys like beating up people way too much, but they are still reliable. Probably.'

* * *

[Inventory]
Spiritual Roots Upgrade Token x1
Martial Arts Method Upgrade Token x2
Cultivation Method Fragment x4
Martial Arts Method Fragment x200
Derive Cultivation Method Token x 5

'I can use Spiritual Roots Upgrade Token on a disciple if I had 5 of them. That's not going to happen anytime soon, I need 2000PP for that. I'm not even sure if Ning Bi's roots can be upgraded anyway.'

'None of the other tokens can be used on disciples. Derive Cultivation Method Token is a dud, I have to master all the methods first and the result is an incomplete method. I only have 4 Cultivation Method Fragments left. I haven't even mastered the Blazing Sun Scripture.'

'Even If I can find an incomplete martial arts method for Ning Bi, I can't use the fragments since I don't have any Profound Points to learn them.'

Han De thought about using Martial Arts Method Upgrade Token, he already had mastered the Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword to the maximum level, which was a requirement for the token. It was also his primary deterrence tool, he used this method to display his aura. However, there wasn't any immediate benefit from it. Ning Bi might not even choose to use a sword.

'Same with Spiritual Roots Upgrade Token. No immediate benefit for Ning Bi. These tokens are also rare (so far) and expensive. It doesn't make any sense to use them right now.'

'I guess I'll use them anyway...'

'Activate Spiritual Roots Upgrade Token'

[Spiritual Roots Upgrade Process Invoked]
[Gathering statistics]
[Calculating upgrade time]
[Upgrade will take 142 hours and 23 minutes]
[Initiating final preparations]

'Hmm, not bad, I thought it would upgrade instantly, but 6 days is reasonable I guess'

[Preparations are complete]
[To prevent permanent soul damage, the host will be put in sleep mode]

"Wait what? What?!"

[Upgrade Started]
[Time Remaining: 142:22:59]
[...]

* * *

Upon returning to her room, Ning Bi was fired up. She was determined to make her teacher proud in the upcoming duel. She immediately started cultivating.

'I must cultivate diligently. Even a second is valuable. I need to reach the 5th level.'

Qi Condensation practitioners usually wouldn't engage in closed-door seclusion. The reason was simple. Money. Before the Core Formation realm, all cultivators had to eat, drink, and sleep. To be able to cultivate non stop, they had to use absurd amounts of Qi pills so that their bodies could function without daily necessities. Even then, as newcomers to the cultivation world, most would find the experience hard to endure.

Ning Bi was a special case. In her first closed-door seclusion, she spent nearly a week cultivating. Her only breaks were to eat more pills. Cultivation freak would've been proud.

Ning Bi took another high-quality Qi pill and went back to cultivation. She didn't notice the exquisite scroll case that was eye catchingly placed under the windowsill.

* * *

"Alright. These orders come directly from the young master. Our duty is to follow them to the letter"

20 people that were waiting on the courtyard was just briefed by the old Peng. They were confused, but they didn't question it. Young master seemed to have been pissed off enough.

"Uuum, senior brother Peng, if we are not allowed to beat the boy, what are we going to do with the girl?"

Hearing the question all of the 2nd group nodded and looked at Peng.

"Sigh, why must you keep disappointing me like this? We are the young master's men! We've been serving him for years. You can't even understand young master's orders?!"

With this, the 2nd group hung their heads. It was true that most of them had served Han De for more than 10 years. One of them remembered about the duel that Han De did with the genius that year. The girl back then was the reason for the duel.

"Are we to bring the girl back?"

Old Peng released a deep sigh.

"Took you long enough. Yes, obviously you will bring the girl back. You will not touch her, but you will bring her back."

* * *

[Time Remaining: 00:00:00]
[Upgrade Complete]
[Awakening host]
[Operation Successful]

[Congratulations, your spiritual roots have been upgraded!]

Slowly opening his eyes, Han De found himself sitting in the lotus position.

"Sigh. This feels familiar..."

Han De stood up. He was in the same room he was before. Nothing seems to have changed. Ning Bi was still cultivating. His Profound Points were still at 0. So she hadn't reached the 5th level yet.

'I guess 6 days is just a blink of an eye for a cultivator. I can't imagine cultivating for 6 days straight though. Damn, how can Ning Bi stomach it?'

Shaking his head, Han De looked at his full status.

[Name: Han De]
[Race: Human (100%)]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 26]

[Cultivation: Core Formation - Mid Level (3809/500000)]
[Constitution: None]
[Bloodline: None]
[Roots: Light (62%)] (UP +20%)

[Fame: Cloudy Mountains: 503]
[Sect: Starfall Mountain Sect (21st Core Elder)]

[Cultivation Methods]
[Starfall Scripture (Mortal)]
Power: Extremely Weak
Comprehension: Master
Stage: Core Formation (Mid-Stage)

[Light Through a Single Thought]
Power: Extremely Weak
Comprehension: Master
Stage: Foundation Establishment (3/16)

[Luminous Clouds]
Power: Extremely Weak
Comprehension: Intermediate (1/16)
Stage: Qi Condensation (8/13)

[Blazing Sun Scripture (Mortal)]
Power: Very Weak
Comprehension: Advanced (0/72)
Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)

[Martial Arts Methods]
[Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword (Self-Made)]
Power: Extremely Weak
Comprehension: Master

[Skills]
None

[Fate]
Calamity Attractor

[Profound Points: 0]
[Privilege Level: 1]

[Evaluation: Extremely weak, destruction of the soul is inevitable]

[Inventory]
Martial Arts Method Upgrade Token x2
Cultivation Method Fragment x4
Martial Arts Method Fragment x200
Derive Cultivation Method Token x 5

'20% improvement. In the acceptance ceremony, the best one had around 35%, the average ones had around 15-20%. Mine was 42%, now 62%. Not bad, I guess. I really hope this makes a dent on cultivation.'

Han De went over his mental checklist.

'Ning Bi needs to learn a martial art and choose a weapon. I don't think she'll end up as a caster type. She might still use spells, maybe a Magic Warrior archetype?'

[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Ning Bi successfully reached Qi Condensation Level 5]
[Issuing 45 Profound Points as a reward.]

A content smile appeared on Han De's face.

'Finally. Those were excruciatingly long.. Aaah.. 4 hours? Since the duel declaration?'

'I was expecting her to take 8-9 days though. I guess the notes did shave off a couple of days.'

Han De headed for the nearest courtyard. He wanted to take some fresh air and think about how to let Ning Bi gain fighting experience quickly.

'She should be consolidating her realm, probably will be done in a few hours at most.'

* * *

Sitting in the courtyard, Han De was obviously not meditating, or cultivating.

'If Ning Bi had taken a few more hours, I could've made some more crepes. She could end her session at any time. Time for crepes is long gone. Sigh'

At first, Han De immediately was angry at the System. 6 days was still a long time in his eyes after all. While thinking about it though, his thoughts changed.

'If I could have some kind of auto cultivation mode, that would be amazing! I could just turn myself off for 100 years. It would be only a few seconds from my perspective! Hey System, is there an auto cultivate function? Or something similar?'

Naturally, there was no response. Han De also didn't think he would get one. It was just a fool's hope.

Thinking that it had already been 6 days, Han De decided to check up on Peng. Although the Celestial River Sect is far away, a cultivator can move very fast when they wanted to.

<Peng.>

<Yes, Elder De.>

<How goes the search for the thing I asked before.>

<We have found the exiled genius of the Celestial River Sect. It seems after the young master's duel, he was pursued by his family and went into hiding. For unknown reasons, the sect officially exiled him about a year later. It seems he also has lost the support of that elusive elder.>

<He reappeared under a new alias about a month ago as a spiritual beast hunter operating in the Ming Empire. We don't know how, but not only he has regained his cultivation base, but he also increased it. Right now he is in the middle stage of the Core Formation realm. We have not touched him as per your orders.>

Han De was cursing his luck, this guy was really an MC. The elusive elder was probably his ploy, orchestrated by an OP item.

'Shit, should I send a hundred core cultivators and kill him? Would that cause suspicion from my parents? Han De had never done something like this before. Not to mention there might be problems with the Ming Dynasty. They would never believe that the Han family would send that many for just a nobody.'

'This guy got crippled by the cultivation freak, but there were no interactions after that. He is also in the Ming Empire territory right now. Maybe there is no need to do anything for now. He might not even want to take revenge, especially if he does a quick bullshit powerup. Thankfully the cultivation idiot never touched his woman. If he had, this guy wouldn't stop until he came here.'

Knowing is half the battle. Now that Han De had some intelligence on him, he felt he had a lot more options.

<We also brought Fairy Xiao Lan. She is staying on the side building by the green lake.>

Han De was in his own world. He got caught off guard with the sudden statement from Peng.

<Who the hell is Xiao Lan?>

Peng had an ominous feeling all of a sudden. He couldn't figure out why, but he did not like it.

<F-Fairy Xiao Lan is the step-sister of the Xiao Ping.>

Han De was getting impatient. He felt like someone was trying to drip feed him the latest episode of jersey shore.

<And who is this Xiao Ping?>

After a pause, Peng answered.

<Xiao Ping is the exiled genius of the Celestial River Sect.>

"Shit."

14. She Just Kept Talking...

Ning Bi opened her eyes. She was successful. She finally reached the 5th level and consolidated her realm.

At first, she thought it would take her 10 days to breakthrough. That was the reason why she was cultivating like crazy. She was worried about not having enough time for the duel.

Normally, her estimate would've been accurate. Even with her immense talent and the highly compatible scripture, she was still someone that started cultivating a little over a week ago. However, on the second day, she achieved enlightenment.

Her enlightenment lasted for four days, and she was able to get double the result for half the effort during that period. The last 2 days were just her meditating over her experience. When she was done, with one swift motion, she broke through the thin barrier in front of her and reached the 5th stage.

Feeling ecstatic, Ning Bi stood up, she wanted to find her master, to report her advancement, and seek guidance about her enlightenment. She had many questions about the improvements she had made, and the insights she gained about later stages.

As she was heading out, she spotted an exquisite scroll case under the closed window. She knew it wasn't there when she started cultivating, but the scroll case even had a layer of dust on it. As if it had been waiting there all along.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Ning Bi opened it up and started to read. As she read, her eyes opened wide, and her jaw became loose. This was a record of notes and comments on her cultivation technique, including a new and improved cultivation matrix. It was even better than the improved one she gained during the enlightenment.

This unassuming scroll case contained answers to all her questions, even the ones that she didn't know how to articulate. For the current her, this was a priceless treasure. And it was gathering dust for who knows how many days.

'Master is really amazing. He predicted all of my questions. Did he even predict that I would achieve enlightenment?'

Enlightenment was a fickle thing. Even geniuses among geniuses might not achieve it all their lives. Those who achieve it call it fate, those who can't, call it luck.

Ning Bi was covered in goosebumps. Once again, she felt an immense sense of gratitude for her teacher. She vowed to make him proud, then continued to study the scrolls.

Su Jing, currently cultivating, felt a terrifying chill penetrate him. If he wasn't a genius and a person dedicated to his craft he would've suffered from Qi deviation at this moment. He frantically stopped cultivating, but that chill was already gone. He stood in a daze, unsure if that was his imagination.

* * *

Right now, Han De was walking towards the side house Xiao Lan was in. After Peng's revelation of the kidnapping, Han De was baffled and could only tell them he would re-educate them at a later date.

‘As the MC, once he figures out the culprit, this guy will start heading here, make a ruckus, and somehow start a fight with me to win his woman back.’

‘Let’s completely forget the 'fight with me' part. This guy will probably use a bullshit item to kill or cripple me during a fight. It would be quite easy for him too, I don’t have a fighting sense after all.’

‘Even if I send 10 Nascent Soul cultivators, an MC will probably slip through. After all, he was able to run away from his family after the cultivation idiot crippled him. He is already mid-stage Core Formation, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he dropped off the map right now. He might even have an OP item for stealth.’

‘What if I flip the table? He expects me to act arrogantly, he will probably expect the worst for his woman.’

Han De pondered on the concept of flipping the table. Could he just say ‘Sorry, my bad! Here’s your woman, please never come back!’ and expect it to be all over?

‘I might be able to bullshit him in private, but seeing me in private he’ll most likely attack immediately. I won’t be able to do it in public, it is too divergent from the cultivation idiot’s behavior. Also doing it in public would affect sect’s and family’s reputation as well. I wouldn’t be dealing with only my parents if that were to happen.’

‘If I release this girl now, I’m almost certain she would get tangled in something unrelated and die. Even if I can convince the MC that I released her, it will be just a delay. MC will come back after finding her corpse and blame me anyway.’

Han De considered convincing the girl. He might perhaps be able to muddy the waters and convince her that he isn’t a threat.

* * *

Taking a deep breath, Han De entered the room Xiao Lan was in.

She was inside a lavishly decorated room. Thankfully Peng hadn’t put her in one of the dungeons. Han De already knew what she looked like from his memories. That was nearly a decade ago though. Current Xiao Lan looked a lot more mature.

‘She turned into quite the beauty. Thankfully she doesn’t have that ridiculous jade-like skin. One uncanny valley is enough.’

Xiao Lan turned her to see Han De looking at her. Without restraint, she started talking.

"So finally you have come. All those years ago you had crippled him and disgraced me. That wasn't enough? Ping had to endure unimaginable pain after what you have done. Even eating or drinking was an ordeal for him. He even left me and ran away from his own from my family. When he was exiled I left the sect to search for him. I didn't want him to endure alone. When I found him after months of searching, he was changed. He didn't even look me in the eye. As if I was sullied. As if I was nothing more than a dirty piece of rag. Yet I endured. He had already miraculously regained his cultivation. I don't know when but he had done it. I never felt happier in my life. I hoped that things would be different, we would be able to forget and live a happy life. But he turned colder and colder every day. I could tell he only wanted revenge. I could feel he was getting consumed by it. Every step of the way he was getting hungrier for it. I followed him to the Ming Empire, silently hoping he would get better one day. It got even worse. Whenever he talks, it feels like he has contempt for me as well. We fight more than we talk. Before you came he was so happy. But that was before, he was now different. I tried to accept who he was now. It pained me but I knew I could do it. I could do it. I wanted to do it. Yet here we are. You kidnapped me again. You taunted him again. Your men even used the same exact words. What wrong did we commit to you? Why? Why are you doing this for us? Didn't you say all those years ago that I wasn't even worthy of playing around? You disgraced me so greatly, you hurt Ping so much, is that not enough? When I thou.."

‘Holy. Shit. Sister, what the hell? When are you going to stop?’

While listening to the nonstop exposition, Han De remembered that the cultivation freak always filtered her voice out when she was talking. He now understood why.

Han De didn’t hold it against her. She was kidnapped twice. The first time she saw her lover get crippled, and the culprit, the cultivation maniac, even insulted her to her face. Now she was kidnapped once again. By the same person no less. Everyone reacted differently to a stressful situation. This lass' coping mechanism was just talking. She just kept talking...

Han De didn't interrupt her. He let her talk and listened to her. At the same time, he tried to extract a few usable pieces of information.

‘This guy never gave up on his revenge.’

‘Xiao Lan doesn’t know how he regained his cultivation.’

'His aura changed, turned colder, perhaps affected his personality as well?'

'Is he ignoring her because of his shame? He is humiliated because he couldn't protect her, perhaps thinking he is unworthy of her. She stays with him, but he remembers his failure when he looks at her. Does he think he needs to kill me to get rid of his shame and be worthy of her? Fits the MC template...'

He realized he figured out something very important. But he wasn’t happy. With a motive like that, even if he had convinced the girl, Xiao Ping would still fight him to overwrite that dishonorable memory.

'Wait, did she say my men said the same words to challenge him?'

Han De broke into a cold sweat. He was thinking of keeping an eye on him, and perhaps try covering up any clues left behind. He hadn't gotten a detailed report from Peng on what happened. Thinking he had time, he wanted to perhaps resolve this issue before the guy even found out, perhaps resolve it via this woman, Xiao Lan, once and for all. But the reality was different.

Han De started panicking. He needed to do something, very soon. He couldn't let this matter rest anymore.

"...your fault. It was all your faul-"

"Yes yes. It was my fault. So what? Did I mess with you after that? He ran away and regained his cultivation, you even betrayed your sect and found him. Then what? You should've led a happy life. Did I keep goading him? Did I interrupt your peace? Was I the one that forced him on the revenge path?"

"I didn't take you with me, I didn't even touch you. Are you somehow dissatisfied with that?"

While Han De was in a panic, Xiao Lan kept talking and accusing him of the cultivation moron's actions. Of course, she was right. The cultivation moron had damaged them deeply, she had every right to complain. But Han De wasn't in the right mind and just lashed out.

Hearing Han De's words Xiao Lan was surprised. She had suffered through a lot. First and the last words Han De ever said to her was his shameful rejection of her. He had never even acknowledged her before that.

"He had more than a decade. He regained what he had lost and perhaps even surpassed it. His cultivation is now in a better place than it would’ve been. You couldn't even have an open relationship when you were both in the sect."

"I might be the one that crippled him, but he is the one that couldn't get over it."

"All of your sufferings are caused by him. You gave him everything and got treated like dirt, and now you are complaining to me for it?"

Han De recognized how warped his logic was, but after sitting through 10 minutes of a one-sided exposition storm, it felt good to say what he said. Realizing there is nothing to be gained by talking to her, Han De left without even looking at her.

* * *

<Peng.>

<Y-yes, Elder De.>

<I will definitely re-educate you lot as soon as possible. Look forward to it.>

Hearing his young master's unnaturally relaxed tone, Peng shivered.

<Y-yes, Elder De.>

<Send 10 Nascent Soul experts after Xiao Ping. Kill him. Anything is fine as long as you are not found out by the Ming Dynasty. Deny everything if you are, and regroup near our territory.>

<E-elder De, I-I just received word that our men lost sight of Xiao Ping 2 days ago. We don't know where he is right now.>

"F#$%... These guys really perform their ‘incompetent henchman of the villain’ roles perfectly."

<Dispatch 10 groups with 1 Nascent Soul each. Scour everywhere from here to Ming Empire. Kill him on sight.>

'With this, he won't be able to fly uninterrupted, his speed will be much lower. Longer he takes to arrive here, the more chances of mistakes there will be. If one group can capitalize on that it'll be fine.’

'I feel more and more like a bad guy no matter what I do...'

Without bothering about the Peng's response, Han De severed the connection. He walked towards his house in silence.

* * *

Ning Bi respectfully entered Han De's favorite courtyard. She had spent the last 2 hours reading and rereading the scrolls Han De left for her. Truthfully she was a bit intimidated. The insights on the scrolls were too on point for her. Over time though, her desire to practice with weapons won over, and she looked for her master.

"You have reached the 5th stage. Well done. Now you can choose a weapon."

Han De had the second variation of his Profound Expert look equipped for this occasion. This was a more amiable version, the first one being specialized around the concept of 'distant but cool' expert.

Seeing her master's warm smile, Ning Bi couldn't help but respond with her own.

"Thank you, master. It is because of your teachings that I was able to reach this level. I will not disappoint you!"

Han De gave a satisfied nod. "I know you won't."

"It is time to select your weapon. This is an important decision that will affect you for the rest of your life. You have to choose carefully. You also need to keep in mind, sometimes not choosing is also a choice. If you can't find something that speaks to you, something that stirs emotions deep within you, then perhaps you might be more suited for a different path."

"Yes, Master."

"There are many weapons inside the armories. Go and start practicing with them all. You are to practice with every single type of weapon for exactly an hour. Try them all, feel how they move. Try to figure out the best way to move with them, attack with them, and defend with them. Come back once you are done. Go now."

Ning Bi was surprised, but she didn't object. "I will do so, Master."

Seeing her leave, Han De contacted the attending servants.

<Bring me all of the different weapon type’s basic scriptures from the Archives. Ask for Elder Fu if anyone asks for permission.>

<Sword, spear, bow and arrow, ax, polearm, whatever, I don't care what it is, just bring me the sect's standard scriptures for all of them.>

<As you wish, Elder De.>

This was one of the methods Han De thought for increasing Ning Bi's battle sense. Being an absurd genius it is easy for her to comprehend techniques very quickly. If she can get a sense of many types of attack and defense moves, she won't be at a disadvantage against different opponents.

'I have 45 Profound Points, even if I upgrade Blazing Sun to master level, it won't make much of a difference. Her understanding should already be near the peak of the Qi Condensation realm.'

'Basic weapon scriptures of the sect shouldn't cost too many Profound Points to comprehend. I might even be able to master a few of them. Giving her the insights that come from higher comprehension levels should increase her combat power quite a bit.'

With 10 days left on the count down, she didn't have time to go through normal training. Her starting point was too low for that.

'If she was at least Foundation Realm, she could've used the fighting pagoda. I wonder which idiot limited that to Foundation Establishment only.'

15. Blockade

Han De was sitting inside his room. In front of him were more than 300 scrolls and jade slips. His servants were very efficient. Under an hour, they were able to collect the standard weapon scriptures for every type of weapon.

'This is just too much. There is a scripture for a dagger, a curved dagger, a curved dagger that is more curved than normal, a dagger with a longer handle, a dagger with a thinner blade. Is there really a need to create this many standard scriptures? Are you guys really that bored?'

Popular weapon types had different martial art scriptures for even the slightest variation in weapon shape. Having a sword martial arts method mastered inside his mind, Han De was aware of the number of sword type weapons. However, he was still a bit taken aback at the sheer number of it all.

'It's not like these are just one-off martial arts techniques that are highly specialized. Although basic, they cover a rather large surface area, hence they are called scriptures and not methods.'

They were created for guiding the disciples, but most disciples don't choose to study them further, let alone master them. Being generic and comprehensive, they were difficult to make progress with. A disciple would rather learn the basics then move on to a more specialized martial arts method that suited them better.

'This is actually an MC template, isn't it. MC learns a weaker generic method, but their foundation becomes stronger because of it. They'll then find an impossible to practice martial art and learn it thanks to their strong foundation."

[Starfall Mountain Standard Sword Scripture]
Power: Extremely Weak
Notes: Requires 1 Profound Point(s) to completely master.

[Starfall Mountain Standard Saber Scripture]
Power: Extremely Weak
Notes: Requires 2 Profound Point(s) to completely master.

[Starfall Mountain Standard Spear Scripture]
Power: Extremely Weak
Notes: Requires 1 Profound Point(s) to learn.

[Starfall Mountain Standard Scimitar Scripture]
[Starfall Mountain Standard Falchion Scripture]
[Starfall Mountain Standard Scythe Scripture]
[Starfall Mountain Standard Whip Scripture]
[Starfall Mountain Standard Pike Scripture]
[..]

Han De didn't miss that anything similar to a sword only required a few points to completely master for him, thanks to his own mastered sword method.

'I'll just choose the most popular ones and master them. I only have 45 points, I can't even learn a quarter of them, let one increase my comprehension of them.'

Spending about an hour, Han De chose 13 scriptures that had the most coverage and popularity. He didn't bother with the rare subtypes like a pugio, he just learned the most generic dagger scripture.

[This action requires 42 Profound Points in total]

'Confirm!'

[Starfall Mountain Standard SwordScripture]
Power: Extremely Weak
Comprehension: Master

[Starfall Mountain Standard Saber Scripture]
Power: Extremely Weak
Comprehension: Master

[..]
[Starfall Mountain Standard Dagger Scripture]
[Starfall Mountain Standard Spear Scripture]
[Starfall Mountain Standard Halberd Scripture]
[Starfall Mountain Standard Axe Scripture]
[Starfall Mountain Standard Mace Scripture]
[Starfall Mountain Standard Hammer Scripture]
[Starfall Mountain Standard Whip Scripture]
[Starfall Mountain Standard Staff Scripture]
[Starfall Mountain Standard Bow Scripture]
[Starfall Mountain Standard Throwing Scripture]
[Starfall Mountain Standard Shield Scripture]

Han De sat silently as he received a giant amount of information.

*sigh* 'The amount of knowledge here is just massive. I can see why no one bothers mastering them. Not even their creators had done that.'

It was obvious that each of these scriptures had many generations of refinement done to them. Unfortunately, each refinement also made them more and more obtuse.

Realizing how long it would take to write everything down, Han De stopped standing around and grabbed a brush.

* * *

"Hundreds of standard scriptures?"

Ming Nui's face was blank. He was listening to his intelligence guru friend, Zhang Cheng.

"Yes, a servant of Han De took them from the archives. Only the standard scriptures. The most basic ones. Nothing else."

Zhang Cheng has been following Han De's movements ever since the gathering. It was a dull affair, but things have been taking interesting turns for the last two days.

"Just a smokescreen isn't it. If he truly hadn't taken any other technique, then Ning Bi must be a sword cultivator. It was the most likely possibility from the beginning."

Zhang Cheng nodded. He also knew, to acquire standard scriptures of the sect and in many numbers on top of that, was a poor attempt at misdirection.

"Any more movements from his people?"

Han De sending 20 experts to a mission had caught the attention of many powers currently visiting the Starfall Mountain Sect. The conference was still ongoing, so the retainers had nothing to do but keep their eyes and ears open.

"After the 10 returned two days ago, everything was silent. However today some movements emerged again. Nascent Soul cultivators are arriving from the Han family. They are in a hurry too. A number of Core Formation experts are also mobilizing."

Ming Nui closed his eyes. According to Han De's character, he liked to take care of things himself. Only for small fry, he would send his people. Yet now Nascent Soul and Core Formation experts are gathering.

"Latest count had 4 Nascent Soul and more than 60 Core experts."

These cultivators were nothing to people like his father, but they still represented a scary amount of power. Just this many could crush a few small sects without breaking a sweat.

Did some sect actually offend him? Was there a sect in the area that was stupid enough to do that?

* * *

It took Han De a full day and night to write down the 13 scriptures. He looked at the little hill of scrolls in satisfaction and smiled while unconsciously rubbing his wrists. He was a Core Cultivator with a powerful body, but using a brush for such a long time still had a psychological toll on him.

'Siigh. I'm getting hungry. I don't want to eat pills, or cultivate. Should I go outside and find a restaurant?'

Of course, the sect didn't have any restaurants. There were dining halls for the cultivators that were Foundation Establishment or below, but no Core Formation cultivator would go to them.

'Maybe I should hire an immortal chef and open a restaurant inside the core area. Even the inner area might not be a bad idea.'

Han De realized he hadn't cultivated since his roots were upgraded. Even though it was boring to the extreme, he still had some anticipation about it. While still grumbling inside about the lack of eateries, Han De located Ning Bi. She was currently meditating in an armory.

When Han De arrived she opened her eyes and greeted him. Han De could see how tired she was. After all, she was just a Qi Condensation disciple. She could cultivate for ages if she had enough pills, but the physical effort was different. Even in Foundation Establishment a person would need to eat, drink, and sleep regularly if they were going to do extensive training.

Ning Bi nodded as Han De explained this to her. Her initial plan was to train by the day and cultivate by the night. But master's words were law for her.

"It seems you have practiced blindly long enough. In this storage bag, there are some scriptures I have re-written for you. They are the sect's standard scriptures for different types of weapons. You will study them for the next few days. Right now you don't need to cultivate for too long. Just an hour a day is enough. Take care of your body. Do not try to exceed your limits."

Ning Bi took a look inside the bag, after a moment she asked with a hopeful smile. "Um, teacher, is there no scripture for warglaives?"

Getting caught off guard, Han De just stared at her for some time. He didn't want to remember that part of his history. Still, he had to keep up appearances, so he steeled himself.

"There are no warglaive scriptures or methods in the sect. You'd have to go in blind if you want to use them as weapons."

Not wanting to stay there for a moment longer, Han De left after giving her a few more random pointers.

* * *

1 cycle.

2 cycles.

3 cycles.

4 cycles.

5 cycles.

6 cycles.

7 cycles.

8 cycles.

9 cycles.

10 cycles.

[Cultivation: Core Formation - Mid Level ((+40) 3849/500000)]

'It increased the XP per cycle but the cycle time is the same. So, if I cultivate 6 hours every day for the next 6 years I'll be able to reach the Advanced Core level...'

Han De was, again, devastated. If a Nascent Soul expert knew about Han De's thoughts, without a doubt they would start puking blood. Only 6 hours of cultivation every day? And it still takes only 6 years? Are you tired of living?!

Nevertheless, being a modern guy, Han De thought cultivation was simply insufferable. He had never even tried meditating before coming to this world. If it wasn't for that cultivation idiot's memories, he probably wouldn't even be able to enter a meditative state.

'I really need some kind of entertainment to take my mind off these dreadful events.'

He couldn't even cook without risking his Profound Teacher getup with Ning Bi. He was blaming himself for the stupid decision to place her in his house. He now understood why the servants had to confirm twice before placing Ning Bi in one of the rooms.

'Wait, I can fly can't I?"

Han De suddenly stood straight. Of course! He could fly!

'I didn't want to use it as a transportation method for the fear of crashing everywhere. But there is no end to the sky is there? Why would I need to go to a mountain when I can just fly upwards? Damn, why didn't I think of that?!'

Han De was feeling a bit silly for this slip-up. However, he didn't take it to heart. As he headed to a clearing he giggled nonstop. He didn't want to take off from near his house, he was worried about the sonic boom making a mess.

Han De took off his sword from his storage ring. Cultivation maniac always carried it on his side, but Han De found it extremely awkward. It kept getting in his way. So he had stopped carrying it after his first day.

'Alright, I'll just aim directly upwards. If I don't see the ground, there is no way of knowing how fast I'm going, right? And when I'm high enough, everything will be waaay smaller anyway.'

Core Formation experts could only rely on spiritual weapons like swords to fly. Although they had rich spiritual energy compared to Foundation Establishment, they still couldn't just fly through the air. Hovering was possible, just needlessly taxing. Nascent Soul cultivators didn't need any spiritual weapons to fly. With their power reserves, brute-forcing was much more efficient for them.

Han De jumped on his sword. Gathering his spiritual energy and infusing it to the sword via his martial art, he took off. He was already traveling much faster than sound, and he was adamantly just looking up. So he had no way of noticing the crater he had left on the ground.

'Hahahaha, yes! I can fly! ... Why does the air feel rather thin here?'

After getting enough clearance from the ground, he finally started dashing around at full speed. Han De's definition of enough clearance in this context was not being able to see a person's silhouette. He hadn't taken his cultivator eyes into account.

* * *

"You mean Han De left with the 100 cultivators?"

Zhang Cheng was currently comfortably sitting on his chair, and occasionally sipping his tea. He was getting a report from one of his subordinates. Ming Nui was also with him, he raised an eyebrow at this news.

"Not only that, but his takeoff was extremely fierce. We were so far away but we still felt an extreme pressure weighing down on us."

Ming Nui, having suffered humiliation from that aura before, clicked his tongue in frustration. He was a prince, he had to act princely in front of his subjects, but he was too frustrated to care about that now.

Witnessing the Prince Nui's behavior the intelligence operative hurriedly continued.

"We also found out Han De's men positioned themselves between Starfall Mountain and the Ming Empire border. They spread themselves around a wide area and are preventing anyone from crossing. Current numbers are 10 Nascent Soul and 90 Core Formation experts."

Both Ming Nui and Zhang Cheng were frozen when they heard of this. This also explained some of the movements of the Ming Dynasty servants on Starfall Mountain. Since they reported to the emperor, they had access to better resources and had already found this out some time ago.

"Is he doing a blockade? It's too few for that. Is he trying to destroy a sect? It's too much for that..."

Ming Nui and Zhang Cheng looked at each other, they were both at a loss.

* * *

After having his fun for a few hours, Han De made a happy landing. His descent was much, much slower than his takeoff and the location he chose was in the middle of the wilderness that was bordering the sect.

'Man that pond looked small, I thought it would be fine if I fell down to it in case I lost control. Nice, small, but far enough that nobody would see...'

That was no pond. That was the Nine Yin Lake, the biggest body of water inside Starfall Mountain Sect boundaries. Thankfully it wasn't far and Han De had landed on the side closer to the sect. He could get back to his house in a few hours of nice and slow sword flight. Or maybe a day of walking.

'I can't even tell my full speed right now. It used to be around Mach 2. Now I can't really tell just from the sonic boom. Is it 4 times faster? 8 times faster?'

Han De decided to walk.

* * *

Ning Bi had studied the scriptures that she received from her master for the past 5 days. She had already learned all of the scriptures and practiced their moves.

'Master is so knowledgeable. These scriptures are astonishing. So easy to understand, so easy to practice, yet so profound at the same time. This sword scripture is nothing like the one in the Archives!'

She had learned while talking to the servants that her master was a peerless sword cultivator. During her visit to the Archives, she had secretly looked at the Starfall Mountain Standard Sword Scripture. Back then she had thought it was bland, she couldn't really understand it. Yet the scripture in front of her now was completely different.

She had also stubbornly tried to use warglaives while training with the 13 scriptures. Despite that, she had to admit defeat if she compared it to any other scripture weapon. Even if she had to use a shield and nothing else, the shield's destructive power would be still higher than warglaives.

'Master was right. Both times.'

Ning Bi could feel her eyes getting wet. She plumbed down to the ground. She thought warglaives really looked cool, but going in blind wasn't the right choice.

After a few minutes of staring into nothingness, the previously dim light in her eyes suddenly started shining again.

* * *

Another 3 days had passed, Han De was waiting patiently for Ning Bi to choose a scripture. If her selected weapon was not in the 13 she had, he could still use the remaining 3 Profound Points to master her preferred weapon's standard scripture and use Martial Arts Method Upgrade Tokens to upgrade it twice. This was one of the reasons why he chose to have such a large coverage with the initial 13 scriptures.

Now, with only 2 days left, Han De didn't want to wait anymore. He needed to find out which weapon she had chosen.

As he neared the armory, he heard Ning Bi's grunting noises, evidently still training. He decided to keep quiet and watch her a little bit first. Perhaps he could 'Sagely Nod in Approval' after she notices him and stops.

Sneaking in slowly, Han De looked at the scene in front of him, but he didn't feel any joy. Ning Bi was swinging warglaives with utmost concentration. After a few seconds, an eerie smile crept up on Han De's face.

'Uugh, this is painful but maybe with this, I might have a deterrent for the future. Even if she doesn't think so now, this will become her dark history in the future, it is inevitable.'

Han De decided to keep silent and watched.

'Actually, her movements are not bad. Hmm, no they are actually really good. Wait, is she wearing a blindfold??'

His previous angle was rather poor, but as he watched he was able to catch a few glimpses at her face. She really was wearing a blindfold. Evidently, she had ripped it off from her robe and now was wearing that grey piece of cloth as a blindfold.

'I know you are an MC, but you are not... Are you kidding me? Are you in the middle of enlightenment?!'

With his eyes wide and his jaw hanging freely, Han De just watched. He had lost the ability to think. It took him quite a while to get back to normal.

'F#$%, I knew her luck was max, but damn, do you have to rub it in like this?'

Even the cultivation maniac hadn't seen anyone going through enlightenment. No one in his generation had.

16. I Have Finished Farming

Previous Han De's pride was sky-high. He was the genius of the Han Family. He was the genius of the Starfall Mountain Sect. His cultivation progress was unparalleled even at a very young age. This was the reason why he chose to create his own martial arts method, rather than choose one from the archives.

'Hmph, I'll create my own sword art, and achieve enlightenment. It is only natural.'

Unfortunately, he didn't achieve enlightenment. But he did create a famous martial art. Still, it became a knot in his heart. He scoured the south-eastern side of the continent, gathered news from all around, just to find someone, anyone, that had gone through enlightenment. He would go to that person, defeat him, and wash off this embarrassment. Yet he couldn't find a single person.

'Hmph, if I can't do it, then it is only natural that no one else can!'

Current Han De that is hiding behind the door frame and watching his disciple in secret, naturally knew all about this.

'How long is she going to continue? It can't be super long right? It should take a day at most. The longest enlightenment record is 2 days. Even if she is an MC she is still in Qi Condensation, there should be a limit.'

'Only 2 days left on the quest, the conference should end and battlegrounds should start today. She's still going to need some rest after this. It's going to be close…'

Han De remembered what other Xianxia characters would do during someone's enlightenment. People close to that person would stay around them and be their dharma protectors.

'Right, I guess I should sit in a lotus position somewhere nearby and prevent anyone from getting close?'

Getting excited about doing something Xianxia-like, Han De chose to sit in the middle of the hallway. Unfortunately, his disciple's grunts were rather annoying for him to constantly hear in the background. So he stood up and left after 10 minutes.

'Why am I even sitting so close to her. This is my mansion. Who would dare to barge into my mansion? My father is the sect leader! It would be basically declaring war on the entire sect, or worse, on the Han family.'

He arrived at his favorite courtyard, the one with the absurdly expensive trees. He sensed a spiritual imprint trying to contact him, recognizing the imprint, he opened the connection.

<Peng.>

<Greetings, Elder De.>

<You humble servant begs for your forgiveness. We have failed to kill Xiao Ping, last signs suggest that he might have entered the battlegrounds in disguise.>

Every time Han De spoke to Peng, he thought things were getting worse and worse. This guy was his jinx. He was deeply regretting ever contacting him.

'He can't enter the sect, not in a million years. But battlegrounds is outside the sect boundaries, there are also many visitors. I can't order them to check everyone's credentials. That's just asking to offend everyone involved. Even if I find him I can't just drag him while everyone is watching either.'

<Stand down. Do nothing.>

'Normally this guy would openly challenge me outside the sect. Then I would have to respond and duel him out in the open. I might be able to trick him if he challenges me in battlegrounds. He might even lose control if he sees Xiao Lan.'

<Put the Nascent Soul experts around my abode. No one is allowed to go inside the main house. No one is allowed to sweep the house with their spiritual sense. Let no one in, if anyone tries to make a fuss beat them up no matter their cultivation, then throw them in a dungeon.>

'Might as well play it safe with Ning Bi's enlightenment.'

Han De cut off the connection without waiting for Peng's response. He was trying to come up with a plan to prevent a fight between him and Xiao Ping.

* * *

The conference was finally over. Elder Yu was filled in on the issue of Han De's missing memories by Han Wei. They had to keep everything under a tight lid. That left Elder Yu as the only one qualified to review inconsistencies in Han De's memories. He was the one that kept Han Wei up to date with his son's events.

Arriving near Han De's abode, Elder Yu saw 15 Nascent Soul experts closing in on him. All of them had ferocious expressions. The one in the front spoke.

"No one is allowed to get near Elder De's abode. Leave. This will be your only warning."

Elder Yu frowned. He recognized these experts as the Han family loyalists. While they were sect members, and they belonged to Han faction just like Elder Yu himself, they could also be considered a sub-faction that were only loyal to Han De, and to some extent Han Wei.

This was getting troublesome for Elder Yu's taste, he didn't move forward. Instead, he sent his spiritual sense to contact Han De directly. However, his spiritual sense was intercepted by the experts in front of him. And now, a murderous aura started to appear from all of them.

"Since you are a Han faction elder, I will give you face this once. Leave, don't ever try to send your spiritual sense again. If you do, don't blame us for being ruthless."

The Nascent Soul experts in front of Elder Yu were raised by the Han family. They had the same upbringing as Old Peng. You could say they were classmates in a sense. They trained together, they went to missions together, they went through hell together. They also shared the Old Peng's love for beating people up.

As they were Nascent Soul experts, they had to act with a certain gravitas. They couldn't just continue beating people up like in the good old days. They stood still in envy as their young master gave missions to Old Peng's subordinates. As such, when they heard about it, they jumped on the mission that Han De issued. Finally a chance to beat someone senseless!

Regrettably, they failed. But Han De issued a new mission. The people that had failed to act quickly to join the previous one also gleefully joined it. It was their young master that had given the mission, something was bound to happen. Now seeing Elder Yu in front of them, Nascent Soul experts were excited. He was from the Han faction, so they had to give him some face, but now they were eagerly waiting for a mistake.

A chance to completely beat a Nascent Soul expert senseless! 1v15, truly a rare occurrence! They were under orders too! No one could find a fault with them! They couldn't control their excitement and all of them leaked their murderous auras uncontrollably.

Han De noticed these murderous auras immediately. He was trying to come up with contingency plans. What to do in case a challenge appears? What to do if a duel is inevitable? Which methods are suitable to weasel his way out?

He was already under stress between Ning Bi's enlightenment and Xiao Ping. His face was contorted with annoyance. He didn't know which of the 16 Nascent Soul expert was the leader, so he sent an area voice transmission to them.

<<I told you to beat people up, I didn't tell you to do it in my front yard. Just beat him up somewhere else, I don't care where as long as it's not here.>>

15 Nascent Soul thu*cough* experts flinched. However soon all of them had very wide smiles. This was the final confirmation, this guy was done for!

<<Eh? Elder Yu? Why are you here?>>

Han De didn't check out the person that was about to be beaten like a dog, but he did recognize his spiritual imprint by chance.

<Elder De, I was sent here by the Grand Elder. I think you know what I am here.>

Han De remembered his father was going to send him for the memory thing. That was 2 weeks ago, so it took him a second to register.

Seeing Han De allowing Elder Yu to enter, the 15 Nascent Soul experts were filled with regret. They all agreed that next time someone sent a spiritual sense they would simply start beating him without any explanation. They scattered once again and started to wait for their next victim.

* * *

Han De and Elder Yu moved to a room with special protective formations. What they had to discuss was extremely sensitive, so they couldn't allow anyone to listen in on their conversation. They weren't Han Wei that could prevent such a thing with his mere presence, they needed some stacked heavy-duty formations.

Elder Yu thought it was strange for Han De to place Nascent Soul experts along the perimeter. He was also curious about the mission he sent them to, but he knew Han Wei didn't want to interfere with his son's affairs, so he didn't ask about it. However, he was nearly beaten to death by 15 fierce Nascent Soul experts, so he thought it wasn't out of line if he asked only about them.

* * *

"What do you mean Ning Bi is going through enlightenment?!"

Han De looked calm outside, but he was enjoying this sight from the inside.

'Heh, this guy's reaction is even more exaggerated than mine!'

After seeing Han De wasn't joking, Elder Yu started babbling. He was excited. Enlightenment was, naturally, a very prestigious affair for a sect.

"This is big! We need to inform the Grand Elder! What auspicious news! No one had entered enlightenment since the Breach! This will be big n-"

"No, we will not announce it."

Han De knew about the cultivation moron's efforts of trying to fight, cripple, or kill a person with enlightenment experience. Although he had faith in Ning Bi's MC status, he didn't want to get himself involved. He was her master, any fallout from her actions would have to be cleaned up by him.

If she accidentally killed an important person, the bill would come directly to him. In the past whenever cultivation moron's actions caused an incident, the one that cleaned up after him was his father. He didn't want to assume such a mantle himself. No way.

Elder Yu forcefully curbed his enthusiasm and thought things through from a logical perspective. He immediately understood what Han De was thinking. Actually, he didn't, they were thinking about completely different things, but Elder Yu thought there was a silent understanding with each other. So he didn't clarify, just silently nodded.

* * *

"Memories are interlinked constructs. When you remember one thing, you inevitably recall another. When your memory gets attacked, the attacking entity uses memory pathways to inflict damage."

"Soul searching works with the same principle. When you search someone's memories you follow the pathways. A stronger path means a strong relation. Of course, the soul search I am talking about is the fake one, the one that searches the physical body. Searching a soul itself is an evil technique that damages all parties involved."

"We will go through your actions over certain periods. Establish which events are missing. Who were involved in those events, and where they happened. We might be able to figure out an entry position for the attack."

As Elder Yu explained, Han De listened. They started going through Han De's actions year by year. Elder Yu hadn't followed Han De anywhere, but he had received reports of his actions regularly.

Thankfully, cultivation idiot was truly obsessed with cultivation. He didn't go out much, and when he did it was an obvious affair. Even then, it took all day to go through 10 years worth of events and characters.

"Oh, by the way, since you have no memory of her, I should tell you that you were chasing Chu Chen for the last few years."

Chu Chen? Who was that? ...Something about a jade-like skin?

"I was chasing the uncanny valley girl?!"

Han De inadvertently blurted out. Elder Yu was surprised at his reaction as well. Han De suddenly grabbed Elder Yu's shoulders.

"Does my mom know about it?!"

"I-I don't think so. No, she shouldn't know."

Han De looked at Elder Yu's eyes. He was very close. Uncomfortably close.

"I am no longer chasing the unca- Chu Chen, alright? No, as far as my mother is concerned, I never chased her. Never! No, I don't even know her! Do you understand?!"

Elder Yu gave confirmation with wide eyes, then moved away from Han De. He was a Nascent Soul expert, this was the first time someone dared to act like this to him. But, that person was Grand Elder's son, so he didn't pursue it. At the same time, he was quite puzzled about Han De's reaction. Chu Chen was an impressive beauty by any standards.

Han De took a deep breath and calmed down. Marrying that girl with her freaky flat-colored skin was the last thing he wanted right now.

* * *

Han Wei watched the last pair of young geniuses duel each other. All masters visiting were watching the first day of the battlegrounds. The conference result wasn't as satisfactory as he had hoped. Time healed old wounds, but also made people forgetful.

Elder Yu silently arrived and sat behind him. Han Wei gave a slight nod, signaling him to make his report.

<Damage is mostly limited to the last 5 years. It starts from 2 years ago and expands backward. Most of it is just minor memories related to sects and families. If there were any important events they were only known by him. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to regain any significant memories.>

Han Wei gave a slight nod. He didn't expect anything substantial from this, but at least it gave an idea about where to look.

<Also, Elder De's disciple is going through enlightenment, Elder De himself does not wish to announce it.>

Han Wei was about to give yet another slight nod, but stopped and directly turned towards Elder Yu with wide eyes.

* * *

[Quest: Distillation]
[Difficulty Level: G]
[Status: Ongoing]

[Summary: Your extremely talented disciple has formed many grudges so far, but this is the first time she forged such a deep grudge! Although her future is bright, she is still young and inexperienced. As her master, you must carefully nurture her! Help Ning Bi with settling her deep grudge!]

[Requirements: Assist Ning Bi with resolving her deep grudge]
[Time Remaining: 4 hours and 13 minutes.]
[Success: 250 Profound Points]
[Failure: Ning Bi will no longer be host's disciple]

[Notes: With current Privilege Level (1), the host has to maintain a minimum of (1) disciple(s) (50% of the maximum disciples limit). Failure to do so will result in the removal of the System. As the System is completely integrated into the host's soul, removal will result in said soul's dissipation]

Han De was pacing in the hallway neighboring Ning Bi. With only 4 hours left, he was only 4 hours away from death. Ning Bi was still in enlightenment. She had stopped swinging and was now meditating, but she was still obviously getting enlightened.

'Should I interrupt her? If I do interrupt her for the duel she will most likely lose her respect for me, and maybe leave anyway. If I don't and she still continues after 4 hours, the quest will fail. In both cases, my soul will be gone as the system leaves!'

'What kind of Qi Condensation enlightenment lasts for 2 days anyway?! Wait, can she even fight with her current state? What if she collapses out of hunger after the first swing? Can she even swing right now?'

Han De kept pacing.

[Congratulations!]
[Your disciple, Ning Bi, has created a new martial arts scripture!]
[Issuing 1000 Profound Points as a reward.]

[Cosmic Destruction Scripture (Incomplete)]
Power: Weak

[Congratulations!]
[Your disciple, Ning Bi, has gained a new skill!]
[Issuing 100 Profound Points as a reward.]

[Breach (Mortal)]
[Progress: 1%]
[Notes: By blocking the visual senses, the user can tap into a spatial domain to perceive their surroundings. Passively increases relational action processing and prediction speed while active. Further effects are unknown.]

17. No Fun Allowed

Seeing the System prompts Han De took a deep breath. Finally, this little miss OP was done getting enlightened. He slowly walked towards Ning Bi. Assumed his Profound Teacher form.

Ning Bi still had the blindfold on. But it didn’t matter for her. She was able to perceive her teacher. Even when he walked slowly she had an inherent understanding of his movements. Still, out of respect, Ning Bi removed her blindfold and kowtowed.

“Master. Thank you for your guidance. This Ning Bi vows that as long as she-”

“Silly girl, there is no need for vows. I am your master, and you are my disciple. There is no need for words of gratitude between us. Stand up. You have done well.”

Han De had a warm smile on his face. However, inside he was shaken. He really didn’t want to hear the contents of that vow. She was fated to be the Purifier of Planes. Her self created martial arts skill was named Cosmic Destruction Scripture. No vows. Please!

Ning Bi was grateful for everything Han De had done. Even though he interrupted her, she still completed the vow in her heart. She started fidgeting after remembering something and bit her lips after asking.

“Master, the duel, is there still time?”

"Do not worry. There is still time. This is the last day of the Battlegrounds, but there are still 4 hours left. You need to recuperate. Go to the pill storage hall and take recovery pills. You have 3 hours. Go!"

"Yes! Master!"

Ning Bi started running. At first, Han De was worried about her physical state, but it was apparent from the way she stood up that she was alright.

Still, he decided to play it safe and gave her some time to recover. He was risking it all, he was even willing to use sword flight at full speed. Thinking about the matter with Xiao Ping, he contacted Old Peng.

<Peng.>

<Yes. Elder De.>

<Take a few Nascent Soul cultivators and move Xiao Lan to the Battlegrounds. Keep things silent. Be inconspicuous. If she tries to struggle, tell her she will see Xiao Ping and neither of them will be harmed. Keep her near common seats. Do not harm her. Treat her as a guest.>

<Yes. Elder De.>

Han De went through his mental checklist.

'Even with 1103 Profound Points, there is nothing in the shop that would be helpful now. If she had exited enlightenment yesterday I could've asked her to write down her scripture and complete it. Enlightenment or not, 3 hours is still a bit too little for recovery.'

Han De patiently waited as Ning Bi kept eating recovery pills. When she was done, they hopped on his sword. Han De was gritting his teeth. He had decided to use the full speed of his sword flight. They were already fashionably late, it would be better to also make it a flashy entrance at this point.

* * *

Battlegrounds was a Starfall Mountain Sect tradition. Every 5 years promising disciples would be selected and put inside a battle royale. This battle royale would be held inside a massive caldera, outside the sect.

The name 'Battlegrounds' came from a bloody battle that was fought many generations ago. As everyone kept referring to the location as 'battlegrounds' it became stuck.

The conference that was held was a special event. After it was over, younger generations would have friendly battles between them. There weren't any rewards. It was purely for improving relations and improving the disciples. Sometimes there would be grudge duels, but they were rare. Today was one of those rare days.

Su Jing had been waiting for the last 2 days for Ning Bi to arrive. Since he took that vow, some years had passed already. He was patient. 2 days was nothing. The only thing he was worried about was Ning Bi not appearing at all. He didn't care about winning or losing, he wasn't here for that today. He wanted to collect the interest on the debt that was long overdue.

There was only an hour left until Battlegrounds closure, but Starfall Mountain people were confident. None of them even thought of the possibility of Han De and his disciple not showing up.

Sitting at the seats floating above, Ming Nui was furious. He had organized most of the geniuses to be against Ning Bi. They were saving their strength all day so that they could unleash it against her. He had also leaked her status as a sword cultivator, and all the information he could gather about Han De's sword art. Yet they never came to the Battlegrounds.

Ming Nui didn't participate in the Battlegrounds. He thought himself to be above that of the average bunch that was present today. There was no need to prove his supremacy.

* * *

Everyone was waiting. Then they heard thunder, followed by a suffocating presence. Not even a second after the thunder, Han De and his disciple had arrived at Battlegrounds. Instantly all eyes gathered on them.

He wasn't releasing his aura, this was just the residual energy from his flight. Despite that, it was still enough to greatly pressure Foundation Establishment disciples. Those that were present on the day of gathering felt that somehow, Han De's aura was more brutal.

After they both landed, Han De used all of his strength and immediately moved towards other core elders of the Starfall Mountain Sect. His confidence was very high, his legs definitely wouldn't give out, not today. He didn't even spare a glance at Ning Bi. He couldn't afford to.

Ning Bi, on the other hand, was in a pitiful state. It was the first time she flew, or rather the first time she flew while she was conscious. The entire flight took less than 10 seconds. It took all her strength just to stand still. Thankfully she only took recovery pills, if she had eaten anything it would be all over.

Su Jing, Ming Nui, and everyone else watched as Han De left and Ning Bi nervously looked around. Her current state caused many of them to sneer.

Masters on the VIP seats on the other hand accurately diagnosed the issue. They were speechless. Wasn't Han De overly protective of his disciple? Didn't he offend nearly everyone at the gathering because of her?

Seeing the opportunity, one of the closer disciples took the initiative to challenge Ning Bi.

"Disciple Ning Bi. Please advise this lowly brother!"

Ning Bi was rather unsettled inside. Her head was spinning, she wasn't sure if she could walk. Yet she didn't want to disappoint her master. She brought out her blindfold without saying another word and bound her eyes. As soon as she had done that, everything became stable!

'Everything was spinning before I closed my eyes, yet now they are all so clear! I was still too attached to my vision! So master had already seen through it. He was training me!'

Masters had noticed this change as well. It was as if she had become a different person with the blindfold. Her movement became sharp.

[Breach (Mortal)]
[Progress: (+1) 2%]

'What? What happened?'

Han De appeared nonchalant, but he was somewhat confused. Does the progress increase every time she binds her eyes?

Some of the masters looked at Han De, but upon seeing his non-reaction, they figured it was his intent all along. This was a friendly competition, but they were still offended by Han De blatantly treating others as sharpening stones for his disciple.

The person that had challenged Ning Bi and the other disciples on the Battlegrounds were fuming. They hadn't noticed her demeanor change, which was natural for someone at their level. But seeing her with a blindfold, they felt personally insulted.

Ning Bi took out her warglaives from the storage bag. They were the same warglaives that she used for training. They weren't anything special, just standard spiritual equipment for a Qi Condensation disciple. However, they were rather eye-catching. This was natural as they were made as ornamental weapons originally. They were only included in training weapons because of servants' fear of Han De.

Seeing a pair of big, inwardly curved, double-bladed weapons, the disciple that was walking abruptly stopped. Previously angry disciples were also stunned. No sound other than the slight breeze could be heard on the Battlegrounds.

Han De couldn't suppress his urges and pinched his glabella. He was afraid of people mocking Ning Bi for her weapon choice, but she had already created her own martial art for it. In fact, it was the strongest martial art Han De had ever seen. The System had classified it as 'Weak'. Not extremely weak, or even very weak! How could he ask her to use a sword instead?!

A beginner disciple muttered to his senior brother. It was a very low voice, but it felt loud in the utterly silent Battlegrounds.

"Senior brother, what kind of weapon is that?"

As if that was the cue, a commotion started within the lower realm disciples.

"What is that? It looks so fierce!"

"Wasn't she a sword cultivator?"

"Elder De is a renowned sword cultivator, she should be one.."

"That's not a sword. I should know, I practice Star Cleansing Sword art!"

"What kind of martial art is she going to use with it? Are there any methods for weapons like that in the Archives?"

"Does anyone know what are they called?"

Not caring about the people talking, Ning Bi concentrated on her target. He was Qi Condensation level 5, just like her. Even in a friendly competition, high cultivation levels would still suppress their cultivation to the lower level. Still, the difference in fighting experience would remain. Her current target was the perfect choice for Ning Bi.

She started running and operated her Cosmic Destruction art. Her aura started seeping through.

Seeing her running towards him, the challenger operated his own mantra and focused his Qi on his sword, and thrust it towards Ning Bi.

"Iridescent Strike!"

Ning Bi used her left warglaive and deflected the colorful ray of light. She focused her Fire Qi on the edges of her warglaives, causing them, and the ground around her to catch on fire. She noticed the strange movements of the boy. She already accurately predicted the trajectory of his first strike, but his current movements suggested that he was frozen.

'He is deceiving me! He will most likely respond with an overhead slash, I'll just be ready to block it, but I need my all for this first strike.'

Ning Bi had already reached the intermediate grade with the sword scripture of her master. She already knew about the basic sword methods.

Fire Qi around Ning Bi kept increasing. Her weapons were covered in white flames. She reached the boy and swung her warglaive with all her might.

*Crack*

Ning Bi had lost the sight of the boy! She tried to perceive him with her all, but couldn't find him. In a panic, she removed the blindfold to look around for him. But she couldn't find him. All she could see was blank stares from everyone watching.

That loud crack was actually a feature of the Battlegrounds. The entire caldera was covered with a formation. This formation used the power of space to save the lives of the disciples when they were about to receive a fatal injury. Of course, Starfall Mountain Sect couldn't afford to lose a great many disciples every 5 years. They were already a quality-focused sect instead of quantity. Such a formation was a common feature around the training areas of the sect.

"S-She one-shot him?!"

"He died just like that?"

"Fairy Ning Bi is so fierce! So righteous!"

Ning Bi was frustrated, she wanted to practice her martial art and do cool moves. She bound her eyes again and perceived the other geniuses. She realized she knew quite a few of them. She had committed them to her memory during the gathering. She pointed towards the closest one with a warglaive in her hand.

"Disciple Ning Bi is asking for pointers. Please advise!"

Han De was watching the entire thing speechless. He recalled how he kept worrying for the past 2 weeks. How he had desperately tried to come up with so many plans. He had learned so many scriptures, just writing them down had taken him an entire day and night.

*Crack*

'Was I worried about nothing? Maybe I should've just locked her in the armory from the very beginning...'

"Disciple Ning Bi is asking for pointers. Please advise!"

Ning Bi had one-shotted another genius and was asking for another match.

Masters in the VIP area were dumbfounded. They couldn't recognize her martial art at all. They couldn't help but comment.

*Crack*

"Such a destructive aura coming from her."

"Indeed. Her movements are a little stiff, but she shows great promise."

"Disciple Ning Bi is asking for pointers. Please advise!"

By this time, silence reigned over all disciples. They knew what they saw, but they still couldn't believe it.

*Crack*

The geniuses that didn't participate today were secretly relieved.

"Disciple Ning Bi is asking for pointers. Please advise!"

*Crack*

"Disciple Ning Bi is asking for pointers. Please advise!"

*Crack*

"Disciple Ning Bi is asking for pointers. Please advise!"

*Crack*

"Disciple Ning Bi is asking for pointers. Please advise!"

*Crack*

"Disciple Ning Bi is asking for pointers. Please advise!"

*Crack*

"Disciple Ning Bi is asking for pointers. Please advise!"

*Crack*

As Ning Bi mercilessly kept cutting down geniuses, Han De was starting to break into a cold sweat. This was too eye-catching!

'Why is this little brat not running out of spiritual energy? Isn't this a bit too much? How efficient is this Cosmic Destruction Scripture? What is it going to be like when it is complete?'

Han De suddenly recalled the quest text.

[Your extremely talented disciple has formed many grudges so far]

'D-did she really formed this many grudges? How? When did she even see all of them? Was it the gathering?'

"Disciple Ning Bi is asking for pointers. Please advise!"

*Crack*

"Disciple Ning Bi is asking for pointers. Please advise!"

*Crack*

"Disciple Ning Bi is asking for pointers. Please advise!"

*Crack*

"Disciple Ning Bi is asking for pointers. Please advise!"

*Crack*

"Disciple Ning Bi is asking for pointers. Please advise!"

*Crack*

'That damned, perverted grudge skill!!'

Han De's palm crashed on his face.

"Disciple Ning Bi is asking for pointers. Please advise!"

"I YIELD!"

*Crack*

Han De didn't want to prolong things anymore. He sent a voice transmission to Ning Bi.

<Don't forget why you came here. Stop playing around.>

Ning Bi stopped as she was about to challenge another filthy trash. She felt indignant for a moment, but then calmed down. With a clear voice, she shouted.

"Where is SU JING?!"

".."

"Come out here now!!"

".."

"SU JING!!"

Su Jing's face was dark. After the first few geniuses, he knew he wasn't her match if he suppressed his cultivation. He made up his mind and walked towards Ning Bi.

"Disciple Su Jing is asking for pointers. Please advise."

Ning Bi increased her power output to the max. This trash, had insulted her master's scripture. He had to pay the price.

Su Jing appeared calm. He raised his spear and operated his method. His spear got covered with a plum-colored glow. He made the first move and attacked Ning Bi over a distance with Qi attacks coming from his spear.

Ning Bi casually dodged them and slowly closed the distance. She wasn't concerned about strikes like these at all.

She slowly got closer and closer. Su Jing judged the distance. He increased his cultivation back to the 6th level and thrust his spear directly to Ning Bi's dantian. He was resolved to his fate. No one would die here, the formation would save them, but an injury to her dantian wouldn't trigger it. She would be crippled for the rest of her life.

Unfortunately for him, Ning Bi had already seen through his actions. She knew that a normal attack like that wouldn't even be a threat for her, so she preemptively readied herself to block the spear with both blades. And she succeeded!

'Aah, there we go, surpassing the cultivation stages template. So she is already at a stage that she could do that. As expected of an MC I guess.'

Han De involuntarily nodded. He completely expected this. He didn't bother hiding his smugness. It also fit his currently equipped character perfectly.

Masters were surprised, they had already seen or heard of people that could fight against high cultivation stages, but most of them didn't expect Ning Bi to be one of them. This declared her as a genius among geniuses. Starfall Mountain Sect had new a monster talent with them.

Su Jing and Ning Bi's exchange continued for some time. Ning Bi couldn't land a clear strike, neither could Su Jing. Since no one had stopped the duel even though he was using a higher stage power, Su Jing instead went for a war of attrition. He wanted Ning Bi to exhaust her spiritual power.

Their exchange continued for 20 minutes. Su Jing was now in a panic. He was tired, and he was nearly out of power. However, Ning Bi's aura was still as bright as ever.

Ning Bi perceived the deciding moment. With a swift strike, she cut off the arms of Su Jing, then sent him out of the Battlegrounds with another. 2 arms and a spear harmlessly dropped to the ground while Su Jing disappeared.

*Crack*

[Quest Complete!]
[Congratulations!]
[Quest Reward: 250 Profound Points]
[Notes: You have completed your quest in the allocated time. Your disciple Ning Bi settled her deep grudge. She created and used her own martial arts scripture to teach her grudges a lesson that they would never forget. Bonus reward is being issued.]

[Bonus Reward: Cultivation Method Upgrade Token x 5]

'I must make sure to never piss her off. I really will be finished if she forms a grudge on me.'

Han De didn't even notice the quest pop up box. He was deeply concerned about his future.

After a few moments of silence, Starfall Mountain Sect disciples started cheering for Ning Bi.

"Fairy Ning Bi!"

"Unrivaled under the heavens!!"

"Fairy Ning Bi! Please step on me!"

Ning Bi was surprised at the cheering crowd. She looked for her master and found him. She clasped her hands and bowed.

18. A Father's Love

The caldera had a wide variety of geographical features. A small lake, a few grooves, a few rolling hills, a large mesa, a large grassy plain and more. Some features were artificially created, like the scorching desert in one corner, and the lone snowy mountain in another. A battle royale that spanned over a week was more interesting when fights happened in ever-changing locations.

As a tradition, the majority of the sect came over and watched this competition. This inevitably meant Battlegrounds had to support those that came here to watch. Even if it was for a week every 5 years, it still required a small town to be built outside the caldera.

Han De chose to fly over with his sword at full speed because he was worried Xiao Ping might challenge him if he walked around that place. Xiao Ping had a deep enmity with him. He couldn't refuse his challenge without getting a big blow to his reputation. He didn't care about the reputation itself, he cared about the suspicions it might bring, now or down the line in the future.

He needed Xiao Ping to act ridiculously, he needed him to be out of line so that he could have a valid excuse to wave his hand and move away. He had brought Xiao Lan, his lover to the viewing seats to provoke him. However, there was no sight of Xiao Ping anywhere. Han De kept looking and looking, yet he couldn't spot anyone.

