Cultivation World
The Capital.
The Empress and the old couple asked for an emergency gathering for the imperial family to do their best and calm the crowd.
Those who came to watch the show were now horrified because they thought even the Emperor was a puppet!
That's why the members of the imperial family isolated them from the rest at the northern gate, not letting them spread the news.
These normal citizens hated cultivators the most, but they believed the Emperor and imperial family—who had been on their side for centuries—would never abandon them.
Until today.
With what had happened, they were all scared of losing this last hope for ordinary people.
What if the little demon had already taken control of the imperial family?
What if the Emperor was now nothing but his puppet?
Wouldn't they all be indirect slaves?
So it didn't matter how they tried to explain it to them; they didn't believe them.
"If you are telling the truth, then where are our sons, husbands, and brothers?"
"Didn't that little demon take them away? Then bring them back if it was only temporary!"
Some started crying that they were now widows, and some cried for their sons being slaves in a mine or somewhere unknown to them, never to come back again...
But while people were crying and whining, some people's sons or husbands tapped their shoulders and told them,
"I'm already back. Don't embarrass yourself more than this. Let's go home."
It didn't take long before the main army force and the Emperor himself returned too.
People were speechless.
We didn't even have enough time to cry—how are you guys done cleaning up the world from its filth?
Then the news of what happened started spreading.
Turns out that the little demon had a colleague.
The Emperor and the army were divided into 13 groups:
12 to surround the 12 sects, and the Emperor's group is responsible for providing backup to any group that needs help.
Because the Emperor knew they were going to attack the sects one by one, there was no need for more than one backup team.
But even before all the groups reached their destinations to surround their targets—and only four groups were in position—the little demon's colleague (who no one saw or knew what it was) just went and cleaned up every single one of those targets...
So when the spies of the eight other armies sent them the news of the empty sects, they turned around and went back home...
Looks like the world's cleansing was over before it even started.
Now, in the capital, before the news of the little demon could spread, the panicked crowd calmed down with the arrival of the Emperor.
The Emperor, in a bad mood, delivered a brief speech and then left.
He just told them it was over and done faster than he expected.
He himself felt a little aggrieved—it didn't end in any memorable way he had wanted.
What should they write in the history books for such an important event?
"The Emperor gathered an army of millions, and the war ended before they even unsheathed a single sword?"
His only hope now was his big brother.
He remembered he had asked him to descend—not just once, but twice—which meant the main show was yet to come...
So, while annoyed by these noisy people, his aura exploded, and a silver pillar of light shot up into the sky, covering the whole northern part of the capital!
"I am still your Emperor! Stop being noisy!"
The crowd, who had always looked at their Emperor like a god, returned to being normal citizens in the blink of an eye after this show of power.
They all started shouting,
"Long live the Emperor!"
But he was still angry.
"Be quiet! Can't you see it's the middle of the night?"
The citizens shut their mouths and scattered awkwardly.
In the sky of the capital, without anyone noticing, Lady Butterfly stood in the air, scanning the Emperor's garden.
She even tried eavesdropping on some groups of people who were talking about the latest news to figure out what had happened here.
After not finding any "bloody scene" or hearing about any mass murder, she sighed in relief and left.
The only thing that had happened was that the Emperor had used this opportunity to clean up the capital.
Either way, between a monster who liked to mess around and a monster who was unstable and went on a rampage, she would pick the first one any day...
So, after feeling reassured about the naughty kid and knowing he had just tried to mess with her feelings, she left the capital—without knowing her unconscious son was in a protected place in the Emperor's mansion...
....
Demoness Sect.
At night, on a small hill overlooking the "outer sect city," three sect elders were spying on the city.
The library manager, the middle-aged lady from the storehouse (who had fled the city that morning), and Elder Sun.
The three looked solemnly at the "outer sect city" from their dark hiding place.
But all they could see was a dead city...
No lights, no signs of life—there were even some corpses on the ground, motionless.
They were here to see what was wrong with their sect master, the Snow Goddess.
She was cold on the surface but, in reality, a decent person inside.
This kind of action was beneath her.
While they were watching, a disciple came silently from behind.
She cupped her hands and said in a low voice,
"I'm back, Master."
She was Elder Sun's disciple—the same girl who had given Little Mortal and the other new disciples their sect tokens.
Elder Sun had sent her to the Sword Sect to ask the Sword God for help.
If his wife wasn't in her right mind, shouldn't he be the one on the front lines?
Elder Sun nodded at her and asked,
"Is he coming?"
"No. The sect elders lost contact with him after he left secretly this evening. H-He's missing now. They even thought he was here in our sect..."
The three elders frowned.