'Does he really have a godly disguise/stealth item?'

Han De kept worrying over his own issues. Everyone else was oblivious. The crowd was still cheering and the masters in the VIP seats were making speculations of their own.

* * *

Emperor Ming watched the entire spectacle unfold. He was informed about his youngest son's petty tricks. He didn't even need to glance at him to know what he was thinking.

*Sigh* 'This one still needs a lot of work. No wonder he couldn't endure it.'

Over the years he kept making heirs, but each one was more disappointing than the other. He didn't need talent. What he wanted wasn't just cultivation strength. He wanted a strong heart that could endure and keep beating.

Emperor Sun and his trusted advisor, the white-haired Wu Fu didn't have concerns over the succession. They were rather content with the result of the conference and enjoyed the competition in front of them.

<Wu Fu, is this Blazing Sun Scripture really that profound?>

<Starfall Mountain poured many resources on it even though it kept failing and failing. It seems Han Wei didn't shelve it but cooperated with a hidden family.>

<The amount of spiritual power this Ning Bi has is extraordinary. Not only she kept cutting one genius after another, but she even outlasted a higher stage opponent. Yet she still doesn't show any signs of her energy lessening.>

<As soon as she put on the blindfold her demeanor changed. Even though her sight was cut off, she was able to track her opponents. It almost looked like she was predicting them. She is obviously highly trained in such a technique.>

<This Ning Bi isn't ordinary.>

Emperor Sun thought about it. His cultivation was higher than Wu Fu, but he lacked the extensive knowledge and experience he had. He thought about Ning Bi's movements and spoke.

<She used a strange martial art. There were disconnects between her movements, her aura also felt somewhat unstable, or incomplete. Perhaps she was sent to gain experience by the hidden family. Which suggests Starfall Mountain is on good terms with them.>

<Yes, your highness. I would've said that this was Han Wei's way of announcing the alliance, but it seems there is more to come.>

Wu Fu was looking at Han De. Emperor Sun followed his gaze and saw Han De was waiting for something. His eyes were searching for someone.

Other masters had their designs too. They were thinking of ways to contact this hidden family. This Blazing Sun Scripture wasn't something they could ignore. Her martial art was nothing to scoff at either, even though she was inexperienced in it. This meant that this hidden family wasn't simple.

They didn't think anything of Han De's status as her master. It was clearly a sham to give face towards the hidden family.

Starfall Mountain elders had more varying thoughts. Elder Yang looked at Ning Bi with a tinge of regret in his eyes. Elder Yan although displeased at being in the dark, was still glad he didn't eliminate Ning Bi with bogus reasons during disciple selection.

Zhao Dong, the leader of the Zhao faction inside Starfall Mountain Sect, was apprehensive about this whole situation. He glanced at other Zhao elders, they were all having similar thoughts.

<Fang, when was that man was seen last?>

<Elder Dong, we haven't seen him since that day. He didn't contact us either. We have no clue of his identity, we cannot find him.>

Zhao Dong was worried. Did that man decide to double-cross them? Was he lying the whole time? If Hans already knew or learned of it later, why haven't they made a move yet? Han De is still alive, but his cultivation stayed stagnant. Have they made a deal that man? Is this Ning Bi related to it? Was the man a member of the hidden family?

Lacking any information caused Zhao Dong to feel uncertainty for the first time in many years.

* * *

"HAN DE!! YOU DARE!!"

A shout interrupted everyone.

A man standing near the stairs. He was shaking, his eyes were bloodshot. He glanced at Xiao Lan, then pointed at Han De, sitting far away from him.

"You will pay for you have done!!"

"You will not take her away from me!"

"I. Xiao Ping will show you!"

Battlegrounds went silent, the only sound was this man's shouting and his incessant and loud breathing. It was clear he couldn't his emotions at this moment.

No one heard the faint whisper from Xiao Lan. 'Where did little Guoliang go?'

Han De was dreading this moment. Still, he had to keep silent. Time wasn't ripe yet.

'If this guy gets angrier and decides to attack on his own, he is finished. I only need to hold on a bit longer.'

A young boy's voice cut through the man's breathing.

"Who are you to dare challenge Elder De this way! You can't even control yourself, yet you think you are worthy?!"

"You won't be able to take even a single strike of his!"

Xu Fan looked at Xiao Bai at a loss. He wasn't a person that was this rash, why would he step forward? Especially for Han De? Then he saw his sneaky glance at Ning Bi. Xu Fan's face went dark, he hastily joined him.

"A mongrel like you can't even take a single sword from the honored Elder De. Know your place!"

With the recent high from Ning Bi's performance, Starfall Mountain disciples started joining them.

"Who is this trash? Doesn't he know Elder De is a genius?"

"Even his disciple isn't ordinary, and this guy thinks he can just challenge someone of his caliber?"

As the crowd started sneering at Xiao Ping, Han De had difficulty controlling his emotions.

'You little shits! If you want to chase Ning Bi chase her, you dare to bring me into it?! F#$%! All I needed was this guy to lash out! Now with these taunts, he'll be able to calm himself!'

Han De gave a venomous look at Xiao Bai. He really wanted to slap this guy to heavens right now. Xiao Bai sensed his gaze and responded with a sheepish grin, then turned his attention back to Ning Bi and switched to a confident smile.

Gears in Han De's mind started turning. He went through his list of contingency plans. There was one thing he could try but it was a risky one. If he didn't have any tokens he wouldn't have even considered it.

Xiao Ping, after hearing all the jeers and taunts was able to regain his senses. He had heard of Han De's disciple's duel and was waiting for an opportunity to challenge, or sneakily attack him. When he had arrived Ning Bi was still dueling with Su Jing.

Seeing Han De sitting casually brought all of his bad memories back. The suffering, the agony, the humiliation. He was barely able to hold himself back. He kept waiting and made plans. But then, as he was trying to keep his cool, he saw Xiao Lan, comfortably sitting in a seat, looking at Ning Bi. His reasoning jumped out of the window.

No one noticed the Emperor Ming's peculiar look at Xiao Ping.

Han De made up his mind. Perhaps he could give a few valid reasons to reject him now, but that wouldn't stop him in the future. He needed valid reasoning to kill this guy with his subordinates if he made another peep in the future. He assumed his Arrogant Young Master form and spoke.

"Alright. Normally I wouldn't spare a glance for the likes of you. But this appears to be a teachable moment."

Han De arrogantly jumped down and slowly walked towards Xiao Ping. He displayed a perfect sneer and continued.

"If you can stay standing after one strike from me, I will admit my defeat."

At the same time, he was frantically upgrading his Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword art in his mind.

'This guy is an MC, he can probably fight higher stages too! A normal strike at the level of an 'Arrogant Young Master A' won't be enough. Use a token and upgrade my sword art!'

[Using Martial Arts Method Upgrade Token]
[Upgrade Complete]

[Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword (Mortal)]
Power: Extremely Weak
Comprehension: Master

'Only mortal? Still extremely weak? F#$%... Upgrade again!'

[Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword (Mortal II)]
Power: Extremely Weak
Comprehension: Master

'AAAH, system, you are killing me...'

'Alright, buy an upgrade token and use it again!'

[Redeeming Martial Arts Method Upgrade Token for 200 Profound Points]
[Using Martial Arts Method Upgrade Token]
[Upgrade Complete]

[Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword (Mortal III)]
Power: Extremely Weak
Comprehension: Master

Han De stopped some distance away from the Xiao Ping. Latter was gritting his teeth but calmed himself. Xiao Ping considered his options.

'I have already unlocked a portion of the amulet's power. Once he strikes, I'll focus everything on my finger and attack his blind spot. I will make you pay for everything you have done a hundredfold!'

Han De was still in agony at the moment. He just needed this guy to drop to the ground, he didn't even want to one-shot him, he knew that was impossible.

'Upgrade! Again!'

[Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword (Earth)]
Power: Extremely Weak
Comprehension: Master

'Again!!!'

[Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword (Earth II)]
[Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword (Earth III)]
[Heaven Defying Tyrannical Scripture (Heaven)]

[Heaven Defying Tyrannical Scripture (Heaven II)]
Power: Very Weak
Comprehension: Master

'Again!'

[Insufficient Profound Points]
[Profound Points: 153]

'...'

Han De removed his sword from the storage ring. He used the cultivation moron's memories to recreate his most powerful attack and started operating his martial arts method.

Sun still had a few hours to set, but it suddenly dimmed. Stars appeared in the sky. They kept getting brighter and brighter. Han De focused all his energy on his sword. A faint glow appeared on the edges of it.

When the cultivation moron used this move it was very flashy. Sword would give a blinding light and a huge amount of spiritual energy would collect on the sword. Han De was startled, this wasn't right at all. But he had already committed and couldn't stop. He tried to further increase its power, yet nothing was changing!

In the VIP area, masters were in a daze. Everyone except Han Wei and Emperor Ming had blank looks. Han Wei himself was smiling. At this moment his pride was sky-high. He was barely holding back his emotions. Emperor Ming, on the other hand, had an unsightly expression.

Han De didn't notice Xiao Ping's finger or the glow around his neck. However, everyone in the VIP area did. They were able to see an exquisite amulet, with a red jewel glowing in the center.

Emperor Ming closed his eyes. It looked like he was considering his options, then he spoke.

"Junior Han De, I hope you will forgive me for interrupting. Your sword art is mighty, this kid will accept his defeat."

It took Han De several seconds to register what Emperor Ming said. He retracted his spiritual energy and looked at Emperor Ming in pure annoyance and anger.

'Are you kidding me? You couldn't say this before I spent all my Profound Points?! Where were you 30 seconds ago?! Are you for real?!'

Han De's unrestrained disdain surprised everyone. Did you want to kill this guy that much? Are you so bloodthirsty that you won't refuse or back down from a single battle?

Emperor Ming had an odd look while staring at Han De. He retraced his thoughts and recalculated the situation. His eyes grew wide after a moment.

"I didn't mean to interrupt the issues of my juniors. However, it seems this kid has a blood relation with me, I hope you will give me some face and let this matter go. He was misguided. Now that we are reunited, I will properly educate him. I will not sleight you either, let us discuss this, shall we?"

Everyone turned their heads to Xiao Ping. Lower realms could see a faint glow coming from his neck. Xiao Ping himself had a look of confusion. He assessed the situation and came to the conclusion that this was Han De's ploy.

"There is no need to discuss. This seems to be a personal matter, I will not interfere."

Han De turned around and went back to his seat. He didn't know what to make of the situation. 'Blood relation? What about my Profound Points?!'

Emperor Ming was surprised at his rejection, but then he personally stepped down from his seat and went to Xiao Ping's side. Everyone saw him putting his hand on Xiao Ping's shoulder. They stayed silent like that for a time, evidently conversing through voice transmission.

In the VIP seat, Wu Fu's eyes started shining.

<Your majesty, we might need to revise our Starfall Mountain evaluation. Especially that of Han De.>

Young Emperor Sun looked at him. Wu Fu met his gaze and continued.

<Emperor Ming needs to enter secluded meditation soon. He needs an heir. He has many sons, but he isn't satisfied with any of them. First for their character, second for their incompatibility with his cultivation method. That medallion with the red jewel should be an external refinement tool used in Crimson Lotus Scripture that the Ming Emperor uses.>

<Emperor himself stepping down for Xiao Ping is the acknowledgment of his lineage. Crimson Lotus is a profound scripture, not much is known about, but it is known that it can generate a resonance between blood relatives.>

<Emperor Ming could use this to sharpen his other heirs, or groom this one to be a new one.>

Emperor Sun nodded. He knew about the tales of the current Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. His cultivation became stronger if there were people that could use the same scripture. Unfortunately, he lost 3 sons during the breach, and couldn't produce another compatible one since then. He waited for Wu Fu to continue.

<Before this kid appeared Han De was waiting. It seems he had knowledge of him coming here beforehand. The lass that he looked at is surrounded by Nascent Soul experts. They do not interfere with her, but her demeanor suggests she isn't here of her own will.>

<Han De had sent 20 of his people some time ago, 10 returned. Then he sent 100, 10 were Nascent Soul, he scattered them between Starfall Mountain and Ming Empire borders. Then, they retreated and started guarding his abode.>

<It looked like he was searching for something, but with today's events, it seems he was leading something, someone, here.>

Emperor Sun had a doubtful look, he interjected. <You mean...>

<Han De is making a deal with the Ming Emperor. He delivered a son that is compatible with his scripture.>

Wu Fu looked at the young emperor beside him.

<The Plague-Devouring Demon. It was detected at Han De's abode. Emperor Ming would never miss that.>

Emperor Sun looked at Wu Fu, then turned to Han De.

In the VIP area, well-informed masters all came to a similar conclusion. This was Han De, making a deal by himself. Not Starfall Mountain, or Han Wei. As his father, Han Wei was concerned but still didn't make a move.

* * *

Han De was watching the situation with wary eyes.

'I really didn't expect this guy to become a prince. Truly, an MC's life is different.'

Han De was worried about the Emperor trying to make amends with his son by messing with Starfall Mountain or worse, Han De himself. However, when he saw Xiao Lan move, he smiled.

'That's it! If she goes back to him unharmed, all issues will be solved! It will be over! He will go back and become a prince, and her a princess! HAHA!'

Han De started giggling. Coupled with his creepy smile, it looked quite unsettling. Masters were already watching Han De and Emperor Ming closely, not willing to miss any details of this deal. They saw Han De's state and couldn't figure out the reason.

Xiao Ping looked at Xiao Lan in front of him. Seeing her safe, he felt indescribable relief.

Emperor Meng looked at the situation and frowned. 'Are you reneging on our deal?' He looked at Han De and saw him giggling with a creepy smile on his face. Their eyes met, and Han De started giggling even more. He couldn't stop! He had solved his issue, finally! All tension had suddenly left him and now he couldn't stop! This infuriated the Emperor even more.

Xiao Lan saw the look of relief in Xiao Ping but it didn't matter to her. She raised her hand.

*Slap*

She stared at Xiao Ping's confused face.

"That was for little Guoliang." She sighed and continued. "Han De was right."

Xiao Ping watched as Xiao Lan left. Her words kept repeating and repeating in his mind. The name Guoliang filled him with great pain, and shame. And the latter part...

Han De's still had that smile on his face, the slap and the subsequent words had frozen him solid, but he looked like he enjoyed the situation from the outside. Xiao Ping saw this and came to a conclusion on his own. A rage suddenly erupted from deep recesses of his being.

Emperor Ming quickly sealed him. He had a look of approval on him.

'With this level of pain and rage, he is an excellent candidate. Truly a worthy trade.'

Xiao Ping's short-lived outburst shook Han De back to his senses. He barely returned to his expressionless state. It took all his effort to stay that way. His mind was in chaos.

'Sister, how could you do that? At least keep your mouth shut and don't speak my name! I was right?! Right your sister!'

'Aaah! This is a huge flag. This Ping guy will definitely come back. He might even come back with a posse of his own. How much more of an MC buildup is this guy going to receive?!'

Han De knew, greater the pain, greater the power. It was Xianxia MC 101.

Emperor Ming saw the composed look of Han De. He had gained a lot thanks to this kid. The price of it was high, but to him, it was worth it. He gave a deep look at Han De. After a slight nod, he left with Xiao Ping on his side. He was too important to let him leave his sight.

'Once I refine this kid completely, I will shave at least 50 years from my breakthrough. Until then he could also act as a sharpening stone for others.’

19. Endless Suffering

Han De didn't want to stick around after Emperor Ming left. He felt many eyes on himself. It felt like he might accidentally plant many unnecessary flags left and right. He switched to Profound Expert C - Stoic Variant, and slowly walked towards his disciple.

Ning Bi seeing her master coming towards her, respectfully bowed. Her master's sword display had left a deep impression on her. She had seen and heard everything, the events left her puzzled but she knew not to ask about it.

"You have done well. Come, let's go back."

Ning Bi saw her master take out a sword from his storage ring. Before he even let the sword float, she grabbed his arm and started rapid firing.

"Master I didn't get to see town outside the caldera. Perhaps we could walk back? I also like to walk, I used to walk a lot, I also like to walk with you master! Could we walk?!"

Han De didn't show a speck of his massive relief.

"Alright, if you want to walk, let us walk."

Not minding the others, both of them headed for the caldera exit.

* * *

They had left, but the disciples were still on their seats. Officially there were still 5 minutes left until Battlegrounds closing time. They started commenting on the incredible events.

"I-I didn't expect Elder De to be so cruel. Did you guys see how he laughed when that Fairy slapped the guy?"

"There is definitely something going on there, she even whispered Elder De's name!"

"I nearly peed my pants when Elder De used that move, what was that?!"

"I couldn't stay still, I was so shaken I started seeing stars!"

On both the elder and VIP seats, Zhao faction had gloomy looks. The few that were in the know about Han De were convinced.

<Put more people in finding that man. Also, tie up loose ends.>

The elder bowed and left. Zhao Dong looked around him. Han De had offended many in the social gathering more than 2 weeks ago. Today he flaunted his connections with a hidden family and even made an open deal with Emperor of the Ming Empire.

Zhao Dong wasn't concerned about the deal. However, the hidden family's connection with Han De and the display of his sword art worried him greatly. This was a near confirmation of his worst fears. The possibility of Han De hiding his abilities this deeply was zero according to him. He stood up and left. The rest of the Zhao faction followed.

Wu Fu was still assessing the situation.

'This Xiao Ping should be the same kid Han De crippled on Celestial River Sect. Xiao Ping regained his cultivation, how? Did he have Crimson Lotus Scripture with him before?'

Wu Fu felt that he was missing something crucial.

'If he had truly planned this 10 years ago, then it makes sense to hide himself this deeply. That also means he is an unpredictable factor.'

Wu Fu decided to go through any and all intelligence regarding Han De and Starfall Mountain Sect. He was going to be very busy once they returned to the Sun Palace.

* * *

Han De and Ning Bi walked around the streets of Battlegrounds town. Unfortunately, they didn't see anything noteworthy. This was a cultivator town, not only that, a cultivator town of a prestigious sect like Starfall Mountain. Of course they wouldn't flaunt anything that fulfilled secular desires.

This meant that the town was very boring for both Ning Bi and Han De. Both of them spent all their lives in the secular world. Both of them started cultivating a few weeks ago. They didn't want to see people cultivating one after the other.

'This is a serious issue. The lack of entertainment is inexcusable.'

Han De thought of isekai novels. Could he bring some inventions from Earth and 'invent' them here? He immediately abandoned the idea.

'Too much work.'

Both of them were bored, but both of them didn't make a peep about it. Some time later, they felt a wave of spiritual energy cover the entire area. It was coming from Battlegrounds.

"Master…"

"It's just someone forming a Core. Don't worry, you'll form one soon enough. You won't gain anything from watching this either. One should find their own way to form a Core."

Han De could see Ning Bi wanted to go back and watch it, but he didn't want to stick around, so he gave her a generic line that had prepared before.

'This girl probably won't form a normal Core anyway. Golden Core? What is that? Here's my Destruction Core, or Void Core, or Divine Flame Core. Take your pick...'

Thinking about her cultivation increasing, Han De was conflicted. On the one hand, he needed Profound Points.

'On the other hand, she will surpass me very quickly. *sigh* I need a way to increase my cultivation that isn't cultivation.'

Both of them continued walking. It took them an entire day and night to get back from Battlegrounds. It was oddly fulfilling for them both.

* * *

Han De spent the next day lazing around. Ning Bi alternated between cultivating and training.

[Inventory]
Cultivation Method Upgrade Token x5
Cultivation Method Fragment x4
Martial Arts Method Fragment x200

Derive Cultivation Method Token x 5

[Profound Points: 153]

Han De was eyeing the Cultivation Method Upgrade Tokens, however, he was undecided.

'If I upgrade my method and it doesn't get substantially better, it'll be a waste. If I use it to upgrade Ning Bi's method she will turn into a goddess. Probably.'

Disciple quota was a big, uncomfortable shackle around Han De's neck. His life depended on having at least 1 disciple.

'Is there a way to find another MC? How could I be so lucky?'

Although currently Han De didn't have a pressing quest or another life-threatening situation, Xiao Ping was an unsolved time bomb. Sooner or later it would explode.

'Let's do what we can do...'

He stood up and went to find Ning Bi. She was currently trying to comprehend more of her martial art scripture. Han De didn't really care for martial arts, but he could use some Profound Points to help Ning Bi.

"I want you to write down your Cosmic Destruction Scripture as detailed as you can. I know it is incomplete, but this will also help you with that. Write it was simply as you can. As if a 5-year-old kid is going to read it. If you can't even explain it to a 5-year-old child, you don't understand it yourself."

"Oh, bring it to me when you are finished!"

Ning Bi watched as her teacher came and went away like a storm. She thought what her teacher said made sense. His scriptures were always so easy to understand. She wanted to have a go at it.

* * *

A few days had passed. Han De was seriously working on his cultivation. He had increased his daily quota to 2 hours already. He was making steady progress. Ning Bi was still writing her scripture.

'Ah, I forgot about her...'

Han De wanted to forget about Xiao Ping and Xiao Lan. In fact, he didn't want to remember anyone with the surname Xiao. Including that capture target that screwed things up last time. Sighing loudly, Han De reluctantly contacted Peng. He didn't want to interact with him, this old guy was his jinx.

<Peng.>

<Yes, Elder De.>

<Go tell Xiao Lan that we are even. If she wants to stay for a while, she can stay. If she wants to leave, she can leave.>

<Give her some supplies and spirit stones as compensation for her troubles.>

<... Yes, Elder De.>

Han De didn't notice the awkward pause. There was no such thing.

Xiao Lan had suffered a lot because of the cultivation maniac. But she also caused huge trouble for Han De. He didn't want to have anything to do with her anymore.

As if on cue, Ning Bi arrived with her scripture. She looked rather excited. After she gave Han De her scripture, she sat on the side and waited. Han De found this cute and didn't say anything. He looked at the scripture.

[Cosmic Destruction Scripture (Incomplete)]
Completion: 5%
Power: Weak
Notes: Created by Ning Bi during her enlightenment. Requires dual-wielding warglaves to operate. Requires 329 Profound Point(s) to learn.

Seeing the Profound Point requirements, Han De wanted to puke blood. This was far worse than he had imagined. Her Blazing Sun Scripture required 6 points to learn, but 196 fragments to complete. How many fragments would this take?! A quick calculation based on Blazing Sun's completion rate resulted in a scary 17k fragments.

Decisively ignoring the future problem, Han De focused on the current one.

'Perhaps I can learn it the manual way, that would still save a lot of points.'

While crying inside, Han De finally started reading the scripture. He found that it wasn't as bad as other methods. It was quite easy to read and if it was complete Han De had confidence in understanding it on his own. Eventually. But right now it was too incomplete, essential parts were just filled in by Ning Bi as instinct. 5% was 5%.

Han De decided to take a shot in the dark.

"Tell me, which parts you are struggling to understand?"

Ning Bi enthusiastically started explaining a great many different things in random order. Han De didn't understand most of it, but he kept nodding to maintain his Profound Teacher look. After two hours of listening, Han De did spot something.

'This looks like a bit similar to my sword art. It should be the way it converts the spiritual energy and traps it.'

'Probably the only one that can operate this thing is Ning Bi. Like Blazing Sun Scripture, it requires very high-purity, if not perfect roots.'

Han De had thought about the different results he got from the cultivation idiot's move. He concluded it was due to his upgraded method being more efficient and his roots being purer. His version of the move itself wasn't weaker, it just gathered and trapped spiritual energy more efficiently. Less leakage actually made it much stronger.

"I will pass you my own sword art. It might give you some inspiration."

Han De didn't explain anything. A profound teacher would try to have their students figure things on their own. This was very convenient.

* * *

'Completely comprehend Blazing Sun'

[Blazing Sun Scripture requires 43 Profound Points to completely master it.]

[Blazing Sun Scripture (Mortal)]
Power: Very Weak
Comprehension: Master
Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)

'Might as well upgrade this, faster cultivation means faster points. No point in holding her back.'

[Blazing Sun Scripture (Earth)]
Power: Very Weak
Comprehension: Master
Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)

It took Han De an entire week to write his Heaven Defying Tyrannical Scripture. Its complexity had increased quite a bit. The word Sword was changed with Scripture too. However, it still required a sword to operate. Why not sword scripture then? The System moved in mysterious ways.

Compared to that, the Blazing Sun took only 6 hours. That was still a long time for a single scripture, and it was with the improvements in Han De's writing speed.

Han De gave the storage bag to Ning Bi. He also felt a bit guilty for seeing her practice with the same pair of warglaves. He had nothing to do, so he decided to look for some materials. He swiftly left after giving her some generic pointers.

* * *

The sword that Han De used was made out of star iron. Although it sounded like it came from a meteor, it was actually mined, just like normal iron. Technically, every single iron atom came from the stars, so all iron was 'star iron' but Han De decided not to argue about this point.

Star iron, of course, was exceedingly expensive. Cultivation idiot wouldn't have used it otherwise. Spirit iron was a variation of iron that was infused with spiritual energy. It didn't contain spiritual energy itself, it just conducted it better. Star iron was a variation of spirit iron. In simple terms, it was better.

Han De already had large stacks of pure star iron ingots stockpiled in his house. He had already taken enough to make 5 pairs of warglaves and gave those and the design parameters to a servant.

"Take these to Elder Xiang, tell him he can use whatever materials he requires in addition to these ingots. I will pay for it personally. Go."

"Yes. Elder De."

'Haaah, it's good to be rich. Just like that, a problem is no more.'

This was the first time Han De actually spent money in this world. He and Ning Bi were using pills and resources, but that was different. Han De was a paper salesman before coming to this world. His salary was slightly higher than the minimum wage and his commissions didn't make it much higher.

'Spending more money is the only logical conclusion.'

Ever since he recalled that the fighting pagoda of the sect only allowed Foundation Establishment disciples, Han De was annoyed. If he had access to that, Ning Bi could make better progress with her Cosmic Destruction Scripture. He could force them to accept her, but that had other consequences that he didn't want to be bothered with.

'I really should buy a fighting pagoda. Or something similar, a fighting stele?'

Han De contacted the man for it.

<Peng.>

<Yes, Elder De.>

<I want to buy a fighting pagoda, like the one in the sect. Find one.>

<... Elder De, we do have one.>

<... We do?>

Han De didn't remember a spare pagoda. But some of his memories were missing, so he still asked about it.

<Yes, Elder De. We recently acquired it on the mission you gave us.>

<Hmm? Which one?>

<While Elder De's abode was being guarded, a man tried to contact Elder De with his spiritual sense. Nascent Soul experts promptly dealt with this person, and he has been in our dungeon ever since. We were waiting for someone from the foreign visitors to claim him but no one came. One of the items he had with him was a fighting pagoda.>

<... You didn't ask him where he was from?>

<... This man has a strong will, he isn't willing to talk. Even Nascent Soul experts kept trying and trying but he wouldn't talk.>

'This guy kept silent after getting beaten over and over again by the fighting maniacs for over a week?'

Han De felt bad for the guy.

20. Power of Friendship

It had been a week since the Ming Dynasty delegation came back. The conference itself was uneventful and had gone as expected. Upon the return of the Emperor however, the atmosphere around the palace became agitated.

A new heir had appeared. A bastard. Emperor had many heirs. The current number of official princes were over 20. No one would've batted an eye for another one. But this one was able to practice the Crimson Lotus Scripture and it wasn't at a low level either.

Princes and the supporters behind them felt vulnerable. Emperor was paying special attention to him. Possibility of him getting groomed for the crown was high.

This was the effect Emperor Ming wanted. He watched with glee as his sons started moving. More pressure on Xiao Ping, more benefit he would gain. As he watched, he had also ordered a thorough investigation of Han De. He closed his eyes after reading the last report.

'Han De made himself into an obsession. Later converted Xiao Lan to his side and used her to push Xiao Ping into despair. The girl formed a Core and joined Starfall Mountain as a regular elder. She became an obsession too.'

'From the outside, it looks like a series of minor coincidences spanning over 10 years.'

'This hidden family knows about my scripture. They gave the medallion to Xiao Ping just before he entered the sect. They kept him under my nose for years then presented him to me at the most opportune time. They knew I couldn't afford to refuse.'

Emperor Ming wasn't a person that would allow others to manipulate him. Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything about it before his breakthrough. He decided to bring his house to order first and keep an eye on the situation.

'There will come a time to collect this debt.'

* * *

Han De was going down the stairs to the cell holding the pitiful guy. At first he was reluctant to see him, he didn't want to be exposed to a gruesome scene like that. But then he heard what the Old Peng said.

"He is a body cultivator? His body is in the Nascent Soul stage?"

Han De sucked in a cold breath. This guy was the perfect punching bag! These maniacs could beat him up all day, then they would let him heal up in a few hours and start all over again.

Feeling better that there wouldn't be pieces of flesh stuck everywhere around the cell, Han De decided to visit him. This guy tried to contact him using spiritual sense in the first place, he may respond to him better than others.

As he arrived at the cell with a huge number of formations, he saw 5 Nascent Soul experts giving him deep bows.

'These guys could form their own minor sects if they wanted. It is a tad concerning how oddly driven they are at their jobs.'

In a sect like Starfall Mountain, a Nascent Soul wasn't much, but outside a Nascent Soul fight meant a sect's destruction was imminent.

Han De saw a man hanging in the center of the room. His arms were tied behind his back and he was hanging by his wrists. Evidently freshly beaten up, he couldn't even raise his head. When the Nascent Soul expert behind him saw Han De looking at the guy, he grabbed his hair forcefully raised his head.

'These guys are a bit too professional with these things.'

Han De felt a sigh coming to him. But he was interrupted in the middle of it.

'I'm sure I don't have a memory of him, but just looking at him is making my blood run cold.'

Han De narrowed his eyes. This was the first time he felt like this ever since coming to this world. He saw the man open his eyes and look at him.

The man had a surprise written all over him. He opened and closed his mouth a few times. A few moments later his gaze became cold and his face turned stoic.

'Now it's confirmed. He knows me as well.'

It was apparent that he wouldn't talk to him. There was a history between them, and it wasn't pleasant, to say the least. Han De knew the implications of this, he weighed his options in his mind.

"Keep trying."

Han De signaled Old Peng and left the cell. The guys left behind were originally concerned about their young master not approving their 'work'. They hadn't informed him before and waited to extract more information from this guy first. But now they had their young master's approval, they enthusiastically started discussing techniques. Panic crept up on the enduring body cultivator.

'Were they holding back before?!'

Han De sent a voice transmission to Old Peng.

<Go to my father and tell him we caught someone familiar. He will know what I mean. This is for his ears only. Keep the existence of this guy under wraps.>

<Yes, Elder De.>

* * *

Han De wanted to shake this uncomfortable feeling. As usual, he started to randomly walk around. He didn't keep track of time, he was rather unsettled. After a while, he stopped after coming across a big crater. He frowned after assessing the situation.

'If you are going to fight at least clean up after yourselves. Who just leaves a giant crater like this and goes away as if nothing happened?'

Han De made a mental note about this for his Goon Re-education Programme. This was unacceptable. His estate would look like swiss cheese in no time if this continued.

After finally calming down, he inspected the mystery man's storage ring. This guy was already unfriendly, if he was someone important and demanded his ring back later, well too bad for him, it wasn't his ring anymore.

'A bit weird, a lot of unrelated things stored in here...'

He saw many fire crystals, some were extremely pure. There were a variety of spiritual herbs, a large number of pills, some normal looking rocks of varying sizes, a peach tree with completely intact roots, a normal-looking axe, an absurdly large sheet of spiritual iron. And finally, a small, palm-sized black pagoda with 13 floors tucked in one corner.

Han De couldn't resist and took out some of the items and started carefully inspecting them.

'I imagine these fire crystals would be extremely useful for anyone with fire roots. But Ning Bi doesn't need to cleanse her Fire Qi, it is already incredibly pure. In fact, if she used these crystals the effect would be the opposite... It might be useful to infuse them into her warglaives though.'

'These rocks are literally just rocks. Who carries around large boulders with them? At least I can understand the tree, with its completely intact roots it kinda looks cool...'

Han De didn't bother with the rest. If something amazing was among them he would've noticed it already. He took out the black pagoda.

'Shouldn't a pagoda have a red color accent? Why does this look like it was dipped in a tub full of ink?'

After inspecting the pagoda he sent his spiritual sense inside it.

Pagoda already had a spiritual mark in it. Sensing an intruder, it fought back. Han De was surprised, his spiritual sense was pushed back quite easily. This meant the pagoda had developed some level of instinct. He kept trying but his spiritual sense was pushed back every time.

10 minutes later he was frustrated. He looked at cultivation freak's memories but that wasn't any help. Being filthy rich that guy never needed to delete someone else's imprint. If anything he would just give it to his lackeys to do the manual work. Han De rejected that option, this had become personal.

‘No more playing nice.’

Han De released his sword aura in full power. He sent it to the pagoda along with his spiritual sense. Pagoda turned meek in an instant and not only stopped resisting but actually started guiding him. This surprised Han De, he was annoyed but he let it go. After he replaced the imprint with his own, Han De was able to understand the pagoda's functions.

'It really is a fighting pagoda! I can choose the number and realms of the opponents on every floor. Interesting!'

Han De smiled. This felt a lot like a video game. He went over the functions one by one and thought about getting the best use out of it.

'I wonder if I can use this to learn how to fight?'

Han De plopped the pagoda to the ground and commanded it to expand its size. He was ready to wait for a while but the process was instant, he entered it without delay.

Inside the pagoda was just like one would expect. A cozy interior with a few wooden beams around. Han De willed a few Qi Condensation opponents to appear. He immediately spotted the first problem.

'These guys demons! Aah, so this is a demon pagoda.'

Although he could sense the functions of the pagoda, there wasn't any feedback from that. It was just Han De being aware of a button and its label. The button he pushed just said 'spawn mobs' and that was it.

'Fighting demons is kind of cool I guess. Ning Bi would certainly like it. Still, these guys are quite grotesque.'

Han De used the begin function of the pagoda to make the Qi Condensation mobs attack him. He used his sword art and cut them in half with one motion. He then immediately noticed his second problem.

'Uhh, the smell is... Wow... Are these guys not going to despawn?'

Han De looked at the functions, but there wasn't a setting for this. Presumably, when the floor is cleared, they would despawn. Probably. Hopefully.

He tried different numbers of mobs and realms. Foundation Establishment realm mobs felt like air as he cut through them. Things changed when he summoned a single, weakest Core Formation mob. He used the classic attacks of the cultivation idiot.

It didn't take long, but even if it was the weakest, it was still a Core Formation mob. It was able to inflict a deep cut on Han De's forearm before dying. With this, Han De realized the third problem.

'This isn't a pagoda where your wounds would disappear when you walk out. I guess it is different than the one in the sect.'

As the owner of the pagoda, Han De felt that this wound wasn't an illusion. This meant people could be injured and potentially die if they don't know their limits.

'Preventing death is easy, getting a formation like that and putting it inside the pagoda shouldn't take long. But that still doesn't prevent injuries.'

Usually fighting pagodas would use an illusory reality formation. Those of lower realms couldn't sense any difference if it was done right. Once you were done with your thing, you would go outside unscathed. A pagoda's function was training after all. It didn’t make any sense to injure the trainees.

Han De had already taken a recovery pill to heal his wound. He had the memories of the cultivation idiot getting injured, but those were just memories. This was the first time he felt real pain.

'I am definitely not going to train somewhere where I can suffer injuries. No way.'

'I could take it slow and safe, but then the training would take a long time. Ning Bi's need is more crucial. I can't let her see me practicing, or getting wounded. I would lose all her respect in an instant.'

Han De wasn't particularly worried about Ning Bi getting injured. She already had MC status, and Han De himself could lower the difficulty of the pagoda. The threat to her was negligible.

'Usually, there would be a pagoda arc in Xianxia novels isn't there? MC would start from the bottom and climb ranks, face slapping everyone along the way.'

Since Ning Bi entered the sect about a month ago, all she did was to cultivate and practice. She saw other people a grand total of 3 times. Han De was uncomfortable about this. He was already thinking about sending her to open lectures to make some friends.

'She can't get bullied inside the residence. I can't send her to the mountains anymore, everyone knows her, they would kidnap her in an instant. The only viable option is to let those villainesses go ham on her. Maybe she could also get bullied by Zhao faction something.'

'I feel like her life as an MC is too wholesome. It is rather unsettling...'

Han De ignored the ominous feeling he had. It was probably his imagination.

Exiting the pagoda, Han De decided to make a sacrifice himself. At first, he wanted to have the pagoda inside his residence. He thought it would be like having an Olympic pool in your house on Earth. But the entire pool would be made out of solid gold. A pagoda was just that expensive.

'I guess I'll just place this in the middle of the sect after fiddling with its settings and just post a warning about the injuries under the scoreboard.'

He decided to buy another one later.

* * *

Han De found an open space in the inner section. He considered the outer section of the sect for a while but thought it was too far away from his abode. While under many curious eyes, he planted the pagoda and expanded it. He had already put in a death preventing formation inside it.

A black pagoda with 13 floors appeared in an instant. Disciples were naturally surprised, they didn't expect such a move from Han De. A few of them gathered their courage and came near the empty scoreboard. Under it, there was a scroll.

"Demon Pagoda. Opponents are relative to the cultivation level. Injuries in it are real. Be warned."

Everyone that read the sign was confused. They kept staring at the sign and the pagoda. Han De didn't care about scaring disciples away. As long as some people could bully Ning Bi he was fine with it.

"E-Elder De. Pardon me for intruding. W-What are the rewards for this pagoda?"

Han De looked at the disciple that asked the question. He saw every single person in the area staring at him. Their gaze made Han De feel uncomfortable.

'What rewards?'

When he thought about it, the question made sense. Normally pagodas did reward higher ranking disciples. But Han De's main focus was Ning Bi, so the concept of reward didn't even occur to him. After thinking about it for a while, he responded.

"I guess I can take a look at your cultivation methods, or martial arts methods. Give you a few pointers..."

Han De thought giving spirit stones would be bad taste. The easiest thing for him would be to use a few Profound Points and give some basic pointers. He wasn't the one that was doing that work anyway. Let the System do it. Plus, an MC was already present, who could actually stay in #1 long enough?

Hearing his response all disciples gasped. They had heard about Han De rewriting the Blazing Sun Scripture. Although they didn't know the history behind it, they thought it was rather cool. Ning Bi's dominance in the Battlegrounds was also still fresh.

Han De had already left the scene, but a commotion started.

"Pointers. From Elder De."

"Is it really a Demonic pagoda?!"

"I want it, but I don't want it."

"Stand Back. I. Xu Sinan. Will be Number 1"

“I don’t think I can stay standing in his presence long enough to get pointers.”

* * *

Han De went back to his abode to find Ning Bi. She was still practicing by herself. Seeing this Han De felt guilty, but also felt better about what he was going to do.

"Ning Bi. You have been cultivating for nearly a month. Since you had just started, it was fine for you to solely concentrate on it. However, we cultivators, cultivate our hearts. This cannot be done in isolation."

"Starting from tomorrow morning, you will attend to the open lectures in the inner sect. Whether you can gain anything from them depends on your ability."

"In doing this you will interact with your fellow disciples of the sect. Do not act rashly, but do not bow to anyone either."

"I have also placed a black pagoda in the inner section. Try to climb on top of it when you have the chance. Now take a break, collect yourself."

"Yes, master."

Seeing Ning Bi's obedient attitude Han De gave an approving nod. He went back to his chambers.

'In all the Xianxia stories, people usually get stuck in the first few floors of the pagoda, right? No one could get to the top floor. Only MC can get close to it.'

Han De had made the pagoda pretty much impossible to climb after the 4th floor. Pagoda created mobs relative to the cultivator's realm. Even if someone was to train hard and went back in it wouldn't mean anything. The only thing that mattered was the martial arts prowess.

21. Tragic Past

Ning Bi was sitting in an enormous lecture hall. She started attending the open lectures inside the inner sect after her master's orders last night. These lectures were taught by Core Formation or Nascent Soul elders, higher realms would rarely bother teaching Foundation Establishment or lower.

Ning Bi was currently attending a lecture on 'Essence of Natural Laws in Cultivation' by a Nascent Soul elder. It had been going on for the last 5 hours and she had been listening intently the whole time.

'Why can't I understand what the elder is talking about?!'

She was confused. This was her first time listening to someone other than her master talk about cultivation. She had asked a few inner sect disciples before choosing to attend this one. This was supposed to be a short and beginner-friendly lecture about improving one's cultivation technique and building a foundation for understanding natural laws. Nearly all disciples here were of the Qi Condensation stage.

Ning Bi carefully looked around her in secret. She wanted to see if there were any other disciples in a similar situation. On her immediate left, few boys weren't even paying attention to the elder. They were alternating their gaze between the elder and her, but their attention was obviously on the latter. On her right, a group of girls completely ignored the lecture and were openly sending hostile stares at her.

Getting caught out in the open like this, she didn't know what to do. With a tinge of red on her face, she completely focused on the lecture until the end, not daring to divert her attention even for a second.

'Everyone is so dedicated, yet I couldn't understand anything! I should ask master about some of the things that seemed important...'

Ning Bi ignored everyone and hurriedly headed for the pagoda that her teacher mentioned. Although she did not look it, inside she was rather frustrated. Few disciples started discussing the lecture after she left.

"Another profound speech from Elder Chen."

"I wish I could comprehend even a tiny bit..."

"That Xu Sinan said he was able to breakthrough after gaining some insights from Elder Chen's lecture. If he could do it so could we!"

"Xu Sinan is a dragon amongst men. Don't overestimate yourself!"

Few disciples collectively nodded with bitter faces.

* * *

Ning Bi lived the first 12 years of her life in a small village. She remembered visiting a big city with her father. Her memory of it was hazy, she was just 5 years old at that time. After leaving her village she had lived in a mid-sized town for a while. It felt like a huge city for her, but seeing the size of the Starfall Mountain Sect she realized how naive she was.

Currently, she was looking at an intersection. She was completely lost after wandering around an hour. The sect was just too big, even with a cultivator's memory it was easy to get lost. This was her first outing by herself, after all. Her master wasn't here to guide her today.

"My my, so the little vixen is here."

Behind her back were 5 girls, Ning Bi recognized them, they were the ones that glared at her when she was looking around. Apart from the one that she recognized from the social gathering event some weeks ago, she hadn't talked to any of them yet.

'I am the sole disciple of the master. I need to give a good impression to not sully his name! Perhaps I could also ask for directions!'

She gathered her courage and greeted them with a bow.

"I apologize for the unsightly display at the lecture. Elder Chen's words wer-"

"Shut it! You even dare to act as nothing happened?"

"Elder Sister, this Ning Bi truly doesn't know the difference between heaven and earth. She eyes Xiao Bai, and even dared to look at the Xu brothers."

"Is that so..."

The girl in the front narrowed her eyes. While her other friends started sneering she walked towards Ning Bi.

"As expected from a disciple of young master Han De, I suppose. A brute can only teach brutish methods. Ohohohoho"

"She probably seduced young master Han De as well, she is clearly experienced in shaking her tail."

"Young master Han De's taste is as unsightly as himself."

Violence between disciples of the sect was prohibited. Disagreements would have to be solved civilly while they were inside the sect. If enmity ran too deep and civil discussion wasn't possible, parties could agree to a duel.

This ojou-sama was trying to provoke Ning Bi into a duel, or better yet, make her attack right now. The girl knew Ning Bi had challenged Su Jing due to the latter insulting Han De's work. She chose this as her entry point.

She knew Ning Bi's talent was high, but she was confident in her 7th level cultivation. It was a simple affair for her to crush this stupid girl. Even if Ning Bi could fight a 6th level she couldn't fight a 7th level. She had done her homework.

Ning Bi was surprised when her apology was interrupted, but as she listened her face got darker. She decided not to listen to these girls anymore.

* * *

An hour later, Ning Bi finally arrived at the pagoda. The scent of blood was heavy in the air. She saw many injured disciples. Some had their clothes torn, some were covered in blood. A few were uninjured, yet they kept staring at nothingness with white faces.

'So this is what a heavy blood stench is like...'

The scene reminded her of father's stories. She felt like she was walking in the middle of a battleground during the Breach. A feeling of excitement and expectation completely enveloped her. She ignored the disciples and the elders that were looking at her and entered the pagoda.

* * *

Han De woke up early. It had been a while since he actually ate, well, anything. He was forced to daily cultivation to keep up appearances with his disciple. Since she was no longer here, this was his chance.

'System says this is safe for consumption, but I still need to cook this, right?'

He was currently looking at a large slab of meat. Back on Earth, a rare ribeye steak was the first thing he would go for after getting his paycheck. Even when he was swimming in debt he would still eat one every month. The meat in front of him wasn't from a rib, nor was it beef, but he didn't care as long as it vaguely looked like meat.

'Right, even a Nascent Soul would still expel impurities after taking a cleansing pill. It wouldn't be strange if this animal still had bacteria or parasites in its meat. It might even be a spiritual parasite or a spiritual bacteria, like spiritual salmonella? I'm sure those exist, they must exist, right?'

Not leaving anything to chance, Han De thoroughly cooked the meat. This was a wild animal, not a carefully raised and vaccinated cattle fed with industrially harvested corn.

After a satisfying meal, Han De cleaned up and started his daily routine. He practiced his lines in front of a mirror. Wracked his brain for applicable Xianxia quotes from his memories. In the last few days, he was also looking for movie and video game quotes as well. As they say, preparation is the key to success.

He didn't skip on his cultivation as well. Circulating energy through his meridians, filtering it, storing it in his dantian, trying to expand his dantian, expelling stale spiritual energy, it was a dull event. He couldn't even divide his attention and think of something else while cultivating. Doing that would result in Qi deviation and could potentially cripple him. It wasn't just dull, it had its own risks too.

'Should I use the last upgrade tokens on my cultivation method? How much of an increase would that be? If I had one more I could upgrade Blazing Sun directly to heaven rank...'

After his routine, Han De spent the rest of the day lazily thinking about the best way to spend his tokens. Sun had already started to set, and Ning Bi had come back. Han De could tell she was headed directly to him.

"Greetings, master."

Ning Bi didn't look any different. She should've visited the pagoda, but she didn't have any injuries. Han De patted his own back while thinking 'Of course an MC wouldn't get injured in a pagoda'. He gave a slight nod towards his side to indicate for her to sit.

"I... heard someone talk about his cultivation insight... by accident. Yet I couldn't... understand what they were..."

Ning Bi's voice was getting smaller while her face was getting redder as she talked. Han De knew about the obtuseness of cultivation methods all too well. Ning Bi never studied anything but his demystified notes on cultivation and martial arts scriptures. Hearing a random Xianxia-babble would obviously confuse her, she didn't have any reference point to compare them to.

Han De understood the situation and immediately became nervous. Although he had mastered various martial arts and cultivation methods, he hadn't made any effort in comprehending them the normal way. He had only tried that for 2 light element cultivation methods, gave up halfway and completely relied on the System for the rest. Xianxia-babble was impenetrable for him, trying to decode what she heard was just asking for trouble.

Before Han De could interrupt Ning Bi spoke again.

"If Yang is of Heaven, then Yin is of Earth. That was the phrase."

Ning Bi looked at her master. He was expressionless as he usually was. She couldn't speak the truth, she was afraid of disappointing him. So she only asked about one phrase that she kept remembering after the lecture.

Han De thought about it for a moment.

'Yin yang heaven earth again huh. Nope, complete gibberish. Even if I had the context there is no way I can deduce the intent.'

Since he couldn't come up with anything, he decided to bullshit his way by using something vaguely relevant to Ning Bi's cultivation.

"It means hot air rises and cold air sinks."

"Hot air, rises?"

Looking at Ning Bi's puzzled expression, Han De realized once again that he wasn't on Earth. These people didn't have public schools, and the teachers were terrible at their jobs. No wonder this middle-school-aged girl didn't even know this elementary grade knowledge. He made a mental note about the possibilities of making education resources for Ning Bi.

"As the air gets hotter it expands. Expending lowers its density than the surrounding cold air and causes it to rise. That's why smoke rises up from a fire instead of scattering sideways."

Ning Bi didn't completely understand what her master said. However, she cultivated Fire Qi, which gave her great intuition on the behavior of fire and high temperatures. She realized what her teacher said made sense. Thinking back on the lecture, she furrowed her brows.

Han De saw Ning Bi was going to ask more questions. He was about to change the subject but received a voice transmission from someone that requested a meeting. Not wasting this chance, he took Ning Bi with him to meet this random Nascent Soul elder.

* * *

In front of Han De, was an elder that looked to be in his mid-40s. According to cultivation idiot's memories, this guy was called Elder Chen. His talent wasn't that special compared to other Nascent Souls, but he was dedicated.

Next to this elder Chen, was a girl in her mid-teens. 7th stage of Qi Condensation. Han De thought she would be a rather gorgeous woman in 10 years or so. However, what attracted Han De's attention wasn't her beauty, but her hairstyle.

'I can't believe she has drill curls. If only she was blonde, that would've been perfect.'

It didn't take a cultivator to notice the tension between the miss drill curls and Ning Bi. The girl seemed indignant, while Ning Bi seemed angry at her. Han De understood the situation in a glance.

'Aaah, so not only does she look like one, but she is also the actual villainess as well. Marvelous. This is what Ning Bi truly needed. However, why is this guy here?'

Han De narrowed his eyes and looked at the Elder Chen. He hadn't noticed it before, this elder in front of him was actually rather angry, but he hid it well. Normally, Han De would've found this heartwarming. This elder took responsibility for this bullying and personally came to apologize to both him and Ning Bi. What a righteous fellow. Truly a dragon amongst men.

However, these weren't normal circumstances. Han De clicked his tongue inside his head.

'This little goodie two shoes wants to prevent my disciple from getting bullied? Are you tired of living?!'

Sensing the change of disposition of Han De, Elder Chen spoke.

"Elder De, I'm sure you would agree that juniors should handle matters amongst themselves, but this time I just couldn't stand still."

This was the confirmation that Han De didn't want to hear. He felt the need to stop this guy's principled crusade. He was finding it hard to maintain his expressionless state.

"Elder Chen, you speak truly when you say juniors should solve it amongst themselves. I'm not worried about my disciple, if she can't handle something it just means she wasn't strong enough either in cultivation or in mind."

Elder Chen furrowed his brows. This was just outrageous!

"However, isn't this taking it too far? We have rules do we not? You cannot just ignore the rules!"

Han De could tell this guy wasn't going to let things off and was adamant about punishing the villainess. He didn't need such a show of face. He needed Ning Bi to get bullied. No pain, no gain. That was the Xianxia 101. He decided to take a forceful approach and didn't bother to hide his anger.

"The world is full of infinite wonders and infinite dangers. One must face those ordeals with their own power. Elder Chen I will not let a few rules influence the development of my disciple. I suggest you do the same."

Elder Chen was taken aback. His face went red and he couldn't find anything appropriate to say. Near him the drill curls' face was ashen. She just kept looking down, unable to raise her head. Unable to contain himself, Elder Chen took the girl and left.

Han De looked at this in satisfaction. This villainess was definitely making some plans!

Besides him, Ning Bi breathed a sigh of relief. She had beaten those 5 girls to a pulp for nearly half an hour. She didn't expect the girl to recover so fast and even drag an elder here. Her biggest fear was getting scolded by her master, but unexpectedly he defended her! Even threatened the elder for her! She felt another wave of gratitude for her master and renewed the vow in her heart.

"By the way, did you enter the pagoda today?"

Ning Bi flinched as she was interrupted from her thoughts. Thinking back on her results she felt proud. The highest floor reached by others was just the 2nd floor.

"Yes, master. I have reached the 7th floor, but couldn't make any more progress and decided to continue tomorrow."

At first, Han De nodded as she spoke. But then he was able to recognize the crucial point. 7th floor.

'Shit, didn't I make it so that it was impossible to climb after 4th? What was on the 6th floor? It should be 5 demons of the 7th stage. She really can beat that as she is now?!'

Han De couldn't resist the urge to facepalm. He reconfirmed her cultivation as the 5th stage of the Qi Condensation realm with the system. How could she even beat that? Was she somehow forming a personal grudge on the spot with every single demon she saw?! Aren't they just illusory demons?!

Ning Bi couldn't figure out the situation. This was the second time she saw such a strong reaction from her master.

Han De needed to slow down her advancement and perhaps lower the difficulty of the floors she already passed without her knowing. After thinking about it for a while, he remembered her skill. He resisted the urge to suck in a cold breath. He weighed his options then spoke.

"You shouldn't rely on your Breach skill too much. While it allows you to predict the opponent's movements, relying on it too much will stunt your own growth. You will not be able to take control of the fight and be forced into a reactive position."

"Starting from tomorrow you will not use your Breach skill. You will begin from the first floor again."

Han De saw Ning Bi froze for a second. Eventually, she nodded after thinking it through. Han De retreated to his chambers after giving her a few words of encouragement.

'This lass is just a bundle of work.'

* * *

In the middle of the night, Han De woke up to a terrible pressure coming down on him. Since he practiced it a lot, he knew this wasn't a bluffing pressure. It had an extraordinarily sharp killing intent infused within it. He stood up and saw no one was attacking him. Focusing his senses, he could hear faint booms in the background.

He cautiously moved towards the balcony. His heart dropped after noticing the lights from fires and the spiritual techniques. The pressure he felt came from a battle high up in the skies. This was a battle of true experts. There were also signs of battle below them and even on the ground level as well.

'An attack?! Why didn't the defense formation take care of it?! Why didn't it activate at all?!'

Han De had an ominous feeling. Something must have gone terribly wrong. He went outside to get a clear look at the attackers. He wasn't planning on fighting at all. He only wanted to discern the identity of the attackers so he would know which group to dodge while fleeing.

He looked at Ning Bi who was running towards him with fear in her eyes. Now that he could just grab her and go without losing time, he concentrated on the battle. Higher realm fights were just flashes of lights to him, but he could understand Core Formation or even Nascent Soul battles to a limited extent.

'Everyone is wearing the same colors. Civil war?... So it was the Zhao faction...'

Before Han De could turn around and flee, he felt an enormous aura that appeared out of nowhere coming towards him. In that second, Han De understood. He saw through it all. It was as if he peered through the curtains of fate and saw the truth. He looked at Ning Bi.

'Don't tell me this is the template that the MC's sect gets destroyed and their teacher gets killed in front of their eyes and they vow for revenge! F#$%!! I knew it!! Her life being so wholesome was just a huge build-up! This is the tragedy trigger!!'

Han De couldn't feel anything but annoyance and anger at this point. Anger at his luck, anger at the system, anger at the cultivation idiot.

The owner of the enormous aura landed some distance away. Han De knew at this point anything was pointless. This guy's cultivation was clearly at least 3 or 4 realms higher than his. He couldn't fight, he couldn't run. All it would take was a flick of a finger from this guy. Han De stopped all pretenses, dropped all acts. He kept looking at the sky in anger.

"Young Master."

Everyone thought that the cultivation idiot was insecure about being called 'young master' after being promoted to an elder. He had punished quite a few people for not calling him 'elder' as they should've. However, that cultivation moron didn't actually care about it. Han family servants kept calling him young master yet he didn't mind it at all.

Han De looked at the man. He had no memory of him. He didn't know if he used 'young master' sarcastically or not. The man had Starfall Mountain robes like anybody else. Unrestrained aura and the unfamiliar face left him with no hope.

"The head of the family sent me."

".."

He shook his head and looked back at the sky. He felt like those side characters on a battle anime. Watching the fight not being able to see anything. A slight smile appeared as he recalled those scenes.

"My task..."

".."

".."

"Is to keep you safe..."

Han De gave a tired sigh. So he was to suffer a slow death? He cursed at the cultivation moron for making so many enemies.

"Until she handles the situation."

".."

'What? She?'

Raising an eyebrow, Han De looked at the man that was now standing in front of him.

"You mean my mother is here?"

".."

'F#$%!! Why is this guy giving out information in installments?! Just speak goddammit!'

As Han De was getting aggravated, he felt a new presence that dwarfed everything else. When this presence released their aura, a thick killing intent followed. Battle in the sky came to an abrupt stop. The pressure from the aura got bigger and bigger. Those with lower cultivation realms started dropping. Han De saw some of the Nascent Soul experts spurt out blood as they fell.

"Ah, yes. The head has arrived."

Higher realm cultivators started to flee. But Han De knew. They were too late. Han De himself didn't expect his mother to arrive so quickly, perhaps these rebels were banking on that as well. He decided not to think about it. His condition was getting worse, he felt his legs could give out at any moment.

"Young master was sleeping soundly, I didn't want to disturb..."

Han De turned his back and waved at him, then told Ning Bi to go back to sleep. He slowly walked back to his room and collapsed on the bed. He could vaguely hear screams as his consciousness left him.

22. Doubt

Zhao Dong was currently on his knees. He, and most of the higher realm elders of his family were captured alive. Alive was the operative word. Most of them were crippled, many were missing limbs. On top of that, Zhao Dong knew most of them wouldn't survive till dusk.

Han faction elders and Han family loyalists were currently performing soul search on every single Zhao elder alive. The only exceptions were Zhao Dong himself and his 3 trusted subordinates. A fate far worse than death awaited them.

Zhao family had supported Starfall Mountain for generations. Zhao Dong couldn't remember when he had started making moves against the Han family. It didn't matter now. Han Wei was already several steps ahead of them. He even had called the Han family to be on standby.

It was only a matter of time until they discovered the Zhao family's indirect attempt against Han De. When Long Xiu learned of it, the family would be wiped out. The name Zhao itself would become a taboo in the entire south-east region of the continent.

'If only that hidden family hadn't interfered and changed sides...'

Zhao Dong breathed out a long sigh.

* * *

Han De woke up early in the morning. His Core Formation body didn't need sleep thanks to his regular 2 hours a day cultivation routine. But perhaps due to his habits back on Earth he still slept every day anyway. On an average day waking up in the morning felt like waking up from a long nap. So comfortable and so cozy! Today though, all he felt was emptiness.

No auras, no booms, no screams. It was all silent now. Han De could see smoke still rising from the core section of the sect. His mind was filled with possible Xianxia disaster scenarios.

Zhao faction and their family was a considerable force no matter how you looked at it. Their elimination inevitably weakened the Starfall Mountain. Not to mention the loss of life on the Han faction side during the rebellion.

Han De watched the smoke rising from far away. Last night was an eye-opener for him.

'I need to get as many godly escape items as I can. An entire storage ring full of them should be my starting point.'

Han De already had many death preventing items. Unfortunately, that cultivation idiot treated these items as status symbols rather than something that he would actually use. As such, when Han De faced the cultivator from yesterday those items were all useless. So what if you have 10 life-saving items? I can break all of them with nothing but flicks.

'I should've spotted this weakness ages ago. My build should totally focus on escaping. Worries about my reputation can only be secondary. My life is far more important. I should get disguise items while I'm at it, another storage ring full of them should be a good start.'

Aside from making contingency plans, Han De didn't do anything. He waited. The entire sect was under curfew until this thing was over anyway, not that he went outside normally. He waited, while Ning Bi continued to cultivate and train.

[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Ning Bi successfully reached Qi Condensation Level 6]
[Issuing 55 Profound Points as a reward.]

Han De was surprised that he was still getting surprised at this girl's progress. He made a mental calculation.

'So even when she cut her cultivation time significantly due to martial arts training and sleeping, she could still reach the 6th level in 20 days huh.'

Han De tried his hardest to not get depressed.

'Peaceful thoughts... Yes, peaceful thoughts...'

* * *

A week had passed. The sect had finally stabilized and the curfew was over. Many disciples and local martial art families were shocked to their core by the news.

Zhao family and all their branch families were wiped out by the Han family head, Long Xiu. No one was spared, their bloodlines were completely wiped, their properties were completely razed. Anyone that had close relationships with them was also eradicated. This included sects, martial arts families, even trading partners. Long Xiu was nothing if not thorough.

Outside forces watched these events with wary eyes. It had been a while since Long Xiu had gone into a rampage like this. It seems she didn't lose her edge, on the contrary, perhaps became even sharper.

Han De also kept himself informed. These events weren't surprising to him. Despite that, he was still shaken inside. He decided not to think about it since the Zhao family rebellion had nothing to with him. Besides, if his mother hadn't arrived, who knows what could've happened to him? Han De wasn't about to feel bad for an enemy that would've killed him without hesitation.

The week had passed, but things weren't over, at least for Han De. He had received a summons from his father. He requested him and Ning Bi to report to him personally. Thinking about it made Han De a little nervous. Although his father had invited him to the gathering, it was just an invite. This was an official summons that addressed him and his disciple.

Currently he and Ning Bi were climbing the stairs of the Starfall Mountain Palace. As usual, they had walked all the way. Before even mentioning sword flight Ning Bi had insisted on walking, Han De wasn't about to refuse such an offer so he obliged.

'I was worried that it would get tedious to climb these absurdly long stairs, but this is rather nice! Very Xianxia like! Little clouds around the stairs is a nice touch. Definitely gives you an otherworldly feeling.'

That cultivation idiot had visited this palace in the past, but that was when he was just a kid and he flew over with a higher realm escort. This was a first for Han De. And for Ning Bi as well. Climbing through the clouds to reach the immortal palace. A few of her father's stories had elements like this. Her eyes were sparkling non-stop since they started climbing.

Of course, neither of them had any idea of the symbolic meaning of their actions. Cultivation maniac was prideful and wouldn't pay attention to these rituals, while Ning Bi had started cultivating a month and a half ago at best. That wasn't the case for the elders in the palace, however.

They kept their spiritual senses near the entrance and looked at them from afar. Some of the elders had bewildered expressions. Some of them were sagely nodding, clearly thinking very highly of the Han De's gesture. They had guessed the reason why Han De was summoned. Seeing them climbing the stairs confirmed it.

Han Wei himself was expressionless and didn't leak his bafflement. While Long Xiu made no effort to hide her mischievous smile. She was clearly enjoying this stunt.

Han De and Ning Bi finally arrived at the palace after an hour-long climb. They saw many eyes on them. Minor elders, core elders, and disciples that act as their servants. The usually tranquil palace had become a busy place over the last week.

Han De had his Profound Expert A look equipped while walking towards the inner palace. It was the one that required the least effort from him, he just had to ignore people while staying expressionless. This made it the most suitable one for meeting his parents. He would drop his act when talking to them anyway, if he had used Arrogant Young Master before that, it would just look jarring and suspicious.

They arrived at the audience chamber. Han Wei was sitting while listening to a report, while Long Xiu was resting her head on his shoulders. She didn't care about minor things like etiquette when it came to her family. No one would dare to say anything to her anyway.

Han Wei ordered everyone else to leave the hall as his son finally had arrived. Long Xiu didn't bother to wait and ran to her son and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, little De! How I missed you! Did you miss your mother as well? Are you eating well? You know even if you are in the Core Formation realm you should still eat! Just gobbling pills all day isn't..."

Han De was stunned by the never-ending words and the equally never-ending hug of his mother. But soon broke into a slight smile and hugged her back. He couldn't stay expressionless at the sight of this onslaught of motherly love.

"Yes, mother. I've missed you as well."

Long Xiu was startled by her son's response. This little rascal would usually act distant on the outside. Delighted by this change, she maintained her hug for a little longer. She wasn't the only one surprised by him, Han Wei was frozen and Ning Bi's mouth was open as she watched.

A long while later, Long Xiu finally broke her death hug and looked at her son from head to toe.

"Hmm! Your technique has improved quite a bit! Come, show your aura to your mother! Release it at full power!"

Seeing his mother's enthusiastic request, Han De had no choice but to oblige. He excluded Ning Bi from the aura and released it in full power just as Long Xiu said. Hallway lights quickly dimmed, sunlight almost completely disappeared from the entire palace and stars appeared in the sky, shining brightly.

"Good! Hahaha! Good! Your technique includes concepts and natural laws, it even contains some essence as well! As expected of my son! Alright, turn it off."

Long Xiu had a look of satisfaction in her face. She had heard of the reports before but wanted to witness her son's advancement for herself. Her mood improved quite a bit.

"Little De, you've used this aura to subdue that pagoda of yours, did you not?"

At the unexpected question, Han De just nodded. It wasn't like this was an important thing for him. Long Xiu quickly turned to her husband and smirked.

"See, I told you. It was obvious from the start."

Han Wei skillfully held his sigh back and offered no response. Long Xiu spoke to Han De with a bright smile.

"Alright. Now my dear Han De. Could you tell me the location of this hidden family now? Your mommy will pay them a visit and have a little chat with them."

While her demeanor didn't change even a bit, Han De had the cultivation idiot's memory and knew this 'little chat' was a thinly veiled prelude to violence. However, he was baffled at this unexpected statement, he also wasn't trying to act like an expert right now. So he instinctively replied.

"What hidden family?"

Long Xiu's smile got even wider after seeing his son's perfect act. Since when did this kid could act so perfectly and hide things from her? How dare this little 'hidden family' influence her son like this?

"My dear, why are you not answering your mommy clearly? Why are you defending these people? They are bad influences you know? Be a good boy and tell me where they are, right now."

Han De saw the dangerous glint in his mother's eyes, but he had no idea what was happening right now. What hidden family? What's going on?!

"Is this because of this little girl that you are defying your mommy? It seems she is a bad influence on you. It seems I really, really need to teach some manners to this family."

Han De saw his mother's dangerous stare at Ning Bi. Latter was just as puzzled as him. Since Ning Bi was his lifeline Han De quickly interjected.

"Uuuh, mother, what is this hidden family you are talking about? What is their family name? Maybe I've heard about them."

Han De looked at his father for help, but he didn't expect to see him completely ignore the situation.

'What the hell? Why are you not saying anything? Don't you have a spine?!'

Oblivious to Han De's concerns, Long Xiu's face finally showed a change. Her smile slowly disappeared. She kept looking at Ning Bi with dead eyes but spoke to Han De.

"Did they promise to give you the Blazing Sun Scripture? Are you doing this because of your father? Do you want to complete it that much that you would make a deal with strangers and ignore your mother?"

Han Wei that was successfully ignoring everything up until now suddenly froze. He didn't want to get involved in this, especially when he was innocent.

Han De had already started to panic a little and answered without thinking.

"Why would I even make a deal for it with someone? I already completed and rewrote the entire thing three times already."

Long Xiu looked at him and narrowed her eyes. The events went beyond her threshold for tolerance. Her little son was now lying to her outright! Unacceptable! Unacceptable!!

By now Han De had understood that there was a misunderstanding, somewhere. If this was his father, Han De wouldn't be worried. But his mother was a person that would slaughter cities first and ask questions later.

He had watched enough TV shows and read enough books to know that things were advancing towards a dangerous storyline and he needed to decisively steer it back on course.

"If you don't believe me, ask Ning Bi and completely envelop her with your spiritual sense. She doesn't have a treasure and she is only at the 6th level of Qi Condensation. There is no way for her to keep any secrets from you. You can do the same thing to me as well if you want."

Long Xiu was already many realms higher than Han De and didn't need to envelop someone with her spiritual sense to know whether a Qi Condensation is lying. However, this was just passive reading and could be falsified with enough effort. Some treasures could hide their presence if they were of high enough quality. There were also techniques to control emotions and spiritual waves at higher realms too.

Han De's offer to envelop him with spiritual sense had embarrassed had her a little. Doing so was nearly a taboo for family members, but she didn't stand ceremony with Ning Bi.

Father and son watched as Long Xiu enveloped Ning Bi and started questioning her over voice transmission. Both of them broke into a cold sweat and looked at each other.

'Dad, what hidden family?! What did you tell her? Are you out of your mind?!'

'You think I can stop her? Han family gathers intelligence too! Do you think your mother would believe Ning Bi gained enlightenment?!'

'At least try to explain the situation! She is your wife after all!'

'...'

They didn't speak with words but they perfectly understood each other. His father was a lofty and domineering man. Except when it came to his wife.

Han De was reminded of some rumors that the cultivation idiot had heard but discarded. In those rumors, Long Xiu saw Han Wei by chance and got infatuated with him. She chased him but ended up getting rejected. Infuriated, she kept chasing and chasing and finally forced herself on him, then commanded him to marry her after completely dominating him. Anyone that tried to prevent the marriage from the Han family side mysteriously disappeared, along with Han Wei's potential fiancee candidates.

The cultivation idiot didn't believe this story, because he knew that his father loved his wife dearly. His mother was an otherworldly beauty and his father was a legendary hunk. They were the perfect fit for each other after all. However, Han De came from Earth and was familiar with the concept of Stockholm Syndrome.

He had some doubts.

23. Magnet

Han De watched as his mother's expression kept changing. At first, she only looked at Ning Bi with dead eyes. Then furrowed her brows, a surprise replaced that, followed by shock, even more shock, bafflement, pride, relief, even more pride, disbelief, then shock again.

Her expression kept changing all the way. Then both Ning Bi and Long Xiu started smiling. Both of them looked proud and both of them started nodding.

Father and son duo looked at each other. Neither of them could make sense of the situation. Han Wei already knew about the non-existence of the so-called hidden family. He didn't interfere with his son but knew a lot about his affairs. He was curious, what could shock Long Xiu this much?

"Haha! Good! My little De! You got a good disciple here. You really have good eyes! Just like your mother!"

Long Xiu's voice was filled with joy and she was borderline shouting. She hugged Han De again and whispered: "I am sorry for doubting you."

She quickly released and looked at Han De right in the eyes.

"However, I will be upset if you hide an important matter from me again. You should've told me immediately when you found out about it."

Long Xiu glared at Han Wei, which caused the latter to flinch. They had a nice discussion about this a few days ago already. Those memories weren't pleasant, to say the least.

"Don't worry! That Zhao Dong will never live another second free of agony. And once I find their tool they will also suffer the same fate! Good job with capturing the tool's apprentice but from now on don't act your own, you are not alone after all."

Eager to earn some points, Han Wei interjected.

"Since the Zhao family is no more, and the sect is lacking elders, you will take an active role in the sect from now on."

Long Xiu scoffed at her husband but didn't say anything else.

"An active role?"

Ever since coming to this world Han De lived a life of laziness. He had experienced threats to his life one after the other but was able to keep himself grounded by relying on his laziness. 'An Active Role' wasn't appealing to him at all. On the contrary, it would increase his chances of interacting with potential offendees and/or already offended people.

"Of course! You should have had one from the beginning in the first place!"

Looking at her mother's beaming smile, Han De found it hard to voice his complaints. He had the sneaking suspicion that this was the purpose of the official summons and had already prepared some lines to dodge responsibility, at least for a while. His mother being here was a miscalculation on his part.

Han Wei sensed his son's reluctance and continued to press on.

"Demonic pagoda wasn't a bad idea. It seems to have motivated the inner sect disciples quite a bit. You don't need to have a role that requires you to stay away from your cultivation. Playing an active role to improve the sect in your own way is more than enough."

Han De hadn't visited or even asked about the pagoda after he placed it. It had only operated for a day and a civil war had ensued afterward. He was about to make an attempt at denying, but a sudden thought appeared in his mind.

'Maybe this way I can finally hire an immortal chef and open an immortal restaurant? Maybe some entertainment too, like a bookstore or something? Even a pet cafe would be nice.'

Both Long Xiu and Han Wei saw the glint in their son's eyes. It seemed like he had some plans already, so both didn't pursue it anymore. Han De's agreement was more than enough.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Long Xiu spoke.

"The apprentice said something about a spiritual artifact. It seems his master had attacked you to acquire it. Do you remember anything about that?"

Han De combed through his memories but the only thing close to something like that was his sword.

"What kind of spiritual artifact was it? Maybe knowing will jolt my memory?"

Han Wei shook his head.

"We don't know. We couldn't get much information out of him, he leaked that he was from a hidden sect but his soul burned away when he tried to say its name. Coupled with the demonic pagoda he had, it’s safe to say he was from a demonic sect. That narrows things down significantly."

"Seven Luminaries Reminiscence ingredients are almost complete. Even if you don't regain all of your memories you might regain enough for you to deduce its purpose."

Han De gave a nod but didn't say anything. The events seemed too coincidental. An arrogant young master finding a heaven-defying item and losing it to an MC or some other force that will come in contact with an MC wasn't an outlandish plot device. Later, when the arrogant young master sees the MC with that item, he will start seeking death and will eventually get killed by the MC.

Of course, the cultivation freak died due to this item. But, Han De was now in his body, and this B plot could continue where it left off uninterrupted.

Han De wanted this item to stay far away from him as possible. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a heaven-defying item. Even the timeframe of cultivation idiot's quick advancement to Mid-Stage Core Formation and his missing memories' entry point fit together perfectly.

His parents didn't miss this 'coincidence' as well. They were holding themselves together rather well but in reality, their fury was boundless. Someone attacked their son under their nose, nearly killed him then took his godly spiritual artifact? There could be only one answer to that...

Ning Bi was still present during this conversation. Long Xiu trusted her and didn't mind her knowing about matters related to Han De.

Someone attacked her master and caused him to lose his memory. This situation was unacceptable! And they even stole from him as well?! No one had noticed the fire that was roaring inside her right now. Well, no one but Long Xiu.

They didn't keep talking for long. Han Wei informed his son about one of the last ingredients appearing on an auction. Once that was acquired the last spiritual herb just needed a few weeks to mature, it was something the sect was already growing.

Long Xiu told Han De to attend the auction as well. He reluctantly agreed as he couldn't explain the concept of MC appearing in an auction to his mother.

Han De and Ning Bi left soon after. Long Xiu watched them leave with a faint smile. Then turned to her husband and released a long sigh.

"I didn't expect little De's comprehension to be this monstrous. Didn't you cause thousands of disciples to burn their souls because of the Blazing Sun?"

Han Wei gave a long sigh of his own.

"It wasn't just thousands and it wasn't just disciples. What did the girl say? Are you really convinced he really rewrote it?"

"Not once, but 3 times as he said. It wasn't only Blazing Sun either. He completely rewrote 13 different standard scriptures and gave them to her for study. She even told me some of its contents from the memory. There is no doubt about it. Also..."

Long Xiu coquettishly walked to her husband, threw her arms around his neck and smirked.

"Like me, it seems little De really has good eyes. He chose a disciple that could go through enlightenment twice in one week."

Han Wei was about to roll his eyes on her self-praise but he froze.

"What?!"

* * *

3 days later, Han De felt a pain in his liver. Starfall Mountain spiritual boat was prepared and they were ready to go to this auction.

On one hand, spending time in a luxury boat flying high above the ground was nice, but on the other hand, this meant an auction arc. Even if he didn't spot an MC, there could be other mysterious forces laying low, waiting to get offended by death seeking idiots. From Han De's perspective, this whole thing could blow up at any moment.

During these 3 days, Ning Bi had finally entered the pagoda without her OP Breach skill. She got stuck on the first floor at first but was able to reach the 2nd floor by the 3rd day. Her Cosmic Destruction advanced considerably.

Han De didn't ask her to write it down again, but according to her description, he thought it was around 1% improvement. It didn't look like a lot, but the initial completion rate was 5%. A total of 20% improvement in one day wasn't anything to scoff at.

Master and the disciple were looking towards the massive spiritual boat in the distance. Since it was a flying spiritual artifact, they obviously had to fly towards it. Han De had flown quite a few times since he had arrived in this world. As long as he wasn't flying at full speed, he had confidence.

'Man, if someone knew that I was afraid of flying, how could I ever look at anyone's face again? A Core Cultivator that is afraid of flying?! Even Ning Bi was able to fight right away after our flight to the Battlegrounds while I had to use all my strength to get to the seats!'

'I really need to get on top of this. I'm not afraid of heights, I only need to get used to the speed! Well for this little flight lets choose a low speed though...'

Both of them jumped on Han De's sword. Ning Bi was completely calm. She was the very perfection of calmness. No one could claim otherwise. The only odd thing about it was that she had completely closed her eyes while standing behind her master. Han De himself didn't notice anything.

Using only 2% of his power, they took off. It was a rather nice flight, but looking at the large distance Han De slowly increased his speed. They arrived at the spiritual boat under a few minutes. The flight itself satisfied Han De greatly, he used 1/5th of his power during the fastest part and was able to achieve gradual acceleration and deceleration. A success story!

[Breach (Mortal)]
[Progress: (+2) 4%]

He saw the indicator as they were jumping down. He looked at Ning Bi and saw that her eyes were shut.

'Damn, here I am, trying to overcome my phobia, and then there is this girl that decides to train because it was too slow for her. Fine! I'll just go full speed next flight!'

Ning Bi was able to overcome this tribulation by using her Breach skill. She was happy that she thought of it but then felt a chill on her spine. But when she opened her eyes everything was normal.

Both of them ignored the surrounding people with slack jaws and went to their cabin.

'Why even call this thing a spiritual boat? This is more like a spiritual ship, no a spiritual cruise ship. No, not even that, more like a spiritual yacht that is the size of a spiritual cruise ship...'

Han De was complaining, but he was secretly glad. When he first came to this world, he had decided whenever he traveled, it had to be in utmost luxury. For Han De, this absurdly large spiritual yacht was the peak of luxury. He was rather content.

* * *

3 days later Han De was regretting this trip already. Although everything looked luxurious, this was a cultivator spiritual boat, or more accurately a prestigious sect's spiritual boat. This meant there was nothing in the boat that would satisfy secular desires. In this boat, you would sit and cultivate. It's just that your cultivation environment looked nicer than the 99.99%.

Although he was an active elder now, and he was the son of the grand elder himself, he still wasn't alone in this giant luxury yacht. There were many other elders as well. Some came as sect representatives, some as guards. Where there were elders, disciples would also follow. A large number of disciples were also present, this was a real-world experience for them. There was also that insufferably slow talking guy that almost killed him with a heart attack a week ago. Han De's lackeys had joined them too, in fairly large numbers as well.

Places he could go without people were just too limited. He couldn't do his routine, there were too many eyes everywhere.

'Are you expecting me to cultivate all day long? That is just too cruel!'

Han De got tired of acting like he was meditating the first day of the voyage. He started randomly walking around in Profound Expert mode. Occasionally he would start gazing at the landscape. Sometimes he would narrow his eyes for extra profoundness effect. Sometimes he would sigh or sagely nod and continue walking.

However, after three days, he was finally out of the applicable skills. He couldn't just repeat the same actions over and over again. If he did that those skills would just backfire on him. He couldn't just blatantly look down at the ever-moving landscape either. He had already seen some elders scold disciples for doing just that.

Right now, he was looking down from the port bow. This voyage was just taking too long for his tastes. Auction or not, he just wanted to arrive at the destination. Han De muttered without thinking.

"Why is this so slow..."

'Wait, of course, I can fly, can't I? HAHA! I can act like I'm scouting or studying clouds or something! No one would see me as long as I fly high enough anyway.'

Han De didn't wait, he quickly jumped on his sword and flew up with great speed.

He wasn't alone at the port bow. There were many disciples around and being cultivators, some of them heard the mutterings of Han De.

"Elder De is so fast!"

"No wonder Elder De likes speed!"

"Of course this boat would seem so slow from his perspective!"

* * *

Han De was having fun flying around the clouds. He could fly at full speed for days, his upgraded sword art's energy efficiency was that amazing. So he kept flying at full speed and never slowed down.

'Hmph, flying at full speed? It doesn't matter at all. Of course I can do it! Why would I be afraid of it?!"

While he was flying at really high speeds and enjoying the feeling of thin air, Han De suddenly thought of something.

'You know, the altitude I'm flying at is really high, I should've seen the curvature of this world by now, right? Why does it look so flat?'

Han De furrowed his brows and flew higher and higher. The sky became dark and for the first time since his transmigration, he felt cold. His clothes were made out of spiritual materials so they didn't freeze with the excess moisture, but he could feel some ice forming on his face. He started holding his breath as well since the air was so thin it was practically non-existent.

After a while, Han De squinted his eyes and looked at the horizon again.

'No curvature?! Are you kidding me?! This is a flat world?! Is there an edge?!'

Although he spent half an hour looking, he couldn't spot an edge.

'There seems to be a veeery slight curve now that I looked at it carefully. I have no idea how high this is. System, do you have an altimeter?'

Naturally, there was no response.

'I thought not. Just thought I'd check. Still, I have clearly left this world's atmosphere. Everything down below... is so...'

'...tiny...'

Han De's heart dropped. Everything was so tiny! He had no idea where he came from! Where is the spiritual boat? Where is the sect? He had no idea! Maybe that small tiny minuscule blotch was the sect, maybe not. Even with his Core Formation eyes, he had no idea.

'F#$%'

* * *

Far, far away into the void.

{...}

{What is this? What a peculiar echo. The technique is fairly decent but the power is so weak...}

{Ah, so it came from this one. His roots are barely above average but why is his mastery so high?}

{Oh? There is another one as well? And close too. How entertaining...}

24. Mistakes Were Made

'Alright. Alright. Relax. Take it easy.'

'All I need to do is to slowly descend on the general direction and keep looking. I have frickin' elf eyes. So long as I keep it slow and steady I'll eventually be able to spot the spiritual boat. That thing really is huge in the first place, right?!'

Han De started descending after giving himself a pep talk. He had looked at the landscape occasionally when he was on the spiritual boat and knew the general traveling direction was towards the north-west.

As time went by, Han De's heart was getting tighter and tighter. He went towards a valley that he thought was familiar but after getting close to it, he realized he had no memory of this place.

'Let's just land here, calm down, and think this through. I've only been searching for a few hours! As long as I keep looking I'll eventually find them! Eventually. Yes, definitely...'

Han De landed on a slope near the mountain. He took deep breaths while trying to calm down.

'What a peaceful looking valley. The river, the trees, the faint breeze. Such a nice location.'

As Han De was admiring the view, he felt a slight movement near him. He was quite alarmed at first but relaxed quickly as he spotted a gorgeous fox with orange fur.

Han De grew up with cats and dogs, so he loved animals, especially the fluffy ones. Such a gorgeous looking fox came near him without any reservation! Of course, he had to pet this fox!

"You think you can escape me? You are just a normal fox, you dare to run away?!"

After forcing his affection on the poor fox for some time and enjoying the look of resignation and resentment it had, Han De released it. This was a wild animal, after all. It had to live in its natural environment. However, once he released the fox, this orange fur ball ran a few meters then stopped and kept looking back at Han De.

"Hmm? You want me to follow you?"

Han De slowly followed the fox. It was clearly leading him somewhere. Foxes were naturally smart animals on Earth, perhaps the ones here were even smarter even if they weren't cultivating creatures. Still, Han De put up his guard up even though this fox was just a normal animal.

'Perhaps its mate is wounded or something? Could it be smart enough to seek help from humans? It didn't run away from me, it probably had contact with humans before.'

Fox eventually led Han De into a large cave entrance. Han De used his spiritual sense but couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary. It really was just a cave. He entered it and kept following the fox. A few minutes later both of them arrived at a clearing. Sunlight was coming from a hole in the ceiling. In the middle of everything, Han De saw a single bright red flower.

[Crimson Terror]
A mutant Fire Chrysanthemum plant that matures after a thousand years. It refines and stores large quantities of flawless Fire Qi during the growth period. Its roots can absorb and convert life essence into flawless Fire Qi and store it in its flowers to accelerate its maturation.

Maturation Progress: 99.99901%

'Flawless Fire Qi?!'

Reading the description, Han De immediately got excited. This thing would be very useful for Ning Bi! Even if it wasn't completely mature it could still last a long time. He wanted to gauge how much Fire Qi this thing was storing, but he was puzzled that he couldn't sense any spiritual energy. Han De immediately entered the high alert mode.

'Wait, a flower with an ominous name just happened to grow in this cave that a fox led me to?'

Han De narrowed his eyes. The fox was standing near the plant, alternating its gaze between Han De and the flower itself.

'Nope, nope, nope. I'm not touching that thing.'

Han De broke into a sprint started running back to the cave entrance. He wasn't getting a good feeling from this situation at all. He went out of the cave in seconds, just as he was getting his sword out from the storage ring he felt a suffocating presence and heard a thundering voice behind him.

"YOU! You dare to touch this Dragon's spiritual herb?!"

Han De's heart dropped when he had heard the word 'Dragon' but after slowly turning towards the voice, he was puzzled. The so-called 'dragon' in front of him looked more like a dark blue snake! It was fairly large, sure, but it looked more like a snake than a dragon.

'Aaah, it is a Chinese dragon. Right. I shouldn't expect to see a Hollywood dragon in this world. A pity.'

Regaining his senses after a momentary lapse, Han De assumed the Amiable Junior A mode he had prepared for occasions like this. The 'dragon' in front of him was at the late stages of the Nascent Soul realm. Being an intelligent creature Han De first thought of reasoning with it. This was just a misunderstanding! He hadn't even touched the flower after all. Han De patted himself on the back for his foresight.

"Greetings senior. Although my curiosity did lead me inside this cave, I did not take the flower inside it. I have not even touched it."

"Hmph! Good! Very Good! You expect m-"

Dragon abruptly stopped and furrowed its long brows. What was going on? The flower was really untouched, the formation around it was also intact.

A fox slowly came out of the cave. Its face had a look of bafflement all over it. The dragon and the fox looked at each other, then turned their heads to the human beside them.

*cough* "Ah, yes. It seems you haven't touched the flower. Good!"

An awkward silence ensued. Han De watched the fox's familiar behavior with the dragon with worry. He remembered information about the flower's roots, how it could absorb the life essence. At this point, a stupid MC would think 'They are so powerful, they wouldn't bother with small tricks like this.'

However, Han De knew better. He was now certain these two were going to feed him to the flower. He wasn't stupid, neither was he an MC. He couldn't just let things sort themselves out. As he was forming a plan, the dragon talked.

"Blame your luck for seeing something you shouldn't have. Now. Obediently go inside the cave. Don't you dare refuse. Otherwise..."

Seeing the dangerous glint in the dragon's eyes, Han De started executing his plan.

The dragon and the fox saw the young cultivator's demeanor change. In an instant his eyes became profound, and his posture became aloof. He looked at them both and a faint smile appeared on his mouth. It was as if his previous modesty and cautiousness was just a mirage, discarded after their usefulness was over. The dragon and the fox narrowed their eyes. The human spoke.

"It seems you are going to force my hand, after all. On the account of the difference in our cultivations, I hope you'll allow me the first strike..."

The dragon looked at the human in astonishment. A wide smile broke in its face. Dragons were proud and arrogant because they considered themselves to be existences above others. They were arrogant, and the best way to talk to them was to be arrogant.

The difference in their cultivation was too high. Whatever this human would do, it wouldn't matter. However, the dragon decided to allow it. This human had character, he even managed to deceive them both. While the dragon waited in anticipation, the fox rolled its eyes but didn't say anything.

'Hmmm. His aura contains traces of essence. He grasped his own concept too. Astonishing! How pitiful, if only he was one realm higher, this might've been a fun fight.'

In front of them, the human gathered spiritual energy. Sun dimmed and stars shined brightly. For a moment it seemed as if time itself had stopped. Then a massive release of energy struck the entire area around the dragon.

'Hmm, weaker than I expected, but he is only at mid-stage of the Core Form-'

Noticing the rapidly leaving mass of spiritual energy, the dragon's thoughts were disrupted. It took a moment but then the realization hit them both.

"Did he just ran away?!"

Both the fox and the dragon had slack jaws. The dragon couldn't help but continue.

"Why is he so fast?! Is he really at the Core Formation realm?!"

"..."

The dragon was about to pursue the wretched human but the fox stopped him.

"The spiritual herb is about to mature. He is too fast. You will be able to catch up to him but it would still take a few hours."

The dragon felt indignant but didn't dare voice a complaint. Crimson Terror was extremely important for the fox. The dragon couldn't leave the cave unattended for long, someone had to keep maintaining the formation. It could only respectfully bow to the fox.

"Yes, senior."

They had waited for decades, they only had to wait a little while longer until they could restore the fox's cultivation. It was only a matter of days. Letting this kid go away meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Both of them looked at the direction that Han De disappeared. The fox didn't care that much, but the dragon, being an arrogant creature by nature was still incensed.

* * *

Han De didn't dare look back while flying at a speed that surpassed his limit. After his initial speed burst, he had prepared all of his life-saving treasures and was ready to duke it out with the dragon in a contest of speed.

Although he knew he was no match to it in terms of speed, he thought this was his best shot. He couldn't even tank one hit from a dragon and had no delusions about penetrating its defenses. Perhaps flying at maximum speed would reduce the power of its attacks and give Han De and his life-saving treasures a chance.

However, Han De couldn't feel anything following him. This made him panic even more. Things weren't going according to the script.

'Don't tell me this guy is going to appear in front of me and stop me with just one hand!'

He poured even more spiritual energy into his sword. Due to his excess speed, the sword was already in the process of breaking down and Han De estimated it would disintegrate in half a day. But now it started visibly chipping away.

Han De didn't stop. He kept going. Only after an hour, he reduced his speed. He had expended a massive amount of energy and was already sweating. His sword was already visibly worn out. Star iron was a highly durable material. The fact that this sword hadn't exploded was a testament to that. A normal spiritual iron sword wouldn't have lasted 10 minutes.

Han De still kept flying. He didn't change his sword either. The cultivation idiot had only ordered one sword made out of star iron. Not because of its price but because of his arrogance. The idea of losing his sword or something being able to damage it was unfathomable to him. All the backup swords Han De had was prepared by Peng under his orders.

'Wait, this area feels familiar. This cliff face and the grove below it, didn't the boat pass around this area yesterday?'

Han De finally stopped to look around. He was now certain, he had seen this place before. He quickly started moving towards the direction that the spiritual boat was traveling. He didn't dare to stand still just in case.

It took Han De nearly 6 hours to catch up to the spiritual boat. The damage on his sword was extensive and by the time boat became visible he could only fly at a quarter of his top speed. However he didn't bother changing swords, he was already rather tired thanks to the ordeal he just went through.

As he was about to arrive at the spiritual boat, Han De had thought about bringing his lackey's back to the cave. The flower itself was beneficial for Ning Bi. He had already destroyed his sword, getting the flower could be considered reasonable compensation. Ultimately he decided against it.

Although he could bring dozens of Nascent Soul fighting maniacs and even an Immortal realm freak with him, he didn't know enough about the strength of the enemy. The dragon was a Nascent Soul, and the fox didn't seem to have a cultivation base at all, but that was just what he saw. A pureblood dragon might not be alone, and that fox obviously wasn't simple.

Han De decided not to seek death. A sword was just a sword, no matter how expensive it was.

Besides, he had run away with all his might. He couldn't afford to let this matter leak to anyone. His image would completely shatter even if it was justified. If cultivation moron was in Han De's shoes, he definitely would've touted his young master status to the dragon and probably would've died as he shouted 'YOU DARE?!' in disbelief.

'Better to act as if nothing ever happened...'

* * *

The last 3 days were quite stressful for the disciples. Elder De kept appearing and disappearing at unexpected locations around the ship. He seemed to be waiting for something. As time went on, the situation got worse. He would look at the distance with narrow eyes for a while then shake his head in displeasure. The disciples could feel an invisible pressure was building up.

Elder De had flown away on his own nearly half a day ago. Most of the disciples were relieved. They were feeling pity for whoever he would encounter. Of course, no one would dare to say this out loud.

The spiritual boat was getting closer to the auction, the disciples were excited. Right now nearly all of them were looking towards the horizon and waiting for the city to finally make its appearance. As they were talking amongst themselves, everyone felt a sudden suffocating presence from behind. When they turned around, they saw their Elder De, standing on the ship casually inspecting his sword. He put it back in his storage ring and went away, presumably to his quarters.

"..."

"Was that Elder De's sword? What happened?!"

"Wasn't that a super expensive sword?"

"I overheard Elder Xiang talk about it. It is made out of star iron and has a Crystal Lotus core."

Everyone sucked a cold breath. Just the materials alone were more expensive than a few sects combined!

"Uuh, is it just me, or did Elder De looked kinda refreshed?"

"..."

"Did Elder De hacked someone until his sword was destroyed?!"

"Isn't star iron nearly indestructible? How could it break so easily?!"

"Maybe he hacked a dragon to death? What else could do that to such a sword?"

Disciples felt like they should light some candles to the poor victim.

Disciples weren't by themselves on the deck. Some of Han De's lackeys were on the lookout for their young master. They also saw the extensive damage on the sword and came to a similar conclusion. Lookouts contacted other lackeys with shining eyes.

* * *

Han De was preparing to spend an entire day just to recuperate. He was planning to laze around all day and occasionally pop up pills to replenish his spiritual energy. Unexpectedly, they had arrived at the Brass Stallion city, the location of the similarly named Brass Stallion auction.

Han De felt gloomy. If he had only waited for a while instead of flying away like an idiot he would've had a safe journey free of life-threatening dangers. So what if it was boring?! Boring was better than running for your life!

'Never again.'

They were about to go down to the city, although there were specially made docks for the spiritual boat, Han De didn't want to waste any time. He was already tired, a few seconds of the flight was still better than an hour-long walk.

Out of habit he first brought out his nearly destroyed sword. It was still possible to fly with it, but the appearance was unsightly. He swiftly replaced it with an 'ordinary' spiritual iron sword. Ning Bi didn't miss his mistake and saw the damaged sword. She frowned but didn't ask about it.

Both of them jumped on the 'ordinary' spiritual iron sword. Han De felt the sword could only take 1/5th of the spiritual energy he usually used. This meant that its maximum speed was nearly 10 times slower. As he realized this, Han De's face started twitching.

'F#$%'

25. Convergence

Han De and Ning Bi arrived at a place called Immortal Palace. Although the name sounded fancy, it was basically a cultivator hotel that had spirit springs in each room. Han De would've made a comment about how modern it looked, but he was currently feeling intense sorrow over his ruined sword.

'If I had known I would've never done something so stupid! That goddamn dragon! That goddamn fox! Aaaah my sword… My poor sword… I should've just turned around the spiritual boat and bombarded them until they turned to ash...'

Both Cultivation Maniac and Han De had never used other swords for flying around. Cultivation Maniac was filthy rich, why would he use an 'ordinary' spirit iron? Han De himself didn't care about fighting so why would he even use other swords? He ordered some backup swords to cover his base, even he didn't think he would need them.

His short 'ordinary' spirit iron flight from docks to the fancy cultivator hotel illustrated his predicament perfectly. Without his star iron sword, he painfully slow. So slow that if he wasn't feeling an immense loss in his bones he would've been bored with the flight. Even Ning Bi kept training her Breach skill.

'I need to buy the most expensive sword at this auction. There is no way I can escape anything with ordinary weapons like these. I need at least a half-way decent placeholder until a new one can be forged.'

Han De hadn't planned on buying swords. He was thinking about ordering a back-up star iron sword just in case, but that wasn't a high priority. Forging spiritual treasures took a lot of time. It wasn't something that could be done in days. A rush job would take weeks, a work of quality would require months.

'Why is my luck so abysmal. I just wanted to collect escape items, yet I destroyed the best one that I had myself.'

'...'

'If I see that dragon again, I'll skin it alive and make handbags and boots out of its skin while it's still watching.'

Han De cried himself to sleep. He didn't know how to deal with the monumental loss he had suffered by his own hands.

* * *

The next day, Han De ordered his lackeys to compile a report on every faction that was attending the auction. He needed to understand the attendees to spot potential MCs and avoid any unnecessary flags.

Old Guy A sitting by himself in VIP and suddenly starts bidding in millions? Yes, let's not touch that grandpa. Obviously, he is hiding his identity. His cultivation is probably hidden too.

Prominent Sect B is bidding for a storyline related item? Sure, let that go. There is no need to force them to attack us after the auction.

Demonic Sect C gets outbid by some unknown young guy? Shit, let's leave the premises before we get involved with some MC bullshit.

He needed information. Starfall Mountain had lost a lot of elders, breeding enmities now would hasten his own downfall. His fate hadn't changed according to the System after all. Han De's only bottom line was the spiritual herb needed for the Seven Luminaries Reminiscence pill, anything else was secondary.

"Greetings master. I. Um. I never visited a city like this before. I was wondering if-"

Ning Bi's voice momentarily disturbed his thoughts, but then he raised his hand and interrupted her. Han De's eyes started shining. Of course!

'This little MC has Maximum Luck! Even a pebble that she trips on would probably end up being a spirit stone! All I need is to sic her- I mean let her walk around the city and ancient treasures will start flying to her like moths to a flame.'

"Go ahead and take a look at the city. During this trip, experiencing the world is a disciple's duty."

Han De nodded towards the door to forcefully finish this conversation. He could tell Ning Bi was going to ask him to accompany her. She was 13 after all and aside from going to the pagoda a few times, her entire time as a disciple was spent in either cultivation or interacting with Han De himself. He didn't want her to become dependent on him.

'Arrogant Young Master + Ancient Treasure = Trouble. I'm not going to stay anywhere near an MC during this trip, sorry. Besides, there are probably people here that were already offended by the cultivation idiot.'

'Lay low and keep a low profile. That's what I'm going to do!'

A while later, Han De ordered Peng and slow-talking Immortal realm guy that he nicknamed 'Treebeard' to follow and protect Ning Bi during her outing.

"You will stay in the shadows and never be seen by anyone. Also, although she already got some spirit stones, if she seems to be interested in something, anything... You will buy it or acquire it by any means after she is gone. I don't care if it is a brick, or if it is a dirty rag. Just get it without her finding out."

"Do not interfere if anyone tries to harass her. Just silently watch and take note of the persons. Only interfere if there is a significant danger to her. Minor injuries are fine, she has to deal with those just like anybody else. But. Anything that could cause her a serious injury, you will deal with it and deal with it with full force. Got it?"

Peng and Treebeard clasped their hands and gave a respectful bow.

""Yes, young master.""

Han De nodded them towards the door.

'A dozen Nascent Soul and an Immortal freak should be enough to guarantee her safety...'

* * *

At the center of the city, under many hundreds of meters of solid rock, there was the central chamber of the Brass Stallion catacombs. No one knew what these catacombs were originally made for. Even the Tan family who built the Brass Stallion city on top of it had no idea. They only knew that it was big, empty, and ancient.

A few generations ago this was a highly exclusive spot for secluded meditation. The spiritual energy here was rich. The entire structure, and especially the central chamber had a calming effect on the mind. The most important family elders would be chosen to have their cultivations and breakthroughs here. Ordinary members would not be allowed to go near.

About 200 years ago, the Tan family heir of the time, had found this spot to be the ideal place for making business plans. Emotions and desires were curbed here, it was the perfect place for making monetary decisions, what was not to love? Since then, the empty central chamber was converted into an office and side chambers became archives for business records.

To his credit, that heir was right. Tan family business thrived after the Breach. Brass Stallion Auction became the biggest and most prestigious auction in the south-eastern side of the continent. Not to mention the side ventures that were silently generating massive profits. Their family was rolling in spirit stones!

Sitting on his desk, reading a report inside this grand chamber, was that very same heir, Tan Renhsu. In front of him was his youngest grandchild, Tan Enlai.

"Great Elder. Preparations are complete. We are only waiting for the attendees to arrive for the reception. It will start 4 hours from now."

"Mmm."

Tan Renshu's eyes didn't leave the fiscal report that he was inspecting. Although it was minor -just a few hundred spirit stones- there was a discrepancy. The culprit had to be found, the report had to be amended. He had been looking for traces for these last few hours. He was so close he could smell it.

"There was also something else..."

Tan Renshu frowned but allowed him to continue.

"Starfall Mountain Sect's young master Han De violated the no-fly law. He and his disciple used great speed while they were leaving the docks and caused a small commotion. Father chose not to pursue it. However, it seems Starfall Mountain dispatched dozens of Nascent Soul experts. On the surface, they seem to be following around Han De's disciple, but their current objective is unknown. Father also suspects an even higher realm expert might be following them. He is awaiting Great Elder's orders."

Great Elder Tan Renshu finally put down the report and look at his grandson.

"I assume that child wanted permission to rebuke the Starfall Mountain?"

Tan Enlai's eyes showed no emotion. He was a rather timid kid, but right now he looked at his grandfather without blinking.

"Yes, Great Elder."

"Mmm. You seem to agree with your father in this matter. Why do you think your father's course of action is correct?"

"Starfall Mountain Sect lost large numbers of elders. Some of their cultivations were extremely high. Their loss of power is evident, we should seize this opportunity to readjust our relations with them."

Tan Renshu shook his head.

"Such a rigid thinking. You interpreted the information to fit your own desires. Only shallow thinkers like your father could come to a conclusion like that."

"They did not lose elders. They purged their uncertainties, and they did so with ruthless efficiency."

"Sect's reserves are still intact. We received no news that their grand formation was even activated. Zhao family had already lost their old monsters inside the Breach, but the Han family still has more than half remaining."

"Starfall Mountain is now more powerful than before. What they lost was just fat, nothing more."

Tan Renshu explained this to his grandson, first to educate him and second to prevent his musclehead sons and grandsons from needlessly offending the dragon.

"Tell Tan Yi to not interfere with Starfall Mountain, and especially with Han De. He is not to offend them even if they destroy half the city. If he does offend, he will be the one apologizing to the Han family head."

Tan Renshu was a businessman. He was cut from a different cloth than his father and grandfather. Both of them had lost their lives during the Breach. Tan Renshu had turned to commerce to keep the family afloat and let it gradually recover its strength. He wasn't a genius at it, but at least he was good enough in reading the currents and choosing which mountain to lean on.

"Yes, Great Elder."

* * *

A few hours later, Han De finished reading the report on the auction. The report also included a general state of the Brass Stallion city as well. This was something that was missing from cultivation idiot's memories. Han De wasn't sure if it was because of the memory loss, or if it was caused by the usual arrogance of the cultivation idiot.

'Well, not much to it. Loose cultivators everywhere. Independent meeting ground for different sects and factions. Many independent businesses. A textbook generic Xianxia city.'

'Basically everyone and their dogs are attending this time. Since Brass Stallion itself is calling it the biggest auction of the century, it is safe to say there might be an MC or an old monster or two hiding among the crowd.'

Han De frowned. He wanted this to be a normal auction, which would've reduced his chances to raise any flags. But reality had something different in mind.

'There is a reception starting in an hour as well...'

Normally he wouldn't even consider attending something like that. He would just say 'What a death trap' and continue lazing around. However, Starfall Mountain Sect's position was rather uncertain this time. They had lost a lot of power, and not attending such an event might needlessly offend some parties.

Han De took a deep breath and calmed himself down. Then, he decisively stood up and changed his natural stoic expression with his Profound Expert A look.

* * *

Ning Bi had been walking around the city for hours. At first, she had wanted to explore the city with her master, but she understood he was busy with the upcoming auction. As she was about to go out alone, a few disciples called out to her. She agreed and went along with them and that was how she found herself in this situation.

"YOU ARE COURTING DEATH!!"

Currently, a Starfall Mountain disciple named Xu Fan, was shouting at a young boy in his mid-teens. Judging by his attire, this unnamed boy was a member of a sect. Since no one could recognize which sect it was, everyone unanimously decided it was a trash no-name sect.

Ning Bi herself didn't really mind the 'clearly outrageous behavior' of the young boy. She was educated by her father in court etiquette, but she was still a village girl that didn't mind small stuff. In fact, even with etiquette in mind, she still couldn't understand what was supposed to be outrageous. He had just asked for her name.

Xu Fan and the young boy were in a standoff. Both had their weapons drawn. Both at the same stage of Qi Condensation. The young boy was alone, but Xu Fan had many disciples behind him.

Standing a few streets away from them, Han De's mouth was wide open. He had decided to attend the reception to do a minimal show of face as a precautionary measure. While walking he heard the classic warcry of arrogant young masters everywhere. Intrigued, he used his cultivator senses to observe the situation, only to see Xu Fan and his posse cornering a single boy.

'Dammit, how can you not grasp the concept of the sect losing power? Why are you acting like you are owning the place? How can-'

'...'

'Wait, why is Ning Bi with them?!'

Han De furrowed his brows. He looked around and sure enough, Treebeard revealed himself. Han De immediately asked for Peng. He didn't have the patience to converse with this ent right now. Peng briefed him on the situation.

The young boy stared at Ning Bi for some time then asked for her name, Xu Fan escalated the situation. Boy's sect was unknown.

'An unknown sect?'

Han De narrowed his eyes. This was getting too close to an MC type encounter. Sooner the situation was defused the better. He used some spiritual power to enhance his voice.

"Enough."

The powerful voice caused everyone to flinch. When they turned their heads they saw Han De slowly moving towards them.

'Ah, I really need a footwork technique. One that allows me to travel huge distances with just a few steps. It would've been perfect for a situation like this.'

Han De made a mental note about acquiring such a footwork technique. Even in a dubious situation like this, his mind still worked on improving his best asset in this world.

Seeing Han De, Xu Fan's eyes started shining. To him, it was obvious that Ning Bi respected her master greatly. Gaining points with Han De could also mean gaining points with Ning Bi. Eager to please, he gave a bow and started talking.

"Disciple Xu Fan greets respected Elder De."

"This piece of trash ignored the dignity of the Starfall Mountain Sect. Even dared to directly talk to the fairy Ning Bi. As her senior brother I couldn't just stand by. I was about to show this trash the difference between Heaven and Earth."

The young boy smirked, then murmured.

"So her name is Ning Bi... and this must be... Han De..."

The young boy looked at the man wearing yellow robes of the Starfall Mountain Sect. If it wasn't for the obsession of his 'master' he wouldn't care at all, but his 'master' kept talking about Han De day and night. So of course he knew about Han De, but this was the first time he had encountered him.

He was someone that had survived countless tribulations, persevered through desperate odds, seen the most bloody and brutal wars, traveled through the darkest depths of the void, and lived to tell the tale. However, right now, he felt strangely uncomfortable at the gaze that this insignificant yellow-robed young man was giving him.

Meanwhile, Han De only had one thought in his mind right now.

'A reincarnated MC template!!!'

26. Old Friends Die Hard

When Han De looked at the young boy's status, it was just out of habit. He fully expected just to see the usual list of basic information and potential points. Seeing a giant list of cultivation methods, martial art methods, and skills, he was taken aback.

Although Han De always prepared himself for the worst, he didn't think there would be an extra MC here today. He thought maybe it would be someone related to an MC. Perhaps a childhood friend that would get bullied and MC would seek revenge for him later sort of deal.

'What's with the MC encounter rate? Is it because of Ning Bi? Is there some sort of law of MC convergence that I'm not aware of? What, are they gonna say "There can be only one!" and start duking it out? One MC to rule them all?'

By chance, the first thing he saw in the status pop-up was one particular skill.

[Internal Cycle (Mortal)]
[Allows the user to retain their memories after the soul goes back into the cycle of reincarnation.]

'A reincarnated MC template!!!'

Han De used all of his will to resist the urge to suck in a cold breath.

He had already made a list of MC templates and developed some strategies on how to deal with them. How to scam naive ones into becoming his disciples, the best ways to defuse tension, best ways to distract them so he could run away, which ones are a good choice to assist, which ones are best kept away, which ones are better of dead, etc.

'A reincarnated former god like this is pretty much the hardest MC template to deal with...'

'Depending on their disposition they may or may not care about their families. All of their grudges are from a different realm. They already have a myriad of different cultivation techniques. Their ascendance is only a matter of time.'

Han De's own synopsis for this MC template was 'Keep out of its way'. To get a better idea of the situation, Han De quickly started reading the absurd status screen.

[Name: Shen Xing]
[Race: Human (100%)]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 16]

[Cultivation: Cultivation: Qi Condensation (7/13) (6.14%)]
[Constitution: None]
[Bloodline: None]
[Roots: Wood (8%)]

[Potential Points (Total: 30)]
[Will: 10]
[Talent: 4]
[Comprehension: 10]
[Luck: 6]

'Damn, even with just 8% roots he still has a talent of 4.'

[Cultivation Methods]

[Blooming Plum Scripture (Earth)]
[Power: Very Weak]
[Mastery: Grand Master]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (7/13)]
[Expand to view 9854 inactive methods...]

[Martial Arts Methods]

[One-Finger over the Heavens (Heaven)]
[Power: Average]
[Mastery: Grand Master]
[Expand to view 25772 inactive methods...]

[Spells]
[Perfect Mirage (Heaven-Defying)]
[Mastery: Grand Master]
[Minimum Cultivation: 5th level of Qi Condensation]
[Notes: Creates a perfect mirage of a chosen target. Cannot be detected by realms lower than the user's + 9.]

'What an OP disguise spell!'

[Devourer's Wrath (Heaven)]
[Mastery: Grand Master]
[Minimum Cultivation: Nascent Soul]
[Notes: Inflict soul damage on a target based on the cultivation difference between the souls.]

[Devourer's Resilience (Heaven)]
[Mastery: Grand Master]
[Minimum Cultivation: Nascent Soul]
[Notes: Hardens the soul. User's soul becomes invulnerable from attacks below user's realm + 3. Higher realms are able to ignore the effect.]

[Devourer's Hunger (Heaven)]
[Devourer's Secret (Heaven)]
[Primordial Moon's Tears (Heaven)]
[...]
[Expand to view 54787 more...]

'What the hell...'

[Skills]
[Internal Cycle (Mortal)]
[Allows the user to retain their memories after the soul goes back into the cycle of reincarnation.]

[Way of the Cuscuta (Earth III)]
[Allows user to extract spiritual roots from a person and integrate them into their own. ]
[Notes: Can only extract from a pure root. Extracted root's quality loss is at 0%.]

'Shit...'

[Red Letter Day (Heaven)]
[Consumption of blood essence strengthens the meridians of the user.]
[Notes: Target's cultivation must be within 3 realms of the user. Once activated blood essence cannot be used to purge the dantian. Recharge time is 85 years.]

[External Refiner (Heaven II)]
[User can force their Qi into a target of a higher realm to use them as an external refiner.]
[Notes: Target body must not contain a soul. Externally refined Qi can be directly used in cultivation with 88% efficiency. Degradation of the target body is 8% after a full cycle of the dantian.]

[Expand to view 14 more...]

'I have a sneaking suspicion that this guy might be a demonic cultivator. Might be...'

[Fate]
[Ruler of the 13 worlds.]

[Notes]
[Very high potential. Would be a core pillar in any sect. Talent level will increase as his roots improve.]

Han De's heart dropped when he saw the [Way of the Cuscuta] skill.

'No wonder he stared at Ning Bi for a long time. She has higher quality roots than anyone in this region. Perhaps no one can match her roots in this continent, maybe in this entire world. She is the prime target for a demonic cultivator like him.'

Currently, this 'Shen Xing' in front of him was eyeing Ning Bi. Han De's face darkened.

'Even if I can convince him that I can increase the quality of his roots, I can't do it anytime soon. I need 1000 points to buy 5 tokens but I only have 160. Even then, seeing how stingy the System is, those 5 tokens would probably only upgrade 20%...'

Han De knew that if he had offered to be this guy's master he would probably agree on false pretenses and steal Ning Bi's roots at the first chance he got.

'Even worse, with that heaven-defying disguise spell, he probably could get away without any trouble. In fact, this appearance might be a disguise as well. He might be posing as someone to get resources from that sect.'

This guy was pretty much the worst-case scenario for Ning Bi and Han De.

'If he leaves now he will only come back at an opportune time to steal Ning Bi's roots. He will disguise himself as me and get close to her that way. This guy is too dangerous to be kept alive.'

While Han De was coming to a conclusion, the air around them turned strange. Han De was intently looking at the young boy, while the young boy was shamelessly looking at Ning Bi. And Ning Bi was looking calmly at Han De.

The boy, Shen Xing, had already made his plans. He didn't put Han De in his eyes, this arrogant little guy was just a backwater bumpkin. This Ning Bi however, had the highest quality roots he had ever seen. Ever. Just the thought of it was enough to intoxicate him.

As he was about to retreat, he felt a sudden sharp pain in his abdomen. When he looked down, he saw a worn-out sword penetrating his stomach, held by the yellow-robed Han De.

Disbelief appeared in Shen Xing's eyes. What was going on? He had already made his plan and had accounted for every variation! Why was this guy stabbing him with an old sword?!

Shen Xing had survived the torture of the Primordial Moon Guardians for a hundred years. This level of pain meant nothing to him. He also knew healing techniques and could survive such wounds quite easily. His initial shock was entirely due to the unexpected action of that backwater trash.

His 'master' was nearby, he sent a short burst message with a secret technique and continued his act. His cultivation was low so there was no way of breaking off from this Core Formation trash. He continued his 'shocked and in pain' act and patiently waited.

Suddenly, utter shock appeared in Shen Xing's eyes.

"Wait! NO! YOU DARE?!?!"

The sword attack didn't contain any spiritual energy and had only relied on physical strength to impale him. But now a massive amount of spiritual energy was gathered inside the blade and it was directly attacking his soul.

Shen Xing's face became unsightly. He didn't know how but he understood immediately that this backwater trash knew about his origin. Perhaps he was an assassin placed by one of his countless enemies. He did not know. It didn't matter now. For the first time in many eons, he felt despair.

"NOOO!!! YOU!! YOU ARE!! COURTING!!!..."

He tried desperately tried to get away from Han De using his arms, his legs, his spiritual energy, anything. However, he was getting suppressed by Han De, and all his strength amounted to slight twitching of his limbs, his spiritual energy scattered before he could condense it.

"... you... will... knoo...."

Shen Xing had lived for countless years. He had died many times and was reincarnated many times. In all his lives, this was the first time he felt pure terror. He knew that when he closed his eyes now, he would not be able to open it ever again.

"..."

Han De increased the power of his attack once more, just to make sure that not even a wisp of this guy's soul survived. He had already enveloped him completely with his spiritual sense. But he was still deathly afraid of Shen Xing faking it. As he increased the power, the now dull eyes started to disintegrate.

For good measure, he increased the power once more. Shen Xing's body started breaking down. In just a few short seconds half of it turned into ash. Only then Han De stopped.

Shen Xing had many soul related skills. Once he had reached the Nascent Soul level he would become a cockroach. No one would be able to truly kill him. He only needed to lay low during the early stages of his cultivation.

Before attacking Han De had taken precautions. At first, he wanted Treebeard or Peng to attack him, but he was afraid that his incompetent lackeys might screw things up again. It always seemed like there was a translation error between his orders and these guy's execution of it. Instead, he placed all of his lackeys around the perimeter to prevent Shen Xing or his soul from escaping.

After getting confirmation from Treebeard and Peng, he breathed a sigh of relief. This disaster was averted.

'Now, the inevitable fallout. Still, this result is highly preferable to keeping this cockroach alive.'

* * *

No one, not a soul on or in this world was aware of the black void that was behind Han De.

{So the little god emperor's little son died in the hands of a frontiersman. HAHAHAHAHAHA.}

{What a delicious face he must be making after hearing his son's soul shard shatter. HAHAHAHAHA...}

{...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...}

{...}
{...}
{...}

{...HAHAHAHAHA... Haaaa...}

{Interesting. Fascinating. Intriguing.}

{Did he know about the butcher's son? How could he? No one seems to have entered this side for centuries.}

{This guy isn't a reincarnation either, and there isn't any abnormalities in his soul.}

{His mastery is nothing short of astonishing, but his talent is barely above the masses. Yet he has such a heaven-defying talent as his disciple...}

{Too many coincidences.}

{Maybe I should open him up and take a look...}

* * *

Fallout arrived sooner than expected.

As Shen Xing's ashes were getting swept away, a Nascent Soul expert arrived. He was wearing the official robes of the Brass Stallion city, a rather imaginative dark blue robe that had a prancing stallion crest and brass colored accents all over it.

'What's with the gaudy robes...'

Even though Han De had just committed first-degree murder for the first time, these robes were able to overwhelm his senses. The person with the imaginative robes quickly came near Han De and politely greeted him.

"Elder De of the Starfall Mountain. Greetings. This humble person is called Tan Xiaodan. I apologize for the unsightly display, Brass Stallion city is popular amongst loose cultivators and small sects. I have already given orders that no one but the auction attendees are allowed in the city by tonight. You will not have to dirty your hands with insignificant fellows like these!"

Against the rapid-fire of Tan Xiaodan, Han De couldn't say anything. He was expecting a backlash, but it was strange that it came like this.

'Gaudy and sarcastic huh... Why didn't I see this information on the report? I really need to re-educate these guys...'

Han De instantly came up with a small show of face for this guy. He pointed towards one of his Nascent Soul lackeys, then pointed towards Xu Fan.

"Slap him. Hard."

It took Xu Fan a few seconds to grasp what was going on. As the Nascent Soul expert with shining eyes walked towards him, he pleaded with Han De.

"Elder De! I didn't do anything! This trash was the one that provoked our Starfall Mountain! He even had dared to look at fairy Ning Bi!"

With his insistence on Ning Bi, Han De finally was able to remember this guy. That day when Xiao Ping was about to go berserk, this Xu Fan was one of the lead culprits that started the commotion that screwed up his plans.

Han De's face darkened even further. He looked at the Nascent Soul again.

"Slap him until he loses his consciousness. Once he wakes up, heal him and do it again until he learns his lesson."

Han De turned to other disciples. He ignored their flinches. Although he had a personal grudge with this Xu Fan, he still had to do an act to mitigate the damage of his previous actions.

"You are Starfall Mountain Sect disciples. If you can get offended by a random nobody during a walk, what is the difference between you and the common rabble? You represent not only yourself but your sect as well. Do not besmirch the name of it."

"This isn't your own backyard. You need to learn to give respect when respect is due. Apologize to the elder Tan Xiaodan!"

Han De suppressed his happiness and watched the disciples collectively bowing and apologizing to Tan Xiaodan. Everyone except Ning Bi was bowing, he had excluded her purposefully. He wasn't about to risk starting a grudge just to save some face to this city.

'With this, I kept my arrogant young master air while still giving face to the Brass Stallion. Perfect. This should get them off our backs, and disciples will be more careful as a side effect. A perfect blend of arrogance and modesty.'

Tan Xiaodan watched the disciples with cold sweat dripping all over his body. His father had clearly warned him not to offend Han De, and even threatened to sacrifice him if relations soured because of his actions. He quickly interjected to appease the obviously offended Han De.

"Elder De! Please! There is no need for such displays. I'm sure your disciples weren't at fault. The fault was completely on that nobody. There is no need for innocent disciples to apologize! On behalf of Brass Stallion I apo-"

Han De shook his head and interrupted him with his hand.

'Shiet, this guy is really rubbing it in huh. Way to take advantage of the situation. Fine, whatever.'

"There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt."

Upon hearing Han De's words, everyone was stunned. Fear replaced the indignance that the disciples were feeling. Tan Xiaodan was deeply regretting ever getting near this guy. It was impossible not to offend him!

While Han De was getting annoyed that this Tan Xiaodan wasn't buying his Arrogant Young Master B act, he noticed Ning Bi was giving a strange look at the remains of the reincarnated cockroach. There wasn't much, just some ashes, some charcoal-like lumps made out of his flesh, and a storage ring...

Han De's eyes shined brightly. This reincarnated cockroach was an MC! Even if his luck was quite low compared to Ning Bi, he was still a bona fide MC. Han De used his spiritual power to retrieve the ring without paying attention to anyone else. He undid the cockroach's seal and sent his spiritual sense inside.

'What a disappointment. Many sets of clean clothing. An ordinary woodsman axe. Some large rocks, a small sheet of spiritual iron... This does feel somewhat familiar. Oh? What's this box?'

Han De saw an unassuming box tucked into an even more unassuming corner of the ring. His spiritual sense couldn't penetrate the box, so he decided to open it.

'This must be what Ning Bi was drawn to. Other stuff is just too ordinary. Who carries around large boulders with them? What kind of...'

Gears in Han De's mind clicked and he finally remembered why this storage ring felt so familiar. Before he could fully lay out his thoughts and make a decision, he received a message from Treebeard.

<Young Master>

<...>

<There is a Nascent Soul expert...>

Han De furrowed his brows. He couldn't make any sense from the sentence. There were Nascent Soul experts everywhere. In fact, he thought there was just too much of them. Weren't those guys supposed to be extremely rare? Why aren't they starting their own sects in the middle of nowhere like they are supposed to?

<...that is heading towards the boy.>

'Hmmm? Is it his master?'

Han De narrowed his eyes, this was actually a perfect opportunity if that was the case.

<He is wearing a similar robe as...>

A person had already arrived. Since Han De didn't say anything, his lackeys had allowed his approach.

"So... This is what my disciple's end looks like. Good! Very Good! Han De... We wil-"

<<CRIPPLE HIS CULTIVATION! NOW!>>

<...the boy who just died.>

Han De didn't wait for the guy to finish his monologue, nor did he wait for Treebeard to finish his report. He sent an area voice transmission to the 20 something Nascent Soul lackeys.

A commotion broke out, many auras suddenly burst forward to the cockroach's master. Although he was an expert at the very peak of Nascent Soul, there was nothing he could've done to prevent so many of them. These shameless guys attacked all at once too. Were these guys even proper Nascent Soul experts? Why were they acting like a group of thugs?! The nameless master of the cockroach felt indignant.

After a brief struggle, the nameless master was crippled. In the fleeting moment he had struggled, he even tried to bring tribulation down to at least kill some of these shameless thugs, but alas, he failed.

Tan Xiaodan watched this sight with horror. More than 25 Nascent Soul experts suddenly attacked this poor guy at the same time! This was too much for his poor heart. He bowed to Han De, used the reception as an excuse then ran away without looking back.

Han De's twitched as he was reminded of the reception.

'Shit, now I really can't afford to ignore it. This guy is already pissed. Well whatever, what's done is done. This was worth offending these guys...'

Starfall Mountain disciples were knocked out from the aura burst, Xu Fan had already lost consciousness before with a pig-like face, while Ning Bi was still standing as if nothing ever happened.

His lackeys brought the man to him. Just a few seconds ago this man was a peak level Nascent Soul expert, ready to transcend his tribulation at a moment's notice. Now his meridians were crushed and his dantian was nearly completely destroyed. He had spent hundreds of years cultivating, but it was all gone in a few seconds. Just like that. The shock was evidently too much for him, even with the mind of a Nascent Soul, such a loss could still break a person.

<Peng.>

<Yes, young master.>

<Choose 10 Nascent Soul experts and rush this guy back with full speed to my father. He is from the hidden demonic sect. My father will know what I mean. This is for his ears only.>

<Yes, young master.>

Han De nodded in satisfaction. A lot of incidents happened in a short time, he was glad that at least he got something back this time. Perhaps this MC encounter was a blessing in disguise. No loose ends!

He quickly went over his mental checklist, then removed the unassuming box from the storage ring.

'Apart from blocking my spiritual sense completely, it really looks like an ordinary box. I wouldn't have looked at it twice if it wasn't in the storage ring of the cockroach. Definitely not something that a normal Qi Condensation guy should have.'

He slowly raised the lid of the box. The moment a small gap appeared on it a dense cloud of Fire Qi surged from the inside. Han De wasn't fazed, but his expression was a little off. He fully opened it and stared at the spiritual herb sitting inside the box.

Since he had narrowly escaped becoming fertilizer just a day ago, he had a deep impression of this herb.

'Crimson Terror.'

27. Crystalized Effort

Han De kept looking at the Crimson Terror with a complex expression. Although he did have a deep impression of this spiritual plant, he had no idea if this was the one that the dragon and the fox were nurturing. However, thinking about how close it was to blooming at that time, and the fact that the reincarnated cockroach was an MC, Han De couldn't ignore the possibility.

'Better act like they are on their way. Let's assume the worst…'

"Treebeard, Ning Bi, both of you will come with me to the reception. Peng, have some of your people bring these disciples back, the rest of you will follow us discreetly. Keep your eyes open for a blue dragon in the late Nascent Soul stage and an orange fox. Inform me immediately when they appear."

Without waiting for anyone's response, Han De started moving towards the auction house.

'Next time, better keep things PG-13.'

Han De had the memories of the cultivation maniac. Back on Earth, he was also an avid Xianxia web novel reader. He had no delusions about the brutality of this world. Yet, the death of the reincarnated cockroach was still a bit too violent for his modern mind.

Cultivation maniac had killed many people, but none of them were as graphic as this one. Watching the last struggle in despair and terror, and seeing the light slowly disappear from his eyes was rather haunting. Han De didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to experience it again.

'Nope. Nope. Nope.'

Although he was disturbed by the violent death of the cockroach, he wasn't going to become a Japanese MC all of a sudden. All of his experiences in this world taught Han De one thing:

Let somebody else do it.

'Re-education will commence as soon as I return to the sect.'

He was filthy rich and violence was inevitable. If his lackeys were incompetent, he just needed to train them and increase their numbers. Maybe a 2 fold increase would suffice. Perhaps 3 fold? Or 5 fold? He settled on a 10 fold initial increase.

Han De made his decision as they walked. He gave a side glance at Ning Bi. Although this future Purifier of Planes had viciousness of her own, Han De still didn't want to badly influence her.

"That cockroa-ehm. Disciple was a practitioner of dangerous demonic techniques. Coincidentally he was also part of the same hidden demonic sect from before. Your master wouldn't have burned his soul otherwise. Such a punishment cannot be given lightly."

Han De saw Ning Bi thinking. He decided to press on.

"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends."

Ning Bi was still silently thinking.

"With great power comes great responsibility."

Ning Bi was still silently thinking...

'Aren't you supposed to give me a "Yes! Master!" and nod?! Why are you so silent?!'

Han De decided to continue this later. He realized he wasn't in the right mind and was just babbling. He had a limited amount of quotes, he couldn't afford to spend them all at once.

'Let's hope she doesn't turn into a terminator and start killing people left and right…'

Both Ning Bi and Treebeard was aware of the hidden demon sect and their attempt on Han De's life. Hearing the identity of the disciple and master pair, both of them instantly became furious. Before they could say anything Han De's quotes stunned them both in different ways.

To Ning Bi, her master was an enigmatic expert. Everything he said or did, had profound meaning. His knowledge was so deep it left true masters speechless. His cunning was so great he caused the destruction of the Zhao family with a few moves. He even offended many peerless experts on her behalf. To Ning Bi, her master was a huge mountain that she could depend on. Han De's quotes left a lasting impact on her, and she became even more determined.

Treebeard however, knew Han De differently. He watched him grow up and knew about the antics of his young master. Changes in the last few months were startling. Perhaps it was wrong to call them changes to begin with. Perhaps this young master was finally revealing his true colors.

Xiao Ping was a random nobody. Yet Han De went out of his way to cripple him and insult his lover. Years later at the decisive moment, he herded him to the sect as if he was a sheep and used him as a chess piece. No one, not even the Han family knew about this deep plot. Then there was the case with the Zhao family, and the worn-out sword from yesterday.

In his youth, Treebeard was an accomplished scholar before the Han family took him under their wings and nurtured him. Throughout his life he studied many schools of thought. Yet Han De's simple words stunned him. Profound wisdom was hidden within. Familiar, yet so alien at the same time.

Treebeard gave a deep look at Han De. This young master was becoming more unfathomable by the day. Treebeard was now certain that Han De was waiting for the disciple-master duo. To what end, he did not know, but he knew it was part of something.

It seemed like this young master's actions always had a profound reason. Treebeard started to view Han De's past in a different light.

* * *

Han De's group arrived at the auction house. Reception had started already. Tan Xiaodan spotted them immediately.