How could a sect master be missing?
Then another disciple appeared in a hurry.
"Master! I finally found you!"
This one was the library manager's disciple.
"What's wrong with you? Weren't you in the capital for the books I told you to find?"
"Master! The capital has fallen! The human Emperor is now nothing but a puppet!"
The three elders and the girl looked at him as if he were an idiot.
The library manager felt embarrassed.
"What nonsense are you talking about? How can the Emperor—who is directly connected to Heaven's Will—become a puppet? Explain clearly what happened."
The disciple then told them the story of someone called "Sect Master"—a black-robed figure (one of those special members who couldn't be touched), with blue, indelible smoke coming from his head and a warhorse that emitted all kinds of lights!
The other party had the power to control millions of people easily—the imperial army and the Emperor himself included!
"Master, you don't believe it! He made millions of people kneel and then cry! Then he took away the army and the Emperor to destroy all 12 remaining sects!"
The four of them were speechless. If you're going to lie, at least make it believable...
The library manager shook his head.
"I don't know why you came back early, but it's fine. No need to make such a stupid excuse..."
But his disciple didn't answer.
He looked at him to see what was wrong now—and gasped!
The disciple was completely pale, as if he had seen a ghost!
"What's wrong with you now? I dare you to make up another lie!"
His disciple, colorless with fear, slowly raised his trembling hand and pointed at the city behind them.
"H-He is here!"
The crowd looked in the direction he was pointing—and their eyes widened in shock!
At some point, without any of them noticing, someone on a horse that emitted all kinds of colorful lights had arrived at the outer sect city...
The crowd's heartbeats doubled in an instant!
Had he been telling the truth?
Amid the colorful lights, they could even see blue smoke rising high into the sky—and from there, a barely visible line stretched to the horizon...
The "indelible blue smoke"? The warhorse? Were they all real?
Then the 12 sects...
The crowd nervously watched to see where this disaster would go next.
If he really had the power to control millions—even someone as strong as the Emperor—then what about them?
At best, they were only as strong as the Emperor himself...
While they didn't dare even breathe loudly, the scary guy jumped down from his horse, went to one of the corpses on the ground, nodded after a moment, and then entered the city...
He went all the way to the inn, opened the door, and entered—while the lights and blue smoke suddenly disappeared altogether.
The three elders looked at each other and saw fear in each other's eyes.
First, their sect master had probably gone crazy. Now, another crazy guy called "Sect Master"—who could control the Emperor and had a plan to destroy the 12 sects—had joined her...
Not only that, the Sword God was missing too!
Elder Sun thought for a moment and said,
"What your disciple saw might not be completely true. I'll take a look at the 12 sects. If they're really at war with—"
But before he could finish, a small spirit bird flew over and landed on the storehouse manager's shoulder. She placed her finger on the ring around its leg, and a paper came out.
Her hand trembled as she read the letter's contents.
Elder Sun asked,
"Is it from the sect merchants in the capital?"
The storehouse manager nodded.
"Yes. It says... the members of the 12 sects have disappeared!"
The crowd felt their hearts stop for a moment.
The library manager asked,
"Any more information?"
"Yes, but I don't understand exactly what it means. It says: 'Someone called "Sect Master" led the army, but I heard from the soldiers that the one who cleaned up the 12 sects was someone else. No one saw the other party, but they all heard a song with a woman's voice when he—or she—took action.'"
The crowd looked confused. Elder Sun said,
"What song? Did he write it down?"
She nodded and said,
"Yes. These are the lyrics—"
But before she could read them, they suddenly heard the sound of music coming from afar.
[ Laughing bright, I dance through the storm,
Blades like rain—I am the swarm...
No sect shall stand where my butterflies fall,
The heavens weep as their fortress crawls.
I'll carve my name 'til the stars go cold—
Now watch me rise... unstoppable and untold. ]
Then the source of the music—moving with a whoosh—went to the same inn as the guy with light effects, and the singing stopped...
At that moment, they heard something drop behind them.
All of them were scared out of their wits—except the library manager's disciple.
He wasn't scared because he was the one who had dropped to the ground.
It seemed his brain couldn't handle this much stress and had just shut itself off.
The survivors looked at the storehouse manager to confirm if it was the same song—and sure enough, she nodded...
Then they looked at the library manager.
In this group, he was the smartest, Elder Sun was the strongest, and the storehouse manager had the most information channels.
The library manager thought for a moment and said,
"Let's tell the disciples that no one is allowed to enter the outer sect city from now on. We don't really know who—or what—we're dealing with. But two things are clear.
First, the other party isn't our enemy. They might have even made a deal with the sect master.