At first, when Starfall Mountain elders arrived he was relieved that Han De wasn't there. He was relieved but still a bit nervous. Thankfully Starfall Mountain elders didn't mention anything. Perhaps that was them silently implying that the issue was dropped.

But right now, Han De had arrived. With his disciple and that Immortal freak no less. Tan Xiaodan broke into a cold sweat.

'This is it. They are really going to make a scene. He even brought the Immortal freak!'

Before he could do anything, he heard his son, Tan Enlai, that was loitering around the entrance greet them.

"Elder De, greetings. It is an honor that you've joined us."

Han De was able to collect his thoughts and assume his Arrogant Young Master A pose during the walk. He knew about the sarcasm of the Brass Stallion and had expected such a greeting. He just gave a slight nod and arrogantly walked away. Tan Enlai was anticipating this reaction and didn't disturb him further.

This reception was just a social event, but it also exhibited some of the auction items. Of course, Brass Stallion didn't put any of the expensive items in the exhibition. These items were just rarities. Although they were rather peculiar and seeing them all at once like this was impressive, ultimately they were all cheap items individually.

The term 'cheap' was relative. This was supposed to be the biggest auction of the century. Participants of this reception were obviously the heavyweights of the region. Even a relatively normal item here could cause a small sect elder to salivate.

'Small sects have it really tough huh.'

Han De was looking at the items with disinterest. It wasn't that the items were uninteresting, it's just that Han De chose these items as his medium for the Arrogant Young Master A act. Last time he tried to show disdain and do a few well-timed scoffs, he ended up forcing a duel on Ning Bi. If it wasn't for the OPness of that little miss MC he would've died already. Literally. This time, Han De truly didn't want any accidents.

'Just let me act arrogant in peace. Please...'

As Han De was showing a variety of disinterested expressions, he was also keeping an eye on Ning Bi. Even if he showed disdain, he was still going to buy anything that she found remotely interesting. As long as it didn't involve a storyline...

"Elder De, greetings."

A middle-aged man and a stunning beauty had launched a sneak-attack greeting at Han De, who was too absorbed between displaying his disdain skills and watching Ning Bi's reaction to the items at the same time. He was in full character and gave them both a casual nod.

'What the hell... What a beauty. Amazing proportions, a smooth skin, tender lips, gorgeous reddish-brown eyes...'

Thankfully Han De was fully immersed in his character, otherwise he would've openly gawked at this unnamed beauty. Just a fleeting glance was able to impress him enough that he had to depend on his training to prevent a double-take. Han De immediately pulled his guard up.

A Xianxia world was full of dangers. Some were obvious, some were hidden. Han De had used his extensive web novel knowledge to weigh the pros and cons of different tropes some time ago. He didn't rank them all, but if he did, peerless beauties would be very high up in the tropes to avoid list.

Seeing Han De's casual nod, the middle-aged man was a bit surprised. But just doing what he was doing meant that he had to have a certain amount of shamelessness in his blood, so he did not take it to heart and pushed forward.

"This is my niece, Xin Qiang. Although she may be young, her cultivation is rather good. She had heard of your unequaled talent and was hoping to meet you for some time. Meeting here at this auction, it must be fate! Oh, pardon me, I must pay my respects to the Tan patriarch. I am sorry for the trouble, I hope I can leave little Qiang to your care, Elder De."

The shameless middle-aged man didn't even wait for a response and left. Han De was rather impressed. Even though he was so bad at it, he completed everything with practiced ease. He was about to feel bad for this girl, but he noticed her cultivation.

'Are you serious? Nascent Soul? Again?'

Han De looked at Xin Qiang. He was speechless. Even this stupidly gorgeous woman in front of him was in Nascent Soul. Feeling dejected, he didn't bother with her and continued looking at the exhibit items.

There weren't many items left. He was still checking them one by one with the System just in case. On the last item, he had to stop. Auction provided item information listed it as Mysterious Bead. The only known function was that it purified Qi during cultivation. System pop-up however, told a different story.

[Crystalized Tenacity]
[External use purifies Qi 0.012% of the user's Qi during a cycle. Ingesting and absorbing it has a chance to unlock the potential of a target. Chance of acquiring a skill 2.1%. Chance of improving on cultivation method 3.41%. Chance of improving an existing skill 5.75%. Chance of unlocking potential gets reduced by 15% for every major realm above Qi Condensation.]
[Notes: Manifestation of a Transcendent expert's tenacity. Infused within is the will to survive. Approximate age is 9.52617 million years.]

Han De sneakily looked at Ning Bi but this item actually didn't catch her attention. There were various thoughts in Han De's mind right now, so he didn't pay attention to anybody else. Besides him, Xin Qiang was unimpressed. Although Han De ignored him, she also ignored Han De. Neither of them noticed the brown-robed man looking at Han De and the bead with a panicked expression.

Xin Qiang was here to acquire a certain spiritual herb. She was using a disposable family's connections to attend this auction. The shameless 'uncle' had no idea, but his family was already on Xin Qiang's 'to be wiped off' list. This despicable man actually tried to use her as a political tool! Just thinking about it infuriated Xin Qiang.

Thankfully, this little Core Formation expert was actually dumb enough to fake ignore her to gather her attention. This stupid act suited her interests perfectly. However, she kept giving odd looks at Ning Bi. This girl gave a sense of familiarity. Xin Qiang was able to sense the astonishingly pure Fire Qi around her. Its characteristic was rather similar to her own. She couldn't help but probe her a bit.

Han De made some calculations in his mind and ultimately ignored the item for now. Since he had shown his face and gave a fashionable arrogance act, he didn't have a reason to stay here anymore. As he was leaving, he heard a voice transmission from Treebeard.

<Young Master. This Xin Qiang's...>

<..>

<... Cultivation seems to be higher than my own.>

<What.>

Suppressing his surprise was easy for the current Han De. He took a look at the Xin Qiang and saw her checking out Ning Bi. He instantly understood the situation.

'We got a hidden expert right here. Family connections are probably fake, probably her name is fake too. She is obviously interested in Ning Bi's talent. Is she thinking of making an attempt at poaching her? Are you kidding me?!'

Han De's face darkened. This was a situation that he predicted long ago and had made plans for, yet it still pissed him off greatly. He continued his conversation with Treebeard.

<Can you sense anything else about her? Does she have a particular element? Perhaps Fire?>

<... I can't be exactly sure, I only sensed she was...>

<...>

<... Hiding her cultivation when she probed Ning Bi.>

<...>

<... If my cultivation method wasn't sensitive to...>

<...>

<... Qi vibrations, I wouldn't have noticed.>

<Treebeard, I got to ask. Why are you talking so slowly?!>

<... My cultivation method isn't perfect. This is a...>

<Side effect got it. Write down your cultivation method completely and give it to me when this is all over.>

<Side eff-. Yes, young master.>

'There is no way to collect more information. We are outside the sect too, so the first 5 options aren't available, her cultivation is higher than Treebeard, so next few options are also destined to fail. Only indirect methods are left...'

Han De didn't waste time and sent a voice transmission to Xin Qiang.

<My disciple is impressive, I know. But she is my disciple, keep that in mind.>

Xin Qiang was surprised.

'It seems this little boy didn't have any patience after all.'

Normally she would've frowned and taught him his place. Han De's tone was disrespectful towards her, but she wasn't supposed to reveal her identity and cultivation. This inability to take action angered her even more. She decided to ignore him.

Han De watched her non-response and frowned. Her nonchalant behavior wasn't a good sign. He chose to go all in.

<Your cultivation might be high but remember. Starfall Mountain Sect will not let things end peacefully if you continue this behavior. Know your place, or I will send Transcendent masters after you.>

Han De did actually have the ability to dispatch masters that were on the Transcendent realm. He just needed a good reason to rile them up. Someone potentially kidnapping his genius disciple was a good enough reason.

'Considering her desire to stay secret, threatening her with the nuclear option is the right choice. Probably. I hope. Oh god please...'

Xin Qiang was stunned. She guessed that the Immortal expert had somehow seen through her. She also knew Han De's and Starfall Mountain's position. Although she didn't have ulterior motives and was just curious about Ning Bi, she was able to understand their reaction. As an expert she obviously could detach herself from the situation and view things objectively. Unfortunately, this ability only intensified her anger.

Ultimately, Xin Qiang didn't answer Han De. She was only an Ancient Realm cultivator, how could she handle a master that was 3 major realms above her. Once they appeared she would definitely get caught and it would all over. She wouldn't even be able to burn her soul to prevent revealing the location of her family.

Han De watched as Xin Qiang gracefully walked away. He wasn't comfortable at all with pissing off a hidden master. But Ning Bi was his lifeline. He would quite literally die if anything happened to her. She was weak, a sneeze from a Nascent Soul could kill her. She was young, any old demon could influence her.

After quickly weighing his options, Han De decided to send a message to his mother with long-distance communication jade and asked for 5 low profile Transcendent masters as a precaution.

'Better be safe than sorry.'

28. Not Slow Enough

Once his mother gave the order Transcendent masters could travel the distance in just a few seconds. Han De didn't want to risk aggroing Xin Qiang even further. Her cultivation was probably much lower than the Transcendent realm considering Treebeard could actually sense Qi ripples from her. However, he still had no idea who was behind her. Pissing off hidden families wasn't a wise decision. Han De just wanted to warn her, as long as he didn't escalate from now on, he reckoned he could avoid the worst. Transcendent masters were just insurance.

Han De didn't realize it while thinking, but with the cold exit of the so-called 'Xin Qiang', people that were watching from the sidelines finally found their courage to approach him. Without warning, he was surrounded.

"Elder De! So good to see you. I didn't expect you to be interested in this auction enough to come personally. It seems Brass Stallion really does have some heaven-defying items this time!"

"Haha! Yes, that old Tan Renhsu wouldn't call this auction of the century if he wasn't confident."

"True, I've known him for so many years and can't remember him boasting without the grounds to support it."

"I am rather conflicted though. With Starfall Mountain and Elder De here, I fear we may not be able to get our hands on anything truly interesting."

The merry group of elders chuckled and nodded. They were all from mid-size sects and were just fawning on the powerful as per usual. Starfall Mountain had just performed a spring clean up. It wouldn't hurt to try to ingratiate themselves with the uncontested heir of the sect.

Han De listened to their conversation without showing any expressions. Eventually, he couldn't help himself and interrupted them.

"We'll see during the auction."

Han De signaled Treebeard and Ning Bi and swiftly left the auction house.

Elders were surprised, but not surprised at the same time. Han De's character was well known. They were used to playing the long game, so they didn't get offended by his behavior. Even if they wanted to, they could not, they couldn't afford to.

'Idiots, we just lost combat power sure, but we still have spirit stones. Are these people even sane? What's with all the sarcasm today?!'

Han De pondered about asserting the dominance of his sect through the auction. He dismissed it very quickly. Perhaps it would've been possible if it was a normal auction, but this one was just too high profile!

"""""Young Master!"""""

The sudden appearance of 5 middle-aged men startled Han De's group. Seeing them greeting and bowing to him, Han De immediately felt a huge weight was lifted off from his shoulders. Finally. With these Transcendent monsters he could sit back and relax. If he could, he wouldn't go outside the sect without one of these. Even Immortal freaks weren't enough these days. Unfortunately these monsters liked cultivation way too much. Moving them was a hassle.

"Hide yourselves and follow us. Do not appear until I say so."

<<<<<Keep an eye on Ning Bi. If a black-haired, reddish-brown eyed woman comes near her, warn that woman and inform me. If the woman tries anything, knock her out.>>>>>

After giving their instructions, Han De looked around a bit.

<Peng.>

<Yes, young master.>

<Did you buy the stuff that Ning Bi was interested in?>

<Yes, we did young master, you don't have to worry.>

<You bought everything right? Even if it was a brick, a rock, or a rag, you got it right?>

<... Y-Yes we did. We got everything she paid attention to.>

<Good. Put everything on a storage ring and give it to me later.>

In the report, he had also asked about the entertainment industry of the Brass Stallion city. This was a cultivator city, but it wasn't a cultivator city of a prestigious sect. Meaning, it actually had many services that catered to secular desires. Han De was planning to do a serious market research tomorrow. He was going to steal some ideas from this city and implement them in the sect with his elder authority.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the mental energy to deal with a serious subject like that right now. So right now he just wanted to go to an immortal restaurant. This was something he wanted to do since he came to this world.

That idiot Tan Xiaodan mentioned closing off the city by tomorrow, this worried Han De a little, but he convinced himself that it was just a sarcastic comment from the prick.

Han De had read about a place called Phoenix' Beak Pavillion. Supposedly the most expensive immortal restaurant in the Brass Stallion city, and it was just a few streets away from the auction house. Perfect.

As they were lazily heading towards Phoenix' Beak Pavillion, Han De heard a growling voice from his side.

"Finally found you! You unscrupulous thief! Hand over the herb, and I promise I will only torture you for a month!"

Han De stopped. He found the voice rather familiar but he still couldn't place where he had heard it. He slowly turned towards the voice. There was a flimsy-looking man with a delicate face standing not far from him. His blue hair and deep blue eyes were rather eye-catching. If it wasn't for his fully displayed late stage Nascent Soul aura, Han De would've mistaken him for a cosplayer.

"If you think you can run away again, don't even bother. I will slowly extract life essence from you and teach you some manners while I am at it."

The young man was slowly moving towards Han De. Although he was using a low voice and talking through his teeth, with the content of the conversation Han De made a guess. His face instantly darkened.

"Are you that snake-like dragon from yesterday?"

All dragons had the ability to shapeshift into humans after reaching the Core Formation realm. All non-humanoid cultivators could assume humanoid shape after reach the same realm, but there would be flaws in their transformations. Those flaws would usually disappear after the Nascent Soul realm.

"Y-You! You dare to call m-"

"Aaah I really hate this city. I really do. Treebeard, slap this thing and look for a fox. Keep it alive. Don't let it talk."

Han De waited as Treebeard used his full power to slap the dragon unconscious. At first, the dragon tried to act arrogantly, but the moment Treebeard revealed his aura, Han De was able to see the brief shock and indignance on its face.

Although he was slow talking, he worked very fast. Treebeard was able to locate the fox under a minute and brought it to Han De.

Han De looked at the fox, saw the surprise on its face, followed by a shit-eating grin.

"You guys ruined my sword and even kept harassing me after seeing me. Don't think you are going to live easy lives from now on. What was it your dragon master said, torture me for a month?"

Seeing the dark look of Han De, and the Immortal freak following his orders, the fox truly felt regret for the first time. This wasn't how the script was supposed to go! Why did this Immortal freak follow that Core Formation trash's orders?!

Han De signaled Peng and his Nascent Soul lackeys to carry these animals. He strictly instructed them to knock them out if they regained consciousness. He didn't want these little shits to reveal his grand escape to anyone. He gave permission to cut their tongues and cripple their cultivations if they tried to talk. As long as he didn't do it, he was OK with any kind of violence. These two tried to kill him after all, mercy wasn't necessary.

After he was sure his instructions were 'properly' understood by his incompetent lackeys, Han De continued towards his promised spiritual ribeye steaks. Unfortunately, he heard another voice. This time it was a female.

"Young master. I apologize for my brother and his junior's behavior. I hope you could forgive them this time and give me some face."

Han De stopped again after hearing the voice.

'Motherf#$%&. What is with this city. Or is it me? Is this the power of Calamity Attractor?'

After calming down, Han De turned towards the voice. What he saw was unexpected. A voluptuous beauty with orange hair. She was wearing a black robe that further enhanced her curves. This woman was truly on the same level as Xin Qiang. It was hard for Han De to take his eyes off her.

Although she was hot, Han De wasn't looking at her curves, he wasn't even looking at her face. He was looking at her fox ears that were on top of her head. He also could see many foxtails behind her. He couldn't count from this angle but he was sure it was more than 6 or 7.

'F#$%&#$ hell. Why does a Xianxia have fox girls? Wait, she should be a demon that evolved from a fox. Her cultivation should be higher than Nascent Soul since I can't sense anything, is she purposely displaying her ears?'

Cultivation idiot didn't know, but the fox demon tribe had their own pride and frequently displayed their fox features to outsiders. Their display of animal features served as a sort of deterrent to humans. For females it was similar to wearing a veil, for males it was a tool for intimidation. Although they were traditionally called demons, they were obviously different from the demons that appeared during the breach.

The fox woman didn't know why his brother and his servant were getting carried by Nascent Soul experts. She had followed their smell after catching a whiff of them by chance. But she didn't worry, she was an Immortal expert after all. Dealing with such low realm cultivators was easy for her. She slowly released her aura.

Obviously, she recognized the robes of the people in front of her. Although they were a reclusive tribe, they couldn't possibly be ignorant about the big powers of the continent. She could forcefully save her kin but she didn't want to needlessly offend an ancient sect without sufficient cause. That didn't mean she had to bow to them, however. Fox tribe was elusive and they could even dodge a calamity if they put their minds into it.

For a while now, the young master in front of her was looking at her ears and tails with a tired expression. She was used to the gaze of the males, from any species. But this was the first time someone had only exclusively looked at her ears and tails. She released her aura a bit more. Finally the young master looked directly at her. Strangely, his face was contorted by anger.

"Give you some face? You really expect me to give you face after your brother tried to feed me to a flower?"

She was taken aback by his response.

'It seems they did offend this little boy after all. And they succeeded in cultivating that flower. That idiot is nothing if not patient.'

The fox woman assessed the situation in her mind.

'Starfall Mountain is protective of their disciples. It seems this little boy escaped the idiots' trap and dragged his elders with him to collect the flower afterward. Good, they probably still have it. I'll deal with that idiot dragon later. What kind of a moron do you have to be to tell the Crimson Terror's secret then let that person escape...'

"Since you have knocked them unconscious we could consider the matter settled. I will also take the flower away from you, none of you can't benefit from it anyway."

The fox woman wasn't sure if Starfall Mountain would pursue this matter, but she had confidence that they wouldn't. While Crimson Terror would display some Fire Qi when it was close to maturation, it wouldn't look any different from a regular spiritual herb before fully blooming. It was also quite rare and ancient spiritual herb too, she was sure none of the Nascent Soul experts could properly identify it.

She watched as the young master in front of her looked at the little girl beside him. Then he looked back at her again. Fox woman had an imperceptible frown appear on her face. She could tell that the little girl cultivated Fire Qi, and it was really pure too. She started to have a bad feeling about this affair.

"You even have the gall to say no one can benefit from it?"

The boy in front of her looked both speechless and infuriated at the same time. Fox woman now knew something was definitely wrong. Her intuition that she previously ignored was now screaming.

"Knock her out seal her cultivation and move her and the others to a dungeon inside my estate."

Before she could say or do anything, the fox woman felt an insurmountable pressure push her to the floor, within a second, consciousness left her.

* * *

[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Ning Bi successfully reached Qi Condensation Level 7]
[Issuing 65 Profound Points as a reward.]

Han De woke up to the System notification. Yesterday he had closed the Phoenix' Beak Pavillion and had a sumptuous feast with Ning Bi and all of his lackeys. Besides the dumplings Ning Bi had prepared for him nearly 2 months ago, this was his first proper meal.

'*sigh* At this point, returning to sect without an immortal chef is impossible. Maybe I should buy the restaurant from last night...'

Han De ignored his conflicted feelings from seeing Ning Bi's advancement. During this trip she couldn't practice her martial arts, so she kept cultivating. The result was as expected.

'If only that cockroach was a righteous cultivator instead of a perverted demonic one. Let's not think about that...'

Han De stood up and checked the time. The auction was going to start at noon, he still had a few more hours. Taking a page from his disciple's book, he decided to cultivate.

* * *

1 cycle.

2 cycles.

3 cycles.

4 cycles.

5 cycles.

…

6 cycles.

…

…

7 cycles.

…

…

…

8 cycles.

[Cultivation: Core Formation - Mid Level ((+32) 5561/500000)]

* * *

Han De's cultivation started as usual, but as he continued he realized completing cycles was getting harder and harder.

'It seems I am getting influenced by the events of the last few days. Probably better to take some time off. Let's not risk Qi deviation…'

He still had a few hours until the auction, so Han De thought about his options.

'I can't just summon Transcendent experts every time something happens. Ning Bi's status is too important to the sect. Both as being my disciple and being someone that went through enlightenment. Despite that, I can't just call them willy-nilly.'

The more Han De thought about it, the more he became anxious. He could get a bodyguard above the Immortal Realm, but the situation would get complicated when he went outside the sect. Not to mention the issues of loyalty. Although Han De had his mother as a pillar, it wouldn't do him any good if he abused his position too much. Higher realm experts still had their pride after all.

'I'll have to think about it later. What I can do is try to increase the cultivation of my current lackeys. At least if they can keep up with me I could be sure of their loyalty. More or less.'

Han De didn't waste any time and called for Treebeard and Peng. Both of them arrived within a minute. Han De looked at Treebeard and spoke.

"I told you to write down your cultivation method yesterday. Write down your primary martial art method too. Peng, you and everyone else in the Nascent Soul realm will do so as well. Collect the methods and bring them to me, go!"

Peng bowed and quickly ran away. Treebeard, as a diligent lackey, had already done as Han De asked. He quietly put down a few big scroll cases that he retrieved from his storage ring. Han De didn't stand ceremony and immediately looked at the methods. He pretended to read them to avoid any suspicion.

[Still Mind Scripture (Incomplete)]
Power: Extremely Weak
Realm: Up to Dao Seed
Roots: Any
Notes: Requires 1 Profound Point(s) to learn.

[Serene Debate (Mortal)]
Power: Extremely Weak
Notes: Requires 1 Profound Point(s) to learn.

Han De muttered when he saw the methods. "Figures it was an incomplete scripture…"

'Alright, learn both of them.'

[Still Mind Scripture (Incomplete) comprehension successful]
[Serene Debate (Mortal) comprehension successful]

[Still Mind Scripture (Incomplete) requires 28 Cultivation Method Fragments to fully complete it. Partial completion not possible]
[Still Mind Scripture (Mortal) requires 41 Profound Points to advance to master level]
[Serene Debate (Mortal) (Mortal) requires 52 Profound Points to advance to master level]

[Still Mind Scripture (Mortal)]
Power: Extremely Weak
Comprehension: Master
Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)

[Serene Debate (Mortal)]
Power: Extremely Weak
Comprehension: Master

[Profound Points: 111]

Han De sighed inside. He was hoping most of the Nascent Soul lackeys had the same or similar cultivation methods. Point expenditure would be too high otherwise.

'Still, there is nothing Ning Bi could gain from the shop in the short term. Upgrading these lackeys would pay off in the long term as her protection.'

Treebeard watched as Han De just had a cursory look on the scrolls. He had heard his comment about it being incomplete and was surprised. His cultivation method wasn't a secret, but he was sure this young master didn't know about it. Under Treebeard's gaze, Han De took a brush and a stack of scrolls from his storage ring and started writing with great speed and accuracy.

As Treebeard watched, his eyes narrowed. What Han De was writing the Still Mind Scripture that Treebeard knew and practiced for hundreds of years. Yet there were entire sections that he knew didn't exist. It was written with such clarity too! He kept watching with a dumbfounded expression for an hour. Once Han De had finished he asked.

"Your slow-talking was a side effect, but the side effect wasn't slow-talking itself. You were talking too fast instead of too slow. If you keep practicing this you won't be able to utter normal sentences until you reach the Dao Sovereign realm. Are you really sure you want to continue cultivating this?"

Treebeard didn't even think about it and immediately kowtowed.

"Yes, I wish to practice this scripture! Please allow me!"

Han De couldn't hold back his long sigh after hearing that.

'Well, I guess it shouldn't be a problem if I take Peng along with him. I already spent the points, he might as well use it. Seriously, what a bullshit cultivation method.'

The System itself didn't provide any information about which method would be suitable for a person. In fact, it didn't even show the status of people higher than the Qi Condensation realm. So Han De had no idea what method would be more suitable for Treebeard. He could only eyeball it if he tried.

Han De gave the scrolls to Treebeard and headed to the auction house with Ning Bi and his lackeys. He wanted to get things over with and run back to the sect as quickly as he could.

29. Overreaction?

Under the curious gazes of other Starfall Mountain elders, Han De and Ning Bi were now sitting in the VIP balcony at the auction house. Ning Bi's advancement to the 7th stage naturally resulted in waves of congratulations from disciples and elders. Han De had just brushed them away and sat on the front row seat. He just wanted to buy the 2 items as soon as possible and get the f#$% away from this city.

'Crystalized Tenacity… It can't actually be a crystallization of sweat, right?'

'...'

'Well whatever. It's not like I'm the one that is going to swallow it...'

Han De's attention was on the presenter. He was purposefully avoiding looking at the other attendees. Due to the weakened position of the sect, he was going to aggressively bid on the 2 items, but he still had to pay attention to the other ones to determine danger levels. He had 5 Transcendent masters with him, but he wasn't going to drop his guard. If he could bring such masters with him, so could others.

With the clear sounding bell, the auction had finally started. The first item was getting presented.

"This sword is determined to be an artifact from the Moonstone Sage era. It can channel Metal Qi and is made out of Gold Essence. More knowledgeable masters probably have already recognized it. Yes, this is the legendary Unbending Visage, the sword of the Moonstone Sage's disciple, Joyous Tiger! Bidding starts from 20 thousand spirit stones. Minimum increment is one thousand."

Han De watched as a wave of praise came from the seats on the ground floor. He tried to get a read on the sword with the System but he was too far away.

'Damn, should've just sat down in the front row instead. Shit.'

"50 thousand!"

"55 thousand!"

"100 thousand!"

"150 thousand spirit stones. Please give my Lin family some face."

'Ah, it already started.'

Han De looked at the Lin family representative and the other now red-faced bidders. The Lin family was a rather small family compared to the Han family. Apparently it still had some pull within their small circle though. No one else was bidding after what he said.

"150 thousand spirit stones going once!"

"Going twice!"

Han De thought about it and increased the bid.

"151 thousand. This is an auction. If your face is going to drop because you can't afford something then either sit silently or just go back. Don't bring your antics here."

Han De could see the Lin family representative's face go white. He listened to the murmurings of the entire auction house but didn't say anything else. He had stepped on too many toes recently, this act of bullying Lin family was just giving Brass Stallion city some face. Which auction house would be happy if attendees used their powers to suppress other bids? Plus, Han De had always found Xianxia auctions way too obnoxious, so this was a double win situation for him.

The person that made the first bid looked at Han De. After seeing his indifference, and the Lin family representative's face, he tentatively chose to increase the bid.

"160 thousand."

Of course, Han De didn't bother. It was a Metal Qi sword and practically useless for him. Seeing that he wasn't going to bid anymore, everyone else continued.

"170 thousand!"

"190 thousand!"

"195 thousand!"

The Lin family gritted their teeth and placed the highest bid so far. "300 thousand!"

The Lin family bid didn't scare anyone thanks to Han De's words, but sudden price bump put it above everyone else's budget and the Lin family eventually won it for a meager 300 thousand spirit stones. It was a bittersweet moment for the Lin family. They still got it for a relatively cheap price, but somehow offended Elder De of the Starfall Mountain.

* * *

Watching the situation from his seat of honor, Tan Renhsu narrowed his eyes.

His son, Tan Xiaodan rolled his eyes.

"See father, I told you. It is impossible to not offend this guy. It's not my fault!"

Tan Renshu didn't hide his disappointment in his son. This brat didn't have any business sense whatsoever. His only saving grace was that his cultivation was relatively high. He turned his gaze towards his grandson.

"Explain."

"Yes, Great Elder."

Tan Enlai was the son of Tan Xiaodan. However, unlike his father and his bigger siblings, he actually did have some business sense and was silently getting groomed by his grandfather.

"It seems Elder De of the Starfall Mountain wishes to cooperate with us in something."

Tan Renshu nodded while Tan Xiaodan's eyes grew big.

"What nonsense are you spouting! Cooperate!? What cooperation?! How dare you say something so absu-"

"Enough."

Tan Renshu shook his head. Still, he chose to explain.

"Enlai is right. In the first place, Han De had only ever come to an auction once, and that was a decade ago. His actions from what you described were designed to explicitly give face to our family. Perhaps his purpose isn't the auction or a transaction, but he is already here and he is already giving us a signal. With the rise of the Starfall Mountain, there is no loss for us if we accommodate his demands even if they are unreasonable."

Two behind his back were in deep thought, albeit they were thinking about completely different things. Tan Renshu continued.

"I will meet him after the auction. Make sure to give priority to them in anything they demand."

"Yes, Great Elder."

* * *

15 items were sold so far. The most expensive one was a Nascent Soul realm spiritual pill, followed by an ancient zither. Sold for 2 million and 1.6 million respectively. Han De kept his eyes open but he didn't spot any escape items. Not one. The presenter was now bringing the 16th item.

"This Mysterious Bead's origins are unknown. We couldn't even determine its age. It is most likely from the Ancestor era and was part of an Immortal realm or higher spiritual artifact. Although it is just a single bead, it's effects are quite miraculous. When kept near, it can continuously purify Qi during cultivation. The amount of purification is small, but it is cumulative. The starting price is 200 thousand spirit stones. The minimum increment is 10 thousand."

<Young master this is bead is unusual. It is->

<Crystalized Tenacity. I know. Don't worry.>

Han De cut off Transcendent master. He swiftly made a bid.

"2 million."

Amongst the surprise of the entire floor, Han De thought about something. He asked the same master that talked before.

<Do you know how Crystalized Tenacity or similar things manifest themselves?>

Silence followed his question. On the floor, the auctioneer was in an awkward situation.

"2 million from Starfall Mountain Sect Elder, Elder De."

<We are not exactly sure how such things get manifested. This one should've manifested during a prolonged life and death situation. Perhaps during a tribulation. Ancient texts refer to them as recognition of Heaven and Earth's will. Unfortunately, this one is too small and useless...>

"2 million going twice!"

Han De nodded but didn't say anything else.

"Mysterious Bead sold for 2 million spirit stones to Elder De of the Starfall Mountain. Congratulations!"

'One down, one to go.'

Han De kept patiently waiting. He didn't bother with explaining his purchase.

Auction attendees were rather puzzled that such a small bead could attract the attention of Starfall Mountain. No matter how they looked, it was just an ordinary bead. Even if was part of an Immortal treasure that was no longer the case. Few of the higher realm masters narrowed their eyes. The only possibility they could think of was that Han De had actually found the original treasure.

An Immortal realm treasure was a rare thing, small and mid-sized sects would actually throw them away if they found one to avoid the calamity that inevitably followed such items. Only large sects could afford to have them. However, for a sect like Starfall Mountain, Immortal treasures weren't that valuable.

There were many types of spiritual items. Weapons, tools, defensive charms, mobile formations, attack talismans. One type of spiritual item was the rarest, and that was the type that helped cultivation. Spiritual items that helped increase one's cultivation were incredibly rare. Even Qi Condensation level ones would become sect legacies that would help nurture the next generation.

Some higher realm masters obviously knew about the implications of it. Ming Emperor's deal with Han De, Zhao family massacre, and now this bead. Those that could recognize the pattern fell in deep thought. The announcement of such a thing was aimed at someone, but for who, they didn't know.

During all of this, a certain brown-robed man was sweating profusely, despite being a Nascent Soul expert. Han De wouldn't recognize this man, nor would he recognize his robes. If he could look at his storage ring though, he would have a clear idea on which faction he belonged to upon seeing large boulders and an absurdly large sheet of spiritual iron.

'I-I need to convey this to my brother. N-NO! I can't leave right now. If I leave I'll gather suspicion. I must stay put. NO! I should bid at something. Yes! Bid on whatever maybe win a useless item then I can sneak out.'

Fortunately for the brown-robed man no one paid any attention to him. Even if the Transcendent masters noticed him they would just dismiss him as a regular guest. Han De himself was purposefully avoiding eye contact with anyone else. Keeping a low profile was slowly becoming his religion.

* * *

The auction was now at its 67th item. According to Brass Stallion, there were a total of 100 items. Sadly, Han De couldn't spot anything that he or Ning Bi could use. He kept discreetly checking her reaction but it seemed like she thought none of it was worth anything. This perplexed Han De.

'This girl has maximum luck. Why is there nothing that can catch her attention? There should be something here that can help her soar through the heavens. What's going on…'

"5.2 million! I can do this all day! I have nothing but money in my pockets!"

The current item was an ancient spear that could enhance Water Qi. Materials it was made out of was quite expensive too. The handle was made out of a single Golden Ivory chunk that came from a Unity Realm spiritual beast. The blade itself was made out of solid Star Iron with an Azure Lotus core. Han De had already forgotten about the name of the spear, but it really looked nice!

"8 million."

This bid was made from a VIP balcony near Han De. After the alluring female voice made her bid, no one made a single sound. The previous bidder calculated his remaining money and found it was a few hundred thousand short. He had boasted big but now couldn't deliver. Thankfully he was a shameless fellow.

"Since this lady wants this spear, I will give you some face and let you have it. I am nothing if not magnanimous!"

Han De knew about most of the bigshots thanks to his lackeys' extensive report. Despite that he couldn't place her anywhere on the list from the voice alone. His suspicion was confirmed by one of the Transcendent experts.

<Young master, this bidder has reddish-brown eyes as you described. Even as old as I am, I also have to admit she is quite the beauty. She is alone too.>

Han De nodded as he answered.

<Keep an eye on her.>

Auction continued. Han De couldn't find a useful item. Ning Bi didn't give any reaction to any item. Han De had checked, but her luck was still 10 and didn't drop. 'Xin Qiang' also didn't bid for anything else. He didn't want to do it, but in the end Han De started looking at the attendees out of boredom. Aside from the initial arrogant family representative A and the occasional cliche Xianxia lines, the auction was completely normal.

'I don't know if I should feel happy or sad.'

"And now for the 90th item. After this, we will have a small break before the last 10 items. Please be advised."

The presenter brought forward a box.

"90th item is a spiritual herb called Seven Colored Soul Lily. I'm sure I don't have to make an introduction to this item, nor do I have to remind everyone of how rare it really is. This Seven Colored Reminiscence Lily, most commonly used for the Origin Separation pill that allows one to increase chances of breaking into the Unity Realm, still has more than 95% of its efficacy remaining. Starting bid is 10 million spirit stones. Minimum increment half a million."

Box slowly opened. A gentle wave of spiritual energy gushed out of the box. Everyone in the auction hall could feel the herb stimulate their soul. This proved the authenticity of Brass Stallion's claims. The presenter hurriedly closed the jade box after a few seconds.

"50 million."

Before even the after-effects of the spiritual herb had vanished, a bid came from the alluring voice one again.

This spiritual herb was the one that Han De needed. Once he was able to register the actions of Xin Qiang, Han De felt furious and raised the bid.

"75 million."

Along with Starfall Mountain elders, everyone's mouth was agape at the auction hall. So far this was the most expensive item of the auction. 2nd place still belonged to the spear that Xin Qiang previously bought for 8 million.

"150 million."

Ignoring the exclamations coming from the crowd, Han De looked towards to balcony.

'She intensely looked at Ning Bi. Only backed off once I threatened her. Now she is aggressively bidding for the only item that I cannot afford lose.'

Han De narrowed his eyes. Towards the auctioneer he said: "Hold it." Then he signaled the 3 Transcendent masters.

<Bring me to her room.>

Han De appeared at the VIP suite used by Xin Qiang. On her beautiful face, Han De could see a tinge of worry.

"Take her ring, unseal it and give it to me."

Transcendent masters weren't courteous. They used their Qi to forcefully remove her ring. Han De leisurely sat next to Xin Qiang looked inside the ring.

'I was sure there would be boulders and other useless items but this…'

As he was looking, Xin Qiang was finally feeling fear. Although Transcendent masters did restrain their aura, she instinctively knew they were a much higher level of existence than her. The pressure she felt was very similar to the family matriarch exuded.

'Wow, that's a lot of money, even for me. Just short of 500 million spirit stones… What's this? Oh… Undergarments… Let's move on.'

A minute had passed since Han De told the auctioneer to put bidding on hold. Tan Enlai had already instructed everyone to comply with any of the Han De's requests. There was an awkward silence on the auction floor.

'She really doesn't have any suspicious items… Was I wrong? No, it can't be. Everything is too coincidental.'

Unsealing of the storage ring was done by a Transcendent master. Han De didn't know, but this master had also undone different layers of sealing done inside the storage ring. This level of intricate work was something that was rarely seen. That master didn't tell Han De, but he was sure that there were some secrets inside this ring. Subsequently, Han De saw a simple but elegant white scroll case with a red-colored accent. Out of curiosity, he took it out. He didn't even look at Xin Qiang, but if he did, he would've seen the unbridled panic in her eyes.

[Blazing Sun Scripture (Mortal)]
Power: Very Weak
Stage: Up to Dao Sovereign realm.
Roots: At least 65% Fire roots
Notes: Already known by the host.

30. Devil

[Blazing Sun Scripture (Mortal)]
Power: Very Weak
Stage: Up to Dao Sovereign realm.
Roots: At least 65% Fire roots
Notes: Already known by the host.

'Ah shit.'

Possibilities kept popping up in Han De's mind.

'She is either cultivating this or know people that cultivate it. No wonder she kept looking at Ning Bi. The version that Ning Bi practice is superior to this one. Only a matter of time until she connects the dots.'

'She is probably from a hidden family. Perhaps the same one that mom kept asking about. I know dad had worked on to complete the scripture but ultimately failed. Meaning their family is rather formidable, or they have formidable individuals.'

Han De felt pain in his liver. He thought about what to do. When he looked at Xin Qiang, he could see her panic mixed with anger and flurry of other emotions. He looked at the auctioneer, which was still waiting for Han De. Taking things one at a time, he made the bid.

"500 million."

Auctioneer and everyone else along with him were startled when Han De's voice came from the same VIP suite as the mysterious alluring voice. Being a professional, auctioneer immediately started calling for the last bids.

Han De turned towards Xin Qiang. He had already assumed his Arrogant Young Master C pose.

"Do not look for my disciple. Do not come near her. Do not try to contact her. Do not even ask about her. Don't let me catch anyone that practices Blazing Sun Scripture. I won't show any of you mercy if you do."

Han De put the scroll case back in the storage ring and threw it back at her. He didn't use the power of space through the hidden experts, but walked out of the VIP suite to enhance his act.

"Sold for 500 million to Elder De of the Starfall Mountain Sect! Congratulations!"

Hammer's sound from the auction startled Xin Qiang. Han De and those terrifying masters had already left. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. It was difficult but she was able to detach herself from and analyze the events. The fact that she could achieve such a state of mind after this encounter was a testament to her exceptionally strong will. After 10 minutes of reflection, she came to a conclusion.

'Ning Bi is practicing Blazing Sun Scripture. Not only that, perhaps it is a higher form of it. I must inform the matriarch at once.'

From her storage ring, Xin Qiang brought out a communication jade designed by the matriarch. Her family didn't live in or on this continent, so normal communication jades wouldn't work. The one she brought out was made from a variant called Fire Immortal Jade. She didn't even bat an eye on how expensive it was. She infused it with her thoughts then crushed it. The message was sent, but there was no way of knowing if it was received. She had no choice. Other forms of communication could be easily intercepted by those masters.

* * *

<She left the auction house, most likely will leave the city as well. Young master, should I not put a spiritual mark on her?>

<No, leave her be. Even if you put a mark that she cannot detect, she probably has family members that could. There is no need to bother with them.>

In truth, Han De was actually really conflicted about what to do. He could capture her and most likely extract her family's location, but that would open a giant can of worms. His mother might still want to 'teach them some manners' even if they had no relationship with Han De. Depending on the power of the family, Starfall Mountain might get dragged into it along with the Han family.

Not knowing anything about the family, Han De didn't want to risk going to war with them. If the hidden family wanted to stay hidden, it was possible that they would ignore Han De's behavior. He purposefully chose to bid 500 million to leave no room for future complaints. He also didn't look inside the scroll case, thankfully the System could recognize a cultivation method without Han De reading it.

At the end of the day, Han De hadn't touched Xin Qiang, he only threatened her, and most of it was on behalf of his disciple. If future problems arise he probably could muddle things by using a few clever misdirections. On the other hand, she or her family could target Ning Bi depending on their current xenophobia levels. One had to have a healthy amount of xenophobia to become a hidden family in the first place. It was a risk either way.

'I'm not going to visit this city ever again.'

The auction was on a break, bidding for the last 10 items would only start after an hour. Han De, along with Ning Bi and Treebeard was heading towards the exit of the venue. He didn't know what the last 10 items were, but he didn't want to stay any longer. If any of them was a really good thing, other Starfall Mountain elders could buy them anyway.

"Elder De, what a surprise."

Han De and his group stopped. Although he did not look it, Han De was swearing furiously inside his mind.

"I am Tan Renshu. Patriarch of the Tan family. I was hoping if we could have a discussion."

Han De finally turned around to look at this man. He had read his description from the report. All of which was boiled down to: An imposing man with scary abilities. Yet Han De was rather surprised when looking at the man in front of him.

'Since when accountants could be described as imposing? This guy literally looks like an accountant. There isn't anything imposing about him.'

'Thinking back, their excessive use of sarcasm was missing from the report as well. If the report about the patriarch is wrong, then the legitimacy of the entire report is dubious. You lot, wait till we return to the sect...'

After thinking about it for a while, Han De finally answered the accountant.

"Sure, lead the way."

Outside the venue, Peng felt a sudden chill in his spine. He was starting to get spooked by this city. He kept getting chills at the oddest times since they arrived.

* * *

Out of respect, Tan Renshu lead Han De to the central chamber of the Brass Stallion Catacomb. As they kept going down and down, Han De couldn't figure out how deep this catacomb was. It was only him, Tan Renshu, and one hidden Transcendent master. Thankfully no one in the Tan family had the cultivation to detect him, otherwise Han De would've never dared to go somewhere this deep.

'If it wasn't for the accounting ledgers and journals scattered around, this place would've given a pretty grotesque sacrificial chamber vibe. If someone said those canals were for transferring blood I would believe them.'

Actually, this scene was giving a rather familiar feeling to Han De. Back on Earth, he was a paper salesman. He was used to an office environment. Tan Renshu looked like a branch manager as he was standing in the middle of everything.

"Elder De, please."

Han De sat on the chair and accepted the tea served by the Tan family patriarch.

"As you know, since inheriting the family I have focused on the business side of things. The Breach hit the Tan family hard, and it was impossible to stay afloat during those turbulent times through normal means."

Han De nodded. This was already on the report. He gave a mental +1 to his lackeys.

"Over the years Brass Stallion city recovered and so did Tan family, at least partially. Cultivation wise we are still lacking compared to my father and grandfather, but we have surpassed the old times in everything else."

Han De didn't know where this was going, but he nodded anyway. Branch manager boasting about his achievements was nothing new. He took another sip of his tea.

"Being direct is a fault of mine that I learned to accept long ago. I hope you will forgive me, Elder De, for skipping all the pleasantries. What manner of cooperation are you looking for from the Tan family? Although we are a business-oriented family, we are willing to assist you as best as we can."

'What? I'm looking for cooperation?'

Han De stayed silent. Gears in his mind were starting to turn. Perhaps cooperation was a good idea after all. He wanted to research the entertainment services anyway, but he was worried about how much work it would require to set some things up in the sect. This was a rather nice opportunity.

"With the recent events, I became an active elder in the sect. I am more concerned about the overall quality of the sect rather than something specific. My current concern is the lack of entertainment."

"Entertainment?"

Tan Renshu was surprised to hear something like this. Han De continued.

"Yes. As you know, a sect like Starfall Mountain can't cater to secular desires. However, the current situation is taking it too far. To the point where disciples are now risking injuries in a demonic pagoda just to seek simple thrills. Obviously this is unacceptable."

Han De continued. He felt that his mind was exceptionally clear right now.

"I want to introduce some entertainment that would create a positive feedback loop around cultivation and other aspects of cultivation. An example would be competitive pill refining."

"Competitive... Pill refining?"

"Yes, we already do competitions between disciples. Inside the sect, it is the way of life. Competition is everywhere. Unfortunately, no one had capitalized on it so far. Competition can obviously be a form of entertainment. It can encourage both the competitors and the spectators to increase their skills. It can also serve as a safety net to the disciples that were overlooked by others and let them rise through their own skills. Not just pill refining, it could be anything. Competitive formations, fighting with those formations, competitive forging, dueling, spell casting..."

For Tan Renshu, business was the way of life. This was the first time he was hearing some of the terms Han De was speaking. Being a business demon however, he could infer their meaning from the context. His eyes started shining while Han De kept talking.

"I have confidence in convincing the sect to accept such innovations. Even if some resisted, I could just force the issue on my own. What I am worried about is the people. This can't be trusted to the disciples. At least initially. They have no idea how to manage a business, they have no idea about the logistics. They don't even know how to keep an account of the expenses. I have no desire to micro-managing these ventures on my own until they grow up."

"Hmm. Yes, I can see the issue. I have had similar issues after the Breach myself."

Han De's mind right now was exceptionally clear. At this moment, he knew exactly what he wanted to do, and how to achieve it.

"Competitive entertainment industry is just a small part. There are many other things that can be done but expertise is sorely lacking. A simple example would be industrialization."

"Industrialization? What do you mean?"

Han De's eyes shone brightly, he started to explain.

* * *

Conversation between Han De and Tan Renshu lasted 4 hours. Both of them completely missed the last 10 items of the auction but neither of them felt sorry about it. On the corner, the silent Transcendent expert kept listening to both. His heart was conflicted. He was feeling both tremendous respect and tremendous disgust at the same time. He felt his innocence was tainted by... something. He didn't know how to explain these to the Han family head. Just thinking about it was giving him a headache.

Tan Renshu was sending off Han De and his companions with a great smile. The conversation they had was eye-opening to him. He had gained a lot and was looking forward to working with Han De.

After Han De disappeared, and the effect of the chamber finally wore off, Tan Renshu started shivering. Tan Enlai held the arm of his grandfather with concern. Tan Xiaodan took the other arm.

"Never, ever go against that Han De. Ever."

"F-Father, did he demand something outrageous?"

"No, we are cooperating. From this moment on we are business partners."

Tan Enlai and Tan Xiaodan, father and son, looked at each other. Tan Enlai tentatively asked to clarify.

"Then Great Elder, what do you mean by never go against him?"

Tan Renshu released a huge sigh. It was a sigh burdened with knowledge.

"Just do what he says and never cross him."

As the patriarch, he had to collect himself. He had work to do. A lot of work.

* * *

Once they got back, Han De took Ning Bi and Treebeard and used the Transcendent masters' to return back to the sect. The rest of his lackeys would return with the spiritual boat, he didn't care.

As everyone settled back, Han De started cultivating. His mind was really exceptionally clear right now. He didn't hesitate and used his Cultivation Method Upgrade Tokens on his Starfall Scripture.

[Starfall Scripture (Mortal III)]
Power: Extremely Weak
Comprehension: Master
Stage: Core Formation (Mid-Stage)

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[Cultivation: Core Formation - Mid Level ((+1080) 6641/500000)]

12 hours later, Han De had done cultivating. He was in a daze. He couldn't understand what had happened to him.

Han De didn't know, but the central chamber had a strong calming effect. Tan Renshu was used to it after doing his business for nearly 200 years at those chambers, but the effect lasted a long while on Han De since it was his first time. He didn't have any tolerance.

"Oh god. What have I done. What have I DONE?!"

His conversation with Tan Renshu yesterday started to come back to him. The more he remembered the more horrified he became.

"NOOOOOO!"

31. No Matter the Cost

Inside the Red Desert, near the Red Stone Basin, there was the Red Mountain. Aside from its location and its inauspicious reputation, the only remarkable thing about this mountain was that it was split in two. A deep chasm separated the two sides of the mountain. Around the perimeter, there were powerful illusory formations that even a Transcendent master couldn't see through. This was the location of the Silent Silhouette Sect.

At the west side of the chasm, inside a completely black palace, was a man sitting alone with simple-looking prayer beads in his right hand. After nearly two months of secluded meditation, the man finally opened his eyes. He had finally finished healing his soul. With his black eyes, he gave a deep look at the unassuming prayer beads, then carefully stored it inside his storage ring. It was time to initiate the final stage of his plan.

Outside cultivation chambers a disciple was nervously pacing near the door. While his master was in seclusion he was the one in charge of the preparations for the next stage. Unfortunately for him, ever since his master entered seclusion it was one setback after the other. While lamenting the uselessness of his juniors, he noticed a change in the air. Spiritual waves that were chaotic for a long time suddenly became still. His master was finally coming out of the seclusion. Disciple didn't dare wait and respectfully requested an audience.

He entered the simple but elegant looking chambers. His master was still sitting in the middle of the room with his back facing the door. If Han De were here he would've given at least 8 points for the Xianxia contemplative boss pose.

"How goes the search?"

Disciple reflexively gulped.

"We found four, there were setbacks with three… And… We lost one…"

An uncomfortable silence ensued. The disciple couldn't see the master's face, this was a blessing and a curse for him at the same time. A moment later the master asked.

"Lost?"

Bracing himself, disciple gathered his courage and spoke.

"It-It seems Han De from the Starfall Mountain bought it from the Brass Stallion auction."

The disciple couldn't see or feel it, but the master was dumbfounded. He thought 'Han De? What Han De?'. Master quickly asked.

"Han De?"

"Y-Yes, master. Han De."

"Han De, son of Han Wei?"

"Y-Y-Yes. M-Master. T-That Han De."

"Han De. The heir of the Starfall Mountain and the Han family. The one I killed. That Han De?"

As the conversation continued, the air became more and more oppressive. This wasn't aura, neither was it killing intent. Spiritual energy was just responding to the palace master's mood. Even though the disciple was at the Spirit Origin realm he was still getting suppressed.

"Y-Yes, master. W-We confirmed that h-he somehow didn't die. H-He also made moves a-against us."

The master, Yuan Zemin, was dumbfounded again. He knew his disciple wouldn't dare lie to him. Yet the situation was too out of the ordinary. He had killed Han De through a true soul search. He witnessed how Han De's soul burned as he searched through it. In the end, all that was left of Han De's soul was a tiny sliver.

Normally Yuan Zemin would've just eradicated everything, even if it was only a tiny sliver of a soul. But during the true soul search his own soul was deeply wounded. Therefore he didn't bother with the remains and hastily left along with his apprentice to heal himself.

Wounds in his soul weren't normal. He was an Ancient Realm expert, there were 6 major realms between him and Han De. True soul search would always damage both parties, but the difference in their cultivation was just too huge. At the time Yuan Zemin thought it was due to the residual effect of the prayer beads. His subsequent seclusion supported this theory, it was through the prayer beads he was able to so quickly heal his wounds.

Soul had special characteristics. As long as a tiny sliver of it survived it could be restored. It would take a monumental effort, but it could be done. Such a feat was impossible for the incomplete prayer beads, let alone through a residual effect. Yuan Zemin narrowed his eyes. He felt uncomfortable. His cultivator intuition was warning him.

"Explain!"

Disciple flinched, but quickly summarized the events that happened during his master's seclusion. Han De selecting a disciple, Blazing Sun Scripture, deal with the Ming Emperor, Zhao family, capturing and deaths of their sect members by Han De, the Mysterious Bead. He didn't miss anything. After listening, Yuan Zemin was silent for some time.

"Plague-Devouring Demon and the Hell Beast. Are you really sure? There were no containment breaches both times?"

"Yes, there are no doubts about those. Our contact in the Zhao faction died during the attack so we have no way of knowing if more appeared."

Yuan Zemin closed his eyes. His knowledge about souls and demons was nearly unmatched save for the few monsters of his sect. If at this point he didn't recognize what was going on, he wouldn't be worthy of being an elder of Silent Silhouette Sect.

'They dared to calculate against me… How did they know?'

'Blazing Sun was the Void Flame Sect's scripture, only Xin family left from it now, stuck in that hidden realm. Ming Empire holds the few remaining weak spots. If they made a deal…'

Yuan Zemin came to the inevitable conclusion and sucked in a cold breath.

'That damn brother of mine! How could you do this?!'

Silent Silhouette Sect was a demonic sect. Betrayal was a fact of life for them. Yuan Zemin wasn't angry about his own brother betraying him, how could he? He was about to betray that brother of his in the first place.

'How much of an idiot can you be to cause a new intersection!?'

Yuan Zemin's face darkened. For his brother to act in such a way, he had to have the support from the sect. Everything became clear in his mind. Han De was a trap for him from the beginning. While he was licking his wounds they made their move. Yuan Zemin felt trapped. He never would've imagined getting outplayed to this extent.

He couldn't trust the sect anymore. Yuan Zemin was certain that he was isolated. He was a decisive man, after understanding the situation he didn't hesitate.

"Get everyone trustworthy to the palace. Discreetly. Instruct 5th through 12th to go to the Royal Maw and kill anyone that comes in or out. They have to cut the Xin family from the continent as long as they can. Contact Chu and tell him to break everything."

Disciple was shocked. He didn't understand why they were splitting away from the sect. Despite that, he didn't question his master. He bowed and swiftly left.

Yuan Zemin was in deep thought. The weight on his shoulders increased tremendously.

'I will never allow another Breach. No matter the cost.'

* * *

In the middle of the endless Sea of Fire and immense heat, was an island. On this island, one could see many settlements spread around a single mountain. On top of the mountain was the True Flame Pavillion, where the Xin family matriarch resided.

The matriarch, Xin Meili, was in deep thought. She had received a message from her favorite disciple nearly half a day ago.

In the message, Xin Qiang had described the events that happened between her and Han De. How they met, Ning Bi's peculiarity, Han De's threat, and his following actions during the auction. Xin Qiang's conjecture was that Ning Bi was practicing a superior version of the Blazing Sun Scripture.

Xin Meili's eyes finally left the communication jade. She stood up and looked at the endless Sea of Fire.

This place, this hidden realm, was found hundreds of thousands of years ago by the Void Flame Sect. They didn't know who created it, or for what purpose. They realized it was an ideal place for their cultivation method and moved into the hidden realm. Over the years disasters struck, Void Flame Sect disappeared and only Xin family remained.

The matriarch of the time had to sacrifice her soul to seal the hidden dimension from the continent. Xin family spent the last 50 thousand years in isolation. They could only use a small natural gateway every few hundred years to send and receive a limited amount of people between the hidden realm and the continent. Just getting new blood to the family was an ordeal thanks to the strict requirements of the Blazing Sun Scripture.

Xin Meili's resolve was wavering. Although the family survived the destruction, it seemed as if they just delayed the inevitable. For the last 50 thousand years, they were living a slow death. Their numbers dwindled. Old died but there were no young to replace them. Gateway was too narrow and too fragile, they couldn't leave this place even if they wanted to.

And now, Xin Qiang sent a message. A Blazing Sun practitioner from the outside, using a superior version! Was it a remnant of the Void Flame Sect? How else could it be explained otherwise? Sea of Fire was calming down as Xin Meili's mood changed. She was the current master of this hidden realm. Her state of mind would naturally cause changes in it.

Xin family had no idea, but Void Flame Sect had a different name before they found this realm and moved into it. They were a branch of Flowing River, a sect that focused on the Water element. As that sect grew they realized they couldn't just concentrate on a single element, and created internal branches for different elements.

Creators of the Void Flame sect was the fire branch. One day, they stumbled upon this hidden realm and found the Blazing Sun Scripture within. Seeing the ubiquitous resources of the island and the profoundness of the scripture itself, they severed their ties with the Flowing River and created the Void Flame.

To Void Flame, the entire island was holy ground. Everything in it trained a person to be more proficient at Blazing Sun Scripture. This hidden realm was obviously created solely for training the scripture and the accompanying arts, or so they thought. However, the reality was different.

Nearly 10 million years ago, a boy was envious of his senior brothers' palaces. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have enough skill to get a palace of his own from his master. In despair, he created his own hidden realm to serve as his palace. He decorated it according to his own tastes. He was cultivating Fire Qi, so he thought his realm should be surrounded by fires. The thought of fires intensifying when he was angry sounded really cool to him. That was what his 'taste' boiled down to. Everything in the hidden realm was designed to be cool.

Unfortunately, he never finished decorating his realm. During a friendly tournament, he died at the preliminary rounds. None of his senior brothers knew about the hidden realm either. There wasn't much inside it anyway, just a few beginner martial arts and the beginner cultivation method he practiced.

Over the years Void Flame sect rewrote their history. Blazing Sun Scripture they found was now 'invented' by the sect founder. Martial arts and spells were 'created' by its founding elders. No one but the first generation of the sect had any idea about their origins. Xin Meili was no different.

Sea of Fire calmed down and the flames in it turned crimson. The temperature of the entire hidden realm dropped. Xin Meili detached herself and analyzed the situation. After a few minutes, everything turned back to normal. Xin Meili opened her eyes.

'Starfall Mountain found a remnant or a legacy of the Void Flame sect. I cannot stay idle anymore.'

She knew that once she left the sect, she and Xin Qiang couldn't return for the next few hundred years, maybe even more. As the matriarch, she had the highest cultivation of anyone in the family. The gravity of the situation demanded her attention. She could not avoid her responsibility. After instructing a few of the family members and informing other elders of the situation, she left.

She exited the gateway and saw it close in on itself and sighed involuntarily.

'Little Qiang, please be safe.'

Before she could do anything, she felt some low-level experts move towards her with killing intent.

* * *

Xin Qiang left the Brass Stallion city as fast as she could. She was an Ancient Realm expert but she wasn't allowed to use her true cultivation to avoid the attention of others. She moved towards the Sun Empire capital at 'full' Nascent Soul speed. She had already failed this part of her mission, she wanted to lay low for a few years before looking for promising disciples. Every few hundred years Xin family would look for people that had high purity fire element roots. Requirements of Blazing Sun Scripture was extremely high, and they would more often than not fail.

Xin Qiang flew all night and arrived at a small village as the sun rose. She decided to lay low and mix in with lower realm cultivators by restraining her aura to the Foundation Establishment Realm. Before entering the village she wore her veil, then paid a few spirit stones to the guards. From now on she would travel with merchants and make her way around the Sun Empire.

Inside a small house nearby, Wu Fu's eyes were shining. As the most important advisor of the Sun Empire, his protection was only second to the Emperor himself. The Divinity Formation master that was guarding him described the characteristics of Xin Qiang. As an Ancient Realm expert, Xin Qiang could fool anyone under her realm, but she couldn't fool an expert that nearly stepped into the Transcendent Realm.

Wu Fu, the white-haired Core Formation expert that was nearing the end of his life wanted to visit his childhood village one last time. A new emperor was coronated a few years ago, only now his work was light enough for a short visit. He knew he wouldn't have a chance to see the rolling hills of his home town in the future. Unexpectedly, this short visit brought an opportunity that he wasn't going to miss.

After returning to the Sun Palace, Wu Fu had ordered a complete report on any and all actions of Han De. It took him and his subordinates more than a month to comb through the reports. The more time they spent analyzing, the more impressed they became. Han De was anything but simple. Since then Wu Fu would frequently try to find methods to get closer to the Starfall Mountain and Han De. This visiting Ancient Realm expert had quite pure Fire Qi, and the Divinity Formation expert himself noticed how similar it was to the Han De's disciple. An opportunity!

Xin Qiang rented a small hut after haggling with a villager. When she entered the continent first, she used her real name out of pride. After the incident with Han De, she didn't dare and was now giving a fake name instead. She found the entire ordeal shameful, but she had no choice. She sat and meditated to think through her options.

'I can't contact my family. I can still return, but if I do the gateway will close for at least a century. I cannot risk returning without searching for a potential disciple. Mayb-'

Her thoughts were interrupted when she realized two people were heading towards her hut. She kept vigilant and waited. Eventually, they reached her door and she heard a knock. Even while posing as a Foundation Establishment realm rookie, she used her Ancient Realm senses to passively gauge their cultivation. Both of them were in the Core Formation realm, but the feeling she got from one of them was too stable, which meant their cultivation was either on par, or higher than hers. Before she prepared herself an old and weary voice could be heard from outside.

"Miss Xiao Daiyu, I apologize for disturbing you. We do not have bad intentions. We just came here to offer goodwill and desire to cooperate. I am Wu Fu, an adviser of the Sun Empire."

Under her veil, the beautiful face of Xin Qiang showed doubt mixed in with surprise. She could either run away now, or run away after listening to them. Listening to them didn't pose any immediate threat to her as long as she was careful. If the expert's cultivation was higher than hers, her options were limited anyway. She decided to accept their 'goodwill' and invited them in.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Wu Fu brought up the main topic.

"Position of the Sun Empire stayed constant throughout the years. Change is inevitable, and along with the coronation, the empire changing too. One has to be careful during this process lest they lose the plot. Miss Xiao Daiyu, would your family be interested in cooperating with Sun Empire on charting a weak spot?"

Xin Qiang was listening to the old man in front of her. Of course she knew about the significance of a weak point in space, but she was puzzled about the reason why he was asking for cooperation from her. She chose Xiao Daiyu as her fake name, could it be that there is a powerful Xiao family? Could there be a Xiao Daiyu in Foundation Establishment realm in that family? Surely such a coincidence wouldn't happen...

"Elder Wu Fu, I am not sure why you are telling me this…"

Xin Qiang decided to probe a little. Wu Fu didn't mind this, cautiousness was only natural. He quickly spoke to dispel any uncertainties.

"My apologies, my guard here was present during our visit to the Starfall Mountain. As such he was able to recognize your cultivation method. We wished to offer collaboration between Sun Empire, Starfall Mountain, and your family and did not want to invade your privacy!"

The old man in front of her immediately bowed as he apologized and explained. His shameless yet sincere behavior would've moved Xin Qiang, if he did not mention Starfall Mountain. She hid her panic and probed.

"Starfall Mountain, and my family… I hope you'll forgive me for asking, I have been away for a number of years…"

Walking encyclopedia known as Wu Fu understood the situation. Either this lass was reluctant and didn't want to acknowledge it, or she truly didn't know. Both options were possible.

This was a hidden family, and hidden families wouldn't come out in the open often. Wu Fu didn't doubt her authenticity as a member of the Blazing Sun Scripture hidden family. His knowledge was extensive and he was sure that no one but the Starfall Mountain possessed the scripture, and even then they failed spectacularly at cultivating it. Odds of a 3rd party appearing with the same cultivation method was zero.

Wu Fu had already extended their goodwill, it didn't matter if it was accepted or rejected. As long as it reached higher-ups in the hidden family his objective would be complete.

"I apologize, since the Starfall Mountain and your family cooperated openly, I thought it would be… Perhaps I was too hasty. We will take our leave, we just wanted to extend our sincere desire to collaborate."

As Wu Fu and his guard left, he took out a sealed scroll he had prepared earlier. One had to have a certain amount of shameless if they wanted to obtain results in diplomacy.

After they left the perimeter of the hut, Xin Qiang looked at the scroll Wu Fu left. It was marked and sealed with the Sun Dynasty characters. The Xin family was isolated, but few every hundred years they would send a family member to gather items, disciples, and information. According to Xin Qiang's knowledge that she got from her family and the information she collected after coming to the continent a few years ago, this seal looked accurate. Whether if it was fake or not was something she could not determine.

The implications of this conversation were huge. She sat in a lotus position and calmed down. Taking deep breaths, she detached herself and reviewed the information available to her.

'Matriarch always wanted to lead the Xin family into the continent. If this man was truly Wu Fu, the chief adviser of the Sun Empire, then matriarch really did establish relations with Starfall Mountain after I left…'

'If that is the case, Ning Bi was the fruition of matriarch's efforts. No one else could produce a superior version of the Blazing Sun…'

Panic was now slowly creeping into Xin Qiang. Looking at the events from Han De's perspective, she, an Ancient Realm expert that hid her cultivation kept probing his disciple. If Han De didn't have Transcendent masters with him who knows what this Xin family expert would've done? Han De's worries about his disciples were justifiable from his perspective. Xin Qiang's actions could mean the Xin family regening on their deal!

Xin Qiang broke into a cold sweat. She couldn't believe how naive she was. How could she encounter Blazing Sun in the continent, and a superior version of it at that, and not even think about its relation to the Xin family matriarch. Xin family had extensive records of their history, chances of leaking their scripture were zero.

Xin Qiang decided that she had to remedy this situation. Although she had sent a message to the matriarch already, she had no idea if the message was successfully received. The situation was too serious to leave it on its own. She had to salvage this, no matter the cost.

32. Hurricane Arrives

Han De was still in a daze in his favorite courtyard. He remembered the contents of his conversation with Tan Renshu. He could not believe it. He could not believe what he had done.

'No, it's not over yet. I will not yield so easily!'

After the Zhao family incident, Han De had reevaluated many things. One of which, was his role in this world. As an Arrogant Young Master character, his future was bleak. While Starfall Mountain and Han family were powerful, for the right MC this level of power didn't matter. Even his disciple Ning Bi was the future purifier of planes. His sect's and family's power didn't mean anything in front of such monstrosity.

Therefore, Han De made a plan. He was currently an Arrogant Young Master. He needed to break away from that template. Completely. Unfortunately, his change couldn't be too fast either, otherwise, he would alert his family. As such, his plan was to gradually change his character into a Profound Expert first. Once that was done, he would initiate the second stage and transition into a Hidden Expert.

As long as his plan was successful, he would fade away from the public eye and be able to act unreservedly. He wouldn't have to 'take offense' from the small stuff. He wouldn't have to constantly scoff at people of lower social status. Hidden Experts were patient people. They wouldn't make a move easily. Their default response was to ignore the people around them. They also had their own character quirks and weren't afraid to display them. It was the perfect template for Han De. A match made in Heaven.

'How could I have made such a big mistake that would endanger my lazy life. It doesn't make any sense!'

Han De suspected there was some foul play. He distinctly remembered his own enthusiasm during the discussions. Under normal circumstances, Han De would never find office related work engaging. He wouldn't make plans to overhaul the economy of the continent. Even his 12-hour cultivation session was beyond abnormal.

'The tea! F#$%! How dare you spike my tea! Motherf#$%&#!!!'

Han De stood up and started pacing between Weathered Iron Bark trees.

'Why didn't that Transcendent freak do anything? Was the drug in the tea that sneaky? No way. Could that freak be in cahoots with Tan Renshu? No, no, no. Wait. I did cultivate for 12-hours after drinking that tea. Is it some type of socially accepted cultivator drug?!'

Cultivation idiot was always enthusiastic about cultivation. Han De couldn't find any memories of him doing drugs. In fact, cultivation moron's knowledge of drugs was so clean, he only heard about the existence of aphrodisiacs from a merchant. After getting tortured by cultivation idiot due to his mistake of 'not giving him face', the poor guy offered to give him all of his premium products. Once he learned their functions, cultivation idiot promptly burned them along with the merchant.

'I can't believe I have to watch for drugs in this world too. Still, the effect was pretty good... 12-hours of uninterrupted cultivation in one go. If I could take a little of it before a session… Shit! Wait. No. First one is always free. F#$%!'

Han De took a deep breath and tried to reorganize his thoughts. His mind was too chaotic at the moment. As he was trying to calm down he noticed a mass of spiritual energy headed towards his abode.

'Judging by its great speed and massive size of it, this person should be-'

"Little De! Oh how I missed you!!"

Long Xiu, Han De's mother had already arrived. She didn't waste time and tightly hugged him.

"Did you miss me? How was your trip? Did you eat well? You should take care of yourself and Ning Bi. Don't forget she is only at the Qi Condensation realm! I was surprised when you contacted me, everything is OK now right? Should I have sent 20 instead of 5? Your father prevented me from sending more than 5, you know."

"Yes mom, I missed you too. Don't worry, it was just a precaution anyway."

Long Xiu reluctantly released Han De from her death hug. She looked at her son from head to toe. She gave an exaggerated satisfied nod and spoke.

"I came earlier but you were cultivating. Mmm. You are always so diligent, as expected of my son!"

Over the years Long Xiu kept thinking that Han De was a bit too obsessed with cultivation. She didn't say anything so far because cultivation was the basis for everything. Instead, she chose to gently guide Han De to experience what life had to offer. She just wanted him to have a full life, that was all. Unfortunately, her attempts kept failing, but she kept trying anyway. Since Han De was so talented at it and combined with the fact that he liked it, she kept praising him too. Long Xiu was both proud and concerned at the same time.

"So I heard that you are planning something big with that Tan Ren...-something-something."

Han De couldn't help but tense up after hearing that. It was already too fresh in his mind and he didn't have a good solution to the problem.

"Well, ehm. It was just a passing thought. I obviously don't want to involve myself with such concerns on a daily basis. I don't have the time for that. Obviously, I won't let such things affect my cultivation, you don't have to worry, mom."

Cultivation idiot was a genius. He spent most of his time cultivating, but he was still aware of many things going on within his family and the sect. He knew how much effort his mother exerted to 'convince' the rest of the family to give him all the resources he needed. Han family wasn't a small family, cultivation idiot had many cousins, nieces, nephews, uncles, aunts and so on. No one would voluntarily give up their resources.

His mother's endless efforts impacted the cultivation idiot greatly. It became his primary drive in cultivation to live up to the hopes and dreams of his parents. Of course, later on, he genuinely liked cultivation and effortlessly kept doing it. Over and over and over again. Han De knew about this, and he quickly interjected to avoid suspicion. Slacking off from cultivation would be way too out of character for the cultivation idiot.

Long Xiu had a tinge of regret but didn't reveal it on her face.

"I know that, but some of the things I heard from little Mo were… a bit out of the ordinary. Industrialization, sweatshops, public schools, free market, tax regulations, trickle-down economics and so on..."

"They might sound tiresome but I won't be the one supervising them. Besides most of them are just basic necessities."

Han De tried to alleviate his mother's concerns but then realized what he was doing. 'Wait a minute, I shouldn't act like I'm going to participate in it…' Before Han De could say anything, his mother continued.

"Are you really planning on shaving off the Misty Mountains completely and establish… Factories? With the sects that were based there?"

Han De's heart sank a little and he nervously waved his hand.

"That was just a fleeting idea. Of course I wouldn't do that, why would I? So much work…"

Han De had actually promised that he would supervise this project personally. This was the backbone of mass-produced cultivator items. Han De had even planned the layout of the pill manufacturing plants along with the industrialized spiritual herb farms.

When Long Xiu heard about these plans through little Mo, she immediately sought Han De only to find him in a deep cultivation session. She had seen him cultivate countless times, but it seemed different this time. She didn't dare interrupt him and left along with her thoughts.

Cultivators were individualistic by nature. How could they not be? They pursued immortality! Even sect or family leaders had this quality in spades. A natural result of this was that cultivators rarely cared about the masses beneath them.

Big sects didn't care about small sects unless their interests clashed. Powerful cultivators didn't have any interest in weak ones, at most they would be servants. Perhaps in time, they could increase their cultivation, perhaps not. There wasn't any reason to care. Mortals themselves were even more useless. Trash was trash and trash was useless.

Starfall Mountain was even more apathetic than others. They were a quality over quantity sect, they did not rely on branch sects to get disciples. Nor were they a demonic sect where they used the weak as cultivation vessels.

Han De's 'ideas' were naturally alien to cultivators. His 'ideas' also included 200 years of refinement that Earth had gone through.

Long Xiu's knee jerk reaction was to stop Han De. As his mother, she had to steer her son back into the 'Path'. However, as she waited for him, she thought things through once more. Long Xiu had a reputation for being tyrannical and ruthless, but she wasn't just brawns. She couldn't stay as the head of the Han family otherwise.

Like the pre-industrialization era China, this Xianxia world was efficient enough with the non-industrialized production methods. It wasn't cheap, but it wasn't expensive either. Thanks to the sheer size of the population they didn't need to seek alternative methods.

If Han De could really tap into this previously unimportant resource and produce results, it would eventually change the structure of the society, and he would be at the center of it.

After talking with Han De and seeing her son's expressions as he tried to appease her, Long Xiu relaxed. She gave a deep sigh. This was clearly important to Han De, so it naturally it was important to her. Even if the result was nebulous she would support him to the end. After making the decision, playfulness returned to Long Xiu's eyes.

"Alright! Do as you like. I like your idea of using the Han family instead of Starfall Mountain. Let's keep this a secret for a while. Don't tell your father! I'll send someone to Tan Ren-whatever later."

"Wait…"

"Don't worry, he is a smart one, as long as he knows where the lines are he will never cross them!"

Long Xiu looked energized while Han De was baffled. He strongly wanted to reject, but at this point didn't know how to proceed.

While Han De had the cultivation idiot's memories, he didn't have his thoughts. Han De himself grew up with capitalism. He believed that industrialization would only increase the quality of life for the vast majority of the population. Who wouldn't want cheaper spirit bamboo toilet paper? Who wouldn't want free public schools?

Back on Earth he mostly worked for minimum wage, but in this world he was a part of the 0.000001%. He wasn't even sure how many zeroes was that. So he didn't have any qualms about redistributing the wealth of the continent. Bad sides of capitalism would only be beneficial for him in this world. That wasn't the reason he opposed this.

Han De just didn't want to be buried in paperwork. He was a paper salesman, he knew how much paper his local government consumed in a month. It was a scary amount.

Even scarier was the potential for attracting calamities. Just how many MCs would Han De piss off by 'restructuring' the small sects into manufacturing plants. Han De didn't even want to think about it.

Besides, he was already filthy rich. What would he do with even more money? Even his ruined sword was worth 2-3 sects. He was at the point he would use sects as the valuation method. His next few swords would probably be worth 15 to 20 sects.

"By the way, I interrogated the crippled old man that you sent over. He was after that bead you bought."

"Hmm? You interrogated him?"

Long Xiu had successfully distracted Han De. She talked with both pride and disdain.

"Of course! After that botched interrogation with the apprentice, how could I leave him to the Starfall idiots! How could they let a Nascent Soul burn his soul? How incompetent could they be?! Anyway, I already got a lot of information from him. He was one of the pawns that focused on acquiring beads. He doesn't know about others but he will eventually spill everything he knows. I'll make sure of that."

Han De inwardly shuddered. He wasn't about to feel bad for the guy, but he thought it would be best to leave the matter alone. Long Xiu continued.

"His disciple was also despicable. That Qi Condensation guy invented a new and more efficient cultivation method by using soulless bodies. Tsk tsk! Truly a disgusting method. It's good that you extinguished his soul. That sect truly deserves to be wiped off!"

Han De remembered the cockroach did have a skill like that. He wasn't surprised he taught that to others. Cockroach's spiritual roots were abysmal, if he didn't have a leverage like that he wouldn't have been able to enter a hidden sect like that in the first place.

"How did you know they were part of the hidden demonic sect?"

Han De didn't feel a need to keep this part a secret.

"That guy wanted to steal Ning Bi's roots. It was better to deal with him then and there. After he died I found the same boulders and other useless items in his storage ring. Really baffling that they carry those things around…"

Long Xiu blinked.

"What do you mean boulders and other useless items?"

Han De explained what he found on the apprentice's and the cockroach's rings. Long Xiu frowned while listening. She had dismissed those things from the storage ring she searched before. She blurted out without thinking.

"That works? These guys just carry around big boulders and sheets of spirit iron? Are they idiots?!"

Both Han De and Long Xiu dubious expressions. Han De shrugged. It worked so far so he didn't care. He thought he had heard a crucial piece of information, he wanted to get back on track. He removed the Crystalized Tenacity from his storage ring and showed it to his mother.

"He was after this one? And there were more of these?"

"Hmm, yes, apparently these were part of a larger treasure that got scattered who knows how long ago. It really is the crystallization of tenacity. Shame it is such a small piece. Did this jolt your memory? You remember anything else?"

Han De suddenly got a bad feeling from this bead.

"No… Not really…"

"I see. Perhaps you are not aware of it consciously but was still drawn towards it…"

Long Xiu fell into deep thought as she narrowed her eyes. Han De broke into a cold sweat after connecting the dots.

'Shit, is this the part of the item that killed the cultivation idiot?! F#$%! I just bought it so Ning Bi could get a skill… I should immediately feed this to Ning Bi, the sooner it gets absorbed the better.'

While Han De panicking, Long Xiu muttered.

"Yes. It's not like this crystal has any other use, I'm actually surprised someone was able to fashion it into a bead. That would be difficult even for me. Even father-in-law would have to exert tremendous effort…"

Han De heard his mother and blurted his thoughts accidentally.

"Wait, this thing is that hard? How could one absorb it then?"

"It would be impossible for a Transcendent expert to scratch it, let alone absorb it. Crystals like this are extremely rare but they have little use. Making prayer beads out of them is an interesting idea though. It would be good for lower realm cultivators."

Long Xiu narrowed her eyes. She wasn't able to stop her killing intent from leaking as she talked.

"They will get their just deserts."

Both Long Xiu and Han De were furious. If any ordinary elder from the Starfall Mountain saw them right now they would immediately pass out from anxiety.

'If even a Transcendent expert can't absorb it, why did I even buy it in the first place?! Shouldn't this crucial piece of information be in the item description?! System?!?!'

33. Why So Reasonable?

Han De felt angry at the System for misleading him, but he concluded it didn’t matter in the end.

First, he was filthy rich, so the spirit stones he had spent had no meaning. Second, even if that bead was related to the item that killed cultivation idiot, him buying it was better than leaving it to the hidden demonic sect. All he needed to do now was to ignore it completely and maybe hide it somewhere. Perhaps he could give it to Ning Bi anyway. Her MC powers might shield it from other MCs. Maybe?

Long Xiu dispelled her killing intent. She remembered one of the reasons for her visit. Her eyes started shining as she tried to act casual while asking the big question.

“How is Lei Chen? Is she doing OK?”

“Lei Chen? Who is that?”

Han De saw through her mother’s intentions. It wasn’t hard, she was nearly fidgeting. However, he really didn’t know who this Lei Chen was. He was hoping she wasn’t someone from his missing memories.

“Oh you are getting playful again. You know, the Lei family princess? They even call her Princess of Fire? Wasn’t she here during the conference? Didn’t little Yu make preparations for her?”

“No one but me and Ning Bi was here during the conference. Did Elder Yu made some arrangements without my consent?”

Seeing Han De’s dark expression Long Xiu fell into doubt. She had heard Han De kidnapped this princess and little Yu even made preparations with the Lei family to accept her as Han De’s concubine. Long Xui made a mental note to start an investigation on this.

“Well never mind about that. What about Chu Chen? She really is quite the beauty, isn’t she? She has such smooth skin, even I am jealous!”

“Nope! Her flat colored skin is way too creepy. She is like a freak show! I mean, it is probably a physical ailment so I know I shouldn’t be judgmental but still! I can’t stand looking at it. She has a bad character too. Certainly not someone I would want to interact with.”

Han De didn’t know how his mother found out the name Chu Chen, the uncanny valley girl. But he had to break this flag, right here and right now. He had to disintegrate it into dust so that no strange accidents would occur down the line. He made a mental note to ask about this to Elder Yu.

Upon Han De’s strong rejection, Long Xiu didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t trying to marry her son, these girls’ status and cultivations were too low for that. As long as they distracted Han De from cultivation it would be fine. She couldn't even bring Xiao Lan into the conversation since she might have a part in Han De’s plans.

“Ehm. What about the fox girl you brought? I heard she is a beauty once she hides her ears?”

Seeing Long Xiu grasping straws, Han De relaxed a little. It’s not that he didn’t want a relationship, he just didn’t want the implications that a Xianxia world brought into the fold. Casual relationships weren’t a thing here. A relationship could only result in a marriage, or a grudge. He had Ning Bi too, he couldn’t even visit brothels. The risk of his incompetent lackeys leaking information was just too high. He was also concerned about how well Ning Bi and his mother got along.

It was already stressful to keep up his act, would he have to do it all day long if he was married? Even if it was a political marriage Han De felt it was all kinds of wrong to deceive his spouse in such a way.

“Her brother tried to feed my life force to a flower, I got away but my sword was ruined. She later tried to rob me.”

Light in Long Xiu’s eyes slowly disappeared. She was back to square one. Perhaps she had to execute one of her contingency plans after all. She didn’t want to make this decision lightly. After faintly saying “Okay dear.” She started leaving. Suddenly, one last hope appeared in her mind.

“Don’t you think Ning Bi would benefit greatly from the Starfall cultivation realm? A few days could change things a lot. I should prepare it for her...”

Han De had relaxed after he saw his mother gave up on the topic. Once she brought up the cultivation realm and Ning Bi, he froze.

‘Few days? Isn’t that like a few decades?! She might even surpass me by 4 or 5 big realms if she spent that time cultivating! How could I stay as her master if she returns as an Immortal Realm master?! Are you trying to kill me?!’

Han De exploded in full force.

“Absolutely not! Ning Bi’s talent is already great. There is no need to rush her. Why should she spend decades in a boring cultivation realm? Is there a need to rush her cultivation? Cultivation is important but it isn’t everything. She should be able to live her life! Mother, as her master I will not allow this. Please don’t mention it again.”

Long Xiu was taken aback after Han De’s forceful response. She realized she couldn’t pinpoint the reason for this explosive counter. Their relationship was that of a master and a disciple, from both sides. Perhaps taking in a disciple gave her son the perspective he needed? She was happy that Han De finally realized that cultivation wasn’t everything. Long Xiu’s mood improved greatly!

“That is good. Since she is your disciple you should be the one that makes those decisions. Good! I’m happy that you are taking good care of her! Well done!”

Han De didn’t dare to relax anymore. He thought her mood had improved a bit too fast.

He was right, although Long Xiu’s mood did improve, she was now even more confident with her contingency plans. With the perspective change from Han De, perhaps things wouldn’t be as forceful once one of the plans was in motion. Long Xiu didn’t delay things and left after hugging Han De once more.

Once she was gone Han De released the breath he was holding. He really needed to transition into a Hidden Expert soon. After that, he could find someone to marry. His standards weren’t high, as long as there was mutual love and trust it would be fine.

‘Otherwise mom might end up obtaining brides from who knows where…’

<Oh, I forgot to mention, little Mo will start concocting the pill after the last ingredient matures in a week. You should be able to take the Seven Luminaries Reminiscence pill within a month.>

<Also, your cousin sent a message. He is returning from that lower realm within a week. Apparently, he has a special gift for you. Wait, I wasn’t supposed to say that. Nevermind, just act like you didn’t now. Don’t forget to eat well!>

News about his cousin didn’t matter to Han De. The cousin in question was a variant of the Arrogant Young Master template. Him and cultivation idiot had a cordial relationship and they would not step on each other’s toes.

‘Little Mo will concoct the pill? Is that the same Transcendent idiot that didn’t say anything while I got drugged?!’

* * *

Xiao Ping, no, Ming Ping was sitting in the lotus position inside the ascendance chambers of the Ming palace. He had spent the last week consolidating his realm after he surpassed his tribulation. He was now a Nascent Soul expert.

He had access to unlimited cultivation ‘resources’ thanks to his father, the Ming Emperor. Through the amazing Crimson Lotus Scripture, he was able to reach a new height that he didn’t think was possible after his encounter with Han De all those years ago. He should be feeling joy, but inside he only felt rage.

Ming Palace wasn’t a good place for him. He had resources, but his father didn’t restrain his half-brothers. He was deceived, ridiculed, and plotted against ever since he came here. He nearly died the first few times. Once he killed one of his half-brothers, things got even worse. The ‘heirs’ realized their father wouldn’t protect them, just like he didn’t protect their new ‘brother’. A silent bloodbath was initiated once they realized this.

Ming Ping opened his eyes. He reveled in his newfound powers. As he released his aura a comfortable groan escaped from his lips. His spiritual sense was strengthened too. Even with all the formations in this room, he could still sense the 2 figures waiting outside, sitting in front of the door with their backs facing it.

He didn’t need to guess, those two were Ming Nui, his brother, and Zhang Cheng, his brother’s trusted servant. These two never ceased their attempts at getting close to him. Perhaps it was due to their cultivation being low, Ming Ping didn’t feel too guarded when he was near them. Although he didn’t trust them, he didn’t hate them either.

‘Ming Nui reminds me of the Emp- father. Among my half-brothers, he is the one that resembles him the most. Perhaps I can trust him, he is the youngest and the one with the lowest cultivation.’

Ming Ping opened the doors. Two teenagers in front of him stood up and clasped their hands.

“Big brother, you have succeeded at last! Congratulations, I knew you could do it.”

“Congratulations.”

Ming Ping, being a Nascent Soul expert, immediately knew there was something wrong. They were hiding something.

“I don’t like schemers, so you better speak!”

Ming Nui and Zhang Cheng looked at each other, both of them were startled by Ming Ping’s sudden change. Neither of them could respond, they could only open and close their mouths.

“Big brother, my apologies. We are not scheming anything… It’s just that… we....”

Ming Nui looked at Zhang Cheng, as if he tried to gain strength from him. Ming Ping wasn’t impatient, he knew these two trusted each other greatly. He also knew they couldn’t hide anything from him.

Zhang Cheng hesitantly continued Ming Nui’s words.

“We received new intelligence from… Starfall Mountain…”

Ming Ping’s eyes narrowed, he stayed silent but his killing intent was leaking. Even if he did consolidate his realm, he was still a rookie in the Nascent Soul realm. It would take him some time to get used to his powers.

Zhang Cheng looked like he didn’t dare delay it any longer.

“Intelligence says, Xiao Lan formed a core, and became a Starfall Mountain elder…”

Ming Ping’s already pale face somehow became even whiter. He stormed away, leaving the two teenagers behind. After a few minutes, teenagers looked at each other, both of them had faint smiles on their faces.

In the palace courtyard, Ming Emperor received a report about these events 5 minutes later. Ming Ping was the most important person for him and he was always informed of matters related to his son within minutes.

‘Good. This kid used the information at the right moment after waiting for so long. He is getting better.’

Ming Emperor looked at the clouds above him. His face was expressionless, but those who knew him would know that right now, he was content.

‘At least 70 years would be saved now. A good push at the right moment might even achieve 100 years…’

While Ming Emperor was peacefully planning his advancement, an intelligence agent arrived without making any sound and placed a sealed envelope in front of him. During his rest, no one would dare disturb the Emperor unless it was news about Ming Ping, or something else equally vital. Emperor frowned after reading the news.

‘Possible Transcendent expert massacred unknown group at Royal Maw. Traces of pure Fire Qi. It couldn’t be a weak point. A natural aperture? Those that died didn’t have low cultivations either, otherwise there wouldn’t be any traces left. Yet another hidden entity.’

This was the perfect opportunity for the Emperor to see the power of the Blazing Sun hidden family, and how deep they collaborated with Starfall Mountain. He decided to keep watching before giving a helping hand to these unknown interlopers.

* * *

Han De lazily walked around inside his estate for a few hours after his mother left. He needed to empty his mind to figure out what he could do.

‘The most pressing matter is the Crimson Terror. To give, or not to give. Ning Bi already saw it, even if her comprehension was 0 she could still understand that it is something immensely beneficial to her.’

‘If I don’t give it to her then in the future she might see that as me holding her back, which would be the truth. Depending on our relationship at that time, things might get complicated.’

‘If I give it to her then her cultivation will soar. With her roots and her talent she’ll be able to absorb an absurd amount of it every time. She doesn’t need to worry about her foundation being unstable with her cheat-level spiritual roots.’

‘At most I can use her martial arts as an angle and prevent her from chugging the entire flower. I guess that is the best case’

Han De sighed. He needed to increase his own cultivation. Unfortunately, even if he somehow got auto-cultivation from the system, he was still 100% certain that Ning Bi would be able to surpass him in a short amount of time. Han De had thought of a wide variety of nightmare scenarios. He imagined Ning Bi explaining events with her excited voice.

‘ “Master! Master look! This random weed I pulled was actually a hundred million years old divine fire ginseng!” ‘

‘ “Master! Master look! This little pebble that got stuck on my shoe was actually a primordial void essence crystal that survived the collapse of the previous billion cycles! What are the odds?!” ’

Han De gave another weary sigh. He remembered the look in the cockroach's lifeless eyes. The image kept popping up in his mind at the oddest times. Han De didn’t give in to frustration and tried to move on.

‘Let someone else do it. Right…’

‘Sure, I can re-educate my lackeys and improve their cultivation and martial arts methods. That’s probably the best bang for the buck long term with my current profound points. After that, I should focus on my cultivation. Ning Bi doesn’t need anything, she already has that OP flower...’

[Quest: First Step]
[Difficulty Level: G]
[Status: Issued]

[Summary: Your extremely talented disciple has stumbled on her first bottleneck and cannot make progress inside the sect’s black pagoda. As her master, you must carefully guide and nurture her. Help Ning Bi overcome her first bottleneck!]

[Requirements: Assist Ning Bi with surpassing her limits by helping her reach higher floors of the black pagoda.]
[Time Remaining: 7 days]
[Success: 100 Profound Points]

[Notes: Bonus Profound Points will be issued depending on the maximum floor Ning Bi can reach.]

‘This… is… surprisingly reasonable?! No fail conditions?! I won’t die if this quest fails?!’

Han De looked at the System pop up. He read it over and over again, he even asked the System (no response).

‘It really seems like this is a no loss situation for me. Is the System embarrassed about the Crystalized Tenacity?’

'Still, issuing a quest for a bottleneck? Isn't that a bit too biased? Will there be a quest for getting a new weapon? No, I already ordered 5 for the next 3 realms, maybe I should've waited for a quest.'

After getting a piece of rare good news, Han De was in a better mood. There were still 7 whole days, he could afford to relax. With that in mind, he went directly to Peng.

* * *

“These are all of the cultivation and martial arts methods?”

“Yes, Elder De.”

Peng had worked extra hard in these last few days. He had returned to the sect on his own without waiting for the spiritual boat and had already collected nearly everyone’s cultivation information.

“Total of 21 cultivation methods across thousands of people?”

“Yes, Elder De. Our cultivation methods come from the Han family, not Starfall Mountain. There are probably some minute differences among the Nascent Soul experts, but any of the lower realms should be following their methods to the letter. Reduction in different cultivation methods was one of the first orders that the family head gave.”

Han De nodded. Of the 21 methods, he also saw his own Starfall Scripture. Unfortunately only 6 cultivators used it, and none of them were in the Nascent Soul realm. Light element roots were pretty rare, to begin with. It was highly possible that those 6 guys had some blood connection with the family.

He was happy cultivation methods were at least somewhat manageable. Unfortunately, 2000-something experts that were directly under him right now, were using nearly 500 martial arts methods.

‘It is also evenly spread. There isn’t a method that is a minority compared to others. These are only their primary methods too, they probably have many supplementary methods. It is possible that there may be some overlap between them, but... Nope, no way I can afford to even learn these 500 methods.’

Han De instructed Peng not to collect martial arts methods from now on.

‘I have 111 Profound Points left, I could probably master about 4 or 5 of the most popular ones and leave the rest for later. That quest was really timely! I guess I better not ignore it…’

34. Just Deserts

Han De asked Peng about the fox family's situation.

"We are knocking them out as they regain their consciousness to prevent them from talking, just as you ordered! Elder De!"

"I-I see…"

'If they are just knocking them out, their condition shouldn't be too bad, right? One of them is a dragon after all, aren't their bodies strong?'

Han De convinced himself that their situation shouldn't be too grotesque and decided to gloat*cough* pay them a visit. It was important for his Arrogant Young Master character!

With Peng leading the way, Han De soon arrived at a dark dungeon. He had come to a different dungeon when he visited the apprentice. This one had a higher ceiling and it looked more like a giant cavern. It made sense that a dragon would require a bigger space.

Han De saw the dragon in its true form at the end of the large opening. Underneath it was the glowing runes and items. Evidently a strong restraining formation. Around the unconscious dragon was 20 or so Nascent Soul experts.

As Han De got closer, he also noticed an unconscious fox on the left. And a beautiful woman sitting in the lotus position on the right. Both had restraining formations underneath them, with exceptionally dense and powerful ones under the fox woman. All three were very close to each other. They could see each other and hear each other if they even whispered.

Han De gave a mental +1 to his lackeys. He didn't forget how he almost became a fertilizer just a few days ago. This treatment was pretty good for psychological pressure.

Han De ordered experts to wake them up. As they came to their senses, both immediately covered in a pathetic pose. The dragon was openly shivering, the fox was drooling, both went through this countless times in the last 24 hours and they no longer paid any attention to their 'dignity'. Han De spoke loudly.

"You've done a good job, they are not physically damaged. Well done!"

Hearing Han De's voice, both fox and the dragon slowly opened their eyes. Han De was surprised that a day could inflict so much psychological damage to these two, but considering the tendencies of these fighting maniacs, it was more surprising that he was getting surprised at this point.

After a few moments of silence, both the fox and the dragon regained some of their composure. Han De was purposefully ignoring the fox woman. She was a bit too beautiful normally and her fox ears and fox tails were rather distracting. Han De removed his extensively damaged sword from his storage ring and stabbed it into the stone ground.

"Peng, this sword is ruined don't you think? What would be the market price of this thing? I never bothered to learn. Give me an estimate based on average small sect size."

"With its solid Star Iron body, Weathered Iron-Bark handle, and the Crystal Lotus core, its materials alone are worth more than 2.4 average small sects. Elder Xiang forged this sword over the course of 5 months and used numerous secret techniques during the process. A pristine version is worth no less than 10 average small sects."

Even Han De was surprised at the number.

'10 sects? I thought it was only 2 or 3? Is this accurate? Is he just playing his role?! Shit, 5 months?! I forgot about that…'

"Good. Thank you Peng. Well done. How much do you think the scales and the skin of this dragon are worth?"

Peng looked all over the dragon's body. He didn't want to make a mistake with his valuation. As he looked at the dragon from head to tail, the dragon felt his blood go cold. Within a few moments, Peng was done with a rough calculation.

"Its scales, leather, meat, bones, and other materials should be worth about 0.6 sects conservatively."

Han De nodded, a dragon was indeed valuable, but it seemed it wasn't as valuable as he thought. Perhaps the problem was this dragon itself. Han De was too lazy to think about it.

"Alright, since its body is barely above half a sect, we should just farm it, rather than turn it directly into money. From now on you will remove all of its scales one by one. Collect them and keep a record of them. Once all of his scales are removed, heal it, and don't forget to record the cost of the medicine used for healing it. Collect the scales again once they regrow naturally. You'll gather scales until the sales price of them reaches 10 times the cost of this sword, 100 sects in other words. Oh, don't forget to account for the drop in sales price after flooding the market with these scales."

Han De nodded for a while thinking things over. Then shook his head.

"No, no, still not enough. I guess we can use it as a sparring partner for you guys as you wait for its scales to grow back."

The dragon couldn't stand it anymore and soiled itself. According to dragon standards, he became an adult not too long ago. This situation was too much for him. Han De ignored that and looked at the fox.

"Since this thing doesn't have cultivation you probably can't collect its leather without killing it, right?"

"Y-Yes, Elder De. There isn't really anything valuable with it right now. It seems it had lost its cultivation long ago and there is no way to restore it."

Han De nodded while muttering "I see, I see". He finally turned towards the fox woman. Unlike the two, she was still composed. Still, Han De thought he saw a tinge of anger in her eyes. This anger probably had to do with her pride rather than his treatment of the dragon. Han De didn't really care.

"Peng, fox tribe is one of the elusive ones isn't it?"

"Y-Yes, Elder De. There is no way to contact them, we don't know their numbers, we don't know where they live. Their strength should be close to a large sect. They also have no known allies."

Han De got the gist of the situation. As a group, this fox tribe wasn't a threat as he had feared. Their elusive nature was both a blessing and a curse for them. They probably had no idea where this fox woman and her brother had gone to.

At first, Han De didn't want to offend them even if they were a small group. Unfortunately, things had gone out of hand, he reckoned if he had released them instead of capturing them, they probably would've clashed with him in the future. This woman was an Immortal Realm expert. If he was soft, she could only interpret that as him being weak.

Han De thought about the order he just gave. He didn't know why he was giving such a cruel torture order. Upon hearing it even the usually enthusiastic look that the Nascent Soul experts had turned blank. It was true that he almost died and escaped with a significant loss. A loss that might cost him his life in the future. Was it because of that, or was he just punishing them for everything he had experienced in this world?

Han De felt his morality was getting eroded more and more ever since he came to this world. Cultivation idiot's memories were one thing, they had enough violence, but he was also under constant risk of losing his life.

Han De turned once again to the fox.

"Since this thing was cultivating Fire Qi, let's give it fire. You will burn its fur completely without interfering with it. Once the flames are out by themselves and not a single hair is left on it, you will heal it with medicines. After its fur regrows naturally you will do the same thing over and over again. Deduct the expense of the medicine from the dragon scale account as well."

Han De turned towards the woman.

"This woman did threaten me twice, and even tried to rob me. Still, she didn't act. Let's be merciful to her. Since her cultivation is sealed, she needs nutritious food otherwise her cultivation will suffer. Give her the scraps from one of the spiritual beast rearing farms. She is a fox, we should provide her with familiar meals. Don't give her too much though, she is a lady, we don't want to affect her figure."

Nascent Soul elders turned solemn. This was worse than death for a cultivator. Cultivation takes time, and it takes time to disappear as well. This fox woman will have to watch her cultivation decline for many centuries while being unable to do anything about it.

"Also, if you encounter any more fox people, capture them or drive them out. They are no longer welcome anywhere near the Starfall Mountain or the Han family."

Although there was a chance that a beastgirl enthusiast 21st-century weeb might transmigrate or reincarnate here in this world, Han De didn't think chances of it would be too high. The rest of the population probably wouldn't care, and the fox tribe itself wouldn't retaliate being all elusive.

Han De felt nauseous. However, somehow he couldn't stop himself. It was as if he had pulled the trigger and the bullet had already left the gun. It was impossible to stop. Every time he tried he ended up wanting to make things even worse.

As he was about to turn around and leave, the fox woman suddenly kowtowed to the ground and started speaking.

"Young master! I know this is too late. But please, have mercy. My brother and his servant are foolish. You have every right to exact your vengeance. I was foolish as well. I had eyes but failed to see the Mt. Tai. Our fox tribe is elusive but we have a long history. Please! Young Master! Allow us to compensate you for your losses. Although our cultivations are low, our status is quite high in the tribe. You will not make a loss!"

Seeing a mighty Immortal Realm cultivator beg for her and her brother's life was a heavy sight to bear. Han De could see some Nascent Soul experts nodding at each other as if they were enlightened, while the rest had solemn expressions. He could feel the fox and the dragon was bowing their heads in shame.

Han De knew he was about to cross a line, perhaps he already did but had no idea.

He knew how cunning the foxes were. Even on Earth, they could feign death or injuries to distract their pursuers. These demon foxes were also known for their cunning. The cynical side of Han De was already thinking about the perfect timing of her plea. She knew any bargaining chip she brought out early would be useless, so why wouldn't she just wait? Honor? Dignity? Who cares about them if you are dead?! Han De had read enough Xianxia to know that even the most righteous cultivator could abandon their principles if the situation was dire enough.

Han De was alone in this world. The only thing he had for his name was the shitty system that kept ignoring him. Before the death of the cockroach he had thought about which lines should he, would he, could he cross. Violence was constant. Even his own family wouldn't spare him if they realized that the cultivation idiot was dead and this Han De was an imposter.

The only conclusion Han De could reach was that he didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to know about it, or hear about it. He didn't want to see it.

"Fine. Peng, put previous orders on hold, try to send a message to the fox tribe and negotiate from the starting point of 1000 sects. Handle it. I can't bother with this anymore."

Han De left with swift steps. Everyone in the dungeon had blank expressions. Fox woman was still kowtowing. Her mind was racing, was she successful? Was it a ploy? She actually did calculate the best timing for her plea, but seeing how ruthless Han De really was, she remembered the stories of the Han family head. By the time she kowtowed, her words were genuine. But now, witnessing how fast Han De came to a decision, doubt filled her.

'Was he always going to say that? Did I play myself?'

Fox woman went through the events in her mind. She realized Han De saw through her and purposefully steered the events towards this direction. She, a proud fox, was conned by a human! She felt angry, but at the same time, she didn't dare show it. What would've happened if she hadn't begged? She didn't want to know the answer to that.

Few experts had already seen through the charade and wore smug expressions. They couldn't wait and started boasting to others with voice transmissions as soon as Han De left.

Meanwhile, Han De was feeling a huge weight was finally off his shoulders.

'The important thing is to act like an Arrogant Young Master. Not become one. If there is danger, I can just cripple or kill culprits. Wait, no, no. Have them crippled or killed. Yep, much better. There is no point in me giving violent torture orders. Keep it simple, keep it safe.'

* * *

Han De returned to his humble abode and started a draft for his goon re-education program. As he was working he kept thinking that he missed something important. He couldn't figure out what it was, but the feeling was definitely there. It kept bothering him. He frequently found himself thinking about his encounter with his mother.

'Conversation with mom was normal. Or it was as normal as it could be… What did I miss?'

He noticed Ning Bi was coming towards him and shelved this train of thought for now. Whatever it was, since he couldn't remember it with his cultivator memory, it was probably unimportant.

Ning Bi bowed respectfully as always. Han De nodded at her. Although he had used plenty of Profound Expert impressions on Ning Bi, this was the first time he was using Hidden Expert A. So far it wasn't that different!

"Master, I reached the 7th floor without using my skill. But now, I can't seem to be able to overcome this floor. I-I even tried with my Breach skill, but I couldn't…"

Han De didn't say anything. Inside he was disturbed.

'Shit, I was going to say use your OP skill. How could you fail even while using that?'

Han De didn't know what was going on. He tried to remember his setup for the pagoda. He had done the settings haphazardly. There were too many options and copy-paste wasn't available. He just wanted it to be impossible, how could he know the System would issue a quest about it?

'7th floor should be minor realm + 2 for her. She is at the 7th stage of the Qi Condensation realm now, so the mobs are at the 9th stage. Hmm, back then she was at the 5th stage, mobs were at the 7th stage. If their skill also increase according to their cultivation then higher realms would naturally encounter more difficulties.'

'From memory, the 8th floor should be minor realm +3, next one +4. The 13th floor should be +8 minor realms. Which means, for her current cultivation it would be mid-stage Foundation Establishment.'

Han De used all his will to prevent himself from whistling.

'Damn, what bullshit setup is that. So if I enter the pagoda now, the 13th floor for me would be Unity realm initial level?! Not Nascent Soul, not Spirit Origin, but jumps directly to Unity realm?! I highly doubt it would count half-step stages…'

Han De was speechless, but he recovered quickly.

'Well, it was designed for Qi Condensation anyway. Why would a Core Formation expert enter the pagoda? That's just ridiculous, no self-respecting expert would do such a thing.'

"I-I saw a few Core Formation and Nascent Soul elders enter the pagoda. They said as your cultivation increases the pagoda's difficulty would also… increase…"

35. Anomalies

"I-I saw a few Core Formation and Nascent Soul elders enter the pagoda. They said as your cultivation increases the pagoda's difficulty would also… increase…"

Han De didn't know how to respond to that. Core Formation and Nascent Soul elders going into the pagoda? Are they not worried about losing face?!

'The entertainment situation is worse than I thought. I guess introducing c-sports wouldn't be such a bad idea after all…'

During his 4 hours long drug-fueled discussion with Tan Renshu, Han De had coined the term 'c-sports'. Saying 'competitive pill making' every time was somewhat goofy, he also couldn't just call it sports since that had mortal connotations. Han De recognized the importance of correct branding and decisively chose C-Sports. He also gave some branding examples to Tan Renshu so he could utilize it for other products as well. Marketing was unexpectedly primitive in this world.

'Ah, nevermind about that. What to do with Ning Bi…'

'I can't even learn her Cosmic Destruction, so improving on that is impossible. Increasing her cultivation will only make things worse. She might even regress instead of making progress. Wait.'

Han De's expression turned sour. His Hidden Expert A character was still in early access, he didn't even realize he was leaking his mood.

'System? You wouldn't subtract Profound Points if Ning Bi regressed, would you? You wouldn't be that cruel, no, I don't believe it. Besides, it would be impossible for Profound Points to go into negatives, right? System? F#$%! SYSTEM!?!'

Naturally, there was no response.

The entire situation was iffy to begin with. The quest itself was too out of character for the System. No failure conditions? Bonus for extra floors? Too reasonable, too generous. Han De was afraid to think about what would happen if his Profound Points really did go into negatives. Would the System leave? Would he receive a debt notice? Would he have to pay daily interest as long as his points were in negatives?

'Shit. Shit. Shit. Damn. What to do, what to do.'

'A new weapon might improve things but it probably won't be ready for some time, I should get an update from Elder Xiang.'

'Honestly, from past experiences, I get the feeling that even if I don't do anything she probably would end up getting some power-up out of nowhere.'

Han De thought about it for a while. His sample size was still just one. Betting everything based on a single instance was way too risky for his tastes.

'I should just give her some generic bullshit right now then hurry Elder Xiang to finish one of the warglaives. She can reach the 7th floor with her crappy ceremonial weapons. Even a rush job star iron warglaives would be a good upgrade for her. Then, at worst, I can just let her rest for the remaining days to prevent a regression.'

Han De held back his sigh then looked at Ning Bi.

"Reaching the 7th floor without your Breach skill means your foundation has a good start. You created your Cosmic Destruction art and your Breach skill at the same time. They are meant to be used together. From now on you should spend equal time training with and without Breach."

"Breach allows you to perceive your surroundings. But do you know what you are perceiving? Is it light? Spiritual energies? Or something else?"

Han De stared at Ning Bi. He switched into Profound Expert once again. Hidden and Profound Experts had a lot of overlap anyway, the important thing was to use the right tool for the job.

"When you look at me, what do you think you are seeing?"

After a momentary pause, Han De closed his eyes for increased effect.

"Your eyes can only perceive light. Light is made out of countless small particles. As they travel the void their path can be bent or distorted."

Han De raised his hand and used his Heaven Defying Tyrannical Scripture to create visual distortions. He could use his martial art to bend the path of light. Unfortunately, this effect was mostly useless. If he practiced enough he might be able to become invisible, but he could only influence photons. He couldn't do anything about his spiritual energy.

Ning Bi watched and listened to her master as optical distortions around his hand kept changing. In front of her master, a single chrysanthemum flower bloomed then disappeared without a trace after a few seconds. If she wasn't watching everything so intently she would've thought she imagined it.

"What do you perceive when you close your eyes?"

Han De slowly and dramatically opened his eyes, then looked at Ning Bi.

"Free your mind."

'Hopefully, this act will keep her busy until her weapons arrive…'

* * *

The next morning Han De went over his drafts. He was deeply concerned about the events he encountered ever since he came to this world. One commonality in all of them was that Han De himself was always in a reactive position. It felt as if he didn't have any control over his life. He felt that this re-education might be a good opportunity to try something different.

Truthfully, he didn't have high hopes for his lackeys. As long as they could be used for intelligence gathering and some other simple tasks without causing side effects he would consider it a success.

He decided to delay the improvements in the cultivation methods. Using any amount of Profound Points was a risky endeavor right now. His buffer of 111 points was already too close for comfort. Han De made a mental note to keep a sizable amount of points to prevent future accidents. Only in a true emergency would he deplete his reserves.

'Alright, at least initially, this is a good start. It covers the basics. Obviously, re-education has to be an ongoing effort. Rome wasn't built in a day.'

Han De burned all of his drafts. He didn't want anyone to see the terms MC or Xianxia on his notes. He had also used the Latin alphabet instead of the Chinese characters. Even if the risk of leaking this draft was nearly non-existent he still wasn't going to take the risk of exposing himself as a transmigrator.

'If I do get exposed someday, my best option would be to pose as a reincarnator. Maybe I should start dropping some hints about that to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Actually, I could use Seven Luminaries Reminiscence as a cover and pretend that I recovered some memories from my past lives or something. That might work?'

He made a mental note about exploring the possibilities. This plan was feasible as long as no one could prove his soul was different than the cultivation idiot's.

Han De started writing on a new scroll. This time he used a brush instead of a quill and used Chinese characters. He wasn't sure if they were actually the Chinese characters of Earth, but they looked pretty similar to him. After a satisfied nod, he contacted his lead lackey.

<Peng.>

<Yes, Elder De.>

<Go to my father and tell him to give Elder Xiang access to the Starfall cultivation realm. He needs to finish both Ning Bi's and my weapons urgently. I left specifications for my weapons in the main courtyard, take it to Elder Xiang. He should already have specifications for Ning Bi's weapons. He can use any and all materials he desires. Go.>

<Yes! Elder De!>

Han De had asked for 5 swords. His previous sword could be called balanced. It wasn't focused on speed or combat. Now he asked for one sword designed entirely for speed, one for combat, and a balanced one like his previous one. The last two were speed and combat focused swords for the Nascent Soul realm. They weren't suitable for Core Formation experts, but at the right time, they could serve as trump cards. A burst of speed from a speed-focused Nascent Soul sword could save Han De's life, even if it wasn't sustainable.

'With the equipment required for forging, the time dilation effect of the cultivation realm would lose some of its effectiveness. He should still be able to finish everything in a week. The first set of warglaives should be done within a day.'

Han De sighed with a smile and looked up at the clear skies.

'Feels good to be filthy rich. The cost of operating that cultivation realm for forging should be a hundred times higher than the total cost of the weapons. Truly disgusting!'

* * *

Ning Bi was alone in her chambers. She had spent all night perceiving her surroundings after her master's lecture. She tried to understand more about this skill of hers. It was difficult to describe, difficult to define. She didn't know how she was using it, but she was somehow using it.

After a while, she felt shackled. It was as if something was silently inhibiting her progress. Restraining her from taking that last step to gain a new understanding.

Ning Bi slowly went through her teacher's words once again. Suddenly, her body jolted. Her posture changed. If her eyes were open right now, they would emit a certain glow that the cultivation idiot would recognize immediately.

* * *

After lazing around for a few hours while waiting for his lackeys to assemble, Han De finally proceeded towards the lackey's buildings. Being fighting maniacs, they already had a large open space that they used for sparring and training. 2000 something lackeys were intently waiting for him. They were hand-selected by his mother and were fiercely loyal to him.

The cultivation idiot never really paid attention to the people that were assigned to him. He would usually cultivate, and on his rare outings, he would only take Peng and a few others with him. Nearly all of his lackeys stayed on Han family estate. This was the first time all of them were gathered inside the sect.

Han De looked around. He realized he didn't bring a blackboard with him, and fighting maniacs obviously wouldn't have one. Although he had no fantasies about acting like a teacher, he still needed something to draw on to illustrate his points. After thinking for a while, he removed the absurdly large sheet of spiritual iron he got from the apprentice and embedded it halfway to the ground. Even with half of it inside the ground, its height was still 3 times higher than Han De.

"Alright you primitive screwheads listen up!"

"From now on, you will forget everything that you know. You will follow everything I say to the letter. No more, no less. I will not tolerate any excuses!"

"Everything you learn here will be classified. Do not mention anything you are about to hear to anyone else. The only exceptions will be the family head and the sect leader. If anyone else tries to dig around, just beat them and lock them up!"

"First. I will educate you on the existences that I call 'Anomalies'. I will introduce you to their common types, their living environments, and their behaviors in their natural habitats."

"Second. I will completely change the way you lot operate. Frankly, I am very disappointed with how you half-ass nearly everything. No more! I will teach you how to behave and how not to leave any loose ends."

"Third. Right now there are no crisis protocols in place. I will go over a few worst-case scenarios and give you some general outlines on what to do during a crisis. As time goes on more and more specific scenarios will be introduced."

"This lecture will be held every week. Every 4 weeks there will be an exam. Every 3 months there will be crisis drills. Attendance to all of that is mandatory."

"Those that fail to meet my expectations will wish that they were dead."

Han De looked at the experts. Most of them had a look of anticipation. Some had solemn faces, some were nervous. Seeing that no one had any questions, he finally started.

"Alright. First, what is an Anomaly? An Anomaly is…"

* * *

Since this was the first lecture Han De had covered many concepts. It took him more than 6 hours to go through everything he planned on his draft. Thankfully, his audience was made entirely out of cultivators. The lowest realm was the late-stage Foundation Establishment, and there were only a few dozen of them. No one had any trouble understanding the lecture.

Han De had specifically saved the questions to the last bit. These concepts were alien to them, it was better to let them have the whole picture before letting them ask questions.

"In the future, a database will be established for known Anomalies. We might have to eliminate those that have malicious intentions or contain them if elimination is not possible due to other reasons."

"The lecture is now over. We are moving to the questions & answers session. Anyone that has any questions just raise your hands."

A hesitant hand was raised near the front row. Han De gave him a nod and the Spirit Origin expert started asking his question.

"Elder De, these Anomalies… How rare are they?"

Han De nodded, he expected such a question.

"About their rareness, right now I do not know. There are varying factors here that we need to verify first. Just in the last 2 months alone, I have encountered 3."

Han De could sense quite a few voice transmissions started upon this answer. He didn't mind since everyone here could follow a few different conversations concurrently with perfect clarity if they wanted. He continued.

"Codename Cockroach. Was encountered at the Brass Stallion city. A reincarnated type. He had memories from his previous life. How much, I have no idea. He used his previous knowledge to enter the hidden demonic sect by providing them with an advanced method of external cultivation using soulless bodies. He was too dangerous to be kept alive, as such I extinguished his soul."

"Real name Xiao Ping. An item and/or a cultivation method based type. Overcame insurmountable odds to become a genius of his sect. After I crippled him 10 years ago he was able to regain his cultivation through unknown methods. He is the son of the Ming Emperor and right now his cultivation probably surpasses mine."

"Third one will not be named. You better make sure you never piss off this entity. Ever. Less you know about it the better."

"These 3 anomalies came in contact with each other. Some Anomalies might have the ability to attract or repel others. More research is required on this subject."

"It is hard to interpret who might become an Anomaly by receiving the 'blessings of the heavens', so to speak. Heavens move in mysterious ways."

The Spirit Origin expert nodded and sat down. Han De chose a burly Nascent Soul expert on the back row.

"Elder De, can Anomalies appear in non-humans?"

"Excellent question. Most Anomalies are humans, but there are many types of Anomalies. Established demon tribes might have Anomalies. In fact, even a spider or an ant might become an Anomaly. However, these types should be extremely rare, if not impossible in our world."

Han De kept answering questions for a few hours more. By the time he was done stars were already shining brightly in the sky.

36. Expectation

The Han family was one of the oldest and strongest families of the south-eastern continent. They had no shortage of resources and groomed many talents from a young age. The training these talents went through was brutal. Only the most exceptional and the most loyal would survive. Survivors would be carefully nurtured by the family and experience explosive growth.

Serving the Han family young master was the greatest honor for these survivors. This meant that the family head personally trusted them to serve and protect the most important member of the family. Not even the guards of the family head had such a strict selection process.

Previously, their young master was mostly focused on cultivation and didn't give them many orders. The situation started to change about two months ago. Their young master gave out big missions that involved many experts in quick succession. Although the results were terrible, those that participated didn't miss the sequence of events that lead to Zhao family cleansing. These missions weren't simple.

Unknowingly, expectations started to build up. Then came the summons to all of the young master's people. Over two thousand experts, the most loyal of the Han family, was to report to him inside Starfall Mountain.

When they arrived they heard about the re-education initiative. Their puzzlement turned into shock as the lecture went on.

The concept of Anomalies was hard to believe at first. The specificity of the examples they heard was baffling. Complete restructuring of the way they operated gave them an ominous feeling. Finally, the crisis protocols that the young master introduced made their blood run cold.

These protocols involved contingency plans against many different parties. Traitors, netherworld demons, outer factions, internal factions, other realms, hidden organizations, the list went on and on. Most of the plans involved some form of calamity that befell the Starfall Mountain Sect and the Han family.

What if the traitors could gain control of the grand array and wipe out the Han faction? What if the continent bands together and try to wipe out the Han family? What if a Han family member betrays the family and assassinates the higher-ups? What if another Breach happens? What if Breach appears in the middle of the sect? When to fight? When to run? Where to run? How to run?

On the spot, their young master made comprehensive simulations of many more nightmare scenarios. The conclusion that everyone arrived was extremely bleak. Destruction was inevitable in almost every scenario.

If anyone else had come up with these stories they would've beaten them to death long ago. However, this was the Han family's young master. The fact that he was talking about taking precautions to such an extent was both eye-opening and extremely concerning. The ominous feeling they already had grew even stronger.

Many of these scenarios also included Anomalies to some extent. At first, they couldn't understand the reason why the young master was paying so much attention to Anomalies. Only after listening to the crisis protocols they realized the gravity of the situation.

All of the experts gathered around Old Peng after the Q&A session. None of them were willing to wait. Old Peng, being the de facto organizer of the group, quickly implemented Han De's restructuring instructions and sent large amounts of experts to gather intelligence about the potential Anomalies. They lacked the numbers, but they couldn't just sit by any longer.

One large group went to the Misty Mountains. These mountains held thousands of sects. Many of them were small, only a few could be considered mid-sized. Misty Mountains themselves might look small in a continental map, but in reality, they were huge. One of the reasons why Han De was so against 'shaving off' the Misty Mountains was its size. When compared to Earth, this mountain formation was larger than the continent of Asia.

By and large, this operation was many times worse than finding a needle in a haystack. However, Han De's lackeys were determined to search mountain by mountain, sect by sect, village by village.

* * *

Han De woke up energized. Yesterday's lecture was a refreshing experience for the current him. He had reasonable confidence that over time, his 'Extremely Incompetent' lackeys would upgrade to 'Very Incompetent'.

'Baby steps…'

Re-education of his lackeys also reminded Han De of the education standards of this world. Like ancient Earth, education here was a privilege. The cultivation idiot didn't have any knowledge of the mortal education standards, but Han De suspected literacy would be extremely low. Ning Bi was already incredibly lucky that her parents taught her how to read and write.

One could not cultivate if they couldn't read their cultivation method. There were probably some that got taught verbally, but unless they were heaven-defying talents there was no chance of them advancing.

In the cultivation world, nearly all education was handled by the sects. Unfortunately, a sect's first focus was power. They wouldn't teach anything unrelated to their cultivation methods. In some cases, they wouldn't even teach the related knowledge too. Cultivators were extremely selfish, they wouldn't easily share their experience. Knowledge was power. Literally.

Han De was raised in a modern society that valued education. He didn't care about the pettiness of the cultivation world. If Ning Bi could learn some general knowledge, his life would only be easier in the long run.

'It's also never a bad idea to gain favor points from Ning Bi!'

Han De started writing science education topics on a scroll. He only needed basic knowledge, just middle-school level was enough. What is fire, what is lightning, speed of sound, speed of light, gravity, magnetism, radioactivity, and so on.

'Should I convert Newton's laws into Han De's laws? That is in line with the arrogant young master persona, but it is a bit risky. Hmm, just calling it laws of motion is enough I guess.'

'Later I can move on to basic physics, chemistry, and biology. But… would they even be useful here?'

Han De was currently living in a magical supermassive world. The existence of spiritual energy messed things up. A lot.

'How do you even explain gravity in a supermassive world? How does it not collapse on itself? Is it hollow? If it is, does it even have a magnetic field? How could life evolve here otherwise?'

Han De always liked the concept of flat worlds and was disappointed that this world wasn't one of them. He always found supermassive worlds too sci-fi and genre-breaking. His own pet theory was a cultivator made Dyson-sphere that used the power of a star to power the unimaginably large formation inside it. The world outside was just matter that accumulated over billions of years. Too sci-fi!

'Never mind, let's keep things super basic…'

After a sigh, Han De kept writing science class topics that he remembered from his school days. He kept refining it over and over again and only after an hour he was satisfied. A bitter smile appeared on his face while looking at the list from start to finish.

'Even though I trimmed a lot it's still too much. This is basically a year-long private tutor work...'

Han De decisively chose to write everything down to a book and give it to Ning Bi instead. He would only do some basic demonstrations that would allow him to reinforce his Profound Teacher image.

'Let comprehension 8 figure it out.'

He spent the rest of the day writing and editing. By the end of it, he couldn't even be bothered with compiling it into a book and just stuffed everything into several scroll cases. Once Ning Bi was done with her quest he would give the scrolls to her at an appropriate time.

* * *

Iron Blood Sect founder had a habit of occasionally cultivating in a random cave. Before establishing his own sect in the Misty Mountains nearly a hundred years ago, he used to be a loose cultivator and frequently had to hide from his pursuers. Over time, he started enjoying the solitude and kept entering caves out of habit.

The white-haired man walked out of the cave. It took him more than a hundred years, but he had finally broken through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm. The Misty Mountains was big, but it also had many sects. With his advancement, his own Iron Blood Sect's place was now secure. No one would try to mess with them anymore! Once they had a 3rd Core Formation elder they would be unrivaled in their area!
Iron Blood founder slowly walked down the mountain. His cultivation was too low to notice the Treebeard and two Nascent Soul experts that were intently watching the Iron Blood Sect.

Nascent Soul realm experts were originally supposed to take one sect each and gather information about them while keeping a lookout for any Anomalies. Treebeard himself was supposed to watch five different sects since he was an Immortal Realm cultivator. Before entering the Misty Mountains their main group was already broken into subgroups, and those subgroups would eventually split up as they found targets.

Before they had a chance to split up they saw a boy in his mid-teens getting beaten up by another boy and his lackeys. Normally this absolutely common sight wouldn't catch their attention, but their vigilance was raised to absurd levels due to Han De's lecture. Before long, a similarly aged girl came out, said a few threatening words and dispersed the crowd. One of the Nascent Soul experts gasped.

"C-Could it be? Is she a childhood friend of the Anomaly?!"

Treebeard didn't say anything but his face was solemn. They kept watching. The girl carried the boy into a lonely wooden hut some distance away from the sect village. She selflessly tended to his wounds without saying a word. They could see the fire of determination inside the boy's eyes. Soon after the girl left, he picked up his spear and started practicing without minding his injuries. Experts watching from far, far away realized his simple-looking thrusts weren't actually simple. This was a profound technique!

"It really is as young master says. He is so weak but has a determined will. This Iron Blood Sect seems to practice fist methods, but this boy is practicing a profound spear technique. The girl fits the description of a supportive childhood friend."

Treebeard nodded. They weren't completely sure, but this boy fit the descriptions so well that it was eerie. They couldn't just observe and contain when needed. After carefully considering his next word, Treebeard spoke.

"Report."

Two Nascent Soul cultivators looked at each other. One of them had to go with Treebeard and report the news to the young master. With heavy expressions, they started playing rock paper scissors.

* * *

Han De woke up to a spiritual sense that kept buzzing outside his room. He looked at the System clock to see that it was only 9:48 AM. His first reaction was to start cursing to the person for waking him up this early, but he came to his senses before he did anything rash. Anyone that dared to disturb him like this would only do so if the situation was urgent. Han De donned his Profound Expert A act and contacted the spiritual sense.

<Peng.>

<Y-Young master, I deeply apologize for disturbing you, but a group returned and they say they have information on a potential Anomaly!>

Han De froze for a moment. He wasn't expecting a contact this soon. He calmed himself down and reminded himself that false positives would be numerous in the beginning. No one else could look at someone's status, there was only one System. Probably.

<You don't need to apologize. I instructed you to do this if there was an emergency. You have done well! Now, explain.>

Peng breathed a sigh of relief and explained the situation. Han De quickly met the group and debriefed the excited Nascent Soul expert and the silent Treebeard. The situation looked more promising than he first thought, so he decided to determine the validity of this MC himself. With Treebeard, he didn't need to worry about travel time. At most, it would take an hour. Having an Immortal Realm master around was really convenient.

* * *

Han De arrived at the same mountain peak overlooking the Iron Blood Sect.

'You know, I really thought these Misty Mountains would be a European alp style formation. They look like the Yellow Mountains of China instead. Maybe my expectations were wrong.'

Han De spotted the Iron Blood Sect. It was a few dozen buildings scattered on a mid-sized peak with tiny looking buildings around the base of it. Unfortunately, he wasn't a Nascent Soul expert yet and had to get closer to see anything. The System had a really short range for status checking too.

Thankfully with Treebeard, they could hide from the lower realm cultivators easily. The highest realm currently inside the sect was a Core Formation expert cultivating in seclusion. The potential MC was just an outer sect disciple that worked on menial tasks and slept in a rundown hut outside the sect. Conditions could hardly be more ideal.

As they got closer to the base of the mountain and the sect surrounding it, they saw the potential MC and the potential Childhood Friend A surrounded by an arrogant young master and his lackeys.

"Geng Shi, you really don't know immensity between heaven and ear-"

Han De quickly filtered the arrogant young master's voice. He really didn't want to hear any more of that bullshit. Especially from an amateur like this one. Just by looking at him he was able to spot numerous errors. Just awful.

He focused on the potential MC.

'Tattered robe. Defensive posture with an unyielding look in his eyes. Looks are above average, he probably would look dashing enough with some grooming and proper clothes. His posture with the spear isn't anything special, but it shouldn't be known by an amateur in his mid-teens. Either he has exceptional talent, or someone taught him. He doesn't seem to have an item on him, but he still might have a guiding grandpa/loli…'

'It really fits. The girl behind him looks concerned, but there seems to be deep confidence inside. Is there an unspoken trust between them? Maybe.'

Han De nodded to himself. A textbook generic MC was waiting for his scheduled beating so he could earn his inevitable bullshit power-up. Han De decided to watch for now. Once the potential MC got beaten to a pulp he could get near and do a status check.

'If the girl gets captured right now and this boy turns out to be an MC, I could offer him my help as a Mysterious Expert to get on the good side of him early on.'

Han De watched as the potential MC heroically struggled against his five opponents. He valiantly tried but he was no match to even one of them, let alone five. Surprisingly, the girl didn't get captured. The arrogant young master of this sect really did have some intentions, but he left her alone after she stared at him for a few seconds.

'Tsk. What an amateu- Wait, what am I even thinking?'

Han De was baffled by his own thought process. He thought maybe he had worked on his Arrogant Young Master act a little too much.

Just like yesterday, the girl carried the boy to his remote wooden hut and left after tending to his wounds. Although Han De didn't have any concealment techniques, the difference in cultivation was too huge and he could rely on his superior senses to get close to the potential MC without getting noticed. The guy was barely conscious anyway...

[Name: Geng Shi]
[Race: Human (100%)]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 15]

[Cultivation: Qi Condensation (3/13) (85.81%)]
[Constitution: None]
[Bloodline: None]
[Roots: Metal (31%)]

[Potential Points (Total: 16)]
-------------------------------------------
[Will: 5]
[Talent: 4]
[Comprehension: 3]
[Luck: 4]

[Cultivation Methods]
-------------------------------------------
[Iron Blood (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Beginner (2/4)]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (3/13)]

[Martial Arts Methods]
-------------------------------------------
[Basic Spear (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Beginner (2/5)]

[Indestructible Spear (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Beginner (1/8)]

[Fate]
Cannon fodder

[Notes]
Cannot be accepted as a disciple.

37. Interference

[Name: Geng Shi]
[Race: Human (100%)]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 15]

[Cultivation: Qi Condensation (3/13) (85.81%)]
[Constitution: None]
[Bloodline: None]
[Roots: Metal (31%)]

[Potential Points (Total: 16)]
-------------------------------------------
[Will: 5]
[Talent: 4]
[Comprehension: 3]
[Luck: 4]

[Cultivation Methods]
-------------------------------------------
[Iron Blood (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Beginner (2/4)]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (3/13)]

[Martial Arts Methods]
-------------------------------------------
[Basic Spear (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Beginner (2/5)]

[Indestructible Spear (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Beginner (1/8)]

[Fate]
Cannon fodder

[Notes]
Cannot be accepted as a disciple.