And second, they don't mind us knowing what they're doing. That's why my disciple came back alive, and our informant was able to send a message from the capital.
And I don't think we have the power to do anything to them either.
Just look at the timing: between the news my disciple delivered (which probably happened to him this evening) and the disappearance of the 12 sects' members...
It all happened between this evening and night.
So we're dealing with..."
The two elders finished their sentence.
"Immortals!"
He nodded and said,
"Indeed. It might be someone—or a group of immortals from the Immortal Realm—who descended to our world. I even suspect there's a connection between them and the disappearance of the Law Enforcement Hall Master and his people..."
Elder Sun said,
"So, should we just let them be? Until the sect master sends an order—or they try something that might harm the sect? And who cares about that old trash and his people? If they die, they die."
The other two nodded.
Then the library manager left after asking the storehouse manager to look for news about the "crowd being under control" part of the story from her informant in the capital.
After that, they all left to spread the order so sect members wouldn't get themselves killed.
...
Outer Sect City
Just a while back, in front of the city gate, Little Mortal—who had just arrived on his horse—stared at the city with a shocked face.
At the entrance, two corpses lay on the ground, and the city behind them was completely dark.
It was like a dead city, with corpses scattered here and there...
"What happened here? Don't tell me they died because of the injection? But that stupid lab rat said it was fine!"
Frightened, he jumped down and ran to one of the corpses closest to him.
After checking it, he sighed in relief, nodded, wiped the imaginary sweat from his forehead, and—while talking to himself—rode his horse back to the inn.
"They're just sleeping. It must be the side effect of the first-time injection."
Later, when he arrived inside the inn, he saw more people lying on the ground here too...
Then he turned to his big backpack and waved at it.
"Hey, big guy, I'm back!"
The big backpack trembled.
Little Mortal went inside it and came back in his sleepwear and glasses.
He pointed at the people on the ground and asked,
"They're fine, right?"
The black-framed glasses trembled, confirming his words.
Little Mortal yawned, threw the glasses away, and said,
"Alright then, good job everyone, and good night."
He opened his sleeping bag, climbed inside, and mumbled to himself before falling asleep:
"These cultivators are crazy... this world is crazy..."
Not long after, Lady Butterfly arrived.
The moment she was about to open the door, the crystal turned off the music.
She came in and looked around. Seeing everyone safe and sound, she smiled and went to the special sofa beside the window, sitting there.
Not long after, she fell asleep too, mumbling to herself:
"This sofa is so comfortable..."
The little cage and the crystal slowly separated from her and returned to the backpack.
The cage was going to hang in its usual place, but paused and moved to the other side—above where Little Mortal was sleeping.
At this moment, A Secret Meeting Between the Birthday Gifts started.
<[Guardian Candidate is favored by World Law.]>
<[Correct.]>
<...>
<[It has nothing to do with me or Guardian Law.]>
<...>
And the secret meeting between the birthday gifts came to an end.
....
Morning of the Fourth Day after Little Mortal's Arrival in the Cultivation World.
The sun rose, and people began waking up one by one.
Those in the streets were confused at first, then remembered what had happened the day before and stood up weakly.
First, they checked if anything was wrong with them, then hurried back home.
But some stopped and checked their buttocks to ensure no "second hole" had appeared.
After confirming the number of holes remained the same, they left in peace.
They were all starving, having been in deep sleep for a whole day.
Inside the Inn
Luna came downstairs, feeling dizzy.
She couldn't remember what had happened yesterday after she went to bed—her memory blurred by the pain of the little monster taking over her body.
But she had dreamed of swimming in a pool of lava.
At first, she was scared, but then she realized the lava couldn't harm her, so she swam happily—until she woke up starving.
When she came down, she saw everyone eating like they hadn't eaten for days, so she joined them in silence.
At first, she thought they were too hungry to greet her, but while eating, she noticed them glancing at the other side of the inn with strange expressions—some afraid, some shocked, some speechless...
She turned to see what had captured their attention—and nearly choked on her food.
There, beside the familiar big backpack, a small mountain had appeared at some point.
And not just any mountain—a mountain made of rings!
Storage rings, in all kinds and sizes!
"What in the world did this little demon do yesterday? Kill everyone in the Capital?"
Then she heard a certain little girl's voice outside:
"BREAKING NEWS! BREAKING NEWS! Sect Master slaughtered the whole Capital! Two spirit stones for the details of the massacre! One spirit stone if you only want the death toll! BREAKING NEWS—"
Luna gulped down her food and stared at the mountain of storage rings, speechless.
Then the inn door opened, and Rose walked in, scolding:
"Stop messing around, Cherry!"