Han De was speechless.

‘After all that build-up this is what I get? He is only a single point above the best Starfall Mountain disciple...’

Han De was both happy and disappointed at the same time. Unfortunately, he couldn’t scam this guy into becoming his disciple. But fortunately, this guy wasn’t a timebomb waiting to blow up at random. Han De decided to count his blessings and leave. As he was leaving he froze. His mind started racing.

‘Oh no. Could it be that he has a heaven-defying item that shows the wrong status to the System? Or maybe his grandpa/loli is capable of providing fake information? Something that can affect the System?!’

Han De stood still in the same spot and kept thinking of different possibilities. His entire body was stiff, his expression was really sour.

‘No, no, no. No. Don’t panic. Not even my mother could notice the system. If this guy has an item or a helper that can fool the system then even 10 Transcendent experts wouldn’t be able to kill him anyway. Just relax and think things through...’

Han De thought about the Potential Points. So far, he had only encountered two people with more than 30 Potential Points. He had scammed the first and killed the second. This guy with his 16 points was the 3rd highest so far. The majority of the Starfall Mountain disciples were around 8-9 points. The worst he had seen was at 6, and the best one was at 15 points.

‘Perhaps he is not a full MC, but a minor MC instead?’

Han De felt uncomfortable about the situation and decided to do some quick field research. He summoned Treebeard to his side as a precaution and found some ordinary outer sect disciples that were carrying water as training.

[Potential Points (Total: 2)]
-------------------------------------------
[Will: 0]
[Talent: 1]
[Comprehension: 1]
[Luck: 0]

[Fate]
-

[Potential Points (Total: 1)]
-------------------------------------------
[Will: 0]
[Talent: 1]
[Comprehension: 0]
[Luck: 0]

[Fate]
-

[Potential Points (Total: 3)]
-------------------------------------------
[Will: 1]
[Talent: 1]
[Comprehension: 1]
[Luck: 0]

[Fate]
-

Han De didn’t care about his image and whistled away.

‘System, are you sure? Are you really saying that guy in the middle has 0 comprehension? How is he even still alive?!’

Han De checked the total potential points of all the ordinary disciples he could find in the area. 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 3, 1, 1, 1, 2… After gathering this baffling data, he decided not to risk detection and moved away from the disciples of the Iron Blood sect. He needed to gather his thoughts and try to analyze his findings.

‘They definitely weren’t puppets. If something was amiss Treebeard would’ve definitely said something. Compared to these people, that Geng Shi really looks like an MC.’

‘I guess they are called Potential Points for a reason. I can’t compare them to ability scores in RPGs.’

Han De realized his view of this world was genuinely skewed. It didn’t take long to realize that the culprit was the System itself. It had absurdly high expectations for everything. Han De couldn’t even get angry, he didn’t even know what the System was. Was it sentient? Was it a program? He had no idea. Getting angry at it served no purpose.

‘This means I can’t just ignore someone just because their System designated fate is cannon fodder. Actually, now that I think about it, aside from Ning Bi, Cockroach, and my own fate, I haven’t seen anything other than cannon fodder...’

After thinking about it for a while, Han De reached a conclusion. Since the System didn’t provide any help, all he could do was to gather more data by himself.

‘Actually, this is quite good. This minor MC is disillusioned and angry. I’ll just invite him to the Starfall Mountain and closely monitor him. Once he gains enough power and returns for his revenge, I can get a rough idea of his growth curve and use that as a base for defining proper power levels.’

Han De didn’t restrain his smile. Things were really easy when he didn’t have to worry about his arrogant young master reputation. He made a mental note to increase the speed of his Hidden Expert transition.

Treebeard and the Nascent Soul experts had no idea what Han De was thinking. They watched as Han De kept sneaking up on the disciples then leave after staring at them for a few seconds. They could tell that their young master was somehow detecting something they couldn’t. Was it the smell? Perhaps Anomalies had a special smell?

Han De didn’t bother explaining his behavior. In Xianxia stories hidden experts had their own peculiarities and they also usually didn’t explain anything. This was a win-win situation for him. He instructed them to wait and went in the direction that the girl disappeared.

‘Motivation wise, this girl is the key. I can just covertly take her away and let her live a normal life. Her talent is probably as miserable as others’ anyway. The minor MC will think she is suffering in the sect and his character arc won’t be disturbed. Once he gets his revenge I can reveal her to him. As long as she stays safe this minor MC won’t be able to turn on me in the future. He might even feel like he owes me a debt of gratitude...’

As Han De was displaying his trademarked creepy smile, he finally spotted the Childhood Friend A from a distance. The girl was standing alone on a cliff facing yet another mountain. Her entire body was covered with sweat. She leaned on her spear as she tried to regulate her breathing.

Han De sent his spiritual sense to her. He knew that this girl was at the low-stages of the Qi Condensation realm and couldn’t detect anything. He realized the girl was actually mumbling to herself.

“...left for auction 3 months ago. As long as I act carefully Shen Xing won’t be able to steal my roots this time.”

The girl sighed and looked at the sky. Her face was expressionless.

“In a year, Long Xiu will destroy Starfall Mountain after going crazy. Ming and Sun dynasties will collapse on their own. Silent Silhouette Sect should be close to making their move, even just looking at the Red Stone Basin is practically a suicide. I'll need to leave soon. Where to go...”

The girl kept watching the clouds without saying another word.

Han De’s mind went blank after hearing her mumbling. He slowly retracted his spiritual sense. Thankfully he hadn’t done something as stupid as enveloping her completely.

‘She was also exceptionally calm while she watched minor MC getting beaten up. Three possibilities. First, she is crazy. Second, she is an oracle. Third, she went back in time and became a regressor.’

Technically, she could be any combination of the three. A time looping lunatic oracle was nothing to scoff at. Han De was about to deny the possibility, the odds of that happening should be non-existent, surely. But then, he remembered his fate as the Calamity Attractor. He decided to play it safe and look at her status first. He very carefully moved closer to her while spamming the status check function. He wasn’t going to risk getting any closer than needed.

[Name: Yao Qing]
[Race: Human (100%)]
[Gender: Female]
[Age: 15]

[Cultivation: Qi Condensation (4/13) (97.10%)]
[Constitution: None]
[Bloodline: None]
[Roots: Lightning (82%)]

[Potential Points (Total: 30)]
-------------------------------------------
[Will: 9]
[Talent: 7]
[Comprehension: 8]
[Luck: 6]

[Cultivation Methods]
-------------------------------------------
[Celestial Storm Scripture (Mortal)]
[Power: Very Weak]
[Mastery: Intermediate (38/42)]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (3/13)]

[Expand to view 9 inactive methods...]

[Martial Arts Methods]
-------------------------------------------
[Basic Spear (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Advanced (9/12)]

[Azure Lightning Spear (Mortal)]
[Power: Very Weak]
[Mastery: Advanced (31/64)]
[Expand to view 34 inactive methods...]

[Expand to view more...]

[Fate]
[Usurper of Heavens]

[Notes]
[Very high potential. Would be a core pillar in any sect.]

‘Ok. Cool cool cool. So she is not crazy. That's cool. Probably a regressor template, that’s more in line with Xianxia. She’s probably working on the Basic Spear to establish a foundation and rebuild her muscle memory.’

Han De quietly returned to Treebeard’s location. He looked calm and collected to others, but his mind was in turmoil. If this girl, Yao Qing, was really a regressor, then what she said about Long Xiu going crazy should be the truth.

‘My mother wouldn’t turn crazy unless it involved me or my father. The cultivation idiot did die 2 months ago but I replaced him. Either she is talking about an event yet to come, or her timeline is all wrong…’

‘At the 4th stage of Qi Condensation, she shouldn’t have the ability to detect my presence no matter what technique she uses. Even if she somehow did, she couldn’t have known that I am from the Starfall Mountain. Unless this is the second time for her...’

Han De was in a dilemma. The existence of this girl was both a blessing and a curse. Her presence warned him of the potential dangers in the future, but it involved a risk of exposure.

‘Was I in her previous timeline? Or is the System a new variable? If it is a new variable than she will probably notice inconsistencies in this timeline due to my presence. Will she think I am a regressor/reincarnator too?’

This whole situation was giving Han De an incredible headache. It was fun to watch or read about people involved in time travel stories, but encountering one for real was both confusing and aggravating.

‘Alright, let’s think from another perspective. With how haughty the System acts, it shouldn’t get trapped by a tiny MC’s time loop. I can only assume I am a new existence in this timeline due to the System. In the first place the Syst-’

Not even Han De himself noticed how he froze for a tiny moment.

‘The first possibility is that my mother lost it after the cultivation idiot died. Makes sense, it is the simplest explanation.’

‘The second possibility is that the cultivation idiot had already died in her timeline, but my mother was able to hold on. If during the following year anything had happened to my father, she would totally lose it…’

Although he was leaning towards the first possibility he was uncertain. The handling of the Zhao faction was extremely clean to the point of disappointment. Han De was questioning the motivations and the intelligence of Zhao Dong, their leader. The possibility of a second attempt wasn’t that low. Han De needed more information.

‘It’s not like I can ask her for confirmation. Should I just go “Hey little miss, would you kindly confirm the timeframe of the Starfall Mountain’s destruction for me? You see, I am the sole heir of the sect, and this destruction business would be really inconvenient for my plans…” and expect her to answer? Might as well admit I am a transmigrator…’

Han De shook his head and went back to reality.

‘This destruction business will cause her to be wary. I should take things slow and build layer upon layer. She talked about Shen Xing stealing her roots and mentioned an auction. The timing fits the cockroach’s appearance in Brass Stallion city. I can use this to my advantage. I can scam her by using this as leverage.’

Normally Han De wouldn’t want to interact with a regressor at all to prevent his exposure. Unfortunately, these weren’t normal circumstances. By building a relationship with this MC he might be able to gain some crucial information and prevent or prepare for the sect’s collapse.

At this point, he was really glad that he started preparations early. After patting himself on the back, he thought about the ways to get information from her without exposing himself.

* * *

This was the 167th day of Yao Qing’s return. She was walking towards her usual training spot.

On the first day. After she inexplicably returned to her younger body she thought she was going mad. Was this a dream? An inner demon? Perhaps she had finally lost it and started seeing things. She had lost her cultivation but her mind was as sharp as ever. She quickly regained her confidence. This wasn’t a dream or an inner demon tribulation, and she wasn’t crazy. This was real. She had no idea how, but she really did come back.

In the previous timeline, her early years were filled with misery. These memories frequently haunted her even after she regained her cultivation. Only after tens of thousands of years, these memories had finally started to fade. But now she was back. Seeing the faces and hearing the names she had long forgotten filled her with indescribable emotions.

She remembered she had a crush on her childhood friend. He was strong, and always protected her. She often used his memory to get through the pain and misery during her early years. It was both soothing and terribly painful at the same time. When she realized she could finally meet him again she was ecstatic.

Yao Qing sighed. She had arrived at her training spot and removed the training spear from her back.

‘I really can’t believe I had a crush on that idiot Geng Shi. I really don’t know what the hell I was excited about before meeting him. He is just a 15-year-old kid. I don’t even know how old I am. I stopped counting after 20 thousand…’

Young Yao Qing really did have a crush on Geng Shi, but for the current Yao Qing, he was only a nuisance. He was the complete opposite of what she remembered. His talent was poor, his attitude was poor, his strength was poor, his looks were poor. Yao Qing realized he was just an idea for her psyche to hold on to. However, she still helped him for the sake of her younger self.

‘During the original timeline, the idiot probably died not long after I left. Just in these last 2 months alone he nearly died 5 times. Maybe I should knock some sense into him instead of teaching spear arts…’

Yao Qing started her routine. In the original timeline, she had already lost her spiritual roots by now. She didn’t need to suffer through that hardship once again. Therefore she kept training. Her current body didn’t possess her old body’s muscle memory. She could only build it back up day by day through hard training.

She repeated the Basic Spear method over and over again. With each thrust, she remembered her old moves and tried to overlay her memories to her current body. First move, second move, third move, fourth move, she kept going through the same motions she repeated for the last 167 days.

*clap* *clap* *clap*

Yao Qing immediately assumed a defensive stance after hearing clapping from behind her. She calmly analyzed the situation while looking at the young man with yellow robes.

‘High cultivation, at least Core Formation. Unknown sect. Not affiliated with Silent Silhouette.’

She hadn’t set foot on this world for… She didn’t know how long actually. It was only natural to forget the sects that inhabited it. She only remembered the Silent Silhouette because of her intense hatred.

“Not bad! Your spear skill really isn’t bad!”

Yao Qing kept her vigilance as the young man talked. Apparently, this amused him, he smiled and continued talking in a relaxed manner.

“You don’t have to be so stiff. If I wanted to, I could kill you with a flick of a sleeve. I don’t have an ulterior motive. I just saw your spear practice and thought I’d say hello. I know a little bit about spears myself. Since we met here, it must be fate! How about I show you some moves to improve your skills.”

The man looked at his storage ring. Just this act alone was enough to prove that he wasn’t from the Misty Mountains. No one would flaunt their wealth like this in the mountains. The poorness of the Iron Blood sect was a daily source of shock for Yao Qing. Just how poor could a sect be?

After looking for a while the young man seemed frozen. He slightly shook his head then cleared his throat.

“Ehm. I consider myself a sword cultivator. I don’t play with spears often so it seems I forgot to bring a spear with me. Why don’t you let me borrow that training spear.”

Under Yao Qing’s baffled gaze, he grabbed her spear and moved to the side. As soon as he entered his spear stance Yao Qing felt something was wrong.

‘This pressure, this will, he isn’t using Qi or releasing an aura, this is just radiating from his stance alone.’

Yao Qing was a spear cultivator. She knew many spear arts by heart and could recognize tens of thousands of them from a look. Yet she couldn’t tell the origins of this art in front of her.

The man started thrusting the spear. He displayed dozens of moves in succession. Yao Qing knew he was slowing things down purposefully for her. Each move looked exceedingly simple, but carried profound power.

Finally, the man infused his spiritual power to the spear and released his aura. Yao Qing used her iron will to resist the concept released by the aura. She couldn’t exactly tell what was infused within it, she could only feel how ancient it was. The man started another thrust, but the simple training spear couldn’t hold on any longer and disintegrated into dust.

Both Yao Qing and the man watched the dust that was getting scattered by a breeze. The man exited the stance and looked at Yao Qing.

“It seems I am a bit rusty and poured more Qi than the poor thing could handle…”

Yao Qing looked at the person in front of her. She wasn’t even sure if she could do the same thing in her prime. She had only exhibited her concept after reaching the Immortal Realm. This mysterious expert’s mastery was clearly much higher than hers.

‘Is his realm really this low? It didn’t seem like he was higher than the Core Formation realm when he released his aura. Could he be purposefully faking his realm? What purpose would that serve? I am just a Qi Condensation disciple…’

‘Wait, did he say he considers himself a sword cultivator?!’

38. Family First

Yao Qing couldn't say a word. Her mind was too busy trying to figure out the identity of this expert. Although it was a long time ago from her perspective, good or bad she had spent a part of her life in this world. She was confident in her knowledge of the bigshots, yet she could only draw blank when she tried to determine his identity.

'He might be one of those hidden experts. They come and go as they please and rarely take the limelight…'

She also noticed he wasn't looking at her with lust. His gaze was remarkably clear and it was apparent that he was only interested in the spear art she displayed, just like he said. This improved Yao Qing's confidence at her deduction.

The young man in front of her smiled and continued with his relaxed tone.

"I will not slight you don't worry. Since it is my mistake, naturally I will compensate you for the spear. I'll be back."

Yao Qing was curious about this expert in front of her. Now that she had a good grasp of the situation, she decided to abuse her Qi Condensation status to do some probing. Surely a friendly hidden expert wouldn't harm a lowly disciple just for asking a few questions.

Before the man left, Yao Qing clasped her hands and swiftly bowed.

"S-Senior! I apologize for my rude behavior! I was too surprised by your profound spear art! S-Senior, may I ask the name of this spear art. A-and maybe your esteemed name too…?"

The hidden expert stopped. Yao Qing couldn't see his face while bowing and her senses were too weak in her current state. Despite that, she had confidence in her intuition to sense threats, and this hidden expert in front of her didn't exude a sense of danger. A moment later he responded.

"Stand up. You need to offer your name first if you want to learn someone else's."

Yao Qing slowly straightened up. She looked nervous and uncertain from the outside, but inside it was the opposite.

"Y-Yao Qing…"

"Hmm. Yao Qing… A good name. Well, Yao Qing. It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Han De, and the spear art that I just used is one of the standard scriptures of my sect, Starfall Mountain."

Yao Qing was surprised, she hadn't heard of a Starfall Mountain expert that survived the insanity of the Long Xiu. No wonder she didn't know about this expert in the previous timeline. Still, his name made her uncomfortable.

'Han De… Han family was one of the families that disappeared, Long Xiu was the head of that family even though she didn't take their name.'

Unfortunately, Yao Qing didn't have a good grasp of the history of this era. In her previous timeline, she had already lost her spiritual roots and was discarded and disfigured by Shen Xing. After spending two decades as a wretched mortal, she had a fortuitous encounter that allowed her to defy heavens and regrow her roots.

Her memory of the events surrounding the Starfall Mountain was based on hearsay. Before leaving this world she was already trying to forget her past, why would she study its history? Over time she evolved into a person that would boldly keep moving forward and rather than worry about the past. Obviously, her current predicament made her feel a tinge of regret, but a tiny pebble like this would have no lasting effect on her.

'If I remember correctly, Long Xiu went insane after losing her family. Her son was supposed to be the peerless genius of the continent, I heard he had even created his own… sword… art?...'

Han De and Yao Qing kept staring at each other. Although they were cultivators and could think really fast, the current silence between them had already reached the realm of awkwardness. Still, neither of them made any attempts to dispel it.

Yao Qing never paid much attention to history. Her experience in her youth showed that butchers would become saints, tyrants would become saviors given enough time and embellishment.

'Perhaps a rare case of history being right... No, this goes beyond a peerless genius. I can't even imagine what he would have achieved if he had lived.'

Yao Qing had lived a long time and seen many masters, many geniuses. This was the first time she was truly impressed. She thought of the 'future' she knew. Apart from vague ideas of revenge, she had no delusions of grandeur. This world wasn't worth caring about. Only two people were worth paying attention to in this world, one was Shen Xing, and the other...

Yao Qing suppressed her shudder. This Han De was the third. Before she knew it, she had already made her decision.

'He needs to be protected at all costs.'

This was Yao Qing's character. She would consider pros and cons, but once the decision was made she would see it through to the end. Nothing could change her mind, even if it was to her own detriment. She kowtowed without hesitation.

"Senior! I-I know I am not worthy, but please teach me! Please teach me that spear art! I promise I will follow you for the rest of my life! Please give me a chance!"

An awkward silence ensued. Seconds went by. Doubt started to erode Yao Qing's confidence. Now, a full minute had passed but she didn't hear a response. She didn't change her posture and just waited. Finally, two minutes later she heard a short sigh.

"I was not planning on getting another disciple so soon. But there seems to be some fate between us. Very well! From this moment forth, you shall be my second disciple. Rise."

Yao Qing breathed a silent sigh of relief. She was confident that she could become his disciple, she just didn't want to waste time trying other methods if this one had failed.

She had confidence in her spiritual roots, but this world lacked the knowledge of high purity root characteristics. The fact that he could accept her as his disciple improved Han De's image by a notch.

'Now I can subtly guide him around. I can earn his trust with a few on-point suggestions and increase his alertness. As long as they are ready for the Silent Silhouette Sect they should be able to weather the storm. Benefits we can provide for each other are endless...'

"What about your family?"

"I… don't have a family."

Han De nodded by saying "I see…" and asked again.

"What about friends? Family doesn't end in blood, and it doesn't start there either. Perhaps you have a childhood friend that is like family? "

This line of questioning and insistence was surprising for Yao Qing. She looked at Han De, she could tell he was hiding his bafflement under his blank look.

'Oh right, his mother did go on an insane slaughtering spree on the continent for her family. It should be quite important to them.'

She 'hesitantly' told him about Geng Shi that was like a brother to her. Under Yao Qing baffled gaze they went toward his wooden hut. This idiot had tried to practice after Yao Qing tended to his wounds and collapsed on the floor again.

Han De immediately went outside after looking at the boy lying in a pool of blood. A few seconds later an expert silently appeared. Yao Qing couldn't sense anything from him, almost as if he was a mortal. Even while he was using a healing technique Yao Qing still couldn't detect any spiritual waves.

She immediately approved of the Starfall Mountain treatment of Han De. A really high realm master should follow him every second of every day! Anything else was just gross incompetence!
Geng Shi woke up. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he intently listened to Han De.

"I can't take you in as my disciple as I did with Yao Qing, the difference between your talents is huge. If you wish, you can still join the Starfall Mountain with my recommendation. You might even become a core disciple if you try."

Yao Qing didn't pay attention to Geng Shi's questions and reactions. At some point, he agreed to be a Starfall Mountain disciple and that was the end of it.

* * *

Han De, Yao Qing, Geng Shi, and the two Nascent Soul experts were now traveling to the sect via Treebeard's power of flight. The distance between the Starfall Mountain and the Misty Mountains was huge, and it would take them a few hours to reach the sect.

When traveling to the Iron Blood sect, Treebeard had used his power of space and rapidly teleported over and over again. Han De didn't want to gain yet another phobia and asked for flight travel for their return trip.

During the flight, Han De had equipped his Profound Expert act and was going through the events in his mind. He couldn't believe it when Yao Qing kowtowed and asked to become his disciple.

'Isn't this too fast?! This script is all wrong…'

He was trying to scam information out of her so he should've felt somewhat happy when it happened, but he became deeply concerned instead. He almost refused her a few times before finally accepting her.

'She is definitely going to use this opportunity to get resources and bail when trouble starts. I guess that's fine. As long as I can get some tips about future events it'll be worth it. Besides, keeping her too close to me would be risky anyway...'

'Should I limit her contact with Ning Bi? No, that'll probably spectacularly backfire.'

Han De's biggest worry in all of this was Yao Qing somehow stealing Ning Bi. He had some confidence in his disciple/master relationship with Ning Bi, he hadn't stayed idle for the last 2 months after all. However, he had no idea of the depths that Yao Qing might possess. The situation was risky. He decided to improve his relationship with Ning Bi further to prevent accidents.

Han De thought about his biggest leverage. He had already killed the cockroach. He could probably instill a sense of gratitude if he mentioned it to her.

'I need to balance it out carefully. If the gratitude she feels becomes too heavy she might decide to stay.'

Han De calmed himself down and went over his thoughts once again. Rethinking the situation improved his confidence.

He had gained an early warning system. He could also encounter unexpected gains if some degree of trust could be built between them. All for the low price of copious amounts of money and resources. For the current Han De, this was a bargain.

There were risks but Han De thought they were manageable. Ning Bi spent more time with him so it shouldn't be easy to steal her. He could also intervene if things go in an unexpected direction.

The biggest risk was the fact that he was still alive. Perhaps her idea of the timeline was fuzzy, or perhaps she had already noticed an inconsistency and became his disciple to solve this puzzle. There was no way to know for sure.

'The best way to handle this is through my lackeys and Ning Bi. If I mention anything it'll only gain suspicion. Ning Bi herself will probably tell her about my memory issue after a while. Yao Qing then can confirm it through my lackeys. I can easily feign ignorance after that. Right, I should plant a bullshit seed now...'

Without minding Treebeard and the two Nascent Soul experts, Han De talked to Yao Qing and Geng Shi at the same time.

"Sects unofficially divide themselves into two groups. The righteous and the demonic. Most sects don't really care about which 'faction' they belong to and just go where the wind is blowing. These distinctions are just political tools and are useless in reality. A righteous sect might slaughter a city for profit, while a demonic sect might fight to the bitter end to save it."

"Starfall Mountain is a righteous sect. Any demonic cultivation method is strictly forbidden."

Geng Shi looked confused but Han De didn't care. As long as Yao Qing could read between the lines it was enough.

"Just a week ago I encountered a Qi Condensation disciple that practiced demonic arts. This disciple invented a vile method of external cultivation using soulless bodies. Seemingly insignificant events can have a massive and unpredictable influence on the future. Therefore I extinguished his soul myself."

Han De looked at them both without emotion. He purposely tried to look unimposing for maximum effect.

"I do not care about which path you choose. Just know that I will cripple you myself if you practice demonic arts."

'Hopefully, that was two birds with one stone.'

Silence reigned for the rest of the voyage. Han De sighed inside.

'Why do I feel like I am the bad guy here?'

* * *

Han De didn't waste time after their arrival and called for his servants to prepare a place for Yao Qing and brief her with the basic workings of the sect. Before she left Han De decided to give her a piece of advice crucial for her survival. He didn't want her to perish before she leaked the future events.

"You are my second disciple. My first disciple Ning Bi might be younger but her cultivation is higher than yours. You can discuss the seniority amongst yourselves. Before you do that a word of warning. Try not to create resentment. Your future depends on it."

Iron Blood sect was really impressively poor, so Yao Qing wasn't surprised that a younger disciple could have higher cultivation than her. What caught her attention was the name. She shook her head in denial and followed the servant so she could settle in.

Servants had also brought a storage bag to Han De. While he was away for a day, Elder Xiang had already finished all of the weapons inside the cultivation realm. Han De was jubilant, he immediately inspected the weapons on the spot.

'Nice! What an amazing quality. If someone said these were the warglaives of the Dark Flame Master, I would believe them.'

Han De was planning to drip feed them to Ning Bi as she advanced in realms. He could keep farming favorability points for a long time with these weapons. He placed the warglaives inside his storage ring and looked for his swords.

'Elder Xiang is truly amazing. What an amazing work of art…'

Han De sighed with emotion. His swords were exactly as he specified. Every single one of them looked exceptionally below average and unremarkable. If Han De wasn't holding one them in his hands he would easily mistake them for mortal weapons.

'If even this balanced sword feels better than my old one. How fast the speed-focused sword would be?'

Han De decisively focused on the higher realm swords.

'I can probably operate this Nascent Soul realm sword for a second or two before exhausting my spiritual reserves. If I could find a way to extend my spiritual reserves I might have another trump card...'

Just as Han De was moving on, an idea popped out of nowhere.

'Doesn't that perverted skill makes Ning Bi's spiritual power reserves inexhaustible?!'

39. Death Omen

Higher realm weapons were unusable for Han De due to the massive difference in power between the realms. Thanks to the cultivation idiot's talent, his body already had higher than usual spiritual power reserves. Coupled with the increase in his spiritual root quality, his Qi was also high in purity. Even with that, a few seconds of Nascent Soul realm weapon was his limit.

'If she is fighting a grudge, then using a weapon that is one realm higher shouldn't be a problem. Two realms higher might push it though. Even if her supply is infinite her output won't be able to match the requirements.'

This discovery was crucial for the future, but Han De wasn't sure if it was useful for the quest. Her targets would be different every time, could she project her grudge into illusions? Would objects or concepts count? What if she had a grudge against an ideology, would her skill work while fighting random dudes of that ideology? Could she develop a grudge against an entire plane of existence?

'In the first place, does she even have awareness of her own skill? She is aware of Breach and actively uses it.'

Han De sighed. He did not want to participate in the Grudge experimentations.

'No one in Qi Condensation realm would be her match if she could use the Foundation Establishment warglaives. She still wouldn't be able to match against the Foundation Establishment realm though. Leaping 8 small realms isn't easy once it goes past the Qi Condensation stage.'

[Time Remaining: 2.9 days]

Time waited for no one. Han De headed for Ning Bi to give her the warglaives. Once she gets to a higher floor in the pagoda he could tell her to 'consolidate her gains' and prevent her from entering the pagoda for the remaining duration of the quest. Better safe than sorry.

[Breach (Mortal)]
[Progress: (+17) 21%]

[Congratulations!]
[Your disciple, Ning Bi, broke through the bottleneck of her skill!]
[Issuing 100 Profound Points as a reward.]

A smile crept across Han De's face.

* * *

Ning Bi opened her eyes. She had already gone through two enlightenments. In this subject, she was perhaps the most experienced person in the world. Compared to the first two, she felt that this time it was a bit different.

'There is only a small amount of dust on the floor. Good, it was only a few days…'

Her concept of time had completely disappeared during the enlightenment. She had no idea how much time she had spent. It could've been a few hours, or a few months. It was impossible to explain, but it felt completely natural to her.

Before this, the range that she could perceive things was variable. If nothing was moving she could perceive through walls, but if something was moving too much she couldn't perceive anything else but that. Her master's sword flight was actually a really good way to train. If only she could muster the courage…

She closed her eyes once again. Ning Bi perceived her teacher walking towards the abode. She perceived Treebeard and the two silhouettes energetically talking near him. A girlish shape far away was walking to the servant's building. In front of the gates, there was a tiny splotch. Ning Bi had no idea what it was but it was there. Her teacher was the closest, and he was barely in range, she decided to use this opportunity to showcase her improvement.

* * *

A minute earlier Han De had noticed Xiao Bai in front of the gates. For a moment he really wanted to slap him silly, but his reason prevailed in the end. He had to keep in mind, Arrogant Young Master was only a persona, an act. And he wanted to keep it that way.

While walking towards Ning Bi's chambers, Han De came up with an idea.

'These capture targets might have a use after all. Since they are all chasing Ning Bi, then gaining my favor would seem beneficial in their minds. Maybe I can use them for the C-Sports ad campaign. A little social engineering might go a long way in this world.'

*Blockbuster Thud Sound Effect*

"Master!"

"..."

The sudden appearance of Ning Bi naturally left Han De speechless. In that moment of silence, he stealthy looked at her skill through a status check.

[Breach (Mortal)]
[Progress: 21%]
[Notes: By blocking the visual senses, the user can perceive and interact with a spatial domain. Greatly increases passive relational action processing and prediction speed while active. Further effects are unknown.]

"Good, it seems you have broken through your bottleneck. The results seem rather surprising!"

"Thank you, master! It is all because of your teachings…"

"No, I didn't do anything. This is your own effort. Take pride in it!"

'Seriously, I didn't do anything. When did I teach you how to teleport?! I wasn't even in the sect yesterday!'

Han De didn't let his thoughts disturb the Hidden Expert A facade. Although it was more flexible than the Profound Expert series, he still needed to practice some restraint. He didn't linger and asked details in a way that would impress her.

"How much can you interact with it?"

This question widened Ning Bi's eyes. She nodded as if she had comprehended something just now.

"Yes, I interact with it, but, I… It is difficult to describe. I can move, but sometimes it feels like time stops for everything but me and sometimes it is the opposite."

Sudden appearance plus the skill description had already given Han De a good idea. He was pretty confident that it was a blink type sub-skill, but her description meant it was more than that. He further probed.

"Can you choose or influence this passage of time?"

"I couldn't at first, but now I think I can. Yes, if it is a short period I can."

Han De had no words for the MC cheats this girl was getting. Just one of them would be enough for any kind of MC to soar through the heavens, but this girl just kept getting new ones. Han De ignored his momentary envy and concentrated on Ning Bi instead.

"Show me."

In just 10 short minutes they were able to determine the rough parameters of her skill.

Just like Han De had first suspected she could teleport around. Technically, it wasn't teleporting, she was entering and exiting a spatial domain. When inside the domain she could affect the flow of its time. From the outside perspective, her exit could be instant or could be a few seconds later. She didn't even need to move, she could dodge an attack just by disappearing into thin air and reappear a moment later. Her awareness wasn't affected at all, she was like a fish in the water. The only downside was the cooldown after exiting the domain. She couldn't enter it again for a few seconds afterward, but that was negligible.

'What a disgusting skill. This is simply broken…'

While feeling nausea due to the Breach skill, Han De was also somewhat concerned on the inside. The description said 'A Spatial Domain' but didn't elaborate further. At first Ning Bi could tap into it, now she could interact with it. Was this domain something naturally occurring? Han De had no way of knowing and he also didn't want to scare Ning Bi for baseless reasons. If there was an issue the System would have mentioned it by now. There was no need to worry!

'With this, she really might be able to get to higher floors. If she could use the Foundation Realm weapons then she could reach the 11th floor. The last two floors should be a major realm difference, not that easy to jump through that one even with multiple cheats.'

Han De decided to give it a try. Ning Bi was an MC and she had maximum luck. It would be extremely hard for her to get injured in the pagoda. Higher floors would probably one-shot her anyway, and that would mean she'll get teleported to safety.

"That's enough for now. You just broke through and need some downtime. Sometimes you'll need to stand still in order to advance later. I know you want to go to the pagoda now, but don't. You'll need to rest for today and attend to your other duties as my disciple."
Ning Bi was bewildered but obediently continued listening to Han De.

"While taking a stroll at the Misty Mountains I have encountered a promising individual by chance. Although her talent isn't as good as yours, her will is extraordinarily strong."

Han De instructed Ning Bi to meet Yao Qing and to teach her the master-disciple acceptance ceremony. He purposefully didn't give any negative or positive suggestions to Ning Bi. If he gave a negative impression of Yao Qing, it might give ammunition to Yao Qing against him. If he gave a positive impression, it might make Yao Qing's job easier if she wanted to steal Ning Bi.

'I guess I should refrain from showing favoritism to Ning Bi in the future as well. She might be young but she isn't stupid. Any odd behavior might arouse her curiosity towards Yao Qing.'

After sending Ning Bi away Han De looked for Treebeard. The Nascent Soul experts were still waiting with him. It was a good thing that these lackeys had some brains and waited for further instructions from him. Han De spoke with his Hidden Expert C - Lecturer Edition persona.

"Register the boy as a minor Anomaly and monitor his progress. There is a chance that his path might've been cut short and he might live as an above-average disciple from now on. Ignore the girl as an Anomaly, but keep an eye on her as my disciple. Do not open a file on her."

The experts bowed and left. They could only feel respect for their young master. They thought the boy might be the one, but it turns out it was the girl! Having an Anomaly in their midst made them nervous, but the young master's instructions were clear. They could only passively monitor her as his disciple. They respectfully didn't ask how he determined the status of the girl. They were experts themselves and had thought of a few ideas of their own. Even Treebeard wrote down his thoughts to 'discuss' it with others.

Han De retreated to his chambers to think about the overall situation. He felt tremendous danger from Yao Qing, but the fear of not knowing was suppressing everything else. He gathered his thoughts while pacing back and forth.

'If Ning Bi's quest give a few hundred points I can upgrade the lackey's cultivation methods without problems. Right, I can also rewrite some standard scriptures and distribute them to the lackeys at the same time. Then I can leave a buffer of 200 points and spend the rest on my cultivation.'

'If I can induce a grudge against the pagoda on her, the bonus points might surpass a few hundred. Then I can maybe look for more methods to use Derive Cultivation Method Token.'

After calming down, Han De contacted Peng for the lackey's weapon scriptures, then concentrated on making contingency plans.

* * *

Other than the Iron Blood Sect in her youth, Yao Qing had never lived or spent time inside a sect. That didn't mean she was ignorant of their way of life. On the contrary, through her encounters over the years she gained a perspective that could only be achieved by a loose cultivator like her.

She knew about thousands of sects across many different worlds. Demonic, devilish, righteous, neutral, Buddhist, scholarly, ritualistic, rational, insane, and much more. She had met them all. She had interacted with their disciples and their elders.

In this world she had only encountered a small number of sects, even so, she couldn't even remember most of their names. She only remembered Starfall Mountain due to Long Xiu. Therefore, she was pretty curious about the sect.

Yao Qing followed the servants to the side buildings while listening to their oddly respectful voices. The history and the current surface level affairs of the sect were the same old thing she heard a million times before. What caught her attention was the servants' overly respectful tone whenever they mentioned their Elder De. She understood this was reverence mixed in with a dash of fear. It was a potent combination that didn't fit the image of Han De in her mind.

These servants were simple people and with only a few words along with a few puzzled expressions from Yao Qing, they started telling her about the important events out of their own volition. Most of it was just gossip, to Yao Qing's dismay. However, she did gain some crucial information too. About the Zhao family, and Ning Bi.

She had no impression of the Zhao family. Hearing of their rebellion and their subsequent cleansing was shocking. She was a normal outer sect disciple of the Iron Blood in the Misty Mountains. This level of isolation was a crucial cover against Shen Xing, but it did leave her in the dark about the events of the world.

'Perhaps Zhao was the pawn of the Silent Silhouette, but they failed. The danger is unknown and may be internal. Starfall Mountain relaxed their guard and Han De died, resulting in Long Xiu's insanity…'

Yao Qing was determined to raise the vigilance of the Starfall Mountain, especially of the Han De's people. This was both helpful to Han De and herself. She didn't dare believe that the boy Han De killed at the Brass Stallion City was Shen Xing. Although timing seemed to fit perfectly, it didn't fit the timeline she knew. It was better to act as if he wasn't dead until she had irrefutable evidence.

When it came to Ning Bi, she had to admit, she was nervous. Although it was a very rough version, listening to the story about her acceptance, and her 'duel' completely eased her mind.

This Ning Bi was actually using warglaives! Who would use those incredibly useless weapons? And she wasn't even using one, but using two! Dual-wielding these increased their difficulty tenfold. Even mastering single warglaive was a futile effort. It required mastery of many different weapons. At times it acted like a spear, other times like a sword, or even a dagger. You could use it like a shield, or an axe. The more you learned about it the more you would realize how lacking you were. It required tremendous awareness too, otherwise it was a massive liability.

As Yao Qing was going through her list of 'Why Warglaive Are Stupid And 200 Reasons Why You Should Not Use Them!', servants told her of Ning Bi's achievements in the black pagoda. When she heard Ning Bi reached the 7th floor on the first day and that no one else could surpass the 3rd floor two weeks later caused her to narrow her eyes. A hidden expert like Han De obviously wouldn't have a simple disciple.

Although these servants didn't know what cultivation method she used, this conversation still completely convinced her. The differences between the images in her mind and this Ning Bi was just too huge. Her name was a simple coincidence. In the first place, 'she' was supposed to be living in a hidden realm and only come out hundreds of years later.

Yao Qing's entire knowledge of 'her' was very basic. Not much was known about 'her' in the first place. 'Her' name, 'her' cultivation method, and obviously, 'her' universally dreaded eye-color. That was it. Yao Qing's 'exclusive' knowledge came from her early years. It was purely a coincidence that they were born in the same world, during the same period.

*Blockbuster Thud Sound Effect*

"..."

The sudden sound and appearance of a girl startled everyone. The girl seemed nonchalant about it and spoke to the servants without waiting. Yao Qing couldn't see the girl's face, but she had an ominous feeling all of a sudden. Her current senses were too dull, but she could still feel a faint wisp of pure Fire Qi.

"Uncle Liu, may I take my sister here and show her around? I hope you don't mind."

Without waiting for the response from this 'Uncle Liu', the girl turned towards Yao Qing. As she looked at the girl, she could feel her legs go soft. This girl was smiling brilliantly at Yao Qing with her shining red eyes.

40. Loophole

'Just a coincidence. These people don't know about the red eyes yet. Impossible, just a coincidence.'

Yao Qing and Ning Bi stared at each other. The former was expressionless, while the latter was still smiling. Yao Qing couldn't tell how long they stared at each other but at some point, servants had already left. They were all alone.

As the new disciple, she knew that she should introduce herself first. However, seeing the red-colored eyes was more shocking than she would've thought. The people of this time naturally wouldn't consider them an ominous sign. They also naturally wouldn't brutally hunt anyone that had red eyes. Nor would they cleanse entire civilizations for giving birth to them.

Yao Qing calmed herself down. She ignored the ominous feeling that was screaming inside her. Logically speaking, this girl in front of her was younger than herself. She gathered her courage and finally greeted Ning Bi with a bow.

"Disciple Yao Qing greets elder sister Ning Bi."

"P-Please! Don't call me that! Elder sister Yao Qing you don't need to do that!"

Without even waiting for Yao Qing's response Ning Bi hugged her and forcefully raised her posture.

"S-Sorry, I was just too excited to see a fellow disciple. My name is Ning Bi, I am master's disciple. It has only been 58 days since I became a disciple. My father always taught me to respect my elders."

Yao Qing's face momentarily reflected her inner bafflement, but she recovered quickly. Normally she would consider the last part as a jab at her, but looking at Ning Bi's earnest face she was filled with doubt.

"But, you are the first disciple, and seniority must be observ-"

"No! Elder sister please don't say that! If I don't respect my elders I would fail my father, or worse, fail master!"

Ning Bi's forceful response baffled Yao Qing. She remembered how Han De mentioned they should discuss seniority between them. In hindsight, this was a clear indication for her to accept Ning Bi's choice. Since that was the case, it didn't make any sense to prolong this any further. Just this little bit of interaction revealed much of the Ning Bi's qualities to her.

"Alright, if you are sure, I will do as you wish."

"Thank you elder sister!"

Ning Bi's beaming smile made her feel at ease.

'This girl is pure. No wonder Han De threatened me not to antagonize her.'

'She's definitely not 'her'. It is a shame about her eye color. Well, now that I am here I could teach her some basic illusion magic to hide it. She would look stunning with any eye color anyway. '

Ning Bi grabbed Yao Qing's arm and showed her around the estate while talking about whatever came to her mind. She talked about her family, her journey to the sect. When she learned Yao Qing came from another sect she asked questions non-stop. She was curious about life in other sects.

Han De's estate was astonishingly big, even for Yao Qing. One could fill a few Iron Blood Sect inside it and still have enough room to live comfortably. It didn't lack locations to visit too. They even went to the Eleventh Pavilion, a location that even Ning Bi hadn't visited yet. The Eleventh Pavilion was the name that the cultivation idiot had given to these buildings. Han De was even lazier and just called it 'lackeys' buildings'.

In the large open space devoid of people, they saw a large sheet of spiritual iron protruding from the ground. Yao Qing involuntarily frowned.

'Is that a tertiary plank for the Heavenly Qi Gathering formation? T-That can't be…'

This was an item that every Silent Silhouette disciple and elder carried with them, along with the corresponding anchoring rocks. These things resonated with each other and were very precious to the Silent Silhouette sect. Seeing one out in the open like this was baffling. This entire estate was filled with high-density spiritual power. It would surely cause this plate to activate and echo as long as it remained here. Yao Qing secretly looked at Ning Bi but saw that apart from the novelty of it she didn't have a reaction. Yao Qing shelved this line of thought for now.

Ning Bi grabbed her once again, this time to the abode of their master.

"Elder sister! Master instructed me to teach you about the master-disciple acceptance ceremony. I-It might remind you of something else but it isn't. Master can't teach you cultivation methods if you don't perform it!"

As she explained, Yao Qing had to actively fight against her urge to frown. It reminded her of some unpleasant memories.

She had once searched for the ruins of a primordial sect. The entire trip was disappointment after disappointment. The only thing she had gained was a scroll describing a useless disciple acceptance tea ceremony that was eerily close to the ancient marriage ceremony. She was so enraged she tried to destroy the scroll on the spot. Unfortunately, even a useless scroll from a primordial sect was impossible to destroy for a cultivator of her realm. So she could only throw it away in frustration.

'Calm down, he is probably making fun of the tea ceremonies. Hidden experts usually have their peculiarities. It isn't surprising that his sense of humor is warped.'

Yao Qing thought she had listened enough. It was time to ask some innocent questions.

"Thank you, sister Bi. I will not fail you. You can be sure of that. Did you have a cultivation method before master taught you?"

Ning Bi looked exceptionally proud while answering.

"No, I did not. Even when I went to the Archives I failed to find a cultivation method. But master found a partial scripture for me and re-wrote it completely! As I advanced he kept rewriting it. My cultivation method is really amazing! It is really easy to understand too! All of the methods master write are so easy to understand. Once you go through the ceremony master will take a look at your method too. You will be amazed, I guarantee it!"

Yao Qing was surprised, to say the least. This girl wasn't lying. Although she was pure she obviously had a good head on her shoulders. Deceiving her wouldn't be easy. Yao Qing herself only knew about Han De's amazing spear mastery. Writing cultivation methods was a big leap, but she stayed silent about it.

"If you don't mind me asking, what kind of method you use? My cultivation is low but I can vaguely sense Fire Qi on you."

"Yes. I cultivate Fire Qi. I don't know of other cultivation methods that cultivate Fire Qi. I only briefly looked at them in the Archives. Mine is called the Blazing Sun Scripture. Oh, it is almost time. Elder sister, you should get ready for the ceremony! I'll leave you to it!"

*Blockbuster Thud Sound Effect*

Ning Bi disappeared instantly, leaving Yao Qing to her thoughts. Latter was in a daze. It was like she heard the words, she realized what they meant when they came together, but she still did not want to believe it.

'It's her!!'

Yao Qing's legs went soft and she leaned on the wall. She was barely holding on to her consciousness.

* * *

In the far end of the estate, inside her room, Ning Bi with her closed eyes was perceiving Yao Qing. She opened her eyes then kept staring at emptiness. After a while, she narrowed her eyes.

* * *

Han De had reasonable confidence that this ceremony would fail. In the eyes of the System at least. He felt that if a person could become his disciple by paying lip service only, it would be a severe hole in the System's design. However, he couldn't skip it since it would gather suspicion from Ning Bi.

The last thing he wanted was to drive her away towards Yao Qing through his actions. This girl was naive and she would quickly come to Yao Qing's defense if he did something stupid, even if it was by accident.

The ceremony this time was a little different. Han De had a disciple now. As such Ning Bi was sitting in seiza on his right, while Yao Qing served the tea to Han De. She then kowtowed three times. Han De slowly drank his tea.

His memories of this 'ceremony' were at best, hazy. All he remembered from the web novels was that someone had to serve tea and kowtow. At the time this was his last-ditch effort before death.

'Hmm, what a surprisingly bland tea. I guess it shouldn't be surprising. If she had made an amazing tea it would be suspicious.'

Han De had never drunk tea without sugar before coming to this world. This world did have the concept of putting honey into it, but it was generally frowned upon. Han De held back his sigh as he was reminded of his plans to make sugar farms with Tan Renshu.

He finally finished the tea and spoke.

"With this, you are now my second disciple."

Yao Qing respectfully sat near Ning Bi. Everything went exactly as Han De thought it would be.

'As expected, lip service won't gain recognition from the Syst-'

[Congratulations!]
[Host has reached the maximum number of disciples]
[Criteria for Privilege upgrade met]
[Upgrading host's Privilege Level]
[Processing...]

Both Ning Bi and Yao Qing looked at their master, who seemed to be in a daze. A few seconds later, disbelief was written all over his face.

Han De himself had lost the capacity to think.

[Processing...]
[Privilege Level Upgrade Complete]
[Privilege Level: 2]
[Privilege Level met, issuing one-time gift box][..]
[Profound Point Shop Level 2 is now active]
[Unlocked Grand Master level comprehension]
[Unlocked beginner level Disciples Panel]

[Notes: Further upgrades to the Privilege Level will require offline maintenance.]

After a minute of silence, Han De was sure that what happened was absolutely real. One of his first regrets in this world was opening the gift box away from Ning Bi. Now that he had 2 MCs sitting in front of him he didn't waste time.

[Opening the One-Time Gift Box]
[5]
[4]
[3]
[2]
[1]
[...]
[Congratulations!]

[You have received:]
Profound Points Token x50
Spiritual Roots Cleansing Token x5
Spiritual Roots Seed Token x5
Random Constitution Token x5
Random Bloodline Token x5
Potential Point Upgrade Token x1

Han De didn't know if this box was actually random or not, but he felt opening it here and now was the right choice regardless. The contents were just too extravagant! He realized his disciples were looking at him so he quickly re-entered the Profound Expert A mode.

"Now that you are my disciple, I can pass cultivation methods to you. Normally I would give you something appropriate to your talent, but it seems that won't be necessary as your current method is well suited for you. Write your Celestial Storm Scripture down and bring it to me. I will refine it further for you."

Han De slowly and profoundly closed his eyes, and reopened them.

"You are a spear cultivator. I will not judge the martial arts you are using, but your idea of building a foundation is correct. I will pass on you the standard spear scripture of the sect. It will be much more suitable for you to build your foundation through that."

Yao Qing bowed. Han De turned his gaze to Ning Bi.

"I have prepared some weapons for you. Although at first I was only going to give you the Qi Condensation one and hold on to the rest for safekeeping until you got stronger. However, I feel there might be some fate between you and these weapons."

Han De gave the extra storage ring that stored warglaives to Ning Bi. The excitement was written all over her face even though she tried hard to restrain it.

"I know you are eager to try your skills in the pagoda. This is good for you, but don't forget to be cautious. The black pagoda belonged to the same hidden demonic sect that attempted to kill me and wanted to hurt you. This sect is ruthless even to their disciples and probably kept a few surprises hidden within."

Upon his reveal of the pagoda's origins, both Ning Bi and Yao Qing were shocked. Han De signaled that their conversation was over. Both of them left while in deep thought. He could faintly feel Yao Qing's reluctance to get close to Ning Bi.

'Let's see if any of the seeds will take root. Even if Ning Bi spectacularly fails her quest, I can still get by with the point tokens now. I wonder if Yao Qing trusts me enough to give her actual cultivation method…'

'Wait, why did Yao Qing count as a disciple? Wasn't she paying lip service?!'

Han De narrowed his eyes. Perhaps System didn't care about this at all. It could very well be overthinking from his part due to his struggles he went through during Ning Bi's acceptance as his disciple. This was good news for him. If he could find a few MCs that barely qualify, he could pay them to become his disciples and fill up his slots. He would gain Profound Points through their achievements.

'A way to convert money into Profound Points! Haha! The last thing I lack is money anyways…'

Of course, finding a qualifying MC was easier said than done. In fact, perhaps not finding one was much better overall.

Han De shook his head and concentrated on the elephant in the room.

[Profound Points Token] x50
Bundle of 10 profound points.

[Spiritual Roots Cleansing Token] x5
Completely purifies the target's spiritual roots.
Warning: Can only be used on a target with single element roots.

[Spiritual Roots Seed Token] x5
Creates a new spiritual root on the target. The element depends on the Qi provided during the seeding progress.
Warning: Adding a root with an existing element will cause complications. Adding conflicting elements will cause complications. Please refer to Spiritual Roots Removal Token.

[Random Constitution Token] x5
Adds a random constitution on the target.
Warning: Target must not have another constitution. Please refer to Constitution Removal Token to prevent casualties.

[Random Bloodline Token] x5
Adds a random bloodline on the target.
Warning: Target must not have another bloodline. Please refer to Bloodline Removal Token to prevent casualties.

[Potential Point Upgrade Token] x1
Adds 1 point(s) to the host's target disciple.
Warning: Will cause a very powerful Heavenly Tribulation upon use.

'V-Very powerful?'

'...'

[Tokens Activated]
[Received 500 Profound Points]
[Profound Points: 711]

Decisively ignoring the Potential Point Upgrade Token's existence, Han De couldn't help but start giggling. Finally, he had some leeway. He wasn't surprised but still a bit disappointed that auto-cultivation wasn't in the upgrade.

'Random bloodline and constitution are a bit risky on Ning Bi and Yao Qing. But it's different for me, I can take that risk. As long as something increases my power it's enough. Down the line, I can remove them if they are problematic. I can't do the same with my disciples. What kind of Profound Master would add random bloodlines to their disciples? Even if Ning Bi's luck is good, it is too risky. If I had a removal token ready that might be different...'

This was the first time in a long time that Han De received good news. He was determined to completely ignore that ominous gut feeling he had. This was not the time to look a gift horse in the mouth. Han De was turning a new leaf! From now on the name of the game was positivity!

[Profound Point Shop]
Spiritual Roots Upgrade Token 500PP
Spiritual Roots Removal Token 10000PP
Spiritual Roots Seed Token 5000PP
Spiritual Roots Healing Token 800PP
Bloodline Awakening Token 100PP
Bloodline Purifying Token 500PP
Bloodline Removal Token 10000PP
Constitution Refinement Token 500PP
Constitution Removal Token 10000PP
Cultivation Method Upgrade Token 200PP
Cultivation Method Fragment 1PP
Martial Arts Method Upgrade Token 200PP
Martial Arts Method Fragment 1PP
Spiritual Spell Fragment 1PP (NEW!)
Spiritual Spell Upgrade Token 200PP (NEW!)
Utility Method Fragment 1PP (NEW!)
Utility Method Upgrade Token 200PP (NEW!)
Derive Cultivation Method Token 20000PP (NEW!)
Derive Martial Arts Method Token 20000PP (NEW!)
Derive Spiritual Spell Token 20000PP (NEW!)
Derive Utility Method Token 20000PP (NEW!)

* * *

Reactions of Ning Bi and Yao Qing to the ceremony was different.

Ning Bi had received 5 pairs of warglaives. She carefully inspected all of them. The Foundation Establishment warglaive was nearly unusable, at most after 5 swings she would completely exhaust her power reserves. The Core Formation warglaives were even worse. Perhaps she could use them as a defensive tool without infusing any spiritual power, but that was it.

Normally she would feel incredibly excited to inspect these weapons, but she kept remembering her teacher's words about the pagoda. Ning Bi's face kept getting darker and darker. She swore that she would make those trash pay.

* * *

Yao Qing was still shocked by the revelation regarding Ning Bi. She had no idea what had happened and why 'she' was here. Her relationship with Han De was quite deep despite her being a disciple for less than 2 months. Suddenly it hit her.

'I see, it was right in front of me all along. When Han De died and Long Xiu went insane, Ning Bi either ran away or was taken away. After spending time in that hidden realm and gaining power she came back with a vengeance. I always thought she had learned the Blazing Sun Scripture from that hidden realm, but obviously, that wasn't the case.'

From Ning Bi's character that she saw, running away wasn't an option. Yao Qing had always thought it was Silent Silhouette that killed Han De, but perhaps where they failed, others had succeeded.

'It seems they are aware of the Silent Silhouette, they just lack the information. But now the problem isn't them, but the ones that target Ning Bi…'

Her thoughts couldn't help but jump back to her nemesis.

'Shen Xing's death seems more and more real. Perhaps he was right. The insignificant me didn't go to the Brass Stallion City. Shen Xing couldn't target me, and turned to Ning Bi instead, causing him to provoke Han De.'

Yao Qing smiled bitterly.

'What my life could've been if I hadn't visited the Brass Stallion City the first time…'

She shook her head. She didn't have a habit of reminiscing the past and her thoughts moved on. Still, she felt that something didn't seem right with how Shen Xing died. That guy was the most devious schemer in existence. He wouldn't have made an amateurish mistake like this. Was there a problem with him, or was it caused by Han De?

Yao Qing fell in deep thought. After a while, she started writing down her scripture. This way, perhaps she could take her mind off the cosmic horror that was living in the same house.

41. Traditional Gift

Yuan Zemin was sitting in silence while waiting for a response from the man with the receding hairline in front of him. Since he decided to cut off from the Silent Silhouette four days ago, things quickly made a turn for the worse. Subordinates that he had sent to the Royal Maw had died in body and soul. A Transcendent master had started to hunt their group. His old sect declared him a traitor. And Sun Empire had started fiddling with the weak points.

He was feeling intense pressure. This made Yuan Zemin even more determined, but perhaps this pressure was starting to get under his skin. Yesterday night he felt suffocated. As if the aura of death suddenly condensed around him then vanished without a trace. His intuition was telling him to act quickly before it was too late.

The man with beady eyes and receding hairline opened his eyes. This was the master of the Plum Seed Sect, Li Honghui. He looked at Yuan Zemin and gave a solemn nod.

* * *

Elders of the Silent Silhouette Sect had gathered on the Central Pavilion to discuss the recent events. This pavilion was used to be called Black Pavilion, but during the last Breach, the sect had ‘painted’ all of the buildings black. Everything looked as if they were dipped in a large tub of ink. As such, the name Black Pavilion had no meaning anymore. As if they had discussed it in length, everyone unanimously started calling it the Central Pavilion.

A man with a goatee and a pair of pitch-black eyes with no whites sat uncomfortably in seiza. He was the formation master of the sect. Even in normal sects, this was a prestigious position, but here in Silent Silhouette his value was only second to the Grand Elder.

“There is no doubt about it, a tertiary plank is now active. Pinpointing its location is impossible but we can determine the rough direction. Either the Celestial River Sect or the Starfall Mountain Sect.”

Silent Silhouette Sect Master didn’t say anything. One plank wasn’t important, even if it was the Starfall Mountain that investigated it. Their plan was too far along for them to interfere. He asked about the only wildcard he cared about.

“What of the Yuan Zemin?”

The 4th Elder scoffed.

“He’s not interfering and still carrying out the placements. At least he has some brains and knows not to make further mistakes.”

Formation Master frowned and started to argue.

The sect master ignored their discussions. He was an old monster and his natural intuition was very sharp. His cultivation method had strengthened his intuition further thanks to its unique properties. Divination techniques were also his forte and he could be considered one of the leading experts in this field.

For the past 2 months, he constantly felt stifled. This feeling was getting strengthened day by day. When he tried to divine the reason he failed repeatedly. 4 days ago when he tried to divine the affairs of Yuan Zemin after he left the sect, he nearly spurted out blood. This was almost unthinkable for someone of his cultivation.

The sect master had lived a long time and seen many things. In his early years he was a loose cultivator, and he frequently flirted with danger. The only reason he survived those turmoil filled years was his decisiveness. He knew when to run and when to fight. The current feeling of danger was like an old friend that he hadn’t seen for centuries. His younger self wouldn’t have hesitated for a second.

“Enough!”

The sect master’s commanding voice stopped the heated argument around Yuan Zemin. All the elders sat silently and waited for the grand elder’s instructions.

“We can no longer wait. Accelerate the formation. Initiate the plans for the Sun and Ming dynasties. While I enter the secluded meditation the 2nd Elder will be in charge. None of you will touch Yuan Zemin. His status as a traitor and an outsider will not change, but no one will hunt him!”

The sect master scanned the room. He could see many uncomfortable faces. He was already expecting this.

“If we wait any longer than the situation might not be recoverable. Just in 10 generations, no newborn will be able to surpass the Nascent Soul realm. There is no need to be patient anymore.”

No one could say anything to that. The meeting had ended and everyone went their way to carry out their duties.

The sect master Silent Silhouette recalled that feeling of danger he felt last night once again. Perhaps it was time to take a page out of his younger self’s book.

* * *

A bright new day greeted Han De. He had no idea why, but everything really seemed so bright!

Last night he had written down the standard spear scripture for Yao Qing. He had also received the weapon count of his lackeys from Peng and had already learned the corresponding 72 extra weapons. Along with the 21 cultivation methods he had spent a total of 271 Profound Points. Now all he had to do was to write them down over a few days. His lackeys would do the copying work.

‘Being rich is truly different. Once I’m done with the small stuff I can finally upgrade myself. I can’t wait for the new me…’

While Han De was writing down the standard scriptures, he received a voice transmission request from Peng. He didn’t feel down at all.

<Peng.>

<Elder De, I have received word that your cousin Han Bai has returned from the lower realm, a-and requested an official welcoming from you in 3 days time.>

<...>

<... What is this official welcoming again?>

<Elder De and his disciples need to greet him at the Golden Pavilion according to traditions.>

‘This should be something to do with the sect. I am an active elder now, perhaps greeting him this way serves a purpose? There isn’t a reason to reject it I suppose…’

<... Inform both Ning Bi and Yao Qing, then recall Treebeard.>

<Yes, Elder De.>

[Quest Complete!]
[Congratulations!]
[Quest Reward: 400 Profound Points]
[Notes: You have completed your quest in the allocated time. Your extremely talented disciple overcame her first bottleneck and became the first person that surpassed the black pagoda’s final floor. Bonus reward is being issued.]

[Bonus Reward: Bloodline Removal Token x 5]

Han De looked at the system clock. It was only 10:27 AM.

‘That was… rather anticlimactic. But I’ll take it...’

* * *

While Han De was inwardly concerned about Ning Bi’s cheats, Yao Qing was outside of the black pagoda, looking at the scoreboard with her expressionless face. She had already tried the pagoda herself, but she couldn’t surpass the 5th floor. Even then, she had already taken the 2nd place on it.

To her, Ning Bi passing the final floor was only natural. While she was thinking that, a smug-looking Ning Bi exited the pagoda. Everyone in the perimeter of the pagoda was gawking at her. It was a natural response, everyone else was stuck on the 3rd floor at best, but she had passed the 13th already.

Ning Bi was slowly getting used to being the center of attention, but the current situation still managed to make her uncomfortable. She quickly searched for someone in the crowd while doing her best to ignore the slack jaws in front of her. After spotting her target she immediately smiled and ran towards Yao Qing.

“Elder sister look! I finished it!”

Yao Qing could only stiffly smile towards Ning Bi that had already grabbed her arm.

* * *

Han De spent the next few days writing down standard scriptures. The only noteworthy change in this routine was acquiring Yao Qing’s cultivation method. She really gave him the complete Celestial Storm Scripture, much to Han De’s delight. This meant that his hints weren’t in vain, and a flimsy trust was established between them. All he needed to do now was to build on top of this good start and wait for her to drip information about future events.

Yao Qing herself was shocked at Han De’s abilities. She considered her comprehension to be near the top. It was her strongest suit after her iron will. Still, it took her many years to increase her comprehension of the Celestial Storm Scripture to her current level. Yet in one night Han De had rewritten the entire scripture.

She was baffled how easy it was to understand both scriptures that she received. Starfall Mountain Standard Spear Scripture was nothing if not comprehensive. Yet everything was laid out in an incredibly straightforward fashion. She was certain that this was the spear art that Han De displayed when they first met. In some ways, it was even better than her Azure Lightning Spear.

Although she alternated between the martial arts and cultivation methods, the study of the Celestial Storm Scripture was her primary goal. Yet anytime she did that, her heart was getting more and more unsettled. She even momentarily suspected that Han De already had prepared this long before they met. But that was impossible, she had only found this scripture 5000 years in the future, from the ruins of an ancient sect that was on another world. It was impossible for Han De to know of it. Even knowing the name of it should’ve been impossible. The implications of this caused her to shudder.

She spent these last few days studying the scriptures almost religiously. At times Ning Bi would come to her room and grab her away to wander around the sect. She realized she lacked the ability to say no to Ning Bi.

* * *

It took him 3 days and 3 nights, but Han De had finally finished writing down a total of 86 martial arts, and 22 cultivation scriptures. It was just in time too, today was the day of the lecture.

‘Ugh, I guess I need to do that official welcoming thing at the pavilion first.’

The Golden Pavilion was used to receive the delegates from other powers around the continent. It really was covered with gold. Although ordinary gold was a worthless metal for cultivators, it still looked nice, so it was a common decorative material. For mortals, gold would show off their wealth. For cultivators, it would show off their tolerance and their desire to find common ground.

Han De equipped his Arrogant Young Master A form. It was the time and he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. After calling for Peng and his disciples, he headed for the main courtyard.

Old Peng had good senses, he immediately left after receiving the scriptures. Yao Qing was new so she couldn’t read Han De’s mood, but Ning Bi was different. Once she realized her master’s impatience she understood the situation right away. Without delay, she tried to defuse it.

“M-Master, the weather today is really good, it has been a while since we walked around the sect, m-maybe we should walk to our destination?”

Under Yao Qing’s puzzled gaze Han De shook his head. The distance between Han De’s abode and the Golden Pavilion wasn’t small. They were nearly at the opposite ends of the sect.

“No. Sooner this is over the better.” Han De really wanted to play with his tokens as soon as possible.

He removed his speed-focused sword from his storage ring and let it hover. He admired its extraordinarily ordinary looks once again. Ning Bi took a deep breath and closed her eyes before hopping on the sword. Yao Qing was completely mesmerized by the sword, but she quickly followed Ning Bi. Even the concealed Treebeard was surprised at the sword.

Han De spiritual power exploded inside the sword. Their journey was near-instant. Under a few seconds, they reached their destination.

[Breach (Mortal)]
[Progress: (+1) 22%]

‘Hmmm, it wasn’t as bad as I remembered. Maybe I am getting used to it. Or maybe this sword is slower than I thought? No, that is impossible. Elder Xiang wouldn’t make a mistake like that.’

While Han De was in his own world without paying attention to anybody else, Ning Bi’s face was unsightly.

This was even worse than she remembered. Although the flight was short, the burden on her Breach skill had increased 10 fold. She realized in horror that she couldn’t close or open her eyes to ignore it anymore. She had to experience it fully, one way or another. She forced herself to act normally, she couldn’t display a weakness in front of her elder sister.

Yao Qing was in shambles inside. If it wasn’t for her iron will she would’ve already passed out with foam coming out of her mouth. This was the result of the cultivator’s speed surpassing the limitations of their realm. However, the effect shouldn’t have been this exaggerated. She gave up on that line of thought and focused on acting normally. Neither Han De nor Ning Bi was displaying any symptoms. At least, as far as she could tell. In this state just walking normally was an ordeal.

Han De ignored the commotion and the crater he created with their landing. Today he was The Arrogant Young Master of the sect. He wasn’t courteous, he directly sat on the lead spot while ignoring everybody. Ning Bi and Yao Qing took their place on his side.

It didn’t take long for Han Bai to arrive. Beside him was a woman in the 9th stage of Qi Condensation, wearing grey robes and a grey veil. The robes were obviously meant to hide her figure, but Han De suspected this guy made them just loose enough so that her curves would be noticeable. The veil was blocking everything but her green eyes and the delicate eyebrows. Han De held back the urge to roll his eyes and looked at his cousin.

True to his name, this guy had nearly shining white skin and a delicate-looking face. Although he was in his mid 20s and he was a member of the Han family, it didn’t look like he made an effort either in martial arts or in cultivation.

Han De sympathized with him on this part, cultivation was truly boring! If he was reincarnated in this family instead of transmigrating, he probably would have looked like the Han Bai here. Still, the initial stage of Foundation Establishment at his age wasn’t that bad. It was his bad luck that the cultivation idiot was the genius of his generation.

Han Bai and the woman arrived in front of Han De and his disciples. Although he asked for a traditional welcoming, Han Bai didn’t seem to bother with it and just sat down without following the etiquette.

“Cousin! Long time no see! I hope you don’t mind this, aunt Long Xiu pushed this on me, normally I wouldn’t even participate in these things as you know.”

Han De looked at his cousin that was showing his pearly white teeth. He kept his silence and just nodded at him.

“As usual, I was going to send you a gift in private, but this time I got caught by my aunt Long Xiu, haha.” Han Bai gave a hollow laugh but continued.

Han De couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. ‘As usual?’

“Well, this time’s gift is a little special. I didn’t know you had taken a disciple until I talked with aunt Long Xiu. Well anyway, TADA! Your gift! Isn’t she amazing?!”

Han Bai made an exaggerated ‘TADA!’ with both of his arms and pointed towards the beauty with the green eyes.

It took Han De a few seconds to comprehend what was going on. He felt his disciples stares on him. In his memory, the cultivation idiot was truly obsessed with cultivation. He didn’t have memories of interacting with his cousin, let alone his ‘gifts’. Han De inadvertently displayed his inner thoughts with his dubious expression.

“Oh come on, don’t be like that! I think you should trust my judgment after that Crystal Lotus and the old Prayer Beads that I gave you!”

‘Hmm?’

“Prayer Beads?”

42. Ice Fishing

"Prayer Beads?"

Han Bai was uncertain, but he decided to humor his cousin.

"Yes, the old Prayer Beads, you didn't even want it at first. Didn't you say it sat on your abode for a few years? That was what, 2 years ago?"

Han De was baffled, the elephant in the room was obvious.

'Is he really talking about the godly item that killed the cultivation idiot?

"Treebeard, seal the area off!"

Under Han Bai's puzzlement, a formation appeared and cut off the area from outside observers. Han De looked at the woman near his cousin, Treebeard quickly understood and led her away. Once she was outside the formations Han De spoke.

"Now, my dear cousin. Where did you find those prayer beads? Explain to me as if I'm hearing it the first time."

Han Bai opened and closed his mouth a few times. He looked at Han De, then his disciples, then back at Han De again. It wasn't that this was a secret, he was just surprised at these turn of events. In the end, he did as Han De told.

"They were just old prayer beads that I found in an abandoned building. I'm not even sure where that was, it was in the middle of the mountains. I only took them on a whim. Once I found out they helped with cultivation a little, I thought I'd give them to you."

Han De removed the Crystalized Tenacity from his storage ring and showed it to Han Bai and asked him if the beads were similar to this one.

"It does look like it, but I'm not sure. I haven't seen the thing in years." Han Bai shrugged. He was curious where this was going.

"Does anyone else know about these prayer beads?"

"No, it was just a small gift, why would anyone else know about it?" Han Bai was still playing. He would have to be an idiot to not realize the importance of the Prayer Beads at this point.

Han De sighed without holding back.

'Damn, this guy was afraid he would have to cultivate if he showed the prayer beads to someone else, so he sneakily gifted it to the cultivation idiot. He killed his own cousin because he didn't want to cultivate…'

"Did you gift other things to me? You mentioned a Crystal Lotus as well?"

"Of course I did, don't I bring you gifts from my travels?" Han Bai smiled brilliantly and started counting some of his gifts over the years.

On the side, Ning Bi was very attentive. She had recognized the bead from the Brass Stallion Auction. Connecting the dots between her master's lost memories, the attack, and the Prayer Beads in question didn't take long.

Yao Qing had no idea that Han De had lost his memory, but she had already guessed that it was the Silent Silhouette that tried to kill him before. It wasn't a big jump to assume that both were related. After seeing the bead in Han De's hand she knew her guess was right. Although she had no way of confirming it, that cloudy white bead looked similar to the prayer beads that Shen Xing used before leaving this world.

Han De recognized some of the items that Han Bai mentioned, but most of it didn't ring any bells. He cut him off and asked another question.

"Does my mother or father know that you gifted me the Prayer Beads? Do they know you that you frequently send gifts to me?"

"I don't think they would waste their time with small matters like these..."

Han De had confirmed everything he wanted to know. His memories related to the item that caused the cultivation idiot's death was missing. Through the cockroach's master they had assumed it that the item was supposed to be some sort of prayer beads. Since the memories were damaged, Han De had no idea how the cultivation idiot acquired those beads no matter how hard he tried to recall.

Unexpectedly, it seems like it was a casual gift from his cousin. A small matter that wouldn't catch anyone's attention. If this was true, then lacking memories about his cousin made sense since he was connected to the Prayer Beads.

'If I was an MC right now I guess I would've felt relief and reconciled with my cousin right now…'

"Treebeard. Seal him off for further questioning. Find out where he got those beads from."

Unfortunately, Han De wasn't an MC. He was very well aware of his status. As a mid-boss in this world, he couldn't leave any stone unturned. This guy was just too suspicious. It was best to keep questioning him until the Seven Luminaries Reminiscence pill was ready.

Han De looked at the sealed Han Bai without emotion. He then remembered this guy's 'gift' and couldn't help but facepalm. No wonder his mother didn't question this guy any further…

"Treebeard, bring in the lady."

It was hard to read her due to the veil, but one could see a tiny sliver of surprise in her eyes upon seeing the sealed Han Bai. She respectfully sat down after Han De gave her permission.

"I apologize on behalf of my cousin. It seems I have failed to notice how willful he could be. He will be punished according to our family rules. We will also compensate you for any damages he has caused."

"..."

Getting no response didn't faze Han De. She was probably kidnapped or bought off by his cousin. Since she was a 'gift' it was fair to assume she was unharmed, at least physically. Han De didn't have any counseling experience, and the cultivation idiot's memories certainly wouldn't have anything close to that. This reminded him of something but the feeling went away as quickly as it came.

"I assure you no harm will come to you. I assume you would prefer a safe passage to your home as soon as possible?"

"..." The woman didn't respond but slowly shook her head.

'I see, perhaps there is an issue with her family, if they sold her, suddenly reappearing out of the blue would be problematic.'

Han De wanted to solve this as quickly as possible, he could feel the stares of his disciples without even relying on his spiritual sense.

"Alright, what about a friend, maybe you have a childhood friend? A fiance?"

She didn't respond, but Han De didn't miss how her eyes shook when he asked if she had a fiance.

'Hmm, if I look at the situation from outside, reluctance to mention something like that is natural. She was supposed to be my 'gift' after all, why would she talk about something like this. There might be a tiny possibility of MC involvement too…' Han De decided to clearly explain his motivations to prevent any misunderstandings. He spoke with confidence.

"I see, perhaps you have a fiance, or someone close to that. You will be able to see them again, not to worry! I am a man of my word."

The woman spoke without emotion. "No. There is no such thing."

Han De nodded and spoke with an understanding tone. "I see, I see. Even in an uncertain situation like this, you worry about this person more than yourself. You are very brave and loyal. Must be a special person indeed."

According to the movies that Han De had remembered, he had to establish empathy with the opposite party. Probably.

Han De sneakily looked around. Treebeard was as silent and as expressionless as a tree. However, his disciples were… baffled?

"You are mistaken. I did have an engagement promise, but I broke it off myself." Han De couldn't determine any emotional changes on the woman thanks to the veil she was wearing. Before he could make another comment she continued.

"That arrangement was always against my wishes. Thankfully a few years back this person lost his cultivation and I was able to remove this shackle once and for all."

'Waait, hold up, just one second.'

"Senior Bai witnessed this event and after testing my abilities he brought me here to become a disciple."

From the side, sealed Han Bai was just looking at emptiness, he couldn't move a muscle, but if he could he would've nodded. Ning Bi and Yao Qing nodded in his stead. Former had heard many stories from his father about arranged marriages, and the latter had seen many victims of it over many millennia.

Han De tentatively probed the situation. "How did you cancel this arrangement?"

"I threw the engagement gifts back at him during their family meeting."

"... I-I see…"

Han De couldn't help but look at his cousin.

'Damn, this guy killed the cultivation idiot already. That wasn't enough now he wants more?'

Although Han De did prepare for many different scenarios involving his family, this wasn't something he had considered. His number one priority was taking precautions against the inevitable betrayals, he did not think that a family member would pass off the aggro of a tier 1 MC at the first chance they got.
'Clearly I underestimated their incompetence. What a massive oversight. Of course an arrogant young master's family would be filled with arrogant young masters.'

This wasn't Han De's first rodeo with an MC. He had a better idea of the resources at his disposal, and the warning came early. Therefore his mind was calmer.

"What was his reaction?"

"... He challenged me to a duel 3 years later. If he wins I will be his wife."

Han De was surprised. "You agreed?"

"According to my family, we must provide a way out for his dignity." Undisguised contempt in her voice showed what she was truly thinking.

'Of course there is no way to convince this guy to forget about her. An MC's mind works differently. I just need to determine the source of his power-ups.'

"Do you know why he lost his cultivation?"

"... It happened sometime after his parents died. I do know why, nor do I care."

'Grampa/loli. Yep, I can smell it.'

After Han De's content look, an awkward silence ensued. Han De was making plans on the best way to deal with the situation. Only Treebeard was able to understand his master's thoughts. Ning Bi and Yao Qing were puzzled, the woman herself was irritated but she was smart enough to understand that the questions weren't asked to humiliate her.

Among his lackeys, Treebeard had the highest cultivation as a late-stage Immortal Realm expert. He could call for more from the Han family, he could even recruit them permanently. However, their loyalty wouldn't be unquestionable like his current lackeys. His mother went to great lengths to find appropriate people for him. Raising talents like this required time. Han De wasn't about to fall for the family betrayal plotline from the get-go.

<After putting Han Bai in a cell, instruct Peng to begin his questioning. Then take another Immortal Realm and go to this lower realm and find this potential Anomaly. He most likely has an Entity guiding him. Do not engage, only observe. Report back after discovery.>

Treebeard bowed, dispelled the formations and took Han Bai away. Han De nodded in satisfaction, then he saw the woman was still there. He hadn't considered what to do with her yet.

'She is in her early 20s, 9th stage at that age can only be called below average. I guess living in a lower realm lowered her cultivation speed though.'

Status check was always free, Han De was also curious about the stats from the people of lower realms. This was a good opportunity.

[Name: Jin Shu]
[Race: Human (100%)]
[Gender: Female]
[Age: 23]

[Cultivation: Qi Condensation (9/13) (24.74%)]
[Constitution: None]
[Bloodline: Ancient Four-Winged Butterfly (Mutated/Parasitic) - (71.23%)]
[Roots: Wood (14%) (Sealed: 63%)]

[Potential Points (Total: 8) (Sealed: 30)]
-------------------------------------------
[Will: 3 (8)]
[Talent: 1 (4)]
[Comprehension: 3 (10)]
[Luck: 1 (8)]

[Cultivation Methods]
-------------------------------------------
[Blossoming Dream (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Intermediate (4/8)]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (9/13)]

[Martial Arts Methods]
-------------------------------------------
[Flowing Roots (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Intermediate (2/8)]

[Expand to view more...]

[Fate]
[Cannon Fodder (Sealed)]

[Notes]
[Potential sealed by the bloodline. Becoming a disciple will unlock a limited timed quest. If failed, disciple status will be automatically removed. Cannot be accepted as a disciple if bloodline reaches 100.00% (Estimated Time: 35.247415 years)]

'Not bad… There is a good chance that I can scam h- Wait. Can I even accept her as a disciple now?'

Han De's initial disciple limit was 2. He had only learned of that number because it was indirectly mentioned through a quest. After his privilege upgrade, he had heard of the beginner level Disciples Panel, but he hadn't checked it out yet.

[Disciples Panel]

[Core Disciples: 1/1]
[Requirements: 32 Points Minimum]
-------------------------------------------
[Ning Bi (35)]

[Inner Disciples: 1/2]
[Requirements: 30 Points Minimum]
-------------------------------------------
[Yao Qing (30)]

[Outer Disciples: 0/4]
[Requirements: 28 Points Minimum]
-------------------------------------------
-

'It did say the panel was at the beginner level… But this is really barebones. What is the difference between the levels?'

Naturally, there was no response. Han De was used to it, so he started formulating an approach on how to scam Jin Shu into being his disciple.

While Han De was reading her status, looking at the Disciples Panel, and formulating a plan, from Jin Shu's perspective he looked as if he was ogling her. His eyes made horizontal movements constantly. This was because the System displayed its text in the Latin alphabet. While this world used something close to the Chinese characters, which were written and read vertically.

Ning Bi and Yao Qing were familiar with this type of eye movement. During Yao Qing's ceremony, Han De did the same movements for nearly 5 minutes. Although, at that time he was looking at nothingness.

Finally, after a few minutes of silence, Han De spoke while directly looking into Jin Shu's eyes.

"Your Ancient Four-Winged Butterfly bloodline is impressive. It is unfortunate it mutated and became parasitic."

Jin Shu's eyes shook. Her father had spent nearly all of his resources into unlocking her bloodline. After her parents died the family hadn't abandoned her purely because of the potential that the bloodline represented.

Han De continued.

"I'm sure you've felt it. Your bloodline is getting stronger and stronger with the passage of time. It wasn't your imagination that you've been getting slower and slower to advance."

"Since you've come to this higher realm, you must have some ambition. I'll be blunt. With your current skills you will be able to enter a mid-level sect and enjoy the life of an average disciple. If you were a child you would be able to enter Starfall Mountain and stay here as a below-average disciple, but unfortunately, you are too old."

Jin Shu's eyes wavered and she involuntarily looked down. She was prepared to get rejected but didn't realize her situation was this bad. In her realm, she was an unrivaled genius after all.

"That said, if your bloodline were to be removed, your potential would explode. Then any sect would be begging for you to join them. Starfall Mountain included."

Han De let the silence linger for a moment. He wanted his words to have the full effect.

"You or your family may have spent enormous resources at awakening your bloodline, but right now it is a noose around your neck. I would suggest you remove it as soon as possible."

Jin Shu's bitter smile was visible even behind a veil. "I cannot remove it even if I wanted to. It has already passed the 6th stage."

Ning Bi had no idea what the 6th stage represented. She was generally ignorant about bloodlines. Yao Qing, however, was different. She knew Jin Shu's fate would be a slow and painful death the moment Han De mentioned that her bloodline mutated and became parasitic. It was a cruel torture that only insane sects would use. In a righteous sect, the most merciful treatment would be a swift death. Although normal bloodlines could be removed easily when they were below the 4th stage, removing a mutated one that was past the 3rd stage was nearly impossible.

Han De continued with confidence. This was the final stretch.

"I can remove your bloodline."

"..."

"However, doing so is extremely complicated. It requires complex and precise calculations that involves many factors. It also depletes a tremendous amount of my own strength. Therefore I will only use such a method on a direct disciple."

Han De smiled. "As I said. If your bloodline were removed, your potential would explode, and every sect would beg for you to join them. Starfall Mountain included. Your potential would be similar to that of Yao Qing here."

Han De looked at the Yao Qing who was staring at him with disbelief. He kept his slight smile and stood up.

"Take your time to decide. Ning Bi, Yao Qing, escort this lady around the sect. Show her around. If by the end of the day her decision is made, bring her to my abode."

43. Anger Management

Han De was standing in front of the spiritual iron sheet that he had lodged into the ground. A week had already passed since his first lecture. These experts had worked tirelessly. It was obvious from the report that their work wasn’t fruitless.

‘59 subjects. At least 13 showed consistent Anomalous behavior. 3 already disappeared and cannot be found. 5 died, but the bodies of 2 disappeared. I did not expect there to be this many…’

He knew that a big chunk of this was probably false positives, and some of it might end up being minor-MCs like that Geng Shi. However, if there were 2 or 3 Yao Qing level MCs out there, that would be a tremendous success for his reeducation program. A deeply, deeply concerning success.

“Keep observing all of them. For the ones that disappeared, assign higher realm experts. They most likely had an Entity that detected the observers, or an item that did the equivalent. Wait for a few weeks then acquire the dead bodies. If those 2 reappear continue observing.”

“Pay special attention to those that are blessed with luck and keep your distance. Their luck might drag you in and make them aware of your existence.”

“Remember, only interfere if they take action against the Han family or the Starfall Mountain Sect. If you do interfere, make sure the force is at least 5 major realms higher.”

After dealing with the report Han De started his lecture. This time the focus was on reducing the damage that the family members may cause through their interactions with the Anomalies. Treebeard was in the audience and he had already informed others of the potential MC in that lower world. Although Han De did not notice it, the tension was high among the lackeys.

The lecture was nearly over. The main theme of the crisis protocols revolved around the things Yao Qing had said before he made contact. Lackeys themselves didn’t know about the source. After some nightmare scenarios, Han De gave some general orders.

“As you can see, we need a pattern that would allow us to passively observe without attracting attention. No one is to get near the Red Stone Basin. To anyone else, Red Stone Basin is an empty scar, and there is no such sect called Silent Silhouette.”

“Movements of the sect master and the family head must be observed at all times. If they leave the sect or the family estate I want to know. Also do keep a note of the highest cultivation base after they leave. Make a file on the high profile ones.”

After the Q&A session, the lecture was over. Before Han De left, as per his orders Peng informed him that his parents had left the sect grounds 6 days ago, their destination unknown.

Han De walked back to his abode with a frown. Under normal circumstances, his parents wouldn’t leave at the same time for 6 days straight. They were the backbone of their respective organizations after all.

* * *

Long Xiu was high up in the sky, looking down at the bloodshed below. This was the 37th sect she had visited in the last 5 days.

A Transcendent expert with bushy eyebrows tentatively approached her. Even for a moment he wouldn’t raise his head and look directly at the family head.

“We haven’t been able to find another kindling. This was the 6th and the last sect of this one.”

Under the triple suns, Long Xiu looked far away into the horizon. Without diverting her gaze she asked. “What of the candidates?”

“They are ready.”

“Good.” Finally, Long Xiu broke her gaze and intently looked at the lines and lines of women down below. After an hour of scrutiny, just as she was about to frown in dissatisfaction like the 36 times before, she spotted something. White hair with pink eyes. She was thin, but her face was pleasant to look at. Long Xiu paid extra attention to her skin. She relaxed after seeing it wasn’t flat colored.

“Her.”

The girl in question didn't resist. Her gaze was exceptionally calm. Long Xiu's subordinates immediately sealed and moved her away.

At long last, there was a slight smile on Long Xiu’s face. This trip wasn’t for naught after all. She killed the rest with the back of her hand. Since there was no kindling, there was no need to be kind.

The sect that housed many millions was now nothing but ash and dust. A black dot inside an endless desert.

Long Xiu concentrated on the far-away dot she was looking at before. She raised her right hand and with a vertical motion created a rip in space. After a few seconds, demons started gushing out from the wound. Transcendent experts in a spearhead formation started advancing without delay.

They reached the 38th sect after half a day.

* * *

Han De could sense the third Qi Condensation signature before entering his abode. The other two were without a doubt his disciples. A smile crept up in Han De’s face. His effort wasn’t in vain after all.

He stayed in his Hidden Expert mode and entered the courtyard. Although he had expected her to cave and agree, he didn’t expect the ceremony to be ready. Apparently Ning Bi and Yao Qing worked really fast.

With his 2 other disciples on the side, and Jin Shu kowtowing, Han De finished his tea.

"With this, you are now my third disciple."

"Disciple Jin Shu greets master."

[Quest: Bloodletting]
[Difficulty Level: F]
[Status: Issued]

[Summary: Your new and very talented disciple is suffering from a mutated parasitic bloodline. As her master, you must remove this ailment, then carefully guide and nurture her. Help Jin Shu claim her birthright!]

[Requirements: Remove the mutated parasitic bloodline.]
[Time Remaining: 2 hours]
[Success: 25 Profound Points]
[Failure: Jin Shu’s disciple status will be revoked.]

‘2 hours? I guess there is no need to delay then.’

Han De dramatically closed his eyes. He didn’t know how the token worked, but at least needed to make an effort. After a minute of concentrated silence, Han De gave the order.

‘Use Bloodline Removal Token on Jin Shu.’

[Activating Bloodline Removal Token on disciple Jin Shu]
[Target Confirmed]
[Calibrating...]
[...]
[Calibration Complete]
[Tribulation Triggering Chance: 0.00000041%]
[Commencing Removal]

‘Wait, there was a chance?!’

Inside the courtyard, Han De, Ning Bi, Yao Qing, and Jin Shu did not feel the intense but infinitesimally small beams of energy coming from Han De. These beams of energy multiplied by millions and entered Jin Shu. They attacked her bloodline with impossible precision.

[Removal Success]
[Time Taken: 0.0000000013 seconds]

[Quest Complete!]
[Congratulations!]
[Quest Reward: 25 Profound Points]
[Notes: You have completed your quest in the allocated time. Your very talented disciple is now free of the mutated parasitic bloodline.]

[Profound Points: 820]

Han De opened his eyes. Jin Shu was still in seiza, looking at him with expectation. Both Ning Bi and Yao Qing also had the same look. Han De gave a profound look at the three of them. It had only been 10 or so seconds. He didn’t know that it would be this easy, but the show had to go on. Thankfully he was very well prepared for situations like this.

“Your bloodline has been removed. In 5 days at the earliest, we will go to the archives and look for a suitable cultivation method. Your comprehension of Blossoming Dream isn’t bad, but your future lies elsewhere.”

Three disciples watched as their master stood up and left.

Jin Shu looked at her hands. She closed her eyes and cultivated for one cycle. She reviewed her cultivation method.

Ning Bi and Yao Qing carefully observed Jin Shu. This woman had made her decision even before their master left the Golden Pavilion. Once they learned of this, they wandered around the sect and kept chatting with each other. They were quick to get along despite their differences.

Jin Shu had lived her whole life in a lower realm, and Ning Bi had started cultivating only 2 months ago. Yao Qing had lived most of her life in the Iron Blood sect. The common ground they all had was how new they were at the Starfall Mountain. Even their youngest Ning Bi, who was their most senior when it came to the sect, had only started going to the lectures for less than a month.

Yao Qing didn’t know Jin Shu from her past. Considering the girl’s condition, it would’ve been shocking if she did. The lower realm that Jin Shu was from was familiar to her. It was a location that Silent Silhouette paid attention to. However, she didn’t know the reason for that. From her perspective, it was tens of thousands of years ago. Still, she decided to keep an eye on it and try to mention it to Han De in an appropriate moment.

She had no doubt that Han De would get the hint. In the past few days, she was beyond impressed by his capabilities. Perhaps it was better to come clean now, she had already acknowledged him as her master, and a part of her knew that it would be impossible to keep her nature hidden forever. This wasn’t an easy decision to make.

Ning Bi was very happy. She loved and admired Yao Qing greatly. It was as if this elder sister of hers filled a hole that she didn’t know existed. She immediately warmed up to Jin Shu too. This wasn’t surprising at all, Ning Bi was always friendly towards new people. Her bottom line was her master. If they ever hurt him she would naturally make them pay for it.

Jin Shu herself was barely keeping it together as they toured the sect. This Han De, perhaps her future master if he really did accept her as his disciple, laid out her innermost fears out in the open. She knew it was impossible to remove the bloodline that was with her since her birth. Yet she somehow found herself daring to hope. It was an unpleasant feeling that she had never known before.

Their master had left the courtyard, yet all three were silent. When he first said that the bloodline was removed, Jin Shu didn’t feel any different. Yet after a single cycle of cultivation and only a cursory review of her method, she was shocked. Her speed was increased twentyfold, and her mind was crystal clear. It was the difference between Heaven and Earth. She removed her veil and revealed her delicate face.

Three disciples recalled how tired their master sounded. Although he desperately tried to mask it, they could tell. They remembered how he mentioned complex calculations. Judging how fast the process went, perhaps he had started those calculations before he even left the Golden Pavilion.

They weren’t the only ones that got stunned into silence.

* * *

{...}

{...}

{...}

{...}

{You did it so easily, yet you dare to put up an act?!}

{How is it possible? How can you have this precise control? Impossible! IMPOSSIBLE!!}

{!!!}

Black void pulsated. Its anger filled the void. It started leaking to other places. To hidden places. To places where the veil is weak.

{...}

{Maybe I should… No, no, no. NOOOO!!!}

{!!!}

{...}
{...}

{Duplicitous brat...}

Black void had looked at the boy’s soul over and over again. It could tell that his soul had left his body briefly and resynced once again. Other than something tedious like that, it couldn’t find anything extraordinary.

Black void looked at the girl that had the stench of time in her soul. It looked at the girl that had her parasitic bloodline removed. It remembered the silly ‘Anomaly’ theory. It remembered the useless ‘industrialization’ plans. It remembered the strange symbols he wrote.

{His thinking isn’t ordinary. Perhaps there is merit in them after all. Then who is he acting for-}
{...}
{Ah… I see. So that was your aim all along. HAHAHAHAHA...}

{...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...}

{...}
{...}
{...}

{...HAHAHAHAHA... Haaaa...}

{Astonishing. Provocative. Dangerous.}

{...}

{Very well. But I won’t be easy to convince...}

* * *

Inside the Red Desert, near the Red Stone Basin, there was the Red Mountain. This mountain was cut in half by a deep chasm. Inside the chasm was the Silent Silhouette’s sect. In the deepest part of the chasm was a meditation chamber.

The sect master of the Silent Silhouette was in secluded meditation in these chambers. He had made his choice, prepared all his cards. All he had to now was to wait for the result. He cultivated away as he always did for countless millennia.

The Red Stone Basin was the location of the most recent and the most bloody Breach. The event itself had lasted a long time before powerhouses of the continent gathered together and sealed the opening. However, the seal was just an external measure. Although this wound would heal itself in time, this process was extremely slow due to the extent of the damage. Therefore, the Red Stone Basin itself was a giant weak point in space, where otherworldly maddening echoes could be heard from time to time.

{..!}

*cough*

The sect master collapsed to the floor while violently coughing up blood. His entire body was convulsing. His extremely high cultivation made him more susceptible to influences beyond the void, unfortunately, he did not know that. This world was far too remote and uninteresting for higher beings. Until now, he hadn’t encountered any problems while meditating in locations near weak points.

{.!.}

*cough* *crack* *cough*

The sect master could feel his bones breaking.

*crack*

He couldn’t even remember the last time a bone of his broke. Was it in the Transcendent realm? It was so long ago, he had *crack* no idea.

*crack*

He thought he *crack* had heard a sound, so he started listening. *crack*

*crack* *crack*

He realized it was his own screams. *crack* He was screaming without even realizing it. He couldn’t even remember the last time he screamed. Was it in the *crack* Dao Sovereign realm? It was so long ago, *crack* he had no idea. *crack*

*crack*

* * *

Han Wei was investigating the last weak point that they found. Although it was on the Northern Continent and halfway across the world from the Starfall Mountain, this was the best they got.

At the conference, he couldn’t push for a consensus. Everyone was wary of opening another Breach. Yet they also agreed that something had to be done. The writing was on the wall for who knows how long but everyone was somehow satisfied with the status quo.

“Grand Elder, we have completed the survey. This one is extremely promising!”

Han Wei smiled at the old man, he was about to say something, he had even opened his mouth.

{ ! . } .

Han Wei’s vision darkened. He felt an intense echo resonating from the weak point. He didn’t wait, he didn’t mind his dignity. He screamed while using all of his power to get away from the pulsating space.

“RUNN!!”

Nearby experts had also felt something. The effect wasn’t as exaggerated as their Grand Elder, but it was enough to fill them with dread. The Grand Elder’s scream pulled them to reality.

} . !   { .

Han Wei collapsed even after he flew away with full force. Using his power of space would only mean his death, so he could only fly.

* * *

Xin Qiang who was working with the Sun Empire in charting their weak points felt a faint echo come through the gap they opened. She used all her Ancient Realm senses but couldn’t detect anything. Just as she gave up, another echo game. Yet it was still so indistinct. She shook her head and continued her work.

* * *

Han De finally reached his chambers and breathed out a sigh of relief.

‘Finally, I can play with my tokens and my points…’

Last week was way too hectic for his tastes. But now he had successfully bought at least 5 days of relaxation. He immediately took out a scroll and started organizing his thoughts by writing.

‘I can immediately purify my Light element roots with the Spiritual Roots Cleansing Token, but that won’t be enough. Even if I use the Derive Cultivation Method Token for a new light element method it still won’t be enough. My element is just too rare and the methods to derive from are just too low quality.’

‘I can still use my points to derive one anyway, but the resulting method will be partial and will need who knows how many fragments to complete. Then I’ll need to increase my comprehension of it from scratch.’

‘Or, I can use a Spiritual Roots Seed Token to create a new fire root, improve it as much as I can with root upgrade tokens and move towards the Blazing Sun Scripture. That is the highest quality scripture available to me right now.’

Crimson Terror, the flower that he got from the cockroach, the one that the dragon and the fox almost fed him to, had enormous amounts of Perfect Fire Qi stored in it. Han De couldn’t think of a more perfect catalyst for the Spiritual Roots Seed Token.

One limiting factor was the quality of the new roots. If it started at a too low value, then the point cost of it would be too high. It would take 2500 Profound Points to perfect it if it started below 20%. He only had 820 points right now. He needed at least 75% pure roots to practice the Blazing Sun Scripture. It was a shame that the cleansing token only worked on single element roots.

Han De wrote down the potential costs of all the approaches he could take. Pros and cons of all of them were laid out on the scrolls in front of him. After carefully considering his options, he decided to forgo the short term benefit. If he wanted to survive long term, he needed long term solutions.

‘Activate Spiritual Roots Cleansing Token’

[Spiritual Roots Cleansing Process Invoked]
[Gathering statistics]
[Previous usage of an upgrade token detected]
[Calculating cleansing time]
[Cleansing will take 9 hours and 43 minutes]
[Initiating final preparations]

'I thought it would take at least two weeks. Not bad!'

[Preparations are complete]
[To prevent permanent soul damage, the host will be put in sleep mode]
[Upgrade Started]
[Time Remaining: 9:41:59]
[...]

44. Uncontested Farming

[...]

[Time Remaining: 00:00:00]
[Cleansing Complete]
[Awakening Host]
[Operation Successful]

[Congratulations, your spiritual roots have been cleansed!]

Han De opened his eyes. Before activating the token he was just leaning on the side while looking at the scrolls. Now, he was sitting in the lotus position. ‘Creepy...’

He tried sensing the changes but he couldn’t tell that there was anything out of the ordinary. It felt as if nothing had happened. He looked at his status screen without delay.

[Roots: Light (100%)]

‘I guess it is the new normal, it is so normal that it feels normal. Completely normal…’

Han De breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the result he was hoping for. He ignored the rising sun and looked at the scrolls in front of him to reconfirm his build order. He checked his inventory once again.

[Inventory]
Martial Arts Method Fragment x200
Derive Cultivation Method Token x 5
Spiritual Roots Cleansing Token x4
Spiritual Roots Seed Token x5
Random Constitution Token x5
Random Bloodline Token x5
Potential Point Upgrade Token x1
Bloodline Removal Token x4

The next stage of his plan was the most crucial. He prayed to any deities that might be in range and listening.

‘So. The seed token. How do I even do this, how do I provide the Qi required?

[Spiritual Roots Seed Token] x5
[Creates a new spiritual root on the target. The element depends on the Qi provided during the seeding progress.]
[Warning: Adding a root with an existing element will cause complications. Adding conflicting elements will cause complications. Please refer to Spiritual Roots Removal Token.]

The System was obstinate as always. Han De could not get any more information after trying for half an hour.

‘Logically speaking, this should add a new elemental root and make me a dual element cultivator. Hopefully, the new roots won’t start at 1%. Even if they do, I can wait for a while my disciples can farm points for me I guess.’

Han De removed the unremarkable box from his storage ring. He hadn’t touched this since he got it from the cockroach. Although he wanted to give this to Ning Bi, he kept delaying it again and again. Like before, a dense cloud of Fire Qi appeared as he opened the box. Han De started the process without delay.

[Spiritual Roots Seed Token Invoked]
[Gathering Statistics]
[Heavenly Tribulation Strength: Average]

‘Wait, what? WAIT!”

[Perfect Fire Qi Detected]

‘NONONONO STOP’

[Fire Element Selected]

‘CANCEL! STOP!’

[Calculating...]

Han De realized he couldn’t move a muscle. He wanted to at least close the Crimson Terror’s box but he couldn’t. He kept shouting for the System to stop in his mind.

[Calculating...]

[Qi Source Insufficient]
[Process Aborted]

‘...’

Han De looked at the System UI in complete bafflement. He didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry. He looked at the Crimson Terror once again and slowly closed the lid of the box. His entire body was covered with sweat. This was the hardest 20 seconds of his life by far. After a while, his brain started working again.

‘In hindsight, adding a new root to someone would be a heaven-defying action and would naturally attract heavenly tribulation. Still, if this was in the description all of this could have been avoided! Why would you even assume I have the common sense of a cultivator?! F#$%!!’

Han De felt better after verbally abusing the (most likely) inanimate System. He didn’t have any other outlets to vent his frustrations.

‘If a 1000 years old flower with perfect Fire Qi isn’t enough, then what would be? What is the correct amount here? 10 Crimson Terrors? 100? 1000?’

‘Maybe if Ning Bi was 4 or 5 big realms higher and agreed to provide her Fire Qi, then it might be enough. But even then the threat of the mighty ‘Average Heavenly Tribulation’ remains. I wouldn’t be surprised if that is actually at the planet shattering level. The act of shattering a planet would be at least ‘Average’ in System’s eyes, surely it wouldn’t be any less than that, right?’

The System kept mum as usual. Han De went over his notes again. His original plan was to create a new Fire element root and become a dual element cultivator. Then he would derive a new method from the Starfall and the Blazing Sun scriptures. If his new fire roots were too low in quality, he would slowly improve them via upgrade tokens.

The System had provided many tokens related to spiritual roots. Upgrade, Removal, Seed, and Healing tokens were available in the shop. He had even received a gift of 5 free seed tokens. It was clear that the System intended its host to go with the multi-element route.

Han De didn’t have any grand ambitions. As long as he could increase his survivability rate, he could stomach reducing his cultivation speed in the short term. Of course, he wasn’t going to ignore the path that the System laid in front of him.

However, Han De really did not have any grand ambitions. If that path meant going through an ‘Average Heavenly Tribulation’, he would decisively ignore it.

‘Well, my build order is completely useless now. I guess I can just roll for a random constitution and a random bloodline and call it a day...’

[...]

[Activating Random Constitution Token]
[5]
[4]
[3]
[2]
[1]
[...]
[Congratulations!]

[You have received Luminescent Body!]

‘...’

Before he could even look at the description, Han De noticed his skin had actually started glowing. Every inch of his skin was glowing with pure white light. Han De immediately noticed a problem. His eyelids were also glowing. Instead of the usual darkness, he saw pure white when he closed his eyes. He instinctively facepalmed, but his hand was glowing as well.

[Constitutions]
-------------------------------------------
[Luminescent Body (Awakened)]
[Progress: 3.0%]
[Power: Average]

[Effects:]
[Moderately increases the efficiency of Light element body cultivation methods.]
[Slightly increases the passive healing speed.]
[Passively absorbs all Light Qi that comes in contact.]
[Passively cleanses the body by emitting Light Qi.]
[Further effects are locked.]

‘A-Average?!’

“HAHAHAHAHA”

‘Seriously?! You are giving me an average constitution? On the first try?!’

Han De forgot that he was glowing and started laughing and jumping around like crazy. After a while, he remembered how Ning Bi could see through the walls after her breakthrough. He froze, then took a deep breath.

‘You know, even if it was ‘Very Weak’ I would’ve been over the moon as well. I guess ‘Average’ is synonymous with trash for you to give it out so easily. Heh, one System’s trash is another Arrogant Young Master’s treasure.’

‘More importantly, I’m guessing there is no limit to constitutions or bloodlines in a body, only the Random Tokens have that limitation. Well, I guess that’s useless to know, it’s not like compatible constitutions or bloodlines grow on trees.’

His body was still glowing, so he forcibly calmed himself down and concentrated. Cultivation always felt weird to Han De. All of it felt very natural to him. As if he woke up to a 3rd arm one day and immediately started using it with near-perfect precision. Completely natural. His new body constitution felt like he just woke up to the 4th arm.

[Passively cleanses the body by emitting Light Qi.]

Turns out his body was indeed in cleansing mode! It wasn’t just his skin, his entire body was radiating Light Qi through his meridians and that was slowly cleansing him of impurities. Increasing or decreasing the Light Qi he emitted controlled the intensity of the glow. Thankfully he was able to turn this feature off after some practice.

‘Not bad! It might be useful for scamming as well!’

[Moderately increases the efficiency of Light element body cultivation methods.]

Han De had no idea what ‘Moderately’ meant. He wasn’t a masochist so he didn’t have any intention of practicing body cultivation. It was one thing to read about the suffering of an MC, but actually experiencing it was another. Han De vividly remembered some of the descriptions. ‘If another man had experienced this pain, they would’ve died long ago...’ That was Han De. He was that ‘another man’. He wasn’t an MC, he wasn’t about to seek death via masochism.

[Slightly increases passive healing speed.]

‘Well, I’m not going to experiment with that. No way.’

[Passively absorbs all Light Qi.]

After some experimentations, he concluded that his body really did absorb all Light Qi it came into contact with. Han De suspected that this ability was the one that inflated the power rating of this Bioluminescent Body. He was practically immune to pure Light Qi based attacks. It was a shame that it was a rare element.

‘Overall much better than I expected!’

His control over this ‘new feature’ required some more practice. At least for a while, he needed to put conscious effort into keeping that cleansing feature off. It was like a new arm, he suddenly didn’t know what to do with it.

Han De moved on to the Random Bloodline Token. Since he had some Bloodline Removal Tokens he could take a more risky approach with it. He could ‘reroll’ until he got something vaguely useful like the Luminescent Body. His expectations weren’t high, but he prayed to Ning Bi just in case.

[...]

[Activating Random Bloodline Token]
[5]
[4]
[3]
[2]
[1]
[...]
[Congratulations!]

[You have received Primordial Void Dragon bloodline!]

[Bloodlines]
-------------------------------------------
[Primordial Void Dragon (Unawakened)]
[Concentration: 0.01%]
[Power: Extremely High]

[Effects:]
[Aura of the Progenitor]
[Higher beings touched by the aura cannot be disrespectful.]
[Notes: Cannot be detected by lower beings.]

[Scent of the Progenitor]
[Beings evolved from spiritual animals will pay their respects when they detect the scent. Beings evolved from the netherworld will accept your rule when they detect the scent.]
[Notes: Effects will be extremely limited on lower beings.]

[Further effects are locked.]

‘...’

‘...’

‘Holy shit!’

Han De actually hadn’t read the description yet. His reaction was based entirely on the ‘Extremely High’ evaluation. He slowly moved his eyes down to the description. His feelings became complicated upon reading it.

‘This… This is kinda useless…’

Han De eyed the Bloodline Awakening Token and the Bloodline Purifying Token from the shop. They were 100 and 500 points respectively. He was itching to use them.

‘Wait, no. Even Jin Shu’s bloodline had a heavenly tribulation triggering chance upon removal. Will this cause tribulation if it is awakened? Shit wait no! Can I even remove it now?!’

‘Logically speaking, 0.01% concentration should not trigger a tribulation, right? Maybe awakening it also wouldn’t cause tribulation since its concentration is so low?... Is that stretching it?’

He really wished that the System would provide better feedback for its tokens.

‘Alright, it’s not so bad, that scent thing will have some effect at least. Even if it says extremely limited, that doesn’t mean anything. It didn’t say the effect would be nearly zero, just extremely limited.’

Since he couldn’t even check the description of the items in the shop without buying, he decided to leave this for another day. Awakening token’s cost was only 100 points. He could buy it when he had more points and maybe experiment with it at a later date. He also thought about removing and adding another bloodline in case of an emergency. The adding/removing processes were so quick, he could do it on the fly as a trump card when all else had failed.

Now that his preliminary evaluations were done, his focus was back into his notes. Most of them were now useless, like the 5 Spiritual Roots Seed Tokens in his inventory. Han De wished he could sell them to the shop, but naturally that was impossible.

Requirements to create a new root was simply too strict. He probably needed a thousand-year plan just for its preparations. While Han De liked that idea because it sounded very Xianxia-like, he didn’t know if he could survive that long.

There was only one thing left to try on his notes.

[Redeeming Cultivation Method Upgrade Token for 200 Profound Points]
[Using Cultivation Method Upgrade Token]
[Starfall Scripture requires 114 Profound Points to advance to the Grand Master level]

[Starfall Scripture (Earth)]
Power: Extremely Weak
Mastery: Grand Master
Stage: Core Formation (Mid-Stage)

Both Han De’s understanding and the quality of the Starfall Scripture itself had gone through qualitative changes. Before, he had some hesitation towards using the derive token for light element methods. Now that he had reached Grand Master level with Starfall Scripture, he knew he had made the right call.

The methods and scriptures he had access to were all branches of the same tree. There was nearly nothing to be gained from combining them. Starfall Scripture was the most comprehensive one among them. He needed a different school of thought if he wanted to gain benefits from the token. He didn’t know how to achieve that in the short term.

Increasing his comprehension to the Grand Master level also provided him with a new perspective. The difference between him and the cultivation idiot was truly massive. In Earth’s terms, the latter had created calculus, while the former had only studied it. Understanding something didn’t mean one could meaningfully contribute to it. The cultivation idiot was truly a genius. It was a shame that he was only an arrogant young master.

1 cycle.
2 cycles.
3 cycles.
4 cycles.
5 cycles.
6 cycles.
7 cycles.
8 cycles.
9 cycles.
10 cycles.

[Cultivation: Core Formation - Mid-Stage ((+480) 7796/500000)]

His overall base speed was essentially quadrupled. It could be increased further with pills, but by their very nature pills were flat value increases, not percentage increases.

Han De did not get any bonuses to pill absorption as he had hoped. The passive Light Qi absorption of the Luminescent Body wasn’t helpful either. The spiritual springs that he had on his abode were mostly non-elemental, but he had one that partially released Light Qi. No matter how much he absorbed, none of it went towards his cultivation. All of it was used on nurturing and cleansing his body.

Han De sighed with regret. He had master-level comprehension of the Blazing Sun Scripture and had a very good idea of its capabilities. The difference between the two scriptures was tear-inducing.

‘Should I… maybe... look at body cultivation methods?’

* * *

[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Ning Bi successfully reached Qi Condensation Level 8]
[Issuing 75 Profound Points as a reward.]

[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Yao Qing successfully reached Qi Condensation Level 5]
[Issuing 45 Profound Points as a reward.]

Han De spent the next 5 days getting used to his bioluminescent ability. Keeping his new glow mode off was harder than he thought it would be. Once he got distracted it would turn itself on again. Still, hard work paid off. Mostly.

Once he had some level of confidence, he left his chambers to find his disciples. He couldn’t get new roots, so there was no need to stay longer than necessary.

45. King of Vegetables

Han De found his disciples at one of the gardens through his spiritual senses. All three were meditating in lotus position while wearing Starfall Mountain core disciple robes. He deliberately slowed his steps and assumed his Profound Expert persona. Through his tireless efforts, he could now tap into this act almost subconsciously.

He noticed Jin Shu had finally discarded her veil. Han De had already expected her to be beautiful, she was a Xianxia female MC, of course she had to be beautiful! However, as he looked at her perfect features, he realized the problem.

‘If she is an icy beauty, why isn’t she using the Ice element? Isn’t Wood element out of place for her template? Wait, that’s unimportant right now…’

His first disciple Ning Bi had 10 points in her Talent. She had reached the 4th stage of the Qi Condensation realm under a week. It was obvious that she would surpass Han De quickly and move on to the higher realms soon. She was also fated to be the Purifier of Planes, and she had that perverted Grudge skill.

At this point, Han De just wanted to give her a good impression before she moved on. That way, when she inevitably starts purifying this plane, perhaps she would spare Han De if he was still alive at that time.

His second disciple Yao Qing was a regressor. Han De didn’t know how high her cultivation was in her previous timeline. Her luck wasn’t that good but her total potential was still at 30 points. It was impossible for her cultivation to be too low unless she was just 50 years from the future.

In any case, her discipleship was temporary. Accepting a Core Formation expert as her master was a silly idea at best. Han De was her ticket to more resources. And she was Han De’s ticket to future events. Han De had taken some measures to prolong her stay, but the results remained to be seen.

Thinking about these points, Han De was ecstatic when he first saw Jin Shu’s potential. Her talent was actually low! Her total potential points were at 30, but her talent was only at 4! Not only that, she was suffering from a parasitic bloodline. She was from a lower realm too! She had no connections to this world.

A low talent disciple with a debt of gratitude towards Han De. It was nearly perfect! Her cultivation wouldn’t be able to surpass Han De in the short term. He could also lead her astray by letting her focus on formations or alchemy! She would be a long term disciple, and his disciple quota problem would be solved!

That was the plan, but Han De had neglected the obvious in his excitement. Seeing her stunning beauty was like a bucket of cold water. Ning Bi was young and the age difference was big. He was able to stop his mother’s attempts at artificially aging Ning Bi via the cultivation realm. But Jin Shu was only 3 years younger than Han De. His mother would definitely try to force her on him.

‘Icy beauty like her would definitely get disillusion by my mother’s attempts. She would lose respect, and her gratitude would swiftly fade away. Which puts me back to square one.’

Although there was a possibility that Han De could use his position to make a relationship work, he didn’t seriously consider it.

First, it was unethical. It was just abuse of her gratitude. He was also posing as another person, so there was that too. This was a Xianxia world, he felt that he needed to desperately hang on to any shred of morality left within him.

Second, she was an MC. She would be involved with all kinds of Xianxia bullshit in the future. If Han De played his cards wrong, odds of her getting back at him was pretty high.

Third, she was embroiled in the power-up arc of another MC. That was a whole can of worms waiting to be opened. The situation was too unpredictable.

Fourth, she was stupidly beautiful. Even if she wasn’t an MC and/or had dealings with an MC, typical Xianxia trouble would follow her wherever she went. While Han De sympathized with her, he wasn’t going to risk getting involved with her troubles.

Han De keenly understood his problem. He needed a few male disciples with low talent scores. Preferably ones with low comprehension as well. That way he could safely farm Potential Points without worries. He pushed back his sigh and made a mental note to prioritize his lackeys on male MCs for now.

‘All I can do is to use her past as an excuse. That won’t stop mom for long but it’ll buy some time. If I can get some idiot male MCs in the meantime I’ll have a large breathing room for the foreseeable future.’

‘Speaking of liabilities, I completely forgot about the fox woman!’ Han De immediately sent his spiritual sense to the lackeys’ buildings.

<Peng.>

<Yes, Elder De.>

<What is the status of the fox woman? Were you able to contact their tribe?>

<We’ve been trying but we couldn’t make contact as of yet.>

<That’s fine. They are an elusive tribe after all. In fact, move the fox woman away from the sect and release her seals. Tell her that her brother and his pet snake will stay here for the rest of their lives if I do not receive adequate compensation. Don’t bother putting a mark on her either.>

<Yes, Elder De.>

‘She was only incarcerated for a short time. Although I did threaten them, I didn’t act on it in the end. This should be enough for my face as an arrogant young master. Coupled with the compensation demands, the dealings with the fox tribe should end peacefully.’

Han De considered trying his bloodline scent on her for a moment, but there was a history between them. He wouldn't be able to get a clear feedback. He couldn't turn his bloodline off as well, so it was better not to prolong her stay.

The three disciples had long realized that their master had arrived. It was hard not to, he had a slight glow to him. They didn’t dare disturb him, it seemed like he was deeply contemplating a profound problem.

When Han De returned to the real world he saw his disciples were waiting for him. He also realized his passive glowing effect was activated without him noticing it. Thankfully it was at the minimum setting. He quickly turned it off again and didn’t bother giving an explanation.

“We are going to the Archives. You can use this opportunity to choose auxiliary arts and spells. You may take anything that catches your attention. It doesn’t matter if it is incomplete or has other issues. Fate is the most important factor when selecting a method.”

Ning Bi had already visited the Archives during her 2nd day in the sect. Even if she was a direct disciple, she couldn’t just enter the Archives at will. She was looking forward to another visit. Last time she didn’t even have a cultivation base.

Jin Shu didn’t say a word. After her bloodline was removed, she realized her cultivation speed had improved beyond her imagination. Changes in her comprehension were even more pronounced, to the point of scaring her. In just a few days, her understanding of the current cultivation method she practiced had reached unbelievable heights.

While she was reveling in her newfound abilities, her fellow disciples’ abilities shocked her as well. Their power and expertise was something she couldn’t imagine from a Qi Condensation cultivator. But then again, she was reminded of her situation. She wasn’t exactly conforming to the standards herself. Not to mention her standards were that of a lower realm to begin with.

Over the last 5 days, she had many interactions with the two girls. From their descriptions, it was obvious that their master wasn’t simple. This was also the first time she saw a sect of a higher realm. She was looking forward to this visit to the Archives.

Yao Qing was visibly calm. She was curious, but she really didn’t need anything. Her mind was on another matter entirely.

Han De knowing the Celestial Storm Scripture was shocking. Him rewriting it was shocking. Him rewriting the Blazing Sun Scripture was shocking. Him being Ning Bi’s master was shocking. Him killing Shen Xing was shocking. His mastery over the spear was shocking.

From the moment she met Han De, it was one shock after the other. Him removing the parasitic bloodline of the 6th stage was shocking too. In fact that was on another scale altogether. It was the mountain that broke the camel’s back.

Yao Qing had already decided not to prolong this matter after thinking things through for the last few days. She would make her move after coming back from the Archives.

* * *

Much to his disciples’ relief, Han De didn’t even bring up flying towards the Archives. His 5 days of practice had increased his control, but using spiritual power still affected the stability of his body. If he accidentally started glowing at random intervals his image of Profound/Hidden expert would surely take a hit. Walking was the safest option.

After 2 months Han De was finally aware that the act of walking was strange for an expert on his level. It was especially harmful to his Arrogant Young Master facade. Fortunately, most of his time was spent on his abode and the damage was insignificant. Also, it might’ve been helpful for his future Hidden Expert transition if he looked at it from another point of view.

Han De and his three disciples naturally caught the attention of many. Ning Bi was already a celebrity in the sect. In the past week, she was also frequently seen with two other beauties. There were many rumors about their origins, but now that they were walking behind Han De, the truth was revealed.

Openly gawking and whispering crowd didn’t bother Han De. He decisively ignored everything until they were inside the Archives. After dispersing his disciples he quickly went to the forbidden section. It was time to thoroughly check it in its entirety.

* * *

[Seventh Moonlight Scripture (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Master]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)]

[Through the Starlight (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Master]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)]

[Immortal Bastion (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Master]
[Minimum Cultivation: Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment]
[Effects: Creates a barrier made out of light.]

[Golden Spark (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Master]
[Minimum Cultivation: Mid-Stage Core Formation]
[Effects: Heals superficial wounds through touch.]

[Heavenly Gaze (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Master]
[Minimum Cultivation: 5th level of Qi Condensation]
[Effects: Generates heat at a small spot through concentration of light. Range depends on the amount of Light Qi.]

Han De had already scoured the Core Formation section of the Archives during his previous visit. At that time his roots were only at 42% and he didn’t have a good grasp of the System’s abilities. Now, he didn’t have to worry about incomplete methods that much. He didn’t even need to worry about the available stages of the methods, the System would automatically create other stages as long as at least one stage was complete.

‘My situation really isn’t as bad as I thought back then. I still would prefer farming XP or some sort of auto-cultivation, but this Profound Points stuff really isn’t that bad. Definitely not the worst cheat that I’ve seen. 6/10 easily.’

Han De profoundly nodded to himself. It was a reflex, he didn’t even realize he was doing it.

‘I got DPS, Tank, and Healing spells. Enough for experimentation at least for now. The footwork method isn’t bad, but I’ll have to be careful with the body cultivation method.’

It had taken him a few hours, but his original purpose was complete. He had also found an incomplete method for Jin Shu, which was nice.

[Yellow Grove Scripture (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Master]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)]

[Profound Points: 504]

He left the spells section of the Archives and headed down to the first floor. As he went down he realized he hadn’t encountered any disciples on the way. The Archives were also strangely quiet too, he couldn’t hear the usual muffled scroll sounds from the first floor.

There were only 4 people on the first floor. 3 of them were his disciples. The last one was a dignified looking man that was standing straight as a stick with hands on his back. Han De couldn’t detect an aura from the man, but his features were instantly recognizable. Mid-40s, long hair with a deep black color, thin and extra long kung-fu mustache along with the accompanying beard.

Han De forced himself to calm down and consciously increase his control over the Luminescent Body’s glow effect. He confidently walked towards them and spoke to the man.

“Greetings, grandfather. I did not expect you to exit your closed-door cultivation this early.”

The serious-looking man slowly turned his head and looked at Han De with the corner of his eyes, then turned his attention to the disciples once again after saying “Hmmm”.

The man continued scrutinizing the disciples. He looked at them from head to toe. Even the experienced Yao Qing felt that her secrets were out in the open as he looked. She didn’t know if her going back in time had created a mark on her, but the man’s gaze didn’t linger and moved on to Jin Shu.

After a few minutes and another “Hmmm.” he looked at Han De directly.

“You have chosen well. Their talents aren’t that bad. Maybe I should take one of them…”

As he spoke Han De saw that he looked at Ning Bi’s direction. Han De didn’t hide his smirk.

“Grandfather, if you don’t seek death, you will not die.”

Han De’s grandfather was an orthodox sect elder. He was a man that was obsessed with the concept of face. An old monster that measured his cultivation with centuries. An arrogant person that would never listen to others. A person that looked magnanimous from the outside but his pettiness was as high as the heavens. He would never forget anyone that offended him, no matter how small. Nor would he ever forgive them.

“Hmph! A mere mid-stage Core Formation cultivator dares to talk to me like that?”

At least, he was like that to outsiders. When he was with the cultivation idiot he would turn into a doting grandparent. The cultivation idiot also adored his grandfather like no other. His obsession with his face came directly from his grandfather. Since their characters were so similar to each other, their reunion would always look like a meeting between two Vegeta’s.

“It is the younger generation’s duty to look after the old and weak.”

The grandfather and the grandson looked at each other. On the side, the 3 disciples had varying expressions on their faces. Han De didn’t mind them. Although he was sure that he could convince his grandfather now, he still felt pressure after he finally met this man in the flesh. Inadvertently, his bioluminescent glow started to leak. Since his attention was fully on the greeting, he didn’t notice.

The grandfather, Han Shan, had already noticed his grandson’s peculiarity. He was secretly inspecting him from the beginning. This glow he released didn’t look simple. Its current effects were only cleansing, but he could tell that was just the beginning.

A smile crept up on Han Shan’s face. He gave an approving nod. “Good. You have improved. You are much better than your father.”

Ning Bi breathed a sigh of relief on the inside. Jin Shu felt nostalgic at the interactions of her master and his grandfather. However, under her expressionless exterior, Yao Qing was baffled. Granted, she didn’t know anything about the Han family other than Long Xiu and Han De, but the existence of this grandfather figure was unexpected.

“Thank you, grandfather. Although I am happy to see you, I can’t help but wonder why have you cut your seclusion short.” Like the cultivation idiot, his grandfather Han Shan was also cultivation obsessed freak. Even when Han De was growing he would still cultivate for a few years at a time. The last time he was supposed to close up for 10 ‘short’ years, but only 5 had passed so far.

Han Shan nodded, there was no need to beat around the bush with his grandson. <I came out early because your father has gone missing 6 days ago.>

46. Top Dog

<I came out early because your father has gone missing 6 days ago.>

‘... What?!’

Han De immediately remembered Yao Qing’s timeline. He resisted the urge to look at the 15-year old and tried to calmly analyze.

‘My father’s cultivation is too high. There is no way he’ll go missing due to natural phenomena. He won’t be stuck in a hidden realm or something. At worst he can punch his way through or send a message. Mother and father both left the sect at the same time too…’

“You three go back to the abode and cultivate.” Han De didn’t give an explanation, but his stiff face was easy to read. His disciples didn’t complain and followed their master’s instructions. Yao Qing would be frowning if her inner thoughts were displayed on her face.

After they left the Archives Han De looked at his grandfather again.

“Where was he going when it happened? Does my mother know? Or is she missing too?”

Han Shan grabbed Han De’s shoulders. “Alright, I’ll tell you everything, stay calm. Your mother doesn’t know, she is fine, scheduled for a return in 3 days. Wei’s soul light flickered before communications were lost. The soul light itself is now stable, which means his state is stable. For the time being at least.” Han Shan didn't mention the spatial disturbance to his grandson. Even he was unsure of what it meant.

Han Shan sighed. “There is no reason to keep this from you anymore. Wei went to the northern continent weak points to find a suitable location for another Breach. Little Xiu is looking for kindlings in other realms.”

When a sect elder enters closed-door seclusion they would cut off their connections to the outside world. If the seclusion time is short, no measures would be taken. However, if the expected seclusion time is too long, or if the elder was just too important, the sect would summarize the important events as they happen and send a specially imprinted jade slip to the abode of that elder. This way once they come out of seclusion they would catch up to the current events quickly.

Han Shan was the previous sect master and the previous Han family head. Any matters related to the sect, the family, and his descendants would be sent to his records room. 5 days ago after the flickering of the soul light and the loss of communication, his seclusion was interrupted as per Han Wei’s previous instructions. Therefore his grasp of current events was only second to his son.

Han De was unfamiliar with what a kindling was, and had no idea why would his father open another Breach after they were barely able to close the last one 200 years ago. Han Shan answered his grandson’s thoughts.

“Why open another Breach? It is just a cautionary measure, for now. What is a kindling? It has to do with the spiritual energy of this world.” Han Shan shook his head. “It used to be the last resort just a few millennia ago. Pity how things deteriorated this quickly.”

“Nothing in this universe is truly endless. Everything is on a cycle. When someone dies, their soul goes back to the cycle of reincarnation. This process can be interrupted, their soul can be extinguished. But the energy of it cannot be destroyed.”

Han De more or less could tell where this was going. He had a pessimistic mind, so disaster scenarios were a natural part of his daily life.

“Nothing can escape the cycle. Even stars themselves will follow it. They will be born, live for billions of years, and die. Then, a new star will form from their residue. Spiritual energy follows the same rules as everything else.”

“Countless years ago, before the Han family, before the Starfall Mountain sect, this world used to be so rich with spiritual energy, even their smallest sect would make our cultivation realm look like a mortal’s abode. After an unknown number of years, spiritual energy started to wane.”

‘Ok, got it! YES! This is fantastic news!’ Han De interrupted his grandfather.

“Spiritual energy is getting thinner and thinner, meaning this world will turn into a lower world soon, and might regress even further. Is that right?”

Han Shan smiled. “Smart.”

Han De was ecstatic. ‘I am already at the Core Formation level. If this world becomes a lower world, then all of the higher realm cultivators will leave! I’ll become the top dog, or at the very least come very close to it!’

Han Shan didn’t want his grandson to despair, so he indulged some of the plans. “A few years back we found evidence that the progress of the cycle was accelerating rapidly. A kindling can be used to stabilize the situation and buy us some time. We already have a few target worlds that we are considering and already have branches there. If we can’t make it, we’ll open a new Breach and use the tear in space to migrate our family, and the sect.”

‘Huh? Wow, that’s, hardcore man…’ The sudden news of a mass migration nearly short-circuited Han De’s brain.

“Haha, you don’t need to worry. Just focus on your cultivation. This matter was planned long ago. Your father wasn’t even born back then. Why do you think Starfall Mountain is obsessed with quality over quantity?”

Han De could only nod. His plan to become a top dog was short-lived, but he still wanted to clarify. Perhaps it could be useful in a worst-case scenario. “What would happen if we stayed? Is leaving the only way?”

As a grandfather, he knew his grandson’s character. He would consider running away a shameful act. It was the same for him, once upon a time he tried to find a way to solve this conundrum. In the end, he realized his efforts were futile. He didn’t want his grandson to go through the same motions and create a knot in his heart.

“Even now no one can break through to the Ancient Realm. In a few decades, no one will be able to reach the Immortal Realm. As the resources get scarce, secret cultivation realms will become useless. Once the spiritual veins are depleted everyone’s cultivation will start to stagnate. Prolonging our stay is just prolonging the inevitable.”

Han Shan shook his head then smiled. “This isn’t something for you to worry about. Your idea of utilizing the ‘human resources’ as you call it has merit. It’ll still take some years for the plan to come into fruition. You can play around with your ideas during that time, just don’t let it distract you from your cultivation too much.”

He took a jade box out of his storage ring. “This is the Seven Luminaries Reminiscence pill. It was completed 3 days ago. I know all about your situation.” Han Shan paused for a moment. “I’ve visited the traitors myself. Your mother is taking care of them perfectly.”

Han De didn’t want to think about it. This was the case where not knowing was the best option.

Han Shan’s eyes lost focus for a moment. “If something happens contact this clone. I have already left the instructions for your mother. Don’t tell her anything when she comes back. Take the pill as soon as possible.”