When she saw Luna, she waved and asked,
"Good morning, Sister Luna. Do you know where the Sect Master is?"
Luna shook her head.
But a little boy's voice echoed from underground:
"Who's looking for me? Hmm? Wait—where am I? Why is it so dark? Am I buried? When did I die? But I was alive last night! HELP! Please help me! I'm still young—I have dreams!"
Hearing the panicked voice, Rose searched for the source and shouted,
"Sect Master, where are you? You're not dead! Hang in there!"
Little Mortal, now hopeful, yelled back,
"Keep calling me! I'll follow your voice!"
And Rose kept shouting, "Sect Master!"
A moment later, a head popped out from the mountain of storage rings, gasping for air.
The crowd was shocked—he'd been buried under the loot this whole time.
"What kind of hobby is this? Sleeping under the spoils of dead enemies?"
Little Mortal, still in his sleepwear, "swam" out. Once free, he turned and stared at the spot where he'd been buried.
Then he looked at the crowd and asked,
"Who buried me under these?"
They all shook their heads, denying involvement.
But then—clink—a ring dropped.
Everyone turned toward the sound—it had come from the cage on the backpack.
Five more rings fell out before it stopped.
Little Mortal was speechless. The crowd was speechless.
'This little demon's treasure tried to bury its master alive?!'
Then they heard the little girl outside again:
"BREAKING NEWS! BREAKING NEWS! Murder attempt on the Sect Master's life FAILED! One spirit stone for the assassin's name! Two for all the details!"
The people inside didn't know how to save the loudmouthed girl anymore—she was a lost cause.
Little Mortal's jaw dropped as he stared at the inn door...
Then he whirled toward the small cage and roared,
"HOW DARE YOU RUIN MY REPUTATION, YOU STUPID CAGE! I'LL TEACH YOU A LESSON—"
But before he could finish, the cage dove into the mountain of rings and vanished!
Shocked at first, Little Mortal gave chase, diving in after it.
Now and then, his head would pop out in random spots, scanning the area before disappearing again.
After ten minutes, he emerged, aggrieved—he hadn't found the cage.
He marched to the backpack and sighed,
"Forget it. I forgive you. Big Guy, clean up the mess your friend made."
The backpack's lid opened and began sucking in the rings.
But Little Mortal suddenly reached in and grabbed something mid-wave.
Slowly, he pulled his hand out—revealing the small cage, which had been trying to sneak into the backpack with the cover of storage rings.
Everyone nodded inwardly:
"This little monster forgives someone? Only in their dreams."
With an evil smile, he said,
"Well, well, well—if it isn't Mr. Cage? Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
The cage trembled in his grip.
Little Mortal blinked at its response.
"You're on your way to visit your sick grandmother?"
The crowd was baffled.
'No way he's falling for that excuse...'
But when the cage trembled again, he let it go!
"Sorry, sorry! I didn't know your grandmother was sick. Send her my regards and wish her a speedy recovery."
The cage, now free, jumped into the backpack—only to reappear a second later and pelt Little Mortal's face with a handful of rings before darting back inside.
Little Mortal, eerily calm, rolled up his sleeves and stalked toward the backpack, saying:
"You little birdcage... I showed you a path to heaven, but not only did you refuse it—you dug yourself a path to hell? Then let this Sect Master give you a glimpse of the hell you love so much!"
With that, he leaped inside, proving himself a true cultivator who knew all the classic phrases.
Soon after, he emerged—sporting his signature mustache and a spherical cage hanging from his waist—looking very satisfied.
Outside, the little girl's voice rang out again:
"BREAKING NEWS! BREAKING NEWS! Sect Master caught the assassin and turned it into a round cage! BREAKING NEWS—"
The cage: "..."
Rose, noticing his new shoes, asked,
"Oh, Sect Master, where did you buy those? They match your robe perfectly!"
Little Mortal puffed out his chest and boasted,
"I didn't buy them—I stole them from that black dragon, the chunk of ice's pet."
Then he froze, glancing around at the crowd's horrified faces.
"No, by 'stole,' I mean—"
Realizing it was too late, he panicked and performed random hand seals.
"Divine Technique—Time Reversal! To before Rose's question!"
He stared at Rose expectantly.
Rose, playing along, waited a beat before asking again:
"Oh, Sect Master, where did you buy your new shoes? They match your robe perfectly!"
Little Mortal sighed in relief, puffed his chest, and declared,
"I didn't buy them—I borrowed them from a dragon friend of mine."
The crowd was speechless.
'You definitely stole them. And we're not shocked that you stole—we're shocked WHO you stole from!'
Either way, Assistant Rose had saved the day once again.