Han Shan disappeared into thin air, leaving Han De with a green jade box.

* * *

Han De realized he needed to make preparations for the worst. Upon his return, he contacted Peng to get ready for a ‘small scale disaster drill’ and recalled Treebeard.

‘What can I even do for preparations?! This is far above my original estimates. I even made plans for a zombie apocalypse but not for a mass migration!’

Zombies actually existed in this world. They were called corpse puppets and needed refinement, but sometimes some of them would break the control of their masters. Ancient tombs were also infested with these creatures. The concept of a zombie apocalypse was modern and not exactly compatible with Xianxia, but Han De wasn’t going to take the risk when the escape methods were so easy! Magic was really convenient!

Without Han De noticing Yao Qing had already come near him. She quickly bowed.

“Master, may I ask for a private audience?”

Han De was inwardly annoyed. ‘You are way too late, but fine whatever.’

* * *

Inside a random room of Han De’s abode, the master and the disciple were sitting seiza while facing each other. Han De he swallowed his frustrations. He knew he could not rush this, so he let Yao Qing control the flow of the conversation.

“Master.” Yao Qing was calm and collected. She kowtowed as she spoke.

“Disciple Yao Qing apologizes and will accept any punishment. This disciple did not intend to keep her knowledge of future events a secret.”

Contents of the conversation so far baffled Han De. He immediately got a bad feeling after hearing ‘knowledge of future events’. This wasn’t the script that he was hoping for. Was the genie already out of the bottle?

“Rise, and explain. It is true that you have been a disciple for a short time. That said, I don’t consider myself to be a poor judge of character. I do not believe you would try to cause harm by keeping secrets.”

Yao Qing raised her head and saw Han De’s faint smile. She took a deep breath and started explaining.

“Master. Although my body is young, my mind is not. As Yao Qing, I had lived for many millennia. I even cultivated to the Celestial Realm. Yet for unknown reasons, my mind returned to my past body. 179 days ago I found myself in the Iron Blood sect. I do not know how and I do not know the reason. It may sound impossible but it is the truth.”

“I did not intend to deceive. I had already lived my life here in this world and know about certain events that are yet to happen. My original wish was to subtly warn you about the dangers you and your family were about to encounter. As I witnessed your wisdom day by day, I am now ashamed of my previous inaction.”

“Although my knowledge of this era isn’t as clear as I’d like, I can still prove that what I say is the truth.”

Han De was always aware that his situation in this world was precarious at best. He continuously racked his brain to improve his stability. Reeducation of his lackeys was one part of the solution. However, that would inevitably open him up to scrutiny. Therefore he had thought of the reincarnator angle to solidify his position.

He had acted in an unrestrained manner towards Yao Qing. He wanted to keep her here for longer than she originally intended. One way of doing it was to impress her with his knowledge. This also served as a preparation for the reincarnator angle. It was a win-win situation, on paper, at least.

Unfortunately, this girl’s reaction was completely out of his expectations. Her original cultivation was higher than he had expected. It was so high, Han De had no idea what this supposed ‘Celestial Realm’ was. Was it even real? Was it a test? This was too out of the blue.

‘Her cultivation right now is too low and she can’t kill me, I am safe, which means she’s not making a villain’s speech. That means she merely realized my peculiarity.’

‘I may have gone too far in a few places.’

Han De realized he needed to influence the flow of the conversation. He smiled and shook his head. “You don’t have to prove anything. I already noticed that you had a secret when I saw the art that you cultivated.”

Yao Qing nodded as if she had already expected this. “Master. Are you… like me?”

Han De stayed silent for a moment. He wanted to appear as if he was mulling over his response. He had predicted this, but he still started panicking a little on the inside.

“No. My case is different. I suffered an attack on my soul some time ago. Most of my memories related to a certain Prayer Beads are damaged due to this encounter. I am not sure how I survived, but through the attack, I gained some other fragmented memories.”

This was something he had thought of before he started educating his lackeys about the ‘Anomalies’. Originally he was going to start leaving obvious breadcrumbs after taking the Seven Luminaries Reminiscence pill. Plans were meant to be broken. He could only move up his ‘Reincarnator’ scenario to an early date.

Han De continued with a broken smile. “Mind you, these are just fragments. Images, sounds, sometimes peculiar feelings. Not much to go on, but still somewhat useful on their own.”

Yao Qing nodded. She already had a feeling that this was the case. In her original timeline, Han De had died in this world. His heaven-defying abilities could only be explained in such a manner. Rewriting the Blazing Sun or the Celestial Storm scriptures in a day cannot be done through some random legacy.

Regaining memories from past lives wasn’t unheard of, but it was still something as rare as phoenix feathers. Aside from the irregular Shen Xing, most would only regain fragments like Han De in front of her. Yao Qing suspected that some of his fragmented memories belonged to the primordial era and most likely carried over some of his intuition from that life as well. The ancient concept he exuded from his spear art, that primordial disciple acceptance ceremony, and how easily he modified the scriptures. They all fit together.

Yao Qing was afraid that the confirmation she sought would irrevocably taint her view of Han De. Surprisingly, that wasn’t the case. She remembered Han De’s words when they were flying towards the Starfall Mountain. His strong rejection of demonic methods and how he called out the hypocrisy of the sects had made a deep impression on her.

She also thought of another possibility. ‘What if his memories are more than fragments? What if he is just telling me what I want to hear? It is true, if he has more than fragments then the best option would be to hide it. No, maybe he can’t directly tell. He might be afraid of someone divining it. My situation is too unique, but primordial relics are highly sought after. Who would be able to resist?’

After letting her mull over, Han De continued. He wanted to probe some information quickly and move on. He suspected that she would leave after this conversation. She’d have to be an idiot to not notice the undertone of his grandfather's visit. Han De was determined to finish on a positive note. The future was uncertain, there was no need to create more enemies.

“Were you my disciple as well in your -how should we call it- previous timeline? Is that why you have become my disciple despite having reached the Celestial Realm before?”

“No, master. At this point in time, my roots were already stolen by Shen Xing, the demonic disciple that master had killed in Brass Stallion city. I became a mortal. It was over 20 years later I was able to regrow my roots and become a cultivator again.” Yao Qing spoke without emotion. One would think she was talking about someone else. She had stopped caring about the gory details long ago.

This confirmed that the System wasn’t caught in her time loop. Han De was already 99.99% sure about this, but he acted as if he was surprised. “I see. Then what are your plans?”

Han De’s intent was obvious. Yao Qing kowtowed again. “Master, I did not lie. Your mastery over the spear is truly far above me at my best. I truly wished to become your disciple to learn. I may have cultivated to a higher realm before, but that was another timeline, another me. I now realize just how much I still have to learn. Please give me a chance.”

Han De’s jaw dropped on its own. According to the template in his mind, this girl should have the pride of a higher realm master. Staying as a disciple would be demeaning. Scamming him for some resources and giving some tips about the future was completely acceptable. Han De thought it was a bargain. But staying here after this?

‘Is she that confident in her future knowledge? Or Unexpectedly, is her face really this thick? Is she going to blatantly ask for more resources now? Try to get everything while she could? Is there another angle that I’m not aware of? Why did she tell me her secret in the first place? Sure you might be suspicious about me, but why tell your own?’

Hundreds of thoughts flashed through Han De’s mind. He tried to consider every angle. Was it his mother? Was it his father? Was it something else in the future? He had assumed the reason his mother went on a killing spree was due to the cultivation idiot’s death. Back then he wanted to play it safe and use Yao Qing as an early warning system. If she had realized that she was late and wanted to bail that was fine. Perhaps she realized she wasn’t late? Han De’s mind was running in circles.

Yao Qing was still kowtowing while patiently waiting for his response. Han De thought of a wild idea. ‘There is no way she is sincere, right? I mean, I did improve her Celestial Storm Scripture, but I only improved it to the master level. She was already closing to the Advanced level herself...’

Han De relied on the System completely for comprehending methods. He knew the difference between comprehension levels. Although he couldn’t stomach the normally written cultivation methods, a ‘Celestial Realm’ master should be able to understand them, right? Especially one with 8 points in comprehension. Especially one that lived for god knows how long.

After thinking it through, Han De realized he couldn’t come to a decision right now. ‘I guess ‘letting’ her stay doesn’t have any short term disadvantages. I can keep an eye on her and intervene if I smell anything fishy. If somehow she really is actually sincere, I was acting like a Profound Expert anyway.’ Han De made a mental note to ask about the Celestial Realm to his grandfather.

“... Very well. Since you are showing your sincerity, I can only respond with sincerity. Raise your head. You are already my disciple. That fact won’t change now, or in the future.”

47. Pampered Princess

The capital of the Ming empire was in ruins. Craters were everywhere. Smoke was rising from the ashes. There was no blood or corpses to be found. There were no cries for help, nor wails for the dead.

The Ming Palace, the only standing structure in the capital city was also silent. Cracks could be seen on the walls, but they were still standing. Barely.

The royal guards were on high alert. Only a few of them were left. No one tried to run away, they had no place to go even if they did. The capital was their home, and the palace was their life. Now the former was nothing but a pile of ash, and the latter looked as if it could collapse at any moment.

Ming Nui and Zhang Cheng were locked in one of the secret chambers under the palace. They almost died in last night’s botched assassination attempt. If it wasn’t for the sudden appearance of a crazy woman that burned the entire city to the ground, perhaps they might’ve perished along with the other princes.

That crazy woman was Xin Meili, the matriarch of the Xin family, who had finished negotiations with the Ming Emperor a moment ago.

“Are you sure about this?” The Ming Emperor didn’t like it when people took advantage of him. It was true that this crazy realm-ignoring woman had helped, but he still didn’t like it. He preferred good samaritans that didn’t ask for something after doing a good deed. Despite that, he didn’t refuse her. Why waste this chance to sow discord among allies?

Xin Meili didn’t answer and walked away.

After she had entered the continent, she was attacked by low realm experts. Dispatching them was easy, after interrogating them she didn’t linger and started her search for her disciple, Xin Qiang.

A few days later, she stumbled upon a century-old fire lotus that bloomed right at that moment. It was a waste to leave it. The efficacy would fade rapidly once it fully bloomed. After sealing it, she came across an injured high realm expert of the same sect that attacked her.

These people were all quite resistant to torture, so she wasn’t expecting much. But out of the blue, this guy started talking about the Starfall Mountain Sect’s Han De, and their deal with the Ming Emperor for the weak points. Presumably, it was an attempt to distract her. Obviously, she didn’t let him get away and turned him into ash on the spot. She saw a glint in his ashes just as she was leaving. It was a remnant fire essence! It had a strong seal and she nearly missed it!

To gather more information she headed for the Ming capital. The timeline didn’t fit, Xin Qiang couldn’t have negotiated with the Starfall Mountain. She knew that this Ning Bi was the one that practiced the superior version of the Blazing Sun Scripture.

During her journey, on a random spot she had chosen for meditation, she saw the leaves of an earth-grade thousand years old fire ginseng.

The Ming Empire’s capital looked like a warzone when she arrived. The attackers were of the same sect that she encountered, so she didn’t hesitate and provided help. The Ming Emperor was unwilling, but still provided the coordinates of the weak points and their general characteristics. In his mind, the Xin family was working with the Han family anyway. It wasn’t hard to exploit that fact.

Luck was on her side ever since she had entered the continent. She needed leverage, and leverage she got right after entering the capital of the Ming Empire. It was truly inexplicable.

‘Hmm?’ Xin Meili had already left the capital, but she saw a tiny red light flicker for a moment at the center of a dried pond. ‘What could it be?’

* * *

Yao Qing raised her head. Master and disciple looked at each other. Yao Qing organized her thoughts and started explaining.

“I spent two decades as a mortal. I was able to regrow my roots by chance, under the catacombs of the Brass Stallion city. At that time I had no knowledge of any sect, apart from the Iron Blood that I was a part of.”

“It was nearly a century later that I learned some of the events that happened during my mortal years. It was only a few lines in the passing. In my youth, I had also tried to forget those years.”

“What I remembered was that in the year 906 of the 274th cycle, Long Xiu, the head of the Han family had gone mad with grief and started cutting down anyone and anything related to the Starfall Mountain Sect. The cause of her grief was the loss of her family.”

“Her family, including… the genius of the Starfall Mountain sect. The peerless swordmaster of his generation, her son. Whose name was forgotten in the annals of history.”

For a while, no one disturbed the solemn atmosphere. Yao Qing had told him the truth. The whole truth. She only hid the reason why she remembered Long Xiu even after all these years.

‘Yeah, yeah. I know. That idiot was a genius. Tell me something I don’t know.’ Finally, Han De shook his head. They were already in the year 906. He needed more. When he transmigrated it was 906 already. Technically the cultivation idiot’s death covered everything on the surface. But his father’s disappearance made him suspect a 2 pronged attack. Which meant that the sect, and therefore himself, was still in danger.

“What about my father, or grandfather?”

“I am sorry. I only know that she lost her family.”

“Any idea of the culprits?”

Yao Qing shook her head. “At first I thought it was the Silent Silhouette Sect. However, with Ning Bi’s… I suspect the family that resided in the Blazing Sun hidden realm might have played a role as well.”

‘The Blazing Sun family? Hidden realm? It is true, that Xin something-something really did intensely stared at Ning Bi back then. But Ning Bi shouldn’t have stayed with the Starfall Mountain during Yao Qing’s timeline. Well with her luck getting in contact with Xin something-something would be easy. Yao Qing shouldn’t know about the Xin family encounter at the Brass Stallion...’

“Why are you suspecting the Blazing Sun family?”

Yao Qing seemed hesitant but she still answered her master’s question. “Ning Bi appeared from the hidden realm a thousand years from now. She destroyed the hidden realm first, then the continents one by one, starting with the southern continent. Once she was done, she shattered the world to escape from the seal.”

Han De had noticed before that Yao Qing was apprehensive about Ning Bi. ‘So this was the reason. Well, she only purified the planet. That’s nothing. She’s going to purify entire frickin’ planes of existence. A planet can only be called cute next to that…’

Still, this was Ning Bi. It was better to tie this loose end now before it became a grudge. Considering how Ning Bi’s brain worked, this grudge might somehow implicate him as well.

“That is not the Ning Bi you know now. A thousand years is a long time. I have told you before, seemingly insignificant events can have massive and unpredictable outcomes. Your very existence probably altered history before you even became my disciple.”

Han De profoundly closed his eyes.

“The right person in the wrong place can make all the difference... in the world.”

He slowly reopened them again.

“There is no need for anyone to be burdened with a possibility. Not you, not Ning Bi.”

Yao Qing narrowed her eyes. She slowly started nodding after mulling over her master’s words.

“Now, what is this ‘seal’ that you mentioned.” Since she shattered the planet to escape the seal, that must’ve been one hell of a seal. Of course it immediately caught Han De’s attention.

“At the time no one had any idea. No one knew when it became active. I became aware of it only 2 centuries before Ning Bi’s appearance. The seal was placed by the Silent Silhouette Sect. It was their attempt to stunt the spiritual energy decline. They sealed the world through the Heavenly Qi Gathering formation.”

Han De felt that something wasn’t right. ‘Isn’t this Silent Silhouette Sect a demonic sect? Not only that they are a hidden sect as well. Why are they even sealing the world? Why didn’t they just leave during the Breach 200 years ago? Aren’t they supposed to be near Red Stone Basin? The center of the previous Breach?’

“Did the spiritual energy decline stop?”

As Yao Qing expected, her master wasn't surprised at the decline. “No, but it supposedly slowed it down. But it didn’t matter, war and conflict kept escalating due to scarcity of resources.”

Han De suppressed the urge to sigh. ‘I really won’t be able to become the top dog, my ticket to an easy life is gone...’

‘Her information was surprisingly useless. It could be the Silent Silhouette, but it could be someone else. It could be that the seal was activated and cut off my father from this world. If that is the case can my mother return?’

His thoughts were interrupted by Yao Qing. “Master, the big sheet of spiritual iron that I saw at the Eleventh Pavilion is a tertiary plank of the Heavenly Qi Gathering formation. Dense spiritual energy activates the plate, if the anchoring rocks get placed according to the formation, it’ll become a part of the seal.”

Han De raised his eyebrow. He had checked those things with the System. They were just ordinary spiritual iron and ordinary rocks. “I checked them myself and could not find anything out of the ordinary. Are you sure?”

“Yes, the plank only becomes a part of the formation once the core seal is activated. The anchors will resonate and let the core locate the plates. They will only resonate when placed in a strict formation. The rocks themselves are useless after the formation is fully activated. A plank can be located once it is saturated with spiritual energy. It just can’t become part of the seal if the anchors aren’t in place.”

‘What a needlessly bothersome formation...’

“What do you know about this Silent Silhouette Sect?”

Yao Qing took a deep breath. “They are based on Red Mountain overlooking the Red Stone Basin. They are very secretive and like to work behind the scenes. It took me quite a while just to learn of their existence. Shen Xing was supposed to be their rising star. He eventually replaced Yuan Zemin as the sect leader, which should be their current leader. A cruel man with cruel methods.”

Her hatred was obvious. It wasn’t surprising, all regressors needed some sort of motivation. Hers was revenge that she probably couldn’t get the first time due to Ning Bi’s appearance. Han De listened to her descriptions, but most of them were useless due to the time difference. The knowledge she had was only relevant after a few hundred years.

The Sun and the Ming empires were to collapse on their own. Silent Silhouette Sect would take over some of the mid-sized sects for purposes unknown. Most likely due to the Heavenly Qi Gathering formation. These were the most immediately applicable pieces of information.

Han De waited for her to continue, but apparently, that was it. ‘She is really useless. She really is the shame of all regressor templates. Wow…’

‘Is this her thing? She admits being a regressor but ‘somehow’ can’t remember anything worthwhile? Is this supposed to be a 4D misdirection?’

Han De looked at the available information. If he helped his family he would become a refugee. If he didn’t, he would have to suffer countless wars and conflict over declining resources. It wasn’t even a choice. Even if he would become a refugee, he would become a rich refugee.

‘Really, is that really all you know? Did you live a pampered life and became this naive after thousands of years?!’

Everything about this bothered Han De. The more he thought about it the more he thought it was possible. Yao Qing looked like she would become a tremendous beauty. Even as a mortal it wasn’t hard to imagine her living a pampered life.

‘Ning Bi is also like this. She has that otome game heroine element in her. Yao Qing might have that too. A second otome game heroine… I guess it’s not so bad. Their capture targets can become my free advertisers even if we leave this world. Yao Qing fears Ning Bi so she would yield if there is a conflict. Let’s hope Jin Shu isn’t a third one…’

‘Right, since she is pampered, I should make sure that she never talk about this to anyone again. If this was on Earth she would’ve long become a lab rat. A Xianxia lab rat would be even worse…’

Han De was reminded of the hermit wizard archetype from D&D. Their high intelligence would make them incredibly clever, but their low wisdom would make them act like idiots. He temporarily filed Yao Qing under the hermit wizard category, pending further investigations.

“It might be needless to say, but you should never divulge your nature to others. You should also be wary of the urge to change things to someone’s advantage. Even if that urge stems from a desire to help others.”

“The slightest push, the smallest touch, sends echoes throughout life. Even a small act may have more severe repercussions than you know, or can see. From one act can come tremendous power, when the echo has traveled as far as it can.”

Yao Qing seriously listened to her master’s words. Throughout the entire conversation, he was remarkably calm. His questions were on point, and his warnings carried a weight that was beyond this realm. She realized she had made the right choice. ‘He really might be…’ She calmed herself and didn’t dare continue that line of thought.

Han De wrote down Jin Shu’s cultivation method on the spot. It was the best wood element method he had seen, or rather, the most expensive wood element method he had seen. However, compared to the Blazing Sun or the Celestial Storm, it could only be considered basic. He gave it to Yao Qing and sent her away.

The information about the seal was too important to delay. He wrote down the explanation and put in some generic excuses about how he made the conjecture. He used the sect seal on the scroll and instructed Peng to deliver it to his grandfather’s clone and warn his mother.

He didn’t want to do it himself because he knew it would generate questions. But, if he were to take the Seven Luminaries Reminiscence pill right now, not only he would buy some time, but he could also brush away any inconsistencies in his story as the after-effects of the pill.

In all honesty, Han De was rather conflicted. He wouldn’t mind getting locked into this world as long as his cultivation was higher than others. No more Immortal Realms? That’s great! I already have Treebeard! No more Nascent Souls? That’s even better! There were too many of them anyway!

‘The seal might not cut it on its own, but kindling plus the seal might. Even then, perhaps it would only delay the inevitable. The problem is, there is no way to make the higher cultivation people leave before sealing...’

Han De sighed and took the green jade box from his storage ring. As soon as he opened the lid he heard that demonic voice again.

[Primitive Herb Arrangement Detected]
[Analyzing...]

[Effect: Soul Restoration]
[Efficacy: 0.00000014%]

[Do you wish to absorb?]

“Wat?”

48. An Object in Motion

[Do you wish to absorb?]

‘...’

After the initial surprise, Han De didn’t mind it. The System was the System.

‘This should be a pill to make me remember the rest of the cultivation idiot’s memories. Why did it suddenly become a soul restoration pill? Sorry, ‘Herb Arrangement’, what was I thinking?!’

Han De rolled his eyes and continued thinking. He knew that the System would only do things that would benefit him in some way, but his seed token episode made it clear that those benefits might involve typical Xianxia bullshit with them. It was a good habit to evaluate everything when a new function appeared out of nowhere.

‘I can certainly ignore this and try to absorb it on my own, but whatever. It’s just memories anyway. Soul restoration shouldn’t have harmful side effects.’

[Gathering Statistics]

[Calibrating...]
[Filtering Secondary Effects]
[Primary Absorption Rate: 99.999978%]

[Preparations are complete]
[To prevent permanent soul damage, the host will be put in sleep mode]
[Initiating Partial Soul Restoration]
[Time Remaining: 138:53:19]
[...]

* * *

Han De found himself in the middle of the mountains. Just a second ago he was taking the soul restoration pill, but now he was somewhere else. Out of habit, he wanted to facepalm, but he realized he couldn’t move his body.

His head turned on its own, and he saw a guy with shining white skin. A wide smile was on his delicate face. His body smiled, he thought ‘This guy is always like this.’

‘Wait, hang on, I get that this is a memory trip but why is it affecting my thoughts?’

The scene changed, Han De himself wasn’t resisting it, he was just startled. As the scene changed he realized the rest of the ‘scene’ was integrated into his memories like the other ones.

Now, he was in his abode cultivating. He circulated energy. Once, twice, thrice. His mind was completely empty.

The scene changed again. He saw a beauty with a jade-like skin. ‘So elegant. So beautiful..’ His mind went blank. He immediately asked Peng about her identity. This woman was the one!

The scene changed once again much to Han De’s relief. For a second, he really thought that the uncanny valley girl was his fated one. He was starting to regret using the System to absorb this pill. Having memories of another person was creepy enough, but now he was feeling that person’s emotions, their thoughts were mixing with his own.

Now he was using the Prayer Beads to cultivate. ‘Where did Bai found this thing.’ He was baffled by its effects. It wasn’t just increasing the purity of his Qi, his cultivation was also much faster. Nearly a twenty-fold increase...

“Hmph! Presumptuous!” He was now holding an old man by his neck. This trash was selling contaminated pills under the Starfall Mountain’s nose. He slowly stabbed him with his sword then activated his sword art without mercy. The scene changed, but Han De knew from memory that the soul of the man was extinguished.

He was meditating now. Occasionally he would remember Chu Chen and get excited over the upcoming disciple acceptance ceremony. Nothing in this world could make him miss it. Just a few more days…

The scene changed once again. Han De was now cultivating in his courtyard. The Prayer Beads was in his right hand.

...
...
2054 cycles.
2055 cycles.
2056 cycles.
2057 cycles.
2058 cycles.
2059 cycles.
2060 cycles.
2061 cycles.
2062 cycles.
2063 cycles.
2064 cycles.
2065 cycles.
2066 cycles.
2067 cycles.
2068 cycles.
2069 cycles.
2070 cycles.
2071 cycles.
2072 cycles.
2073 cycles.

‘Hmm?’ A slight fluctuation caught his attention.

“You really do have some skill. Not many would be able to notice us.”

Under the starlight, Han De saw two figures enter his courtyard. He narrowed his eyes after quickly coming into a conclusion.

The figure in the front smirked. “I like smart people. It saves so much time…”

Han De’s aura exploded. In his mind, he only needed to hold on until some of his men arrive. That would drag his father into it as well and it would be over. ‘I never thought those life-saving trinkets would be useful one day. I’ll have to think about it later, I can’t be distracted now.’

The man sneered. “A futile effort. Do you really think we would be here if we didn’t have a guarantee about the grand array?”

Without warning, Han De felt his neck was grabbed. He gritted his teeth and tried to escape, but the difference in cultivation was insurmountable. While he was struggling the second figure took the prayer beads and put them into a jade box.

“This will hurt a lot. It will hurt even more if you struggle. So make sure you struggle as much as possible. Who knows, maybe your father will arrive to save you, isn’t that what you are hoping for? Hold on as much as you can...”

Spiritual energy started invading his soul. Han De struggled with all his being. He tried to hold on, tried to condense energy, tried to send some sort of signal. Nothing worked. The pain was already unbearable. A groan escaped from his lips.

“Ah, there is it is…”

His groans turned into screams. He remembered Chu Chen, he remembered the prayer beads. He remembered his cousin, his cultivation. His screams got louder with the realization of the inevitable.

He opened his eyes. The man was sweating profusely. Han De felt his consciousness slipping. He could feel his soul shrinking by the second. For the first time in his life, he felt deep regret. He couldn’t remember what the source of this regret was, it was just there.

Only instinct was left now. The instinct to resist. Time became meaningless. Then suddenly, there was a release. Finally. It knew that the pain would be over soon.

. .]
[ . [
[ .]
[...]
[...]

The scene changed again. This time he saw himself polishing a wooden fishing boat with his wrinkled hands. Suddenly he grabbed his chest and collapsed.

This time he was crossing a rope bridge. Suddenly the rope snapped and he fell down to the chasm. He hit his head to the sidewall while falling.

This time he was sweeping the floor with a broom. He raised his head and saw a young woman in a blue dress, kindly smiling at him. They were both at a tower, high above the clouds.

* * *

[...]

[Time Remaining: 00:00:00]
[Partial Soul Restoration Complete]
[Awakening Host]
[Operation Successful]

[Memory integration complete]
[Sync point confirmed and verified]
[Calibration started]

[Congratulations, your soul has been partially restored!]

Han De opened his eyes and found himself in the familiar lotus position. His mind was completely blank. He could only stare at nothingness.

* * *

{Quite clever this brat… That was only a basic low-quality soul mending pill...}

{Now, what did you see?}

{...}

* * *

A few hours had passed, Han De was still silent. Finally, he gave a long sigh. He wasn’t out of the woods. How could anyone be safe in a Xianxia world?

He needed to train hard. He needed to cultivate. Relying on others was one thing, but he needed a power that was his own. The strong preyed on the weak. It was the rule of the jungle, it was the rule of the Xianxia.

‘I need to grit my teeth and just put up with the cultivation. I’ll just start cultivating right now.’

He paused for a moment.

'...'

‘Tomorrow… Yes, tomorrow. I’ll definitely start tomorrow…’

* * *

The next morning Han De decided to make himself breakfast. He couldn’t sleep very well last night and kept remembering the last moments of the cultivation idiot.

As he went to the closest kitchen he remembered some of the new memories about cooking with the spiritual ingredients. Although the cultivation idiot truly was a freak and used pills for sustenance, he did have a conversation with an immortal chef to impress Chu Chen.

‘For once, I agree with the cultivation idiot. That chef really liked to smell his own farts…’

This immortal chef had boasted about his ability to no end and kept exaggerating the effects of a badly cooked spiritual dish. He reminded Han De of a certain Italian TV chef. While it was true that the after taste would change, the effect really wasn’t as exaggerated as he had said. Han De would know, he had already cooked with spiritual ingredients himself.

Han De made the basic crepes once again. He purposefully avoided looking at the descriptions of the ingredients through the System.

As he ate he thought of the hallucinations that he saw after the cultivation idiot’s death. ‘I wonder if those were the cultivation idiot’s past lives. They surely can’t be mine, there wouldn’t be a cycle of reincarnation on Earth, would there? The first two were pretty normal but the last one seemed like a fantasy environment…’

He took care of the dishes after he was done eating. It had been a while since he last ate anything. Perhaps this simple act was more important than he realized. He decided to send Peng to grab an immortal chef after the lecture.

“Little De… What are you doing?”

At the far side of the kitchen were his mother and his 3 disciples, staring at him with odd expressions.

Long Xiu had returned from her expedition a few days ago. Since her husband was visiting the northern continent, and her son was still absorbing the pill, she thought she’d interact with Ning Bi and the new disciples that she had heard of.

Today she had realized her son was done with the pill and was already dissecting another netherworld demon. She thought this was a valuable experience for the disciples considering the future direction of the sect, so she had grabbed them... only to find him in the kitchen.

Han De had listened to her flat explanation with patience. This was the second time someone was accusing him of dissecting a netherworld demon. First was his father, and now it was his mother. ‘Are these little shits joking about my cooking ability? Is this something that went over my head while I was looking at the cultivation idiot’s memories?’

He gave up after a few seconds. He couldn’t be bothered with an inside joke that he missed and just shrugged. “Just cooked a mortal dish that I learned a few years ago. You could’ve tasted it if you had come half an hour earlier.”

The family stage of the Hidden expert transition might as well start today. “By the way, I thought I’d get an immortal chef.”

Long Xiu wanted to ask about the demon thing but Han De’s expression made it clear that he wasn’t going to explain. She switched to the immortal chef angle, it gave her the best entry point for her plan.

“Good! I have always thought you should get a personal immortal chef. Especially now that you have disciples!”

Seeing his mother smile like that made Han De smile as well, but Long Xiu wasn’t done.

“During the expedition, I encountered a very skilled immortal chef by accident. I was undecided about assigning this person as my own personal chef, but since you are looking for one the matter is settled! Good!” Long Xiu nodded at her own words.

Han De thought it was strange for her to send a guy she just met as his personal chef after how she talked about it for years. ‘Perhaps he’s someone she knew before. She would never send someone she didn’t trust…’ Although he had a weird feeling about it, Han De couldn’t find any problems with her logic. It was probably the after effect of the pill. He just nodded and said “Alright.”

Now that the hard part was over, relief washed over Long Xiu. She contained it and asked the number two question in her mind. “What about your memory?”

“I recovered it. Completely.” Han De wanted to give a normal smile, but for only for a tiny moment it turned slightly bitter without him realizing it. How could Long Xiu miss that subtle change as his mother? She made a mental note to visit Zhao Dong, it had been a while.

She just nodded without saying anything. Of the 3 disciples, only Ning Bi knew about the situation from start to end. She sighed with relief upon hearing her master’s answer.

Long Xiu changed the subject. “We’ll depart in 4 days. Now that you have recovered there is no need to delay it.”

“Depart?”

“Ah, your grandfather didn’t tell you. We are going to the northern continent for a conference. Get your affairs in order, we’ll be away for more than a month at least.”

‘Aaah, grandfather... What exactly did you say and didn’t say to her...’ This was a touchy subject that could blow up in unexpected ways, so Han De decided not to dig deeper. He suddenly realized that his grandfather probably told him of the real reason to distribute responsibility. He decided to feign ignorance no matter the cost.

They talked about the sights Long Xiu saw during her expedition for a while. A while later Long Xiu left, her time was extremely limited already. She was using her cultivation time to meet with her son.

While she was going back she thought about the past events regarding that plague-devouring demon. It was hard to believe such an event was only a well-timed bluff. She smiled and continued her work.

Yao Qing watched as Long Xiu went away. She had no idea that she could be starstruck after all these years...

* * *

Han De finished his lecture and looked over the reports of the past 2 weeks.

'132 total subjects, 34 consistent anomalous behavior. 67 disappeared? 12 confirmed dead?'

He looked at the Peng, but the look on his face suggested that he had no idea either.

"I can understand the dead ones, but how can so many disappear in just 2 weeks? Investigate immediately."

"Yes, Elder De."

Han De saw Treebeard coming towards him. "Did you find the Anomaly at the lower realm?"

Treebeard first nodded, then shook his head. He grabbed a scroll from his storage ring and presented it to Han De. After reading it Han De looked at the Treebeard.

"Disappeared? Him too?"

Treebeard could only nod with a bitter expression. What should've been impossible had happened, and it had happened on his watch. It truly was a great shame upon his record.

"Alright, send a few mid-level experts and keep an eye on it just in case."

Han De thought about it. MCs disappearing was actually a good thing for him, but not knowing the reason made him wary. He couldn't do anything about it for now, so he stopped thinking about it.

After experiencing the pill, Han De thought he still didn't have a stable footing in this world. Cultivation was something that couldn't be rushed, at least for his own template. Therefore he needed something else. Perhaps a way to take the initiative.

"Of the remaining ones that show anomalous behavior, pick the ones that show good character. Prioritize the most stupid ones first and invite them to the Starfall Mountain. Invite. Only invite. Do mention the benefits, offer protection for their immediate and extended families, but keep things at the invite level."

"Contact Tan Renshu of the Brass Stallion and tell him to start small scale tests at once."

49. Natural Order

"Of the remaining ones that show anomalous behavior, pick the ones that show good character. Prioritize the most stupid ones first and invite them to the Starfall Mountain. Invite. Only invite. Do mention the benefits, offer protection for their immediate and extended families, but keep things at the invite level."

"Contact Tan Renshu of the Brass Stallion and tell him to start small scale tests at once."

Lackeys immediately got busy to carry out his orders. Han De thought about doing more, but he had to leave in 4 days. There wasn’t enough time to properly handle a major project. He could only delay them.

He turned towards the stupidly massive spiritual iron sheet. He had checked with the System before the lecture, there was actually a change on it.

[Sheet of Spiritual Iron]
Refined from very low quality spiritual iron ore. 99.17844% pure. Receiving low-frequency spatial resonance from a faraway formation.

The last sentence was new. He looked at the smaller sheet of spiritual iron he got from the cockroach, that last sentence about the faraway formation wasn’t there. Then he took out the rocks to check them once again.

[Large Boulder]
Composed of mainly quartz, feldspar, and magnetite.

‘According to Yao Qing, these rocks have to be arranged in a certain formation, and even then they only resonate when the formation core is active? Magnetite should be… iron ore?’

Back on Earth, Han De had played many MMOs. In one of them, magnetite was used for summoning demons. A guild member who was a mining engineer would constantly complain about the unrealistic usage of real-world minerals. Han De only had a surface level knowledge of geology, but thanks to his guildmate he knew from the heart that magnetite was just common iron ore.

‘The Grand Array limits foreign entities from using the power of space inside the sect. This spatial resonance is most likely something like a low band radio wave that no one pays attention to. Maybe the Silent Silhoutte’s formation core has something like a spatial radar?’

Since the Silent Silhouette sect liked to move behind the scenes, a seal that encompassed the world would have to be as sneaky as them. Otherwise, the big sects would immediately take notice.

Han De speculated that these spiritual iron sheets were manufactured at unrelated locations to prevent divination. The anchoring rocks were most likely just boulders that had easily identifiable compositions, they could also be grabbed from random locations to prevent divinations.

‘Since everything has to be in a specific arrangement, they probably recorded the characteristics of the pieces. Their arrangement is just a way for the core to distinguish them from the background noise.’

‘If that is true, then even knowing about it doesn’t make any difference. They can’t even be divined since there is no connection between them and the formation until they are activated.’

He stored the stupidly massive spiritual iron sheet back in his storage ring. Although Yao Qing did mention that it was mostly harmless without the anchoring rocks, he didn’t like the idea of leaving it out in the open.

He started reflecting on the capabilities of the status check.

‘I guess this means the System only shows the current state of an item? It doesn’t show the history of it, just what it is right now?’

He remembered that the System had only provided a description of the Crystalized Tenacity without mentioning it being part of the Prayer Beads. He realized that this was something he should’ve noticed much earlier. Perhaps it was the limitation of the System, or perhaps it just didn’t care. It was hard to determine the reason.

‘I’ll have to be careful about this in the future. I wonder if this is only limited to items...’ He sighed and shifted his gaze towards the sky.

Now that he handled most of the emergencies, Han De was free for the time being. But, he couldn’t continue his usual routine. Ever since Ning Bi gained that wallhack, he stopped practicing in front of the mirror or coming up with contingency scenarios while lazing around. His free time was suddenly, very free.

Before he started cultivating, he decided to go and find his disciples first. He was their master, after all. He needed to act like one if he didn’t want to lose them.

‘Especially Jin Shu, I didn’t even interact with her since her ceremony, that was nearly 2 weeks ago…’

He had prepared middle-school level education material for Ning Bi. At the time he gave up on giving private lessons and just wanted to give her the scrolls and let her figure things out by herself. But now, he had 3 disciples. A single lecture would yield 3 times the result. The cost-benefit ratio was well within his tolerance levels.

‘I prepared a lot of stuff, but still not exactly sure about chemistry and biology. Maybe I should just ignore them altogether?’

The existence of spiritual energy threw most of his knowledge out the window. He wasn’t even sure if normal chemistry experiments would work here. Perhaps the spiritual energy might cause a normal chemical reaction to fail inexplicably, perhaps not. His chemistry knowledge was already pitiful, he wouldn’t be able to recognize the issue even if it stared right at his face.

Biology was similar too. Souls existed here. How would a soul interact with the brain? Would brain chemistry affect a soul?

Han De abruptly stopped walking.

‘If a soul enters another body, would their thoughts get affected by that body’s brain chemistry?’

‘...’

A soul possessing another body would eventually start eroding the said soul due to incompatibilities. It was considered a demonic method, and its practicers would eventually become insane. Was there a relation?

‘My soul was integrated with the System, it shouldn’t be eroding, right? Should I try to get a soul cultivation method as well?’

‘No, no. That’s too risky. If someone finds out they might take a closer look at my soul. That’s just asking for trouble even if the System can hide things perfectly.’

‘I can’t ask around about the body affecting the soul’s thoughts either. That would just gather needless suspicion. There is Yao Qing, but she is still in her own body, albeit a younger version of herself. If there are any changes it should be minimal. She also has thousands of years of experience, she can handle the hormonal changes in a teenager’s body pretty easily, right?’

After thinking about his experiences for a while, Han De’s mood turned sour. Unfortunately, he had no way of confirming or denying his hypothesis. He took a deep breath and decided to start writing a diary. It would help take his mind off this Xianxia world and allow him to track his psychological state at the same time. That was the best idea he could think of at the moment.

* * *

Two orange foxes with long furs were on a hill overlooking a mortal salt farm. The spiritual energy of this area was nearly non-existent. A normal cultivator would feel suffocated and instinctively attempt to leave.

But some considered places such as these an opportunity. A place dead with spiritual energy could temper one’s mind, body, and soul. These two foxes weren’t here for that. For them, this was just a refuge, a single one among many.

The dignified looking fox glanced over the mortal workers. According to her knowledge, this fox princess that was sitting beside her was captured by the Starfall Mountain just a few weeks ago, along with his brother. The Starfall Mountain themselves had even tried to contact the fox tribe for negotiations.

She did not expect her daughter to appear out of the blue. The fox tribe was already on the move to appease the Starfall Mountain. Their previous experience taught them to take action before sitting on the negotiation table with Han Wei or his wife. This development was strange, but not an unwelcome one.

The dignified orange fox listened to her daughter’s story without interrupting her. She then asked a single question.

<What is your final assessment of this Han De?>

The younger fox did not hesitate in her answer. It was likely that she kept thinking about it during her captivity.

<Cruel and cunning. Not to be underestimated. Extremely goal-oriented. It makes it difficult to judge his true character.>

The dignified fox nodded. A dragon wouldn’t beget a dog son. It seems he inherited the cunning of his father Han Wei, and the cruelty of his mother Long Xiu. Perhaps the situation wasn’t as tricky as she first thought. The Starfall Mountain was always difficult, but at least they were consistently difficult. In some ways, it was easier to have dealings with them.

* * *

Han De chose one of the simpler gardens for his lecture. A small pavilion on the side of a small pond surrounded by common greenery. It was actually quite refreshing after spending so much time in disgustingly picturesque gardens and courtyards.

“Before we begin I’ll first evaluate your progress, and look at your arts if you’ve chosen any from the Archives.”

Upon hearing their master, Ning Bi looked troubled, twice she visited the Archives and twice failed to find anything. Jin Shu’s expression didn’t change, but she quickly admitted that she had taken 9 cultivation methods and 12 spiritual spells, leaving Han De speechless.

“I practiced my family’s Blossoming Dream all my life, but after the bloodline removal, my comprehension of it went through a qualitative change. I wanted to cross-reference these new methods to find commonalities...’

Han De understood her intentions. Her comprehension was at 10, which was the max value. Probably. So it wasn’t a surprise that she wanted to derive a new method from many others.

After sagely nodding, Han De spoke “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. As long as you don’t scatter your cultivation focus, there is no harm in studying other methods. What do you think of them so far?”

Jin Shu lowered her gaze before answering. “Although each of them contains profound mysteries, none of them could hold a candle to the Yellow Grove Scripture.”

Han De held back his sigh. ‘Pity, that one is only extremely weak and not very weak. But her luck is good, probably a better art will come by in the future.’

He checked the 12 spiritual spells that she chose. Every single one of them was attack-oriented. ‘Wood is an element that is good at defense, healing, and growth. Why would she completely ignore them and focus on attack? Perhaps she is going to go over all the areas one by one?’

One had to spend points to earn more points. He learned some of the spells on the spot to give her a few pointers. This also enhanced his unfathomable image. That alone could not be measured with profound points anyway. He had already talked it out with the pampered princess too. The coast was clear.

[Profound Points: 504 -> 456]

He switched his attention to Ning Bi, who was biting her lips while looking down. Han De didn’t suppress his urge to smile. ‘This girl is really picky. That 5 extra potential points aren’t just for show. She probably wouldn’t even spare a glance at the Blazing Sun Scripture if it was available on the first floor.’

“Fate is the most important factor when selecting a method. You don’t have to feel down if you haven’t found anything that spoke to you. They’ll eventually come to you. In the meantime, I’ll look for a few supplementary arts myself.”

The relief on Ning Bi’s face could be read a mile away. Han De shook his head while smiling. “How is the progress on your Cosmic Destruction Scripture?”

Ning Bi’s eyes immediately started shining brightly. She didn’t notice how Yao Qing flinched at the name of her martial art. She immediately started explaining the new ideas she came up with.

Han De couldn’t see the progress on the Cosmic Destruction Scripture. Whenever there was progress with the Breach skill, the System would inform him with a pop-up. Cultivation methods were apparently different, he had to read the written down scripture to determine it’s completion rate. They would only display as incomplete on the status screen.

Ning Bi’s esoteric explanation went over everyone’s head. Perhaps due to having standard scriptures of 86 different weapons in his head, Han De was completely unable to grasp any of her moves and explanations. The conclusion he reached was concerning. ‘This is batshit crazy. No one will be able to learn this thing. Impossible without that Breach skill of hers…’

Han De gestured with his hand. “Alright, I’m happy you’ve made so much progress. You can write down your method during the trip. Remember, if you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself!”

“Yes! Master!” Ning Bi nodded enthusiastically and sat down. Although Han De still had some concerns over her Breach skill, he decided to observe a little bit more. There was no need to scare her over nothing. He turned his attention towards the pampered princess, only to see her thousand-yard stare.

Her reaction was understandable. Ning Bi was the future Purifier of Planes. She even destroyed this very planet that they were standing on and Yao Qing watched the entire process.

Han De himself was concerned about teaching Ning Bi. It would only make her more powerful in the end. However, he had no choice. He could only try to positively influence her and hope for the best. Unfortunately, this was a Xianxia world. Even if he could change her character for the better, it probably wouldn’t matter in the end. The world was cruel and violent and this girl was way too grudge-happy.

Yao Qing realized everyone was staring at her. She regained her composure and showed her chosen methods. She already had everything she needed, these methods were purely for show.

The Archives of the sect actually impressed her a great deal. She had never seen a big archive before this world was destroyed. Unexpectedly, the methods stored inside were of higher quality than she had expected. Some of them were better than the mantras of the higher realm sects that she had seen before, which caused a significant shift in her view of the sect.

Even the Archive building itself was extravagant to the point of being silly. It was made entirely out of white jade slates that were extracted from the faraway northern regions. Yao Qing remembered she had once stolen a necklace made out of the same white jade. Those were desperate times, and that necklace had helped her tremendously. But here, in the Starfall Mountain sect, it was used as a construction material. Ordinary disciples wouldn’t know anything about it, but she knew.

The biggest gain she had from the Archives visit was the standard scripture for the spear. The one in the Archives was completely different than the one she got from her master. Only their rough outline was similar. She was sure that no one could create the ancient concept that she witnessed from that scripture alone.

After listening to Yao Qing’s summary of her ‘chosen’ methods, Han De understood her situation. So he gave her a few generic pointers about the Celestial Storm Scripture and the standard spear scripture instead. He also asked her to write down her Azure Lightning Spear art, which caused Yao Qing to solemnly nod.

‘Not bad! In the short term, I only need to find a few spells for Ning Bi, a dodge heavy hand-to-hand martial art for Jin Shu, and my favorite, a whole bunch of nothing for Yao Qing.’

The Grand Master level comprehension cost was too high, he could only make it a long term goal, starting with his own methods first.

Han De looked at the three disciples in front of him. They were living a comfortable life in the sect right now. But that didn’t change their MC status. This was a Xianxia world, even if they were MCs, their fate would put them through countless difficulties. He remembered the last moments of the cultivation idiot.

The cultivation idiot had died in the middle of what should’ve been the safest place in this world. His cultivation couldn’t save him, his sect couldn’t save him, his family couldn’t save him. It was entirely possible for Han De to die at any time just like that idiot.

He started to feel regret. Consciously and subconsciously, he was holding these girls back.

‘The least I could do is to help them grow to their full potential. That way, even after I die, they’ll have an easier time in the future.’

The new disciples were oblivious, but Ning Bi was able to notice the heavy mood of her master. She subconsciously clenched her fists.

Han De shook his head. He needed to concentrate on the task at hand. He took out 5 scroll cases from his storage ring. There was an odd and heavy air about the cases that he hadn’t noticed before. When he opened the scrolls, the text inside was strangely mysterious.

‘Right… I remember some natural laws and such would produce effects like this. Didn’t think my hazy middle-school science text would invoke these effects, but ok, I’ll take it.’

“Until now, I only taught you knowledge about cultivation. That is going to change starting today. I will teach you general knowledge about the structure and the behavior of the natural world.”

“Some of these things may not seem immediately practical to you. Although I will be teaching, what you gain out of them will depend on you in the end.”

The three disciples were intently listening to him. Although their reasonings varied, all three were surprised.

Han De started the lesson with something easy to understand. He showed the four fundamental states of matter through manipulating water with basic spiritual spells. As he explained why matter changed states at different temperatures, he stared at the illusory black chrysanthemum flower that was blooming in front of him.

‘I get the connection between Buddhist speeches and the lotus flowers, but what’s the deal with this one? Why is it black?’

This was something Xianxia like, but for some reason, Han De couldn’t enjoy this phenomenon. It gave him an ominous and mysterious feeling. He secretly looked at his disciples, Ning Bi was looking at the flower as if it was normal, Jin Shu was intently staring at Han De, and Yao Qing was glancing at the black flower with a dubious expression.

The moment had passed, the illusory flower had disappeared a few seconds after blooming. Han De decided to ignore it. ‘I guess the pill affected me more than I realized, everything is giving me ominous feelings…’

He continued the lesson, changed topics as time went by. Magnets, rain, mountains, rivers, clouds, fire, smoke, light, gravity, stars, and more. He tried to cover a wide base of basic but practical knowledge for the first lesson, these girls all had high comprehension, he didn’t have to worry about them not understanding anything.

As he explained, black flowers popped up on a few occasions. After the 4th one, flowers started creeping him out. After the 13th one, he found them impossible to ignore anymore. Thankfully the lesson was nearly over, he was just answering his disciples’ random questions.

Jin Shu asked after deliberating something. “Master, you said gravity was a fundamental force. Are there others?”

Han De gave his usual profound expert nod. “They are a bit early for you, but there is no harm in knowing them. Not much is known about them, much of our knowledge is hypothetical. We only know that they exist and have effects, we don’t know how they produce these effects. There are four fundamental forces in the universe. Gravity, weak force, strong force, and electromagnetism. Gravity is the weakest, but it brings...

Hundreds of illusory black chrysanthemum flowers bloomed around Han De as he spoke.

“...all things...”

Previously clear skies became filled with clouds.

“...that have...”

As Han De spoke they got darker and darker and almost completely blocked out the sunlight.

“...mass or...”

<Master Stop!>

*Rumble*

Han De stopped his explanation. He looked at the dark clouds with a frown.

“Heavenly Tribulation? Seriously? What for?”

50. Way of the Cockroach

<Master! One should not utter knowledge that is forbidden in the lower realms!>

Han De looked at Yao Qing with furrowed brows. ‘Sure fundamental forces could be considered natural laws, but my entire memory of it is a hazy late-night Wikipedia dive. I wasn’t even looking for it, I just clicked on the wrong link instead of the black hole one! How can half a sentence of that summon a Heavenly Tribulation?!’

*Rumble*

Yao Qing saw the bafflement in her master’s eyes. Even she had no idea of the fundamental forces that her master talked about. This was the irrefutable proof. ‘He really has memories of the primordial era! How is that even possible? They were right! They really were right! Primordial freaks really are primordial freaks. Do not expect them to follow common sense.’ She pushed aside her excitement and looked at the abnormal Heavenly Tribulation.

*Rumble*

Han De re-entered his Profound Expert mode once again and turned his attention towards the tribulation clouds. His back was straight as a stick, an unfathomable light flickered in his eyes.

‘Oh god... I wouldn’t have opened my mouth if I knew this would happen! This cloud should now disperse, right? No, how could tribulation disperse by itself?!’

*Rumble*

The black chrysanthemum flowers started to disappear one by one. The sound of thunder became lower, but the clouds themselves displayed no signs of disappearing.

Suddenly Han De thought of something. When the cultivation idiot faced the tribulation while forming his core, he felt a heavenly pressure weighing down on him before he even started. Today he was only creeped out by the flowers and felt no pressure from the tribulation clouds.

*Rumble*

“Young Master!”

Old Peng bowed deeply then started rapidly reporting. Hundreds of experts appeared in the sky and took formation, shielding Han De and his disciples from the Heavenly Tribulation.

“We are currently assuming that this unscheduled Heavenly Tribulation was summoned maliciously. The current target is unknown. Primary, secondary, and tertiary defense formations are intact. The Grand Array is on standby. Tunnels three through six are ready. Emergency supplies for the disciples have been gathered. We are awaiting your orders!”

As the last black flower disappeared into thin air, Heavenly Tribulation clouds seemingly gave up and started scattering on their own. After a minute, the sky was clear, as if everything that happened was only an illusion.

Han De looked at the sky in confusion, then retracted his gaze from the sky. His lackeys were the same. Everyone looked at each other in confusion. For a while, no one talked and just stood there.

Han De gave a profound nod as a reflex. ‘Ah, this was one of the crisis drills, right. I nearly forgot…’ He cleared his throat and spoke to Old Peng.

“The Heavenly Tribulation wasn’t summoned maliciously. You can stand down. Your response was excellent, well done.”

“Yes! Young Master!”

Of course, he had no idea if their response was adequate since he was too preoccupied to notice. But he couldn’t say that to these guys, not in a million years.

Han De looked at the now clear skies once again. ‘This isn’t right, why did the tribulation disperse? Not that I’m unhappy that it dispersed, but this is too sketchy.’

This was his third brush with the Heavenly Tribulation, and this time he had even seen the clouds. He lightly coughed to prevent himself from gulping. This wasn’t the time to idly think, he was supposed to be a Profound Expert, and one of the defining features of those experts was defying the Heavens. He scrambled to find some appropriate words.

“Ehm. Since someone is throwing a tantrum, I suppose we’ll leave this for another time. Well, you’ll figure it out anyway, eventually…”

As he talked he warily looked at the sky once again. It wouldn’t do well to piss off the Heavenly Tribulation just to get some points from his disciples.

Yao Qing opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it without making a sound. The tribulation she saw this time was too abnormal. Although she never witnessed one that was summoned just by uttering the forbidden laws, the way it acted defied common sense. The way it dispersed was suspect too. She knew many different ways of dispersing or delaying the Heavenly Tribulation, but she never saw a secret method that was this clean. Pity that her senses were too dull to detect anything.

After the initial shock was over, Yao Qing focused on the leaving experts. The preparedness of her master’s people was truly commendable. She decided to have a talk with their leader and join in on their planning. As a direct disciple, she could force her way in with her status even if they refused. Besides, this was all for her master’s safety, it couldn’t even be called an abuse of power.

Jin Shu who had asked the question looked deeply at her teacher. She was the genius of the Jin family. After her parent’s death, she was surrounded by the family elders as she grew up. Along with leveraging her bloodline, reading in between the lines became an essential skill for her survival. Otherwise, she would’ve become a convenient scapegoat for her various relatives or get married off to someone at the first opportunity.

She pondered on the meaning of her teacher’s words. It was clear that there was some profound secret, but she didn’t have enough pieces to work out what it was. Yao Qing’s odd looks at Ning Bi and the voice transmission from Yao Qing to the master also didn’t escape Jin Shu’s notice. Patience was a virtue that she had plenty of. She could wait for the events to unfold themselves.

No one noticed how Ning Bi faintly smirked while looking at the Heavenly Tribulation clouds. She didn’t know why, but she thought it was only natural that the Heavenly Tribulation would bend after meeting her master.

“Alright, we’ll continue this tomorrow. Focus on your cultivations for the time being. You can practice your techniques at a later date.”

This was a polite way of saying ‘Get me some points’. His disciples left after respectfully bowing. Most of his lackeys had also dispersed, but Treebeard and the two Nascent Soul experts were still around. Han De recognized the Nascent Soul experts, they were the same two that he saw at the Misty Mountains.

Since he was encountering them often, he decided to give them nicknames. The somewhat serious-looking one became Merry, and the enthusiastic one became Pippin. Then he sent them both to get some body cultivation resources.

‘Something really isn’t right with this picture. How can anyone cause Heavenly Tribulation to descend with mere words? I know that this was the original justification for the heavy usage of metaphors in cultivation methods, but it still doesn’t seem right.’

‘To think that I was planning to expand on the science topics and distribute them to the free schools… Thankfully I wasn’t stupid enough to write those things down. Would a tribulation descend if I write them down? Maybe?’

It wasn’t worth a test, so Han De decided to keep his curriculum extra simple to avoid any complications down the line.

The matter of heavenly tribulation was something he took as extremely serious. While MCs could defy them and shout ‘Bring it on!’ and dive into it headfirst, Han De couldn’t. He was the expert that died during his tribulation a few pages ago to emphasize the awesomeness of the MCs power.

* * *

Han Shan gently placed his unconscious son into the healing formation that he had just made.

The wounds on Han Wei’s body weren’t too severe due to the sacrifices of his subordinates, but he had used a tremendous amount of spiritual power and that caused the symptoms to worsen significantly. If Han Shan wasn’t here he wouldn’t have lasted more than a week.

Han Shan had already pieced together what had happened. He didn’t ask for a report and concentrated on healing instead. After a few hours, his son finally opened his eyes. The moment he regained some ability, he immediately asked.

<De? Xiu?>

<Safe. Xiu lost half her forces, but found 5 kindlings. She knows, but had no choice but to stay behind to look after little De. He took the pill and made a full recovery. Perhaps even gained some fortune from this misfortune, but that remains to be seen. Rest now. They will be coming here in a month.>

Han Wei closed his eyes with relief.

* * *

[Seventh Moonlight Scripture requires 91 Profound Points to advance to the Grand Master level]
[Profound Points: 456 -> 365]

[Seventh Moonlight Scripture (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Grand Master]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)]

Han De had already received the necessary items from Merry and Pippin to start cultivating his body. But he realized he was getting cold feet, so he upgraded his comprehension to prevent himself from running away. It was too late to turn away after that.

According to Han De’s understanding of this scripture, he needed to complete all the steps from scratch even if he was a Core Formation expert already. Upgrading to the Grand Master level was well worth it, he intuitively could adjust the ratios of the medicine to increase its efficacy while decreasing its side effects. These side effects were the main reason for the pain caused by the body cultivation process.

The first few layers of the body cultivation involved medicinal baths. Han De sat in the middle of the tub and stopped restraining his Luminescent Body. His body glowed with a pure white color while outside of the tub, but inside the water, it gained a bluish hue. Han De immediately started operating the Seventh Moonlight Scripture.

[Body Cultivation Feature Activated]

[Body Cultivation: Qi Condensation 1st Stage (1/50)]

‘Surprising that there is a separate section in the System for Body Cultivation, unsurprising that it is so very basic…’

After the brief interruption from the System, he continued absorbing the medicine. In just a few minutes he heard another announcement from that demonic voice.

[Your body has reached the 2nd Stage of Qi Condensation]

‘I guess it is easier since I am already at Core Formation level, my body is already strong, just doesn’t have the foundation of a body cultivation method. Not to mention my constitution.’

The Seventh Moonlight Scripture worked in the usual way that the body cultivation worked in Xianxia. It had stages where you cultivated different parts of your body, one at a time. Of course, changing only one part of the body was completely nonsensical. A body was an intricate machine that worked together in harmony. Making one part stronger was just a recipe for disaster.

If a person’s muscles became extraordinarily strong, but the rest of them stayed normal, they could shatter their own bones with simple movements. Or snap their tendons. Or turn their internal organs into mush. A simple sneeze was probably enough to cause an irreversible tragedy.

[Your body has reached the 3rd Stage of Qi Condensation]

Han De discovered that these stages didn’t just modify one part of him without touching the others. The first stage of the Seventh Moonlight Scripture was the skin. Although it did improve the toughness of the skin, it also improved his whole body along with it. The next stage didn’t just improve tendons, it just improved the body’s overall stamina.

[Your body has reached the 4th Stage of Qi Condensation]

As Han De was thinking about the differences between this world and a typical Xianxia world, he found himself fascinated by the entire process of body cultivation. Most of what he was doing was just guiding the medicine to the necessary area and use his Light Qi to let his body locally digest it.

‘This… almost seems like I’m getting fossilized alive. Is the organic matter inside me getting changed or replaced somehow? This black gunk doesn’t seem to be just ‘impurities’ like bacteria. Besides, how the hell can I excrete a bucket load of bacteria from my skin, doesn’t make any sense…’

His spiritual sense wasn’t strong enough to observe these minute changes in his body. Of course, human anatomy in Xianxia could be different. Unlikely, but possible. Maybe. Probably not.

In just 3 hours, Han De had absorbed all of the medicine. He didn’t get out of the tub but continued to cultivate his body with the help of his constitution. Normally, body cultivation of this stage could only be done with external resources, however, he found out that the cleansing effect of his constitution was actually quite beneficial.

He used his spiritual power reserves to stimulate the cleansing effect of his body constitution further and cultivated the Seventh Moonlight Scripture at the same time. The result was obviously considerably slower, but it could be done! After using nearly half of his spiritual power reserves, he finally finished the first layer of the Seventh Moonlight Scripture.

[Your body has reached the 5th Stage of Qi Condensation]

“Hahahaha, this is great!”

Although he didn’t notice any difference in strength due to the fact that he was already a Core Formation cultivator, he didn’t care. His skin had become noticeably whiter and it was tender to touch. If he wasn’t a Grand Master he would’ve panicked by now, but he knew that this was the correct effect of the precisely measured formula. It was working!

‘A little uncomfortable, but not painful at all. It takes time, but it isn’t boring, in fact, it is the opposite. Getting distracted won’t result in a Qi deviation and potentially cripple me either. The only downside is the copious amounts of resources it requires. Which means literally nothing to me...’

This was as close as one could get to pay 2 win in a Xianxia world. Han De felt regret for not giving it a go before. He was afraid of experiencing the legendary ‘unimaginable pain’ but the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. Whether if it was due to his Grand Master comprehension, or his Luminescent Body, he didn’t know.

Han De was suddenly enlightened. He wasn’t going through ‘Enlightenment’, he just experienced a moment of clarity. At this point in time, he knew exactly what he wanted.

‘My life’s mission from now on will be to become a cockroach…’

*sneer* ‘You thought you killed me? That was only a clone…’

*sneer* ‘You thought I had only 10 clones? I have more than you can imagine…’

*sneer* ‘You thought you could attack my main body after killing all my clones? You’ll have to break through my defensive spells first...’

*sneer* ‘You thought spiritual spells were my only means of defense? You’ll have to break through my Portable Grand Array before even touching me...’

*sneer* ‘You thought you could catch me after shattering my Portable Grand Array? I have millions of escape items…’

*sneer* ‘You thought you could damage me after I ran out of escape items? My body is at _insert_body_cultivation_realm_, you can’t even scratch me…’

*sneer* 'You thought just cutting me over and over again would work? I can regenerate my limbs with my healing spells...'

*sneer* ‘You thought totally destroying my main body would do the trick? My soul is still intact…’

*sneer* ‘You thought you extinguished my soul? That was only a fragment...’

*sneer* ‘You thought I only had a few hundred soul fragments? I have countless more across the stars…’

Han De could see it. His opponents were puking blood out of sheer anger and frustration, while he was sneering at them. ‘Wait, why am I sneering...’

He shook his head to clear his mind of his delusions. After entering the lotus position, he started cultivating right away.

[Cultivation: Core Formation - Mid-Stage ((+1080)8876/500000)]

‘Not bad for a 3-hour session. I probably should alternate between body cultivation and normal cultivation though, that way I can stomach the normal one for longer.’

His mind inevitably went towards that idiot. What would’ve happened if the cultivation idiot had also practiced it?

‘That idiot still would’ve died, it absolutely wouldn’t have made any difference.’

Han De sighed.

‘I should definitely get some soul cultivation methods too...’

He was about to end his session and go to bed, but thinking about the cultivation idiot made him restless. He decided to continue his body cultivation cycle instead.

Table of Contents

- Information
- 1. Transmigration
- 2. Disciple Acceptance Ceremony
- 3. Calamity
- 4. Not a Dream, Sorry
- 5. Tragedy of the Heroine
- 6. Archives Must Be Incomplete
- 7. Prepared
- 8. Gather for the Feast
- 9. Wolves' Hunger
- 10. Low Profile
- 11. Heroine Goes to Work
- 12. Like Father, Like Son
- 13. Anti-MC Thug Force
- 14. She Just Kept Talking...
- 15. Blockade
- 16. I Have Finished Farming
- 17. No Fun Allowed
- 18. A Father's Love
- 19. Endless Suffering
- 20. Power of Friendship
- 21. Tragic Past
- 22. Doubt
- 23. Magnet
- 24. Mistakes Were Made
- 25. Convergence
- 26. Old Friends Die Hard
- 27. Crystalized Effort
- 28. Not Slow Enough
- 29. Overreaction?
- 30. Devil
- 31. No Matter the Cost
- 32. Hurricane Arrives
- 33. Why So Reasonable?
- 34. Just Deserts
- 35. Anomalies
- 36. Expectation
- 37. Interference
- 38. Family First
- 39. Death Omen
- 40. Loophole
- 41. Traditional Gift
- 42. Ice Fishing
- 43. Anger Management
- 44. Uncontested Farming
- 45. King of Vegetables
- 46. Top Dog
- 47. Pampered Princess
- 48. An Object in Motion
- 49. Natural Order
- 50. Way of the Cockroach